//------------------------------// // Sweetie Belle's Metal Music Madness // Story: Random Ramblings // by PioneeringAuthor //------------------------------// One autumn afternoon, Sweetie Belle was reading a book outside, enjoying the cool breeze on her white pelt. It was one of those days that she enjoyed some time alone, but it was starting to get boring. Putting down the book into her bag, she debated going to Apple Bloom’s house, or finishing up her book. It was a tough decision for a young pony to make. “Oh! Hi Sweetie Belle,” Starlight Glimmer’s thoughts cut into her mind. The older Unicorn was trotting over, carrying saddlebags and with headphones on her neck. Looking up, Sweetie Belle grinned. Starlight was more Maud and Rarity’s friend, but she was a fascinating pony to be around, and had pretty great taste in clothes, like Rarity. At first, Sweetie was awkward around her, but Starlight was pretty awkward too after being reformed. In time, the two did end up having fun together. In fact, they enjoyed flying kites quite often during the summer alongside Maud. Besides kites and fashion, they also enjoyed exchanging music together. “Hi, Starlight!” Sweetie greeted, “What’re you listening to?” “Well… ” Starlight smiled, slightly embarrassed, “It is just some metal; there is this band from Manehattan,” With that she took off the headphones. Of course, metal was a fairly recent thing in Equestria…. “...Metal? What’s that?” Sweetie asked in confusion as she tilted her head and scooted over on the bench to give Starlight some room. “Ah, it is this new kind of music, or, well, new in Equestria, uh, if you want to listen to some…” She offered the filly her headphones with a smile. Curious as to what “Metal” was, Sweetie Belle used her magic to put on the headphones and pushed play. She was completely unprepared. Her eyes widened in shock, and her eyelashes twitched. It was… fierce, and… symphonic, and… overwhelming. However… it was so… so… NO! This wasn’t music! This was a mismatched cacophany of strange things and--nO! Quickly she took off the headphones, glaring at Starlight and demanding, “How could you listen to that, Starlight!? It’s so dark and weird and intense! TOO intense!” “Oops, I should have warned you!” She smiled, almost sheepishly and sighed, “But it is good, I mean, the rythm and the complexity!” “But there HAS to be a thing as TOO complex!” Sweetie retorted as she rubbed her ears with her white hooves, “I thought you were all smart and organized like Twilight and Rarity! How could you listen to that mess!?” “Well, there is something like too complex, it is just not yet there” She let out a slightly awkward laugh as she tossed her curly mane over her shoulders. Sweetie Belle sighed and tried putting on the headphones again. Maybe she did need to give it another chance. As she was listening, she began to hear how all the instruments worked together, and felt excited by the quick pace and intensity. “I mean… It’s cool, but not really my thing,” Sweetie decided after a bit as she used her magic to give Starlight her music back, “Thanks for telling me though. I think Scoots might like it better.” “Ah, I see… well, thanks for giving it a chance I guess.” Sweetie shrugged again and returned to reading her book. Sweetie Belle threw open the door to Twilight’s Castle. “STARLIGHT!? STARRRRRLIGHT!?” She called as she ran around the halls. With a wild look in her eyes, she galloped down another hall and halted, panting hard. Starlight had to be around here somewhere, right? And Starlight was there, thankfully. As a matter of fact, she was just relaxing after having read the latest letter that Sunburst had sent. Startled, she stood and witnessed the galloping filly charging into the side room. “Starliiiiiight,” Sweetie Belle whined with a dramatic toss of her curls, “I AM IN SO MUCH TROUBLE AND IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” Starlight just looked at Sweetie Belle, rather confused by this. “What… What do you mean, Sweetie Belle?” Pacing around the room, Sweetie rambled, “For the past week I’ve been listening to metal music! I can’t get enough of it! I had a whole stash of really awesome CD’s--FIVE to be exact, FIVE, STARLIGHT!” Of course, to an adult, five CD’s would probably sound like a tiny