Chapter II: Someone Great (LCD Soundsystem)

Just a week and a half later and I was already an integral, and well liked, part of Vinyl’s club. Whenever I walked into the club I’d be barraged with greetings of different flavors and accents, all positive and energetic. It seems that my efforts in improving the club had further reaching implications than I had thought they would, and the effects made everyone happier. After a long day, though, I was wearily putting all my work stuff in my locker, making sure that my most important possessions were still within the safe confines of the metal container. As I slammed the door to the locker shut I heard a brief flash of static pass over the intercom system.

“Alright, everyone, time for the first ever weekly reports.” Vinyl’s voice echoed through the club. “We’re up from last week, no surprises there. But, we’re also up from predicted profit, by more than sixty percent, so we’re probably going to start restocking up on some of the various pleasantries that we had been going without.” There was the sound of ruffling papers for a moment, and then a pleased exclamation followed. “Ha! There it is. Alright, Steel, Shaker, Shimmer, and Orion please come up to my office.” There were a few others in the locker room with me, and they all looked over at me when my name came up. I only shrugged before starting towards the door of the room.

The halls of the club were quickly emptying as the various workers went about their specific tasks. Some were workers leaving for the night, while others were people just coming in to perform the overnight clean up.

After just a few moments of navigating the halls I found myself sharing the hall with Shimmer, the head of the dancers for the club. She was a pleasant enough woman, although she had a tendency to be a bit too forward with her flirting. And it was only mildly disconcerting the way she used the telekinesis spells during her dancing and outside it. “So, Orion, you know what Boss wants? You spend enough time around her, after all.”

“I might spend some time chatting with her once we’ve closed, but it’s just about the music and stuff that she plays. I couldn’t hope to tell her what does and doesn’t sound good, but I can help her to spot some of the signs that she needs to change what she’s playing.”

She let out a quick laugh, and she looked at me before laughing again. “Really? That’s all the two of you talk about?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Um, yeah. Aside from a few casual offers for drinks. What else would there be to talk about?” She didn’t give me an answer, instead choosing to giggle softly while increasing her pace just a bit, leaving me to follow her up to Vinyl’s office. When I arrived there, just a few minutes later, I found that I was the last to arrive, all the others patiently waiting outside the door. I glanced at Steel quickly, a curious expression on my face. He just replied with a shrug and a shake of his head.

After waiting for just a few moments, Vinyl threw open the door to her office, a smile on her face. “No need to be so grim, guys, it’s not like the news I’ve got is bad, or anything.” She paused for a moment before looking over at Steel. “Except for you, Steel. You’re probably not going to like the news.”

“If this is anything like the last bad news you gave me, I think I’ll be able to handle it.”

Vinyl just shrugged before heading back into her office, leaving the door open for the rest of us. Everyone walked in, and I was the last in, the door closing behind me with nary a sound. When I looked away from the door, and back towards the room, I noted with a bit of curiosity the fact that there was a conference table in the room. I took a seat at the table, just to the right of Vinyl, and she gave me a quick smile. She levitated over several folders from her desk before placing one in front of each of us.

“Alright, everyone. With profits going up we can afford to start bringing back some of the niceties that we had to ditch. Shaker, in there is a list of all the different liquors that I’d be willing to bring back. You can choose up to three. I’m trusting that you can pick what will appeal to the widest audience.” He nodded before opening his folder and leafing through the pages. “No need to stay here to read through it, though. Take it home, and think about it. We’re closed tomorrow, so you’ve got some time to look things over and try out any of the brands that you’re unfamiliar with.”

Shaker’s smile grew as he looked through the pages, and then he turned to look at Vinyl. “Sounds good to me, Boss. I’ll get back to you as soon as I’ve made my choices.”

