A Rose Tinted Ballad

Part 1 ~ At The Nightclub

~Chapter 1- Vinyl's POV~
I walked down the street stiffly, past the run-down bars with their broken neon signs, and the few tattoo parlors along the way. I could spot the apartment from here, but I wanted to get there before dark. It wasn't just the maze-like city that was impossible to navigate, but the area itself was a bad place to be at any time, especially in the evening.
   I played my music loudly in my headphones, losing myself in the beat as I bobbed my head, my electric blue mane swishing in the motion. Before I knew it, I was at the apartment, and I quietly levitated my key card to the pin machine to open the door. An empty but littered apartment stood before me. A single scratched up couch sat in one corner, abandoned soda and beer cans lay all around the floor, clothes and towels were thrown everywhere, and in another corner sat an electronic keyboard. On the right side of the room was a small kitchen, lit up by an open fridge.
   "Crap!" I cursed to myself, running to the fridge. I opened it further, seeing what food could have spoiled from the door hanging wide open all day.
   The only food inside of the fridge was some leftover hay sandwiches, a few sodas, some milk that had already spoiled a week ago, and a few bottles of hot sauce.
   I rolled my eyes and took the spoiled milk out, holding it as far away as possible with my magic and wrinkling my nose. I chunked it in the trash can and poured some hot sauce over it to mask the stench.
   "At least there was nothing important in there..." I grumbled to myself before putting the sauce back in the fridge and slamming it shut.
   I walked over to the couch and fell on it, reaching down to pick up a dirty towel and wrapped it around myself like a blanket. Suddenly, the alarm on the armrest of the sofa went off.
  "Holy Taurtarus, today is THURSDAY?!?!" I yelled loudly before grabbing my rose-tinted goggles on the counter. I ran out the door and quickly locked it before running outside.

   It was chilly out, and the only reason I could see two hoofsteps in front of me was because of the neon signs along the sidewalk. I thought I heard hoofsteps, so I turned down my music and illuminated my horn slightly.

  "Hey, what's a pretty little mare like you doing out tonight?" A rough voice said from behind me.
   I stayed quiet and kept walking, hoping he would leave me alone.
   "Hey! I'm talking to you hot stuff! What the hay are you doing?" He yelled, grabbing my hoof.
  I lowered my head and smiled, muting my music. Things were going to get ugly.

   "Oh... Just walking around so I could beat the living crap out of creeps like you!" I screamed, giving him a hard punch to the jaw with my hoof. He went reeling back, his hoof covered his bloody mouth.
   "You bucking-"
   I gave him another quick hit across the temple and leaned down, smiling. "Maybe you should think next time you wanna try to screw over a girl like me."
    Leaning down, it was the first time I got a good look at the stallion. A dark gray coat with a jet black mane and-
   "M-mister ERICSON!!?!" I sputtered, my eyes widening.

   The pony looked up at me with surprise, his pupils turned to pinpricks. "PON-3?!?! Are you bucking kidding me?!?!"

   Mr.Ericson... Owner of the very nightclub I was walking to... I always preformed on Thursdays and Saturdays... Sweet mother of Celestia, I always knew he was a jerk... But not like this...
   "Your FIRED!" He screamed with fury.

   My mouth gaped open and my eyes widened. I glared, and gave a smart remark.
   "Like I would ever work for scum like you." I spat.
   He glared at me, but didn't say anything. I walked off, and started running. The thunderclouds were growing, but I didn't care. I ran far away from my boss, away from that stupid-

   I sighed. It didn't matter what he was... I had needed that job and I blew it. It started to rain, but I kept running. My mane dripped from the moisture and I started getting cold. I slowed down and looked up at a large sign, the neon letters sparking my interest.
   "A nightclub? Might as well show some ponies how to party." I said arrogantly, turning up the music in my headphones and putting on my goggles.