Interlude: Fixing Friendship
"...and then she said that there's no way you can make a dishwasher that cleans dishes with wubs and I was like, screw that, I'm Vinyl Scratch!"
The pony sitting across from the famous DJ sighed and tried his best to concentrate on his newspaper, but the white unicorn with the blue mane continued talking, oblivious to the fact that she was annoying almost every pony around her. He sighed as she continued to talk, scolding himself under his breath for trying to start up a polite, simple conversation. "You here for the Canterlot Orchestra, too?" he had asked, somewhat surprised that a pony like her would be interested in classical music. He looked down at his watch and groaned; almost an hour she had been talking about how she knew one of the orchestra ponies before switching over to talking about 'wubbing' or something like that. Everypony else around him was fortunate enough to be spared from her attention, but this was one train ride that he would be glad to forget.
Ironically, Vinyl Scratch was ecstatic to have somepony to talk to. The train ride from Ponyville to Seaddle had been more lonesome than she had thought possible, and when she was told that the train from Seaddle to Los Pegasus was unable to fulfill her request for another private car, she had been annoyed by the trouble. However, almost every single pony on the train was headed to Los Pegasus to listen to the Canterlot Orchestra play, and to her relief not a single pony recognized who she was.
As Vinyl continued talking about the upgrades she had planned for her 'dish-wubber' the train's whistle sounded, signalling that they were arriving at their destination. As soon as the train stopped at the station the unfortunate stallion across from Vinyl bolted for the door, thanking Celestia that the train ride from Tartarus was finally over. Oblivious to the torture she had subjected him to, Vinyl shrugged, thinking that he must have had to use the colt's room pretty badly and disembarked the train herself.
Taking a taxi to the hotel she used frequently when in the area, the front desk pony looked a little surprised to see the famous DJ-Pon3 walking in. "Ms. Vinyl Scratch, this is quite the surprise. I didn't know you had a show in town." the mare said with a warm smile.
"Nah, no work for me this time. Just here for some R and R." Vinyl replied.
The mare nodded and reached under the desk, producing an ornate envelope with VInyl's name on it. "Somepony from the record studio dropped this off for you earlier today. They asked us to deliver this to you the next time you checked in, but we didn't think it would be this soon. The only ponies in town right now are here to go to the concert being played tonight by the Canterlot Orchestra."
Levitating the envelope over to herself, Vinyl opened it and took out a letter and VIP pass. The mare behind the desk couldn't help but stare at the rare ticket to tonight's concert that Vinyl held, but Vinyl was more interested in the letter;
Vinyl, somepony from the Canterlot Orchestra dropped this off at our office and asked us to forward it to the hotel you use. Hopefully you get into town in time for this, though I have no idea why you would want to go to a classical music concert. Well, have fun if you do go.
~ Steady Beat
PS: Neon Lights called a while ago and asked if we knew where you are. No idea why, but he sounded really pissed. You may want to get in touch with him soon.
Vinyl chuckled to herself, imagining how furious Neon must be for not only canceling her upcoming shows but for now disappearing without a word to anypony. She did feel a slight tinge of guilt for throwing so much pressure on him, but what she was doing now was infinitely more important than an outraged producer.
After checking into her room and conducting a somewhat painful shopping trip, Vinyl finished preparing herself for the night ahead of her and looked in the mirror. Instead of the usual brightly colored clubbing outfits she tended to gravitate to, she had picked out a jet black evening gown with silver trim. She had also taken the painstaking time to straighten her mane, a far cry from her usual style. A silver necklace around her neck with a matching silver ring around her horn completed the outfit.
Were it not for the fact that she was looking in a mirror, Vinyl would never believe she would ever find herself wearing something like this. Wearing this kind of outfit was completely foreign and her face began to turn red from slight embarrassment, but with a heavy sigh she summoned the courage to leave her room.
The mare who had checked Vinyl in to her room was conversing with one of the door ponies, and as one of the elevators arrived in the lobby both ponies took a quick glance to see if anypony was disembarking. Their glance turned into a long stare as they saw a familiar pony walking toward them, but not in any outfit they had ever seen before, nor ever expected.
"M-M-Ms. Vinyl Scratch?" the desk mare stuttered, absolutely shocked to see the DJ in such an elegant outfit. Her coworker couldn't find the ability to talk as his jaw hung agape.
"Uh, hey. Could... you get me a taxi?" Vinyl asked sheepishly, embarrassed by more and more ponies in the lobby staring at her in awe.
