Chapter 3: A Bird’s Cage

“In another part of Equestria, deep within the confines of Tenpony Tower, there was another pony who lived day-to-day, looking for her break. Her name is Midnight Sonata. She’s had a hard and unforgiving life, starting from her childhood. Growing up in an orphanage, she was viewed as unwanted since the beginning. Making friends was difficult for her and so she only had a few. Apart from her friends, her only solace was the radio and her hero on the air, PON3. She grew up listening to songs of ponies past and hoping one day to make her name known across the land as well…”

“…and let the magic in my heart stay true..”

I could still hear the song playing as I awoke. It was one of my favorites. I would have loved to sing alongside her on stage. Sitting on the couch, I looked around the room, once again reminded of my depressing reality. All around me the walls were cracked, chipped paint littered around the floor. Across from me was a broken table that I used to eat from and write songs on. It wasn’t always broken though. A few weeks ago, a couple of ponies came in and trashed it. They were never caught, and security didn’t care to investigate. To the back of the room was a small window and the bathroom. The bathroom was fine, so long as you didn’t mind the occasional radroach or the fact that it only had cold water. The window however was my one break from the going-on's of Tenpony Tower. Day after day, I would look outside and dream of adventures, imagining distant lands and towns that I would hear so much about from the occasional traveler.

“What I wouldn’t do to get out of this place. Even if just for a day.”

As I said that, I was reminded that, unfortunately, only select ponies were allowed in or outside the tower. Ever since an unexpected, devastating raid ten years ago from a group of raiders, the Tenpony Council has been extremely strict on what goes on involving any dealings with the outside world. Security is also tight, heavily monitored and guards the only two entrances, the higher-level entrance by the Celestia line and the ground floor entrance. Though sometimes, they would let me take a little peek outside if I sang for them. It seemed to brighten their days a little.

Eventually, reality kicked in. “Welp, time to go to work. Hopefully Amy isn’t asleep on her desk again or I’ll never get inside.” Quickly freshening up, I took one last look out the window before heading out the door. On the way, I thought about Amy, my closest friend.

Amy is another pegasus like me, a sweet gentle filly with a yellow pelt and a beautiful green mane who runs a nursery she made from the ground up. If there was a plant, she knew about it. Over the years, she would purchase seeds from travelers and grow them with absolute love and care. She is, however, very shy, and it took me months to finally become friends with her. I was her first friend and since then, she has come to welcome a few others into her life. She always has a lot of customers, but because of her shyness, I am usually the one who works behind the counter and opens the doors.

Eventually, I arrived to find the door unlocked. Even though I was sighing in relief, I was also slightly confused. “Odd, she’s usually not awake until I start knocking on the door.” As I walked in, a yellow blur flew right by, almost knocking me over.

“Amy. I’m here…what are you doing?”

“Sonata! Save me! There’s a giant radroach trying to eat me!!”

I had to put a hoof out to stop her before she ran into something. A little exasperated, I pointed out, “Amy dearest, you’re not being chased by a radroach…you dipped your tail in the fluorescent paint again. Look.” I picked up her tail where she could see the paint and glowing trail left behind in her wake.

Embarrassment flooded her face. “Oh…oh dear. I’m so sorry, Sony…”

How can anyone get mad at her when she’s this adorable? I had to fight to suppress myself from bursting out laughing. “It’s no biggie. Now we got 30 minutes until opening time, so we should get this cleaned up.” She looked relieved that I didn’t make fun of her. I learned that she is very sensitive. Hopefully, one day, she would become more independent. Suddenly, she gasped and ran to the back screaming, “I forgot to water the petunias!”

It’s always her petunias. Chuckling to myself, I went to set up the register and the signs. Once it was time, I raised both the shutters and, to my surprise, very few ponies were there waiting. Usually there were ten to twenty, but I only saw two. They were both Uppities, what we call the ponies who live on the upper, nicer floors.

The first was Ms. Dahlia. She was a kind unicorn with a white pelt and a luxurious hairstyle that started out in a charcoal color from the top and midway through turning a bright yellow. She loved to rock the hipster look and was the most popular Hairstylist in the tower. She noticed my confused stare, looked behind her and immediately knew what I was thinking, turning back to me with a sad, understanding smile. “Don’t you remember, darling? Last night we had that dreadful room collapse.”

