Playing With My Heart: How I Fell in Love With DJ PON 3

by Clockwork2003

Chapters

Chapter 1: Things Get Jazzy!
Chapter 2: Modulating Keys
Chapter 3: The Beating Rhythm of My Heart
Chapter 4: Lowering the Volume
Chapter 5: Easy Listening
Chapter 6: Battle of the Bands
Chapter 7: Working to the Beat
Chapter 8: Some Fine Tuning
Chapter 9: Increasing the Tempo
Chapter 10: The Concert, Part 1
Chapter 11: The Concert, Part 2
Chapter 12: The Afterparty
Chapter 13: I Think I Know You, Adagio!

Chapter 1: Things Get Jazzy!

Hello! Friendly Neighbourhood Narrator Anon here! Ever wonder why quantum tangling is so appealing to many? Take it from me. I mean, I basically got isekai’ed into a magical land of ponies for no apparent reason, and got a sweet new bod! I mean, I was a scrawny human nerd before, but now I can fly! The best part is, I got a girlfriend, too!

Wait, I am going WAY too fast. Let’s start from the very beginning.

I have always been somewhat of an atypical person. Autism does that to you. People always think that autism gives you superpowers, like in the movie Rain Man. It’s not that simple. I mean, yeah, I was a gifted musician before I could even talk, but I just got lucky. Not all autistic kids are like that. 4 instruments by the time I was 10: Piano, Drums, Bass guitar, and my personal favorite, my 6-string electric guitar, circa 1969, signed by Jimi Hendrix himself. God, my grandfather was so cool. He got it at Woodstock.

Wait, I got sidetracked. The point is that 2020 was a weird year. There was a pandemic, crazy shit going on all around the world, and several quantum anomalies were being reported across the world, mainly on internet forums. The mainstream media could not possibly give one shit about some NEET vanishing from the face of the Earth. It’s not like they were important people or anything. Just a bunch of probably neurodivergent teens and adults, whom society had no use for. Us nerds, however, DID notice these events and were rather quick to point them out.

I saw on Reddit a few days before my quantum event that one of my friend’s sisters vanished out of thin air, and was found one day later in the OP of Attack on Titan. I thought this was some sort of elaborate joke, but quantum physics doesn't lie. I mean, I remember watching a Youtube video about the Many Worlds Theory, and how it is 100% true, but quantum shifting into other universes seems a bit far-fetched, in my opinion. I was soon to be proven sorely mistaken.

I mean, out of all the possible universes to get thrown into, Equestria was probably one of the safer ones. I mean, imagine your quantum event getting you sent to the Third Impact of Neon Genesis Evangelion or 2018 in the MCU with the Snap! I mean, after what happened to me, I got quite lucky with my lot in this quantum joke.

So, how did I end up in Equestria? Frankly, I have no idea. I just went to Zoom school, finishing 11th grade, and my day went rather normally. The monotony of online learning was starting to get to me that May day, and I was really fed up with everything. By the time school ended, I had a lot of homework to do; English books to write essays on, a French oral to complete, and linear algebra. God, I hate linear algebra, but it was a prerequisite to finishing the year. Oh well. At around 10 PM, I had eaten my supper, showered, and was ready for bed. My warm, cozy sheets were giving me the warm embrace that I so desperately needed at the time. I put on some soft rock like I do every night before going to bed, with a 45-minute sleep timer on Spotify, and I went to sleep.

I mean, that is what I remember. Some weird shit probably happened while I was sleeping, but I don’t particularly care about the minutiae of this. I was well in REM sleep, so anything that could have happened was beyond my scope of consciousness at the time.

The point is, I went to bed on Earth and woke up in another universe. At first, I thought I was in some kind of lucid dream. I have had a few before when I was much younger, where I was basically playing Minecraft in real life, but I always knew it was a dream. This felt much different, more real. When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that I was outside.

“This is so weird.” I thought to myself. I had never sleepwalked before in my life, and I lived in a city, so being in a very lush, green area was quite a surprise. The country was a good 90-minute drive from where I was back on Earth, and it’s impossible to walk that distance in less than 12 hours. I tried standing up, but I kept falling over.

“Why do I keep falling over?” I asked myself, before noticing that my hands were gone, and I had hooves; cobalt blue hooves. This was getting really weird, really quickly. I quickly realized that I was probably quantumly tangled with another universe.

“Alright, Anon, think for a minute! What other universes are there that are entirely inhabited by sapient equines? There aren’t that many, right?” I tried thinking of a bunch of different universes, and I came to two possible conclusions: Either I was in some sort of real-life DND campaign, or I was in Equestria.

“I remember my sister making me watch “My Little Pony” back in the early 2010s. I don’t remember anything about it, but she loved the show.” I continued to think to myself, trying to figure out what kind of creature I turned into. I knew I was some sort of equine, but do I have superpowers or anything?

I vaguely remembered that in “My Little Pony”, there were three main equine races: regular ponies, unicorns, and pegasi. I mean, there was also the race of alicorns, who were basically gods, but whatever cosmic troll that sent me here was probably not nice enough to give me god-tier superpowers. I immediately eliminated that option. So, the first thing I did was to see if I had a horn. I put what used to be my left arm (now left forehoof), on my forehead, and I didn’t feel anything different. “Okay, so I am not a unicorn. No magic powers, lame!”

I tried to stand up, on four legs this time and stretched a bit. “Hold on, I feel something weird. I reached out my left forehoof, and I felt protrusions on my back, and they had feathers?

“Welp, guess I know what role I have now. Wonder if I can innately fly, or if I have to learn how to do it.” I thought to myself. Just my luck. A draft began blowing, sending the trees swaying in the wind, and my newly aerodynamic body got carried into the air.

“Woah, this is pretty cool! I have lift, but I need propulsion.” I said to myself, trying to move my new wings to propel me into the air. It worked, and I was on my merry way, flying over the countryside.

To be honest, I wasn’t flying that fast, and I had zero ideas where I was supposed to be going. I mean, if I got sent to another world, the first thing I need to do is find other people (or ponies). I needed a place to live. Thanks to my newfound gift of flight. I was able to see much further than I would have been able to at sea level. I tried scanning the area for any settlements, and I saw a massive castle to the northeast.

“Alright. Might as well try flying towards there. Whoever lives there probably knows more about this place than I do.” I said to myself, banking slightly to the right, to fly towards the castle. I honestly sucked at flying back then, my altitude fluctuating a few dozen feet, trying to get used to my new body. I just hoped no one else was flying in my direction.

Mistake #1. Don’t make assumptions. Some crazy fast pegasus zoomed in front of me, leaving a rainbow trail behind her.

“Watch where you’re flying, idiot!” The pony said, flying faster and faster, before quickly leaving my range of vision.

“What an asshole! I am literally new to this universe. Damn it!” I said to myself, before hearing music below me. The castle would have to wait. I love music!

I tried my best to land properly, and I think I did a good job. I walked a bit towards the pony playing the music, and I tried to pay more attention to what she was playing. Was it dubstep? Do ponies have dubstep? She seemed to have a specific DAW workstation open, and she was using telekinesis to adjust the parameters of her DAW. Whatever, regardless of my music taste, which is more classic rock-oriented, I know a good drumline when I hear it, and I took a minute to vibe to the music. It was actually pretty good. I waited for the music to stop, and I walked over casually to the mare to compliment her on her composition.

“I have to say, your use of the 60’s shuffle drumline with brush sticks, combined with the overlapping melody was genius on your part,” I said.

The mare took off her headphones and sunglasses and looked me dead in the eye.

“If you are trying to use a pickup line, it ain’t gonna work, pegasus!” The mare said to me and walked away.

A pickup line? I was just trying to be nice! Damn, autism makes these social situations fucking impossible. One minute you try to be nice, and the next you come off as a creep.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that! I am a musician, too! I just wanted to be nice!” I said, upset that my attempt to be kind didn’t pay off.

“A musician, eh? I mean, now that I take a closer look at you, you DO have a drum kit as your cutie mark, so you are probably telling the truth. Apologies for being such a stink earlier. I’m Vinyl Scratch, by the way. What’s your name?”

A cutie mark? What the hell is that? I’ll ask later. I have to play it cool. If I am to survive in a new reality, having ONE friend would be a good place to start.

“Uhh, my name is Anon, nice to meet you!” I say.

“You don’t look like you are from around here, Anon. Where did you come from?” Vinyl Scratch asks me.

“Uh, it’s a long story, Vinyl Scratch, involving other universes and stuff,” I replied, to which the mare cocked her head in confusion.

“Uhh, other universes, you mean like Sunset Shimmer?” She asked me, confused as to what I meant.

“No idea who that is, sorry. The point is I went to bed last night at home, and now I am here. That’s it. No clue where I am, or anything like that.”

“Well, if you have no idea where you are, I can help with that. You are in Equestria. No idea how I can help you in the housing department, I mean, I basically live in my recording studio, which basically has no room for me and my equipment. I’d recommend flying over to Ponyville and finding Princess Twilight, if anyone knows about other universes, it would be her. Anyways, since you are a musician, I highly recommend dropping by my recording studio one time. I have all the instruments you could want and more. First, I’d find a house.” Vinyl Scratch says, handing me her card before collecting her things and teleporting away.

“Huh, weird. Guess being a musician pays off in multiple ways.” I say to myself, trying to take off towards Ponyville, which I assume is in the direction where that pink sign that says: “Ponyville, 10km” is. It took me three attempts to take off, which is less than I thought it would take, and I flew the 10 km to Ponyville. Frankly, I think my flying has improved since last time, since I was flying at a steadier clip, with less turbulence and roughly the same altitude.

It took me around 6 minutes to fly the 10 km to Ponyville, which means I was flying at around 100km/h, which is pretty solid, in my opinion! When I got there, I saw a whole assortment of colored ponies going about their daily lives, living their own normal lives. Frankly, I had no idea where this Twilight Sparkle lives, but I took my time to try and figure it out. After around half an hour of walking around, I realized that I was starving, and I had no money to buy anything. This proved to be quite problematic. Luckily, I saw a mulberry-purple-colored pony walking towards me. This pony was unique, in that she had a horn AND wings.

“Uh, can I help you? You don’t look like you are from around here. I am Twilight Sparkle, nice to meet you!” The pony says, reaching her forehoof to shake mine.

“Uhh, I’m Anon,” I replied, shaking her hoof. “I was actually looking for you. You see, I was told by someone named Vinyl Scratch that you would be a good pony to help me get set up here since I came from another universe and stuff.”

“Another universe?” Twilight said, using magic to teleport both of us to her office, inside the treehouse that I saw earlier.

“Go on, Anon,” Twilight said, quickly grabbing a quill and some papyrus scroll.

“Uhh. Honestly, I have no idea how I ended up here. I went to bed on Earth last night, and just woke up in a forest this morning, in a new body.” I said, totally confused about what other information I needed to disclose to the pony.

“Well, other universes DO exist, Anon, so I believe you. I mean, I went to another universe a few times, one quite similar to yours, in fact.” Twilight replies.
“So, you know about Earth, then?” I asked her, and Twilight just nodded.

“Yeah, Princess Celestia went there a few times a couple of decades ago. She said it was a cute planet. How you got here, no clue, but you can't just live without any money or a place to live.” Twilight said, before noticing my cutie mark was a drum kit.

“Were you a musician back on Earth, Anon?” Twilight asks me. I nodded. “Okay. Here's what we are going to do. You are going to live at Sweet Apple Acres. I will let Applejack know she’s getting a visitor. I would highly recommend working with Vinyl Scratch on whatever it is she’s doing, to get some bits for yourself. The thing about your Earth dimension that is so interesting is that it is a one-way door. You came here, so you can’t go back unless you are an alicorn.”

Well, it’s not like I miss anyone back home. Abusive father, horrible school system, global pandemic. I could go on and on!

“So, where is this Sweet Apple Acres place anyways,” I ask Twilight, who just points towards a barn a few kilometers east of where we are.

“Fly there for around 5 minutes, and you will make it there. Applejack knows you are coming, so I would get there posthaste if I were you!” Twilight says, opening her window so I can fly out. That is exactly what I do. I fly out, and make my way to the country estate.

When I land, I am greeted by an orange pony, wearing a straw hat.

“Howdy, Anon! Twilight told me you needed a place to stay for a bit, after yer’ quantum tanglin’ whatever. Stay as long as you need!” Applejack said with a smile.

She showed me where the guest room is in the estate, and I quickly set up my new quarters. Since I met Vinyl Scratch earlier that day, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

Am I in love?

Chapter 2: Modulating Keys

I was very lucky that Applejack was such a kind hostess. To make things even greater. Her family has this secret recipe for all sorts of assorted baked goods using apples, and I was given apple cinnamon oatmeal for brunch. It was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten in my life.

“Applejack, right? This apple cinnamon oatmeal is divine! I have never eaten anything this good in my life. Thank you so much!” I said in gratitude for this delicious meal.

“No problem, Anon. However, if Anon was yer’ name in yer’ universe, then maybe you need a new name here in Equestria. It’s not like you are going back anytime soon, sugarcube.” Applejack said. Perhaps the orange country pony is right. If I am not able to go back to Earth, Anon seems like a weird name. In the rather short time that I have been in this new universe, I have noticed that all the ponies’ names have something to do with their innate talents or skills (Applejack being an apple farmer, Twilight Sparkle being a mage, etc). If I am a musician, and I am supposed to be working with Vinyl Scratch, then what should my name be?

I take a few moments to think about Applejack’s suggestion, and I come up with a rather clever name for myself.

“Okay then, my new name is Rythmia, since I play the drums, and I am rather good at it.”

“Okay then, Rhythmia. Cool choice! If you have work now, I’d recommend getting yer’ flank over to the recordin’ studio right about now. You finished your meal, so git!” Applejack says, pointing towards the direction of Ponyville.

