The Hurricane-Pt 6: Rock Shows, Bad Hair, and Groupies
And for those wondering, the song I picked for Volare to introduce the ponies to rock with was:
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August 27th, Afternoon
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Sweet child~! Sweet chiiiiii~iiiiild o’ miiiiiiii~iiiiiiiiiiiiine~!
As the music faded out, Volare opened his eyes and leaned back into the bench, breathing rather hard; admittedly perhaps having gotten a little too into the song. But it was a damn good song! The first thing he noticed was the small speaker that Vinyl had placed on the ground; all around the front of the speaker, the grass had been flattened in an arc by the sound, and the very air seemed to reverberate with the echoes of the song he’d just thought of. The blue-maned Unicorn wasn’t kidding when she said that little thing packed a wallop! A few of The Library's leaves were even lazily falling through the air, having been prematurely knocked from their perch by the rock song.
He pulled an earbud out and looked to his right to see Vinyl Scratch’s bare face, her shades having fallen off sometime around Slash’s big guitar solo. Her jaw was hanging partially open, barely managing a whistling squeak in response to the song that had quite literally rocked Twilight’s front yard. The yard’s purple owner’s mane was frizzed out much like it had been when Rainbow Dash had used her Patented Rainblow Dry on her, making Volare nearly laugh out loud at the sight. Pinkie Pie’s popcorn had been blown all over the yard, and her own mane was poofed more than usual, but she wore a large grin on her face, indicating she’d enjoyed the little show.
The Pegasus grinned hugely at Vinyl and hoofed her in the shoulder. “Good stuff, huh?” He asked, echoing her earlier statement. “Whatcha think?”
“I-I,” Volare looked over to see Octavia shaking her mane and twiddling a hoof in her ear. “What were those high-pitched, tapping and flowing notes I was hearing in the song? Was that from the guitar?”
“You got that right,” Volare replied, his lips still pulled back in an adrenaline-fueled grin.
“Is it a stringed instrument?” the grey mare asked hopefully.
“Mhm, it is, and”-
“HA!” Octavia pointed a hoof at the still-stunned Vinyl Scratch. “I told you that one day a stringed instrument was going to… blow your mind I believe is the term, Vinyl?”
“Uh…I…wow,” Vinyl finally managed to clear her throat and speak. “Dude, that was beyond amazing,” she levitated her shades back up onto her face and gave Volare a respectful nod. “And I got it all on here,” she tapped the sphere around her neck and grinned hugely.
“I think I could come to like this Rock N Roll as well,” Octavia smiled, surprising Volare immensely. “Especially if it has more strings like that!”
“Heh, glad I could give it to ya,” the Pegasus looked over at Twilight. “What did ya think, Pinkie?”
“That…was…rock-a-riffic!!” Pinkie Pie shouted, leaping up and bucking her legs in the air, her blue eyes wide with excitement. “When I throw you that party, we gotta play music like that!”
“Haha, we’ll see what happens,” Volare grinned. “How about you, Twilight?”
“Well, it was certainly loud,” the purple Unicorn gave a small chuckle and tugged on her right ear to clear the buzz in it. “Not really my taste of music, though.”
“Well heck with you guys, cuz that kicked major flank,” Vinyl crowed. “What was the name of the song? And who was the guy with the epic hat and shades?”
“Whoa, you could see all that!?”
“Yeah, your thoughts got directly sent to me through my horn and through this,” she tapped the sphere around her neck. “Same way you saw a buncha lights and stuff when I played you some of my music.”
“Wild,” Volare breathed. “Well, the song is called Sweet Child O’ Mine, by the rock band Guns ‘N Roses,” Volare replied. “And the guy with the top hat and shades is Slash, one of the greatest electric guitarists of all time.”
“I could tell,” Vinyl nodded enthusiastically. “That guy was off the chain!”
“Why would they name their band after flowers and…guns?” Octavia mused.
“You know, I never did figure that out,” Volare replied. “Sometimes, Earth bands give themselves crazy names just to stand out, and I guess Guns ‘N Roses was the pick of the day, and they just went with that.”
“Hrm, well it certainly is catchy…wait, what are guns?” the grey mare asked suddenly.
Oh crap, the Pegasus thought. Now what?
But Twilight spoke up before Volare had to. “Heh, we’ll get him to explain later. For now, let’s listen to some more music. You got anything, well…less crazy in your head, Volare?”
“Aww, really,” Pinkie’s smile faded somewhat. “But I liked that…”
“I’m sure I can think of something,” he grinned his thanks for the Unicorn’s save before looking about for a minute. “Hey, where’d Spike go?” The baby dragon wasn’t where he’d seen him snoozing at the base of the tree when he started the music.
“W-what the hay was that?!” a voice called out from above them. The ponies looked up to see a small purple dragon halfway up the tree and clinging to a branch; shaking from snout to tail.
“Looks like you scared him up the tree, Volare,” Twilight laughed out loud. “Oh come on Spike, it wasn’t that bad!”
“Well, you try snoozing in the sun and minding your own business and then WABOOOOOM you get the craziest wake up call of all time,” the dragon grumbled as he shimmied along the branch and hopped in through one of the Library’s windows, emerging from the front door a few moments later, still looking a bit shaken up. “I mean, did you really have to blast that thing so loud?”
