Lyric loved Ponyville. It was a town that always had something new and exciting going on despite its relatively small size. It was also a town that welcomed all, no matter who or what they were. That was exactly what she wanted since her cloaked companion needed someplace safe to rest for a while.
As they trotted through the streets, those who knew her called out and waved. She smiled and waved back before taking a seat on the rim of the fountain. As she took her lute off of her back and out of its wrapping, her friend looked around him with uncertainty before sitting as well, never removing his hood from his head. Lyric put a hoof on his shoulder for a few moments before pulling it back to tune her precious instrument. Its sounds were soothing to them both as she plucked the strings and listened for the tone she wanted. After some hesitation, the stallion unslung a ukulele from his own back and started to strum the small instrument, matching its sounds with that of the lute. When both were in key, Lyric nodded and the two began to play a simple but lively melody.
They went on for quite a while and were grinning from ear to ear when Lyric finally said, "You know, Pan, this reminds me of a story."
"Of course it does," he replied with a good-natured roll of his eyes.
She laughed. "You know me. As much as I love music, I can't resist a good story. And this is one of the first ones I ever heard. My parents used to tell it to me all the time."
"What's it about?" Pan asked her.
"It's about how music was discovered. Would you like to hear it?" But Lyric could tell from the way that Pan Handle stared at her with rapt attention that her question was unnecessary.
He nodded, said, "Yes, please," and put his ukulele onto his lap. Lyric lowered her own instrument and began her tale.
"In the time before Equestria's founding, Earth ponies, Pegasi and Unicorns lived together but apart. You see, Earth ponies knew how to raise food, and the Pegasi knew how to control the weather to ensure that there was enough rain to sustain the crops. The Unicorns also had a part in this cycle, as they helped to raise and lower the moon and the sun, which was also necessary for the food to grow. However, the Pegasi and Unicorns demanded a portion of the food that the Earth ponies tended to as payment for the use of their skills. And as this was the most important task anypony could think of, there was no time for anything frivolous. This included things like music, which had never been thought of or invented.
"Among the Unicorns, there was a mare named Unison. Unison found the life she led unfilfilling as she and her tribe travelled from place to place, demanding the food of others. However, what she did notice when they were all on the road was how everypony's hooves seemed to fall into some sort of pattern." Lyric gently clopped her hooves on her lute and on the ground, imitating the sound she was describing. "It always caught her ears, and listening to it helped her thoughts float away during their journeys, making their travels seem faster and somewhat more enjoyable to her. Oftentimes she would find herself wondering if she could use this knowledge somehow, but had no idea what for. As such, she put it away in the back of her mind to focus on the more pressing tasks ahead."
Her hooves fell silent. "One day, the Unicorns exited a forest to find a marshland ahead. 'Let's cross now while we can see, before we must bring the day to an end,' their leader said, but just then, the sun began to sink towards the horizon. With a frustrated grunt, the leader told them, 'Nevermind. We'll make camp here for tonight.' At that, he and all of the Unicorns added their magic into the spell that would bring about night."
Suddenly, Pan interrupted with, "Why didn't they just teleport to the other side? They had the ability. I mean, I should know," he said, pointing to the top of his head where his own horn was hidden.
"Well yes, but a marsh can be treacherous. Even when you know where you're going, if you make one simple miscalculation or misstep, you could end up sinking into the soft ground. It's likely that the tribe didn't want to take that risk." When she saw Pan nod in understanding, she continued.
"The Unicorns unshouldered their packs and unrolled them into tents. As her magic helped to raise them, Unison picked up on the swish of the cloth as the tents blew in the wind and on the twang of the ropes as they were pulled taut and tested to see if they would hold. When all was to the tribe's satisfaction, the Unicorns laid out their bedrolls and went to sleep."
"All but Unison, I'm guessing?"
Lyric grinned. "That's right. There was a strong gale blowing that night, and it shook the leaves in the trees nearby. Unison sat up and listened intensely to the sound. To her, it was beautiful, and she tried to recreate it in her tent. What came out at first was little more than a strong breath, but as she moved her lips, she created a new sound. She stopped, then blew again. There it was! A whistle! It was the first kind of music she or anypony had ever heard. Unison practiced for a while to herself and experimented with breath, finding that by making minor adjustments she could change the pitch. She was ecstatic!
