BE DONE!by armidChaptersA small part of Flame's historyStudyingPractice runFinal presentation.A small part of Flame's historyDear Princess Twilight, In the past few days many things have happened, but the most important off all was the presentation of Flaming Star and I for our project. Plus the unexpected action of Pro. Skull Mustache. We went to Flaming Star’s house, or should I say Flaming Star’s palace, and worked on our project there to make sure we have enough information to make a presentation. We worked there for hours till it was dinnertime. I wanted to head home after I realized it was so late, but then I remembered that I had nothing to eat at home and I didn’t have enough money to buy much. So why say no to royal quality free food? At the table, I got to meet every member of Flaming Star’s family. His two grandmothers, his grandfather and of course his father whom I have met before, however not formally! I also have to add that he was really keen on getting as much detail as he could about me. He started to ask questions that were a little personal. But I didn’t just sit there, I answered all of them in a way that made Flaming Star feel that he is going to lose his neck but it turned out fine and I got to ask him about the Flame palace which was very interesting. As I figured, the Flame palace was inherited and it was built by Sir Flame Cutter the First. It held a lot of rooms for all of his eleven daughters and his one and only son Flaming Spear. He was a great warrior who was known to pass through flames and (don’t tell Spike) it was said that he once killed a fire-breathing dragon. That’s just a legend in this world. But most importantly was that it meant to be a place for training too. And the rose garden was never in front of the palace but Great Flame, Flaming Star’s dead grandfather made it for his wife Scarlet Rose. That was really fascinating to know, though it seemed that Bright Flame really liked to keep talking about it. Thankfully, Flaming Star’s Grandmother brought her pie which made everyone silent. And it was really delicious. I must make sure Pinkie tries it too. After dinner I packed up and headed home, their servant escorted me outside and from there it was a long walk home on a really calm night. At least I didn’t need to rush because it was the weekend. The walk gave me a chance to think about all I learned about Flaming Star’s family, but mostly I thought of him. His talent and skill in fencing and archery must be inherited and no doubt his father has it, too. It just made the thrill of beating him one day in a one-on-one duel something I really want. Beating a champion is a really great achievement, but beating a gifted champion is something else. I was so deep in thought of beating him that I didn’t realized I had reached my destination. I was too tired to do anything, so I just headed to my bed. As soon as I closed my eyes I fell asleep. Author's Note Special thanks to my editor Daniel Drazen. Make sure you check out other chapters too. StudyingThe next day, I woke up a little later than I usually do, made myself breakfast and after I ate it I headed out. I wandered around by myself a little and then decided to go visit Twilight to study a little bit. We had taken a couple of exams by that time but I needed to be ready for the rest, though it sure got way easier with History being deleted from exams. I got there and Twilight welcomed me in. She was studying too so she pretty much didn’t mind me joining her. We studied calculus and chemistry a little and worked on geometry; overall we did pretty great. We even got to play a game of chess, which she won (no surprise there). We started chatting a little bit and talking about our teammates. “So, how is your project going?” I asked. “Not bad, though I wish Rose could have helped a little more.” “Why? What could she have done that she hasn’t done?” “Nothing, I just want her to make sense of things. She needs to read a little more, and not just copy things into our work, although I believe the information in those books I gave her are great. I guess it helps that someone has a Ph.D. degree in the subject.” “I see what you mean. I wouldn’t want more marks being subtracted from me for copying, either.” “Don’t remind me! Speaking of project, how are you doing?” “Well, considering that we’ve missed working on our project for about three days, I say we are doing OK.” “OK? Am I talking to the girl that defined working with Flaming Star as not OK?” “To be honest, that’s my question too.” It still was pretty interesting for me how fast my thoughts changed about Flaming Star. After our little chat was done, I asked her if I could borrow her laptop. I needed it to make my slideshow for the History project. She said I could. I didn’t waste time and plugged my phone into the laptop and started working, though I wasn’t sure to how to make a slideshow. “So, uh, what do you use to make slideshow?” I asked. “Silver Slides! The icon looks like a shining sheet of paper.” “Oh yes, I see it! Thanks!” “No problem!” After she said that she went outside and left me and Spike together. He jumped on the bed and looked at the screen. “So, what are you doing?” “Making a slide show for my history project.” “These are just pictures and paintings.” “Because we are going to explain what we found and we need to have something as a cover.” He then jumped off the bed. I guess it didn’t interest him much. It didn’t take me long to finish my work, and after I was done with it I transferred it to my phone. By that time Twilight came back with some chips. “I hope you don’t mind a break.” “Actually, I’m done. So, no.” All of that studying and work made me hungry, too. She also brought some dog snacks for Spike. While eating I started to wonder about their magic research. “How is your research going, by the way?” “We are almost done with the books you gave us. Steely Armor tried his best to keep up with me but he couldn’t keep up mentally.” “I think we finally found something that you two are not alike at.” “What? No, we are much, much more different than you think.” “Your grades say something else!” “You could say we are both nerds, but you have to admit I can never make my inventions as complex as he can, and on top of that he can relate subjects to one another very easily.” “You literally came up with new ways to teach us math! You related our talents to math!” “Yes, but, to be honest, he knows mechanics better than me. I mean, he came up with a way to attend every single class in school, undetected.” “Twilight,” I held her face, “he might be a really smart kid who created super cool robots and has a really great sight that allows him to see magic pulses and everything with more details or whatever. But remember that you know so much about stars and planets you should a Ph.D. in that stuff!” “What do you mean?” “I mean, you were able to decrypt his secret format, so if you’re not smarter than him, you are as smart as him.” She looked impressed by my words. “Thanks. Sunset.” “No problem.” After all of that I said goodbye and left. It was almost noon so I thought I’d head to a restaurant and have lunch there. I bought myself a pizza and ate it for lunch. It wasn’t bad, though who puts pineapple on a pizza? Anyway, after I ate lunch I texted Flaming Star and informed him that our slideshow was ready. And I send him the file for the slideshow. After a couple of minutes he responded. You sure about the order? yes I guess I have to wait and see I was going to shut my phone off but then he messaged me again. when/where are we going to practice on our presentation? haven’t decided yet. Will tell you when I was sure about it. OK Afterward I tried to think of a place for all of us to gather. Sweet Apple Acres farm wasn’t a bad choice but I didn’t want to interrupt the Apple family work, so it was out. Pinkie’s house had one thing going for it: she’s surrounded by chocolate! And bringing Flaming Star there was like killing him. I tried to think of other possible locations, but nothing came to my mind. I couldn’t just choose a random park and tell everyone to come there; how was I supposed to even show our slideshow in that way? I was lost. Having no idea of where to tell everyone to gather, I took a walk near the park. As I was