The trio of friends, Pound, Pumpkin, and Rainstorm trotted toward the Ponyville record store in no particular haste. As the shop became visible, the familiar thumping of bass could be heard, and soon, felt by the three eager ponies.
"Sounds like Vinyl's braking in some knew tracks..." Pumpkin commented, staring at the small, simple building before her.
"Yeah, I have a feeling I might have a bit of a headache when this is over..." Rainstorm added.
Rainstorm pushed open the door and heard the faint 'ding' of a bell beneath a rather repetitive house track playing in the background. The sight which greeted there eyes was...strange to say the least.
A disgruntled earth pony in a plaid shirt gave the White unicorn mare behind the counter and irritated grunt, "Look, I'm like, looking for this band, called 'The Wailing Honeybuckles' there like, this griffonland-beat band from Stalliongrad...you've probably never heard of them."
"If you don't think I've heard of them, why are you asking me about them?" The blue-maned unicorn asked with a blank expression.
He gave a snarky reply, "Because, you're the only record store in this little town."
The unicorn behing the counter brought a hoof up and pinched the bridge of her nose, before sighing, "Ok...then where did you get their last album?"
"At this big record store in Canterlot," He commented.
"Ok...why not go back there?" Vinyl asked, obviously agitated.
"No way...that place, is like, way too mainstream now. All they do is play Nicki Maneage and crappy pop stuff."
"Look, I don't have time for your hipster hierarchy human shit. What's on the shelves is what we got, either buy something, or get out." The mare finally answered in a decisive tone.
"Psh, whatever, like I need this crap." The stallion commented before shoving out the door, "I want a coffee."
There was an awkward moment of half silence, half techno beat before the mare once again spoke up, "Is he still here?"
"Uh, no Vinyl, he walked out a second ago..." Rainstorm answered.
Vinyl smiled, "Ah! Rainstorm, you're here! I was hoping you'd stop buy today actually, are your friends with you?"
"Yup." Pound answered shortly.
"Hey Vinyl!" Pumpkin added.
"Alright, cool you've got the gang here! There's something you guys gotta hear! Oh...how much of the whole deal with that colt did you see? I didn't really hear you come in..."
"About when he was asking about that weird band." Rainstorm answered.
"Great...so, most of it. Oh well, anyway, I really need your guys' opinion on this new genre that came in....it's really bizarre, I'm not sure if I like it yet."
Pumpkin giggled, "Ok, what's it called?"
"It's called 'Dubtrot'. The stallion who dropped it off said I should listen to it, and that it would explode pretty soon, but I need to know what the younger generation thinks before I invest."
"Alright, sounds good. Should we head to the back?" Rainstorm asked.
"Yup, I got the sound lab all set up," Vinyl answered with a smile, "thanks for helping me out you guys, I'll throw in some snacks and a free record as payment, deal?"
Rainstorm chuckled, "Deal. You need help getting to the back?"
Vinyl waved a dismissal hoof, "Nah, I know my way around by now, I've been wandering around in the dark for over a year now," her face dropped a bit.
Rainstorm quickly opted to change the subject, "If you say so. So what's so weird about this new music?" he asked while trotting behind Vinyl to the back of the store.
"Well...it's technological, but unlike the normal stuff, it's very...irregular."
"Huh. So, like, syncopated?" Rainstorm offered.
"Yeah...you could say that..." Vinyl replied as the four walked through the doorway separating Vinyl's "sound lab" from the rest of the store.
Rainstorm, Pound and Pumpkin all walked into the old recording booth, and plopped down on the beanbags inside. Vinyl magically pulled a chair closer to herself, and hovered a headset over her head, before speaking into the microphone.
"Alright guys, you ready?"
"Yup."
"uh-huh!"
"Fire when ready!"
"Alright, I'll get your guys' opinion after the song is done. VInyl hovered her magic over the spinning record...
The trio closed there eyes and nodded their heads as the beat became louder, clearer and stronger, a repetitive drum beat, along with a simple techno melody lulling the three into the song. Soon, a soft whisper came into the sound booth, a hushed voice singing sweet lyrics to the three ponies inside, messages of love, praise and admiration.
I could watch you for a lifetime
You're my favorite movie
A thousand endings
You mean everything to me.
I never know what's coming,
Forever fascinated.
Hope you don't stop running
To me 'cause I'll always be waiting.