I shook my head. A room had collapsed? I asked her about it and the pony behind her snorted in contempt, “Oh Ms. Dahlia, she’s a lowly worker pony, of course she would have no idea…” he was immediately cut off by a hard glare from Ms. Dahlia. He coughed into his hoof and changed topics, “I’m just gonna squeeze past here and grab what I came for.” As he squeezed by, Ms. Dahlia spoke up again with an apologetic smile, “While I do apologize for his rude behavior, he had a point. I sometimes forget you live on the lower levels, so you most likely wouldn’t have heard about it.”

I was so glad there were ponies like her that see past social standings. “Your fine, Ms. Dahlia, I’m used to it. I am sorry to hear about those who died.” Gesturing towards the shop, “Would you like to see what we have in today?”

She nodded and as she was walking by, I felt a nudge, turning to see a huge grin on her face. “So, last time I was here, you said you were working on another song. Come, tell me all about it.”

Instantly, I perked up and went right into it. Walking through the store and talking, it felt like I was with a big sister. In a sense, she kind of was and always wanted to see how I was doing, asking about my plans or songs. An hour or so later after she left, more customers began to trickle in and soon it was mid-day. Right on cue, Amy walked out from the back, immediately turning shy again and avoiding meeting any gazes until she got to me and relaxed a little. “Ready for lunch with Mint and Kiwi?” Her eyes were practically gleaming.

Kiwi and Mint Mint, aka Mint, owned some stores next to us. Kiwi was a lovely earth pony mare with a deep green mane, with some patches along her back and neck, dappled with dark brown spots. She ran the only grocery store on the lower levels and so was constantly filled with hungry ponies looking for cheap, good food. Quite contrary to her own cheap prices, she has her own small, elaborate greenhouse in the back she uses to grow fruits and vegetables and treats them with enough care to rival Amy. She also only shares it with Mint and Amy. Originally, she lived on a small settlement to the north outside the fallout zone and so had deep, rich soil for farming. She lived there most of her life until a group of raiders pillaged it a few years back. She was one of the few survivors and left her home for Manehatten. Rumor has it she went back and brought a lot of soil from her home to grow fresh and delicious crops that she sells to this day. Oh, and she’s also the most sought-after mare of the lower levels, but has yet to fall in love herself.

Mint Mint is another young pegasus mare, pure white with a mane mixed of sky blue and white. She owns an herbal stall right outside, between our flower shop and Kiwi’s grocery store. She usually has a good number of ponies willing to pay out of pocket for her herbal concoctions, but almost all the money goes to paying willing merchants for any rare or new herbs, medicinal books, vials, equipment and to local charity for the orphanage. Like me, she grew up here as an orphan in the tower and is very well loved by the children from there and treats any of the orphan’s injuries or illnesses for free.

All four of us have been close friends for a few years now and always enjoy having lunch together in Kiwi’s greenhouse, where we have a little picnic area in a small corner, decorated with some of Amy’s flowers and scented with Mint’s personal infusions. It was a slice of paradise and probably one of the best kept secrets of the tower, one we aimed to keep. Amy and I closed the shop for lunch break and headed to the back hallway towards the greenhouse. As we were walking in, the other two were in the middle of another discussion/argument. “…It’s super long and confusing. I can’t tell who’s who sometimes. You can’t tell me you don’t notice, Kiwi.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Horseshit, you know exactly what I’m talking about!” Mint then noticed us walking in and look relieved. “Amy, Sony, thank the Goddesses you’re here! Please, tell her you’ve noticed the chaos outside almost every day?!”

Amy and I just looked at each other for a few seconds. “What chaos?”

“Her line of adoring suitors that wind up going in and out of my stall, practicing how to say hello to her or pick-up lines. I’m about to start charging them for loitering around. She needs to either turn them down, accept one or make a separate line.”

“You know I can’t do either of those, Mint. I’m not in love with any of them and I don’t want to hurt their feelings. As for the going in and out of your stall, some of them are buying herbal perfumes, aren’t they?”

“Aha! So, you admit you know about them!”

“Minty, calm down.” Chuckling to myself, I sat on the grass and tried to ease her up. “You know Kiwi doesn’t want to hurt their feelings and as she said, they do help your business as well sometimes.”

“Uuughhhhh, this is why I love the little fillies. At least they aren’t always dumb or lovestruck. I mean seriously, just practicing how to say hello to a girl?! Boys!!!” Exasperated, she sat down as well.

Amy was just coming around to sit down and teased Mint, “Really now? This coming from the same mare I saw staring at Sinbad’s flank for a while at the diner yesterday. I could’ve painted a portrait of you, it was that long of a stare.”

