//------------------------------//
// Crashing the Bash 
// Story: When Music is Silenced 
// by Summer Knight 
//------------------------------//

	The air of Manehattan was afire with sound. The ground shook with bass and the hoof stomps of the crowd. A dark red unicorn held a pick in a light blue magical field and shredded on a guitar so quickly that it seemed it should burst into flame. Next to him, a blue unicorn bobbed his head as the deep notes from his bass held the discordant sounds together. The two were brothers, and had been moderately successful as a two-piece rock outfit before they had met the others in the band. 
A mint-green pegasus sat behind a drum set. She had drumsticks strapped to her forelegs and her wingtips, and she filled the air with a frantic, almost schizophrenic beat as she kept four different rhythms simultaneously. At the forefront, a dark gray earth pony with a long and messy blond mane alternately growled and screamed into a microphone. His cutie mark was a microphone being struck by lightning.

“The land it burns,
	your blood it boils!
	Strike down your foe,
and claim the spoils.
Death and destruction all around,
this is the land you fight to save,
black rainbows crashing to the ground and
pink fluffy unicorns dancing on YOUR GRAAAAAAAAAAAVE!”

"Thank you Manehattan,” the earth pony shouted over the crowd as the song wound down, “you've been bucking awesome! For those of you who don't know us, we've got Power Chord on guitar!”
Power Chord improvised a riff and bowed his head in greeting.
“Bass Groove on bass!”
The blue unicorn thrust a hoof into the air.
“Wing Beat on drums!”
Wing Beat hovered an inch above the ground and spun rapidly in place, striking her drums with all four drumsticks and her hind hooves. It was impossible to pick individual drum beats out of the whirlwind of sound.
“And I am,” his voice dropped back into the deep roar he used for performing, “Thunder Growl. You can catch us in Fillydelphia next month at Nightmarefest, and we'll be tearing down Cloudsdale at Pegapalooza! Good night, Manehattan!”
With the roar of the crowd still ringing in his ears, Thunder Growl led the band offstage.
“Awesome show, everypony!” a certain white unicorn yelled as they joined the rest of the musicians backstage.
“Thanks!” Power Chord shouted back. “You're up next, right?”
“Sure am!” The unicorn adjusted her signature sunglasses and headed for the stage entrance.
“Kick some flank out there!” Wing Beat called after her.
“Fillies and gentlecolts,” the MC's voice came from the stage, “let's hear it once more for My Metal Pony!” He waited a few moments for the cheering to subside. “And now, the pony you've all been waiting for. It is my pleasure to bring you… DJ Pon-3!” 	
My Metal Pony could not have played loudly enough to be heard over the screaming of the crowd.

“Great show out there!” Silk Ace, one of the organizers of the Manehattan Bash, picked up a sack of bits in his teeth and tossed it over to Thunder Growl. “A hundred each, per your contract. Now then, you've all got front row spots reserved for DJ Pon-3's show, aisle F. Better hurry up, she'll be starting any minute now.”
“Thanks, pony.” Power Chord offered Ace a hoof, which he promptly bumped. “C'mon, I don't wanna miss this!”
“Hmph.” Thunder Growl nosed open the bag, which contained four smaller pouches of a hundred bits each. He picked up one and tucked it into his saddlebag, then kicked the sack over to his bandmates. “Have fun. I'll be at the bar.”
“Huh?” Wing Beat flew in front of him. “You're leaving? C'mon, she's only the biggest DJ in Equestria! The bar will still be there in an hour.”
Thunder Growl glared at his drummer. “Yeah. I'm leaving.” He shouldered past the pegasus and made for the exit.
“What crawled up your plot?” Bass Groove asked as he levitated his share of the pay out of the bag.
Thunder snorted and looked back over his shoulder. “I hate dubstep.” He offered no further explanation as he walked out the door, making sure to kick it shut as hard as he could.
The other three members of My Metal Pony exchanged confused glances, then shrugged and went to take their places in the crowd.

