Basso Scale

by b00_j3nnn

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Character, Comedy, Profanity
Length: 21453

Valediction's beloved frontpony, Killjoy, accidentally injures a fan during one of their performances. After befriending that fan, the two set off to promote inter-species through the power of music.

The rising metal band, Valediction, is on tour throughout Equestria! All was going smoothly until an unexpected incident at their performance in Manehattan injures a wyvern fan. Wracked with guilt and determined to make amends, the frontpony for the band, Killjoy, sets out to help her new friend Ash, along with the help of her bandmates, Blast and Rosella. 

Having never befriended a non-pony before, Killjoy quickly discovers the stark differences between their cultures, and encounters many injustices the dragon often faces. 

The odd pair encounter and overcome many obstacles throughout their blooming friendship, working together to give more non-pony artists a platform in hopes of building a stronger community, like how Princess Twilight intended.

Published 2023-11-13 18:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2023-12-27 03:42:05 UTC

Chapter I

A small beige pegasus mare with a brown mane groaned as she woke up in her bed, the morning sun creeping through her windows, the tall buildings of Manehattan visible as she opened the curtains. A yawn escaped Killjoy’s mouth as she tried to creep back under her covers. A frustrated ivory unicorn burst into the room, “Kill! This is no time for one of your naps, get up!”

“Urgh, Blast, please… fine…”, the pegasus groaned, which the unicorn still wasn’t fully convinced by. Annoyed, she swivelled a nearby mug with her magic, and poured coffee into it, “Here. I know coffee can give you the jitters and make you do dumb stuff on stage, but you really need it.”

The half-awake mare clumsily downed the cup, a surge of energy coursing through her body, from muzzle to tail. She suddenly shot up in the air, shouting in excitement.

“OH GET READY MANEHATTAN!”

♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩

Later that day, in another neighbourhood of Manehattan, a brown dragon, a wyvern named Ash, was staring into the mirror in his bedroom, getting ready for the Valediction concert; he had been extremely lucky to score tickets before they all sold out. He moved to Equestria a few years ago since there were incentives from Princess Twilight’s government to encourage further species integration to work at a metal refinery, melting the metals with his fire. The neighbourhood he lived in had developed a high dragon population, mirroring the Dragon Town trend that had already been present in Fillydelphia. It was something he had been thankful for, opportunities in the Dragon Lands were… limited, to say the least… even with Dragon Lord Ember’s reforms. Ash had initially been reluctant to leave his homeland for somewhere so far away, especially considering he still had family back home, parents, grandparents, cousins, siblings, but it was something he wanted for himself, plus his sister had encouraged him to pursue a better life.

He was looking a bit dishevelled, his shifts at the refinery had been particularly difficult, working overtime to afford the tickets along with his usual expenses. He buffed his scales with some polish, before dusting off his lighter brown wing membranes, which had gotten quite dusty from work. Polishing up his horns, he spat a bit of fire into his hands, rubbing the fire over his horns to burn off the remaining polish, leaving them sparkling clean. His vanity complete, he left the apartment, locking up and going down the corridor of his apartment block, bumping into his neighbour, a blue unicorn mare, who was with her daughter.

“Hello Ms. Freeze, how are you doing?” he cheerfully greeted her.
The unicorn smiled, “Can’t complain! Just picked up Frostflare from school, looking forward to the weekend. I see you have tickets to the Valediction concert, lucky you!”

The wyvern gleefully smiled, “Yep! Been working my wings off at the refinery to afford this! Thought I was going to run out of fire those last couple extra shifts, but definitely worth it!”

The mare opened up her door and ushered her daughter inside, “Well you have a good time dear, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

Ash nodded and went downstairs, exiting the building and snapping open his wings, flying to the Manehattan concert hall within a matter of minutes, landing at the back of the line, ticket in his claws. Within a couple of hours, he was inside, right near the front too! New songs from Valediction were going to be played at the concert tonight, never heard before.

Ash spoke to no one in particular, “Oh man, can’t wait to hear their newest jams, I’ve been looking forward to this for months!”. Other concertgoers agreed with him, nodding heads and smiling widely.

♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩

As Killjoy finished her vocal warmups and added the last few touches to her makeup, the pegasus pranced around the changing room with excitement bursting at her seams, enhanced by the caffeine from earlier. The clock had struck 6:30, and the band had finished up their pre-show preparations and rituals. The three mares rushed with excitement onto the stage as the crowd screamed their names. Their energy was at an all-time high. Despite Valediction’s last concert being only a few days ago, the band was craving the audience again.

The concert began, and technicolour lights danced with the rhythm of the booming bass lines. Killjoy’s melodic yet piercing voice shot into the bustling crowd below, sending chills down her and her bandmates’ spines. As she finished the opening song, she grabbed the microphone.

“ARE YOU READY FOR MORE MANEHATTAN?!”, and the audience below screamed incoherently. “I SAID, ARE YOU READY?!”, the audience shouted louder, and Killjoy grinned widely, going back to her music.

♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩

In the crowd, Ash was having the time of his life, this was something he’d been looking forward to for months, and he was savouring every millisecond of it. At a particularly cool guitar riff, Ash leaned his head up and shot a jet of fire out of his mouth in his excitement. While this alarmed non-dragons near him, other dragons in the crowd got caught up and started spewing their flames into the air.

“YEAHHHH!!!!” Ash roared out with another jet of flame. His eyes were closed, feeling the extreme sound course through his body, his bones. Absolutely nothing like this took place in the Dragon Lands, other dragons were usually too busy fighting each other to appreciate music the way he did. Really, nothing could be better than this.

♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩

As flames from dragons in the crowd shot up, Killjoy’s pulse accelerated, feeling more and more energy and excitement building up and surging through her. The booming speakers vibrated the entire arena, and as the band played even louder, the audience echoed their bliss. In the midst of such overwhelming energy, Killjoy tossed her bass up, and galloped towards the edge for a stage dive without warning. Rosella and Blast looked shocked but not entirely unsurprised, knowing she had a tendency for impromptu stunts like this. Before they could stop her, she was already at the edge of the stage.

Killjoy’s dive took her right over the front of the crowd, all four legs spread out, a wide grin on her face. Below her was Ash, eyes closed, enjoying the music. Ash opened his eyes to see her only inches away from him, and mid-jump, Killjoy had realised too late that she was heading straight for impact with the wyvern, and before she could open her wings to soften the blow, she barreled straight into him. Ash had reflexively stuck out his wings in an attempt to protect his face, and the entire weight of the mare fell straight on his right hand, which bent backwards forcefully.

"HOLY FUCK-" Though Rosella and Blast's instruments were still booming through the speakers, drowning out the sickening crunch of breaking bones, it didn’t stop either of them from feeling it. They both tumbled to the ground, Ash groaning loudly in pain, smoke leaking from his mouth as the wyvern clutched at his now obviously broken wing.

“OW! MY WING! FUCK!”, he shouted as he struggled not to let out fire, his wrist already starting to swell badly. Killjoy had rolled a short distance after landing on Ash, and rubbed her head, before quickly getting up and running over to her injured fan.

“OH CELESTIA-”, as Killjoy’s hooves covered her gaping mouth in shock, Ash had already blacked out due to the pain. The pegasus’ head frantically swivelled around, desperately looking for help, the pre-show coffee not doing much to help her jittery nerves. Nearby medical ponies on standby pushed through the crowd and loaded the unconscious wyvern onto a stretcher, quickly rushing him to a standby ambulance. Killjoy went with them, unable to think of anything else but the fan she had hurt. Rosella and Blast were still on stage, and the twins turned to each other in confusion and shock that their frontpony had left them mid-show. As Rosella quickly ran over to the closest available microphone to explain the situation, Killjoy was already long gone with the wyvern.

Chapter II

Ash, still unconscious, had been transported with haste to the nearby Manehattan General Hospital, where he had been placed in a bed. Waking up a couple of hours later, he groaned and looked around to see where he was. Looking at his right wing, he saw it had been bandaged to a splint and was propped up on a pillow, awaiting further treatment. It still hurt badly, and he winced, looking to his left, and seeing Killjoy napping in a chair in the corner of the room. He coughed a little, and she woke, looking guiltily at Ash.

“What are you doing here?”, the wyvern sounded quite hostile towards the pegasus, who immediately ran to his bedside and began apologising profusely.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I promise I didn't see you when I jumped off stage! I wasn't thinking straight but that's no excuse! I'm so sorry!!" The remorseful mare began sobbing beside him and covering her face with her wings in shame. Ash couldn't bring himself to look at the mare he had idolised before. She was truly sorry, he knew that, but she had also done something reckless and hurt him.

"Look, the doctor will be coming in soon. I hope my wing isn't too badly hurt...", he tried to sound a bit less bitter about what had happened, but it was difficult, considering what her reckless actions had brought. He looked down at his bandaged wing, grunting with each tiny movement of his hand, knowing deep inside that his wing was definitely broken. A pegasus doctor walked into the room, holding an X-ray sheet, which he clipped onto a light projector on the wall.

"Good evening Ash, I'm Dr. Brightwing, I specialise in wing injuries here at Manehattan General. So we took the liberty of x-raying your wing while you were out, unfortunately, it does look like a rather bad wing fracture. From what I can tell, your hand was bent back pretty forcefully by the weight of Miss Killjoy here, both the main bones were completely broken at your wrist. The impact has caused several other minor fractures. I'm afraid I’m going to have to set your wing and then place it in a cast so that it can heal properly. I’ll get supplies for that, just wait here for a few minutes."

Dr. Brightwing left the room, leaving Ash to process what he had been told, who leaned back on his pillow and sighed heavily. With the harrowing news the doctor gave, the guilt that hung on her heart only grew heavier. A lump began to form in her throat as she choked back sobs. The pegasus couldn't bear to face her fan after that. She turned to the wyvern and stammered an apology.

"I am so sorry... I swear, I'll pay for all the treatments and fees and I know that's still not enough but I really don't know what else I can do...", she tried to finish her sentence, but buried her face further into her wings. Ash couldn’t let his situation consume him any more, and instead just turned to Killjoy.

"Look... I was just being bitter earlier. I accept your generosity. It's nice you would do this for a fan...", the wyvern managed to let out a small smile saying that, despite what had just happened to him.

"It's still not enough...", Killjoy breathed out, finally glancing back at the wyvern, guilt plastered all over her face. Ash tried to lift up his wings to gesture, hissing as the right one flared up.

"Ooh... look, I couldn't afford the treatment and recovery for this kind of injury, not on my salary, so your kindness really is appreciated!" Dr. Brightwing trotted back in, a nurse behind him pushing a cart carrying bandages and plaster. With the assistance of the nurse, he swiftly tugged on Ash's wrist to set the bones, causing Ash to cry out in pain, a burst of flame singing the ceiling. Killjoy was startled by the sudden jet of flame, and stared in astonishment at the dragon as she had never been so close to one before, she had only seen some from afar in the crowds of her shows.

"...ow", Ash weakly let out, a few tears beading in the corners of his eyes as he gritted his teeth. The doctor apologised and proceeded to fold up the wing membrane against his arm, before wrapping several layers of bandages and plaster around the wing, forming a solid plaster cast to ensure that Ash couldn't move his wing during the healing process. He then made a sling out of a triangular piece of cloth, securing Ash's wing in place. Shortly after the doctor had left the room, Killjoy hesitantly glanced back at the injured fan.

"Sorry, I never got your name... I'm Killjoy- oh what am I saying, you already know that-", she trailed off in embarrassment. Ash winced as he inspected his new cast.

"I'm Ash, it really is nice to meet you personally like this, even given the… circumstances...", Ash was grinning, and the pegasus swivelled back around to Ash and smiled back.

"You're too nice, even after, y'know...", she trailed off again until hearing hoof steps outside growing louder.

"Kill! Which room are you in?" "It's this floor, right?", two voices were heard faintly outside.

"That's Blast and Rose! Uhh should I tell 'em to not bother you, Ash?", Killjoy asked hesitantly. Ash's attention was caught, and he sat up in his bed, looking rather excited, momentarily forgetting about the pain in his wing,

"Wait! I'd love to meet them too! I love your band so much!", Killjoy nodded and trotted outside to fetch the rest of the band. As the pegasus ushered the twin unicorns in, the sound of discontent echoed.

"How many times have we told you not to stage-dive like that!" "I knew pre-show coffee was a bad idea..." "What are you gonna do now?! You went and injured a fan!" "Not to mention you LEFT US MID SHOW.”, as the two unicorns lectured Killjoy, the three made it into the room with Ash. It was hard not to feel pity for the pegasus as she nodded in shame. When they had all made it to Ash's bed, the two apologised profusely on Killjoy's behalf, almost like they were her parents.

"I'm so sorry for all the trouble Killjoy caused, if there is anything we can do to help, we'll try our best", Rosella offered while levitating a small piece of paper with the band's manager’s address.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout our Kill, she can be a major doofus sometimes." Blast scoffed while scowling at the frontpony. Ash smiled nervously and rubbed the back of his head with his unhurt wing.

