Broken Strings and BPM's

It was truly strange. For the longest time, he had always imagined my own mind to be… well… he never expected it to be this… happy. All these trees, and clouds, and fresh grass. For a moment, he was sure that Zecora's potion had killed him. "How the hay am I supposed to find an evil spirit in such a happy looking place?" Bass began trotting through the grassy field, toward a tree in the distance.

As he trotted through the grass, he began to notice the changing environment. As he continued forward, he noticed the grass beneath his hooves began to wither and die. Even the tree in the distance began to die. As he looked harder at the tree, he could see a few things hanging from the limbs. He tried to stop, but his muscles refused to stop carrying him toward the tree. As he came closer, he could tell that there were two things hanging from the trees... two bodies. His hooves finally stopped about five yards from the tree. He looked down at the ground below him, only to see arid dirt where the lush green grass once stood. He looked up at the tree that had seemed so fertile and fruitful from a distance, and finally recognized the two bodies hanging from the now bare, and rotting limbs. They were both unicorns, both strikingly familiar. One had a straight black mane with a few pink streaks running through it, her matching tail dangling from her lifeless body. Bass could hardly hold his vomit, as he looked into her glazed over blue eyes, blood oozing from her mouth, as she seemed to stare into Bass's very soul.

He then looked to the other unicorn. This one had hurt the most. Her mane was a short, ruffled, two-tone electric blue manejob, with a tail to match her pure white coat showed the bruises all over her body clearly, including the ones on her face. As Bass stared into the lifeless ruby eyes, he lost all control over the pool of bile waiting to erupt from his throat. Bass looked up from the puddle in front of him, noticing a third noose, hanging empty. As quickly as he spotted it, he felt something push the back of his head, forcing his face down into the puddle of vomit. He struggled to break free, and pull his face from the puddle of his own sick, only for his whole body to go limp, causing him to fall over on his side. He panicked, looking around for whatever had caused him to fall. His eyes went wide, as he saw a white pegasus with a long, black mane grinning wickedly back at him. "Well, hello, there. It's so nice to see a friendly face." The pegasus held his wicked grin, his eyes covered by a pair of amber aviators. "I see you've noticed my... decorations. I do hope you like them."

Bass managed to speak, finally catching his breath. "You're sick!"

"Sick, no. I'm actually quite healthy." The pegasus stretched his wings, his wingspan about twice as large as Bass's and his feathers dotted with a few black feathers. "See? Fit as a fiddle. So, no. I'm not sick. I'm simply... ambitious. You see, I had simply planned on chipping away at the walls of your conscience, and just waltzing on into the place, and making myself at home. I had almost broken through, around the time when Vinyl left you, but then the wall suddenly reformed, and I had to find another way. I had almost devised the perfect plan, but then, fate delivered you to me. Fucking providence, Bass. Fucking providence. Oh, but I'm sure you're wondering about my incomplete decor, yes? Oh I knew you would. You see, after I destroy you, here, I'm going to destroy that which foiled my original plan. Do you know what that would be, Bass?"

Bass tried to speak, only to feel the breath not there.

"Oh, come now, Bass, surely you must know. Well, since you're so set on being silent, I'll just show you." The wicked stallion clopped his hooves together twice, and a rectangular, horizontally laid stone materialized just in front of Bass, who was still laying motionless on the ground Bass couldn't see what was chained to the stone, but he could hear muffled, confused screams. "Oh, how selfish of me. Allow me to give you a better vantage point." The pegasus's eyes glowed black,  and Bass was lifted, and hurled at the tree, his back hitting the trunk. Before he even had the chance to move, he was wrapped in a glowing black chain. He looked down at the stone, and there, chained down, all four legs splayed a different direction, was Ivory, a rag in her mouth muffling her screams.

"Black, you bastard! Let her go!"

The pegasus looked at Bass. Perhaps I should introduce myself." The pegasus' eyes flared again, as his facade seemed to blow away in the wind, leaving behind a pure black stallion with both wings, and a horn. He had flaming red eyes, and a mane and tail of red smoke, that almost seemed like blood. "My name is Indulgence. I live to do whatever makes me happy. Even if it means killing everypony you've ever loved."

Bass couldn't believe his eyes. He was staring directly into the eyes of something truly evil. And what was worse was that he had no clue of how to stop it.

"Now, Bass. I'm going to have a little fun before I finish you off." The evil Alicorn trotted close to the stone, where Ivory was chained, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. He looked at Bass, and grinned wickedly. "This is my mind, Bass. And here, I can do what I want." His horn flashed black, as a sharp piece of stone materialized over Ivory's chest. He slowly began to lower it toward her body, the pointed end aimed square at her chest. "Hmmm, no. That seems a bit too... obvious. I've got a better idea." He laughed, maniacally, as the jagged piece of stone moved from over her chest, positioning itself between her legs. "Much better. Much more painful. I like, I like." He grinned wickedly, as he used his magic to ram the jagged stone into Ivory's orifice over and over again.

