//------------------------------// // 10 - A Study Into Rock Music(with a Drummer) // Story: Drummer Out of Time // by MrPip42 //------------------------------//    Canterlot was a breathtaking sight when you first stepped into it. Pearl white spires shot up into the sky, marble architecture at every corner, decorated with the standard purple and gold of the Equestrian royalty. It was a sight that took your attention, grasped it firmly in its hooves, and held it until you gave in to the awe inspiring sight that was the city.     For two ponies that grew up in Canterlot, however? It was just a beautiful skyline, hardly necessary to stand in the train station with their mouths agape. There were a few ponies that got off the train with that exact look, but they just brushed right by them. Right to the exit and into the city proper. The castle was hardly noteworthy, it was not their destination, why bother describing it?    High Rise had something far better to be excited about. Another chance to see the Night-Mares perform! He was honestly spoiled in his time so far in the past, not only did he see their music club performance, but he got to play with them as well! By all accounts, this much good luck in his peculiar situation was already far too much than one should expect. There had to be some sort of catch, a trick he wasn’t seeing.    Too bad he was too excited to think about that. “They gotta play Mare in the Moon today. No! Freefall from Cloudsdale! Oh! Oh! Para-Mare. That would be a hit!”     His brain was too excited to keep up with his body. Twilight Sparkle couldn’t keep up as he listed song after song with foal-like glee. She wanted to get a word in from the looks of it, but each time she tried he had another thing to get excited about. It was one after another, and eventually Twilight had to bring him back to reality. “High Rise!” She nearly yelled, knocking him out of his happy trance. “The show isn’t for another two hours. I planned for us to have lunch at Donut Joe’s in twenty four minutes, but we’re going the wrong way.”    His stupor had made him take the lead in their little trek through Canterlot. As if he knew which way Twilight was planning to go. A flush of red covered his cheeks. He sheepishly fell behind Twilight’s step. “Hehe… sorry.”     She couldn’t stop herself from giggling at his embarrassment. “It’s quite alright, my friends get me out of stupors like that all the time.” “Really? The great mind of Twilight Sparkle gets caught in stupors?” “I have been known to be a bit of a worrywart, and get so caught up in them that I forget the smaller details.” “What do you define as ‘Smaller Details’, exactly?” High Rise asked. “Sometimes it means the more obvious solution to a problem, other times it means food or sleep.” “Sounds like some very unimportant things.” He said, sarcastically, in case you couldn’t tell. “I’ve gotten a lot better about it! I haven’t had a single episode like that since the time travel incident.”    The fur on High Rise’s back rose, he didn’t hear that right, surely. She didn’t just say time travel, did she? Did she already know about it? He looked towards his guide and gulped. “…Time travel?” He asked. “Oh, you didn’t hear about that?” She asked, her head turned away as she led the way for the two of them. “What’s the shortest way to explain it… a few months ago, a future version of me appeared and tried to warn me about something, but she couldn’t get the warning out in full.”    Twilight Sparkle omitted that it was her blabbering questions towards her future self that didn’t let her finish the warning. “All I ended up hearing was that something was going to happen ‘Next Tuesday’. Since I had no idea what future me meant, I… went a little bit crazy trying to figure out what she meant. I was convinced she was trying to tell me about some oncoming disaster! I did everything I could to try and prevent it, but everything pointed to the future I feared coming to pass. So I snuck in to the Canterlot archives-“ “Wait,” High Rise held up his hoof. “You snuck into a place you already had access to? The personal student of the Princess would have access to that already, right?” “That would be right,” Twilight said, surprised, “I wasn’t in my right mind when I did it. How did you know that?” “Uuh, I just figured as much.”    He omitted that his best friend was her future student. “Please, continue.” “Huh, good guess.” She hummed, but did continue. “I went to the Canterlot archives for an- admittedly- silly reason, I was going to try and stop time until I could figure out what the catastrophe was.” “Ah, and, given that time is still moving, I assume that didn’t work?” “Hey! Maybe I already solved the catastrophe instead. She said, barely able to keep up a serious look. The cracks in her facade eventually broke, and she laughed at the same time he did. “Yeah, no, it didn’t. I even cowered as the sun began to rise. Then? Nothing happened.” “When I realized that it was nothing to worry about after all, I used a different time travel spell to go back in time to tell myself not to worry about what will happen next Tuesday.” “Ooooh I see where this is going.”  “Yup, I barely got a word in as me from the past kept asking me questions, then I returned back to the present.”    