Shame.

That’s what the name of Octavia Harmonious Philharmonica came to mean…shame from head to hoof. The Grand Galloping Gala Incident with the pink party mare had only been a minor scathe compared to this…she knew it would happen, too, but this time she let it. The black list had never felt so cold, and Octavia had never felt so alone. If at that time she’d known another chance was coming her way, she wouldn’t have been halfway to blacking out with more than half a dozen glasses of wine in her system. Despite just having committed a monstrous tragedy in the eyes of a few hundred nobles, she still found herself dragged off to the after-party of what she would eventually come to call ‘Ground Zero of My Musical Career’. She could see their stares as well. Every single pony in that ball room had seen her ‘performance’, and she could feel their judging eyes upon her, making her question every decision she had ever made. At least, she would be if she had been coherent enough to remember herself.

“Octavia, dear, perhaps you should cut back on those drinks.”

To anypony else at the time, that comment would have appeared as a helping hoof reaching out to save them from the black abyss. But to Octavia, nothing mattered except how many more she could put away until she could completely erase the night from memory. “W-what does it matter *hic* anyway …? I’m ruined, Fredrick. Nopony will ever *hic* want me to play for them again.”

The tan Earth Pony stallion sighed, not even bothering to try and pry the glass out of Octavia’s iron-hoof grip for the third time that evening. Once more, he tried to cheer his friend up. “Chin up, dear girl. It’s been two weeks, and I believe ponies are finally starting to talk about other things. Not all is lost. You can still recover from-“

“I said, it doesn’t matter, Fredrick…” Octavia swung her glass in Fredrick’s direction, not even coming in any means of contact with him. “I guess I’ll just… *hic*…move back in with my parents.”

Fredrick thought for a moment, and realizing he had no other options, said, “I was going to wait until later or tomorrow, and since you will most likely show no signs of recovery from this alcoholic binge of yours within that time frame, I think I’ll go find that acquaintance of mine now.”

Octavia slurred out an ‘okay’ and remained where she was, wobbling back and forth in her seat. Every few seconds, she had to push against the table to keep balance, if such a word were even capable of fitting the situation at this point. After a minute or so, Fredrick returned to the table, but not alone. Accompanying him was a white unicorn mare with black hair combed back and tied into a braid. Her tired expression was an obvious indication that she didn’t want to be here right now, but the only thing Octavia managed to question in her state is why if she was so bored already was this mare willing to follow Fredrick back to their table?

“Octavia, this is an old…’friend’ of mine, Vinyl Scratch,” he announced. “Vinyl, this is Octavia Philharmonica. I assume you’ve heard of her before.”

Vinyl scratched her chin. “Hmm…oh, yeah, didn’t she play the Pony Polka at the Grand Galloping Gala that one…” Fredrick seemed to be drawing a hoof across his neck. “Oh, not a good subject to bring up?”

“Not in her current state, no.”

“I’ve got just the thing for that.” Vinyl’s horn glowed and a white light enveloped Octavia’s noggin. Suddenly, the grey mare felt her senses and coherence return to her.

“I…what in the world was that?”

Vinyl grinned. “Sobering spell, but it won’t last too long. You’ve probably got a few hours before you’re tripping over words again.”

“That’s quite a handy spell, Miss Scratch. Do you see a lot of use for it in…whatever business you are a part of?”

The unicorn mare nodded. “I co-own a little jazz club a few blocks south of here, me and my old college friend Berryshine. It’s a nice little place, but things have gotten a little slow ever since our bassist got his Royal Guard recruitment letter.”

“Oh, that’s a…wait. Bassist…so you mean…”

“I’ve told him of your talent as a bass player and the concerts you and your college group performed back in the day.”

Octavia flushed red. “’Back in the day’…It was only four years ago, you talk about it like it’s been ages.”

“Anyway, I’m totally interested in seeing what you’ve got. How ‘bout you swing by tomorrow, say…whenever you recover from the inevitable hangover?”

That got a light chuckle out of Octavia. “I dare say I’ll take you up on that offer, Miss Scratch.”

Vinyl gave a light nod. “Cool. Well, I’m off to avoid talking to any of these stuffy rich types. Honestly, I’m only here on parental request, but Freddy’s cool, so I’ll take his word that this little encounter was worth my time. See ya tomorrow, Octavia.”

Vinyl sauntered off into the crowd, a faint smile on her face. All the while, Fredrick turned back to a giggling Octavia. “What’s so funny, Octavia?”