You are, a cinema, I could watch you forever,
Action, Thriller, I could watch you for-e-e-ever,
You are, a cinema, a hollywood treasure,
Love you, just the way you are a cinema, a cinema
As the message repeated, Rainstorm opened his eyes, only to meet a stare from across the room. Pumpkin's deep blue eyes met his, only for a split second, before quickly darting away, scanning all over the room.
Her coat seemed a bit more red than usual...
Rainstorms thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a strange voice covering the repeating message, seeming to only spew gibberish in a tone which reminded him of a certain animal band that made an annoying annual appearance near Hearth's Warming.
And then, a voice gave a simple command.
D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D DROP THE BASS!
Rainstorm's eyes shot wide open, along with his two friends, all of whom looked at each other with confusion, and a look that could only be described as 'Is this really happening?'
The deep wubs and glitches of the song through the trio for quite a loop as they stood, raising an eyebrow at nothing in particular, simply taking in the noise.
"Sweet Celestia this sounds, I don't even know what this sounds like..." Rainstorm squinted, trying to accept the music, before a crescendoing trill physically made him cringe.
"OH CELESTIA IT'S LIKE THERE ARE TWO DRILLS IN EACH EAR, AND THEY'RE MEETING IN THE MIDDLE!!!" Pound cried, holding hoofs over his ears as his eyes crossed and rolled upward in pain.
Pumpkin rubbed her chin for a minute before adding her own input, "I...I kinda like it."
Rainstorm and Pound both looked at Pumpkin in shock, "WHAT?!"
"Yeah, you just gotta know how to listen to it..."
"There's more than one way?" Rainstorm asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Sure," Pumpkin smiled, "try to not follow, or predict it, just, headbang and let it kinda...guide you..."
CINEMA!
Rainstorm closed his eyes once again...ok...try not to understrand, just let it...guide you.
Soon his head began to nod with the almost hidden beat of the song, allowing the music to pull him this way and that, jumping in seemingly random directions. But soon, he felt the emotion, the power, and the guide of the song. The urge to move with it's direction, to shift at random without purpose or goal, but simply to stay moving. A power, a spirit, to move and to rebel, to listen simply because it still could shock him. Something new. Something different.
Stars spell out your name
Like in a science-fiction drama
Romance growing
Like a flower in the summer
You always keep me guessing
forever my wo-on-der
Hope you start undressing
all my dreams until the end of
You are, a cinema, I could watch you forever,
Action, thriller, I could watch you for-e-ever
You are, a cinema, a hollywood treasure.
Love you, just the way you are, a cinema, a cinema.
Once again the song began to build, the strange voice pushing the urgency of the crescendo, until finally a voice once again allowed the building pressure of the music to burst to burst,
D-D-D-D-D-D-DROP THE BASS!!
But this time Rainstorm saw it coming. He allowed his eyes to squeeze tightly shut as he began to whip his head back and forth, his blue mane flailing wildly in the process. This was something new, something which could move to, and something which could move him.
He looked over to see Pumpkin doing the same, a wild, rebellious grin spread across her muzzle, her eyes shut tight
Pound, on the other hand, seemed to be curled in a ball in the corner, muttering something about about a dinosaur raping a fax machine.
What a fax machine was, he wasn't sure, but he continued to flip his mane all around his head, allowing the strange combinations of headaches mx together in a rather... euphonious experience.
You are, a cinema, I could watch you forever,
Action, thriller, I could watch you for-e-ever
You are, a cinema, a hollywood treasure.
Love you, just the way you are, a cinema, a cinema.
The song began to fade from the booth, slowly becoming more and more quite and distorted, until finally vanishing into silence.
Vinyl's voice came one over the speaker, "So, what'd you guys think?"
Vinyl heard the burst of the recording booth burst open and heavy hooves run out the store.
"So...Pound didn't like it..." Vinyl commented.
Pumpkin smiled, "Nope, but I did! I'm curious how he made it though."
Rainstorm nodded, "Same here."
"Huh, I didn't think about that. We'll I'm going to do a little more research, you two feel free to wander the store, pick out a record you like."
Pumpkin smiled, "Looks like it's just you and me for the rest of the day, huh Rainstorm?"
Rainstorm looked to Pumpkin, who wore an eager grin. He smiled back, "Yeah...sound good."