The sign above the door read "Lunar Twin." Not the most comforting of names. Then again, this wasn't the most welcoming neighborhood, either. In fact it was so ill kept that Vinyl didn't have anything to compare it with. Any other night she wouldn't dare approach such a sketchy part of town. Right now, however, she was high on sugar and adrenalin, not to mention a few sips of alcohol.

I can do anything I want! Vinyl thought as a feeling of rebellious freedom swept through her. She felt invincible, like anything was possible. It was almost as if she had found herself after a lifetime of living in a cage.

"Sorry, miss," the bouncer of the Lunar Twin said. Her massive pegasus form completely blocked the club's entrance. "This is no place for you."

Unfazed, Vinyl levitated a few bit pieces in the direction of the pegasus.

"Ain't about the money, kid," the bouncer sighed. "You really don't want to go in there. Take this from me."

"I'm eighteen," Vinyl said sharply. "That means I'm of age!"

"Look, I've seen your type. Your family is rich or connected, probably both. All your life you've done the same old things, then one day you suddenly get bored, want to sh—" There was a slight pause, as the bouncer considered how far to go. "—to show your parents you are your own mare. So you run to the first nightclub you find and have a wild time ‘till morning. Am I close?"

Vinyl didn't say anything. It was scary how close the description was.

"I'll take that as a yes." The pegasus narrowed her eyes. "This is no place for such stuff. Half the colts I throw out will eat you alive after one look."

"I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you." Another set of coins floated towards the bouncer.

"Listen, princess..." Doubt had crept in the pegasus' voice. Apparently bits had a way of changing ponies' minds. "Are you absolutely sure you want to go in there?"

A nod was all the confirmation the bouncer needed. Grabbing the bits with her wing, she moved aside letting Vinyl pass. She did, however, stress that should the unicorn be in any trouble it was best to yell and yell loud.

A bit overdramatic, Vinyl thought. This was a club after all, not Tartarus. Hay, it wasn't even a suggestive club. No fights, no flankdancers, just music of sorts. She definitely was going to feel at home here.

The inside of the club was exactly as she imagined it — small, dark and absolutely filthy. The smell of tobacco and alcohol was enough to make her eyes water. If it was this bad when the place was only half full, she cringed to think what it would be like when packed. A few steps in and Vinyl felt her legs tremble. Only now did she realize what she was getting herself into. This was more than reckless. If she was in condition to teleport out, she definitely would.

Show no fear, she reminded herself. It's just like being at a soiree — as long as I appear confident, they won't touch me. Walking stiffly, the unicorn went to the bar and sat down. So far so good. All she needed to do was order something, avoid eye contact, then leave. She had already filled her rebel quota for the year.

"What will it be, sweet thing?" a mare asked. Judging by the suggestive clothing and the tray on her serving saddle, she was obviously a waitress. Yet that wasn't the reason Vinyl gasped in amazement — the mare's mane was glowing purple.

"Luminescent," Vinyl managed to say, still staring at the other’s mane.

"If only I had that effect on stallions," the waitress laughed. "Tips would be way better then. I take it you haven't been to a techno club before?"

The unicorn shook her head.

"Not to worry, princess. The Twin is the best place there is. Good drinks, good music, great partying. Two things though — never try the food, and don't go encouraging any stallions."

"I'll keep that under advisement," Vinyl said, making the waitress chuckle. "How did you colour your mane like that? Magic?"

"Manespray. So what will you be having?"

"Something to drink?" Vinyl asked hesitantly. With the amount of alcohol in the air, it was easy to guess how strong the drinks here were. "Potentially?" The unicorn's left ear flicked — an unbecoming habit she had when extremely nervous.

"Don't worry, little princess," the waitress chuckled again, patting Vinyl casually on the head. It took the unicorn an extreme amount of self control to keep from flinching. "I'll get you something you'll like. Just loosen up a bit and enjoy."

Loosen up and enjoy? Vinyl thought as the waitress disappeared to another part of the club. What was there to enjoy? The place was a dump. It was a miracle it wasn't quarantined. If her cousin caught wind of her being here, he probably wouldn't come within ten yards of her for a whole week. Why was this place so popular, then? Most of the ponies she had asked were adamant that the Lunar Twin as the best music club in Canterlot. Vinyl found it extremely difficult to believe, especially since there wasn't any music playing. None whatsoever!