“Hey, don’t knock the sound, baby,” Vinyl patted her speakerbox with a hoof.
“Not knocking it. In fact, if it weren’t for it scaring me awake, I might have enjoyed it,” Spike admitted.
“Sorry Spike,” Volare’s face fell. “I didn’t mean to freak you out.”
“Nah, it’s cool bro,” the dragon gave him a half-smile. “Just gimme a heads-up next time you…um, what exactly were you doing there,” he asked, imitating the motions that Volare had been making.
“Oh, that’s called air guitar,” the Pegasus said sheepishly. “Humans tend to do it when they listen to rock music they really appreciate.”
“Humans?” Vinyl asked when she caught the strange word.
“Mhm, it’s a race from the planet I’m from,” Volare nodded. “Like I said, I’ll explain later.”
“Ok, gotcha,” the Unicorn nodded as she fiddled with the speaker box.
“Is it because you can’t play one that you imitate it,” Octavia spoke up before realizing how harsh that sounded. “Er, sorry.”
“No, it’s ok, Octavia,” the Pegasus shook his head and chuckled at Pinkie attempting to do the air guitar herself, nearly falling on her face as she did so. “It’s true; that’s why they do it. So even though they can’t actually play a guitar, they can at least emulate doing so and enjoy themselves. Have you never imitated a…what instrument do you play?”
“Cello.”
“Oh…well, that’d be rather awkward-looking…so I take it that’s a no?”
“Correct.”
“Right…hrm…”
“You said you know music beyond this Rock N Roll, right,” the grey mare asked, breaking the small awkward silence that had ensued.
“Mhm, a little bit.”
“Would you care to play some for us?”
“Oh, I dunno,” Volare scratched his mane with a hoof. “I’m not nearly as up to snuff on that sort of music as I am of rock.”
“Actually, I’d like to hear something a little different as well, Volare,” Twilight piped up, doing her best to straighten her frizzed-out mane. “If you don’t mind.”
“Heh, well, I suppose I could give it a whirl,” the Pegasus looked to Vinyl. “You ok with that?”
“No problem,” the Unicorn nodded and sat the speaker box back down. “I just toned the speaker down a bit so we don’t all get pummeled too badly again. Ready when you are.”
Volare popped the earbud back in and focused his mind again, this time on one of the few classical songs he knew fairly well.
Once the song ended in a great clash of cymbals, Volare opened his eyes again to see Octavia beaming with joy, while Vinyl Scratch seemed to be frowning slightly, causing him to pull the earbud from his ear again. “You ok, Vinyl?”
“Yeah, I’m good…just not really my style, that’s all,” she shrugged slightly. “Still cool, though.”
Twilight’s head was on a slight tilt, but she was wearing a smile, so he supposed she’d enjoyed it as well.
Pinkie’s blue eyes were as wide as her smile.
“Wow, why can’t you ever play like that, Octy,” the pink mare asked innocently.
“Ahem-well, um,” Octavia sputtered slightly before attempting to straighten her un-crooked bowtie. “I don’t normally have the benefit of an entire orchestra backing me up, Pinkie. Even so, I’d suppose the Royal Canterlot Symphony would simply die to hear me play something like this for them…do you mind if I make a copy for myself, Volare?”
“Oh, go right ahead, Octavia,” the Pegasus nodded, figuring piracy of music didn’t really apply here anyway.
“Oh please, call me Octy,” she smiled demurely.
“Heh, alrighty, Octy,” Volare smiled before noticing movement a short ways past the grey mare. There, along the path leading into town, a small group of ponies had gathered, drawn in by the strange-sounding music from Vinyl’s speaker box.
“Looks like we got an audience,” Vinyl nodded in their direction. “You up for a little performance, Volare?”
“Now, hang on a minute,” Twilight said cautiously. “Volare, I don’t want you straining yourself anymore than you have to.”
“Actually, I think I’ll be ok, Twilight,” the Pegasus reassured her. “I’m not really doing anything physically taxing; it’s all in my head, so to speak."
“Alright, well you cut it off if you get woozy or something, ok,” she patted his hoof.
“Roger, Twilight!”
“Huh, my name’s not Roger,” she protested, but he’d already put the noise-blocking earbud back in.
“How many you want, Vinyl,” he said loudly. To his surprise, her horn glowed light blue and he heard her voice in his head through the earbuds.
Eh-heh, sorry dude. Probably should have done this earlier.
“Whoa!” he jumped a bit. “I can hear you in my head!”
Mhm, keeps me from having to yell at ya, And I can hear you just fine, by the way, so no need to yell yourself.
“Oops.”
No problem! As for how many to play…gimme enough for a good sample size to mix. Ponies were saying my shows were getting a bit dull, so this outta spice things up a bit!
“Sure thing; any type of music in particular?”
Some more rock would be good…you know anything with good bass? Ya know, some epic WUB-WUBS?
“Heheh, yeah, I’ll throw one in there. You ready?”