If only it was so easy. High Rise thought. “That would be a… causal time loop, right? Where events that occur are influenced by something from the future going to the past, and those influenced events eventually lead to what caused the travel to the past in the first place?” “That is correct! Did Time Turner teach you that?” “I think the better term is ‘tried’ to teach me that, multiple times, with diagrams, and marbles.” “He succeeded then!” Twilight said with a smile.  “At least something he tried to teach me stuck.” He chuckled. “Doesn’t make it any less confusing, honestly, those loop things.” “Oh I agree, I tried to understand how I got myself stuck in a time loop for quite awhile during the cleanup, but that’s the thing about causal loops, you can’t!” “Why not?”  “Whatever trigger happens that begins the loop is erased when the loop begins. I have no idea what made me decide to go back in time in the first place, but whatever it was triggered the loop, and once the loop began, the original event that triggered it ceased to happen in the timeline. All that is left is the loop.”    High Rise needed exactly two minutes and one second to process that. The idea of the loop just kept… looping in his head. “So how do you know when you’re in a causal loop? What if, for some random example, you went back in time and stayed there awhile, how do you know if what you did in that time triggered a loop?”     Twilight had to think on that one for a minute, a metaphorical minute instead of a literal one. She thought about it from all angles, but only came up to one conclusion. “I don’t think you can, at least while the loop is happening. You would need to know the trigger for the loop, but since it doesn’t exist after the loop begins, it would be impossible to know. You would only know after you exited the loop, like I did.” “Even so,” Twilight continued, “It would be incredibly unlikely. A causal loop requires an extremely specific set of parameters to happen to be created. There isn’t any artificial way to create one, and successful attempts at causal loops erase the evidence of its own success. The more likely scenario is that the time travel permanently alters the future, with the original time travel event erased. I just got really lucky when my time travel ended up being a loop!”    She turned back to see if High Rise had understood what she said. Twilight was surprised to see that his ears had folded back on his head. Head cast downward, did something she said make him feel bad?  “Are you okay, High Rise?” “Huh?” High Rise looked up. Concern was painted over Twilight’s face, and he realized he had been lost in his own mind until just then. Her explanation had made sense to him, and that understanding hurt. For just a moment, he had thought that there was some hope in his situation. That he himself may have been unknowingly entered into a causal loop. That everything was supposed to happen this way, and everything would be the same when he finally had a way back home.     It was a foolish hope to have, he knew as soon as she explained it. His travel through time wasn’t planned by Crescent or by himself, this was an accident, and there was no way it could end in something as neat as a loop.     There was no way Twilight would hear any of this, of course. “Oh, yeah, sorry. I was just trying to comprehend what you said.” He rubbed the back of his head and smiled weakly. “I guess the finer details are still a bit too hard for me?”     Twilight Sparkle tried to smile back, but it was just as weak as his. The mood had dried up, an awkward air had returned. Barriers were beginning to form, and if one of them didn’t act fast, they would solidify again. “Enough about all that time stuff, we’re here for something else!” She exclaimed. “You mean the concert?” “I mean donuts!”     His gaze looked up at the shop they found themselves standing in front of. Donut Joe’s, specializing in, you may have guessed, donuts. The barriers would stay down for now, at least until the donuts were eaten.    Canterlot was often known for its posh, haughty lifestyle among the higher nobility. It was just a part of the greater game of politics. To look the part, to be seen as above the common lifestyle. A pony of high society had to be seen in the purest image of that society. Even if that meant taking part in, oftentimes, boring galas and slow paced opera.     Most nobility had their personal enjoyments, however. Their secret entertainments that helped them relax between uptight art galleries and banquets. Some make it a game to find out what other ponies’ secret comforts are. Rumors will spread about one stallion who quietly places bets on national Buckball games. Or another who privately trains to get the fastest time in a “video game”, as they are called.     Though not all of these comforts are particularly secret. Princess Celestia, the highest of high society, was well known for her love of baked goods, for example. It was an open secret that she hosts the National Dessert Competition to try her hoof at the newest and best sweets being made in Equestria. Nopony would dare judge her for that. It was the Princess of the Sun after all, and her love of sweets certainly didn’t ruin her majestic form.    