Pacific Glow's hoof landed on the timer with decisive force.
“That's all for today!” she announced happily.
Three mares and one stallion collapsed in a panting heap. A small plastic egg, about the size of a hoof, rolled across the room of its own power. It paused at the heap of ponies as if examining them, then made its way over to Pacific Glow.
Pacific Glow pressed down on the egg gently to deactivate the enchantment. Petting it as if it was a hamster, she regarded her students with a radiant smile.
“You all did great!” Pacific Glow complimented them. “Especially you, Silver Steps!”
The lone stallion of the group temporarily forgot his exhaustion. He gave the instructor an appreciative smile to acknowledge the compliment, then shot a satisfied smirk at the three mares.
“But the egg-chasing exercise isn't stupid!” Pacific Glow added. “If you can't catch an enchanted egg, how can you be expected to become one of Sapphire Shores's back-up dancers?”
Silver Steps reddened. He carefully got to his hooves, scowling at the barely-muffled giggles of his fellow students.
“Alrighty, ponies!” Pacific Glow continued. “Get some rest, because we'll be picking off where we left off tomorrow with the drink-mixing challenge. I expect nothing less than night club grade from each of you, so study your manuals.”
The ponies filed out of the room one by one. Silver Steps was in the lead, having pushed past a light brown mare named Mocha Light with a muttered defense. Windswept, the last to leave, waved to Pacific Glow before closing the door behind her.
Left to her own devices, Pacific Glow poured herself a cup of coffee. She'd been meaning to cut down on her caffeine intake for a while, but found the hot drink irresistible after a long class. More importantly, she'd installed that coffee machine for her own use. The students weren't allowed to so much as lay a hoof on “Mr. Wake-Up”.
Pacific Glow's first sip of the day was interrupted by the door opening. Humming to herself, she placed the cup on a nearby table and turned to face the arrival. She was surprised to see, not one of her familiar students, but a light gray Earth pony mare wearing a bow tie. Her Cutie Mark wasn't visible, but Pacific Glow could tell by her stately manestyle and air of faux nobility that she was a musician.
“Howdy, friend!” Pacific Glow greeted the newcomer. “Looking to put some tip and tap in your hoovsies?”
The newcomer cringed at the outdated pony slang.
“No,” she replied in a dignified manner. “Are you….Molly?”
Pacific Glow bounded forward like an eager puppy. The other mare started at her sudden approach, instinctively recoiling. At a closer vantage point, the strangeness of Pacific Glow's appearance was even more plain. The glow sticks hanging around her neck were curious on their own, but the pacifier brought the whole look together.
“That's what some ponies call me!” Pacific Glow answered cheerfully. “You saw the sign, right?”
She was referring to the large, hoof-painted sign above the door that read “Molly's School of Electric Dance” in massive, glittery letters.
“Most ponies call me “Pacific Glow”,” she explained. ““Molly” is just a little nickname I got back in school. It's a really funny story….”
The musician hastily cleared her throat.
“I'm sure it's an engaging tale,” she uttered quickly. “Unfortunately, I haven't the time. I'm here on business. Is there somewhere we can talk, Ms. Glow?”
Pacific Glow gestured to her “office”, otherwise known as the small space in a corner of the room containing the coffee machine and a table. She led the stranger over to this space, a distinct bounce in her step.
“Coffee?” Pacific Glow offered kindly.
The musician wrinkled her nose.
“No thank you,” she answered politely.
The musician watched as Pacific Glow drained half of her own coffee in a quick succession of strong gulps. She then laid the cup aside again and wiped her mouth with her hoof.
“What can I do for you?” Pacific Glow inquired buoyantly.
The musician looked skeptical. Pacific Glow's appearance in itself hadn't fazed her, but her personality and the nature of her business were causing her doubts.
“My name is Octavia,” the mare explained. “I imagine you haven't heard of me. I am quite renowned in Canterlot and Ponyville, but Manehattan is a bit too….uncultured...for my influences.”
Pacific Glow nodded, seemingly numb to the insult.
“I am here by recommendation of a friend,” Octavia continued. “Do you happen to know a stallion by the name of Toe-Tapper?”
Pacific Glow went through her mental list of acquaintances. It took three seconds for her to recognize the name.
“I think we used to...date or something?” Pacific Glow replied, shrugging.
