"Vinyl! Wake up! You've got to go to work!" A voice echoed down the hall as a blue maned unicorn rolled over lazily in bed. She cracked her eyes open slowly, the sound of the Centerlot streets blaring beneath her.

"Mmmpfh! I don't wanna get up!" A muffled voice replied from deep with in the confines of a particularly comfy pillow. Finally, raising her head, she glanced at the clock by her bedside, '9:00 pm...way to early for me...

After a loud burst at her door, a stern voice aided in her escape from slumber, "Vinyl, I'm serious. If you can't pay your share of the rent this month, Imma bust your flank before I kick it out."

"Guhh...Fine. What is this place again?" Vinyl asked before ungracefully scratching her rump with a yawn.

"Filly-foolers. It was the only place I could find you a gig, as you have a reputation for never showing up, and the manager thinks you're hot."

"Dude...I'm going to bucking kill you." Vinyl gave the most hateful stare she could muster at her friend through half closed eyes. They had known each other for years, after meeting at a club, the one where Vinyl discovered her love for DJing. He was a tall unicorn, a grey coat and messy black mane. Similar to his friend, he preferred to keep his sunglasses on most of the time, hiding his eyes behind the dark tinted glass.

"Whatever. It's not like you have to talk to any of the guests. Though flirting a bit with the manager might help the paycheck." he replied calmly

"I don't know how to flirt with fillys!" Vinyl exclaimed, sitting upright in her unkempt bed, bringing her hooves down on the mattress with a dull *thump*.

"Vinyl, you don't know how to flirt with anypony. Seriously, you've been to every night club in Canterlot, and Manehatten, twice, and you've never brought back anypony."

"Maybe we just always go to his place." She said with a smirk.

"You're here, EVERY DAMN DAY. Look, just get up and go earn your half of the rent. I don't wanna kick you out, but seriously, I'm going for broke here."

"Fine, fine..."

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Vinyl Sighed as she gazed upon the club she had been hired at. Two large stallions were unloading her equipment into the dark, odorous, and downright ghetto club she would be performing for. The large neon sign, spelling out "fil y foo ers" in cheesy pink cursive, made Vinyl shudder at what DJing here could mean for her reputation. Strange sounds came from inside the club, mostly cat calls, but what made them odd, was the shrill, feminine voices which made them. Vinyl groaned as she pushed open the doors and recieved full view to the scene before her. Several platforms, each adorned with a reflective metallic pole, stood feet above an ugly, stained carpet, and rows of peeling leather booths. At the far corner of the club was a bar, being attended by a scantly dressed mare, simply wiping the same spot of bar repetitively, and a bit dispenser, if you were lucky (or unfortunate) enough to have brought your credit card along. The club was lit by low, stationary lighting,and only one (rather unattractive) mare danced on a single pole.

Vinyl directed the stallions from gawking to the work at hoof, instructing them on where to place lights, amps and her turntables. While directing, a mare came up from behind and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, Miss Vinyl, I presume?" The manager was surprisingly young, only a few years older than Vinyl, and rather well kept. "I'm the manager of this fine club, and I was happy to hire you, especially on such short notice. We really could use your talent to get this place 'jumping'."

Vinyl smiled, despite the unfamiliar and unpleasant atmosphere, she did know how to get a club jumping, and intended to do just that.

"How many more dancer's do you have scheduled?" Vinyl asked, planning her show.

"Quite a few, the night always starts slow, just especially so recently."

"Then let's get to it." Vinyl answered with a smirk.

Quickly finishing the last pieces of her setup, finally magically lowered her glasses over her eyes and turned on the mic. Some of the ponies in the audience began to turn her attention to the mare behind the speakers as she screamed into the microphone.

"GOOD EVENING FILLY FOOLERS!!! ARE YOU READY TO GET THIS PARTY STARTED?!?!?!"

A loud cheer of approval responded to her question as she lowered the house lights, and put the needle in place, a loud scratch echoing before the song came to life.

As the beats began to echo through the club, small multicolored dots of light danced around the room, and began to flash as a simple drum beat gave body to the uneven melody. As Vinyl's subwoofers exploded in a wave of sound and bass, shaking the glasses on the bar, the lights burst into a beautiful multicolor display of red, blue and green. Vinyl flashed a toothy grin as the club began to sway to the beat of the song. Using magic she levitated her microphone out of it's stand and began to sing. The club came alive, cheering at the blend of musical poetry and heavy bass as more ponies strolled in from the street, eager to see the show inside. Soon, the club was packed, with not only mares but also a couple stallions, drawn in by the powerful voice of Vinyl. As the song died down, she looked around to not only see the club was packed, but alive. All four platforms in full use by the clubs best dancers, the barmare frantically jumping around to fill everypony's order, and a familiar mare, grinning from ear to ear.

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Vinyl sighed as she stepped down from her stage, the music and lights now set on their respective 'auto-pilots'. The club was still very much alive as Vinyl worked her way to the bar. Receiving a few unwelcome swats on the rump, she sat on an empty bar stool next to an unhappy looking earth pony.

Her black mane was flawlessly groomed, along with her grey coat. She sat with her head leaning on one hoof, a half-empty glass of Applejack Daniels and ice in the other. Adorning her neck was a simple pink bow tie, giving just a spot of color to her otherwise dull body. Vinyl turned to face the mare, and first made eye contact.

Beautiful violet gemstones stabbed into Vinyl's eyes, as she removed her glasses, simply to make sure it wasn't simply the tint of the lenses. But no, there in the low, grungy atmosphere of the club shinned two indigo dots, clashing against vinyl's own ruby red eyes. Vinyl simply stared at the mare for a moment, confused as to why she was in a place like this, before proceeding to speak,

"No offense, but it doesn't look like you're having a very good time. Anything I can do to help?"

"Thanks, but no thanks, I'm...not like that."

Vinyl crooked her head to the side, confused at what she meant, before the reality of the implication of her statement hit her.

"Oh! Oh nononono! Sorry, that came out wrong. Yeah, me neither, I'm just DJing tonight, wondering if you had any requests?"

"Oh...I don't suppose you could take a brake from this racket and play some Fur Elise, hm?"

"Whose fur now? I don't know any Elise either..."

"Hmph, figures."

"Hey, if you're not into mares, and you define this kind of music as 'racket', then just what in the hay are you doing here?"

"I needed a drink, that's all. This place was closest."

Vinyl raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. Her excuse was as good as any. Vinyl's eyes caught sight of the treble clef adorning her flank and spoke again,

"So you're musical too huh? What do you play?"

"Cello, thank you for asking. How did you know?" Vinyl pointed to her cutie mark with a deadpan expression, "Oh, yes. Of course."

"Look, I may not be your kind of musician but I know some stuff about music. Doesn't cello play in bass clef?"

"I need another drink..."

"I'll join you. What's your name?"

"Octavia, Octavia Phillharmonica." She said, extending a gentle hoof.

Vinyl seized her hoof in her own and shook vigorously, "Vinyl Scratch!"