Ready! She gave him a quick hoof pump, what he supposed was the pony equivalent of a thumbs up. He nodded and shut his eyes, focusing his mind once more as he began to play a “show” of sorts that would stretch on into the afternoon, all the while fighting the urge to play some of the music created by the fandom…but he knew that was FAR too risky, especially if Vinyl could “see” his musical thoughts…
Small sample of the music played.
Volare finally opened his eyes, mentally exhausted, to see that nearly two dozen ponies from town had gathered on the edge of Twilight’s yard and were watching him and Vinyl with wide eyes and more than a few hanging jaws. When they noticed his eyes had opened, the crowd began to stomp the ground in applause. Spooked, he immediately cut the music off and pulled out the earbuds only to be met with groans of disappointment from the townsponies as well as Vinyl Scratch.
“Aww man, that all for today?” she asked, a bit crest-fallen.
“Yeah, just…a little tired, that’s all,” the Pegasus gave her a lopsided grin. “What time is it, anyways?”
“2 in the afternoon,” a green-maned Unicorn on the edge of the crowd held up the watch on his leg in evidence.
“Wow, I’ve been playing for over 4 hours…no wonder I’m beat,” the Pegasus chuckled lightly.
“Aww, you’re not going to call it a day so soon, are you,” another Unicorn, this one wearing a brown hood asked with a frown.
“Yeah, don’t go!” an Earth pony with a red mane called out, quickly being echoed by the others around her.
“Hey, what’s your name, anyway,” the Unicorn with a watch asked with a grin.
“Ookay, show-pony” Twilight stepped in front of the yellow-maned Pegasus. “His name’s Volare and he’s recovering from a very drastic surgery, so excuse him if he’s kinda tired.”
“I’m not that tired,” Volare began to protest, but stopped when Twilight shot him a glance over her shoulder. “Ok, maybe I am a little tired…”
“There you have it,” Twilight addressed the small crowd. “Straight from the pony’s mouth. So if you don’t mind, I’d like for you all to head back to town while Volare gets some rest.”
“Okey dokey, Twilight,” Pinkie smiled and gave the Unicorn and Volare a quick hug apiece. “You heard Twilight; move’em out!”
“Hey, that’s mah line, sugarcube,” an voice called out as the crowd dispersed, leaving the voice’s orange owner standing there, leaning against a rock, her Stetson hat tilted against the afternoon sun. “Volare, them songs were amazin’. Ah had no idea ya’ll had such great music back on Earth!”
“Heh, you heard them, huh AJ?”
“For tha most part; loved that one about the muddy river” Applejack cracked a grin.
"Well, I was raised in The South, so I guess I kinda grew up country, so to speak."
"Not a dern thing wrong with that," she trotted forward and looked the Pegasus over. “Well, ya’ll don’t look too worse fer wear,” she chuckled and hugged him roughly, before he winced and she quickly realized he was still sore from the injury. “Wing still givin ya trouble?”
“Yeah, can’t even lift it,” he replied, scuffing at a pebble with a hoof.
“Ah wish Ah knew how ta help, sugarcube,” Applejack gave him a sympathetic look.
“Heh, just you being here to check up on me is enough,” Volare replied before looking up at Vinyl and Octavia, who seemed to be trying to stay outside the small ring of ponies around the Pegasus. “Hey, what’re you two doing hiding over there? Come here! AJ, I’d like to introduce you to”-
“Well, howdy Vinyl, Octy! Lan' sakes, it’s been a season’r two since Ah last spoke with ya'll,” she shook Octavia’s hoof mightily before giving Vinyl Scratch a bear hug, one the DJ pony returned with some effort.
“You know them?” Volare asked in slight surprise. The two musicians didn’t exactly strike him as ponies the country girl Applejack would know. But her southern enthusiasm knew no bounds when it came to making friends, apparently.
“Course Ah know’em! Any friend o’ Pinkie’s is a friend o’ mine! We met at the Grand Galloping Gala about two and a half years ago…just been outta contact fer a bit cuz o’ how busy this here summer’s been, heheh,” the orange mare admitted.
“It’s no biggie,” Vinyl shrugged. “I was outta town touring and Octy spent the summer in Canterlot, sooo…no worries, AJ.”
“Indeed. Besides, with everypony back in town now, we’ll have plenty of opportunity to catch up on things,” Octavia nodded. “It’s a little funny though…”
“Hmm, what is,” Applejack tilted her hat back.
“Oh, that we’re meeting back up like this, partly because of Volare being here, I think,” she motioned to the blue Pegasus. “I mean, we likely would have run into each other eventually, but like you said, as busy as things had been, there’s no telling for how long we might have fallen out of contact…” the grey mare’s face scrunched with slight worry for a moment before raising her lilac eyes to meet Volare’s.
“Aww, stop,” he blushed. “I’m not taking any credit for your little reunion here; I didn’t do it on purpose. I’m just…well, here. That’s all,” the Pegasus protested.
“Well, either way, you brought us back together, Volare-bear,” Pinkie mussed his mane with a pink hoof. “And that’s a fact!”
“Exactly, Pinkie,” Applejack grinned. "So, what's the occasion of this little show, anyways?"
"Well, turns out Volare has been Twilight's little science project for the past few days," Pinkie said mysteriously, much to Twilight's chagrin.
