Vinyl stirred in her sleep, tossing and turning and-wait. She wasn’t tossing and turning. Her bed was! Vinyl shot up suddenly and glanced around. She knew she’d fallen asleep in Lyra’s guest room, but for some reason, she was now once again aboard the Equestrian Express bound for Celestia-knows-where. Vinyl tried to gather her thoughts, but the only thing building in her mind was a sense of rage. “Some best friends,” she muttered. “Toss me on the first train out of Ponyville to get rid of me. Well, fine. I can handle myself just fine in…uh…”

Vinyl stood up, first checking to make sure her bags were placed on the train with her, which they were, then heading over to the ticket taker standing by the door. “Yo, buddy, where’s this train heading?”

The stallion looked over at Vinyl Scratch and then turned back to his post. “This train is headed for Manehatten, and it’s one-way, little lady. If you want to go back to Ponyville, you’ll have to ride the other train all the way back from Las Pegasus.”

Vinyl’s jaw dropped. “You’ve gotta be kidding me…that’s three days away from Ponyville alone, never mind the trip there in the first place…guess I’ll just get off in Manehatten, see what I can do there.”

The stallion ignored her and Vinyl walked back to her seat, hopping back up and burying her face into the cushion. ‘When I get back to Ponyville, Lyra and Bonnie are gonna get an earful…still, I guess it wasn’t that bad. Bonnie knew I was getting bored. She always knows, somehow. She’s always been crazy psychic like that.’

The train screeched to its stopping point at the Manehatten station and Vinyl wearily began heading off, her luggage in tow and a bit of a scowl across her face. ‘But Lyra…I mean, who does she think she is? She doesn’t know me as well as Bonnie does and she’s probably the one that put that whole plan together, the conniving little-‘

*THUD!*

Vinyl’s bags hit the ground as she crashed into another pony next to her.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” scolded a voice that Vinyl found increasingly familiar, but doubted it in the spur of the moment.

“Why don’t you do the same, ya-…“ Vinyl’s gaze darted up to her ‘assailant’ and was met with the returning violet irises of the other pony. “…Twilight? Twilight Sparkle, is that actually you?”

The unicorn mare Vinyl had slammed into did a double-take at the white unicorn, and then simply smiled brightly. “Vinyl Scratch, I can’t believe it’s you! I haven’t seen you in years!”

“Yeah, well…” Vinyl chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. “I’ve been stuck in Canterlot until just recently. So, what brings you here?”

“Well, Princess Celestia asked me to travel all the way from Ponyville to Las Pegasus and perform a social analysis involving the exchange of friendly bouts of dialog between close acquaintances.”

Vinyl’s head tilted left. “Could you repeat that with smaller words, Twi?”

Twilight giggled and said, “I have to see how different kinds of friends greet each other in different towns and cities.” Vinyl’s mouth formed an ‘O’ and she nodded. “So, Vinyl, what are you doing so far from home? Ponyville is its own way’s away from Manehatten, but Canterlot is another story entirely.”

“Let’s just say I finally got the means to find myself out here in the world,” Vinyl replied, pulling the train pass out of her bag and showing it to Twilight.

“That’s a Year-Round Equestrian Express pass! Those are pretty expensive, and hard to get ahold of. How’d you manage it?”

“Dad got it for me,” she answered. “He scored a lucky shot by selling instruments to Octavia Philharmonica and used the bits to get me the pass. So, answer me this one, Twi. What brings you here all the way from Canterlot yourself?”

“Oh, I don’t live in Canterlot anymore,” Twilight replied. “I moved into the library in Ponyville. I’m a bit surprised you didn’t see me while you were there, or when I boarded the train from the station this morning.”

“Well, about that,” Vinyl said adapting a bit of a scowl and a blush. “Lyra and Bonnie tossed me on the first train out of Ponyville without my okay.”

Twilight groaned, “Ugh, seriously? I’m honestly wondering why I even drafted up that Best Friend code with Lyra if she’s gonna pull a stunt like that! When I get back to Ponyville, I’ve got a word to have with her, that’s for sure!”

