Let the Bass Ring

Chapters

Chapter 1: Checking In, Checking Out
Chapter 2: Dirge
Chapter 3: White Sparrows
Chapter 4: Look Out!
Chapter 5: Music is Magic
Chapter 7: Motivation (Mature Warning)
Chapter 8: Baritones, and Broken Spirits
Chapter 9: "Ladies... Eating!"
Chapter 10: Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
Epilogue: Resonance
Prologue: Reverb
Chapter 6: Unexpectancy

Chapter 1: Checking In, Checking Out

Chapter One: Checking In, Checking Out.

It was the end of a long day, and Fasthor5 was getting ready to go onstage, and as usual, Bass was backstage with his bottle of liquor, working up his confidence to unleash the band's newest track, named "Missing." About five minutes to showtime, Major Chords, the guitarist, and Solid Rythm, the drummer came into the backroom.

"Come on, Bass, we've got a show to put on," Solid Rythm said in the softest voice anyone in Phillydelphia had ever heard.

"Gotcha, Beatz," Bass replied, calling her by her stage-name, Sik Beatz, which he always did when he was feeling tipsy. He got up on his hooves, and put his aviators on, to hide his bloodshot eyes, and walked out of the backroom with his bandmates, heading to the stage.

The band took the stage, Rythm sitting behind her drumset, and Chords slipping his neck through his guitar strap, Bass doing the same with his bass strap. They could here the cheering from the other side of the curtains, and had Bass not been as tipsy as he was, he'd have turned tail, and ran away. He could hear the crowd yelling his name, and smiled a bit crooked. Just before the curtain pulled away, Bass took another deep sip of his liquor, which he had stashed behind his amp. Rythm, and Chords looked at eachother, rather concerned.

Then, the curtains disappeared, and the bright lights shone on the group. The first song up on the setlist was Bass's favorite. A track called "Ghost Town." Bass went up to the microphone, and began to speak. "Good evening, Fillies, and Gentlecolts, I'm Lunar Black, and- Ah, fuck it, you know who we are, and what we do, so we're just gonna get to it. This first one is my personal favorite. Sik Beatz, hit that shit!"

With a quick grin and nod, she began to strike the drumset with her hooves, creating a heavy drumbeat, and Chords began with a simply, but heavy riff, Bass doing the same. Then Rythm began singing into the microphone hanging over her drumset.

"Everypony living in ghost town

Everypony buried in waste land

we dont want to

we dont have to be like that

living in ghost town

all the colts shouting out loud now

all the mares screaming out louder

we dont want to

we dont have to live like that

oooooooh oooooohhhhhhhh

hold me back you know were never gonna back down

now!"

Bass moved to his microphone and began singing with a powerful voice.

"we're dead in this ghost town

you better let go so let go let go of me

were dead in this ghost town

you better let go so let go let go of me

oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh, let go let go of me

oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh, let go let go of me"

After the chorus, Rythm went back to her microphone, with her high-pitched, powerful voice.

"Everypony living in ghost town

Everypony buried in waste land

we dont want to

we dont have to be like that

living in ghost town

all the colts shouting out loud now

all the mares screaming out louder

we dont want to

we dont have to live like that

oooooooh oooooohhhhhhh!

hold me back you know were never gonna back down

now!"

Bass then went back to his microphone, singing powerfully.

"we're dead in this ghost town

you better let go so let go let go of me

were dead in this ghost town

you better let go so let go let go of me

oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh, let go let go of me

oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh, let go let go of me"

After this chorus, both Bass and Rythm began singing in perfect harmony, the lights dimming to a dark blue over the two.

"It's nearly over, the last train is near

And it's leaving behind those tears

These are the bad lands

The worst place to fear

Making place for the ones we left here"

Then the lights dimmed over Bass, keeping Rythm dimly lit, as she chimed out the haunting melody.

"They're calling calling

To say goodbye"

Then the bright lights begin flashing again, illuminating the whole band as Bass hit the microphone again.

"Now! Were dead in this ghost town

you better let go so let go let go of me

were dead in this ghost town

you better let go so let go let go of me

oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh let go let go of me

oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh let go let go of me"

As he sang the last four words, the lights flashed in perfect unison with the words, then cut off, leaving the stage dark. The crowd was going nuts, cheering, and screaming. While the lights were out, the other two members of the band noticed Bass reaching over, and taking the last long sip of his liquor, then they looked at each other, shaking their heads. As the lights slowly brightened back to show the band, and Bass standing at the microphone, struggling to keep standing. "Alright, ponies, this is probably, in my opinion, one of the best songs we've recorde-" Before he could finish his statement, the crowd started piping up, chanting "Blue-eyed Mare! Blue-Eyed Mare! Blue-Eyed Mare!" Bass's smile turned to an angry frown.

"No, no, we've decided to save that one for last." After he said that, the crowd went from cheering to groaning. "No, this is a new song. A fresh recording just for you ponies. It's called 'Missing,' and I'm sure you'll all love it. It was written by your resident drum expert, Sik Beatz." Just then, the crowd went silent. Bass gave a nod, and all three of them began to play. After the instrumental opening, Bass went up to the mic, and Rythm repositioned hers between drumstrikes, just so she didn't have a problem with it during her big part. Bass began to belt out a soft, melodic tone as he ran through the lyrics, swaying from side to side, completely unintentionally.

"I saw the queen

Swam out below her star on sea beneath

Though I lifted up my hands to her

She never lifted me"

Then Rythm joined in to sing the chorus with him, a tear building in her eye as she sang the song she had written for Bass, about his steady descent to darkness, but she wouldn't dare tell him how it hurt her.

"Oh something's missing in me

I felt it deep within me

As lovers left me to bleed alone"

Then Rythm faded out, continuing her drumming as Bass continued singing.

"Found something sweet

On the island with daughters of eve

But through thick and thin they've gone away

and only left their grief"

Rythm then rejoined the harmonious singing.

"Oh, something's missing in me

I felt it deep within me

As love has left me to ble-"

At that moment, Bass leaned forward, and the microphone shoved into his mouth, and he fell forward, off the stage, passing out upon impact with the ground.

What seemed like hours later, Bass woke up in a hospital bed, with his glasses still on, the sound of a steady beep being heard in the background, and a crack stretching across his vision. "Wha-... Where am I?"

Then, two sweet voices graced his ears, one, that of his sister, and the other, that of Rythm. "He's awake!" Rythm said to Treble. "Oh, praise Celestia, he's awake!" He then heard the sound of hooves scuttling across the ground toward him, and turned his head to see the two teary-eyed mares.

"What am I doing here?" he said to the two blurry shapes in his view, his vision slowly clearing to show the two ponies.

"You fucked up, that's what you're doing here," Treble chimed in. "You're all over the news, Bass. The media is having a field day with you." She then handed Bass the newspaper, which he slowly read aloud.

"'Rock and Roll Pegasus Headbangs a Little Too Hard?' Is this supposed to be some kind of a joke?!" He yelled after reading the headline. He then continued to read the rest of the article. "Wow... I really did fuck up."

Then another familiar voice spoke up from the corner. "You're damn right you did, Bass!" It was the voice of Major Chords. "Bass... we need to talk."

"About what, Major?" He said as he turned to look at the guitarist.

"About the future of Fasthor5. Rythm and I have been talking... and we decided that your days in the band are over."

Bass shot up in bed, and glared at Chords. "What?!" His glare then shot to Rythm. "Both of you decided this?"

Rythm looked at Bass, now crying. "I'm sorry, Bass. I... I'm just so worried about your health."

Chords patted Rythm on the shoulder, and escorted her to the door, looking back. "Bass, I'm sorry, but you gotta get your shit together."

Bass remained silent, and fell back into his hospital bed, and stared up at the ceiling, not even feeling his sister's hoof rubbing his mane. "This is bad... Really bad."

((Disclaimer: I don't own the songs in this chapter. "Missing" belongs to Flyleaf, and "Ghost Town" belongs to Shiny Toy Guns. There. Done.))

Chapter 2: Dirge

Sorry, guys but I got hit with inspiration while I was driving home from scouring the city to find food on Thanksgiving. A lot harder than it seems. Well, this chapter is mostly about Rythm, and trust me, it'll be the only one. Warning: It might get a little dark further in the chapter.

Chapter 2: Dirge

The next day, a white unicorn mare with a black mane with and tail with pink stripes walked into the waiting room of Phillydelphia memorial hospital, and approached the help desk, smiling a shy smile. Today was the day that she was going to tell Deep Bass how she felt. She was going to tell him how much she loved him. That she had always loved him, even back when they were foals in school together in music class. As she walked, she became lost in thought. What if he doesn't feel the same? What if he does? What if he hates me? Oh, dear... He hates me, doesn't he? The moment she was at the desk, the receptionist looked up at the mare, and spoke, breaking Rythm from her thoughts. "How can I help you, miss?"

Rythm's demeanor quickly changed from her false confidence to sheer helplessness. "I uh... I'm here to see Deep Bass." She was almost afraid she'd be confused for one of the fanfillies who were trying to get in to see him the night before as she and Major Chords came to visit.

The receptionist raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Rythm, then recognized her. "Oh, of course, Miss Rythm. He checked out this morning... if you could call it that."

Rythm instantly became concerned. "Uh... what do you mean?"

The receptionist rubbed her forehead with her hoof. "Well, he trashed the room, kicked out the window, and flew out of it."

Rythm thanked the receptionist and walked out of the waiting room, and then broke into a mad dash for Bass's house. She was about halfway there when he saw a familiar gold unicorn walking down the street. She ran up to her, and yelled in her soft voice "Treble! Treeeble!"

Treble turned just in time to see Rythm darting at her, and stopped quickly, the frantic white mare slamming into the nearby building, then fall to her rump, sitting in front of Treble. "Rythm, what are you doing? Don't you have something to do right now, like finding a replacement vocalist and bassist?" Heavy amounts of pure liquid sarcasm mixed with trace amounts of anger in her tone. "Because if you need one, he's sitting on the couch, screaming wildly, cursing your names. But hay, it sounds better than anything else you'll find this side of Equestria." And with that, she glared at Rythm, and continued on in her path.

Rythm stayed where she sat, and her heart sank, almost wanting to die on the spot. "Did we really hurt him that badly? Dammit, Chords... why did you have to convince me to do that?!" She then hopped up to her hooves and continued running. "Oh no! I hope he hasn't done anything stupid."

Rythm knocked on the door, hearing loud, blasting music coming from inside the house, she knocked one more time, a lot harder, and the music stopped. "Bass, open up! I want to talk to you!"

The door cracked open, and a Teal eye looked out at Rythm, and the door swung open, revealing none other than the pale pegasus, Deep Bass, standing at the door. When he spoke, his "What do you want, traitor?"

"I came to see you because I was worried about y-"

"Worried? About me?!" Bass interrupted the mare. "You're a damned liar, Rythm! If you were worried about me, You and Chords wouldn't have kicked me out of the band!"

The mare's big blue eyes became filled with tears. "Bass... it wasn't my ide-"

Bass interrupted yet again. "Wasn't your idea?! Horse shit, Rythm! Both you and Chords gave me the boot!"

Rythm's tears were now pouring, and she was still speaking softly, her voice lowering in volume as she cowered from Bass's anger. "I... It's not... It's not like that, Bass... I..."

Once more, Rythm was interrupted by the angry Bass. "You, what, Rythm? I'd love to hear your fucking excuse for what the two of you did to me!"

Rythm's sadness was instantly replaced with pure agony as she yelled "I love you, Bass! I always have! But I hate what you've become, dammit! You've become a monster! It's like I don't even know you! The Deep Bass I know would never treat me, or anypony in Equestria like this! The Deep Bass I know treats everypony with kindness, no matter what they've done!"

Bass yelled one last time at Rythm. "Then I guess the Deep Bass you know is dead!" And with that, he slammed the door shut, locking it behind him, and the blairing music started up again.

Rythm was back to crying, now hysterically, and speaking through sobs, quietly and to herself. "If... the Bass I loved... is dead, then... the only thing... left to do... is join him." And at that, she trudged back to her house down the street, not looking up once, and stil crying. Everypony on the street watched her, wondering what could possibly have caused this, but nopony was willing to ask her.

That same night, just after the moon had be raised and the sky painted with stars, Bass was asleep amidst all the chaos of his wrecked living room, which he, himself had wrecked in his rage. In his restless slumber, he would dream of his days in school as a foal with Rythm, and their friendship, and all the feelings he had felt for her in his days, Rythm's words echoing in his head over and over again. Then he saw a vision of Rythm smiling at him, full grown, with her beautiful smile, then he saw a gruesome image. An image of Rythm laying on the floor, an empty bottle of pills on one side, and the the empty bottle of liquor on the other. Then he shot to consciousness, waking in a cold sweat, and ran out the door, spreading his long wings, and taking off into the sky, toward Rythm's house. The cool night sky only allowed him to move faster through the cool air.

After a few seconds of quick flying, he reached Rythm's house, and saw that the light was still on, and the door cracked, light seeping out. He flew into the door, and spotted Rythm, sitting on her couch, and finishing the last bit of the bottle of Whiskey he had given her for her 21st birthday. He was too late. He sat on the couch, next to her, and placed her head against his chest. "I'm so sorry, Rythm... I was a fool, and now I'm going to lose you. I... I love you too, Rythm." He said, with tears rolling down his cheek.

Rythm looked up at Bass. "No... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for listening to Chords... I... I didn't know what I was doing... I was just such a mess after you were sent to the hospital... I never left your side until you woke up... when Chords pulled me out. And... You really mean it, Bass? You really do love me?"

Bass forced a smile, and nodded, a tear dripping onto Rythm's forehead. "Yes, Rythm... I really do love you." He then leaned down and kissed her softly on her forehead, just below her horn. She then turned her head, and kissed him passionately. Bass had never felt this before. He had never really been in love, and he wanted to savor this moment for as long as he could until it was over.

The two would spend the next thirty minutes kissing each other passionately until it happened. As Bass was looking into Rythm's eyes for what he didn't know would be the last time, she began convulsing wildly, her eyes rolling back into her head, then she fell limp.

Bass screamed in agony as he held the corpse of the one he loved in his arms. The next morning, Major Chords came to retrieve Rythm for the daily band practice, only to find the door unlocked. He walked in casually, and instantly, his eyes went wide, as he witnessed the sight of Deep Bass clutching the recently deceased Rythm in his arms, crying hysterically. "Sweet Celestia."

