Turning Pages

by Qibli2

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Sad, Original Character
Length: 1232

Silver Bullet is a touring pony musician, but sometimes life can get stressful. Here are the ups and downs of a life on the road.

Based on the song ‘Turn the Page’ by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullets Band.

On a long and lonesome highway...
Silver Bullet is a touring pony musician. He loves making music, but he couldn’t care less about the tours. He can’t go anywhere without getting a few looks, he just wants to be inconspicuous for once. However, his life on the road won’t allow that joy. This fic catalogues the ups and downs of Silver Bullet’s career.

NOTE: Written in first person.

Published 2018-11-11 18:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2018-11-11 18:40:01 UTC

Here I Go...

I’m Riff, though you may know me by my stage name, Silver Bullet, I’m a bit of a musician. However, sometimes I really hate my job. I’m trotting through a desert, pulling a trailer behind me, with all my stuff, my electric guitars, amps and such. I left Canterlot a while back, I was on my way to the next stop.

Soon, night arrived, my horseshoes were worn straight through, I took them off,”Only the third set today,” I mumbled, before attempting to get some sleep. However, I simply couldn’t, I kept on thinking back on what Vinyl Scratch had told me last night. We were friends, but I was constantly on the road, so we didn’t have much time to meet together.

Last night, Vinyl had told me to stop touring. However, like a foal, I didn’t listen to her. She said that if I’d continue touring, like I did for the last 3 times I said that I would, she would hope to see me again.

Well, here I am, on the road again. I lie awake in bed and thoughht several thoughts, some as mundane as things I ate yesterday, (haybacon, a sandwich, and a few miscellaneous things), some as extreme as entirely new songs.

Somehow, I slept, I know this because I woke up. I blinked the sleep out of my eyes, and got out to lug my trailer to my next stop. Eventually, I reached a small town, I trotted into a restaurant and sat down at a bar table. I looked out of the window across the sunrise, I saw a store. A few ponies trotting across the road, when the waiter knocked his hoof on my table.

“Silver Bullet I’d presume?” He asked.

“You got that right,” I said.

“So, Silver Bullet, what do you want?”

“Just some haycakes and haybacon.”

The waiter telekinetically wrote it down, then went to make it. Behind me I heard whispers, this was nothing new. I was used to this.

“Is that really Silver Bullet?” One mare asked.
“I mean, he has the coal black coat with the silver bullet engraved on the side.” Her friend said.
“He has the long blonde mane.”
“He also has that guitar for his cutie mark.”
“Is that a stallion, or a mare?” one pony, out of the loop, asked.

I sighed, this was completely normal, however, the waiter soon arrived with my order.

I tipped him generously, as I had other matters to attend to at the moment, just trying to get out of the restaurant. I started pulling my trailer away, ponies tried following me but the waiter stopped them.

“Just a few more miles,” I said, I had started talking to myself a while back, just to stave off the loneliness. I trotted out of the town and was back on the road again. Felling lonelier than ever,

An hour later, and I finally reached the stadium. I took the trailer ‘reins’ off. I walked inside to get my electric guitar and amps. I was an Earth Pony, and everytime I got ready for a show, I cursed Unicorns and Alicorns for having magic to just carry this all instantly. I started with my guitar, I was walking in when the owner stopped me with a hoof.

“Who are you?” He asked.

I blinked for a second, but then I realized that I’d been walking for a few a few hours, my mane was coated in grit, and my black coat was partially faded and was now yellow. My silver bullet dye-job had almost faded and I was looking a tad bit tired.

“Oh, I’m Silver Bullet, just tell everypony that and they’ll let me in, I need to get ready.

The owner nodded and led me to the makeup room. I reapplied my silver bullet dye-job, and re-dyed myself to get my black coat correct. I looked into the mirror, and two red eyes looked back at me, finally I got ready. I pulled my amps onstage.

I walked out on stage and an entire audience cheered at me. I was a one-pony show, nopony else played with me. I tuned my guitar and played a few notes, then I started singing.

I know I’m not a pegasus, I’ve got no wings
But someday I’m gonna fly free.
I’m just a music writer, an earth pony and a simple guy.
I’m nopony special but someday I’m gonna fly

I felt a million miles away in that spotlight, everypony was cheering for me. They loved me, Silver Bullet, a stage personality devised by a yellow pony in black dye. I continued singing.

I’m not the best at everything, somedays I can’t sing,
But I can play guitar, bass, drums, vocals too.
I’m Silver Bullet, that’s all because of you.

I’m not a pegasus, I’ve got no wings,
But someday I’m gonna fly free.
I’m just a music writer, and earth pony and a simple guy.
I’m nopony special, but someday I’m gonna fly.

I launched into a guitar solo, a rock-esque guitar solo. Everypony cheered in the crowd. This is what I lived for, the payoff after the travel and loneliness, playing in front of thousands of ponies. Ending the guitar solo, I started singing again.

Being lonely can be awful, somedays I am alone.
Although you ponies always keep me right up on my feet,
Touring can be difficult, but I know I’ll make it through,
Simply because of you!

I’m not a pegasus, I’ve got no wings,
But someday I’m gonna fly free.
I’m just a music writer, an earth pony and a simple guy.
But someday I’m gonna fly.

I launched into another solo, another one everypony loved, and went on to finish the song.

I’m not a pegasus, I’ve got no wings.
But someday I’m gonna fly free.
I’m just Silver Bullet, an earth pony and a simple guy.
Though I know someday I’m gonna fly.
Someday I’m gonna fly.

“Does everypony want some more?” I yelled. The response I got was so overwhelming I had to play more.

After the concert

I lie awake in bed once more, the amplifiers ringing in my head. I smoke a cigarette and think about Vinyl Scratch, and what she said, she hoped she saw me again. I’ll be back soon, I thought to myself. Tonight I’d consider quite a success.

I realized that tomorrow I’d be on the road again, I’d be up on the stage for a different group of ponies. I’d be playing Silver Bullet and not Riff like I am. I’d be turning the page to my next stop in life.

Here I go, to turn the page.

Author's Note

I really like how this one turned out, though you might think differently, let me know! Also, as for why Riff was walking dyed, let’s say he wanted to make a good impression!

Link to the original song here

You might see my shtick by now, I take a song and I make a story out of it. I love doing this, especially off songs I like, and because there’s not a lot of them.

Also, the song at the end, ‘I’m Gonna Fly’ is completely original, I came up with the lyrics myself, just read it straight, if you want to apply a rhythm to it, feel free.