Hosting the Canterlot Equinox Concert was the apex of any musician’s career. Every year during the winter, votes are cast all over Equestria to choose which musical talent had the honor of running the largest public concert in Equestria on the night of the Spring Equinox. This year ponies from as far as Appaloosa and Las Pegasus were migrating to come see rising star DJ-Pon3 center stage at The Madhorse Club in west Canterlot.

Vinyl was ready and poised for the biggest night of her life. Madhorse was packed and throbbing with motion as she guided the evening through a lineup of heavy dance music and some special songs of her own design. The benevolent Princess Celestia sent her younger sister Luna to attend the event to help get her better acquainted with the modern night life. Scratch started the night off easy for her, opening upon Luna’s entrance with a tasteful remix of the Equestria National Anthem.
“Let’s hear it for our Princess of the niiight!” Vinyl called into her microphone as the dark blue Alicorn appeared with her entourage at the VIP balcony of the club.

The club lit up with cheers and Luna gave a mechanical wave as the DJ dropped the needle onto the turn table. The trumpet line at the start of the anthem was uncharacteristically formal for the atmosphere, but when the first drum line hit everypony knew the party was on.

Every party starts slow, and every party has wall flowers. Luna clearly had no idea what to do at a concert, and she was getting no help from her stiff and probably tone deaf guards.

“Come on everypony! This isn’t one of Tavi’s concerts, get up off your plots and move!” Vinyl stepped on one of the floor triggers under her table. A firestorm of sparks and lights erupted outwards from behind her, drawing all eyes center stage. “’If you’re not moving, you’re not living!”

After a few more songs Scratch looked up at the VIP balcony to see the princess had started to bob her head to the throb of the speakers. It wasn’t much, but it was enough.

The DJ set the next song on the table and muted her microphone. “I think it’s about time I started the real show.”

With a glow of her horn the dial on the floor safe stashed under her table spun to the appropriate numbers, then opened. She licked her dry lips as a set of four dusty records carefully drifted out of the safe and came to rest in orbit around her head. The four disks were minimally labeled in blue pen as ‘Command Synchrosim 1’, ‘Command Synchrosium 2’,’ Command Synchrosim 3’, and ‘Command Synchrosim 4’.

The last song ended leaving the party ponies waiting for the next beat to move to, but instead the blue haired DJ turned her microphone back on.

“How’s everypony doing tonight?!” Her question was met with a cacophony of excited cheers.

“Everypony ready for a REAL beat?!” A second wave of affirmative cries crashed through the club, even the princess joined with the crowd as the DJ worked them up with her jeers.

Vinyl’s face twisted into a grin as she levitated a pair of earplugs up to her ears to stick under her headphones. She unplugged her headset but kept the microphone on, and called out.

“If you say so! Let’s see if you ponies are ready for this!”

The DJ closed her eyes, unplugged her microphone, and laid each record onto the special made four record turn table. She put her faith in her music and held her breath as she lowered all four needles onto the spinning records at the exact same time.
The world was dark and quiet, but Vinyl Scratch could still feel the steady pulse through her entire body. Her lips moved as she spoke and focused her magic on the four disks in rhythm with the throbbing under her hooves. Nopony could hear her incantation over the sound of her masterpiece.

“On the night of balance between dark and light, all whom bear witness bow to my might. With my symposium of control played in harmony” the DJ opened her eyes to gaze down at the throbbing masses “I bring forth a new era with my enthralled army!”

The music grew faster, and the crowd was no longer a mass of disorganized thrashing bodies and drunk derelicts. Before her were twenty two perfect rows of ponies moving unanimously through the music. Vinyl felt her chest swell with pride as she looked to the VIP balcony to see the Princess and her guards had joined in the dance. The guards seemed to understand what was happening, but the poor naïve princess hadn’t caught on yet.

“Perfect, I don’t need her fighting the spell before it’s finished.” Scratch returned her eyes to the rows before her. “Let’s test this shit.”

The DJ rose a hoof and put it down on the forward left disk, number 3. The song de-synchronized and the left front leg of all the ponies before her froze in their dance. Scratch’s eyes lit up behind her goggles as she let out a sharp laugh. She spun the record forward, causing the arms of her thralls to move further ahead in the dance routine. She put her hooves on the other disks and began to play with the helpless ponies before her like a child playing with a new marionette puppet.

As the wretched song drew to its final few notes, the DJ split the rows down the center of the club to form an aisle. The last motion of the song left everypony poised and saluting with Princess Luna at the opposite end of the path from the stage. The DJ leaped from the stage with her cursed records in orbit around her. Marching proudly between her new saluting subjects she stopped before the usurped princess of the night.

Vinyl Scratch lowered her purple shades and gazed with glowing red irises at the Alicorn before her. “So Princess, what do you say we take this party somewhere with a little more… class?”

Princess Luna’s lips split into an obedient smile, returning the gaze with glowing red irises.