Princess Celestia may have had her’s revealed openly, but nopony knew what Princess Luna’s personal entertainment was. The mysterious princess was not as open among the higher rungs of society. Her Night Court was the less popular of the two sisters’ for ponies to plead their case towards as well. She had no major royal duties outside of ceremony, and the greater impact she had on Equestria was never seen or remembered. Ponies did not often remember their dreams.    There were still many that found themselves wary in front of Luna’s presence. The stain of Nightmare Moon still lingered to this day. Though it had become far less widespread over time. The princess had been able to take part in more events as of late, and that meant more eyes had fallen upon her. The game to find out her secrets were on, but the rumor mill surrounding her had stayed largely silent. Nopony truly knew that much about her, except for her sister. Celestia, of course, was not one for gossip, and never indulged in sharing details about her that Luna herself didn’t divulge.       That meant that nopony else found out about Princess Luna’s secret love of rock music. The peculiar genre of music she had found now existed after one thousand years on the moon. She was first exposed to it from a popular rock band that was invited to perform for a celebration of her return. The band was called “Black Saddle” and they played the most violent music Luna had ever heard. It was loud, the singer practically screamed into the microphone, and the way the crowd reacted to it was unlike anything she had ever seen.     When Celestia later asked her what parts of modern day she would like to learn about, Luna requested more of this “rock music”, not because she liked it, but because she wanted to understand it. The ponies who listened to that drivel stomped their hooves along with it, as if it was good music! Luna had been there when the classics were created, classics still revered today! This rowdy cacophony they called music could not compare, and she would prove it!    For hours she would listen to the different bands and their songs, silently judging them. She didn’t know when exactly she began to dance along to them, but she eventually did. Even the Black Saddle music she thought she once hated soon became part of her regular playlist. In the quiet of her room, when she was monitoring the dream world or designing new star charts, she found herself with headphones over her ears, headbanging to the latest Nine Inch Tails album. She particularly enjoyed the “industrial” music they performed.    So it was with great joy that Luna had learned the Rising Rockstars Showcase would be hosted in her very own backyard! Celestia had secretly arranged it with the event organizers behind her back. The Princess of the Sun generously offered to let the event be hosted in the palace gardens, as a gesture of support to the young musicians.    She knew that Luna had not been feeling great these last two months. This was because of her request to have her watch over the dreams of the time traveler High Rise, and she knew that it was wearing down on her sister’s mind. It wouldn’t be enough to ease the burden and guilt she had made her feel, but it would allow her to put it aside for a night of fun.    Luna was more than happy to take a break to attend the showcase, but she was not interested in sharing her love of rock music with others. At least not yet. Plus, the presence of a Princess, a sometimes feared princess at that, may place unnecessary pressure on the performers. It was in times like these that Princess Luna had an alternative method in mind.     The mare who left the palace that day was not Princess Luna, but a tall, navy blue unicorn mare by the name of Star Sign. Her long and wavy green mane was brushed straight and fell down her side, with her tail getting similar treatment. On her flank was not the moon cutie mark, but a constellation by the name of “The Big Dipper”. A constellation she had made a very long time ago. She was happy to see that the constellation was still remembered in history books to this day. It was one of her favorites.    Star Sign, with a wide grin of excitement, set off to the gardens. Where she would enjoy the newest and brightest that rock music had to offer!    Donuts had done much to lighten the mood again. Donut Joe really was a master of the donut. His sprinkles and fillings had relaxed the tension between High Rise and Twilight Sparkle, and they left with smiles and satisfied stomachs.  “So he’s gonna be in that dessert competition too?” High Rise asked. “Yes! Pinkie Pie and the Cake family have been hard at work for weeks to get ready for it. It’s only two days away, so they’re locked up in Sugarcube Corner working on their dessert for it.” “Wow, I wish them the best of luck!” He exclaimed as they walked out from Donut Joe’s Donut Shop. An hour had passed, and they now had to set off for the show! High Rise could barely contain his excitement, some of it bleeding out in little tippy taps he made while they walked. It was probably why he could hear Twilight giggle randomly, but he didn’t care.    Actually, wait, he did care. There was something he has been forgetting about this entire time. “Hey, Twilight.” High Rise suddenly stopped. Finally, he saw through the excitement in his mind and tilted his head. “Wasn’t I supposed to be helping you with something? All of this feels like you’ve been treating me.”    