49 - Rock
"Princess Luna?"
I nearly choked on my caramel popcorn when I spotted the dark alicorn. She was dragging along - Big Mac? The apple-red pony looked slightly frustrated, which meant he was really quite annoyed.
"Indeed!" She gave a proud stamp of her hoof, stopping in front of me. "It is I! We have greatly enjoyed the festival! Look at all the FUN we have accomplished!" She waved a wing, proudly displaying ribbons and trophies from a dozen contests and a roll of prize tickets.
"Woah." I nodded appreciation. "You've been busy."
I glanced around. The Summer Wrap-Up festival was in full swing, and ponies were strolling around, talking, laughing, and generally enjoying themselves. The weather was perfect, as planned, and there were hundreds of stalls and booths scattered through the streets and plazas of the small town.
"Eyup." Big Mac gave a long suffering sigh and rolled his eyes.
"Heh, long day? What are you in town for?" I asked.
The red stallion produced an empty box of nails, and held it out to me with a pleading look.
"Oooh, sorry." I shrugged. "I think the hardware store's that way?" I gestured vaguely. He gave me a flat look. "Heh, not news to you." Of course he knew where the hardware store was; the quiet stallion was no fool. But knowing his taciturn reputation, maybe he was having a little trouble getting there. I gave Luna a sly glance; maybe I could help with that.
"Your Lunar Highness." I bowed. "Perhaps I could accompany you for some fun?"
"Mayhap." She gave me an appraising glance. "Still, my comrade here has sped our way to victory several times." She grinned at Big Mac, clearly unwilling to relinquish the powerful earth pony's help.
"Well, sure." I gave her a smile; all I needed to do was convince her I could be just as helpful. "Big Mac's great. But I was thinking maybe we could try a few games where I might have the…heh, upper hand, as it were." I wiggled my fingers.
"Indeed." She quirked an eyebrow as the idea caught. Big Mac gave me a grateful nod as she released him. "Well then, Wesley, let us away!" She wrapped a wing around my shoulder, and herded me off. I nodded back conspiratorially, and sincerely hoped I could find some games that would work for me.
As it turned out, I could.
Luna watched me wrap my fingers around a tennis-ball and wind up like a pitcher. The projectile hurtled downrange with my throw, crashing into the stacked bottles and sending them clattering to the ground. The alicorn grit her teeth, again trying to balance a ball on the end of her hoof for a decent throw. We'd been through the same thing with hoops and darts. The only real rule was 'no magic', and I didn't have to worry about that.
Her throw wobbled through the air, bouncing off the heavy targets.
"Good throw!" The booth operator gave us a greasy smile. "Would you like to try again, Princess?" Luna gave me a glare. Losing wouldn't have bothered her, except somewhere along the line this had become a competition, and I'd won the last few rounds.
"I will accede this time." She sniffed. "However, I shall choose the next contest!"
"Of course, my Princess." I accepted the tickets I'd won. "Choose carefully! It seems my store of fun is nearing yours." I held up my winnings, comparing it to her hoard. She narrowed her eyes. The tickets could be traded for prizes at the central booth, and had quickly come to represent the score between us.
"Is this fun, sir?" I turned, hearing Bitterbloom's quiet voice. While I'd been competing with Luna, Sakura and her posse had materialized behind me.
"Well, I enjoy it." I nodded to my aide. "But it's really about spending time with friends." I waved to Luna. "How about you, Bit? Have you been enjoying your time here?"
"I'm trying, sir." Its voice was fairly flat, but I heard a little warmth.
"Good." I gave it a friendly pat. I'd firmly stopped Bit from calling me 'Master', after it had learned that using a title showed more respect. We'd compromised on 'sir' after I couldn't cajole it into using my name. It seemed to be absorbing some of my lessons on free thinking, and turning them back against me! It only capitulated after I threatened to take my day-planner back. I was glad it had started to understand that it shouldn't mindlessly follow my requests, but although I was trying my best, I still felt uncomfortable about its devotion. At Fluttershy's urging, though, I was trying to see it in a more positive light. "How about the rest of you? Having fun?"
"Yeah!" Sakura nodded eagerly. "The Summer Wrap-Up is always great." Umbra and Gygax nodded as well.
"Sweet."
"Excuse me, sir?"
"Yes, Bit?"