The funeral was three days later, and Bass, Chords, and Treble, as well as a few others were all in attendance to the procession. Bass couldn't restrain his tears behind his signature glasses as he looked upon the casket, and his memories of that night torturously played over and over again in his mind. He couldn't even feel his sister gently patting his back. As they began burying the casket, he softly murmured under his sobs "I'm so sorry, Rythm... I love you."

((Okay, guys. Not gonna lie. I even started crying writing this one. Maybe my music selection wasn't helping any, but still. Emotional stuff. I've already got ideas for future chapters, so fuck yeah.))

Chapter 3: White Sparrows

It had been three days since Rythm's funeral, and Bass had finally gathered up the nerve to accept his portion of Rythm's will, which included all the songs she had written, all the recordings she had made, and even her diary. Nopony had truly known the talents of the drummer the world had come to know as Sik Beatz. Not even her own bandmates knew. And as the white pegasus stallion sat on the same couch on which he held her during her tragic passing, and read through her diary as he listened to the recordings, a tear came to his eye. The tears began flowing when he came across an entry from when they were just foals in music school.

"Dear diary, that charming white pegasus smiled at me, today, during Music Class. I think his name is Deep Bass. I heard him sing today, and he's got one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard. I think I'll write him a note, tonight." Then he turned the page, the next entry making the tears flow harder. "Dear diary, He spoke to me today, and I nearly melted. Thank goodness I didn't, or I'd have been so embarrassed. He said he wanted to hang out! EEEEE! I can't wait!"

He raised one of his forehooves, and wiped a tear from his eye, smiling. "And that was our first kiss." He then continued on to the last page with text, and his heart dropped. This entry wasn't written in the same style as the previous entries, and he noticed that there were tears staining the page.

"Well, the Deep Bass I fell in love with is dead, and with Celestia as my witness, I'm going to be with him. I broke out the whiskey Bass gave me for my birthday, and the sleeping pills Doc gave me during our last tour. It's funny, isn't it? When we love somepony that much that we can't think to live without them. If only he knew. I'll be seeing him soon. Well, diary. This is goodbye. And Bass, I know you'll be reading this after I die, and I want you to know that I'd never love anypony else quite as much as I loved you. I know you're good at finding meaning in things. In fact, I know you wrote 'Blue-eyed Mare' about me, so I know you're good at finding meaning. I want you to read my songs. I bet you'll figure out what they mean. But when you do, it'll already be too late. Goodbye, my love. I know that soon, the white sparrows will come to take me home."

With that, he took the diary, and stuffed it in the box with all her songs, and recordings, and flew home.

"You're leaving! But... Why?!" The golden unicorn was yelling. "You've got a home, here. You've got adoring fans, here, who would do anything you asked. You're Lunar Black, the world famous rock pony!"

Bass simply shook his head, grabbing his things, and carrying them to the door. "No, I'm not, Treble. Lunar Black died with Sik Beatz. I need to get away from all this. If I keep living like this, it's going to kill me, Treble. I just need a place to be Deep Bass for a while. I've already bought a place in a little town to the North."

The unicorn cried at what her brother was saying. "I'm so happy to hear that, Bass... but at least tell me where you're going."

Deep Bass turned to his sister, and smiled a reassuring smile, "A little town called Ponyville. I hear it's the best place to get away. Rythm's family took her there for vacation one year while she was in school."

Treble nodded. "Just promise me you'll be safe."

"Like a fortress, Sis." He smiled, and hugged his sister, wrapping his wings around her, then he began carrying his things out to the mover's carriage that was waiting for him.

Chapter 4: Look Out!

Alright, so Deep Bass is finally arriving in Ponyville, where he can escape the rockpony life... right? Maybe. Chapter 4 comin up.

Chapter 4:

It was a crisp cool Monday morning. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, the little critters were coming out of their dens to enjoy the day. The air was perfect for flying, and Deep Bass was... sitting impatiently on top of the mover's carriage as it was pulled toward Ponyville. He groaned and looked down at the grey Earth Pony that was pulling the wagon. "How much longer do you think it'll take, bro?"

The Earth Pony looked back at him, still walking, and rolled his eyes. "It'll be another two days by hoof. Ya know, mister 'I've got big fancy wings,' you don't really have to ride on the back... you can just fly on ahead, and I'll still be there in two days... if not faster, not having to haul you with your stuff."

Bass shrugged, and slapped his glasses on. "Suit yourself. I just wanted to give you some company. Well, I'll see you in two days," He said, smiling, and took off into the sky. He flew for almost an hour, enjoying the countryside as he went, then it happened. He had started to fly a bit lower, to better enjoy the smell of the fresh grass, granted, he wasn't going too fast... at least not by his standards. Then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. It looked like a cyan blur with a rainbow following it. As he watched the spectacle in awe, he didn't watch where he was going, and flew straight into an apple tree.

Bass hit the tree with a loud thud, shaking the tree, and pressing Bass's entire body into the tree. He stayed clinging to the tree for about two seconds, then fell backward onto the ground. He looked up at the sky, and stared at the clouds as he blacked out.

It felt like a few hours that Bass was unconscious. He had the same dream he'd had every night since he'd read Rythm's diary. It was always a montage of his foalhood memories with Rythm, the times they spent on tour together, partying, and sight-seeing, then came the part that always kicked Bass right in the heart. It was just like the usual "what if?" kind of scenario. But it was one that hurt Bass right down to his core. He would walk into his house, and there would be a beautiful Steady Rythm watching over two foals, and she would trot to him, and kiss him deeply. Then Bass felt a slight nudge at his side.

"Hey, Sugarcube, you awlright?" a strange voice said. Then a much different voice rose over that. One with an almost familiar quality. One that would easily jerk Bass from his dream. It was soft, just like Rythm's. "I uh...I don't know, Applejack... It looks like he hit the tree pretty hard."

"R-... Rythm?" He said, opening his eyes, slowly, his vision slowly coming into focus. Instead of seeing the white unicorn he longed for, he saw two mares looking down at him. One an orange pony with a long blonde mane and green eyes, and the other a pale yellow mare with a really long pink mane, and blue eyes just like Rythm's. He then saw the source of the soft voice that played cruel tricks on his mind, when the yellow pony spoke again.

"Uh... sir? Are you... alright?" The yellow pony said, looking into Bass's eyes, as he blacked out again. He woke up a few hours later in a brightly lit room. This was a huge change for him. Last time he blacked out from head trauma, he woke up in a hospital. No, this time was different. He opened his eyes, and noticed a small purple dragon with green spines on his back climbing up a ladder, with a book in hand. He then continued to look about, and noticed the open door in front of him, a purple unicorn pacing around, magically holding a book in front of her as she paced, flipping through the pages.

He slowly lifted himself up from his resting place, and walked quietly past the dragon, but as he was almost at the door, it swung open, revealing a pink earth pony with a puffed up pink mane. Only two words could have possibly ran through the pegasus's mind at that moment. Well... fuck. At just that moment, the purple unicorn turned around, spotting Bass cowering from the pink pony. "Ah, so you're finally awake. Please, take a seat." Then the unicorn used her magic to shut the door on the pink pony's face.

"So, I believe introductions are in order?" The purple unicorn said, rather nonchalant. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and the pink one is Pinkie Pie." She looked at the window, noticing Pinky bouncing around outside. "And your name?" She smiled at the white pegasus, awaiting the answer.

Bass looked around, his hooves tapping the ground nervously. "Deep Bass." He answered shyly, trying to hide the fact that he had been eyeing over Twilight from horn to hooftip.

"Oh, so you must be the one who bought the house on the edge of town. Well let me officially welcome you to Ponyville, Mr. Bass. Well, I would say I was first, but technically, I'm the fourth."

Bass looked at Twilight in confusion. "Fourth?... How?" He sat, straining to think of who else he could've met already.

Twilight giggled. "Well, first was the apple tree. Then it was my friends Applejack, and Fluttershy. They brought you to me to make sureyou didn't hurt yourself too badly, which you're lucky that you didn't. And honestly, I've never seen flutterhy so worried about anything that wasn't a sick animal."

Bass nodded silently at the pony who was kind of holding him hostage. "Well, thank you for the welcome, and for checking up on me. I'd very much like to go see my new home, however. If there's any way I can repay you, please let me know." And on that note, the white pegasus stood up on his hooves, and smiled at the unicorn, who nodded, and magically opened the door for him, as he took to flight the moment he got out the door. Not even a few econds after his hooves lifted off the ground, he was thrown back to the ground, feeling something smash into his side. "Dammit!" he yelled in agony, looking from his place on the ground at the thing that had thrown him from his flight.

"Sorry..." said a cyan pegasus with a rainbow colored mane and tail, dark pink eyes, a rather tomcoltish voice, and a peculiar cutie mark. A cloud with a rainbow colored lightning bolt shooting from it. "I really should start watching where I'm going. Are you oka-" The pegasus stopped herself mid-sentence, her jaw dropping as she stared at the white pegasus. "No way! You're Lunar Bla-" This time she was cut off by a hoof covering her mouth, silencing her.

Bass raised his other forehoof to his mouth. "Shhh. Please... please don't tell anypony who I am. I'll do anything! Name your price."

The mare's eyes lit up. A famous Rockpony was in Ponyville. She couldn't believe it. Not to mention the fact that he was one of her favorites. She couldn't speak, but only nodded in agreement. "Can I.... can I get your autograph, sir?"

Bass nodded swiftly. "Sure. And please don't call me sir. I'm too young for that. Call me Deep Bass, please. Actually, just Bass works." He then signed a small piece of paper for the mare. "Also, you look kind of familiar... what's your name?"

The mare still couldn't believe it. Her favorite Rockpony was making small talk with her. She couldn't believe it. She giggled, and blushed. "I'm Rainbow Dash, but my friends call me Rainbow. And I saw you in concert a few weeks ago."

Bass shook his head. "No, no... that's not it. Wait a minute... Best young flier, right? Oh, yeah. That's definitely you. It's truly an honor to meet you in person. I saw your routine. Too bad that unicorn with the sparkly wings muddied it up."

Rainbow was now officially starstruck. She couldn't speak a single word. The world famous Lunar Black was honored to meet her! he couldn't believe it at all. As she started babbling to herself, trying to make out words, Bass had already slipped away, and was already on the front porch of his flat on the outskirts of Ponyville.

The pegasus had finally reached his new home, and reached out to open the door, when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He looked over at the other flat not far away, as he noticed a white unicorn with two tone blue hair, a musical note cutie mark, and a pair of dark lensed sunglasses covering her eyes. She wore a large grin, and bobbed her head as she walked into her house. "...Odd... Well, I guess that's my new neighbor... She's... actually kinda cute." Bass grinned, and walked into his new home. His obsessive compulsive side came out as he noticed that the furniture wasn't eactly to his liking. "Well, Bass. We got a lot to do, today."

Chapter 5: Music is Magic

Okay, guys. After much debate, I've decided to have a little fun with this chapter. In this chapter, Bass is gonna finally start to get familiar with one of the ponies, and she quickly figures out his secret. The song Ricochet belongs to Shiny Toy Guns. It probably won't be the last STG song I use, either.

It had been three days since Deep Bass had arrived in Ponyille, and he was relieved to have finally finished arranging his things to his liking. He had dyed his mane and tail completely black, so nopony could easily associate him with Lunar Black, which is kind of what he wanted. Nopony had come to visit him, and he didn't mind, since it gave him some time to relax, and listen to his favorite music. He had his guitar, his bass, and an amp set up in his living room, and hadn't even bothered going down into the basement, yet. In all honesty, he didn't even know he had one. His bedroom was set up with only the bare essentials. He had put his sheets on, and had folded his blanket neatly at the foot of the bed. He hung pictures of his family throughout the house, and in the master bedroom, he had hung all the pictures he had taken with all the famous ponies he had met in his career. He had a picture with Sapphire Shores, one with Hoity Toity, and even one with the princesses, as well as numerous other well known ponies. Amongst all these treasured stills of times long past, were three that were dear to his heart. The first being his father, his sister, and himself on the day of their fifth birthday. His father was standing over him as he held his father's old bass guitar, and his sister staring, her eyes wide. The second was of him and his band, after their first show in some small bar outside Phillydelphia. They were dressed up in the most rediculous outfits. Mostly because they thought it was cool at the time. And the third was sitting on the nightstand next to Bass's bed. It was a picture of himself and Rythm as foals, Bass having quickly placed a kiss on Rythm's cheek just before the flash went off, and Rythm's cheeks glowing red. Bass decided to walk around, and look at all the pictures, while he listened to his record collection, stopping at the picture on his nightstand, and smiling, a single tear coming to his eye. Then, something snapped him from his thoughts. Somepony was knocking at the door.

Bass slowly trotted to the door, and pulled it open, hoping it wasn't the pink pony he'd tried to avoid. As he creeped the door open, he saw a tail colored three shades of blue, and a musical note cutie mark on white fur. Knowing it was safe, he pulled the door open the rest of the way, revealing the white unicorn that he had seen just a few days before. She grinned at him, and spoke in the kind of voice he normally used when he was Lunar Black. "Well hey there, neighbor! I just decided to swing by, and introduce myself. Saw you the other day, and decided I'd give you time to get yourself comfortable before I graced you with my presence."

Bass smiled, quite happy to meet somepony who didn't seem completely crazy to him. "Sweet. Glad you did. I was starting to get bored."

"Well, then the fun train has arrived!" The unicorn laughed, and extended a hoof to Bass, which he politely shook. "The name's Vinyl Scratch, but you can call me Vinyl... or Scratch. Doesn't really matter to me. I'm the resident DJ, and sexy beast, so don't go tryin' to take that title." Both ponies laughed. "And you are..."

Bass looked at the unicorn, and smiled. "Deep Bass, but you can call me Bass. Everypony does. Wanna come in?"

Vinyl nodded, never dropping her signature grin. "Sounds killer, Bass!" Bass then moved aside as the unicorn trotted into the living room, looking around. Her jaw dropped when her eyes landed on the solid white bass guitar in the corner of the living room. "No buckin' way! A vintage Clydesdale Jazz Bass? Those things are extremely rare and expensive! Not to mention that one of those is played by the greatest rockpony of all time! How did you get that thing?"

Bass smiled as he saw the shock and awe in what he could see of the unicorn's face. "Well, my father gave me that about thirteen years ago when I was just a young colt. It's my most prized possession, really."

Vinyl looked at Bass, and her grin returned. "Groovy." Vinyl shot one last glance at the bass, and the two continued the tour.