She stopped as well, and turned to look back at him. “Yes of course, you are going to help me. Everything up until now was just some fun beforehand.” “But you’re taking me to a concert, a concert I specifically would enjoy being at. One that, with all due respect, doesn’t seem to be something you would like.” “That… is correct, yes.” It was presumptuous of him to think she wouldn’t be, but he was indeed right. As Twilight just confirmed. “Rainbow Dash has tried in the past to show me these types of bands and music, but I found myself disliking it quite a lot. It’s a lot… harsher than most music that I enjoy.” “But that is where you come in!” She smiled wide, “I brought you with me so that I may better understand rock and roll music! A drummer of rock music will be a great teacher towards that.”    High Rise pondered, and eventually came to the conclusion. “So you had me come with you to Canterlot to attend a rock concert, and tell you why that concert is fun?” “Indeed!”    “…Okay.” That’s enough for High Rise, excitement had taken back over. Sure, that was a weird thing to help her with, but she was the studious type. Maybe this study method was something she did before to great success. Who was he to judge how she learned things? It hardly was the worst way to learn, and he got a ticket to the best band because of it. “After tonight, I'm going to get you headbanging.” “Head… what?” “You’ll find out!” He gleefully replied as they headed to the Canterlot Palace Gardens. The host of today’s events. It turns out his hunch was true, Twilight WAS bringing him to the castle. It just wasn’t to present the intruder upon their timeline to the rulers of Equestria.     At the center of the large hedge maze that featured throughout the garden was an open air concert stage, with hundreds of simple seats laid out in front of it. The whole event had been assisted by the servants of the castle, who helped to decorate and prepare the venue. This made for an interesting contrast between the guests and the venue itself. The decorations, stage, and features were all designed by servants used to serving royalty and important nobility. While most of the guests that started to flood into the venue were far from nobility.     For the first time in a long time, High Rise was surrounded by ponies just like him. Colts who proudly wore their band memorabilia. Mares with stylized manes and face paint. If there was one thing that hadn’t changed in a century, it was this!  “Oh this is gonna be good!” High Rise let out an uncharacteristic squee, or maybe it was characteristic. This was a side of himself that only Twilight Sparkle had seen so far. She certainly couldn’t understand the excitement he had. All the ponies here were dressed… peculiarly. Twilight wasn’t a pony who judged purely off of appearances, but the full black and white face paint one stallion had made her wonder what exactly it was for. Not to mention how that colt kept sticking his tongue out.    Her magic grasped on to a notepad and quill she had in her saddlebags right before they went to take a seat. Good note taking was important to any study session! She already started writing down the details of the crowd around her, much to High Rise’s amusement. “What are you doing?” He asked. “I will need written details to review after the show is over! I can’t remember everything.”  “Alright, if i’m going to help you enjoy rock music, we’re going to have to set up some rules.” “Like what?” Twilight tilted her head. “Rule number one, no note taking. You have to be there in the moment to enjoy it!” “Hey! I can be ‘there’ while taking notes! I am an excellent multitasker, and listen to music all the time as I work.” “Multitasking with music is for when you’re working, but today you’re at a concert. With the band right there!” “…Please?” Twilight’s eyes had suddenly grown in size. Encompassing half of her face. It was the most powerful tactic anypony could use. The face that made it incredibly hard to refuse…  “Fine! But only between songs or bands. No note taking during!” “Deal!” She grinned, knowing victory was hers. “Any other rules?” “Rule number two, anytime the crowd starts to play along, you have to join them. If they start stomping your hooves, you stomp with them. If they chant, you chant. Okay?”     Twilight pondered this rule in her head. Why specifically did he want her to do that? She couldn’t quite figure it out, but then again, it wouldn’t hurt to do it. As long as they didn’t start shouting something vulgar or anything like that. “Okay, I can do that. Anything else?” “Rule number three,” High Rise leaned in towards Twilight, his muzzle was inches away from hers. Their breath mingled as he continued to stare her down. What was he about to say that was this important? Twilight held her breath and waited to find out this valuable rule. “Whatever you do, do not touch the hard cider over there, Twilight Sparkle.” He pointed to one of the tables, where rows upon rows of mugs were laid out for ponies to take. “Do you understand? Do. Not. Drink. The. Cider.” “………. okay?” “Perfect!” He retracted his face from her face and grinned a big stupid grin. “Now, let’s have a good time.”   