//------------------------------// // Double Bass // Story: First Contact: From the Mouths of the Ponies // by Scoo //------------------------------// First Contact: From the Mouths of the Ponies By Zinitrad Edited by theBSDude Part 3: Double Bass "Oh wow, that kid was good. He could stand to work on his stage presence, but I think he could go far." I am in a nightclub titled the Hangar 9, in downtown Manehattan. It is a fairly new building, only 25 years old, part of the ever growing music scene in the city. The Hangar is owned by offworlders, and was built in the style of a Selenic Myujikkhaus, featuring sleek black metal, reflective green glass, blue tinted lights, and large multi-floor rooms that tighten with elevation, built around a central pillar. I am here with the once extremely active musician Double Bass. The ex-musician is 57 years old, has a light blue coat, a bi-color catalina and ultramarine mane, and red eyes. Ms. Bass once toured professionally across Equestria under the stage name of dROP, although she still occasionally comes out of retirement to perform for her fans. For the most part though, she has been retired from the music business for 8 years. Although we met at her studio apartment, she chose to conduct the interview here, claiming that she "liked the atmosphere better". She turns to me. "What did you think of him?" She is referring to the performer who is at present, leaving the stage. "I really don't have an opinion on it, actually. Never was a big fan of dubstep." She laughs. "Well that's obvious, considering that was dubstyle." "Well... er..." "Aah, its no big deal, man. Not everypony has to like the same things." "Umm... right. So, you were a child when the contact occurred?" "Yeah, I was just a little filly when it started... ~~~~~ "My family was a musical one. Both of my moms were performers of some kind, though their areas of expertise and degrees of success were different. "Vinyl, my biological Mother, was a DJ who worked under the stage name of DJ P0N3. It was kind of a silly name, I mean it would be like if one of you ran about calling yourself DJ H-M4N. She never really became that big of a name, she was just a DJ after all, not a musician. She did briefly go into songwriting, and she did make Equestrian Girls and Love is in Bloom. Even then, Equestrian Girls was one of those 5 minutes of fame songs that everyone forgot about by the end of the month, and Love is in Bloom was basically her one-hit wonder song. She was a good DJ though, so she was able to get by. I think the high point of her career was when they chose her to be the DJ for the first public radio station, Canterlot radio. "My other Mom, Octavia, played the cello and composed classical music. She was the real moneymaker of the two of them, being paid lots to perform for the wealthy Canterlot elite. She absolutely abhorred mother's music, calling it 'an offense to musical good taste' and 'uncultured'. I don't think mother had a single cultured bone in her body. Honestly, I don't know what they saw in each other. Opposites attract, I guess. "They had been seeing each other for years before they decided to tie the knot, and it was a year after their marriage that they decided to have me. They chose to use a donor, Vinyl being the recipient. 10 months later, I popped out. That was in 6211. The contact stuff didn't start till I was 3." "What do you remember about it?" "I vaguely remember the space craze, though it wasn't much of a big deal for me. Mother loved it though, and she would constantly take me and Mom to the out-door theater to watch whatever B-movie they were playing that week. Mom hated it, and I had just about no idea what was going on, but Mother loved it, so Mom tried her best to like it too. "Despite having one of Equestria's first radio DJ's as a Mother, we didn't have a radio of our own. Mother was at work when she was told they were putting out an emergency transmission. Mom was watching me at home that day, taking care of me. We never heard the thing, and we didn't learn about the broadcast till Mother came home. I remember her just about smashing the door down when she got back. She was running around, hyperventilating and trying to prepare for who knows what. While I didn't know what it was about at the time, I remember being scared simply because mother was scared. Mother was always laid back and chill, I had never really seen her freaked out before. The majority of the panic was a blur for me, and for those months my parents never let me out of the house. They would always tell me about how "the streets were too dangerous" and that "it was safer inside". At the time I didn't understand about the rioters and looters, and it was all just one confusing mess for me." "Is that all you remember of the panic?" "Hey! What do you want from me, a day by day account? I was three years old and it was a chaotic time! Can you remember when you were that old?" "Well, no, but-" "But nothing! You wanted this interview, you can take what you get! "Where was I... Great, you messed me up... Lets see... Okay. One night I do remember was the night you guys arrived. We didn't go to the landing zone, as mother was still a bit paranoid about what would happen. I remember we were all inside, listening to a description of events over a radio Mom had bought during the panic. The stallion on the radio started yelling about how the ship had arrived, and how big it was, when boom! This rumble starts coming out of the box, everypony's screaming, and the broadcast just cuts out. Thirty seconds later, there's this sound, and the house shakes like as if it was hit by a boulder. Mothers freaking out thinking we were under attack, Mom is doing everything she can to calm her down, and we all run outside. Everypony else seemed to have the same idea, 'cause the