"Heh, more like study buddies," the purple Unicorn corrected her. "I just figured, what better chance to learn about Earth than from a former inhabitant of it."
"Makes sense," the orange Earth Pony nodded. "Find anything interesting so far?"
"Enough for her to practically write a book on me," the blue Pegasus piped up. "And we came up with a buncha theories on the weather and on Pegasi anatomy too!"
"Oh really," Applejack asked, genuinely impressed. "And whatcha gonna do with this info, Twi?"
"Well, I..."
"Oh why hide it; she's going to Canterlot tomorrow to catch up with her brother and show our findings to Celestia and Luna," Volare explained.
"Volare!" Twilight hissed.
"What's wrong with ya'll headed ta Canterlot, Twi," Applejack inquired.
"Well, it's just that...urgh," she leaned in close and quickly explained the situation with Rainbow Dash and how she wanted to keep her away from Volare until she got back from Canterlot, mainly to keep her from accidentally getting Volare hurt again.
"And I was reluctant to tell anypony because while I'm gone, Volare's gotta stay with somepony and I figured that asking for somepony to look after him for two weeks on such short notice would be rude...so that's why I haven't said anything."
In truth, there was another reason...but no, she wasn't about to tell anypony but Celestia about that!
"Aww, sugarcube, ya'll don't have ta be scared ta ask a friend a favor," Applejack chuckled. "Kinda funny how Volare even played a song about that. Thing is, Ah'd let him stay at tha farm, but Grannysmith'd put him ta work and Ah dunno how his body'd take it. No offense, Volare."
"Nah, it's ok AJ," the Pegasus replied, a bit embarrassed at how much of a burden he was becoming. "Not sure how bad of a whip-cracker your granny is, but I doubt I'd be much good on the farm in my condition anyway."
"Well, Ah'm sure ya'll are gonna figure somethin' out," Applejack smiled and tipped her hat to her friends. “But fer now, like Twilight said, Volare’s lookin’ a might bit bushed, so we should let’im rest up. Come on, ya’ll!” Applejack headed south off the path and cut through the field that surrounded Ponyville, taking the quick route back to Sweet Apple Acres.
“Aww, fine,” Vinyl grumbled a bit as Volare hoofed her the earbuds. “But when you feel better, you and I had better have a recording session or something,” she patted the black sphere around her neck. “Cuz this stuff is gold!”
Volare blushed hotly at the compliment as the DJ gave him a quick hoof-bump and trotted off. Octavia gave him a small nod and a smile of thanks before following her roommate, who was chattering non-stop about how she was going to remix all the music Volare had given her today.
“Dude, Octy, you should have seen what I saw in that music!! There was this guy wearing a giant rat head all lit up with lights, and guys dressed in hats like AJ’s, and OHH, even this one guy that had the most AMAZING mane I’ve ever seen! If I can figure out how to make this thing create images, I’ll show ya!”
“As long as you don’t keep me up late with your bloody wubs,” Volare heard Octavia mutter before they trotted out of earshot.
“See ya, Volare,” Pinkie hugged him. “And if you need a place to stay, you’re welcome at Sugarcube Corner, even if Twilight says no,” she said quietly into his ear before pulling back with a grin. “Sleep well!”
She gave him a wave and hopped off back into town.
“And then there were three,” Volare stated as he looked back to Twilight and Spike, who’d resumed his nap at the side of the Library Tree. “Dang, you’re right about him, Twilight; he’s a snoozing bottomless stomach of a dragon!”
“Well, he is a baby dragon,” Twilight chuckled as she nudged Spike awake. “Hey, if you sleep much longer you’re going to have trouble sleeping tonight.”
“Aww, come on, Twilight,” Spike grumbled as he stumbled into the Library, the Unicorn right behind him.
“You coming, Volare,” Twilight turned and asked when she noticed the blue Pegasus wasn’t following her.
“Huh, yeah,” the Pegasus shook himself from his thoughts. Was this all really happening? Did I just show off rock music for a DJ pony and part of Ponyville? If this is a dream, I’d rather not wake…this is nuts!
“Coming!”
He stood up from the bench, stretched his legs with a creak, and headed after her as fast as he could, which amounted to little more than a slow trot; his legs were still fairly weak, and nearly tripped on the door threshold before sheepishly shutting the door behind him, nearly tripping over Spike who’d curled up in the sunlight falling through the front window. He made his way over to the couch in the lobby and hadn’t so much as flopped down on it than Twilight dumped him off of it.
“Hey Twilight, what gives?”
“You said it yourself out there,” she nodded towards the front yard. “You haven’t bathed in days and you’re not going to filthy up another piece of furniture in here. So if you must lie down, please do it upstairs on the already-nasty bed.” The Unicorn roamed about the room, picking books from the shelves and scrutinizing them before putting them back, muttering all the while and periodically giving little shakes of her mane.
“Hey Twilight…is something the matter,” Volare asked. “You seem…I dunno, kinda snippy and restless.”
“Oh that,” she replied. “Just a little…worried I guess.”
“What about?”
“Well, for one, I still don’t know who you’re staying with starting tomorrow,” she replied, tossing a small book back onto the shelf with a frustrated grunt. “And two, well…some of those songs you played…they worry me.”
