I woke to the most dreadful morning wood, courtesy of Bright Jade. Ever since I woke to find her sniffing me, it was as if her morning routine included blissing out on a smoky scent only she ever noticed. This time, it seemed like my balls smelled best, and I rolled my eyes.

“Ugh, Jade. It’s hard enough to get out of bed after a late night without you making the morning wood even worse.” My rebuke was half-hearted. Whatever else Bright Jade was, she was beautiful, and I could only work up so much irritation at a beautiful mare with her muzzle between my legs.

Drowsily, the way she always moved when sniffing at me, Jade looked up from my erection and smiled. “G’morning, sir. I’ll fix it.” I eased myself into my pillow as Jade started a slow, skillful blowjob. Hard to get out of bed indeed. I smiled and let her solve the problem, heading down to the office five minutes late, but in a fantastic mood.

Not even the neatly organized piles of paperwork Day Planner had laid about my desk could spoil my attitude. I sat down cheerfully to get to it, nodding to Day at her desk, and wishing her a good morning as I reached for the first envelope. And just like that, my mood was ruined.

“Day Planner, this the return address for Starlight. It’s open. You read it. You know I’m not interested in putting up with Main Event; why would you even put this on my desk?”

Day set aside her work and turned to face me, brushing a lock of her short black mane from her brow. “You’re not interested in spending time with Main Event, Mr. Deal, but that doesn’t mean he’s not useful. You’re experimenting with your power, seeing what that smoke can and can’t accomplish. It’s precisely because you have no desire to deal with Main Event that Starlight is a perfect venue. No matter what havoc you might cause, there’s nothing and nopony to care about there. It’s a perfect place to try going overboard again, like with Ms. Parapet—but preferably with a modicum more control over the process.”

Without responding to Day Planner, I pulled the letter from the envelope for a look. The very first line rubbed me wrong and set me to muttering.

Congratulations, Done! I’ve picked you for an exclusive backstage tour of the newly remodeled Starlight!

“Two sentences, Day. Two sentences, and I’m gritting my teeth. He knows I hate his guts, he hates mine, and he writes this.”

Day Planner offered one of her surprisingly cute smiles and shook her head at my frustration. “And he knows that those two sentences will get right under your skin, Mr. Deal, and you’ve let him. Please try to focus. The opportunity is too good to miss.”

I sighed and continued reading.

There’s no better way to break in a new concert hall than with Equestria’s loudest, most popular DJ, DJ-P0N3, Vinyl Scratch! I’ll take you backstage to meet the mare herself, check out the gear a real musician uses to rock the house! This is a once in a lifetime chance for you, Done. Do yourself a favor, get a taste of the real entertainment biz before you’re too old to know what it is.

I crushed the paper between my hooves, and Day, who had been watching, held up tickets she’d had on her desk, smiling innocently. “And that, Mr. Deal, is why I took the tickets out before I placed the letter on your desk.”

I facehoofed. “Always one step ahead, aren’t you Day Planner?”

She just smiled and levitated the tickets to rest on the corner of my desk. “It’s what you pay me for.” As true as that was, I reserved the right to grumble when it meant she’d gotten her way at my expense.

Day Planner returned to her work, calling back over her shoulder, “With the rougher crowd, perhaps you should take Ms. Parapet with you, Mr. Deal. She’s also quite a fan of Vinyl Scratch; it would be a treat for her.”

Much like the masseuse incident, I was getting railroaded, and I put my hoof down. “Now hold on, Day Planner! I haven’t agreed to this yet! I know you think I should be trying things with my smoke, and you’re right, but dammit, that stallion is the most obnoxious pony in all of Equestria!”

Day didn’t even look up from her work. “And that’s precisely why you’re going to have so much fun experimenting with your smoke at his big event, isn’t it, Mr. Deal?”

I let my whole upper half collapse onto my desk. Would nopony save me from my secretary?

“Oh, and Mr. Deal—the concert’s tonight, so please get back to work, so you can be ready to go on time.”

Mock sobs wracked my chest.