“It’s cool, Twi, really,” Vinyl replied, toning down a bit. “Honestly, I’m over it already. As much of a jerk it makes Lyra look like, I did kinda need a bit more of a push than I was giving myself.”

“Are you really sure about that, Vinyl?” Twilight asked.

Vinyl nodded. “Yeah, it was a bit over the top, but she was doing it as a friend, so I’m okay now.” The unicorn glanced around. “So, uh…what do you know about Manehatten?” Twilight began to speak, but Vinyl quickly covered her mouth with a hoof. “And when I ask that, I don’t mean ‘give me the entire history of Manehatten,’ I mean ‘tell me what’s relevant here’.” Twilight chuckled, her face red with embarrassment as Vinyl brought her hoof down. “What kind of places does this city have?”

“It would be easier to tell you what the city doesn’t have, Vinyl,” Twilight replied. “Next to Canterlot, Manehatten is one of the largest cities in Equestria. There’s over a hundred restaurants, dozens of tourist attractions, museums, night clubs, hotels and-“

“Hold up there, Sparkle,” Vinyl interrupted, “Did I hear you right when you said, ‘night clubs’?”

“Well, of course there are night clubs, Vinyl,” Twilight replied. “What kind of a city would Manehatten be if it didn’t have any night clubs? It isn’t called ‘the city that never sleeps’ for no reason.”

Vinyl’s eyes widened. ‘This could be it!’ she gleefully exclaimed within her thoughts. ‘I’ve always loved music, but there might actually be something at this club that could actually show me the way! I might finally find what I’m good at! Twilight Sparkle, I could kiss you right now!’

“Sorry, Vinyl, but you know I don’t swing that way,” Twilight vocalized, leaving Vinyl blushing hotly and incredibly shocked. “What, you honestly didn’t think I’d be able to cast a mind-reading spell? That was one of the first lessons in Celestia’s Divination class, and I mastered it in three days. Imagine the looks on the guard’s faces when I started finishing their sentences for them.”

“Uh…y-yeah, that’s great, Twilight,” Vinyl stuttered out, slowly walking past her friend. “But I’ve gotta go check out those clubs you were talking about…catch ya later!” With those final words, Vinyl took off full gallop down the street faster than Twilight had ever seen her run. She simply giggled and continued on her own way as she contemplated what Vinyl was about to get herself into.

Vinyl rushed through the busy city streets of Manehatten, desperately searching for the aforementioned night clubs. ‘Man, this place is packed. I wonder if I’ll ever find this stupid club, if it even exists.’ Sighing, frustrated, Vinyl continued onward on her seemingly-hopeless quest until she came to a park of sorts, which she assumed was a center point of the city. She grumbled angrily, kicking up a cloud of dust with her hoof as she walked over to a bench and sat down, disgruntled. “Can’t believe I ran off without even asking her where it was…stupid Vinyl, always making bad decisions. You’re never gonna get anywhere doing dumb things like that.”

“Do you always talk to yourself when you’re alone in the middle of Manehatten?”

“GAH!” Vinyl practically skyrocketed off the bench and tumbled down to the ground. It took her eyes a few seconds to readjust to the sudden change of scenery, but she was greeted with what she immediately perceived as a vision of loveliness: a grey earth pony mare with a black mane and a cello case set down to her left. “W-what do you think you’re doing, scaring somepony like that? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

The earth pony gasped, “Heavens, no! I’d never do such a vile thing…I was honestly concerned, considering you were holding one-sided conversation with yourself in such a public place…not that anypony was around to hear it anyway.”

“Um…yeah, that’s good, I guess,” Vinyl agreed, awkwardly rising up and brushing the dust out of her mane. “So, who are you, anyway, and why’d you come over here to bug me?”

The mare scoffed. “Excuse me, but you just so happened to be in my usual spot. Do you not know who I am?”

“Nope,” Vinyl replied immediately, “New in town, no idea what anything or who anypony is, so yeah.”

“Well then,” the mare replied in turn, “Allow me to first apologize for my semi-brutish behavior, and then introduce myself. I am Octavia Philharmonica.”