“Alright, thanks for the grub!” I said with gratitude, flying out the window, more stable than each of my three previous attempts.

“Damn, this Rhythmia stallion looks cool. Wonder if his musicality is good, too.” Applejack thinks to herself, before noticing that a certain teal pegasus knocks on the door.

“Ah, howdy, Dashie. It’s been a while.” Applejack said to the other pony, who opened the door and walked over to give Applejack a light kiss on the cheek.

“Indeed it has, AJ. I missed you. Wonderbolt stuff gets me busy, ya know! Random question, honey. Was that stallion Twilight asked you to host for a bit, uh, weird? I might have bumped into him by accident on the skyway.” Rainbow Dash asked her girlfriend.

“Uhh, maybe. Twilight said somethin’ about quantum tunnelin’ and other universes. Beats me. At least he’s figuring things out.” Applejack says
Anyways, I got much more comfortable with my new set of wings, and ti took me a solid 5 minutes to fly to Ponyville. I took out the card that Vinyl Scratch gave me, and looked around for the address that she gave me: “315 Octave Lane”. I found a storefront with a record player logo, and I assumed that this was the place. I landed quickly and opened the door.

What I saw inside was one of the coolest things I have ever seen in my life, even to this day. The entire 10,000 square foot building was a warehouse of all sorts of musical instruments, sound equipment, and cables.

“Oh, there you are, Anon!” Vinyl Scratch said to me, walking over to the front door, where I was nerding out over all the music stuff.

“Actually, I decided that I needed a new name since I am probably going to end up here for the rest of my life. I thought Rhythmia sounds cool, given I am a musician, heh!” I said, a bit embarrassed by the new name. I thought it was rather cheesy, but all these ponies seem to have names like this, so how bad could it be?

“Rhythmia, huh? Works for ya, big guy. Now, if you ARE going to be my colleague, I need to evaluate you for skill first. Come with me.” Vinyl Scratch said, beckoning me to follow her into her private recording studio, which was a small section of the giant warehouse. This studio looked as professional as any recording studio on Earth, if not more advanced! I had never seen anything as advanced as this one!
“Okay. I have very high standards for anyone who wants to work in the music industry. Sit down here, Rhythmia, and I will evaluate you.” Vinyl Scratch said, pointing towards the leather couch opposite the two of us. I sat down and listened to what my new friend had to say.

“I am going to play a series of chords. You’re going to close your eyes, and tell me what chords they are; whether they are major, minor, and what inversions they are.” Vinyl says, using her magic to attract the MIDI keyboard that was in the warehouse.

“Ready, Rhythmia?” Vinyl says, putting on her signature headphones.

“Sure!” I say, closing my eyes and putting my front right hoof over them to make sure I don’t accidentally cheat.

Vinyl turned on her keyboard and played three chords. The first one was really easy, it was a C major, 2nd inversion. The second one took me a moment to decipher, but I realized it was Fm7/E-flat, and the third one was the hardest yet, a B7add13 ( a very jazzy chord, mind you).

“Okay. Ready for me to knock your socks off, Vinyl Scratch? First chord wad C major 2nd inversion, the second one was Fm7/E-flat, and the third one was B7add13, how’d I do?” I said smugly, opening my eyes and watching the horror on Vinyl’s face as I got all three chords correct.

“Holy Faust! How did...nopony has ever...I am shocked!” Vinyl Scratch said, amazed at my innate ear.

“Even Octavia, my best friend, and bandmate, only can get 2 on 3. I am amazed!” Vinyl says, completely shocked by my perfect pitch.

“Well, back at home, I was always obsessed with music, so I took it up before I could even walk or read. Humans are weird like that. My mother got me a drum kit when I was three, and I have been playing ever since, along with piano, bass guitar, and a 6-string from the late 1960s! I said, flying out of the room to find a nine-piece drum kit.

“Hey! Where do ya think you’re going, Rhythmia!” Vinyl Scratch says, galloping after me, looking for a drum kit.

“I just wanted to show you my skills, Vinyl, no big deal, that is, if you don’t mind,” I asked, making sure I have permission before I go playing with Vinyl’s instruments.

“Yeah, go ahead, I am intrigued by you, and I think you might have talent. Go on, Scratchie won’t bite.” She said sarcastically, handing me a pair of drumsticks.

I accepted the two drumsticks and put them on the floor. I took a minute to adjust the throne (that’s what a drum chair is called) to my height, and sat down, grabbing the two sticks.

“Ever seen a stallion do two bass pedals before?” I said snidely, coming up with an extremely complex drum beat, using all 9 pieces of the kit. To be fair, I did revolve heavily around the snare medium tom drums and high hats, but I am not a perfectionist. Vinyl didn’t know what to say. She was amazed at my skills. The icing on the cake is when I caught one of the drumsticks using my right wing. I didn’t know wings could be used like that. The more you know!

“Where did you learn this? I don’t think I have ever met anypony who was as gifted a percussionist as you.” Vinyl asked me, in awe of my musical talent.

“Uhh, I just listened to a lot of music for my whole life, and I got better over time. That’s all.” I replied. I was telling the truth. Some people (or ponies) are just naturally good at certain things.

“Well, one thing’s for sure, you’re hired! I have seen a few musically gifted ponies, but you blow it out of the water! I just opened this place last year on my 17th birthday, fresh outta Canterlot High. I turned 18 this week, and now I own the place 100%! I want to use the money from the records I make to tour Equestria Djing. I am quite good at it, as you know! Vinyl says immodestly.

“Well, I wish you all the best at that,” I say, glad that this pony is happy with her professional music production.

“Ya know, I was thinking recently that I need a second pony with me on my act. My DJ alter ego is DJ-P0N3, and she parties HARD! I mean, I know you just came in today, but last month I got to perform for Celestia, and I won an award for “outstanding cultural enrichment of Equestria!”

I remembered from all my years of learning to socialize that it is very good to listen, so I listened to Vinyl brag about her accomplishments. These achievements are well worth bragging about! I mean, what she did is basically the equivalent of going to Carnegie Hall, or playing at the White House. It’s crazy if you think about it!

“I don’t see why not? I mean, I need to make a few bits to eat and survive. I can’t be freeloading off of Applejack forever. It’s not right!”

I lent out my forehoof: “You got yourself a deal, Vinyl Scratch. I am happy to work with you on music stuff and tour with you if you need me. I mean, I COULD work with a drum pad, I don’t care that much.” I replied.

Vinyl Scratch shook my hoof in agreement. “Pleasure doing business with you, Rhythmia!” I was thrilled, but it is way to soon to tell Vinyl I have the hots for her. I just met her today. I need to keep things purely professional for the time being. Having a friend is good, too.

“Ah, shit! I forgot I am recording Tavi’s album in 10 minutes. You might want to meet her. She is really good at the cello!” Vinyl says, quickly using her magic to preconfigure her recording booth to the correct settings for Octavia’s recording.

“Vinyl, I’m here!” A grey mare says, walking into the warehouse wearing a briefcase in her saddlebag. I assume the cello is in there?

“Ah, Tavi, lovely to see you. I just hired a new employee, his name is Rythmia. This stallion is a crazy talented drummer. You’ll love him!” Vinyl said, already fawning over my talent. “Maybe she can fawn over me, too? Not yet, Rythmia. Behave!” I reminded myself.

“Ooh, a new pony in town. Hiya, Rhythmia. I am Octavia Melody, nice to meet you.” The mare said, putting her briefcase on the floor, and opening the latches. “One sec, Rhythmia, I just need to tune my cello. We can chat in a bit, okay?” Octavia said, removing her cello from the case, along with her bow. She spent the next five minutes or so tuning her instrument to the C2 octave.

“Alright, You’re a percussionist? Haven’t seen many of those in a while. We had Rancho-Starr back in the day, but that was way before any of us here were born. I mean, you are probably our age, right? 18-19?

“Yeah, 18,” I said.

“Anyways, time to record. Talk to ya in a bit.” Octavia said, walking into the private recording booth with Vinyl.

“Ready when you are, Tavi!” Vinyl said over the intercom.

Octavia nodded and began to play “Cello Suite in G Major” by Bach. I had no idea how ponies had access to Earth’s classical music, but I didn’t really care that much. Music is music, and I love it! Octavia was really good at the cello and was honestly one of the most talented musicians I have ever seen in my life, even to this day. She played Bach’s piece flawlessly, and she reminded me a bit of Yo-Yo Ma with her tone and precision. When she finished playing her pice. Octavia nodded, and Vinyl pushed a button, ending the recording.

“Alright. Usually, it takes you two or three takes to get the master version, but I think this is good enough on the first take!” Vinyl said approvingly. Octavia was thrilled. Her excessive practice obviously paid off today. “Wow! I am so happy it worked out today. How long do you think it will take to produce the master record?” Octavia asked her friend.

“Uhh, 2-3 business days. As usual, maybe a bit less. I mean, I have Rhythmia helping me now with the DAW stuff, so it could be faster?” Vinyl says.

“Oh yeah, I am okay with DAW and music software. I think it’ll be fine.” I said. I mean, I was a pretty decent artist on SoundCloud, and I used Logic Pro, but Equestrian software might be different and I need to learn the ropes.

“Okay then, Tavi, recording notwithstanding, want to jam out a bit? You too, Rhythmia. I think Tavi will flip when she sees your drumming skills!” Vinyl says, teleporting me to the drumkit that I used a few minutes before.

“Sure, I don’t see why not. I DO work here, now.” I said, waiting for Vinyl to set up her DJ booth, and for Octavia to adjust the tuning on her cello.

For the next three hours, we did nothing but play stupid riffs, make jokes, and actually came up with a decent song together. We called it: “Unity of Ponykind”. We expedited the production of this track and dropped it on the market as a surprise release. We called our group “The Stable-izers”

I had a lot of fun that day, more fun than I had in years. And, I might be a bit delusional in thinking this, but I could have sworn that Vinyl Scratch looked at me in a certain way.

Maybe I could be overreacting, but there is a small possibility that Vinyl is falling for me, and I am falling for her. But I don’t have the guts to tell her!

Chapter 3: The Beating Rhythm of My Heart

For the next few weeks, Vinyl and I continue working on producing records and sometimes have the occasional jam session. I got to know her a bit better, too. Apparently, she wasn’t too popular in school. I could relate to that. She met Octavia in band club, where they hit it off really quickly. I was most surprised to know that Vinyl is also an aspiring technician, working on key advancements in sonic adventurism. For example, she made this cannon that fires bass frequencies. She claimed to have used it at a concert once, but I secretly think it is a weapon, just in case things hit the fan.

But hey, I have bits now, and my own house in Cloudsdale. I made sure to deck the place with as much music stuff as I could. Also, my flying got a lot better, and I was able to get from Cloudsdale to work in 90 seconds flat. I mean, Rainbow Dash probably could do it in 75 seconds, but she spends much more time flying than I do. If I could learn a sonic rainboom, that would be cool, but one thing at a time.

Over time, I got to show Vinyl my other musical talents, including the infamous Jimi Hendrix guitar riffs. God, the look on that mare’s face when I pulled that off. We continued challenging each other in solfège (ear training), playing increasingly complex chords for each exercise. I have to admit. I did get one wrong. A Cadd9/E. I felt so stupid after that. I think Vinyl will hold that against me for the rest of my life.

“Damn, Rhythmia. You are something else. I am a bit jealous. Like, I know I played Canterlot and all the clubs there, but this is something new.” Vinyl said to me today as I opened up shop. We actually sold a few instruments today to Applejack’s little sister Applebloom and her friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They want to play in a band together, called “The Cutie Mark Crusaders”, after the name of their club from a few years ago. Apparently, they were late bloomers!

“Yeah, I got that a lot back on Earth, too. I try not to let it get to my head that much.” I reply, trying to play it cool. I like compliments, but I don’t want to have a crazy ego. I mean, some ponies I have seen in town are crazy with their egos. For example, I had to get a new shirt for work, and Rarity spent the entire time talking about herself. Element Bearer or not, she needs to chill out!

I still think I am a bit crazy for imagining that Vinyl looks at me in a way that she is interested in. I mean, I think about her all the time during work, and how awesome she is, but I am too scared to tell her how I feel. I don’t want to get fired or anything.

“Uh, Vinyl, your mane is in your face a bit today,” I tell Vinyl, who quickly uses magic to move her mane out of her eyes. She must’ve woken up on the wrong side of the bed today?

You know what? If I don’t tell Vinyl how I feel, how will I know she isn’t seeing someone else? I mean, I could be crazy, thinking that she thinks I am cute, the way I have these awesome drum solos and (near) perfect pitch, but only one way to find out. I wait for my lunch break, and then I make my move.

“Vinyl, I have an appointment with Twilight about something now. Do you care if I go quickly during our lunch break?” I ask Vinyl, who just nods, signaling I can go. I launch myself into the air, quickly flying to Twilight’s treehouse, and knocking on the door.

“Hello? Who is it?” Twilight says, quickly running to the door before looking through the keyhole and seeing me.

“Ah, Rhythmia. Nice to see you. You’re here for our appointment, right? I do have the information you asked about regarding the quantum event. Come in!” Twilight says, opening the door, and inviting me to sit down at her desk.

“Howdy, Rhythmia. Been a while since I’ve seen you around. Did’ya get set up nicely in Cloudsdale?” Applejack says, finishing up her meeting with Twilight.

“Yeah, all’s good. The best thing is, Vinyl let me keep her soundproof padding for my house, so I can practice with my drum kit and not wake anyone up.” I say, laughing.

“Alright, sounds cool. I have to go now, Dash is waiting for me. We have a date tonight!” Applejack says, running out of the treehouse towards Sweet Apple Acres.

