Counter Culture

A/N There's going to be some minor character jumping as it is necessary, early on they are quite frequent but I promise each subsection will get longer and you'll see less of it. I'll identify the focus of the narration after the section break and before the beginning of the next section. So to be quick this means Octavia  

This means Vinyl

This will stand For Bangtail

And this will be Arpeggio  

Any combination will mean the narrative is equally focused on both, Now that that's done, please enjoy

Walking in the dark, the streets of Manehatten, Neigh York barren save for the few peddlers looking for last minute donations. The light green unicorn walked alone. Turning down into one of the park's pathways; seconds after disappearing, carriages raced down the street from where she came.

Their lights bright and horns blazing, she smiled as she tucked her quiver under her cloak trotting off into the darkness. "Another job well done Arpeggio." she smiled as she walked down the many alleyways of the city, finally making her way to a large rustic looking door, knocking twice she quickly let herself in. Across town she had left chaos.

The scene was packed, some ponies were dancing; they still hadn't noticed what had happened. Between the music and the lights, as well as the stray hallucinogen here and there, no pony expected them to. The colts in blue pushed their way through the crowd, the beats still thundering around them, the lights flashing and strobing in various directions. Under different circumstances this would have been one heck of a party, the new club would have been put on the map. It still was of course, but for slightly more morbid reasons.

"What happened here?" the blue policemare asked as she arrived on scene.

"Evening Inspector Bangtail. Victim goes by MC W1SH, he was hosting an event to celebrate the opening of this here club." The mustachioed Pegasus paused before continuing, "poor guy dropped faster than the bass though."

The blue mare nodded grimly before raising a hoof and smacking him on the back of the head, "Puns aren't funny Ronnie." she said seriously.

He stared at her, momentarily taken aback by the attack, "I'm not even sure that was a pun..."

"Whatever," she straightened her vest as she looked around. "How'd it happen?"

The Pegasus stared at her a moment, she made him uncomfortable; he shook his head, and gestured for her to follow. He led her through the crowd and under the police tape, showing her the scene.

Neon Lights lay slumped over his equipment, half his tie soaked red from the blood that had now clotted over his wound. The arrow had gone in clean, death was almost certainly instant. His face looked calm, his glasses fogged and the mic still near his hoof.

She grimaced slightly at the sight, turning away momentarily, her hoof at her mouth. "What's the ETD?"

"Judging by the blood on the wound here, we'd say it happened between an hour or two ago."

"Do we have any ideas?"

"Only clue we could find is that there are none," the mare furrowed a brow at the Pegasus in front of her. "What I mean is that the crime scene is too clean. Even the arrow doesn't show any signs of handling, we have deduced that the killer must have been a unicorn."

She sighed, "at best that only narrows our search by one third of the population." She took another look, then gathered Neon's equipment, and placed it in her bag. The music soon faded and the lights died down as she disconnected his work, cutting all ties he had with the physical world. She began to walk away as the stretcher-bearers arrived to gather the body, before turning to notice something, a pair of purple tinted sunglasses.

Octavia had just settled down; she had removed her bow tie, finished practicing and cleaning her cello, and had just sat down with a cup of tea when a loud banging came from her door. She set down her tea in a flash, her refined demeanor not showing any signs of irritation save for a slight eyebrow twitch. She quickly trotted to the door and looked through the peephole.

"Tavi you stuck up pony, I know your not asleep, open the door."

"Nice to see you too Vinyl," she sighed, "who else would it have been?"

She quickly unlocked the latch and the door swung open, a distressed looking white unicorn bursting into her foyer. Indignation was on her face as she panted and slumped to the floor. She looked defeated as she sat on the soft carpet of the apartment.

Octavia moved quickly, lifting her friend in one motion onto her back; she carried her to the living room where she had been prior to the disturbance. She laid her friend down on the couch, sitting across from her. "Vinyl, what in the name of Celestia is going on? Weren't you in Manehatten?" She took a sip of her tea but set it down, her nose upturned slightly. "Cold."

The white unicorn in front of her began breathing deeply, trying to compose herself before she told her story.

The night was young, she had just set up all her gear on stage, she was smiling. Work had been slow lately; she was happy to show off her new set. "Alright Vinyl, drop the first track," she placed the needle down, a soft melody flooded the club.  "6 seconds in overlay the second track," she used her magic to start the second record on the table, adding a steady electronic beat.  "13 beats in," she smiled as she floated a pair of headphones on, "drop the bass." The club erupted into a endless wave of fluid motion. Ponies dancing wildly to keep up with the beats she was producing.

Her set lasted an hour, she was happy with what she had created, she had just set down her glasses and given a bro-hoof  to her friend as he went to address the crowd.

"Ay, are y'all having a good time?" he shouted, a loud uproar was his response. "Let's give it up for DJ PON-3, she hooked us up with all the music tonight." another loud uproar, she smiled and lifted a hoof in the air as she nodded to the ongoing beat. "Let's lay down the next track, I'll be back to check on ya in a bit. Stay classy Manehatten."