“There, there, Mr. Deal,” said Day Planner, not so much as glancing from her work. “There, there.”

* * * * * *

To say that Bruises was more excited about going to Starlight than I was would’ve been beyond an understatement. She’d been reluctant to take the night off bouncing so soon after being hired, but when I mentioned Vinyl Scratch was headlining, Bruises actually screamed like a little filly—not a sound I’d ever expected to come from a mare her size—and trotted in place as she tried to put together a to do list that, bafflingly, included bleaching streaks in her navy mane. I’m sure Pirouette saved my flank when she told me not to ask why, but I had to draw a line at streaking my own. Bruises was upset with my lack of enthusiasm for maybe fifteen seconds before she started whining at the clock to hurry up. Ultimately, she couldn’t handle it anymore and tossed me onto her back, dashing out of The Tall Tail for Starlight at a full gallop. I managed to get her to put me down and walk (quickly) about a block from the venue, but I was still embarrassed enough to keep my fedora pulled low.

The throngs outside Starlight were impressive, to say the least. The Tall Tail was a decent sized cabaret, but it was no concert hall. A tenth of the crowd here, hours before showtime, would’ve packed my club wall to wall. I didn’t want a big, impersonal venue like this, but the businesspony in me couldn’t deny jealousy at the numbers. Manes, tails and coats of every color, wings, horns, even the occasional donkey and batpony were standing in line, and almost all were as excited as Bruises.

Bruises rushed for a ticket line so fast I had to snap my jaws down on her tail to slow her down. “Hey, hey! We’ve got VIP tickets, Bruises. We don’t go that way!”

Wide-eyed, Bruises yanked her ticket from her saddlebag, dancing in place when she realized I was right. “Boss! Backstage, boss! Oh, Celestia, will we get to meet Vinyl Scratch?”

I really, really wanted to be irritated with Bruises, acting so ridiculously, but I couldn’t manage it. “I suspect so. The owner of this place is a jackass; he’ll probably be dangling Vinyl in front of me like a trophy. Let’s go find our way in.”

Even the excited sea of “DJ-P0N3” fans broke like waves on a jetty to let a mare the size of Bruises through. Convenient. With that edge, it didn’t take long at all to find a backstage door manned by a pair of tough-looking stallions. We approached, passes at the ready, only to have them nearly ignored as both guards stared up at Bruises. I frowned, hoping Bruises wouldn’t get her feelings hurt, and pressed for attention.

“Hey. Is Main Event hiring statues for guards now? VIP passes, personal invitation.” I made a note to reprimand any employee I ever caught acting like this at The Tall Tail, but my jab had been enough, and one of the guards looked over our tickets before nodding.

“Yep, looks good.” He turned to his partner at the door. “Hey, go tell Main Event that club guy is here.” I frowned as the other guard left, soothing myself with the memory of Day Planner encouraging me to make a mess of this place. Our wait wasn’t long. Within a minute or two, the guard on messenger duty came back, an indigo stallion in a ridiculously fancy jacket close behind. I forced myself not to scowl at Main event, with more effort than I cared to admit. His gaudy jacket and gemstone ring around his horn cried out for attention in the most pitiful way.

As the guard retook his position, Main smiled his most winning, most fake smile and played the gregarious host—for a heartbeat. “Done, bro, good to see you again! Been ages, buddy!” He looked to Bruises beside me, and peered at her over the sunglasses he was ostentatiously wearing inside. “And who’s this? Done, bro, she’s built like a brick sh-” Bruises was intelligent enough to know where this was going, and scowled down at the mocking asshole. “-chandelier. A brick chandelier! Like, classy and all, but hard as a rock!”

Bruises blinked in confusion, and I bit back a laugh at what had to be the most awkward save I’d ever heard. “Her name’s Parapet, Main Event, and she’s the bouncer at The Tall Tail. She’s also a huge fan of Vinyl’s, so I brought her along.” I could play nice if I tried. It sure was a lot of effort, though.