“Well, sorry for AJ’s interruption. I found out why a quantum event happened in your reality, Rhythmia. It seems it has something to do with the CERN facility in “Switzerland”, where they do fancy science experiments.” Twilight says, handing me an assortment of documents pertaining to the questions I asked her.

The CERN facility in Switzerland? That’s where the Large Hadron Collider is! If I remember correctly, they did some research there on the Higgs-Boson Particle and quantum physics in general. I mean, I could try and explain this to Twilight, but I don’t even know anything about it, just the little snippets I heard on the news over the years.

“So basically, it messed with Earth’s “strings” and sent the entire planet into disarray. Some humans probably got sent to other worlds much less friendly than Equestria, so you got rather lucky, Rhythmia!” Twilight says, stretching her left wing while talking to me.

“Actually, as much as I appreciate this information, it isn’t why I came for the appointment today. I came because I have a huge crush on Vinyl, and I don’t know how to tell her.” I say, a bit embarrassed.

Twilight tries not to laugh. “Why didn’t you go see my sister-in-law, Princess Cadence? She is literally a goddess of love!” Twilight asks me, a bit confused.

“She is extremely busy dealing with the griffin ambassador, so I came to you. I mean, friendship and love are similar, no?” I asked Twilight, who realized that I made a good point.

“Well, I know for a fact that Vinyl isn’t seeing anyone. Pinkie Pie lets me see her planner every day, and there is nothing on the planner about “happy 1-day anniversary parties” for her. I’d say she is a safe bet. I mean, you are both musicians, and I don’t think she is a fillyfooler, so you might as well try?” Twilight says, shrugging.

Well, if Twilight Freakin’ Sparkle, the alicorn princess of Friendship, tells me asking Vinyl out on a date is a safe bet, I have no reasons to hold back anymore.

“Alright, thanks a million. I promise to let you know how it goes, for better or for worse!” I say, making Twilight giggle a bit.

“I have faith in you, Rhythmia. Don’t say anything stupid!” Twilight says. I walk out the door and quickly make my way over to Vinyl's music shop/record studio. My heart is pumping like crazy, and I am scared out of my wits. Do I have the courage to even let Vinyl know how I feel? I sure as hell hope I do? I open the door of the studio, and I see a familiar face.

“Ah, Tavi. It’s been a while, a week I think? How are you doing?” I say to the grey mare.

“All’s good, Rhythmia. I just had to help Vinyl with some editing on the music software. What about you?” She asks.

“Well, I was just going to ask Vinyl out on a dat-”

Shit, I spoke too much. WHY do I speak too much.

“YOU? Ask Vinyl on a date? Good luck, I guess? She hasn’t dated anyone since high school. She has a lot of trust issues. Believe me, I know. I mean, she has looked at you funny lately. Maybe she digs you? I don’t know.” Octavia says, unsure whether to condone or condemn my action.

“Well, I spoke to Princess Twilight about it, and she gave me the hooves-up, so I might as well try, no?” I ask rhetorically.

“Well, if you asked Princess Twilight, and she says it's fine, then who is a simple earth pony to stop you?” Octavia says, laughing. “I would wait a few minutes before pouring your heart out. Vinyl is finishing up a few minor touches on my track. Wait here and breathe, okay?” Octavia says, before exiting the studio.

The next five minutes were the most painful and slow of my life, but ultimately Vinyl did come out of her private recording booth.

“Ah, Rhythmia. I was looking for you. I was just about to ask you if you wanted to go to dinner with me.”

Fuck. She was about to ask me on a date, too?

Chapter 4: Lowering the Volume

Am I going insane? Did my crush, Vinyl Scratch, just ask me if she wants to go out to dinner? I was literally moments away from asking her the same question. I honestly don’t know if she wants to eat out as a “date”, or professionally.

“Uh, Rhythmia. You awake or somethin’? I want to go on a date with you. I think you are cool! Besides, I am not a stupid mare, I know when a stallion looks at me in a certain way. It’s fine. I know you think I am cute.” Vinyl says, using her magic to fluff up her mane a bit.

“Well, this makes me feel stupid. I was literally about to ask you the exact same question. Besides, I think the 8 weeks we have known each other is enough grounds to ask someone out, no?” I ask, trying to cover all my bases.

Vinyl starts to laugh. “Are you serious? You were just gonna ask me the same question. Damn! I guess I am braver than you. Hah!” Vinyl says, trying to rub it in a bit more.

“Well, as you know, I am new here, and I don’t really know where the cool restaurants are in Ponyville. I mean, Cloudsdale has an awesome fish n’ chips joint, but you can’t fly…” I say, thinking about the yummy salmon that they have there.

“Yeah, I know, it sucks. I know that there is a pub in Ponyville where I got started. I am almost 100% sure we can get free grub there. They LOVE me. I mean, I did my first gig there in high school 5 years ago.” Vinyl says, handing me a card with the restaurant’s address.

“The joint is called the Hay Burger. I think you will like it!” Vinyl says, with a chuckle.

“See you at 6:30 tonight, Rhythmia. If you want, that is?” Vinyl says, putting her sunglasses on, trying to look cool.

“Yeah, yeah! I will definitely see you there. I just gotta get a few things done at home first, okay?” I ask, being honest with her. I mean, I have to do my workout and get some nice clothes. Rainbow Dash came over to my place a few days ago and installed a wind tunnel to help me with flying. Apparently, it is Cloudsdale protocol to have one, in case they ever reinstate the draft.

“Yeah, no problem, mate. I mean, I can just close up shop now. It’s 5 pm. Go do your things and meet me back at the restaurant. See you then!” Vinyl says, gathering her key office items from the shop and teleporting away, presumably to her house.

Fuck, was I really at Twilight’s office for 5 hours? Guess I spent too much time worrying. I totally lost track of time. I need to do better with that.

“Well well well, looks like you might’ve left a good impression, Rhythmia,” Octavia says, clapping slowly.

“Hey, you heard that whole thing? Not cool!” I say, getting a bit flustered.

“Well, I AM her best friend, so she would have told me anyway. Better to hear it from me than from her!” Octavia says, chuckling softly to herself. “Good luck on your date, Mr. Nice Guy!” Octavia says as we both walk out the door. I take off quickly (much better this time, wind tunnel works!) and fly towards my house in Cloudsdale.

“Holy shit! I actually got a date with Vinyl!” I think to myself. I don’t remember the last time I was this happy or excited about something. I did take a scenic route, just to make sure my flying is still up to par. Obviously, I am not a Wonderbolt tier flyer, but I want to be better than average. My dark brown mane is fluttering in the wind as I think about how exactly I am going to handle this date.

As you probably know by now, autism makes social situations rather difficult. I don’t know if ponies have the same condition, but I know for a fact that it didn’t magically disappear when I got quantum fluxed into Equestria. Do I act nice? Do I be myself? Some combination of the two? I don’t know, but anyway, as I finally make it to Cloudsdale, I am over-excited at this dating prospect. I land in front of my house and unlock the door. I don’t think my current “casual drummer” outfit will suffice for this date. I mean, I don’t know Vinyl’s tastes. I don’t think this joint is formal, but I don’t want to look like a slob! I want to look proper, but comfortable. Before I do anything, I take a quick shower. Showering as a pegasus is a bit weird since I have to clean my wings now. You’d be surprised at how much dirt and debris get caught in there while flying! Anyways, the cool water helps take my mind off the excitement. When I finish my shower, I try to look for something nice to wear. Over the two months or so that I have lived here, I have made a fair amount of money (the “quantum citizen grant” from Celestia certainly helped!). I was quite surprised that ponies made polo shirts! I quickly put one on and put on a nice pair of jeans to go with it. I quickly checked what time it was. 5:45. I have an hour and change to be at the HayBurger. I mean, I could fly to Ponyville in a good two to three minutes, and I was actually going to, had I not heard a knock on my door. I quickly ran down the stairs from my bedroom to open the door. I was a bit surprised at who was there. It was Celestia!

“Hello, Rhythmia. I never got the chance to formally meet you after your quantum event. I always try to make sure all of my citizens are at least acquainted with me once.” Celestia says, inviting herself in. “Princess Twilight wrote to me, letting me know you have been adjusting to our reality rather nicely. I am so pleased. I also hear you have a date tonight?” Celestia says, chuckling.

“Hey! Who told you that!” I say a bit defensively.

“It’s okay, Rhythmia. Twilight told me in confidence. She tells me everything. I promise not to tell anyone. I am glad to hear you might be falling in love!” Celestia says, looking around my house.

“I see you set up your place quite nicely. Lots of music paraphernalia!” Celestia says, looking at my 9 piece drum kit and DAW setup.

“Yeah, it’s my thing. I mean, I AM going out with Vinyl Scratch in like an hour, so I have to get going, no offense, of course!” I say, trying my best to be respectful.

“No, I get it. I came here to introduce myself, and to give you another welcome stipend. I have 10,000 bits here for you, as an apology for any of the experiments my people have done causing the string event at CERN. I think that is enough for 6 months, and besides, I hear you have a job now. You should be covered. I must be going. Bye!” Celestia says, using her magic to write a check for 10,000 bits, and taping it on my door. No one would even think about stealing it, since it has Celestia’s royal seal. She quickly flies away, presumably to Canterlot.

Well, that was weird, to say the least. I check my watch. It is 6:00 pm. I have half an hour to be at the HayBurger. I made sure that I grabbed my key in the house, and locked all my doors. I take a deep breath, and take off, hovering over my house for a minute, making sure I actually didn’t forget anything. I didn’t so I zoom off to the HayBurger. I have this feeling that I have never flown faster in my life, and the other pegasi flying in my area were quite impressed.

“Shit, is that guy gonna break the sound barrier?” One pegasus says to her friend.

When I heard that, I saw that there was an aircone forming around my body. Should I try breaching Mach 1, or not? I didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself in Ponyville. I slowed down a bit, descending in altitude, trying to remember where exactly this restaurant was. I finally noticed it, and circled around, making sure that I wasn’t late or anything. I land in front of the restaurant and take a minute to catch my breath.

“It’s 6:20. I have 10 minutes. I hope she wasn’t messing with me when she asked to go out.” I think to myself, worried sick that I was being messed with. Thankfully, this remained nothing but baseless anxiety, as I saw Vinyl approach the pub. She looks beautiful! She even left her headphones at home this time! She is wearing this amazing violet dress which matches her cyan blue mane perfectly!

“Like what you see, Rhythmia? Rarity made it custom!” Vinyl says, opening the door of the restaurant. I quickly follow her inside and notice that the entire place quickly went silent when noticing my date.

“Woah! Is that DJ-PON-3?” I hear someone say, nudging his friend, who quickly turns around.

“Eyup! That’s her.” The stallion says. Is that Big Mac? Enough time for questioning. I follow Vinyl to a booth and sit down.

“If I was you, Rhythmia, I would order the house special with a cider. It is amazing!” Vinyl says, doodling on a napkin while she is waiting for a waiter to come to take our order.

Finally, someone did come. “Alright, everyone. What would you like to eat?” The waitress says.

“I would like the house special with a side of fries and a cider!” I say as the waitress writes down my order.

“I’ll have what he’s having!” Vinyl says.

“Is that all?” The waitress says. We both nod, and she walks away to place our order.

“So. Have you gotten used to using StableBand?” Vinyl asks me. Smart move on her part, keeping everything professional.

“Yeah. It is quite similar to the DAW I used back home. The best part is, it has a MIDI in-out, so I can record what I want and digitally transcribe it to the software. It’s great!” I say.

“Yeah, I know. It’s even cooler when you do remixes with it, but then again, I am biased. I could teach you one time.” Vinyl says, excited.

Woah, that was fast! Our food came really quickly! I eat my meal slowly, trying not to snarf down my food. Vinyl, on the other hand, is eating really quickly, gobbling down her meal with little to no hesitancy.

“I wonder if this cider is any good?” I ask Vinyl, who at least uses a napkin to clean up after.

“Yeah! It’s great. 25% v/v. Don’t drink too much quickly! Vinyl says, using her magic to open the cap of the bottle. It takes me a bit longer to open the bottle, since I have no telekinesis or anything, and my fine motor skills aren’t that great.

“Cheers, Rhythmia!” Vinyl says, clicking her bottle with mine. We both drink our ciders. I find it to be refreshing, but I wasn’t anticipating the fizz.

“Ack! I wasn’t expecting the carbonation!” I say, coughing a bit. I don’t have an issue with carbonated drinks, but I didn’t see the fizz when I opened the bottle, so my taste buds didn’t expect it.

“Don’t be such a baby!” Vinyl says, stealing one of my fries with a smile.

She’s right. Now that I know what to expect, I can finish the cider without any weird stuff happening. She was also right that the alcohol hits rather quickly.

“Is it safe to fly after one cider?” I say my speech is a bit garbled.

“A lightweight, I see? How cute!” Vinyl says. “I hope you can at least pay when you are drunk!” She says giggling, pointing to the bill that just arrived at our table.

I quickly dole out the proper amount of bits, and the waiter comes back.

“Thank you for your patronage!” The waiter says, taking our bill and the money.

“You know what. Crash at my place until you are sober enough to fly home.” Vinyl says, also a bit drunk. We both get up from the booth and make our way to the exit.

“I hope your rhythm is as good in bed as it is on the drums,” Vinyl says, winking at me.

OOH BOY! I didn’t expect that comment from her. I start to laugh a bit.

“What, I am not trying to be funny or anything. Don’t be so literal!” Vinyl says, giving me a kiss on my cheek.

Best night of my life!