stash. Sweetie didn’t take the time to consider that maybe her stash wasn’t such a massive hoarde after all, because she was too flustered about what happened next. “FIVE CD’S!! And they were HARD TO GET! I used up most of my saved allowance to get some of them, in fact. AND YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!?” “Uh… no…” Was all Starlight managed to reply, still fairly confused by this all. “Rarity found them, and she listened to one, and then she hated it!” Sweetie whined dramatically as she walked over to a couch and sat down on her haunches, “And then she lectured me on how schocking it all was, and asked if I had some kind of violent tendency stored away or something, and then she ALMOST got Mom and Dad involved--good thing they were gone on vacation--AND THEN SHE FAINTED!” Sweetie paused and shrugged, admitting, “okay, so Rarity faints a lot, but still. SHE FAINTED!” To emphasize the point, Sweetie fainted on the couch dramatically… or perhaps her sister’s habits had finally rubbed off on her. Sighing at that, Starlight nodded as her ears drooped. “I’ll talk to her… actually, I think I might get Rainbow Dash with me for that one… ” Lifting her head, Sweetie Belle asked, “So my life isn’t over?” “No, it is not,” Starlight replied with a smile as her ears perked up again. Slowly Sweetie Belle sat up and tucked her legs under her body and sighed, “...sorry for yelling. I mean… Okay, maybe I was a bit over dramatic, but… It was a bit much for me.” She rubbed her hooves together awkwardly and asked, “Starlight, do you think it’s okay to freak out a little? Just a little? Only sometimes?” “I… I don’t know, I guess it is,” Starlight replied with an almost sheepish smile. “Yeah… I just hope Rarity will understand,” Sweetie sighed as she fidgeted with her curls. “I’m sure she will.” Starlight told her after a couple of seconds. It was a peaceful day in winter. Snow was gently falling outside Twilight’s castle, and the warm fires inside the castle filled the place with a comforting scent. Indeed, it was peaceful and lovely. Then Sweetie Belle threw open the doors. With another wild look in her eyes, she galloped down hallway after hallway, bumping into Spike momentarially. “SPIKE! Where’s Starlight?” Sweetie demanded as she hopped to her hooves. “WHA! Uh, she’s in the library,” Spike answered as he climbed to his feet. “Thanks!” Sweetie called over her shoulder as she gallopped away, leaving Spike very confused. The doors to the library flew open. And startled by it all was Starlight, who had been trying to read up on some spells. “STARLIIIIIGHT! I--* PANT * HAVE A --* PANT* --PROBLEM AND IT IS ALL --*PANT*--YOUR FAULT!” Sweetie whined as she panted in the doorway. “What happened this time?” Starlight asked, somewhat tiredly. “Over the past few months, Rarity’s been slowly getting more interested in Metal,and now she is OBSSESSED!! Remember when she lost her mane for a bit and did that punk look? IT WAS NOT JUST TO LOOK GOOD!” Sweetie wailed as she glanced around. Finding a suitable armchair, she pulled it close with her magic and then fainted on it dramatically. “It’s just TOO MUCH, Starlight. I’m scared I ruined my sister!! She’s coming out with an edgy punk rocker clothes line soon, and is about to announce it to Twilight and their friends! You gotta stop her!” Starlight looked at her for a few moments, then blinked and took a deep breath… “I see… ” “...good news is Mom and Dad seem okay with this,” Sweetie Belle admitted as she sat up, “But how!? This is so totally NOT Rarity!” Starlight was trying to think about what to say. admittedly, she did not quite like Punk but… “I… I’ll talk with her and Twilight…” She finally conceded, needing to think of something. She knew that Sweetie needed to accept her sister’s tastes might be changing over time, but simultaneously Starlight didn’t want Rarity to make any short-sighted decisions and possibly derail her career or anything horrible like that. “Okay, thanks,” Sweetie sighed in relief as she adjusted her curls with her hoof, “I knew you’d think of something.” Eventually, with some advice from Starlight, Rarity calmed down, though she never lost her taste for punk rock and symphonic metal. In time, this would be something they would all laugh about together.