The dark corridors under Crystal Cuisine seemed like a labyrinth as Vinyl and Gadwall traversed through them. From the moment they entered the maze of hallways, a strong feeling of claustrophobia fell over the mare. Not that she was afraid, but if the Society found out that they had intruders it would be very easy to create an ambush. Despite her confidence in her and Gadwall's abilities to fight, this kind of environment would make it hard to move freely. If the group had even twenty ponies among them they could be easily overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Possible entrapment was a secondary concern though as the twists and turns made it easy to feel like they were lost. They had already stumbled upon several forks in their path. If she didn't trust the gryphon in front of her's ability to track those who had walked these halls before them, she would've sworn they had to have taken a wrong turn. Even so, she did take measures to remember the way back. She would have to be a fool not to, the last thing she wanted was to run into a dead end if they happened to get found out and chased.

"These ponies sure are paranoid." Vinyl said, just trying break the silence. "These tunnels feel like they go all over Canterlot."

"I doubt that they do. Your perception is just being skewed because there is nothing down here to indicate how long we have been walking or even how far." Gadwall said in reply.

"How did they even get the time to build all this?" Vinyl wondered aloud.

Gadwall knew the answer to this question. "They didn't. Your culture has a rich history. Wars, crime, and secrets societies litter the past of your people. Many groups throughout time have created tunnels and hidden rooms like these, such as the cults that worshiped Nightmare Moon or followers of the tyrant Sombra. Some of them were never discovered by Celestia's royal guard despite the groups themselves being wiped out. The Society has taken lengths to rediscover these places and utilize them for their own purposes."

Vinyl found that a bit hard to believe. Surely someone in the guard would know about something like this, if not Celestia herself. After all, Gadwall learned of the hidden passages before arrived. Not to make light of his talents but if he could do it after being here for such a short time then it shouldn't be an issue for anyone else.

"I can see you're a bit skeptical." Gadwall said, looking back to the mare. "You should be. It has been my suspicion for some time now that the guards and local law enforcement in cities have been infiltrated by the Society. Whether they somehow got members slipped in as spies or if they paid some to turn a blind eye, I'm not sure. All I can say is that more likely than not there are at least a few ponies growing rich from obscuring the details of disappearances or hiding evidence."

This information disturbed the unicorn. That ponies would be willing to look the other way when they knew something horrible was happening was unthinkable. While there were indeed ponies out there who put their special talent towards their own personal gain, there were very few out there that one would consider so cruel that they'd cause another pony to suffer without being coerced or manipulated in some way. Then again she was about to walk into a room full of ponies that abducted other ponies and forced them to terrible things. Either she thought too highly of other ponies or too poorly of high society, seeing how it was only at this point that she questioned other ponies doing such a thing.

Gadwall could tell that she was becoming unnerved. "Don't worry, I'm sure that this is the exception and not the rule." He reassured the mare. That got a small smile out of her, but she still looked a bit glum. "How about we take our minds off this." Said the gryphon, trying to move to a new topic, one that had been bothering him for a while. "Might I ask where you learned to dance like you did out there?"

"Huh?" Vinyl responded in bewilderment. "Why do you want to know about something like that?"

The gryphon could tell that the unicorn was becoming defensive at the question. Her stride had become stiff and she turned her head away to stare at the featureless wall of the corridor. Normally he would've just let it go since in the end it didn't matter where she learned how to dance. but seeing how much it contradicted her nature he felt that it was important. "It is my job to deduce things and figure out things about the world around me. When it comes to this, though, I can't come up with a single reason why you would learn formal dance."

"It's really isn't a big deal." Vinyl said, not wanting to divulge her secrets.

"Come now, you practically dragged me onto the stage without telling me what your plan was. I think the least that I deserve is a little description." Gadwall replied. "It will also help pass the time as we get through the rest of this maze."

