The day was a hot one. The weather was perfect for enjoying the outdoors. Unfortunately for Rose Thorn and Razor Wit, their stomachs were most unhappy with them. The meat they had eaten distinctly did NOT agree with them. The other members of their herd all stayed indoors with the two ill mares for the entire day. They were more concerned about their herdmates than enjoying the festival, no matter how many times Rose and Razor told them to go enjoy it. They spent the day taking turns tending to the two mares, and just lounging around enjoying the peace and quiet. That is to say they enjoyed peace and quiet in between the sounds of diarrhea and vomiting. The Apple family enjoyed the festival greatly and were more than happy to talk about their experiences that evening, though they kept mentions of food to a minimum.

* * *

The fourth day of the festival was themed: Modern Day. Thankfully, Rose and Razor were feeling much better by that afternoon. They were excited to hear the music played and listened to by modern Humans. They all headed toward the outdoor stage where the musicians were setting up their instruments. Artex was the only one not surprised by the absence of actual seating in front of the stage and his explanation of a potential 'mosh pit' was met with confused stares. The early morning had been dedicated to Blues, Swing, Jazz, and Ragtime. Late morning had been filled with Country Music and Pop, while the early afternoon had been dedicated to Rap and R&B. Such songs as 'Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy' were thankfully absent from the morning lineup. The midday lineup was thankfully tasteful, at least from what Artex had heard. He was quite sad that he had missed the Scott Joplin Ragtime music, and was even more sad to have missed a rendition of 'The Way It Is' by Bruce Hornsby, as well as 'Changes' by Tupac. They were essentially the same song but with two vastly different, if equally skillful, presentations.

The evening music was set to be Rock & Roll and Heavy Metal. The presence of a crowd of thousands of Ponies and Humans made it obvious that it was going to be popular. The dull roar of constantly chatting voices reminded Artex of the very few concerts he had been able to attend back on Earth. From the look of the musicians on the stage, it would be a few minutes before it started. Artex smiled and crossed his arms, "I hope none of you are hypersensitive to noise. Rock music tends to be very loud."

"Is that why we're back here?" Rose asked, looking at the stage then back to Artex.

"Yeah. The distance should be enough for the music not to burst your eardrums." Artex replied. He bent his knees and sat down on the grass. The stage was set up close to the river, away from the farmland and from the town. The rest of the herd all sat down as well. After a moment, Artex spoke up, "I wonder which artist they are going to play first?"

A new voice spoke from behind them, "Why? Got a favorite you're waiting on?"

The entire herd all turned their heads toward the voice. Chris Vacca stood behind them with his left arm around Luna's back, "I happen to know that they are not going to be playing the songs in the order in which they were published. They also have a few more than are on the program."

"Program?" Artex asked, "I don't remember seeing any programs for this."

A small portal opened up next to Chris and he reached his right hand in. Withdrawing his hand, he held a folded piece of colorful paper, which he tossed to Artex, "Here you go."

Artex caught the program and snickered, "You're getting lazy with those portals, Chris."

Chris smirked, "Nooooo. I'm getting good with Space."

"His range is beyond even mine when he teleports now. Only Discord can match him." Luna said with pride, "He is even better than that. If he uses his portals and teleportation while sparring, he can match Regimental Commander Peach Pit."

Oriana flippantly commented, "If he's so good, why doesn't he just teleport back to Earth?"

The silence was deafening.

Chris blinked, "W-what?" His eyes bulged, "W-w-w... I-I..." he lapsed into silence for a long moment before he threw up both his hands and bellowed, "HOW THE 'FUCK' DID I NOT THINK OF THAT!?"

Luna turned to him with a concerned expression, "You can only teleport to a place that you know well, correct?"

Chris groaned as he slowly slid his hands down his face, "There are TONS of places back on Earth that I know well!"

