Reason to Destroy

It had only been a few hours since her very interesting conversation with Luna, and Vinyl was now on stage in front of an audience of what looked like everypony in all of Canterlot.  Earlier, Luna had tasked her with sowing the seeds of dissent in the very heart of the Equestrian regime.  Canterlot.  She was afraid for her life, but believed wholeheartedly in what she and Luna were planning.  Luna had provided her with an escape route should things get ugly, which they would.  She needed to reach it before the guards caught her.  Looking to her left and right, she saw at least a dozen guards on either side.  This performance was being televised live to all of Equestria, as well.

"Great."  She mumbled.

The crowd had expected the DJ to perform as she normally did in Ponyville, but after her conversation with Luna, Vinyl had something else in mind.  She pulled her custom-made guitar out of it's case on the stage, and admired it lovingly.  The guitar was her most prized possession, besides maybe her turntables, which she used at most concerts.  It was the same color blue as her mane, with an ebony fretboard, cyan fretmarkers in the shape of her cutie mark and a floyd rose bridge.  She fine tuned it to D standard.  She would only be needing it for one song before she would have to escape, after all.  She plugged it in and waited for the rest of the band to be ready.

The song she was going to perform had long since been banned by the Equestrian Government for being too seditious.  In fact, the entire genre was banned.  She had learned it anyway, a few years back.  The ponies she had hired to play it with her looked rough, but were overall nice enough.  There was a green earth pony with a shaggy purple mane, and well, drums as a cutie mark, whom she had hired to play drums.  He was liked to talk.  Alot.  Also, he had a habit of swearing almost twice every sentence.  Vinyl didn't mind, but it did get annoying after a while.  He played by strapping the sticks to his arms.  Vinyl was always impressed by earth pony musicians.  Maybe that's why she was so attracted to Octavia. *

"No!"  Vinyl scolded herself.  "Can't think about that now.  I've got to concentrate!"

The bassist was also an earth pony.  She was black.  Completely black, head to toe, except for her cutie mark which was what looked like a computer of some sort.  Vinyl had no idea how she played bass with just her hooves.  The last member of her temporary band was another unicorn who played guitar.  He was yellow with long straight red hair and a cup of coffee as a cutie mark.

"I guess he just really likes coffee"  Thought Vinyl, looking at him now.  "All right, let's get this party started."

"Fillies and gentlecolts."  She said into the microphone in front of her.  "Tonight we have a special treat."

The crowd murmured.

"A song that has not been performed, for years and years.  I put together this band brave, and possibly stupid enough, to play it with me now.  So what say we get started, huh?"

The crowd was silent.  The drummer ticked off the beat, and the yellow unicorn played the opening notes, using his magic to press the frets and pick the strings.  This continued for a few measures then the rebellious song picked up momentum as Vinyl and the bassist joined in banging their heads, their hair flying in all directions.  The unicorn guitarist played the lead notes while Vinyl chugged on the open and power chords, muting the strings with the back of one of her hooves.  The last notes of the intro screamed off into a frenzy of insanity while Vinyl stepped up to the mic and started the vocals in a raspy half-scream half-yell that came close to emulating the original recording.

"Society failed to tolerate me.

And I have failed to tolerate society.

Still I can't find what you adore.

Inside I hear the echoes of an inner war!"

The crowd seemed to be in a trance, and the guards, if it was possible, were even more dazed.  Vinyl hoped this lasted until the song was through, and she made her short speech.  Amazingly, the bassist was hitting every note just using his hooves.

"Nothing can take the horror from me.

Your sick world the loss of all morality.

My hate has grown as strong as my confusion.

My only hope, my only solution is a violent revolution."

Vinyl played a riff, using the break from singing to windmill her hair a couple times.

"Violent revolution."

Vinyl plucked one of the notes in the next part of the riff sharply, and touched the string with her magic creating a quick pinch harmonic.

"Violent revolution.

Reason for the people to destroy!"

The bassist had one of his back hooves up on one of the monitors displaying incredible balance, as he stood on his back hooves and playing with his front ones, while still banging his head to the beat of the music.  The drummer played a couple fills, and Vinyl came back in.

"I do not need a cause for my rage.

I just despise the nature of the pony race.

When all I see is repulsion and hate.

Violence becomes my only friend, my saving grace.

When love is lost beyond your control.

A pale shadow of lust cannot enlight your soul.

So keep your ice cold bitter illusions.

I don't need your empty world, my only solution is a violent revolution."

The same riff came back and the band played it as before.  The crowd was starting to react a little now.  Some bobbing their heads slightly.  Others looking worried.  The guards didn't seem to know what to do.

"Violent revolution.

Violent revolution.

Reason for the people to destroy."

The song slowed down for a somber instrumental passage.  Vinyl and the yellow unicorn guitarist came closer together and swayed their heads in unison over the top of each other's instruments.

"This is awesome!"  Vinyl thought, grinning.

She slid back over in front of the mic as the instrumental ended.

"Beauty is no more, it's all gone.

And utopia will not come.

Trust I cannot feel, only pain.

And my burning mind has gone insaaaaaaaane!"

Another slow instrumental break followed into the guitar solo.  Vinyl's favorite part.  She jammed the pick so hard down on the second string, she felt the pop through her magic.  Simultaneously, she lightly touched the same string just below the third fret, grabbed the whammy bar telekinetically, and slowing pushed down for a somewhat lengthy divebomb.  Sliding up to the seventeenth fret, she vibrated the bar as fast as she could.  She played the next few notes normally, then used the pick to tap out notes on the fifteenth fret while sliding to different notes down the neck.  She deviated from the original song slightly, speed picking the last few notes of the solo and coming to a squealing end high on the fretboard while pulling up the whammy bar as high as it would go without risking breaking the strings.  She realized that her eyes had been closed during the last part of the solo, and let the whammy bar back down, coming back on vocals.

"Society failed to tolerate me.

And I have failed to tolerate society.

Still I can't find what you adore.

Inside I hear the echoes of an inner war."

The vocals repeated.  The guards were talking to each other.  Some of the audience had left.  The remaining members were paying closer attention to the music, they were getting angry.

"Perfect"  Thought Vinyl.

"Nothing can take the horror from me.

Your sick world the loss of all morality.

My hate has grown as strong as my confusion.

My only hope, my only solution is a violent revolution."

The guards were coming out of their temporary stupor.  They didn't have long now.

"Violent revolution.

Violent revolution.

Reason for the people to destroy.

Violent revolution.

Violent revolution.

Violent revolution.

Reason for the people to destroy."

The song was coming a conclusion with a mournful, yet angry instrumental.  Vinyl noticed the guards approaching the stage.

"To destroy."

The band kept playing, despite the oncoming guards.  Some of the people in the audience were shoving the guards back, realizing their intent.

"To DESTROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOY!!!"

Vinyl let out a rasping scream, and held the note well into the song's conclusion with the drummer performing a closing fill, the guitarist and bassist both speed picking low notes, while Vinyl, still holding the scream, trilled higher notes and stopped with the final chords of the song.

"Too late for the escape plan."  Vinyl mused.  "But I think the audience got the message."

The crowd was roaring with applause, and there was a full out brawl going with some of the guards.  However, more had come and seven or eight guards had made it past the angry mob.  Vinyl did not feel at all afraid, despite her impending arrest.  She knew she would not be able to escape, so she simply stood still while one guard threw a black bag over her head.  Another punched her in the gut,  knocking the wind out of her, and knocking the guitar off her neck.  She felt hoofcuffs being attached as she was dragged off the stage.

* No, there won't be any shipping in this story....  Probably.