MLP: The Magic of... Music?

by The Bricklayer

Part 7: Mandatory Fun (Until it's ruined)

Golden Oaks Library: Twilight's Lab

Spike yawned in boredom, he wished he could have gone along with the Doctor and Twilight along the rest of his friends and the Princesses, but somebody still had to stay here and watch the Library, as it seemed to be a focus for unusual incidents ever since Twilight and him came to town and probably would be again and knowing Ponyville's luck quite soon. For such a peaceful town, it sure seemed to get attacked quite a lot didn't it Spike mused to himself. Then, his boredom was broken by a single shout.

"Hello, is anypony home?" A familiar arrogant tone of voice exclaimed as the sound of five sets of hoofsteps made the wooden floor creak and groan. Spike himself was groaning, he knew that voice all too well.

"Trixie." He muttered, as the showmare along with the ponies known as Octavia, Vinyl Scratch AKA DJ-PON-3, Cheese Sandwich and Lyra Heartstrings entered the room.

"Er... I hate to ask but what are you guys and gals doing here?" Spike questioned, although he already knew the answer. He wasn't wrong, as Cheese confirmed it for him.

"Weeelllll, we heard about Twilight discovering music from another world, so we thought we'd just come along and see what's what!" Cheese proclaimed, and before Spike could stop him, he started up a song with a flip of the switch. At first, it seemed it would just be a slow plodding bass driven song, but then the tempo picked up...

Once the song was over, the speculation began as always.

"Okay, well that was... interesting." Octavia commented after a brief silence of taking the song in, not really a fan of the song's bluesy sound if she were to be honest, but Vinyl disagreed.

"Are you kidding?" She asked in disbelief, she'd been banging her head throughout the whole song. "That was awesome man! But I don't get the lyrics though. Was this a song about war or something?"

"Well, the fact that there was the phrase "Seven Nation Army" would seem to say that." Lyra mused, but she still wasn't entirely sure.

"The person singing this song seems to be a violent one, doesn't he?" Octavia agreed, as she'd picked up on the "Seven Nation Army" lyrics as well. Spike groaned, he remembered how badly the misconceptions about the human race went last time, and hoped things wouldn't turn in that exact same direction as before.

"I'm curious though, what are these Hounds of Hell that the singer mentioned?" Octavia wondered before Lyra theorized "Could they be a counterpart to the guards at the gates of Tartarus?"

Trixie herself had her own theory on what the song was about, and hers was possibly the most spot on.

"I don't know, Trixie thinks the singer is protesting about something. But about what she asks?" The showmare wondered aloud to herself, not really expecting a answer. But she got one anyway.

"Hmm, to me it sounds like he regrets something, and everyone is still talking about that, whatever it is." Spike thought and Lyra couldn't resist commenting towards Trixie and the irony of it all.

"Yeah, and you'd know a lot about that don't you?" Lyra asked dryly. Trixie's little Alicorn Amulet incident was still a talking point, and it was a sad fact of life she wasn't particularly well liked in the town because of what she did under it's control.

"Trixie was brainwashed! She wanted to show Twilight Sparkle how great and powerful she truly was!" The showmare defended herself with a furious expression on her face. "She is the Humble and Apologetic Trixie now! Ask Twilight Sparkle, she'll believe you!"

Nopony bothered to tell her that Trixie's demeanor wasn't exactly helping her case in the slightest. Octavia meanwhile wanted something more her style, and with a flip of the switch and turning of the dials she got exactly that.

At first, the song was sad in sound before it changed and became excited in tempo and a electric guitar joined in and played along with the strings making for a unusual combination, but it somehow managed to work in this context. Octavia felt a tear run down her face as she took in the beauty of the string playing as it slowed down, she could truly feel the emotions of who was playing this grand song of sorrow. She could feel the pain, love and the loss in the song, even if there were no lyrics to accompany it. She didn't need them, as because being a seasoned member of the Canterlot Orchestra she could tell what a song was about just by it's tone and playing of the strings. Octavia felt more tears running down her face now, and she was unashamed of them as the song reached it's climax and the tune became excited once more before it stopped abruptly.

"Oc-Octavia, you alright?" Vinyl asked in concern for her best friend as she saw the tears coming down her face.

"Y-Yeah, it's... It's just the song. Celestia above, that was beautiful..." Octavia whispered as the final notes played.

"Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" Cheese agreed with a nodding of his head. "It felt like various gatherings throughout, with happy moments of one spicing up something, or a funeral for a friend during the more painful and sorrowing parts. I can only wonder though... What was it about?"

"Yes, Trixie wonders that as well." Trixie put in with a curious and inquiring look on her face. Octavia wiped away her tears with a many colored handkerchief handed to her by Cheese as she explained the song's meaning, at least to her and from what she could make of it's ever changing tempo.

"It... It was a song, a song of love, loss and the sorrow that comes with it." Octavia explained, still in awe of the song's ability to tell a tale without saying a single word or phrase.

"How... How do you know these things?" Lyra inquired, she thought you needed lyrics to discern the meaning of a song while Trixie stared in disbelief.

"Trixie doesn't believe you, sounds like a load of bupkis to her." She stated arrogantly with a scoff, but Octavia only chuckled and shook her head at how naïve the stagemare was.

"Trust me, when you've been playing in a orchestra for as long as I have, you'll pick up these things." Octavia replied, and those were her final words on the matter. Trixie huffed, she still didn't believe her.

"Bah! Now Trixie wants a song she can actually understand!" The stagemare harrumphed before turning the dials and flipping the switch like everypony else before her. This was the result, and the first thing anyone heard was the sound triumphant horns beginning to play and a female voice accompanying them.

"Wow, what a stallion!" Vinyl exclaimed with a blush as naughty thoughts that would definitely bump this fic's rating up ran through her head. Octavia's mind had similar thoughts, though she'd never admit it.

"Rarity would love him." Spike grumbled, sounding somewhat jealous.

"Hah! The Great and Powerful Trixie bets she could do all of those things this Hercules fellow could do and more besides!" Trixie exclaimed while everypony else groaned at her proclamation and Spike just facepalmed to himself and muttered "She never changes does she? Twilight, I'm so glad you're not here to see this..."

Lyra couldn't resist a good olde fashioned deadpan snark and put it "And Lyra severely doubts this entirely." she said dryly, throwing in a mocking version of Trixie's style of speak just for good measure. Lyra still hadn't forgiven the mare for when she took over Ponyville and did the things she did, even if it was under the Alicorn Amulet.

"You doubt my abilities?" Trixie raged, quite offended at this point, and Lyra responded in a dry tone "Yeah, I kinda do."

"I should turn you into a newt!" Trixie snapped back at her. "You'll get better, but you won't like being a lizard, I can promise you that!"

Both Lyra's and Trixie's horns were flaring with magical power, and sensing what was about to happen Cheese quickly sprung into action and played another song before a battle between the two mares commenced and wrecked Twilight's library. (Spike was supremely thankful for this.)

"Okay, I think we need to relieve some stress and put everyone into a party mood!" He cried and the song began, and it was different from any other before it, that was for sure.

Once the song was over everypony turned their heads to Cheese Sandwich, who was blinking in shock. That singer sounded so much like him it wasn't even funny. Actually, it was kinda scary if Cheese was to be honest with himself.

"Wow Cheese, you've been holding out on us! I didn't even know you could sing!" Lyra exclaimed in shock and Cheese sputtered out a answer after a few moments.

"I... That's not me!" He stammered out at Lyra's statement. "I don't even know what this Jurassic Park is!"

"Trixie does not believe you." The showmare commented with a huff while Octavia wondered why anyone would bring back dinosaurs anyway. From what the song said, it sounded like everything all went to Tartarus at this "Jurassic Park". She was scared, could the race of the creature who sung this song really have the ability to mess with the laws of nature in such a way?

"From the sounds of things, it sounds like the singer is having a bit of fun in all of this mayhem. Trixie believes the word crazy applies here." She said, and for once Lyra could agree with her.

"I dunno, it actually sounds like the singer is making fun of this whole concept." Vinyl guessed and everypony stared at her like she'd grown a second head or suddenly turned out to be a changeling.

"Y-You're kidding right?" Lyra asked in disbelief at the Neighponise native's statement while Octavia facehoofed and muttered "You and your stupid ideas Vinyl, that sounds as almost as dumb as you thinking up a vehicle that can play drum and bass music as loud as you wanted."

Vinyl smirked like she knew something nopony else did.

"It's actually not as uncommon as you might think." She told everypony else. "I've heard somepony doing things like this for that Dr Insane TV show."