It aggravated Vinyl that the gryphon wasn't letting up. He did have a point though. Had she just been patient he wouldn't have any reason to ask about it. It was her fault and thus she only had herself to blame. While she didn't enjoy it, she decided to confess her little secret, if only to get Gadwall off her case. "Fine! I'll tell you already! Geez, you just don't let up." Even though the unicorn's tone was one of pure anger the gryphon was pleased to see her give in, if ever so slightly.

The mare didn't start immediately, working up a bit of courage. She really didn't like talking about it. It was a part of her past and she was the type of mare that lived in the moment. "I... I use to be part of a rich family." The moment the unicorn said that it made the gryphon's feather's perk up. That was the last thing he had expected to hear. He would've sooner expected that she was taught how to dance by her roommate. "My father use to be a very influential violinist, and my mother was a singer for opera. As their daughter, I was expected to follow in their hoofsteps."

"I see..." Gadwall said, still a bit stunned at the revelation. If her claims were true, it would make sense that there would've been high expectations for a mare of such refined breeding. The thing that threw him off however was how someone with such a pedigree could become like Vinyl. He didn't ask directly though, that would've just upset her. Instead he just let her continue talking. The dam of her past had been breached, all he had to do was wait for everything she was holding back to flow out.

"As a filly I was raised in Canterlot in my family's 'modest' home." She said sarcastically, know that the place she grew up in was only modest in the sense that it was amongst the smallest of the mansions in the city. "By the age of five I was surrounded by instruments to see where my musical talent would lead me. I honestly enjoyed every instrument to some extent, but my dad felt that I excelled at the piano."

Gadwall let out a snort. "You... a pianist?"

Vinyl smiled, she understood how absurd it sounded. "Hey, I'll have you know I can play a mean rendition of Beathoovian's Fifth Symphony." She said jokingly, finally getting out of her solemn mood for just a moment. "Anyways, as I got older I was sent to all the fancy schools to be taught how to play classical piano. Had tutors give supplementary lessons at home and even spent a few years in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns to help hone my magic."

"Ah.. and those schools are are where you learned to dance." Gadwall said.

"That's right." Said Vinyl. "Schools like those are less about learning about your talents and more about learning how to be part of the upper class. They have plenty of classes for teaching proper etiquette. Which fork to use first, how to greet ponies, proper discussion topics. Formal dance was one of the more important ones since there are a lot of social functions required ponies to do it."

"So what happened?" Asked Gadwall, feeling it safe to inquire further.

"What do you mean?" Vinyl asked back.

"Well, not to be rude, but how did a filly that was trained from a young age to be a prim and proper musical prodigy become... you?" the gryphon said bluntly.

The mare crossed her arms and gave an angry glare. For a moment Gadwall thought that she was going back to being defensive, but then she said. "Over time I became a bit disillusioned with that way of life." There was more than a hint of spite in her voice. "I can't say anything about where you come from, but in Equestria, those in high society hide who they really are under all those good manners and fancy clothes."

"Oh? How so?" Questioned the gryphon.

"It's all just for show." Said the unicorn. "Only when they're with other rich or popular ponies do they use the manners they are taught in their prissy schools, wearing their false smiles as they mindlessly follow whoever they see as alpha pony. At the drop of a hat they would sell their souls just to please some stallion or mare that they thought would make them more well know."

Vinyl closed her eyes for a moment, thinking back to a time during her college years when she stumbled upon a pegasus mare in her class sucking off an upperclassmen stallion in the girl's restroom just so she could be part of his inner circle. What made what would have been an embarrassing situation into a horrible one was that the unicorn stallion almost immediately pulled the mare off by her hair and offered Vinyl a spot in his clique if she would finish what the pegasus started. She of course objected and went to the dean about what had happened.

In the end all that came of it was the unicorn getting a slap on the wrist after his father made a hefty donation to the school. As far as the record showed, the only thing that had happened was two of age ponies having consensual sex on school grounds, completely ignoring the fact that he was using his status to take advantage of the girl. "Everything about them is so fake...." Vinyl said, her enclosed fist trembling as her voice resonated with anger. "I would've left my sophomore year if not for...."