streets got real crowded. Everypony was silent, staring in fear at this giant, metal... thing that was just hanging in the sky out west. It was a terrifying moment. It just felt larger than life, crushingly uncertain. We stood there, scared out of our minds, for like, 3 minutes, before somepony came running out of their house yelling about how the radios were broadcasting again, and that no pony was dead. "It was a good thing that they got the radios working again too, cause I'm pretty sure everypony in Equestria thought that the princesses and everypony there had just been vaporized or something. Seriously, who's bright idea was it to come down in in a way that was loud enough to be heard 450 Celestia damned miles away?" I continue to press for information. "Is there anything else you can tell me about the contact?" "Dude, what part of "I was three" do you not understand?" "Sorry. Well, how about post-contact?" She calms down. "After you guys landed, you started the integration discussions. That was all the political stuff, like how the government would have to be restructured, how we could begin unifying the planet peacefully, what trade laws we would want in place, how fast the princesses wanted technology to progress, ect. "All that stuff took a decade, and during that decade, Mother's business was good. She wasn't the only station anymore, and neither was she the only jockey that worked there, but it was still the most listened to in Equestria, and she was still their best. Canterlot radio was the go to place for information on the discussions and to learn about you guys. Along with the music, they talked about all the updates, and they even did a few interviews. The coolest one they did was when they talked with the landing guy, Lenka or whatever his name was." "Lenko." "What?" "Lenko Aderisov. That was his name" "I was close enough. Anyway, aside from that, I don't think there was much going on that decade. It was nothing like the years before, I was lucky to grow up at a time when the city wasn't being rebuilt every year. I mean, the EPL acted stupid every once in a while, but it was fairly quiet." "The EPL... That's the Equine Protection League, right?" "Equestrian Protection League." She smiles, entertained by our immediately reversed roles. "Right... So what did they do?" "Acted like idiots, that's what. It's not like many ponies were actually listening to them, they lost most of their members when you guys didn't come down guns blazing. Even then, they still preached about how by participating in discussions, the princesses were engaging in appeasement with tyrants, and were weak. Saying stuff like that, it was like they were trying to get everyone to hate them. "But they didn't really start becoming a problem until after discussions were over. Sure they protested, and their leaders wouldn't shutup, but they never got violent. When discussions got over... Shit hit the fan." "Can you give us an example?" She sighs. "You know how you guys wanted us to unify as a planet? And how the first step was getting on good terms with everyone, and opening the borders? That pissed them off so much. You see, the EPL was racist. Not racist like "I've never seen somepony that looks like that, I should be cautious," I mean racist like "You don't look like me? Disgusting!". "Now everypony from across the planet wanted in Equestria, the Diamond Dogs, Griffons, Changelings, everything wanted to be part of the newly open nation. That was when the EPL got militant. They started forming militias, claiming that you guys were trying to weaken us from the inside. They claimed that by letting in the "less harmonious races" in, Equestrian society would fall apart; and that since the government was encouraging it, their only option was to for the common pony to fight against it. Less harmonious races my flank! The ensuing crime wave, one which nearly every asshat hardliner pinned on the immigrants, was nearly entirely pony on non-pony hate crime, specifically by the EPL! I was in university when all this happened, and one of my friends there, Laura, was a Griffon, one of the immigrants. I swear, all the shit she had to put up with... it was infuriating! "And that wasn't even the worst of their freakouts! By Celestia, the shitfit they threw when the position of Prime-Minister was made was unbelievable." "What led to the creation of that position, anyway?" "When you all picked Celestia and Luna to represent us on the councils, they decided that it would be best to restructure the government. It used to require both of them being there 24-7, and since they couldn't do that anymore, they needed a new system. They talked to you guys, and you all recommended a parliament and a prime minister. The EPL decided that you guys were restructuring our ways of life so that you could control us easier, and move the princesses out of the way." She glares at me. "And while there may be a bit of truth to that, it doesn't warrant their attacks on Prime Minister Pants, or his wife. I mean, damn! What did he did to them, anyway? He was a friggin' Equitarian like no other! I mean, it happened a pretty long time ago, but it still makes me so mad!" "Ms. Bass." At the moment, Ms. Bass' outburst has attracted the attention of others in the vicinity. Seeking to rid her of possible embarrassment before it occurs, I change the direction of the conversation. "Do you have any positive memories of the immediate post-contact period?" Her face brightens. "Yeah, I guess I did. I mean, it was around then that my career started. "Like I said earlier, my family was a musical one, and while I was sure they would be happy with me no matter what, I knew they wanted me to have a musical career. "Problem was, there really wasn't a specific genre I felt like I could be a part of. Classical stuff, like what Mom