Vinyl’s brain stopped dead in its tracks. “Wait a minute…THE Octavia Philharmonica? Aren’t you like crazy rich or something? What are you doing in the middle of some dinky park?”

“I happen to practice here all the time, actually,” Octavia replied. “I’ve got a solo tonight and I always like to make sure I’m prepared.”

Vinyl made an ‘O’ face and sat back down on the bench. “Can I watch?”

“Watch what, me practice?” asked Octavia, who pondered the answer for a moment. “I…actually, I don’t see why not. No matter the size, an audience is an audience.”

Vinyl got comfortable on the bench and cheered, “Sweet!” She lay against the back of the bench, waiting and watching for Octavia to begin.

The earth pony mare began unlocking her hoof-crafted case and within was a cello that had definitely had many years of music played across its strings. She stood it upright and she herself followed, rising up on her rear legs and wrapping her hooves around the neck of the instrument, taking up the bow in one and pressing down on the neck strings with the other, also using herself as a stand for the instrument and vice versa. Taking a deep breath and placing the bow on the lower strings, she closed her eyes began to play.

The sound was like nothing Vinyl could describe. It was no Deadhor5 or Tartarus like she was used to, but it was amazing to her ears. She could almost feel the music moving from Octavia’s body into the cello with every stroke of the bow. Her heart and soul flowed out into the air in a cascading dance, and Vinyl sat in shock and awe, unable to produce nothing more than silent gasps of wonder. ‘How am I so paralyzed by this music? This stuff isn’t even my style, and yet…there’s something about the way she plays that just has me…mesmerized.’

Octavia finished her song rather quickly, sighing softly and taking a bow using her cello for balance. She opened her eyes, looked up and saw Vinyl, staring at her, absolutely speechless. Octavia couldn’t withhold a slight giggle. “So, I take it that means you enjoyed it.”

Vinyl snapped back to attention and made a few rapid nods. “Yeah, it was really good! You’re gonna do fantastic on that solo of yours. Heck, I might come see it…if I could afford it.”

“Well, you’re quite the lucky one, then,” Octavia said with a smile, reaching into her cello case and pulling out a paper ticket of sorts. “I happen to have a few promotional tickets for friends and such, and I wouldn’t mind giving you one.”

Vinyl’s jaw dropped, “For real? Oh, man, that’s awesome!” Vinyl immediately jumped forward, grappling Octavia in a bone-crushing hug. “Thanks, Tavi, you’re the best!”

Octavia winced slightly. “T-Tavi? What is that for?”

“Oh, I give nicknames to all my friends,” Vinyl proclaimed proudly, receding from the hug and smiling at Octavia.

“But…we’ve only known each other for all of ten minutes, how-“

“Yeah, I make friends fast,” Vinyl interrupted. “Oh, yeah, would you happen to know where the night clubs are around here?”

“Well, I know of one across from the concert hall down Mane Street a few miles, but it’s-“

“Thanks! I’ll catch ya later after your show, Tavi! Good luck, or break a leg, or whatever it is musicians say for good luck!” Vinyl bolted off down the street, far too excited to be considered safe. Octavia stared in utter confusion for several seconds before simply brushing it off and chuckling.

“That was one strange mare,” she noted. “Looks like Fredrick was right…I do attract the crazies.”

Vinyl finally arrived in front of the night club, which she was surprised how she could have ever missed. It had a huge neon sign that, in a twist of irony, actually read ‘Neon’. It wasn’t lit up yet, but she decided to venture in regardless. The interior didn’t look all that decorated just yet, but the floor was made up of greyed panels, which Vinyl assumed lit up in various colors when the club was active. As she passed the empty bar, she came up to the DJ stand on the main stage. The DJ’s turntables were locked in place and locked up behind a glass cover, which looked obviously set up with an alarm. Before she could creep any closer to it, she felt something tap her shoulder, followed by a rather casual, relaxed voice inquiring, “Something I can help you with, babe?”