Immediately, Mint’s face flushed pink and she started to get flustered. “I wasn’t staring that long…” She noticed us all raising our eyebrows and gave in, “…Ok fine, I like the boy. But he's different! He’s handsome, knows how to cook the most amazing meals and he treats me like a princess whenever I order. I swear if he wasn’t such a blockhead with flirting, I’d have kissed him already.” She went off into one of her daydreams and shortly realized it when she noticed us staring at her with wicked smiles.

Quickly trying to change topics, she looked to me. “Ahem…uh, so what about you Sony? We know Amy is working on getting over her shyness, no offense…” Amy shook her head, taking no offense, while biting into her salad. “…You on the other hand must have your sights set on a special somepony?”

It was Kiwi that spoke up first, “Yeah, he’s called adventure or music. She’s either always thinking about exploring the outside world or working on some new lyrics she will never sing.” She noticed my look of contempt. “Don’t give me that hun, you know it's true. No matter what I tell you about how cruel it is out there, you’re always daydreaming about it. As for your music, you’ve been writing songs for the past few years, and you have an insanely beautiful voice that you hide away.”

“I agree!” Amy looked up from her plate and got excited. “In the mornings before we open up the shop, I can always hear her singing and I always get distracted cause it’s so lovely. You should be on the radio, Sony!”

Now it was my turn to flush. “Oh c’mon girls, my voice ain’t that goo…” They were all staring at me in disbelief. “…d. No, seriously, I’m not that good! There are tons of other ponies who can sing better than I ever could…there’s no way I could be on the radio. Besides, I don’t even have my cutie mark…” It’s true, I did dream of singing on the radio for PON3, but I was scared other ponies would laugh at me. I couldn’t tell my friends that or they’d think I was being ridiculous. I noticed Mint was staring at me with interest and I couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

As I was starting to get nervous, suddenly she broke off and smiled. “That’s ok. We’ll just keep you for ourselves and you can sing for us! As for your cutie mark, you’ll get it one day, sweetie, don't you worry.” Her gaze softened as she continued, “I know it’s been hard for you trying to find your purpose, but I promise you will one day, and it will be glorious.”

That seemed to make me feel a little bit better. “Thanks Minty. I’m sure it will.” I remembered something and excitement flooded over me. “Oh, by the way, we’re still on for the rooftop hangout two nights from now, right?!”

Minty raised her eyebrows. “You mean our escapade to sneak out onto the rooftop to celebrate your 21st birthday without being caught by the guards?” Amy looked up a little scared, but thankfully Kiwi caught it before she could freak out.

“Don’t worry, we’re not going to get caught or seen. Remember, Sony and I found that abandoned stairwell in the back of my shop? It’ll be safe and totally fine.” She was right, of course. Just a few weeks ago, I was helping Kiwi clear out all the junk in one of her store’s closets and found a door hidden behind an old cabinet. Inside was a spiral staircase that led to an old lobby connecting to a closed off part of the hotel that we still, to this day, haven’t fully explored. One of the doors led to another stairwell that went all the way up to the rooftop. We didn’t go outside due to the door being locked and after multiple attempts to open it, Kiwi finally managed to break the lock a few days ago. “Besides, if we don’t all go, little miss star-voice here will end up going out by herself and leaving us for an adventure.” She looked at me playfully and said it as a joke, but Amy didn’t catch the joke and looked to me, worried.

“You wouldn’t really leave us, would you?”

“No, I wouldn’t leave you, I promise. Besides, if I left, who would wake you up from your morning naps behind the counter?” I barely dodged a swipe to the head.

She seemed to relax though. “I know…I just don’t want you to leave yet. You, Kiwi and Mint are the only friends I have, and I wouldn’t know what to do if you suddenly left...” She started to look sad, and I nuzzled up to her to comfort her.

“I promise, I won’t abandon you, Amy. I just really want to see a bit of the outside world and feel the wind beneath my wings. That’s all I’m going to do.”

Mint and Kiwi both spoke up in a heartbeat,

“And you promised to sing for us!”

“Don’t forget your song for us.”

They looked at each other and smiled. With a small smile to myself, I agreed, “I know, I know, I promised to sing my new song for you all in exchange for helping me finally go outside. It will be totally worth it, I swear!”

Kiwi’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Oh, we are all well aware. I finally got my recording device fixed, so I can listen to you whenever I want to.” I almost choked on my food.

“Wait, what?! That wasn’t part of the deal!”

