Scratching Theater

It was a late summer night.

Octavia was performing at a local theater, which Vinyl Scratch had came to see.

Normally, Vinyl doesn't really like listening to classical music, but she always seems to enjoy the music that Octavia and her ensemble create. It always made her feel...different, is what she calls it.

Vinyl doesn't even know why she enjoys Octavia's music so much, she never likes anyone else's.

Octavia's concert had ended and the ensemble began to start packing up everything, while most of the audience was leaving; some were still getting their things, others were remaining in their seats silently, as if the concert was still going on.

Vinyl walked onto the stage and complimented Octavia on such a wonderful performance.

"Why thank you Vinyl," Octavia responded. "I was really glad you were able to show up tonight."

"We're best friends, I wouldn't miss it for the world," Vinyl said, giving Octavia a quick hug. Vinyl looked down on her friend and realized that Octavia had been wearing a black dress.

"I didn't notice you were wearing a dress," she said. "It looks nice on you, though."

"And that sweater looks good on you as well," Octavia replied.

Vinyl looked at the red cotton sweater she was wearing.

She had chosen it because she figured it was going to be cold sometime tonight, along with the fact it went along nicely with her dark green pants.

"I thought it was gonna get cold outside," Vinyl said.

Vinyl helped Octavia and the ensemble finish packing everything. Once everything was finished, the ensemble said their goodbyes and left the theatre, leaving Vinyl and Octavia alone on the stage.

"I assume we're going to have to walk home?" Octavia said, turning to her roommate.

"Oh I'm sorry, were you expecting a royal chariot to bring your lazy flank home?" Vinyl remarked.

"I was just asking if you might have decided to get us a ride for once!" Octavia said, offended by Vinyl's tone.

"You know I don't have money for anything!"

"Well maybe you should get a job instead of sitting around on that record grinder of yours!"

"It isn't a record grinder! You know very well that it is called a DJ Table!"

"I didn't know that you could name such a contraption!"

"Well at least I don't complain about your music!"

Octavia opened her mouth to argue back, but stopped, staring out into the audience.

Vinyl whipped around to see a group of colts in suits each opening their own suitcase simultaneously.

"Why don't we finish this argument at home?" Vinyl said quietly, a little frightened.

Octavia nodded in agreement as Vinyl used her magic to carry Octavia's Cello case as they made their way off stage into a corridor that lead to the emergency exit.

"Hey! Ladies!" A colt called from behind them.

They sped up their walking by a couple of steps and didn't dare to look back.

Vinyl didn't know who they were and didn't want to find out, but her and Octavia have seen too many movies to possibly know what might happen.

"Hey! I'm talking to you two!" The same colt called from behind them, indicating that he's following.

"Speed up," Octavia whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

Vinyl obeyed, picking up the pace, having the Cello case in sight floating above them and being sure that Octavia was at her side.

A loud series of steps echoed through the hallway.

Vinyl panicked and yelled "RUN!" And took off as fast as she could, Octavia doing the same.

"STOP!" The colt yelled. Vinyl didn't listen, and took a sharp left turn into another long hallway.

Out of nowhere, Vinyl heard gunshots from behind them.

She screamed and cast a speed spell on herself and Octavia, making them both a blur. Vinyl heard more gunshots, but luckily didn't get hit by anything by the time she and Octavia went around a corner, setting down the Cello and catching their breath.

"We...can't stay here...very long," Octavia said between rapid pants. "He'll be here any....second now."

Vinyl continued panting and darker a peek around the corner.

The colt was only a few meters away, walking slowly to catch his wind.

Vinyl came back around the corner and looked into Octavia's eyes.

They were frightened and full of fear.

"I'll be right back, Octy," Vinyl said.

"But where are you-?"

Vinyl didn't hear the rest of Octavia's sentence, because she had teleported behind the colt that had been chasing them.

"I hope those action movies will pay off," Vinyl thought, silently walking behind the colt.

Vinyl suddenly swiped her hooves under the ones of the colt, tripping him. She then used her magic to grab a hold of the colt's head, smashing it against the ground with so much force that it had drawn blood, along with knocking him unconscious.

Vinyl used her magic to grab the pistol and search the colt's pockets for anything of use.

Octavia appeared walking towards the two ponies, looking shocked and relieved.

"How long do you think he'll be out?" She asked.

"I think a couple of minutes," Vinyl responded, still searching the colt's pockets.

Vinyl was only able to find a single bullet, a wallet with nothing useful in it, and a key.

"You come here more often than me, do you know where this key goes?" Vinyl asked Octavia.

She shook her head.

Vinyl threw aside the wallet, loaded the single bullet into the gun, and put the key in her pocket.

"You're not going to be using that, are you?" Octavia said, pointing to the levitating firearm.

"We're going to need to leave as fast as we can," Vinyl said. "I don't know who these ponies are, and I don't know what they want, but I do know they want us dead. We're going to need to fight for our life if we need to get out of here."

Vinyl used her magic to grab Octavia's Cello from around the corner and had it float alongside her, the pistol, and Octavia down the corridor.

They walked for several minutes when they had realized that they had gone right outside of the stage.

Vinyl motioned for Octavia to be quiet as they both quietly sneaked over behind the curtains.

Vinyl peeked through a crack between them to see the audience still full of colts in suits, this time they were all armed as they chatted to one another.