“How so, Twilight,” the Pegasus took a step towards her.
“The words in them…the lyrics,” her eyes flicked back and forth over the floorboards, avoiding his gaze. “I mean, some of those songs seemed like harmless fun, but in others...the lyrics seemed so violent…and in others, they were so sad. I know it sounds silly, but it was almost like I felt those songs reflected your actual feelings and were more than just songs you'd heard…”
“Oh Twilight,” he wrapped his good wing over her back and pulled her into an embrace. “Those songs…they’re just another way that humans cope with their problems, that’s all. The lyrics just describe how they feel at the time, and sometimes it’s just a better way of letting their anger out than"-
“One of those songs talked about murdering their love and putting them in the ground,” she looked up at him, worry in her eyes. “Have you ever felt that way, Volare?”
“What-I….no, Twilight,” he groaned and closed his eyes. “Ugh, maybe I shouldn’t have played some of them…you probably think I’m some sort of freak by liking that kinda of music…”
“No, it’s not you, Volare,” she leaned into him. “You’re a product of your environment and…if that’s what you were raised around, it would only make sense that you’d come to like it…again, it just worries me that you lived in such a rough place, that’s all.”
“I appreciate the concern, Twilight.” He gave her a quick squeeze with his wing. “But I’m not there anymore. I’m here to stay. Hopefully Equestria will have a better influence on me.”
“I know…I know,” the Unicorn said quietly as she pulled away from him and pretended to stare at the disorganized books on the shelves; in truth, her mind was swimming, thinking over the things she’d learned about him in the last 24 hours. From his descriptions of how rough a world Earth was, to his occupation as a soldier, to his horrifying dreams, and now even to the entertainment from Earth. Nearly all of it pointed towards violence and strife…she was too scared to ask him what she really felt at the moment. She was scared that he’d brought more than just stories and music from Earth. She was scared that he’d brought the actual horrors themselves with him, that they could manifest themselves in him at any time, especially if he got mad if he found out about the secrets she knew about him…she was even starting to regret having to spend one last night in the same house as him…no Twilight, stop thinking that way! Volare’s your friend! He’d never hurt you or any innocent pony…he’s different from other humans…right?
“Twilight?” Volare nudged her gently. “You spaced out again.”
“Agh, sorry,” she shook her mane. “You hungry, cuz I think that might be the problem with me, heheh.”
“Well, now that you mention it”-
“Oh good, I mean-heh, you know what I mean,” she chuckled a bit too happily and busied herself about in the kitchen, returning after a bit with two hastily-made salads. “Dig in,” she said through a mouthful of lettuce leaves, and Volare obliged, albeit a bit uneasily due to Twilight’s behavior.
“Something else on your mind, Twilight,” Volare asked after a bit.
“Hmm? Oh, I guess it’s,” she looked back at the lobby. “I think it’s the books being all out of order; it’s got my whole day thrown off…I’m weird like that…”
“Jeez, you’re more OCD than I thought,” he patted her hoof. “But it’s adorkable, so it’s ok with me if you are,” he said half-teasingly. “Besides, I do owe you an actual clean-up with those books. Who knows; maybe we’ll find that book on limb-reattachment and you’ll have one less thing to worry about finding in Canterlot.”
Twilight sat down her salad with a small sigh before joining Volare in gazing at the mess.
“You sure you want to, Volare?”
“Hey, it’s the least I can do before you head off tomorrow,” he smiled and bumped her with a hip. “Besides, can’t let you be all wobbly in the noggin when you tell Celestia about our weather and anatomy theories, right?”
“Heh, right,” the Unicorn nodded, feeling a bit better at the thought of meeting Celestia again for the first time in a good while. “Well then, let’s get started,” she pulled each section of books down and stacked them neatly in piles. “You sort them alphabetically, and I’ll sort them categorically, and this shouldn’t take too long,” she said with a determined smile. At the very least, it would take her mind off of Earth and its darker aspects for a few hours…
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“Whew, holy crap,” Volare leaned against the couch with a sigh and wiped his brow before looking up at the neatly filed and sorted volumes lining the Library walls. “We did it!” he exclaimed, looking up through the freshly-repaired window and into the darkening sky, Luna’s moon rising in the distance. Unfortunately, as they both feared, they didn't find the book they were looking for in the collection. But at least the place was clean!
“Yeah, we did,” Twilight said with some effort, though not nearly as much as the recovering Pegasus. “You gonna be ok?”
“Huh, me? Yeah, I’m good,” the Pegasus slid down against the couch despite his statement, unable to fight his slumping eyelids. “Just…just gimme a minute…”
“You’re not fooling me,” Twilight helped him to his hooves and ushered him towards the stairs. “Come on, horsefeathers; let’s get you to bed before you fall on your face.”
“Heh, yeah,” he mumbled quietly, allowing her to help him up the steps and into the bed. “I guess that’d be embarrassing…”
“Sleep well, Volare,” Twilight patted his hoof and turned to leave, but stopped when he grasped her hoof in his. “Yes?”
“What about who I’m staying with while you’re gone,” he asked, eyes still closed.
“Don’t worry Volare,” she said reassuringly. “I’ll think of something.”