“Excellent. You can go, now, if you like.” Shaker nodded and stood, quickly departing with the folder held under one arm. “Now, Shimmer. I know all too well the kinds of things that you’d like to see brought to the club, but I’m just going to stop you right now and say that we are not some kind of sick bondage club. Nor, for that matter, are we a brothel. The options in that folder are all that I’m willing to give you, and so you’ll just have to make sacrifices and choose from what’s in there.” Shimmer looked as if she was going to complain, but Vinyl cut her off. “Deal with it. We are not going to have a repeat of leather night.”

Shimmer flushed a bit before she grabbed her folder and stood. “I still say that you looked amazing in that corset. And I think you know it too.” Vinyl flushed a deep shade of crimson as Shimmer walked out of the room. Steel only chuckled softly as the dancer walked out of the room.

I spoke up at that point, just as Shimmer left the room. “Um... Leather night? I didn’t think that this was that kind of club.”

Vinyl just flushed a brighter shade of crimson as she busied herself with the papers sitting in front of her. “It’s not.” Steel had no such problem, though. “A few months ago Shimmer had an idea of a way to attract a bigger crowd. Her suggestion seemed innocent enough, but, well... Let’s just say she took it a bit further than we thought she would. She did look quite fine in that --”

“Shut up, Steel. No one asked you.” Vinyl had regained her composure, and she was glaring at the bouncer without even an attempt at hiding her displeasure. “Your folder is empty, that’s the bad news. We can’t afford any of your old toys yet, so there. Now, get out before I get really upset with you.”

Steel only laughed at the unicorn, his deep laugh echoing in the room. “Vinyl, we’ve been friends for almost two decades. You’re not going to intimidate me.” Vinyl just stood, and made a rather interesting twisting gesture with her hands before pointing at the bouncer. The normally unflappable bouncer paled for just a moment. “You wouldn’t.”

“Test me, Steel.” The bouncer’s confidence vanished, and he quickly stood and left the room. As the door closed, the woman slumped back down in her chair, her hands coming up to her forehead. “By the Creator, the shit I have to deal with...” She remained in that pose for several long moments before she finally sat forward with a sigh. “As for you, Orion, I don’t really have anything. You don’t seem to need anything else to perform your job, so I just handed you an empty folder. Didn’t want you to feel left out when all the others had one.”

“I see. Well, I suppose that’s fair enough.”

“Is there anything you want or need? Just because I couldn’t think of it doesn’t mean that there’s nothing.”

As I pondered for a moment, I found my gaze drawn once again to Vinyl. While I wanted to say something to her, I knew that I’d probably wind up with a serious case of foot in mouth syndrome, so I simply answered in a professional context. “Nah. There’s not really anything I can think of. I mean, nothing yet.”

She looked at me for a moment before smiling. “Alright, Orion, sounds good to me. I just need to finish some stuff up here, and then I’ll be closing shop.” She just looked at me for a moment before I saw the tiniest change in her posture. “See you Wednesday, then.” I nodded, and stood. Each step towards the door made me want to stop and say something to Vinyl, but I managed to suppress the urge, and soon I was standing outside the office, my eyes closed as I heaved a massive sigh.

“You really should just ask her, Orion.” My eyes snapped open as I looked towards Shimmer as she sat in one of the chairs just outside Vinyl’s office. “Anyone with even a modicum of sense can see that you’ve got a thing for her. Hell, she probably knows it too. In fact, I can almost guarantee it.”

“I don’t have a... So? It’s not like it’s any of your business. Besides, she’s probably already got someone. A woman like her has probably had dozens of offers for herds.”

“Well, yeah. She did. But she turned them all down. I don’t know why, though. We may have occasional ‘girl-talk’ sessions, but She’s not even half as close to me as she is her friend Octavia.”

“So she’s single. That still doesn’t do anything for the fact that I don’t have the confidence to-- Hey!” She pushed me towards the door to the office with her magic, and a knowing smile came to her face.

“Improvise. Hell, offer to walk her home. There are two things that chicks dig. One is giant robots, and the other is being walked home.” The door to the office opened just a crack, and Shimmer walked over to me. “Trust me, Orion, she’ll appreciate the offer. And I think you will too, once you get into it.” With that, she opened the door the rest of the way, and then she shoved me into the room.