"Hey there, sweetness," a dark-coated stallion said, moving uncomfortably close. "What is a nice uni like you doing in a place like this?"

"Charmed," Vinyl said, not bothering to hide her disgust. The "suitor", for lack of better term, was rather plain, attempting to impress with piercings and a flashy mane.

"Oh, you are and you know it." The stallion winked. "What’ch ya say I treat you to something nice?"

"Move an inch closer and I'll blind you," Vinyl hissed. In her mind the threat was supposed to send him running for the exit. The execution must have been lacking, since the stallion just snorted, stifling a laugh.

"Oh, you've already blinded me, sweet hooves," he said, then grabbed his shot with his lips and swallowed it in one gulp. Vinyl was clueless regarding the significance of the action, but could tell he was trying to impress her.

Calm down. Ignore him and he'll gradually go away. It's not like you are the only mare in this wretched place. In an attempt to reinforce that notion, Vinyl glanced around. Moments later she wished she hadn't. By the stars! She might not be the only mare in the club, but she definitely was the only unicorn. And it was showing! She could feel the entire room leering at her. Single unicorn with a High Canterlot accent in a place frequented by pegasi and earth ponies — things definitely didn't look good.

"Your drink, princess." the waitress stepped in between Vinyl and the stallion, placing a large glass in front of her. Vinyl had no words to describe how glad she was to see her. On the outside she pretended everything was perfectly normal, but on the inside she let out a sigh of relief. "You know it's really sweet your coltfriend agreed to treat you to this. Why, it's double his tab, and..."

Before the waitress could finish, the stallion had scurried off. Vinyl stared in amazement as she watched him push his way through the gathering crowd and out of the room.

"Free tip," the waitress whispered in her ear. "If you want to get rid of somepony, threaten them with the bill. Most can't rub two bits together."

"Thank you." Vinyl nodded. "You saved me from quite the predicament."

"Princess, you really need to talk proper," the waitress chuckled. "Half the crowd will think you're roleplaying and that could lead to... complications, if you catch my drift."

"I'll keep it under advisement." Vinyl nodded and took a sip of her drink. The moment she did, her eyes widened in surprise. She had been bracing herself for something that would burn her tongue off, instead she experienced a burst of soft fruity flavours. "This is..." She looked at the waitress blinking.

"Told you, I'll get you something you'd like," she said, then moved closer to whisper again. "You definitely don't look like you're used to the fiery stuff. If anypony offers you anything and it isn't me, don't try it!"

This is surprisingly kind of her, Vinyl thought. A coin levitated to to the waitress' tray. Now it was the pony's turn to blink in amazement.

"That's a thousand," she said in shock and disbelief. "You're giving me a thousand bits for a drink?!"

"Is it... wrong?" the unicorn asked. Close call. For a moment she almost said 'not enough.'

"Last tip of the night, princess," the waitress leaned closer to whisper again. "Only carry singles to a place like this." With that she quickly walked away.

An unusual request, although it probably made sense. There weren't that many things a pony could buy in the city with large denominations. Vinyl made a note to ask for change next time she went out, if there ever was a next time. It was already evening and she still hadn't returned home. Her governess had probably sent a priority letter to her mother by now. Maybe it wasn't too much to hope that this act of rebellion would force Vinyl's parents to actually return home for a few days?

Just this one drink. The unicorn took another sip. After that she was going home, and quite possibly pretend this day never happened.

"Are you ready, ponies?" A shout filled the room, nearly bursting Vinyl's eardrums. The crowd roared in response. "Good! ‘cause it's time to get started!"

The roars were replaced by the stomping of hooves. Vinyl stood up in an attempt to see what was going on. The place certainly had become packed all of a sudden. The only free space was at what could be described as a small stage in the far corner of the room, directly opposite the entrance. A crimson pegasus flapped confidently near the ceiling, his wings painted to resemble flames.

"Tonight, our selection is something else," the pegasus said into his head-mike. "Because tonight is?" He waved his forehooves inviting the crowd to respond.

"Night of the rising stars!" The crowd roared back.

"Right you are!" The flame-wing pegasus made a circle in the air. "Tonight, five have entered the moon! Will they be cast out? Or will the moon keep them as her own? You decide!"

This is ridiculous, Vinyl covered her ears in a vain attempt to shield herself from the noise. The ponies here must have the intellectual faculties of a four-year-old to enjoy such nonsense. Maybe this is the result of alcohol abuse? She took another sip of her drink. For a few brief moments the noise seemed to fade away only to come back with a vengeance. Vinyl grit her teeth, as a wave of raw sounds blasted through her.