Bass pushed open the door to what was supposed to be a spare bedroom, but had been converted into Bass's personal listening room. There were bookshelves all along the walls, each bookshelf filled with either records or sheet music. Vinyl's jaw dropped again. "I... I think I found paradise..."

Bass chuckled. "No, you just found my listening room." This is where I keep all my records, and the lyrics and sheet music for the songs I've written."

The two continued on, and the next stop was the master bedroom. Vinyl walked in, here jaw still dropped. She looked at every picture of the famous ponies Bass had met. "Wow, Bass, you knew some famous ponies." Then she spotted a picture that made her gasp up a storm. "No... bucking... way!" Her eyes were locked on the picture of Fasthor5 at their first show.

Bass smiled a bit. "Like it? It's me and my friends on Nightmare Night," he lied. He had been trying to come up with some kind of valid lie to disguise the truth of the picture, and apparently he found a good one. Even though Vinyl didn't buy it.

She looked at Bass, with a smirk replacing her signature grin. "Deep Bass, you're a horrible liar. I took this picture the first time I went to Phillydelphia. I have the exact same picture in my house. It's only a copy, but there should only be two of them in the world. And the only other person who should have the other one is Lunar Black."

Bass's face turned to shock, as he let out a scared gulp. How did she figure it out so easily? He then tried to think of another lie, but stumbled over his words.

"It's okay, Bass. Your secret's safe with me." Vinyl grinned as she spoke to the nervous rockpony. "However, I've always wanted to work with the mastermind behind Fasthor5. I'm having a bit of trouble with a track I'm working on, and I think you could help me with it. It would be an honor."

Bass's face maintained its shocked look, staring at the pony with wide eyes. "Uh... sure. Sounds cool, Vinyl."

And with that, the two ponies left for Vinyl's house, and Bass plopped down on the couch in her messy living room. Vinyl headed down to her basement studio. "Just make yourself at home, Bass." She called from the basement.

Bass simply nodded, and turned on the radio, and his eyes grew wide at what he heard. "Good morning, Equestria! This is Rock Roll on 107.5 K-PNE! Your number one source for music all over Equestria! Up next is a hot new track from two up and coming artists! Silver Sky featuring Soft Treble! And this track is called 'Ice!'" Bass listened to the track, his jaw dropped, and his eyes wide. He never knew his sister had such talent, but then again, he was always so busy with his own band he never took the time to notice. He listened intently to the track on the radio when he heard Vinyl call out from the basement.

"Alright Bass, come on down!" She had finally finished getting the track worked up for Bass to listen to it, and put in his two bits.

"One second," he called back. "I have to go grab something." And on that note, Bass ran out the door and back to his house, where he grabbed an unbroken pair of his signature amber aviators, and ran back, hiding them under his wing till he got back to Vinyl's house, where he quickly put them on, and walked downstairs to the basement studio. "Alright, Vinyl. Let's see what you have."

Vinyl nodded, and set a record on her turntable, her magic setting the needle down. The song started off with a few chirps, then turned to a slow bassline, then stopped. "Aaaaaand that's all I've got so far. It's something new that I wanted to try, and so far, it's just thrown me in a loop. I was wondering if you could help." She then looked up, and saw the aviators, and threw up her signature grin once more.

Bass simply nodded. "Sure thing, Vinyl. Tomorrow morning, come on over, and we'll work out some cool stuff for it."

Vinyl dropped her signature grin, and replaced it with a genuine smile. "Thank you, Bass! Thank you thank you thank you!" She then did something that surprised both of them. She jumped up, and hugged him.

He was shocked for a minute, but then smiled, returning the hug. "It's not a problem, Vinyl. Music is my thing."

Then Bass returned home, fixing himself dinner, and falling asleep on the couch. He couldn't think of much besides that bassline. Or maybe that's just what he was trying to make himself think. Maybe he was really thinking about the mare next door. She was pretty much everything he could've ever wanted in a mare, but could never find. He woke up the next morning to a rythmic knock on his door, and quickly jumped up to answer it, leaving his glasses on the coffee table.

He opened the door, surprised to see Vinyl, her mane done up perfectly, almost as if she was trying to impress somepony. "Good morning, Bass." She smiled, her glasses still well in place. "Are you ready to get to work?"

Bass nodded, and smiled, his cheeks a slight red as he eyed the relatively gussied up mare from hoof to horn. "Come on. I've got my stuff set up in here. He then reached under his wing, and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. "Also, I took the liberty of digging through the songs I've written and found one that I think would fit perfectly with your riff."

Vinyl practically lit up in delight, knowing that the song would soon be perfect. She followed Bass into the living room, where the bass guitar, guitar, and amps had been set up the night before. Vinyl looked at the guitar, her eyes sparkling under her glasses, realizing her greatest fantasy was about to come to life. She was going to play with Lunar Black.

Bass slipped the bass guitar over his neck, and plugged it in, smiling at the awestruck Vinyl. "Well, let's begin, shall we?" Vinyl nodded, the guitar being levitated by her magic, and she slipped the strap over her neck. She had played guitar before, but she wasn't the best. Fortunately for her, she didn't have to be to play Bass's creation. "Alright, Vinyl. Go ahead and look at your lyric sheet. The guitar line is basicly the bassline, but on the guitar. You wrote the bassline, so it shouldn't be hard for you to do." Vinyl nodded, and looked intently at the lyric sheet while Bass began on the bassline. After a few measures, Vinyl began her part. Surprising Bass with her voice, and bobbing her shoulder to the rhythm of the bassline.

"Welcome back to

Where I'm gonna have you

Shell shock, fall back

Anypony I see through

Watch your head spin

Like a mesocyclone

Bouncing off the walls

Now there's nowhere to run

Like a bullet, meant to be shot

You're the target, dead on the spot

When I focus, I never miss

It starts with a kiss"

Then Bass began the chorus, while Vinyl strummed the chorus riff.

"She ricochets

And you don't notice

She's in your head

And you just don't notice

She ricochets

And you don't notice

She's in your head

And you just don't notice

Notice, notice, notice, notice

Notice"

Then, the chorus stopped, and Bass returned to the original bassline, and Vinyl started the next verse.

"Let the sweat fall

Find me in the back stall

Let it snow down

Now we're gonna deck halls

I hit the bullseye

Making all the colts cry

I hit the main line

Breaking through the night sky

Like a bullet, meant to be shot

You're the target, dead on the spot

When I focus, I never miss

It starts with a kiss"

This time, Bass screamed the chorus, Vinyl smiling widely at how awesome it sounded to her, as she played the guitar line.

"She ricochets

And you don't notice

She's in your head

And you just don't notice

She ricochets

And you don't notice

She's in your head

And you just don't notice

Notice, notice, notice, notice

Notice"

Then the two musicians hit one last note, letting them ring out, and Bass clapped his hooves together for Vinyl. "You did very well on tha-" Bass was interrupted unexpectedly, when the white mare wrapped her front legs around him, and kissed him. His cheeks turned a deep red as he was taken by surprise, yet he enjoyed it. She then pulled away from him, smiling. "Thank you, Bass." She then grinned as she reached over, and flipped out the lights.

Meanwhile, at Sugarcube Corner, six familar ponies were sitting in a booth, conversing amongst themselves, talking about all the happenings around Ponyville, and reminiscing on their past adventures. "So, what do you think of the new pegasus in town? I think his name was Deep Bass, or something like that," said Twilght.

Rainbow Dash sank in her seat, smiling, not saying a word. Then Applejack piped up. "Ah don't rightly know. The only time I saw 'em, he was passed out. Ah reckon you're the only one who actually talked to 'em, Twi." This brought Rainbow to blushing, which drew the attention of the orange earth pony. "Ya got somethin' ta say, Rainbow?"

Rainbow instantly perked up in her seat, and shook her head, causing Applejack to raise an eyebrow. Then a soft voice came from the other side of the booth. "Oh, he must be really clumsy. He flew straight into one of Applejack's apple trees. Poor dear. But he must have been going really fast, because he left a pretty good dent in that tree."

Twilight laughed, and looked at Rainbow. "Hay, he may even be as fast as you, Dash."

This caused Rainbow to glare at Twilight, speaking in a grumble. "Nopony's as fast as I am."

The next morning, Bass awoke to a sleeping mare next to him. As his eyes focused, he realized it was Vinyl. He smiled, as he noticed her glasses weren't on her face, but on the floor near the door. As he was recollecting the events from the night before, he was once again taken from his thoughts when he heard Vinyl's voice. "Good morning, Bass," she said with a smile, keeping her eyes closed.

He then kissed her on the forehead, careful to avoid the horn. "Good morning, V." Vinyl opened her eyes, exposing beautiful red irises, staring into Bass's deep teal eyes. Somehow, Bass was happy. He didn't know how, but, for the first time in a long time, he was. "Well, what should we do, now?"

Vinyl smiled. "I'm kind of hungry. We used up quite a bit of energy last night."

Bass chuckled softly. "That we did. Well, then let's go get some food. I'm sure you know a place." He then stood, and put his glasses on, and tossed Vinyl hers, which she promptly put on her face, then shook her head, causing her hair to fall back to the way it normally was, and they walked out the door, toward town, side by side.

As the two trotted into town, a certain purple unicorn spotted them, and smiled, as she was walking through town with Applejack. "Well, apparently somepony's already made a new friend. I'm glad to see he's adjusting well."

"Me too," laughed Applejack. "But ah don't see what he could possibly see in that... that... Vinyl Scratch."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at Applejack. "Is that... jealousy, AJ?Honestly, I never thought I'd see you crushing over a city pony like Bass. Besides, it's about time Vinyl found somepony."

Twilight barely had time to let out a giggle before she felt a hoof somewhat forcefully strike the back of her head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't EVER accuse me of crushin' on a cityslicker, Twilight."

((Post-read.)) Okay, honestly, I was gonna throw in a clopscene, but I'm sitting in public, and I honestly don't need any more attention right now. I've already been playing on the pony creator for about twenty minutes creating the image for Bass after he dyed his hair, so yeah. Maybe next chapter. But I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and hopefully I'll get the next one out soon.

Chapter 7: Motivation (Mature Warning)

Chapter 7: Motivation

((Okay, when I said there was going to be a shipping scene in this chapter, I meant it. The reason the chapter took so long is mostly because I've never written anything like that, but I forced myself to. Not because of pressure, but because I always try to write different kinds of scenes, and the clop scene was indeed a different experience. I will say this. There will probably be more shipping in future chapters. Oh, and a note on the clop scene in this chapter: I didn't stylize it like some kind of pony porno, but more of a romantic love scene. Plenty of emotion, and all that jazz. The chapter itself only gives a little to story progression. Chapter is skippable, but you may be a bit confused when you hit chapter 8. Well, here's chapter 7.))

It was a pleasant morning in Ponyville the sun had been raised, and the birds were chirping Bass had left his curtains open, allowing the warm glow of the winter sun to envelop the two lovers in its warm glow. Bass smiled as he opened his eyes, and looked down at the mare who had nuzzled into the fur on his chest subconsciously, and he placed a wing protectively over her sleeping form. The next few minutes felt like hours as he waited for his sleeping lover to awake. He stared at her, smiling, his dark blue eyes flaunting their white flecks that looked like stars in the night sky. It was easy to tell why he had been given the stage name Lunar Black. Too bad very few ponies ever got to see his eyes. Vinyl was one of the lucky few. She was one of the only 3 ponies that he could remember letting close enough to take in the details. Although when he was a foal, he was always self-conscious about them, always thinking that the other ponies would make fun of him for his weird eyes. Then he met Rythm, who was so stubborn to make him embrace the beauty of his eyes.

Bass was once again taken from his thoughts when Vinyl rustled around, gently. "Mmm. Good morning, Bass." She smiled at Bass, slowly opening her eyes. She looked so beautiful in the morning sunlight. Bass fell for her all over again. He hadn't yet told her exactly how he felt, and was almost afraid to. He didn't exactly know how to tell her. In fact the only other pony he'd ever loved was Rythm, and he was afraid she wouldn't feel the same.

"And good morning to you, too, beautiful." He smiled, and ruffled up her mane with his hoof. "We should get ready for the party, Babe."

Vinyl grinned and rolled on top of Bass, smiling playfully, and pinning him to the bed. "I might need a little bit of incentive, first." The playful mare giggled, as she stared into Bass's eyes.

Bass smiled, instantly understanding what Vinyl meant, and more than happy to oblige. He wrapped his wings around Vinyl, and rolled over, positioning himself on top of her, kissing her passionately, as he slowly moved a hoof to Vinyl's chest, tracing it down her body, stopping just above her most sensitive spot, teasingly. He could feel the eager mare wiggling to try to cause the hoof to make contact, and in response, he simply moved his hoof further away from it. Meanwhile, the two tongues were busy twisting around eachother, locked in the sensuous dance. Both ponies had their eyes closed, savoring this sweet moment for as long as they could.

Bass tensed for a moment as he felt Vinyl's hoof stroking his member, and countered by lowering his hoof, and tracing it around the lips of Vinyl's marehood, causing her to release soft moans into Bass's mouth, as the two tongues continued to dance around each other.

Bass broke the kiss, smiling, a single strand of saliva still connecting the two. Vinyl continued to moan, as Bass's hoof continued to circle her spot. Bass could tell that she wanted more, but he just loved to see the yearning in her ruby eyes. After another minute of teasing, Vinyl managed to muster her words. "Please, Bass. Put it in... I want it so bad. I want you inside me."

Bass nodded, smiling. He wanted to slide himself inside her wet marehood just as bad as she wanted it. Before he could think twice, he felt the eager mare's hoof guiding him toward her wet nethers. He groaned slightly as he penetrated the tight slit, Vinyl gasping sharply and whimpering in pleasure all in one breath. In all reality, this was the first time they had gone this far since the first time just a little over a week ago, and in the stallion's mind, he wouldn't have had it any other way.

Bass slowly continued to push himself deeper into Vinyl until there was no more room for him. Vinyl was now breathing heavily, and dragging her hooves down the stallion's back, staring straight into his eyes, both lovers nearly hypnotized by the beauty of each other's eyes.

Bass began thrusting his lower half slowly back and forth, allowing his member to slide gently in and out of The white mare's slit, savoring every moan and whimper she let out. As he continued to stare into the beautiful ruby irises, Vinyl caught him by surprise. "B-bass?"

Bass continued his slow thrusting as the white mare stared lovingly into his eyes. "Y-yes, Vi?"

