Something to Rave About 2: Second Night

After an eternity - or maybe a few songs later, Vinyl couldn't tell anymore - she finally caught sight of Pacific Glow returning to the club floor, and frantically waved her over.

"Vinyl, thank you so much," Pacific said. "I don't know how to thank you -"

Vinyl checked her turntable and then staggered to the crib bars. "Is she still in there?"

"No, I sent her home."

Vinyl clambered out of the crib, wincing as she felt another unwelcome squidge. "I need to... need another, you know." Without further explanation, she toddled to the staff room, making a beeline for the changing table where the diapers were kept. She stood up, bracing one hoof against the table and hopping awkwardly as she fumbled her flaps open and frantically tried to untape herself with the other.

"Vinyl, let me," Pacific insisted, trotting in to attend to her DJ.

"I'm fine, I don't need you to -"

"You're soaked. Look," she said, sticking a hoof underneath her saggy padding and lifting it to reveal a splotchy blue strip that Vinyl hadn't seen when she'd put the diaper on. Her cheeks went beet red as she realized that it was some kind of wetness indicator. "Up you get, dear." she said, patting the table.

"I don't have enough time, I have to get back to the music," Vinyl protested.

"Vinyl, please," Pacific insisted. "Trust me, I can do it faster than you can, and cleaner too. We don't want you getting a nasty rash."

Vinyl tried to think of some counter-argument, but in her heart she knew Pacific was right. She sighed. It wasn't as if she'd lose any more dignity at this point. "Fine," she mumbled, climbing up onto the table and laying down - taking care to arch her back in an attempt to avoid sitting directly into where she was wet. Which, as far as she could tell, was everywhere.

A cool waft of air reached her underparts as Pacific untaped the diaper and gently peeled away the soaked garment, wrapping it into a tight ball with a couple of deft hoof moves. Vinyl's nose wrinkled as the stench of shame reached her, giving a despairing grimace as she saw it drop into the steel bin next to the table.

"I can't thank you enough for what you did out there," Pacific told her, as she readied some wipes. "I don't know what we'd have done without you. How did you know what to do?"

"It's not the first time it's happened," Vinyl shrugged. "Ponies always forget their limits when they're having fun. Unicorns often don't realize that they have a limit, until it's too - gyaaah, too cold, too cold!" she suddenly squawked, as Pacific pressed a wet wipe into her buttcheeks and began cleaning up her coat.

"Sorry," Pacific apologized, smiling. "I have heard of magical exhaustion, but I thought it was something that only happens in extreme life-or-death situations. It's certainly never happened here before. I might have to lay down a few rules for unicorns to prevent it happening again."

"Could be a good idea. Guessing she was trying to pull off some magic-enhanced dance moves or something."

"She was using an illusion to disguise herself, apparently," Pacific explained. "Apparently she was worried about ponies finding out about her little side. Lift your tail up a bit, sweetie?"

Vinyl arched her back higher and flicked her tail out of the way, looking surprised. "A disguise spell, really? That's hardcore."

"Is it?"

"I mean, as magic goes, illusion magic is way up there. Best I can do is fire off a few lasers. To actually change appearance, that's real high-level mage stuff. No wonder she exhausted herself." Vinyl frowned. "She must be, like, some top magic student or something."

"It wouldn't surprise me. She seemed a very smart filly." Pacific said, smiling. "I tried to tell her that there's no need to hide herself here. Okay, all done." she finished, patting Vinyl's rump.

Vinyl suddenly realized that she'd momentarily forgotten what she was actually laying on the table for. Oh Luna, don't say I'm starting to get used to this... she wiggled and looked at the round bulge that contained her hindquarters.

"Hey!" Vinyl exclaimed, suddenly noticing the design of the diaper that she'd been put in. "I didn't want that one!"

"Sorry, Vinyl. We're all out of the frilly ones," Pacific apologized. "I still haven't had a chance to restock. But I thought you'd like this one. It's music-themed, see?"