Chapter 5: Easy Listening

I honestly don’t even remember anything that happened last night. I remember going to the HayBurger, getting drunk on ONE bottle of cider, and crashing at Vinyl’s house. I probably did some other stuff, too, but I was blacked out. Maybe Vinyl knows. I woke up and felt something strange on my chest. It was Vinyl! She was sleeping, her fur rising and falling with each and every breath. She looked so peaceful sleeping, with her heartbeat keeping me warm under the covers. After a few minutes of moving around slightly in the bed, Vinyl finally woke up, stretched, and looked me dead in the eye

“Ya know, Rhythmia. It must’ve been your first time. You had no idea what to do last night. I had to basically do everything for you.” Vinyl says giggling, still a bit raspy from just waking up.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” I say softly, totally unaware that she was referring to the potentially “risque” events that took place after we crashed at her place last night.

“Damn, you really were wasted, Rhythmia. Let me spell it out for ya. We made love, and you sucked at it, horrendously! I don’t care. I found it endearing!” Vinyl says, using her magic to throw a pillow at me. I didn’t see that one coming, and it hit me in the face point-blank.

“Ack! What was that for!” I say, laughing and throwing the pillow back at Vinyl.

“Not to mention that you were playing the piano drunk! It was not that bad, actually, but you are much better when you are sober. New rule. Don’t drink alcoholic cider, okay, Rhythmia?” Vinyl says, kissing me on the cheek.

Aww, how cute.

“Okay, I won’t drink anymore. On a more professional note, do you know what time it is? I don’t want to be late for work.” I say, trying to deflect the conversation away from last night’s inebriation.

“I own the store, Rhythmia. It opens when I want it to, dingus!” Vinyl says, getting out of bed and going to her shower. Even though she claims that we made love, I am not stupid enough to intrude while she is showering, so I wait my turn to hose off. I don’t know why, but my right wing feels rather tight. I stretch it out, and I feel much better. I wait around like a dope for the next 10 minutes, as Vinyl finishes up in the shower. When she came out of the bathroom, I could have sworn she revealed a bit too much skin, teasing me. I didn’t comment. I am not a creep.

“I am making oatmeal. Want any?” Vinyl asks me. I didn’t know she made food!

“Sure, I guess, I just need to hose off first, okay?” I respond, with Vinyl nodding, moving out of the way so I can get into the bathroom to shower. A good thing about being a stallion is that I don’t take so long in the bathroom. I was in and out in 5 minutes, walking into Vinyl’s kitchenette.

“Do you like cinnamon?” Vinyl says, putting some cinnamon in her oatmeal.

“Yeah, I do. I love it, actually.” I reply as Vinyl puts some cinnamon into my bowl. Unlike last night, Vinyl doesn’t rush her breakfast, and actually took longer than me to finish eating! I didn’t rush, mind you!

“So, now that you aren’t wasted. Are you gonna come along as my backup act on my tour next week?” Vinyl asks me, genuinely intrigued if I am willing to go on tour with her.

“Well, sure, but I don’t have a stage name like you. You’re lucky I have been practicing with StableBand lately!” I say sarcastically. Vinyl thinks for a moment, realizing that I made a very good point.

“That’s true, you don’t have a stage name. How about BPM?” Vinyl says, trying to come up with a good suggestion.

“BPM, like beats per minute? Sounds cool! BPM, it is, then!” I say, laughing at the name. It isn’t as cool as DJ-P0N-3, but it is cool in its own right.

“Alrighty then, Mr. BPM. Today you’re going to teach me that cool drum solo!” Vinyl says, gathering her things and opening the front door, beckoning me to follow her to work. I am a nice guy, so I don’t zoom off to the studio immediately, and I actually take my time to walk with my new girlfriend to work. Apparently, I am not as discreet as I would have liked. Literally, everyone in town was noticing that Vinyl had someone with her.

“WOAH! Does DJ-P0N-3 have a boyfriend?” I heard someone say as we were walking towards the studio.

“Yeah, I thought she didn't date. This stallion must be special!” Someone else said as a crowd began to form around us, admiring the fact that Vinyl is finally seeing someone.

“Do we just run, or do you like this stuff?” I ask Vinyl, who just shrugs. “It’s fine. You get dull to it over time. We’re almost there, so just pretend it's the two of us walking, okay?” Vinyl says, reassuring me that everything is fine. Eventually, we do get to the recording studio, and we enter and see that Tavi is already there.

“So, how did it go, Rhythmia?” Octavia says in a very sing-song voice.

“It was fine. The colt can’t do jack in bed, but he’s sweet, so I’ll keep him.” Vinyl says, answering for me.
I blushed. I mean, I know Vinyl and Octavia are friends, but sometimes, things should be a bit more personal, no? Especially if it's things pertaining to intimacy.

“Aww, grow up a bit. You weren’t the WORST stallion I ever slept with, you were just drunk!” Vinyl says, shoving me in jest.

“Anyways, bedroom stuff notwithstanding. You gotta show me that drum solo!” Vinyl says, using her magic to move the studio’s drumkit over to her, while also adjusting the throne to her height. She sits down and conjured a pair of drumsticks.

“Okay, before we do anything. Have you ever played the drums before?” I ask my marefriend. “A few times, but I am not that good. I am more of a piano/digital musician, as you know!” Vinyl says, struggling a bit to hold the drumsticks. I guess having magic to hold things for you causes one’s hooves to atrophy for fine motor skills?

“Okay. Just ask Tavi to go into the booth and play our collab track. Try and follow along to the rhythm!” I say, as Octavia runs to the booth and plays our track “Unity of Ponykind”. The epic drum solo is a good two minutes or so into the song, but there is a solid, somewhat easy drumline throughout the piece, which Vinyl was able to mimic decently. For someone who claims to not be a good drummer, she is better than I expected!

Finally, the moment came, the drum solo was approaching. “Ready, Vinyl? Things get epic in three, two, one…”

It came, and for the first section of the solo, she butchered it, hitting the wrong drums at the wrong time intervals. After a few seconds, she finally figures out the rhythm, and once she gets the hang of it, does a much better job with the drum kit than before.

“Damn, your marefriend over there ain’t that bad,” Octavia says to me privately, in awe at her friend’s polymath level skills in music. The song finally ends, and we both applaud politely.

“Okay, now it’s Tavi’s turn!” Vinyl says, sending the drumsticks to Octavia with her magic.
“Me? I have only ever played the cello. Are you mad, Scratchie?” Octavia says, but she takes up the offer anyways, waiting for Vinyl to move out of the way so she can sit on the drum throne.

“Rhythmia. Go into the booth and put on a different track, okay?” Octavia says, and I quickly zoom into the recording booth and look at Vinyl’s selection of tracks.

“Hmm, I need to find something Tavi can deal with. Let’s see here. We have Poni Hendrix, Rancho Starr, the Rainbooms. Huh, who are the Rainbooms? I’ll ask later.” I say, plugging in the Poni Hendrix track into the sound system. I wait a few moments for the drum solo to start and see what Octavia Melody has to offer. Like Vinyl, she doesn’t do that well in the beginning, messing up the rhythm and color of the music, but she gets the hang of it, although a bit slower than Vinyl did. I have to say, she was pretty decent for a first-timer! I remember playing the drums for the first time back on Earth, and I wasn’t that good at three years old. I got better over time, that’s what practice is for!

Eventually, the song ended, and I left the recording booth to greet my friends.

“Not bad, Tavi, not bad at all!” I say, applauding her for her effort. In my opinion, she should stick to the cello, but I don’t have the guts to say that out loud.

“Alright, and now for the grand finale. I would like to see Rhtyhmia try using my DJ equipment! He said he might go on tour with me next week, so I need to see a dry run. It’s only fair he tries my area of expertise since I tried his!.” Vinyl says, teleporting me to her DJ booth. I put on headphones and adjust the system parameters to my liking.

“Ok, either of you play something I can use as a track!” I say, to which Octavia runs to get her cello. I press the record button, and she plays a few measures of “Cello Suite in G Major”. I record the sample and see what my options are. I can add a trap beat to it, dubstep, there are so many options. I am just going to keep things simple, for now.

“How’s this!” I say, playing the sample overlapping it with a trap-type beat. Vinyl was impressed! The beat I picked actually complimented the track quite well, and I even made sure to adjust the tempo accordingly! Then, to make things a bit more vibrant, I added some other string instruments to the track, and some bass boosting.

“Damn, Rhythmia! You are pretty good at this. Not as good as me, but close!” Vinyl says, teleporting herself next to me in the DJ booth. She took the controls and added her own personal touch to my track.

“You know, you two ponies make a good team!” Octavia says, smiling.

Then, just to make things as cheesy as possible. Vinyl plants the biggest kiss possible on my lips, completely catching me off guard. I reciprocate, embracing my marefriend and holding her tight.

“You’re awesome, Rhythmia!” Vinyl says.

“You too, Scratchie!” I say.

“Well, that was cute and all, but we have work to do!” Octavia says, motioning us to stop with the dramatics.

“Yeah, she’s right. Sweetie Belle and her friends are coming in 15 minutes to record a demo track. We gotta get ready!” Vinyl says, teleporting herself to the recording booth, trying to find what she needs for the appointment in 15 minutes.

“Alright, then, I’ll do some paperwork in the meantime!” Octavia says, going to see the balance sheet for the store.

I make sure the drum kit is in order, and the instruments are away properly before the young fillies come to record their demo track.

I am really enjoying this week!

Chapter 6: Battle of the Bands

The rest of the day was rather boring, to be totally honest. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom were not that good at their respective instruments, and their demo track was subpar at best, and atrocious to the ears at worst. I didn’t say anything, but I can see that Vinyl was also cringing at their music. I think Scootaloo composed the track? Regardless, we have something to laugh about after, once the fillies leave.

“Damn, those kids were pretty bad, not gonna lie,” I say to Vinyl after they leave.

“I was thinking the same thing, Rhythmia. No talent, no syncopation, but they are cute, and all three of their sisters are Element Bearers, so we gotta be nice to them, or else!” Vinyl says with a dry, sarcastic voice typical to her. She found the fillies to be endearing, but their musicality was horrendous.

“Yeah. I get that. I have a better question. You said that you need me to tour, right? Well, where and when are we going? I have to compose some original pieces, ya know!” I ask my marefriend, who shrugs.

“Well, I am in high demand everywhere, from Manehattan to Applepaloosa, to Canterlot, and I have to fit everything in a two-week tour. I was thinking we leave for Manehattan in two days or so, to set up all my equipment, and the first show will be at the end of the week. I assume that works with you?” Vinyl asks, using her magic to summon her calendar, just to make sure her dates were accurate.

“Yeah, I am totally okay with that. DJ-P0N-3 and BPM, the Equestrian Tour! It’s gonna be awesome!” I say.

“Speaking of which. Did you try putting the new drumline on StableBand over my recording, Rhythmia?” Vinyl asks me, opening her DAW and showing me the new update, which I presume dropped last night.

“Oh, I didn’t see that at all. Gimme a minute, Scratchie!” I say, flying over to my drumkit. Vinyl enchanted the drumkit to have a MIDI-input/output, even though it is acoustic, so whatever I play on the drum kit gets turned into MIDI data. This is extremely helpful!

Now, I get to play even cooler drum solos, and they are literally MAGICAL, being turned into MIDI data thanks to my marefriend. It’s insane if you think about it for a bit. MAGICAL drums? Pretty cool for a human-turned pegasus, if you ask me! I did something moderate for the percussion in Vinyl’s track, and it magically transcribed to MIDI for her to add to her track.

“Ya know, Rhythmia, because you helped with the drumline, I am actually putting your name on this one. It’ll be the first DJ-P0N-3/BPM collaborative work! Isn’t that cool?” Vinyl says, smiling at the idea. She did a few collaborations with Octavia before, but the two never toured together.

“Yeah, that is cool!” I say, hovering in the air out of excitement.

“Ah, chill out, man. I get that you're excited about touring, but keep it INSIDE, not out. Got it?” Vinyl says, half-serious. She thought it was actually cute. I can tell based on her smile.

“Say. It’s almost time for our lunch break. Did you bring anything to eat today, or were you too busy fawning over me during breakfast?” Vinyl says, using her magic to take out a sandwich that she made for herself, presumably while I was still asleep.

“As a matter of fact, I did make something. A cheese sandwich.” I say, flying over to my desk on the other side of the studio and pulling out a Ziploc bag with a cheese sandwich inside.

“Okay, good!” Vinyl says, with a mouthful of her peanut butter sandwich making her speech slurred.

“Don’t talk while you are eating, Scratchie!” I say BEFORE I take the first bite of my sandwich. I have to say, the food in Equestria hasn’t been as bad as I initially thought when I got quantumly sent here. It’s pretty good, actually.

Vinyl sees someone galloping over to the studio as fast as she could. “What is Tavi doing here today?” I ask myself. Isn’t it her day off?

“VINYL, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE COMPETITION FOR YOUR TOUR!!” Octavia says, panting heavily.

“Hm? Go on, Tavi?” I say, intrigued by this. I didn’t know there was some sort of music rivalry in Equestria. I mean, it makes sense, but I never thought about it too much.

“Uh, yeah. Remember those sirens that Twilight and company beat back in that other universe? They are back, and they are touring at exactly the same time you guys are going. They are going to try and brainwash everypony again!” Tavi says, freaking out. Saving the world was not really her thing, let alone mine. Does Vinyl have a plan?

“I don’t care. The Elements dealt with those “Dazzlings” before. I am sure they can handle it again, no?” Vinyl asks rhetorically, in her typical dry fashion.

“Well, they apparently broke into Princess Twilight's patent library and took your patent for the bass booster. They want to use it to amplify their magic!” Tavi says, handing her friend an urgent letter, signed by Twilight Sparkle herself, all but confirming the allegations made by the grey earth pony.

“SHIT! I spent two years on that thing, and they want to weaponize it? I just wanted to make music. Now, this IS personal!” Vinyl says, using her magic to find her copy of the bass booster blueprints.