She was packing up her equipment when he trotted back into the booth. It was above the stage, nearly invisible from the dance floor. He trotted back up the stairs, frowning as he saw her packing up. "You're not gonna stick around for the party?"

"Not tonight Neon, I have a previous engagement." She gave him a wink and smiled, it wasn't true but she liked teasing him.

"Oh," he looked down sadly before rummaging through a bag, "alright well let me just get the bits I owe you for the show, awesome set tonight," he said as he tossed a small sack of coins her way. She floated them down into her bag along with her table.

"Hey we'll meet up later, alright?"

"Whatever loser," he smiled slipping back into his stage persona, "catch ya later."

She trotted off backstage before she realized that she had forgotten her glasses. As she turned around to retrieve them it happened. She saw him, the arrow quickly piercing through his chest, she was shocked, frozen in place. She looked back at her friend, she couldn't hear him over the noise but she could see what he was saying. Run.

She bolted, as fast as her legs would carry her; when she felt she was far enough away she stopped. She thought back on what she had seen, finally able to process it all. She threw up, from shock and exasperation."Where do we go? We need a place to stay, where where where?"Her mind wracked around the issue until it finally hit her. "Tavi." She took a deep breath and concentrated as hard as she could, the spell she was trying to perform was new to her. She had only seen it down by that purple unicorn back in Ponyville. It took every bit of her strength and focus, a vein on her forehead twitching slightly as she finally disappeared in a flash of blue light.

The two friends sat in silence, Vinyl exasperated from her story. Octavia shifted uncomfortably, thinking before she pried further. "Poor Neon, who would do such a thing? He seemed like such a nice fellow when I met him at that little soirée."

"You mean the Bonfire Kickback last month?" she smiled slightly remembering. "That's not important right now Tavi, someone killed Neon. I need a place to lay low. Can I crash here for awhile?"

The Grey pony placed her hooves under her chin, seemingly contemplating the idea. "Alright fine, but we will not have a repeat of that little fiasco when we were living together." she scolded.

"How was I supposed to know that chickens would react so violently to wubs," she shook her head, "never mind, thank you Tavi. You're the best."

"Yes well some would say that," she smiled wryly, "don't worry Vinyl we'll get this all sorted out on the morrow"

The unicorn was already snoring on the couch by that time. Octavia sighed, sauntering over to her closet and retrieving a blanket. She covered her friend before retiring to bed. *Sigh,* "What have you gotten into old girl?"

Arpeggio slipped out of her cloak, levitating it into her quarters. The quiver lay slung over her body before it too was stored in her closet, one arrow being levitated and placed in the quiver. As she rearranged her things a gruff voice struck her ears “Wie ist es gelaufen?”

“All went well Klangfarbenmelodie, I believe we'll all be quite pleased come morning.” she closed the door to her cabinet, revealing the large brown stallion who stood beside her cot. He smiled, clapping his hooves together. “Ah das ist gut, ja?”

“Quite,” she replied inattentively.

“Herr Requiem wishes see du.” His English was broken but she understood.

She sighed quietly, “Tell Master Requiem I will be in his chambers soon.”

He smiled as he trotted away down the hall, passing the living quarters and up the grand staircase in the foyer. Arpeggio sat a moment longer before straightening her mane, “Well, best not leave the old boy waiting.”

She rose quickly from her seat, turning to her door, and mimicking the path of her foreign associate. As she reached the top of the grand staircase, she was greeted by two white colts. "Ah yes the twins, Requiem's best bumbling bodyguards." “Good evening Adagio, Allegro, how do you fair?”

The first brother looked up rather slowly, he was in a constant state of lethargy. “Well enough I suppose.”

The second brother shot to attention, quickly staring back at her “Fine, just, fine. Everything has been swell.”

“Right, well if you boys don't mind, my presence has been requested by Master Requiem.” She paused, giving one enough time to register the statement and the other time to act upon it. She smiled as Allegro opened the door before her and she trotted by. Once the door was shut her face became one of incredulity, “You really need to get those boys analyzed Requiem, I worry for their safety sometimes.”

The dark green pegasus to whom she addressed was busying himself playing a low dirge on the organ, he held one long low note before turning. “Arpeggio my child, don't be so hard on the boys, why together they're almost one competent pony.” He smiled, pouring himself a drink and trotting to the fireplace. “Do come in child, I had some business I wished to discuss with you.”

She walked slowly, "More business, no rest  for the weary as they say." “What can I do to better serve our cause?”

“You see, there is a reason you are my favorite.” He placed a hoof around her, handing her a drink with his wing, “always looking for the betterment of our establishment. I have another target for you child.”

She smiled, taking a sip of the cider in the glass, “Requiem I thought you said this was business, what you're offering is a night on the town.” They both smiled at that, letting out a small chuckle as they began to discuss the finer details.

“I need results!” Inspector Bangtail slammed her hoof on the desk. “We have one deceased musician and a killer at large. Give me suspects, not excuses.” The Pegasus in front of her stared blankly, having no information. She sighed, rubbing her temples with her hoof. "Ronnie, get out of my office and don't come back without something useful." he left quietly, nodding nervously.

