Hoofman woke up, he blinked the sleep out of his eyes and walked to the kitchen. Sam was there writing songs and drinking cider.

“More hard cider?” Hoofman inquired,”I told you to stop it!”

Sam blinked and looked behind him, stumbled forwards and stood up straight.”What? I’m completely fine,” he said, he was obviously not.

“What that bucking hay is wrong Sam? You are obviously not fine.”

“What are you talking about? I’m completely fine,” he said before stumbling over and haphazardly sitting down. He took the quill out of his hoof. “Besides, I’ve got a new song.”

Hoofman glanced over the paper,”Through the Fire and Flames, you realize how repetitive that is? Besides, these lyrics make no sense, nopony’s gonna listen to this!”

“Mark my words, this song’s a bucking masterpiece.” Sam said, with a slur.

“You’re obviously drunk, I’ll record it to see what happens, but this is probably just going to be filler.”

“I’m completely fine!” Sam yelled, “Leave me alone!”

Hoofman listened to Sam and left him to do whatever he wanted. He walked off mumbling to himself,”Through the Fire and Flames? How stupid.”

—————— * * * ——————

Hoofman walked into the normal studio.”We’ve got a song everypony, although it is imitably shit. I’m taking no credit for this.”

“What’s it called?” Dave asked.

“Though the Fire and Flames,” Hoofman replied.

“That sounds like one of my bad jokes,” Fred said,”like, where’s the worst place to plant a garden? Through the Fire and Flames.”

“I’ll give Sam credit though, he tried.” Vadim said to help Sam feel a bit better.

“I, for one think this song is a bucking masterpiece!” ZP said.

“Somepony gets me,” Sam said.

“Sam, you seem a bit more reserved today,” Dave said.

“Splitting headache.”

“I’m the one who told you to stop drinking hard cider, anyways, we should probably record,” a sigh,”Through the Fire and Flames, Sam, we need our Disciples of Canterlot acoustics.”

Hoofman started playing the intro, followed by playing the second intro. At least it didn’t sound bad.

ZP sang his lines, and Fred played bass, miffed that he had nothing to do, so he threw in his own little bass riffs. This pissed Sam off a bit, but he never told him to stop.

Then StallionForce got to the breakdown with Vadim’s keyboard slide in place. Then Hoofman and Sam launched into their own separate solos, followed by a rhythm/lead riff they played together, punctuated by Hoofman scratching his whammy bar across his hoof.

“That sounded quite cool, actually,” he mumbled.

When Through the Fire and Flames ended, Hoofman said he’d lead the album with it.

“Only because you want to Sam, I’m not completely fed up with you yet. Nopony’s gonna think that song makes any sense.”

“I mean, I like it,” ZP put in,”word salad lyrics are all the rage, ever heard Chop Suey!?”

Hoofman sighed,”We’ll record more songs tomorrow, today, everypony’s dismissed.”

Hoofman and Sam went back home, and Hoofman excused himself to the room, he slapped his guitar down and sighed. He decided to get some sleep for now, however, he didn’t know it wouldn’t last.

Hoofman was woken up by a loud crash coming from the living room,”What the hay was that?” He asked aloud, before going to check.

Hoofman ran out to the living room, he saw Sam collapsed in a pile of broken cupboards.

“Sam, what the buck are you doing?” Hoofman asked.

“Oh, nothing, nothing at all.”

“You’re collapsed in a pile of wood, from our cupboards no less, covered in cuts from head to toe, and nothing is wrong?”

Sam got up and hugged Hoofman,”I knew you’d get it.”

“Sam! Get off me!” Hoofman shouted, and then pushed him off,”Where’s the snarky, loyal friend I hired to join PonyHeart 7 years ago?”

But Sam wasn’t listening, he’d passed out.

Hoofman sighed and slept in the living room, as to keep Sam from consuming more cider when he woke up.

—————— * * * ——————

When Hoofman woke up, he realized one thing, he didn’t have any songs for StallionForce to record today! He shook Sam awake.

“What? Oh, hi Hoofman, couldn’t let me sleep in for 5 more minutes?”

Hoofman laughed a bit, at least a bit of the old Sam had returned.

“Tell StallionForce I’m gonna be late, I’ve got a song to write.”

“Fine, I’m staying with you, to oversee the song.”

“No, I have a feeling,” You won’t like it,”this song is better written alone.” Hoofman said, wincing at the lie.

“If you really say so,” Sam said.

Hoofman got out a quill and paper and started thinking, what should the song be? He thought, and then he thought back to Sam’s binge-drinking, Fred’s desire to play more bass, and the words that Adrian Lambert murmured on the plane last year.

Body breakdown, body breakdown...

“I’ve got it!” Hoofman shouted, and he began to write. Including a wicked bass solo and difficult bass riff,”This song’s gonna be great.”

—————— * * * ——————

“I hate it,” Sam said.

Hoofman was crestfallen,”At least include it on the bucking album! I included Through the Fire and Flames at your - insistence.”

“I love the song,” Fred said.

“I don’t, I mean, why so much emphasis on bass, nopony likes the bassist! Even one as good as Fred, the ponies want to hear Hoofman and Sam playing guitar in sync, and this opening lyric! ‘Silent dreams and broken screams of what we lost at seventeen, Hoofman, ponies are going to misunderstand that!”

