Broken Strings and Bucked Apples

Chapters

You've Got to Start Somewhere
Deeply Offended
A Little Down Time
Beside the Limelight
Calm Like a Bomb
First Show

You've Got to Start Somewhere

Chapter 1: You've Got to Start Somewhere

All it takes is one pony... one pony to make a change...

"HEY!" You hear a voice scream, breaking you from your thoughts.

At first, you are reluctant to turn and face the pony requesting you, as you know exactly who it is. Over the past few months, you and your band have decided to get serious about the quality of your gear, forcing you all to get jobs. You, unfortunately, have received the worst. A janitor at one of the dirtiest possible restaurants in all of Equestria. With a sigh, you spin around and put on a forced smile as you face your boss.

"Y-Yes, sir?" You say, trying to sound cheery despite the annoying sound of ambient dishes clattering and chatter from your usually unruly customers.

Your manager eyes you for a moment and raises an eyebrow.

"Wipe that stupid grin off of your face, kid." He says grimly.

With a sigh, you let your grin fall and hang your head for a moment.

"What's up?" You say, letting your usual tone take over.

It wasn't out of your boss's nature to constantly demean you. After getting word of the "music project" you and your friends were putting together, he has made your life a living hell. Spitting constant insults about how your dream is nothing more than a foalish waste of time. Needless to say, you hate your boss with every fiber of your being. Even if he didn't constantly belittle you for wanting to change a terrible trend of music, you would hate him because of his greasy attitude and appearance.

Your boss quickly smiles, only further establishing his greasiness by revealing a row of yellow-ish teeth.

"Got your check here, buddy." He says with a chuckle.

He isn't normally happy about giving away his money, what makes him so happy this time? Without another word he reaches into his coat, which carries enough grime to make Rarity have a full-blown seizure, and pulls out a small slip of paper.

Something is definitely off about your boss right now. He never smiles and the fact that he is holding your paycheck with such a troll-ish grin is making you uneasy. As soon as his hoof stretches out to give you this week's pay, you quickly snatch it away with a burst of levitation and stare at it.

"This is... 100 bits short." You say, your tone slightly choked.

"I needed to pay for a few renovations, figured you might not need that money anyway." He replies with a chuckle.

Your anger is slowly reaching peak, and you feel your eye twitch once or twice from the rage building in your heart.

"T-that's... 100 bits...." You say with a nervous chuckle.

"Yep. But trust me," Your boss continues with his own chuckle. "It went to a good cause."

It would've gone to a better cause... you think, tightening your grasp on the paper you are levitating.

"Now get the hell out of here, your shifts up and I'm not paying overtime." He says, pointing a hoof to the front door.

It is taking every ounce of reserve that you have not to explode and slap him across the face with a broomstick. You simply take it as yet another loss and hang your head low, undoing your apron and setting it on a nearby table. Your boss watches you with a vicious smirk as you slowly make your way to the door. The only thing you can hope for at this point, is that band practice goes well.

* * *

"He cut it 100 bits?!" Trap-set says as you show him the check.

You look at your long-time friend and sigh.

"Yep. He did." You say in a defeated tone.

The large, light-brown, earth pony shakes his head and stands up from the couch.

"That's so stupid dude! Can't you do anything about it?!" Trap says, clearly annoyed that your boss has screwed you again.

"C'mon man, chill out." Basswave says, next to you on the couch.

The blue unicorn puts a hoof on your shoulder and sighs.

"We'll figure it out, it's just a hundred." He says.

Trap-set's eyes quickly go wide and he runs his hooves angrily through his brown mane.

"Just a hundred?!" He shouts angrily. "How the hell are you going to pay for The Hay-Maker, huh?! Our sound is dead without that!"

Basswave shakes his head and jolts up from his seat next to you on the couch.

"Shut up man! You're making him feel like shit!" The blue unicorn shouts in return.

He actually is.

"Guys." You say weakly.

Both of your friends turn to face you.

"Let's just practice, and deal with it later, alright?" You say, hoping to end the conflict.

Trap-set shrugs a moment later and extends his hoof towards you.

"Alright. But we're getting those bits back." He says.

You roll your eyes and accept his hoof as you pull yourself off the couch.

Across the room are your instruments, where they are shining in the daylight of the afternoon. Almost beckoning, begging for you to play them. Without further discussion, you and your two friends cross the room and prepare your equipment. You sling a gloss black and white guitar over your shoulder, while basswave readies his sparkling-green bass. Trap-set struggles behind his 7-piece drumset and brandishes two small wooden sticks. After a silent confirmation between you and your bandmates, you begin. Instantly the room is filled with the distinct sounds of guitar distortion, mixed with the pounding of the drums and the low pulse-pounding notes of the bass.

Playing the music brings you to a euphoric state. Despite the loud, thrashy, noises you can feel yourself relaxing and slipping away. Hearing the notes in unison followed by the rhythmic beat of the drums allows you to forget about your job, your life, your hatred for pop music... Until a knock at the door breaks your concentration and causes you to lose the rhythm. Trap-set raises an eyebrow and stops instantly, but Basswave continues slamming his hooves against his guitar, letting the pulse of the song continue.

"Bass." You say quietly.

He simply continues thrashing against the sparkling-green bass. You sigh and levitate a nearby microphone to your lips.

"BASS." You shout into it, trying to gain his attention.

Almost instantly, the blue unicorn stumbles back and puts his hooves in the air.

"Sorry." He replies sheepishly.

Trap-set calls your name, causing you to drop the microphone and send a blaring screech from the speakers.

"Yeah?" You ask, rubbing your ear with your hoof.

"Go see who it is." He says, pointing his hoof to the front door.

You groan and spin around to set your guitar on a nearby end-table.

"You know exactly who it is." You say, clearly annoyed.

As you cross the room, you think of the mare on the other side of the door. An orange earth-pony that lives just down the road at an apple farm. She'd come by the last few days asking you to turn it down, growing more and more frustrated each time she had to come and pound on your front door. As you finally reach it, you sigh, close your eyes, and toss the door open.

"Yes?" You say, trying to showcase your annoyance.

After a few seconds of no response, you open one of your eyes worriedly. Standing before you is a furious looking mare. Her eyebrows are narrowed and her eyes carrying a look of complete rage.

"Uhh... H-How can I help you?" You say, stammering for a moment.

"How many times do I have to ask y'all to TURN IT DOWN?!" She shouts angrily, causing you to stumble back a few inches.

"Uhh... well A few..." You reply nervously.

"Yeah. Ah thought it might take just one, but ah guess that's not the case! Maybe ah should call mah brother over here and-"

"No!" You shout.

You and Big Macintosh don't exactly have the best past.

"There's no need for that... I'll turn it down, alright?" You say nervously, trying to avoid conflict with the giant red earthpony just down the street.

Applejack snorts angrily and nods.

"Alright. 'Cause I'm gettin' real tired of hearin' that Celestia-forsaken noise..." She says, turning around to make her way back home.