Thunder Growl winced and took a deep drink of cider as another wave of wubs pulsed through the bar. DJ Pon-3's music—if it could be called that—pumped at full volume out of the bar's radio. Thunder slammed his empty glass down and clopped a hoof on the bar. The bartender looked at him skeptically, but caved when Thunder shot him a deadly glare. Thunder set a bit next to the six already on the bar and took his newly-filled glass.
Holding the glass in his teeth, Thunder Growl rose from the thin cushion he had been sitting on and stumbled slightly. Long practice allowed him to keep his cider from spilling as the world skewed. Once everything was back in place and seemed unlikely to move again, he set out to find some secluded corner where he could pretend that his ears weren't being abused by the filthy basslines that ponies seemed to like more than his own band's flank-kicking, muzzle-melting metal.
The noise abruptly cut off.
“Oh, thank Luna,” Thunder Growl grumbled as he took another swallow.
“Hey, what happened?” somepony demanded.
“That was the best part!” A unicorn who made Thunder Growl look like the poster pony for sobriety stood up from his cushion and promptly faceplanted.
A confused babble started to rise inside the bar, and Thunder Growl slowly set his drink down as he realized that this was not supposed to have been the end of DJ Pon-3's set.
“Hey! Hey everypony, shut the buck up for a minute!” The bartender adjusted a knob on the radio he had behind the bar and tilted an ear close to it. Thunder Growl sidled over to listen in.
“...no, definitely not part of the show,” the reporter was saying, “I think DJ Pon-3 might be in—aagh!”
Both Thunder Growl and the bartender flinched back at the ear-shattering noise that emanated from the speakers.
“Equestria shALl never know MUsiC aGain!” It was a hellish sound, like a thousand ponies shouting all at once, not quite in sync with one another. “ThEre will be only CACOPHONY!”
The horrible voice faded away, leaving only a very shaken-sounding reporter. “For… for those of you just joining us, this is Viridian Flower. I am reporting live from the Manehattan Bash, where somepony, or something, has just crashed the show and foalnapped DJ Pon-3!”
Thunder Growl dropped his glass, not even noticing the sticky cider splashing over his hooves. He whirled and galloped toward the door, barely pausing to deck the bouncer across the face as the overly burly pegasus tried to block his path.
“You can't go out there,” the bouncer shouted as he massaged his jaw, “it's not safe!”
Thunder didn't hear a word of it. The Manehattan street blurred under his hooves as he galloped back toward the concert venue. Hang in there, Vinyl. I'm coming!

Thunder Growl skidded to a stop as he arrived at the edge of the open-air venue. Hundreds, if not thousands, of ponies lay on the ground. Most were unconscious, and those that weren't were moaning and twitching weakly. Many had blood leaking from one or both ears. Onstage was a… thing. Thunder's eyes couldn't seem to make sense of it, and he didn't think that was a result of the cider. It was as if the creature's physical form were as distorted as its voice. It seemed to change size and shape from moment to moment. One instant it seemed to be a large earth pony, then Thunder blinked and it was a slender unicorn. He rubbed his eyes, but the conflicting images refused to resolve into something coherent.
It didn't matter. What did matter was that there was no sign of Vinyl Scratch. DJ Pon-3's impressive turntable had nopony behind it, and the only sound coming from the stage was the horribly perverted voice of the monster who had attacked the Bash. Thunder Growl galloped for the stage, weaving deftly among the writhing ponies on the ground. The creature's terrible noise assailed him, but he did not stop.
“Where is she?!” Thunder roared, doing his best to be heard over the deafening racket.
The monster laughed. At least, Thunder thought it was supposed to be a laugh. It sounded more like a hundred carriages crashing into each other.
Thunder reached the stage and vaulted onto it, landing directly in front of the thing. “Where is she?!” he demanded again as he reared up, milling his forelegs threateningly.
The creature seemed taken aback. “How dO you wiThstand CacophOny?”
Thunder grinned and tapped an ear. A small piece of dark orange foam was visible inside it, something that he had neglected to remove after his set. “Earplugs, nag.” He swung with all his strength toward where he guessed the monster's face should be.
There was a terrible crunching sound and Thunder howled in pain. He collapsed to the ground clutching his right foreleg, which was bent at an unnatural angle, the hoof chipped and cracked where he had struck the monster. He might as well have punched a stone wall.
The monster hissed. The sound was like a mass of snakes being scalded by steam venting from cracked pipes. It spun in place and kicked Thunder Growl with a back leg that seemed to shift and extend even as it moved. Thunder felt ribs crack as the force of the kick lifted him off the ground and sent him flying back into the crowd of ponies. He tried to rise, but succeeded only in twitching weakly. There was an explosive noise like a thunderclap, then, finally, blessed silence. 
Thunder forced his head up and saw that the stage was empty. The monster was gone, and so was Vinyl Scratch. The effort proved too much for his battered body, and Thunder's head fell forward as his consciousness slipped away.
        