“Ah, that’s great of you Done! I’m sure she’ll have a real good time.” Main Event turned to the guard who’d brought him to the door. “Hey, why don’t you show her to her seat, man. Make sure she’s got a good one.”

Bruises blinked again, shocked this time, as the guard nudged her away from the door. I could swear I saw tears at the corner of her eyes, and I was just about to tell her I’d see what I could do when a white horn poked through the door above a pair of weird, gaudy sunglasses. Not that I was a fan, but even I could recognize the short cropped, jagged blue mane. I didn’t even have to make an appeal to her. She was already frowning at Main Event.

“Aww, dude, not cool! Hey, big girl! C’mon back!” Vinyl nodded at me before calling out to Bruises again. “You’re with him, right? I can’t chill with the whole crowd, but I can swing a plus one!” I had to admit, I wasn’t expecting Vinyl Scratch to look out for her fans, not if she played venues owned by ponies like Main Event. Good first impression, to be sure.

Bruises had been looking over her shoulder, heartbroken, when Vinyl appeared, causing the huge mare to stand stock still, and the guard guiding her to bounce off. At the invitation to come back, she whirled so fast the guard trying to guide her away was tossed into the wall. Vinyl and I shared a small snicker as he got to his hooves blushing.

Main Event was less amused, but certainly not willing to talk back to his headline act. “Hey, whatever you want, babe. Just tryin’ to save you from a little riffraff.” He ran a hoof through his long, slicked mane, past his horn, and Vinyl frowned a bit. Bruises was too excited again to realize she’d been called riffraff, which suited me fine. Such a sensitive girl.

Bruises and I followed Main Event and Vinyl backstage, past ponies rushing around to make last minute adjustments to this or that, listening to Main jabber about the remodeled hall’s acoustics, its comfortable seating, its powerful lighting and speakers—and Vinyl yawned. Maybe her music was garbage, but the mare herself was scoring points with me in a hurry.

She turned to Bruises and me. “Who wants to hear braggin’ about a building when there’s subs to check?” Main Event’s annoyance was obvious, but it was like he wasn’t even there. He was loud for attention’s sake. Vinyl’s personality wasn’t for anypony—it was cranked to 11 on its own. Main couldn’t compete. Lowering her shades just enough to show her eyes, she winked at Bruises.

Bruises’ eager, “Me, me! Um, wait, the subs! I meant the subs!” saved me from having to awkwardly ask just what a sub was. Vinyl laughed cheerfully and offered a brohoof. For a moment I was worried for Vinyl’s leg, but Bruises controlled herself. When Vinyl’s small hoof bounced off of hers with a clop, I thought sure Bruises was going to faint.

Main Event tried to salvage his relevance. “Subs, huh? This way!” All of us followed to a large, dark room just offstage. As Main hit the lights, I looked around at speakers as tall as I was all over, and not one connected to anything. Vinyl frowned, and this time it didn’t look like annoyance.

“Dude. The concert is in what, three hours? I gotta check these, man! They’re not even on stage! What in Tartarus?” Vinyl trotted from one speaker to another, peering over, under, and around, looking at parts I couldn’t hope to identify, with Main Event right on her tail, sweating a bit. Her ears flattened against her head as she got steadily more annoyed. Bruises began to look nervous—her wonderful night with Vinyl was falling apart, again.

I had an idea. “Hey, Ms. Scr—no, I bet you prefer Vinyl. Bruises here can lift the biggest of these like its nothing. Why not take her out on stage, show her where stuff goes? I mean, you’ll still have to do your thing, but you’ll be able to start in no time.”

Vinyl Scratch looked up from the… thing she’d been inspecting, and back and forth between it and Bruises, who was suddenly slackjawed. “Hey! Nice thinking there, D! You’re cool with that, right? ‘D?’ ‘Cause I kinda forgot your name.”

I couldn’t say I liked it, but the bigger picture was what mattered. I trotted over and shoved Bruises toward Vinyl, snapping her out of whatever daydream she’d gotten stuck in. “Sure, whatever. Oh, uh, call her Parapet. She doesn’t let anypo—”

“You can call me Bruises, Vinyl!” Bruises had nearly shouted, interrupting me. The boss in me was annoyed, and the stallion a bit hurt at having my special nickname for her shared, but seeing the skittish, sensitive mare so excited was worth a little humility. It’s not like Bruises wouldn’t make it up to me if I asked.