“Too late, no take-backsies!”

“Oh no you won’t!”

I jumped on her playfully and she squeaked in surprise, but she was laughing while we tussled. Amy and Mint looked at each other before they also started laughing. After that, we finished up lunch, before heading back to work. The rest of the day was pretty average, not too fast, not too slow. However, the only thing on my mind were dreams of flying. It was soon time to close up, and afterwards we went and said goodnight to the girls and headed on home. On the way back, I stopped by Security at the main entrance and said my hellos. They must’ve had a really boring or hard day, because they got really excited when I came around and greeted me with heartfelt waves. I sang for them a little as I walked by, but that was more than enough to make their day it seemed. They looked a little happier and I felt a little bit better about myself. While most of Security in Tenpony Tower can be really uptight, the guards down at the entrance were nice to me and I knew they had a tough job.

Upon arriving back to my room, I was greeted with a gloomy atmosphere that just wanted to suck out the joy from my day. Thankfully it wasn’t successful, and I took a quick shower before heading back to my couch. Looking out the window, I watched the rain and lightning. Sleep began to kick in and soon I was dreaming of flying over Tenpony Tower.

…

Morning came and I was unsure of what to do for today. Today was the one day of the week where the nursery was closed, and the girls all had plans for today. I sat on the couch thinking of what to do. After a long while, I decided to go and see if I could go and get another sneak peek outside the main entrance. While I was freshening up, I started singing my new song. I may not have been as nervous at the thought of singing it for my friends tomorrow night, but I certainly wanted to make sure I had it down good. As I opened the door, I felt it hit something and heard a big thump shortly after, followed by an “Ouch!”. I looked to see a mare rubbing her nose.

“Oh dear, I am so sorry! Are you ok?”

She raised a hoof up and waved it. “yeah, m fine. ‘ose ot o uch.”

“What?”

As I helped her up, she tried again, “Yeah, I’m fine. Nose, not so much.”

“Oh. I got some ointment inside that can help, if you don’t mind.”

Shaking her head, she smiled. “Thank you kindly, but I should've seen it coming. My fault, not yours.” As we spoke, I managed to get a better look at her. She was a very fetching, mature pegasus, one you would never forget. She had a dark gray pelt with long black and red hair, with a line of red hair both on her mane and tail that ended in white with a white circular hair clip featuring two sideways triangles on both. Her wings were half gray and red. What was most striking was her eyes. They were like a warm fire and the light danced off them like embers.

I saw her lips move, but I wasn’t paying attention, so I shook my head to bring me back to reality. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

Chuckling to herself, she asked again, “I said, was that you singing in there? I was taking a detour through the tower and chanced by to hear a beautiful voice coming from this room. I never heard anything like it before.” Now flustered, I immediately went to denial.

“What? No, no, no that was…the radio!...yeah, I like to listen to the songs PON3 plays while I’m in the shower and that was one of them. Sorry, I can’t exactly remember what the name of the song was.” I was praying she wouldn’t press any further, as I was already embarrassed. Only about a dozen ponies in the tower knew I liked to sing, and it took me years to build up just enough courage to sing for them. Luckily for me, she didn’t question it and just smiled.

“Must be a new song. Hopefully, I’ll get to hear it again someday. Oh, I’m Ruby by the way. Sorry for listening in, I was just so awestruck that I had to stop and listen.”

“I’m Midnight Sonata. And no worries, I would probably do the same thing.” We both laughed for a bit, before she had to leave. As I watched her walk away, I wanted to see her again. She seemed really nice, and I felt bad for lying to her about me singing. Sometimes I wished I wasn't so damn embarrassed with new ponies. Remembering I was going to head down to the main entrance, I locked my door and headed for the stairs. By the time I reached it, they were changing out the shifts and I waited to see if a specific guard was coming on for the day shift and luckily, I saw him walking down. He was a young unicorn they called Sarge, wearing his usual black hoodie and spiked hoof bands and was one of the lead supervisors for Security on the lower floors. He didn't ever wear his uniform outside cause he says it makes him stick out like a sore thumb when he was out on patrol or scouting the city. He was also one of the most helpful and was the one who would escort me out the front entrance occasionally. My smile started to fade when I saw his face, and he was not happy. Worried, I went to go check and see what was wrong.

“Hey Sarge, everything alright?”

