A soft strumming was to be heard from the far back of the classroom. A grey coated, brown maned unicorn colt with bright blue eyes sat at his desk, examining a sheet music paper. He constantly mumbled softly to himself, looking between the paper and a downsized, meant for fillies and colts, acoustic guitar as he played different notes of different sounds and lengths.
Cherilee didn't notice. She was muzzle-stuffed in homework and schoolwork, grading the turned in assignments, quizes, and reports on science projects and experiments colts and fillies did over the weekend. It was Monday, and the class was outside playing in the snow - making snow angels, making and throwing snowballs, and building snowponies. Monday recess was when she chose to catch up on her work, because she didn't much like doing it over her weekends, even though she considered it pretty simple.
The colt coughed a few times before returning to his own business. This gave Cherilee's ears a twitch and she lifted her head, dropping the pencil she had in her teeth and cocked her head just slightly.
"Little Note, could you come up here for a second?" she called.
The grey unicorn looked to her, then gently set his colt-sized guitar down and stepped off his seat, and trotted up to his teacher's desk. "Yes? I'm not in trouble, am I..?" he said softly.
"No, you're not in trouble. I just wanted to ask why you're in here, and not outside playing with the other kids?" Cherilee asked.
"Well... I'm kind of trying to learn how to play Hearth's Warming songs. I'd rather do that than go play in the cold..." he replied.
"Are you now?" she chuckled softly and gave him an assuming look. "For the Hearth's Warming show, I'd imagine?"
"Yeah, the show." he responded, giving an unsure look. "I kinda thought somepony to sing to my instrumental music would be best... But I don't really have anypony to ask." his ears perked up and he gave a hopeful smile. "Do you know anypony who could sing and preform with me, Miss Cherilee?"
Every Hearth's Warming eve, Ponyville had a show. It was like a talent show, except ponies didn't come to win a prize or show off (albeit a few might have). It was a show that ponies of any age could sign up to preform in, for the enjoyment of it. Plus it could be considered festive, and that's a drive for some ponies.
She gave him a slight frown across her muzzle. "I'm sorry, Little Note, but I don't know anypony. That is up for you to find. If you search through our class, you could probably find a filly or colt your age who would love to!" she said in a cheery tone, trying to raise his spirits about it. "I'm sure you can do it, Little Note."
"You think so, Miss Cherilee?" he said, with an unsure look still. His face lighted up after a second of thinking on what she said. "Why didn't I think of our class?!" he exclaimed, now excited and anxious. "Thank you, Miss Cherilee!" Little Note called back, trotting back to his desk with a skip in his trot.
Cherilee smiled to herself, watching the colt trot back to his seat. "You're welcome." She looked back down to her work and started again. Seconds later, the school bell outside rang, telling the fillies and colts it was time to come in.
~Half an hour later~
After waiting so anxiously for school to end, the final bell rang atop the schoolhouse, and Little Note gave a quiet hoot. He jumped out of his seat and started dashing through the rows of ponies, who were preparing their things to leave. Little Note smiled to the first filly he stood in front of.
"Scootaloo, d-do you sing?" he squeaked, full of hope to find the singer he so badly wanted.
She looked up from her saddlebags with a surprised look. "Me? Ehh... No. I don't sing. Not in front of ponies, anyways..."
"Oh... Um... Well thanks anyways Scootaloo." he said in a cheerful tone, moving on to the next desk. Scootaloo nodded and went back to getting her saddlebags ready to leave. Twist was the next pony, and Little Note decided to not ask her. Not out of offense, he thought but she isn't... Her voice... Singing is not a talent of hers. She was to focused on finishing up her schoolwork to notice him anyways. The next desk was Dinky Hooves.
"H-Hi, Dinky. Do you sing?" he thought to himself for a second, and then reworded his question. "Ehem... Do you sing in front of ponies..?"
She giggled and smiled at him, stuffing some cough medicine into one of her saddlebags. "Hehe, I don't really sing, Little Note. Sorry. I have a cold anyways, so if I did, I probably wouldn't sound that good, hehehe." she replied, still smiling to him. His demeanor got a hint less cheerful, but not by a lot.
"It's okay." he sighed. "Have a good day, Dinky." he said, trotting to the next row of ponies.
"Thank you, I hope you have a good day too!" Dinky said back to him, stepping off her seat and tossing her saddlebags over her back, starting to the door.
Little Note slowed his walk as his horn lit up in a light blue aura, a matching one around a pencil that almost hit the floor.
"Ah, horseappl-..." the bright yellow earth pony stopped herself as she saw Little Note walking up to her. A light blush came across her cheeks as she smiled from embarrassment. "H-Howdy there Lil' Note!"
He levitated her pencil up and set it on her desk, and giggled a little. "Hi, Applebloom."
"Heheh, thanks, I didn't mean to say that i-in front of you. Sorry 'bout that." Applebloom said in a slightly nervous tone. "Ah'm just doing mah last few problems."
Little Note smiled and the aura around the pencil and his horn faded. "I don't know why you think I'd care if you said horseapples in front of me, hehe. It really is okay."
The earth pony looked down at her desk and closed her eyes tight, shook her head and then looked up again. Her ears flopped back during the motions, before perking up again when she finished. "S-So what're you prancing around for?"
"I'm asking if anypony sings.... I want somepony to sing to a Heath's Warming song while I play it on... Something. I don't know what yet." he said a bit gloomily. "You don't happen to sing, do you...?"