"It's fine really, she already offered to cover my treatment costs, but thank you for offering! Say... can I get your autographs? I don't have any paper, but I guess this cast will do just fine!” Ash rolled back his sling to show the plaster cast now adorning his right wing. The two unicorns smiled warmly while levitating a marker on the bedside table to sign his cast. After both sisters were done, the two glared at Killjoy as she trotted over to sign as well.

"Soh-ry aghain..." Killjoy apologised with the marker in her mouth. Ash grinned at the new signatures on his cast.

"Thank you so much, man all my friends at work are gonna be so jealous! Uh... not of the broken wing, that I got to meet you guys! And don't worry about it too much, Killjoy! You didn't mean to, and dragons heal fairly quickly, I'll heal faster than if you broke your wing like this." Killjoy let out a sigh of relief and smiled warmly at Ash.

"That's good to hear, but at least let me treat you to dinner or something, I'd feel bad if I didn't...", she offered, "...and because those two would kill me...", the mare quietly added. Ash looked happy at the prospect of a free lunch, especially with such a big star as Killjoy.

"Sure! But... I'm a carnivore, are you okay with me eating meat? I know a lot of ponies get rather squeamish at that sort of thing... but I know a great restaurant that caters to all sorts of species. Or if you know any places too that'd be cool!"

Killjoy paused hesitantly and glanced at both Rosella and Blast, who both squinted their eyes annoyingly as if telepathically threatening her to go, "U-uh, sure!", Killjoy quickly yelped. Ash promptly sat up in his bed, practically shooting up, suddenly things were looking up for him.

The two unicorns bumped Killjoy toward Ash with their rumps and said their goodbyes. As the pegasus followed Ash to the check-out area and paid for the fees and picked up his pain medication, her mind could not help but wander to haunting images of the meat-based meals. Feeling queasy, her front legs began to tremble. Ash signed the checkout form, rather sloppily with his left hand, a painful reminder of his current limitation. After leaving the hospital, he met Killjoy outside.

"Come on then, it's this way!", Ash tried to open up his wings to fly, forgetting about his broken one, and had to stop himself from letting out a pained groan as the cast and sling stopped him from moving it, grinning nervously back at Killjoy, “Hehe... on second thoughts it's not too far, we can walk..."

Killjoy regained her composure and smiled at Ash as she trotted over instead of flying hoping it was the polite thing to do in such a situation, "Y'know if they have donuts there?", Killjoy asked genuinely, now that her belly was rumbling.

"I don't think so. It's more of a sit-down meal restaurant, but they just cater to a wide variety of species. More of them popped up now that there's greater species integration in Equestria. I love their pork sandwiches!", Ash drooled a bit thinking of the food. Though the thought of meat was enough to make Killjoy nauseous again, her hunger persevered. The odd pair arrived at the restaurant and sat at an available table. As the two began looking through the vast menu, the pegasus ordered a daisy sandwich alongside a wheat smoothie.

"Whaddya wanna get, Ash?", Killjoy asked, almost hesitantly, knowing it would contain meat.

Ash looked through the menu, pondering the choices. He noticed Killjoy looking somewhat nervous at the menu, containing dishes like chicken, beef, fish, and pork, catered specifically for carnivorous species like gryphons and dragons, they even had a gryphon for their head chef.

Ash looked up from his menu at the clearly uncomfortable Killjoy, "I don't have to order meat if it makes you uncomfortable. I could always order something that's not meat, I could request some gemstones to make it more palatable, I have meat at home."

"No, please! don't mind me, just order whatever you like best! It's the least I could do...", the mare gulped, subconsciously readjusting her wings. Ash still wasn't convinced, but his primal urge to eat meat told him otherwise. A hippogriff waiter walked up with a notepad to take their order.

"Alright then, I guess I'll go with the fried chicken sandwich. With the amethysts on the side. Thanks!"
As their respective meals arrived, the familiar scent of the daisy sandwich calmed Killjoy down, quickly shot back down as the smell of cooked meat overpowered it. As much as Killjoy wanted to gag, she persevered and began biting at her burger.

"So, how long have you been a fan for, Ash?", the pegasus asked, in hopes of distracting herself. Ash cut his burger in half to make it easier to eat with only one hand free.

Ash bites into his burger, savouring the taste of the spicy chicken, before crunching down on an amethyst, speaking with his mouth still partially full, "I've been a fan for as long as I can remember, this was the first time I've actually been to one of your concerts though! I have all your albums, creatures say your second album was the best, but personally, I think your third one is!"

Killjoy’s regret at hurting Ash eased, seeing the dragon more cheerful, "Haha thanks! I remember for our third album, we locked ourselves in the studio for almost a week! We were on a roll!", Killjoy reminisced. "I'd love to see you again for our future concerts! Promise I won't crush your wing agai-", the mare joked which she cut abruptly as she was unsure whether or not it was appropriate.

Ash looked up at Killjoy, swallowing his food before laughing, "Yes! In fact, try to avoid crushing anyone's wings, or any limbs for that matter! It's really okay though, I'll be fine. I'd love to come to more concerts! But... money's kinda tight, I saved up for ages to get those tickets, plus I don't think a tightly packed concert's a good place for someone in my state right now. Maybe when I'm healed..."

Looking around her, a brand new idea hit Killjoy, her ears and wings flicking up enthusiastically, "How 'bout this! Pretty sure our manager can book us in for a gig at a small bistro 'round here sometime this week since we've got some free time. It's a public venue so feel free to drop by!", Killjoy offered, flapping her wings in excitement.

Ash looked a bit confused, "Isn't a bistro a bit... small? You know, for a band of your size anyway, you're usually filling out whole stadiums or concert halls!"

"Not if it's a pop-up! Nopony knows yet!", Killjoy giggled to herself, "Well other than you!... Please don't tell anypony, I'll be in a lotta trouble-", the mare quietly added, her ears drooping.

Ash waved his good wing dismissively before going back for another bite of his chicken, "It's okay, I'm good with secrets. I look forward to it!"

Killjoy sighed in relief as she continued digging into her daisy sandwich. Before long, creatures from other tables began glancing more and more toward their table. Killjoy noticed and whispered to Ash, "Is there something on my face?"

Ash looked at Killjoy's face, looking for any patches of sauce or crumbs, "Uhh, no not really. Couple crumbs. You're a star, of course creatures are gonna be looking at you. Did any news get out about the incident at the concert?"

"Oh no...", Killjoy trailed, burying her face into her hooves.
"Isn't that Lovejoy or whatever her name is?"
"Didn't she leave mid-set cos she injured a fan? What a joke..."
"No way… is that the fan??”

Chapter III

As the whispers and judgement grew louder, Killjoy's breathing grew faster and more shallow. Ash looked nervously around the whispers then back to Killjoy, "Do you want to leave? We can always go somewhere else, a bit less public."

As much as Killjoy wanted to protest, the mare gave in and nodded. After swiftly paying for the half-eaten meals and speed-trotting out of the restaurant, the pegasus began to calm down., "Sorry about that... Usually, I have Rosella or Blast to back me up but I don't know... I'm so sorry I couldn't even treat you to a full meal-", Killjoy apologised, getting visibly more upset as if she was on the verge of tears.

Ash was unsure about how to reassure the mare, "Uhh… hey, you don't have to be sorry! I managed to sneak the amethysts into my bag before we left. I'd ask if you want one, but I doubt ponies can handle these."

He bit into one, looking a bit disgusted, "Blergh, they're cold... lemme just..."
Ash concentrated, and a small flame appeared in his left hand, heating up the amethyst. Biting into it, he looked a lot more satisfied, "Mmm, amethysts are definitely one of the few gems you want to eat hot. So, you still wanna do something? I've got nothing else to do for the night.”

Killjoy stared in disbelief, "How did you- I didn't know- I mean- HUH???", she blurted out.
"Sorry, I just thought you can only breathe fire, not anything like this!", the pegasus gasped in awe, fluttering to the wyvern's hand to get a better look.

Ash smirked a bit, "It's a family trait. Elemental breath is a pretty standard trait among dragons, some have a more magical fire, and some have ice breath. My family has had more advanced fire abilities for generations. Like the ability to generate fire with our hands and feet, and we can even shape our fire too. Watch."

Ash swallowed another amethyst and expanded the flame in his hands, making the shape of a pegasus similar to Killjoy, "I'm still practising, and it takes a lot out of my internal magic stores to shape the flame. It's why dragons eat gems, we can convert them into magic to fuel our abilities."

Killjoy's jaw dropped lower as she watched intently, "That's... AMAZING!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU CAN CONTROL THE SHAPE TOO??", the mare yelled in excitement while flying in loops to emit her energy. After praising Ash's abilities some more, the pegasus curiously asked, "Say, what does gems taste like to you?"

Ash looked in thought before answering, "Depends on the gem really. Like rubies have a very intense spice flavour, but amethysts tend to be more savoury, diamonds are quite sweet, and emeralds tend to have a minty taste to them, at dragon diners they'll give you an emerald to freshen your breath afterwards. Lower-grade gems like quartz tend to be rather bland though, they're the gem equivalent of bread, it'll fill you up and replenish your magic stores, but they're just kinda bland."

"Woah, that's actually really interesting!! Now I wanna learn more... maybe I'll go and visit Vele sometime..." Killjoy muttered half to herself.

Ash looked curious, "Vele? Who's Vele?"

"Oh, Velebeth’s a friend of mine from waaaay back! Haven't seen her in a while. Pretty sure she's still an alchemist so she's got plenty of gems in her collection!" Killjoy chattered, clearly happy just thinking about her old friend.

Ash drooled slightly thinking about more gems, "I gotta get myself a friend with gems. I never have enough..."

Killjoy put her hoof to her muzzle, thinking about something, before almost blurting out, "Say, how 'bout we go visit her! Think of it as making up for the meal I was supposed to shout!", Killjoy offered, "And it'll be a good opportunity for me to see her again!", she added happily.

Ash's eyes almost sparkle with the thought of all the gems that Killjoy said that her friend had, "Yeah! This day keeps getting better!" Ash tries to fist pump with his right wing but forgets about the cast and sling, and he ends up hurting it, fresh pain coursing through the limb. He clutches at his wrist, "Ow! Oooh..."

Killjoy flinched just thinking about the pain, "Oof, you alright?", reaching her front hooves near his injured wing, not sure how to help.

Ash winced and gritted his teeth as Killjoy carefully inspected his wing, "No it's okay, it's just fresh break pain, it'll pass. That sounds nice though, I'd love to go! And yeah, obviously I can't fly right now, the train sounds like the best option."

Killjoy"But y'know, she lives at the edge of Ponyville, considering the time, if we leave now, we won’t get there until morning…”

Ash was still excited anyway, “It’ll be okay, it’s Friday anyway, I won’t have work to deal with tomorrow.”

Killjoy nodded and led Ash to the nearest train station. As she bought two tickets to Ponyville, their train arrived shortly and the two hopped on, "Manehattan's pretty far from Ponyville even if it's an express train, so make yourself comfortable! If you want any snacks, just tell me and I'll get some for ya!" Killjoy offered happily.

Ash made himself comfortable on the train, taking off his sling and resting his broken wing on a cushion, getting a few strange looks from the travellers not used to dragons, "They're staring at me..."

Although Killjoy would cower at the thought of standing up for herself, she clearly had no trouble with defending others when she glared at the onlooking passengers.

"What are YOU lookin' at??!!", she hissed, making the ponies turn the other way.

Ash smiled at Killjoy, "Thank you, you didn't have to, it's just a few curious passengers, many ponies still aren't very used to non-pony species living among them... especially dragons, I know we don't exactly have the best reputation."

Before Killjoy could reply to Ash, the flash of a camera lit the two up. Killjoy’s wings fluffed up, Ash reactively moved his right wing in front of his face to block the light flash, causing it to flare up in pain, and he gasped, grabbing at his wrist while groaning in agony. The photographer, an earth pony stallion, looked at the photo printing out of the camera, oblivious to anything else near him.

The stallion laughed as he saw the photo "Oh man, that was the fan that Killjoy hurt at her concert earlier, the Manehattan Telegraph is gonna pay me shit loads for this!"

Killjoy was torn between checking if her friend was alright and yelling at the oblivious stallion which was a tad too out of her comfort zone. "I- I-" Killjoy froze.

The stallion approached Killjoy, a smug look on his face, ignoring the wyvern clearly in agony, "Come on, everyone knew you did some stupid stage dive and got some fan messed up earlier, never knew it was a dragon though, now that I think about it, that newspaper in the Dragon Town in Fillydelphia would love this!"

As Killjoy's gaze gravitated back to Ash's cries of pain, anger boiled underneath her fur. Although the pegasus may have had a small build, she pushed the stallion away, grabbing the photo and tearing it up. The photographer’s camera also smashed on the floor as he fell backwards.
"Y-You better piss off before I rip you a new one!" Killjoy managed to muster, even if she had stuttered from anxiety.

The stallion snorted in anger, "Fucking psycho bitch! You sure love breaking things don't you, first that guy's wing, now my camera! I'm sending your manager a bill for this!"
The stallion walked away angrily, leaving the pair alone finally.

Killjoy, clearly distraught, began to breathe faster again. Through the stress of the situation, she still managed to check up on Ash, "Your wing alright? Sorry 'bout all that, you just can't catch a break today huh?", she said light-heartedly, in hopes of cheering him up.

