So, here I am, in some shady little garage called Pit's Stop; the rest stop in Buckston which is bookmarking the third stage of this journey. Truth be told, I don't really have much business here; the only real reason we're even here is to bear witness to the mending of Vinyl's bruised and beaten GT-R R35, which has taken such a pounding that I'm starting to doubt whether Vinyl can handle it properly. I mean, sure, it's packing some serious power; but it's got 4WD - a luxury the rest of us (bar a few) have to compete with. However, I'm not envious - having RWD means the XJ220 handles in a much less synthetic manner than the GT-R R35. The XJ220, by the way, still looked damn good, if a bit massive compared to the other cars on show. Since the GT-R was going to take some time to fix, I slinked out of the room while nopony was looking, and clambered back into the XJ220 to relax.
Which was when I suddenly realised that I hadn't practiced guitar in a while. A week, to be exact; hardly a long time, but enough to see some of the more technical skills slip out of the mind. So, as the blackness of the garage engulfed my being, I pulled my beloved Fender out of the car's boot - thankfully, it fitted pretty well, so no damage done - and started strumming some chords to test if I was still able to perform. All went well, so I started playing for real; deciding to go for a properly fast, thrashy song to really give my dexterity a workout. So began the rendition of "Downfall" by Exodus.
The one thing about Equestria is that music is actually capable of projecting energy; while most music is weak and has nearly zero effect, heavy metal is considered to produce near-illegally huge levels if charged properly. Since I was capable of not only guitar playing but also vocal duties - albeit hardcore vocals, but each to their own and such - there was already a potent level of energy building in the head of the Fender (usually, energy blasts out as the beat goes, but I knew how to control it - to an extent). I slipped into a mid-song nostalgia trip, and played like a robot throughout.
I was, in fact, due to be enrolled in the REAM, or Royal Equestrian Academy of Music, but I screwed up before I had even got through day one. In registration, I was told to play my music of choice. So, of course, instead of playing the poncy classical crud that I was expected to play, I played "Angel Of Death" by Slayer. I was promptly expelled by the headmaster, who was an old-school classical maestro who looked dimly at heavy metal.
As I tore through the song, the whole building was beginning to shake minutely and the mix of guitar and vocals could be heard throughout. Unwittingly, I had drawn a crowd, consisting of Vinyl, Dash (who had finally caught back up), Lyra and a few others; I didn't know of their presence as I was concentrating way too hard on nailing the breakdown; so much so that the energy was getting out of control. The only one who noticed this was Vinyl, who tried to reach out and stop me before I unleashed the fury.
But it was too late.
*BOOM*
The energy rushed out and engulfed the garage, turning anypony who wasn't in my immediate radius temporarily deaf. When I heard the screams of agony, I spun around to be greeted by several ponies bent double, clutching their ears. I could only pull an evil grin; of all things, I still enjoyed causing aural pain with my weapon of choice, and it never failed me. Unfortunately, I could tell I was about to become a punch bag if I didn't get scrace, so I quickly packed my Fender away and fled into the XJ220. The roar of the twin-turbocharged V6 filled the garage walls, deafening anypony who wasn't already ruined. One quick J-turn later (incredibly, the car park was big enough to permit such an act in the bus-like XJ220), and I was out of there, narrowly avoiding an angry Rainbow Dash on my way out.
The stage itself was rather uneventful in itself; I managed to put myself into an enourmous lead and maintained it rather well, even when I slammed into some dithering idiot in a Lexus who was filling the entire road, bending the steering rack and nicking the brake discs. Overall, I am not really looking forward to the punishment that I will be issued when Scratch and co. catch up to me at the next stop; however, it was worth it, just to show Scratch up as the best musician here. Now, time to fix that damage, I think...
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