Chapter 1: Rainboom in the Dark
Metal Hearts Chapter 1: Rainboom in the Dark
The day was finally over. Cheerilee loved her job, but she’d always be the first to admit that teaching the younger ponies wasn’t always an easy task. After locking up the Ponyville schoolhouse, she headed towards her home, smiling as she observed the lovely colors beginning to manifest themselves in the sky as Celestia’s sun began its steady descent.
On a whim, she happened to nab a newspaper from a newsstand that she often passed on her way to and from the school. There was usually nothing that particularly interested her…occasional unrest in zebra territory, some big event in the Cloudsdale stadium, a summary of an address given by Princess Celestia…but she figured that she might as well try to keep up with current events, so she could teach the little ones to be aware of their world and its goings-on. Paying a few bits for the paper and tossing it into her saddlebag, she trotted the rest of the way home in relative silence, her usual friendly smile plainly visible on her bright and cheerful features.
It wasn’t until she had shut the door to her house behind her and settled down in her favorite chair that she actually began to read the thing. It wasn’t much different than what she’s suspected. Celestia had indeed given a “state of Equestria” address, which she loyally skimmed. On the next page after that she learned that a couple of warring zebra tribes had made peace with each other.
“That’s nice, I suppose,” she muttered to herself. After making her way through the rest of the actual news, she reached her favorite part: the celebrity gossip insert. Pulling the full color miniature magazine from within the plain gray newsprint, she gawked at the pictures and eagerly read the stories they accompanied. Somepony famous was always getting married or divorced, it seemed.
Though she was very much interested in the material, she didn’t have much emotional investment in most of these ponies’ lives, nor did she honestly want to be like them. She occasionally wondered to herself what fame and fortune would be like, but she stopped before the point of actual envy. Sighing quietly, she made her way to the back page and scanned some of the stories involving less prominent figures: washed up has-beens, stars of yesteryear, up and coming young ponies who weren’t quite famous enough to get a page dedicated to their stories.
This time, though, a story caught her eye. A little headline near the end of the page read, “Famous Metal Pony ‘Iron Rainbow’ Dies After Long Battle With Illness”. Cheerilee let out a soft little gasp. It had been years since she’d seen or heard anyone mention that pony’s name. Reminiscence and nostalgia rushed over her like tidal waves of pure emotion.
The mare forced herself to read the rest of the article. It was a very brief summary of his career, mentioning a few notable songs and albums of his, and concluded quickly by vaguely describing the illness he died of. “He deserves better than that,” she muttered. “He was a great pony.” She heaved a heavy sigh and set the paper aside, resting her hooves on the arms of the chair and closing her eyes. She forced herself to remember the first time she’d ever heard of him. It hadn’t been all that long ago by some people’s standards, but to her it felt like much longer.
***
Cheerilee walked quietly down the hall of the school, smiling blissfully. One of her friends, a light blue filly about her age, with messy white hair teased in a similar style to hers trotted up to her.
“Hey, Cheerilee!” she said in greeting, falling into step with her friend’s happy trot.
“Oh…hi, Seafoam,” Cheerilee said to her, flashing her a smile.
“When are you gonna get those things off?” Seafoam asked. Cheerilee looked confused for a moment, but she soon smiled again, this time with her mouth closed. A light flush rose to her cheeks.
“O-oh, you mean my braces. I don’t know. Whenever my teeth are all straight, I guess.” Seafoam shrugged.
“Not a big deal. Oh! Guess what? My coltfriend lent me a CD.” The two trotted a little further in silence.
“What about it?” Cheerilee eventually asked.
“Oh! I’m sorry. I guess I was just, ya know, zoning out. Anyway, my coltfriend lent me a CD, and I didn’t think I’d like it. It’s some of that ‘heavy metal’. You know how the colts are about that stuff. Well, I listened to it just so he’d stop bugging me, and whaddya know, I liked it!”
“Really?” Cheerilee asked curiously.
“Yeah! The singer has this amaaaaaaazing voice! It’s really powerful, and it’s actually kinda hot.” Seafoam reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a plastic CD case.
On the cover was a picture of a big, dark, evil looking pony behind some jagged mountains, a dark and cloudy sky overhead. Held in the pony’s hoof was a long chain, and at the end was an older-looking stallion with glasses, wrapped up in the metal links and struggling in what looked like the ocean.
“That’s…nice,” Cheerilee said politely. “Do you have a picture of what the lead stallion looks like?”
“Oh, sure!” Seafoam said, pulling out the booklet that resided in the case and flipping to a black and white photo of four stallions leaning against a wall. She pointed to one of them, a unicorn with long, frizzy brown hair who was striking a dominant pose. Cheerilee had to stifle a giggle…he was so small!
“What’s so funny? I think he’s kinda cute,” Seafoam said, sticking her tongue out at her friend.
“But…he’s a little bit short…and he seems a little, um, old for us,” Cheerliee said, trying to be as nice as possible about her criticisms of the stallion.
“That’s not the point! Wait until you hear his voice, Cheerilee. You have to borrow this disc. I insist.” Seafoam put the booklet back in the case and pressed it into Cheerilee’s hooves.
“Um…okay. I’m sure it’ll be great,” Cheerilee said, trying her best to give a non-committal response. Seafoam grinned at her.
“You gotta listen to it! Promise me.” She stared at Cheerilee, waiting for a response.
“Well…” Cheerilee began, wondering how best to state she wasn’t interested.
“Promise,” Seafoam insisted, putting on a pouty face. Cheerilee sighed.
“Okay, Seafoam. I promise.” The other filly smiled.
“Awesome! Make sure you lemme know how you like it, okay?” The two ponies reached the part of the hall where they parted ways, and both went to their respective classes, Cheerilee forgetting all about the CD for the time being.