Vinyl did see. Unfortunately, a diaper covered in rainbow xylophone prints and heart-shaped music notes was not exactly the musical look that she wanted. Ugh, fine... I bet the others are even worse. "It's lovely," she said sourly.

Pacific smiled, and Vinyl was sure that she was being humored. With a rumpling sound, Pacific pulled her onesie flaps tight again and fastened them closed, looking over her hoofiwork.

Vinyl slid off the changing table with a weighty thud as she landed flat on her hooves. After regaining her balance, she pointed a hoof at Pacific. "Don't do it," she said, in a warning tone.

"Don't do what, dearie?"

"You're gonna tell me how cute I look. I don't wanna hear it."

Pacific giggled. "Very well. My lips are zipped." she promised, making the appropriate gesture. "Do you need anything else? I'm going to start the wind-down shortly."

"Nope, I'm all good."

"Oh, by the way, how many drinks have you -" Pacific began, but Vinyl was suddenly no longer there. Pacific caught a glimpse of a padded butt disappearing hurriedly around the doorframe.

No matter how hard she tried, there was just no way to vault the crib bars in a diaper and look cool doing it. It was like watching a stuffed toy doing parkour. She groaned and rolled to her hooves following her awkward landing, and prepared to switch into the next song. The crowd were firmly in the trance mood now, and she was happy to continue obliging them.

Actually, now that she was fresh and clean and her bladder wasn't trying to explode, she felt a lot better. Crowd was bouncing happily, she had a good buzz going, and no danger of another accident. She felt a lot more in tune with the energy now that all that was out the way, her head bopping along to the droning beat. All she needed now was another beer.

"No," Berry said, after being called over.

"You've run out?" Vinyl said, dismayed. That was ridiculous. What kind of bar runs out of beer?

"No, you've had too much," Berry clarified. "I can't give you any more. We're winding down soon anyway."

"I hardly had any!" Vinyl protested.

Berry rolled her eyes. "You've had six beers in the last two hours. Yes, I do keep count."

"Thats... that's like..." Vinyl swayed as she performed some complex mental arithmetic. "S'like three beers an hour. That's like nothing for me! Truss me, Beery. I've been good, haven't I been good?"

"Yes, you've been a very good girl," Berry sighed. "I'll let you have one more, okay? But don't tell the boss."

Vinyl grinned happily. "You're the best!"

While Berry waddled off to get her prize, Vinyl queued up a nice selection of electronic beats to see out the night on a high. It wasn't long before the bartender returned and passed a bottle of sweet golden beer over the crib bars, accompanied by a pacifier dangling from a ribbon. "Put it on when you're done, 'kay?"

Vinyl looked between the beer bottle and the pacifier, and after some deliberation, decided that she was still getting the better of this exchange. "Sure," she agreed, accepting her prizes.

Ten minutes later, she saw Pacific making her way back out onto the floor, wearing a familiar green dress and socks that made her look like an old-timey matron, only way cuter. Vinyl did actually remember this bit - everypony would line up on one side and get their diaper changed by Pacific, one at a time, before heading out into the night. In their padding, for all to see. Vinyl shuddered, recalling that she must have done the same thing last night - although she had an excuse of being absolutely off her head, at least.

Vinyl suckled on the teat of her beer bottle, yawning. Tonight had... almost gone well. Sure, she'd had an accident, but this time it really wasn't her fault. She'd been trying to save somepony. Surely she could be cut a little slack for that.

The crowd slowly began to break apart into smaller chunks as ponies started to filter out in small drunken groups, chattering loudly and happily. Many of them yelled their respect at her as they left for the night. That was one nice thing about this place, at least. DJing could often be a thankless task, but they really seemed to appreciate what she did. She raised her bottle to them in reciprocation.

Finally, the last group of ponies shuffled out of the club, leaving music playing to an empty floor. Vinyl slowly dimmed the master volume to one quarter, and sighed, sucking down the last dregs of her beer.. Made it, at last... The achievement was somewhat hollow considering that she hadn't managed to keep herself dry - again. But at least it was all over.