"You asked me to remind you when setup time neared."
"Oh. Oh!" I glanced at my watch. It was just past six. "Shoot. Luna, I need to go. My band's going to be on stage, and I need to be there for setup."
"Ah, the Battle of the Bands! In which you are competing, and I am not! I look forward to it!" She winked broadly. I winced slightly. For such a smart pony, she could be awfully clueless at times. Unless she was acting?
"Yes, well. If you will excuse me?" I bowed to her. "It seems you are the victor; your store of fun is clearly superior to mine. As the loser, I surrender my spoils to you." I ceremoniously held out my wad of tickets. "If you would accept this hoarded fun as token of thy victory?"
"Verily! 'Tis only right." She gave me a grin, and accepted the prize. I'd been wondering all afternoon how much of her accent and attitude was playing along with my subtle teasing, but I didn't mind either way.
"Awesome. Well, see you later, maybe." I nodded to her, and turned towards the stage. "Bit, if you'd like to come, I could use your help moving some stuff."
"Yes." My aide nodded to her friends, and joined me.
<"To those about to rock!"> I sang, projecting my voice into the mostly empty bleachers. I had my synth tucked under one arm.
<"We~salute~you!"> Bit trilled. I gave an approving nod. It was carrying my sheet music and stand, and we were walking across the field towards the stage where Vinyl and Lyra had started to set things up.
<"Isn't that a little…I dunno, cavalier?"> Twilight was trotting towards us, a clip-board in tow. She frowned disapprovingly.
<"Look, Twilight, it's my life. I can joke about it if I want to."> I nodded a greeting to her. <"What's up? How's organizing going?">
<"Not bad."> She shrugged. <"I've just swapped out with Sunset, so she can get some supper and enjoy the fair. She really knows how to delegate; nopony's asked me about minutia for the last half hour. I was honestly getting a little bored. Where are you two headed?">
<"To our stage, for setup. The Battle starts in an hour or so, and we need to be warmed up.">
"Sir, sir!" I looked back. Bit was staring at us with real curiosity.
"Yes, Bitterbloom?"
"Are you two speaking a different language? Is that what we were just singing in?"
"Yes, actually." I grinned. "Good catch. I guess I should have explained."
"Teach it to me!" I glanced at Twilight, who raised an eyebrow in return. It might be possible to teach Bit English. The bug was a speedy learner. Still, I'd been even more chary of sharing my past with my aide than I'd been with Sakura, since Bitterbloom had so little context for things like slavery and transdimensional magic. While I wasn't really happy with how it saw me, I couldn't change it, and I had no idea what would happen if I explained my history with changelings. It had taken one dose of those emotions straight on, and that had hurt it enough. A more gradual revelation wouldn't even have the grace of being quickly over. Bit might be strong, but that didn't mean it was ready to bear my emotional baggage.
"Maybe." Its face fell slightly at that. It was slowly starting to pick up emotions, which was good. "Look, Bit…I'll consider it, Ok? You're a great learner, and I'm improving as a teacher, but there's a lot more useful things we could be studying."
"Wes, you're here! Just in time!" Vinyl waved to me, as we neared the stage. "Where's Artemis?"
"She should be here any- oh, speak, and she appears." I pointed upwards, to where a dark shape was winging towards us. She lit gently on the stage.
"Am I late?" She gave a flustered glance around. It was this sort of thing that made me wonder just how much of Luna's attitude over the afternoon had been an act. As an alicorn, she seemed to hold to certain 'princessy' attitudes, which her alter-ego freed her of. Maybe it wasn't even a conscious change.
"Nope, you're good!" Lyra waved a drumstick. "Now, give me a hoof with these?"
"And so, it begins." I glanced at the nine stages, arrayed in a semicircle around the bleachers and empty field. "Wow." I pictured the seats crowded full of ponies, the ground crowded full of ponies, even the air crowded full of ponies. "This…is going to be intense." I gave Artemis a speculative glance, glad I didn't have to be center stage.
"Yup, yup!" Vinyl, already done with her set up, powered up the speakers and started testing out her soundboard, adjusting knobs and sliders as she went. "It's going to be great! Check out the others, too. Look, there's the B-sides!" She cranked a knob on her board. "Hey, Bro!" The speakers threw her voice across the field, and several of the other bands shot us surprised looks. A unicorn with a light coat and a red mane waved enthusiastically back.
