Grogar Went Down to Ponyville
If somecreature had paid a visit to Sweet Apple Acres one year prior and then returned one year later, they would hardly recognize the place. Instead of countless trees filled with bright red fruit as far as the eye could see, nearly all the trees were wilted and dying, and not a single apple could be seen.
In spite of the dead looking surroundings, the farm house that stood in the middle of the farm did contain life. However, at the moment, the sound of life coming from the home were those of anger and rage.
"DANG THOSE VAMPIRE FRUIT BATS TO TARTARUS! DANG-NABBIT!"
It was the angry shouts of the matriarch of Sweet Apple Acres, Granny Smith. Bright Macintosh and Pear Butter ran into the kitchen where the older mare was. They found Granny Smith sitting at the kitchen table with various papers and an adding machine.
There was a tense moment of silence between them, then Bright Mac slowly walked over to the older mare and said, "Ma. . . how bad is it?"
Granny Smith averted eyes, unable to look her son in the eye. Then she sighed and said, "Those dang vampire fruit bats. . . they ruined everythin'. The last time they came here, back when I was a youngn', we had to ration apples all winter, and there weren't a drop of cider. But this time. . ."
Granny Smith closed her eyes and shuddered a bit, then said gravely, "Sweet Apple Acres is history."
Bright Mac hung his head sadly.
Pear Butter gasped, and she said, "No, no, no! Don't say things like that! I'm sure we'll find a way to get by!"
"No we won't," Granny Smith said miserably, her eyes tearing up as she opened them and looked at the papers on the table in front of her, "We don't got the bits, and there ain't no way to get the bits in time. We're up to our ears in debt, and we're gonna loose the farm. End of story."
Pear Butter shook her head vigorously and said, "But we can't just give up. There's gotta be-."
Pear Butter was interrupted by the sound of crying coming from upstairs.
Bright Mac stood close to his mother and rest a forehoof on her shoulder. Then he looked over to his wife and said, "Go on, Buttercup. Tend to Jackie, I'll help Ma."
Pear Butter nodded and turned to go upstairs, unable to avoid hearing Granny Smith say, "Don't waste yer time, son. Ain't no use helpin' somepony that can't be helped."
Pear Butter changed the infant AJ's diaper and held her for a while, gently rocking her to sleep and putting her back to bed in her crib. As Pear Butter watched her youngest daughter sleep peacefully, her thoughts also drifted to her first born son who was at school at the moment. Tears threatened to burst free as she thought of what would become of them.
The bedroom door opened, and Pear Butter turned to see her husband walk on, looking quite somber himself. He opened his mouth to speak, but Pear Butter held up a hoof to stop him.
"Stop," she said, "You don't have to tell me the truth. I already know it."
". . . Buttercup. . . Darlin'," Bright Mac said gently as he approached and lifted up her chin.
"Am I cursed, Mac?" Pear Butter said with tears in her eyes, "Is that why there's always something that tears me down the moment things are going good? Pa hated me for loving you so much that he disowned me, and now those vampire fruits bats are gonna make us homeless. I can already hear that wicked old Spoiled Rich's voice laughing at us, saying were worthless, telling us that we all deserve to be poor. Is this all my fault?"
"You ain't cursed, this ain't your fault, and we ain't gonna be homeless," Bright Mac said as he looked his wife in the eye, speaking with intensity as he tried to reassure her troubled spirit.
"What's gonna happen to our children?" Pear Butter said, now fully weeping, "Big Mac wanted to work on this farm more than anything, and AJ is just a baby."
"Ah can always get another job," Bright Mac said, forcing a smile, "Even if we have to start from scratch-."
"What about the third child we promised to have?"
Bright Mac was unable to hold his forced smile at this, and the pained frown on her husband's face was enough to cause Pear Butter to break away from his and run out of the room, sobbing loudly as she left her husband standing in AJ's room, quietly letting tears run down his own face.
Pear Butter was sitting down at the base of one of the many apple trees that were the victims of the vampire fruit bats. Although the hideous swarm was thankfully long gong, the damage had already been done. The days of the Apple Family's ownership of the land were numbered, and Pear Butter knew it.
And so, there she sat, sadly playing her guitar as she let all the bad news sink in. She briefly thought about her father, and how if things had been different, the Pear Family might have helped them out. But of course, with Grand Pear's clear hatred of her and the Apple Family, it was barely worth thinking about.
And so, Pear Butter stopped thinking. Instead, she played her guitar. All her negative emotions, her sadness, grief, and current lack of self worth made their way into her music, resulting in a very sad, somber, mellow melody that, while sad, was undeniably a work of art.
Eventually, Pear Butter played one final note, concluding the sorrowful tune. While she by now means felt good, she at the very least felt a little better.