Shaking his head, he started to become a little agitated. “No, it’s not. We’ve been hearing more and more reports of a large gang operating just outside the city. And the council is trying to decide if we should lock the tower down and hope they move on or if we should enlist the aid of those greedy Steel Rangers. Right now, we are starting to double up the horsepower on the gates and…” Seeing the worry in my eyes, he calmed down a bit. “…Look, it’s just been a rough morning. The Council members know what they’re doing, and the gang hasn’t shown any signs of entering the city, so best bet is they will move on. I take it you want to take a little peek outside again?” I nodded and he nudged my shoulder. “Well, you’re in luck. This morning I have to inspect the building and I could use a little featherbrain to check places I can’t reach. Think you can help me out real quick?”

My heart was basically racing at the offer. “You mean it?! Of course, I’d be willing to…wait, did you just call me a featherbrain, you big oaf?!” I playfully nudged him back hard and he just chuckled. As we walked outside, I stopped to feel the warm breeze coming in from the streets before running to catch up with Sarge. There was a small, fortified checkpoint right outside the entrance that was used to inspect travelers and goods coming in and out of the tower. Normally, I was never allowed past this point, but Sarge covered for me, and we walked out past the checkpoint. The view was totally different compared to behind the checkpoint. I was able to see the streets, the buildings across, the highway above and more. Sarge noticed my excitement growing and reeled me back in. “Don’t go any further, alright? I’m already taking a huge risk letting you past the checkpoint, I can’t allow you to go out into the streets. The gang I mentioned earlier may be outside the city, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some lone raiders, slavers or worse out there. Just stay by me, ok?”

“I understand, I’ll stay by you.” As we started walking around the checkpoint, I asked him what he needed me to check. He gestured to the building. “I need you to fly up around the entrance and just around the general area of it and see if you notice any huge cracks or if something looks out of place. After the room collapsing two nights ago, I want to make sure it doesn’t happen here.”

“Gotcha, I’ll take a look for ya.” As I took off, I turned back to the entrance and looked in the spots he mentioned. Not seeing anything wrong, I took a quick look around the outside and spotted something moving at the end of the street. Worried, I was about to call out to Sarge and let him know when I saw him running back to the checkpoint entrance shouting, “Sony, get back here, now!” Immediately, I flew back down inside the checkpoint as the gate closed behind us. As I looked through the gate, we watched as a ghoul was walking down the street. I had heard about them, but it was my first time seeing one. Sarge signaled for everyone to stay quiet, and we watched as the ghoul walked right up to the gate. As everyone started to tense up, it spoke.

“Any chance I could get some supplies? I got caps…”

My jaw dropped. I didn’t know they could talk or that they were even intelligent. From what I was told, they were vicious and ravenous beasts. A look of surprise was on Sarge’s face. “Ethan, is that you? Damn, did you get uglier.”

Ethan snorted in disgust, “And you seem to still have that wet-behind-the-ears look on your face.”

Silence hung in the air as they stared each other down and the tension was starting to become unbearable.

Then they smiled and laughed.

“Ahhahaaha, Sarge it's good to see you again old friend, it’s been months. I got bored without your bantering.”

“Same here you, you old coot. I thought things were getting to be too peaceful around here.” He signaled the guard to open the gate. As Ethan walked in, they gave each other a brief hug. “By the way, this here is Midnight Sonata, she’s a good friend of mine. Sony, you can come out, he’s alright.”

Nervously, I stepped out from behind him. “He…hello there. It's nice to meet you, Ethan.”

“Oho, ain't she polite. Don’t worry, I know what they teach you young n’s and I promise, I ain't gonna eat or harm ya. These stuck-up ponies don’t like to deal with our kind and see all ghouls as a plague. Luckily, Sarge here knows the difference between us and ferals.”

Listening to him, I grew even more curious about him, when Sarge spoke up, “You’re here for the usual, right? Just give me the caps and a few minutes and I’ll have your supplies for you. Sony, why don’t you keep our friend here company while I go and get his stuff? I know he can tell you plenty about the wasteland and answer almost any question you might have.”

As he headed back inside, I turned back to Ethan, getting excited. “Can you really tell me about the outside world?! I have so many questions.”

Ethan began chuckling and gestured for me to sit down. “I can’t promise to answer everything, but I can most certainly try. What do you want to know, little miss?”

Taking a deep breath to collect myself I asked him a short series of questions, “You mentioned earlier that there were different types of ghouls. What did you mean? Also, I’ve been told by fellow travelers that pegasi were quite rare below the clouds. Why is that? Have you seen anyplace that isn’t irradiated or covered by clouds? And finally, what’s it like being a ghoul? I don’t mean to sound disrespectful, but you’re the first one I’ve ever met and until now, I didn’t even know ya’ll could talk.” Ethan just chuckled even more.