"And there's Rarity and the Ponytones." Twilight pointed towards another stage, with nothing but four mics for the all-vocals quartet.
"I wonder if Big Mac ever got the nails he needed?" I mused.
"Sir, what are those?" Bit tugged at my sleeve, pointing towards another stage.
"That's a string quartet." I gestured from right to left. "Two violins, a viola, and a cello…I think? Although they're backed by what looks like drums and an organ?"
"That's right." Vinyl nodded. "Wow, Octavia's got some big thumpers over there." She shaded her eyes for a better look, and I hummed my agreement. Vivre Musicale did indeed have their instruments wired into an almost comically large sound system. They might be famous for chamber music, but if they didn't give us a tune worth dancing to, I'd eat my hat.
"Is that…a saxophone?" I pointed towards another stage.
"Maybe. We'll get all types here. This crowd is the very definition of fickle." Lyra trotted past, absently nudging me. "Get to work, padawan. We need to be warmed up soon, or we won't even be ready for the opening."
"Of course." I set my synth on the stand; Bit had already pieced it together and arranged my music. "Thanks, Bitterbloom. I won't be needing your help from here on out; why don't you go have some more fun? But be sure to head to Fluttershy's before it's time for bed." I'd arranged a sleep-over and paid off my debt of snuggles in one go.
"It will be so." The changeling gave me a long look, before turning to Twilight. "Would you like some help?"
"Sure, Bit!" Twilight gave it a hug. "Come on, let's go check on the other bands."
I gave her a grateful smile and pressed my monitors into my ears, giving Vinyl a thumbs-up to test the foldback sound. This was going to be interesting.
"ELECTRIC~! BLUE~! GRAAAAAAASSSSS!" The crowd yelled, applause washing over us in waves. Even through my custom-fit earpieces, it was loud.
I waved, trying to control my breathing. Artemis took a bow, as cool and sweet as ever. Vinyl spun a knob on her board, and I relaxed slightly as our sound faded out, leaving space for our opponents. I pulled my thermos from under my seat and spun the top off, gulping ice-cold lemonade. I was sweating bullets even as the brilliant wash of the lime-lights faded off us, sweeping over to the B-sides. I felt like I'd been running a race; the adrenaline was intoxicating.
I was elated that we were still in the game. Vinyl had guided us carefully through our performances, matching our sound to the crowds roars. We'd played some original arrangements, work by both her and Lyra, and some recently popular songs to start off. I felt I was holding up pretty well, but the tension had quickly started mounting.
I hadn't really expected us to drop out first, but I'd been pleased when we outlasted the other no-name bands. I'd been surprised when we'd left The Whom and Heavy Metal Airship by the wayside, but they were heavily stylized; their dedicated fans hadn't been able to drown out the cheers our variety brought. I'd been more surprised when Vivre Musicale outlasted the Ponytones, before dropping out themselves. Rarity and company had done well, especially with their local fame, but Octavia had driven the crowd into a high-energy lane with her folk-inspired dance music and pushed them out. We'd benefited from that; the B-sides and us had both switched to more powerful styles, and Octavia had folded.
I was slightly shocked we'd made it this far, but Vinyl had done a masterful job of preparing our band and leading us down a twisty path. She was rocking the soundboard, spinning her tables and mixing our instruments into a smooth sound that pulled ponies to our side. She'd even switched off with Lyra for a few songs, taking a more visible role in the band when she could. Lyra was performing with consummate skill, her talent shining as she marched us along on her drums or lyre. Artemis, of course, had shone like the star she was, her vocals thrilling the crowds.
I was playing better than I'd ever done at practice, too; the pressure of the crowd and the glare of the lights had pulled out my competitive spirit, and I was thrashing my synth with all the soul I could dredge up. I'd fumbled a note or two, but for the most part, I was loving the strong but simple lines I'd been assigned and having the time of my life rocking out.
Still, now it was just us and the B-sides. Vinyl versus her older brother, in a match of wits and skill that the next song could tip either way. We'd each been given two songs for the final showdown. We'd just finished our first, and the B-sides were currently throwing the crowd into a frenzy with their second. It was going to be close.
"What do you think, Vinyl?" I asked quietly. Our mics were cut off from the stage speakers, but her cans carried my voice clearly through the foldback.
