Master Music Lessons

by VioletRose13

Rating: everyone
Tags: Fluttershy (EqG), Equestria Girls, Rainbow Dash (EqG), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Slice of Life, Crossover, Rarity (EqG)
Length: 3034

Master Splinter wants to learn how to play an instrument. Choose Your Own Ending.

One day, the Rainbooms offer to teach Master Splinter how to play an instrument, but he doesn't know which instrument to choose. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash all suggest that one of them could teach him how to play either the tambourine, the piano, or the guitar and Splinter has to make a decision. Choose Your Own Ending.

Published 2022-03-06 02:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2022-03-06 02:10:01 UTC

Which One?

It was an ordinary day at Canterlot High School; the students and teachers were all going about their business, including the future self-defense/art teacher, Master Splinter. He was in Canterlot City to visit his fiancé, Principal Celestia, and take a look around the school his newest students, the Rainbooms, were attending. He was in Celestia’s office by himself when his sharp ears picked up something coming from another room.

“Hm, I wonder…” He thought out loud as he exited the room and followed the sound.

What he heard led him to the band room where the Rainbooms were rehearsing a new song for an upcoming gig. He stood outside the open door and smiled as he listened to his young friends play and sing.

“I'm feeling the la-la-love

La-la-love

You make me feel alive

True love you can't deny

I'm feeling that dream come true

Here with you

And love is around us too

Ooh, and I feel the love

I'm feeling the la-la-love

La-la-love

I'm feeling the la-la-love”

The song came to a close and Splinter took a peek to see the Rainbooms’ pony ears, tails, and wings magically disappear as they transformed back into their original human selves.

“Phew. Now THAT was a good one. Probably good enough for our next gig.” Rainbow Dash said, setting her guitar down.

“I agree.” Splinter chuckled, coming into view while clapping his hands.

The Rainbooms nearly jumped in surprise and turned to see their mutant friend smiling and applauding.

“Oh, Master Splinter! So sorry, darling. We didn’t see you there.” Rarity said, still holding her keytar.

“It is alright, girls. And I must say you never cease to astound me with your musical talents.” Splinter said, walking into the room.

“Oh thank you, Sensei.” Fluttershy said bashfully.

“You know, if you like our music so much, you could always join the band.” Pinkie Pie suggested, twirling one of her drumsticks in one hand and tapping a cymbal with the other.

“What? Me? Oh, no, no. I couldn’t.” Splinter said, sounding sheepish. “I’m afraid I might ‘cramp your style’ as they say. And besides, I don’t have the courage to sing in front of a crowd and I don’t even know how to play an instrument.”

Then Rainbow Dash got an idea; she grinned. “Hey, I just thought of something! Why don’t you learn how to play? And we could teach you.”

“Yeah. That’s not a bad idea, Rainbow. You already taught us so many things, Sensei. Now maybe it’s our turn to teach you. It’s never too late to learn something new, right?” Twilight Sparkle added.

Splinter paused and looked up at the ceiling in thought. “I suppose you are right and this is very kind of you girls to offer. But there are so many instruments in the world. How will I know which one to choose?”

“How about you just start with an easy one? Like the guitar?” Rainbow Dash held up her guitar to show her mutant friend.

“Or the piano?” Rarity commented, leaning against a grand piano.

“Or maybe the tambourine?” Fluttershy suggested, showing off her tambourine.

“There ain’t no wrong answer, Sensei.” Applejack chimed in.

Splinter turned away from the girls and stroked his beard as he thought about the offer; which Rainboom should he choose to teach him which instrument? Rainbow Dash and the guitar, Rarity and the piano, or Fluttershy and the tambourine?

Choose Rainbow Dash

“Okay. Ready, Sensei?” Rainbow Dash asked; she, Splinter, and Flash Sentry were each holding a guitar and standing in the gym.

“I believe so.” Splinter said sounding anxious.

“Don’t worry, Sensei. It’ll be fine.” Flash said comfortingly. “We’re just going to start with a few basic steps. Like this, a simple note.” He strummed one string of his guitar and made a note. “You try it.”