“Rhythmia. Are you good with technology or anything? I need somepony to help me with this. I know Tavi knows nothing about engineering, no offense Tavi.” Tavi nods, she doesn’t know anything about engineering at all.

“Uhh, I mean back on Earth I worked with the technicians at my high school to set up and configure the sound systems, so I guess I know a thing or two?” I reply, trying my best to focus on the task at hand, that being avoiding a potential musical cataclysm.

“Well, I need you to help me make a modified version of the bass booster, and I need your musical genius to make it even cooler!” Vinyl says, writing down a bunch of notes, presumably regarding her new ideas.

“Well, I haven’t even seen the bass booster yet, so what the hay am I supposed to do?” I ask, to which Vinyl just kisses me.

“Trust me, Rhythmia, okay? That’s how we have gotten along so well. Trust.” I kiss her back and think carefully about what I need to do.

“So, what modifications do we need, and do we know where these sirens are going, and when?” I ask, to which Tavi interjects:

“Well, they are going to be in Manehattan in three days, at exactly the same time as you guys. I’d get my flank over there first, and see if anypony has spare parts for a bass booster 2.0!” Tavi says. “I have to go now, I have my own concert to prepare for. Good luck, you two!” Tavi says, galloping off to prepare for her concert.

“Well, I know that the first version of the bass booster I made uses sonic magic, to amplify the sound waves in the air for maximum awesomeness, but how are these sirens going to reverse engineer it for mind control?” Vinyl thinks aloud, to which I have an idea.

“432 Hz frequency!” I reply.

“432 what now?” Vinyl says, confused by the concept I just brought up.

“Okay, standard pitch for music is 440 Hz, because of a lot of math stuff that I don’t understand. I just remember my music teacher talking about it. If you lower the frequency by 8 Hz, you get some weird psychological shit going on in your head, which some ponies claim gives you peace of mind. Obviously, that isn’t the case, but if they enchant their music at this frequency, they could get mind control effects!” I say, realizing the disastrous effects this could have on Equestria.

“As you know. I can’t do magic. How are we going to fix this problem?” I ask my marefriend, who smiles and says:

“Leave the magic to me, got it? Here’s what I need you to do. Go find Rainbow Dash. I need somepony fast to help measure the individual frequencies of sound waves.”

Hey! I am fast, too. What the hell? I mean, I can’t go supersonic, but I am faster than over 75% of all pegasi, at least, that is what Dash herself told me. I know my marefriend will probably be mad if I lie to her, but I have an ego. So I would measure the soundwaves myself.

“Okay, where is the instrument to measure that? I mean, I have never seen anything like it before. Do you need to make one, conjure it? I don’t know!” I say, a bit baffled by Vinyl’s request.

“I have it here. I asked Dashie to do this when I made the first version!” Vinyl says, using her magic to strap the instrument on my body. “Just give this to her and come back, okay?” Vinyl says, opening the window for me to leave.

“GO, GO, GO!” Vinyl says, to which I take off and try to find Rainbow Dash. Now, where could she be? That is the real question haunting my mind. I haven’t seen her in a month, so I don’t know what she is up to right now. Would Twilight know?

“Damn it, I have to find her. How do I get a pegasus’ attention?” I think to myself. “Wait a minute. I can just try and break the sound barrier myself. I hover in midair and look at the instructions taped to the instrument: “When breaking the sound barrier, push the red button, and the machine will measure the frequencies in the air. Data will then be sent back to Vinyl’s workstation for further analysis.”

Okay, now here’s the test. I think I got close to the sound barrier when I was going to the HayBurger elated at my date prospect, but I held back.

“Okay, let’s try and go supersonic!” I say, zooming off towards Sweet Apple Acres, where I assume Dashie is right now, based on previous times I saw her. I flew quickly, but I didn’t see the aircone forming around my body like last time. I needed to exert myself more!

“Think of Scratchie! Maybe we can do cool music stuff if I get back.” I say to myself, noticing the aircone forming around me.

The ponies below me noticed the aircone, and began to look at what they were seeing.

“Are we going to see the second pony to ever to break the sound barrier?” One earth pony asked his little sister.

“I don’t know,” said the filly.

I didn’t really hear what the ponies beneath me were saying, I was too focused on getting to my destination as fast as possible. The aircone got narrower and narrower. I must be extremely close to breaking the sound barrier.

“C’mon! Do it for Scratchie!” I say, pushing the red button on the device attached to my stomach.

“BOOM!”

I was kind of expecting rainbows like Dash, but as I looked behind me, I saw music notes, clefs, and a staff? I guess the sonic boom caters differently based on your talents? I don’t know, but I am calling mine the SONIC CRESCENDO! The rush is exhilarating, and thirty seconds after my sonic crescendo, I landed at Sweet Apple Acres. I didn’t see Rainbow Dash, but I saw Applejack.

“Howdy, Rhythmia. Was that you who broke the sound barrier? I coulda sworn I saw music notes trailing you?” Applejack asks me.

“Yeah, it was me. I needed to do a soundwave test for Vinyl. Ya know, work stuff.” I say, scratching my head.

“So, what do you need, Rhythmia? Another Apple Pie?” AJ says, laughing.

“Actually, I wanted to find Rainbow Dash. I needed her to do this test, and I broke the sound barrier by accident. I think her results might be more accurate than mine. I figure since you two spend so much time together, you might know where she is?” I ask the orange pony, who laughs.

“Dashie? She’s inside. C’mon!” Applejack says, beckoning me to follow her inside the Apple clan estate. I see Rainbow Dash inside the main barn of the estate, and she looks shocked.

“Rhythmia, was that YOU who broke the sound barrier?” Dashie says, freaking out over my nascent talent.

“Uh...Yeah, but it was by accident. That wind tunnel you set up for me must be giving me super speed or something. I don’t know. You are still faster, though. I actually need you to do an airwave test for my marefriend.” I say, unstrapping the instrument and resetting the parameters.

“Wait, you have a marefriend, and it’s Vinyl Scratch!?!?” Dashie and AJ say in unison.

“Uhh, yeah. We went on a date last night, actually.” I say, chuckling.

“Well, that makes sense. Two musicians.” Applejack says to her marefriend.

“Yeah, it makes sense.” Rainbow Dash says.

“I can do that test for ya. I mean, Vinyl recorded my pep anthem!” Rainbow Dash says, taking the instrument from me, equipping it, and flying out the door, instantly breaking the sound barrier.

“How do you put up with this, Applejack?” I ask the earth pony, who just shoves me playfully.

“I don’t. But it works. I guess?”

Well, I just hope Vinyl doesn’t get mad that I did a Sonic Crescendo...

Chapter 7: Working to the Beat

I waited like a dope for a few minutes in Sweet Apple Acres for Rainbow Dash to return with the new, more accurate data, as Applejack was still processing that her marefriend isn’t the only pony in town who is supersonic.

“Say, Rhythmia, any idea how a colt like you became the second pony in recorded history to become supersonic?” Applejack asks me, a bit bewildered.

“Frankly, I have no idea. I think I just got lucky. Maybe the fact that I am originally from another universe has something to do with it, but I don’t know for sure.” I reply, hoping that this answer proves to be satisfactory to her.

“I’m back, Rhythmia!” Rainbow Dash says, landing next to me and handing me over the data I need to bring back over to the studio.

“So, what exactly are you gonna do with this doo-hickey anyways?” Applejack asks me, a bit confused as Rainbow Dash re-attaches the device to my body to return it to Vinyl.

“Uhh. We are making a fancy speaker that can also use magic to defeat sirens who want to take over the world. That’s basically it.” I reply, leaving the two mares bewildered.

“The Dazzlings, like From Sci-Twi’s planet?” Rainbow Dash asks, confused.

I don’t know what a Sci-Twi is. I just assume that these sirens have also been doing multiversal shenanigans. “Uhh, sure, but I don’t know who Sci-Twi is,” I say, a bit confused.

“Uhh, I think it’s that other universe similar to yours where we exist as humans, but there IS magic, unlike yours where there isn't’ any.” Rainbow Dash says, trying to remember what Twilight told her about this other universe.

“Okay, that makes sense. I mean, the multiverse is real, so a similar universe to my own doesn’t seem out of the ordinary in my books.” I say, bolting out the window on my way back to my studio.

“See ya whenever!” I say, trying to fly more slowly this time to avoid unnecessary attention. Well, I have the data I need now, and it’s probably more accurate than when I did it a few minutes earlier. Even at my slower clip, it only takes me five minutes or so to get back to 315 Octave Lane. When I finally make it back to the studio, Octavia and Vinyl are waiting for me at the door.

“Uh, Rhythmia. Did you break the sound barrier? I could have sworn I saw (and heard) a music staff in the sky playing a melody.” Octavia asks me, her eyes comically large, excited to hear about my aerial accomplishment.
Wait, my Sonic Crescendo PLAYS the notes I create as I fly? That’s AWESOME! I must have been too busy focusing on the data to notice.

“Wait, you did WHAT!” Vinyl says, flabbergasted that I went supersonic. I mean, Dashie did the test, so it doesn’t really matter, but I digress...
“Well, I DID go supersonic, but Dashie procured the data set for you,” I say sheepishly, removing the instrument from my body and handing it to her. Vinyl teleports the device into the studio and looks me dead in the eye.

“Well if Dash found the data, why did you go supersonic? I didn’t even know you could do that! I thought she was the only pony in history who could break the sound barrier.

I try to think of a good quip. “Well, it makes sense that a musician could be the second to break the SOUND barrier, right? Jokes aside, I was actually pretty close to doing so the night we went on our date, but I kinda slowed down to avoid drawing negative attention. I think it might have something to do with my other-universal origin. I can ask Princess Twilight about it the next time I have a meeting with her.” I say as Vinyl and Tavi go inside.

When we enter, I see that in the short time that I was gone, Vinyl has been working overdrive, trying to put together her newer version of the bass cannon. Obviously, it is nowhere close to finished, since I couldn’t have been gone for more than thirty minutes, but the amount of progress she made was quite substantial.
“Woah! You made a lot of progress on the bass booster cannon!” I say, amazed at how much my marefriend has worked on this in less than an hour.

“Well, yeah! I mean I just need to rebuild the thing again and tweak one or two key things, like the frequencies and pitch, that’s it!” Vinyl says.

“So, what do you need me to do, anyway? I brought the data, and you seem to have everything under control.” I say, unsure of what I need to do next to help Vinyl.

“Well. I need you to check the software and stuff. Even an awesome mare like me can’t do everything on my own! My DAW is on the desk in the recording booth. Check all the parameters and then give me a hooves-up, okay?” Vinyl says, signaling for me to enter her recording booth. Damn! She is so cute when she is working!

Anyways, I do as Scratchie asks, and I go to her recording booth and I see a magical screen in front of me with all sorts of data scrambled in front of me. Stuff about individual cents (The cent is a logarithmic unit of measure used for musical intervals), frequency changes, and the range of what a pony’s ear can perceive. Apparently, in this universe, pegasi can hear slightly higher pitches than earth ponies, and unicorns can hear lower frequencies. It kind of makes sense, because each race is somewhat unique. I wonder what Twilight can hear since she is an alicorn? Anyways, I am getting distracted again! I jot down some notes about what needs to be fixed (namely the range of pegasi frequencies), and I fly back with my findings to Vinyl.

“Well, you know how Pegasi can hear higher pitches? You messed up that value by 3.46, I wrote down the correct inputs for you. Hope you appreciate it!” I say, handing my findings to Vinyl, who looks at them intrigued.

“Well, I actually didn’t know that! I guess it’s good having a pegasus stallion as a coltfriend! I wouldn’t have possibly known this otherwise! Thank you!! Vinyl says, planting a kiss on my cheek in gratitude for my musical findings.

“Umm, can you two ponies stop with the lovey-dovey crap and work on this bass booster. Your concert is in 36 hours! Time is of the essence!” Octavia says, reminding us of our goal to both entertain the masses and prevent a musical calamity Equestria-wide.

“When you’re right, Tavi, you’re right. Back to work we go!” I say, using my advantage of flight to plug in certain auxiliary cables that I don’t think Vinyl would have been able to reach, even with magic. We continue working on the bass booster for the rest of the day, putting our recording duties aside. I think preventing a catastrophe could take precedence over our bit-making schemes.

When the bass booster cannon is finally finished, I take a look at it in all of its majesty. The thing is around 10 meters tall! I actually thought it would be too big to transport on the train for our concert, but Vinyl had a trick up her sleeve.
She used some kind of spell to compartmentalize the device, shrinking it down to the size of a briefcase that can be fit as a saddlebag!

“Holy cheeseballs! How did you do that!” I ask, a bit shocked.

“Magic, dingus!” Octavia answers on behalf of her friend.

“Now it can fit anywhere, and I can just wear it around. You couldn’t have possibly thought I was going to bring a ten-meter tall bass boosting cannon fully assembled on the Equestrian rail service, now did ya?”

Well, she does have a point. The thing is HUGE.

“Well, would ya look at the time, it’s 8 pm. What do you say? We have dinner at your place, and then you and I can practice your rhythm again, now that you are sober.” Vinyl says mischievously.

“Wait, how do we do that? You can’t fly!” I ask, a bit confused as to how a unicorn can make it to Cloudsdale. I mean, it’s not like a pony the same size as me can be flown around like a kid.

“Well, I know your address, 2003 Cumulus Drive, I can just teleport, silly!” Vinyl says, teleporting herself to my humble abode.

“Damn it! I have to get there posthaste!” I say, bolting out the door of my studio as Octavia chuckles to herself.

“He does need to improve his rhythm in bed...Vinyl wouldn’t shut up about how drunk Rhythmia was a few nights back. Hope he can hold his own tonight.” Octavia says, watching me break the sound barrier much closer this time, with my Sonic Crescendo amazing her.