"It'll be tough, guys. We're down to the wire here, and I don't know if we've got another song that'll cut it."
"Yup." Lyra rang a quiet sting on her drums. "We just did our fastest number, but LP's amping the crowd up even more. Whatever we play from here is going to be downhill, and I don't think that'll be good enough."
"Are…we going to lose?" Artemis asked softly. I gave her a sharp glance.
"Maybe." Vinyl shrugged. "We won't go down easy, but LP's good. Either way, we fought well, right?"
"I'll say." I nodded. "This has been a blast."
"Is there nothing we can do?" Artemis swept her gaze over the crowd. "I wouldn't want to give any less than my all."
"Hey, don't take it hard." Lyra gave her a sympathetic look. "We win some, we lose some. We're doing our best, and it's been pretty dang good. If it's not enough, there's next year. But don't count us out yet; we've got another number to make it count. We can't give up on the prize now!"
"The prize?" I shot her a curious look. "I didn't take you for the mercenary sort, Jedi."
"Nope, nope, not the money!" She tipped an ear towards our opponents. "I mean the pot! Everypony throws something in, right? Well, you wouldn't believe what's in there!"
"Really?" Artemis gave her a curious glance. "I thought it was a secret."
"Well." Lyra gave a sly smile. "It's supposed to be. But if a certain purple unicorn doesn't guard her clip-board…"
"You didn't." I smirked.
"Oh, I did." She rang a cymbal quietly. "There's some really good stuff in there. And get this; Celestia herself threw in prizes this year."
"Oh, oh?" Vinyl pulled her glasses down to peer over them. "That's new. I wonder why?"
I glanced at Artemis. I had a guess.
"Who cares?" Lyra flipped a drumstick casually. "Maybe because this is the biggest festival we've had for years. But guess what they are."
"They?" I quirked an eyebrow. "You'd better say, now you've got us curious."
"Tickets! Passes! Or something like that." She grinned, widely. "If you need motivation for the next song, imagine this; three days of vacation in the royal villa at Horseshoe Bay!"
"Ooooo." We all sighed.
"A vacation? On the beach?" Artemis gave a musing look at the sky. "That…sounds wonderful."
"Well, I'm motivated now." I ran an arpeggio down my board, the rich sound ringing through my ears.
"But will that be enough?" Artemis was frowning, now. "Vinyl, will we be able to swing this?"
"Dunno." She shrugged. "Crowd's fickle. I don't want to say no, but…"
"That's what you're feeling." Artemis finished. Vinyl nodded. I frowned at that, but the pegasus mused for a second, before nodding confidently. "I have a plan."
"What?" The three of us gave each-other curious looks. Luna, as Artemis, was fairly soft-spoken and reserved. This sudden confidence and energy was slightly out of character.
"Are you three serious about winning?" We all nodded slowly. "Are you afraid of looking fools? This might not work."
"Heh." Lyra snorted. "If that bothered me, I'd never leave my house!"
"What do I care?" I shrugged. "I've no image to repair."
"Well, if everypony does it!" Vinyl grinned. "The moon, or bust!"
"Good!" Artemis pranced slightly. "I know we can win. We need a high-energy song, right? Something to surpass even that?" She gestured to our opponents, who were tearing up their instruments and dancing across the stage. It would be a tough act to follow.
"Sure, that would be ideal." Vinyl frowned. "But we've played everything we've practiced. Whatever's in your mind will be tricky. You're not a talent…one of you would have to lead, with something you know. It'll be tough even if we haven't practiced. And Wes is sunk on his synth." I nodded at that. I was growing quickly as a musician, but I couldn't improvise to save my life.
"All we need is to find the right giant, and stand on their shoulders!" She gave me an intense look. "There are songs you know, right Wes?" I smiled slowly at that, her phrasing calling back to a shared dream and a karaoke machine.
"You can't be suggesting…"
"Oh, but I am." She grinned toothily, flaring her wings for effect. She wanted to perform a song from Earth!
"But…I'm not nearly good enough!" I gestured to my synth. "I mean, maybe in a few years I could bring something over, but-"
"Ah, you're forgetting something." She smirked. "I was there. I have a nearly eidetic memory, and I play just about everything. All we need to do is swap." She held her mic out to me, and I gulped, smile fading. I glanced at the raving crowd, feeling the pressure even with them looking away. She was right, though; if she took the keyboard, and Lyra and Vinyl followed her lead, she could work miracles. Both were giving us curious looks, but seemed willing. I wanted to entrust this to her as well.