walking I came to the conclusion that I don’t know any place suitable for us. I decided to tell Flaming Star. you there? After a while he replied yeah I tried to look for a place but I couldn’t find one. so? so could you please look for a place instead? Fine. Then come to the Cars Graveyard. For a second I thought he was joking, but no, he was not. seriously? you wanted a place and I found one. I couldn’t disagree with that. So I started calling the girls and informing them that we were gathering tomorrow. One by one I told them that we want to practice our presentation and we need them to act as audience and judge. I needed to tell them about the time so I thought noon would be fine. They all accepted. I headed home to finally have some time for myself and play some games, but I couldn’t get the thought of how he is going to set up the condition to show our slideshow so I called Flaming Star and asked him. “Yeah?” he picked up. “Hi, uh, so I was wondering how are we going to showcase our Slideshow?” “Don’t worry, Steely’s got it.” “But how?” “Do you really think I know how? I just know he can!” “Ok, then, remember I told the girls to be there at noon.” “Ok, I’ll remember that. So be there before them.” “Why?” “Because you know how you are going to talk about our research. And you need to explain it to me.” “Oh, OK, then I’ll meet you tomorrow.” “Bye.” I didn’t get much in the way of answers but I guess now I didn’t have to worry about that so much. I literally played Warriors’ Destiny for the rest of the night, made myself something to eat, and before I knew it I was in bed sleeping. Author's Note Special thanks to my editor Daniel Drazen. Make sure you check out the other chapters too. Practice runThe next day, I woke up earlier. I made myself breakfast and ate it. Then I took a shower to wash the dizziness away. Afterward I dressed up and got ready to head out. I took my motorcycle with me since it was quite a distance from my house to the Cars Graveyard. The weather was great and I had a blast riding there. I reached there at just about the time Flaming Star and Steely Armor got there. Steely Armor was pushing his whiteboard forward, and Flaming Star was making sure the board doesn’t hit any obstacle in the way. It was then that he saw me. “Oh, hi!” “Hi. What are you two doing?” I was curious to know. “Hello Sunset, we are preparing the situation for your presentation.” Steely Armor said as he was pushing the board forward. I followed them and once they reached the middle of the graveyard they stopped. I reckoned they were going to set up. “OK, so what now?” I asked. “It’s simple,” Steely Armor said, “we just adjust this projector and it will display your Slideshow with no problem.” “But don’t you think right now it’s a little too bright for anyone to see it?” “No,” he shook his head, “ I mean, yes but we’ll be in the shadow of that pile of cars and that will make it dark enough for anyone to see it properly.” He was actually right. I hadn’t noticed the giant pile of cars that was near us while I was coming in. After that, he went to search around for something and left me and Flaming Star alone. “So what do you have in mind?” he asked. “About the project? Well, I went pretty straight-forward with it, but I prepared some notes in case you weren’t sure what to say.” I handed over the notes I wrote to him. He read them quite fast. “Don’t you think you’re being a little bittle too peaky with this?” “What do you mean peaky?” “What do I mean?” He showed me my notes. “You even said where I should stop, where the tune should change, and the way I should speak! You’ve read this before?” “We don’t have much time and I don’t want to mess up this project, so just stick with it and we’ll be fine.” “I think if we stick with this we’ll mess up the project!” “Do you have a better idea? We are running out of time!” It was then that he put his hands on my shoulders. “Look, I know you’re panicking about getting this whole project thingy done and giving a decent presentation, but that ain’t me. If I wanna do something I make sure it’s done super mega great!” He then released my shoulders. “Now, forget about all this jazz!” He then set my notes on fire with the tip of his finger. “We’re gonna tell a bunch of students what we just learned and discovered two days ago and it will be fine, OK?” Even all of that couldn’t change my mind. “Sorry, but I think I’ll stick with my own style.” Steely Armor came back momentarily, he was pushing a wrecked car, it didn’t have any doors and I don’t think it even had sits. Surprisingly though, the wheels were still attached. “Can you give me a hand here?” he said. “I got you buddy,” Flaming Star said, and helped him to push the car to where he wanted, which was a couple of meters away from the board. He set up the projector on the front of the car, then took out his phone and connected it to the projector. “This should do it! I guess you know the rest.” “Thanks man, you helped us a lot today.” Flaming Star Said. “Don’t mention it. Now when you’re done, bring that board to my garage, OK?” “I got it, don’t worry.” Steely Armor left afterwards. We still had time before the girls show up so I thought to myself, “Let’s confront Flaming Star that we simply don’t have enough time to make this perfect; we just need to be done with this.” I walked up to Flaming Star just after Steely Armor disappeared, “OK, look, I don’t want there to be a disagreement between us on how we want to present this project, so let’s just sort this out. I say we better stick with this and do a decent presentation and be done with this, since we simply don’t have enough time to make sure everyone is listening to us.” “That is, if there is someone listening to us!” “What do you mean?” “I’ve heard enough speeches about this kind of project to know which will put me to sleep and which won’t.” “So you’re saying my way will make students fall sleep?” “Absolikely!” “And what do you suggest?” “To forget about those dialogues you prepared and actually try to teach others what we just found out!” “Oh, and you think that is how we should go with it?” “At least it’s way better than memorizing a boring script and reciting it like a robot in front of everyone!” It was then that we both realized that the girls were there. They noticed us and I reckoned they had heard Flaming Star shout. “Is everything alright, darling?” Rarity said. The girls were coming towards us. We both calmed down and once they reached us I answered. “Yes, yes, it’s fine…we were just, uh, discussing about the parts that we wanted to narrate.” Rainbow Dash gave me a serious look. “Riiiiiight!” They looked puzzled. I told them to gather around the car that Steely Armor placed the projector on. Flaming Star turned the projector on. He came to the board afterwards. After a few seconds, we got the display on the board and I started talking. I tried to focus and not forget my lines. “Music had passed through many stages to become what know today, but its first stage was discovered by archeologist. When they found what that looked like a flute among their researches.” It was Flame’s turn to start talking but he obviously didn’t know it. I wanted to inform him somehow but then he started to talk. “They found out that they found was truly an instrument of some sort. And it sure belonged to our ancestors. Though they couldn’t find the pieces which they used to play with it, due to the fact that it was destroyed after years.” He was saying things out of track. So I tried to fix everything. “BUT!” I caught the attention, “It is stated that this type of flute was used for centuries and this was the first stage of music.” Just when I thought things were back on track, he started speaking again. He made me regret wishing that he would start talking. “Later on, choral singing became an interesting habit of many beliefs which made its way to different ceremonies. It was popular with almost everyone.” He was trying to gather the attention. “And this popularity led to more people joining the choir groups and therefore they were a lot of different sounds. It was then that the idea of high and low pitch sound came and gave music more things to praise.” He stole everything I wanted to say and stepped out of the role at the same time; this was