Some time later, Thunder Growl groaned and opened his eyes. He couldn't seem to make sense of anything he saw, and trying made him dizzy. Just how much did I drink last night?
He soon became aware of a strange sensation on his foreleg, as though something were wrapping itself tightly around him. The first thought to flash through his confused mind was: snakes! Thunder tried to jerk the limb away and was rewarded with a flash of searing pain.
“Whoa,” somepony called from above him. “Easy there, you're safe now. You just need to keep that leg still so I can finish splinting it.”
Thunder Growl grunted inquisitively. It was all that he could manage just then.
“Your foreleg is broken and you've got several cracked ribs.” Whoever it was sounded calm and clinical, as though they dealt with the aftermath of a monster attack on a daily basis. “Your ears are fine, somehow. You're the only pony we've found so far without some sort of hearing loss.” The voice took on a disapproving tone.“You also have either a concussion or a hangover. I'm not sure which.”
Thunder tried again to open his eyes, but immediately shut them and clapped his good hoof over his mouth as the world skewed.
“Here.” The pony treating him set down a small bag of something. “Painkillers. It's the best we can do for you right now; there are a lot of injured ponies here. Don't take more than two at a time, and no more than six in a day. We'll be sending teams to take ponies for proper medical care as soon as we're able. Understand?”
Thunder opened his mouth. It was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. He forced himself to speak. “Thanks.” The world darkened again. He knew distantly that he shouldn't fall asleep when he had a potential head injury, but he lacked the strength to fight it. Whatever. It's just a hangover anyway.
        
When Thunder Growl opened his eyes again, the sun was shining brightly through a layer of white cloth. It had been evening when he'd fought with... whatever it was, which meant that he'd been unconscious all night. It seemed that at some point he had been moved to a pavilion, or perhaps the pavilion had been erected around him. There were many other injured ponies there as well, some unconscious and some stirring. 
He felt both better and worse. He was able to open his eyes without wanting to vomit, but he was slowly becoming aware of just how much everything hurt, including the beginnings of what promised to be a splitting headache. His right foreleg was immobilized in a splint, and bandages had been wrapped tightly around his chest and barrel. He used his left foreleg to open the bag of painkillers that the medical pony had left, and was thrilled to find that he'd been given a bottle of water as well. He popped two of the pills into his mouth and drank greedily from the bottle, which soothed his parched throat and slightly lessened his headache.
Somewhat revived, Thunder got his three good legs under himself and stood. He swayed a bit, but his strength seemed to be returning. The next order of business was to get out of here before—
Ah, buck. Guardsponies were swarming around the former concert venue, questioning those ponies who were well enough to speak. Any chance he'd be able to get away from here without further trouble was gone.
It was a matter of moments before somepony took note of Thunder standing on his own. A white pegasus guard swiftly winged over to him. “How are you doing, sir?” The guard spoke with a stiff formality. “I'm Bright Shield of the Royal Guard. I have some questions for you, if you're feeling up to it.”
“And what if I'm not?” Thunder grumbled back at him.
“Well,” the pegasus winked at him, “then I'll have to assume you're not well enough to be up and about, and I'll get a nurse to haul you back to bed.”
Thunder rolled his eyes—to his relief, he was able to do so without the world spinning any more than it should—and nodded. “Fine. What is it?”
“Did you see who did this?”
"Yeah.” He didn't elaborate.
“Care to fill us in?” the pegasus prompted.
“Not really.”
The pegasus's eyes flashed angrily. "Alright, let's try this another way, smart-flank. Tell me everything you saw, or I'll throw you in prison for obstructing an official investigation.”
“Fine,” Thunder snapped, “I don't know what it was, alright? I couldn't get a good look at it.”
“It? What do you mean, 'it?' Wasn't it a pony?”
“No. Sorta. Bucked if I know what it was, it looked different every time I looked at it.”
The guard was looking at him very strangely. “Did you hit your head when it attacked? You don't sound like you're remembering it very well.”
“My head's fine!” Thunder flared, pointedly ignoring the pounding ache that the previous night's drinking had left him with. “I'm telling you, it kept changing shape. It didn't talk normal, either. It didn't have one voice, it was like a...” He blinked as he remembered. “It called itself Cacophony. It foalnapped Vinyl!”
“Who?”
“DJ Pon-3, you alicorn-damned moron, it got DJ Pon-3!”
“Sir, I need you to—”
“Shut up! What the buck are you doing interrogating me? That thing is still out there!” Thunder stopped shouting as he abruptly felt a strange sense of peace come over him.
“Thanks, Nectar,” the pegasus sighed as another guard, a female unicorn, came walking up beside him. The unicorn's horn glowed with a faint green magic, which was flowing into Thunder Growl.
“Sir, I am using a calming spell on you,” the unicorn explained. “If you still don't cooperate, I will turn it into a sedation spell that will knock you unconscious. Understand?”
Thunder nodded, still caught up in the wonderful serenity of Nectar's magic.
“Good. Now, let's start with your name and what you were doing here.”
“Thunder Growl,” he murmured, “singer. Was performing here yesterday.”
Bright Shield and Nectar shot wide-eyed looks at each other.
“You were a performer?” Bright Shield asked.
Thunder blinked slowly. Even through the haze of the calming spell he could sense that something was amiss. “Yeah. Why?”
“Mr. Growl,” Nectar cleared her throat hesitantly, “everypony who performed here last night is missing, presumed foalnapped.”
“What?” Thunder's eyes snapped open, wide and suddenly lucid. “What about My Metal Pony? Power Chord? Bass Groove? Wing Beat?”
“Sir, please, we don't know where they are right now, but there's no reason to assume—”
“To assume what?” Thunder tried to take a step forward, but his right foreleg buckled.
“To assume... the worst.” 
Thunder felt the calming effect of the spell become stronger, but he was now too upset to be soothed. “And you plotholes are still here talking to me? Get your flanks out there and... find my—” The calming spell suddenly became distinctly different. It was sapping his strength, making it harder to stand, to speak, to think...
Bright Shield darted forward and caught Thunder as he collapsed, overcome by Nectar's sedation spell and his own weakened state.