Vinyl nearly jumped out of her coat, but managed to keep a cool head and turned to face the voice. “Uh, yeah, this is the club, right?”

“Well, duh, babe,” replied the stallion behind her. He was a grey-coated stallion with a black mane, a pair of blue-tinted shades and a triad cluster of stars as his cutie mark. “It’s one of the clubs in Manehatten, but it’s not just any club, this is the club, and it’s also my club. Name’s Neon Lights, but only when I’m off work. Once I hit the stage, you can just call me MC W15H.”

“Name’s Vinyl Scratch,” she replied. “I was actually looking for this place to see if there was anything I could do. See, I don’t exactly have my cutie mark yet, because I’ve really got no idea what I want to do with my life, but I’ve always loved music! And the club scene’s always got my favorite kinds of songs, so I figured ‘why not try here first’, y’know?”

Neon chuckled nostalgically. “Kinda reminds me of when I first set out on my own. I thought the same way, and sure enough I found myself here. In fact, the guy who used to own this place passed it on to me when he retired. Course, he’d practically been in this business since the business began. Don’t be eyeballing my job just yet, babe.”

“No way, man,” Vinyl shook her head. “I’m just in it for the music.”

“Now that’s what I like to hear,” Neon said with a grin. “Well, we’re pretty much locked up tight on everything for tonight’s set, but if you wanna chill backstage with me and some of the DJs opening tonight, you’re more than welcome to. After all, it’s not every day the aspiring DJs are so cute.”

Vinyl’s face went deep red. “Y-yeah, that’d be…cool and stuff.”

“Cool,” Neon replied, walking to a hallway closer to the back of the club. “C’mon, I’ll show you around a bit.”

“O-okay…” Vinyl sat stunned for a few seconds, then silently squealed as she charged off after Neon.

Later that night, the club scene was certainly as exciting as Vinyl had pictured it: over two hundred ponies walked through the doors and not even a minute later, they were completely decorated with various glowing bracelets, necklaces, crowns and otherwise-colorful accessories. It was a true party, and Vinyl loved every second of it. Of course, Vinyl wasn’t spending much time among the front crowds. Instead, she was hanging in the back room with Neon Lights and the other club employees as they relaxed before the show truly began.

“And so the stallion replied, ‘that’s not salt, buddy!’” Vinyl shouted. Her present audience roared with relentless laughter, Neon himself tumbling over out of his chair, gripping his sides.

“Oh, man, Vinyl, you’ve got the best jokes,” Neon cried out, trying to get control over himself. “You’re gonna make a great addition to the crew.”

“So, what do you want her starting out on, Neon?” asked a nearby white-maned blue-coated mare with a black star as her cutie mark. “I don’t want you to push the poor girl too hard, little brother.”

“Calm down, Cosmic,” Neon replied. “I won’t stick her in Boot Camp just yet. That’s for the big leagues. Vinyl’s gonna have to start out where everypony else did in this place: as a barista.”

“Serving tables?” came a rather disgusted inquiry from the stallion next to Cosmic, sporting more glow sticks, bracelets and necklaces than most ponies out on the floor. His red coat and jet-black mane were almost invisible against the impossibly bright color palate provided by the accessories, but somehow his glowstick-cross mark stood out. “Good luck, kiddo. Being a busmare’s gonna suck.”

“Oh, give it a rest, Prism,” Cosmic said, giving a medium-strength punch to Prism’s shoulder and turning back to Vinyl. “You’re gonna do fine, sweetie. Just stick to what we tell you and you’ll pull through just fine.”

Neon stared at the clock, tapping his hoof anxiously on the floor. “Where the heck is GR1M? He’s supposed to open my set with a few songs he brought with him.” He glanced around the room, and then looked to Vinyl. “Got your first job babe. Go looking for DJ GR1M. He’s a grey stallion with a silver mane and a silver skeleton cutie mark. He’ll also be wearing a big skull helmet. It’s sort of his thing, but I think it’s kinda dumb.”

“You got it, Neon!” Vinyl exclaimed, saluting and heading to the door. She quickly swung it open and a loud ‘THUD!’ was heard. The break room went silent as all four heads poked out around the door to see an unmasked DJ GR1M, now hopelessly unconscious on the floor.

