Switch-Up

Setting up, playing, and occasionally, dropping in a few...party candies, if you can understand.

Octavia. Stuck-up, big ego. Always moving. No time for fans. All she deals with.

So, as she packed up her equipment, she did just what she always did at the club, waited patiently for the guards to haul everypony out so she could leave without maybe losing all her hair to stupid, erratic fans.

And as she left the building, flashes went off all around ehr, photographing a magic shield that she had acquired with teh help of a rich unicorn. Hiding her very image from every camera, she ignored every flash, and continued on with the collapsed techno set, down the stairs at a quick speed.

Many ponies tried to follow her down the street, but as she cleared the edge of the crowd, she broke off into a sprint, the heavy tech on her back doing almost nothing to slow her down. Simply put, she did what many famous urban ponies would call a "ghetto get-away." Short and simple.

And so, she made it home to her hidden apartment quickly, and began the normal, after-party routine. She dropped off the collapsed equipment next to the door, and left it as she headed for the kitchen, and got herself a carrier drank. A cool little pouch drink with a wax head. You put the drink in your mouth, bite the head, then let the hard plastic ring sit on the inside of your teeth while you move around, doing whatever you want. Wonderful for when you need to work on something, and get thirsty.

But that's a luxury, and twas her last pack, leaving the already nearly empty fridge, even more hollow.

As Octavia walked into her room, she threw off her signature visor, and took off her headphones from where they hung around her neck, disconnecting them from the music player that had long since finished it's music playlist.

And again, the schedule flashed through, leaving her to flop on the same bed she threw the head phones on.

the net day was the same. She was offered a deal, and offered it as a yes or no, not a possible maybe, for if she didn't accept, the performer before her would have the entire concert hall to herself. So, Octavia did what she always did, and took the show. And as night rolled around, she appeared behind the concert hall, and walked in from the back, spookign the black stallion that waited there.

"Hey! Oh, you're DJ 0KT1V3!"

"Of course. Who else would enter the stage like me?"

"Well, you're a bit early....."

"If you're late, your late. If you're on time, you're late. If you're early, you're on time. Lower the concert seats before the trackers begin showing up. I don't like anypony to be as early as me, and think that the party hasn't started."

"But, it doesn't for another hour."

"In the next fifteen minutes, you mean. My show, my rules."

"O-ok then."

The black stallion turned to the stage levers that controlled the set, and pulled the far right, activating the old mechanics below the concert hall. A heavy thrum sounded below as gears turned slowly and quickly, lowered the seats of the concert hall, one by one. A second after each row fell, a panel replaced each long rectangle. Up above, though, the seats rolled into the walls, panels covering the walls to hide them. All that was left was a bare dance floor.

The dance floor where somewhere between 4000, and 7000 ponies will be dancing.

Octavia looked to the stallion, "Thank you."

"You'r welcome, 0KT1V3."

Octavia stepped off the riser as she walked onto the stage, and chose her spot at the right side of the stage, noticing a flash of whit ejust besides her as she dropped her music set on the stage.

"Hey!", Octavia turned from her music set. The pony didn't seem to acknowledge her.

Octavia huffed, and pressed the automatic hydraulics switch, activating the automated set up system, and turned to the mare still on the side of the stage.

"Oi! Cotton Ball!", Octavia repeated.

Teh mare looked up into the darkness of the off-stage area, "I know she did not just call me...", she turned, "Cotton Ball!"

Her accent was posh, matching her well kept white flowing mane, and classy gold loop earrings. But, her face didn't show beauty, framing a set of solid red eyes that made her look like an evil creature of the night. Octavia could picture it. And ugly look on the face of a full white pony with blood shot eyes, long fangs bared from her scowl.

She chuckled.

"Excuse me, but I think the security let riff-raff in by mistake." Teh mare noticed the electronic set as it's hydraulics hissed silently, unfoldign the last of it's systems, and unreelingt he cords onto the ground. "Oh, what is that stupid contraption?"

Octavia's smile fell into a frown, and she looked at her turntables, then back at the mare.

"Did you just call my Vintage 5B32 Hydraulics telescopic, one-of-a-kind, solid Kradonite Turntables a stupid contraption?!?!?!"

The white mare lifted an object behind her, standing it more than twice her size, when standing on her hind hooves, "Ahem, tis a 1272 vintage solid gold string, Hoof Carved Solid Ancient Oak Wood, Triple Contrabass Viol, known as a French Octobass. I know my equipment, and that is obviously the sorriest peice of metal I've ever seen."

Octavia gritted her teeth, and stomped her hoof, turning to the turntables she had set up. Insulted by a mare with an over sized violin, and getting angry? Octavia's self-esteem must have fallen or risen...whichever way it goes. She never paid attention in social ed. Er...Whatever that class was called.

Octavia returned to her expensive set and began dragging the cords to the proper places on the stage, even pushing some of the speakers from behind and to teh stage, to sit right on the edge of the stage.

"Uhm...excuse me, miss DJ 0KT1V3, but...I think you have walked into the wrong place..."

Octavia stopped pushing one of the bigger amps, and reached into her shoulder bag, pulling out a piece of paper.

"...This is the Lunar Mare Concert Hall, right?", Octavia asked.

"Ugh...", the white mare sighed, "Another mare trying to fake entrance into the great hall."