no longer a cooperative task, it was about who gets to say everything so they could forcefully appeal their way to the other one. “Still!” I jumped in, “even with all of that, it was not the biggest stage for music,” Flaming Star wanted to start rambling again but it looked like that he didn’t know what to say. So I took my chance and brought everything back on track. “Centuries later, other instruments started to appear: the harp, oud, and Harpsichord. Each had their own pieces to play, and their own masters that they came to be known. The harp, with its soft and relaxing sound, was usually used for playing a lullaby. The oud was a common instrument for street performers. The harpsic-“ “Speaking of the oud, let’s talk a little about Ouden wood. There once was a lumberjack who left his home and started busking and travelling around the world, seeing the globe multiple times and spreading happiness wherever he went.” “Ok, that’s it, I’ve had enough! Stop the slideshow!” “Wait, what’s going on?” Twilight asked. It was then that Rainbow Dash woke up. “Wait, uh…uh I WAS NOT SLEEPING!” Applejack pushed the brim of her hat u with one thumb. “Seriously?” “Yeah, I know, and I think Sunshine got the point.” Flaming Star said, he stood like he was pretty sure of himself. “DON’T ... CALL ... ME … THAT!” An awkward silence filled the place. I looked at him and steadied my breathing. I just lost my temper for a second. “Um, Sunset, are you alright?” Fluttershy said as she came closer. “I’m … yeah, I’m fine, just give us a couple of minutes, we need to sort out a few things real quick.” “You sure do.” Rainbow Dash said. “OK,” Twilight said, “we’ll leave you two for a while, but remember we’re just around the corner if you need us.” They all left, which gave Flaming Star and me some space to continue our argument. “I don’t know why you think ruining our practice run is going to help, but for the last time, we don’t have enough time to figure a way out to present this whole thing in a way that other students can learn something. We just need to hit the highlights and get this done, and we need this to be just good enough to get a decent mark out of it.” I was just shouting at that point. He looked at me like he was disappointed. “Ok, fine. Do what you want, and let’s forget about this practice run that we wanted to do, if all you want out of this is to get a decent mark. But for a super mega high mark, we need to do more than just the bare minimum. I thought that this mark is important for you, so I decided to do my best. But as it turns out, you don’t want the do your best, you don’t want to earn a high mark. You just want to be DONE. Fine! So give me those notes tomorrow, I’ll make sure I read my parts good enough so you can get that decent mark you want, if that’s all you care about!” He started pushing the board that Steely brought out of there. I wasn’t thinking straight at that point so I stayed silent, I tried to put my thoughts together. It was then that I realized that Twilight and the rest of the girls had come back. “Sunset, what just happened?” “I … I … to be perfectly honest, I don’t know.” “Well, it sure wasn’t a good think cuz Flaming Star just told us to go home and that you don’t need a practice run anymore,” Rainbow Dash said. “He looked really angry, too!” Fluttershy added. “Madder’n a hog in a dry mudhole,” Applejack joined in. I tried to think of something to say but nothing came to my mind. I didn’t know if it was a problem or not. Did I create one? Or did I just solve one? I didn’t know. All I know was that I had a headache from all that arguing with Flaming Star, and that there was no point for the girls to be there. “I think you should do what he said!” “What?” Pinkie shouted. “Come on, Sunset, what the hey is going on here?” Applejack asked. “I don’t know, all I know is that there is no rehearsal of the presentation thing, so there’s no reason for you to be here.” I walked over to a cast-off fender from an old car, sat down on it, and covered my face with my hands. “Oh, darling,” Rarity started to talk, “there might be no presentation for us to see, but there’s definitely an issue with you and Flaming Star that we must help you to work through.” “I know you all want to help, but I’m not exactly sure what the issue is. I think I just need some alone time.” I walked away and rode back home on my motorcycle. Author's Note Special thanks to my editor Daniel Drazen. Make sure you check out other chapters too. Final presentation.When I headed home, I made myself a quick lunch and after I ate it I headed to bed and just crashed on it. Many thoughts crossed my mind: How did all of this happen? Why did all of this happen? And of course about the things that Flaming Star said to me: “Just want to be done.” “Don’t want a high grade!” I was lost. I just wasn’t sure what I needed to do. I stayed there for hours replaying my arguments with Flaming Star. Then I realized it. Flaming Star didn’t care about the project from the first place. He didn’t want the mark at all. Then why would he try so hard to change my mind about getting this whole thing done in a certain way? Did he change his mind? No, that couldn’t be it. It was then that I remembered his words again. “I thought this project was important for you so I tried to do my best.” He was doing this for me. So I could get a good mark! I sat up on my bed, then jumped off it quickly. I checked the clock on my phone. It was 6:30. After I came to the realization that he was doing all this for me, I decided to call him. He didn’t pick up at first but the third time I called, he did. “What is it? I thought we were doing this whole thing your way.” “Listen Flame. I know that I was being lazy and that you just wanted me to get a good mark and I totally messed up again.” “What are you trying to say?” I stopped for a second and then answered. “I just want to say that I’m sorry. It was all my bad. I just wanted to get this project done so badly that I didn’t even realized how much time we put into it in the first place. And….” “And?” I looked at the clock before I answer him: “And if you think we can still do our best, I’m in.” “And now you think of that! Now that we clearly don’t have time!” “We have almost 12 hours before school; I think that’s enough time to get this done the right way. We both need another slideshow and we need to come up with our presentation.” “And how are we gonna do that?” “You have a laptop, you can create the slideshow, and we can talk on the phone.” He didn’t responded for a few second, “Call me back in a few minutes, I’m gonna tell Alfredo to make me a coffee.” When he said that I knew he was in. I went and plugged my phone into the charger since it was going to be a long night. I called him again, and we started making both our presentation and slideshow. It went by so fast and the last thing I remember was waking up by the alarm I set up for my phone. It was morning already and I didn’t have enough time to make myself breakfast, so I headed out hungry. And a little dizzy. Once I reached school, Twilight was there. “Sunset, what happened to you? You look like you didn’t sleep at all last night!” “Because I didn’t. Good call!” “But why? If there is any day that you shouldn’t be sleepy it’s today when you have to present your project!” “Because I wanted to get a great mark!” Before we headed to class Flaming Star showed up. His state wasn’t any better than mine. “Hi,” he yawned. “How much time do we have?” “Enough to get to the bathrooms and splash some water on our faces.” We both went and washed our faces as fast as lightning. Then we went to class in a much better state. But would it be enough? When Professor Skull Mustache walked into the class everyone got silent. He was here for just a couple of weeks but he did make sure that students don’t joke around him. “Greeting students” he said as he put his bag on the desk. “I hope you’ve all got your projects ready, since today is the day it will be judged.” He took his laptop and linked it to the class projector. “Let’s not waste a single instant; time is precious, after all.” He took out the list he prepared for teams to read and possibly place the mark. “Now, who is eager to be first?” No one answered. For Flaming Star and me, it was obvious