Scratched

“You cant be bucking serious…” Tavi sighed, looking at Vinyl’s new equipment. She could tell it wasn’t cheap. She might play instrumental, but she’d been around enough to recognize the substantial amp and synthesizer Vinyl had brought with her to the Argos.

Octavia had planned on showing up to encourage her friend at her new digs, but now she was especially glad she had come. This was going way too far.

“Hey, I’m going to pay him back, alright? It’s not like it’s free.”

“That’s not the point.” Octavia said, forcing her friend to stop toying around with the new gear for a moment. “You don’t know who the hell this guy is. For Celestia’s sake, you don’t know what species he is!”

“Well duh, he’s a human, silly.” Vinyl replied, smirking at her.

“What the buck is a human?”

“Er…it’s kind of a monkey looking thing…without the hair? And a cute face…” Vinyl said. “Oh! And a weird looking dick!”

“Gods damnit Vinyl…” Octavia said, slapping her hoof to her face. “So what, you’re fucking him already? What’s it been? A day?”

“Maybe like twenty hours…” Vinyl said, coyly.

Octavia sat down, sighing to herself as she watched Vinyl continue to fiddle with settings, trying to make sure she could control everything properly for her set. She’d been friends with her long enough to know when she was hiding something.

“I talked with Twitch. Nopony knows why you left this morning. Treble said he heard some rumors but nothing for sure.” Octavia asked softly.

“What happened last night? This isn’t like you, Vinyl. You know better than this…”

The unicorn stopped what she was doing, looking at the other pony intently. She got to her hooves, walking over to the loading bench where Tavi was seated.

“And what is like me, Tavi? To run back to you like a little foal? That’s what you really want, isn’t it? To have things be like they were?” Vinyl said, trying to hold back her anger as she glared into her friend’s eyes.

“Vinyl…”

“Don’t! I damn near got raped last night, but lo and behold, my good friend Tavi was nowhere to be found again!” Vinyl shouted at her. “What would you have done to help, huh? Tell me to go cry home to mommy again?”

“You know damn well you’ve got no place to talk to me about what I need to do. You almost ruined my life last year. Things never went back to normal after that, and you think you can talk to me about what’s best for me?!”

Octavia rose up from the concrete, looking her friend squarely in the eye.

“I don’t remember hearing you protesting…” She replied, with a hint of venom to her voice.

“Hard to do that when you can barely walk straight!” Vinyl yelled back at her.

“Don’t blame me if you couldn’t handle it. I just showed you the door. It’s not my fault you went tumbling into it, head over flank!” Octavia said.

Vinyl wanted to say something awful to her friend. In that moment she hated the other pony, hated her for everything she had gone through the last year. She knew deep in her heart, she still blamed the filly for a lot of things.

She blamed her for failing at school.

She blamed her for being passed around at parties when she was too high to remember.

Most of all though…

“You’re the reason my mom gave up on me, you know that?” Vinyl finally said, softly.

“No…” Octavia said, eyes going wide. “Don’t even…”

“Quiet! She hated me for what I was doing back then. I didn’t care, because I always thought I had you next to me…” Vinyl said, brushing a tear from her eye as she got up next to Octavia’s muzzle.

The grey filly just stood there, looking back at her. There was nothing she could say in response.

“And you made me go drag myself back to her, and that fat bastard sleeping with her! Begging for my spot back in that broken, twisted cell of a house!” Vinyl was openly crying now, tears streaming down her neck.

“I tried to help you…” Octavia replied, glancing away from her friend’s stare. “You couldn’t go on like that. I was worried…”

Vinyl pushed away from her, going back to her equipment. She heard the end of the previous set, hoisting her gear into the air with her magic.

Vinyl glanced back at her friend over her shoulder, her magenta eys glinting in the dim light of the loading dock. “Here’s some advice, Tavi. Don’t worry about me. I’m doing fine.”

Twitch popped her head past the curtain, snacking on a large nectarine as she glanced at the two ponies.

“I’m not…disturbing anything am I?” She asked, sneaking a quick bite as she watch Vinyl walk to the stage.

“Scratch. You alright?” She asked, noticing her tear stained face.

“No. But it doesn’t matter.” Vinyl replied. She focused her magic on her coat, forcing the moisture from it, fluffing it up to hide her tears. She pushed past the bat pony, heading onto stage, trying to let the roar of the crowd gathered inside drown out her thoughts.

Octavia walked towards the staging area, stopping next to Twitch.

“You don’t know what happened to her last night, do ya Tavi?” Twitch asked. “I heard some stories from the ponies upstairs, heard she got in a little spat with a colt after her show.”

“No. It was worse than that…” Octavia said, watching her friend place her equipment down, connecting plugs with a thought as she connected to the Argo’s sound system. “I don’t know exactly what happened yet, but I’m really worried about her.”

“I’ll keep an eye on the little firecracker. Nothing’s happening to her under this roof.” Twitch replied.

Octavia smiled slightly at her, nodding to the mare. She knew well enough that the bat kept her word. At least when the reputation of Argos was concerned.