"Your family." Gadwall interjected. "I assume your mother and father pressured you to finish despite whatever feelings you had towards your fellow classmates."

Vinyl shook her head. "No... While my parents did convince me to keep going for a while longer than I would've, that wasn't the reason I stayed...." Vinyl had already come this far, she saw no reason to withhold the reason from the gryphon. "The thing that kept me there was Octavia."

"You're roommate? She went to your school too?" Gadwall didn't know that the history between Octavia and Vinyl went so far back. Then again he had little information on the two to begin with. Just their names, occupations and location of residence as well as basic personality traits and recent history.

"Around the time I started feeling like I should just leave, Octavia was accepted into the Canterlot College of Equestrian Arts under a scholarship. At first I thought she was just another uptight mare going through the paces to become a self important snob." Thinking about her friend and their time in school brought a smile to Vinyl's face. "But the more I watched her, saw how hard she worked and how she poured her heart and soul into her music, the more I understood that she was nothing like the other ponies that went to the school."

A noticeable amount of whimsy filled the mare's voice as she became a bit nostalgic while reflecting on her precious memories. "Of course this was when I started going against the image of a 'proper classical pianist' that my parents and the school had decided I would become. Cut my hair, wore my tinted glasses, looked into alternative forms of musical expression. For the longest time, Octavia was warned not to go anywhere near me, that I was a trouble maker. One day though she was approached by one of the seniors. He tried to blackmail her, saying that he would have his father blacklist her from every major orchestra in Equestria unless she did exactly what he said." Vinyl decided to leave out that what the stallion wanted was to have the grey mare as a sex slave, to do anything he wanted whenever he wanted as long as she went to the school. After hearing how easily the first stallion had gotten away with it, other despicable males decided to try the same thing with girls that were just starting their education.

"Octavia wasn't about to be intimidated though. She knew that she had higher grades than anyone else in the school. The jerk didn't want to take no for an answer though and attacked her. That's when I stepped in and clocked that bastard in the back of the head." Vinyl snickered at the thought knowing that she was being literal, having pulled a clock off of a wall with her magic and smashed it hard against the stallion's skull. "With two ponies testifying that he tried to assault a student that guy was expelled, but I heard later on that he was given an 'honorary degree'."

"You must've been furious." Gadwall commented.

"I was just happy that Octavia didn't get hurt. However I think the stallion made good on his word. From the moment she graduated she has had trouble rising in the ranks of her field. The Grand Galloping Gala was supposed to be her big break, but even that didn't make too big a difference." Vinyl hated that it was that way, that after all the effort her friend put into being the very best at what she did all it took was the word of one pony to shoot her down. "Anyways, after that me and Octavia were best of friends. We have always been there for each other. She was there for me when my parents passed away..."

"Oh.... my condolences." Said the gryphon.

"Don't worry about it." The mare said back to him. "While I can't say I don't miss them, it was much easier to pursue my own goals after they were gone. They never approved of my choice of musical expression once I stopped playing the piano. When the school heard of it though they immediately expelled me. They had already had enough of me. Don't blame them seeing how my grades were slipping and I'd squealed on two of the student's poor behavior."

Gadwall looked up from the trail he was tracking to see a door just ahead of the two of them. They had made it to their destination. The story that Vinyl had weaved still intrigued him though and he wanted to know its ending. "So what happened after that?"

Vinyl gladly answered, being caught up in her own story. "Well I was depressed for a long time, went through a lot of my parents' money while I was trying to find my place in the world. I finally decided to sell the house since I couldn't stand to look at it anymore. It represented something I just couldn't tolerate. I spent what I had left to buy the best DJ setup I could and started my new life entertaining ponies. Despite how it looked to other ponies, like I was throwing away everything that my family worked so hard to make, Octavia was there to support me every step of the way and even let me move in with her while I got back on my hooves."