When Thunder Growl next awoke he was in a bed, his splint had been removed and replaced with a proper cast, and somepony had left a tray of food on the nightstand. The white walls and scent of antiseptic clued him in that he had been taken to a hospital. He also saw that he had a visitor.
“Mr. Growl, I'm afraid we got off on the wrong hoof.” It was that unicorn guard from before. She had removed her armor, revealing a pale orange coat and some kind of fruit as her cutie mark. “My name is Nectarine Drop.”
“That's a stupid name.”
Nectarine—Nectar—gave no sign that she had heard him. “I am a guard in Princess Celestia's service, and we are investigating the attack on the Manehattan Bash.”
“Good for you.” Thunder couldn't work up the energy for proper anger, so he was forced to stick with bitter sniping. “You find Cacophony yet?”
Nectar snorted and stomped a front hoof. “Sir, I understand that you're upset, and worried about your friends, but the best thing you can do for them right now is help us.”
“I already told you everything I know!” Thunder snapped back.
“You were the only performer that Cacophony didn't capture. Why is that?”
“Because I wasn't there. I left after my set, and I only came back because I heard that Vin—that DJ Pon-3 was in trouble.”
“You're friends with DJ Pon-3, then?”
“We're... it's a long story, and I'm not getting into it right now.”
“I see. Well, that's not important at the moment. What is important is that you have connections with several of the foalnapped ponies: Your own band, of course, and DJ Pon-3. Did you know any of the others? What do they all have in common that made them targets?”
Thunder gave her a withering glare. “Gee, maybe the fact that they're musicians? When that thing appeared, it said that there wasn't going to be any more music in Equestria. It was on the radio, if you were paying any attention.”
Nectar sighed and stood up. “I can see that this isn't going anywhere. If you remember anything else, have someone come and find me or one of the other guards.” Her voice softened. “For what it's worth, I am sorry about your friends. We're doing all that we can.”
“Whatever. Just get out,” Thunder grumbled, but there was no real heat behind it.
When Nectar was gone, he turned his attention to the tray of food. Apples and oats. Nothing fancy, but filling. His hangover was mostly better, the combination of time and painkillers having worked their magic, and he was ready for a meal. When the food was gone he nosed through his saddlebags and was relieved to find everything still there, including the sack of bits, still full minus... horse dung, I spent seven bits on cider last night? He sighed and settled back, trying to think.
The truth was that he did want to help the others, he just wasn't sure how he could. He truly had told the guards everything he knew. His friends were gone, and the only two things he was good at—yelling and brawling—hadn't done anything to get them back. He covered his eyes with his good foreleg to block out the light and the outside world. 
Buck, but he hated feeling helpless.