Main Event stepped forward, though, getting between Bruises and Vinyl—not a place I’d have chosen to be for a hundred bits. “Woah, woah, woah, woah, bro. Look, don’t you think you’re getting a bit familiar? Vinyl Scratch is the biggest name in teen music right now. You don’t just make decisions for her. Not in my venue!”

The smoke roared up in an instant, but I bit it back along with an insult. To my delight, I didn’t need one anyway. Vinyl had it covered. “Yo. ‘Your venue’ bucked up the hardware so bad I might not get to start my act on time. If that happens, when I do go out there, everypony in the audience is gonna hear how ‘your venue’ almost screwed them out of a concert. You wanna get in the way? You wanna make sure everypony in Manehattan knows what a dick you are?”

Main Event scowled, but stepped aside, glaring angrily at me, as if I’d called him out. I smiled my most winning smile—but mine wasn’t fake. I watched in total contentment as Vinyl lead a starry-eyed Bruises out the door, only to have that contentment ruined by Main Event as he showed his true colors, standing an inch or two over me even without his horn, and getting right up muzzle to muzzle. “So help me, Done, if that idiot mare of yours so much as scratches a monitor, I’ll ruin her life and yours too.” Without another word, he stamped toward the door.

I’d had enough. No, I’d had enough when I got the damned invitation. Smoke roiled in me, and I decided on my experiment: losing control again, with Main this time. As he walked away, I grit my teeth and let it build higher and higher until I felt fit to burst—and did. Like it had with Bruises, the smoke rushed forth in a wave, bearing down on the source of my ire, but this time it battered against a slammed door at the last possible instant. I wobbled and my legs folded beneath me as I struggled to keep my eyes focused. My mind bounced between two critical questions: the first, “What happens now?” and the second, “Why did I have to forget about how hard this made me?”

The answer to the first came in the form of creaking metal and crackling wood as the speakers and audio equipment in the room warped and twisted. The smoke coiled and wafted throughout the entire room. Flat sides curved, corners grew hooked, sharp edges formed where sides met. I boggled at what I saw, as a dozen perfectly rectangular boxes warped to look like devices from Tartarus itself. I had no idea how I was going to explain this one.

As I lay on the floor, waiting for my breath to return and my shaft to simmer down, Vinyl and Bruises returned. It took all of half a second for Vinyl to peer at the sound hardware over her shades, instantly suspicious—or so I assumed. “Woah! Did these look like this a minute ago? I mean, I know I was pissed off, but this stuff looks incredible! Hey, Bruises, grab those two for our first trip, right?”

Bruises magically hoisted the pony-sized speakers and trotted back out the door, oozing with pride. It was Vinyl who noticed me lying on the floor, winded. She offered a worried glance down at me as she extended a hoof. “You okay, D? That asshole didn’t buck with you, did he? Let’s get you up.”

Instantly remembering my still raging hard-on, I declined as naturally as I could manage. “Next trip? Thanks, but I’d just wobble over again. The indignities of age.”

Vinyl smiled and pushed my fedora down over my eyes. “Hah. You’re not that old, D. But sure, nap time, eh?” Vinyl trotted away the direction Bruises had left. Seeing those slim flanks from down low did nothing to help soften me up, and her playful demeanor had me more interested than I imagined I’d ever be in a purveyor of that “modern music” noise.

* * * * *

Though it left Main Event fuming, Vinyl actually granted me a seat just behind the stage’s curtain, where I could see up close and personal. Bruises had been offered the same, but three mares from Vinyl’s crew who had no part to play during the show itself had latched onto her, and talked her into joining them in the front row. It’d been a terribly hard decision for Bruises, right up until one of the girls gave her a hug.