I took several staggering steps as I recovered my balance, and when I looked up I saw Vinyl looking at me from behind her desk, the table from before gone. “Yeah, Orion? Something up?”

I felt my cheeks grow hot, and I swallowed nervously as I looked down at my feet. “I was wondering if... If I could walk you home, or something.” I looked up at her for a moment, and the heat in my cheeks increased. “Just, as... You know, friends. Or, whatever.”

Damnit, Orion! You stupid shit, why the fuck did you have to stutter? As if you don’t have a small enough chance alrea--

Vinyl just looked at me for a moment before she smiled. “Sure, that sounds fine. I mean, to be fair, I was wondering how long it would take you.” I muttered something under my breath about Shimmer, and Vinyl must have heard enough. “Oh, yeah. Shimmer’s really good at spotting stuff like that. Hell, she pounced on Steel as soon as she noticed that he was interested in her.” Vinyl rolled her eyes for a moment as she rummaged through a few pages on her desk. “Honestly, if Steel wasn’t such a traditionalist I’d think that Shimmer would be able to convince him to be a monogamist.”

This bit of info was enough to shatter my amazement, and I glanced at the door before looking back at Vinyl. “She’s into that? I mean, it’s not really a huge thing, I don’t have a problem with it, but that’s a bit surprising.”

Vinyl just shrugged as she closed a drawer and stood. “Yeah, when I found out I was shocked. She never struck me as the type. I mean, sure, she’s got some kinky stuff she’s into, but I didn’t think it went quite that far. Anyway, let’s go. It’s kind of a bit of a hike for me. And I know that you have a long way to go as well.” She quickly moved around the desk, and towards me. I followed just behind her as she walked the halls of the club. She checked some of the doors to make sure they were locked, and when we finally reached the back door she pulled out a fairly intricate key that she held as we both walked out the door. She slipped it into the keyhole before giving it a quick twist, a satisfying clunk coming from the lock as the bolt slid into place. “Now, shall we go?”

I only nodded as Vinyl started walking down the alley, her pace just right so I could keep step beside her. “I’ve always liked the city at night.” Vinyl glanced over at me as I spoke, but she kept silent. “It’s just got this amazing sense of calmness over the whole thing. During the day it’s always so busy and bustling. But then, at night, everything slows down. And people, the few you meet, don’t ask who you are. Or where you’re from. To them you’re just a person.”

As I finished speaking an uneasy silence fell between us, and I silently cursed myself for speaking. As we turned a corner, and started down a new street I realized that we were heading towards the richer parts of the city. I wasn’t really all that familiar with the area, and I felt a sense of foreboding as we walked deeper into the heart of Canterlot. “Orion, you okay?” I looked at her, and there was concern written plainly on her face. “You’re really tense.”

“I... I’ve got a bit of a bad reputation in the richer parts of Canterlot.”

“Why, what did you do?” She chuckled a bit. “Piss in some nobleman’s coffee, or something?”

“Or something.”

“Come on, Orion, it can’t be that bad. I mean, the noblemen tend to fight amongst themselves plenty, so it’s not like you could do worse to them than they do themselves.” She shook her head and laughed softly. “I mean, just about a year ago some guy was supposed to marry some girl in order to unite two houses that had a falling out, or some shit. The guy refused the marriage, and so things just fell apart. The mother killed herself in shame, and the father fled the city, the embarrassment too much to bear. I heard that the younger brother filled in the gap, though. Earned himself a spot in upper Canterlot atop the burning wreckage of his once proud noble family.”

I had to fight to keep from telling her what really happened. “Yeah. I heard about that one. Did you hear what happened to the older brother, though?”

Vinyl fell silent for a moment as we walked along the road, and when she finally responded she shrugged first. “No. From what I heard he just vanished. No one really knows where he is.” I just nodded and allowed silence to fall upon the two of us once again. Finally, after several long minutes of tense silence we arrived in front of a fairly impressive looking townhouse. Vinyl fished around in her pocket for a moment before she pulled out her keys, the faint jingling sound much louder than it should be in the night. “Well, this is my place.” She gestured at her door for a moment, before she looked down at her feet.