She turned and headed for the elevator, hearing Vinyl start her set just as she closed the grate and headed up. The sound echoed through the concrete loading bay, filling the elevator shaft with sound as she headed up.

Octavia had to admit to herself, some part of her felt a surge of happiness as she heard her friend’s sound fill up the building.

She stood there quietly as she listened, faintly hearing the grate of metal cables as she reached the loft.

The place was mostly deserted this time of night, except for a few ponies hanging around the center lounging area, talking loudly. It was almost impossible to sleep inside the building until the show ended for the night, so everypony that wasn’t a night owl usually just hung out, drinking or smoking until the early hours.

Sighing, she saw the colt she was looking for. Of course he was here. The early crowd always drew the youngest of the crowd, fresh off the turnip truck as it were.

Treble had his arm around a small filly, waving a bottle of cider as he talked himself up. He was very clearly already drunk. The filly couldn’t have been much older than a foal; a cute little pony with a neatly curled mane of bright green curls. She put on a brave face as Treble wormed a hoof around her plot, pulling her closer to him.

Glowering, Octavia trotted over, putting a hoof firmly on Treble’s shoulder. He craned his neck, smiling as he turned around.

“Hey babe, I’m busy. You’ll have to wait your…” He froze as he saw Octavia staring down at him.

“H…hey! It’s you! Coming to join the party, Tavi?”

“I’m good right here, thanks.” Octavia replied, putting another hoof firmly on his other shoulder. Treble could feel her weight bearing down on him in the upholstered chair. She may have been a filly, but the earth pony was still built solidly enough.

Treble glanced around, looking to Skyline, but the colt only smiled back at him, shaking his head. He turned back to another colt he was sitting with, offering little help to his friend.

“Hiatus is missing tonight?” Octavia asked. She moved her hooves closer to his neck, placing pressure on his collarbone. The green haired filly next to him slunk away, merging into the rest of the small party.

Treble craned his neck, looking back at Octavia nervously. “Yeah. Not sure where he’s at…”

Octavia pulled a hoof up suddenly, bringing it crashing down against his ear. The colt tried to pull away suddenly, but found himself still held fast by her other hoof. He winced as the harder edge caught the ear, cutting into the sensitive skin and crushing it against his head. He cried briefly at the pain, dropping his cider as he flailed a hoof up to try to push her off.

The mare simply batted his hoof away, using her full strength to push him down once more. He slid down the chair, finding his flank on the ground, placing his head and shoulders on the seat of the chair. Octavia bared down on him, able to look him directly in the eyes in this position.

“Not what I’ve heard!” Octavia said, pressing her muzzle against his.

“Tavi, come on. We’re friends, right?” He whined, trying to push her off. The pudgy pony found he was having trouble getting himself off the ground.

“We’re roommates.” She said, correcting him.

“That counts for something, right?”

“It means I didn’t smash your muzzle into your throat first.” She said firmly. "I still need rent this month..."

Taking quick stock of his situation, Treble seemed to reconsider things quickly.

“Okay, look, he took off after he smashed up Vinyl’s room. He was completely off his rocker, yelling about how he was going to pay her back. How she still owed him something.” Treble said.

Octavia continued holding him as he spoke. She knew the spineless colt would sing to her.

“Owed what?”

“How the buck should I know?! Look, he had the hots for her. No secret there. Take that for what you will…” Treble said, looking away from the filly as he spoke. He still felt a little indignation at the thought of another colt having her.

“Gods…” Tavi said as her eyes went wide. “So that’s what…”

She pulled off the colt, letting him flop over himself as he tumbled to the floor. She turned and headed back to the lift.

Octavia could already hear Vinyl’s set in full swing as she headed downstairs again. The beat of the bass pounded through the metal shaft, ringing clearly. As she neared the bottom, she could hear her friend singing slowly, fading into the beat.

She headed over to the backstage area once more, finding it abandoned this time. Sitting down on a nearby bench, she watched her friend perform, fully into her set at this point. Vinyl had left her booth behind, taking to the stage as she sang and danced to her beats.

Octavia never got tired of watching her dance. Vinyl could move into a room, take it over, and command everypony’s attention with just a few lines of song and a shake of her mane. She was absolutely fearless in front of crowds.

Octavia always envied her for it.

She sat quietly as she waited for her friend to finish.

Vinyl had taken the stage with a strange mix of anger and frustration flowing through her. Slamming down her new gear, she had made sure everything was set up, before starting her set. The filly had resolved to break everything in, sticking mostly to a mix of beats from the new synthesizer. She desperately wanted to see what it could do.

She hated to admit it, but she wasn’t angry because her friend had spoken to her like that.

She was angry because she was probably right.

As much as she hated Tavi for some of the things she had done, the worst feeling was that at the end of the day, she had a nagging feeling in her head that the prim filly was always right.

Shaking it off, she started to play a treble tempo, slowing adding in a slow bassline as she looked out into the crowd. It was full once more.

“That’s a good sign…” She said to herself.

She glanced over at the booths, seeing King glancing back at her. He held a tall drink, nodding at her.