Thinking back to how the two became distant, Vinyl believed wholeheartedly that it was her fault that all this happened. If she had been a better friend and supported Octavia in her endeavors as the earth pony had her own then perhaps the Society would've never had an opportunity to abduct her. "I guess I just started to take everything she had done for granted.... I can't believe I let it get this far out of hand...."

"We're here." The mare looked up, seeing Gadwall had his talon wrapped around the handle of a door. He seemed hesitant to open, Vinyl thinking that perhaps he was just as nervous as she was about confronting the Society. "I'm not exactly sure what to expect on the other side. Remember we are under the guise of being guest. Try to blend in and act natural."

Having finished her tale she tried her best to look calm while remaining focused on what had to be done. As the door opened she began feeling that something was wrong. For what was supposed to be a party there was little sound coming from the room the door led to. She expected to hear chatter, music, perhaps the crack of a whip or the dismayed moans of some pony being tormented for the amusement of the egotistical aristocrats. What she heard instead was near silence.

Once the door was opened completely the two stepped inside and found themselves in an altogether different area than intended. Instead of a lavishly hedonistic celebration of one's dominance over those they believed were inferior, the two had stumbled into what looked like a storage warehouse. Boxes and crates were piled up along the wall one on top of another till they reached the ceiling, going out as far as the eye could see.

"I'm not sure this is right....." Said Vinyl, suddenly questioning if Gadwall was the expert tracker he had claimed. "Is the party suppose to be deeper inside?"

Gadwall placed a palm to his forehead. indicating to the mare that he had made a mistake. "No, after such a dreary place like that tunnel I doubt that the Society would want this to be the first thing to greet their guests. To be honest, while you were talking there was a fork that had a separation of the tracks. I made a judgement call and followed the one that had more. Seems it was a poor choice."

Vinyl eyes shot daggers at the gryphon. Now they would have to turn around and try again. As much being fashionably late was acceptable amongst those of high status it was going to give the two much less time to dig for clues. Turning to go back to the maze she noticed a cardboard box sitting right next to the entrance. It was no different than any other box in the room, but something about it beckoned her to take a closer look.

Lifting up the front of her skirt the unicorn got down on her knees. With a quick inspection of the box the mare spotted a mailing sticker. "To Dodge Junction, From Canterlot." Said Vinyl. She took note in the fact that the box only said a city, having no mailing address, and bore a small symbol on it that looked like a peach. "Hey Gadwall, this place is owned by the Society right?"

"Yes, the whole restaurant is assumed to be a front for the organization." The gryphon replied.

That was all Vinyl had to hear. Grabbing the top part of the box she opened it without hesitation. In it were several glass bottles, carefully fit into the container so there was little room for them to move about when it would be transported from one location to another. Reaching inside she took out one of the clear bottles and brought it to her face. The contents of the bottle was an odd pinkish-purple liquid. Placing her hand on the cork that sealed the glass container she gripped it firmly. With one powerful yank the cork popped out.

The unicorn used a bit of caution as she inspected the fluid further. She didn't have a clue what it was or what purpose it served for the Society. Bringing the bottle to her snout she took a small sniff. A sweet, fruity scent hit her senses, one that she had never experienced before. It had a strange effect on her, instantly giving her a craving to drink the fluid. Lucky for the mare her common sense was more powerful than her urges. There was no way that she just going to swallow some unidentified substance she just found. Slapping the cork back in the bottle she extending her arms to hold it as far away from face as possible.

"Something wrong?" Gadwall said as he watched the unicorn recoil.

"Actually... I think we hit the jackpot." Placing the bottle back in the box she stood up on our hooves. "Not sure what that stuff is, but there is a shipping label on that box. I think they keep stuff here till it's ready to be sent to other places they're set up."

Gadwall looked at another box that was part of a larger stack. "This one says it's going to Trottingham. No address though... Not a lot to go on. They probably just keep to one location per city they are stationed at."

"That might be true, but if this is a warehouse then they might have a ledger. If we can find that, it might just have addresses we need to pinpoint exactly where the Society operates." The mare seemed very proud with her deductions. If she was right then they wouldn't even have to go to the party to blow this case wide open.