“So, I guess this is goodnight, then?”

“Yeah, I guess.” She turned towards her door, and I back down the street. “Wait.” I looked over my shoulder at her, and she had a small smile on her face. “If you want, maybe we could hang out, or something, tomorrow afternoon. I figure that since you’re so new to the club, it’d be in my best interest to get to know you a bit better.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. You, uh, you want me to come here? Or do you want to meet up somewhere?”

“Here is good. I was just thinking that we could hang out some, and then get something to eat.” She gave a quick shrug. “It’s not like this is some super serious thing. Just us hanging out and getting some dinner.”

“Great. So, how does three sound?”

“Sounds like a plan to me. I’ll see you then, Orion.” She gave me a small wave as she entered her home, and I returned it for a moment before letting my arm drop limply to my side. The smile on my face refused to fade as I walked along the streets of the city, the sounds of distant thunder adding just a bit of haste to my steps as I walked along the road. I could see, way off in the distance, the flashes of thunder in the clouds, and I vaguely remembered that it was going to rain overnight and into the morning.

Only a short while after I left Vinyl’s place I was back in the middle districts of the city, the changes in architecture pointing my way along the winding cobbled roads. As the deep blue of the sky changed to the murky blackness of cloud cover I swore softly under my breath, since I knew that even if I were to start running I wouldn’t be able to escape the coming downpour. As I was finally transitioning from the middle districts to the poor districts of Canterlot I saw the wall of rain rushing towards me, and I let out a low groan as I ran for some cover beneath an awning.

The serene silence of the night shattered as the wall of rain reached me, and I just looked out into the downpour for a few minutes before my reverie was interrupted. A guardsman rushed towards me, the water streaming off the ornamental plate mail as the pegasus sought shelter beneath the same awning as me. The pegasus was hunched over for a moment, during which time I openly gawked at the characteristic membranous wings of the Night Guard, before the guard suddenly straightened up with a groan. “By the Creator, they told me it was scheduled for an hour from now...”

That voice... I know that voice...

I looked away from the guard, and out into the rain. “Yeah, even with magic the weather is unpredictable. They make approximations, but...” I gave a quick shrug. “It’s really all guesswork.” I looked over at the guard as they removed their helmet, and her voluminous silver hair spilled from the metal confines. I stared at her for a moment, her face strikingly familiar.

She looked at me at the same time, and her eyes went wide. “Orion? Holy shit, Orion, is that you?” She took a step closer to me, and her look of amazement was replaced, briefly, with anger before turning to happiness. She pulled me into a tight hug, and I awkwardly returned it. “Orion, jeez, man, where the fuck did you go?” She released me from the hug, still holding my arms as she looked me over. “I was really worried about you. Not even with all the contacts I have in the guard could I find you.”

I looked away from her as she let go of me. “That was kind of the point, Selene. I mean, I didn’t want to be found. That would’ve defeated the purpose.” She looked like she wanted to say something, but a slight slump in her shoulders spoke more than her words ever could. “I’m sorry, Selene, but I couldn’t do it. She was a monster, and I wasn’t going to get married for political reasons. Plus, it was the whole royalty ‘forced’ monogamy shit.”

“She’s not really a princess, though, is she?”

“No. That’s what makes it so bad. She’s just some upper crust noble from Prance with a line of lingerie.” I looked back at her with a small smile. “At least now I’ve got my own place. No more mooching off my parents...”

“That’s not funny, Orion.” I looked out into the rain for a few minutes before I looked back at Selene. “You missed it, by the way. I was one of seven to make it in my class. Now I’m a full member of the Night Guard.” I raised an eyebrow, and she flashed a smile that purposefully displayed her lengthened canines. “It’s not that bad, though. The perks easily outweigh the negatives.”

“Sorry I missed it. At least now I know that I’ve got a friend in the Night Guard.” I looked out into the rain before looking back at Selene. “Anyway, I need to get home. It’s been a long day at work, and I should probably get some rest.”