You raise an eyebrow at her statement.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She pauses and turns back around.

"Ah think you know what ah mean."

"No, please enlighten me." You say, narrowing your eyebrows.

"Well, to be honest, it sounds like a dyin' pony givin' birth to a demon-foal." She replies.

You blink in confusion, trying not to show how much her statement actually effected you. You'd heard a lot of offensive criticism before, but that had just topped it.

"W-well... you can't really hear it from all the way over there..." You reply, trying to defend what little honor you have left.

"Oh really now, you think it'll be any better up close?" She says with a smug smile.

That smile... the way she is demeaning your dream puts more anger in your heart than you thought possible.

"Yeah, I do!" You say, practically shouting at this point.

She narrows her eyebrows once more and takes a few steps closer to the front door.

"What are you doing?!" You ask, heavily annoyed.

"Well if it's as good as you say it is, then wah wouldn't ah want to hear it?" She says, her smug smile returning.

Without another word, she continues into the house, leaving you practically steaming on your front porch. Who does she think she is? Judging your music like that... does she even play? Probably not. You quickly stomp inside as the blonde mare plants herself on the couch.

"Uhh..." Trap-set says, pointing his stick in the direction of Applejack.

"Is she-?" Basswave asks.

You simply shake your head angrily and retrieve your guitar from the end table, and throw it over your shoulder. As you walk over to your amplifier, you motion to Basswave, who goes to his in return. A small amount of static begins to emit from the amp as you turn the volume dial as loud as it will go. Glancing back, you realize a wide smile on Trap-set's face.

Fell in Love With a Mare You mouth to Basswave.

The white-maned unicorn nods and aims his horn to the tuning pegs placed along the bass's headstock. After successfully tuning the instrument, he gives you a quick nod.

You turn and give a quick glare to Applejack before striking the first note of the song. She is almost instantly taken back by the intense amount of volume pouring from the speakers, shaking the room and causing the lights to flicker.

You swiftly move your body closer to the microphone and begin singing the lyrics as loud as you can, only adding to the intense amount of sound rocking the walls of the house.

"Fell in love with a mare, fell in love once and almost completely." You shout, your voice distorted slightly by the practically exploding amplifier.

While continuing the lyrics, you glance over to find Basswave completely lost in the moment, thrashing about and slamming his back hooves on the ground in rhythm with the pounding beat of the drums while his forelegs dance across the frets of his bass. You decide to loosen up as well and begin jumping to the fast-paced beat of the music. All the while hitting the pitch of the notes and keeping the firm volume in your voice. In sync, the music stops and you dash forward towards the microphone.

"Bobby says it's fine he don't consider it cheating"

You jump up once more and land on the ground in sync with the music returning and smile widely at the timing. Glancing over to Applejack you can see her eyes extremely wide and her mouth slightly agape as she watches you three continue.

She hasn't seen anything yet... You think as you continue the lyrics of the song.

As the song continues, you and Basswave quickly glance over to each other for the upcoming pause. Giving yet another silent confirmation for what was about to happen next. The music stops yet again.

"I said it once before, but it bears repeating."

You jerk the guitar side ways and slam your back hooves on the ground as the sound comes back once more. This time, your horn begins to glow along with Basswave's, causing the room to light up in a shower of magical sparks. As you continue the lyrics, the light from your horns dances around the room, changing colors and taking various shapes such as musical notes, and the words being sung. Both of Applejack's eyebrows are now as high as they can go and you can tell that her face is seconds from cracking a wide grin.

As Basswave finishes his singing part, you jump back in front of the microphone, still moving intensely with the beat of the song, thrashing your body from side to side with your eyes shut tight. You can just imagine the look on Applejack's smug face at this point. You feel you have successfully proved her wrong. Yet another pause takes place.

"I said it once before, but it bears repeating." You shout, the words literally manifesting themselves out of the sparks coming from your horn.

You continue in sync yet again, the words appearing over your shoulder right as they leave your lips. It's a unique talent you were lucky to have been taught by your father before he passed. It was all about being in touch with your mind, your body, and the music, and you had just taken it to a whole new level.

"I said it once before, but it bears repeating now."

With one final note, a massive flash of light engulfs the room for a second, leaving Applejack stunned. Her jaw is almost on the ground at this point and her eyes are huge. She slowly closes her mouth and stumbles over her words for a moment.

"Ah... Uhh.... Ah don't..." She says, dumbfounded.

You simply smile and reach your hoof over to Basswave, who meets it with his own.

"So?" You say.

My turn to be smug...

"What did y'all say your name was?" She asks.

You smile and tell her the name of your band, to which she replies with a nod.

"Ah see.... would you mind if I... ya know... came back tommarah?"

You pause for a moment and think of a response that doesn't seem to eager.

"Yeah, s-sure, whatever." You reply, trying to sound nonchalant, but failing terribly.

After replying, the four of you sit in an awkward silence for a few seconds, Applejack trying to hide a faint blush at her being proven wrong.

"Well, ah must be gettin' along now... got some work to do." She says, trying to avoid eye-contact.

With that, she trots hurriedly to the door and slams it behind her.

With a smug grin, you turn around to face your two bandmates, who are smiling widely as well.

"Gentlecolts.... I believe we have a new fan." You say.

Deeply Offended

Chapter 2: Deeply Offended

You stomp on the ground with intense force as you strike the final note of the song, cracking part of the wooden floor below you and sending a literally visible wave of sound from amplifier. Your eyes had been shut most of the time, so you couldn't see the expression on Applejack's face, but you were hoping it was a good one. Over the past two weeks, the orange apple-bucker had been coming to each of your band's practices. Slowly enjoying it more and more as she heard all of your songs. You nervously peek one eye open and look to the mare sitting on the couch across from your practice space. To your surprise, a wide grin is plastered across her face.

"Well ah'll be. It's like your songs are gettin' better by the second." she says, her grin still holding.

You must not have screwed it up too bad, because Basswave and Trap-set weren't giving you a death stare, like the one you'd gotten from the yellow pegasus outside of town. You still have never fully recovered from the mental damage that stare gave you.

"Well thanks, and to think, a few days ago, you wanted to kill us!" Basswave says, resting his bass against the amplifier.

"What's to say ah still don't?" Applejack replies, her grin turning more sinister.

"Well... OK then..." Basswave says nervously, inching across the living room in the direction of the bathroom.

"I've got to take a piss that could drown a foal... keep the demon mare under control?" The blue unicorn says jokingly as he strides across the carpet.

You roll your eyes and levitate the guitar from your shoulder, and rest it against your amp as well. Applejack huffs jokingly.

"Ah'll show you a demon mare..." She retorts under her breath.

You chuckle at her statement and take a seat next to her on the couch. To your surprise, she doesn't scoot away awkwardly like all the times before. Maybe she doesn't want to kill you after all.

"So, you liked it?" you ask, hopeful that she'll give you as good of feedback as she has for the last few days.

She tilts her head to the side for a moment and places a hoof under her chin.