***
Cheerilee walked into her room and flicked on the light, then emptied her saddlebag onto her bed. The album Seafoam had lent her landed on top of her books and other belongings.
“Oh,” she said softly. “I forgot about this.” She spent a few seconds staring at it, debating whether or not she actually wanted to listen to the thing. “Well, I guess I’ll give it a spin. Maybe I can turn it on low and get some homework done.” She opened up her CD player and gingerly placed the disc in it, then closed the lid and pressed the play button. She was immediately assaulted by a fast, driving guitar riff and frantic drumming.
She’d never really listened to much metal; she’d always thought it was for the colts, but from the instant Iron Rainbow’s voice kicked in, she was enthralled. The lyrics didn’t seem to make much sense right away, but they were somehow uplifting. The music stirred something Cheerilee never knew she had deep in her heart.
She sat and listened to the album until it was finished, so absorbed in the music that she’d forgotten about her homework until the disc had stopped spinning. “Wow…” she mumbled to herself. “That was amazing.” She opened the case again and flipped to the back of the booklet so she could get another look at that stallion. He seemed somehow taller than before. In Cheerilee’s mind, despite his height, Iron Rainbow stood head and shoulders above his bandmates.
***
The next day, Seafoam approached Cheerilee after their first class.
“So, what’d you think?” she asked excitedly.
“Oh, it was awesome, actually,” Cheerilee replied as casually as possible. Seafoam grinned.
“Heh, I knew you’d enjoy it. He’s really good, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” Cheerilee said quietly. “Yes, he is.” Seafoam looked at her with a confused expression.
“Are you okay, Cheerilee?” The magenta mare snapped out of her daze at her friend’s question.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said with a sheepish grin. Seafoam shrugged.
“Whatever you say. Anyway, I’m off to second period. See you later!” Seafoam said, trotting off in the direction of her next class. Cheerilee waved after her with a hoof and made her way to her own.
When she arrived there, she took a seat at her usual desk near the front of the classroom. As per usual, she was one of the first ones there. Class never dragged on too long in the mind of the studious Cheerilee; to her, the opportunity to acquire knowledge was always an adventure, even if the history professor’s lectures did drag on a bit. Soon enough the bell rang, one class after another passed uneventfully, and finally the young mare was on her way home.
As she passed by a familiar music store, she stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the brick wall of the building. A massive poster displaying the face of a devil red, frizzy brown maned unicorn was contrasting with the drab red bricks. He was using a red magical aura to levitate a microphone, and he really looked as if he were singing his heart out.
In front of the stage were the silhouettes of a great many ponies of all shapes in sizes, throwing their hooves up into the air in what could only be excitement. Of course, this display was all well and good, but it was the big, jagged purple letters on the poster that really got Cheerilee’s attention. “Black Solstice in Concert” they proudly proclaimed. Below that were the details – the date, time, and place, apparently a concert hall in Canterlot.
It was then that Cheerilee made up her mind. She wanted to see this pony perform, and possibly even meet him. It was on the weekend…not only that, but spring break was coming up. She wouldn’t have to come back to school for a while. Maybe it was time for her to take a vacation. Nodding to herself, she trotted the rest of the way home with a goal in mind.
***
“Alright, mom…I’m headed off!” Cheerilee, tugging her saddlebags closed with her teeth.
“Okay, honey…please be careful. Be sure to learn a lot at the royal library,” came a voice from the living room.
“I will!” the younger mare replied, before trotting happily out the door toward the Ponyville train station. The hustle and bustle of the station always fascinated her, even if it did make her feel a little tense. As she was looking around for her platform, moving along the walkway, she bumped into what felt like a wall, falling onto her rump with an “oof”.
When she looked up, however, she saw that it was not, indeed, a wall she’d collided with, but rather a massive, muscular, handsome red stallion with a long golden mane.
“Oh…sorry, sugarcube,” the red stallion offered in a deep but quiet voice. He lent her a hoof so she could get to her feet, which she promptly took.
“It’s really no problem, sir,” she said just as quietly. She sighed softly, unintentionally taking in the large stallion’s scent. He smelled rustic, like earth and apples and the country air. It was really rather entrancing…but she made sure not to dwell on it too long. “Oh, by the way, would you happen to know where I can find Platform B?” The stallion nodded.
“Yeah, it’s over this way. ‘s where I’m headin’, too,” he said nonchalantly. “You’re welcome to come with me if ya like. I’m headed ta Canterlot for some…business.”
She could’ve sworn he avoided her gaze as he talked about his destination. Something was up; she was perceptive, and this pony seemed unaccustomed to fibbing. However, never the sort of mare to pry into anypony else’s business, she simply smiled.
“That’d be great! Oh, I’m Cheerilee, by the way. I’m headed to Canterlot, too. I’m going to study at the royal library,” she said, working her explanation in seamlessly.
“Ah see. Nice ta meetcha, Cheerilee. Ah’m Big Macintosh, but you kin jus’ call me Mac. Most ponies do.” He offered a shy smile.
‘What on earth does such a big handsome stallion have to be shy about?’ she wondered to herself. “Nice to meet you, too, Mac. Perhaps we could get to know each other on the ride there?” She knew she probably shouldn’t confide so much in this stranger, but something about him seemed particularly trustworthy.
“Uh…sure, ma’am. I’d be happy ta sit with ya,” he said. She could have sworn the red of his coat grew a littler darker in his cheeks, but she couldn’t be sure. “C’mon, now, or we’ll git left here.”
He turned and trotted off towards a nearby train, the muscles beneath his skin visibly rippling. Cheerilee giggled to herself, then followed.
“What an interesting stallion,” she mused quietly as she quickened in order to catch up.