Splinter wanted to impress his teachers, so he did his best to strum the same string and mimic the sound.

“Good. Now try this one.” Rainbow Dash adjusted her fingers and strummed another string; Splinter did the same. “Nice. Now try to combine those notes to make a chord. Like this.”

Rainbow and Flash strummed their strings and Splinter attempted to do the same.

“Okay, good. Good.” Flash said encouragingly.

Rainbow nodded. “Right. Now we move on to—”

“Hey there, Rainbows!” A new voice said.

Rainbow Dash cringed; she immediately recognized the voice and she didn’t want to turn around to see who it was. Flash turned to the door and raised an eyebrow.

“Zephyr Breeze?” He asked.

Splinter looked up to see a teenage boy with sea foam green skin, pink eyes, and blonde hair pulled up in a bun enter the gym and walk over to Rainbow Dash. She had a very uncomfortable look on her face and he could tell right away that she didn’t want this boy to be here.

“Whatcha doin’? Playing your guitar?” Zephyr asked, trying to sound suave.

“Go away, Zeph. I’m busy.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Yeah, you’re kind of interrupting our lesson.” Flash chimed in.

“Lesson?” Zephyr then looked up to see Splinter sitting next to Flash and his expression quickly changed from calm to surprised. But then he calmed down. “Oh, so is this the famous rat man I heard so much about? Hi, name’s Zephyr Breeze. I’m Fluttershy’s little brother.” He offered his hand to the mutant, which he reluctantly took.

“Um, how do you do.” Splinter said.

“And is Rainbows here teaching you how to play? Well ain’t that neat!” Zephyr exclaimed. “She certainly is one of the best guitarists at CHS. But I’m sure the only reason she took up guitar was to impress me, just like she does everything.”

Rainbow Dash quickly tensed up as her face twisted into an expression of shock and disgust. She glanced over to Flash and Splinter, silently begging them to help her get Zephyr to leave. Splinter nodded his head at his friend and stood up, put his guitar down, and walked over to Zephyr. He cleared his throat.

“If I may, Zephyr Breeze… allow me to make a suggestion.” He said calmly.

“A suggestion? Uh, sure. What kind of suggestion?” The boy asked before the mutant gently poked him in the chest, which immediately caused him to tense up and fall to the ground. He was unable to move or speak.

“Perhaps you should leave us alone for a while. Rainbow Dash is busy.” Splinter said.

That was when Snips and Snails poked their heads out from behind the door to see what was going on; they saw Zephyr on the floor, ran up to him, and started dragging him away from the trio.

“Why don’t we just get him out of your way for you?” Snips suggested.

“Yeah. He always does this.” Snails added as he and his friend exited the gym.

Flash, Rainbow, and Splinter all looked at each other before they started laughing; he picked up his guitar and sat back down.

“Now, where were we?” He asked, eager to get back to the lesson.

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Okay, now we’re gonna try a few different chords.” She and Flash strummed their guitars as their sensei followed suit.

Choose Rarity

“I am so glad you decided to come to me, Master Splinter.” Rarity said as she set her purse down on the floor of the band room. “And don’t you worry; with my help, you will be playing like a true concert pianist in no time.”

“Thank you, Rarity.” Splinter said as he sat down in front of the grand piano. “Now shall we begin?”

“Indeed we shall.” She quickly took a seat next to him and cracked her knuckles to prepare herself. “Now a few important things you have to remember when doing the piano is that you must keep your wrists flat, your feet flat, and to sit up straight. You certainly don’t want to have a sore back after this.”

Splinter nodded in agreement before turning his attention to the piano keys. “And if I remember correctly, the keys on the left are deeper while the ones on the right are higher?”

“Precisely, Sensei. And as an added bonus, this will help improve hand-eye coordination… but your hands and eyes are already very well coordinated, so um…” She nervously looked away, unsure of what else to say.

Splinter chuckled. “It’s fine, Rarity. I take no offense.”

