[Manehatten][Open]The Finer Things of Nightlife

[McWinniage]

Frostbite strolled through the lively hub of downtown Manehatten with a pair of large sunglasses on. It was an odd sight, seeing a creature of any sort wearing sunglasses that large, especially since it was the peak of Luna's Night. But then anypony who would think that had no clue who Frostbite was. The unicorn loathed the downtown with a passion. All of it's strobe and neon lights were too bright for Frostbite's eyes, which were accustomed to working in dim to no light. The sunglasses gave partial relief, but Frostbite could feel a headache developing in the back of her head.

"Wuh oh! Watch out, dude!" A Pegasus, probably just out of colt-hood crashed a few feet in front of Frostbite. Frostbite flinched at the young stallion's loud words, but sidestepped him in contempt and continued to plow ahead. "Just a little farther." The deadpan unicorn thought to herself. Alas, just as she was about to reach the block she oh so desired to reach, a huge crowd of ponies chanting some band's name, erupted out of a nightclub. Frostbite yelped in dismay as she swept up by the crowd and was carried along with it against her will.

Frostbite was finally able to escape the torrent of ponies at the cross section of Apple Lane and West Luna Street. Upon gathering her bearings, Frostbite stamped a hoof in rage. "Horseapples!" She swore under her breath, annoyance radiating from her person.

[Dunder]

Dunder Blust was passing through Manehattan on one of his journeys.His hooves were clip-clopping loudly on the concrete below him. His saddlebags were also making noises from the shifting of their contents. He was walking along slowly because he knew Manehattan didn't have too many pegasi. He knew that he didn't want to possibly come off as a show-off.

He heard a mare yell "Horseapples!" right in front of him before lifting up his head and bumping into her side. "Hey." He said, "I'm sorry."

[McWinniage]

Frostbite craned her neck to look at the newcomer who had bumped into her. She was surprised to note that the pony was a stallion, a gender of which Frostbite didn't expect to apologize, especially this late at night. She was even more surprised to note that he was a pegasus, a race of which Manehatten lacked. "Whatever." She muttered bitterly, impatiently waiting for the street to clear so she could pass.

[Dunder]

Dunder narrowed his eyes at the mare unicorn. He hadn't seen many unicorns in Manehattan, but he'd seen about twice as many unicorns than pegasi. Her rudeness had also caught his eye. He made an honest mistake and apologized for it and saw no reason for her to be rude.

"Well.... there's no reason to be rude..." He said still slightly shocked by her remark.

[McWinniage]

"Hmm... Well then." Frostbite said, not conceding an apology just yet. Her back was facing Dunder Blust, give him a nice view of her hunched demeanor and frazzled mane. It looked like she hadn't slept in days.

[Dunder]

"Where are you headed?" He asked. He didn't have anything better to do. He also thought she needed to calm down a bit and he could help her with that. Or at least he hoped he could. He was never really good at talking to mares except when a little faded. He trotted up beside her, but didn't look into her eyes. Being a stranger and a stallion he didn't feel comfortable with too much eye-contact.

[McWinniage]

Dunder couldn't have looked into Frostbite's eyes even if he wanted to due to her particularly large sunglasses. "If you must know, I'm going to a club." She said with an edge of annoyance. Frostbite didn't wait for Dunder as the street cleared, and she made haste as soon as possible. The mare was hiding something, that much was obvious. Her saddle bags looked like they were about to burst, and a rectangular case was clipped to her side.

[Dunder]

Dunder didn't notice her sunglasses until he had seem her walk away without hesitating. He also noticed her saddlebags which were packed full of something. He let her get away for a little bit before jumping into the air with all his strength and then hovering with his wings. He caught up to her and flew above her. "You know, you're going to have to hide whatever is in the bags better. It would be unfortunate if a pickpocket got their greasy hooves on it." He said as he flew above her in a position resembling as if he had been laying down.

[McWinniage]

Frostbite let out a cold chuckle. "If anypony laid a hoof on these bags, they'd get a nasty surprise." She said grimly, rolling her eyes at his casual flying.