Octavia's eyes traveled from the pacifier to Pacific Glow's smiling face. She thought of Toe-Tapper, with his dignified manestyle and selective timidity. She opened her mouth to comment, then realized the bold-faced hypocrisy. Amused by herself, Octavia returned Pacific Glow's smile.
“He told me you'd be perfect for what I have in mind,” Octavia explained. “I must say, I was doubtful when he told me your...credentials. However, I am willing to trust him. And, by extension, I shall trust you.”
Octavia's smile disappeared as quickly as it had come.
“It is concerning a dear friend of mine, whom I'm sure you've heard of,” she uttered seriously.
Her curiosity aroused, Pacific Glow swallowed the rest of her coffee.
For Vinyl Scratch, more commonly known as “DJ Pon-3” to her admirers, the night life was the only life one should live. Octavia naturally disagreed with this, but Vinyl wasn't about to engage in an argument. Shouting matches weren't really her style. Whenever Octavia really annoyed her, Vinyl retreated as deep into “the night life” as she could, partying all the aggression away and drowning her disagreements in alcohol.
Vinyl was coming home from such a night, her signature headphones over her ears. She had completely forgotten whatever Octavia had done to irritate her this time. And with her headphones pumping Cupcake Party's latest single into her ears, she didn't even want to remember.
A few feet away, unnoticed and unheard, a pony was trailing the renowned DJ. Every second or so, the pony would hesitate, wondering if she'd been observed. But Vinyl always continued stumbling drunkenly along, oblivious to the fact she was being followed. She also seemed oblivious to the fact that she had wandered away from the protective streetlights and into the relative dark.
Minutes passed. The ponies continued walking, one following the other closely, but not close enough to draw attention to herself. They seemed to be the only ones on the street that night. Manehattan was normally very busy in the daytime and evening, but most of the city shut down around eleven o'clock.
Vinyl stumbled into an alleyway, bobbing her head to the pounding bass. When she paused, the pony following her did so as well.
Behind Vinyl, another figure emerged from the darkness. This one was a tall, wiry unicorn stallion. He regarded the DJ, a smirk crossing his features. His eyes traveled from her Cutie Mark to the pair of headphones she was wearing. His smirk growing, the stallion reached into his saddlebags with his magic and pulled out a knife. He began advancing on Vinyl, his hoofsteps unheard beneath the thunderous bass in Vinyl's ears.
The other pony, the one who'd been following Vinyl, sprang out from her hiding place. The stallion turned his head sharply at the noise, whipping his knife around to face the newcomer. The blow caught him squarely on his horn, sending a throb of pain through his skull. The stallion fell backwards as the knife hit the ground. His head ringing, he stumbled against the nearest wall. Another blow struck him in the side, this one calculated and precise. The stallion's legs turned to useless gelatin underneath him. A final blow to the side of his head sent him on a quick descent from consciousness.
Pacific Glow stood over the unconsciousness stallion with a grin on her face. She nudged him once, to make absolutely certain he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. His response to her touch was a slight groan. Satisfied, Pacific Glow turned and trotted out of the alleyway.
Vinyl, who hadn't noticed anything, finally turned around. She was startled to see the unconscious body of a stallion lying mere inches away from her. However, she merely shrugged. Continuing to bob her head, Vinyl stepped over the stallion's body and continued on her way home.
An hour later, Pacific Glow arrived at Vinyl and Octavia's Manehattan apartment. The apartment was one of two dwellings Octavia and Vinyl owned. The second was their cottage in Ponyville, which they inhabited for the purpose of local concerts or the occasional vacation. They considered the Manehattan apartment their actual “home”.
Octavia hurried Pacific Glow into the tiny living room.
“Is Vinyl alright?” she blurted out immediately.
Pacific Glow settled herself on the pristine white couch. The apartment seemed to be filled with needless expenses and foppery, but the coziness made her smile.
“Yep!” Pacific Glow answered promptly. “She finally caught a carriage to take her home. She should be here in about thirty minutes.”
Octavia sighed in relief.
“Were there any...incidents?” she inquired.
Pacific Glow related the story of the mugger. She watched Octavia's peace of mind depart, then hastily return as the story concluded.
