Cliffs
''Nice, now I just need to add some VST Glitch Effects and it should be perfect!'' I exclaimed to myself.
I was in the corner of the abandoned bank I lived in. It smelt like mildew and everytime I breathed in I felt a little sick.
I was working on my first album ''Selected Ambient Works'' or SAW for short. With a combination of ambient, atmospheric synths and a hint of breakbeat, this was going to be my definitive work.
My name was Aphex Pony, but I preferred just being called Aphex. Ever since I was a filly, I loved making music. I used to splice recordings and voices into my parent's tape machine, resulting in some wacky, completely random songs.
Little did I know that I was learning the basics in making electronic music.
By the time I started high school, I had already learnt how to use a mixboard and sample sounds. I was a DJ in a local pub. It was simple house music, but I was very young, so I received recognition anyway.
My parents were robbed and killed by a gang during these years. That was when my depression started.
After I finished high school I moved into a flat with my best friend, and we supported each other. We both worked at a supermarket on the outskirts of Manehattan. I loved the job, just because I was working with him. It was here that we got into shoplifting. We would steal cigarettes, or medicine, and sell it all after our shift. We made a few extra bits with this practice.
After a couple of weeks, we got caught. We were both fired on the spot, but our boss told us he wasn't going to press charges. We couldn't find another job in time to make our rent, and we were both evicted onto the street.
That was when he left me.
I was alone, poor, and tired. I put my equipment in a saddle bag and left. After about an hour of walking, I ran into this old bank. It didn't have power running into it, and it was boarded up. I decided to live here until I got another job. I was bored, and I felt sick from the mould of the building, So I decided to set up my laptop and my speakers. I sat there for what seemed like days, creating music. It was there I got the inspiration for SAW.
Throughout the building this constant whooshing sound kept echoing through the halls. I put it down to the air blowing through the corridors. It created heavenly sounds. I was in the lower floor, near some smashed windows. I decided to use the synth plugin on my software to replicate these sounds. It was beautiful. And with some added beats and hi-hats, this was going to be my new project.
I didn't shower, but it didn't bother me because I was used to the smell. I was nearly always hungry, it turn this made me weak. If I was lucky the apartment next door would leave their window open, and I would go through their fridge.
I had nearly finished the first half of the album. I needed to keep up the pace, to keep the audience interested. Most of the tracks names are Greek such as ''Heliosphan'' and ''Ptolemy''. They didn't really have any meaning, they just sounded cool. After I finished the last song, I listened to the album again and again, and fixed the mistakes.
After a long deserved sleep, I woke up and got to work on the album artwork. I opened up PonyShop and after a long time thinking, I made a heavily stylised, almost futuristic lambda in a circle. Simple, yet elegant. At the bottom I wrote ''Aphex Pony: Selected Ambient Works''. Perfect.
I made an extra copy onto my thumb drive and laid down on the wooden planks I had for a bed. ''I can't wait to show this to the world! This music is so mind-blowing I'll make it with the big names like DJ-PON3 and Deadhor5!'' I squealed to myself.
I decided to go for a walk and stretch. I hadn't walked around Manehattan for around 3 weeks now, and it showed. I had lost around 10 kilos on my body and was skin and bones. I didn't really care, I had always been skinny.
''It makes it easier to jump through windows.'' I chuckled to myself.
I left the bank out the back door so it didn't look suspicious, and started walking down the road. I was getting funny looks from the the ponies walking past me, did I really look that weird?
After about 10 minutes of walking, I saw a supermarket, so I decided to head in there and freshen up. The worker was giving me dirty looks as I walked up to him.
''What I can do for you today, sir?'' He said with a hint of malice.
''Hello, I was just wondering if I could use your restroom?'' I said, trying to sound as innocent as possible.
''It's around the side, next to the aisle at the end.'' He informed me, still giving me funny looks.
He handed me a key chain and sent me off. I went inside and closed the door. As I was walking towards the toilet, I saw my own reflection out of the corner of my eye.
I was horrified.
I looked like I had been dead for three weeks. My long brown mane was dirty and clumped to the side of my face. My fur had lost its colour and my eyes were bloodshot. I had bags under my eyes.
After I finished, I washed my face and left, locking my door on the way out. I handed the key chain to the worker and left, without another word.
I started heading back to my ''home''. I passed an alleyway and heard ponies yelling, so I decided to follow the sound down the alley. At the end, I jumped at what I saw. A colt was getting robbed by a thug. He had him in a headlock.
''Give me your saddlebag before I snap your fucking spine!'' He yelled.
The colt was shaking and tears were running down his cheek.
''O-okay, please d-don't hurt me!'' The colt stuttered.
I was tempted to turn around leave, but then I remember what happened to my parents.
''You pathetic piece of shit.'' I uttered, trying not to tremble.