As such, I was alone in the wings, watching as Vinyl Scratch, DJ-P0N3 herself, walked out onto stage with a friendly shove at my shoulder as she passed. As soon as the spotlights hit her, the crowd went wild. Vinyl didn’t bother with a single word. She simply moved to her… stuff on the stage, flipped a few switches, and began bouncing up and down with a nearly deafening beat. I had no clue what that thing she used was, or how she was making sounds, but after a few moments of loud drums, there was total silence—and then it began.

Bass with the strangest distortion I’d ever heard suddenly poured out of speakers stacked two ponies tall. I jumped up, startled, and nearly fell over before catching myself. Vinyl didn’t miss a beat, but she’d seen out of the corner of her eye and bit back laughter while she continued her set. The throbbing continued, with loops of melody slipping in and repeating. The audience’s cheers died surprisingly quickly as they too jumped around—for a few seconds. Vinyl kept performing, but where I should’ve heard a lively audience, I could swear I was starting to hear gasps and moans. Vinyl herself seemed to be holding her hind legs together, and Celestia help me, I was developing another boner. Curiosity got the better of me, and I peeked out.

The entire audience writhed with the music and with each other. Nopony denied anypony else’s advances. Age, gender, looks, none of it seemed to matter to the mares, stallions, and donkeys below. If they saw a way to take pleasure from somepony else, they did it—and everypony seemed to want it that way. Startled, I looked around for Bruises, and found her enjoying herself with the three mares from Vinyl’s crew, magically holding two of them to her teats while the third sat on her face. I hadn’t even known Strawberry Frosting liked Vinyl, but she must’ve found Bruises in the crowd and gotten together. She had the same blissful, needy expression as everypony else as she licked at Bruises powerful neck while Bruises gently worked between her legs. The scene was similar throughout the entire hall—mares, stallions, donkeys, gryphons, bat ponies—no pony seemed to care who made them feel good, as long as somepony did. I stared as a young mare had her first time with a gryphon twice her age, moaning in pleasure as she rubbed her face on his wings. A pegasus and a bat pony—a guard still in armor, no less—took to the air, lying in the lighting as leathery and feathery wings wrapped each other tight. A timid looking lady usher, her soft pink mane in pigtails, held down a stallion to lap at his cock while two more filled each of her holes. I was stunned, but beyond that, I was breathlessly aroused, and distracted by what I saw, I wandered on stage, my stiff shaft hanging down below. Only one mare was anywhere close.

As Vinyl Scratch kept the “wubz” and “fat beats” going, I moved up behind her. She stood on her hind legs to work her equipment, spreading them for balance. A lick between them caught her attention and earned a gasp. The music faltered. “Keep it going, Vinyl! Everypony’s loving this!” Smoke was out of the question; I’d spent it all on the speakers without realizing what I was doing, but I didn’t need any. Nearly as affected by her music as anypony else, Vinyl just turned back to it and called back, a little dazed sounding, “Forget licking, fuck me, D!” I was more than happy to oblige.

Though she already smelled a bit of sweat from jumping around on stage, something about her energy was immensely hot. I reared up, wrapping my forelegs around her, careful not to interfere with her music, and guided my shaft to her lips, standing taller to drive myself in. My timing was perfect—Vinyl screamed in delight just as the bass thundered, drowning her out. Each of her hops behind the equipment now was a short rub on my cock. I took my strokes long and slow, each one blessed by half a dozen of her little jumps. The dual nature of this weird, public sex drove me mad, and I could scarcely stand. Far more vigorous, Vinyl held herself up with one hoof while working the switches, buttons, and dials even faster with the other.

“Don’t quit on me, D! This is just gettin’ started!” Vinyl flicked her tail, tickling my chest for a heartbeat before jumping high and driving herself down on my cock. I staggered and gasped, then pulled her tight against me and slammed my dick into her back wall as hard as I possibly could, struggling to keep time with that strange reverberation on the bass.

I panted my reply to Vinyl as I pressed my lips against her ear. “Wouldn’t… dream of it!” Held tight, Vinyl ground her ass against my hips, tilting hers so my cock pressed against the front of her canal, and as the music slowed, she lowered herself clear to the base, gasping as she forced the last inch where it wouldn’t fit. I make a point of not forcing things, but if she wanted it rough, who was I to say no?