A few moments of silence followed until the door pony was brought back to reality by a quick smack to the back of his head by the desk mare. "Oh! Uh, of course! Right a-scratch, Ms. Way. I-I mean, right away, Ms. Scratch!" he said, dashing outside to fulfill her request.
Tipping the love-struck stallion five bits, Vinyl tried to calm her nerves during the fifteen minute ride over to the concert hall. Her fears of the paparazzi swarming her once she exited the taxi were also put to rest as nopony recognized her due to her choice of wardrobe, not to mention the arrival of Prince Blueblood had caught their attention. Not wanting to stick around to socialize with anypony, Vinyl quickly made her way inside and gave her ticket to one of the ushers.
It took the usher a few moments to realize which pony was in front of him. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you." he said apologetically before showing Vinyl her seat. The DJ found herself a few rows away from the stage and almost dead center, and from the number of seats immediately around her marked 'VIP' or 'RESERVED' she guessed that sitting this close to the stage did not come cheap.
As the minutes ticked by more of the audience began to come inside and find their seats. Almost all of the ponies coming in found their seats and waited patiently for the performance to start, but Vinyl was starting to become anxious and tried her absolute hardest to refrain from fidgeting, but before long she couldn't help wriggle in her seat and loudly tap her hoof against the floor. Despite the somewhat sour looks she got from the ponies immediately around her she continued to remain restless. 'How can anypony stand this?!' she thought to herself. Sitting in one position was something Vinyl rarely ever did, and with no watch she had no idea how much longer she had to suffer.
After what seemed like an eternity of waiting the lights began to dim and the audience went completely silent. Vinyl sighed heavily, glad that the concert was finally starting, but quickly earned more glares of discontent from the ponies around her. "Sorry." she whispered just as the curtain rose, revealing the ponies of the Canterlot Orchestra. The audience politely applauded and Vinyl managed to stop herself from yelling out like she would at one of her own concerts, instead joining in the soft applause. Her eyes quickly scanned the ponies onstage until she found who she was looking for; Octavia. She knew from experience on stage that Octavia wouldn't be able to see her in the audience, and maybe after the show she could track her down before the orchestra left, but for now Vinyl was happy just being able to see and hear her old friend play for the first time in years. 'I see her sense of fashion hasn't changed at all.' Vinyl said in her head, seeing that the cellist still favored her brown blouse and skirt.
As soon as the applause died down the ponies on stage began to play. Vinyl recognized the piece; Beethoofen's 5th symphony, a piece that she had heard Octavia practice countless times when they lived together. 'She always struggled with this piece before, but she seems to have finally... yeah, she finally got that part!' Vinyl thought to herself. 'Oh, she always had trouble with this part... can she... yeah baby! Nailed it!'
As the piece continued Vinyl felt tears beginning to build up in her eyes, and soon she found herself unable to stop from softly crying. As Octavia continued playing her part flawlessly Vinyl began to realize just how much time had passed since that fateful night where she had destroyed her relationship with her closest friend and entered the darkest chapter in her life. 'I'm going to make it right... I swear.'
As the final notes faded away the audience applauded politely, Vinyl once again managing to contain her energy somehow. The concert continued as song after song played, and as each soothing piece was played Vinyl's mind wandered back to memories of when she and Octavia spent almost every single day together, the unlikely pair forging a stronger friendship than most siblings.
Vinyl's thoughts were interrupted as the sound of the orchestra faded away once more, and as the audience applauded once more Octavia moved up to center stage. With all of the lights on stage dimming except for one keeping Octavia lit, the earth pony mare began to play by herself, everypony's attention on her. Vinyl quickly recognized the piece as the solo that her friend had begun writing herself several year ago, and Vinyl thought it was the absolute more beautiful piece of music she had ever heard. 'Wow, she... she managed to get it perfect. Absolutely perfect.' Vinyl thought.
All too soon Octavia's solo neared its end and the rest of the orchestra began to play along with her. However, the position Octavia had moved to in center stage hindered the movement of one of the ponies playing the violin, and the unfortunate violinist had to try his hardest to refrain from stabbing Octavia's back with his bow. He managed to keep his instrument in check, and as the piece neared its end he began to relax... too soon.
Just as the last few notes were being played, the violinist's bow bumped up against Octavia's back just above her tail. She managed to keep her composure and shrug off the accident, but as the violinist drew his bow back the tip got caught up against the button securing her skirt in place. Thanks to the old weakened thread holding the button in place easily gave way as the pony playing the violin tugged at his bow, and in one swift motion both the button and Octavia's skirt fell to the stage.