that we were sleepy and we still needed time to refresh our mind. But I don’t know why no one else volunteered; maybe they all were nervous. “Well then, I guess it’s my choice. Ms. Pie and Ms. Sweetie Drops, please come and present your project.” As far as I could tell about their project, it was nothing but rocks and I’m pretty sure you can guess who did most of the work. Sweetie Drops had memorized a script that she was reciting. It was obvious from how she was talking, though I wasn’t certain about Maud. Their presentation took a long time, or maybe it just felt that way because it was all about ROCKS! It was clear that they weren’t getting a high mark. “Thank you, but I’m afraid, you’ll only achieve 5 out of 10, just because you had something to present and because you were the first group. And-“ The Professor was interrupted by a familiar snore. Skull Mustache picked a marker. “Miss Wallflower Blush, you might want to keep your head down.” Then he threw the marker at Flaming Star and when it hit him he woke up with a start. “Ouch!” “Oh, please forgive me, Mr. Flaming Star, I intended to hit the fly that was buzzing around you so you won’t be bothered while sleeping. Sadly, I missed.” The way he said that and using his hand gestures made it ten times more sarcastic. “Excuse me sir.” Flaming Star said. And then Professor gave him a serious look and asked Maud and Sweetie Drop to sit down. Then he asked the next team to come. “Ms. Heartstrings, Mr. Chips please come and present your project.” Their project started not bad, it was on the evolution of technology, though it ended so soon. “That was it?” Professor asked. “Um yes, sir,” Micro Chips answered. “Then don’t expect anything higher than 2.5.” “But WHY?” “Do you really want me to go through every single awful point that thing that you dare call a project? Since I have many, many things to say, I believe you would rather I tell them to you two, privately.” They said nothing and just headed back to their seats. Up next were Steely Armor and Wallflower Blush. Their topic was plants, and to my surprise it was way better than just what you would learn in science class. They both handled their parts pretty good, though they both lacked confidence to speak loud enough for all the class to hear them. Overall, though, they were the best team so far. “Congratulation to you two, you got an 8, and that’s only because your voices were low. Also, relax a little. I can feel your bones shaking from up here!” They both were quite satisfied with their mark. Only two teams were left. “Ms. Sparkle, Ms. Rose, please come.” Their subject was buildings and their design through history. It was a really good slideshow and Twilight’s speech was perfect. Rose didn’t really do much and I was afraid that would bring their score down. “Thank you, I really did enjoy your project and the way you presented it, although this project is a demonstration of teamwork, and your team lacked in that regard. You get a 7, though I wish I could give you more.” And now, it was our turn. Fortunately, we felt way better than we did earlier that morning. Flaming Star gave the flash drive which held our slideshow in it to Prof. Skull Mustache. After that he came and stood next to me so we could start. It was time for all that hard work to pay off. I took a breath and started: “Life takes its shape by what it holds, and one of those many different things is music. As research shows, music was always a big part of life. And as we evolved, it also evolved. So let’s take a look at the stages of music, in history.” I did my part pretty great; now it was Flame’s turn. “The first stage of music, according to the archeologists’ research, was shaped by an instrument like a flute.” I couldn’t look back over my shoulder at the screen, but I knew he said those things exactly at the right time of our slideshow. “Although there is no record of the pieces that our ancestors used to play with it due to the fact that they were probably destroyed over the years, a really close analyze confirms that it was an instrument of this sort.” He managed to gain the attention of the other students and that’s what we need to for the second part. My turn again. “As you can tell, there isn’t much to get from this stage. In the second stage, however, we will encounter a massive evolution of music. And that’s when choral singing became popular, as an interesting entertainment in their ceremonies.” “But this popularity also made its way through ordinary people and wasn’t restricted to trained choirs, and therefore there were many people participating and singing in a choir group.” “And because of that, the leader had to deal with many different voices. So they invented a system to understand and organize their choir group. A system that today we call it low-pitch and high-pitch sounds.” We just did an amazing passing to one another, we hadn’t even practiced that, we just knew the whole thing and I guess we intended to complete one another other rather than competing with one another. “The third stage of music occurred when new instrument came to play,” Flaming Star said, “instruments such as harp, and harpsichord, and of course, the oud. This particular instrument, though, was what started the tradition of busking or street entertaining. There were literally hundreds of busker in each city and all of them had an oud in their hand.” “Though none of them became as famous as Ouden Wood. This man was a lumberjack, who found his passion in music, picked up an Oud, left his hometown, and traveled all around the globe, busking.” Just one look at our classmates and you could tell they were into our project for real. “One of the other famous musicians was master Harmonysichord. His pieces were both complicated and beautiful and the main reason for that was that he mixed different styles and changed the tempo in his pieces. His talent meant that both his name and his pieces would be remembered forever.” “The next stage of music was pretty much the successor of the last one, but it also contained a lot of development, too. One development was the classifying of instruments and styles such as classic from pop or folk or instrumental. And of course many other instruments and musicians appeared on the scene. A really important musician of this time was Clarence, known for a soft and relaxing style which it was said put people to sleep.” We were almost done. “And it brings us to the last stage, which is now! There isn’t much to explain here as I’m sure you probably know everything, from all the up-and-coming stars and the tracks that hold their places in our hearts.” After he said that, we were practically done but I decided to keep talking. “Music, like all of us, had a history, a story behind it. And as long as we live it lives with us, evolves with us. And inevitably, became a part of us, forever.” The slideshow ended. Oddly enough, everyone was still silent and looked confused. I turned and looked at Flaming Star and it seemed like even he was clueless. Then we heard a slow clapping, and it was not coming from the students. We turned our head and what we saw was Prof. Skull Mustache. “Fantastic! To be perfectly honest I didn’t think I’d be saying that today. Not to you two at least. But that was what I was hoping for my students. But you get a 9.5, since I believe you could do better. Now why don’t the rest of you clap for your classmates!” I just couldn’t believe it! We didn’t just get a really high mark, but we also got the highest mark in the class. On top of that the whole class was clapping for us. Flame and I looked at one another, and the look on his face made it very clear, “WE nailed it!” But just before we headed back to our seats, the Professor called us. “Considering you got the highest mark, you may now have this. Consider it a prize.” He gave each of us an envelope. It was sealed with a skull icon. The class ended immediately afterwards. But we stayed there to figure out what those were. “So what the frick frack snick snack is this?” Flaming Star said. “There’s only one way to find out!” I opened it; there was a letter inside. I took it out and started to read it. The first thing I saw was “Welcome to the Boneyard Mansion” -to be continued- Author's Note Special thanks to my editor Daniel Drazen. Stay paitiant for the second part.