"Maybe you could... slow it down a bit?" She suggests.

You raise an eyebrow.

"S-Slower...?" you ask awkwardly.

"Well yeah." She replies.

You simply stare at her, curious why anypony would suggest such heresy. Applejack sighs and sinks into the couch slightly.

"Think about it. If you were to slow that down, it might make it sound a bit better."

Something must be really off with her today.

"Think." She says, grabbing your face jokingly. "Ponies will hear more if you slow it down." She continues, as if she's trying to nail the words into your skull.

You ponder the idea for a moment. You've heard about slower music, but it's always been something classical. Nothing near the amount of distortion and volume you use. You simply shrug and pry her hooves off of your face.

"I'll try it, just please never do that again." you reply, causing the orange mare to roll her eyes.

"Whatever floats your boat bucko." She replies, shaking her head.

Well then, she didn't-

"Ah did like it though." She says. "Kinda catchy."

You smile warmly as she says this, a small flutter in your stomach as the words enter your ears. Surely people have said they like your sound before, but something was different about this time.

"Well, thanks." you say awkwardly, a light blush across your cheeks.

Moments later, Basswave emerges from the bathroom and trots over to the couch. You quickly notice something is off about him. His demeanor seems a bit more nervous than usual, and a small amount of sweat is pooling just under his mane-line. The blue unicorn shoots a glance to Trap-set, who is examining the pieces on his drum set. It takes a moment, but he notices Bass's stare and jumps up from the stool behind his set.

"Oh! Right." He says, emerging from behind the instrument.

Now you're worried. The only time these two are in on something is if they know it will be bad, or have the capacity to be bad.

"What's going on?" you finally ask as Trap-set nears the couch opposite of yours' and AJ's.

Basswave and Trap-set sit down on the couch in sync and look at you for a moment.

"So... we've got some news." Trap-set says hesitantly.

"No shit. What is it?" You ask, anxious to find out what is going on with your friends.

Applejack simply raises an eyebrow and glances between the three of you.

"Should ah go?" She asks hesitantly.

"No, it's fine." Trap-set replies, looking to her.

He quickly glances back to you again and sighs.

"We... are... making an addition... to the... thing... that just happens to be... a thing.. and-" He says.

"We're adding a new guitarist to the band." Basswave says with a sigh.

"Yeah." Trap-set says after Bass.

"I..." You say, dumbfounded by their news.

For the longest time, it's just been you three, and things have been going fine. Why would they want to add a new member now?!

"I..." You say again, searching for the words.

"What's wrong, man?" Trap asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm deeply offended." You reply.

Basswave sighs.

"C'mon. It'll be fine, my uncle knows this mare that-"

"It's not that! We've been brothers in this for a while, and now you're just adding another member?!" You ask, a slight anger coming to your voice at the sudden outburst.

"We're doing this for you, man." Trap-set says, a sympathetic tone entering his voice.

"For me? How does this benefit me?" You ask.

"If we have another guitar, you can focus more on the singing, and the stage-presence." Basswave says.

"So my singing sucks?!" You ask angrily.

You are so deeply offended, it's not even funny.

"No! I didn't say that!"

"You implied it." you retort.

"It doesn't suck... it could just be better." Trap says weakly.

"Better? OK. Yep. Deeply offended." You reply.

"Would we really do something if it didn't benefit the band?" Basswave asks.

You know they honestly wouldn't. You've all worked too hard to fuck something up now.

"Do it for the band." Basswave says.

Low blow...

"But I-" You try to say.

"For the band?"

"But-"

"For the band?!"

"Bu-"

"For the band?!"

"FINE!" You reply.

You'd rather rip your own horn off than listen to that all night.

"Who is it?" You say reluctantly.

Basswave sighs and attempts to tell you again.

"My uncle knows a mare, he's in her string section, 1st lyre." he says.

"A lyre?! You're adding a freakin' lyre to the band?!" you ask.

"Well... she's learning guitar..." Basswave says.

"Learning guitar... Can we at least get somepony with experience? Call it off. I'm deeply offended." You say, clearly stating the fact that you are deeply offended.

"Well I can't... she's gonna be here in like-"

Almost as if on cue, there is a light knock on the door that cuts Basswave off. An angry look quickly assembles itself on your face as you glare at your friend.

"I think... that's... her..." He says awkwardly, getting up from the couch.

Sure enough, as Basswave opens the door, an aquamarine colored unicorn on the other side smiles brightly. The two exchange words inaudible to you for a moment and soon come back to the living room.

"Everypony, this is Lyra Heartstrings. The mare I told you all about?" He says, staring directly at you, as if to say don't fuck this up.

You nod in silence to Basswave, as if to say Alright, bitch. I'll play your game.

"Hello! It's really nice to meet you all! Oh, hey Applejack!" She says in a cheery tone.

Applejack nods and tips her hat to the mare. Seems as though they know eachother.

Great, they got some uppity, happy face mare to take your spot.

"Nice to meet you Lyra." Trap-set says, putting on his best smile.

"Likewise..." You say, trying to hide the tone of annoyance in your voice.

You admit to yourself though that this mare is kind of cute. Her color is a vibrant and beautiful shade of green, and her eyes are an orangish-gold, carrying the look of a carefree and happy mare. If she wasn't trying to steal your thunder, you might actually see yourself wanting to talk to her. You notice the guitar case strapped over her back and point a hoof to it.

"What do you have?" You ask.

She pauses and levitates the guitar case off of her back nervously and flips it open, revealing an excellently crafted acoustic guitar. The wooden finish is literally shinning from the light being posed against it, only adding to the beautifully crafted instrument. You have to hold your mouth shut to keep your jaw from dropping.

"I... don't know the name, unfortunately. My best friend got it for me." She says sheepishly.

"That's fine... wow that is just..." You say, dumbfounded and almost forgetting about the fact that you hate her.

Oh, hey, by the way, you hate her.

She smiles in response to your complement and shuts the case. To your surprise however, Basswave levitates it back open and smiles at her.

"Well go on. My uncle said you were great. Show us what you've got!" He says, trying to make his voice sound as friendly as possible.

Lyra blushes slightly and levitates the guitar to her hooves.

"Well... I can try. I only really play my lyre." She says nervously.

"That's fine sugarcube, everypony has to start somewhere." Applejack says in a warming tone.

Again with the flutter. Maybe you should get that checked out.

Lyra smiles again, the blush on her cheeks stronger and easy to see due to the color of her coat. She shifts to the side and takes a seat lightly on the couch, positioning the guitar in her hooves.

Great. Time to watch some amateur guitarist attempt to play six strings and fail terribly at it. You've seen it a hundred times before. Tons of random kids who think they know how to play guitar and just end up playing the most cliche song ever written. It irritates you beyond relief.