“Freddy?” The grey mare held back an explosion of laughter as best she could. “You told me you hate being called that.”

“Well, Vinyl gets…a pass, as it were. If not for her mother’s music shop, I wouldn’t have such glorious grand pianos in my study and lobby. That and we sort of…dated for a few months in high school.”

Octavia’s mouth formed an ‘o’ and she looked back to the empty glasses of wine on the table. “Oh, I’m going to feel this one tomorrow, aren’t I, Fredrick?”

“More than you could possibly imagine.”

“Well, then…” Octavia stood up from her seat and pushed it in towards the table. “Perhaps it would be best if I made my leave, before Miss Scratch’s spell fades off. Enjoy your night, Fredrick.”

The stallion nodded. “Indeed I shall, Octavia, and do try to make the best of yours.”

With a returning nod, Octavia took off, no longer concerning herself with the condescending stares of the nobility. As always, Fredrick was right. She would have a chance to redeem herself, to rise again. Of course, it would have to come after a six-to-twelve-hour period of pain, suffering and a hoofful of ibuprofen.

About eight hours of a hangover and enough water to fill a fish tank later, Octavia had started on her way to Vinyl’s club. The idea of still being able to work again after her devastating fiasco was just enough to help her disregard the condescending glares of the few ponies she encountered along the way. ‘Think positive, Octavia,’ she told herself. ‘Fredrick is right. This will all be in the past soon enough. Who knows? After this, you might even have your old chair in the ensemble back!’

Octavia arrived before the old building. It seemed like a nice enough place, and at a first glance alone, it certainly had seen equally better and worse days. With a cautious hoof, she pushed open the door and walked in. An old hard rock song played from a record player in the back of the room and the stage it rested next to sat currently vacant, as did many of the seats throughout the small establishment. Only half a dozen ponies sat in the room at the time. ‘Well, I suppose you don’t expect much of an audience on a Thursday afternoon.’ She glanced around the room once more, trying to find Vinyl or at least attempt to pick out the friend she mentioned. At the bar, she found who she’d hoped she was looking for: an earth pony mare with a mulberry coat, raspberry pink mane and a bunch of grapes and a strawberry marking her flank. Octavia smiled and walked over. ‘I suppose if it isn’t her, I’ll at least be pleasant.’

“Hey, what can I get for ya?” the barista asked immediately.

“Actually, you wouldn’t happen to be Berryshine, would you?”

The mulberry mare nodded. “That’d be me. But I also go by Berry Punch, if that suits your fancy better. So, I don’t suppose you’re here for a drink if the first thing you’re asking about is my name.”

Octavia shook her head. “A miss Vinyl Scratch asked me to come-“

“Oh, you’re the bassist she was talking about?!” Octavia went to respond, but was cut off once more when Berryshine looked back to a door behind her. “Hey, Vinyl, your new prisoner’s here!”

That earned a light chuckle from Octavia as the reply came forth. “Tavi’s here already?! Jeez, can that mare tank a hangover! I’ll be right out!”

The nickname caught her off guard. ’Tavi? I’ve only known her for less than a day, when did I earn the right to a nickname? Although, I suppose the better question would be, “By what kind of madmare am I about to find myself employed?”’

Vinyl strolled out of the back room coolly, a large instrument case in magical tow. “Good to see you made it, Tavi. And you beat the Alcohol Aftermath monster! You’ve gotta tell me your secret.”

Octavia shrugged. “Aspirin, water, and a lack of loud noises usually work. And I suppose Earth ponies have a bit more tolerance for alcohol than most, considering a good percentage of us produce it for a living.”

Berry raised a hoof proudly. “Hear, hear!”

Vinyl grinned slyly. “Well, considering it was Berry’s vintage stuff at that party last night, I’m surprised you’re still standing.”

“Oh, that was your brand?” Berry nodded and smiled. “It was quite delicious…honestly some of the best wine I’ve ever had.”

“Well, you girls can get better acquainted a little bit later. Tavi, step into my office. We have some business to talk.” Vinyl turned and walked through the back door, carrying the instrument case with her. Octavia gave Berry a friendly smile and followed her soon-to-be employer into the back room. The first thing she noticed upon stepping through was that the room itself was rather organized. Shelves were decorated with trophies and knickknacks, one wall was filled to the brim with pictures and another had a few old records. Vinyl sat at her desk close to the only empty wall in the room. The only unusual part of the desk was the two rather large bottles of blue and white colored mane dye.