[Dunder]

"Then you should really be more careful about your packing." He put one hoof on his rapier to make sure the tip of the scabbard didn't hit anypony on the head. "So that you can avoid having such engagements."

[McWinniage]

"Who said I don't like 'such engagements'." Frostbite retorted turning a sharp turn into an alley. She looked behind her only to see nothing. She rolled her eyes, remembering Dunder was a pegasus. "Look, I don't advocate you coming into this bar, but I don't own the place. However, you're paying for everything." She said over her shoulder before flitting into a dingy door.

[McWinniage]

(OOC: Gotta be up at seven. Can you be on tomorrow?)

[Dunder]

[Yes.]

"I never said you didn't like 'such engagements' I was just saying that I'd recommend avoiding 'such engagements.'" He said. He kept following her even into the alley. When he heard about the bar and the tone of her voice as she mentioned it his heart started to sink a little. "Well... It can't bad. I've probably been in worse places. Also I've been to places that I don't own often." He said down to her.

He landed and flowed through the door.

[McWinniage]

Frostbite gritted her teeth. "Ha..." She said with sarcasm dripping off her voice. Frost bite made no move to show Dunder around. She flitted through hallways and doors, cutting through the worn down rooms. The room finally opened up, and what was seen was not expected by newcomers. The room was a dazzling white, with ponies that looked liked a cross between upper crust ponies and ponies like Frostbite. Tinkling of glasses and soft laughter echoed off the walls, and velvety foods were found on cloths of deep red. "Find a table, you're on your own, kiddo." Frostbite muttered, looking very displeased to be seen with any other creature in this room. She darted across the room and entered a door that was adjacent to a stage.

(Okay, see you later!)

[Dunder]

[bYE!!!!~~~]

Dunder didn't expect anymore from the female unicorn than her to get straight to the point. Dunder followed her on hoof around through the halls and doors. He felt awkward following and felt nervous at the state of the battered rooms and doors. His eyes opened wide with awe when he saw the room before him. He didn't expect such an elegant place to be in a run-down building like that. He trotted inside and listened to Frost Bite's final words before she left.

He wandered about the room, none of the other ponies seemed to notice him. But he noticed the other ponies. They all looked like the fancy-dancey ponies of Canterlot, but they seemed like they were in a part of a rock band. He walked over to a table and started to eat some candy as he thought about it. It suddenly hit him, the old-run down building, the fancy and yet neo-musical fashion, and Frost Bite's cutie mark all made it add up. This was probably some kind of musical thing. He sighed in relief as he realized this.

He happily took off and did a loop before landing in a sitting position in the chair opposite to Frost Bite. "Hey!" He said happily and began eating more the the candy.

[McWinniage]

Nope, it was actually an underground pony mafia that liked to eat pegasi. Dunder was devoured in moments.

Frostbite jumped nearly a foot upon the stallion's entrance. "Watch it!" She whinnied in discomfort. the unicorn mare had thought for sure that Dunder would've taken off, but it seemed it was a persistent blighter. "Look, I'm just here to grab a drink before I..." Frostbite hesitated, a slit blush creeping around her ears. "Never mind, it's not important." Frostbite had seemed to lose a lot of focus after the previous statement. She lifted a glass with a deep blue aura and tipped it into her mouth. The drink didn't last long, and was nearly spit out as an announcer said something over the microphone. "DJ-FRO-" The rest of the sentence went unheard by Dunder and Frostbite. Frostbite gulped down the rest of her drink and half-coughed out. "Y-yes! I th-think she knows!" She called out in a loud voice. Frostbite gave Dunder Blust a dirty glance before slipping away from Dunder's sight in a flash of blue light.