“You always seem to,” he trailed off as sleep finally took him. “Thanks…Twilight…zzz.”
“You’re very welcome,” she smiled softly and levitated his hoof back onto the bed before clicking the light off and heading across the hall to her own bed. As she crawled beneath the covers, she once more went over the days' events, what she’d learned…and exactly what tomorrow had in store for her. With those thoughts bouncing through her head, she too drifted off to sleep, leaving the Library quiet and dark under a star-filled night sky.
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“Well, that was certainly interesting,” the green-maned Unicorn stallion mused as he turned down his small cot in the apartment he and his sister had rented at the Ponyville Inn.
“That it was, Ray, that it was,” his sister replied, tossing off her cloak and sitting down on the edge of her own bed, chin on her hooves as she thought back to the little concert of sorts they’d watched from the crowd in front of Twilight’s Library Tree. “I knew that Pegasus guy was strange, but I never figured he was from another planet!”
“Who, that Volare character,” Ray looked up with a sneer. “The one helping that DJ pony make all that noise…well, that’d explain why Lyra was so interested in him.”
“How do you mean,” Jill asked, her green eyes narrowed.
“Well, let’s see: he’s from a different planet, that much we know because he said it to his friends, and he sets off Lyra’s weird senses…senses set off by human artifacts or things in contact with them. Ergo…”
“Volare must from Earth,” Jill concluded.
“Exactly!” Ray said, flopping back on the cot, hooves behind his head as he shut his eyes.
“Well, what’re you waiting for,” Jill cried, half-standing up. “Tell the boss what’s”-
“Already did,” the stallion grinned and held up his watch which glowed with an unnatural green-gray light.
“Ah, I see,” Jill nodded and chuckled as she relaxed a bit. “What all did you say?”
“Oh, the basic stuff the boss was looking for,” Ray said with an almost bored air. “Reported Volare’s origin, his injuries, his apparent recovery…”
“Which doesn’t seem to be going so well,” Jill said thoughtfully. “Did you see his wing; it was all tied up in a sling. Did you report that?”
“Mhm, that too…let’s see, what else…Oh, the boss seemed particularly interested in his choice of music, especially after I spoke some of the lyrics,” the male Unicorn nodded slightly.
“Ooh, did you tell the boss about that song that talked about being “back in black” and about death, nooses, and bullets,” Jill grinned evilly.
“Mhm, sure did, but the boss was more interested in that one song that talked about killing and burying one’s loved ones.”
“Oh yes, that was deliciously violent and amazing,” Jill’s eyes glittered with malicious intent. “And the music perfectly matched the anger of the lyrics too!”
“Indeed.”
"What was with that song about the "fat bottomed girls"? I mean, who would find a mare with a fat flank attractive?"
"I have no idea, but it was pretty catchy...the boss said it was ridiculous though," Ray frowned a bit.
“Oh, and that one song he played, about “finding out who your friends are” in times of trouble; what a damn joke,” Jill cackled, though Ray didn’t join her in laughter.
“Actually, the boss took that one fairly seriously too, of all things…plus I don’t really see how friendship is that big of a joke to you, sis.”
“Oh come on!” Jill slammed the bed with a hoof. “Don’t tell me you’re going soft like those goody-two-horseshoes Ponyvillians!”
“Well no, of course not,” Ray shot her a glare. “I’m just saying that it’s sometimes a good thing when you have somepony there to watch your back when you get in a tight spot, that’s all.”
“Oh, pish, you are so getting soft,” the mare rolled her eyes before catching Ray’s serious expression. “Oh Luna help me, what did I say now?”
“Remember when you got drunk at the bar the other day?”
“Y-yes…I do…not one of my finer moments, for sure,” Jill’s gaze fell to the sheets on her cot.
“You know who it was that kept you from falling on your face and looked after you until I found you?”
“Who?”
“Lyra, of all ponies.”
“The “green freak”?”
“Yeah…that…she watched out for you till I got there, so I just…don’t think she really deserves being called that; that’s all.”
“…yeah, you’ve gone soft,” Jill laughed and slapped him on the belly, causing him to roll up and groan.
“Argh, what the hell, Jill?!” He looked up, his face contorted in anger.
“Come on!” Jill beckoned him with a growl. “Let’s see what you’ve got!”
“Ragh!” he roared as he leaped at her.
.............................
20 minutes later….
................................
The two Unicorn siblings laid out flat on the floor, breathing hard and covered in bruises. This wasn’t their first brother-sister squabble like this, but it had been quite some time since their last one, and admittedly they were both a little out of shape for this sort of thing.
“O-ok, so maybe you’re not as soft as I thought,” Jill gasped and gave her brother a gap-toothed grin; it seemed in the scuffle that he’d knocked out one of her teeth, and sure enough, there it was embedded in his hoof.
“Heh, I think that’s mine,” she snatched the tooth from his hoof and hit it with a spell before jamming it back in its spot in her mouth with a cry. “There, good as new!”
“Urgh, what was the point of all that,” Ray rubbed the knot forming on the back of his head.
“Just blowing off a little steam, brother, and proving you still have some backbone left…ow, I think I bit my tongue,” Jill groaned and rolled to her hooves with a shake of her mane. “Oh, one more thing…you didn’t tell the boss about my little episode at the bar the other day, did you?”
