Chapter One: Checking In, Checking Out.

It was the end of a long day, and Fasthor5 was getting ready to go onstage, and as usual, Bass was backstage with his bottle of liquor, working up his confidence to unleash the band's newest track, named "Missing." About five minutes to showtime, Major Chords, the guitarist, and Solid Rythm, the drummer came into the backroom.

"Come on, Bass, we've got a show to put on," Solid Rythm said in the softest voice anyone in Phillydelphia had ever heard.

"Gotcha, Beatz," Bass replied, calling her by her stage-name, Sik Beatz, which he always did when he was feeling tipsy. He got up on his hooves, and put his aviators on, to hide his bloodshot eyes, and walked out of the backroom with his bandmates, heading to the stage.

The band took the stage, Rythm sitting behind her drumset, and Chords slipping his neck through his guitar strap, Bass doing the same with his bass strap. They could here the cheering from the other side of the curtains, and had Bass not been as tipsy as he was, he'd have turned tail, and ran away. He could hear the crowd yelling his name, and smiled a bit crooked. Just before the curtain pulled away, Bass took another deep sip of his liquor, which he had stashed behind his amp. Rythm, and Chords looked at eachother, rather concerned.

Then, the curtains disappeared, and the bright lights shone on the group. The first song up on the setlist was Bass's favorite. A track called "Ghost Town." Bass went up to the microphone, and began to speak. "Good evening, Fillies, and Gentlecolts, I'm Lunar Black, and- Ah, fuck it, you know who we are, and what we do, so we're just gonna get to it. This first one is my personal favorite. Sik Beatz, hit that shit!"

With a quick grin and nod, she began to strike the drumset with her hooves, creating a heavy drumbeat, and Chords began with a simply, but heavy riff, Bass doing the same. Then Rythm began singing into the microphone hanging over her drumset.

"Everypony living in ghost town

Everypony buried in waste land

we dont want to

we dont have to be like that

living in ghost town

all the colts shouting out loud now

all the mares screaming out louder

we dont want to

we dont have to live like that

oooooooh oooooohhhhhhhh

hold me back you know were never gonna back down

hold me back you know were never gonna back down

now!"

Bass moved to his microphone and began singing with a powerful voice.

"we're dead in this ghost town

you better let go so let go let go of me

were dead in this ghost town

you better let go so let go let go of me

oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh, let go let go of me

oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh, let go let go of me"

After the chorus, Rythm went back to her microphone, with her high-pitched, powerful voice.

"Everypony living in ghost town

Everypony buried in waste land

we dont want to

we dont have to be like that

living in ghost town

all the colts shouting out loud now

all the mares screaming out louder

we dont want to

we dont have to live like that

oooooooh oooooohhhhhhh!

hold me back you know were never gonna back down

hold me back you know were never gonna back down

now!"

Bass then went back to his microphone, singing powerfully.

"we're dead in this ghost town

you better let go so let go let go of me

were dead in this ghost town

you better let go so let go let go of me

oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh, let go let go of me

oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh, let go let go of me"

After this chorus, both Bass and Rythm began singing in perfect harmony, the lights dimming to a dark blue over the two.

"It's nearly over, the last train is near

And it's leaving behind those tears

These are the bad lands

The worst place to fear

Making place for the ones we left here"

Then the lights dimmed over Bass, keeping Rythm dimly lit, as she chimed out the haunting melody.

"They're calling calling

To say goodbye"

Then the bright lights begin flashing again, illuminating the whole band as Bass hit the microphone again.

"Now! Were dead in this ghost town

you better let go so let go let go of me

were dead in this ghost town

you better let go so let go let go of me

oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh let go let go of me

oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh let go let go of me"

As he sang the last four words, the lights flashed in perfect unison with the words, then cut off, leaving the stage dark. The crowd was going nuts, cheering, and screaming. While the lights were out, the other two members of the band noticed Bass reaching over, and taking the last long sip of his liquor, then they looked at each other, shaking their heads. As the lights slowly brightened back to show the band, and Bass standing at the microphone, struggling to keep standing. "Alright, ponies, this is probably, in my opinion, one of the best songs we've recorde-" Before he could finish his statement, the crowd started piping up, chanting "Blue-eyed Mare! Blue-Eyed Mare! Blue-Eyed Mare!" Bass's smile turned to an angry frown.

"No, no, we've decided to save that one for last." After he said that, the crowd went from cheering to groaning. "No, this is a new song. A fresh recording just for you ponies. It's called 'Missing,' and I'm sure you'll all love it. It was written by your resident drum expert, Sik Beatz." Just then, the crowd went silent. Bass gave a nod, and all three of them began to play. After the instrumental opening, Bass went up to the mic, and Rythm repositioned hers between drumstrikes, just so she didn't have a problem with it during her big part. Bass began to belt out a soft, melodic tone as he ran through the lyrics, swaying from side to side, completely unintentionally.

"I saw the queen

Swam out below her star on sea beneath

Though I lifted up my hands to her

She never lifted me"

Then Rythm joined in to sing the chorus with him, a tear building in her eye as she sang the song she had written for Bass, about his steady descent to darkness, but she wouldn't dare tell him how it hurt her.

"Oh something's missing in me

I felt it deep within me

As lovers left me to bleed alone"

Then Rythm faded out, continuing her drumming as Bass continued singing.

"Found something sweet

On the island with daughters of eve

But through thick and thin they've gone away

and only left their grief"

Rythm then rejoined the harmonious singing.

"Oh, something's missing in me

I felt it deep within me

As love has left me to ble-"

At that moment, Bass leaned forward, and the microphone shoved into his mouth, and he fell forward, off the stage, passing out upon impact with the ground.

What seemed like hours later, Bass woke up in a hospital bed, with his glasses still on, the sound of a steady beep being heard in the background, and a crack stretching across his vision. "Wha-... Where am I?"

Then, two sweet voices graced his ears, one, that of his sister, and the other, that of Rythm. "He's awake!" Rythm said to Treble. "Oh, praise Celestia, he's awake!" He then heard the sound of hooves scuttling across the ground toward him, and turned his head to see the two teary-eyed mares.

"What am I doing here?" he said to the two blurry shapes in his view, his vision slowly clearing to show the two ponies.

"You fucked up, that's what you're doing here," Treble chimed in. "You're all over the news, Bass. The media is having a field day with you." She then handed Bass the newspaper, which he slowly read aloud.

"'Rock and Roll Pegasus Headbangs a Little Too Hard?' Is this supposed to be some kind of a joke?!" He yelled after reading the headline. He then continued to read the rest of the article. "Wow... I really did fuck up."

Then another familiar voice spoke up from the corner. "You're damn right you did, Bass!" It was the voice of Major Chords. "Bass... we need to talk."

"About what, Major?" He said as he turned to look at the guitarist.

"About the future of Fasthor5. Rythm and I have been talking... and we decided that your days in the band are over."

Bass shot up in bed, and glared at Chords. "What?!" His glare then shot to Rythm. "Both of you decided this?"

Rythm looked at Bass, now crying. "I'm sorry, Bass. I... I'm just so worried about your health."

Chords patted Rythm on the shoulder, and escorted her to the door, looking back. "Bass, I'm sorry, but you gotta get your shit together."

Bass remained silent, and fell back into his hospital bed, and stared up at the ceiling, not even feeling his sister's hoof rubbing his mane. "This is bad... Really bad."

((Disclaimer: I don't own the songs in this chapter. "Missing" belongs to Flyleaf, and "Ghost Town" belongs to Shiny Toy Guns. There. Done.)) Next Chapter: Chapter 2: Dirge Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 31 Minutes