You roll your eyes as she begins the song. A few basic chords and harmonics, nothing special. You'll admit it does sound beautiful but just basic. You emit a small sigh as the song continues, but stop dead as she begins scaling the neck with extreme speed. Your eyes go wide as her hoof dances across the fret board gracefully, filling the room with the elegant sound of classical guitar. Still keeping the notes going, she places a second hoof on the fret board, filling the room with more notes than you thought possible. Both hooves are a blur at this point, moving at speeds high enough to set the guitar ablaze. You give up on holding it, and simply let your jaw drop at the marvel before you. How the hell did she learn to play like that?! That is faster than anything you've ever seen or heard in your life.

The song is only made better by the sight of Lyra. Eyes closed, with as much concentration as she can muster. She is barely even straining to produce the extreme amount of notes pouring out of the guitar, and you swear you see her horn glow at one point. How could you have ever hated this mare? You can just barely feel the flutter in your chest again as you watch the beautiful mare before you perform this unbelievable feat. That flutter... maybe it's something wrong? High blood pressure from rocking too damn hard? You simply shake the thought from your mind as Lyra finishes the song.

She looks up after a moment, her cheeks as red as equinely possible. She shuffles in her seat slightly and glances nervously between you and everypony in the room.

"S-so... if you didn't like it-" She tries to say, as quiet as she can.

She is quickly cut off by Trap-set, Basswave, and Applejack cheering loudly.

"That was amazing!" Basswave says.

"Seriously, how the hell did you just do that?!" Trap-set remarks.

"What do you think?" Applejack says motioning to you.

You simply stare at Lyra, dumbfounded by the skills she has just shown. You stumble over your words for a moment and manage only to say;

"W-Welcome to the band..."

A Little Down Time

Chapter 3: A Little Down Time

Over the last week, after Lyra's joining the band, you have had to personally teach her all of your songs. Every chord, every hoofing, every rhythm. To be honest, it was a tiring process. The mare was very unfamiliar with guitar, despite the skills she showed on the first night you met. Every session, she stayed until the late hours of the night, tirelessly trying to get the songs just right. You could tell she really wanted to be a part of what you were doing and you needed her, in your band that is. Her potential was so amazing and her talent was definitely there, it just had to be tapped in to. Your mind still swirls whenever you think of the intense speed she displayed when playing during her introduction. How did she move that fast? Why can't she just get this one song down? You shake your head once to clear the growing questions from your mind and touch one of the frets on the guitar, your hoof gently pressing against the strings.

"No. Right here." You say, trying not to sound agitated. It's very hard.

Lyra frowns and sighs as she swings her hoof over to the fret you have directed her to. She plays it almost perfectly and looks to you with a hopeful smile. You can't help but grin as her golden eyes meet yours.

"That's right..." You say with a nod.

Her smile only brightens as she plays it again. Then proceeds to play the verse you have just showed her. It sounds almost like you would play it, a slight "funk" feel to the notes while still remaining hard-rockish. You look down to the small amplifier she had purchased a few days ago and notice a small amount of magical sparks emiting from it. The grin on your face quickly grows as you have finally been able to teach her your trick. You look back and find the mare's eyes closed, and she is bobbing her head with the rhythm.

She's feeling it.

You remain silent and simply lean backwards, letting your head rest against the wall of your bedroom as the notes continue flowing from the amp freely. It's graceful, despite the style of music. Hearing her play that is. It's like knowing the mare behind the guitar makes the music that much better for you. You've slowly come to know her as slightly hyperactive, but determined when she needed to be. Almost the perfect balance of emotions.

She stops after a moment and rubs her hooves together.

"Ahh... This guitar stuff can hurt your hooves... Not like... Lyre..." She says, slowly trailing off.

She stops completely and stares in awe as a small, blue musical note floats past her view and dissipates into thin air. She pauses for a moment and then looks back to you, her eyes as wide as they can get.

"Did I...?" She asks quietly.

You simply nod, a grin still holding strong on your face.

The unicorn pauses again and looks to the floor. She almost looks saddened, but before you can attempt to comfort her, she lunges forward and wraps her hooves around you, nearly suffocating you in a tight hug.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! You have NO IDEA how hard I've been working on that!" She says in a gleeful tone as she shakes you side to side in her friendly, and almost murderous, grasp.

You poke her side lightly, signalling that she will soon suffocate you if this hug continues, and she loosens her grasp and returns to her seat.

"How well did it work?!" She asks, raising both eyebrows.

"It worked... well. There were a few notes...." You reply hesitantly.

She raises a hoof upward and brings it down slowly, whispering "yes" the whole way. You chuckle lightly and clap your hooves together a few times.

"I'm impressed. Not a lot of ponies can do that." You say with a smile, your neck throbbing after the attack-hug.

"Well, now I'm one of them." Lyra replies proudly.

As she finishes her words, she looks to the clock on the end table next to your bed.

"One?! Again?! Oh BonBon is gonna' be so pissed..." She says nervously, levitating her new electric guitar back into it's case.

"It'll be fine, just tell her I said you had to." You reply.

Lyra nods and smiles, throwing the guitar case over her back.

"See you later, thanks again!" She says, walking out of the door to your room.

You smile in return and close the door as she exits. The smile remains on your face as you pace towards the bed however. You really taught her something. Something she was genuinely proud of. The flutter appears in your heart again as you think about it for a moment. Again? Really? You should probably get that checked out... maybe pony AIDS or something.

Your thoughts are quickly cut-off however, as Trap-Set clumsily emerges from your closet. He fails terribly at being stealthy however, and stumbles onto the floor, followed by an old, busted, acoustic guitar. You jump back in surprise and squeak slightly. Nice one.

"What the hell, man?!" You ask, terrified.

Trap-Set looks up for a moment, then instantly springs to his hooves.

"Just... checking the... closet. For safety." He says awkwardly.

"Safety." You say, confirming his statement.

"For safety, yeah. There's a whole bunch of... safety... precautions... and stuff." He continues, pointing a hoof back to the closet.

You remain silent and shoot him a look that says "really"?

He pauses and looks you in the eye for a moment before strafing to the door, still keeping eye-contact. He feels around for the handle of the door and throws it open, still keeping his eyes glued to yours.

"You touch Lyra, I kill you." He says in a low tone.

With that, he slips out of the room and down the hallway to his own.

You stand there for a moment, trying to process what the hell has just happened, but you shrug it off a moment later and continue walking to the bed. All you want right now is a good night's sleep. Besides, you had a long day with somepony who was slowly becoming your best friend tomorrow.

* * *

"I can't.... use... magic?!" You ask in an exhausted tone as you struggle to pull a cart of apples.

Applejack shakes her head, pulling her own effortlessly.

"Nope. We gotta' hoof-pick em' all." She replies proudly.

"But you kick the trees!" You reply.

"Your back legs have hooves too, don't they?"

You pause for a moment.

"OK. You win this time..." You reply, clearly defeated.

The orange earthpony chuckles and continues down the path through the apple orchard.

"Don't I win every time?" She replies smugly.