Teh mare's horn glowed brightly for a few seconds, then the room changed. the ENTIRE room. Seats were back out over the dance floor, the speakers replaced where they were stored, and even Octavia's turntables were reset in their collapsed position, the pistons screaming until one hydraulics system burst after the other.

"My baby!!!!", Octavai screamed, hurrying to the set of tables.

As she checked over the equipment, the white unicorn moved the large bass onto the stage, and even readied herself to play. As she put her bow to the golden strings, a black disc whizzed across the instrument, slicing through each string, and playign a horrible discordent sound throughout the concert hall.

"Now you're in the same boat you plothole!"

The large bow struck the ground right in front Octavia like a javelin, effectively startling the grey mare.

"Are you aware of how much this instrument is worth?!?!', the unicorn screamed.

"Oi! If you wouldn't have showed up and broken my 5B32's, then you wouldn't be in this position, now would oyu?! Now, get off my stage! And if my tables still work, I might not call the guards!"

"Excuse me?!?! You're stage?!?! I was promised a performance here for the High Society Musical Experts!!!!"

"And I was offered a gig to play here for a total of five K to seven K ponies, which means that you were cancelled and I was given your spot!"

the mare gasped, "The High Society Musical Experts would never cancel an audition!!!"

"They're high society, they don't care!"

"You take that back!"

"I don't know if I should, you just ran me fifteen grand to replace those specially made, neon laced hydraulics!"

"You owe me twenty seven grand for these custom made, solid gold, magic imbued, Octobass strings!"

"It's not my fault you broke my set!"

"You're riff-raff on a concert hall stage about to perform your electronic, earsplitting, incomprehensible noise!"

Octavia stopped, noticing the small gathered crowd in between the rows of seats, and stomped her hoof.

"It's your crowd now! good luck impressing your HSME's without strings to play on!", Octavia scowled.

The grey mare hurried to her set of turntables, dove under, lfited them up, and took off out the back, leaving the whit emare alone on the stage.

Said unicorn looked over hte black figures that dotted the stadium, then up at the balcony seats, where a single light shone, illuminating the three ponies that were the very head of the High Society Musical Experts....

"Oh no...."

Octavia passed out of the alley, and back onto the street, narrowly making her way through the thin crowd of arrivin ponies. It seemed that half were goign for a night club show, and half, for an orchestral performance. Nonetheless, not very many followed Octavia, and not very many could even figure out where she disappeared off to down the next turn.

Once again making it into her apartment door, Octavia, removed the turntables and visor, turning the turntables over. Checking all the equipment, everythign was fine, even were the hydraulics were bolted to the set, jsut, the hydraulics casing were all busted....

"My favorite set...I don't even have the money to get these fixed...."

Octavia, rolled the set onto it's side, and then stood back, looking at the set. One last moment, and the panic was jsut too much. She felt heavy, her legs gave out, and she passed out right where she was.

"Miss...Vinyl Scratch."

"Oh no...Oh please no....", Vinyl begged as the three unicorns approached, clearing both reporters, and fans from the room, one by one till none were there to see what was happening. their magic worked to lock and shut every door, keepign the more forceful ponies out, and the final wave of magic shielded the inner concert hall.

"I-I-I-I-I-"

"Save it miss Scratch, we've heard enough.", the blue stallion spoke.

"It's one thing to show up to a performance with a...shredded neck...", the mare carried on.

"But we most certainly do not approve of such bad conduct.", the beige stallion finished.

In her efforts to make herself small, Vinyl could only picture herself cowering before three high up ponies, laying on her stomach, like some foal who was being scolded by her parents. She was indeed scared.

"We will not only refuse your application into our organization, but we will also have to fine you for the amountof damage done to the theater, which has already ranged wel into the ten thousands. Most of the gears that work this stadium have suffered fractures, your little fiasco with that lower society trash has left half the curtains cut short..."

Vinyl looked at the curtains, spotting where exactly the disc had sheered through the thick curtains, and where it stuck, halfway into a steel girder.

"...And I'm afraid that you are alos being rejected for verbally and physically assaulting a fellow musician.", the mare finished.

"What?! Not onyl did you just-"

"Miss Scratch, may I remind you that we are not your ordinary high society. As the head of our organization, the High Society Musical Experts, we explore and perform in every field of music. Even heavy metal."

Vinyl was speechless.

"As our policy works, we pay for any destruction of instrument and stage. Every cost will be covered. Surprisingly, it's lower than what we usually pay for a concert filled with pyrotechnics. But, unfortunately for you, this little...complication that has arisen, has cost you a ban from even contacting the High Sociey Musical Experts for the next three years at least, and even then, you must hope that we are generous enough to even think to review your style once more. I say every word of this, absolutely speechless, despite having said what I have said. It was not easy finding words for this, miss Scratch. Your Octobass shall be restored. We will not say anything to anypony else, however. I think the media will cover this whole fight by tomorrow. All I can say now is good luck."

Vinyl stared at the ground, then back up at the three ponies before her. Her throat hurt so much form the lump that had accumulated over the past few minutes, and now, after told what they have decided about her...the most she could do was keep from bursting into tears right then and there.

"I'm sorry, I truly am."

The three ponies left Vinyl, and in good time too. As the door shut, Vinyl could no longer hold back the sobs, and as any sad mare would do, she wept.