Frostbite Reappeared behind a curtain in a dimly lit room. "There you are, darling!" A sing-songy voice called out. Frostbite let out a silent groan. "Not him." She thought to herself, putting on the best fake smile she could. A unnamed purple pegasus came floating over to the unicorn, a lavish looking costume clenched in his teeth. "You look dreadful, put this on!" The garments were thrown on Frostbite, who recoiled at their touch. She hastily pulled on a knock-off brand DJ-P0N3 pair of goggles, slathered on neon hair gel, and pulled a ridiculously large set of headphones on around her neck. "Now shoo, darling. Go make magic!" He said in a flamboyant air before hovering away. "Slimy griffon." Frostbite muttered as she pulled of the costume while trotting over to the curtain.

Meanwhile in the main hall, the lights had dimmed and the same purple pegasus drifted into view. "FILLIES AND GENTLECOLTS! I PRESENT TO THE FABULOUS, THE AMAZING, THE ELECTRIC DJ-FR0S7Y!" A smattering of applause echoed through the room as the stage lights came on...

(Relocating to my Dad's, will be on around 7:45-8:00 CST.)

[Dunder]

Dunder noticed her obvious discomfort about him being there, but there was more. He also noticed that she seemed to be hiding more than whatever was in the bag. He slowly made a smile as he realized this. He was snapped out of when he heard the announcer and was even more snapped out of it when he got spat on with some strange smelling liquid. He flinched when he was hit by it and took no time to start cleaning himself of the liquid. He started laughing a bit as she angrily left, but soon he realized that his candy was covered in the liquid that not only smelled strange but was in her mouth. He threw the candy over his shoulder.

The announcer was talking about something and Dunder wasn't paying attention. He sat there impatiently with his head on his hoof as he waited for the unicorn he had just met to come out. It was pretty obvious that she was the performer but he didn't get how she could become an entertainer with an attitude like that. He then thought about if she had become so cranky because she was making music. He knew that musicians were under constant pressure to make new and good music but he had never really seen the effects first hand.

Then the announcer caught Dunder's ears again. His voice roared over the electronic background music and through the large speakers. He smiled when he heard the unicorn's stage name and saw how it was spelled from the overhead monitor. He stomped his hoof on the ground, "YEAH!!!! GO DJ- FROS7Y!" He yelled over the cheers of other audience members. He was sitting in the front so he was one of the ponies that stuck out more.

[McWinniage]

Frostbite cringed slightly as the spotlights flashed upon her. She rolled her eyes behind the large sunglasses she had chosen to put on. "Great, he's still here." She thought bitterly. Thought thoughts of resentment were banished from Frostbite's mind as she started to unpack her turntable and headphones. Everything on stage looked drab and boring. The turntable was black with no personal touches to it whatsoever, Frostbite's headphones were a normal white with her real name scrawled across the speakers. Frostbite took a seat on a what looked like a normal chair and propped her hooves up on the desk in front of her. The turntable was nowhere to be seen, it was presumably in her lap.

cough cough. Silence filled the hall while newcomers grumbled about the lack of stage presence. The regulars to a "FR0S7Y" concert had given the artist their full attention.

Music startled to fill the falls, though Frostbite didn't move an inch. The music sounded like the start of a DJ-P0N3 song, but it was different. It was more tuned down, not in the aspect in the sound, but it wasn't as chaotic. Newcomers were confused and shifted uncomfortably in their seats, but what came next stifled their coughing and shifting. A wailing trumpet reverberated off the walls before cascaded into a wild solo. The player was none other than Frost herself, but no one could see her behind her hooves. The dance music started to pump louder, and what sounded like a concert hall string section came in through the speakers. The strings weren't elegant, quite the opposite. A gritty, almost cruel noise squealed off of the bowstrings. A passerby could easily mistake it as a orchestra recording, but it was much different. Techno blared through the speakers, providing a nice beat as the strings hummed and Frostbite blew away. It really was an acquired taste, and not for people who tended to stick to one genre of music. The thunderous bass and alien synthesizers provided a steady background noise as Frost's trumpet and the recorded string section blasted away. It was easy to tell that the only live sound was the trumpet, for Frost was the only one on stage. Oh how Frostbite longed to play her pieces with a full band. Octavia's quartet and P0N3's mixes played along side Frost's trumpet and compositions were things that Frostbite dreamed about. Even getting real samples from the two bands would be phenomenal. Alas, they were too expensive for this performer.