You chuckle weakly and shake your head as the both of you continue. You'd come to admire her competitive side over the last few weeks. Sometimes, you try to compete, but she ends up beating you in the end. Pretty much everytime. One thing you didn't expect her to beat you at however, was intelligence, which she had just done. You sigh in relief as the tall red barn comes into view.

She opens the door to the barn and waves a hoof to the inside.

"Mares first." She says with a grin.

You mock-laugh in her direction and haul the large cart into the barn, and let the cart rest in the middle of the wooden structure. Soon after, she follows and let's her own cart rest next to yours.

"Thanks again for helpin' out." She says giving you a warm smile.

With all the useful suggestions and input she has been giving on the band's music, it would be rude not to help out.

"Anytime." You reply returning the smile.

As you two walk out, AJ looks to the sky in thought, and kicks the barn door shut.

"So... the west field has been bucked... the carts are in the barn... Ah'd say we're about done til' Granny Smith sorts through all the apples." She says.

You nod, silently ecstatic about not having to work anymore.

"Hey. Come up to the house with me will yah'? I have somethin' I want to show you." She says, pointing to the farmhouse.

You shrug and begin walking to the house with her.

As you enter the home, the sweet smell of apples and cinnamon enter your nostrils and almost cause your mouth to water. Granny Smith must be making pies again.

"Granny Smith! The apples are in the barn!" Applejack shouts as she nears the stairs.

After a few seconds of no response, Applejack looks back to you and shrugs, causing you to shrug as well.

"Ah well. Come on." She says, trotting up the stairs.

You continue following her without question, eager to see what she has to show you. She guides you into her room, which makes you a little uneasy at first. You calm almost immedietly as you see a familiar shape laying against the bed. Resting against the neatly-made green and white sheets of the bed, is an acoustic guitar, glistening in the sunlight from a window across the room.

Hesitantly inching further into her room, you look back and she replies with a confirming nod. You carefully reach a hoof out and lift the instrument from the ground. It feels perfect in your hooves. The wood is polished and the nickel strings feel like they're brand-new.

"It was mah dad's..." She says with a smile.

"It's beautiful." You reply, running a hoof along the polished wood.

Applejack continues smiling and takes a few steps into her room, closely examining the guitar in your hooves.

"Reminds me 'a him everytime I see it..." She says, an almost sorrowful tone entering her voice.

You look up and notice a slightly saddened look in her eyes.

"He had great taste." You say, trying to better her mood.

She smiles in response and nods towards you.

"Well, whatcha waitin' for?" She says.

You raise an eyebrow, and then realize you're holding a guitar in your hooves. Smooth.

"Now?" You ask nervously. "Well I mean... I can't now..."

"And why in the hay not?" She asks, a familiar grin coming to her lips.

Great. She's about to win again.

"Well I mean... my hooves aren't ready... and this room isn't acoustically fitted for my voice..."

Applejack rolls her eyes and takes a sea on her bed.

"Hog-wash. I bet'cha you could play somethin' nice, right here, right now."

Aaaaaaaaaand she won.

You sigh and take a seat on the bed, positioning the excellently crafted instrument in your hooves, ready to play. You pluck the strings gently, causing light notes to fill the room, and a small grunt exits your mouth as you clear your throat. Just as you begin to play, you stop and look to the orange mare.

"Do I have to?" You ask, putting on a fake frown.

"Yes." She says with a nod.

Maybe she hasn't won yet... A smug grin returns to your face as you think of a quick song you had written when you just began creating lyrics. You clear your throat once more and position the guitar in your hooves.

You smile and begin plucking the strings of the guitar, as your opposite hoof rests perfectly in position.

"Fall is here, hear the yell, back to school, ring the bell..." You begin as the melody of your voice and playing fill the room.

Applejack smiles and stares intently at the guitar in your hooves, her eyes literally glowing. The fact that anypony is playing her father's instrument is probably making her happy, but the fact that you're doing justice to it probably makes it that much better.

"I can tell that we are gonna be friends..." You say with a smile, looking her directly in those deep, green eyes. "I can tell that we are gonna be friends..."

The faintest blush appears just under her freckled cheeks as the lyrics leave your mouth with perfect pitch. A smile stretches across your lips as you look down to the frets and continue.

"Walk with me, Suzy-lee, through the park and by the tree..."

She smiles, the blush becoming more apparent, and leans back slightly as she enjoys the music. The grin on your face turns a bit sinister as you think of what would be the icing on the cake. Effortlessly, your horn begins to glow. Slowly glowing brighter and brighter as the music continues. After several seconds, a small ball of light escapes your horn and floats throughout the room for a moment. Applejack raises an eyebrow as you continue, but you simply close your eyes, focusing on the unison between the music and the ball of energy.

After focusing on it enough, the ball of energy begins to take shape into something different. Applejack's jaw falls open as it quickly grows a pair of wings, and two small legs, followed by a head with a beak. The ball of energy had turned into a small bird, and was now floating across the room gracefully. AJ's agape mouth quickly breaks into a smile as the magical bird floats around the room for a moment, then comes to rest on your shoulder.

"And we don't notice any time pass... And we don't notice anything..."

The bird quickly flutters over to her shoulder and lands on it softly. At first she is surprised but calms her shoulder as the bird looks at her curiously.

"We sit side by side in every class..."

Applejack giggles slightly as the bird runs his beak along her flushed and freckled cheek. After a moment, the magical bird flies back to your shoulder and rocks back and forth to the rhythm of the song.

"And I can tell that we are gonna be friends...."

As the guitar slips from your hooves and rests gently on the floor, the bird disappears in a small puff of blue smoke. Applejack looks to you, stunned.

"That was... Wow..." She says, sitting back up.

You shrug, a humble grin on your face.

"Just because I play hard music doesn't mean I can't play light." You say.

"Well yeah... but that was just... How did you do that... with the bird?" She asks, tilting her head slightly, the stetson atop her head shifting position.

"When I feel it... things just happen." You say with a smile.

"Well... it was beautiful." She says with a warming smile.

You nod and look to the guitar.

"Reminds me of somepo-"

Before you can finish, a mood-killing, ear-shattering bell rings from downstairs.

"PAH'S READY!" Granny smith shouts from down the stairs.

Applejack grins and looks to the door for a moment, then back to you.

"What were you saying?" She asks.

You pause for a moment, trying to remember your train of thought.

"Uhh.. nothing. We should go eat." You say, trying to change the subject.

The orange mare shrugs and lifts herself off of the bed, and towards the door. You slowly do the same and raise an eyebrow at the feeling in your stomach.

There's that flutter again.

Beside the Limelight

Chapter 5: Beside the Limelight

After a night of dancing to some great songs that didn't completely annoy you, you decide to make your way through the crowd of dancing ponies as another song flips on, causing the lights in the room to dim slightly, only small laser-lights shining through a thin layer of smoke that coats the floor of Sugar Cube Corner. It's poppy, but not to the extent in which you want to gouge your eyes out with a rusty spork. It's a steady beat, with a smooth bassline and spacey keyboards. Soothing, actually. Making your way to the edge of the crowd, you approach the front counter of the bakery, where Pinkie Pie is bouncing back and forth to the rhythm of the song, her eyes shut tightly as her mane sways back and forth.