“Uh…oops.”

“Vinyl, what did you do?!” Neon yelled, now in full-on panic mode.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t see him there! I was just opening the door and ‘WHAM!’, it hit him!”

“Vinyl, calm down,” Cosmic cooed, pulling Vinyl into a light hug. “You didn’t mean to do it.”

“She might not have meant to, but now we don’t have our promised opener!” shouted Prism. “Who’s gonna go on before Neon now? Me?”

“Of course not, Pris,” Neon replied. “Neither you nor Cosmic are. I can open the set without him.”

“But these guys are waiting for DJ GR1M, Neon,” Cosmic said. “You’re just gonna walk out there and tell them they’re not even getting any kind of opening act?”

“I’ve got no choice,” Neon replied. “Damn it…I’m probably gonna lose a ton of bits on this one…people are gonna leave as soon as they hear GR1M isn’t opening, plus I’ll have to pay off Grim Skull’s medical bill, any repairs for the door, and-“

“I’ll do it,” Vinyl said plainly.

“Vinyl, what are you talking about?” asked Neon.

“I’ll do it,” she repeated. “I’ll run the set instead of DJ GR1M.”

“Vinyl, sweetie, you don’t know the first thing about working with turntables,” Cosmic said. “…Do you?”

“I’ve read some tutorials from a few music magazines…I understand the basics. I could try to pull something off until GR1M wakes up. And if he doesn’t…I’ll just wing it until Neon’s up. How long was GR1M’s set?”

“Three hours, Vinyl,” Neon replied. Vinyl’s eyes widened. “GR1M was meant to play until midnight, and then I would take over until six in the morning.”

“You don’t have to do this, Vinyl,” Cosmic said, still trying to console Vinyl. “Neon can just tell everypony that DJ GR1M got lost on the way here.”

“No, I have to take responsibility for my mistake,” Vinyl replied. “I’ll try to take over GR1M’s set, and if I screw up…well, then that’s it. I get blacklisted before I’ve even started and I head back home to Canterlot. No big deal.”

“But it is a big deal, Vinyl,” said Neon. “You told us what your life was like up there, how you were bored every hour of every day…are you really prepared to just give all this up, go back there and live it all over again?”

“I don’t see much of a choice,” Vinyl replied. “I mean, if this isn’t actually my talent, then I will mess it up, so I’ll see no point in continuing on then.”

Prism began to console her now. “Vinyl, there’s more to music than just clubs and-“

“Not to me,” Vinyl interrupted. “This is all I know…the club scene is me, I know it. So if I’m not cut out for this, then I’ll just go.” Vinyl glanced around the room and levitated a random pair of violet-tinted shades over her eyes. “At least if I do get run out of Manehatten, nopony will be able to see who I really am.”

As Vinyl began to walk out of the room, Neon quickly pulled the door shut with his magic. “Hold up there, babe.”

Vinyl sighed and turned around. “Are you gonna give me some big speech about why I shouldn’t do this or how the bits don’t matter or some other dramatic dialogue like that? Because I’m not gonna listen.“

“Actually, I was gonna tell you that you’re nowhere near ready to hit that stage yet,” Neon said. “You’re gonna need a full set of digs. If you’re really risking your dreams on one make-or-break chance, you’re going up there in style.”

“Neon, what are you-“

“Cosmic, get her into the chair. Prism, grab the mane dye and gel. We’ve got work to do.”

“On it, boss,” replied Prism.

“Sorry about this, Vinyl,” Cosmic said, pushing her magic to its limit and lifting Vinyl into the chair sitting before the vanity mirror.

“Whoa, hey, what’s going on here? What are you guys do-…Neon, you get that bottle of conditioner away from me…no, not my mane! Stay back! BACK, ALL OF YOU! I KNOW KARATE OR SOMETHING!”