Gasps from the audience could be heard as the instruments abruptly stopped playing. Everypony in the audience had their eyes glued on Octavia, her face turning a crimson red as she realized that her skirt was now bunched up on the floor around her hooves. Under most circumstances, this wardrobe malfunction would be quickly dismissed and forgotten by tomorrow afternoon, but it was what Octavia had on under her skirt that caused such a stir. Now exposed to the everypony in the dark auditorium was a black thong that was tightly hugging Octavia's crotch, the front of the panties decorated with a small set of equalizer bars.
Though it was perfectly acceptable in Equestria for ponies to go around clothed or unclothed, lingerie was an entirely different matter. The only time ponies wore such provocative clothing was when they were trying to entice another pony back to their room. And for a pony to wear somepony else's underwear, doing so was an open declaration of that pony's obsession for the owner of the undergarments. Thankfully for Octavia, nopony here knew that the thong she had on wasn't really hers, and this negative publicity for her shouldn't be too damaging to her reputation. All she had to do was pull her skirt back up and...
"Hey! Those are mine!" a familiar voice rang out.
Octavia froze partially bent over as she heard the unexpected outburst. "Oh Celestia, please no..." she said weakly, but she knew exactly who had yelled out. Tears of embarrassment started pouring down her face and she collapsed onto the stage, sobbing uncontrollably.
Vinyl quickly covered her mouth after accidentally shouting out her observation. Many of the ponies who heard her were now staring at the DJ, and out of the corner of her eye she could see the paparazzi rushing forward to document the unfolding scandal. As quickly as she could Vinyl lit up her horn and used her magic to drop the curtain, finally providing Octavia some privacy while her friends in the orchestra came to her aid and brought her safely backstage. With their target now gone, the paparazzi ponies now turned their attention to Vinyl, but thanks to her outfit and straightened mane none of them recognized her. Before any of them could reach her Vinyl stood up on her chair and used the leverage to jump over the heads of the shocked ponies sitting in front of her to the front aisle before clambering up onto the stage and under the curtain to find her friend. Some of the paparazzi ponies tried following Vinyl onto the stage but security arrived just in time to stop them from going backstage themselves.
Looking around in a panic, Vinyl wasn't sure which direction Octavia had gone. Thankfully, violinist responsible for the unfortunate mishap recognized her. "Vinyl? Is that you? Wow, you look... wow." he said, unable to take his eyes off of her while packing up his instrument.
Vinyl rushed over to him. "Where did she go? Is she still here?" she demanded, not in the mood for small talk.
"Y-yeah, she's in her dressing room, down that way, room 16." he said, pointing in the right direction. Without another word Vinyl galloped off, leaving the poor stallion alone to face the ridicule of his fellow orchestra members. "Tell her I'm sorry!" he shouted after Vinyl.
It didn't take long for Vinyl to find room 16, and as she slowly opened the door she heard Octavia already talking to somepony in the room with her.
"I-I'll never be able t-t-to live this down." Octavia sobbed. "I need... I need to quit the orchestra."
Peeking around the door, Vinyl recognized the other pony as Starsong, the sister of her roommate back in Ponyville as well as the new vocalist that the orchestra had brought on. "It's not that bad. I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding, that pony probably has the same underwear at home."
The cellist sighed heavily. "No, she was right. They are hers. I found them after I had moved back to Canterlot and was unpacking... I must have grabbed them by mistake. I didn't think about them until my first time playing my solo... I was so nervous, and for some reason I thought bringing a... a part of her would give me confidence. It... it did, and since then I can't play that solo without... without wearing them."
Starsong nodded in understanding. "But surely you can say that you bought the same kind of underwear as her, can't you? Especially since you two lived together before and are such close friends."
Octavia shook her head. "No, that's impossible. Those were custom made for her, and as soon this hits the papers it's going to be revealed that I was wearing her..."
Unable to finish her sentence, Starsong held Octavia as she began crying again. Vinyl pushed the door open all the way and entered the dressing room. "Tavi..."
Octavia looked up and managed a meager smile. "I'm glad you came, I was really hoping you would. And now at least you got to see my last show." she said through teary eyes.
"Tavi, I'm so sorry. I should have kept my big mouth shut." Vinyl said, her own eyes beginning to water.
"No, it's not your fault." Octavia said. "The press would eat me alive anyway. I guess I should start drafting my resignation from the orchestra."
Octavia tried to walk towards her desk but Vinyl placed a hoof on her chest to stop her. "You don't have to do that." she said.