"Bass... I l-love you!" she managed before letting out a scream of pleasure, her juices erupting onto Bass's member, which was still rhythmically penetrating her.

"I… I love you too, Vi." Bass said, as he leaned over to kiss Vinyl passionately as he continued to pulsate in and out of her. Slowly he increased the rhythm, each time, sliding his member as far in as he could, then pulling it about half way out only to do it all over again. He didn't want this to ever end. It was the perfect moment. The two lovers were entwined almost as if they were one perfect being. But Bass could tell it was about to end, as he felt himself building up to his climax. It didn't help that Vinyl was about to erupt again.

Vinyl let out a loud scream of ecstasy, and her love juice began pouring all over Bass's member once more. Bass was fighting his own climax. He was about to pull it out and spray his mixture on Vinyl's chest just like last time, but as he was preparing to, he felt Vinyl's hind legs wrap around him. He looked her straight in the eyes, straining to speak, as well as straining to hold his own eruption. "Vi, I'm gonna come."

Vinyl nodded, and looked lovingly into Bass's eyes, smiling. "I know. I want it inside me, Bass. I want everything you can give me. If I get pregnant, so be it. I love you, and I know you love me. Nothing will change how I feel for you. Not now, not ever."

Bass smiled, a small tear rolling down his cheek. "Alright, Vi. If that's what you want."

"It is, Bass," she managed out, through moans. "It is."

Bass nodded, and leaned down, kissing Vinyl passionately as he thrust himself all the way inside her, and let loose his hot mix, filling her hole to the brim, some of the white liquid spurting out. Vinyl screamed passionately into Bass's mouth, as her own juices flowed from her slit for a third time, both sets of fluids mixing onto the sheets of the bed, as a spent Deep Bass laid on top of the exhausted Vinyl Scratch, holding each other tight, Bass's wings still wrapped around Vinyl protectively. The rest of the morning was spent in bed, with Bass holding Vinyl tightly as she laid her head on his chest. Bass could never figure out her obsession with his chest, but he was beginning to get curious.

About an hour later, Bass got up, and walked to the kitchen, and began cooking breakfast. Just after he started cooking the eggs and bacon, a messy-maned Vinyl walked into the kitchen, and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "Smells good, my love."

Bass smiled and kissed her back. "Why thank you, dear." He then grabbed the spatula, and scooped the eggs out of the frying pan, setting one egg on each plate, and scooping the bacon from the other pan, evenly dividing the bacon between the two plates. He then carried the plates to the table, setting one down in front of Vinyl, kissing her softly.

"Bass," she smiled at the stallion. "You spoil me."

Bass smiled, sitting down across from her. "Only the best for the best, Vi." Vinyl blushed as she began to eat. "So can I ask you a quick question, Babe?"

Vinyl looked up from her food. "What is it, dear?"

"Would you have even given me a second thought if I wasn't Lunar Black?" he asked, not exactly sure he wanted an answer.

Vinyl looked him straight in the eyes. "When we first met, I thought you were generally an awesome pony. That's why I decided to hang out with you at first. Not because you were Lunar Black. I don't love you for who you used to be. I love you for who you are. And I always will. No matter what."

Bass smiled, blushing. "Thanks, Vi. That means so much to me. And one more thing."

"Go ahead, love."

"Why do you like sleeping on my chest? I don't mind it, but I'm just starting to get curious is all."

Vinyl blushed, her cheeks almost matching her eyes. "Oh… that. Well, when I hear your heartbeat, it reminds me that I'm not dreaming, and all this will still be here when I awake. That and I like being wrapped in your wings, and I know you'll do it when I lie on your chest."

Bass smiled, and got up, taking the two empty plates and dropping them in the sink, giggling at Vinyl. "And that's why I love you, Vi."

Vinyl smiled, and stood, trotting to the bedroom to fix her messy mane.

As the bedroom door closed, Bass heard a knock at his front door, and dashed over to open it, not even aware of how unruly his own mane had been after the morning's activities. Bass opened the door to the familiar yellow unicorn, who giggled at her brother's messy mane. "Well, I see someone had a rather eventful morning."

Bass quickly looked in the mirror to his right, and blushed. "Oh… yeah. Didn't even notice that."

Treble sniffed the fragrant air of the house. "It smells like sex and bacon in here… when did you learn to cook?"

Bass shrugged. "Don't know. Guess things come naturally when you're hungry."

"Well, I suggest you go tidy yourself up before we go to the party. Silver Sky and her bandmates are coming, and I will not have you looking and smelling as if you had just stepped out of a harem."

Bass laughed at his sister's comment and nodded. "Right, Treb. I'll wash up. I'm sure Vinyl would love to keep you company."

Treble smiled. "Very well." She then walked in, and took a seat on the couch, as Bass walked into the bedroom. Treble giggled as she heard the delighted squeal of the mare, quite sure Bass had just informed her of her arrival. Moments later, Vinyl emerged from the bedroom, and stood before Treble.

"Good morning, Treble. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No no, Vinyl. I'm fine. Please sit down. I'd like to get to know you, and I'm sure you have so many questions."

Vinyl simply nodded, and sat down on the couch. " So... What was Bass like as a foal."

Treble smiled, recollecting her fond fillyhood memories. "Believe it or not, he was a shy one. Neither of us had many friends, so we were always playing together. We were practically inseparable. You wouldn't believe how much he's changed. He really didn't become the trouble-maker he is until he got into that band."

"Oh? And when did he discover his talent for music?"

"Well, it was around the time our father died. He was still a young foal, at the time, and everypony in our family was pretty shaken by it. He locked himself in his room for three days with our father's instruments. I still don't know how he did it, but when he came out, he had written the most emotional song I had ever heard. It was beautiful. He sang it at our father's funeral, and next thing you know, he had his cutie mark. Our mother enrolled him in a school for young and talented foals, and sure enough, a few years later, Fasthor5 was born, along with Lunar Black."

"That's amazing!"

Treble nodded, and smirked, one of her ears perking up, her smirk turning to a full blown smile, as she could barely hear something she hadn't heard in a while. "Do you want to hear something really amazing?"

Vinyl nodded.

"Good. Follow me." The two mares stood, and snuck into the bedroom, creeping over to the bathroom door. Through the sound of running water, the two could hear the sound of an angelic voice. Bass was singing… with no music.

Vinyl's jaw dropped at the beautiful sound she heard coming from the shower. The two mares pressed an ear to the door, and listened. Bass was singing. It wasn't just the usual humming of random notes that Vinyl did while she was in the shower. No, this was honest-to-Celestia, heartfelt, emotional singing. It was beautiful.

Vinyl smiled, a tear coming to her eye, and looked at Treble, who was signaling they should leave. The two mares walked into the living room, and sat back down. "That was really amazing! But he's a singer. It's what he does, right?"

Treble nodded. "Yes, but for Bass to sing such a heartfelt song, and without music. I've only heard him do that once in my life. He only does it when he truly feels inspired. I don't know what you did, Vinyl, but you did something truly amazing."

((Post-Read))

Yeah. To be completely honest, I find it absolutely ironic that I named the chapter "Inspiration," due to the fact that in the chapter, it reveals that Vinyl is Bass's muse. The irony came when I realized that the chapter started with a shipping scene, and there's a hip hop / R&B song by the same name that is basically about sex. So, yeah. Have fun laughing about that till the next chapter gets posted. And seeing as how I'm going to be writing nonstop over ten days, there's gonna be a huge influx of chapters to the story once I hit port.

Chapter 8: Baritones, and Broken Spirits

CH. 8

Later that afternoon, Bass and Vinyl were walking to Sugarcube Corner together. Treble had told the couple to meet her there for lunch because she had exciting news that she wanted to share. Bass's mane was straight, as usual, and Vinyl's was playfully tousled, as she normally had it. Both of them were wearing their shades, since they were outside, and in public.

Just before they reached the door, Bass stopped, and smiled at Vinyl, playfully. "What is it, baby?" Bass smiled, and planted a soft kiss on her lips. Vinyl blushed at the random show of affection.

and as soon as they walked in, the lights came on, and a pink pony was standing in front of Bass. "SURPRISE!"

He jumped back, scared half to death by the pony, causing Vinyl to laugh uncontrollably, Bass blushing. "Pinkie, you scared the buck out of me!" This caused Vinyl to laugh even harder.

Treble walked over next to Pinkie. "Told you I was going to throw you a party, Bass." Vinyl was still laughing. "And apparently, I'm not the only one who thought it was funny."

Bass looked around, spotting a few somewhat familiar faces. He saw Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershy, as well as a pony he hadn't met yet sitting with the four slightly familiar mares. Pinkie had bounced back over to her friends, and was now sitting with her friends, when Twilight spoke up. "Hey, Bass. Why don't you and Vinyl take a seat. We're all happy you could be here." Twilight was sitting on the outer end of the booth, leaving enough space for three ponies to sit. Treble sat first, right next to Twilight, smiling. Bass followed, as did Vinyl, who sat on the outer edge. "So, Bass," Twilight began. I haven't seen you since your apple tree incident. How do you like Ponyville?"

Bass shrugged. "Well, Vinyl's been showing me around, and so far, I like it. It's nice and quiet, but there's plenty of fun things to do," he said, flashing a playful smile at Vinyl.

"Well, that's good. I hope you get to see more of the town. I'm sure you'll find more to love. So, I had no clue you were Treble's twin brother."

Bass smirked at Twilight, having figured everything out in his head already. "And I had no clue that you and my sister were such GOOD friends."

Twilight and Treble both blushed simultaneously, not expecting that. "Uh… yeah. Your sister and I met not long after you were enrolled in music school. And ever since then, we've been the best of friends. Pen pals, even."

Bass nodded. "Oh, I'm sure." The rest of the party went on with lots of delicious food, and drink, none of it alcoholic, by Bass's request. Everyone was having a good time, and Bass and Vinyl had started dancing on the dance floor, when Silver Sky came walking in. The second she walked in, everyone stared. Aside from the humble Treble, and previous visits, Ponyville wasn't used to having visits from such famous ponies. She was a light grey Pegasus with a solid white mane and tail with yellow stripes through them. She looked at Bass with an evil grin.

Bass's expression went grim as he recognized the mare. "Good afternoon, Bass." She grinned mischeviously. "It's been a long time."

Bass faked a smile. "Not long enough, Sky. Not long enough."

Sky giggled. "Still the same old Bass. So, tell me: what have you been up to since we last met?"

"Being happy."

"Oh, Bass. You've never been happy, don't lie to me."

Bass flashed a glance at the somewhat clueless Vinyl. "What would you know about happiness."

Then Sky grinned evilly, pulling out the most underhanded technique she could. "I enough about happiness to take every bit of it from you, Bass. By the way, how's your friend, Rhythm doing?" Bass's expression turned to complete despair. His head lowered. He realized he couldn't win. "That's what I thought, Bass. Now if you'll excuse me…"

SMACK! The sound of the contact rang out like a snare drum in a wooden box.

Just before Silver Sky could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by a hoof striking her face, and she collapsed to the ground, still conscious, but completely in shock from realization of the owner of the hoof, a very angry yellow unicorn looking down at her, pure fury in her silver eyes.

Bass raised his head, looking at his sister in astonishment, everypony else in the place doing the same. "Nopony treats my brother like that. Get out of here, Silver. I don't want to see your face again for as long as I live."

Sky stood up, spitting out a tooth. "Suit yourself, bitch. You'll be nothing but a has been, just like your washed up brother, Lunar Black!" Then she slowly got back up to her hooves, and trotted out the door.

Vinyl had run up next to Bass, and pressed herself against Bass comfortingly.

"What a sourpuss!" Pinkie chimed in from the table. "Forget about that party-pooper, guys! Let's party!"

Bass shook his head. "Thanks... All of you… but I'm going home."

Treble looked at Bass. "Bass, forget her. Don't leave."

Bass walked to the door. "Sorry, Treble, but… I…" Bass was interrupted by a white hoof covering his mouth.

"Bass, these ponies are your friends. All we want is to help you." Vinyl smiled lovingly at Bass. "And you know I love you, and will do anything I can to help you. But first, we need to know everything."

Bass smiled, a single tear rolling down his cheek. "Okay, Vi." Bass walked over to the table, and sat back down in his original spot between Vinyl and his sister. "Well, about a year ago, the bitch who goes by Silver Sky's band, and Fasthor5 were playing a show together in Manehatten, and after the show, she and I started hanging out, and eventually started dating. In time, I had fallen head over hooves for her. When I told her how I felt, she tossed me to the side, like an old rusty horseshoe. I was completely empty. And that's when I started doing all the shameless, horrible things I did. The only reason I didn't know who it was is because back then, she went by her real name, Cloudy Night, but when I saw her, every memory of what she did came flying back. Kinda like…"

"Like when I smashed into you outside the library?" Rainbow finally spoke up, relieved that somepony else had spilled the secret already.

"Yeah, kinda like that," Bass nodded. "And I probably would've just given up right then," he then looked at Vinyl, who had laid her hoof on his. "If not for you, Vi." The entire restaurant erupted in a giant "Aw!" as Bass kissed Vinyl softly.

Rainbow then slammed a hoof on the table. "She isn't gonna get away with that! Nopony emotionally attacks my favorite rockpony and gets away with it!" the other seven ponies at the table all nodded, smiling at Bass.

"You would all do that… for me?" Bass was on the verge of tears, smiling happily.

"Of course babe. Like I said. All of these ponies are your friends, and friends help each other." Vinyl smiled, and kissed Bass on the cheek.

"Thank you all… so very much."

Treble cleared her throat. "Now for the news I was going to tell you earlier. I was going to tell you that Sky and I were going to be playing in Steedston in a few days, and I was going to give you and Vinyl tickets to the show, but now, I've got a better idea." Treble grinned evilly, and whispered something into Bass's ear that caused him to grin an equally evil grin.

"Let's do it."

That evening, Bass, Vinyl, and Treble were in Vinyl's basement studio Bass looked at the two mares. "Okay, so Treble, did you take care of the booking?"

"Yep. They were more than happy to help."

"Excellent. Vinyl, have you found anypony who can play the drums?"

"But of course, my love. He's an old friend of mine. Used to play for the band 36 Crazyhooves. Name's Leadhoof. He'll be here tomorrow morning.

"Killer. Now, I'd like the two of you to look over a few lyrics." He then set down a large stack of paper in front of the two mares, who looked at the stack in amazement.

"Uh… Bass?" Treble began. "Where'd you get all this paper?"

Vinyl ran a hoof from the bottom of the stack to the top. "Those poor trees."