Suddenly the door burst in, and there stood the Dazzlings, all with evil smiles on their muzzles and their pendants glowing and pulsating a ominious green color as a mist, also green seemed to surround them like a fog of doom. All five ponies and the young drake felt a distinct sense of foreboding as the mist seemed to follow the three newcomers in with them, and the Dazzlings were still smirking all the while.

"Well now..." Adagio began seductively before she "Tut, tut, tutted" to them as if chastising a small colt or filly.

"Knock knock and you didn't let us in." Adagio said in a mock-disappointed tone of voice before she chuckled darkly and continued.

"How rude, now may we have a listen?" She asked, and Vinyl glared as harshly as she could at them sensing these three were trouble but her shivering hooves and quavering voice betrayed her.

"W-Who are you?" Vinyl asked nervously and Spike let out a small growl as he answered her.

"The Dazzlings, but you three are supposed to still be at CHS!" He snarled as a small bit of green flame came from his nostrils. Aria could only laugh. She'd managed to come back as a unicorn, so she pinned Spike to a wall with constructed magical chains.

"Hey, let him go you scoundrels or I'll show you my Cluck-Fu!" Cheese shouted bringing out a rubber chicken and holding it like it was a sword of some type, but he was ignored as Aria laughed once more.

"Ah, that little doggy pet of Twilight's, asking all the right questions. Good for you, want a treat?" She mocked before continuing. "Well, when little miss bacon hair came back home, we hitched a ride."

"Now, we ask again." Adagio asked, this time more menacingly. "May we have a listen?"

Author's Note:

Oh boy, the Dazzlings have shown themselves at last and now their insidious plot can truly begin. Next time, they begin to turn Equestria against Earth, starting with these unfortunate ponies... And all the while, the Doctor and his travel partners in the Tardis remain unaware of what's going on back in Equestria...

Firstly, let me tell you. It was HARD as hell to write out how Octavia felt during Phantom of the Opera and describing it's many changes in tempo. That was a personal triumph for me, as well as getting the White Stripes in here as I've been waiting for a excuse to get them in somehow.

Anyways, thanks to those who suggested some of the songs used in this chapter, and as you can see I'm trying to have anyone who listens to the Earth/EQ world's music discuss it more and try and discern the meanings behind them. I'm still probably not as good as writing that sort of thing as I should be, but I'm trying at least so that's good right?

Okay, one final thing. For the next chapter, I'm still asking for songs that would break a pony's faith in humanity. I've already got Mercyful Fate and Alice Cooper lined up, but if you think you've got something better throw it at me! (Not literally, but you know what I mean.)

Comments

[Fetch]

Activate running gag: Cheese Sandwich only tunes in Weird Al songs.

[XanaDurian]

California Über Alles, or I Kill Children by the Dead Kennedys should do a fine job of turning ponies off to humans. Or maybe Last Carress by the Misfits. Punk music in general, really. Or, at least, the really "shocking" kind.

[The Bricklayer]

7338779 Yeah, Punk should do the job. I think a certain Runaways song could work, and I do know of another Dead Kennedys song (Thank you Guitar Hero 3!) that might just do the trick. I'm still keeping in Mercyful Fate in though, as that would do the job just nicely.

[ZombieMan]

Maybe some Metal, like Slayer or Slipknot; or maybe some Nirvana, My Chemical Romance, or Radiohead?

[Jlargent]

7339259 You mentioned using game music earlier so why not a few tracks from Guilty Gear like Midnight Carnival or maybe Awe of She.

[primeoetgrunn]

Money for Nothing by The Dire Straits. It just fits, in my opinion.

[The Bricklayer]

7340152 Not exactly a dark song is it? It's more of a parody and commentary on how rich rock musicians get while everyone else is just forced to stick to blue collar level money isn't it?

[primeoetgrunn]

7342972 Does there need to be a reason for cruel irony? I did not know that.

[mitchboy]

Soundcheck knows what Hercules and Jurassic Park is since he was human.

[RisingBluePhoenix]

Why aren't the Dazzlings in Siren form? I mean without their amulets they should still appear as their true form regardless...

[The Bricklayer]

9529918
To be honestly fair, this was written long before Shadow Play, and so I could only guess at what the Dazzlings would look like in Equestria. And it's entirely possible without their gems they may revert to a more pony-like form. There are so many unknowns about them, largely because Hasbro decided not to do anything with them since Rainbow Rocks aside from one cameo.

[Venerable Ro]

What, no Piano Guys for Octavia?