Twilight knocked on the smooth surface once again. She couldn’t understand why nobody was coming to the door. Were her knocks really that soft, or was it just that the pounding and enjoyable experience of the Star Swirled Music Festival had deafened Fluttershy? She didn’t know the answer to either of those questions, but she did know that her yellow friend had invited her over for a “special surprise.” Fluttershy’s parents were gone for the week, and she had the entire house to herself. So she had taken it upon herself to invite Twilight over for something that she had described as “terrific.” Twilight didn’t know what it was, but it thoroughly excited her. Maybe it’s scientific! The purple high school senior told herself, or perhaps…literary! Her mind buzzed with excitement as she finally took to pounding on the door and yelling.

“FLUTTERSHY?! YOU IN THERE?!”

Suddenly, the lock on the door was undone and the portal into the home was flung open. There stood Fluttershy, dressed in a very odd way. Twilight cocked her head at her friend’s choice of attire. Her hair was done up roughly, and she wore a black long sleeve shirt with some kind of writing on it. The term “Behemoth” was etched in dark lettering above a picture of some kind of goat headed figure. Her black jeans were ripped, showing off more than a bit of her soft yellow complexion for which a few boys in their school had often pined.

“Twilight!” She greeted cheerfully as she pulled her friend into a hug, “it’s so good to see you!”

“It’s great to see you too, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, “but if I might ask…what’s with the outfit?”

Fluttershy said nothing, but giggled sweetly and beckoned Twilight up to her room. When they arrived, the purple girl looked around in shock. The walls, which had their usual nature themed posters, also held posters of things that looked evil and violent. One said “Slayer” on it, and had a grotesque depiction of demons and bloody figures in what Twilight could only describe as Hell itself. Another had “Bell Witch” on it, and it depicted a massive, hooded, faceless entity emerging from some kind of mirror to swallow up the world beyond. That one’s actually kinda beautiful…in a frightening way, Twilight told herself.

Fluttershy quickly pulled a chair out from her desk, which held stack upon stack of CDs. “After I introduced you to Skull Cruncher at the festival,” she explained, “I thought I would immerse you in the world of metal a little bit more…oh, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” Twilight said, “I’m always open to trying new things.”

Fluttershy clapped her hands a bit. “Wonderful!” She said, “now, I’m gonna start you off with something that’s a little softer. I won’t drive Dimmu Borgir, Dakthrone, Obituary, or Carcass into your head just yet.”

Twilight’s mouth fell open at some of the band names. Even for a girl who had been exposed to the death metal group Skull Cruncher, the monikers some of these groups were going by were rather outrageous. But she didn’t have time to think about that because Fluttershy quickly hung a pair of headphones around her neck. “Now, then,” she said, “I think we’ll begin with a French band called Alcest. They play a style of metal that emphasizes the lighter touches mixed with the heavier atmosphere. This is their latest song called Protection.”

With that, she hit play and Twilight put the headphones on. The sheer sonic beauty she experienced nearly knocked her out of the chair. She had never heard such beautiful, yet haunting sounds come through her ear canals before. Her brain basked in the glow, enjoying the soothing melodies, yet somehow remaining aware that she was listening to a metal band. The lyrics were all in French, but she didn’t care. The comforting vocals and wondrous musicianship took her straight to heaven. She was hooked.

“Did you enjoy it?” Fluttershy asked when it ended.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight breathed, “that was one of the greatest songs I’ve ever heard! I mean, the way that the guitars and drums created this maze for the vocals to wander through, and the atmospherics of it all…I was just…WOW!”

Fluttershy giggled. “I’m glad you liked it, because now it’s time for something a little heavier. This band is called Killswitch Engage, and they play what’s known as metalcore. It’s got heavy crunching musicianship through the verses, and then extremely anthemic choruses. This song is called The End of Heartache, and it’s one of my personal favorites. Here, have a listen.”

Twilight, still getting used to the idea that one of her best friends was a metalhead, slowly slipped the headphones back on and waited for it to begin. She braced herself for the heaviness to begin, but when it did, it still shook her to the core. The screaming vocals were difficult to get used to, but once she did, she found that she enjoyed the song. She especially liked the chorus, where the music became a lot catchier and the vocalist turned his growls into singing. I’ve got to hear more by this band! She told herself, they seem like excellent songwriters!

“Well?” Fluttershy asked at the end.

“Amazing…simply astounding!” Twilight said, smiling, “I just can’t believe that metal is so diverse! I mean, that first band you played me sounded nothing like the second! I’m just…in awe! Are there more differences between bands within the genre than the average person might know?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Definitely. For instance, the shirt I’m wearing is of the band Behemoth. They’re a blackened death metal outfit, who play music that has a lot of death metal elements at its core, but instills a good amount of black metal within both the songwriting and the lyricism.”

“Lyricism?” Twilight asked, “does this black metal have certain lyrics?”

“It’s not required or anything, but most black metal bands are Satanic.”

Twilight gasped. She didn’t know if she wanted something so supernatural to be plugged into her mind, but Fluttershy had the last say. She quickly put the headphones on Twilight and played the song “Transilvanian Hunger” by the band Darkthrone. For some strange reason, Twilight was drawn into the music and the lyrics became secondary. The hypnotic tones of the guitars and the icy cold thunder of the drums bashed into her mind until she didn’t want anything else.

“Well?” Fluttershy asked at the end.

“These bands just keep getting more and more astounding! Here, play me some more!”

Fluttershy grinned and launched into a two-hour parade of heavy metal, featuring every subgenre in existence. She played some Grindcore by Pig Destroyer, and she laughed when Twilight nearly began her own mosh pit. She played some progressive metal by Symphony X and Dream Theater, and Twilight was enraptured by the different time signature changes and the way they toyed with the songs. She played symphonic metal by Xandria and Nightwish, and Twilight was transported into a realm of beauty and blackness that she didn’t want to escape. Finally, she played some death metal by Cannibal Corpse and Autopsy, and Twilight’s smile grew as the heaviness shot through her eardrums and stimulated her brain.

At the end of the session, Fluttershy put a friendly arm around Twilight’s shoulder. “I have some tickets for a metal festival in town at the end of the month. Wanna come?”

“Do I wanna come?! Of course I wanna come! If it’s anything like the bands you just played me, then it’s gonna be amazing!”

“It sure will be, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, satisfied at having converted her friend into a metalhead in such a short time, “It sure will.”