A small part of Flame's historyDear Princess Twilight, In the past few days many things have happened, but the most important off all was the presentation of Flaming Star and I for our project. Plus the unexpected action of Pro. Skull Mustache. We went to Flaming Star’s house, or should I say Flaming Star’s palace, and worked on our project there to make sure we have enough information to make a presentation. We worked there for hours till it was dinnertime. I wanted to head home after I realized it was so late, but then I remembered that I had nothing to eat at home and I didn’t have enough money to buy much. So why say no to royal quality free food? At the table, I got to meet every member of Flaming Star’s family. His two grandmothers, his grandfather and of course his father whom I have met before, however not formally! I also have to add that he was really keen on getting as much detail as he could about me. He started to ask questions that were a little personal. But I didn’t just sit there, I answered all of them in a way that made Flaming Star feel that he is going to lose his neck but it turned out fine and I got to ask him about the Flame palace which was very interesting. As I figured, the Flame palace was inherited and it was built by Sir Flame Cutter the First. It held a lot of rooms for all of his eleven daughters and his one and only son Flaming Spear. He was a great warrior who was known to pass through flames and (don’t tell Spike) it was said that he once killed a fire-breathing dragon. That’s just a legend in this world. But most importantly was that it meant to be a place for training too. And the rose garden was never in front of the palace but Great Flame, Flaming Star’s dead grandfather made it for his wife Scarlet Rose. That was really fascinating to know, though it seemed that Bright Flame really liked to keep talking about it. Thankfully, Flaming Star’s Grandmother brought her pie which made everyone silent. And it was really delicious. I must make sure Pinkie tries it too. After dinner I packed up and headed home, their servant escorted me outside and from there it was a long walk home on a really calm night. At least I didn’t need to rush because it was the weekend. The walk gave me a chance to think about all I learned about Flaming Star’s family, but mostly I thought of him. His talent and skill in fencing and archery must be inherited and no doubt his father has it, too. It just made the thrill of beating him one day in a one-on-one duel something I really want. Beating a champion is a really great achievement, but beating a gifted champion is something else. I was so deep in thought of beating him that I didn’t realized I had reached my destination. I was too tired to do anything, so I just headed to my bed. As soon as I closed my eyes I fell asleep. Author's Note Special thanks to my editor Daniel Drazen. Make sure you check out other chapters too.
StudyingThe next day, I woke up a little later than I usually do, made myself breakfast and after I ate it I headed out. I wandered around by myself a little and then decided to go visit Twilight to study a little bit. We had taken a couple of exams by that time but I needed to be ready for the rest, though it sure got way easier with History being deleted from exams. I got there and Twilight welcomed me in. She was studying too so she pretty much didn’t mind me joining her. We studied calculus and chemistry a little and worked on geometry; overall we did pretty great. We even got to play a game of chess, which she won (no surprise there). We started chatting a little bit and talking about our teammates. “So, how is your project going?” I asked. “Not bad, though I wish Rose could have helped a little more.” “Why? What could she have done that she hasn’t done?” “Nothing, I just want her to make sense of things. She needs to read a little more, and not just copy things into our work, although I believe the information in those books I gave her are great. I guess it helps that someone has a Ph.D. degree in the subject.” “I see what you mean. I wouldn’t want more marks being subtracted from me for copying, either.” “Don’t remind me! Speaking of project, how are you doing?” “Well, considering that we’ve missed working on our project for about three days, I say we are doing OK.” “OK? Am I talking to the girl that defined working with Flaming Star as not OK?” “To be honest, that’s my question too.” It still was pretty interesting for me how fast my thoughts changed about Flaming Star. After our little chat was done, I asked her if I could borrow her laptop. I needed it to make my slideshow for the History project. She said I could. I didn’t waste time and plugged my phone into the laptop and started working, though I wasn’t sure to how to make a slideshow. “So, uh, what do you use to make slideshow?” I asked. “Silver Slides! The icon looks like a shining sheet of paper.” “Oh yes, I see it! Thanks!” “No problem!” After she said that she went outside and left me and Spike together. He jumped on the bed and looked at the screen. “So, what are you doing?” “Making a slide show for my history project.” “These are just pictures and paintings.” “Because we are going to explain what we found and we need to have something as a cover.” He then jumped off the bed. I guess it didn’t interest him much. It didn’t take me long to finish my work, and after I was done with it I transferred it to my phone. By that time Twilight came back with some chips. “I hope you don’t mind a break.” “Actually, I’m done. So, no.” All of that studying and work made me hungry, too. She also brought some dog snacks for Spike. While eating I started to wonder about their magic research. “How is your research going, by the way?” “We are almost done with the books you gave us. Steely Armor tried his best to keep up with me but he couldn’t keep up mentally.” “I think we finally found something that you two are not alike at.” “What? No, we are much, much more different than you think.” “Your grades say something else!” “You could say we are both nerds, but you have to admit I can never make my inventions as complex as he can, and on top of that he can relate subjects to one another very easily.” “You literally came up with new ways to teach us math! You related our talents to math!” “Yes, but, to be honest, he knows mechanics better than me. I mean, he came up with a way to attend every single class in school, undetected.” “Twilight,” I held her face, “he might be a really smart kid who created super cool robots and has a really great sight that allows him to see magic pulses and everything with more details or whatever. But remember that you know so much about stars and planets you should a Ph.D. in that stuff!” “What do you mean?” “I mean, you were able to decrypt his secret format, so if you’re not smarter than him, you are as smart as him.” She looked impressed by my words. “Thanks. Sunset.” “No problem.” After all of that I said goodbye and left. It was almost noon so I thought I’d head to a restaurant and have lunch there. I bought myself a pizza and ate it for lunch. It wasn’t bad, though who puts pineapple on a pizza? Anyway, after I ate lunch I texted Flaming Star and informed him that our slideshow was ready. And I send him the file for the slideshow. After a couple of minutes he responded. You sure about the order? yes I guess I have to wait and see I was going to shut my phone off but then he messaged me again. when/where are we going to practice on our presentation? haven’t decided yet. Will tell you when I was sure about it. OK Afterward I tried to think of a place for all of us to gather. Sweet Apple Acres farm wasn’t a bad choice but I didn’t want to interrupt the Apple family work, so it was out. Pinkie’s house had one thing going for it: she’s surrounded by chocolate! And bringing Flaming Star there was like killing him. I tried to think of other possible locations, but nothing came to my mind. I couldn’t just choose a random park and tell everyone to come there; how was I supposed to even show our slideshow in that way? I was lost. Having no idea of where to tell everyone to gather, I took a walk near the park. As I was walking I came to the conclusion that I don’t