"Very good. Very good indeed," said a gravely voice.
Pear Butter to see a sight she did not expect to see, nor would she ever forget. Approaching her was an intimidating looking ram with a cornflower blue coat, a short light grey mane and tail, and huge dark azure horns. The ram also wore a crimson harness across his chest, which was adorned with golden bells. He had a wicked smile on his face as his piercing red pupils focused on her.
"Who are you?!" Pear Butter shouted nervously, considering whether or not to simply get up and bolt.
The ram nodded slowly and said, "I would not expect you to know who I am. After all, it's been a long time since I've ruled this lands."
"W-what?" Pear Butter stammered out, confusion stamped on her face.
The ram stood before the frightened mare and said, "I am Grogar. The first Emperor of Equestria. The Father of Monsters. Defeated eons ago by Gusty the Great and banished to the Shadow World." Grogar then motioned with his right forehoof at the destitute apple orchard and said, "And it is quite clear that we both have something other wants."
Pear Butter looked at Grogar suspiciously and said, "What do you mean?"
Grogar smiled in a calmer, more relaxed manner, and explained, "I can provide for you the. . . material wealth. . . needed to save your farm."
The mare's face clearly showed distrust and skepticism. "And what do you expect in return?" she asked.
Grogar nodded, and went on, "As I said, I was banished to the Shadow World by that accursed unicorn. In fact, I still am. This form you are seeing is merely a projection of myself into this world, while my actually self still remains in the Shadow World. However, after much study and experimentation, I had found a way to truly free myself from the Shadow World. Using this projection of myself, I appear in various places across Equestria, collecting what I need to escape. Frustratingly, appearing in Equestria requires a great deal of magic, meaning I can only do this a few days a year. But I am patient, and persistent. I am willing to wait as long as I need to so that I may finally escape. That being said, I have. . . fallen behind in my collecting during this particular visit, and that's where you come in."
Pear Butter studied Grogar for a moment, then ventured to ask, "And, what is it that you've been collecting?"
"Souls," Grogar said with a malicious glint in his eye.
Pear Butter's eyes widened for a moment, then they narrowed in disgust as she said, "Now see here, you horrible creature! If you think I'm going to shame and disgrace my family by selling my mortal soul to-."
Grogar laughed loudly at this, and then shook his head and said, "No. I'm not asking you to sell your soul to me. You stink too much of goodness and virtue to ever agree to it. I had a different idea."
"I'm not interested in anything you-!"
"You listen to me!" Grogar shouted, emphasizing it with a slam of his forehoof that cracked the ground beneath it.
Pear Butter eyed the ran with fright, scared into silence by his anger.
Grogar appeared to clam down again, and he continued, "You see, young mare, I am not only a master sorcerer and the Father of Monsters. I also have a deep appreciation for music. After all, I did create the Dazzling Siren Sisters for a reason, not that you would know of them either."
Grogar chuckled to himself as the golden bells he wore began to glow. He raised his right forehoof and touched it the the golden ring in the center of the harness. He held his forehoof out, which now held a sphere of golden magic. He then let the sphere fall, and it grew several times its size. Then, with a flash, it turned into a black guitar case.
"You do indeed play that guitar very well. You clearly have talent. Therefore, I propose a wager," Grogar said with an air of politeness, "A contest to see who is more skilled in the art of music. If you lose, I claim your soul. If you win, I will give you a guitar made of pure gold, which you can sell to save your farm. You won't have to worry about your first born's desires, your second born's health and upbringing, or even the fate of your third born."
Pear Butter's eyes widened. "How do you know-?"
Grogar lifted his right forehoof again, and a large goat's eye appeared on it. The pupil then morphed into silhouettes of the members of the Apple Family, one after the other.
Grogar smiled wickedly, and he said, "I. . .see. . . everything. . ."
The giant eye disappeared, and Grogar put his hoof back down and said, "Do we have wager, young mare?"
Pear Butter blinked her eyes several times, then she looked down at the guitar she was holding. She shut her eyes tightly, searching through her heart and mind, until finally she opened her eyes and looked straight at Grogar.
"Like I said, I would never disgrace myself or my family by selling my soul to anycreature," she said with conviction, "But, for a chance to earn my family a second chance, to put all my heart and soul into it, to fight a bright future for them, I'm willing to put my soul on the line, or I wasn't given the name of Pear Butter when I was born. I know this is still probably a sin, and I'll be asking for forgiveness for it later, but I'll take your bet, Grogar. But believe you me, that you're gonna regret it. There ain't no way you can win against a mother fighting to help her kids!"
Grogar actually snorted with laughter at this, then he extended his right forehoof to her and said, "Then we have a deal?"