Chapter 8: Some Fine Tuning

Well, I can say for a fact that last night was MUCH better than the night we went on our first date. I didn’t play the piano drunk, I was aware of my surroundings, AND Vinyl and I tried again, with much more success.

“Well, at least you weren’t drunk last night, Rhythmia,” Vinyl says while I am making pancakes before we get on the train to Manehattan, to set up adequately for our concert.

“Yeah, and at least I wasn’t cold last night. You are a good big spoon, Scratchie!” I say, causing my marefriend to blush.

“Well, it’s not just the fun in bed that counts, but also the company. Anyways, are those pancakes ready? I hope you put chocolate chips in some of them!” Vinyl says, using her magic to get a plate and some utensils. Good thing I made half the batch with chocolate chips! I stacked a serving of pancakes onto a plate and handed it to Vinyl, as she began to eat. I’ll give her credit, she is better at eating properly compared to our first date, and she doesn’t scarf down her food.

“So, I have never been to Manehattan before. Is there anything cool to do there, besides for the clubs where we’re going to perform and party?” I ask. Even living here for two months or so, I have only really been to Canterlot, Cloudsdale, and Ponyville, so there is a whole planet out there for me to see.

“Yeah, there are some good restaurants there, like this really good pizza joint! Best pizza in all of Equestria. Mark my words!” Vinyl says, as I take my own portion of pancakes and sit down at the table next to her. I like mine with powdered sugar and syrup!

“Say, how certain are you that this bass boosting cannon is going to work, Scratchie? I mean, every invention always has a chance of breaking, or not doing what it's supposed to do. I don’t want these sirens to screw up our tour, so I am just asking what our contingency plan is.” I ask Vinyl, who puts down her fork and stares at me, right into my soul.

“Well, It COULD malfunction, but the odds of that happening are quite low, Rhythmia, like, less than 1%. I did a lot of tests on the first one, and I had a handsome stallion helping me with the newer version, so I have faith it will work just fine. Don’t be such a worrywart!” Vinyl says, roughing up my mane, just to annoy me a bit.

“Hey! Don’t do that! Not cool!” I say, roughing up her mane in retaliation.

“Well, I can pin you to the wall with magic, so don’t mess with me!” She says half-jokingly. I leave her alone and fly back up to my room to grab my stuff.
“You think I packed too much stuff for our trip?” I ask Vinyl, who shakes her head in disagreement.

“You packed just the right amount of stuff. I am surprised I was able to compress your nine-piece kit into that suitcase. You are lucky I can use magic, Rhythmia!” Vinyl says, planting one on my lips.

“Hehe,” I say quietly, blushing. “So where is this train station anyways? I mean, I COULD fly to Manehattan, but it’s not right to leave your marefriend by herself on the Equestrian Rails…”

“Right in the center of Ponyville.” She says, teleporting herself, along with her baggage to what I assume to be that location.

“Hmm. Vinyl managed to pack all my stuff in one bag using magic, so I guess I can schlep this down to Ponyville.” I say, grabbing my keys and strapping the bag to my body, bolting out the door, on my way to meet my marefriend at the train station. Now, I don’t think a drum kit can handle supersonic speeds, so I fly at a much slower speed than I would prefer, taking around 15 minutes to get to the train station.

“Glad to see you made it, slowpoke!” Vinyl says chuckling.

“Well, It’s not like I can Sonic Crescendo with a nine-piece drum kit in my saddlebag. It would cause it to implode!”I say defensively, to which Vinyl replies “fair point.” She uses her magic to hand me a platinum-colored ticket: “EQUESTRIA RAIL SERVICE: ADMIT ONE”
“I went ahead and bought the tickets for us. The train leaves in ten minutes. Let’s go!” Vinyl says, pulling me along with my stuff to board the train. The conductor pony looks at our tickets and stamps them, signaling we legally bought the tickets.

“Where are you two ponies heading today?” The conductor asks.

“We’re getting off at Manehattan Station. We have a concert.” Vinyl says.

“How lovely, best of luck!” The conductor says, pointing a hoof towards two empty seats.

“So we have three hours or so to kill Rhythmia. What do you want to talk about? Do you want to tell me about your universe?” Vinyl asks, genuinely intrigued at knowing more about my universe of origin.

“Well, there’s not really anything interesting back home. I am eighteen, like you, and I would have finished high school had CERN not decided to mess with string theory.” I say, quickly piquing my marefriends interest.

“What the hay is string theory? What’s a CERN?” Vinyl asks me, a bit confused by both of these terms and concepts. How do I even begin? I don’t know myself! I can try, though. For Scratchie!

“Well CERN is a place where a bunch of humans do science things that I don’t really understand, and string theory is something that these scientists were researching. For a few months before I got sent here, there were several dozen cases of humans ending up in other worlds because of these experiments.”

“Wait, you aren’t the only colt who got sent away from your home?” Vinyl asks, shocked.

“Well, I didn’t know anyone else who got sent away, but I assume that not everyone got sent to Equestria. I know of one case where someone got sent to a very scary place, much scarier than anything I have ever seen!” I say in a spooky voice, which makes my marefriend laugh.

“Don’t you miss your home, Rhythmia? I mean, I know that you told me you weren’t that happy back in your world, but don’t you have friends, family, anypony?” Vinyl asks, genuinely interested in my opinion on the matter.

“Well, how should I put it? I have a disease that makes me unlikeable. I don’t know if ponies have it, but it’s called autism, and it makes people extremely smart, but they aren’t good at communicating with others. I was bullied in school, as you know, and my father was abusive, so no, I don’t really miss Earth that much at all. The past two months have been the happiest of my life, hanging out and jamming with you and Tavi.

Vinyl felt touched by my comment and gave me a big hug. “I am glad the past two months were great for you. Everypony deserves to be happy, and I am happy you finally found somepony to make you happy. I felt the same way when I met Tavi for the first time. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t like Octavia in the same way that I like you. We never tuned instruments or anything, but she gave me a sense of purpose and belonging that I never had before. I feel honored that I am the pony that did that to you, Rhythmia.”

Vinyl gasps, realizing something important. Oh! I have one more question! Did you bring your DAW with you?” Vinyl asks, abruptly changing the subject.

“Yeah, It's in my suitcase, Scratchie!” I say, opening the top zipper and showing my portable music workstation to her. “Okay. I thought you forgot it for a second. I know how you are with forgetting things at the last second.” Vinyl says, shaking a bit. The train started to move, and she wasn’t expecting it.

“Well, it looks like we are on our way to Manehattan, Vinyl!” I say, as Vinyl moves over to my side of the train car and snuggles up next to me.

“I didn’t sleep well last night, Rhythmia. Can you wake me up when we get there?” Vinyl says, putting her head in my lap, using it as a makeshift pillow.

“Sure, I don’t see why not,” I say, with a smile. I don’t know if anything can top this. MY MAREFRIEND is sleeping on me as we are going to a concert together. I just hope these Sirens don’t make my life miserable or anything. I need serenity, and Scratchie is giving it to me.

Chapter 9: Increasing the Tempo

“Mares and Gentlecolts. The train will be arriving at Manehattan Central Station in five minutes. If this is your stop, please collect your baggage now, so you are adequately prepared to exit the train.” A voice says over the PA system on the train.

This wakes Vinyl up from her nap, moving her head off of my lap, which she was using as a pillow.

“Wait, we’re almost there? I have to get my bags!” Vinyl says, quickly sitting up, which gives her a blood rush, making her a bit dizzy.

“Woah, sorry, Rhythmia!” She says, using her magic to collect all of her bags. I grab my bag, too, and by the time that is all said and done, the train pulls into Manehattan Central Station.

“We have now arrived at Manehattan Central Station. Thank you for riding Equestrian Rails, and have a great day!” The PA said as we both stepped onto the platform, as the train departed behind us.

“Well, we’re here, Rhythmia! What do you think of Manehattan?” Vinyl says, pointing at all the skyscrapers.

To be honest, it reminds me a bit of New York City, and I don’t mean with the name of the city. It’s organized like a grid, there is a good flow of pedestrian traffic, and ponies are going about their lives, just like in any other major metropolis. The two of us walk past the station, and I follow Vinyl since she seems to know where we are going more than me.

“Our hotel is a few more blocks away. I got us the penthouse!” Vinyl says, chuckling with glee. I guess dating a pony celebrity comes with its perks!

“The penthouse?!? Nice!” I say, giving my marefriend a high five. When Vinyl is right, she is right. The hotel was a few blocks away, and we checked in.

“Lucky you, Rhythmia. You don’t need the elevator. Just fly up to the top!” Vinyl says half-jokingly, before realizing that I took what she said literally, and flew to the top of the hotel to drop off my bags.

“Damn it, Rhythmia! I was being sarcastic!” She yells from the bottom. It’s a good thing I have good hearing, or I would have missed that completely. I am like what? 250 feet up? Regardless, I made sure to fly back down to make sure Vinyl wasn’t waiting by herself the whole time.

“I just wanted to drop off my bags so I can help you with yours,” I say, trying to act chivalrous.
“Aww, how cute! It’s a shame that this mare can carry her own stuff!” Vinyl says, using her magic to carry her bags to the elevator, and pressed the button for the penthouse.

“We gotta drop off our clothes and make it to the Princess Luna Amphitheatre posthaste!” Vinyl says, beckoning me to join her in the elevator. I guess pony elevators use some kind of magic since we made it up to the penthouse in less than thirty seconds. The doors opened, and I saw one of the nicest rooms I have ever seen in my life; both on Earth and Equestria. It had every possible amenity imaginable, from food and drink, to the pegasus wind tunnel, and even bottomless cider.

“Don’t you DARE go for the cider before the concert, Rhythmia! It’s 2:45 pm, way too early to drink, man!” Vinyl says with a smile. I wasn’t even going to open the cider until after the concert, but whatever.

“Curtain opens at 9 pm. We have six hours to kill. Want to go sightseeing before we set up?” Vinyl says, making sure that all of her music equipment is properly stored for the concert.

“Yeah. I just need to upload the MIDI data to your workstation, since I assume you will be manning, wait, pony-ing, the DAW.” I say, grabbing my DAW from my suitcase and sending the data to Vinyl’s. “This has all the right equations and stuff for the Bass Booster, so we are gonna be fine!” I say as Vinyl uses her magic to summon a map of Manehattan.
“Well, Manehattan has that pizza joint I told you about, and the Museum of Equestrian History, and bowling!

Bowling? I haven’t gone bowling in ages! Do you think Vinyl would care if we went bowling?

“I haven’t been bowling in years. Sounds like fun, no?” I jest, to which Vinyl nods in agreement. “I was actually thinking the exact same thing. A game of bowling is like what, an hour? We can go there, come back, and then bring all of our stuff to the ampitheatre for the concert!” Vinyl says with enthusiasm. I wonder how exactly ponies bowled without fingers? Time to find out.

“So where is the bowling alley?” I ask Vinyl, who just looks at the map and says “Three and a half blocks east of here. It’s quite easy to see, just look for the bowling ball logo on the building!” Vinyl says, going back to the elevator of the penthouse and going down to the ground floor.

“Ah, screw it, if I don’t fly, I’ll lose it!” I think to myself as I launch myself out the window of the penthouse and glide down majestically to the ground floor, where I spend a minute or two waiting for my marefriend to exit the elevator and the lobby.

“Lead the way, Scratchie!” I say as Vinyl begins to walk in the direction of the bowling alley. I don’t know where anything is, so I blindly follow her along the cobblestone paths of Manehattan. Within five minutes or so, we see a building that says “Manehattan Bowling Alley.” I open the door, and I see dozens of ponies bowling. What’s weird is that the way ponies bowl is identical to how humans bowl on Earth, with ten pins. It must be a coincidence, right?

“Hello, everypony. How many games do you want to play, and what size are your hooves?” The purple earth pony with a bowling ball cutie mark asks us as we enter the alley.

“One game, I’m a mare’s 7” Vinyl says, as the pony behind the counter looks for the appropriate pair of footwear.

What should I say? I am a men’s 8 back on Earth. Does that translate to stallion’s 8? Let’s see!

“Stallion’s 8, please!” I say as she goes and looks for an appropriate pair of footwear.

“Alright, that will be 25 bits!” The bowling pony says as Vinyl takes out a card from her shirt pocket.

“Ah, you're using Platinum Points! Nice!” The mare says, scanning the card and handing it back to Vinyl.

“Premium status pays off!” Vinyl whispers in my ear as we take our shoes and go to the first available lane, that being lane #4.

We see a magical screen above us, with “PLAYER 1” and “PLAYER 2” showing our respective points once we start scoring.

“Mare’s first!” I say, being the stallion that I am. Vinyl puts on her shoes and bowls an 8-2 split!

“Ah, dang it! I hate it when that happens!” Vinyl says, waiting for the cyan ball she picked to come back to her.

“You know, it is possible to get a spare with an 8-2 split, but it is very hard, BUT it’s possible,” I say, trying to reassure Vinyl that it could still happen.

“Yeah, I know, I probably won’t get it, though.” She says on her second turn of the frame. She was correct, getting the right pin.

“Alright, your turn!” Vinyl says, using her magic to hand me a cobalt blue bowling ball. I am honestly not that good at bowling, and I would be surprised if I didn’t send my ball in the gutter.

“Here goes nothing!” I think to myself as I send the ball down the oily lane, and I get eight pins.”

“Hmph, not bad, not bad at all!” Vinyl says as I wait for the ball to return. I am incredibly unlucky since it looks like one pin is left, but there is another pin hiding behind it. I try again, and much to my dismay, I only get one pin, leaving a pin left at the lane, taunting me.

“HAHAHAHAHA! YOU SUCK!” Vinyl says in her typically dry fashion.
The game went on for a while, and Vinyl ended up beating me by three points. 100 to 97.