"Yes, I know it's a large stack, but just look through it." Bass ran through his checklist. "Me on bass and vocals, Treble on guitar, and Vinyl on guitar and keys. Leadhoof on drums, and that leaves one more spot… S-"

"Uh, Bass?" Treble interrupted. "Some of these lyrics call for strings. Where are we going to get someone who can play the strings?"

Vinyl's signature grin came back, looking slightly awkward without her glasses. "I know just the pony for the job."

About an hour later, Bass and Vinyl were on the other side of Ponyville, at a rather nice looking house, as they walked up, Bass was slightly nervous. Knocking on doors of nice houses late at night wasn't something he normally did. "Uh, Vi. Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Vinyl nodded. "Completely, Babe. This pony's the best cello player probably in all of Equestria."

Bass watched as Vinyl knocked on the door with her hoof. "Er… that's not what I meant, Vi." Then the door opened slowly, the soft light covering the two white ponies. Bass looked nervously at the silhouette of the pony at the door. He couldn't make out many details because of the lighting.

Vinyl smiled at the silhouette. "Hey, there. Mind if we come in for a moment?"

The silhouette shrugged, and Vinyl led Bass into the house. As he entered the house, he could finally make out the details of the pony who lived in the house, but before he could make out any details, he was pulled to the living room by Vinyl, who was following the host pony. Bass plopped down on the couch next to Vinyl, and focused on the now visible host sitting across from them.

It was a gray mare with straight dark brown hair with a pomp in the front, and a matching colored tail. She had a collar and bowtie around her neck, purple eyes, and a treble clef cutie mark just like Treble's. She was indeed a beautiful mare, but Bass could care less. He already had the love and support of the greatest mare in Equestria, and in his opinion, the most beautiful.

"Bass, this is Octavia. Tavi, this is my soulmate, Deep Bass."

Octavia looked Bass over from her chair, grinning. "So this is the Pegasus you've told me so much about. He is indeed quite a catch, V. You'd better tie him down before I try to steal him."

Vinyl wrapped her forelegs around Bass. "Noooo!"

Bass laughed. "Sorry, Octavia, but this is property of Vinyl Scratch."

Octavia smiled and nodded. "Good. I wouldn't even think of stealing a stallion away from V. Besides, I don't even like them."

"Vinyl kissed Bass on the cheek. "Tavi and I go way back. She's my best friend." Vinyl then turned to Octavia. "Tavi, we have an issue that requires your talents."

Octavia raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Who do I have to kill?" There was a short silence, then the two mares burst into laughter. "Of course I kid."

Vinyl went back to seriousness. "No, death would be the easy way out for this bitch."

"Vinyl Scratch. I've never heard you use such a word in my life. This pony must've messed up… bad."

Vinyl grinned. "Oh, she fucked up, alright. By messing with the wrong mare's mate."

After a few minutes of explanation, Octavia agreed to the plan, and the couple headed back to Bass's house for some much needed rest.

The next morning, after a quick breakfast, Bass and Vinyl headed back over to Vinyl's house, to await the others. First was a teary-eyed Treble.

Bass looked concernedly at his sister. "What happened, Treb?"

Treble wiped a tear from her eye, stepping in the door. "Twilight and I broke up. It turns out that we didn't really have as much in common as I thought. She said I'm too violent."

"I'm sorry, sis. I'm sure you'll meet the right mare some day." Then there was another knock on the door. Vinyl opened the door, revealing the grey mare holding a cello case in her mouth, and smiling. "Mornin' Tavi. Come in." The neautiful mare strolled in, the case's handle between her teeth. Vinyl closed the door behind Octavia. She then looked toward Treble, who was staring at Octavia, almost as if she were fantasizing. "Tavi, this is Bass's sister, Treble. Treble, this is my friend, Octavia. She'll be handling the strings."

There was a slight tension in the air as the two treble clef cutie-marked mares stared each other down. "Are you sure she's cut out for this, Vinyl?"

Vinyl nodded, taking her sunglasses off. "One hundred percent sure she's the pony for the job."

"Vinyl, are you sure this… 'Treble' will be able to keep up with my skills?"

Vinyl raised an eyebrow. "Er…"

"Vinyl, can this 'Octavia' even read sheet music?"

"Uh…"

"Vinyl, can this 'Treble' even read?"

"I uh…"

"Vinyl, can Octa-"

"Enough, you two," Bass piped up. "Look, if you two wanna just screw and get it over with, you can use the spare bedroom in my house after this is all over with, but for now, keep your tongues out of each other's throats, okay?"

Then there was one more knock on the door. Bass snapped his gaze at it, still slightly irritated at the two mares. "Nopony fuckin move. I've got it this time." Bass walked to the door, stopping every few steps, and glaring back at Treble and Octavia.

After about a minute or so, Bass reached the door, and opened it, revealing a brown earth pony with a long black mane, which covered half his face. "Sup, Bass."

"Holy shit! Speed Kicker? I didn't know you still played, bro!"

"Well, I didn't till I got a visit from my friend Vinyl over there. The moment she mentioned you, I was down. I'd never pass on a chance to play with Deep Bass again. So, are we ready to make some music or what?"

"Hold your horses, pal. Gotta introduce you to the rest of the band." Bass led the earth pony to the other three. "Okay, so we've got two rock stars, a DJ, and two mares who want to hump each other's brains out, and neither will admit it." Bass looked around the group, pointing at each pony when their name is called. "Treble, and Octavia."

Leadhoof chuckled lightly. "Sounds like an awesome movie waiting to happen. Where's the script?"

Bass nodded at the large stack of papers on the table. "There."

Leadhoof's jaw dropped. "You wrote all those yourself?"

"Yep. I call it the mountain."

The day began with the five ponies sitting around, digging through the papers, picking out the songs they liked best.

"Oh, I like this one!" Octavia waved around a sheet.

"I don't think you can even play that one." Treble grinned.

"You two stop it!" Bass cut in. "Okay, so we have Octavia's pick."

"Here's my favorite, Babe." Vinyl set the page on Bass's lap. He looked at it, and smiled.

"I'm glad you like it, babe. So now we have two."

"Yo, Bass, I'm feelin a heavy drum line for this one."

"Sweet, so three."

"Bass, I'd like to perform the song you and Vinyl made." Treble smiled at the couple on the couch.

"Awesome, so everypony has their pick in the set list."

Vinyl looked at Bass, confused. "What about your pick?"

Bass smiled. "It's not in the stack… because I haven't written it yet."

Everypony looked at Bass and nodded, and they set to work on practicing, and learning the four songs. The practice went off without a hitch, with the exception Treble and Octavia's attitudes toward each other, and by the evening of the first night, Bass had gotten fed up with it. Even during the breaks, which Bass used to write, he could hear them fighting from Vinyl's kitchen. It was time for the last break before everyone would be given the rest of the night to rest, and Bass was sitting at the table, writing his masterpiece, when he heard it again. Enough was enough.

He stormed into the basement, where Vinyl was standing between the two mares, trying to keep them from hitting each other. Bass's frustration had reached its peak. "You two stop right now!" Bass's powerful shout filled the room, drawing everypony's attention, who now stared at him, eyes wide. "Everypony out, except for Treble and Octavia." The two other ponies nodded, and went back upstairs, leaving the three of them in the basement, alone. "Alright you two! I've had it with the constant bickering between the two of you! Therefore neither of you are to leave this room until you've settled your differences! Is that clear?!"

The two mares kept their amazed stare at Bass.

"I said is that fucking clear?!"

Both mares nodded in understanding.

"Good!" Bass stormed out of the basement, locking the door behind him, and wedged a piece of wood under the door handle. Then he walked upstairs to the other two, who were sitting quietly at the top of the stairs. "Speed, you can go back to your hotel for the night."

"Roger that, Bass. I'll see you guys first thing in the morning." Then, Leadhoof left, leaving Bass and Vinyl in the house with the two mares in the basement.

Bass and Vinyl went to Vinyl's room. Bass had never actually been in there, and didn't know what to expect. Vinyl opened the door, and Bass was shocked. In her room, sitting on the wall, right next to her bed was the same picture that was in his room, except with a heart drawn around his face. And just to the right of the picture was a framed gold record. Bass walked to go look at it. Surprisingly enough to him, it wasn't the album he thought it was. It was his favorite one. The one with Ghost Town, Chapter 3, Bleed Right Through, and the fully instrumental Psychotic Stallion. He turned, and looked at Vinyl, his jaw dropped.

"It's my all time favorite. It was like every emotion conceivable was put into that album." Vinyl blushed, and smiled shyly at Bass.

Bass smiled, and walked over to Vinyl. "And the picture?"

Vinyl giggled. "Well, I told you I had a thing for you ever since I met you, didn't I?"

Bass smiled, and crawled into the bed. "We should get some sleep. Come on, fanfilly."

Vinyl smiled, and crawled into bed, pinning Bass down playfully, and kissed him softly. "I'm not a fanfilly, baby. I'm your personal groupie."

Bass smiled, and wrapped his wings around the amorous made, and reached over and turned out the light.

Chapter 9: "Ladies... Eating!"

Ch. 9

It was a quiet, somewhat cloudy morning, and the air outside was crisp and cool. Winter had come, and it was obvious that snow was coming. The previous night passed slowly in the small house on the edge of Ponyville, with the exception of the yelling from the basement, as well as the screaming and moaning from the bedroom. The morning was silent, as the two exhausted lovers lay sleeping peacefully in the mare's bed.

Bass opened his eyes, and looked down at Vinyl, who was once again laying with her head on his chest. He smiled, and looked down at the sleeping mare, stroking her messy mane. "Time to wake up, love."

The mare rustled around for a second. "Mmm. Can't feel my legs. Five more minutes, baby."

He leaned down, and kissed her softly on the forehead, carefully avoiding her horn. "Fine. Five more minutes, Vi."

About thirty minutes or so later, Bass nudged Vinyl softly. "Come on, babe. We've got a long day ahead of us."

Vinyl looked up into Bass's eyes, and smiled. "Good morning, my love."

"And good morning to you too, beautiful."

Vinyl blushed, and rolled off of Bass, scooting toward the edge of the bed. Bass did the same, and the two lovers went into the kitchen to prepare a light breakfast. "Baby, should we make some thing for your sister, and Tavi?" And that's when they realized that there was an odd silence about the house.

Bass's eyes went wide. "Oh shit… it's too quiet."

Vinyl's expression turned to that of worry. "Do you think they're okay, Bass?"

"I don't know, let's go check."

The two ponies headed down the stairs toward the basement, and Bass kicked the wood away from the door, and unlocked it. "Well, here goes nothing."

He swung the door open, to find the two mares cuddling together on the floor, the room wreaking of sex. Bass was blown back by the smell, like it had mule kicked him in the face. "I guess I was right about those two."

Vinyl buried her face between her hooves to escape the strong scent.

Bass hit his hoof on the door, creating a loud smack, which jolted the two sleeping mares back to consciousness. "Oh, uh… good morning Bass. Vinyl." Treble looked at the two at the doorway, and blushed. "Sleep well?"

Bass grinned and raised an eyebrow. "I should ask you two the same."

Octavia lifted her head, her straight mane a complete mess. "Oh, my… uh, Vinyl, we'll clean up, I promise."

Vinyl didn't even look up, still holding her nose beneath her hooves. "That's cool."

"And when you get done, we'll have breakfast ready. Just come up, and grab some. I can't wait to hear about this." Bass laughed, and nudged Vinyl, the couple walking upstairs, to finish cooking.

A few minutes later the two mares came upstairs, the musky scent clinging to their fur, and their manes complete messes.

Bass set two plates on the table. "Here, you two eat up, then go wash up."

Treble and Octavia nodded, and sat down, eating slowly, occasionally glancing up at each other and smiling.

Bass couldn't help but notice this, and nudged Vinyl, motioning toward the two at the table. She looked at the mares and giggled softly. "Baby, I'm gonna go wash up before they finish."

Bass nodded, and took his plate, sitting at the table.

"So, I take it you two settled your differences?"

Treble looked up at her brother, and blushed. "Well, yeah."

Octavia grinned. "I never knew guitarists were so quick with their hooves."

Treble smiled at Octavia. "And the same can be said for cello players."

"Okay, ladies, I'm trying to eat, here. The last thing I need to hear is how good my sister is in bed."

"Oh, there was no bed involved." Treble grinned evilly.

"Again… eating!"

Octavia picked up on Treble's little game. "Oh, there was definitely eating."

Bass picked up his plate, walking away. "Thank you, ladies, for ruining my breakfast, and possibly my whole day. Good job." He then walked back into the bedroom.

The two mares watched him walk away, and erupted in howls of laughter the moment he shut the door.

"That'll teach him to lock us in the basement." Treble grinned at Octavia.

"Indeed it will."

A few hours later, all five ponies were down in the basement, beginning practice once more. The show was the next evening, and Bass hadn't finished his song, yet. They had nearly perfected the other four songs for their setlist, and all that was left was Bass's "masterpiece."

Around noon, the group had dismissed for two hours so everypony could relax and enjoy a nice lunch. Treble and Octavia took Speed out into town to get something decent to eat, and Bass and Vinyl had gone back to Bass's house to find something to cook.

Vinyl was rummaging through the kitchen, looking for something to cook, while Bass was sitting on the couch with a pen and paper, trying desperately to put lyrics onto the sheet. After a few minutes, Bass tossed the pen and paper across the room, and walked into the bedroom, and began looking at all the pictures on the wall. Then he saw it. The picture of himself and Rhythm as foals, and the words from her diary played in his head like a broken record. "I know you're good at finding meaning in lyrics, Bass."

He quickly ripped the blanket off of the bed, and dug under it until he found what he was looking for. He dragged the box out, and set it in top of the bed, pulling the top off, and pulling out a small stack of paper. He spread all of the pages out on his bed, as he read each one of them, tears building in his eyes. Then he came upon one with a message on top. "Bass, if you're reading this, and I'm not around, I want you to know that it wasn't your fault. I've been fighting depression for a long time now. I've thought numerous times about ending it, but never had the courage. I'm always in so much pain. I love you, but I don't want my depression to drag you down as well. I wrote this song for you. Maybe one day, you'll find somepony who deserves it."

Bass wiped more tears from his eyes, then read the lyrics. His eyes lit up. "That's it!" Bass ran out of the room, and into the kitchen, where Vinyl had begun preparing lunch. "Babe, I found our last song!" He then excitedly held the lyric in front of her face.