But that meant I'd have to sing.
"I…I don't know if I'm up to that."
"Come on, Wes. They won't eat you alive," Vinyl quipped. Lyra and Artemis winced at her words.
"Heh, not this time." I forced my grin back, and reluctantly stepped out from behind my board. "One bad crowd can ruin you for life."
"Can you do it?" My band-mates gave me a serious stare. Vinyl apparently realized she'd touched a nerve, because her smile was apologetic.
"I can try." I firmed my resolve, and wrapped a hand around the mic. "What are you thinking, Artemis?"
"Hmm." The pegasus settled herself behind my keyboard, sweeping the sheet music away and lowering it smoothly before spreading her wings and touching a few notes. I raised an eyebrow at that, but it made sense; she had more than twice the feathers I had fingers. And with her skill, she might even be able to use them all. "Lyra, can you give us something fierce, at about…oh, two-hundred beats per minute? Listen to your marks, both of you, and do try to keep up." She gave a warlike grin, and I felt a surge of adrenaline as I realized what song she meant.
"Two hundred?" Vinyl grinned hugely as Lyra nodded slowly. "Oh, whatever happens, this is going to be spectacular."
"Wait, wait, wait! You can't be serious!" I felt like a broken record, but this was one absurdity on top of another.
"Suck it up, Wes." She gave me a stern stare. "You know the words; I remember. But this song isn't really about the vocals."
"It's not me!" I knew I could sing this. I might not sound good, but it would be English, anyways. "I've got the easy part!" I waved the mic. "I couldn’t even pass that song on Guitar Hero! It's not about the vocals because it's about the dual guitar solos! Can you really pull that off?"
"Heh, trust me, Wes. I'll show you speed metal." She smiled, and ran her feathers across the keys. My eyes popped as four distinct chords came across my monitors, each in a different voice. She had two guitars, the original synth, and a bass singing there.
"Woah." Lyra gave her a look of profound respect. "That's…something."
"How are you doing that?" Vinyl demanded. "Sure, we made that machine absurd." She gave the synth a speculative look. "I guess you could play a different song on each key if you knew what you're doing, but you'd need to be working the effects twice as fast as the keys, and even with your wings-"
"No time!" Artemis said, as the crowd surged. Our precious minutes of preparation were over, and it was showtime. We went silent, tension twisting quietly across the stage as the cheering died down and the limelight swept back to us. I swallowed my apprehension, and clenched my hand so tightly around the mic my knuckles cracked. I was going to give this my all. It actually got a little better when the lights occluded the crowd. I stepped up to the front of the stage in the sudden hush, trying to push the shadowy shapes out of my mind, and bowed to the murmurs of surprise.
"For our last performance, Electric Blue Grass will play a human song." I projected as confidently as I could, listening to my voice swell across the field. The crowd cheered. "You're listening to a cover of <'Through the Fire and Flames',>" I roared, "by the band <Dragonforce!>"
The speakers belched crushing sound, and we were off.
<"On a cold winter's morning, in the time before the light->
"I can't believe we pulled that off!" I exclaimed, again. All of us were giddy with adrenaline. The crowd had gone crazy at our finale, pushing us decisively into the top slot. Artemis had limited herself to one solo, but Lyra had taken the other on the drums. Vinyl was still humming the melody. We'd encored twice. We'd finally escaped to the after party, where we were trying to be polite to everypony who wanted to congratulate us and still keep a conversation going. Thankfully, the crush was starting to peter out, and we were standing mostly alone.
"I know, right?" Lyra shot Artemis a sharp look. "I can't, either. You've got to tell me how you learned to play like that!"
"Um…" The pinto pegasus squirmed slightly.
"Hay yeah!" Vinyl gestured with her drink. "You're not a musical talent, right? But I've never even dreamed of playing at that level. Who are you really, Artemis?"
"Well-"
"Priiiizeees!"Sunset sang, floating in an ornate chest, and setting it on a nearby table. I autographed a photo with a flourish, and turned to our spoils, half-listening as the two unicorns pressed Artemis on the origin of her skills.