When the story was finished, Octavia poured herself a glass of wine. She then sat down on the couch next to Pacific Glow. Octavia sighed again, staring at her reflection in the dark crimson liquid.
“I do care for Vinyl,” Octavia uttered, smiling weakly. “We met during our school years and I have been quite devoted to her since. Yet she has always been so dreadfully impractical. She parties until all hours of the night, drinking and dancing and making a wonderful fool of herself.”
Octavia idly swirled the contents of her wine glass.
“I've never been one for parties myself,” Octavia continued. “I much prefer a quiet life. I can't see the appeal of all those flashing lights. But I've come to accept them as part of Vinyl's life.”
Octavia took a long sip of wine. It was the cheap sort of wine one could only find in a place like Manehattan. A gift from Vinyl Scratch, meant to be a late birthday present.
“I worry for her,” Octavia admitted. “I know she is capable of taking care of herself, yet…. Well, you saw what happened. I do wonder how many times she has avoided this very happening in the past. She has an incredible streak of luck, that silly mare. If she knew I was doing this, she'd be highly belligerent.”
Octavia quickly finished off her wine. She leaned forward and placed her empty glass on the ornate coffee table.
“I believe the price we agreed was about seventy bits, correct?” Octavia inquired.
Pacific Glow nodded.
“Well, I'd like to make a slight alteration,” Octavia told her with a smile. “I feel one hundred bits would be far more satisfactory.”
Pacific Glow's eyes widened in surprise at the proposition. One hundred bits was more than she charged for her dance lessons. In fact, it was more than she made in a single week.
“Oh no no no!” Pacific Glow objected. “I can't! That's a supery-dupery amount of money!”
Octavia trotted into the bedroom and returned with a small sack. The sack jangled as she moved, indicating it was filled with bits. She offered it to the protesting mare.
“I insist!” Octavia replied firmly. “I accept that you've agreed to do a me a very specific service. One hundred bits a week seems a fair salary for the type of work you'll be doing.”
Pacific Glow pushed the sack of bits away.
“I can't accept that much money!” she insisted. “That would be totally janked.”
Pacific Glow's use of outdated slang almost made Octavia want to withdraw her offer. But with considerable effort, she again offered the sack of bits.
“I implore you to take it,” Octavia reiterated. “If you must, consider the extra bits a gift.”
It took five minutes to wear her down, but in the end Octavia was able to give Pacific Glow all one hundred bits. The latter looked extremely unhappy about it. It was with reluctance, swallowing further protests, that she left the house with the money. On her way out, she managed to stealthily drop two of the bits into a potted plant.
Graduation day at Molly's School of Electric Dance dawned a month later. It was a surprisingly emotional day. Each student, upon entering the building, were struck with the realization that they'd quite possibly never again attend a class headed by such a unique personality.
Pacific Glow approached each of her students in turn, a proud, yet regretful, smile on her face. For each one of them she bowed, then placed a pacifier around their neck. She finished by giving each of them an honorary glow stick. In the background, an inspirational speech by Sapphire Shores played on a tape recorder.
“I'm gonna miss you guys,” Pacific Glow admitted sadly.
She gave each of them a hug. Although a part of her wished to, she didn't leave out Silver Steps. She was surprised when he hugged back. She was even more surprised to notice tears in his eyes when she pulled away.
“Shoot for the disco ball,” Pacific Glow advised them. “If you miss, you'll still have the whole floor to yourself!”
With these parting words, Pacific Glow turned out all the lights in the room. One by one, she and each of her students lit a single glow stick. They shone brightly in the darkness, each pony holding theirs over their head. They stood in this manner for an entire minute, until Sapphire Shores's speech came to a close. Then Pacific Glow felt her way to the light switch and turned the lights back on.
The students looked at one another with wide grins to match Pacific Glow's. They hadn't realized it before, but they had actually enjoyed their few months at Molly's School of Electric Dance. It was an experience they would take a lifetime to forget.
Pacific Glow retrieved a bag of money from behind the coffee machine. The bag contained precisely thirty bits.
“Who wants to go out clubbing?” she demanded.
Laughing and talking, the four students and their teacher left for their long-awaited after-party.
Author's Note
The moment I saw that adorable pony in the latest episode, I had to write a story about her. The hardest part was coming up with something interesting that I thought no one else with the same inclination would be doing.