Ash tried to cheer up, but the ordeal had left his wing feeling very sore, "It's fine, it's just really sensitive right now, I must have moved it too fast when I was trying to block the light flash. I'll just rest it for now. That guy was a handful wasn't he? Is that common for you, ponies just taking photos of you?"

Killjoy sighed, "Sadly yeah, I try to not let it get under my skin but sometimes they just take it too far y'know… but that's the least of my worries right now, all the bits for the hospital fees and now the camera and not to mention the presses waiting for me... my manager's gonna be pissed..."

"I mean... surely those things are only a tiny fraction of what you make? You're one of the biggest stars in Equestria, surely you can easily afford those?"

Killjoy continued, "Sure but keep in mind, all the bits put into maintaining and buying instruments, acommodation, merchandise... Using up more bits than necessary isn't gonna be good for the band's wallet. And with what happened today, it's not lookin' too good for the band's image either."

Trying to lighten the mood, she offered to go fetch some food for the two of them, leaving Ash alone. Ash was enjoying the view out of the window from the train, his day turning from bad with his injury at the concert to rather good. He was excited to have a superstar as a friend too! She was really nice, considering what she did to him, even though it was an accident, and she did seem genuinely remorseful.

From behind, a unicorn mare walked up to him, looking at him in a rather hostile way.
"Excuse me, how did someone like you end up travelling in the company of a pony like Killjoy?"
Ash raised his brow and replied to the snooty mare,
"What do you mean, 'someone like me?', you mean just a regular creature?"
The unicorn smirked back,
"Someone with her status shouldn't be lowering herself by associating with lizards and cripples."

Ash looked very angry at that statement, smoke starting to leak from his nostrils.
"I'm not crippled, it's just a broken wing. I'll be fine in like a month tops. And I'd be careful about calling me ‘lizard’. Isn't Princess Twilight's oldest friend and personal advisor a dragon? She's done much for species integration, I have just as much right to be here as anyone else."

The unicorn's face turned from smirk to anger. Ash looked defiant but still felt nervous, wondering when Killjoy would return. Despite his dragon physiology making him very tough, his broken wing still made him feel vulnerable. As Killjoy scoured the train for food, she came across a cart with snacks catering to creatures other than ponies, including a small selection of gems for dragons to snack on.
"What were the flavours Ash liked again...? Hm let's see... He looked like he enjoyed his amethysts back at the restaurant, I'll get some of that... Oooo maybe some sapphire as well? Not sure what they taste like but hopefully good... Oh and some diamonds while I'm at it!" as the mare paid for the gems and began heading back to her carriage, ponies began blocking her way.

"E-excuse me", Killjoy said meekly.

"Hey! Aren't you that frontpony who stacked it on a dragon or somethin'?!"
"What're you doin'? Fleein' Manehattan outta shame?", the growing crowd jeered

"W-what? It's not like that..." Before Killjoy could explain herself, another pony chimed in.

"What are all those gems for? Oh Celestia, don't tell me they're for that dragon you crushed... I'm a fan of yours so don't get me wrong but honestly I would've just left them, I'd understand if they were a pony...", the pony scoffed.

"What?! He's a wyvern mind you! And so what if he's not a pony?! Doesn't mean he's any different from us! And don't you DARE call yourself my fan if you don't even have any basic respect." Killjoy retaliated, flicking her tail at their face. As she trotted back to her carriage, she was met with a unicorn with her back towards her, talking to Ash. Not sure if the two knew each other, she meekly tilted her head behind the unicorn just enough for only Ash to see her. Ash was starting to feel very small as the unicorn continued her derogatory remarks. It wasn't anything he hadn't encountered before but it was still frustrating. Eventually, he saw Killjoy's head pop up behind the unicorn.

"It seems like your problem is more with Killjoy associating with me rather than with me as a creature, seeing as you actually don't know me in the slightest." Ash addressed the unicorn. Killjoy's ears perked up, almost understanding the situation.

"Hey, what's goin' on here?" the pegasus intervened, bumping the unicorn on the side.

Ash felt relieved at the presence of Killjoy, knowing that at least someone around here had his back, "This mare is bothering me."

The unicorn looked enraged, "I was just saying, Miss Killjoy, how it's unbefitting of you to associate with these creature types.”

"Excuse me? I'm sorry, but I don't need a lowlife like you calling themself my fan while terrorising my FRIEND." Killjoy hissed. "Now GET LOST BEFORE I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET BEING BORN.” As small of a frame as the pegasus was, her now puffed fur and wings made her almost intimidating.

The unicorn looked down on Killjoy with contempt, "You better watch yourself. You're only digging yourself into a deeper hole here. I saw what you did with that photographer, your reputation is already taking a hit. And reputation is everything. Good day miss." The unicorn turned up her nose and walked back to her seat, no doubt in first class along with the other snooty ponies.

The pegasus' 'intimidation' persona dropped and she trotted back to Ash in defeat, "I'm so sorry, today must've been horrible... I just can't believe so many of my 'fans' can be so cruel..." Killjoy continued, "But y'know, even if word gets out about that photographer or whatever and my career ends because of it even if I've shared my side... then it wasn't a career worth having. I believe that all creatures should be equal so if my company and my fans disagree, I don't want anything to do with them."

Sensing the mood growing damper, Killjoy switched the topic. "Oh but who cares! I fetched you some gems, go wild", the pegasus smiled warmly as she heaved the pile of bright gems onto the table.

Ash’s eyes widened as he saw the small bag of gems on the table in front of him, "Wow, thank you, Killjoy! This is too much, really! But... I can't say no to gems. I've actually never had sapphire before, every time I go to the gem store back home they're always out. I've always wanted to try one, but my parents wouldn't let me as a hatchling, they insisted I wouldn't like them."

"Phew, thank Celestia. I didn't know which ones to pick…", the mare loosened up, "Go try the sapphire! Now you got me curious what it'd taste like!"

Ash gave the sapphire a cautious sniff. He eventually bit into it. A few crunches later, he smiled.
"This tastes great! It's like a sweet berry flavour!"

Killjoy's smile beamed as she flicked her tail in delight. "That's so cool!! Lucky thing I chose it huh", the mare giggled.

Ash continued to savour the taste of the sapphires along with the other gems, still getting a few strange stares from ponies unaccustomed to seeing someone eat gems, but he didn't particularly care.
"Thank you, Killjoy, really, this is nice."

At last, Killjoy finally let out a sigh of relief seeing her friend happy. "Better not eat too much though, gotta save your stomach for when we get to Vele's”, Killjoy joked, "Last time I was there, there were barrels of gems... wouldn't be surprised if she was actually a dragon this entire time with the amount she has.”

Ash nodded in agreement.
"I'm gonna go to sleep for a bit until we get there."

Killjoy smiled, and as Ash began to get comfortable for a nap, she grabbed a spare pen and her notebook from her bag. As the wyvern drifted off to sleep, the pegasus started to write down lyrics, only stopping ever so often to glance out the window to take in the beautiful scenery of the countryside of Equestria.

Chapter IV

Ash woke up a few hours later as they began their approach to Ponyville, clearing smoke from his nostrils that had accumulated while he slept.
"Guhhh... we there yet?"

Killjoy was so engrossed in her work, she almost didn't hear him. "We passed Canterlot around 3 hours ago, we'll be in Ponyville very soon! How was your sleep?" the mare asked.

Ash rubbed some of the sleep from his eyes."Pretty good... wish I could have slept for longer though. Very old dragons can sleep for decades."

"Whaaa", Killjoy scoffed as if she could sleep longer, "I wish I could sleep for that long, been so tired recently", she yawned.

Ash explained some factoids about his race, "Yeah, dragons can live for centuries if nothing gets us first, my parents are around 200 years old, I still have living grandparents well into their 500s, and I'm actually 30, which is very young for a dragon, I'm still basically a teenager in dragon terms. Wyverns don't grow to the same size as other dragons though, I'm not gonna become the size of a building, this is about as big as wyverns get."

"Wow...", the mare trailed off, lost in thought as genuine curiosity washed over her. "Didn't realise you were so much older than me, guess I should pay more respect then!”, the pegasus light heartedly joked.

Ash laughed it off.
"Please don't, I'm still basically about 17 in your years."

Killjoy sat up in her chair, realising something, "Wait, that means I'm technically older than you! Guess I should take better care of you huh?"

Ash groaned, looking a bit embarrassed., "Urgh... don't do that either... I'm the youngest child in my family, I still get treated like a baby even though I live by myself and have a job. Can't wait for my 100th when they might actually start to treat me like an adult."

"Pfft, awhhh wook at wittle Ash", Killjoy joked further in a baby-like voice, trying her best not to laugh.

Ash snorted a little, "You sound like my sister! She's nice, she lives in Trottingham. Maybe you could meet her if she comes to visit.

Ash looks out the window, pressing his wings and face against the glass, the light of the early morning sun streaming over the quaint town of Ponyville, a wide grin plastered on his face, “Hey, I think we’re in Ponyville now!”

Killjoy laughed as she put her notebook and pen back in her pocket, "Pfft, y'know it's hard not to treat you like a kid when you act like that", The pegasus stretched her wings as the train pulled to a stop.

Ash blushed a bit.
"Hehe, yeah I guess you're right. So we're getting off then?"

"Yep!" As the two got off the train, the pegasus guided Ash toward the edge of Ponyville, nearing the ever-ominous Everfree Forest. "Should be around here somewhere...", she muttered to herself.

Ash saw the edge of the Everfree Forest, feeling somewhat spooked by whatever lay in the forest that he had only known by reputation, and he was in no state to be escaping from any hostile creatures.
"We're not going in there right?", Ash was quite nervous saying this.

"Don't tell me you're scared!", Killjoy chuckled. "Don't worry, pretty sure she lives just at the edge of it", she reassured, trotting closer and closer to the daunting forest.

"You'd be scared too if you broke your wing and couldn't easily escape from danger!" Ash still looked fairly nervous. As Ash glanced around nervously, the mischievous pegasus slipped into a bush just out of sight. Ash continued walking forward, not noticing Killjoy's absence.
"Something... doesn't feel quite right Killjoy... Killjoy?"

Snickering to herself, she bided her time and just when the wyvern turned his back toward her, she creeped closer and closer and pounced on Ash, imitating the roar of a timberwolf with the best of her ability, "AURGHHHH!"
Ash fell forwards in surprise, bashing his hurt wing on the ground. He masked most of the pain though to avoid upsetting Killjoy.

"Gotcha!!", the mare laughed, rolling on the ground. "Sorry, Sorry, I just had to", she breathed between laughs.

Ash winced a bit, looking at his broken wing, lifting it up slightly to see if the cast was damaged, but still managed to laugh with Killjoy.
"Pretty good, not gonna lie. But still, probably not a good idea to pounce on the fire-breathing dragon that also has a terrible injury?"

As much as Killjoy found the whole thing hilarious, the sudden reminder of his injured wing was enough to make the mare stop. "Yeah probably not hehe", she awkwardly replied.

"It's okay, it was pretty funny. I assume we're close?"
Ash was in a small amount of pain, he kept adjusting his sling to support his wing better, but still tried to hide it to avoid making Killjoy upset. She had already felt bad enough, he didn't want to make her feel worse.

"Hey I'd hope so! I know we've only just met today but you've grown on me, Ash", Killjoy said with a genuine smile.

"Me too, I'm sorry I was so hostile to you initially at the hospital."
"Don't sweat it, I'd be pretty peeved too if somepony went and broke my wing", Killjoy shuddered just imagining the pain.
"Yeah... just be careful with those wings, I took mine for granted until I couldn't use them.", Ash looking ruefully at the cast, already bothering him.

Killjoy nodded, readjusting her wings as she got up. As the mare trotted further, the roof of a humble home appeared behind the thicket, “I think I've found it!”

As Killjoy galloped over to the rustic cottage, she was met with a sign reading ‘Rosenberg Alchemy’ “Yep, this is it!”, the pegasus exclaimed, fluttering her wings in excitement.

Killjoy knocked on the hefty, wooden door, and a creamy white unicorn with a broody vinous mane greeted her. “Killjoy? Is that you? I haven’t seen you in ages!” As the two embraced and exchanged friendly pleasantries, Killjoy gestured at Ash while the unicorn mare politely waved.

Ash nervously waved at the unicorn with his good wing, "Ash, it's nice to meet you!"

“I’m Velebeth Rosenberg, pleasure to meet you”, the unicorn spoke sweetly. Velebeth invited the two into her abode, “Please make yourself comfortable. Shall I fetch us some tea?”

Ash smiled at Velebeth, "Yes please, no sugar."
Velebeth nodded and headed into her kitchen, levitating fine teacups and expensive tea leaves from her cupboards. As Killjoy got comfortable on the velvety coach, it was hard not to see the stark contrast of the pegasus and the unicorn mares.

Ash looked around the unicorn's living room.
"So, Miss Rosenberg, how long have you been living here? And how do you know Killjoy? Seems like there wouldn't be much opportunity for an alchemist and a rock star to meet."