“You have a place? I mean, like, a real place. Not just some little lean-to shack?”

“Yeah. Not the best around, but it’s better than nothing.”

She looked at me with a new look on her face for a moment before it vanished, and in its place was a look of hopefulness. “Well, I do have some spare room in my place. I’ve seen you walking around before, but I never recognized you.” She gave a quick shrug. “It’s not a charity, though. I expect you to pay rent and help out around the place.”

I only hesitated for a moment before I pulled her into a tight hug, a few tears falling down my cheeks. She reciprocated the hug after a moment, and I felt the weight in my chest slowly lifting. Not disappearing, but at least lightening some. “Thank you, Selene. I promise that I’ll pay you back for this.” I broke the hug abruptly, holding her shoulders. “I owe you more than I can say. You name it, and if I can do it I will. Any time, and place.”

Her cheeks flushed for a moment, and then she just smiled. “I’ll hold you to that, Orion, but for now how about we just get your stuff and move you into my place. It’s not that far from here, really.”

We slowly walked through the halls of the apartment building. It didn’t take us that long to get from where we met up to my place, and she used her wings to shelter us from most of the rain. “That wasn’t really all that funny, Selene.”

“I dunno, it was pretty funny to see your reaction when I let the downpour in. Besides, my wing was getting tired.”

“Whatever, it’s this next room, here.”

Selene looked around slowly, her guard instincts forcing her to keep aware of her surroundings. “I know you said that you lived in a shithole, but I didn’t expect it to be quite this... bad.”

“This is better than my first place, I’ll tell you that. I pay top coin for this one room, Selene. Eighty bits a month, not including water and magical lighting. Oh, watch for Umbra. She doesn’t like guests all that much.” I pushed open the door to my room as Selene raised an eyebrow. “Seriously, she’s blind but a vicious huntress.”

“She’s bli-- Sweet Celestia, Orion, she’s ADORABLE! By the Creator she looks just like my cat! Except, well, my cat is a boy cat.”

“Sweet Celestia?” I only rolled my eyes as I gathered what few belongings I wanted to take with me. “Really, I’d have expected you to be a bit more traditionalist in your exclamations.” Selene was busy baby talking Umbra as I secured my last few stashes of bits inside of my bag. “Seriously, Umbra, this is embarrassing. All it takes to turn you into a docile little kitty is some baby talk?”

“Wait, she’s magic touched?” I looked over to see Selene playing with Umbra, and I gave a quick nod. “If you didn’t live here I’d say that you’re really lucky.”

“Well, now that I’m moving out I am lucky. No more leaky roof, or screaming neighbors.” I looked over at Selene as I finished packing my bag. “And, maybe, there’s some heating in the winter?”

“Yes, there’s heating in the winter. And running water, too.” She gently cradled Umbra as she stood up, and I could hear her purring from where I stood. “I don’t know why you were warning me, Orion. She’s not only adorable, but well mannered, too.”

I scoffed as I walked to the door, my apartment contract in one hand. As I locked up my room for the last time, I felt my smile grow just a bit wider. When we got to the ground floor, I tossed the contract and my keys at the landlord. “Termination on either side of the contract at any time, Lardo. I read the whole thing when I signed it. Since I’m terminating on you, not the other way around, I get last month’s rent back.”

The fat man’s eyes bulged as he looked at the contract I tossed at him, and then he glared at me. “This... This is a fake. I’d never agree to something like this.”

“I’ve got a member of the Night Guard here who has had the contract reviewed by the guard’s legal advisors. It’s both genuine, and legal. Skipping out on this is a very bad idea.” His face turned an impressive shade of purple as he counted out my pile of bits, and once it was done I gladly accepted the pile. “Oh, and since I’m no longer a tenant, I thought I’d let you know that, first, that name is bloody awful. Seriously, change it. Second, your apartments are total shit. Invest just ten percent of what you make into this place, and it’ll improve drastically. And, lastly, take a fuckin’ shower already. You smell like you’re made of shit.”

