The Thump of Bass

Each little star, to Amber, looked like a little hole poked in a big blue-black sheet to let in some light, not enough to cast shadows, but enough to illuminate some empty space. Of course the purple pony relayed this feeling to the unicorn sitting beside her, who simply gave a tiny chuckle and nodded.

“I see what’yer sayin, but I got my own little theory. The whole thing’s just a big ‘ol picture, painted by a pony with white paint and black paper. Each night it looks a new painting, but they’re in the same rockin family, with the same artistic talent, so there are some recurring themes.” Vinyl replied, scooting forward so she could lay on her back with her hooves behind her head.

Amber quickly mimicked the action and laid herself out about a foot apart from one of her top favorite musicians. The grass tickled her back, making the purple coated pony squirm some before settling with her hooves behind her luscious red mane. She turned her head to look over at Vinyl, then peeked above towards the Everfree Forest. “You ever been back in there? I hear it’s terribly scary.”

“PSSSSSHHH Are you kidding me? E.F. is the most rockin place! This one time, I had a show in there, like, middle of the night, pitch black in a tiny clearing, stereos were hooked up and the stage was ready. Only 3 ponies came, so I figured “well, I’ll just make this one of those underground shows” y’know, when you break out the old, amazing stuff that everyone remembers, just so those who came can brag about it to their friends? Anyways, I was jamming for the sound test, and wouldn’t you know it? An Ursa Minor came out and started ripping everything to shreds!” Vinyl’s voice had escalated as she recalled the event, her ruby eyes seeming to glisten, popping out more from her pale coat.

“Vinyl that’s terrible! Did anyone get hurt?” Amber inquired, turning herself over, just mimicking Vinyl’s stance more.

“Oh come on, babe, you and my manager sound the same. You don’t honestly think I’d be so psyched about something if anyone got hurt, right?”

"Well, I-"

"Exactly." Vinyl interrupted, then cleared her throat. "Heh, so anyways,  this huge-ass Ursa was just TEARING up my stage, with those big celestial paws... you ever seen one in real life? It's got the night sky for a coat, kinda like Nightmare's mane... liquid... hair thing. The Ursa wasn't leaving anything untouched, but get this. When it saw me, oh, I was just freakin' out like any other pony would be, hiding under my turntables,  it was all like "Oh, better grab that sexy DJ" and I accidentally knocked over the microphone!" Vinyl began to chuckle, gently patting the grass beside her.

"So, what happened?" Amber finally said, though just moments before her eyes were big, listening to the white unicorn's incredible story and totally lost in her voice. She shuffled herself a bit to get more comfortable, still shifting her eyes occasionally towards Everfree Forest, feeling the eyes of some big ferocious beast staring back.

The unicorn looked over a bit puzzled, grinning wide after a few seconds. "What do you mean? When I dropped the microphone, the air made this sick bass drop sound as it fell, but then, when it was totally silent, the speakers that still worked were right next to his ears started screaming and squeaking like mad, kinda like that Slendercolt sound. The Ursa started flipping his shit, then ran away roaring, but his stomping made the mic roll out of range of the speakers. It was so EPIC! Celestia, you should've seen it... Although I couldn't hear right for a few days after that."

"Sweet Celestia that's insane... I still vote that Everfree Forest is the scariest place in Equestria. You see, Vinyl, it's not the things I know of that scare me... it's the unknown." Amber says with a sigh, then stares up towards the stars once more.

"Y'know?"

The white unicorn certainly did know, and that little comment hit a nerve and sent a little chill down her spine, the nerve that Vinyl had usually beaten back so that she could enjoy her very laid back lifestyle. She rose and trotted over to Amber and sat closer to her new friend, putting a hoof on hers, feeling the same glaring angry eyes from the forest. "Yeah, I do... Say, you don't happen to have an extra bed at your place, do you? I'd really rather not go home tonight, just a heavy amp." She said, looking over at the cart.

With a smile and a nod, Amber closed her eyes and imagined she was a unicorn like she always did, slowly moving her head side to side and painting star maps with her "horn." After a few seconds of her goofy head gyrating, she nervously hopped to her feet and gestured towards the observatory. "Let's go, Ms. Scratch."