//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: Corruption // by PixelMoon //------------------------------// It was seven o'clock at night and Twilight had just finished eating breakfast. That's how you knew you were nocturnal. She was surprised at how easy the change had come to her. Waking up without the sun was difficult at first, but Rarity gave Twilight this self-lighting lamp that made the room bright at any time you set it to, solving Twilight's main problem with her new schedule. And of course, her new friends strongly approved of the change. Her job was so mind-numbingly boring in comparison with them. She worked in retail, which she didn't like at all. Still, she felt socializing with the girls had really helped the skills she needed for it. Twilight felt much more comfortable talking to strangers after they had forced her out of her shell. So that much was going well, she was actually making money now, although a pitiful amount. Probably more important than the job was that the check checked out and the money was in her bank! That one check was more than she was going to make in a year at the pony/11 where she worked. And that was before Rarity even stepped in to help with Twilight's finances. Rarity knew so many ways to help Twilight deal with debt and to manage the money she'd inherited. At the end of it all- Well at the end of it all Twilight felt like she was rolling in money! She could actually spend on luxury goods now, something she feared wouldn't happen for years to come, but Rarity kept warning her not to overestimate her wealth and all that. Rarity gave twilight a strict budget which Twilight kept to religously. And the best part of having enough money to live was that she got to spend time with her new friends now. Twilight wouldn't be needing a second job after all! She'd gone out with them every single night for the past three weeks and it seemed as though they had a never ending supply of new wonders to show her. They took her to caves, abandoned buildings, dark places in the woods, and more, to all these dark forbidden places she never would have gone to without them. And everything they showed her was beautiful. Despite everything Twilight knew and felt they were all amazing. But tonight was different! Tonight Twilight was going to have one of them come to her. Things kept going up and up! This was such an exciting day for Twilight! She'd never had a friend over to play! Well, not since she was like five or something, but this was her first real play date with a real friend at her actual house! Though, Twilight resolved not to call it a play date, less she sound 'uncool'. Dash had been teaching Twilight all about how to be cool. But she was also showing Twilight some more questionable things, too. Just the other day, Dash showed Twilight this one song by a band called Nightgaurd. It was one of those songs, a 'metal' song. Everypony knew that newer music was tasteless, vulgar and arouse too much passion in ponies. Celestia had almost considered banning rock and roll once, even. Like candy it was something you were only occasionally supposed to listen to, and even then comparing metal to actual music was like comparing junk food to a five star resturant. Yet that song filled Twilight with emotion like no other song ever had. Not just the song, but that feeling was stuck in her head, heart and hooves for two days straight. And somehow that was a good thing. It was this uplifting kind of feeling, that gave Twilight a spring in her steps as that 'dununanana' echoed in her head. It made her whole day better, gave her this drive to work hard for Celestia, as the saying went. Secretly, Twilight went out and bought a record of it and listened to it non-stop for hours! She'd never done that with any other piece of music before in her life, but this one was just different, magical somehow, but she couldn't get enough of this. She had to hear it again and buying the record was less embarrasing than announcing to Dash that she liked that garbage song. Twilight thought getting a few stares from ponies as she bought the delinquent record was bad enough, but far worse was when Rainbow Dash noticed Twilight humming it to herself under her breath. Twilight tried denying it and insisting that she still loved classical more but – well one thing lead to another and Twilight invited Dash over to her house to listen to some music with her. To her credit, Dash agreed to give Twilight's music a chance, just like she wanted Twilight to give hers one. They were always consistent with their philosophy, strange as it was. Twilight was expecting Dash at any moment now and was busy setting up. Actually, she had set up hours and hours ago, meticulously arranging everything for her first visit. Right now she was just making some final touch-ups, making sure the snacks were facing in the exact right direction, that her record player was in the proper spot to the exact inch. And yes, Twilight was bringing out a ruler when she heard a knock at the door. Twilight's heart skipped a beat and she ran straight to the door. When she got there, Twilight stopped to compose herself, fixed her mane