“Not bad, Rhythmia. I take it you haven’t been bowling that much? It’s okay, neither have I.” She says as we return our shoes to the bowling pony and make our way back to the hotel.

“Now, it’s 4:30, so we need to get our flanks over to the Princess Luna Amphitheatre and set up for the show! Vinyl says with urgency.

“Uhh, where IS this amphitheatre?” I ask, to which Vinyl replies by pointing to the giant statue of Princess Luna in the horizon.

“It’s over there, dingus! I had the bellhop send our equipment over, so we just need to plug everything in, and set up the bass booster just in case things hit the fan, ya know?” Vinyl says.

“Meet you there!” I say, launching myself towards the amphitheatre, making a Sonic Crescendo, playing a very pleasant melody as I fly at breakneck speeds towards our concert hall.

“SHOWOFF!” Vinyl yells as she teleports herself to the amphitheatre. Dang it! She beat me, and she’s waving at me to land.

“Not so fast now, are ya, Rhythmia?” Vinyl says tauntingly, before planting a massive smooch on my lips.

“Hehehe. We need to be serious now. I have to plug stuff in!” I say, flying around, unbuckling all the containers, and making sure all the lights, cables, and equipment are adequately set up for the show. By the time that is all said and done, it is 7:15 pm, and we are both a bit tired.

“How about we order a pizza here and have a light dinner before the show?” Vinyl asks me rhetorically, knowing full well I am always in the mood for pizza.

“Uh, of course, I want pizza!” I say as Vinyl uses whatever kind of magic she needs to place an order with Margarita the Pizza Pegasus.

“It’ll be here in 20 minutes or so. What do you say we practice a bit before the food gets here?” Vinyl says, teleporting me to my drum kit.

“With pleasure, my lady!” I say with a grin, as Vinyl teleports herself to her DJ table, and we begin to practice.

I hope we do well tonight! It’s the real deal!

Chapter 10: The Concert, Part 1

Finally! After 20 minutes of arduous waiting, Margarita the Pizza Pegasus arrived with our pizza. She landed backstage where the two of us were practicing, and quickly realized who her customer was.

“Hold on, you’re DJ-P0N-3! You’re having that concert tonight, right?” Margarita says a bit startled that somepony as famous as her was Margarita’s patron today.

“Yup, and this is my coltfriend Rhythmia. He’s on stage with me tonight!” Vinyl says, using her magic to put a 100-bit coin into Margarita’s shirt pocket.

“Woah, I don’t ever get tips like this. Thanks!” She says, handing us our pizza and two sodas and flies off.

“Well, that was interesting,” I say, opening the pizza box and seeing the most delectable pizza I have ever laid my eyes upon.

“Enjoy!” Vinyl says, using her magic to take a slice of pizza and put it in her hooves. “Mmm, I love pizza.” Vinyl says, opening her can of Colta-Cola and downing it in one long gulp. I guess her tomboyish nature isn’t totally gone, yet?

I take a slice for myself as well and make sure that it isn’t too hot. The last thing anypony would want is for the pizza to burn your mouth! It happened to me once back on Earth, and I couldn’t eat anything right for FOUR DAYS.” Learned my lesson, though!

“You’re right, Vinyl! This pizza IS amazing!” I say, noticing that a few ponies were already lining up outside at the ticket booth, paying their fee to attend.

“What’s the capacity of this amphitheatre, anyways?” I ask Vinyl, who is already on her fourth slice of pizza, well before I finished my first.

“Uhh, 7,500 ponies, I think? I’ve performed here before, but I was still a filly in high school, so I didn’t have a full house like I am expecting tonight.” Vinyl says, unsure of the actual capacity of the amphitheatre. After a few more minutes, the entire pizza is finished (Vinyl had like 60% of it), and we put away our garbage and make the last preparations before the concert.

“Know anypony coming tonight, Rhythmia?” My marefriend asks me as she sees a few ponies she knows and waves to them.

“Uhh, not really. I mean, you and Tavi are basically my only friends here. I know that “Friendship is Magic” is the whole vibe here, but I was never that good at making friends.” I say bluntly, to which Vinyl kisses me and says. “You’ll get there, Rhythmia. Trust me. Tavi was my first friend, and it took me what, 15 years to find her? I have faith. I mean, you picked up this hot mare in eight weeks flat. You can’t be that boring!” She says, teleporting herself to the DJ booth and fixing up a few things.

“Curtain’s in 10. I have a surprise for you, Rhythmia.” Vinyl says as she uses a spell to bring something to me.

“A...A drum pad? For me?” I ask, confused.

“Uh, yeah! I wanted to give it to you for tonight, and I almost forgot, actually. I need a good percussive baseline for my beats tonight, that’s your job, Rhythmia!” Vinyl says, as I try and figure out how this particular model of drum pad works. It took me a few minutes, but I got the hang of it. There are 25 buttons on it, each with four permutations, so there are countless ways to play with this thing.

“Dude, five minutes left. Get set up!” Vinyl says quietly since she sees thousands of ponies with glow sticks sitting in the stands. I quickly fly up to the edge of the curtain, just to see if I know anypony here, and I see somepony I know.

“Uhh, Vinyl? Did you know ALL SIX Elements of Harmony are here tonight? I see Princess Twilight and her friends here!” I say, flying back down to my seat at the DJ table.

“No, I had no idea mate. I mean, I am not surprised, since Pinkie Pie usually comes to these sorts of things, but all six element bearers is something new. I must be getting to a new level of fame!” She says, even more determined to perform nicely today.

“Mares and Gentlecolts, the DJ-P0N-3 rave will begin in a few minutes. Could the unicorns in the audience please put their horns on vibrate? The magic could interfere with the quality of the performance. Thank you.” A voice over the PA system says. All the unicorns in the audience do as they are asked, to make sure everypony else can enjoy the show.

“I have to admit, I am a bit scared. I haven’t played in front of a crowd this large in my life, Scratchie.” I say sheepishly, to which Vinyl replies: “It’ll be fine. If you freak out, just pretend like you are in the studio with me and Tavi, that’s what I do!” Vinyl says honestly, putting me at ease. I see a sea of glowsticks and ponies ready to party.

I see somepony fly on stage, and I quickly realize who it is. “Uhh, did you know that Princess Luna is the master of ceremonies tonight?” I ask her, to which she simply nods.

“Well, DUH! It’s the Princess Luna Amphitheatre! Of course, she wants in on the fun!” Vinyl says, before hearing a tap on a mic.

“Mares and Gentlecolts. Princess Luna here. It is my humble honor and privilege to be the mistress of ceremonies tonight for a very special event. Ponyville’s own DJ-P0N-3 is gracing us with her beats tonight!”

The crowd began to cheer voraciously, even though we didn’t start yet.

“In fact, she brought a guest performer tonight! I hear they are very talented with percussion. Without further ado, I am pleased to present DJ-P0N-3 and her friend BPM!!”

“Alright, Scratchie. Time to put on the DJ-P0N-3 Face.” I hear her say quietly as she puts on her signature sunglasses and headphones. I put on a pair of headphones a well since I need to protect my ears from the excessive noise that 110 dB (Decibels) can create.

The crowd breaks out into sheer ecstasy, almost like it was a football game back on Earth. Before the curtain opens, I instinctively play a baseline drum beat to get the crowd moving.

“Good move, Rhythmia!” Vinyl gives me a hooves-up as the curtain opens.

“GOOD EVENING MANEHATTAN!” My marefriend says with a booming voice as the crowd cheers.

“IS EVERYPONY READY TO PARTY?!?” Vinyl says, to which the loud reply of “YES DJ!” is shouted in unison, with ponies clapping their hooves to the beat of my drumline.

“I bought something special today. Want to know what it is, everypony?” Vinyl asks, to which the antiphonal response was given with loud whooping and cheering. She casts a spell, revealing the massive bass booster cannon that the two of us built recently.

“Alright, let’s give a warm Manehattan welcome to my guest act for today, BPM!” Vinyl says, as the crowd cheers for me as I continue to play the bass drumline, waiting for my marefriend to decide what to do next.

“Okay, Rhythmia. Just follow my lead!” Vinyl says through my headset, which I assume is enchanted because the voice was in my head.

She played one of her classic hits: “Welcome to Equestria.” Which is eerily similar to Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” in terms of melody and syncopation. Maybe our two universes have more overlap than I thought. That was a fun thought experiment to have, to say the least.

The crowd loved the concert’s opener, and when that song was finished, she played a more EDM-oriented track called “Electrodome”. It was your typical club banger, with the usual chord progressions, buildup and bass drops, and the every useful Shepard’s tone (a Shepard tone is a sound consisting of a superposition of sine waves separated by octaves. When played with the bass pitch of the tone moving upward or downward, it is referred to as the Shepard scale). The crowd was eating this up, and they couldn’t wait for more. Everything was going even better than expected!

That is, until I hear a horrible din from across the amphitheatre. Must be mic feedback, I guess? Nope, just three humanoid teenagers having a jam session at the same time, working on something eerily similar to our bass booster cannon.

“Are they gonna hijack the concert?” I think to myself as the beat drops once more, and everypony is moving in rhythm to the music, glowsticks in hoof.

I sure as hay hope not!

Chapter 11: The Concert, Part 2

The concert was in full swing, and as much fun as I was having with Vinyl, I couldn’t stop thinking about the three humanoid teenagers who were working on the bass booster cannon. I did my best to try and ignore it, and it seemed to be working, for a while. While I was trying to ignore the Siren party-poopers, I did get to show off my mad drumming skills!

“As you guys know. I brought a guest with me today. BPM is a really gifted drummer, and he’s gonna show you his stuff. ARE YOU READY TO SEE WHAT THIS STALLION HAS TO OFFER!” Vinyl says, riling up the crowd, starting a chant of “BPM! BPM, BPM!” I really enjoyed that. Vinyl took out her keyboard and played a simple melody, and I began drumming up a storm like my life depended on it. What is really interesting is that this melodic progression is in 5/4 time, which is REALLY hard to play for novices. I have to admit that I screwed it up a bit at first, but I don’t think anypony in the audience noticed.

I have an idea: “Vinyl, you see that song that I put on your DAW from Earth? It’s really cool. Could we do it next?” I say through my mic to her, to which Vinyl nods her head. After this quick demonstration, Vinyl pushes a button on her DJ table and a song starts playing. Now, what song did my marefriend play that the papers would later describe as her magnum opus? “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins. Now, nopony in Equestria knows that this is a real song back on Earth, and also happens to be one of my favorites, for its AWESOME drum solo.

A sea of glowsticks was being waved in the amphitheatre, and the bass booster cannon seemed to be magically enhancing the glowsticks, causing them to change colors in an act of technicolor wizardry.

Finally, the moment arrived, and I got to do the epic Phil Collins drum solo. The crowd went WILD. They had never seen anything like it, and Vinyl and I were soaking it all in. The concert wasn’t even close to over, and I was soaring like a kite (even though I was at the drumset). For the next few hours, we covered everything in Vinyl’s repertoire, as well as a few of my own original club bangers. While I did not partake of any booze at the concert, I could smell cider from every direction, and I am pretty sure some stallions got into a fight in the back of the ampitheatre. Probably drunken nonsense?

It got so bad that we actually had to pause the concert for a while to call the security pegasi to deal with the situation.

“EVERYPONY PLEASE REMAIN CALM! PRIVATE SECURITY IS GOING TO DEAL WITH THIS IMMEDIATELY!” Vinyl says loudly into her microphone as the crowd stops dancing to see that a rather annoying drunken fight was taking place, and ponies were beating each other to a pulp. Within five minutes or so, the security corps and the Elements of Harmony were on the scene to try and mitigate the situation.

“Well, I am sorry your tour got interrupted by a drunken fight,” I say to Vinyl as we wait for the Mane 6 and security to deal with the situation.

“It could be worse, Rhythmia, like, a lot worse. Once, a changeling army raided the stage, and I had to leave the stadium mid-show. At least with this, we can get back to it in a few minutes.” Vinyl says, recollecting about that one weird concert in Applepalooza a few weeks before her coltfriend showed up in Equestria.

I see a buttery yellow pegasus fly onto the stage and tap me gently on the shoulder. “Um...Mister BPM. I’m Fluttershy. The rest of my friends sent me to tell you that you and Vinyl can continue your concert. We dealt with the drunk ponies.” Fluttershy says, amazed at how big the stage is.

“Okay, that’s great. Vinyl is on the UniPhone with her agent dealing with the PR nightmare this is going to cause. We will get started in a few minutes, okay? Thanks for letting us know, Fluttershy.” I say, giving her a hoof five. She flies back towards the audience and I debrief Vinyl on the situation once she gets off the phone.

“Yeah, that sounds about right. I kind of know Fluttershy, and she is quite level-headed. It makes sense that the other Elements sent her up here to let us know what to do next. Frankly, the concert has been going on for three hours, and I say we should just cancel and go prepare for the next one in three days.” Vinyl says sternly, grabbing the microphone from her DJ booth.

“Alright everypony. I have some sad news. We have to end the concert a bit early. I know this is sad, but I was advised by security personnel to return to my hotel room, in case any more fighting breaks out again. I love performing, and I wanted to continue, but everypony’s safety is of the utmost priority. Thanks, and have a great night.” Vinyl says, dropping the mic on the floor. It’s not like the concert got cancelled at the last minute or anything, and the audience got a good three hours of clubbing experience, but they DID pay for six hours…

Thankfully, the audience for the most part was rather understanding about this and left the amphitheatre in an orderly fashion. I gathered my few key things and waited for Vinyl to do the same.

“Uhh, now would be a good time to teleport yourself out of here, honey. I think the few lingering fans might not take this to hoof.” I say, to which Vinyl teleports herself back to her hotel room.