Vinyl took a moment to read the note at the top, then the title. "'You Are The One?' So… you're dedicating this to me?" Vinyl was almost in tears.

Bass nodded, smiling. "I've never been quite able to put my feelings for you into words. And this song sums my feelings up entirely."

Vinyl smiled, and kissed Bass passionately, wrapping her front legs around his neck. "Then we're all ready for tomorrow. We just need to put music to these words. Then everypony will see the return of Lunar Black!"

Bass looked deep into Vinyl's eyes and shook his head slowly. "No, Lunar Black is dead."

Meanwhile, just outside Steedston, Silver Sky was just receiving a letter from the venue which was hosting her show. She opened it curiously.

"Dear Silver Sky:

In light of new circumstances, we have decided to add a few bands to the line-up for your show tomorrow. The new lineup is as follows:

-Skyleaf

-Silver Sky

-Bow to Beauty

Thank you for your understanding, and cooperation.

Sincerely,

The Management."

Sky shrugged. "Whatever. I'm in too good a mood to care about a few noponies. I wonder how Bass is drowning his sorrows right now… Eh, probably in half a bottle of pills, and a glass of booze."

She couldn't have been more wrong.

Chapter 10: Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge

Alright, here's the last chapter of the tale of Deep Bass. Will he get revenge on the evil bitch, Silver Sky? Maybe. I'm not gonna ruin it for you. Also, I don't own the rights to Swing Life Away, Poison, You are The One, or Ricochet. Swing Life Away belongs to Rise against, and the other three belong to Shiny Toy Guns. However, I do own the rights to Never Too Far... because I wrote it... and recorded it. (myspace.com/davidhansonmusic)- Original, kinda poorly prepared version.

Ch. 10

It was the morning of the show, and rumors had begun to spread throughout Steedston of the lineup change. Everyone was buzzing about some rockpony super group that was supposedly following Silver Sky. Bass and the other four ponies had loaded up a carriage with their equipment, and were riding on their way to Steedston for the show.

"I can't believe it!" The white mare was practically oozing excitement. "My first live performance! I'm so excited."

Bass, who was just finishing up with tuning his bass guitar, smiled at his excited lover. "It's an amazing feeling, Vi."

Treble looked across the carriage and smiled. "It really is. Think of your favorite feeling right now, and multiply it by ten."

Vinyl blushed. "Nothing could feel better than the day I met Bass."

Bass smiled, and kissed her on the cheek, then Kicker spoke up. "So, bud. How's it feel knowing that this'll be your first show as Deep Bass, not Lunar Black?"

Bass suddenly began to look nervous.

Treble nodded. "Yeah, now that everypony is going to know how you are, you'll never get a moments peace."

Bass sunk in his seat, and Vinyl kissed him softly on the cheek. "Don't worry, babe. Everything will be okay."

Bass forced a smile. "I hope so."

Meanwhile, in Steedston, Silver Sky was at the venue with her band, relaxing backstage. The keyboard player and drummer were chatting.

Ivory Keys, the keyboard player, was all abuzz. "So, did you hear about this supergroup that's supposed to be going on after us?"

Up Tempo, the drummer, nodded. "Yeah, I heard that they came into the set at the last minute, and tripled the ticket sales. I also heard that some big producer is coming to record the whole concert. Kinda puts pressure on us."

Sky turned, and laughed conceitedly. "Put pressure on YOU? Don't make me laugh. We all know that I'll be the one in the spotlight, and if you two screw up, I'll be the one who looks bad."

The two other ponies rolled their eyes at Sky and left the room.

It was time for the show, and apparently, the third band hadn't arrived yet. It didn't really matter, since they were the last group on anyways. Skyleaf was the first on, and as the first band, it was their responsibility to warm up the crowd for the other bands. About two songs into the setlist, it was clear that they had already held up their job, and did so beautifully.

At the end of Skyleaf's set, the carriage holding Deep Bass and the rest pulled around the back. Skyleaf had cleared the stage, and Silver Sky's roadies were setting up the stage for the group. Sky looked out through the curtains, spotting the cameras, and grinned. She then walked backstage, where her band was waiting. She slipped the guitar strap over her neck, and smiled conceitedly. "Alright, everypony. This is the moment. Let's go out there and show them that Silver Sky is the greatest rockpony who ever lived!" Ivory Keys and Up Tempo rolled their eyes, and left the lounge, and went to take their places on stage. Sky, herself started to head onstage, just as Bass, Vinyl, Treble, Kicker, and Octavia were walking to their lounge.

"Hello, Sky," Treble said confidently.

"Oh, hello, failure. I see you and your little band of misfits came to watch me claim my place in rock history."

Treble laughed in Sky's face. "Oh, no. We're here make sure the crowd gets their bits worth."

Sky raised an eyebrow, and laughed. "All you've got on your side is a washed up shell of a rockpony, two noponies, and a drummer who hasn't played with a band in almost a year. If this is the supergroup I've been hearing about, then the fans are going to be greatly disappointed I may have to come on again after you so the fans don't riot in anger." Then she turned her sights to Bass. "And hello, Bass. I wasn't expecting to see you still breathing. Pity. I guess I'll have to try harder next time."

Vinyl was furious, and gritting her teeth. She was just about to rip Sky a new one when a pony with a headset came back. "Miss Sky, you're on."

"Well, I'll see you in the hall of fame." Sky then laughed, and trotted out to the stage.

Vinyl looked at Bass who had remained silent the whole time. "I can't believe you dated that bitch."

Sky trotted onstage, smiling. "Good afternoon, Steedston! Are you ready to rock?" The crowd roared. "Well, unfortunately, we're not the last group, today, so I'm gonna go ahead and tell you what you've been waiting for. The 'super group' Bow to Beauty is coming on after me. And I know you've all been dying to find out who it is."

Bass and the group were watching from the side of the stage. "She wouldn't…"

Treble shook her head. "She would."

Sky looked at them from center stage, and smiled wickedly. "Bow to Beauty is none other than Speed Kicker of 36 Crazyhooves on the drums, Soft Treble on guitar, and… Lunar Black of Fasthor5 playing his first show since his onstage accident!"

Bass sighed, and lowered his head. "Aaaaaand she did."

Sky smiled, and started her set. The crowd seemed as though they could care less, knowing that Lunar Black was coming on next. After the third song, this made Sky furious. After the song was over, she walked back to her bandmates. "What is wrong with you two? You're missing beats left and right, and you're off tempo! If you two don't unfuck yourselves, you're finished!"

This made the other two musicians furious. Sky walked back up to the microphone. "Alright, everypony, here's a little song I wrote. You may have heard it on the radio. It's called Ice. 1, 2, 3, go!" Sky waited for Ivory to start the intro, but heard nothing but the crowd laughing. She turned back to see that her band had left her high and dry. She then looked back at the crowd, her entire face red in embarrassment. She then ran offstage crying, the entire crowd laughing as Ivory and Tempo were standing over by Bass and his crew.

Ivory looked at Treble, and nodded. "Sad thing is, I don't feel one bit of regret for that. She totally had it coming. I wasn't gonna let her claim your work, Treble."

Tempo nodded as well. "Yeah! Everypony knows that you wrote Ice, not Sky. And if you feel like you owe us, just buy me a copy of the show video when it comes out. I wanna remember this forever."

Treble smiled. "Will do, Tempo."

Bass smiled, although not completely satisfied. He still had one more thing to do.

The announcer came on, and apologized for what had just happened, and Bass and the gang started setting up their equipment, after the curtain had closed. Then, once the announcer had introduced the band, the curtain opened, to reveal the white Pegasus with the amber shades, and his Bass guitar around his neck, then revealing the rest of the band. The crowd went wild, chanting "Lunar Black! Lunar Black! Lunar Black!" Bass grinned, and looked out at the crowd, taking in the moment he had missed this. But something was wrong. Bass felt as though he wasn't the one on stage, but instead Lunar Black. Bass had pushed his stage persona out of his life a long time ago, and didn't have any plans of bringing him back. He leaned in closer to the microphone, and spoke softly, in his normal voice. The crowd went silent, mostly out of shock. "Good evening, Steedston. I know a lot of you are excited to see the return of Lunar Black, but I must regretfully inform you that this is not the return of Lunar Black, but the funeral of Lunar Black." The crowd began talking confused amongst themselves. "You see, Lunar Black died a few months ago. Although I was once the pony known as Lunar Black, I gave up that life long ago. While I was Lunar Black, I made a lot of bad decisions, and hurt some of the ponies who cared about me. I'm now proud to say that I've been completely sober for almost two months now, and I've found somepony special. But before I go into that, let's get our first song out of the way. All five of the songs we perform here, tonight have never been heard before, and have never been recorded, so here comes our first song, which was written originally by myself, and our keyboardist, and rhythm guitarist, DJ Vinyl Scratch. This one's called Ricochet!"

Bass immediately hit the opening bassline, leading Vinyl into the first verse. The rest of the band played through the song flawlessly, and when they finished, the crowd was roaring in excitement. After the song had finished, Bass smiled at the crowd, and pulled his shades off, tossing them into the crowd, letting everypony see his eyes. The crowd went wild at the gesture, as a group of mares fought over the glasses.

"Alright, everypony, it's high time I introduced the world to the rest of B.T.B.. First up, is Ponyville's own Octavia, one of the greatest cello players in all of Equestria." Octavia came forward, and took a bow, then stepped back. "Then on the lead guitar is my own twin sister, Soft Treble!" Treble waved from her spot on stage. "Then, on the drums, Speed Kicker, better known as Leadhoof from 36 Crazyhooves." Speed threw his hooves up, then slammed out a quick drum solo. "And last but not least, our rhythm guitarist, keyboardist, and backup vocalist. After my dear friend Steady Rhythm passed away, I moved into the small town of Ponyville. I met a few other ponies when I arrived, but they didn't make any real impression on me. So I spent the next few days cleaning up my new home, and getting moved in. Then, one day, a beautiful mare came to my door, and instantly, I knew there was something special about her. She asked me for some help with a song she was working on, and I was only too happy to help. Well, that song ended up being Ricochet, the song we just did. After that, she showed me around Ponyville, showing me all the cool and fun things around the town. In time, I fell for her." Bass looked at Vinyl, smiling, and using his hoof to bring the mic with him. "She helped me push away all the sadness from losing my foalhood friend, Rhythm, and she helped me find the inspiration and motivation to come up here in front of all of you, tonight. She was there for me when Silver Sky tried to crush my spirits for a second time." Bass then walked over to Vinyl, and kissed her softly. "She's the love of my life, and future mother of my foals." Bass then pulled Vinyl's shades off, and looked deep into her eyes. "Vinyl Scratch, will you marry me?"

All the other ponies on stage smiled at the couple, and the crowd went completely silent, waiting for Vinyl's answer.

Vinyl was in shock. She smiled, tears building in her eyes. "Yes, Bass! Yes I will!" She then wrapped her front legs around Bass, and kissed him passionately. The crowd erupted in a giant cheer, and Bass walked back to the microphone. The next song is a song that Vinyl inspired. This one's called 'Fly There Now!'"

The band played through the song at full energy, inciting cheers all the way up to the last note.

The crowd continued to go crazy. "Alright, everypony. The next song is a bit more on the emotional side. And by emotion, I mean the angry one. I wrote this song a few years ago, after Silver Sky wrecked my emotions and broke my heart. At first, I was happy being with her, but then I found out that she was doing every stallion on the block. When I asked her about it, she left me. After she did what she did, I had started in an uncontrollable descent into a dark place." The entire crowd booed at the mention of Silver Sky, and Bass looked at the side of the stage, and saw her standing, and watching. She had seen everything, and was standing there with her jaw dropped. "Bass grinned at her. "This one's called 'Never Too Far.'"

Treble and Vinyl both started off with a matching guitar line, playing a short chord progression twice over, then the third time, the progression changed a bit, and Bass joined in, playing the same progression on the bass. The three of them played the riff once more, then the progression changed into a lower, and heavier progression, Speed joining in with a fast punk-styled drumline. After they played through the riff a few times, they returned to the same riff as the opening, Speed changing to a more technical, and slower line, Bass stepping to the mic.

"I wipe the tears away and turn off the lights,

Cuz nothin bad ever happens in the night.

Right?

I gotta get away get away from you,

Cause everything that I heard turned out to be true."

Then the two guitarists and Bass returned to the low heavy progression for the Chorus, Speed going back to the fast beat, and Vinyl stepped up to her mic, and started singing.

"I wanted to live my life, so I'll live it alone!"

Then Bass came in with a mid range scream. "I'll live it alone! I'll live it alone!"

Vinyl sang again. "I had to run away, so I could find a new home."

"And I found a new home!"

"Don't know where I'm goin, but no place could be too far away from you. Too far away from you."

The band returned to the verse progression, as Bass began to sing again. "I hit the carriage station. The only one in town. Give me a couple hours, and I'll never be found. A fuckin ticket's worth every fuckin bit. Just so I didn't have to take any more of your shit!"

"I wanted to live my life so I'll live it alone!"

"I'll live it alone! I'll live it alone!"

"I had to fly so far away so I could find a new home!"

"And I found a home!"

"I don't know where I'm goin but no place could be too far away from you!"

"Away from you!"

"Away from yooooooou!"

Then the guitars rang out in a low note, then began a slow, and heavy rhythm as Bass turned his gaze to Silver, who was still stunned in amazement. The bridge of the song continued with Speed keeping a steady rhythm on the bass drum, and Bass began to speak into the mic, keeping a rhythm the whole time. "No matter where I go, you're always two steps behind me. Pointing out every flaw I have, every mistake make. Always trying to break me, when you should be building me up. It's not a healthy thing to do. Because now, I may just grin and bear your abuse, but when I snap, your name is at the top of my list. And I'm gonna make you want forgiveness, no. Beg for forgiveness, plead for forgiveness. But I won't listen. Today, you've seen what I can do with three days. Wait till I have a few years." Then Treble broke out in a guitar solo, as Bass grinned wickedly at Silver. Then at the last note of the solo, the song ended.

The crowd was going absolutely insane, as Vinyl went back behind her keyboard, and Octavia came back out with her cello. The band had planned a speechless transition into the next song.

"I'm going to meet you...

Voices are child in sound

Fades away..

For silence is walking, signs of you will leave.

What will happen is the same for you

Til the end of someones world

And the cradle says goodbye to yesterday..

Painfully, I prepare a release

And poison takes me away.

Poison takes me away..

Takes me away.

Listen, don't cry my child

When you awake..