know any place suitable for us. I decided to tell Flaming Star. you there? After a while he replied yeah I tried to look for a place but I couldn’t find one. so? so could you please look for a place instead? Fine. Then come to the Cars Graveyard. For a second I thought he was joking, but no, he was not. seriously? you wanted a place and I found one. I couldn’t disagree with that. So I started calling the girls and informing them that we were gathering tomorrow. One by one I told them that we want to practice our presentation and we need them to act as audience and judge. I needed to tell them about the time so I thought noon would be fine. They all accepted. I headed home to finally have some time for myself and play some games, but I couldn’t get the thought of how he is going to set up the condition to show our slideshow so I called Flaming Star and asked him. “Yeah?” he picked up. “Hi, uh, so I was wondering how are we going to showcase our Slideshow?” “Don’t worry, Steely’s got it.” “But how?” “Do you really think I know how? I just know he can!” “Ok, then, remember I told the girls to be there at noon.” “Ok, I’ll remember that. So be there before them.” “Why?” “Because you know how you are going to talk about our research. And you need to explain it to me.” “Oh, OK, then I’ll meet you tomorrow.” “Bye.” I didn’t get much in the way of answers but I guess now I didn’t have to worry about that so much. I literally played Warriors’ Destiny for the rest of the night, made myself something to eat, and before I knew it I was in bed sleeping. Author's Note Special thanks to my editor Daniel Drazen. Make sure you check out the other chapters too.
Practice runThe next day, I woke up earlier. I made myself breakfast and ate it. Then I took a shower to wash the dizziness away. Afterward I dressed up and got ready to head out. I took my motorcycle with me since it was quite a distance from my house to the Cars Graveyard. The weather was great and I had a blast riding there. I reached there at just about the time Flaming Star and Steely Armor got there. Steely Armor was pushing his whiteboard forward, and Flaming Star was making sure the board doesn’t hit any obstacle in the way. It was then that he saw me. “Oh, hi!” “Hi. What are you two doing?” I was curious to know. “Hello Sunset, we are preparing the situation for your presentation.” Steely Armor said as he was pushing the board forward. I followed them and once they reached the middle of the graveyard they stopped. I reckoned they were going to set up. “OK, so what now?” I asked. “It’s simple,” Steely Armor said, “we just adjust this projector and it will display your Slideshow with no problem.” “But don’t you think right now it’s a little too bright for anyone to see it?” “No,” he shook his head, “ I mean, yes but we’ll be in the shadow of that pile of cars and that will make it dark enough for anyone to see it properly.” He was actually right. I hadn’t noticed the giant pile of cars that was near us while I was coming in. After that, he went to search around for something and left me and Flaming Star alone. “So what do you have in mind?” he asked. “About the project? Well, I went pretty straight-forward with it, but I prepared some notes in case you weren’t sure what to say.” I handed over the notes I wrote to him. He read them quite fast. “Don’t you think you’re being a little bittle too peaky with this?” “What do you mean peaky?” “What do I mean?” He showed me my notes. “You even said where I should stop, where the tune should change, and the way I should speak! You’ve read this before?” “We don’t have much time and I don’t want to mess up this project, so just stick with it and we’ll be fine.” “I think if we stick with this we’ll mess up the project!” “Do you have a better idea? We are running out of time!” It was then that he put his hands on my shoulders. “Look, I know you’re panicking about getting this whole project thingy done and giving a decent presentation, but that ain’t me. If I wanna do something I make sure it’s done super mega great!” He then released my shoulders. “Now, forget about all this jazz!” He then set my notes on fire with the tip of his finger. “We’re gonna tell a bunch of students what we just learned and discovered two days ago and it will be fine, OK?” Even all of that couldn’t change my mind. “Sorry, but I think I’ll stick with my own style.” Steely Armor came back momentarily, he was pushing a wrecked car, it didn’t have any doors and I don’t think it even had sits. Surprisingly though, the wheels were still attached. “Can you give me a hand here?” he said. “I got you buddy,” Flaming Star said, and helped him to push the car to where he wanted, which was a couple of meters away from the board. He set up the projector on the front of the car, then took out his phone and connected it to the projector. “This should do it! I guess you know the rest.” “Thanks man, you helped us a lot today.” Flaming Star Said. “Don’t mention it. Now when you’re done, bring that board to my garage, OK?” “I got it, don’t worry.” Steely Armor left afterwards. We still had time before the girls show up so I thought to myself, “Let’s confront Flaming Star that we simply don’t have enough time to make this perfect; we just need to be done with this.” I walked up to Flaming Star just after Steely Armor disappeared, “OK, look, I don’t want there to be a disagreement between us on how we want to present this project, so let’s just sort this out. I say we better stick with this and do a decent presentation and be done with this, since we simply don’t have enough time to make sure everyone is listening to us.” “That is, if there is someone listening to us!” “What do you mean?” “I’ve heard enough speeches about this kind of project to know which will put me to sleep and which won’t.” “So you’re saying my way will make students fall sleep?” “Absolikely!” “And what do you suggest?” “To forget about those dialogues you prepared and actually try to teach others what we just found out!” “Oh, and you think that is how we should go with it?” “At least it’s way better than memorizing a boring script and reciting it like a robot in front of everyone!” It was then that we both realized that the girls were there. They noticed us and I reckoned they had heard Flaming Star shout. “Is everything alright, darling?” Rarity said. The girls were coming towards us. We both calmed down and once they reached us I answered. “Yes, yes, it’s fine…we were just, uh, discussing about the parts that we wanted to narrate.” Rainbow Dash gave me a serious look. “Riiiiiight!” They looked puzzled. I told them to gather around the car that Steely Armor placed the projector on. Flaming Star turned the projector on. He came to the board afterwards. After a few seconds, we got the display on the board and I started talking. I tried to focus and not forget my lines. “Music had passed through many stages to become what know today, but its first stage was discovered by archeologist. When they found what that looked like a flute among their researches.” It was Flame’s turn to start talking but he obviously didn’t know it. I wanted to inform him somehow but then he started to talk. “They found out that they found was truly an instrument of some sort. And it sure belonged to our ancestors. Though they couldn’t find the pieces which they used to play with it, due to the fact that it was destroyed after years.” He was saying things out of track. So I tried to fix everything. “BUT!” I caught the attention, “It is stated that this type of flute was used for centuries and this was the first stage of music.” Just when I thought things were back on track, he started speaking again. He made me regret wishing that he would start talking. “Later on, choral singing became an interesting habit of many beliefs which made its way to different ceremonies. It was popular with almost everyone.” He was trying to gather the attention. “And this popularity led to more people joining the choir groups and therefore they were a lot of different sounds. It was then that the idea of high and low pitch sound came and gave music more things to praise.” He stole everything I wanted to say and stepped out of the role at the same time; this was no longer a cooperative task, it was about who