"That was a wild one," Berry said, as Pacific waddled by the bar. "Started to get a bit hairy back here. Some of the taps went dry. Feels like we had double the number in from last night."

"Well, I think we know who to blame," Pacific grinned. "Vinyl!"

Vinyl blinked, startled from her reverie. "Huh? What?"

"Well, I was going to offer you a toast, but I see you already hit your limit," Pacific grinned, spotting the pacifier around the DJ's neck. "What a wild night!"

"Hey, no, I'm just wearing this to, uh, to look cool," Vinyl mumbled, stumbling and leaning heavily against the crib wall. "I'll have some toast. I mean beer."

"No," Berry said flatly. "You've had way too much. I'll get you some water."

Vinyl scaled the side of her crib and tumbled in an awkward sideways roll; when the room eventually stopped spinning, she found herself on the other side of the bars, and was able to negotiate the lurching dancefloor to Berry's bar. A purple hoof placed a baby bottle of water in front of her, and she accepted, suckling the teat greedily.

The water cooled her parched throat quite nicely, and she was happy just to sit there with her drink while the two earth ponies talked about... something or other, offering a vague mhmm whenever the conversation drifted her way. They seemed pretty stoked with how the night had gone. Even Vinyl felt pretty good about it, now that it was over and she had another fat paycheck to collect. She yawned and rested her head on the bar top. Yeah, she'd had worse nights than this.

A cacophony of awesome beats thrummed through Vinyl's half-asleep head, accompanied by images of the previous night. Ponies undulating in slow motion, pacifiers whipping above their heads. Maws stained in dayglo colors from some weird lollipops that seemed to be popular with the crowd. Multicolored centipedes of padded ponies weaving around the changing table in a dizzying spiral.

Vinyl grunted, thoughts coming to her sluggishly as she turned and twisted on something shapeless and soft. Just think of the money, she drowsily consoled herself, suckling idly on the rubber teat in her mouth. Should be enough to pay off my remaining debt to Tavi, and still have a ton left over... wait, did I give it to her already? She tried to remember the hazy details of what had happened at the end of the night. Come to think of it, she didn't actually remember Pacific paying her anything at all.

She shifted, feeling a weird tightness around her buttocks as she tried to remember what she did after she got home.

Wait... oh no... not again... She twisted, a low horror rising in her as her hoof felt a band pressed around her waist, and a soft, plastic bulge beneath... Please tell me I didn't walk home in a diaper again...

A dryness tickled at her throat, and she coughed, spitting out the teat in her mouth. The taste of stale booze lingered in her mouth as she blinked her eyes open, only to find herself staring at dull ceiling panels and ventilation ducts.

Huh? she blinked, rubbing some sleep from her eyes as she shifted and found herself arched awkwardly on a big, squashy beanbag. A lean to the side sent her lurching off balance, and she yelped as she tumbled off of her unexpected bed, stumbling awkwardly onto the carpeted club floor. Her diaper cushioned her from the worst of the impact, leaving her a little giddy as she tried to reorient herself.

Why am I still here?

She groggily got to her hooves, looking around the completely empty club basement. The floor was littered with spent glowsticks, dropped pacifiers, and a menagerie of stuffed toys. Berry's playpen bar was vacant too. She was the only one here.

She tried to remember what happened at the end of the night... the place emptied out, she remembered that, and she'd stayed a little longer chatting to Berry and Pacific... what they'd talked about, she had only the vaguest idea.

Must have... been really tired or something. Oh Celestia, I hope I didn't get locked in... Vinyl groaned and waddled across the dancefloor, her pacifier swinging against her chest. Ugh, this stupid diaper, I wish I could... wait, why am I still wearing it?

She was still in her onesie, too. Hoping that nopony was around to see a giant baby waddling through the club, she made for the staff room.

"Ah, good morning!" Pacific said cheerily, as Vinyl entered through the backstage door. Vinyl's heart swelled with relief at seeing her. It looked like her boss hadn't changed since last night either, as she was still wearing her nanny dress.