Octavia had no idea what Vinyl was talking about. "You don't understand, Vinyl. This is the biggest news story to affect the Canterlot Orchestra. The ponies out there won't just forget about this whole event."
Vinyl put on a sly smile. "Correction, that's the biggest news story so far." she said before running out the door and towards the back entrance where a crowd of paparazzi and curious fans were undoubtedly crowded, awaiting for Octavia to emerge.
Starsong was completely confused by Vinyl running off. "Where's she going? What did she mean by that?" she asked Octavia.
Octavia smacked herself on her forehead with her hoof but couldn't help smiling a little. "She's about to do something stupid and brash." she said.
Stopping at a mirror just before the exit, Vinyl ruffled her mane until it had taken it's old shape and bringing out her trademark glasses from a hidden pocket. "I like this look a lot better." she said aloud to herself, donning the purple glasses before facing the door. She could hear the crowd outside in a frenzy, demanding security to move aside and let them in to speak to Octavia but the buff ponies guarding the door held their position. Taking a deep breath, Vinyl pushed open the door and stepped outside, her eyes blinded even with the sunglasses on by the overwhelming flashes of countless cameras going off.
"Look, it's Vinyl Scratch!"
"What's she doing at this concert?"
"Vinyl, did you see the wardrobe malfunction earlier!"
"Where were you seated during the event?"
"You know Octavia! Is she going to quit in shame after this embarrassment?"
Vinyl had to take another deep breath to calm herself as the questions came pouring in nonstop. She held up her hoof and waited patiently for everypony to quiet down, but after a few minutes her gesture proved to be pointless.
"SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!" she yelled out, finally losing her patience. Her outburst caught the annoying ponies off guard and rendered them silent.
Nodding in approval, Vinyl stepped forward. "About freakin' time. Now, I know you're all probably hyped up from what you saw earlier inside, but let me tell you this; you haven't seen nothin' yet."
Before anypony in the crowd could ask her what she meant her horn began to glow and she yanked away the camera from the nearest photographer. Holding it in front of her, her smile broadened and she smashed the camera on the ground. "Hey!" the victim shouted out as he approached the DJ, but he was met with a quick jab to the face and collapsed after one hit.
Vinyl spat on the downed photographer and turned her attention to the rest of the ponies around her. "Alright, time to get dirty. Who's next?"
"Next stop, Vanhoover! Vanhoover, then Canterlot!" the train conductor announced as he passed through the train car.
Octavia lifted her head from Vinyl's lap slightly and groaned. "Nngh, is our stop next?"
"Nah, one more stop. Go back to sleep, we got a few hours before we arrive in Canterlot. I'll wake ya when we get near there." Vinyl replied.
Octavia nodded and dropped her head back onto Vinyl's lap, falling back asleep within mere seconds. Unable to stop smiling at the cute scene before her, Vinyl gently ran her hoof through Octavia's mane. "Poor Tavi, sorry for keeping you up all night." she said softly.
As the landscape continued to pass by outside the train Vinyl thought back to the utter mayhem and chaos she had created less than 24 hours ago;
After grabbing and smashing every single camera in sight, Vinyl turned her attention to the paparazzi. Not wanting to severely injure any of the ponies, she attacked them just enough to rough them up and scare them, and it wasn't long before they began to scatter and run.
Not one to give up, she chased down as many of them as possible, and predictably many of them ran back to their respective employers for safety, but locked doors proved to be of little worry for the crazy unicorn. Blasting the doors off their hinges, Vinyl chased down her quarry and submitted them to the same treatment their peers suffered earlier before beginning to trash their offices. Four separate media offices suffered extensive damages before the local guard caught up with her and tried placing her under arrest.
Not one to quit now, Vinyl led the guards on a frustrating chase around the city. She knew better than to try attacking the guards like she did her earlier victims and instead tried to draw out the chase as long as possible. This time, she kept to as many of the main roads as possible, hoping that the photographers who dared to follow her would try to capture as much as the chase as possible on film. Only a hoof-full of them dared to cover the guards chasing the insane mare, but those who did were treated to the story of the century. Between the jaw-dropping acrobatics Vinyl executed to continue evading the guards, she also continued to shock everypony by committing random acts; from adopting suggestive poses when she had a few seconds to spare while running from the guards to even stopping and making out with an innocent bystander.