"Thanks, Sunny. You take the clipboard of office back for a bit?"
"Just for a minute." She winked at me. "I wanted to see the party. It's been pretty good, huh?"
"Hay yeah." I flipped the lid on the surprisingly small box, and peered inside. There were a handful pieces of paper; I shuffled through them. Tickets from rival bands, backstage passes, coupons for free swag, really nice stuff that might not fit in a small box. A set of silver strings from Octavia. Lyra'd like those, maybe. I ignored Vinyl's wireless hookups, but she'd be glad to get them back. Celestia's envelope was sealed, but clearly labeled. A few records lay in the back, probably collectables from Vinyl's brother. He'd congratulated us heartily on our victory earlier, giving his sister a warm, proud hug. Actually, all our opponents had been extremely nice, although not all were as personable. My gaze stopped on a trio of stone bottles, rough-hewn and carefully sealed.
Curious, I picked one up, brushing dust off. No label, but they practically oozed quality and care. This was granite, painstakingly cut to shape. There were three? I shook it; something sloshed inside.
"Any idea, sis?" I held it out.
"Nope." Sunset gave the bottle a once-over. "Hmm." She glanced at the rest of the prizes, categorizing them. "From the Ponytones, maybe?"
"Huh. Not Rarity."
"I'd say Toe-Tapper and Torch Song aren't the type, either."
"Big Mac?" I gave the bottle another curious glance. "Hmm. I want to try it."
"Go for it." Sunset gave an encouraging nod. "Prizes are meant to be enjoyed, right?"
"To the victor go the spoils." I carefully cracked the wax holding the cork in, and worked it loose. "Pass me a glass?" A crystal goblet floated over. I gave it a curious look, but Sunset just smiled. I shrugged and poured a few fingers.
"Woah." The fluid was iridescent. Rainbow colors shimmered across the surface. I swirled it gently, and sniffed it. "Apples…? Maybe?"
"Try it." Sunset was staring now, just as curious as I was. I sipped, cautiously.
"Holy crow." It was like nothing I'd ever tasted. Clearly alcoholic, it felt like ice on my tongue, but warmed me instantly. Still, it wasn't a bit harsh, and the flavors were intense. Apples were prominent, but it was complex and heady. "That's smooth. Crisp as snow, deep as still water, and although it's mild as milk, I bet it's got some kick." I stared at the bottle again, wondering what it was.
"Hey, mares!" I turned back to the others. "Check this out." I held the goblet out to Lyra, who gasped, and reverently accepted it with a golden glow.
"Zapplejack," she breathed. "I heard they only make a few bottles each year!"
"Seriously?" Vinyl gave the glass a considering stare. "I thought it was a myth. Big Mac wouldn't sell me any, and believe me, I tried. All I got was an earful of 'Eenope'."
"No myth." I urged them on. "Try it, try it!"
"Oh…" Lyra sipped.
"Hey." While the unicorns were distracted, I stepped over to Artemis. "You've got to tell them, you know. After pulling a stunt like that."
"But…" She drooped.
"Hey, don't sweat it. What are you afraid of? That they'll love you?"
"No, but…did I cheat, Wes?"
"No." I said firmly. "Not at all."
"Really?"
"I'm certain of it. Remember what Vinyl said? Anything goes. If we'd had time beforehand, we could have recorded three of those tracks and let you solo the fourth. Hay, we used samples all over tonight! Remember, as long as they cheer."
"But I'm a princess, Wes. Is that fair?"
"Why not?" I shrugged. "They didn't cheer for your princess-ness. They cheered because you thrashed those solos, and they loved it. Don't overthink this. You're an excellent musician, and you pulled something astounding tonight." I accepted the glass back from Lyra, and passed it to her. She sipped hesitantly, and her eyes went wide.
"I…I can't believe it." She gave the glass a speculative look. "I never thought I'd drink anything to match moonshine!"
"Sooo…." Vinyl gave her a considering look. "I couldn't help but overhear something about Princess'. Are you from Canterlot, then?"
"U-umm-" Artemis took a step back, startled by the renewed scrutiny.
"Nah, it's got to be Saddle Arabia, right?" Lyra stepped forward, inspecting her closely. "You're so exotic! Come on, tell us!"
"You're worrying over nothing," I reassured her, but she still didn't seem convinced.