She sat staring at the case file on her desk, it was nearly blank except for the victim, the weapon, and the location. She let her head slip downward, her eyes finally settling themselves on her saddlebag. She reached in and pulled out the purple sunglasses she had found at the crime scene. She held them up above her head facing the light, turning them every which way hoping for anything that might be a clue.

As she did so Magnum Opus walked by her office, turning to look in out of curiosity. As she stared at the mare she couldn't help noticing something familiar and let herself in.

"I didn't know you were a fan of DJ PON-3 too. You know, you never struck me as the partying type."

"Of who?" she looked at the intruder with confusion.

"DJ PON-3, those are replica sunglasses aren't they?"

"Actually for the time being they're evidence." she stood up and walked over to Magnum. "Do have a picture of this DJ with you?"

Magnum smiled, "Well yeah actually. She autographed this for me a few months ago, I bring it everywhere. Is she under investigation?"

Bangtail stared at the picture, taking in every detail. “Hmm Vinyl Scratch.” She quickly grabbed the case file, "She is now." she responded as she left Magnum alone and confused in the office. The blue mare rushed to the file room, her second office as the others called it. She quickly began opening files until she found the one she was looking for.

Name:Vinyl Scratch

Species: Unicorn

Previous charges: 3 charges of disturbing the peace, 2 charges general misconduct, 2 charges public drunkenness- later dropped due to misunderstanding - and 1 charge mistreatment of farmyard fowl.

Bangtail sighed, "Well it's no clean slate but she doesn't seem the murderous type." She stood up, "Well a lead is a lead, can't take any chances. If anything she may be able to shed some light on the situation." She took one last look at the file

Current Address: Ponyville.

As the train stopped outside Ponyville proper, Bangtail awoke from her thoughts. It had been a long trip from the Manehatten Department of Criminal Investigations; she stretched her legs out, slinging her bag onto her back before exiting the train. She looked around the small town trying to get her bearings. The sun hung low in the sky, it was already early evening and the streets were fairly empty. As she began to walk she felt something grab her and she was rushed inside a building.

"What's going on? Kidnapping an officer is a federal offense punishable by 6-9 years in the dungeon." she shouted as she was sat down inside a building, a cake and a rather large group of ponies staring at her. "Oh you gotta be kidding me." her hoof met her face for the umpteenth time that day.

A pink pony approached her and began smiling widely. "Oh welcome to Ponyville Mz. I noticed you step off the train and I've never seen you before, and if I've never seen you then you've never been here and if you've never been here then you don't know anypony. So I gathered everypony up and set up this party Lickety-split, so welcome to Ponyville."

The pink pony hadn't stopped for breath once and she still didn't look like she needed to, she quickly set up a line and introduced everypony to their guest. Bangtail sighed "I really don't have time for this, best be not be hostile though, can't arouse suspicion." after she had met everypony, her host left her to her own accord, mingling with her guests.

Bangtail rose from her seat quickly moving outside seemingly unnoticed, she trotted down the road a piece before a voice stopped her. "Pinkie can be a bit much sometimes huh?" a rainbow mare trotted up to her side, a cupcake in her hoof; one cheek full with the pastry. "You got to hand it to her though, she makes an awesome cupcake."

"Well I didn't really have the time to have a sample platter," her voice was impatient, laced with sarcasm.

"Yeah I noticed, so... What are you investigating?" the blue pony asked.

"Wha- nothing, I'm not looking for anything." she looked down but kept walking.

"I used to have a cousin who was an investigator in Cloudsdale, I recognize the badge." she smiled victoriously as the mare in front of her stopped.

"Look here rainbow, I'm here on important business and I don't need you mucking things up, so stay out of my way." she had turned around, a hoof in Rainbow's face.

"Hey, how'd you know my," she paused "oh right the mane. Anyway I'm only trying to help, I'm sure you'd like to find your evidence and leave, so what are you looking for?"

Bangtail sighed, her shoulders relaxing, "At this point who am I to deny help."

"I'm looking for Vinyl Scratch."

"She lives in that cottage down the road, I hope it's nothing serious."

The blue earth pony stared at the Pegasus daring her to pry further.

"look, like I said my cousin was an investigator, I know you can't tell me anything but whatever it is Vinyl probably didn't do it. Sure she likes to party but she's no menace." the rainbow mare turned, heading back to the party.

"Hey," she looked down at her hooves then back at the retreating pony, "thanks kid."

Bangtail trotted down to the aforementioned cottage, looking in it appeared empty. She gave the door a hard knock, waiting, but no response came. She tried once more, “Vinyl Scratch, I have some questions concerning your whereabouts last night.” Still he door remained closed, not a sound came from the other side. She sighed, defeated. She kicked her hoof at the ground, unsure of what to do next, She trotted over to the Ponyville branch of the the police force. "Only one thing left to do." As she entered the small office, only one or two ponies occupied it, she shouted “I'm putting out an APB for Vinyl Scratch.”

"Whether she did it or not, she's the only lead I have, and I'm going to find her one way or another."