“Nah, of course not,” her brother smiled crookedly and stood up himself as his sister sighed loudly. “What is it now?”
“Oh, I’m just thinking,” Jill replied, dabbing at her bleeding nose with the edge of her cloak. “Just…dammit, how long do we have keep up this act?!”
“Until such time as the boss releases us from our bargain,” Ray said in an almost sing-song voice, as if he were quoting something for the hundredth time. “And until then, we keep an eye on the targets.”
"I can understand the others...but why Volare," Jill tapped her chin. "What's so special about him that the boss wants him surveyed?"
"Wouldn't say and I didn't ask," Ray replied. "I think it's just coincidence that Trixie wants us to follow him as well...oh well, if it kills a few birds with one stone, so be it."
“Oh yeah...and what about the “great and powerful Trixie,” Jill said in as mocking a tone as she could muster with a bloody nose and bitten tongue, waving her hooves in a melodramatic fashion as she did so.
“We stay in her service until the time comes. Like the boss said: it’s a perfect cover as long as we act like…well…”
“Idiots.”
“I was going to say inept sidekicks, but basically yes. It’s the perfect cover cuz who would suspect”-
“So says our almighty boss,” she rolled her eyes.
“Hey, the boss has been right up until now, and you know what’s been said happens to the doubters,” Ray warned.
“Urgh, don’t remind me,” Jill shuddered slightly. “Well, I suppose all we can do is enjoy the ride, huh?”
“Pretty much…and the pay,” Ray grinned.
“Ah yes…the pay is good…and it’s like we’re practically robbing that fool of a wannabe blue magician,” Jill laughed loudly, her brother joining in after a moment.
“You know, we kinda are,” the stallion’s sides hitched in laughter. “Like taking candy from a foal, hahahahaha!”
------------------------------------
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Personally, I think Ray and Jill need to...
images.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw4678_small.jpg
...this story. Yeah yeah, "plot and whatever" but still... me no gusta.
And then there were Shenanigans of both meanings of the word.
Sweet child o mine is crazy?
i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb461/LegionScavenger/Picard.jpg
Let's hit up some Zonaria for Twi. I'll bet she'll love it!
572576 LOL, believe me, I went over a buncha ideas in my head of how to advance the plot, and it was either continue with my original idea with these two or create new OC's, which I'd rather not do...so, here we are
Trust me, they GTFO eventually...and I think you'll enjoy it when they do
572616 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq8LzZyZWs0 idk
572646 Oh gawd
572672
troll.me/images/the-most-interesting-cat-in-the-world/hm-interesting-tell-me-more.jpg
572676 Heh, can't reveal exactly what will happen...but if you bare with the story for a while, you'll see
I CERTAINLY don't have them suddenly have a change of heart and become good guys, so no worries there
However, I DO explain what their deal is and why they're doing it...
572685
Engineer: Alrighty then!
572672
Interesting thing about that I had to dodge the censor at my school to look at that link
Not that hard actually
572806
572813 WTF...weird
Celestia is proud of your hacking abilities. You serve the HERD well
I would argue that the Snowbirds or the Silver Falcons are better, but sensational nonetheless!!!!
572855
Ctrl C Ctrl V
Add "S" to http:// = https://
Censor broken
572900 Ah yes, I've seen some video of the Snowbirds; the Royal Canadian Air Force, correct? Never heard of the Silver Falcons though...heh, I'm still waiting for someone to argue for the Red Arrows or the Thunderbirds though. The difference between the Blue Angels and the Snowbirds/Silver Falcons is those groups fly trainer planes; the Angels fly jets that are essentially combat-ready. NOT hating on the other groups at all (for they too are a cut above the rest of the pilots on earth), just saying that there's a difference between flying trainers and flying active duty jets.
But that's besides the point; THANK YOU so much for the compliments
572908 Well done, grasshoppah
572980
On a side note:
GET OUT OF THE WAI OC PONIES I CAN'T SEE THE SHIPTEASES.
572991
That'll come sooner or later....wait till you see what/who is the reason for this Arc Title
573095
Fluttershy.
Sweet Child O' Mine, Back In Black, and Stairway To Heaven. if you'd had Paint It Black, it woulda been a perfect epic-classic-rock-song quartet.
Besides, with everypony back in own now - town?
Twilight tumped him off of it - dumped
and the one where Twilight was going to bed where she says "went once more over the days events" or whatever (forgot to copy) - switch "once more" and "over the" so it's "went over the days events once more" or whatever (I think you'll understand when you find it)
What to say about the chapter otherwise.... Good chapter. Not much happened. But I have no issues with that. Carry on
573519
573580 Heh, true dat!
573667 Heh, thanks again, good sir!
...but wait, foreshadowing happened!
lol, Volare listens to Deadmau5?
this pleases me.
I'm absolutely eager for the next chapter!
<- this grin IS NOT big enough! It fails to express my glee!
Ugh more 'Everybody else on Earth is evil' crap again.
Thought there would have been at least 1 Van Halen piece but I guess not.
Great chapter man,
and the little twist with Ray and Jill, cool. Can't wait to see what their secret plan is. As always, can't wait till the next chapter! 