and opened it to find Dash on the other side. Twilight was so excited it was hard to stay still, but she tried to remain calm and collected. Cool. “Hey!” Twilight leaned against the side of her doorway all cool like. “You're right on time! Well, two minutes and fourteen seconds early, but that's within the range of statistical averages for visits! So-!” “Remember what I said, right?” Dash laughed. “Just relax. You'll be fine.” “Er, right!” And the two of them just stood there for a very awkward ten seconds. Twilight knew it was exactly ten seconds because she was counting the ticks coming from the clock behind her, the loudest thing going on right now. “So, uh...” “So are you going to formally invite me inside?” Dash smirked. “See, this is what I'm talking about,” said Twilight. “You girls always go on talking about how stupid nonsensical formalities are, but then you insist about always getting invited into places! Are you trying to make me think you're a vampire or something?” “Yeah, probably.” Dash gave a toothy grin. “Messing with you? Sounds like something I'd do! But then again, being a vampire would also explain this perfectly.” Twilight groaned and rolled her eyes. They teased her on the whole 'vampire' thing a bit more than Twilight wanted them to. She knew it made no sense, but somehow Twilight was never really able to get that thought out of her head. If anypony was a vampire it was definitely Rarity but, you know, nopony was a vampire. Then she remembered something she had sitting in the window, that Celestia bobble head Applejack gave her. Twilight smiled to herself. Maybe she could have a bit of her own fun. “Okay.” Twilight thrust the Celestia bobble head at Dash, shaking it in front of her face. “Take this!” Dash had no reaction to this at first. Then she very slowly shrugged at it. “Welp. Guess I'm dead now,” she said. “But don't go driving a stake through my heart next, thanks.” The two of them laughed. “But seriously, if we're gonna hang out you gotta get rid of that thing.” Dash motioned to the bobble head. “Get rid of it? That's exactly what a v-” Twilight stopped in the middle of her sentence when she saw Dash's smile widen. “You're playing with me, aren't you?” “Well that and I don't like Celestia, if you haven't gotten that through your head yet,” said Dash. “She's a heartless jerk and tyrant. Garbage like that belongs in the trash.” “Rainbow Dash! How can you talk about the princess like that?!” “I dunno! How can Celestia not care about anypony but herself? “Because she's the only one who's immortal!” Twilight recited the answer. “At the end of the day Celestia's the only pony who matters. Everypony knows that.” “Ugh! I didn't come here to talk about politics!” Dash put a forehoof on her head in dispair. “But we can at least agree that superstition is dumb, right? I'm surprised you're scared of throwing out a piece of plastic. It's not even a good picture of Celestia.” Twilight hesitated. “Well why not, huh?” Dash asked. “It's not like Celestia's gonna know. She probably wouldn't even care if she did.” “It's just supposed to be bad luck,” said Twilight. “You know, my dad kept a newspaper with Celestias picture on it for five years once because-” “Because he was brainwashed by the system,” said Dash. “You're supposed to be all logical, right? You realize there's not such thing as 'bad luck'. So it shouldn't be a big deal to you.” “I'm not brainwashed! And I don't believe in luck, sure, but-” Twilight frowned at the little figurine. “Oh, or do you still think I'm a vampire?” Dash put a hoof against her cheek and gave Twilight a mockingly cute smile. “You know, I would probably forget all about this vampire stuff if you didn't constantly bring it up.” “Hey, I'll give you a hint, Twi,” said Dash. “The way to get us to stop teasing you is to not get so choked up over meaningless stuff like this.” “I'll tell you what,” said Twilight. “If you come inside without being invited and with the bobble head in the window I'll... I'll throw it out.” Without hesitation, Dash stepped inside the house. She looked at Twilight, unexploded, with the unamused expression a tired parent gives they're foal after showing them there were no monsters under their bed. Twilight felt humiliated. Of course Rainbow Dash wasn't a vampire. What was Twilight even thinking? “S-sorry.” “No problem.” Dash took off her glasses and tapped them against her temple, smiling with mischief. “But we had a deal, right?” Twilight looked over at the bobble head, then at the garbage and gulped. She was actually trembling. This was blasphemy! She was being squeezed on two sides, pressure from Celestia and pressure from Dash, but only one of them was actually watching. Twilight levitated the bobble head and moved it over the garbage. She hovered it over the top of the garbage's flip cover, unable to let go. What would her parents think if they saw her even considering doing this? Still, she took the plunge. She let go of it with her magic and she felt her stomach sink as it fell down and disappeared from view. She felt a sense of such total defeat in that moment. Dash snatched Twilight up with one of her wings before that feeling lingered for even a second. Twilight blushed heavily. After that night in the graveyard, Twilight got hugged all the time now, with less warning each time. Yet she actually grown to like having her personal space invaded by them. Being wrapped under a pegasus' wing felt great, it was warm and soft, but she would have gone her whole life without feeling it had they not broken her down. “There ya go!” Dash cheered her on, messing up Twilight's mane with her hoof. “Most ponies are too superstitious to do something like that. 