As the unicorn trotted back with freshly brewed tea, she spoke, "Oh I've lived here almost a decade! Funnily enough, I met dear Killjoy back when I still lived in Canterlot”, Velebeth took a sip of her tea, "I still remember the day I met her, on my first day of cello lessons! I was waiting for the pony before me to finish when a little pegasus rushed in with a bass guitar almost double her size!" Killjoy couldn't help but blush.
"Apparently she got lost and couldn't find the studio her band was in but that didn't stop her from looking around and talking to everypony in her vicinity." Velebeth chuckled.

"Of course, I was too nervous to say anything as I was busy sorting my music sheets. But perhaps it was because of how anxious I appeared that Killjoy approached me and started a conversation. She raved about how amazing my cello looked and even asked why I looked so nervous. When I explained it to her, she told me something I will never forget." Velebeth paused.

"Doesn't matter if you're good or not. Music is a part of you, and don't you dare let anyone tell you how to be you", the two mares said in unison.

"Of course, we would see each other weekly as our studios were in buildings adjacent to one another but after I moved here and Killjoy signed a record label and toured the whole of Equestria, we've seen each other less and less. Which is why I was so happy when I saw you!", Velebeth finished, smiling contently at Killjoy.

Ash listened to the story with interest.
"That's such a lovely story, it's nice that you get to see each other today. So Miss Rosenberg, what exactly do you do as an alchemist?"

"Most definitely", Velebeth smiled, taking another sip from her cup. "But excuse my manners, I've talked about myself for so long, how did the two of you meet?", she asked curiously.

Ash and Killjoy looked rather sheepishly at each other
"Well... kinda awkward, we only just met at her Manehattan concert last night..."

"How lovely! Nice to hear you're still on tour, Killjoy! I'm assuming Ash is a fan?"

Ash grinned, "Yep I am! Still kinda awkward how we actually got to meet in-person though..." Ash looked at his injury and rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh dear, how in Equestria did you injure your wing so badly my sweet?”, the unicorn asked while inspecting the wyvern’s wing cast closely, as Ash explained the story,

"Well I was at the concert, and Killjoy kinda wanted to do a crowd dive, and I wasn't prepared and she landed hard on my wing. It's all okay though, I've got this cast for a few weeks, still sore now, but it should be fine soon. No hard feelings towards Killjoy, it was just an accident."

To Ash and Killjoy’s surprise, Velebeth burst into laughter, “Oh! Forgive me, I just couldn’t help but think of the time Killjoy dislocated my shoulder!”, the unicorn said between laughs. “Now that I think about it, didn’t you break your band member’s hoof once? And almost broke another member’s horn?”, the mare added, as Killjoy looked away almost comically.

"Rosella almost ripped my wings off back then cos of it-", the pegasus added with a shudder.

Ash chuckled loudly, "Sounds like you need to be more careful with your band members AND your fans!" Killjoy nodded and gave a meek chuckle back as she scratched her nape sheepishly.

Velebeth got up, gesturing for the pair to follow her."Oh but Ash my dear, you are in luck. I was just working on a healing elixir. Your wing does look quite bad, so it won’t be able to heal it fully, but it will cut the healing time by a couple weeks!"
Ash looked surprised at the unicorn
"Are you sure? If you designed that for pony injuries, I have to say dragon physiology is uh… quite different... I don't want to end up taking something that could do me harm…"

Velebeth reassured the worried dragon,
"Not to worry, I've experimented with many creatures and it seems as though it is a universal one. Though, it may be less effective on creatures of a larger stature as opposed to smaller ones such as breezies, cockatrices, or even small dragons!"
Velebeth sounded very knowledgeable about her potions, "But it is still wise to take precautions... I'm assuming you are a wyvern, Ash?"

Ash showed his good wing.
"Yep, only wings, no separate arms"
Velebeth admired the wyvern’s broad wing, looking over him, analysing him, "Right, is it alright if I collect a sample from you? I’ll need something to get the potion base calibrated to your species.”
Ash nodded approvingly, “I’ll probably have a few loose scales you can use.”

As the two followed the unicorn closely down a flight of stairs, guided by the illumination of her horn’s magical glow, the gentle creaks and hoofsteps provided a comforting ambience. Once the three had arrived in the cluttered yet organised room, filled to the brim with herbs, gems, potions, and elixirs, a large cauldron with a viscous liquid which glowed a dark purple greeted them in the centre of it all. Velebeth levitated a quill and a thick hardcover book with lines upon lines filled with the ingredients of the elixir and the effects of it on different creatures. Once everything was set, she floated a small bottle toward Ash and removed the cork, “Whenever you’re ready”

Ash reached around onto his right shoulder and plucked a scale that had come loose when Killjoy had fallen on his wing earlier, and dropped it into the bottle.

"Thank you, dear." The unicorn levitated a ladle with the elixir, pouring a drop of it into the bottle and putting the cork back on to shake. "We'll let that sit for a while but now that we're here, feel free to look around. I'm quite fond of my findings and if you come across anything you like, don't hesitate to ask for it!"

Now that they were given the opportunity to explore, it became clear that barrels of all the gems you could imagine surrounded them, each barrel sorted by size and type. Ash looked over at the barrels of gems, drooling slightly at the sheer volume of gems.
"How did you get this many gems? There's gotta be tons here!"

"Oh I've collected these ever since I moved here! Feel free to take as many as you like, those things are the main clutter in this room!", Velebeth encouraged. The gems in the barrels contained malachite, beryl, jade, painite, aquamarine, moonstones, the list just kept going!

"Oh and don't think I forgot about you, Killjoy! I've got some stamina potions with your name on it", Velebeth added, which was returned with a warm hug from Killjoy.

Ash grabbed a small bowl and filled it partially with a variety of gems, including some he'd never had before. He tried not to be too greedy though, doing his best to suppress his natural dragon greed instincts.
"These are great quality gems you have here, so flavourful... mmmmmm"

Velebeth chuckled as the wyvern carefully picked out a small handful of gems
"Don't worry my sweet, Miss Rosenberg won't mind if you took more!", the unicorn jested light heartedly as she filled a sizeable sack with large shards of each gem from her collection.

Ash giggled like a child.
"I don't think I've ever had this many gems! I'll have to hide these from other dragons, and not eat too many, I'll probably get fat!"

As the mare floated the filled sack to Ash, she trotted back to the bottle containing his scale and the elixir which was now an iridescent white hue.
"This must be your lucky day, this elixir will work wonderfully on you!"

Ash's smile widened as he saw the elixir in the bottle, excited at the prospect of hastening his recovery.
"Really? Wow, that was quick!"

"Mhm!" The unicorn began preparation and she levitated a bowl of the elixir and a cotton pad. As she gently removed the sling with her aura and saw the cast with the member's signatures, she couldn't help but smile. Ash looked at the cast, supporting it with his unhurt wing, and looked back to Velebeth, who was giving instructions.

"I'll have to soak your injured wing with the elixir and let it sit for around 10 minutes for it to seep into the cast, don’t worry, it won’t damage the plaster. It should turn an opaque white colour once it's done and you'll feel a lot better, I promise!", she reassured.

"But once you leave, you'll have to do this by yourself so please keep note. Apply around 1 cup of the elixir onto the cast with a cotton pad or cloth and wait for up to 10 minutes for it to seep in and do it's work. You'll only have to do this once a week after today and your wing should be all healed up in about 3 weeks less than usual!", the unicorn instructed.

As Velebeth began to soak Ash's cast in the elixir, a cool and itching feeling followed.
"It may feel a little uncomfortable as your bones are fusing back together, dear."

Ash felt the pain in his wing start to ebb, and felt a weird shifting sensation in his wing as some of the less serious fractures in his forewing and elbow started to heal over, though his wrist still felt very sore, having been the area where the worst breaks were. The unicorn began putting the material away and poured a bit more than a cup's worth of elixir into a bottle for Ash.

"I gave a little more than you need in case of any spillage but using a little more wouldn't do you any harm. If you need a helping hoof, you can always ask our friend, Killjoy over here", the mare chuckled as she gestured to the pegasus.

"This is really great Miss Rosenberg, but I should probably make sure with my doctor at the hospital though, not that I don't trust your abilities." After the soaking was complete, Ash heated his cast to dry it off, and put his sling back on to rest his wing.

Velebeth didn’t look insulted in the slightest, "No of course, it's always wise to take such precautions with your own body."

"Thanks. It's getting late though... I won't be able to make it back to Manehattan, luckily I had the next few days off work anyway. Is there anywhere here we can stay?"

"Yes of course! It would be lovely to have company", the unicorn exclaimed happily. She finished up setting everything away neatly and began climbing up the flight of stairs. "Come on, please enjoy your tea before they get cold and I'll go organise a place for you two to sleep tonight."

Ash noticed his tea had gotten cold, so he lit a small fire in his left palm, quickly reheating the drink, "Do you need your tea reheated Killjoy?"

"Ooh yes please!", the pegasus accepted as she handed her cup with both hooves.

Ash grinned, put down his own cup, and concentrated. Suddenly he let out a sneeze, a large jet of flame from his nostrils incinerating the cup in his hand. Ash stared at the burnt cup shards in his hand, "Uhh... I hope that cup wasn't expensive..."

"I-" Killjoy uttered in shock which was shortly followed by a burst of laughter "NO WAY- THAT MUSTVE COST AN ARM AND A LEG, SHE'S GONNA BE LIVID.”

Ash started looking nervous and looked around, panicking, "Oh no oh no no no no no... she helps with my wing and I break her stuff... I'm such a bad guest... what do I do?"

"Not much you can do... Probably best if you just told her and apologised, I'm sure she'll understand...", the pegasus trailed off, almost like she was trying to convince herself. Just as Killjoy finished talking, the familiar staccato of Velebeth's hoof steps began growing louder.

"Yeah... yeah... you're right... hopefully she's cool about it.", Ash felt more nervous as Velebeth entered the room.

"Your beds are all set, they are in the same room however... I hope you two don't mind?" Velebeth asked.

Ash couldn't hold it in any more, "I'M SORRY MISS ROSENBERG! I WAS TRYING TO HEAT UP KILLJOY'S TEA WITH MY FIRE AND I SNEEZED AND I INCINERATED ONE OF YOUR CUPS I'M SO SORRY!", Ash started breathing rapidly, smoke forming at the corners of his mouth.

Velebeth jolted back in shock as the wyvern apologised. "Oh poor dear... did Killjoy set you up to this? That cup was terribly inexpensive and not worth getting so worked up over", she chuckled.

Ash shot a dirty look at Killjoy, "Really? Urgh... you better hope I don't set something of yours on fire tonight. You say we're sharing the same room right?", Ash gave Killjoy an evil-looking grin.

Killjoy retracted her laugh and drooped her ears, looking to the mare, "Vele, you sure I can't sleep in your room tonight...?"

The unicorn muffled her chuckle and shook her head, "No, and I think this will do you some good", Velebeth half-lectured.

Ash chuckled malevolently, “Well thank you Miss Rosenberg! Don’t worry Killjoy, there’s only so many things I can set on fire…”

As Killjoy's posture slumped some more in defeat she muttered to herself, "Let's hope I didn't accidentally bring anything important..."

Ash whispered to Velebeth, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to burn anything of hers. You can play along if you want though.”

The unicorn winked and looked sternly at Killjoy., "Nothing in your room should be flammable as I had cast a fire protection spell in it but whatever you bring into it, I can't say for certain", the mare warned as if discipling a filly, "Now I'll go fix us some supper so you two play nice."

Ash inched closer to Killjoy and laughed, "It's okay Killjoy, I'm just messing with ya! Nothing is gonna get intentionally burned, I promise!"

The pegasus forced a chuckle as she gulped, "Hm what should we do now that Vele's busy with cookin'?", the mare diverted

"Should we offer to help? It's only polite I think", Ash asked.

"I don't know... From what I remember, she's always preferred doing stuff by herself... You can still ask though"

"I think we should... I'm going in."

Ash walked to the kitchen and knocked on the door, "Hello Miss Rosenberg, do you need any help with the food?"

"Oh aren't you the sweetest thing", Velebeth smiled warmly, "But no, I should alright, now go rest up or no amount of elixir can shorten the healing time for that wing"

"Oh, okay then! Smells really good by the way, what is it?", Ash took in a sniff, admiring the scent.

"Parsnip and mushroom stew! Don't worry, I'll add a bit of tofu as a meat substitute into your bowl when it's ready", the unicorn reassured, sprinkling herbs into the broth, further permeating the scent throughout the kitchen.

Ash smiled, "Thank you! It sounds great!"

While Ash went to offer Velebeth assistance, Killjoy laid on her back and playfully rolled a tasseled pillow with her hooves in the air. Ash walked back into the living room, and noticed Killjoy tossing the pillow, and laughed.

"You kind of look like a cat doing that!"

"Pfft, you sound like Victor! He's always sayin' that... dunno why though"

"You puff up when you're angry for starters. That's pretty cat-like, though that could just be a pegasus thing."

"Hey! Unlike a cat, I'm actually intimidating when I puff up! Didn't you see how scared that unicorn on the train was when I did?", Killjoy insisted.

"I mean... she was walking away anyway? She was just being rude to me, nothing I haven't been through before. Probably get at least one slur hurled at me a week in pony areas."

The pegasus' posture dropped. "I can't imagine gettin' used to that... Sorry, man", she sighed in defeat.