"Perhaps you are right." Gadwall agreed. "I was wanting to investigate this place a little more too. If the stuff they have here is illegal or incriminating, it'll be good to take some with us as evidence." Before the two ventured further the gryphon closed the door the used to enter the warehouse and blocked it with a few boxes. "That will keep people out or at least warn us if they force their way in."

"Good thinking. Now come on, the sooner we find something the sooner we can leave." Said Vinyl.

The gryphon and the unicorn delved deeper into the warehouse. Vinyl took point, not bothering to ask Gadwall if it was ok if she did. If he had any objections he didn't voice them, which was all the approval the mare needed. While she took the initiative to press forward she also made sure to exercise caution, peeking around every corner as the two walked around the seemingly vacant area. The gryphon behind her seemed to be very calm though, staying close to Vinyl but not trying to correct her methods. "Glad to see that he is trusting me for once." The unicorn thought. "About time after all I did to get us this far."

"Vinyl..." The gryphon said as he stopped, looking at a box sitting on a large shelf. It looked much like the box that she had searched earlier, but it had a black "O" in the spot where the peach symbol was before. "I want to check this out. Go on ahead a bit, but stay in sight. Don't want anyone to get the drop on you when I'm not looking."

Vinyl nodded, understanding that they needed to stick together. "I won't go too far. Just to the next corner."

"Gotcha, just be careful." With the gryphon's approval the mare went ahead, going a few feet away to where a path crossed their own. Just as before she snuck a peek around the wall of boxes. This time though, she spied something that made her breathing stop for one short second. Around the corner, sitting in a small clearing, were two gryphons. Both of them were male and had looks of boredom on their faces. It seemed as if they had been there for some time.

"I can't believe that Gilda got into the party while we're stuck in here." Said the gryphon closest to the wall of boxes Vinyl was hiding behind. "How does that even happen? I thought that those Society ponies didn't want to associate with 'the help'."

"I dunno." The further gryphon replied. "Something about her raising a stink about something the other day till Satine gave in and got her an invite just to shut her up. I swear that girl has the loudest mouth I've ever heard."

"Satine... I remember Alula saying that name before." Thought Vinyl thinking back to how Gadwall's assistant tricked Gilda by dropping that name before.

"How the fuck did she manage that? If one of us tried that, Satine would've bit our heads off." Complained the closer gryphon.

"You sure like to gripe, dontcha?" The further gryphon snapped. "Look, all I know is it has something to do with the guy we're waiting for. He either said something or did something to the chick that got her all hot-blooded."

"Think that it had something to do with that cute girl that's been hanging around lately?" Asked the closer gryphon. "She and Gilda have been real friendly. I wouldn't mind giving her feathers a preening."

"Hey, get your mind out of the gutter." The other gryphon scolded. "Gilda told me just before she went to the party that girl reports directly to Satine herself. That means if you piss her off, your ass could be on the line."

"Sheesh.... who pissed in your coffee this morning. I'm just saying the girl's hot." The closer one said, annoyed with the other gryphon.

"I just want to get this over with." The further gryphon said exhausted. "It's late and that guy should've been here by now."

Back behind the boxes Vinyl was sweating bullets from every pore. Something the gryphons just said sparked a chain of thoughts that terrified the mare to the core. "Gilda told me just before she went to the party that girl reports directly to Satine herself.". For some reason she couldn't kick the feeling that the one they were referring to was Alula. Except the gryphon girl had said earlier that day that Gilda had confront her. If Gilda was talking about her than it meant without a doubt that Alula was actually working for the Society as well. Even worse was if that were true she would've had ample opportunity to warn someone that Gadwall would be coming to investigate.

Yet so far it seemed that the two had gone unimpeded for the most part. All the way here no one got in their way, the halls were completely empty and even the chefs completely ignored them. There was no reason to ever let them get this far, unless they were wanting them to get this far. It was a setup. "Gadwall! It's a-!"