“Thank you, Sensei.” Rarity calmed down and turned back to the piano keys. “Now, we can start with something fast and upbeat like this.” She then proceeded to play a quick, happy-go-lucky song with her fingers practically gliding across the keys. After a few moments, she finished and Splinter clapped in applause. “Or we could try something slower and calmer, like this.” At that, she started to play a slow, sad song, starting with one hand and gradually adding the other as she played further along.

Splinter was greatly impressed with Rarity’s piano skills and asked, “Pardon me, but however did you learn to play these songs?”

“Oh, I um… have been playing for years.” Rarity replied, trying to hold back a sniffle.

Splinter quickly noticed Rarity’s change in mood and he placed a hand on her back to comfort her. “Rarity? What’s the matter? Why are you so sad all of a sudden?”

She stopped playing and wiped her eyes before looking up at her sensei. “Oh. I’m so sorry, Sensei. It’s just… my grandfather taught me how to play when I was quite young. He and I used to make music together all the time. But he passed away when I was twelve and some of these songs always remind me of him. I apologize for getting emotional, but the piano is one of the few ways I honor my grandfather… and you are so much like him, Master Splinter.”

Splinter wrapped his arm around her shoulders in a hug before glancing back at the keys. He then reached out his hand and started to play a few notes, notes that were identical to the ones Rarity had played. She silently gasped.

“How did you…?” She started.

“Learning by sound, I suppose. I just pick which keys sound similar and I try to put them together.” He replied.

“…Brilliant.” Rarity said as she joined in to play along.

Soon enough, the two of them started playing together, but on different sides of the piano; Splinter on the higher side and Rarity on the lower side. Eventually, Rarity started to feel a bit better and at the end, her fingers practically danced across the keys until they reached some higher notes. She and Splinter chuckled at this.

“Pardon my enthusiasm.” She said.

“I admire your enthusiasm.” Splinter said with a kind smile.

“Whoa! You guys rock!” A new voice exclaimed.

The pair turned around to see Spike the dog standing in the doorway, clapping his paws and holding back a few tears at the same time.

“That was so beautiful!” He said, wiping his eyes and sniffling.

“Oh, Spikey-wikey. Would you care to join us?” Rarity offered.

“Would I!” The little dog said, wiping his eyes and running up to the piano before jumping up and settling into Splinter’s lap. “Let’s get started!” As Spike pressed his paws down on the keys to try and make music as well, the two friends looked at each other and shared a laugh.

“Alright, alright. Now how about we try another one? And you can show me what else you know.” Rarity suggested, playing a low note.

“Why not?” Splinter said, smiling and playing a few higher notes.

Choose Fluttershy

“Here we are.” Fluttershy said as she and Splinter were walking through the park. “Thank you for asking for my help, Sensei.”

“You’re welcome, Fluttershy.” Splinter said as they sat down on a bench. “The tambourine seems to be an easier instrument for me to learn.”

“Oh yes. A lot easier than the piano or the guitar, but just like that old saying goes: practice makes perfect. Plus, I always like practicing here in the park.” The girl said, reaching into her backpack and taking out two tambourines; she handed one to her friend. “Now try to repeat after me.” She shook the instrument and gave it a tap with her free hand; Splinter did the same and she nodded and smiled. “Good. And the best part about playing the tambourine is that you can pretty much do whatever you like with it.”

But just as she was about to demonstrate, a black cat jumped up out of nowhere in between the two friends. Splinter instinctively backed away from the feline, but the cat paid no attention to him; it just meowed, jumped off the bench, and ran away. Then a bark was heard; Fluttershy turned her head to see Applejack’s dog Winona coming towards the bench. She ran under it and continued chasing the cat. Fluttershy groaned and shook her head.

“I am so sorry, Master Splinter. Please excuse me.” She said, setting her tambourine down and going after the two animals. “Winona, no! Come back here! Chasing a cat is so cliché! You’re better than that!” She eventually disappeared.

Not knowing what else to do, Splinter picked up Fluttershy’s tambourine and looked at it along with his own; then he got an idea. He started to shake both tambourines at the same time and even hit them together, making a very nice sound. He was getting so into it that he didn’t even notice DJ Pon-3 coming up behind him. She gently tapped his shoulder and he quickly stopped and turned around to see her standing there.

