//------------------------------//
// The Show 
// Story: The Wub That Blinds 
// by Shadowswipe 
//------------------------------//

	“Come on everypony, let’s see those hooves stomping!” A blue pegasus called from atop a brightly lit stage. As the crowd above burst to life, you couldn’t help but feel out of place. You didn’t like the club scene, you hated the way the lights blinked and the way everypony would shove each other around. As a mare to your left begins bouncing to the beat of the song you lower head and slowly back out of the crowd. Some overly excited ponies fill the hole you made.


The song had ended and the crowd was silent. You look around for any hint as to why it’s so quiet. The stage was dark and nopony could be seen behind the mixer. You tap one of the overly hyped ponies looking up at the stage on the shoulder. 


“Uh, hey, what’s going on?” You ask. 


He looks at you. “Show’s over, we’re waiting for an encore.” 


Almost as soon as he said encore the stage lights burst to life again. The blue Pegasus was back behind the controls. He raised one hoof and the crowd began to scream and cheer. 

You could see a grin appear on his face. He lowered his hoof onto the turntable and the speaker exploded with sound. The sound was different to what you were used to. It consisted of skipping beats and copious amounts of wub noises. You liked it, it felt amazing. The sound was so loud it shook the ground and everything attached to the floor. You couldn’t control yourself, you bobbed your head to the beat and stomped your hooves to the beat. You found yourself enjoying this new sensation.


When the song finished you found yourself amongst a crowd of overly excited ponies, you quickly make your way away from those ponies. You head for the lobby thinking the show was over, that’s when you hear a voice from the stage. You turn and see a white unicorn wearing purple glasses behind the turntable. The crowd began to chant something. 

“Scratch, Scratch, Scratch!” You could hear the crowd chanting.

You trot over and stand behind the crowd, you’re just off the dance floor. You see the unicorn scanning the crowd. She smiles before a beat starts to play, starting with heavy bass hits, than transitioning to high pitch treble tones. It was a sight to see. The stage seemed to change color with the beat and the dance floor lit up. Each tile of the dance floor was a different color, and some tiles blinked or faded in and out of different colors. Needless to say, the DJ was rocking the house. 

You decided to join the crowd. You step onto the dance floor. The tile under your front right hoof immediately flashes a bright pink at your touch.


The sensation of the music and the lights was magical.


You begin to mingle with the crowd, jumping up and down, brushing up against other ponies and the occasional push. The music changed you, and you liked it.

When the song was done you looked up to the stage and saw a new pony had joined the DJ. 


“Hello everypony!” He yelled out. The crowd erupted into cheer. 


They started chanting again. “Tombstone, Tombstone, Tombstone!” 

You didn’t join in the chanting, you just kept quiet and looked upon the stage. This new pony was pure white, he had a blue mane with red tips and he had a pair of solid blue headphones around his neck. He had a strange accent, but you didn’t mind. He looked over at the one the crowd called Scratch and nodded. She nodded in response. 


She put a hoof on the turntable and a beat started. Tombstone trotted up to a mic and started singing. The beat was fast and intense. Once again the crowd got rowdy, only difference was that you were more involved. When Tombstone started singing the crowd sang along. You didn’t know the song, so you stayed quiet and enjoyed the song. When the second drop hit the floor became a solid red and it seemed to pulsate with the beat. 


When the song was finished the crowd became very still and quiet. 

It was creepy, seeing a crowd that was in constant motion suddenly stop moving. You look around at the crowd, then back up at the stage. Tombstone and Scratch looked down upon the crowd and smiled. Are they doing this? You think. Then the crowd bursts to life again. Another song starts, same reaction from the crowd. As you bounced and dance across the club you notice the DJ watching you.

You think nothing of it and continue enjoying yourself.

After a few more songs Scratch left the stage. It was all Tombstone now. The dance floor turned black now. Everypony in the club all cheered and stomped as Tombstone trotted around the turntable. 

Suddenly a beat exploded out of the speakers and the dance floor lit up again, except instead of lights, it was a face. The face of Discord. Everypony bursts into cheer and begins dancing. You look down at the face on the floor, it appears to be looking at you. You blink a couple times than look up. You look up and see Tombstone waving his hoof, indicating he wants the crowd louder. You yell and cheer along with the crowd. 