“My, my, you are quite the inquisitive one, aintcha? Let’s see now… There are two types of ghouls, those like me and ferals. Ghouls like me can remember who we were and ain't lost our marbles. Ferals on the other hand, can’t remember who they were and are just mindless beasts that will pretty much attack anything on site. As for what it’s like to be a ghoul, it's hard. We remember what it was like before the bombs fell and had to watch as we and our friends either died or began to rot away into the ponies you see today. Most of us have come to accept our circumstances and learn to live on as long as we can, others not so much and that’s where ferals come from. We’re pretty much immortal for now and aren’t affected by radiation.” Taking a deep breath, he went on.

“As for your pegasi question, there are two terms you need to know. Dashites and the Grand Pegasus Enclave. When the Megaspells fell on the Last Day, the pegasi capital Cloudsdale was hit and pretty much evaporated shortly over time. Nothing remains of it. Devastated, the pegasi that remained decided to close off the sky. However, there was one who dared to abandon her own kind to help those below. Her name was Rainbow Dash and her noble act soon inspired other pegasi to do the same, and so they earned the term Dashite. The pegasi who remained above the clouds soon became the Grand Pegasus Enclave, or Enclave for short. Nobody has seen their city above the clouds, but they do have a fortified settlement far to the west they call Thunderhead and you will never catch me going anywhere near that place. To us, they are worse than the Steel Rangers. I’d tell you more, but our time seems to be about up. Sarge is back and that means it's time for me to go. Rules and whatnot, you know.” As he said that, Sarge was walking towards us carrying a small cart of supplies.

“I made sure you got your usual stuff and that it was decent quality. I wish you could stay here longer, but I can only bend the rules so much for you, Ethan. You make sure to take care of yourself out there, alright?”

As Ethan said his goodbyes and headed off, I secretly hoped to meet him again one day. He was a nice ghoul. Sarge noticed me hesitating and nudged me. “Don’t worry about old Ethan, he knows how to survive better than I ever will. So, what did you ask him about?” Still excited from the conversation, I told him.

“Well, he is right about the Enclave. I’d rather deal with Steel Rangers than them any day. The rangers were always the more reasonable of the two. Although the Enclave are way more advanced and stronger than the Rangers are, they also demand a lot more in return for their services and rarely deal with anyone that isn’t a pegasus. If you’re lucky, you will never have to deal with them.”

“You’ve met them before?”

“Yeah, only once. The Council has some sort of agreement with them, and they came to our aide during the Great Raid ten years ago. They really saved our hides, but there is something about them I just don’t trust, aside from their snotty attitudes. You’d find it hard to believe, but they put the Uppities's attitudes to shame.”

“You’re right, I do find that hard to believe.”

As we walked back into the Tower, we looked up to see a council member and some higher-level security guards beckoning him over. Sighing, he looked to me, trying to crack a smile. “Well either they’re here to ask me about you, Ethan or talk about something related to the gang activity. If I’m really unlucky, it's all of the above. You’d best head on now before they try to rope you into their little scoldings.” Turning to give me a quick nudge. “And thanks for your help earlier today and being nice to Ethan. It really meant a lot to him and me.” As he headed off towards the group, I took his advice and left the area. Last thing I need is to be on the Council’s bad side right before my birthday. I literally had no other plans for the day, so I decided to just call it a day and sleep in.

…

Finally, it was the day I had been waiting for. My birthday! Today, me and the girls were only going to be working until lunch and then use the rest of the day to make sure we had everything ready for our hangout on the rooftop tonight. The day went by fairly quick and as lunch came, we closed up shop and went to meet Mint and Kiwi in the greenhouse. As we walked in, Mint saw me and came bounding right up to me all worried. “I heard a rumor you went outside and saw a ghoul! That must have been horrifying. Are you alright, Sony?” Kiwi and Amy also looked worried now and I tried to put their fears at rest.

“Girls, it’s ok, nothing happened. In fact, he was very nice, and he told me more about the outside world.” This only confused Mint and Amy. Kiwi on the other hand just nodded her head and seemed to understand.

“Ah, so you met Ethan then.”

Mint just flipped around. “Wait, Ethan? Hold up, more importantly Sony, you talked to it? And it talked back? Are we sure we're talking about the same thing when I say ghoul?” Chuckling a bit at Mints frantic face, I gestured for everyone to take a seat and told them all about the encounter. After I was done, Mint was speechless. Amy, oddly enough, was the first to speak.