"Unison ran outside to show everypony what she had done only to be met with the glow of the moon. But as she turned to enter her tent once more, her ears picked up on something like the noises she had made coming from the reeds along the water's edge. She tiptoed nearer and sat beside them. What she heard that night was much softer than what she had done, though the sounds were purer. Cautiously, she picked a reed to study in the silvery light.
"It looked to be nothing more than a long, hollow tube to her, and when she blew through it, she heard no sound. As she stared at it in her hoof, she thought about how she had to make a circle with her lips to whistle. Perhaps if she added a circle into the top of the reed, that would work as well. Giddy, she trotted back into her tent and got to work.
"Unison used her magic to float a small knife over to the reed and carved a perfect hole into it. When she blew air through it, she heard nothing. She was not ready to give up, however, far from it. She carved more and more and kept blowing through the reed. When she went to try again, she accidentally put a hoof over some of the holes and heard a note. She beamed, for all of her efforts were paying off, and she whistled what she felt was a happy tune as she continued with her carving. Finally, after the moon had reached its zenith, she had the very first flute in hoof. She experimented with her invention for the rest of the night, finding out how to make low notes, high notes, and everything in between.
"At first, Unison hid her flute from the tribe, for she could hear their leader in her mind if she revealed it too soon.
"Our work is more important. We must save our energy for raising the sun and the moon, not for playing with silly toys. Now give it here. She did not want to see that happen, not to her first creation.
"For months, she practiced in secret at any spare moment she could find. If I can show them that there is use for this, it will not be taken from me, and it will brighten their lives. After all of her work and all that time, she was ready to unveil her creation.
"It was autumn, and she called everypony to gather around the fire. Many wondered what was going on, but rather than say anything, she waited for silence. When she had that, she began to play." Lyric took up her lute once more and recreated the Unicorn's melody on its strings. "She started out soft and slow, though the notes were high. But soon, Unison began to stomp her hoof to keep time," which Lyric did as well, "and the melody she played soared through the night. It grew in volume and swelled into the crowd, high notes floating into low notes and then ending just as softly as it had begun."
Pan looked on in awe as the music died away. Lyric smiled. "Nopony moved for quite some time, until one started to clap his hooves together, and then another, and another. Soon all were applauding the mare, who only stood and smiled.
"'What was that?' one Unicorn asked.
"'It's like nothing I've ever heard,' said another.
"'It was beautiful!'
"Unison glanced at their leader, her front hooves now prancing in place as she waited for his judgment. But when she saw his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide with awe, her heart soared. Then he spoke. 'What shall we call it?'
"She almost didn't catch it, too stunned was she at his words. But when he asked again, she didn't hesitate. 'Music,' she said, 'from the word amusement. Because it brought me such amusement and joy.'
"Everypony agreed that this was a fine thing to call it, and then begged for her to play again.
"Over time, Unison refined her flute and made more like it, giving the new flutes to others in the tribe. She also continued to listen to the things around her for inspiration. When she heard the droning of insects, she imitated their sounds and learned to hum. When she heard the calls of the birds, she opened her mouth wide and learned to sing. It was only a matter of time before words were put together with these melodies, and music as we know it was born.
"Unison then decided to leave her tribe because she wanted to share with others what she had done, no matter what kind of pony they were, and built a shop where she was able to put her skills to use. She invented percussion instruments, string instruments, and many more flutes. She also wrote compositions for the things she created, and included lyrics for some. Occassionally, she would travel and share her knowledge and innovation with anypony she met, giving them the many gifts of music. As she grew older and became unable to travel, she passed her skills onto her children and apprentices, and the love all ponies had for music grew ever stronger."
When Lyric's tale came to an end, it was a while before Pan found his voice. "That's amazing," he finally said as he looked upon his ukulele once more.
"It certainly is," Lyric agreed. "It's thanks to her that we have these," she said as she motioned to their instruments, "and that we're able to do what we love." She positioned her hooves and strummed her lute's strings, looking lovingly upon it. "So now that we do, and now that we are here, the question is, what shall we play next?"
Pan took up his instrument and the two shared a conspiratorial grin.
THE END