As the unicorn turned around to run back the way she slammed right into Gadwall's chest, stopping her dead in her tracks. "I know Vinyl." He said, bringing his talon up above the stunned mare's head. Before she could make sense of the what was happening she felt something slide over the tip her horn. "I know."

Taking a slight glance upward the mare became aware of the black ring that was firmly wrapped around the base of her horn. It wasn't all Vinyl noticed as she felt the odd sensation of her magic becoming obstructed. Testing the new feeling, she strained herself to do something, anything, with her horn. No matter what she tried though, from levitation to her musical magic, nothing came out. Gripping the ring in a last ditch effort she pulled against the metal loop as hard as she could, but it simply wouldn't budge. It was as if the ring was clinging onto her magic itself.

"You bastard..." Vinyl said coldly as events caught up to her. The mare began to trembled with rage, finding it incredibly hard to stay calm. "So all this time.... you were just stringing me along..." Vinyl swallowed her emotions, as much as she wanted to break Gadwall's beak, she could sense the other two gryphons coming up behind her. Now wasn't the time for blind fury, now was the time to think of some way out of this situation.

"My apologies my dear Vinyl." Said the gryphon, placing a claw under her chin and looking directly eye. He had a good idea what she was capable of and in her currently dis-empowered state he didn't feel the least bit intimidated by her. "I believe you deserve some answers. How about we find ourselves a seat while I explain what will happen to you."

Vinyl slapped his arm away from her and took a step back, staying an equal distance between him and his associates. "How much?" The unicorn asked. "How much was the truth?" The mare's eyes darted one gryphon to another, trying to keep track if any were closing in on her. Her every instinct told her to bolt, but even if she managed to avoid getting grabbed, the way back to the restaurant had been blocked. She didn't really trust the maze either. For all she knew someone would be lying in wait. She was going to have to find another way out, if there even was one.

"I have been very honest with you Vinyl." Said Gadwall, answering her question. "Your friend is in trouble, causing quite a stir within the Society. It is my understanding that it is her fault that you have been targeted, don't ask me why though. It's not my job to ask questions."

"Then why wait? Why go through the act?" The mare replied. Keeping the gryphon talking was the only thing stopping him from ending this here and now.

"I had to keep a close eye on you." Gadwall continued. "Had to make sure that no one would come to you and tip you off to what the Society had planned. So I guided you to Canterlot so you could be abducted in a place far away from your friends. There were two problems in this plan, the first being that Gilda got to you before me and almost messed up your capture. The second being that I wouldn't be able to transport you till after tonight's events. The members of the Society have been running my brethren stationed here ragged in preparations for their party."

"Hey..." Said one of the gryphons behind Vinyl. "Can we just take her. She's got nowhere to run." Vinyl could see her time was up. Gadwall seemed fine going back and forth with the unicorn, perhaps because he felt that she had no chance of escape, but the other two were getting antsy. It was either now or never.

"Fine." Vinyl raised her hands up in surrender. "I give up."

"What?" Gadwall questioned the unicorn's intentions. The Vinyl he knew wouldn't go quietly. She would kick and scream and cause as much damage as possible, she would never back down or surrender.

"It's about damn time." The gryphon henchman said as he went behind the mare to grab her.

"Wait! Don't get-" Before Gadwall could finish his warning Vinyl sprung into action. Balling one of her hands into a fist she placed it in her other hand. Using a small twist of her body she built up a slight bit of momentum as she rammed her elbow right into the gryphon lackey's chest, applying pressure with her other arm to increase the force of the impact. The gryphon was staggered by the sudden strike, which opened him up to be grabbed by the unicorn. With the gryphon in her grasp and the other two closing in on her from either side she whirled him around her body in a half circle before releasing her hold.

The gryphon, tripping over his own feet, had no ability to stop himself as he crashed into a tall wall of boxes. The other unknown gryphon took his shot at the mare, lunging at her in an attempt to tackle her to the ground. Vinyl, seeing him coming her way, ducked out of his reach as he landed face first on the ground. It only took a moment for him to realize he had missed and within a second was on his hands and knees getting back to his feet. Before he could stand himself upright however the large tower of boxes Vinyl had sent his partner into before came crashing down on top of him, making a ghastly sound as it did.