“Okay, so, Tavi…I can tell you’re a real classy mare, so I’ll give you a warning first.” Vinyl pushed herself forward on the desk with her front hooves. “I, personally, am not classy. Sure, this room looks all clean and stuff, but I spent hours this morning making it look that way because I knew you’d be coming. Trust me, if you saw my place, the living room alone would make your skin crawl.”

Octavia stared in confusion. “Um…okay…”

“Okay, now onto the rules I’ve got. First and foremost: unless I explicitly allow it, no alcohol while you’re on the clock. Berry’s never given me trouble with it, but the last couple of fillies and colts I’ve hired I’ve kicked out of here with their lips wrapped around a bottle. One poor stallion was hugging and kissing it all the way out the door.”

“That won’t be a problem with me, Miss Scratch. I-“

“Oh, just call me Vinyl.”

“But…but that’s not very professional.”

“Improvised rule number two: You’re not allowed to call me ‘Miss’ anything. Believe me, I run a pretty tight ship here, but I want us all to be friends.”

“That would explain my sudden nickname.”

Vinyl gave a dismissing wave. “Yeah, that was just me trying to shorten your name for personal convenience. I came up with a bunch of different ones that I’m gonna be trying as long as you’re working here.”

“I don’t suppose there’s going to be a rule that prohibits me from complaining about it.”

The unicorn waved again. “Nope, you can complain about it. But that’s not gonna stop me, Octy.”

“Octy? What happened to-“

Vinyl suddenly interrupted her once more. “Told ya, Octy, it’s all still in the test phase. Now, onto actual rule two, which has now been bumped up to, rule three: I don’t want you bringing in any instruments of your own.” Vinyl patted the case next to her. “You’ll be using my old bass. In the past, a lot of things that have been brought in here have been stolen and never seen again, mostly because the dirt bags who took the stuff skipped town before the guards could find ‘em. Anyway, I’ve kept things more secure around here, and I got my bass theft-proof, paid for right out of my own pocket. It’s enchanted so that if anypony I don’t know ever tries to jump ship with my property, they bounce right back in and the royal guard gets alerted immediately.”

Octavia wore an expression of shock, but for a few reasons. First, she wouldn’t be able to perform with her own instrument. Her bass had been passed down several generations, and she felt particularly disappointed that she would have to use a ‘rental’. Second, she couldn’t imagine anypony would do such a thing as steal from anywhere in Canterlot. And last, she knew the protection enchantment Vinyl spoke of cost over ten thousand bits, and Vinyl paid every coin from her personal funds. It was clear that, although Vinyl seemed a bit different than the usual residents of Canterlot, she was certainly a mare of high morality and standard, and Octavia could no longer wait to start working under her.

“Okay, last rule, and this one’s the most important. You need to enjoy your job. If you’re not enjoying your employment here, I don’t want you working here.” Octavia gasped quietly, but her expression gave away her shock. “Let me explain, Octy. See, I like ponies. I really do. And having friends working here is great, but if the job isn’t for you, I don’t want you forcing yourself to be here. Not only does it bring down the general vibe of the place, but especially in your case it makes me feel bad that I pushed you into something you didn’t enjoy. So if after your first week you’re really not having a good time here, and I see that with my own eyes, I’m gonna let you go.”

Octavia was stunned in silence for half a minute before she finally spoke. “You’d just…fire me, just like that?”

“’Fire’ is not the word I’d use.” Vinyl tapped a hoof to her chin as she thought about it. “More like…ask you non-aggressively to look for another job. Like I said, Octy, if this isn’t something you wanna do by the end of your first week, then it’s gonna hurt me too much to see you struggle to come to work every day. Look, I know you don’t really have an option at this point in time, and you seem like a cool mare and I really do want you to like this place and enjoy working here. If you don’t, then I’m sorry…it’s just one of my rules.”

Octavia sat quietly once more. After a few seconds she nodded a bit bitterly. “I understand, Vinyl. I hope I enjoy it here as well.”

Vinyl slammed her hoof on the desk and grinned wickedly. “Now that’s the kind of attitude I’m looking for! Welcome aboard, Octobutt!”

The look of flustered rage Vinyl got from Octavia could have decimated a small village. She chuckled and looked away from the Earth pony, hiding an embarrassed flush.

“Okay then, no Octobutt.”

Author's Note

And so begins my re-attempt to write a full story with this ship.

Actually, this is also yet another attempt to FINISH a story that isn't a one-shot and isn't under ten thousand words.

Hope you guys enjoy. My following Author's Notes will probably consist of wittier things than this.