“You get the fuck out of my building right now, punk! Since you’re not a tenant, you’re trespassing! Guard, arrest this man at once for trespassing!”

Selene let out a sigh of relief, and then she put her helmet back on her head. “There aren’t many laws that I memorize, sir, but there happens to be one dated almost two centuries ago that protects recently departed tenants. Orion, here, has forty-eight hours to enact a full withdrawal from the building before you can legally charge him with trespassing. Now, I suggest you stop harassing this law-abiding citizen before I begin issuing arrests for the blatant violations in housing law.” Through her little spiel Lardo sank back into his chair, his face turning impressive shades of red and purple as his rage waxed and waned with each drawn breath. Without a further word to the useless landlord, Selene turned and picked up one of the bags that I had put down. She motioned for me to follow, and I did so in silence.

It wasn’t until we were exiting the slums that I spoke again. “Selene, what the hell was that?”

“He was acting like an asshole, so I was just waiting for him to make a mistake. Really, I kind of needed that. I didn’t want to have to spend another shift writing up a report for why I wasn’t on my routine patrol route.”

“Yeah, I was wondering why you were allowed to just do whatever you liked during working hours.”

“Well, I’m not going to tell them I was helping you. I’m going to claim that I facilitated a dubious contractual settlement that entailed legally questionable ramifications.”

“Shady dealings?”

“Pretty much, yeah. Technical jargon sucks ass.” As we neared an intersection Selene gestured off to the side, and the two of us were soon walking along a pleasant looking road, the houses on either side offering a pleasant view, while not having the gaudy and ostentatious look of upper Canterlot. “It’s just a few more houses down, on the left side. It took a pretty penny to get my place, even though it’s down here in the middle district.” I looked around the area, quickly, trying to see why that would be. When no apparent reason popped out at me, I shot Selene a quick glance. “Yeah, I wondered why at first, too. It’s the view. Wait until a bright and clear morning, and you’ll see what I mean.”

I only nodded as she led me up the few steps that led to her door. After a brief moment of fumbling with her armor, she pulled out a set of keys. She fit the right one into the lock, and then she entered, stepping aside to allow me to come in as well. The main room of her house was relatively bare, offering up only a couple small couches and a coffee table. Once she closed the door behind me she let Umbra go, and she merely sat in place on the floor, her ears twitching rapidly. I crouched down, dropping my bags and taking Umbra in my arms.

“Alright, Orion, here it is. It’s a bit plain, I don’t really spend too much time here, but it does its job well enough. I’ll show you to your room, now.” I followed behind her as she walked through the building, and as I went I spoke very quietly under my breath to Umbra, describing the general layout of the halls. She could figure out the layout on her own, but I wanted to make things as easy for her as I could. When we got to the guest room she opened the door with a big flourish, displaying to me the complete lack of impressiveness that was my room. “It’s far from some posh five star hotel, but at least it’s got four walls, a roof, and running water.”

“It’s more than I could hope for. Great company, great location.” I paused as I looked over at Selene. “And, I suppose, that you’re here, too.”

She only scowled for a moment before she chuckled softly. “I always told you that comedy was your calling.”

“Nah, genius like mine is best in small helpings. It’d get old if I did a routine.”

“It’s old in any serving size. Anyway, make yourself at home. We’ll discuss rent and responsibilities tomorrow. I do, kinda, have to get back on my patrol. I’m already running behind.” She looked at me for a moment, before she started turning to leave. “I’ll be back later, since I just work nights, and it’s...” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Only four in the morning. Just three hours to go till I’m done. You just get some sleep, now. I’m probably going to just sleep when I get back, so we can talk tomorrow.” I only grunted as I let myself fall onto her bed. The sound of her armor rattling softly as she walked out of the room was the last thing I heard as sleep finally claimed me.

Author's Note

I decided, ultimately, to split this series of events into two chapters. The day with Vinyl, that is soon to come, will be in the next chapter.