"It's just hard sometimes, you spend your life just trying to be a productive member of society, and some ponies can't see that, they only see the fire-breathing greedy monster that they were told stories about as a child. And I don't have the luxury of being able to lash out, because I know it's all too easy to hurt them and affirm their beliefs", Ash sighed.

Killjoy nodded in agreement but was unsure of what to say.

"But I try not to let that stuff get me down, there's a cool bar not too far from my apartment in Manehattan that's very species-inclusive, and there's a bunch of ponies that hang out there that support us. You'll have to come down some time!", Ash's smile returned.

The pegasus' wings puffed up, "Of course! And maybe I can ask my manager to book us there some time!", Killjoy suggested with stars in her eyes.

"That'd be great! Make it more species-inclusive! Maybe you could showcase some non-pony bands too?"

"Yes!! We'll probably just be the opening band but I'll make sure to stick around and mingle", Killjoy said excitedly, fluttering her wings.

"Yeah! You should talk to your manager about that, make it a charity affair or something!" Ash happily suggested to which Killjoy agreed eagerly. Velebeth then entered the living room, levitating three bowls with generous servings of stew. As she set them down on the table they were at, she dropped in some freshly made tofu.

"Alright you two, come eat your supper! And try not to burn these bowls, they cost a little bit more than those cups", the mare light heartedly joked.

"I'll try not to Miss Rosenberg! My parents always told me no fire at the table anyway, I always listened to them!" Ash smiled as he ate a spoonful of the stew. "Wow! This is really good, I don't even miss the meat!"

"That's good to hear! Haven't had many visitors recently so it's nice to cook something special once in a while", Velebeth smiled. As the three ate, they all talked further about their interests and careers.

"So Ash, I never got to ask but do you do anything for work?", the unicorn asked, scooping another spoonful of stew.

"Yeah! I work at a smelting plant in Manehattan, it hires a bunch of dragons, we basically make iron, steel, sometimes gold, we melt down recycling too to recast into new ingots for businesses. It's quite an exhausting job though, making fire all day really takes it out of you."
Ash slurped up another spoonful of stew, making sure to get a piece of the tofu. It wasn't exactly the same nourishment as meat would give him, but he didn't want to be rude, the taste was very nice.

"That's amazing! Goodness, it would come in handy if I had fire breathing abilities... Collecting firewood from the Everfree Forest can sometimes be so frightening…” Velebeth breathed out, her cheek resting on her hoof.

“Why don't you just go down to Ponyville and buy some firewood from Burnt Oak? When I get back from tour and need some, I always head down there!" Killjoy said, in between mouthfuls of stew
"Well, I would but from here to there is quite a trot and to be honest, I haven't had many commissions lately and I'm running low on bits so I'm trying to cut spendings where I can...", the unicorn sighed.

Ash looked confused, "Commissions? You’re an artist?"

"Oh heavens no! Best I can do are stickponies. What I meant by commissions were elixirs and potions! I am an alchemist after all!", Velebeth reminded.

"Hmm... can you sell your potions at a market? I'm sure there's ponies and creatures out there willing to buy your stuff, you helped me with my wing after all!"

"That would be good but as much as I can mix up effective treatments, I'm not so good at advertising...", Velebeth sighed.

"Last time I went to sell my goods, I was too nervous and quiet, ponies barely knew I was there!", she explained in defeat.

"I guess you just have to put yourself out there a bit more, your luck will turn, I'm sure of it!", Ash sounded supportive, grateful to the unicorn for helping with his wing.

"Thank you Ash, you’re too kind.", the mare smiled, finishing her bowl of stew.

"Wait Vele, I'll clean up" Killjoy offered, taking both hers and the unicorn's finished bowls, "It was really yummy, thank you", the pegasus smiled warmly.

Although she knew Velebeth's habit of doing tasks herself, Killjoy couldn't help but feel the need to give back after all the hospitality. Ash decided to get up and help too. His cast made it a bit difficult, but he was determined to help out, "I'll help too, least I can do."

"You really don't have to, your wing must still ache!" Velebeth protested.

"I mean... it does a bit bu-" Velebeth cut him off

"Uh uh uh", the unicorn stopped him, her hoof over his snout, "Killjoy and I will handle it, you just go make yourself comfortable, dear."

The unicorn mare then levitated his bowl and trotted into the kitchen where Killjoy was. The two chatted about the past while cleaning the dishes, leaving Ash alone in the living room. Eventually a few minutes later the ponies walked back into the living room where Ash was looking at a book about gems.

"Oh! Sorry, I shouldn't be going through your things Miss Rosenberg, it just looked like an interesting book, I'll put it back!”, Ash looked rather embarrassed as he motioned to put the book back in the bookcase.

"Oh dear, no need to feel embarrassed! I'm more than happy my book interests you! I used to refer to that almost everyday back when I first started collecting gems! Feel free to borrow it", Velebeth offered.

"You're too kind Miss Rosenberg, really..."

Velebeth smiled and glanced outside her stained glass windows. "My, it's getting late. I still have some work to do so feel free to do whatever", the mare said as she trotted back down the flight of stairs.

"I think I might head to bed now. It's been a long and somewhat painful couple days for me, I'd just like to go to sleep and have a fresh start tomorrow if that's okay.", Ash let out a big yawn, showing his many sharp teeth, a few wisps of smoke coming from his nostrils.

"Yeah I might do the same", Killjoy yawns, "Sure was hectic..."

As the two made their way upstairs into the guest room, the pegasus slumped onto one of the beds, the thick, padded quilt cushioning her. Ash went into the bathroom and had a quick shower. He didn't have anything to cover his cast with so he just awkwardly held his wing out of the shower.

Walking back into the bedroom he grinned at Killjoy, still soaking wet, "Hey, wanna see something cool?"

Ash simply raised his body temperature and evaporated all the water off his body, a steam cloud rising from his body. In almost an instant he was bone-dry again.

"WOAH!!" Killjoy exclaimed as her eyes widened in surprise and awe "I wish I could do that, it'd save me so much time and money... I swear my mane takes forever to dry", the mare sighed.

"Welp, now that you're done, it's my turn to wash up!", she said as she hopped off the comfortable bedding and fluttered off into the bathroom.

"Of course, shower's free! It's no lava bath but it works. Oh I turned the water onto the hottest it goes, just be careful."

Just as Ash warned her, the mare turned on the water and scorching water hit her side, "AAH!!!" Killjoy yelped as she jumped out the tub.

Ash heard Killjoy's scream as he was nearing his bed, "Killjoy! You alright?"

The mare groaned, her side now throbbing from the burn. Ash entered the bathroom, seeing Killjoy in pain from the hot water, "Killjoy! I'm so sorry, I tried to warn you... here... let me go get something..."

Ash quickly made his way downstairs and found Velebeth, "Miss Rosenberg! I left the shower on too hot and Killjoy scalded herself, do you have anything for burns?"

"Oh dear… this aloe vera will do the trick. Just make sure she applies it on the burn after a shower", Velebeth instructed.

Ash took the serum and rushed back upstairs, "Here Killjoy, wash in some cold water then rub this on it. It doesn't look too bad, just a small patch of redness."

The pitiful mare nodded and rushed her side with a stream of cold water. "Thanks Ash", she smiled.

Ash looked sad that he had inadvertently hurt a friend, "I'm really sorry Killjoy, I didn't mean to..."

Ash's guilt weighed on him as he left the bathroom to let Killjoy wash herself. Before Killjoy could reassure Ash, he had left the bathroom. She then sunk into the tub for a warm bath and finished shortly after, applying the aloe vera and slipping into a neatly folded nightgown. As the mare trotted back into the guest room and slumped back into her mattress, she noticed that Ash still looked guilty and upset.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up! It wasn't too bad of a burn and besides, what I did to you was way worse", Killjoy tried cheering him up

Ash still looked unsure."Yeah I guess, but it still sucks to cause someone pain, even if you didn't mean it."

"Heh, been there"

As Killjoy continued drying her mane with a towel she brought from the bathroom, each time she moved her hooves, it would tug at the tender skin below, causing the burn to ache.

Ash sighed, "Still not a great feeling, but if you're okay, then I'm okay too. I'm gonna head to sleep now."

Ash carefully took his sling off and put it on a table near his bed. Carefully propping his cast up on a spare cushion, he slowly drifted off to sleep, exhausted by the events of the last couple days. Killjoy finished drying a while after and tucked herself to sleep.

Chapter V

The morning light slowly seeped through the curtains of the guest bedroom, which roused Ash from his slumber. Stretching his limbs and rubbing sleep from his eyes, he saw Killjoy nearby, still fast asleep. Smirking, he decided to play a little trick on her. Putting his sling on and taking the glass of water on his table, he dipped his fingers into it, and slowly let water trickle onto her face.

As she soaked in the warm rays of the morning sun, a ticklish sensation grazed her face, making her flail her hooves and flap her wings in panic, "AAHHHH SPIDER!!! SPIDER AHHHH!!!", the frightened mare yelped.

Ash burst out laughing, "HAHAHAHA!!! Got you! Good morning Killjoy!"

As realisation hit, the pegasus chuckled, "I sure am rubbin' off on you huh?" the mare stretched.

"How do you know I've not always been like this?", Ash smirked as he looked in the mirror, giving his horns a quick buff with some flame to burn off any dirt.

"Then it must be fate! Oh Celestia, we're gonna be insufferable together!", Killjoy chuckled as she hopped out of bed to brush her mane, which looked significantly curlier and messier than yesterday, "Damn it, didn't think we'd stay outta town for the night and didn't think to pack my mane products..." she muttered to herself in annoyance.

"Yeah... this whole trip was a bit impromptu… we should probably get back to Manehattan. I got time off work though, the hospital called my boss, I have all the time off I need until my wing is less sore. Won't affect my job though, all I really do is just sit there making fire underneath a giant vat. Decent pay though.", Ash looked at his mouth in the mirror, using one of his claws to pick out a shard of ruby from his teeth.

"Yeah, let's go thank Vele and catch the express train back" Killjoy replied, putting on her beanie. The two rushed downstairs to be greeted by the creamy white unicorn, her mane meticulously styled with not even a strand out of place.

"Good morning Killjoy! Good morning Ash!", the peppy mare greeted with some warm apple dumplings spread on the table.", Reinette dropped by early this morning and gave me some apple dumplings! We have enough for all three of us." the mare smiled,
"I found some topaz and opals in my barrels for you Ash", the mare added, addressing the wyvern.

"Ooh, thank you Miss Rosenberg!", Ash crunched down on the gems, feeling his magic stores replenish, as happy as a dragon could be.

Velebeth nodded as she bit down on the sweet pastry. Killjoy joined in and scarfed down the dumpling, "Mmm! Reinette's still got the best apple dumplings! Better visit her some time too!", the pegasus exclaimed between bites. As the three finished their breakfast, Velebeth levitated a saddlebag toward Killjoy, filled with the promised stamina potions and healing elixir.

"Aw, thanks Vele! I'll make sure to come back sometime soon! I've missed you heaps!", and the two mares embraced, happy to have spent some time together as they used to.

Ash stuck out his good hand for Velebeth to shake, "It was very nice to meet you Miss Rosenberg, thank you for everything, it really means a lot."

"Of course, Ash! It was a pleasure to meet you, just follow my instructions, your wing should heal nicely. I wish you both a safe trip back to Manehattan!", the unicorn shook his hand and bid farewell.

As the pair walked down into town to get to the station, Ash couldn't help but ask a question,"So... I noticed your ears have some tufts on the tips. Do you have any bat pony genes? You have regular wings but I've only really ever seen those tufts on bat ponies."

"Hm? Oh yeah, my grandma from my dad's side is half batpony and I guess after a few generations, I only got a few of the traits. My ears are a lot more sensitive than other ponies and have those tufts you were talkin' about. Oh and I have fangs too!", Killjoy bared her teeth at Ash, the long, sharp fangs becoming evident.

Ash bared his own teeth at Killjoy, "Heh, mine are still better. I'm surprised you'd go into a career involving loud music, if you have sensitive hearing."

Killjoy chuckled at Ash's comment about his teeth, before elaborating about her hearing, "Oh and when we perform, I always have my earpieces in to protect my hearing and to not miss any cues" the pegasus continued "and my sensitive hearing helps me differentiate pitches!"

"Ah I see, like the cue not to jump into a crowd of creatures and crush a guy's wing by any chance?", Ash smirked, making the joke lightheartedly, he had already long-forgiven Killjoy.

"Ahaha... yeah...", Killjoy chuckled, slightly embarrassed and remorseful.

Ash elbowed Killjoy's head lightly, "Ahh, it's okay, it's in the past now. So... I know you kinda felt a bit repulsed by me eating meat... I kinda need some now, dragons need to eat it every day. I heard there's a stand here run by a gryphon for the meat-eating students of the Friendship School. I haven't had any since a few bites of chicken yesterday. You don't have to come, I won't be long, I just need a bite before we go on the train so I don't... well... pass out."

"That's fair, I'll go get some snacks for the train ride and maybe visit some friends down at the markets while I'm at it. Meet you at the train station at 12?"

"Sure! See you there."