“That’s the point!” Hoofman screamed.

“Let’s stop fighting, we’re gonna get nowhere, we might even break up before the album’s released, let’s at least release the album, perhaps this turmoil will be worth it.” Vadim said.

Hoofman and Sam put aside their differences for now and moved on toward recording Body Breakdown. Fred even added some bass on top of what was already written! When they were finished, StallionForce listened to the song.

“I do like how that song sounds though,” Sam said.

“Just like me and Through the Fire and Flames?” Hoofman asked.

“Told you that song would be big someday.” Sam added.

“Still don’t think that, that song is stupid.”

“Hoofman, Sam!” Dave said,”For Celestia’s sake! Stop it!”

Hoofman and Sam stopped it, for now.

—————— * * * ——————

Later that same day, Sam was getting hammered again, and Hoofman was exasperated. He walked out into the living room and confronted Sam.

“Sam!” Hoofman shouted,”I have a proposition, I’ll write some of the remaining songs and you’ll write the rest, alright?”

“Sure,” Sam said, and passed out again.

Hoofman sighed.

The next day, Hoofman woke up and started writing, Sam was still asleep, but as Hoofman wrote a couple new songs ‘Trail of Broken Hearts’, ‘Cry for Eternity’, and,’Flame of Youth’

Meanwhile, Sam took a seat next to him and wrote ‘Operation Ground and Pound’ and ‘Storming the Burning Fields’.

Hoofman looked over,”Storming the Burning Fields, what kind of a bucking name is that?”

“It just arrived,” Sam said.

“Well, it’s really bucking stupid.”

“It’s still going on the album!” Sam said, adamant.

“I never said it wasn’t!”

Hoofman and Sam gave each other the death glare, and went to the studio.

“StallionForce, we’ve got some more songs,” Hoofman said through gritted teeth.

“May I point out, if I may, that you two are the only two ponies fighting?” Fred said.

“I’m afraid you are,” Dave said, in agreement.

Hoofman sighed,”I bucking live with him, the rest of you don’t.”

“Yeah, and it’s the same with me and Hoofman, he’s such a fun roommate.” Sam said, dryly.

“I’m just so bucking excited for a new album!” ZP said.

“Here’s the songs,” Hoofman said.

“Let’s start with Operation Ground and Pound, it’s the longest.” Dave said.

So, StallionForce got out Operation Ground and Pound, and started, Dave had some tom fills on drums to start out the song. It had a distinctly Chinese feel to it, a feel which Hoofman actually liked. After that was finished, Hoofman argued with Sam a bit more.

“I say we play one of my songs next!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

In the back, Fred and ZP looked at each other and sighed. Finally, they decided on recording ‘Trail of Broken Hearts’, a ballad, Hoofman levitated a piano into the room.

“Time for Trail of Broken Hearts!” He said, as Vadim took a seat at the piano.

Vadim started playing, and the rest of the band joined in, Hoofman delivered on his solo and soon the song was done, although they had to take a few tries because Dave was tearing up at the lyrics.

“So, sad...” he said.

Now it was Hoofman’s turn to look at Sam and sigh.

“Well, we have to play one of my songs next,” Hoofman said, to which Sam actually agreed. Hoofman got out ‘Cry for Eternity’.

After they played that one, finally, Sam went, he got out ‘Storming the Burning Fields.’

“I present to you,” Hoofman stated,”the shittiest name ever.”

“Watch your bucking language,” Fred said jokingly.

“I like this song, and we’re playing it!” Sam said.

Hoofman put his hooves in the air,”Never said we weren’t, just thought the name was stupid.”

Soon, Storming the Burning Fields was finished, they finished with ‘Flame of Youth.’

“I think we should cut the album here,” Hoofman said,”to avoid fighting and such.”

Vadim nodded, and went to the computer to put all the songs on it.

Noise agreed to publish Inpony Rampage, they didn’t leave StallionForce without a letter,”We noticed a massive discrepancy between certain songs, could I have an explanation please?” it said.

Hoofman decided not to answer, hoping everything would solve itself. He was very wrong.

—————— * * * ——————

Sam was getting hammered again, Hiofman walked out and saw him. “Dear Celestia! What is it this time?”

“Absolutely nothing,” Sam said quickly, Hoofman had a feeling he was right.

“I got this letter that you might be interested in,” Hoofman said.

“Lovely, what does it say?”

“Activision wants our permission.”

“For what?”

“To use ‘Through the Fire and Flames’ on their popular video game series Guitar Hero. I don’t know why they chose that one instead of ‘Trail of Broken Hearts’ or ‘Body Breakdown’, I like those much more.”

Sam jumped off the couch and went to hug Hoofman, when he was pushed away,”I’m saying yes,” he said before leaving the room.

What StallionForce didn’t know is that this is where they got their big break.

Author's Note

Woohoo! Unnecessary drama! I needed a push for my writing.

So yeah, I will note, Frèdèric Leclercq does not play bass on Inhuman Rampage, Adrian does, and this is not how it happened, almost certainly.

I also forgot a song.

Anyways, bands formed this year: Doughtry, Deathklok, Lady Atebellium, and Vampire Weekend (sorry if I misspelled anything.)

Constructive criticism is allowed and encouraged