Neon and his employees would consider the next half hour a success. Vinyl would be more inclined to call it hell. However, in the end, Vinyl was surprised with her own satisfaction. “I…look…amazing!” Vinyl’s mane was styled in more bold spikes and dyed strands of electric blue. “You guys did an awesome job.”

“This coming from miss ‘stay back, all of you, I know karate or something’,” Prism jeered.

“Can it, glowstick boy,” Cosmic chided, punching Prism in the shoulder lightly. “You look spectacular, Vinyl…now, you know what you’ve gotta do, right?”

“Take the stage, play GR1M’s set list, jam to three hours-worth of music and keep the crowd pumped until Neon goes up,” Vinyl replied.

Neon nodded. “You got it. If you’re really sure you can handle it, then get on out there and…wait, we almost forgot something!”

“What is it, Neon?” asked Cosmic.

“Vinyl doesn’t have a stage name yet. What do you guys think?”

“I think she looks like a ‘DJ 5PARK5’,” Cosmic suggested.

“How about ‘MC AUR0RA’?” inquired Prism.

“Nah, those are too flashy,” Neon said. “You got any ideas, Vinyl?”

“Kinda,” she replied. “It’s a pretty simple one, though... DJ PON-3, with a ‘3’ as an ‘E’ instead of a ‘Y’.”

All three of them stared in silence for a few moments. Finally, Neon spoke up. “That’s…actually pretty good. Simple, but just simple enough to work. You sure that’s what you’re picking? A stage name stays with you as long as you’re in the business.”

Vinyl nodded. “I’m sure. It feels…right.”

“Okay, I’ll announce you onto the stage then,” Prism said. “You’re on in five minutes. Get yourself psyched up.”

Prism walked off to his sound booth and Vinyl began to breathe more heavily and rapidly. “Okay…I’ve got this. It’s no big deal, I’ve totally got this…why don’t I feel like I’ve got this? Is it hard to breathe in here or is it just me? Does anypony else feel light-headed or-“

“Calm down, girl!” Cosmic yelled, delivering a swift slap across Vinyl’s muzzle. “You’re gonna do fine. You don’t need to panic.”

“Cosmic’s right, Vinyl,” Neon added, walking up to the nerve-wracked mare. “You said it yourself…it’s sink-or-swim time, and we’re gonna help you swim, but you’ve gotta be willing to work for it too.”

Vinyl sighed and took a few slow, deep breaths. “Yeah…yeah, I can do this.”

“Three minutes, Vinyl,” Prism announced over the headset Vinyl was wearing. “Are you doing okay?”

“I’ll manage, Pris. Thanks, though,” she replied. Vinyl looked out to the main stage and smiled. “It’s waiting for me, and this time, I can actually take it. I’ll get up there and I’ll be a star…and I’ll either rise or fall.”

“Two minutes, kiddo, get ready,” Prism said. “At thirty seconds, I’ll start your intro.”

“Got it,” she acknowledged. “Well…I hope you guys are right.” Vinyl walked over to the platform behind the DJ stage and stood on it. “Ready whenever you are, Prism.”

“Just about a minute to go. Start the lift when I start your introduction.”

‘You can do this, Vinyl,’ she thought. ‘It can’t be that hard. I mean, how many ponies could possibly be out there? Forty? Fifty?’

“And starting lift now, Vinyl,” Prism said as the platform began to rise and Vinyl could see out onto the dance floor. Hundreds upon hundreds of ponies decked out in glowing accessories danced about, and Vinyl’s heart nearly stopped.

“Attention, everypony in the club, this is your light-master, Prism Storm! Now, normally, you’d be about to hear the epic beats of DJ GR1M, but due to an unfortunate accident, he’s not gonna be able to make it!” The crowd began to groan and some even started to leave. “But don’t evacuate the dance floor just yet, folks, because we managed to pull a quick replacement! She’s new and ready to roll, please bring your hooves to the ground for DJ PON3!”

The platform reached the top and all eyes in the audience were on Vinyl as she stepped up to the console. There were more ponies in that room than she’d ever seen before, and it made her turn whiter than she already was. Not five seconds on the stage and she was already stuttering and sweating bullets. The crowd quickly began to turn against her, jeering and demanding the music. She stared at the console in hopes that it would give her the answers, and for once, a sudden glance was all it took.