"Oh, thank Celestia. Thought I was trapped in here," Vinyl said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Nah, I waited for you," Pacific said chirpily. "You over-indulged a bit last night, so we thought it best if you stayed here. Want a tea or a coffee?"

Vinyl's ears perked up. "I would murder for a coffee right now," she croaked, feeling her lips moisten at the prospect of some delicious dark brew.

Pacific nodded and trotted to the small kitchen area, placing a pot on to boil, before heading back over to Vinyl. As sleepyheaded as she was, it took the yawning DJ a few moments to notice that Pacific was lingering around her, and a few more moments still to realize that a hoof was giving her diaper a very careful feel. Once she did, however, she yeeped and staggered aside. "Hey!"

"I'm just checking you."

"I'm not wet!" Vinyl protested. Pacific gave her a scrutinizing stare. "...or the other thing!"

"Seems to be the case," Pacific agreed. "Do you need to go?"

"I... what... no!"

"You sure? You haven't been since last night, and you did drink a lot."

Vinyl wilted. Pacific's stupid nanny get-up only made her seem even more like a bossy mother when she talked like this. "Okay, I do need a pee... can I say pee? But I'm not going in this! C'mon Pacific, the gig's over, I'm not on the tables any more! Please don't make me!" she backed away in fear, making it a few steps before her balance failed and she toppled onto her padded bottom with an airy squish.

Pacific snorted and suddenly burst out laughing. "Oh, Vinyl, I'm not going to make you! Although, you know, it is unhealthy to hold it in."

"Yeah, well..." Vinyl frowned, unable to think of a retort.

Pacific smiled fondly at her. "You know, you really remind me of Berry when she started out."

Vinyl grunted and tried to wiggle herself back onto her hooves. "No way. I'm way cooler than Berry. I have better dress sense, for starters." She frowned, realizing that boast would have come off a lot better if she wasn't still in her rainbow onesie.

Pacific laughed and extended a hoof to pull Vinyl up. "Did she tell you how much she hated it when she started?"

"Yeah, she told me she, uh..." Vinyl searched for a way to express it cleanly. "Did the other thing. In her diaper. Which I've never done."

Pacific smiled at the memory. "Ooh, it was on her first night, too. She was so angry. You don't even want to know what she said. Honestly, I was terrified of losing her. She's the best I've ever seen at what she does. Just like you."

"You're just saying that," Vinyl grumbled, although she couldn't suppress a smirk. "Just trying to butter me up."

"I mean it!" Pacific insisted. "I know a great DJ when I see one. Check my cutie mark if you don't believe me."

"I don't think I've ever seen your butt."

"Fair point," Pacific grinned. "It's three glowsticks. Clubbing's always been in my blood."

"Surprised it's not like a baby bottle or something," Vinyl remarked.

Pacific smiled. "Oh, I'd kinda like that, wouldn't you? Sugar?"

"Huh?"

"In your coffee?"

Vinyl blinked. "Oh, yeah. I mean no. No sugar. Gimme the black stuff."

For a moment Vinyl expected to be given a baby bottle of raw brown coffee, but Pacific passed her a simple teacup instead. She sipped some back and gulped down some of the bitter goodness, letting it wash away some of the haze and aftertaste of last night.

"The baby scene's something I love, so I jumped at the chance to combine it with my passion," said Pacific. "I'm not even the first one to have the idea. There's a few other clubs like ours - Forever Filly in Fillydelphia and the Royal Canterlot Kindergarten are the two big ones. Ours is a bit more modest, but we pull a pretty decent crowd most nights. And there's a few smaller clubs dotted about here and there, if you know where to look."

"Damn, you guys are everywhere, aren't you?" Vinyl remarked, in between sips of coffee.

"We get around," Pacific smiled. "Surprised you've never come across our scene before. I guarantee you, in any crowd of clubbers you'll find a few big foals in there somewhere."

"Hey, man, I don't ask what people are into," Vinyl said, waving a dismissive hoof, although the idea made her think back to the many encounters she'd had on and off the stage. Clubbers were pretty wild ponies in general. She'd definitely seen ponies wearing pacifiers before, although she'd always thought it was some silly fashion thing.