gets to say everything so they could forcefully appeal their way to the other one. “Still!” I jumped in, “even with all of that, it was not the biggest stage for music,” Flaming Star wanted to start rambling again but it looked like that he didn’t know what to say. So I took my chance and brought everything back on track. “Centuries later, other instruments started to appear: the harp, oud, and Harpsichord. Each had their own pieces to play, and their own masters that they came to be known. The harp, with its soft and relaxing sound, was usually used for playing a lullaby. The oud was a common instrument for street performers. The harpsic-“ “Speaking of the oud, let’s talk a little about Ouden wood. There once was a lumberjack who left his home and started busking and travelling around the world, seeing the globe multiple times and spreading happiness wherever he went.” “Ok, that’s it, I’ve had enough! Stop the slideshow!” “Wait, what’s going on?” Twilight asked. It was then that Rainbow Dash woke up. “Wait, uh…uh I WAS NOT SLEEPING!” Applejack pushed the brim of her hat u with one thumb. “Seriously?” “Yeah, I know, and I think Sunshine got the point.” Flaming Star said, he stood like he was pretty sure of himself. “DON’T ... CALL ... ME … THAT!” An awkward silence filled the place. I looked at him and steadied my breathing. I just lost my temper for a second. “Um, Sunset, are you alright?” Fluttershy said as she came closer. “I’m … yeah, I’m fine, just give us a couple of minutes, we need to sort out a few things real quick.” “You sure do.” Rainbow Dash said. “OK,” Twilight said, “we’ll leave you two for a while, but remember we’re just around the corner if you need us.” They all left, which gave Flaming Star and me some space to continue our argument. “I don’t know why you think ruining our practice run is going to help, but for the last time, we don’t have enough time to figure a way out to present this whole thing in a way that other students can learn something. We just need to hit the highlights and get this done, and we need this to be just good enough to get a decent mark out of it.” I was just shouting at that point. He looked at me like he was disappointed. “Ok, fine. Do what you want, and let’s forget about this practice run that we wanted to do, if all you want out of this is to get a decent mark. But for a super mega high mark, we need to do more than just the bare minimum. I thought that this mark is important for you, so I decided to do my best. But as it turns out, you don’t want the do your best, you don’t want to earn a high mark. You just want to be DONE. Fine! So give me those notes tomorrow, I’ll make sure I read my parts good enough so you can get that decent mark you want, if that’s all you care about!” He started pushing the board that Steely brought out of there. I wasn’t thinking straight at that point so I stayed silent, I tried to put my thoughts together. It was then that I realized that Twilight and the rest of the girls had come back. “Sunset, what just happened?” “I … I … to be perfectly honest, I don’t know.” “Well, it sure wasn’t a good think cuz Flaming Star just told us to go home and that you don’t need a practice run anymore,” Rainbow Dash said. “He looked really angry, too!” Fluttershy added. “Madder’n a hog in a dry mudhole,” Applejack joined in. I tried to think of something to say but nothing came to my mind. I didn’t know if it was a problem or not. Did I create one? Or did I just solve one? I didn’t know. All I know was that I had a headache from all that arguing with Flaming Star, and that there was no point for the girls to be there. “I think you should do what he said!” “What?” Pinkie shouted. “Come on, Sunset, what the hey is going on here?” Applejack asked. “I don’t know, all I know is that there is no rehearsal of the presentation thing, so there’s no reason for you to be here.” I walked over to a cast-off fender from an old car, sat down on it, and covered my face with my hands. “Oh, darling,” Rarity started to talk, “there might be no presentation for us to see, but there’s definitely an issue with you and Flaming Star that we must help you to work through.” “I know you all want to help, but I’m not exactly sure what the issue is. I think I just need some alone time.” I walked away and rode back home on my motorcycle. Author's Note Special thanks to my editor Daniel Drazen. Make sure you check out other chapters too.
Final presentation.When I headed home, I made myself a quick lunch and after I ate it I headed to bed and just crashed on it. Many thoughts crossed my mind: How did all of this happen? Why did all of this happen? And of course about the things that Flaming Star said to me: “Just want to be done.” “Don’t want a high grade!” I was lost. I just wasn’t sure what I needed to do. I stayed there for hours replaying my arguments with Flaming Star. Then I realized it. Flaming Star didn’t care about the project from the first place. He didn’t want the mark at all. Then why would he try so hard to change my mind about getting this whole thing done in a certain way? Did he change his mind? No, that couldn’t be it. It was then that I remembered his words again. “I thought this project was important for you so I tried to do my best.” He was doing this for me. So I could get a good mark! I sat up on my bed, then jumped off it quickly. I checked the clock on my phone. It was 6:30. After I came to the realization that he was doing all this for me, I decided to call him. He didn’t pick up at first but the third time I called, he did. “What is it? I thought we were doing this whole thing your way.” “Listen Flame. I know that I was being lazy and that you just wanted me to get a good mark and I totally messed up again.” “What are you trying to say?” I stopped for a second and then answered. “I just want to say that I’m sorry. It was all my bad. I just wanted to get this project done so badly that I didn’t even realized how much time we put into it in the first place. And….” “And?” I looked at the clock before I answer him: “And if you think we can still do our best, I’m in.” “And now you think of that! Now that we clearly don’t have time!” “We have almost 12 hours before school; I think that’s enough time to get this done the right way. We both need another slideshow and we need to come up with our presentation.” “And how are we gonna do that?” “You have a laptop, you can create the slideshow, and we can talk on the phone.” He didn’t responded for a few second, “Call me back in a few minutes, I’m gonna tell Alfredo to make me a coffee.” When he said that I knew he was in. I went and plugged my phone into the charger since it was going to be a long night. I called him again, and we started making both our presentation and slideshow. It went by so fast and the last thing I remember was waking up by the alarm I set up for my phone. It was morning already and I didn’t have enough time to make myself breakfast, so I headed out hungry. And a little dizzy. Once I reached school, Twilight was there. “Sunset, what happened to you? You look like you didn’t sleep at all last night!” “Because I didn’t. Good call!” “But why? If there is any day that you shouldn’t be sleepy it’s today when you have to present your project!” “Because I wanted to get a great mark!” Before we headed to class Flaming Star showed up. His state wasn’t any better than mine. “Hi,” he yawned. “How much time do we have?” “Enough to get to the bathrooms and splash some water on our faces.” We both went and washed our faces as fast as lightning. Then we went to class in a much better state. But would it be enough? When Professor Skull Mustache walked into the class everyone got silent. He was here for just a couple of weeks but he did make sure that students don’t joke around him. “Greeting students” he said as he put his bag on the desk. “I hope you’ve all got your projects ready, since today is the day it will be judged.” He took his laptop and linked it to the class projector. “Let’s not waste a single instant; time is precious, after all.” He took out the list he prepared for teams to read and possibly place the mark. “Now, who is eager to be first?” No one answered. For Flaming Star and me, it was obvious that we were sleepy and we still needed time to