She managed to keep the chase going for over two hours but finally her energy ran out. The guards quickly arrested her and hauled her off to jail, and as she was brought into the guard's barracks she waved to Octavia and Starsong who were waiting in the lobby for her. The orchestra's manager had filled the two mares in on what Vinyl Scratch was doing around the city, and they had correctly guessed that she would be caught sooner or later. Unable to stand the thought of her friend spending Celestia-knows how long in jail, Octavia and Starsong spent hour after hour after hour negotiating with the guards to release Vinyl. A deal was finally reached just as the sun started to rise into the sky; Octavia and Starsong posted the 10,000 bit bail, Vinyl had to empty out her savings and pay 480,000 bits in damages and fees as well as stay out of Los Pegasus for the next year.
As the train pulled into the Vanhoover station Vinyl flagged down a young colt selling newspapers on the platform. "Yo, can I grab one of those?" she called out to him as she levitated a few bits. The colt took the bits and tossed a newspaper towards her, the unicorn catching it with her magic with ease. The young pony only then realized who he had just sold a paper to, and Vinyl couldn't help but wink at him as he stood frozen with his mouth agape in awe. "Thanks, dude!" Vinyl shouted.
The train whistle sounded, and as the train began to pull out of the station the colt finally found his voice. "You're so awesome!" he shouted after her, waving excitedly as the train left for its next destination.
Vinyl couldn't help smiling at her small fan, and once the train had left the city she started scanning the paper she had bought. She scanned the entire paper and smiled, putting the paper down beside her just as Octavia began to stir again. "Hnng... we're not there yet, are we?" she asked sleepily.
"Nah, we just left Vanhoover. Sit tight, I gotta go visit the little mares room." Vinyl said, hopping off her seat and headed to the bathroom. Octavia sat up and stretched, her eye spotting the paper that Vinyl had bought. Picking it up, she saw that the cover story was all about Vinyl's rampage through the city. The words 'DJ Vinyl Scratch Terrorizes Los Pegasus' were spread across the top of the paper, and the article below it went into great detail of her romp through the city. The following pages included eyewitness accounts and statements from some of the paparazzi ponies, as well as recounts of past wild antics by Vinyl. However, as Octavia turned to the next page she felt her heart stop in horror.
'High Tail Records, Los Pegasus Music Studios Drop DJ Scratch From Company'
In a prompt response to DJ Vinyl Scratch's night of brash antics and deadly assaults, Los Pegasus Music Studios have officially dropped Ms. Scratch from their company and have terminated her contract, a representative has reported. Soon after their announcement, High Tail Records in Manehattan have also declared that they are removing the popular DJ from their list of supported musicians and will stop selling her records as well canceling all her scheduled shows.
"We cannot condone such activity like the choices Ms. Scratch has made last night." says Top Pick, CEO of High Tail Records. "After holding an emergency meeting with the top executives, we unanimously voted to cancel our contract with Ms. Scratch immediately."
Analysts estimate that the loss of these two contracts will result in a loss of over 12 million bits for the DJ. No other record company has announced that they have any intention on offering her any new deals, and club and music halls are obviously now hesitant to make any offers to have her play at their venues.
Octavia couldn't read anymore and quickly put down the newspaper just as Vinyl returned. "I'm ba- hey, what's wrong?" Vinyl asked as she noticed Octavia was once again crying.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?! This is what's wrong!" she cried out hysterically, pointing at the page she had just read.
Vinyl picked up the paper and read the entire article. "Wow, that was quicker than I thought. Surprising since it takes those stuffy blowhards an hour just to wipe their own asses." she said, cracking a smile.
Vinyl's joke didn't help Octavia's mood. "You threw away your entire career! Everything you've worked so hard for is gone! You threw away your savings and now have no way to recoup that loss!"
Taking up her seat next to the crying mare, Vinyl held Octavia to help calm her. "Hey, come on now, I'm the one in trouble yet you're doing all the crying. It's my career in the bucket, not yours. Besides, there's not one mention of that little mishap you suffered." she said.
"Still, you shouldn't have done such a crass thing and sacrificed yourself for me." Octavia replied, still visibly upset.
Vinyl lifted Octavia's head slightly so they were looking into each other's eyes. "I know I haven't heard you play in a while, but that concert last night was absolutely beautiful. You really nailed that solo perfectly, and there's no way I could let you give up your dream. Trust me, taking the fall for you was worth every last bit. I'd do it all again in a second for my best friend... whatever it takes to make her happy."
Both ponies now smiling, they shared a happy embrace, their broken friendship now healed and stronger than ever. Wiping her eyes, Octavia let out a small chuckle. "I guess you'll have time to come to all of my concerts from now on, huh?" she said.
Vinyl nodded. "Of course! Er, I may need to borrow a few bits for the tickets, though."