The Underground

by MellowSoul

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Fluttershy, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe
Length: 1051

Fluttershy writes a biography about metallic hardcore band, End This Day

While thinking about Rainbow Dash's extensive record collection, Fluttershy comes up with the idea to write a book about the defunct metallic hardcore outfit, End This Day.

Published 2019-08-27 04:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-08-27 04:20:01 UTC

Creation Reborn

Author's Note

I had a dream last November where Fluttershy wrote a biography about the band, so I turned it into a fic.

Creation Reborn

Fluttershy opened her word processor. For the last several weeks, she had been contemplating writing a book detailing the journey of the once-active metalcore band, End This Day. With a general outline already in place, she got to work.

"This book is dedicated to End This Day and everyone else involved with the hardcore community. Before I get into too much detail, it's important to note much of the information contained within will be extremely fragmented, as it originated from video records and public statements rather than first-hand/hoof accounts. End This Day formed sometime during the year 1999 after lead vocalist, Aaron Cosgrove, left Dead to Fall. He was joined by Bill Kurth on drums, Joe Dalen and Mark Clark on guitar, Jason Knies on bass, and secondary vocalist Mathew Mixon, who would later replace Temo Rios in 7 Angels 7 Plagues during the release of Jhazmyne's Lullaby. While Aaron has claimed Amon Amarth as a primary influence since the group's split, The guitar and bass tones and tempos were much more akin to At The Gates. Bill seemed to have an affinity for blending standard hardcore drumming with more progressive elements. The drumming would sometimes become so dynamic and complex that he was forced to improvise during live performances to maintain the pace of a song, mostly by exchanging a cymbal used during recording for a different one. The interesting part is, the drumming as a whole was no more complex than Dream Theater, but the way it was implemented made it unusually difficult to memorize. In my opinion, it didn't detract from the group's musical abilities at all. The fact they were able to cover their mistakes so promptly should serve as a testament to their skills. Initially, Aaron's vocals could have been considered a weak point for the group, as he had yet to perfect his vocal style. When they released their untitled demo in 2000, his voice sounded strained, like he was struggling to produce the desired sound. When the EP Only the Tears of Angels will Reveal our Sorrow came out, it was clear he'd been experimenting with and improving his technique. Mixon had already left by that time, leaving Aaron as the sole vocalist of the group. The band's only full-length LP, Sleeping Beneath the Ashes of Creation, brought his true capabilities to light. He either used double-layered recordings or mic effects to create a cold, dissonant sound which ultimately set the band apart from their predecessors. No one really knows which."

Fluttershy took a swig of water. Angel hopped into her room.

"Hey, Angel, take a look!"

Angel hopped onto Fluttershy's head and gazed at the screen. His jaw dropped at the level of detail she had already put into her writing.

"I'll be at this for a while. You should go play for a bit."

The bunny stood frozen as Fluttershy continued typing.

"I was introduced to End This Day earlier this year through my childhood friend, Rainbow Dash - a collector of all things hardcore and metal. She was present during their final set before they called it quits. What immediately struck me were the heavily distorted riffs and lyrical themes. Distortion and themes of failed love and betrayal were nothing new to metal or hardcore, but it was the first time I'd ever heard anything played in 'B' tuning. I'm still not sure whether it was standard or drop, but I digress. They diversified their lyrical content by adding themes of anti-substance abuse and religious theology. Bill Kurth publicly stated during their last set he was a Christian: another factor that drew my interest, because I'm religious too. End This Day split up after their final show on the date of November 11th, 2002. Bill in particular went into detail about the split. He wanted to rededicate himself to God and his family after being away from them for a long time. It was never explained why the others left, but it can be speculated other musical interests may have played a role. Currently, there are no plans for the band to reunite, and it might be unlikely they will. Aaron in particular seemed convinced it was the end of the band, but maybe it opens up a new chapter for another group to take their place. I'm hoping so at least."

Fluttershy continued writing on and off for the next three weeks. While looking over her first draft, she realized she had forgotten a vital piece of information. After several edits and redrafts, she printed several copies of the biography and passed one to each of her friends. They read it together.

"You found some stuff even I didn't know," Rainbow commented, "I thought Chris Nolan was the original bassist."

"I think a lot of people did. For some reason, it seems like there wasn't much internet buzz about a lot of underground metal or hardcore bands. From the look of it, heavy music has only recently gained a lot of traction online."

"Well, we can thank Twilight for that."

"Just doing what I do best," Twilight responded.

"Do you guys think another band like them will show up soon? I don't want to have to wait until I'm a frail old lady."

"Hard to say," Applejack admitted, "Interest in metalcore's been on the decline for a while. It's all about screamo and deathcore these days."

"Don't worry," Twilight encouraged, "If no one else steps to the plate, we can do it ourselves."

"How," Rainbow asked, "Their instrumentals alone were mind-bendingly difficult."

"Not as difficult as you think. Music can be broken down into parts, but it takes a persistent ear, like how you discovered Sleeping Beneath the Ashes was written in B tuning. If we focus our attention on each individual instrument, we can isolate the rhythm and start putting the pieces together a little bit at a time. It's a slow process with a lot of trial and error, but it's more than possible."

"Hey, yeah! That could actually work!"

"Then it's decided. If no one else wants to carry the torch, we'll take over."

"Epic group hug time!"