"I think that they think that colt back there was able to get rid of us, so they wouldn't have to," Vinyl whispered.

The only exit that Vinyl knows about was the emergency exit and the main exit.

If they use the emergency exit, it'll trigger an alarm, and notify all of the colts in suits.

That leaves only one other option.

"We're going to have to fight out way through," Vinyl whispered.

"WHAT!?!" Octavia was obviously shocked when she almost exclaimed loud enough for someone to hear them.

"It's either that or let them all know we're leaving and we run out in the open until we're shot to death," Vinyl remarked. "It's your choice princess."

Octavia seemed unsure of what to do and seemed like she was about to cry.

"What's wrong?" Vinyl asked, concerned about her friend.

"I don't want to die, not now, not here," she said, trying to sob silently.

"Don't worry Octy, I'll make sure that both of us will make it out of here alive."

Vinyl used her horn's magic to teleport the pistol across the room into an unseen corner. Vinyl saw this trick in a movie, where the first attack is always stealthy, and get as many down as you can before you're seen.

Vinyl carefully aimed the gun to a white colt with a red mane staring into the ceiling, and fired.

The shot was a one-shot-kill, but it made all of the other colts jump and look at the levitating gun.

Vinyl aimed it as fast as she could and shot another colt, injuring his leg.

Suddenly, the gun was grabbed by one of the colts.

Vinyl pulled it out of his grip and teleported it back to her.

"Here we go..." She said to herself.

Vinyl jumped out from the curtains and began shooting at every pony she could see, teleporting somewhere else every few seconds to make her hard to hit.

Vinyl shot about seven colts, killing three, missing once, when her pistol ran out of bullets.

Vinyl threw it at the nearest pony and used her magic to take one from the floor.

She continued this same process for several minutes, when it had stopped when a very sharp pain hit her front-right leg.

The pain forced Vinyl to tumble onto the ground, holding her leg, shrieking in pain.

She opened her eyes to see a large bloody spot on her red sweater. A small hole was in the center.

Vinyl looked up from the ground to see three colts remaining; one injured, the other two unharmed; all smiling.

"How much was that 'alive' bounty again?" The middle one asked.

"I think it was...fifty grand for both?" The injured colt said.

"That's twenty-five thousand for this one alive. Now, how much was that 'dead' bounty?"

"Thirty grand for both," the left one said.

"That's fifteen thousand for this one dead. So if we kill this one, and find that little snooty one, we should have about seventy thousand."

Vinyl closed her eyes again, the pain worsening from all of the blood leaking out.

"I think we can manage with that, since we won't have to split it with all of those others that she killed."

"Speaking of splitting..."

Vinyl heard two loud gunshots from right in front of her, tightening her eyes from fear.

"I don't like to split my pay," the last colt said.

Vinyl looked up from her puddle of blood at the middle colt, pointing the pistol barrel in between her eyes.

Vinyl had just now realized that they had been holding the pistols with their hooves, since none of them had been unicorns.

"Any last words before I blast your brains out?" The colt said.

Vinyl closed her eyes, not speaking a word.

"No? Okay then," the colt said.

Vinyl closed her eyes as tight as she could, waiting for the shot to penetrate her skull.

Out of nowhere, an ear-splitting scream was heard, followed by an even louder smashing sound, right in front of Vinyl.

She opened her eyes to see Octavia staring at a destroyed pile of wood that had suddenly appeared where the colt was, panting with slight rage.

Another look showed that the ruble was a broken Cello, buried underneath it was the colt that was standing over Vinyl just seconds ago.

"Octavia...you saved me," Vinyl said, surprised at the sudden appearance of her friend.

"We're best friends, why wouldn't I?" She responded, smiling and holding out her hoof.

Vinyl returned the smile, taking her friends offer.

Octavia helped Vinyl onto her feet, who kept saying "Ow" repeatedly during the four-second process.

Vinyl almost fell after getting to her feet, but Octavia helped her keep her balance.

"Octavia, you're the best friend I could ever ask for," she said.

"Oh, Vinyl..." Octavia said, as if she was ready to give a surprise.

"What?" Vinyl responded.

Octavia pulled her hoof, and swung it around and slapped Vinyl across the face.

Suddenly, Vinyl Scratch was back in her seat in the theater.

There were no colts in suits, there was no blood or pain in her leg, but there was definitely a stinging across her cheek.

"Wake up!" Octavia said.

Vinyl looked around and saw Octavia, in the same dress as before, but she had her presumably undamaged Cello in its case on a strap around her back.

"Ow...that hurt," Vinyl said, rubbing her cheek. "What happened?"

"You fell asleep halfway through the concert," Octavia explained.

"I knew I shouldn't have stayed up all night watching those action movies," Vinyl mumbled to herself.

"Come on, lets go home."

The two ponies walked out of the audience of the theater and into the breezy night.

"If I was about to die, would you smash your Cello to save me?" Vinyl brought up as they walked home.

"...Possibly," Octavia said.

Vinyl already knew that it was a yes.

"What would you do to save my life?" Octavia said, continuing the conversation.

"I'd take a bullet for you," she responded, the answer obvious. "And kill anyone around you and be an unstoppable killing machine! I would be all BANG BANG! And then they would be all 'Oh no!'"

Octavia laughed at the amusing words of her friend, bring a smile to Vinyl's face.