The robber turned around and looked me in the eyes. He dropped the colt, and it sat there, dazed.
''Says the colt who looks like he just killed a bunch of ponies.'' He said menacingly.
I nearly charged him at the spot, but I calmed myself and kept talking.
''Do you really think stealing off ponies is the key to happiness?'' I said, realising the irony behind that statement.
''No, but fighting them is.'' He said with a grin.
He started running towards me. I couldn't sidestep him, the alley was too narrow. I wasn't sure what to do, so I improvised. The moment he came in range I jumped over him using his shoulder as a step, and holding his neck I started strangling him. He punched me a couple of times, while choking. It hurt a lot. After about 30 seconds of struggling he slowly lost his conciousness.
I let go of him and fell to the ground. My nose was broken and blood was rushing down my face. I looked over at the colt who had watched the whole thing.
''That was a-amazing! Thank you so much!'' He mumbled, his voice trembling. He then ran off.
I sat there for a couple of minutes, then I got up and started walking back to the bank.
I entered through the back door again, can never be too careful. I walked in and sat down on my planks. I was tired, I laid down on my planks and started thinking. It was then I looked over at my equipment.
They were gone.
My laptop, my mixboard, my speakers.
All gone.
I panicked and jumped up. All my stuff had been stolen.
''Who was the asshole, that stole my stuff?'' I yelled, tearing up.
I sat down and cried. I cried for what seemed like hours. I cried for my belongings, I cried for my best friend, and I cried for my parents. I had spent the past year sampling sounds with that laptop. The software on it was worth around $700 bits, but I didn't care about that.
''That's it! That's my new album and it's gone!'' I screamed.
I didn't have anything to live for anymore. I got angry and trashed what little stuff I had left. I then got up and went upstairs. I climbed about 50 sets of stairs and walked out on the rooftop. I stared out into the sunset.
So very calm.
I got up on the edge, and looked down at the little ponies walking to their homes.
I took a deep breath, and prepared to jump.
I thought back to my favourite track of the new album, ''Xtal''. I really liked it, that's why I made it the first track. The poppy beats combined with the abstract female vocals and atmospheric bass lines. It truly was a good start.
Then I remembered something.
''My thumb drive!'' I shouted in excitement and relief.
I felt around in my pocket and there it was.
After getting so worked up, I had forgotten that I had made a copy of the new album into my USB.
''Oh, thank Celestia!'' I said.
I rushed down the flight of stairs, and out the front door. I didn't care about being suspicious, I was so happy.
I looked around, and started walking. I didn't know where I was going, but hopefully it was better than this place. Hours passed, landscapes changed.
Eventually I came across a forest. It was midnight and the only light was the full moon. I slowly entered the forest, feeling like I was being watched.
Open this in another tab during the forest scene.
As I walked through, I heard whispering and rocks moving. It may have been creepy, but I was getting ideas for a song. As I moved, I swear I saw a thin, green man walk behind a tree.
I kept moving until I came across a huge clearing in the middle of the forest. I wasn't sure what to do now, I had nowhere else to go. I looked further down and saw a couple of ledges moving down. I worked up the courage to drop down on them, one by one, until the last one collapsed.
I fell on my leg, and screamed in pain. I had broken it. It had felt like someone had hit it with a hammer.
It took me ten minutes to get up. I then wiped the tears of my face, and limped onward.
I kept going and was entranced listening to the ambience of the forest. It was peaceful, yet so disturbing. I sat down on a huge rock and started thinking about what's next.
I had no money, so I couldn't rent a room at an inn. I didn't have any friends, so I had no-one to rely on. I was feeling really depressed. I was all alone in this world, and music was my only friend. And the ability to make it had been stolen away from me. I had never had a girlfriend, I was to busy making music.
''Sigh, I'll never amount to anything.'' I admitted to myself.
These weird rock noises were really starting to freak me out. So I decided to get out of the forest as quickly as possible.
The forest never seemed to end! I was walking in tremendous pain for around an hour before I noticed a bunch of lights through the trees. It increased my motivation, and I sped up. Celestia, it hurt.
(Stop music now.)
There was a big house on the outside of the forest. It looked cosy. It was two-story and it was so beautiful. I had been walking for hours, and my joints and muscles were insanely sore. I weakly hopped my way to the door, dragging my broken leg behind me.
I looked through the window of the house. There was a roaring fire, with a small rabbit lying in front of it. It was cute. Then I turned my attention to the couch.
There was a small yellow pegasus pony sleeping on it. She had a pink mane and her wings were slowly fluttering as she slept. I retract my previous statement, this was ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!
I didn't want to wake the beautiful pony from her slumber, so I decided to crash on her front lawn. It was uncomfortable, but it was a lot better than a bunch of wooden planks. I was too tired to think about anything so I just closed my eyes. I fell asleep in ten seconds flat...