played, I could never get the hang of. Jazz was great n' all, but I just never have had the lung-power to play an instrument like that. I thought about playing guitar, but those things are damned near impossible without magic or fingers. Being a DJ just didn't appeal to me either. I was going to school to learn music theory, and for the longest time I felt like I was learning something that I would never be able to apply. "But one day, my Mother received some new records. I forgot who gave them to her, I think it was that Lenko guy or something like that. They all carried popular songs from Sol, music that was entirely alien to us. D+B, House, Trance, Garage... It was all new to us. My Mother took a huge risk in choosing to play them, and it was a risk that payed off. "Electronica became an overnight success in Equestria. Everypony wanted to hear more, and Canterlot Radio did its best to satisfy them. Eventually, as we were introduced to intergalactic trade, and the records became publicly available, they became the number 1 thing to have. "The moment I heard that music, I knew exactly what I wanted to do in life. I wanted to do that. It would be a few years before the required equipment became available and before I had saved enough bits, though. Anyways, I started making music in 6231, specifically dubstep. Back then, I was one of the few ponies who were writing and performing "alien" styles. It was then that I started going by the stage name of dROP. "Like I said, there were other ponies doing it to, although I only really knew about the local guys in Canterlot. Ekwin started before me, and I still think he's one of the best. He mostly did House, which I could never get the hang of. Square Wave was another one, he played around with chiptunes. He never got too big, but I liked his stuff. My friend Laura Renee, I think I talked about her before, she went on to play electroswing, and she was the bomb at it. She never got beyond Canterlot, unfortunately. Too many ponies who judged her for being a griffin before hearing her play. "Anyway, when I played, I was doing something right, because I started to become real popular. I was being requested all over Canterlot, and pretty soon, I got hired for something all the way in Manehattan. I started touring all over Equestria." "What was your favorite gig?" "My favorite gig was performing on the Celestial for the workers who were building it. This was back before it was completed too, and there was a reason they hired mostly pegasi too construct that thing. Being that high off the ground was an interesting experience for an Earth Pony like me. "Although, I think I'll be having a new favorite one soon." "What do you mean?" "Okay, well, you know that "Across the Universe" tour?" "Vaguely... I've been in transit for the last three months, I'm not aware of most recent news." "There's this band from Selene, the Conquistadors, they got really big a few years ago. They play various genres, but they're best known for House. Anyway, they recently started up a project, one they're calling "Across the Universe." Basically, what they're doing is organizing a giant traveling music festival. They're calling up performers from all across everywhere, and inviting them to tour with them. It's going to be going everywhere. Dozens of systems, almost a hundred shows, and like the thing says, It's across the galaxy. "And guess who they invited?" "You?" "Damn Straight! In 2 months, they're gonna pick me up, and I am going to get to be in the first intergalactic show. Its gonna be amazing! You're going to be seeing this face a lot more, I'll tell you that." With a grin on her face she looks out to the current performer. She stares, listening to his music, her face appreciative as she takes in and appraises the sound. Turning back to me, I await her analysis on the newcomer. "Yeah, this guy's totally garbage. "I'm thinking its about time I left. If you need to continue your interview, I know this place that sells the most totally kick-ass smoothies. Wanna' go?" "Thanks, but no thanks, Ms. Bass. I have another interview in the morning, and its getting late. Still getting over the "jet lag", so I need to get my sleep. Before I go, how about a closing statement. If you could give me your opinion on the post-contact period, in less than 10 sentences, what would it be?" "It was a time when a lot of things changed. A lot of ponies got mad, and we were forced to open ourselves up to societies and cultures we had done our best to stay away from. It wasn't the best, and I don't think anypony truly enjoyed it. But the world we live in today, the POST-post-contact... It was entirely worth it. "They say it's darkest before dawn, and in our case, I would say that was true. It was really dark for a while, but that darkness gave way to the most beautiful sunrise we're ever gonna' see." ~~~~~ AUTHOR'S CORNER Woohoo! 30 favorites personal milestone acheived! Anyway, now to the commentary. Still need an editor, although you guys don't seem to have much of a problem with it. Still would love some cover art. I may be posting this early, but don't expect to see a new chapter after this one until the eleventh. I got this out of the way and posted it early so I could take a vacation from writing. In case you couldn't figure it out from her description, double's "donor" father is supposed to be Blues Noteworthy. Anyway, next chapter on the eleventh. It will be about changeling immigrant Vivamus, who was a hatchling at the time of contact. She will talk about growing up informationally in-the-dark during the discussion decade, the mass exodus from the Badlands after the signing of the peace treaty and opening of the Equestrian border, and the hardships she faced while making a living in a society that still viewed her not as an equal. -xoxoxo Zinitrad