"Hey!" you shout over the pounding beat, causing the bubbly mare to open her eyes and look to you with a bright smile.

"Well what's up, rock star?!" she says, placing both hooves on the counter. "What can I getcha?" she asks, nearly yelling over the loud music blaring from the speakers.

You pause for a moment, looking to the display case behind her at the delectable cupcakes, cookies, and cakes lining the small glass case. After a few seconds, you point to the case and retrieve a few bits to pay for the treat.

"Uhh, the pink cupcake." you say, counting the bits in your hoof.

Pinkie retrieves the cupcake with split-second speed, and places it on the counter. Looking to your hoof, she gently pushes it away, shaking her head back and forth. You raise an eyebrow but put the bits away nonetheless, your expression clearly confused.

"Don't even worry about it! You play here, it's on the house!" she says, her bubbly voice slightly quieter as she moves closer over the counter.

"Oh, well thanks Pinkie!" you say happily, caught off guard by the generous gift.

She nods once and smiles as you walk away in the direction of several folding chairs and lightly-decorated tables. You can feel the chair squeak slightly as you set yourself in it, and turn to set your treat on the table in front of you. It had taken about an hour until your adrenaline rush from being on stage died down, reminding you how hungry you were. Your stomach groans and grumbles slightly as you raise the delectable baked good to your maw, savoring the taste of the fluffy pink frosting as it coats the inside of your mouth. If you hadn't just rocked your first show, you would place this at the top of your list for epic things that had happened this evening. The cupcake is pretty much bliss, just like all of Pinkie's other desserts, but even more blissful, is the sight you see when pulling the cupcake out of view. Sitting in front of you is your guitarist, Lyra. Her smile isn't the biggest you've ever seen, but it's definitely happy, her body swaying back and forth to the music as she looks to you, lights reflecting off of her eyes as they bounce throughout the room.

"Hey!" she says happily, resting one of her elbows on the table, still gently rocking to the rhythm.

You smile in return, swallowing your large bite of moist, delicious cupcake.

"Hey, when did you get here?!" you ask, setting the small treat back on the table.

"I snuck over when you were digging into that." she says with a giggle, pointing to the pink pastry on the table.

You chuckle in reply and shrug.

"I was hungry." you say with a smirk.

Lyra giggles again and points to it with a raised eyebrow.

"May I?" she asks quietly, almost inaudible over the blaring music.

You shake your head once quickly and push the cupcake towards her slightly.

"Oh, no, no problem, go right ahead." you say, your voice stuttering slightly.

You chide yourself silently in your mind, wondering why you seemed so jumpy just then. It's then you start to feel it again, the damned flutter. It intensifies as she picks the cupcake off of the table and takes a small nibble from it, a small spec of frosting sticking to her sea-grin lips as she pulls it away, smiling shyly. She looks adorable, a small spec of pink on her muzzle as she blinks, her two golden irises glowing against the neon lights of the room as she looks to you. You slowly raise a shaky hoof and point to her muzzle.

"Oh, hey, you've got a little-" you say, cutting yourself off, looking to your hoof.

It's shaking...

Why is it shaking?

Jeez, you're acting like you would around a school yard crush.

After a moment, you shrug and continue pointing your hoof to her, Lyra beginning to cross her eyes and look quizzically at her muzzle.

"I what?" she asks, slightly confused.

You lower your hoof and slide a few chairs down around the table, until you're sitting next to her, within hoof's reach of her muzzle, and the spec of frosting.

"Here..." you say gently, reaching your hoof to her once more.

She watches your hoof as it moves, your eyes locked with hers as you gently wipe away the frosting from her muzzle, her skin twitching slightly under your hoof's touch. You bring it back, eyes still trapped willingly within hers, and lick your hoof shyly with a nervous chuckle.

"Y-You had a little... Frosting... Heh..." you say, cursing yourself for stuttering like an idiot just then, and looking down in shame.

She giggles awkwardly and flashes a smile.

"Well thank you..." she says, looking downwards, a slight crimson coming over her face.

Before tonight, you would have never seen her in this sort of light. You'd just been seeing her as the kind-of-cute mare just starting out on guitar, trying to learn your band's songs before the first gig. But now, you'd seen how fun and crazy she could be. The full extent of her happiness and smile.

... And you like it.

As the song continues, you look back up to her, her eyes still glued to the floor and the blush still swelling in her cheeks.

"You look great tonight... Did I tell you that..?" you ask her, quietly.

The blush instantly deepens tenfold, and she looks back up to you. Well, the wall behind you to be exact. She's obviously avoiding eye-contact.

"N-No... At least I don't think so." she says, smiling shyly and looking into your eyes. "I think I'd remember if I'd gotten a compliment from you."

The flutter peaks in your chest, more intense than you'd ever felt it, nearly causing you to place a hoof on your chest for assurance that your entire being wasn't floating away.

For a moment, the two of you sit there in silence, music continually echoing throughout the walls of Sugar Cube Corner as ponies dance happily to the music. The bass from the song keeps thumping you in the chest, along with your heart beating fast, your mind running circles around itself over the mare next to you. Maybe you're into her? Maybe she's into you? No... She's your guitarist, why would she like you? She just wants to be in the band... That's it... Nothing here. You've never been too good with mares, you know? She'd probably friendzone you anywa-

Then you feel it. A hoof on your right leg. Specifically a brightly colored sea-green hoof, placed gently on your thigh as the mare beside you scoots closer.

Smoke seems to fill the rest of the building, and your head, as all of the ponies begin to disappear from the room. One-by-one poofing away until just the mare beside you is left, and she's scooting closer. The music becomes distant as the song ends, like you're hearing it from outside, but instantly fills your ears as another synth-y beat starts up.

You open your mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. Your beating heart has left you with a dry mouth and itchy pipes, along with a small bead of sweat beginning to form on your brow. Lyra continues sliding closer to you, nearly sitting on the same chair as you now, the side of her body almost rubbing against yours. Out of the corner of your eye, you see her look up, your head instinctively moving upwards as well to meet hers.

Her face is a lot closer than you thought.

"Thanks... For you know.. Pushing me into that solo up there..." she says nervously.

You quickly notice her blush as deep as it can be, a bead of nervous sweat sliding down her face as her body nearly trembles next to yours.

"It was... Really... Fun..." she says, giggling lightly, her voice becoming more quiet.

Something inside your mind and heart click. As if pieces just fell into play, and something really right or really wrong is going to happen. You lose complete control, the click in your mind taking over as your neck moves forward, not too fast, not too slow. Your eyes shut, body still not under your control, and you feel your lips touch against hers. You immediately expect her to pull away, and see stars as she slaps you silly with her hoof, but you don't feel it...

... You feel her push back.