Razor Wit, Vaiawa, Rose, and Oriana all exchanged worried looks. Oriana spoke quickly, "But what if you aren't strong enough?" She asked, trying to fix her mistake, "I-if you don't have enough magic... couldn't it be dangerous?"

Chris shook his head, "No. My form of teleportation is spacial exchange. If there is nothing to exchange places with then I won't go anywhere."

Luna's expression dropped into a frown. She placed her right hoof on his shoulder, "Are you sure you want to try right now? I know you."

Chris nodded excitedly, "I have to know." He stepped away from Luna, "Everybody stay put." He closed his eyes and flexed his hands. His entire body began glowing dimly, visible even in the sunlight. After a moment, be disappeared in a flash of brown light...

...Only to reappear right where he had been standing before. He looked around and sat down on the ground dejectedly, "Damnit." He hung his head, "Cessily could have been with her boys again..." he clenched his left fist and pounded the ground, "FUCK!" He held his face in his hands sadly, "Damnit. Why aren't I strong enough?"

Luna laid down next to him and draped her right wing over his shoulders. She leaned in and nuzzled his cheek, "It is not your fault, Chris." She closed her eyes and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek, "If you couldn't do it, then I'm sure that even Discord couldn't. Do not blame yourself for this. It is out of your control."

Artex shrugged, "It's no major loss for me, Chris. The only reason I'd go back would be to visit my family. My place is here." He chuckled dryly, "Hell, I can't father any children except with a Kavim woman anyway." He was not aware of it, but his statement brought great, if silent, relief to his herd.

Chris was still upset, "But there's so many people here who haven't seen their families in so long. Alex Ludwig has a son, Mike Joyner has a son, Darryl has his twins, Cessily has her two boys..." he trailed off quietly. He did not say anything else, but Luna's mention of Discord had spurred his mind into action. He decided to focus on the concert for the moment though. He sighed heavily and shrugged unhappily, "It happens, I suppose. Can't solve every problem with magic after all."

Luna smiled warmly and nuzzled his cheek again, "That is a healthy mindset to have Christopher." She leaved her head and neck against the side of his chest and he placed an encompassing arm around her shoulders. Luna closed her eyes and sighed contentedly...

... Until the epic, high-pitched voice of an electric guitar sliced through the air like the rhythm of life over the sands of time.

The mares all swiveled their ears forward. Rose was the first to speak, "Whoa. What was that?"

Artex smiled hugely, "I do believe that would be the band signaling that they're ready."

Sure enough, the band members were all finished setting up. A lanky figure strode out from behind the black curtain which concealed... something. The lanky figure was Alex Ludwig. He began running through the mic tests, "Testing... testing... Can everybody hear me?"

The reply he received was a nearly deafening roar. He smiled and began gesturing to the only non-Human member of the band, "Alright, first off I would like to thank an awesomely talented lady here. Take a bow Mrs. Vinyl Scratch." The white Unicorn mare seated behind the keyboard nodded her head as Alex continued, "It was only with her help that we were able to cobble together a usable keyboard, not to mention nine-tenths of the rest of our sound equipment. Our drummer called in his boon from Celestia and asked for the best modern musical inventor alive today. Vinyl showed up the following morning and has been visiting every week since then. She has put in hundreds of hours helping us and we consider her a member of the band." He turned and clapped his hands, prompting the crowd to do the same. Vinyl bowed from her position behind the unique keyboard.

Alex then turned and began the introduction, "Many of you have heard the music of other genres earlier today. We will now be presenting two final genres of Human music for your enjoyment: Rock and Roll is the first and Heavy Metal is the second. The Rock and Roll portions will be first, as Rock and Roll was the precursor to Heavy Metal. The first piece of Rock and Roll is from a group called 'Simon and Garfunkle', and the song is: 'The Sound Of Silence'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zLfCnGVeL4

"A slow song to start with, makes sense." Artex said. As soon as the second song began, he pumped his right fist, "YES! I was hoping this would be the one they chose. Either this one or Roxanne."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htgr3pvBr-I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUwjNBjqR-c