I lowered one of the forelegs holding onto Vinyl, and began toying with a soft teat. “Ahhhh… s-squeeze!” was Vinyl’s response, along with a tightening of her vagina on my cock. I gently squeezed at her teat, then harder, and Vinyl let her head fall back over her shoulder, tongue hanging out. I blinked in surprise at what I saw, throwing off our whole rhythm, and Vinyl laughed.

“Never seen a tongue stud before? Trust me, D, they got their uses. Maybe I’ll show you one day.” Apparently eager to get me back into the swing of things, Vinyl stretched, and licked at my muzzle. No less eager myself, I returned the favor, and drove her up on my rod to turn it into a kiss. Vinyl moaned in my mouth and shuddered, clamping hard on my cock and adding a sudden high pitched squeal to the music. Somehow, it fit. I turned my attention back to the mare on my shaft, ramping up faster and faster as the high pitched sound became more and more intense. Vinyl never broke our kiss, but each thrust into her too-full pussy brought another squeal of delight, and just as the lone high note became almost too much to bear, it was gone, replaced by a thundering pulsing bass note—the perfect accompaniment as I released deep inside Vinyl, adding white to the puddle on the floor between her legs. The set was over.

I looked out past Vinyl into the audience as it slowly blinked back to normalcy, and spotted somepony I hadn’t seen before: Main Event, struggling to push a middle aged male donkey off of his face.

* * * * *

I managed to convince Bruises that waiting around for Vinyl wasn’t a great idea, as weird as this concert had gotten—that in fact, it could mean trouble for The Tall Tail’s reputation if I were seen there. I was wagering a lot on no pony having paid attention to the stage while I was on it, and Vinyl and my hat blocking the view if they caught glimpses. Reluctantly, we slipped out the back and into the Manehattan late night.

I called Bruises to a halt as we approached a streetlamp with a city guard under it, still close enough to Starlight to be obvious I’d been there. I didn’t want to take a single chance. Bruises could blend into the dark, sure, but my light grey coat was a giveaway even in mere moonlight.

“What do you wanna do, boss? Your hat sorta hides your face.” Bruises was more nervous than I was. Sneaking was not her forte, and it had her on edge. I settled down to consider a longer route, when I felt a flicker of my smoke return. I smiled and patted Bruises’ neck.

“Mind giving me another ride? I have an idea.”

Bruises’ smile was bright in the moonlight. “Boss, you have no idea how much fun I had tonight! I’ll carry you anywhere!” Without even asking to hear the plan, Bruises had me up and on her back. With more effort than usual, I managed to pull out enough smoke to wreathe my whole body, and whispered in Bruises’ ear, “Go! Fast as you can!”

I nearly flew off as Bruises rocketed into the light of the streetlamp and out again, a dark blur carrying another on its back. Difficulties aside, we reached The Tall Tail in record time, and slipped in the back to avoid disrupting the show. Again, I could’ve sworn I saw a flash of white up above as I stepped through the staff door. I headed up for a shower, but Bruises insisted on taking her place at the front door for the hour left in the night.

I came back down as the final patrons were shuffling out the door, clean, relaxed, and ever so smug about the mess I’d made at Starlight, even if it had been accidental. With a broad smile on my muzzle, I practically sauntered to my own bar, where Jade dutifully poured me a cider. I nursed my drink and turned to face the door. Just as Bruises was about to lock up, a white face with an electric blue shock of hair appeared on the other side of the glass, and Bruises dropped the key with a shriek.

Self-assured as ever, Vinyl strolled right in, roadies in tow, while Bruises stared in disbelief. Pirouette rushed out from backstage to see what had Bruises screaming, and stood stunned. Even Bright Jade dropped a glass, though a dive managed to save it. I alone remained calm—it was a little hard to be starstruck by a mare I’d just screwed on stage.