Killjoy flew into the markets and picked up some food, meeting up with Reinette and thanked her for that morning's breakfast, the two old friends caught up until the pegasus said her goodbyes and continued to buy more food and trinkets in the markets, occasionally stopped by some fans for autographs and photos. At the other side of the square, Ash bit into a pork sandwich he got from the meat vendor and looked around him. Some ponies looked a bit repulsed but at least there were other carnivores near him to make him feel a bit less self-conscious.

Ash saw Killjoy signing a few autographs, and wiping the last of the meat from his jaw, he walked back up to her, "Hey Killjoy, what's happening here?"

"Oh hey Ash! Just a few fans is all" Killjoy said, patting one of the fans' heads lovingly. "We still have 20 mins till our train comes, what else do you wanna do?"

Ash can't really think of much to do, "Hmm... what about the pond over there? Just relax by it, feed some ducks?"

"Sure!" Killjoy excused herself from the fans and flew next to Ash.

Ash got a bag of peas from a nearby grocer for the ducks, "A lot of creatures don't know this but bread is really bad for ducks, they really love peas."

"Oh yeah! I've heard that from Rosella! I remember feedin' some ducks bread this one time and she went and smacked it outta my hooves! It would've been nice if she was more like you and just told me instead of all that…", Killjoy grumbled, throwing peas into the lake

The ducks quack happily and attack the floating peas, "See, they absolutely love peas! Kinda like me with a nice bag of rubies..."

"Heh, thought you'd say that. You forgot that big sack of gems Vele have you last night! Good thing I packed it this morning huh?", the pegasus said, heaving the heavy sack out the saddlebag.

"Oh damn! Thanks! Here, I can carry that now."

"Phew, thanks", Killjoy said in relief, not needing to carry it anymore.

Ash slung the bag's strap over his left shoulder, continuing to throw peas for the ducks while munching on a gem every now and then, "This has been real nice... thank you so much."

"Hehe, you're good. Thank you too, I haven't had this much fun in a while", Killjoy sighed, laying on the soft grass.

Ash sighed contentedly, "Yeah, me too. My life is nice but it can get a bit repetitive. Me going to that concert was just me trying to break a streak of monotony I've been stuck in for a while now. It's just something dragons have to get used to with our very long lives, but that also means there's more opportunity for us to see and try new things!"

Killjoy smiled back, "Can't say I'm the same but taking a break from touring has been pretty good, as much as I'd hate to admit… we should probably start heading to the train station now, getting close to the time.”

Ash looked at the town square clock, "Crap, you're right, let's get to the station quickly!”

Ash threw the remaining peas into the water, laughing as the ducks went crazy for them. Killjoy snickered along as she glided above Ash. As the two made it to the train station, the express train to Manehattan had just arrived, screeching on the rails to a stop. The two shuffled their way in alongside a crowd of other ponies and made it to their seats.

"Phew, good thing we left when we did" Killjoy panted as she slumped into her seat.

Ash sat down and let his legs rest a bit, "Yeah, I don't think I'd be able to stand the whole journey, the idea of rocking around on a train with only one hand to hold makes me feel a bit uncomfortable… do you usually travel coach? I imagine a star like you would be travelling first class everywhere!"

"When we're on tour and when I'm with my band yeah, but other times when I get to get back home and relax, I take public transport like any other creature y'know!"

"I suppose, but what do you do to stay low-key? I imagine it's hard when anyone can know you at any time."

"Oh y'know, get rid of my earrings, rosary, put on some sunglasses and a beanie to cover up my ears and ponies surprisingly dont recognise me!"

Just as the two began to settle down, ponies in surrounding seats began to stare and whisper. Ash began to remember what happened on the outbound journey and spoke quietly to Killjoy across the table from him, "Ah fuck, not this again... what do we do?"

Killjoy groaned in frustration, "I really don't wanna deal with this again…", she heaved, slumping onto the table, "But don't you worry, I won't stray from you again. I brought enough food and drink for both of us, so I'm stayin' here till we get back to Manehattan", the mare reassured.

Ponies still continued to look and whisper, much to Ash’s annoyance, "I'm still feeling uncomfortable with this... but thanks for your concern."

The pegasus' ears drooped seeing Ash's discomfort. The mare then shot the ponies with a glare which seemed to silence them for a while.
Ash breathed a sigh of relief, "I just wonder if they're expecting me to hate you or something, or if you're doing this as some sort of public stunt. I know you're not doing that, but I wonder if that's what they're thinking."

“Honestly, I really don’t care about that right now, what the presses have in store for me when I get back is enough for me to worry about..."

A pegasus mare pushed a small cart carrying newspapers for sale down the central aisle of the train.
"Daily paper, anyone? Daily paper?"

Ash nervously chuckled, "Like that?"

"Oh no...", Killjoy mumbled, face planting onto the table.

Ash took a paper off the cart and tossed a few bits over. He flicked through a few pages until he came across the entertainment page, "What kind of horseshit title is this?"

Killjoy looked surprised seeing the normally relaxed and carefree wyvern so angry and worked up. She took the paper from his claws and flicked through it herself, until she got to the offending title. She immediately gasped in shock. The paper showed a series of out-of-context photos of Killjoy at the concert in Manehattan after she had hurt Ash, from her stage dive all the way to them leaving the hospital. The title was plastered in massive letters at the top of the page.

“Valediction Lead Cripples Hapless Fan At Disaster Concert In Manehattan!”

Reading through the lie-riddled sensationalist article, padded with baseless rumours and gossip, Killjoy's face grew redder and redder. Ash didn’t even know ponies could get that colour!

"What in Equestria is this article talking about?! That never happened! That’s just wrong!" Killjoy heaved, her small frame positively shaking with anger.

"Can't believe they say all of this when they only saw like what, 30 seconds of what happened yesterday" the mare huffed, flapping her wings as she seethed.

Ash took the paper back, growling aggressively in an uncharacteristic fashion, and igniting it with a blast of fire emanating from his left hand, throwing the burnt newspaper out the window before sitting back down, crossing his wings, “Absolute garbage paper! The article mentions me by name! How would they even know that? Is this what ponies think journalism is?"

"Don't worry, I'll talk to my manager and try to get interviewed so I can explain... And do that pop up gig and-" the mare scrambled with ideas, trying her best to solve the situation while reassuring Ash, staring at some burnt bits of paper still present on the table.

Ash took a deep breath before calming down, his inner fire subsiding with his anger, "Hey, it'll be fine Killjoy, I mean every musician has to deal with crappy newspaper lies right? I'm sure your manager has already seen the paper and is planning something as we speak.", taking the role of the reassuring one for once.

"Yeah... probably not the best idea for me to skip town after what happened..." Killjoy slightly regretted her actions, but not quite as much as she had enjoyed the day.
"Don't think I told anyone, not even Rose and Blast..." the mare said with a worried expression.

"I doubt they would have told the media, you all seem pretty close, maybe someone at the concert saw it, or someone saw you with me at the hospital?"

"Yeah, true, I trust them... welp, I'll just do my best explaining to my manager first. But I won't need to worry where he is cos he'll probably interrogate us the moment I step into the studio." Killjoy stifled.

"Yeah he probably wi- wait, us? You need me there?” Ash looked worried, was this ordeal going to cause him even more trouble?

“I'd wanna discuss with him about that pop-up gig in the bar you were talkin' about!”

"Okay! Maybe we meet with him first when we get back to Manehattan, then later tonight we go to the bar?"
"Sure, sounds great!" Killjoy said enthusiastically, her wings fluffing up.
The rest of the journey went very smoothly all things considered, the train steaming through the picturesque Equestrian countryside before pulling into Manehattan station some hours later, the duo getting off taking several lengthy detours in the streets to avoid any potential photographers or journalists.

Ash had never seen this particular part of Manehattan before, and was feeling a bit lost, "So, where is your manager's office?"

"Just down here, follow me" the pegasus beckoned, flying a little further in front. Ash followed Killjoy down several more roads before approaching a rather tall looking building downtown, and the pair headed into the building, trotting up the flight of stairs. As the two stood outside the studio, the mare knocked and a unicorn stallion swung the door open and snatched the pegasus, dragging her inside forcefully. Ash managed to rush inside before the door slammed shut in his face. The red-faced stallion looked ready to explode as he turned to Killjoy.

"WHERE IN EQUESTRIA HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

Ash watched in amusement as the stallion shook Killjoy, before he too became the subject of the stallion’s anger, the manager giving him a suspicious glance, looking at him up and down before his gaze fixed on the broken wing. The manager put down Killjoy, who staggered dizzily to a chair, and walked up to the wyvern. Ash was getting used to ponies giving him dirty looks, and simply matched the stocky stallion’s stare, unintimidated. The manager cleared his throat and straightened his tie before politely addressing Ash, switching tones in an instant.

“Well then, introductions I guess. My name is Golden Record, and you must be that dragon that Killjoy got messed up… Ash wasn’t it? I’d like to formally extend our apologies on her behalf. We already got the bill for your treatment, that will be taken care of. That being said… I think we all need to have a little chat…”

Golden Record pressed a button on his desk, and the main door opened up, revealing an irate looking pair of unicorns, immediately recognisable as Killjoy’s bandmates, Rosella and Blast. Ash sat down on a chair that Record gestured to while everyone else also took their seats, and thought to himself that this was definitely going to take a while, but could be interesting. The stallion’s look towards Killjoy turned from anger to disappointment as he took a deep breath.

“Okay Kill… I’ll cut to the chase, we will have to pay for all damages and outstanding fees from your paycheque. Everything from Ash's hospital fees, to the broken camera from that little jaunt you two took to Ponyville. Oh yeah, I heard about that, news travels fast around here."
Record turned to Ash and looked him over with interest, “And you, I thought you’d be… well… angrier about all this, threatening to sue us and all that, what gives? I thought you dragons were more boisterous than that.”

Ash rubbed the back of his head, “Well sir, I really just don’t want to conform to any stereotypes ponies have of me or give them any more reasons to dislike me, and I really don’t have that much to complain about, it’s only a broken wing, it’ll heal soon enough, and I got a new friend out of it! Plus us wyverns are kinda outcasts in the Dragon Lands, we’ve always pushed for being friendlier with other species, but the other dragons just want to stay isolated.”

Golden Record took in the information and nodded before turning back to Killjoy and continuing his disappointed look. Killjoy looked down in shame, twiddling her hooves as Golden Record continued, “Along with that, I will have to book you in for some interviews to clear up any misunderstandings. As for your tour, however, we will continue, as to not feed into the notion that you are as guilty as they make you out to be”.

Killjoy looked up and stammered, "I understand, but I don't regret yesterday and I am willing to pay for everything with my own bits. I need to fix this, I caused it!"

Rosella snorted and hopped out of her seat, trotting straight over to Killjoy and looking down on her, the unicorn’s piercing gaze causing the pegasus to shrink into her chair, "For heaven’s sake Kill! It's not always about you! Do you know how much this is gonna affect the band? Why in Equestria did you destroy that pony's camera for instance? You know that would only make you look worse! I swear, you always end up causing some mishap when you’re not being supervised like a foal! You need to grow up!", Rosella berated the pegasus, storming out of the room, her twin following her heels apologetically as the door slammed behind them.

Chapter VI

Ash grimaced as Rosella and Blast slammed the door behind them, turning back to address Golden Record, “Sir, if I may, Killjoy only wrecked that guy’s camera because I hurt myself trying to shield myself from the flash, she’s been feeling overly guilty about what happened to me. I’m doing okay, but I feel Killjoy may be overcompensating a little bit. Not that I’m ungrateful, she’s been really good to me these last couple days!”

Golden Record put his hoof on his nose, his expression starting to soften, "Look kid, that may be the case but it was still stupid of her to do so. I don't blame you for not understanding how the presses can be when fed such information but she should've known better, ponies in our position don’t have the luxury of being able to lash out when things aren’t going our way."
The stallion turned back to Killjoy and put on a stern outlook, "Look, Killjoy, I'll book you in for some interviews but the concert going on tomorrow will still go ahead. Try to make up with Rosella before then or else the papers will put the pieces together themselves, even if they aren’t there. That mare can't hide how she feels if her life depended on it..." he finally finished, trotting to his large desk to fill out some forms.

Ash whispered to Killjoy while Record was distracted, "I think we should tell him about the plan…"

The mare looked unsure, whispering back, "Yeah, but I should probably check up on Rose first... she looked pretty mad..."

"Yeah on second thoughts your boss seemed pretty mad too... maybe wait until he's cooled off a bit, and maybe run it by the other band members first so you're not just shoving it on them through the manager."

The mare nodded and began trotting into the studio where the two sisters were, occupied with their respective instruments. The familiar clashes of the crash cymbals and the chugs from Rosella's downstrokes flooded Ash and Killjoy's ears.

"Hello again!"
Ash waved at the sisters, Rosella maintaining her eye contact with her guitar, not bothering to look at the two while Blast waved back cheerily as she drummed, not missing a beat.

"Rose... We need to talk." the pegasus said firmly, or as firm as she could as the booming waves of sound vibrated the room.