The two ponies sat down in their seats. Twilight Sparkle to the left and High Rise to the right. On Twilight’s side, she was happy to find that a rather plain looking unicorn was who she was sitting next to. The only distinct feature was the band necklace she had around her neck. It seemed to be a song name from a rock band, This Pyre. She’d have to find out what band that was from for her research    High Rise didn’t have a neighbor next to his seat for a while, until finally a unicorn came to sit next to him. A beautiful, tall mare with navy blue fur and a long, straight green mane. High Rise gave her a polite nod when she sat down, but the face she gave him was far more surprising. Rather, the mare had a look of utter shock on her face! “Are you alright, ma’am?” He asked, poking at his cheeks. “Is there something on my face?”    Both High Rise and Twilight stared at the unicorn, who stared back at them with wide eyes. The unknown mare’s gaze flicked between the two, back and forth, until finally she let out a loud cough. “A-Ahem, apologies,” The unicorn said, her gaze snapping forward towards the stage, “We- I thought you looked like somepony else.” “Aah, yeah, I do that a lot too at concerts,” High Rise replied, then leaned to the side to get a better look at her. “Have we met before at all, miss? You look familiar.” “I have no idea what you’re talking about, we have never met in our lives.” “Honestly, you look a bit familiar to me too, but I am not sure why…” Twilight squinted at her, High Rise squinted, now they both squinted at her. “I-I suppose that I have one of those common looking faces?” The mare replied. “Hmmmm…” High Rise scratched his chin, and squinted further. There was something about her that feels familiar to him. The way she gazed towards him before gave him a chilling feeling. Like the one he got after he woke up from a dream.     But that was hardly enough to freak out a random mare. “Guess you do, sorry about that.” He shrugged and moved on. High Rise didn’t notice the visible sigh of relief that came from her.    Any further thoughts and words were put to rest when a small orange stallion came to the stage. Approaching the mic with a large grin.  “Hey, Hey, Canterlot! How are we doing today?” He called out, and received a roar from the crowd. Cheering from everypony present. The stallion feigned pain in his ears, holding his hoof up to them and laughing. “Sweet Celestia! We have a loud crowd, wicked! Thank you everypony for coming, and welcome to the fifth annual Rising Rockstars Showcase! Before we begin, we would like to give a special thank you to Princess Celestia, who graciously gifted us this venue tonight. Can I get a cheer for our Princess?!”    Another roar came from the crowd, but this time Twilight received a bump in her side. She looked up at High Rise next to her, and saw his lips move in the shape of words. “Number two” He mouthed to her. “Wait? Now? But the show hasn’t started,” She whispered.    High Rise nodded. “Right.” Twilight scribbled some in her notes, and focused on the stage. She had to keep up with what the crowd was doing, or else she was breaking a rule. If there was one thing she wouldn’t do, it was not put her all into a learning assignment! “Ooh yeah! Sadly, she was unable to attend today, but we were given word from the castle that she hopes that we all have a wonderful performance. As well as a special wish for a ‘dearest pony of hers’ to enjoy herself.’ How sweet of her!”    Neither High Rise or Twilight noticed the unicorn next to him shift uncomfortably.  “But that’s enough sweetness for one day!” The colt on the stage stomped. “We’re here to see the best, and brightest young rockstars pour their hearts out. So without further ado, let’s welcome our first group tonight. Welcome to the stage, Green Mane!”    The audience erupted, and Twilight was ready to join them this time. She had to really let out her voice to keep up with the noise other ponies around her let out in cheers. How did they not lose their voices after all of this? Actually, maybe they did lose their voices. High Rise and the mare next to him was even louder than her!    The first band of the night came onto the stage, to her surprise, they did not have green manes.     Her expectations were dashed, and not in the way she had expected. Twilight Sparkle was expecting more of the loud, obnoxious, “epic” music that Rainbow Dash had tried to push on her. What she found instead was a mix of styles and songs from all different types of ponies. The only things that made them similar were the instruments that played them. She had taken note of how each band and musician that performed had a different ‘style’. A way of forming music that was wholly different from the next. Yet they all were rock music, from Green Mane, to Purple Waters or even Nine Inch Tails.     Different parts of the crowd had obvious favorites when it came to these styles. Some enjoyed the harder, more electric music, and stomped their hooves and screamed to it. Others enjoyed the slower, more melodic rhythms, swaying to the chorus as it came to their ears. What came as a surprise to Twilight was that she couldn’t tell which one High Rise favored more. He danced and chanted and sang along to every song. Every single one, as if he knew them by memory.     