"Now that's some good classic Rock and Roll!" The next song began and Artex closed his eyes, "Ooh niiiiiiiice."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04854XqcfCY

The music flowed into the next song as Artex lay on his back, basking in the music of pure art, in his mind at least.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n3LdjeCK5I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AKbUm8GrbM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFMD7Usflbg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAbY2cmEsS0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyGyPYP2zBI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LatorN4P9aA

Artex stopped bobbing his head sadly as the music stopped. Alex Ludwig wiped his right hand over his head, "Whew, what a start! Alright! How is everybody liking the music thus far?"

Rose Thorn looked enraptured while Oriana appeared more amused. Vaiawa looked almost bored and Razor Wit looked keenly interested. Artex chuckled and looked back at Chris and Luna. He quickly averted his eyes from the scene behind him as Chris had his lips mashed against those of the Lunar Princess.

"Alright!" Alex yelled from the stage, "That was a nice warmup. Now we get to the heavier stuff. Get ready for some seriously energetic music! 1-2-3-4!" The band started up again and Artex nearly jumped for joy at the first song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAyFNkaWIVA

As the final notes faded away, the band launched right into the next song. With each progressive song, Artex felt more and more like he was in Heaven.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Oo8QzDHimQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AC41dglnM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rbm6GXllBiw

Behind him, Artex heard Chris, "Dang! How is Alex doing that with his voice? He sounds JUST like the artists."

Luna answered, "He is using his magic. He is quite talented. Now hush, I am thoroughly enjoying this music."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeYSWOuag94

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmXWkMlKFkI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ckom3gf57Yw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwxUgefMStM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsV500W4BHU

By the end of the first song Artex was head-banging to the music. After the rendition of When Worlds Collide, the musicians stopped and Alex took a breath before speaking, "Now so far you've only heard from men who rock. Well let me tell you, there are some pretty rocking ladies out there, too. Here to perform the vocals for the ladies is somebody who initially surprised us. Please welcome, Rachel Joyner, formerly Rachel Dobson."

Rachel stepped up onto the stage and flashed a winning smile at the worked-up crowd, "How you doing out there New Humansville?" The crowd cheered loudly. They would have cheered anyway. Rachel was not only Mike Joyner's wife, but she was also the premier go-to person for pediatric care. Everybody loved her. "Are you ready to rock?" She asked. The crowd cheered. Rachel lowered her head sadly, "Wow, do you guys sound depressed or what?" She took a deep breath, "I said: ARE YOU READY TO ROCK!?" The crowd screamed at her. With a beaming smile and a giggly laugh, she turned to the musicians, "Time to give 'em what they want!"

The crowd suddenly quieted down in confusion as the black curtain behind the stage suddenly lifted revealing the New Humansville Orchestra and a full choir. Artex nearly jizzed in his pants as the violins began playing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLFqIzWh-zk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odatDWByonw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wfRHPsRGkk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdZn7k5rZLQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIBdpFJyFkc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XQ1FB3Rz0g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gMj2XbsEb4

Alex and Rachel stood side by side smiling. Each of them held up their mics and spoke in turn, "And for the final band to end the evening," Rachen began. Alex took over, "We are proud to bring you," the spoke the last word in unison, "Dragonforce!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_Ycnc4B9HE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1qQwojUK1Q

As the final notes rang through the air, four mares all stomped their hooves in rampant applause and one Princess cheered wildly. The musicians had fouled up several times during the songs, but the audience members either did not know or did not care. The music was awesome. THAT was unanimous.

Author's Notes:

I wish I had the time to use every single one of the many incredible artists out there but the fact remains that I just did not want to bog down the chapter with too many links (I think there are too many anyway). I hope you all enjoy the music selections. As always, let me know how many typos I missed. For any of you who have read the Wheel Of Time books, the song by Within Temptation was written for it.