Ash sat down on another chair, his wing starting to ache again, rubbing the fractured area. He decided to stay out of whatever was going on between the band members, considering it a personal affair, he'd wait until he was called upon. Despite the pegasus' efforts, the unicorn did not look up from her guitar, "Rose, I know you don't want to see me right now but this is really important. The manager said the concert tomorrow is still going ahead."

The unicorns continued playing, but Rosella gritted her teeth, both in anger and trying to concentrate on practising, even as Killjoy tried to continue her apology.

"What I did yesterday was beyond stupid and I should have listened to you when I stage dived like that last time. I'm really sorry, but please don't be angry. You don't have to forgive me, but for the band's sake tomorrow?" the pegasus meekly asked, her ears lowering and eyes meeting the floor as she dragged her front hooves back and forth, waiting for Rosella’s response, who stopped playing and groaned in annoyance.
"For the band... yes... but I'm on a razor's edge with you Killjoy! I like you as a pony but you have to step up and be more mature, or this band is going to crash and burn!"

The pegasus nodded happily and pounced onto the unicorn into a hug which was reciprocated. "Can't believe you went and broke someone's arm, dumbass!" Rosella lectured playfully.

Killjoy giggled, "Well... it wasn't entirely bad, Ash got quite a lot of gems out of it!"

"Gems? Sweet Celestia, what happened yesterday?" Blast asked.

Killjoy looked back at Ash and rubbed the back of her head while laughing slightly, "Hehe, long story short, we went to Vele's place and crashed for the night and she gave Ash a buncha gems to snack on"

Ash took a large sapphire from his bag and crunched down on it, "Ain't never had some of these gems before, I’ve really been missing out! Mmmm, yummy... she also made some potion to help speed up my healing a bit, that was pretty sweet too."

Rosella's expression softened, "Doesn't seem too bad a day then", she said with a smile.

"I mean considering I got to meet you guys and got a pretty nice day out from it, I'd say the broken wing is almost worth it!"
A twinge of pain courses from his wrist as he says this, "Ow... oooh... definitely not entirely worth it... but still!"

Blast chuckled and trotted over to make sure Ash was okay, "If you say so, big guy, just be careful with that wing."

"Alright Kill, if we're still performing tomorrow, we better practice some more tonight" the unicorn with split ears reminded.

Ash got up from his chair, heading to the door, "I'm going to head back home now, rest up. If you want to meet up later then just message me, you have my number!"

"Okay then, we better get some practice in now, been kinda putting it off last couple days." Killjoy chuckled.

Blast cut in and levitated a CD of their latest album and a few band merch to Ash. "Oh and here, for all the trouble our lil Killjoy caused yesterday."

Ash couldn’t contain his excitement, "Oh boy, I've really been spoiled these last couple days, I could get used to this! I'll be at that cafe we were at yesterday for lunch later, if you're up for it Killjoy!"

Killjoy nodded happily, glancing at the twins "Can they come too?" she whispered, almost like a foal asking a parent for permission.
Ash's tail bounced up and down slightly, "Of course! I’ll get us a table for about 1!"

The excited mare nodded, her wings fluttering and tail flicking, her bandmates waving Ash goodbye, and they returned back to their instruments.

Ash signed out of the building and got on a bus to get back home. The bus was a bit crowded, with creatures constantly bumping into his wing, constantly having to chide them for being unthoughtful was going to get old quickly, but he managed to make it to his apartment in one piece. Looking around, he could admit it was a bit messy after a few days of not being there, so he had a bit of a clean in between putting ice packs on his wing to ease the pain. He sighed and decided to watch a bit of TV, wondering what Killjoy and her friends were up to.

♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩♬♩

As hours of practice went by with each song sounding better than the last, the band decided to take a break.

"Oh crap, it's already half-twelve, let's get ready for lunch with Ash!" Killjoy exclaimed in shock, flicking her tail.

Rosella and Blast agreed and went to take quick showers. Killjoy went to her personal bathroom to take a quick bath and when the three were ready, the pegasus texted Ash they would be at the cafe soon. Before the three left, they made sure to put on their usual sunglasses disguises to give them at least a little privacy. Blast and Killjoy wore beanies as their unique ears would make them immediately recognisable to any paparazzi looking for a cheap scoop.

Ash felt his phone vibrate next to him, reading the message to see that it was Killjoy letting him know that she was coming for lunch. The wyvern quickly grabbed his backpack and crunched on a couple of emeralds to freshen his breath, putting a couple in his bag for after lunch. Soon enough after a brisk walk, he was standing outside the bistro, waiting for Killjoy and her friends.

As the band arrived, Ash looked down at Killjoy and couldn't help but stifle a laugh seeing the beanie barely fitting her large ears in, "HAHAHA, that beanie looks a bit ridiculous on you! Come on, we've got a booth this time, should be a bit more secluded from prying eyes."

Killjoy groaned in annoyance, "Urgh, I know, but the ears really make me stick out, I’ve had paparazzi recognise me just from the tufts, Blast too, it gets annoying, the beanies give us at least a little anonymity.”

The four settled down in the booth and began ordering their lunch. Ash looked at Killjoy after deciding what he wanted, "You guys okay with me ordering a meat dish? I know Killjoy was a bit squeamish about it, but I can always order something without meat and just get something later at home."

"Nah don't worry 'bout us. Killjoy just has a weak stomach is all" Blast joked.

The waiter came over, asking for their order. Ash spoke up, a wide grin on his face, "I'll have the quarter pounder beef burger, with the amethyst shards and the spiced tea for drink"

As Ash ordered, Killjoy couldn't help but hold in a gag. Blast elbowed the pegasus and chuckled, "Wait until after lunch to lose it"

The three ordered shortly after and settled down. Ash crunched down on an amethyst before taking a sip of his tea, light wisps of smoke pouring from his nostrils,
"They really kicked the spice to 11 in this tea, pony tongues would probably burn to a crisp on that!"

Rosella instinctively looked at Killjoy to refrain her from trying. The pegasus caught a glance and reluctantly retracted her curiosity, chuckling sheepishly.

Ash laughed after taking a bite from his burger, explaining further, "It did explicitly say on the menu that it wasn't for ponies. Heat is uh… well it’s kind of our whole thing. It's why they hire dragons at the smelting plant I work at, I can dip my hands in molten metal no problem,"

Rosella looked at Killjoy again but with a 'told you so' expression which was met by Killjoy pouting. As they continued eating, Killjoy remembered the proposal for the gig, "Oh yeah Rose, how do you feel about having a pop-up gig here?"

Rosella's ears flicked up slightly. After swallowing a mouthful of food she spoke up, "Here? This restaurant? It's a bit... low-key. We're usually selling out full stadiums, why here?"

"Most of that trip to Ponyville, all I could see was how unfairly a lot of ponies treated Ash, I never noticed it before because I didn’t know anyone on the receiving end. And it wasn’t just dragons being treated like shit. Have you ever noticed that other creatures are treated poorly too around here? Gryphons, hippogriffs, changelings, even with all these reforms that Princess Twilight has put in, ponies still aren’t willing to share what Equestria has to offer! It’s horrible! The least we can do is raise awareness of that issue, use our platform to give a leg up to other creatures that are not being given a fair chance." the mare replied hopefully.

Rosella looked unsure, "I mean... yeah, I get it, but we have to consider the band here, we're not exactly cheap to hire, and who knows what kind of backlash we'll get from the media? The more stuffy Canterlot papers already think we're too radical, that we’re poisoning the minds of the youth, and there's been pushback against Princess Twilight's reforms. I agree with you, but I'm just worried if this will do more harm than good..."

"I get that but I really believe that us doing this would outweigh what the presses think. C'mon Rose, remember when we went to our first concert?? Don't you remember that spark we both felt in that moment? We could be the spark for some of these creatures and I think that's more important than whatever other ponies think." Killjoy argued passionately, her stance confident.

Rosella took another thought, before turning to Killjoy and Ash, smiling, "You know what, I like the idea... what do you think Blast?"

Blast looked over with her mouth still full of her daisy sandwich "Mmm? Oh! Yeah, course I’m down!"

Rosella clapped her hooves together slightly, "We can do it then! We'll have to talk to Golden first obviously, he arranges all the concerts. But if he sees how we feel about this he'll probably cave regardless of how he feels."

Satisfied with the outcome, the four friends continued their meals, nattering about nothing in particular. Ash took a rather big bite from the burger, spraying a bit of the sauce onto Killjoy's muzzle, her being completely unaware. Ash stifled a laugh, looking at the pegasus. The mare noticed the wyvern stifling a laugh which made her look up in confusion, still chewing on her bite of bagel.

Ash continued to chuckle, "Sorry, a bit of the sauce from my burger just landed on your face, just under your right eye."

Blast giggled a little as well as the mare wiped off the sauce messily with her clean hoof, which caused her beanie to slip, her right ear perking out. Not noticing her ear poking out, the group continued to eat, unaware that someone saw.

The cafe suddenly reduced to whispers. Aware of the drop in noise, the friends stopped eating and looked around anxiously. Rosella’s eyes widened when she saw Killjoy’s unique ear poking out from under her hat, “Shit, Kill, your beanie slipped!”

"Crap-" the pegasus quickly scrambled to cover her ear but the damage was already done. "I'm sorry...", the mare meekly muttered as she shrank into her chair.

Rosella continued to eat her food, “Not your fault. Let them stare, we’re just eating lunch.”

Ash noticed one pony across the room giving him a dirty look. Almost involuntarily, he snorted, a small pair of flames emanating from his nostrils. The three didn't mind it, almost as if it was just another bodily function ponies had.

"Gotta admit, that’s pretty rad. If I could control my explosions like that, I wouldn’t stop, imagine the pyrotechnics at concerts!" Blast chimed in.

Killjoy continued with her plan for the concert, “So, we open for this concert, get some of our usual fans in, then we hit them with other species’ best acts from all over Manehattan! There’s loads of non-ponies in this city now, there’s gotta be many super talented creatures!”

Rosella looked up from her food, putting down her fork, “I’ve seen the figures, it’s still really difficult for non-ponies to break through in the music industry. It’s really tragic, I kind of enjoy gryphon music, but you don’t really see their records outside shops in gryphon neighbourhoods. We gotta float this idea by the boss though, it’s gonna be difficult to convince him.”

Soon enough, they paid their bills and were on their way back to the studio. Ash popped an emerald into his mouth to freshen his breath, continuing the conversation from before while doing so, “So, I guess it’s up to you guys to sell this to Mr. Record.”
"Well duh! If he says no then I won't perform tomorrow night!" Killjoy snapped. Rosella instinctively shot her a dirty look which prompted the pegasus to add, "Just kidding..."

Ash chuckled, swallowing his emerald, “We can tell him when we get back to your office. Well, you guys can, I gotta go soon, but I can hang around just to see if he accepts or not.”

Once they arrived, the manager trotted out his office, smiling at seeing his band being friendly with each other again, "Ah! There you girls are. Seeing that you're all together, I assume you've made up?"

Rosella and Killjoy nodded in affirmation.

"That's good, I just wanted to tell you all, you've got an interview in 30. You’re just gonna apologise for what happened at the concert the other day, you’re gonna clear the air about all this nonsense with the dragon."

Ash grunted angrily a little at just being referred to as ‘the dragon’, but contained his anger, slightly shoving Killjoy with his leg to move forward, Rosella speaking on his behalf, "Sorry sir, Killjoy just has something she's been meaning to talk to you about."

Killjoy gulped anxiously, despite knowing Golden Record for many years, she was still rather apprehensive around him, "Uhh... well… we just discussed something over lunch and we decided as a group that we should run it by you. We want to host a concert to help non-pony musicians! You know, we open for them, grab their attention, then we showcase all sorts of talented creatures! I know it might be a little risky because of what happened yesterday and a whole buncha other factors but we really believe in this!", the mare rambled passionately.

The manager looked sceptical, “Where exactly is this all coming from? Do you really feel that guilty about hurting that dragon? You won’t be able to solve all the problems that ponies and other species have with a single gig, you do know that right?”

Rosella stepped forward to vouch for Killjoy, "This isn't just Killjoy feeling guilty about hurting Ash, he does have a name in case you already forgot. You know she's wanted to do concerts in more non-pony areas for a while now. Remember when she wanted to do a concert in Griffonstone a few months back, but you shot her down saying it'd be too dangerous? If you won't let us perform outside of Equestria, at least let us do some good with our platform. You know non-pony artists have trouble in this industry. Out of the top twenty artists last month, only two of them were non-ponies. You know how many it was the month before that? One. It's a real problem. And it's not because of them being bad, they're not, it's just that the industry keeps them down."

The manager paused, seriously pondering, "If you've convinced even Rosella here then I'll consider it. But we will discuss this further... right now, get ready for that interview. Especially you, Killjoy, you better not screw the pooch again."

Chapter VII

Killjoy was applying eyeliner for her interview when Ash knocked at the door, "So... interview? What's this for then?"

The mare slumped at her vanity, reapplying eyeliner while fixing her mane, "Probably for me to explain what happened at the last show and that camera incident... it should be fine, done this kind of thing a million times before, comes with the territory I guess." Killjoy said cheerily, her confidence boosted from the potential confirmation of the gig idea.

"You need me there? Gotta make sure you don’t break a camera that’s a hell of a lot more expensive than that one on the train!", Ash laughed loudly.