Applebloom frowned. "Ah'm sorry, Lil' Note... Mah family's havin' the Pies over this Heath's Warmin'."
He sighed again. "It's okay, I guess. I wish finding somepony didn't take so long." he groaned and left her to her business. I hope this doesn't take forever... I don't *have** forever!* the little unicorn colt thought to himself, starting to the next desk.
~Ten minutes later~
"Sing? No. I rather not sing. Especially in front of a lot of ponies." the light grey pegasus colt replied, picking up some crayons and dropping them into one of his open saddlebags.
Little Note groaned. "Okay... Well, have a good day, Rumble. Thanks anyway." the unicorn trotted slowly back to his desk, hanging his head.
Most of the class had already left during his repeated questioning, and Cherilee was still grading, among other things she had to finish up on. Little Note didn't have much to load into his saddlebags, so after a quick stuff of his homework and sheet music papers, all he had left was a cover for his colt-sized guitar. He slid his instrument into the cover and zipped it. Finally, he threw his saddlebags over his back, and swung the guitar cover's strap around his neck and headed for the door. He reached the door and was about to open it when he was interrupted by a familiar cheery voice from earlier.
"Little Note!" Cherilee cried. "How did it go? Did you find your pony?" she said with a hopeful smile.
He turned towards her with a sigh and took a few steps closer to her desk. "No... Everypony was either busy or too shy to sing in front of other ponies."
Cherilee's smile didn't go away. "I'm sorry about that, Little Note, but don't give up my little pony. I'm sure that one filly or colt you need will turn up soon!" she said in an even more cheery tone.
Little Note gave a unsure look up to his teacher. "If you say so, Miss Cherilee. I'll keep searching."
Cherilee waved him goodbye, and he gave a slight wave back as he turned and opened the door to the cold outside. It wasn't windy, but it was lightly snowing. He stepped out and used his magic to close the door behind him, and he started making his way down the used to be dirt road, and along a fence. He eventually reached the main road through Ponyville, and turned, walking along through a few ponies, watching out for young ones his age to ask the same question he's been asking so much. "Ugh. A filly might be better than a colt, but where am I suppose to find a filly that isn't at school, anyways?!" Little Note mumbled, trotting in the hoof-deep snow.
He was in the market area of Ponyville, where most of the shops and stores were. From around a corner a ways in front of Little Note came two ponies. A mare and a filly. They were headed for Absolutely Everything, a shop that... Was very true to it's name. The mare was the one and only Fluttershy, accompanied by a very excited marshmallow unicorn.
"Now, I'll get you a few things if you promise to behave until your sister gets back. Deal?" The pretty, pink-maned pegasus asked her companion.
"Yes, Fluttershy! I promise!" she squeaked, looking up to her with a giddy smile.
Little Note got excited just by seeing a filly that he hadn't asked yet. He watched them walk into the shop and he broke into a sprint, kicking up snow and slowing when he got to the door. He raised a hoof and pushed it open, stepping in and shaking off any snow he had got on him during his run. He looked around and spotted his target and trotted towards her. How could I forget Sweetie Belle? he wondered. Her cutie mark literally has a music note on it! He walked up alongside her as she looked all over a shelf of scattered, unsorted items, ranging from candy to small toys. "Don't get the fancy chocolate, unless y-you like stale peanuts." Little Note said.
She jumped a little, not hearing nor seeing him enter or come close. Sweetie Belle turned to him and smirked. "I wasn't looking at that candy anyways." she replied, giggling a little and picking up a small, square box with a transparent lid. Inside were about twelve individual chocolate covered strawberries. "These, are what I want." the marshmallow filly smiled and looked back to him. "I didn't miss anything important at school, did I...?" she asked, a light red blush invading her cheeks.
"No. If math and fractions are important to you, then y-yes." he answered, looking to the shelf beside them. Fluttershy was a few aisles over, looking at petite soaps and other nifty little bathroom additions. She usually came here in her free time, when she had no other plans or animals to take care of specifically.
Sweetie sighed in relief. "Phew. Good!" she said happily. She cocked her head at Little Note. "I guess I should have said hi by now... But anywho. What are you here for Little Note?"
"I uh... actually came to ask you something." he said, looking down at his hooves. If she says no... he thought.
"And that is?" she said, a smile growing and widening slowly on her muzzle.
He sighed. "Would you preform with me in the Hearth's Warming show, by singing?" he said quickly, wanting an answer right away. Mainly due to the amount of disappointing no's lately.
The unicorn sat there for a moment. She then opened her muzzle slowly, looking at him with a, light blush, yet again.
"S-Sing? To Hearth's Warming songs, Little Note?" she paused, her face giving a look as if she was about to let out a scream. Whether of anger or some other emotion.
Little Note cringed and awaited the usual response to his question.
"I would love to!" she squeaked, jumping up a bit, smiling wide again.
"You would? And you... have nothing going on during the time of th-the show?" he asked sheepishly, with a look of utter disbelief.
"Yes! Miss Fluttershy will probably let me, because Rarity is gone all Hearth's Warming. And if Rarity were here, she'd make me wear some annoying dress..." she replied, a giddy look on her face. "I'll go ask her!" the happy little pony ran around the store looking for her caretaker.
Little Note sighed a long sigh of relief. Finally...