"Hold on a second…" Vinyl stepped close, as if to sniff her, but with a sudden yank, she grabbed a hair from her mane and pulled it out. Both of them gasped; as it left Artemis' head, it writhed, growing longer and deeper and floating in an invisible wind. A star sparkled on the end. Vinyl's eyes snapped wide behind her glasses.
"Oh, ponyfeathers." Lyra breathed. Artemis dropped the goblet, and Vinyl barely caught it. "Your Highness!"
"I…um…" Artemis lowered her head, letting her mane fall over her eyes. "…sorry…" I couldn't tell if she was trying to keep from drawing attention, or if her assumed shyness was affecting her more than I'd expected. Or maybe her normal confidence and brashness was a bit of an act itself?
I brushed my thoughts aside and stepped forward, unsure of what to do but unwilling to stand by and do nothing.
"You're sorry?" Vinyl sounded shocked. "What?"
"I…um…" Artemis took a step backwards, seeming more like Fluttershy by the moment. "I lied." She hung her head in shame. Maybe it wasn't acting. She was starting to understand this culture better. There was a difference between cluelessness and callousness. She'd always been extremely serious, and I felt a pang of guilt. Had I pushed her into something she found repugnant?
"Hey, don't be like that!" Lyra pulled herself together when the Royal Canterlot Voice failed to materialize. She gave the pony in front of her another look. "Your Highness…no, Artemis. You're Artemis, and that won't change. Everypony has secrets. Some better, some worse. Privacy is something we all need, and if you need a bit more, that's OK by me. You've been nothing but wonderful to us, so don't think you'll get out of the band that easily!" She stepped forward, and gave the startled pegasus a hug.
"You're sorry?" Vinyl repeated again. I winced.
"Easy-" I started, but she cut me off.
"You're apologizing, because you helped make one of the most exhilarating performance of my life? Because I got to play speed metal with the Lady of the Night herself? Because we thrashed my brother, and seven other professional musicians? Because you can somehow harmonize with yourself four times? If that's the sort of thing you apologize for, there's no way I'm letting you out of my sight until I see something you're proud of!" She stepped forward, and bopped Artemis on the nose with a hoof. "Now, chin up! If you keep moping like that, you'll sour the zapplejack!" She passed the glass back.
"T-thanks." Artemis tipped it back, finishing the liquor. "I needed that." She gave a sweet smile. "And not just the drink." She stepped forward, and swept them into a hug with her wings. "Thanks."
Stats
Page generated in 0.073 seconds
Total duration
988 users online
2,060,072 hits today, 2,591,549 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
That she will, that she will most definately
Sounds a lot like led zeplin to me, can't believe no one else mentioned that yet
It's music with rocks in!! :D
4373515
I just had this image of Celestia, Luna, and Chryssy forming a band.
Of course, they'd have to name it ...
Queen. :D
4374150
Luna writes "Fat Bottomed Mares" as a jab at Celestia.
4368046
Look at you, posting new chapters before I have time to comment on the old ones. Not that I'm really complaining.
Well, I think that's a bit different. Ponies would have an actual reason to believe that Sunset can't fly, because there's not really any precedent for non-winged ponies to be flying. So if we told everypony that Sunset can fly and then gathered all of them together and had them watch as she jumps off of the library's balcony, some would probably expect her to suddenly sprout wings for some reason, so would expect her to just float around without them, some would expect her to just fall to the ground, some might expect her to pull out a hot air balloon, some might expect her to cast that wing spell Twilight used on Rarity...there are a ton of different, and contradictory, expectations in play. So how does her cutie mark decide what will happen? Does it pick one pony's expectation and use that? If so, how does it choose? Does it go with what whatever the most ponies are expecting? Or does it just decide that the whole thing is getting too complicated and let Sunset hit the ground on her own? (Am I the only one who can see Twilight actually trying to talk Sunset into doing this for science?)