After a few sets, Frostbite retired to the backstage area and a was greeted by a few ponies. There was no security on duty, so audience members could come and go as they pleased, but Frostbite wasn't well known enough to garner attention.

[Dunder]

Dunder was blasted to the back of his seat. He quickly regretted sitting next to the unicorn instead of sitting in the back. Getting odd looks by strangers is a lot better than getting your ears blasted inside-out. The sound would be better if it weren't for the noise. The music was pretty good, but Dunder could hardly stand the volume at first. He got more and more resistant to it as the music went on.

The strings were the worst part. Any instrument that used a bow to play strings already made Dunder cringe, but the way the person in the sample was playing it made him shiver. The background music did make the string playing more bearable. He was glad when it left his ears. The music that he had just heard by the time the song was over left a bitter feel in his head. Like one of the foods that you are not sure about but then the taste is later something you enjoy. Either way, Dunder thought the music was pretty good. He also knew that he shouldn't really criticize it because he couldn't make something half as good.

When the music was done he shakily took off into the air. He forgot to check for overhead clearance and almost bumped into the ceiling. He was glad that no other pegasi were there, or else he could look like an idiot. the other ponies also looked relatively fresh while Dunder looked like he had just gone through intense flight training. His mane was ruffled and his eyes were opened wide in shock of the foreign sounding music. He started to fly to the back of the stage. He waited in line to see the DJ.

When he was up he started to laugh a little bit, "I know you'll probably hate me, but that was pretty good." He said, "Not half bad. I liked the sampling... except for the string beating, that was little.,, much." He said. He sat down on the ground and waited for her to retort with anger or possibly insults.

[McWinniage]

Frostbite looked him in the eye for a few moments, before breaking down. "Oh I just knew it! Only a handful of people are into the grit. It was like hooves on a chalkboard, wasn't it?" She asked in distress. "And the samples were off, I was playing sharp the whole time, and my manager made me look like Vinyl Scratch 2.0!" Frostbite spat Scratch's name, clearly displeased with it.

[Dunder]

Dunder stood there in shocked. He hadn't expected her to act like this. If anything, he thought, she should have reacted with anger. Although it was better for him that she didn't. He stood on all fours and put a hoof on her shoulder, "Your music was better than anything I could make. And your music is way different than Vinyl's." He said. The music had almost been like hoofs on a chalkboard, but he wasn't going to tell her that. He also couldn't see how she expected to make new music with such vinyl Scratch influenced music.

[McWinniage]

"Forget it." Frostbite shrugged the hoof off. "I write my own music for everything, the brass, the strings, even the techno. I just can't hold a candle to that loud-mouthed pony." Frostbite harbored a bitter resentment for Vinyl Scratch. In her opinion all of Vinyl's songs were the same. Here she was, with a handful of ponies and a stallion that was trying to sympathize. "Look, I think you'd ought to leave, I have work to do." Frostbite muttered bitterly, regaining her gritty demeanor.

[McWinniage]

(OOC: Gotta take off, see ya!)

[Dunder]

[K ok bye.]

Dunder put his hoofs under her leg and lifted her to her feet, "Stop crying." He said sternly, "The reason that Vinyl's songs are better than yours are because you anticipate her songs to be better than yours. You can vent your anger when you're real competition, not hugging yourself because you think your music is bad." He said, "And you look like you need to relax. Over working yourself is unhealthy." He said He didn't smile but he looked into her eyes... or sunglasses if she was wearing them.

[McWinniage]

Frostbite looked a little taken aback. Her, crying? Perhaps it was her demeanor. Not to mention the large shades that concealed her eyes. "Relax? I am relaxed!" Frostbite objected to all this motivational garbage. "Why bother with me? You'll never see the likes of me again." Frostbite said in mild distaste, or perhaps she always spoke like that. To prove to that marshmallow of a pegasi that she was relaxed. Frostbite levitated a flask that she kept in her saddlebags and began to gulp it down. "See, relaxed."