“You got this Scratch.” She said quietly to herself. “This is one thing I can do for myself...”

Picking up the bass suddenly, she trotted into the middle of the stage. She focused on the lighting, pulling beams of golden light down towards her, making her sparkle on stage as she started banging her head to the beat. She approached the edge of the stage, timing her song with her magic as she opened her muzzle and sang to the audience.

♪♫I get the feeling I'm in deep

Troubled waters but they're only thigh-high

This kind of mare don't get no sleep

She picked up the bass during the parts where she stopped singing, breaking into dance. Turning to the crowd, she ran a hoof along her plot, twitching her tail back and forth as she gyrated nearly to the floor. She bobbed her head up and down, letting her mane fly. With a thought, she lit her tail and mane with a glowing blue light, killing the spotlights. She started strutting around the stage in the dim light, illuminated only by her magic. She smiled as she worked her way over, staring at King as she continued to sing.

♪♫That's it, baby, take control

You're so enticing, mesmerizing

You're gonna steal my very soul

Feeling lost in her song, the filly dropped to the stage, letting her legs splay out as she moved up and down against it. She moved her plot against the metal surface, using her magic to flip her tail out sideways, teasing the crowd as she presented herself.

She rolled onto her back, moving her hooves in a cycling motion, before planting herself firmly, pushing her stomach into the air. Exposing her teats and stomach to the crowd, they erupted, entranced by her on stage.

♪♫Lie down baby

Arch your back now

Maybe you can help me get what I want

Curve your little spine and tell me that you're mine

Vinyl reached down, running a hoof along her stomach and chest. She brought a single spotlight on her, bright blue, accentuating her snow white coat. Rising to her hooves, she moved to the stage edge, shaking her haunches as she kept the spotlight on her.

The crowd was roaring at her now, shouting for her to keep going.

Smiling widely, she obliged, launching into her next set.

Octavia waited patiently for her friend, watching her show intently.

She wasn’t very happy about how overtly sexual her dancing had become, but wrote it off as the filly just growing up and getting used to the scene of the Argos.

What happened on the stage was different than what happened off it. She knew that better than anypony.

Octavia was surprised the club hadn’t emptied at all by the time Vinyl finished. The place usually wound down quickly on a weekday, regardless of who was playing. But the place was still packed and definitely still in high gear when the stage lights finally went out on her friend.

She trotted over quickly to the booth, catching her as she started unhooking her gear. The low drone of ponies partying still filled the hall. Octavia could see her friend glistening, positively soaked with sweat after her show, her mane matting down against her coat.

“Vinyl…” Octavia said loudly, tapping the pony on her shoulder.

Still amped up, she turned to Tavi, her eyes still wide and bright. “Tavi!” She exclaimed, beaming. “Did you see the show?”

“I did! It was...intense…”

“Hah! Didn’t get you turned on, did I?” Vinyl replied, grinning at her.

“Vinyl…we have to talk…” Octavia said, trying to brush off her comment.

“About what?” Vinyl said, busying herself with her gear.

“I talked to Treble. I know what happened last night…” Octavia said flatly.

Vinyl ignored her, continuing to bundle up cords for her gear.

“He knows it was Hiatus. We need to go to Sparks about this. Or the guards.” Octavia said.

Vinyl turned to face the other pony, her smile quickly diminishing. “I told you, I have it handled. I can take care of it myself.”

“Take care of what? Run away from it and shack up with that…human?”

“He saved me from Hiatus. I feel safe there. That’s all I need to know.” Vinyl said, pushing past her friend to gather a long mic lead from the front of the stage.

“Why was he even there? By the mare’s showers? What the buck was he even doing back there?” Octavia retorted, raising her voice.

Vinyl didn’t reply, finishing her packing. She jammed the bundled cords under the handles of the amp, making a neat stack she could easily carry with her magic. She concentrated, gathering her gear in the air.

“Vinyl…” Octavia said, moving after her as she crossed the stage.

The white filly turned to face her, all semblance of a smile gone from muzzle.

“I just don’t want anything to happen to you.” Octavia said, moving closer to her. She could feel the heat of the other filly against her, still warm from her performance. “I still love you. I hope you know that still.”

She reached out towards Vinyl, pushing her muzzle to hers. For a brief moment, she could feel her fur against her own; the light brush of tiny droplets of sweat touching her skin. She cradled her head against her friend’s neck, rubbing against her gently.

The other filly didn’t say a word. Octavia could feel her pulling away from her, catching herself from stumbling as her friend trotted off the side of the stage with her equipment. She could see the strange looking human waiting for her, placing his hand on her flank as they walked out of the dock.

Octavia stood on the stage for a while, alone with herself and the slowly dying din of club goers finishing their last calls. She was usually so good at maintaining herself. Nopony ever got to her. She was her own little rock.

She couldn’t fight it though. Almost a stabbing sensation went through her body. She found tears welling up in her eyes, as much as she fought back against it. Wiping errantly at her muzzle, she held them back, gathering herself as she walked off the stage.

“Damnit Vinyl…” She muttered to herself.