“I had no idea. So, there are good ghouls and then there are bad ones. How do you tell the difference?” I paused as I forgot to ask Ethan about that. Kiwi noticed my hesitation and answered for me.

“Honestly, you don’t, until the last minute sometimes. Unless you are travelling with them or can recognize them from a distance, most times you learn when it’s too late. That’s the main reason why Ghouls get such a bad reputation and are lopped in with the Ferals. I have met a few good ones before I arrived here, and I’ve talked to Ethan a few times when he drops by. I feel bad for them.”

Mint finally found her voice again, but it was more relieved. “Well I’ll be honest, I learned something new about ghouls today. I’m just glad that you’re alright, Sony. You may not have been as lucky. I’m surprised they let you out past the checkpoint at all with the news of the large gang just outside of Manehatten.” My ears suddenly perked up at the mention of the gang.

“How did you hear about that? I heard it from Sarge yesterday, but by the sounds of it, they didn’t want the news to spread.” Mint just smiled back wickedly.

“Oh, you can get any stallion to talk when you buy them a drink or two. I noticed a few guards whispering all secret-like at Lunar’s bar last night and decided to pay for their next round. Then I just sat at the table behind them and listened in.” Kiwi just shook her head.

“Remind me to be careful around you and drinks.” Amy nodded her head in agreement. Mint just looked at them in dismay.

“I wouldn’t do it to yall! Besides, your secrets are old and boring. I like fresh and juicy gossip. Especially the ones about Sony here. Sweet Celestia, are those sexy ones!” I damn near choked.

“What?!”

Mint just fell on her sides laughing.

“Gotcha! Don’t worry, aside from yesterday's incident and you singing for the guards every day, there ain't no secrets. The look on your face was worth it though.”

My face turning pink, I pounced on her. We spent the rest of lunch talking about our plan for tonight and making sure we had everything. After closing early for the day, we all went our separate ways to get what we needed. Once the tower clock hit six, we all headed down to the closet and went up the stairs. Mint and Amy were slightly nervous since it was their first time here, so we quickly moved to the other stairwell and made our way up to the top. As we opened the doors, I was in shock. I was expecting to come out onto a bland, regular old rooftop like last time, but what lay before my eyes was the exact opposite. There were lights strung up between the poles around the rooftop. In the center lay some blankets and a cooler. The air was warm and all in all, it felt amazing. The others jumped in front of me, turned around and in sync shouted

“Happy Birthday, Sony!!”

My eyes started to water as I tried to take it all in. I couldn’t manage any words, so I just went and hugged them all. Kiwi had a huge grin on her face and gestured to the cooler.

“Now, I didn’t lug that up here for nothing. Lunar sends his regards and birthday wishes in the form of his own hard cider.

The night turned out to be just what I needed. We drank, sang and danced together for hours. It was as if all the tension from before just eased away, and I was happy. We even flew into the sky, and I got to see the world for the first time. So many different sights on the horizon. Eventually it got late, and the girls were either too drunk or too tired. I wanted to stay out for just a little longer, so I hugged them and wished them a good night.

As they went back inside, I turned around and took in the night for all its splendor. The lights that the girls strung up looked like the starry nights our elders told us stories about. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine a clear night sky with countless, tiny flickering lights as far as the eye could see. As I stood there, lost in my imagination, a breeze wrapped around me and the feeling of it going underneath my wings was incredible. I wanted to just jump off and fly once again, going wherever the wind would take me. Opening my eyes, I jumped to the center of the roof and felt my body tremble with inspiration. Remembering my song, I took a deep breath and began crooning...

“...Now life is such a wondrous thing
From the first moment to the last.
And the time with your friends is precious,
So don’t live life too fast.
We can’t always see our fate
Or know what we're meant to do.
But I can promise you my friend
Your heart will guide you true.
Because we…

Shine like the beauty of Luna’s moon,
Burn as bright as Celestia’s rising sun,
Dance with the cadence in our hearts,
And let the magic of friendship guide you home…”

I could feel the wind lifting me up, and I let it. Soon I was hovering high over the rooftop and singing as if the whole town was my stage.

“...So when your world starts crumbling down
And your spirits feeling weak.
Your future seems dark and clouded
You lose sight of what you seek.
That’s when your dreams begin losing the light
And the pain is too much to bear.
Just remember your friends stand by you
And forever they will always be there.

