Prolouge: Desperate Times
Octavia sat down at the kitchen table and looked through her bills. Money had recently become a problem for her after the Grand Galloping Gala ponies didn't hire her as much. It wasn't that ponies disliked her classical music. In fact, they loved it. But the sophisticated Canterlot elites did not appreciate her (inadvertently) helping to disrupt the Gala. The money Octavia got from those ponies helped pay for most of her apartment. Lately though, they just stopped hiring her. It had gotten to the point where all of the income had to be used for the apartment room.
Looking through the bills, she groaned. Ugh, I can't keep living like this. I need a way to help pay for this place. Octavia knew what would have to be done, but she saved that thought as a last resort. The idea would save her money and grant her time to win back the admiration of the socialites. Okay Octavia, it isn't that bad... all you have to do is get a roommate. It did not bother her that she would have to share her house; the problem was that it would have to be with a stranger. Her orchestra members all had their own houses, and outside of them she didn't really have any close friends.
Octavia got out of her chair, went to her refrigerator, and got an apple. She took a bite out of it, but didn't really taste it; she was still deep in thought about her decision.
Dear Celestia, I hope she's normal. My roommate will have to be a mare, of course. She made a checklist in her head as she continued to eat the apple. Well behaved, able to pay her half of the rent, and hopefully she'll have good taste in music. Playing cello took a lot of practice to perfect and if the other pony to share her home didn't like that then she would definitely not be living with her.
Octavia knew what had to be done “Desperate times call for desperate measures...” she sighed. Once she got into her bedroom, she slipped under the covers and tried to go to sleep. It was a scary decision, but at the same time it had an element of excitement. Octavia slowly closed her eyes and fell to sleep.
Vinyl Scratch was homeless within a matter of hours. After another long night of DJing she arrived home to find an eviction notice taped to the door. Shrugging, she opened the door and went inside her house. Putting her trademark shades on a nightstand, Vinyl yawned loudly before flopping down on her bed and promptly falling asleep.
There was a loud knock on the door that could not be heard, because of the ear-splitting dubstep emanating from inside the room. The land lord sighed, muttering, “The things I have to deal with...” Knocking as hard as he could, he started yelling, “VINYL!!”
There was a crashing noise from inside, and the music stopped playing. Eventually the door opened and Vinyl, still half asleep, was not in the best of moods. “What do ya want Blake?”
Blake just gave his best glare and pointed at the eviction notice taped to the front of the door. Vinyl glanced at it before turning her gaze back to Blake. “Yeah I know I'm low on rent, but I can have the money in a few days.”
Blake frowned. "That's what you told me last week. Also, this is isn't a warning; it means you've been evicted today!"
Instantly feeling more awake than she was a few seconds ago all she could do was shout, “WHAT!” loud enough that her neighbors peered outside their own apartments to see what was happening.
“Yeah, you have two hours before I call security.” Blake genuinely smiled.“There will finally be no more parties that end in explosions.”
"I said I was sorry for that!" Note to self: never ever let Pinkie in my house if she has a party cannon. "Two hours is barely enough time to get my turn-tables, and my other equipment packed up!"
Blake turned and started walking away. “Call it revenge for all the years I've had to put up with you.” He looked back and smirked.
Vinyl Scratch was an impulsive pony, and seeing how she was leaving...well… this had been coming for quite a while. With a devilish grin, Vinyl's horn started to glow blue. Out of the apartment came a piece of machinery that she had created herself. It could make sound loud enough to physically push someone. Turning it up as high as the knob would go, she yelled, “Blake, this is your last chance to apologize.” Blake just kept walking, not acknowledging that he was being spoken to.
Vinyl grinned and turned on her “bass cannon”, as she nicknamed it. When it got to only half-volume, windows shattered. Vinyl's grin grew wider as she turned it up all the way. Pressing a button, the song started to play and Blake was propelled towards the wall until he was pinned to it like some invisible force was keeping him there. Oh, right. By now everypony on the current floor and the ones below and above came to see what all the noise was. Those unfortunate enough to step in front of the bass cannon met a fate similar to Blake's.
After about two minutes of ponies screaming for her to stop, and Vinyl dancing to the music, security arrived. They turned off the machine and picked up Vinyl, carrying her into the elevator. She tried to act as dignified as possible. “I Regret NOTHING!” Scratch yelled while putting her two forelegs in the air and holding the pose. That night was never spoken about in the apartment building ever again. Blake still sometimes wakes up screaming.
So, Vinyl reflected, that's how you get kicked out of your house and onto the streets at 4:28 in the morning.
“This is the worst day of my life.” She groaned before getting up and opening her cell phone. I guess I have no other choice, she angrily thought. One ring, two rings. Right before the third, somepony picked up. Vinyl inwardly sighed, "Yeah mom it's me."
Coming Home (Hopefully Not For Long)
Vinyl looked at her old house with mixed feelings. There was a chain-link fence along the perimeter of the yard. It was a small yard with a garden to the right. Looking back up at the one-story white house, she sighed. Never thought I'd be back so soon...even if it’s only for a day or two. Using her magic to float her belongings behind her, she walked up to the front door and got the key that was hidden under the mat.
She recalled her conversation with her mother. She and her dad were on vacation for two weeks and weren't home, but they agreed to let her live there for a while.
Walking into the dark house, Vinyl went straight down the hallway to the guest room. Hastily throwing all of her things in an empty closet, she flopped onto the bed and yawned. Wow, this is late even for me. Within a few moments, she fell asleep just as Celestia began to raise the sun.