“You forgot to teleport me!” I say, realizing that she didn’t hear me and I was left by myself, with a few drunken ponies who had nothing else to do but cause a commotion. The Mane 6 and Princess Luna already left, so if hay hits the fan, I am on my own. I am REALLY happy I didn’t drink anything before the show, and I took off quickly to avoid detection, since some of the rabble-rousers were pegasi, and could have chased me in the air for no reason.

How right I was. Two drunk pegasi stallions saw me and took off in my general direction, hoping to grab my attention.

“Hey, BPM guy. You SUCKED! Why would a hot mare like Vinyl want to tour with a dumb colt like you!” They said naggingly, clearly drunk and flying off course. I really didn’t want to interact with them, and I was too tired to Sonic Crescendo my way out of this.

“Look, you two fine stallions are obviously inebriated. Please land, since flying over the .08 alcohol limit is a felony, and we can all sort this out like civilized colts, okay?” I say, trying to be diplomatic. In a normal world, this would have worked. If I was with Vinyl, this would have worked. If I was with ANY of the Mane 6, this would have worked. It didn’t work for me by myself.

“Well, We think that you and Vinyl have been fooling around, and you aren’t good enough for her!” One drunk pegasus said, flying towards my hotel and breaking the window of the penthouse, and dragging Vinyl out by the mane.

“If you love her so much, you won’t care if we get to play with her instruments.” The other colt says, laughing his flank off. “Yeah, we're WONDERBOLTS. We can do anything with a mare and get away with it!”

I am so mad. I am REALLY mad. I begin to fly around both drunken stallions extremely quickly, tempted to breach the sound barrier, but I choose not to because it could potentially hurt my marefriend. I see both of the stallions try and do something terrible to Vinyl, and I plow into them at full speed, knocking them both to the ground.

“RHYTHMIA!!!” Vinyl says, falling to the ground quickly. Without even thinking, I dive down and grab Vinyl only a few meters before hitting the ground. I could have sworn that she threw up a bit in her mouth from being tossed around like that by two drunk Wonderbolts.

“Hey...sorry about that,” I say, feeling horrible that something like this could happen to my marefriend, and that I wasn’t more careful in watching her.

“It’s not your fault. I should have hired better security that stays a few minutes after everypony leaves.” Vinyl says as I gently lower her to the ground, placing her on her hooves.

“Well. Somepony is the MVP tonight, and it isn’t me.” Vinyl says, quickly trying to seduce me for saving her.
“You know who’s tuning instruments tonight? Not those drunken horse apples!” Vinyl says, teleporting the two of us back to the penthouse.

“Before we do any of that. I need a shower, okay?”

“I’ll be waiting, little drummer colt.” She says coyly, making me blush.

Chapter 12: The Afterparty

My word! Vinyl knows how to tune instruments, alright! I don’t know how she does it, but I feel like a stallion when it is all over. Bonus points for saving my marefriend from two drunk Wonderbolts!

“So, you liked that, Rhythmia?” Vinyl says, stroking a hoof down my chest, sending shivers down my spine.

“Uhh...yeah. Keep it up and I won’t be able to walk Scratchie. Like, seriously!” I say, just trying to sleep.

“Okay...How about a wing massage? I know you like those.” Vinyl says as she begins massaging my wings with magic.

“Ahh, this is nice. My muscles are so sore from the concert and from kicking some drunken pegasi flank.” I say as Vinyl works her magic (literally), soothing my broken body from a day of a lot of random stuff.

After a few minutes of this, I turn around and give Vinyl the biggest hug that I can give her.

“Aww, what’s this about? Enjoy the concert, or the instrument tuning?” Vinyl says, cooing.

“It’s actually not about any of that. I just wanted to say thank you for being my friend. I mean, yeah. The music is nice, the instrument tuning is a bonus, but I just like having somepony to keep me company. I was so alone on my planet…” I say, making my hug even tighter. “I am doing something I love with somepony that I love. Isn’t that the best I could ask for?”

Vinyl starts to cry. “I...I didn’t know I meant so much to you! I mean, I know that you think I am cute and smart, but this is something else. I love you too, Rhythmia!” Vinyl says, giving me a kiss on my forehead.

“Sometimes, you are right. I want to change keys on our instruments right now, but getting a good night’s sleep isn’t the worst idea, either. Good night!” Vinyl says, using her magic to turn the lights out in our penthouse. Holding my marefriend tightly, I go to sleep at ease, feeling better than I have ever felt in my life.

THE NEXT MORNING

I wake up feeling quite refreshed, especially after the crazy concert that we had last night, and the fight.
“Morning, Rhythmia! I ordered room service! We got free credit for breakfast since those stupid horseapples tried to mess with me and they broke the window. I ordered pancakes!” Vinyl says, using her magic to turn my head to the GIANT stack of pancakes that the Manehattan hotel sent up to our suite.

“Oh my, I don’t know if the two of us could even eat all of these!” I say, a bit shocked at how many pancakes the hotel made and brought up.

“Don’t be so foalish! We can pack the leftovers up for the road. We are leaving en route to Applepalooza at 12:00 pm. It’s a six-hour train ride, so you better find something to read or make a new remix!” Vinyl says as I get two plates and cutlery for us, so we can eat these pancakes. Vinyl knows me much better than before. She ordered mine with blueberries and hers with chocolate chips! The service I get here, damn!

“Bon Appetit, my little drummer colt,” Vinyl says lovingly, taking a massive bite of her pancake as I try to cut my pancakes into more manageable pieces to eat. Since getting ponified, I find that the amount of food that I can bite at once is a little bit less. My jaw is smaller. At least this helps with portion sizing!

Some fifteen minutes passed, and we both ate our fill of pancakes and packaged the rest of them in Ziploc bags. It is now 9:15 am. The question still remains. What are we to do for the next three hours or so before going back to the train station?

Right! I didn’t tell Vinyl about the Sirens working on their mind control device!

“Um, Vinyl, just before the concert went crazy, I saw something weird in the audience unrelated to the audience brawl.

“Hmm, what did you see-” Vinyl asks me before her UniPhone goes off.

“Sorry, it’s Princess Twilight. One minute.” Vinyl says, activating her horn.

I zone out a bit as Vinyl talks to the Princess of Friendship. I don’t particularly care what the two of them are discussing, but I pretend like I know what they are talking about. This conversation takes up a fair amount of time, and some thirty minutes later, she gets off her horn.

“So, what was that about? Are we going to be late for the train?” I ask inquisitively.

“Nothing too serious. She just briefed me about the fight that happened last night and told me her office will pay for the damages, so we don’t have to deal with any expenses.” She says a bit relieved that we don’t have to pay for the damage caused to the amphitheatre.

“Okay, that’s a relief, right? Anyways, while you and Twilight were on the UniPhone, I packed up our stuff so we could get to the train station.” I say, dragging our suitcases to the front door of the suite.

Vinyl seems touched by this. “Aww, how sweet! I have a good feeling that I picked the right stallion this time!” Vinyl says, using her magic to quickly verify that all the appropriate contents were packed away in our suitcases. Thankfully, I did a good job, and everything is where it is supposed to be.

I check my watch and see that it is close to 10:00 am. Not a bit deal. We have two hours to get to Manehattan Central Station.

“Oh! I forgot to tell you the thing. You got interrupted by the UniPhone! Right before the drunken fight started, I could have sworn that I saw three humans messing with some sort of sound equipment. At least, they would be humans, if they were not technicolor like everyone else in this universe.

“Wait, really? Could those three be the Dazzlings? I mean, I have never actually seen them, so I don’t know for sure.” Vinyl says, a bit worried about our next concert in two days’ time.

“I mean, probably, but I don’t know for sure. I have only lived in Equestria for two months or so. I don’t know what these threats look like. Next time you get a call on the UniPhone, be sure to mention what I saw, okay? Now, let’s go to the train station. It takes a while to buy tickets and stuff, and even more time to load our stuff onto the train!” I say, to which Vinyl nods in agreement. We make our way out of the penthouse and check out rather quickly.

“We apologize for the breaking and entering you experienced last night, Vinyl Scratch.” The servicepony at the front desk says.

“It’s not your fault. Really!”

“But...our credit rating...We could lose our five hoof status…”

“I said it’s fine. It’s not your fault two drunk pegasi flew up to the penthouse and tried to abduct me. It’s their fault. I am sure Manehattan PD will take care of things.” Vinyl says, signing a legal document and giving it to the servicepony at the front desk.

“I am glad you are not pressing charges or suing us, DJ. Anyways, hope you and BPM enjoy your tour!” The servicepony says, as we leave the hotel with our luggage.

“Well, I understand the concert the hotel has about liability. Having a celebrity being almost foalnapped at their hotel will certainty tarnish their reputation.” I say, trying to play devil’s advocate for a bit.

“Honestly, I’ve seen worse. Here’s what we are going to do. We are going to buy our train tickets, get on the train, and come up with a plan for the Applepalooza concert. If these sirens show up, we need to be ready, okay, Rhythmia?”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it. At least I know where the train station is, now!” I say, hovering a bit in excitement for our tour, while also not ditching my marefriend. After getting all four hooves back on the floor, we finally make it to the Manehattan Central Station, and we buy our tickets. With the platinum “ADMIT ONE” tickets in each of our hooves, we make our way to the second platform and board the train.

“Hello! Where are you two heading today?” The conductor pony says, stamping our tickets with a blotter.

“Applepalooza, ma’am,” I say to the conductor.

“Okay. Find your seats, and I’ll deal with the luggage. You did buy platinum tickets, so that gives you a helping hoof!” The earth pony conductor says, giving us a small slip of paper.

“This is your luggage number. Hold onto it until you get to your stop and I will find your bags. Okay? Enjoy the ride!” The conductor says, pointing a hoof towards an empty car. We walk to the empty car and set ourselves up. I am happy I grabbed my bag with both of our DAWs before. I care most about that getting lost since there is important data on there.

“Six hours on the train, huh? I told you about Earth on the last train ride, so tell me about your foalhood.” I ask as the wheels of the train begin turning, leaving the metropolis of Manehattan en route to Applepalooza.

Chapter 13: I Think I Know You, Adagio!

The train ride to Applepalooza was relaxing. I got to sneak in a nap, too! I think I woke up with only thirty minutes or so left on the ride, and I see that Vinyl is busy working on something. What’s weird is that she is working on something with a pen and paper, and not on her DAW.

“Vinyl, everything alright? I haven’t seen you use pen and paper since you were doodling at the Hayburger a few weeks back. Are you worried about something?” I ask her, seeing she is thinking about something important.

“I am just trying to play it safe. After you told me that the Dazzlings might have been in the audience at our concert, I thought putting everything on paper would be a good failsafe in the event my stuff gets stolen again. I am just writing a new song. Nothing serious. Feel free to take a deep breath, Rhythmia. Nopony is dying or anything!” She says as the train begins to arrive at Applepalooza station.

“Mares and Gentlecolts. We are now arriving at Applepalooza Station. If this is your stop, please collect your belongings and wait for the train to make a complete stop before disembarking. Thank you for using Equestrian Rails, and have a pleasant day!” The PA system says as the locomotive makes its way to the platform. I notice that this station is smaller than the one in Manehattan. Perhaps this city is smaller? I still have much to learn.

“Alright. Let me get our bags. Wait here, Rhythmia!” Vinyl says as the train finally makes a complete stop. Using her magic, Vinyl collects all of our luggage and leads the way to the Applepalooza hotel. She told me it would be a good 15-minute walk to the hotel, and “DON’T FLY OFF LIKE A WONDERBOLT. WE STICK LIKE GLUE!”. Not sure if Vinyl has a control issue, or if she is still a bit traumatized by the foalnapping attempt back in Manehattan. Regardless, I am not taking any chances.

“So, what do you know about Applepalooza? As you know, I have never been here before. Anything yummy to eat here? I am really hungry!” I ask Vinyl, who seems to be distracted by something, but turns her head towards me as we are walking.

“Yeah! Did I tell you that Margarita the Pizza Pegasus is a restaurant chain? A lot of big cities in Equestria have a location, sadly, Ponyville doesn’t, although I am sure that in time, they will expand there, too. We can order a pizza when we get to the hotel room. I am sure they will deliver here, too!” She says as we make our way to the Applepalooza Inn. Not as fancy as the Manehattan hotel, but it still looks rather comfortable.

“Hello, Madam Scratch!” The concierge-pony says, greeting us at the front desk.

“Hi! I assume you have our reservations already?” She asks the red pegasus concierge, who quickly flies up to a stack of shelves, looking for the invoice.

“Ah, here we are. One room for two for the next three nights. You prepaid, so all I need is some ID. Just protocol and all.” He says, as Vinyl fumbles through her shirt pocket looking for some sort of identification. “Here you go, good sir! My passport!” Vinyl says, placing it on the pony’s desk.

The pegasus concierge grabs the passport and carefully looks at Vinyl, making sure the picture and the pony in front of him are one and the same.

“Ok, Vinyl. All good. Do you want somepony to help you and your friend with the bags?”

“No, that’s why Rhythmia is here. He does the heavy lifting, she says, pecking me on the cheek. WHY did she have to do that in public?

“Alrighty, then. Have fun, you two, and good luck at the concert tomorrow night!”

Leaving the concierge pegasus, I grab our stuff and get onto the elevator with Vinyl.

“Is there room for one more? My friends are already in their room, and I had to go get our bags!” someone asks me. I turn around, and I am a bit surprised at who it is.

It’s one of the teenagers from the Manehattan concert. And she has yellow skin, and she looks like a human!

“Hold on, do I know you?” The yellow skinned human asks me, somehow thinking that she knows me.

And then it hit me: She went to my school back on Earth! I always thought she had jaundice!

“A...Adagio?” I think to myself. She was one of the nicer kids at school and didn’t make fun of me for being autistic. How is she in Equestria?