My father's table set a place for you.

Contact, with firefull love

As you're to know my days

A season of poison will bring the darkness soon.

Painfully, I prepare a release

And poison takes me away.

Poison takes me away..

Takes me away.

On angels wings

You learn to fly.

From this world you left below

I'm going to meet you

I've come to take you home.

From this world you left below

I'm going to meet you

I've come to take you home.

From this world you left below

I'm going to meet you

I've come to take you home.

Painfully, I prepare a release

And poison takes me away.

Poison takes me away..

On angels wings

You learn to fly.

On angels wings

You learn to fly."

The crowd had settled down a bit, only due to the slow tempo, and deep lyrics to the song, but they were still obviously enjoying the show.

"Thanks, everypony, that one was called 'Poison.' Now, for our last song of the evening, I'd like to dedicate this song to the future Mrs. Deep Bass, Vinyl Scratch. This song wasn't actually written by me, but instead by my dearest foalhood friend, and one of the greatest drummers in all Equestrian history, Steady Rhythm. When she died, she gave me the lyrics to all the songs that she had written, and at the top of this one was message. I don't want to get into the emotional details, but she stated that it was her dying wish for me to perform this song, and dedicate it to the special mare in my life, whoever it may be." He looked at Vinyl. "And baby, that's you." Vinyl blushed from behind her keyboard, and the crowd erupted in one big collective Aw. Bass looked back to the crowd. "This one is called 'You are the One.'" With that, Vinyl began to play the opening of the song on her keyboard, and Bass started strong with the first verse.

"Black rose and a radio fire

It's so contagious

Is that something changing my mind

I'm gonna take what's evil"

Vinyl then picked up with the second part.

"Your cover melting inside

With wide eyes you tremble

Kissing over and over again

Your god knows his faithful"

Keeping perfect rhythm, Bass picked back up.

"I try to digest my pride

But passions grip I fear

When I climb into shallow vats of wine

I think I almost hear but it's not clear"

"You are the one

You'll never be alone again

You're more than in my head

You're more

You are the one

You'll never be alone again

You're more than in my head

You're more

Spin faster shouting out loud

You can't steal what's paid for

Is that something hurting again

Murder son, she's painful"

Having given Bass the chorus, Vinyl picked up again.

"You so believe your own lies

On my skin your fingers

Runaway until the last time

We're gonna lose forever"

Bass smiled at the blushing Vinyl.

"When you try, don't try to say you won't

Try to crawl into my head

When you cry 'cause it's all built up inside

Your tears already said, already said

You are the one

You'll never be alone again

You're more than in my head

You're more

You are the one

You'll never be alone again

You're more than in my head

You're more

You'll never be alone again

You are the one

You'll never be alone again

You're more than in my head

You're more

You are the one

You'll never be alone again

You're more than in my head

You're more

Alone again"

The crowd cheered loudly as the band took a bow, and began to head offstage. The crowd didn't let up, chanting BTB! BTB! BTB!" Bass turned his head back to the crowd, and smiled, then back to his bandmates. "Treble, let me see your guitar. I'm going to give our fans something they'll never forget."

Treble smiled, and passed her brother the guitar, which he quickly slung over his neck. Then he walked back on stage. The crowd erupted as he walked on stage. He didn't plan on an encore, and didn't have a song prepared. He was prepared to let everything out, though. He was about to sing from his heart.

Bass took his place at the microphone. "Good evening. We were just about to head out, but I felt like I couldn't leave my fans hanging. I didn't really have a song prepared, so I'm just gonna make this up as I go." He stood there, smiling, trying to think of a name for the creation he was about to unleash upon the thousands of cheering ponies. "I call this one 'Swing Life Away.'"

The crowd cheered as Bass began to play a slow, acoustic melody, each note ringing with pure emotion.

"Am I loud and clear, or am I breaking up?

Am I still your charm, or am I just bad luck?

Are we getting closer, or are we just getting more lost?

I'll show you mine if you show me yours first

Let's compare scars, I'll tell you whose is worse

Let's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words

We live on front porches and swing life away,

We get by just fine here on minimum wage

If love is a labor I'll slave till the end,

I won't cross these streets until you hold my hoof.

I've been here so long, I think that it's time to move

The winter's so cold, summer's over too soon

Let's pack our bags and settle down where palm trees grow

I've got some friends, some that I hardly know

But we've had some times, I wouldn't trade for the world

We chase these days down with talks of the places that we will go

We live on front porches and swing life away,

We get by just fine here on minimum wage

If love is a labor I'll slave till the end,

I won't cross these streets until you hold my hoof...until you hold my hoof.

I'll show you mine if you show me yours first

Let's compare scars, I'll tell you whose is worse

Let's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words

We live on front porches and swing life away,

We get by just fine here on minimum wage

If love is a labor I'll slave till the end,

I won't cross these streets until you hold my hoof.

Swing life away.

Swing life away hey.

Swing life away."

As Bass let the last chord of the song ring out, the crowd went more wild than they had throughout the whole show. Bass smiled, as a tear fell from his cheek, and onto the microphone. "Thank you, everypony. You guys are what keeps me going through the hard times." Bass then took a bow, and walked off the stage. As soon as he was offstage, he walked right up to Vinyl, and kissed her passionately. The two lovers held the kiss for a moment, only breaking it when they heard a slow clapping of hooves. Bass looked at the source of the clapping, the grey Pegasus mare that had been watching the entire time.

"Well done, Bass. You've succeeded in absolutely nothing. Sure, my ban may have run out on me, but I can easily replace them, and then I'll be back on top, and you'll be old news again."

Bass was just about to lash out at the mare when the white unicorn stepped in front of him, taking her glasses off, throwing them to the floor. "Listen here, you little bitch!" Vinyl was furious. Bass stepped back, eyes wide. Sky, herself, was surprised at Vinyl's outburst. "Bass doesn't need you! He's a wonderful stallion, and you were too much of a whore to see it, so you let him slip through your hooves, and now you realize that he's better than you'll ever be! So you just keep trying to break him. Well I've got news for you, sweetie. You'll never break Bass's spirit because he's stronger than you! So don't you ever let me see your face again, or I'll beat you until you pray for death! Do you understand me?" Vinyl was breathing heavily, almost snarling as she stared down the grey mare, who stood silently. "Do you under-fucking-stand me?"

Sky nodded slowly.

"Good. Now get the fuck out of my sight." With that, Sky nodded quickly, and took off running. Vinyl turned to Bass, and slowly returned to a smile. "Did I do good, baby?"

Bass stood there, mouth agape, and Speed nudged him. "She's definitely a keeper, bro."

Vinyl blushed and giggled.

Treble and Octavia had left just after the show, and Speed had decided to spend time with the lead singer from Skyleaf, seeing as how they were dating, and all. And, surprisingly, Bass and Vinyl decided to skip the after party, to go back to Ponyville to rest.

Epilogue: Resonance

It was a snowy night in Phillydelphia, and everypony was in their houses sitting next to the fire, to keep warm. All except for a lone flower vendor, who was just about to close up shop. He was just about to set the sign to say the shop was closed, when a mysterious pony in a hooded jacket trotted in, and shook off the snow.

"Oh, good evening. How can I help you?"

The stallion spoke softly. "A dozen of your finest roses, please."

"Oh, yes sir. 30 bits."

The stallion produced a small pouch of coins from under his wing, and set it on the counter. "Keep the change." The pony then took the flowers in his mouth, and walked out of the shop. The shopkeeper looked suspiciously at the hooded stallion, as he stretched a pair of long, white wings out from under the jacket, and took flight.

The pony soared through the winter night, and landed softly in the center of a cemetery, walking up to a gravestone, and setting the roses in front of it. Then he reached up, and pulled his hood back, revealing deep blue eyes, white fur, and a straight black mane. He then reached into his jacket, and pulled out a picture, setting it softly next to the roses. The picture was of Fasthor5's first show. The pony then lifted off again, flying into the distance. He flew as fast as he could through the snow, taking care to maintain a decent altitude, as to avoid any collisions with any trees. He continued flying until he saw the lights of Ponyville, and then slowly landed, walking the rest of the way. As he carried on through the light snow, a few of the townsfolk who were out going about there business greeted him. It was nice to finally be a normal pony. A huge difference compared to his old lifestyle. The stallion continued until he reached the outskirts of the town, saw a small house with the lights on, and smoke rising from the chimney. He smiled as he saw a small white horned head with a short black and blue mane poke up and look out the window, followed by another small white head with a blue mane with black stripes. As he got closer, he saw the two foals in the window smile, and disappear, then the door swung open, two white foals ran out to greet him, both simultaneously shouting "Daddy!" The two foals wrapped themselves around his legs, giggling. The Pegasus leaned down, and planted a kiss on each one's forehead. "Come on, you two. Let's go back inside before you two catch a cold." He then leaned his head down, scooping the two foals up one at a time, and spread his wings, setting them each on a wing, and strolled inside.

"Welcome home, dear," the white unicorn mare exclaimed as the three of them came into the house. "I tried to put them to bed, but they insisted on waiting for you to come home."

The Pegasus smiled. "They're stubborn like their mother, Vi."

"No, Bass. They definitely get that from you." She kissed Bass softly, and smiled. "Come on, guys. Time for bed."

The Pegasus filly yawned, and nodded. "Okay Mommy."

The unicorn filly smiled at her father. "Good night, Daddy."

Bass smiled at the foals. "Good night, Dante. Good night Allegra. Daddy will see you in the morning." Then he watched as Vinyl led the two sleepy foals off to bed, smiling. He knew that his rock star years were over, but it didn't matter. He had found a new song to sing. A new beat to jam to. He was a proud father, and nothing could change that.

It had been about six years since the legendary concert in Steedston, and Bow to Beauty hadn't played since. Silver Sky's career was ruined once the video of the show hit the shelves. In fact, her set had been entirely erased from the live album of the show, disentitling her from any royalties of the sales. The album had sold millions copies, and the show had been labeled the greatest rock concert of all time, and Bass hadn't spent a single bit of the sales profits. No, he and Vinyl had tucked all the bits away for their new investment, and it was indeed a great investment. In the mean time, Bass had taken a job as music teacher, and choir director at the local school (a job the school was more than happy to give him), and Vinyl spent the days taking care of the foals.

The next morning, Bass and Vinyl awoke to the two foals laying between them. "Mommy, Daddy! We have company!" The little filly's voice was full of excitement as her ruby eyes shone with happiness.

Bass rolled over, and crawled out of bed, walking to the door. As he walked into the kitchen, the smell of freshly brewed coffee hit him, and at the dining room table, he spotted two mares. One yellow, and the other, grey. "Ah, good morning, ladies."

Treble turned her head to look at her brother. "Ah, good morning, Mr. Bass. I trust you slept well."

Bass chuckled lightly. "Don't I always, sis?"

Octavia looked at Bass, and giggled. "You and your sister are so alike that it isn't even funny."

Treble glanced at Octavia. "Oh, hush, Ms. Bright-And-Early. I told you, I'm not a morning pony."

Octavia laughed. "You're not an any-time-of-day pony."

Bass laughed at the conversation. "I still remember when you two used to hate each other."

Octavia smiled. "Ah, yes. Back in the glory days."

Treble sighed dreamily. "Ah yes, the glory days. Speaking of which, how's your friend, Speed?"

"Well, he and Lacy are doing well. I honestly can't believe they've been dating all this time."

Then Vinyl strolled into the kitchen, the two foals in tow. "Well, good morning, Tavi. And you too, Treble."

Treble rose from the table, and walked over to the two foals, leaning down to them. "Good morning, my little ponies! I trust you've been good for Mommy and Daddy."

Vinyl giggled softly. "They're little angels, Treb."

Treble smiled at Vinyl. "And good morning to you too, dear. I trust things have been going well?"

"Oh, beautifully, Treble. After all, motherhood is a gift in and of itself."

Octavia smiled at her long time friend. "Indeed, and it looks as though it's done wonders for you, V."

"Why thank you, Tavi. It's good to see you again."

Treble and Octavia had decided to continue pursuing their musical careers, performing together, and forming a new band. The band had recorded four albums, and played two world tours. The two had gotten married in Phillydelphia, causing tons of controversy, which led to more publicity, which in turn led to more and more album sales.

Bass smiled at the two foals. "Alright, angels, it's time for you two to go to school."

The two fillies frowned. "Do we have to, Daddy?" The Pegasus filly looked up at Bass with begging eyes.

Bass chuckled softly. "Of course you do. Aunt Treble will be here when you get back."

The unicorn filly looked at Treble. "Promise?"

Treble laughed, and kissed the filly on the top of her head. "Promise."

The two young fillies walked toward the door, Vinyl following closely behind, and Danta, the pegasus looked back. "Bye, Aunt Treble. Bye, Aunt Tavi."

The two mares waved a hoof at the fillies, Octavia smiling. "Be good."

Allegra, the unicorn smiled widely. "We will." Then Vinyl opened the door, and the three of them left.

Treble turned to Bass. "They're such little angels, Bass."

"Yep. I wouldn't trade them for the world." Bass smiled, as he looked at the window, and saw the small Pegasus bouncing around her sister playfully, flapping her wings, trying to fly.

"Bass, we came over to make you a proposal." Octavia turned to a serious look.

Bass raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

Octavia couldn't bring herself to ask the question, so she nudged Treble, who squeaked and glared at the mare. "Well, we've been working on a song, and well… it's missing something. It's missing that Deep Bass touch to it."

"So you're asking me to record a part for the track?"

Octavia spoke up again. "In short, yes. We didn't know who else to turn to."

Bass looked at the two pleading mares. "I'll have to talk to Vinyl, first."

"We already did. She said she supports what ever you choose." Treble nodded.

Bass looked around the room at the few pictures of the foals. "Fine… one song."

"That's all we need."

See how beautiful things could've been? Unfortunately, this is not the case.

((Post read:))

Okay. Here's the sappy epilogue again, with a plothole filler at the end. I decided to repost this as a fanservice. Enjoy.

Prologue: Reverb

It was a bright, sunny morning in the city of Phillydelphia, and the birds were chirping. It was truly a beautiful day. Just the night before, Lunar Black and his band, Fasthor5, had played a killer show at the theater. Almost everypony had been there to watch Lunar Black's incredible stage presence, and hear all their favorite rock tracks, including the band's number one hit, "Blue-Eyed Mare," A slow rock ballad that Lunar Black himself wrote about a mare who broke his heart. The band was also well known for their post-concert parties, and even more so for Lunar Black's party antics, which normally ended in him taking home at least one mare every night.