Pear Butter nodded and extended her own right forehoof. "Deal!" she said.
The moment the two hooves touched, Pear Butter felt a lancing fire rush through her entire body. She could feel it in racing across her skin, in her teeth, in her bones, in her heart, in her very soul.
Grogar stepped backward, still smiling as his bells glowed again. The guitar case he'd created glowed as well as it opened up, and out of the case floated the golden guitar.
Pear Butter's eyes widened as she beheld the valuable object. She was positive that the value of the instrument would be enough to save the farm until the apple trees recovered. Now, more than ever, Pear Butter was determined to win this bet and save Sweet Apple Acres, and her family's future.
"If I could stand up to my Pa for the sake of the love between my and Bright Mac, I sure as hay can play my guitar better than this old goat," Pear Butter thought to herself.
"I'll start this show," Grogar said as he held the golden guitar and got ready to play. Then, his bells began to glow again as he strummed the strings with a forehoof.
Hisssssssssssss!
Pear Butter couldn't help but shudder at the sound. However, her ears perked up as she heard another sound that unnerved her even more.
It was the howling of Timberwolves.
Pear Butter backed up against the tree and looked on in horror as three Timberwolves ran in behind Grogar. Then, the ram created three more magic spheres and tossed each one to one of the Timberwolves. The wooden monsters all got up on their hind legs as the glowing spheres approached them. The first sphere turned into a bass drum, and the first Timberwolf started beating it. The second sphere turned into a double bass, and the second Timberwolf started strumming it. Then the third sphere turned into a fiddle, and the third Timberwolf caught it and started playing it as well.
With his band of Timberwolves behind him, Grogar smiled wickedly as he started playing the golden guitar, moving up the scales until his playing reached an unnervingly high pitch. Then he began playing wildly in a manner that could only be described as organized chaos. It was haunting, it was maniacal, but worst of all, it was legitimately good.
Grogar finished playing, and he just chuckled darkly as he looked at the frightened mare before him. "Well then, do you think you can do better?" he asked mockingly.
Pear Butter was shaking like a leaf, unable to even hold her guitar still. "Why, oh why did I do this? What in Celestia's name was I thinking! I'm cursed! Life can never go well for me! Of course I had no chance of wining here!" she thought frantically to herself.
Grogar shook his head, almost in disappointment, then he said, "I see. So you admit defeat. You understand that you never had a change against me. Very well. Now your soul-."
"YOU GIT AWAY FROM MAH WIFE!"
Grogar turned around to see Bright Mac thundering towards the gathering. Bright Mac headed straight towards the bass drum playing Timberwolf and head butted it straight in the chest, smashing it to pieces. He then dashed towards the double bass playing Timberwolf, spun around, and bucked it, smashing it as well. He then ran to the fiddle playing Timberwolf and tackled it to the ground, stomping on it into it was just a pile of sticks.
Pear Butter was utterly shocked by her husband's ferocity, but couldn't help but be slightly encouraged by how far he'd go to protect her from harm.
After he was done with the Timberwolves, Bright Mac turned to Grogar and said, "Ah don't know who you are or what you're doin' here, but if you don't get away, far away, from mah wife right now. . ." Bright Mac motioned to the smashed remain of the Timberwolves and said, ". . .that's gonna be you."
"HAAAH!" Grogar laughed defiantly, then he pointed a forehoof at Bright Mac and said venomously, "You dense fool! You have interfered, and now your soul has been added to the pot!"
Grogar's bell glowed, and Bright Mac grunted and winced as the very same sensation of fire that afflicted Pear Butter ran through Bright Mac's being as well.
"Bright Mac!" Pear Butter cried out in despair.
"Pathetic," Grogar spat, "I suppose the weak need to be loyal to one another in order to survive. However, ponies like you are just specks of dust to me." Grogar then gained a grin that slowly grew into an evil smile as he spoke, "At this rate, it won't be long before I have all the souls I need to escape the Shadow World. Then I'll reclaim my Bewitching Bell, and all of Equestria will be mine once again!"
Bright Mac shook off the pain, and he stood firm against the ram and said bravely, "Ah don't have a clue what yer going on about, and ah don't care! It don't matter what fancy magic tricks ya got, ya ain't hurting my Buttercup! Ya'll have to kill me first! There ain't no words to describe how much ah love mah family. Ma, mah son, mah daughter, and especially Buttercup! You have no idea what she gave up so we could be together. Her father hated my family and Ah so much that he disowned her. There are times when Ah still almost can't believe she did that! She's just. . . the kind of pony that just cares so much about others, there's just so much love in her heart. Ah want to show that appreciate that, and everythin' else about her. The love we have for each other will last for eternity, Ah swear it. That's why you ain't gonna touch her!"