"Let's hear it for DJ Dawnlight!" The pegasus' voice managed to reach the unicorn.

The ponies around Vinyl cheered loudly. She, on the other hoof, patiently waited for his "performance" to be over. In her eyes the DJ stallion had no place meddling with music. His composition was pure cacophony, barely held together by the most standard of rhythms. Clearly he had never seen a music sheet in his life, otherwise he would have attempted variety, since his execution was so utterly abysmal.

The second candidate did even worse. A pegasus mare, she went straight for originality, making the most basic of mistakes in the process. If Vinyl's instructors could hear, they would probably skin the DJ alive. And yet the crowd still seemed to like her! Talk about having low standards.

"Liking the show?" A male voice asked. "They certainly know how to set the crowd on fire."

"What they do not know is music theory," Vinyl said indignantly, not bothering to glance at whoever had addressed her. "A foal could do better! Experimentation is fine and well, but they could at least have the decency to know how to change rhythm without sounding like a crashing chandelier each time!"

"And you think you could do better?"

Vinyl felt a chill down her spine. Extremely slowly, she turned around. The flame winged pegasus was standing less than a hoof away, and he definitely didn't look pleased.

"You think you are better, or something?" He went on, feathers ruffled. "You think magic makes you special, princess?"

Not magic, but thirteen years of tutoring, the unicorn thought. The only thing that left her lips, however, was an unintelligible apology drowned by the noise of the club. Unfortunately for her, this didn't seem at all enough for the pegasus.

"Well, does it?" He poked her shoulder with the tip of his wing. In itself, the action was harmless, but for Vinyl it was the most shocking experience ever. Never before had anypony dared touch her, let alone poke her in such rude fashion. Not even her fencing instructor had the audacity to do so!

"’old on, just a moment, love." Vinyl felt somepony gently pull her off the seat and move her away from the pegasus. Her mind was still trying to cope with the shock, making everything seem like a dream she was forced to live through.

"You just stay here for a bit, alright?" a grey mare said, then without expecting a response, turned towards the pegasus. "You've got jam for brains, do ya?" Her tone was so sharp that the stallion instinctively took a step back. "Poor kid's scared witless, so stop being a git!"

"Hey now, Mel." The pegasus swallowed. "No need to get all crazy on me. Princess here called—"

"I bloody well ‘eard what she said!" The mare cut him short. "And did ya happen to see ‘er mark while you were checking out ‘er arse?"

The question instantly brought Vinyl back to reality, as a shade of pink covered her face. She definitely hadn't heard such colourful language before, let alone coming from a mare.

"She's a note, you josser!" The mare snorted. "If she says your stars need lessons, they bloody well need lessons!"

Stomping filled the room again. Apparently a new DJ was taking the stage. Vinyl wasn't following any of that. The only thing on her mind was to get out. She didn't like this place anymore. In fact she absolutely dreaded it! The smoke, the stench, the amount of ponies checking her out, even the subpar music she was forced to suffer was way more than she could take. Throughout the years she'd had many horrible birthdays, but this one took the cake.

"Stick to me, love.” Vinyl heard the mare say. "Pay no notice to the crowd and follow me till we get outside. Can you do that for me?" The unicorn nodded. "Good filly."

Will they try to prevent me from leaving? Vinyl felt her pulse quicken. Will they come after me outside? It's dark, and there's quite the walk to the centre. Even if I gallop it would take me half an hour... Dozens of questions filled her mind, none of them pleasant. Only when the club door closed behind her did she allow herself a slight moment of relief.

"Hey. Hey!" Vinyl could hear the mare's voice. Somehow it sounded unnaturally far away. Hadn't the two left the club side by side? "Keep it together, love. Don't you faint on me!"

"Why should I..." Vinyl began. Her entire body was trembling uncontrollably. Funny how she noticed this only now. The experience in the club must have shaken her up more than she thought. The unicorn turned her head to the side. The earth pony was there, trying to tell her something. Funny, though — her lips were moving, but Vinyl couldn't make out any words.

Isn't this marvelous? Vinyl attempted to smile, as she realized what was going on. My eighteenth birthday and I am about to faint in the street. A split-second later she promptly did.

Author's Note

Next chapter: Waking Up Never Is Easy.