Pain. The kind, one can not simply sleep off. The white pegasus pressed his forehooves to his forehead with a pained grunt. "Ugh, my head... What the hay happened last night." He rolled over to his right side, to look at his clock, only for his vision to be obstructed by a sleeping mare. He pressed his left forehoof to the matress while using his right foreleg to help him gain some altitude to see past the sleeping mare. As he looked at the clock, he groaned, and angled himself back to the left, falling back onto his back, and rubbing his head again. "Dammit... Already noon."

About thirty minutes later, the pegasus managed to pull himself out of bed, and walk downstairs, where he saw the all too familiar gold-furred unicorn preparing lunch. "Ah, so the famous 'Lunar Black' finally decided to grace this humble filly with his presence," she said with a somewhat sarcastic quality to her tone.

"Oh, can it, Treble," he spoke with a tired voice, reaching for his signature amber-colored aviators, which he had left on the counter, and slowly placing them over his eyes. "So what's my 'beloved' sister cooking up for me, today?"

"Well, Mr. Bass, today's chef's special consists of a ham, cheese, and tomato sandwich, with a glass of cherry soda," she joked, with a mildly comedic voice.

"Sweet," Deep Bass answered, anxiously. "I think I'll take one of those."

Soft Treble looked at her brother, with a sly grin. "Oh, sorry. Kitchen's closed," She said, using her magic to move the plate and glass to the table, promptly taking a seat. "Looks like Mr. Rockstar is going to have to learn to fend for himself."

Bass rolled his eyes under his glasses, and walked toward the refrigerator, and reached in, grabbing an apple, and walking toward the table, sitting opposite his sister. "Gee, thanks, sis. So, what do you have planned for today?"

Treble sighed, and swallowed her bite of her sandwich. "Well, I assume the same thing I do every day. I'm probably going to spend all day cleaning up the house after your little post-show 'get-together' last night, then I'll probably have to go restock the refrigerator. Same reason. Then when she finally wakes up, I'll probably tell that poor filly upstairs that you'll be home later, and give her the usual fake phone number to 'call you' just like I do every afternoon. Then I'll probably go to bed early so I'll be well rested to do it all again tomorrow."

Bass took a bite from his apple, and shot a glare at his sister. "Y'know, you make it sound like I'm nothing more than a burden to you, dear sister. You know, if you want, I could just put the house in your name, and you can pay the bills. I'm sure Rythm wouldn't mind letting me stay with her."

Treble sighed. "Oh, so you can seduce that sweet little angel with your 'rockstar charm,' use her until you grow bored with her, and then leave her a sad, broken-hearted mess just like every other mare you bring home? I think not. She's too nice for me to let you do that to her."

Bass swallowed one last time, and tossed the apple core into the waste basket. "You make it sound like I'm a bad person, Treble."

Treble's face turned that of a serious look. "Well, Bass, with all the alcohol, partying, sex, and those herbs I've seen you smoking, I'm finding it hard to distinguish where Lunar Black ends, and where Deep Bass begins." Upon finishing the statement, tears began to build in the unicorn's eyes. "I almost feel as though I'm on the verge of losing my only brother, and believe me, that's the last thing I want. You're heading down a road to destruction, Bass. I'd hate to see you end up like Dad."

Bass slowly pushed his chair back with his forehooves, and stood, walking over to his sister, wiping a tear from her cheek, and planted a soft kiss on Treble's forehead, careful to avoid her horn. He looked her in the eyes, a tear rolling down his own cheek now. "I'm sorry, Treble... But I promise that I won't be like Dad. You know me better than that." And on that note, he smiled at his sister, and walked out the door.

Chapter 6: Unexpectancy

Okay, guys. I worked my ass off on this one. I was about halfway done, and decided it needed more. No Clopscene. But there IS one in the next chapter.

Chapter Six: Unexpectancy

It was indeed a bright and sunny afternoon in Ponyville. It had been about a week since Bass and Vinyl had met, and the two were enjoying lunch in one of Vinyl's favorite diners. Bass hadn't quite gotten familiar with the area yet, so whenever Vinyl recommended they go do something, he simply nodded and followed her lead, which in retrospect, was always a good call. Since the two of them had just about the same interests, Bass ended up genuinely enjoying his day, even more so since it was this wonderful mare that he was spending the day with. It was obvious that the two had been more than just friends for quite some time, now.

Bass looked up from his sandwich at Vinyl, who was trying to seem delicate in eating her sandwich, which made Bass laugh. It was apparent that she was trying to impress Bass, although he didn't know why she would. She looked at him, and raised an eyebrow at his laughter. "What are you laughing at, Bass?"

Bass quickly let his laughter fade. "You, V. It's so cute when you try to act refined and all that jazz."

This caused the white unicorn to blush deeply. "Is... Is it really that obvious?"

Bass only nodded. "But it's fine. You don't have to pretend around me. I may be from Philly, but not the nice part. Besides, I like the real you. The raw white mare that flipped when she saw my bass."

This made Vinyl blush even deeper, but this time she was smiling. "That... That's really sweet, Bass. Nopony's ever said anything like that to me, before." Then she looked down at her hoof on the table, noticing the black hoof on top of it. She looked up, and smiled at Bass. "Thank you."

The couple was unaware of the cyan Pegasus that had watched the whole scene from a window outside the diner. She smiled at the couple from her unseen vantage point. "Well holy horse feathers. I don't think I've ever seen Scratch smile like that. Gotta admit, they do make a cute couple. DJ Vinyl Scratch and Lunar Black. I can't wait to tell the others!" Rainbow squealed with delight, but then remembered the promise she had made to Bass. Her sense of loyalty wouldn't let her break that promise. "Aw, horseapples." Then the Pegasus sunk down onto her cloud, and slipped off to sleep.

The couple had walked outside and saw a cloud with a rainbow colored tail hanging over the side. Vinyl laughed, while Bass looked at her with a clueless expression. Vinyl turned to Bass and whispered "Somepony's been spying on us." then she nodded toward the cloud. "Think we should play a prank on her?"

Bass grinned evilly, and nodded his head, whispering back "Definitely." Bass then reached under his wing and pulled out a marker, and quietly flew up to the cloud, where he found a sleeping Rainbow Dash. He quietly pulled the cap from the marker, and drew a smiley face on each eyelid, and flew back down to Vinyl.

"What'd you do?" Vinyl asked, waiting anxiously. Bass whispered in Vinyl's ear exactly what he did, causing her to fall to the ground, rolling in laughter, forcing out words between laughing fits. "She'll never... notice!"

Having recovered from her fit of immobilizing laughter, Vinyl went back to giving her new coltfriend a tour of Ponyville. The were almost at Sugarcube Corner when a grey Pegasus with a blonde mane and deep yellow eyes stopped them. "Hey, Vinyl, who's your new friend?"

Vinyl smiled at the mare. "Hey, Ditzy. This is my friend, Deep Bass. Bass, this is Ditzy Doo. She's Ponyville's mailmare."

The grey Pegasus looked at Bass. "So you're Deep Bass. I have a letter for you." She reached into her mail bag, and handed Bass a letter. "Here ya go!"

Bass smiled, and took the letter, smiling when he saw who the sender was. "Thanks, Ditzy."

"Not a problem, Bass. See ya around, Vinyl." And with that, Ditzy flew off.

Vinyl looked at Bass. "Who's the letter from?" she inquired, getting close to Bass's face, looking at the letter almost from his point of view.

Bass smiled as he tilted the envelope so Vinyl could see. "It's from my twin sister, Treble."

Vinyl's jaw dropped. "You mean THE Soft Treble? The one who sings 'Ice'" she was now staring wide-eyed at Bass, and he could tell, even through her shades.

Bass chuckled, and nodded his head. "Yep. That's my sister."

Vinyl continued her stare. "Well? What does it say, what does it say?"

Bass smiled at the impatient mare. "Easy, Babe. I haven't even opened it, yet." Then he opened the envelope and pulled the letter out, and read it aloud:

"Dearest Brother:

I heard from a friend that you had finally gotten settled in to your new home in Ponyville... As well as a few lumps on your head. And I've also heard that you've found yourself a fillyfriend. Well, in celebration of these events, I will be coming to visit you. Don't worry I won't be staying at your house. Celestia knows how filthy that place is. However, I will be organizing a housewarming party for you. I expect to see your fillyfriend there. I would very much like to meet her.

Sincerely,

Soft Treble

P.S.: I figure the mail might be a bit... slow in Ponyville, so I'll probably be arriving a few hours after you get this... Surprise?"

Bass's eyes then grew wide. He was so excited to see his sister. He looked over at Vinyl, who had an even more shocked expression on her face. "I can't believe I get to meet THE Soft Treble! I'M SO EXCITED!" Vinyl squealed like an overly excited fanfilly.

Bass laughed at Vinyl's excitement, finding it absolutely adorable. "Well, we should probably get going. This letter was sent two days ago. She'll be arriving any moment."

A few minutes later, the two white ponies were back at Bass's house. He kept it surprisingly clean, so there wasn't much that needed to be done, so the couple sat on the couch, cuddling and listening to a record. Both of them had taken their glasses off, as part of a deal they had made a few days before. A few hours rolled by, and Vinyl had fallen asleep with her head on Bass's chest. Bass, himself had almost fallen asleep, stroking Vinyl's mane, when he heard a knock on the door. "It's open." He called, then the door swung open, and in walked the all too familiar Soft Treble. Bass didn't even try to get up. "Evenin' sis. I'd jump up to hug you, but I'm being held hostage." he giggled, as he continued to stroke the white unicorn's mane.

Treble smiled. She looked much different than last time Bass had seen her. She looked as though she had undergone a complete makeover. Her mane was styled differently than it used to be, and she wasn't wearing her glasses. She looked like a rockpony. "This must be the mare I've heard so much about. She's beautiful, Bass. I'd love to let you two cuddle, but I've got some big news for you. Just let me help you out." With that, Vinyl was surrounded by a yellow glow, and was lifted, allowing Bass to get off the couch, then Vinyl was slowly lowered back to the couch, her head resting on a pillow.

Bass sat down in the dining room with Treble, and a glass of coffee. "So what's this news, sis?"

"Well the first story is that Chords was arrested for assaulting an officer just the other day. Not surprising. The second bit is that I've been working with Silver Sky, and together we got a song on the radio. It's called-"

"Ice?" Bass smiled, and then took another sip of his coffee. "Anything else?"

Treble took on a shy demeanor. "Well, there IS one more thing… but you have to promise not to tell anypony, okay?" Bass only nodded, sipping his coffee. "Well, I've been wanting to tell somepony, but I didn't want word getting out, and spreading all over the media. Well, dearest beloved brother, "Treble paused to take a deep breath, "your twin sister is a fillyfooler." She cringed, expecting anger, or harsh words. She honestly hadn't expected Bass's reaction.

Bass sat quietly, and took another sip of his coffee, looking at his sister indifferently. "And?"

Bass's reaction shocked Treble. "Really? That's it? No yelling, screaming, or throwing things?"

Bass looked ponderingly up to the ceiling for a second, as if he were going to change his mind, then looked back at his sister. "Nope. Listen, Treb. You're my sister. Whether you like men or mares is your choice, not mine. I'm gonna love and support the shit out of anything you do, 'cause that's what brothers do."

Treble smiled at her brother. "Well well, Deep Bass has finally grown up. He even took his shades off like a grown-up."

Bass took another sip of his coffee, and shook his head, smiling. "Nope. Still the same old Deep Bass that everypony knows and loves. Vinyl and I made a deal that while we're in each other's homes, we wouldn't wear our shades."

Treble smiled. "Well, that's cute. I'm glad you found somepony who makes you happy. So her name's Vinyl, huh? What does she do?"

Bass looked at his sister, remembering the day he met Vinyl. "She's a musician. In fact, the first time we met, I listened to something she wrote, and we wrote a song together."

Treble smiled. "Well, well. It seems my wild brother's finally slowed down a little bit."

Bass raised an eyebrow at his sister. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, the old Bass would've laid with every mare in this town by now. I'm happy for you. I really am."

Bass blushed slightly, finishing the last of his coffee. "Thank you, sis. It means a lot to me. I should be going to bed." He stood, and walked over to Vinyl, who was sleeping on the couch, and nudged her softly. "Wake up, Babe. We have a visitor."

She rustled about for a moment then slowly opened her ruby eyes, smiling at Bass, then she looked to her right, spotting Treble at the table. Her eyes shot open, and she gasped sharply. Bass helped her off the couch, and the two walked over toward the table, Bass's wing covering the nervous Vinyl's back reassuringly. "Someone's been excited to meet you all day, sis."

Treble turned, and her grey eyes met Vinyl's ruby eyes. Treble smiled speaking in her usual calm, soft tone. "Good evening, Miss Scratch. Sleep well?"

Vinyl nervously tried to back away, only to be stopped by Bass's wing. "Um… good… good evening, M-m-miss Treble. And yes, I s-s-slept quite comfortably." Vinyl was stuttering with nervousness, her cheeks a deep crimson.

Bass was close to falling over with laughter at how cute Vinyl was when she was nervous like this, but was able to stifle his laughter. Treble smiled at the nervous mare. "Please relax, Miss Scratch. I only wanted to meet the mare who makes my brother happy. He was such a wreck after what happened to his friend, Rythm. I'm just glad to see him happy again. So, thank you, Miss Scratch."

Vinyl stood quietly, her jaw nearly to the floor, and her eyes wide. Bass could tell that she was near moments away from fainting, so he spoke up. "Well, sis, it's been a pleasure seeing you, but we should really be getting to bed. We'll see you again tomorrow."

Bass then led Vinyl to bed, and Treble smiled at the couple, and left. "By Celestia, they're so cute together. Probably even cuter than Twilight had mentioned." Treble smiled, and trotted toward the library, where she was to be staying during her stay. When she arrived at the library, she knocked on the door with her hoof, and smiled at the purple unicorn who answered the door. "Good evening, Twilight."

"Hey, Treble. Come in." The purple unicorn smiled at her friend as she walked in. "So, how did it go?"

Treble giggled. "Wonderfully, Twilight. They're so much cuter than you could imagine."

"Well that's good. Let me show you to your bed. We've got a long day tomorrow." Twilight smiled, and led the yellow mare to her own bed, laying down next to her, and the two fell asleep , wrapped in each other's arms.

((Post-read)) Now I know you didn't see that one coming. And if you say you did, you're a damned liar.