If 'Sweet Child O' Mine' could do THAt, then what could THIS do!?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG8d0HiCbbw&feature=endscreen&NR=1
573924 He might have heard a tune or two from him
574127 That's only what Twilight assumes, mainly because she doesn't understand Earth's cultures. Remember, she's going off the barest of opinions of one human-turned-pony (one who's seem some fairly rough stuff himself), and the sky-high views of Rainbow Dash. When your sample size is small, it's easy to jump to conclusions. Volare tried his best to explain that it's not the music that's bad; that in fact it's sometimes an alternative means of expressing one's feelings (anger for example), something much more preferable to throwing rocks through windows, for example. Likewise with Ray and Jill's opinions on the lyrics of the songs; they think that's all Volare is about because that's all they've seen of him. I'll address it more later, but trust me, I'm NOT writing humans to be evil at all...things on Equestria just seem much less complicated and inviting by comparison, that's all.
574383 Aww damn
Well, um, pretend he did play one in between the samples I mentioned
574428 Thanks! And it's not their secret plan, per se...
574502 LOL we might be burying Spike in that case!
574523
True.
Also, found a song AJ might like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qUk94eSu2c
Lemme know if you plan on having more music added.
I've, ltierally, got hundreds. Rock, Metal, and classical mainly, a smidge of techno, and anything NOT of those four genres is something like THAT. Inherently silly in an epically badass way.
574740 LOL oh lord, she just might
And I'll let ya know if I need more suggestions!
No offense man, this story is still wintacular and everything! But, I personnally don't think this was one of your better chapters...
Now it could just be from my hate for music with lyrics (I LOATHE
and DESPISE 
music with lyrics [My Little Ponys been the sorta exception] ) but the first part of this chapter felt like it was standing still and going nowhere plot wise. I found myself skipping most of it from boredom. 
Sorry about that, I guess it's hard keeping the awesome sauce train running at full epicness
575732 I agree with ya, dude; thanks for calling me on it...this is was one of those transition chapters I had no other idea of how to write
)
I just wanted to get it done and out of the way, introduce the music of Earth to Ponyville, as well as add more to the subplot of Ray and Jill
Urgh, I blame being burned out from final exams
(and maybe I was kinda catering to you guys, the readers, a little bit too and didn't wanna leave anyone out
However, I've started the next chapter and I already like it much more than this one, so hopefully we can put this one behind us!
574127
There's something to be said for all humans BEING evil. We murder each other by the millions, for senseless reasons. Earth is well on its way to climate destabilization, despite our knowing exactly what the problem is and how to fix it. Every day we have children who starve to death for want of food. We're running out of clean fresh water reserves, with nopony willing to even acknowledge the problem, let alone do anything about it. And don't even get me started about the economic system here in the US.
It isn't an overdone cliche, it's a reflection of reality.
575914 Unfortunately...and here we have Volare who was caught up in the destruction of his own race, be it justified or not...no wonder he's reluctant to talk about it with these ponies that are all about love and tolerance
575971 Eeyup.
575973 In that regard, there should be a Big Mac Manly tears emoticon
i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad221/9moviefan/ManlyTears.jpg
575986 There are many emoticons we lack.
576003 Knighty, make some more!!!
576016 Rabble rabble rabble!
574523
Maybe a possible edit is in order to include Unchained or Panama ?
576830 Or...I'll make up for it with one later in the story?
(I ain't touchin' anymore of this chapter)
576949
576971 Yes sir!
575914
The problem I have with the brony community is that all of you hate humanity to an extreme extent. Not everyone, but there is a majority that hates it. (See conversion bureau)
579091 Eesh, that story...in any case, yes this story points out humanity's existing flaws, but it also points out that humans are ridiculously hard to discourage, and that they can be a very motivated species at times, very good strong points that may or may not manifest themselves within Volare at some point, proving that even though humans are flawed, they sure as hell make do with what they've got.
Also, I'm staying up late to finish the new chapter and it should be posted before I head off to work tomorrow!
I think this song would appeal to both Octavia AND Vinyl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF6cnLnEARo
579930 Oooh, good one!
Even more epical version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owAj5LiXG5w&feature=related
Lyra is not going to be happy when she finds out he is from Earth, and refrained from telling her about it...
GAH! I was hoping for Avenged Sevenfold or Disturbed.But the music was good anyways
I find your lack of Muse disturbing...
a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/p480x480/564466_318465991552851_132448886821230_843491_1585044953_n.jpg
Nice chapter. I actually read it on my computer for once. You're doing a really good job with this and this is getting to nearly 'Fallout Equestria' long. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Soarin_dayum.png Keep it up
575986 Oh and I have a manly tears emoticon see dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/eenope.png
It was so worth it to download this emoticon add on dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_rainbowkiss_flip.png
I think it's terribly appropriate you played Deadmau in this chapter as he's the latest famous addition.
727841
I thought he took it back. A little. Not saying he won't come crawling back again, though.
Also, I think the only way I might be able to tolerate Jill and Ray is if they just become a Team Rocket-type ensemble. Intruding on various events only to be thrown out or blasted into the sky in one way or another.
No Apocalyptica?
For shame...