"Here's your fee," Pacific said, sliding a stack of bits into a small drawstring bag. "Plus a bonus, too."

Vinyl took the bag in her magic, but nearly dropped it when she felt the unexpected weight. "Whoa... a bonus? You really are trying to butter me up!"

"Vinyl, you saved someone's life last night," Pacific said, looking more serious than Vinyl had ever seen her before. "Honestly, I feel bad I can't give you more. You may well have saved the club by what you did. I keep running over what could have happened if you hadn't been there, and it gives me nightmares."

Vinyl blinked. "Oh... that unicorn? Hey, don't worry about that, it was no problem." She clenched her legs a little, reminding herself that it had been at least somewhat of a problem for her, but Pacific didn't need to know the details. "Clubbers are always doing dumb stuff, you should know that better than anypony. I always keep an eye out."

"Well as far as I'm concerned, you went way above and beyond. Take it as a token of my gratitude," Pacific said, smiling solemnly.

"Wow, thanks," Vinyl said. "Hey, I really appreciate it."

She tipped back the rest of her coffee and returned the cup to the sink. Her bladder was really killing her now. "I, uh... thanks for that, and for letting me crash... I really gotta head off now though."

Pacific nodded. "Yep. I'm assuming you're gonna want to change too."

"Nah, I thought I'd wander through Manehattan dressed as a toddler." She awaited Pacific's shot back, but to her concern, Pacific seemed rather intrigued about the idea. "No, wait, I didn't mean it, that was a joke!"

Pacific chuckled. "That would be pretty ballsy. Even I'd think twice about that."

"Really? I thought you'd be into it."

"Well, I did do a store run in a diaper once," Pacific admitted. "But I'm not that much of an exhibitionist. I know, weird right? But that's, like, the beauty of the night scene, you know? Nopony cares if you're wearing furry legwarmers and glow rings down here. I can just do my thing and nopony cares."

"Hey, you're preaching to the choir, sis," Vinyl said, fumbling with the snaps on her onesie collar.

"Want a hoof getting unchanged?"

"No thanks, I'm fine..." Vinyl grunted.

Pacific nodded warmly and took Vinyl's hoof. "On the table, sweetie."

"I said I'm fine," Vinyl repeated, her bulky behind making her stumble as Pacific's strong grip led her to the changing table. "I don't need you to help me undress!"

"I need to get that onesie in the wash as soon as possible," Pacific told her. "You got some coffee down you, that's going to stain."

Vinyl looked down at her chest, catching a glimpse of some brown splotches, but the awkward angle only made her stumble even more, and Pacific caught her to steady her. "Oh, man! I was being careful!" She pouted, flushing a little as Pacific laid her back on the table.

"It's okay, sweetie, it happens," Pacific said gently. "Next time I think we'll get a bib on you, hmm?"

"Don't you dare..." Vinyl groaned. The more that she complained, the more Pacific treated her like a fussy baby. She just couldn't win!

Pacific quickly released her from the onesie, and began untaping the mass of padding wrapped around her hindquarters. Vinyl felt a strange deflation, a release of tension as air reached her underparts once more. It felt really weird after having been stuck in that thing all night. She tapped her hindhooves together, stretching her legs out and flexing her ankles.

"Ahhh, that feels good," Vinyl said, enjoying the full use of her legs again.

"Will you be able to play for us next night?" Pacific asked hopefully. "Next one's on Wednesday."

With the amount that she'd been paid, Vinyl knew she could probably go a couple of months without any more gigs. She frowned as she considered it. "I don't know yet."

"When will you know?" Pacific asked. "I can try to get somepony else in if you can't make it, but... honestly, I'd really love to have you as our regular DJ."

Vinyl sighed. "I... I'll let you know, 'kay? Is Tuesday okay?"

"It'll have to be," Pacific said. "It's up to you, Vinyl. You'll always have a warm welcome here."

Yeah, and a warm diaper too. Vinyl groused to herself. "Thanks, Pacific. I'll see you around."