“Oh. Hello.” He greeted, setting the instruments down. “You must be DJ Pon-3, yes?”

She nodded and smiled. He smirked.

“I see you are a girl of few words.”

She nodded again before her face lit up as she got an idea. DJ picked up the tambourines and grabbed Splinter’s wrist.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

She gestured for him to follow her. Splinter turned his head to see that Fluttershy was still busy with Winona and the cat and he figured she would be held up for a little while longer. So he stood up from the bench and followed DJ. Several minutes later, Fluttershy finally caught up with Winona and she returned to the bench, only to find that both her tambourine and Master Splinter were nowhere in sight.

“Sensei?” She asked, looking around.

“Hey, Fluttershy.” Applejack said as she approached her friend. “Oh there you are, Winona! Where have you been?” She took her dog back and quickly put a leash on her; she set her back on the ground. “Don’t you ever go runnin’ off like that again. Ya hear me?”

“Hi, Applejack. You haven’t seen Master Splinter around, have you?” Fluttershy asked.

“No. Weren’t you two supposed to—” The farm girl asked before she heard something; it sounded like music. “Wait, what’s that?”

“Is that DJ Pon-3?” Fluttershy asked.

“I guess. She must be havin’ some kinda impromptu rave or somethin’. Wanna go check it out?”

“But what about Sensei?”

“Maybe he’s with her. Come on.”

Applejack took Fluttershy’s hand and they walked towards the sound, which appeared to be coming from the nearby gazebo. When they arrived, the two girls were very surprised to see Master Splinter playing a set of portable turntables with DJ Pon-3 standing right beside him and shaking both tambourines the same way he was doing before. To everyone’s astonishment, Splinter was unexpectedly good at the turntables and the music he and DJ were making together was REALLY good. By then, a small crowd started gathering to watch and started cheering and clapping for Splinter; Fluttershy and Applejack could only watch in shock and disbelief.

“Go Splinter! Go Splinter! Go Splinter!” The crowd cheered as a few started recording the scene on their phones.

“Whooo! Go Master Splinter!” Rainbow Dash’s voice cheered.

“Rainbow Dash?” Applejack asked, heading towards her athletic friend.

“Oh hey, guys.” Rainbow said as she held up her phone; Fluttershy could see that she was recording Splinter as well.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“Getting a video to send to the Turtles. They NEED to see this.” Rainbow Dash replied.

Then the song came to a close and the music faded to a stop; everyone clapped and cheered as Splinter and DJ took a bow. Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash all made their way to the front to congratulate their sensei.

“Hoowee!” Applejack hollered.

Splinter looked to see his young friends staring at him; he paused in embarrassment.

“Um…” He muttered, unsure of what to say.

“Master Splinter, that was… AWESOME! Wait until the guys see this!” Rainbow Dash cried, looking back at her phone and sending the video she recorded to the Turtles.

“The turntables, who knew?” Fluttershy commented.

“I’m very sorry for leaving, Fluttershy.” Splinter said, giving the sound system back to DJ.

“Don’t be sorry, Sensei. You were amazing!” She grinned as DJ gave her tambourine back to her.

“I’d say you were.” A new voice said.

They all turned to see Principal Celestia walking towards them; she stopped next to Splinter and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. Splinter smiled and blushed as Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash giggled in response.

“Oh Yoshi, that was incredible! I’m so proud of you.” She beamed, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

Splinter reciprocated the hug before turning to DJ. “Thank you for your help, DJ Pon-3.”

After a moment, the girl removed her glasses and gave him a wink. “You’re welcome, Master Splinter.” And with that, she walked off.

The three Rainbooms stared at DJ with wide eyes as she walked away; in all of the years they had known her, DJ Pon-3 hardly ever spoke a single word and they were very shocked to hear her voice for the first time.

“Did she just say somethin’?” Applejack asked.

“She never speaks.” Fluttershy added.

“…So THAT’S what she sounds like.” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

Splinter and Celestia looked at their students, then at each other; they laughed before sharing a kiss.