But if the ponies are just told that Sunset is going to defeat Sombra, I think their expectations will be less specific, but more black and white. Each pony will either expect Sunset to defeat Sombra or fail (and like you said, they trust prophesies, so it will likely be a lot more of the former than the latter). But they won't have specific expectations like "Sunset will use the power of the Elements of Harmony to turn into a
demonalicorn and blast Sombra to bits" or "Sunset will defeat Sombra in hoof-to-hoof combat" or "Sunset and Sombra will fall in love and he'll turn good for her sake," mostly because the whole thing is so far out of most ponies' experiences that they won't even know what the options are. So they just leave their expectations at "Sunset will defeat Sombra."So the question then becomes "How specific do the expectations need to be?" Can her cutie mark work with "I expect Sunset to do well in the Running of the Leaves," or would it need something like "I expect Sunset to take first place in the Running of the Leaves by maintaining a speed of 30 mph"? Unfortunately for science and Twilight, I don't think that expectations very easy to quantify.
Yeah, if the reckoning happens before the end of the story, it usually means that guy you thought was the mastermind behind the whole thing wasn't. And now you've got to go deal with the real villain.
On that note, it looks like I was wrong about the whole Sapphire Shores thing. Though having more ponies with them probably would have still helped.
I have to admit I really enjoyed that chapter, it made a nice short distraction form studying for finals.
and as always thanks for the update!!
you should total add a link to the song
4374431 I totally intended to do that. >.< Thanks for reminding me; I'll do it now. I'm glad you liked it!
4374386 Exactly why this talent isn't as overpowered as it might seem at first glance. Poorly defined talents have potential, not guaranteed power. Although experimenting, for science, would be pretty hilarious. I may do that. Yes, I post quickly. If you look at my chapters, I've averaged nearly 3/4 of NaNoWriMo output each month since starting. This story's just over half a year old! Hence, my joy at your saying the quality has increased.
4374066 I love, love Terry Pratchett! I almost dug out my copy of 'Soul Music' for the name of that one band...I couldn't remember what they went with for the last show, but I threw 'The Whom' in there for them. Also, Queen. Heh. Hehehe.
4373515 Yes! Yes it is! I considered Stairway to Heaven for the song, but ultimately decided it was too long, and to reliant on the vocals. Still a great band, though.
4375307 I have an autographed copy of 'Soul Music.' It was the last gift my sweetheart got me before she passed away. She stood in line for hours despite the chemotherapy she was on, got the autograph, and sent it to me with all her love.
It's fics like this that bring back memories like these, that make fanfiction a joy for me.
49# awww and a lovely chapter
4375462 Wow. Just...wow. That's very touching. I got my copy of Soul Music for a birthday, and I must have read it five or six times. I'm glad I can spread a little joy. I also love little connections and shout-outs in books; part of why Terry Pratchett is so great!
Oh, there's one other thing I've been meaning to mention for a while now, but I kept on forgetting.
I really like what you've been doing with Lyra here. The whole "echonarch martial artist" thing is cool, but even more than that, I like that you didn't use the old human-obsessed Lyra cliche. Because the entire human in Equestria genre is full of overused cliches, but that is the one that bothers me the most because everyone seems to need to throw it in, even though it hardly ever adds anything to the story.
4375912 I'm glad you like it! Part of this story is an exploration of tropes. I've nothing against tropes, even common ones, but if I use them, I want to be able to use them better. Since I like Lyra, but I'm also annoyed by the way most authors use an unaltered fanon character, I just eschewed that trope completely. I couldn't see a way to twist it into something I liked. Sakura was intended to be a human-obsessed pony, although I haven't used her as much as I thought I might. Still, it's good to hear you enjoy my characterization.
4376686 Yup, planning and forethought make or break magic, the same as technology. Given enough time and planning, they're seriously scary. Like Sombra.
And don't monks get magic resistance? A dwarf monk would be pretty hilarious.
Really good chapter, just started this story a few days ago, glad I'm caught up!
was the beginning a nod to the comics?
4653261 Yes, yes it was!
this is how the battle of the bands should have been like
Luna is best princess.
7324173 Luna is pretty great.
With my other stuff, I don't really have anything that's as long as this; my other long-running story has rather stalled. I desperately need to start writing it again, but... it feels like restarting is a big bump to get over. :/ As for my short stuff, I'm probably proudest of 'Wings', although the one that got the most critical acclaim might be 'Broken Roads', which was somehow picked for the Royal Canterlot Library archive sitepost things. The rest of them vary randomly in quality, but some people seem to have enjoyed them. I have some Writeoff contest entries that never made it to this site, too, one of which is nearly polished into shape.
This is one of my favorite chapters on this site.