‘Wait a minute…I HAVE seen this before…I know how to work one of these!’

Vinyl rushed to one side of the console and pulled a switch down. A deep bellowing rumble was emitted from the speakers as the music started slowly. “Hello, Manehattenites! Are you ready to rock it on the dance floor tonight?!” The crowd’s opinion of this new DJ started to turn around quickly, most ponies getting back into the flow of the club and cheering for her once more. “Awesome, because I’m gonna give you exactly what you want! Let’s kick it!”

The music started and everypony began to dance. Even those who still questioned Vinyl’s validity as a DJ started to move to the beat. Every so often, Vinyl would shift the speed or scratch the record playing the backbeat for an extra kick. She would also shout or cheer out a rally for the ponies to join in, and most would cheer in reply. Vinyl gave a more exciting performance than even Neon had expected, and by the end of three hours, neither Vinyl nor the crowd wanted to see her go.

“I’m sorry, everypony, but I’ve gotta pass this baton off to MC W15H for the night, but don’t you kids worry, I’m sure I’ll be back another time!” The crowd cheered once more as the platform brought Vinyl back down to the ground floor. She ran off and lifted her shades with her magic and wiped her brow. “Oh, man, those ponies really know how to party! That was epic! Hey, Neon, you’re up!”

“Thanks, Vinyl,” Neon shouted as he ran by. “And you were awesome up there, seriously! Top notch! Welcome to Club Neon, you’re on as my full-time opener!” The elevator began to rise up to the console platform as he yelled back down, “Oh, and you might wanna check your flank, babe! You’re gonna like what you see!”

Vinyl tilted her head. “Huh? My…flank?”

Vinyl looked back to see what she’d been searching for all that time. Now shining on her flank was a black double quaver note, and as she looked away, she saw Prism and Cosmic rushing over to congratulate her. Everything was happening at once, and she couldn’t have been happier.

“I couldn’t be more miserable.”

Octavia sat out on the balcony and stared off into the rainy night, her ensemble drinking and laughing in the room behind her. A brown-coated stallion walked out onto the balcony to join her. “Octavia, come back inside. It’s absolutely dreadful out here.”

“No, it’s quite all right, Fredrick,” Octavia replied. “I just want to be alone with my thoughts for now.”

“She never showed up…did she, Octavia?” he asked.

Octavia shook her head. “I thought this would finally work, Fred…I thought I’d finally found somepony. She was so excited…she called me her friend after only knowing me for five minutes, she even gave me a nickname right away. I felt a connection…I guess I was wrong again.”

“Maybe you should come inside. I’ll pour you a drink and you can forget all about her.”

Octavia sighed. “Perhaps you’re right…I’ll just do what I’ve done for all the other ones…drink them out of my memory. It’s worked so far. I’ve never seen any of the others ever again, perhaps it’s just my curse.”

“You’ll find the right mare someday, Octavia,” Fredrick consoled her. “You just have to keep your head held high.”

Octavia smiled and looked up at Fredrick. “You always know just what to say, Fred.”

“And that’s why I’m your best friend, Octavia. Now, let’s get you that drink.”

Octavia and Fredrick walked back inside and shut the doors. Several drinks later, Octavia became blissfully unaware of her prior heartbreak, and on the other side of town, Vinyl partied the night away, completely forgetting her promise entirely.

Author's Note

OH
MY
CELESTIA, LUNA, DISCORD AND CHRYSALIS

I AM BACK AND I AM FINALLY DONE WITH CHAPTER THREE.

So yeah, I had a MAJOR writer's block for FIVE MONTHS, but this vacation kicked its ass and brought you guys this chapter. So, I hope you enjoy it, because I had a hell of a time writing it.

Edit: Before I forget:
Suite for Solo Cello in G Major performed by Denise Djokic
'RWBY - I Burn' belongs to Rooster Teeth
All canon characters are copyrighted to Hasbro and MLP, OCs are mine, so on and so forth...