Your lips are locked together as both parties push into the kiss, the sensitive skin of both your maws pressing against each other, warmth balling around your two muzzles as they meet in perfect harmony. Your eyes are still shut, but you can feel a hoof reach up and rest itself on your face as the two of you sit, lips together as the music spurs your rapidly beating heart.

It feels as though it lasts forever. A moment that won't stop for anything...

It feels so surreal...

You're kissing Lyra Heartstrings...

After a few more year-long seconds, you pull away from the tender kiss, nearly in-sync. Your eyes open groggily, instantly meeting hers as she looks to you, nearly pouting that the moment she had also treasured is now over. Your mind is moving so fast, you need to think of something to say... Should you talk? Or bask in the glory? Think fast-

"Sh-Should we do that again...?" you ask, your mind in a complete haze.

After a few seconds, she nods slowly, and leans in for another kiss, her lips pursing only slightly. You openly oblige, your body halfway back under your control.

The second kiss is just as blissful, her hoof coming to rest on your face once again as she presses her lips against yours, kissing you tenderly as the neon laser-lights scan across your faces. Almost as if scanning your faces and saying; "Holy shit, they're making out? Well then..."

Almost a minute later, the second kiss ends, and she pulls away, her eyes fluttering as a haze begins to take her as well.

She yawns gently and smiles shyly again, swirling a hoof in circles around your chest as she licks her lips.

"Well that was..." she says with a giggle, trailing off.

Horrible? Awful? Vomit-enducing?! You eagerly await her answer.

But you don't get one. Instead, she works her way under your limp foreleg, and rests her head against your chest, her horn facing outwards as she closes her eyes and sighs contentedly. It takes a quick moment for you to realize what she's trying to initiate, and you instinctively pull her a little bit closer with your foreleg, holding her tightly against your side as she runs her hoof up and down your stomach. You thought she might be a little into you from your late-night practice sessions, but you never honestly expected her to act on the little quirks and sly movements she made towards you.

It's no matter, at least you finally know what the flutter in your chest means, and that pony-aids is out of the question!

As you stroke her side and cuddle with her though, you start to remember another pony you felt the exact same flutter around... Somepony else who you'd been getting close to recently... Somepony beautiful...

Oh yeah...

Applejack.

Calm Like a Bomb

You can hear it around you, the voices of other ponies, distant and slightly muffled. Your eyes try to flutter open slightly, but as a small amount of light seeps through the cracks that are your eyelids, you cringe slightly and shut them immediately. Well, no vision, might as well feel your surroundings. Using your hooves, you can feel that you're laying on the ground, a hard wooden floor to be exact. Slowly, the memories of last night vaguely collect in your mind. The kick ass show, the crowd cheering, and last but not least, your kiss with Lyra. A small smile instinctively splits across your face as you lay on the ground, having no idea where you are.

"See that?! Look at that smug little smile, I'm gonna kill him!"

Your ear twitches slightly as one of the muffled voices grows louder, along with several harsh thumps on the ground beneath you, causing your body to shake slightly. Your eyes instantly spring open as you feel a pair of hooves violently lift you off of the ground, your back legs dangling beneath you.

It's... Trap-Set.

Instinctively, you raise a hoof to wave at him. But something is off, his expression looks savagely angry, and his eyes look bloodshot as if he's been crying.

"Woah... D-Dude... You alright?" you ask distantly, still waking up.

"Trap, come on! Put him down!" you hear a voice shout from across the room.

Struggling in the Trap-Set's massive hooves, you look to the direction of the voice, noticing Basswave standing beside Pinkie Pie. Both carrying worried expressions.

It's then you realize it, you're still in Sugar Cube Corner. Must've passed out after the party. Sweet Celestia this place is wrecked...

Looking back to Trap-Set's anger, you realize another thing... You kissed "his" mare.

Before you can try and pull out of his grasp, he cocks his foreleg back and slams his hoof into your face. A jolt of pain hits you with the force of a freight train, leaving your face burning as you fly backwards and land on a chair. The chair buckles however, causing you to flip over it and land in a massive pile of plastic cups, your thoughts beginning to cloud.

"Jeez, Trap! What the hell?!" you shout, bringing a hoof to the afflicted spot on your face.

He pays no attention, simply stepping forward and picking you up once more.

"Pinkie, get help, now!" Basswave says, quickly trotting over to the two of you.

He begins frantically pulling on Trap-Set's forelegs, trying to free you from his grasp. Pinkie Pie looks around for a moment in panic before trotting hurriedly outside to get help.

"I told you, you little rat!" Trap screams in your face. "You've been stealing mares from me since 5th grade!"

You feel another hoof collide with your jaw before you have a chance to say anything, knocking you to the side and against the front counter of the store, sending several more cups and desert pastries flying.

"Gah... Fuck! It was heat of the moment, Trap! Calm down!" you scream in return, trying to reason with the venomously angry pony in front of you.

He gives no response and simply shrugs his shoulders forward, charging towards you.

"Trap, come on!" you shout once more.

Just as he reaches you, you dive out of the way, causing him to ram full-speed into the counter with his head, putting him in a slight daze for a moment. Taking your chance you quickly sprint a distance away from him, turning to back away slowly, putting your hooves up defensively.

"Listen, dude. We can talk about this!" you plead.

Trap-Set growls, recovering from his self-inflicted blow. He snorts angrily and spits on the floor.

"No talking. I'm going to kill you right here you weasel." he says in a grim tone.

You roll your eyes and sigh as he begins charging once more, trying to run you down. As the distance between the two of you closes, Trap-Set snaps his head downward and sets up for the perfect ramming stance. Reaching you, he jumps forward, trying to slam into you. You're able to snap away just in time however, causing him to run into nothingness and lose his balance.

"Agh! Stop delaying the inevitable you slimey- GAH!" he shouts.

He's cut off however as you slam onto his back, using it to springboard over him and continue sprinting away. You could probably handle yourself in a fight, but a fight against Trap? Not on your life.

The large earthpony clutches his afflicted area in pain and rolls over, returning to his hooves in one swift move. His anger seems to have doubled since before, steam almost emitting from his nostrils as he breathes heavily. An ear-piercing war cry sounds from his throat as he opens his mouth and charges towards you again. You look around in panic, looking for a way out. But you've boxed yourself into a corner, walls on both sides of you. Out of the corner of your eye, you quickly spot Basswave signaling to you.

"Catch!" he shouts at the top of his lungs, tossing a guitar by the neck in your direction.

You watch as it soars through the air majestically, time seeming to slow slightly as Trap-Set charges towards you. Thankfully, the hulking stallion hasn't seen it yet as it flies just over head of him, faster than his running speed. Reaching towards it, you're able to juuuust grab it, wrapping your hoof around it and bringing it down to you. Trap doesn't stop however, not noticing you now have a weapon, and continues to charge as you set up to hit him.

"Last chance, Trap! Cut it out!" you shout, warning him as he steps closer.

"FUCK YOU!" he screams in reply.