Grogar was visibly unaffected by Bright Mac's speech, but Pear Butter's heart was beating strongly as her fears of Grogar were slowly forgotten. Her mind then boarded the same train of thought as Bright Mac's. She thought of her new family. Her husband who defied his mother's feud. Her mother in law that finally let go of her hatred for the sake of her son and daughter in law. Her two darling children, and the third one she wanted to have. . .
"Hey, Grogar!"
Grogar turned away from Bright Mac and looked towards Pear Butter. Much to his surprise, the mare was smiling confidently, all traces of fear gone from her.
"You've had your fun, and I've gotta admit, you're pretty good," Pear Butter said, "But how about you just stand back and watch, and I'll show you how it's really done!"
Pear Butter gave her guitar strum and sang out loud and proud, "Fire on the mountain, run boys run!"
She played a few vibrant and energetic notes that were absolutely brimming with hope and life.
"Evil burns away 'neath Celestia's sun!"
Grogar looked on in disbelief as he beheld Pear Butter's newfound confidence.
"Chicken in the bread pan pickin' out dough!"
Pear Butter had the brightest of smiles as she played and sang.
"Granny does your dog bite? No child, no!"
And then, the mare proceeded to put every bit of her heart and soul into strumming her guitar, producing a honest and true song of triumph. Her hooves moved fast across the strings as she was completely lost in her own music. Bright Mac was smiling as well as his wife's music instilled excitement in him. He couldn't stop himself from nodding his head and tapping his hooves to it.
The love that Pear Butter had always given to and received from her family was made manifest in her music, and those emotions carried her through some of the most impressive guitar playing ever known to mare or stallion. Then, with three impactful final notes, she was done.
Pear Butter nodded and smirked right at Grogar as a cool, comforting sensation moved through herself and Bright Mac, soothing their very souls. The look on the ram's face was absolutely priceless. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung wide open. He stood gaping at Pear Butter for a moment, then he finally closed his mouth and bowed his head with his eyes shut. Then, his bells glowed, and the golden guitar floated over and was laid down at Pear Butter's hooves.
Grogar turned around and began walking away from the mare without a single world.
"Grogar!"
Grogar paused, and turned to look back at Pear Butter with a grimace on his face.
"You can always come on back and try again if you want!" she said cheekily, "Not that it'll matter, 'cause it's like I told you earlier: there ain't no way you can win!"
As Grogar shot a death glare at Pear Butter as she began to play her guitar again.
"Fire on the mountain, run boys run!"
Grogar scowled and turned away to resume his walking off.
"Evil burns away 'neath Celestia's sun!"
The golden guitar glittered in the sunlight.
"Chicken in the bread pan pickin' out dough!"
Bright Mac pranced over to his wife with a giddy yet adoring smile on his face.
"Granny does your dog bite? No child, no!"
As Pear Butter played a victory encore, Grogar could only continued to scowl as he continued to walk away from the happy couple. As he retreated, his body slowly began to darken until it was only a black silhouette. Then, it dissolved away, becoming one with the shadows as if it was never there to begin with.
Of course, Pear Butter had to tell Granny Smith and Bright Mac the whole story. While Bright Mac was frightened by the risk his wife had taken, he was nevertheless proud of her and agreed that her skill and talent on the guitar made the bet one she couldn't have lost. Granny Smith, however, was utterly livid with her daughter in law because of her recklessness. Thankfully, the older mare quickly calmed down when it became clear to her that Pear Butter had taken the bet out of love and genuine concern for her family, and that her heart was in the right place. Granny Smith's only demand was that neither Big Macintosh or any of their children would ever know about this, and the parents agreed.
And so, the rest was history. The golden guitar was sold for a hefty sum of bits, and Sweet Apple Acres was able to hang on until the apple trees recovered from the vampire fruit bat infestation. The family still had to ration and be frugal to ensure that they'd be able to bounce back smoothly, but in the end, they made it.
And it was all because of one mare's guitar skills, and how much she loved and was loved in return.
The End
Author's Note
Obviously, this story was inspired by The Devil Went Down to Georgia by the Charlie Daniels Band. However, when plotting out the way the scenes played out, adapting the lyrics, and imagining the music and singing voices, I was inspired by several versions and adaptations of this song:
Primus - The Devil Went Down To Georgia
The Devil Went Down to Scunthorpe- Toy Dolls
Devil Went Down to the Truck Stop- Chris "Sugarballs" Sprague
"Devil Went Down To Georgia" performed by Natalie Stovall
Devil went down to Georgia- Dave Salyer
Feel free to check them all out if you'd like.