'Oh no! Not the cheap piece of plastic crap! That vaguely resembles our dictator! But I knew you were smart enough to get passed it!” “Heh. Yeah.” Twilight found herself laughing despite herself. She felt a kind of relief now that that tense moment was over. “I guess getting so worked up over something symbolic is a little silly when you consider it from the outside.” “Well you can thank me some more for getting you to put that thing where it belongs later, dork.” Dash gave Twilight a little shove, pushing her out from under her wing, before trotting deeper into Twilight's house. Twilight didn't protest at being called a dork or getting shoved around a little anymore. That was normal too, she'd heard that word so much it just bounced off her and she knew it was meant affectionatly, though she didn't like it like she did hugs. At least not yet... Slowly easing her in to the corruption. Sometimes Twilight couldn't get Applejack or that book out of her head, but she quickly dismissed the idea. Twilight had just gotten proof none of it wasn't true. “Oh, and Twi?” Dash backed up a little so she was face to face with Twilight. She took off her glasses and gave Twilight a sinister, toothy smile. “Before you get too cozy, you already invited me inside yesterday, didn't you?” She said that in the creepiest way possible, enough that Twilight felt a chill. The chill melted away second later as Dash let out a howl of laughter and collapsed back onto Twilight's couch. She laughed in this cheesy 'evil' way that nopony could possibly take seriously. Twilight growled a little. “Dash! You buc-” Twilight froze. She almost said it! She didn't want to say any curse words, really! It's just she was around these ponies and their constant cursing! They constantly threw the b-word in front of things for no reason! Sometimes it almost slipped out. “What was that Twi?” Dash smirked and leaned forward. “Am I a bucking retard? Or a bucking doofus? Or a bucking-?” “A b-bad prankster.” Twilight made a bit of a derp face and looked away. “Eh, we'll get you soon enough. You'll be cursing like the rest of us before you know it.” Dash winked. “But for now we're gonna compare music, yeah? That's all I'm trying to get you with tonight!” Dash opened her bag and took out a half dozen records. They agreed to let Twilight go first, so she took out one of her own records, assuring Dash that she was starting off slow and working up to the good stuff. In truth, this was the best piece Twilight owned, considered the greatest musical masterpiece in all of history! She just wanted to make sure Dash liked it is all. The brilliant cords began to fill the room. Dash sat on Twilight's couch, listening to Ancient Overture's fifth opera. Twilight kept nervously glancing back at her, trying to gauge her reaction to the music, sweating so bad you'd think she was the one who wrote the opera. Twilight was certain that the composed music of the true musical geniuses of history was far superior to modern music, even after hearing that one song Dash showed her. It was simply that she wasn't used to power metal in the way she was used to classical music, Twilight concluded. She had a strong reaction to that the same way she had a strong reaction to caffeine the first time she tried it. Since Dash wasn't used to classical music, Twilight was certain she'd be blown away the moment she heard truly good music! Dash's reaction didn't seem very positive. She was listening a bit too closely, leaning her ear real close to the speaker, like she was listening to the mad ramblings of some crazed pony as they barfed out sentences that almost made sense but never actually meant anything. Maybe she just didn't 'get' it. Twilight knew that cultured music wasn't something that the uneducated could just listen to and enjoy. You had to explain the music to them before they could fully appreciate it what with all its nuance. “See, like this flute here.” Twilight pointed at the record player as the 'toot toot toot' of the flute came through. “This represents the regal heroism of Commander Hurricane. The composer was very bold to put flutes in this, as nopony had ever put flutes in an opera before! It was incredibly revolutionary, giving a strong political message to the democratic nationalists who dominated opera at the time. Oh and listen to this harmonic progression! Pretty great, huh?” Dash leaned closer to the record player, then shook her head and sat back on the couch. “That's supposed to sound heroic?" she asked. “Sorry, but I honestly don't hear it. Sounds more like the guy's dragging his hooves on the way to work.” “But it is very