Now the only one left to stop her was Gadwall, who she had moved closer to in order to get out of the path of the avalanche of objects she had caused. Attempting to turn to face the last attacker she was stopped as his arm wrapped firmly around her throat from behind. The gryphon then used his other arm to brace the one pressing against her vulnerable throat. "Vinyl!" he yelled as he pulled backwards, lifting the unicorn off her feet momentarily. "Settle the fuck down!"

The mare thrashed about in his arms, trying to get herself free from his choking grip. If she didn't soon then she would black out and she would be at the gryphon's mercy. "Gadwall...." She managed to cough out between a desperate gasp for air. "Let... Me... GO!" Lifting up her fist she thrust it downward, swinging it behind her in a last ditch effort.

A sudden release and a shrill, lingering cry of mixed pain and surprise confirmed to the unicorn that her strike was true. Pushing away from Gadwall she flipped around to take in what she had done. The gryphon, beak wide open in disbelief, slowly fell to his knees as he covered his crotch with his now free claws.

"Cheap... little... bi-" Before he could finish his remark Vinyl took hold of his head, trusting her knee into his face. She could feel a gratifying crack form as the solid blow connected on the left side of his beak. Feeling this blow would take care of her attacker she released him, allowing him to crumple to the floor. "

Stay down you son of a bitch!" Yelled the unicorn as she ran off, leaving the gryphon writhing in pain.

Now the only thing she had to do was find a way out of the warehouse. Invigorated by her recent victory she ran full speed through the rows of boxes, looking for anything that could be an exit. She no longer trusted the restaurant as a safe method of escape, but there had to be another way out somewhere. The problem was finding it before her pursuers recovered. It was much harder than she assumed it would be, the rows of boxes becoming more maze-like than the tunnels she was in earlier.

After minutes of sprinting the mare found her way to an actual wall of the building. Being tired, out of breath and unsure if she was being followed she hurried along it in as fast a walk as she could muster. If there was another door out, she would find it as long as she stayed along the wall or at least that is what she kept telling herself in her head. Each step made the muscles in her legs burn, yet she wouldn't stop for even a moment.

Before long she noticed a doorknob sticking out in front of her path. "There!" She thought, hope filling her very being as she pushed herself just a little bit so she could get to the door faster. She gripped the handle, turned the knob and went through the doorway without a moment of delay.

And then she froze. Before her were roughly ten gryphons, both male and female, who were seemingly lounging around in a break room. Each one of them stared back as the exhausted mare's sudden burst through the door caught their attention. Vinyl was just about to turn around and run back out, that was until she was shoved harshly into the room from behind, causing her to fall forward onto her hands and knees in her tired state.

"Gentlemen, ladies...." The unicorn didn't even have to look behind her. She knew that Gadwall had finally caught up. "This girl has been causing a bit of trouble tonight. Detain her while I go call Schorl and see what she wants done. Be careful though, that dress she's wearing is expensive." As the sound of the door closing reached Vinyl's ears the gryphon's rose out of their seats. Being as worn out as she was and incapable to access her magic Vinyl could tell she was out of options. All that was left was to wait as the horde of feathery fiends grabbed her.

Author's Note

A few notes (as usual). First off I am sorry if any of you are put off by the huge exposition dump at the beginning of the chapter. I just felt it was necessary to express Vinyl's past as well as her connections with Octavia within the EqTS universe. It does kind of go against the idea of "Show, don't tell", but if the only other way to get it across would be to write out an entirely separate arc which would've been 3-4 chapters in itself. For sake of brevity I found this to be the better option.

Aside from that I hope you enjoyed the finale of Vinyl's story arc. I will be writing out an epilogue that will be a bit longer than usual to show Vinyl's immediate fate and after the four chapters of pure plot I think that what will be depicted in it will be worth the wait.