As the song continues you feel a headache coming on. You decide that you’ve had enough fun for one night. You head for the bar on the other side of the club.


As you walk into the bar you notice the DJ from before sitting in the corner looking out over the dance floor. You look at her, your eyes wander up and down her figure. Her coat was white with no signs of discoloring anywhere; her mane was two shades of blue and was gelled forward. He glasses were over her eyes so you couldn’t tell what color they were. She looks over at you and you quickly avert your gaze.

You sit at the bar; you could feel some heat on your cheeks. You look around the bar, it’s strangely empty. The bartender trots over to you. “Can I get you something buddy?” He asks. “Uh, just some water please.” You respond. He shrugs and uses his magic to get a glass. He fills it with water and slides it across the bar. It stops right in front of you. You chuckle at his little display. 

As you take a sip of your drink you hear a voice come from your right. You look over and see the DJ standing beside you. 

“Uh, hey.” You say nervously. 

“Hey, I saw you looking me back there.” She says, her tone deadly serious. 

“Oh, you did? I’m sorry.” You say. You could feel the heat returning to your cheeks. 

“Oh I don’t mind, I get it all the time.” She explains. 

“I see. Well I must say you did a good job out there today.” You say to her, your cheeks still on fire. 

She smirks. “Thanks. Tombstone is really killing it right now.” She says, she looks out the window at the dance floor. She looks back to you. “What made you ditch the dance floor and come in here?” She asks while taking a seat in the stool next to you.

“Headache, I’m not used to partying this hard.” You say. 

She giggles at your response. “This is nothing dude, you should see the Canterlot shows we do. We need escorts on and off stage. Those things are intense.” She says, her voice laced with enthusiasm. 

“Sounds fun.” You say, shrugging a little. You take a swig of your water. 

“You play any instruments?” She asks out of nowhere.

“Me? No, I sang once. But that was a train wreck.” You say with a chuckle. 

Scratch laughed at that. “Well I’d love to hear it sometime. Maybe we could fix you.” She says.

That comment caught you off guard. You choke a little on you water. 

“What? Me? Why?” You ask between coughs. 

“Oh I dunno, Tombstone and I are working on some new stuff and we need a different singer. You interested?” She asks while hitting your back. 

The hits helped get the water out of your lungs. “Uh…” You stop and think. “Well, maybe. I don't think I'd be any help to you, seeing as I haven't had any practice.” You say. 

"Oh don't worry, I'll take care of ya." Vinyl's tone becoming more playful.

You feel your cheeks light up. "Uh, um.. Well, I dunno." You stammer. 

She laughs at your nervousness. "C'mon dude, it'll be fun." She says, a little bit of a beg could be heard in her voice.

"Alright, fine. But don't say I didn't warn you. I'm terrible." You say after a second of silence.

“Awesome, here,” Scratch’s horn began to glow, a piece of paper and a pen hovered in front of her. You could see the pen scribble across the paper. When the pen stops moving she hovers the paper over to you. 

“Give this number a call and I’ll see when I can fit you in, okay?” She says. You take the paper and look at it. On the paper was a number and a name. You read the name, Vinyl Scratch DJ P0N-3. You smirk at the last bit. 

“Consider it an autograph.” She says with a smile. 

“Will do.” You reply. 

She looks out the window and nods. “Well looks like Tombstone’s done. I’ll see ya around.” She says.

She stands and heads for a door off to the side of the bar. You watch her exit. You look down at the paper. “What just happened?” You ask yourself. You finish your drink, pay and leave the club.

On your way home you keep thinking about that conversation. Thousands of questions rushed through your head. The most prominent was: Is this real?

When you reach your house you push the door open and trot inside. You walk past the living room and into the kitchen. You look at the folded piece of paper in you hoof. You smile at it and place it beside a small phone.

You look at the digital clock on the stove; it reads 2:28 AM. 


You sigh and head for the stairs. You climb the stairs. It feels like a battle because of all the dancing and movement you've done today.

When you reach the top of the stairs you walk into your room. You don’t even bother to turn any lights on, you knew this house like the back of your hoof, and you could walk the house blind and not bump into a single thing. 

As you trot through your dark room you throw yourself onto your bed. The second your head touches the pillow it’s lights out.