emotional! It's just more balanced than the sharp contrasts of modern music! A-and again, it's the harmonic progression that makes music great.” “You want contrast?” Dash pulled out one of her records and spun it on her hoof. “Kay! I'll show you what 'heroic' sounds like!” And contrast there was. This record shook the room, blasting the player as loud as it went. Twilight couldn't name all the particular musical cues like in the music she was used to, but she could feel them! It surged up her spine. There was such intense emotion in it, the feeling was right there without having to research it out, it really was heroic. Way more heroic sounding. Twilight couldn't deny that. “Way more heroic, huh, Twi?" “No!” Twilight denied it without thinking. “Oh come on! How do you like that other stuff better?” Dash was jumping a little in tune with the heavy beat now. “Come on! Jump around with me! It's more fun that way.” “But like!” Twilight stood still and followed Dash around the room with her eyes. “It's too easy to 'get'! I prefer the intellectual stimulation of the, uh, complexities of the harmonic progressions of the classical music. And all that.” “Sure ya do!” Dash kept bobbing her head and pumping her hoof to the music. Twilight needed some restraint to stop from bobbing in time with the music. It was insane how powerful the beat was in Dash's music. Even hyped up on this music, the nervousness wasn't entirely gone. She'd failed to impress Dash! Twilight had been so sure that the classical music would blow her away, but if anything the opposite was true. “I guess maybe we just have different tastes in music,” Twilight assured herself. “That's okay, right? I mean, you wouldn't be mad at me or anything if I liked different music, right?” Dash laughed wildly and hit Twilight's back a few times. She stopped laughing when she saw how nervous Twilight still was. “You're being serious aren't you.” Dash leaned against the back of the couch again. “Hey, I'd be a total bucking hypocrite if I told you what kind of music to listen to. You wanna listen to that boring crap go right ahead!” “But w-we're still friends even if I like different music, right?!” Twilight jumped up onto the couch with her front hooves. She really didn't want to lose her only friends over something like this. Dash patted Twilight on the head a few time and gave a roll of her eyes. “Sheesh! Relax already!” She gave Twilight a little shove, pushing her off her own couch. “We like you, okay? You don't gotta freak out over everything. Just be cool. Like me!” Right! Cool! According to Twilight's reading worrying too much and trying too hard could easily ruin a friendship. That was certainly one of her main problems. Twilight sat down and crossed her forelegs, imitating a pose she'd seen from Rainbow Dash plenty of times. “There.” Twilight smirked and raised one of her eyebrows. “Cool.” “Man, even sometimes I gotta admit you're adorable!” Dash laughed and jumped off Twilight's couch. “But seriously, Twi, we both know you like rock and roll better than that old stuff! I can smell it.” “What? No!” Twilight shook her head a bit too fast. “I honestly just think there's more genius in the composition of the classics! Really!” “Hey, whatever you say! But you'll feel a lot better once you admit to yourself that you like power metal now.” Twilight tried to avoid eye-contact with Dash. The main problem here was that Dash was right and Twilight knew it. Twilight just wished Dash wasn't right. She wished those three would be wrong about something even just once. She felt like she was constantly resisting all these new feelings. Just like Dash said, it was a huge relief any time she did give in, like a burden had been lifted from her. Like, whenever they were right about something, which was pretty much always, Twilight got this intellectual stress, where she'd know she was clutching at straws and bringing up logical fallacies and bad evidence. That stress just stuck with her until she finally gave up and admitted the others were right. And it wasn't just the feeling of not having to struggle and be wrong that Twilight enjoyed, but what they replaced it with, too. Hugs, candy, staying up all night with her friends, talking about intellectual stuff – these were some of the best things she had! Sure it was awkward at first, but as Twilight relaxed and let it become normal these things became better and better. That's how it was, the more she relaxed and accepted things the better she felt. Rainbow Dash wanted Twilight to listen to crazy music and watch violent movies with her. Rarity wanted Twilight to get spiky hair and read seditious books. Pinkie wanted Twilight to start cursing, rough-housing and displaying affection in public like she just didn't care. In every area, Twilight got that feeling of resistance, like she was holding her breath. Some part of her deep down knew she wouldn't be able to resist forever, she'd need to take a breath eventually. And once she did, Twilight would be a completely different pony. The two of them listened to a lot more music that night, but through it all Twilight never mentioned her true feelings, only resisted them.