Bass looked into Ivory's eyes, as she screamed through the rag in her mouth. "Dammit, let her go!"

"Oh, how you mortals can so easily attach to the image of somepony you 'love.' You become so attached that you would kill, or die for somepony else. Perhaps, were you less selfless, you and I could have gotten along, and lived harmoniously, but alas, you had to be the hero. And I HATE heroes. Either way, my friend, you are going to die here."

Bass struggled to break free of the chains that had bound him to the tree, but to no avail. The evil being strode up to him, and showed a look of pure evil. "Let me go! Fight me like a man!"

The alicorn bellowed a wicked laugh, as he levitated off the ground, looking Bass square in the eye. "Very well. I think it will be rather enjoyable to watch your feeble attempts at defeating me." His horn flashed again, and the chains disappeared. "Now, then. Give me all you can muster, and I, as one of the Four Shades, will quite enjoy showing you just how weak you are."

Bass hit the ground, landing on his side. He stood, and stretched his wings, preparing for a quick takeoff, only to feel a sharp pain rocketing through his body. He looked at his wings, just in time to see them surrounded in a black aura. The pain became almost unbearable, as his wings turned to ash, and blew away, in the wind.

"Oh no no no no. We certainly can't have you flying away, now can we? After all, you wanted to die with what little honor I plan on letting you have, didn't you? Besides, I need a host body to help my siblings fulfill our plan. And yours will do nicely, until it becomes time to take over Equestria. But you need not worry about that. You'll be gone before the plan is set in motion. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a rockstar to kill. After all, you have no chance, here. This is MY mind, after all."

Bass tried to think, through the intense pain of having his wings burnt off. He was at a severe disadvantage, fighting against an immortal being... or so he thought. He struggled to his hooves, still heaving from the pain, when he felt something sharp, and heavy hit his chest. He looked down, as the impact hurled him back into the tree, and saw a T-shaped stone had pierced his chest, and impaled him to the tree. He let out a cough, after hanging from the stone for a second, hacking blood onto the stone. His vision slowly faded to black, as he heard the alicorn's wicked laughter. He had failed, and he knew it.

"Bass, don't give up."

"Think of everypony who's pushing for you. You can't give up, now."

"You have the power to stop him, son. You just have to believe in the power of your heart."

Bass opened his eyes to find himself standing in a snowy field, surrounded by three very familiar unicorns. The first was a white unicorn mare with a short, straight, black mane with pink stripes running through it and her matching tail. Her dazzling blue eyes were emphasised by the smile she gave Bass, as well as the light emitting from her form. The second was another pure white unicorn with a two tone blue mane and tail, and ruby red eyes, light also emitting from her form. The third was a pony that Bass hadn't seen in a very long time. He was a golden yellow unicorn stallion with a long, spiked, black mane with a matching tail. He had midnight blue eyes, and a bass clef cutie mark. He also glowed with the same light as the other two unicorns.

Bass couldn't believe his eyes. "Am I... am I dead?"

The stallion approached Bass, and patted him on the back. "Almost, son. You still have a chance to kick 'is sorry arse out of existence."

Bass looked into the older stallion's eyes. "But... how? He's got all that power... and I'm..." he looked back at the stubs, where his wings were. "...Er... WAS just a pegasus. I have no chance to beat him."

"Yes, you do, Bass." The blue-eyed mare stepped forward, as the stallion stepped back. She smiled, and wrapped her forelegs around Bass's neck, holding him in a tight embrace. "When we were foals, you used to believe that if you followed your heart, you could do anything. In fact, look at how far you've come. You're one of the most famous ponies in all of Equestria."

Bass looked up, and stared into the mare's eyes. "But... music is one thing. This is a completely different subject."

"Just remember, Bass." The ruby-eyed mare chimed in, planting a soft kiss on Bass's cheek." This is your mind, not his. No matter how much he may say it, you are far more powerful than he is, here. You just have to find the strength to fight back. Here, you can do anything."

Both of the mares stepped away from Bass, and smiled at him again. "Just remember, son," the stallion spoke. "We're all 'ere, in your 'eart. And we're pushin' for ya, all the way. We all love ya. Now go out there, an' show 'im just 'ow bad 'e fucked up."

Bass finally smiled, a tear rolling down his cheek. "Thanks, Dad. Thank you, Rythm. Thank you, Vinyl. I'll never forget you." And with that, the three unicorns begin to blaze in a blinding white light, and Bass began to feel himself being carried away.