"Hey! Not funny! I did that for you, remember!"

"Barely saw you do that, I was too busy nursing my wing! But yeah, just keep your cool and don’t take any bait that the guy puts in front of you. They want to see you mad, don’t let them see you angry, Ember knows you can’t afford that."

Killjoy pondered a bit. "...It's alright, we'll handle it. You should just stay in my room."

"Shame the camera has to not see my perfect face!"

Killyjoy giggled as a technician called her out to the set. Ash remained in her room, sitting on a sofa and turning on a TV, watching the interview about to take place, getting comfortable with some snacks and taking off his sling, relaxing his wing on a pillow. The mare trotted into the interview set with the rest of her band. The interviewer began inquiring about the events that unfolded on that day and Killjoy admitted her recklessness while explaining what happened after the incident.

"And why did you go all the way to Ponyville?" the stallion asked.

"Well… I just felt awful about what I had done. I remembered that dragons like to eat gems, I have an old friend in Ponyville who has a big stash of them for her alchemy work. Plus I just needed a small break from things in general, I’d been getting overwhelmed recently. But I shouldn’t have just run away like that, and for that I’m truly sorry." the pegasus explained rather awkwardly.

"Now concerning the events that took place on the train. Why did you break the camera of a newspaper photographer? It’s not exactly unknown that you have somewhat of a short fuse, there are some that say you don’t have control over your emotions.", the stallion baited the mare.

"What? That’s not true! You have no idea what actually happened!" Killjoy desperately explained. Rosella stepped in,

"And we understand that it's no reason to destroy other pony's property, but do keep in mind that several ponies on that train were mistreating our fan, giving them trouble just because they are not a pony, knowing that they don’t have the luxury of being able to lash out like any pony could. And if you're still so worried about his camera, we’ve already paid for a replacement.", Rosella sat back down, her fur still standing on end.

Killjoy continued her story, regaining her composure, "...What happened after I got my fan hurt is what I wanna talk about. I followed him to the hospital and after I paid for the fees, we went to get some food as a way of apologising for my stupid actions. But when I was with him, it ended up really opening my eyes to how poorly other creatures are sometimes treated. Even on the train, there were ponies saying horrible things about Ash!

We as ponies talk about the magic of friendship because that’s what Princess Twilight values, but when it comes down to it, it really does seem like we’re keeping it pony-exclusive at times. Which was what led to the broken camera. I guess what I'm trying to say is my fan was treated poorly because of what creature they are and me and my band will not stand idly for that." Killjoy finished, taking a deep breath.

The stallion looked confused.
"So what are you planning to do about it? It's only been a few years since Princess Twilight came to the throne and incorporated creature-friendly reforms, clearly ponies are still adjusting to this new system, these kinds of things take a lot of time to adjust to."

"I understand, but really it shouldn't be any different from the three pony races interacting. I can appreciate the progress of creature-inclusive reforms, we’ve come a long way in only a few short years, but it doesn’t feel like enough, but we as a band will NOT tolerate such discrimination." the pegasus stomped her hoof.

"And we are planning to do more for our non-pony fans. Starting by performing at more diverse areas. We were even planning on being an opening band at a club with diverse groups" the mare revealed.

Ash grinned as he saw Killjoy’s revelation, when Golden Record burst into the room he was in. Ash yelped in surprise, a small jet of flame escaping from his mouth, turning a cookie he was about to eat into his namesake.

"WHAT DID SHE JUST SAY??? I SAID WE'D DISCUSS IT FURTHER!"

He turned round to the wyvern, "Did you put her up to this???"

Ash brushed the burnt cookie off his neck scales before turning back to the fuming manager, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Back in the studio, the interview was still going on, "Which club are you planning to perform at exactly?" the stallion interviewer asked further.

"We can’t disclose that right now. It will be a pop-up venue so it won't be too overcrowded but hopefully enough to draw attention to the talented artists performing alongside us", Rosella shot back.

Ash meanwhile was being subjected to a barrage of angry comments by the irate Golden Record, "She never had this nonsense in her head until you went and got your wing broken and she felt sorry for you! What did you tell her?"

Ash got angry himself and stood up from the sofa, towering over the earth pony stallion, “Hey! I didn’t just ‘go and get my wing broken’, it was Killjoy’s mistake and she’s trying to make up for it! Quite frankly, I would have just settled for lunch and an autograph, this was more Killjoy’s doing than mine!”

However, on the TV screen, Killjoy elaborated, "But I'd also love to thank that fan for all of this. Even though I saw what he had to deal with at first hoof, it was their idea to perform at local clubs with more diverse groups! We didn't realise how under-appreciated some non-pony artists are until they told me! I'd like to thank them for that" Killjoy smiled genuinely.

Ash grinned sheepishly at Golden Record as Killjoy ratted him out on live TV, "Ah… okay… it WAS sort of my idea... we came up with it together, but I didn't tell her to announce it now, I just-"

Record interrupted him and got right up in the wyvern's personal space, jabbing his hoof into his bad wing repeatedly, a resounding clonk of hoof against plaster, causing him to grunt in pain as the manager chided him.
"Let me get this straight... you DON'T get to make ideas for my stars. That's NOT your job."

Ash slumped back down against the wall he had been backed up against, defeated.
"Yeah… I can see that…"

In the studio, the interviewer asked more questions, "Now how do you think your pony fans would react?"

"I have faith in our fans. I'm sure they will support our choice. Our music is metalcore but we've also always had punk songs as well, so we would hope our fans would agree with us! And if they don't, then they weren't real fans to begin with" The pegasus said with a stern glare at the camera.

The band trotted back into the studio after the interview had concluded to see their manager berating Ash, "Hey, what's goin on here?" Killjoy confronted, stepping between the two.

Golden Record moved away from Ash, giving him breathing room, and towards Killjoy
"What's goin ON, is that you need to keep a tighter leash on your friend here, he's overstepping!"

"WHAT?!", the pegasus retaliated, her wings and fur fluffing up, "I get that you're our manager, but you better watch your mouth when talkin’ about my friend", she hissed.

Record seemed thoroughly unimpressed by Killyjoy's outburst
"Come on, I've seen this act before, you fluff up your wings and your fur and try to look all intimidating. I've known you long enough to know that it's just that. An act. We don't let fans make decisions for us, as well-intentioned as they may be, or even if it wasn't entirely his idea. We're in a precarious position now, we're basically committed to this. I'm taking charge of this whole shebang now. Got it?"

The stallion's comment slightly shook Killjoy's confidence, her wings lowering as her entire body seemed to deflate. As the mare glanced helplessly at Rosella, she replied, stomping her hoof down, "Didn't you hear what we said in the interview? We meant every word. We're doing the gig."

Ash slowly got up and stood beside Killjoy, putting his sling over his neck and easing his plastered wing into it, sighing with the relief it brought, "Look, I know I'm not exactly your favourite now Mr. Record, but we can help each other. I know a lot of the non-ponies in Manehattan, there’s a lot of majority non-pony establishments set up by other immigrants. I can definitely find some smaller non-pony acts to promote, they’d appreciate any help they could get."

Killjoy's eyes softened with Ash by her side. Rosella and Blast joined in solidarity.

Golden Record glared briefly at the group but then gave up, "Alright then. Okay, Rosella, Blast, you two start working on a set list. Killjoy, Ash, you two get to work finding me some artists for the gig. I'll work on securing venues. I want to get this ready to go within two weeks. Also, Ash, give me your contact information, and I’ll need to speak to your old boss wherever you worked, you're working for me now.”

Ash nearly choked on the cookie he was eating in surprise, “Uhh, what? There’s gotta be someone more qualified than me right? I just work in a factory, I’m not exactly a PR kinda dragon!”

The manager laughed, “Well you got that right! But this seems to be just as much your brainchild as Killjoy’s, plus she seems to like ya, so what the hell. Who knows, this could be the start of something big kid!”

Killjoy fluttered her wings and smiled warmly at Ash. "No way, you're with us now! We're work buddies!" she pranced around the still-gobsmacked wyvern.

Ash pondered the choice given to him for for a while as the manager handed him a slip of paper with some details of his new employment on it, including a salary that was substantially more than his old wages at the plant, "This is a really generous salary Mr. Record… are you still sure you want me?"

Record looked up from his books, “I’m sure. I gotta keep Killjoy out of trouble somehow, you seem like you can do that!”

Killjoy chuckled bashfully. "Well, after you're done filling out all that boring paperwork, meet me in my room so we can talk about which artists to showcase!"

"I will, might take a while though, I'm a righty, and, well… you were kinda responsible for this. At least it’s not that much to fill out!", Ash lifted up his cast for emphasis as he took a pen in his left hand and filled out the forms as best as he could with his non-dominant hand while Killjoy hovered by his side. Handing them to Golden Record, who looked satisfied, and shook Ash’s claw, him and Killjoy set out to a small bar not far from Ash’s old apartment.

“And make sure that beanie doesn’t slip off this time please!”, Ash chuckled as they sat down and ordered drinks.

“...yeah whatever…”, Killjoy mumbled as she pulled the hat down tighter over her head.

As their drinks arrived, they began discussing the concert and potential performers. Ash sipped at a beer and pointed towards the stage, "They have non-pony musicians playing here all the time. There's a hippogriff that plays here named Riptide, he's been struggling to get his name out there because no record label are willing to take a chance with him. He's extremely good, he's been selling CDs where he can but he really deserves more. Here, he's coming on now."

A yellow hippogriff with a red mane walked onto stage with a guitar, smiling softly. He sat down on a small stool and adjusted the microphone. A delightful melody emanated from the guitar as he gracefully sang a simple, but still beautiful and powerful song. One he had finished, he panted a little and pointed to a small rack at the front of the stage, "Thank you for coming everyone! My CDs are at the front if you'd like to buy one, every little helps!"

The mare trotted to the front and took a CD, looking at the cover. It had a DIY feel to it which was something Killjoy rather liked, reminding her of when she first started out. As she grabbed her pouch of bits, the hippogriff flapped his wings lightly as he came down from the stage, "Hey! Thank you for buying my CD, it really means a lot!”. He then notices the signatures on Ash’s wing cast that was poking slightly out from the sling, “Ouch, that looks painful dude. You got to meet Valediction though? That's awesome! Wait, were you that fan the bassist crushed?"

The pegasus sighed with the mention of the incident but bought the CD anyways, looking through the track list. Ash laughed boisterously upon remembering the accident a few days prior, "Yeah... that was me... about that, can we talk to you? There's something me and my friend here would like to discuss."

Riptide nodded and followed them to a secluded corner of the bar. The three sat down and Killjoy looked at Ash and her beanie as if asking if she should take it off. Ash looked around to make sure there wasn't anyone really looking, and signalled to Killjoy to remove the beanie. The pegasus slipped her beanie off, revealing her large bat pony ears, decked with piercings.

Riptide's eyes widened, realising who it was as he struggled to contain his excitment, "Ohmygoshohwowowowowowowow Killjoy! I love your music, and you bought a CD from me??? Wow thank you so much! What can I do for you?"

The mare's ears turned down bashfully seeing her talented fan so excited, "You're really good! That performance you did there was plenty enough, you did amazing! Can't wait to listen to the rest of your stuff when I get home" she smiled, her statement truly genuine.

Ash took a moment to let the two talk, before deciding to tell Riptide the plan
"Okay, so we're planning to hold a small pop-up concert here, to promote more non-pony artists, and we'd like you to be one of the acts. I know the struggle non-ponies face in society even with all the recent reforms, believe me, I've faced more awful ponies than I'd like, but we want to help with the artists struggling to break through, like yourself. I know that you've been rejected from labels who aren't willing to work with non-ponies, and we want to help change that."

Killjoy nodded along "Yeah and Valediction will be the opening band to draw in some traffic and don't worry, I'll be sure to watch every band!"

Riptide looked very excited at the prospect, his wings flapping slightly.
"That sounds great! I'd love to do that!"

Ash smiled back, "That's great! Here's the card for the agency I now work at. We'll be in touch soon!"

The two waved the ecstatic hippogriff goodbye. The mare then slipped back on her beanie. "Wow! That was a lot quicker than I anticipated!"

"Well that's just one of them, it's not exactly regular music here, we're gonna have to come back here regularly and look for new acts. Gonna be coming back for a few days until we have a full concert. I'm sure the manager is looking around too."

The mare nodded, looking back down at the CD she bought. "I'm just so happy we'll be able to help some of these artists. Kinda wish I got that kinda help when I was startin’ off... 'course I didn’t have it as hard as them…"

Ash sighed, "Yeah... I don't think a lot of ponies really get how hard it can be to be a non-pony living in a society of majority ponies, that have all these preconceptions about you, like the whole angry dragons, greedy gryphons, arrogant yaks, all those harmful stereotypes that they project onto you. When I first moved to Equestria my neighbour thought I was going to eat her daughter when I knocked her door to say hello. She's great now and we laugh about it now, but it's still something you don't forget."

The mare was didn't know what to say, feeling bad for the wyvern. "Don't worry. With this gig, we'll help loads of creatures." Killjoy assured Ash, her hooves holding onto his good wing.

"One step at a time I suppose. It's not gonna fix everything, but if it even helps a few creatures, it's worth it."