I raised my glass with a smile, but teased. “Sorry ladies, shows are finished for the night, and you just missed last call.” Cool as a cucumber, I took a long pull of my cider.

Vinyl grinned toothily, clearly aware of her effect on everypony else, and slinked over to me, running a hoof across my chest. “Aww. Now is that any way to be, lover?”

I spewed cider everywhere.

Vinyl and her road crew immediately cracked up, with the DJ herself collapsing onto a stool and leaning against the bar for support as tears welled up in her eyes. Bruises screamed again, incoherently, and Pirouette plopped right down onto her ass in the middle of the floor. Jade dropped the glass again—this time it didn’t make it.

While I coughed and sputtered, flushing bright red, Vinyl recovered and started her explanation. “Starlight’s closed down, D. Right after the set, I swear half the Manehattan guard swooped right in!” Vigorous hoof gestures accompanied Vinyl’s every word. Right now, rumor is some kinda poison joke got into the air. Not buyin’ it, but it got me and my crew off the hook, so that’s cool. Whatever it was, that was one hell of a ride, D. Never seen so many ponies buckin’ at one o’ my concerts before! You weren’t half bad, for the classy type, and my girls say Bruises wasn’t bad either.”

Bruises opened her mouth to scream yet again, only to have Vinyl’s roadies cozy up to her, freezing the scream in her throat. Pirouette facehoofed, but her body shook with laughter nonetheless—and Jade dropped the shards of glass she’d just swept up.

I opened my mouth to protest against so much teasing, but Vinyl beat me to it. “Relax, D. I mean it, even if I am havin’ fun buckin’ with you. Again.” Another snicker; this mare never let it go! “Anyway, Main Event apparently ended up heading to the loony bin for the night. Couldn’t have happened to a bigger prick. You should pay him a visit, dude. “Bro” was talkin’ about sellin’ the whole shebang.”

Vinyl looked around The Tall Tail, taking in the ambiance. Polished hardwood floor, mahogany bar, crystal chandelier, velvet curtain on the stage. “Not your style, really. Looks like you’re more an Octi kinda guy, y’know? Small crowd, fancy. But maybe just lease it or somethin’.”

I shook my head, honestly disappointed. “There’s no way, Vinyl. I’d love to, but the bits for a concert hall in Manehattan? I just opened a massage parlor down the street, and that was a big hit on the books. I might be able to open a hall half that size in Hoofington. On the bad side of town.”

Vinyl’s smile faded. “Aww. Shame.” Vinyl swept off the bar stool, and her horn lit, taking her shades and plopping them on my face. “Well, here, D. Souvenir.”

Even surrounded by surprisingly affectionate mares, Bruises’ eyes lit up and she lifted a hoof as the glasses passed from Vinyl to me. I laughed. “You know there’s no way I can do this, right Vinyl? Keep these, with her sitting right there?”

I didn’t wait for Vinyl’s answer. It didn’t really matter. I wasn’t going to miss these big bug-eye sunglasses. I hopped down and headed straight for Bruises, who was nearly trembling with excitement, to the amusement of her hangers on. “Here you go, Bruises.” I plopped them crooked on Bruises nose, and was grinning at how ridiculous the huge, muscular mare looked with that elated expression and cockeyed glasses when a white leg wrapped around my neck from the side.

“What a cool boss. Tell you what, D. You get a venue, I’ll open it for you, guaranteed.” Vinyl patted my far side with her extended leg.

I smiled and shook my head, enjoying the feel of Vinyl against my side. “You’re somethin’ else, Vinyl. I’ll hold you to that.”

Vinyl just gave a wicked grin, her maroon eyes making her look far more feral than she could’ve with her shades. “See that you do. Now, instead of glasses, how about I show you what that tongue stud is good for?”

My hind legs gave out, Bruises’ eyes bulged before she fainted into the hooves of Vinyl’s crew, Pirouette flushed as crimson as her hair… and Bright Jade just cocked her head. “A what?”

Author's Note

Want to see the newspaper the day after this insanity? http://smokefiles.tumblr.com/post/71924423956/failed