To help you…

Shine like the beauty of Luna’s moon,
Burn as bright Celestia’s rising sun,
Dance with the cadence in our hearts,
And let the magic of friendship guide you home…”

The wind began to calm, and I slowly let myself float down.

“...Now go and give others Kindness
Show them your loyalty.
Ease their hearts with the sound of Laughter
And give them your honesty.
Cause all the Magic in the world
Is displayed with Generosity.
With all of these things together
It’s why I love being a pony.

So show the world we…

Shine like beauty of Luna’s moon,
Burn as bright as Celestia’s rising sun,
Dance with the cadence in our hearts.
And let the magic of friendship,
Let the magic of friendship,
Oh let the magic of friendship...guide...you home”

As I settled on the ground and opened my eyes, I now yearned even more to just take off. My heart was still pounding from the rush and taste of freedom.

“So, it was your voice I heard yesterday.”

Startled, I turned to see a pony sitting up on the small roof above the stairs, watching me from the shadows. Before I could act, they stood up and jumped down, walking briskly towards me. As they stepped into the light, my jaw dropped. It was that beautiful, grey pegasus from yesterday. By the time I could regain my senses, she was already right in front of me and looking at me with warm interest.

“You can’t say it was the radio this time, little one.” She smoothly inched her face closer to mine. “I was watching you all night long. And I must say…I’m really glad I did.”

I could feel myself blushing. “Uh...eh…you see…oh my.” Oh come on girl, get yourself together!

She just smiled and gently laughed, “Sorry if I startled you. I just couldn’t resist teasing you. You looked so cute at the moment. Don’t worry, I won’t bite.” As she slowly backed up, I realized my face must be completely red and I shook my head.

“What are you doing up here?... Did you follow me and my friends up here?!”

She sat down on the blanket and gestured for me to join her. Seeing as she meant no harm, I moved to sit in front to her.

"You see, I have a very important job and a lot of ponies depend on me, so I like to come up here often to get away from the reality of this tower. Until now, no one has ever come up here. Not until you and your friends showed up." Seeing my discomfort, she just smiled and nudged me.

"Don't worry, I enjoyed watching you all. It felt...wonderful to see ponies come together to celebrate. You all looked so happy, and I didn’t want to interrupt that. So, I just sat up there and watched. As I saw everyone else head on inside, I noticed you stayed behind. And then I watched you sing, and I couldn't move. I was so transfixed on your voice, it just felt like everything else was unreal. You have a gift, Sonata…”

I could feel my face begin to blush. “Aww...you really think so?”

“You're damn right I do.” Happiness and excitement began to swell up in me. “You should sing on the radio! I bet you’d become famous!”

And it went away as soon as it began. I could feel anxiety and doubt creeping up on me as I stood up. “Thank you, but my voice isn’t that good. I’m very happy you like my singing, but I’m nowhere near good enough to be on the radio. I’m sure there are others out there who can sing better than I ever could…”

She just looked at me for a while, deep in thought with curiosity and intrigue. “You don’t really believe much in yourself, do you? I haven't heard any pony sing like you can for a long time, and trust me, I've heard them all. I can see you in your element when you sing, and it looks like something you really enjoy doing.”

I wanted to believe her words so much and just go for it. She was right, I never felt more alive than when I sing and I always dreamed of being on the radio. I wanted to look her in the eye and tell her I could out-sing any pony in Equestria...but I couldn't. Thoughts of trying and failing, being laughed at plagued my mind and stopped me telling her how I truly felt. In the end, I just couldn't beat myself again.

Standing back up, I looked at her with appreciation and sorrow. “I really am happy to hear that. Truly I am... but I can’t do it no matter how much I wanted to. Anyway, I’m starting to feel a bit drowsy, so I’m going to call it a night. It was really lovely to talk with you, Ruby.”

She seemed to want to say more, but gave it a second thought and just nodded her head, smiling. “It was nice to talk to you as well Sonata. Maybe one day you will find the strength and opportunity to sing on the air. Until we meet again, dear.”

As I walked back into the stairwell, a lingering feeling of regret began to take root in the corners of my mind. I felt as if I had just missed that opportunity...

Author's Note

So this chapter is what excited me the most to write. Not only is it the introduction of Midnight Sonata and some of her friends, but is also the introduction of the first song I ever wrote for the Brony Fandom. The tale of Midnight Sonata begins with a bit more of a light-hearted beginning. Stay tuned to see where it goes next...