refresh our mind. But I don’t know why no one else volunteered; maybe they all were nervous. “Well then, I guess it’s my choice. Ms. Pie and Ms. Sweetie Drops, please come and present your project.” As far as I could tell about their project, it was nothing but rocks and I’m pretty sure you can guess who did most of the work. Sweetie Drops had memorized a script that she was reciting. It was obvious from how she was talking, though I wasn’t certain about Maud. Their presentation took a long time, or maybe it just felt that way because it was all about ROCKS! It was clear that they weren’t getting a high mark. “Thank you, but I’m afraid, you’ll only achieve 5 out of 10, just because you had something to present and because you were the first group. And-“ The Professor was interrupted by a familiar snore. Skull Mustache picked a marker. “Miss Wallflower Blush, you might want to keep your head down.” Then he threw the marker at Flaming Star and when it hit him he woke up with a start. “Ouch!” “Oh, please forgive me, Mr. Flaming Star, I intended to hit the fly that was buzzing around you so you won’t be bothered while sleeping. Sadly, I missed.” The way he said that and using his hand gestures made it ten times more sarcastic. “Excuse me sir.” Flaming Star said. And then Professor gave him a serious look and asked Maud and Sweetie Drop to sit down. Then he asked the next team to come. “Ms. Heartstrings, Mr. Chips please come and present your project.” Their project started not bad, it was on the evolution of technology, though it ended so soon. “That was it?” Professor asked. “Um yes, sir,” Micro Chips answered. “Then don’t expect anything higher than 2.5.” “But WHY?” “Do you really want me to go through every single awful point that thing that you dare call a project? Since I have many, many things to say, I believe you would rather I tell them to you two, privately.” They said nothing and just headed back to their seats. Up next were Steely Armor and Wallflower Blush. Their topic was plants, and to my surprise it was way better than just what you would learn in science class. They both handled their parts pretty good, though they both lacked confidence to speak loud enough for all the class to hear them. Overall, though, they were the best team so far. “Congratulation to you two, you got an 8, and that’s only because your voices were low. Also, relax a little. I can feel your bones shaking from up here!” They both were quite satisfied with their mark. Only two teams were left. “Ms. Sparkle, Ms. Rose, please come.” Their subject was buildings and their design through history. It was a really good slideshow and Twilight’s speech was perfect. Rose didn’t really do much and I was afraid that would bring their score down. “Thank you, I really did enjoy your project and the way you presented it, although this project is a demonstration of teamwork, and your team lacked in that regard. You get a 7, though I wish I could give you more.” And now, it was our turn. Fortunately, we felt way better than we did earlier that morning. Flaming Star gave the flash drive which held our slideshow in it to Prof. Skull Mustache. After that he came and stood next to me so we could start. It was time for all that hard work to pay off. I took a breath and started: “Life takes its shape by what it holds, and one of those many different things is music. As research shows, music was always a big part of life. And as we evolved, it also evolved. So let’s take a look at the stages of music, in history.” I did my part pretty great; now it was Flame’s turn. “The first stage of music, according to the archeologists’ research, was shaped by an instrument like a flute.” I couldn’t look back over my shoulder at the screen, but I knew he said those things exactly at the right time of our slideshow. “Although there is no record of the pieces that our ancestors used to play with it due to the fact that they were probably destroyed over the years, a really close analyze confirms that it was an instrument of this sort.” He managed to gain the attention of the other students and that’s what we need to for the second part. My turn again. “As you can tell, there isn’t much to get from this stage. In the second stage, however, we will encounter a massive evolution of music. And that’s when choral singing became popular, as an interesting entertainment in their ceremonies.” “But this popularity also made its way through ordinary people and wasn’t restricted to trained choirs, and therefore there were many people participating and singing in a choir group.” “And because of that, the leader had to deal with many different voices. So they invented a system to understand and organize their choir group. A system that today we call it low-pitch and high-pitch sounds.” We just did an amazing passing to one another, we hadn’t even practiced that, we just knew the whole thing and I guess we intended to complete one another other rather than competing with one another. “The third stage of music occurred when new instrument came to play,” Flaming Star said, “instruments such as harp, and harpsichord, and of course, the oud. This particular instrument, though, was what started the tradition of busking or street entertaining. There were literally hundreds of busker in each city and all of them had an oud in their hand.” “Though none of them became as famous as Ouden Wood. This man was a lumberjack, who found his passion in music, picked up an Oud, left his hometown, and traveled all around the globe, busking.” Just one look at our classmates and you could tell they were into our project for real. “One of the other famous musicians was master Harmonysichord. His pieces were both complicated and beautiful and the main reason for that was that he mixed different styles and changed the tempo in his pieces. His talent meant that both his name and his pieces would be remembered forever.” “The next stage of music was pretty much the successor of the last one, but it also contained a lot of development, too. One development was the classifying of instruments and styles such as classic from pop or folk or instrumental. And of course many other instruments and musicians appeared on the scene. A really important musician of this time was Clarence, known for a soft and relaxing style which it was said put people to sleep.” We were almost done. “And it brings us to the last stage, which is now! There isn’t much to explain here as I’m sure you probably know everything, from all the up-and-coming stars and the tracks that hold their places in our hearts.” After he said that, we were practically done but I decided to keep talking. “Music, like all of us, had a history, a story behind it. And as long as we live it lives with us, evolves with us. And inevitably, became a part of us, forever.” The slideshow ended. Oddly enough, everyone was still silent and looked confused. I turned and looked at Flaming Star and it seemed like even he was clueless. Then we heard a slow clapping, and it was not coming from the students. We turned our head and what we saw was Prof. Skull Mustache. “Fantastic! To be perfectly honest I didn’t think I’d be saying that today. Not to you two at least. But that was what I was hoping for my students. But you get a 9.5, since I believe you could do better. Now why don’t the rest of you clap for your classmates!” I just couldn’t believe it! We didn’t just get a really high mark, but we also got the highest mark in the class. On top of that the whole class was clapping for us. Flame and I looked at one another, and the look on his face made it very clear, “WE nailed it!” But just before we headed back to our seats, the Professor called us. “Considering you got the highest mark, you may now have this. Consider it a prize.” He gave each of us an envelope. It was sealed with a skull icon. The class ended immediately afterwards. But we stayed there to figure out what those were. “So what the frick frack snick snack is this?” Flaming Star said. “There’s only one way to find out!” I opened it; there was a letter inside. I took it out and started to read it. The first thing I saw was “Welcome to the Boneyard Mansion” -to be continued- Author's Note Special thanks to my editor Daniel Drazen. Stay paitiant for the second part.