Even more surprising was that the mare next to High Rise was doing the exact same thing! It was like a duet between them, perfectly in unison. He had made sure that Twilight would continue to follow rule number two as they did. They were three quarters of the way through the concert, and she barely could stand. All the dancing, singing, chanting, and stomping had left her legs wobbly and her chest heaving for air. She was ready to collapse, but those two were already excited for the next band to play!  “How… How are you still going?” Twilight asked between heavy breaths. “I can… barely breathe!”    The mare was the one to respond. “It is the music! The ebb and flow of the rhythm, the beating heart of the drums! It fuels our hearts and minds and pushes us to keep going!” “I was just gonna say excitement, but that explanation works too!” High Rise said, “Nice one Star Sign.” “You two… know each other?” “Oh no, I just got her name after Purple Waters.” “Yes, I am Star Sign, that is my name, I do not have any other name.”  “And you two…” Twilight sat back down in her seat, which everypony at the concert seemed to have forgotten existed. “… enjoy all this?” “Why yes, it is the most fun I have had in a milen- a very long time.” “What do you think about it so far, Twilight?” He asked. “What do I think?” She was tired, but like any other lesson she tried to learn, she had put her all into understanding it. Her notepad had been filled with the information she had gleaned about it. From the crowd, to the performers, the specific instruments they used, the musical theory behind their music. Everything she could think of was written out on her notepad.  “The performers are very good… the instruments are played well. The singers are incredible vocalists…” “But?”  “But I don’t think I understand the enjoyment still. Every song, no matter how different each one was, all of them were so… dark.”     That was it, that was what bugged her so much. What kept her from finding any form of enjoyment from any of these songs. Each one had something harsh to say. Some of them sang of broken societies, others about broken hearts. The worst of them got vulgar and violent, words she had never even heard before but knew were inappropriate. They were filled with anger, and sadness, and rage and fear and pain. Nothing like the music she shared with her and her friends. Not even anything like what Rainbow Dash had shown her.  “I don’t understand how anypony could enjoy the… the violence of all of it!”    Star Sign and High Rise looked at each other, and in their gaze, they knew exactly what the other thought. Both of them had heard that before.  “Twilight Sparkle, I too once felt that way about this broad genre of music. It lends itself to a harsh, sometimes discordant feel that is unlike most music shared among ponies. We often lend ourselves to happier, melodic, and more harmonious songs. That does not mean there is not a place for this type of music.” “Well said, Star Sign, yet again!” High Rise smiled. “It’s darker sometimes, harsher, yeah, but that’s not a bad thing! For me, rock music isn’t so much about the words that are said. It’s about the emotions tied into the song.” “Indeed, he is correct!” Star Sign exclaimed.    She didn’t quite know how this tag team had started, but it was surprising enough that she didn’t notice how Star Sign used her full name. “Why would anypony want to listen to… these kinds of emotions, though? Surely everypony here isn’t all that angry, or hurt?” “It’s not about that. You don’t have to be feeling that way to enjoy it! Though it can help.” High Rise turned to face Twilight directly. “Everypony can get angry, or sad, or afraid. We don’t always want to share those feelings, so we bottle them up. Put them away for another day. Even if they’re harmless, leaving them inside you can be pretty bad. That’s where this music comes in!”    He gestures to the crowd around him, then to the stage. “Rock music lets you tap into those emotions you put away deep down. It lets you release it in a meaningful way. A way that lets you smile. You stomp your hooves, you pour your heart out, and when it’s all over, that weight you didn’t know you had on you is gone.” “Does it really help you that much?” Twilight asked, and High Rise dialed back his grandiose explanation. “Well… no, it doesn’t suddenly make your sadness or anger go away, but it does take the edge off. Clears your head for better thoughts. Does that make sense?”     Star Sign nodded in agreement to his words. Both of them waited to see the reaction of Twilight Sparkle. Lost in her own thoughts, until she finally brought her notepad up and scribbled new entries in.  “I believe I understand what you are saying!” Twilight smiled wide. “Most music we listen to and sing lets us channel our happier feelings and thoughts, but the opposite does exist. Music made to channel negative emotions, such as rock music! I’ll have to experiment with this in the future. Maybe I can get Pinkie to sing her smile song, monitor her brain activity, and then make her listen to this rock music afterward! I should be able to see concrete evidence after-“    She looked up to see the two tall ponies giving her concerned looks. In mere moments she had turned their heartfelt explanation into a science experiment. Twilight chuckled nervously and put away her notepad. “Maybe I can think about that later.” “Good, because the next performance is gonna be the best one!” “Who is performing next?” Star Sign asked. “The greatest band to ever exist, the Night-Mares!”