Just as Vinyl Scratch was falling asleep, Octavia's alarm clock began to go off. Hitting it with her hoof, she sat up and yawned. Getting out of bed, she mentally ran through the day’s checklist. The first thing was practice with the rest of the orchestra, then to buy more groceries. The last thing that absolutely needed to be done today as well was to advertise that she was looking for a roommate. Wait, how do I do that? Shrugging, she picked up a pink bow tie from her bedside table and put it around her neck. Looking into a mirror, she adjusted it so that it wasn't lopsided. "Perfect." Octavia smiled. Today was going to be a good day.
6 hours later...
Today was not a good day, it was a HORRIBLE DAY! Octavia glowered outside her window. Being on the fifth floor of the building with a big park right across the street made a great view. But today it was obscured by a downpour of rain. "Stupid rain." She muttered. Octavia was late to the rehearsal, she got caught in the rain, and she forgot over half of the things on her grocery list. The only good thing that happened was that somepony wanted to be her roommate. Octavia's anger vanished, and nervousness replaced it. A mare was coming tomorrow for an interview. Her name was...Vinyl Scratch?
Octavia glanced at the clock, and found that it was 6:03. She groaned. Well, I’d better go make some dinner. Getting out of the chair, she started to walk into the kitchen when the day’s newspaper caught her eye. It seems with how hectic today was, I forgot to read the newspaper. Grabbing a mug filled with coffee, Octavia read the section entitled, "Music of Canterlot". “Ugh,” Octavia disgustedly thought. There was a picture of a white mare in front a turntable making "music". “Hah,” Octavia muttered, “I didn't know putting a rock in a blender counted as music nowadays.”
The headline read, "Newest DJ in Canterlot: DJ-PON3." Octavia frowned. "Where do they come up with these ridiculous names?" Looking down at the article, she found the mare’s real name. Octavia spit a mouthful of coffee all over the table. "VINYL SCRATCH!?" She yelled.
Vinyl Scratch woke up at around noon. At first she was confused. “This isn't my room! Where am I?!” After a few minutes however, last night’s events came back to her. Vinyl looked around the room. “Well I guess I'm back, ‘home’.” Vinyl didn't like this house. It was small, the walls were thin, and the windows couldn't hold their own against her amps. Vinyl thought of her parents. I love them and all that, but this place was not the best growing up.
Back in school, she was made fun of for not being as rich as the other fillies. Unfortunately the teasing only got worse as she got older. No, I could do without stepping foot in here ever again. Finally getting out of bed, she used her magic to put her sunglasses on as she left the room, and went into the kitchen. So what’s the best way to go about this? Sitting at the table, she looked outside the window, hoping the answer would come to her. Unfortunately, life doesn't just drop a new house in front of you no matter how hard you wish it would. Well, I'm pretty sure I can't live on my own. Just starting out as a DJ meant not a lot of ponies knew about you. Vinyl was beginning to get recognized, but for now she wouldn't make enough money to live on her own.
I guess I'm just gonna have to live with someone else. Yawning, Vinyl grinned. "Time to see what pony is lucky enough to have me live with them!" Making sure to lock the door behind her, Vinyl felt good. "Let's go do some interviews." She said to herself.
10 hours later...
Vinyl managed to get three interviews. The first two had been the same day, but the third one was tomorrow…er…today. It was past midnight, but Vinyl couldn't sleep. The first two interviews had gone horribly. The first was with a mare named Colgate. At first everything seemed to be going well, the house was nice, Colgate was nice, and they had a lot in common. But everything went downhill really fast.
Colgate was a...Vinyl scratched her head; how can I put this nicely? Colgate was an INCREDIBLY PSYCHO CLEAN FREAK! Vinyl only spilled a little bit of soda, and she flipped out. Colgate jumped out of her chair and tried wiping the soda up with a blanket. I only asked if she wanted me to get some paper towels, but she screamed, "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" So Vinyl reflected, I did the only rational thing. Vinyl ran from the apartment like Nightmare Moon herself was flying after her.
The second interview was the complete opposite from the first. This tenant was not crazy...or at least not as crazy, but Vinyl had absolutely nothing in common with the mare. Her name was Trixie, and she was the most annoying self-righteous pony Vinyl had ever met. During the interview, Vinyl remembered walking by a show in the park one day. She asked about the magic show she saw, but that was a big mistake. Trixie started ranting about herself, somepony named Twilight Sparkle, and amulets. Well at that point, Vinyl began to get nervous and worried about her own well being and Trixie's sanity. Vinyl sighed. No, it was more like I slowly backed out of the room, while Trixie started screaming about revenge.
Vinyl rolled over. I have one last shot tomorrow, so I have to make it count. She sighed. I hope she's normal, whoever Octavia is. Something about that name seemed familiar, but Vinyl was already drifting off to sleep. Suddenly, her eyes shot open. "Oh damn, she’s that pony who plays in that fancy orchestra." Oh no, this is a problem. She'll never let me live with her! Then, Vinyl had a brilliant idea, one that would definitely work. Drifting back to sleep, she ran through the complex plan. Lie, and make things up as you go along. It never failed.
Author's Note
If your wondering why the last two paragraphs are in italics, so am I. They won't be normal!
I haven't clicked the italics button, and now the authors note is in italics! I will gladly make it normal if someone tells me what's wrong, it's probably something easy to fix and I'm being really stupid. But I can't figure it out! Sorry for me being dumb.