With a quick sigh, you close your eyes and brace yourself, swinging the base of the guitar upwards. You can feel the instrument vibrate as the guitar smacks the bottom of his jaw, immediately stopping his momentum and knocking him backwards. A sickening crack echoes off of the walls as you open your eyes and see your target fly backwards. A spray of blood flies from his mouth as well, along with what appears to be several pieces of teeth. He lands with a stern thud, rolling a few more feet before stopping.

Your hooves un-clench around the neck of the guitar, jaw dropping as you examine him, writhing in agony on the ground.

"D-Dude?!" you ask shakily.

Trap groans in pain, blood beginning to flow from his mouth.

"Aghhh, you hit me wif a fuckin' guitaw!" he says, the flowing fluids accenting his voice.

He slowly and shakily rises once more, turning around to face you.

"I'm still gownna kiwl you, you son of a-!"

He's quickly cut off as a pair of orange hind legs bucks him in the side of the head, sending him back to the floor. You blink once, even more confused as you notice Applejack trotting towards you.

"C'mon Sugar Cube, Royal Guards' are on their way!" she says, pulling you along.

You look to her in shock, then back to Trap as she pulls you along, the stallion moaning and groaning on the ground.

"Why, man?! Why- GahhhhHHHH YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" he screams, his face on the ground. "You watch! You watch, I'm going to-to make my own band!"

You cringe slightly, hearing the angry tone in his voice, and trot hurriedly along with Applejack out of Sugar Cube Corner, Trap-Set still screaming insults as you slam the door shut and proceed down the street.

"I got help!" Pinkie Pie says with a bright smile as you hurry away.

* * *

"What in the hay were you thinkin' fightin' that big'un like that?!" Applejack asks, propping you up against the side of the barn's wall.

After fleeing the scene before the guards showed up, the country-mare noticed how bad your face was bruised. So much so that a large gash had been torn from your right cheek, along with a heavily swollen eye. Her green eyes shine from the outside moonlight as she holds up a wet rag and gently places it against your afflicted area, causing you to hiss slightly in pain.

"Nnngh- Life of a rockstar." you say cheesily, a slight chuckle escaping through the pained exhale.

She shakes her head and narrows her eyebrows, a wry expression taking her face.

"Sounds more like a dysfunctional family to me." she says, pressing lightly against your black-eye over and over again.

You let her work in silence for a few minutes, dunking the rag in a bucket of water beside you to keep it cold and wash small amounts of blood from it. After a bit, you look to her and raise an eyebrow.

"So Pinkie came to you for help, huh?" you ask, trying not to sound like you're in excruciating pain.

(You are).

"Nah," she says with a shy smile. "Ah was passing by, wanted to make sure Ah thanked yah' for the show. Blew my mind, that's fer' sure."

You smirk and adjust yourself a bit as she continues.

"Why didn't you find me last night? I was hanging out after the show."

She shrugs and takes a breath, dunking the rag once more.

"Ah tried, but you were busy."

You freeze for a moment, remembering your kiss with Lyra once more. You can feel a guilt burning in your stomach for a moment, almost as if you don't want Applejack to know what happened. You swallow dryly and raise an eyebrow.

"With what?" you ask, able to keep your normal tone of voice.

She giggles and continues dressing your facial wounds.

"Being passed out in a pile'a cups."

You want to sigh, but figure it would make her suspicious, instead making a note to do it later.

After what feels like forever and an eternity in a painful hell, she backs away slightly, examining your face.

"Eyup. Ah'd say you're about done." she says, stepping back towards you, taking a seat on the floor of the barn.

"Thank you, nurse Applejack. No corrective surgery?" you ask, beginning to spout of cheese like a fondue fountain.

She rolls her eyes and jokingly brushes her hoof across the "good" side of your face, specifically the one that doesn't look like a piece of meat.

"Maybe somethin' ta' fix that big mouth'a yurs'." she says. "What in the hay got your boy all riled-up anyway?"

You pause slightly and just shrug, trying not to lie, but not necessarily tell the truth.

"Just stealing his spotlight or something... Never know with that guy."

She nods in response, looking around the barn for a moment, her eyes still sparkling as the irises move around, causing a slight smirk to split your lips. She then sighs and looks to the bloody-water bucket.

"Ehh... Ah'll take it up in the mornin'." she says, waving it off with a hoof.

You nod, leaning backwards and yawning loudly.

"Tomorrow is gonna' be fun... Guess I should set up some ads for a new drummer, heh..." you say through the extended yawn.

"Why so, Sugarcube?" she asks, tilting her head slightly.

"What, you really think Trap is going to come back to the band after that?"

"Well ya'll been friends for a while, I reckon it'll be a pretty quick make up."

You shake your head, and stretch your forelegs, slouching against the wooden wall of the barn slightly.

"Not after this. He's never come at me like that. Hell, I've never wanted him to in the first place. You know how many heads that stallion has broken?"

She shrugs and remains silent for a moment, but brightens and looks to you, her eyes slightly wider.

"Oh! New drummer, huh? Ah think ah might know somepony who'd love to fill that spot right-quick." Applejack says with a smile.

"They good?" you ask, looking up to the ceiling.

"Well, she likes to hit stuff. I reckon' that's as good'a qualification as any." she replies with a smirk.

You sigh and look down with a smile, looking specifically to her hoof, just in your reach. You reach for it, gently taking it in yours as you idly rest your head against the wall behind you. The pounding in your head has stops for a moment as you close your eyes, and the feeling of another pony's hoof in yours is helping numb the pain, specifically Applejack's. She seems slightly surprised at the way her hoof jumps a bit as you grab it, but she doesn't pull it away, instead intertwining it with yours.

"You're a great mare, AJ. I don't feel like I say that enough." you say with a smile, closing your eyes.

She giggles lightly, squeezing your appendage slightly.

"Aw, shucks. Heh, thanks, Sugarcube."

After a few seconds of feeling the edge of her hoof slide back and forth across the palm of yours, you open your eyes and look up. Then you see it, instantly feeling how you felt with Lyra at the show. The look in her eyes. It's almost the exact same. A little bit of shyness, with a definite look of hunger. Hunger for somepony, probably you, you're heart is beginning to pound too hard to process thoughts exceeding 4th grade knowledge however, so you're not sure. She looks down to the hoof in hers then back up to you.

Then you really see it. Subtly but you can tell it's there.

She bites her lip.

It's sooooo slight, but you can tell, you can feeeeel it. Your mind starts to race for a moment as you examine her face. She wants you to kiss her. You know it. She knows it. I know it. Everyone knows it. Celestia knows it. Just do it. Do it already. Lean forward. By Luna's divine grace just do it. You're gonna miss your chance, kid! Just do it already! DO IT-

"I have to pee." you say distantly.

Applejack pauses completely, her face now confused rather than hungry.

"W-What, Sugarcube?" she asks quietly.

Smooth. Why don't you just nickname yourself Mood-Killer? You feel a hot blush rush into your cheeks as you realize what you said. I have to pee? Might as well been; "Hey I want to kiss you but I'm a complete fuck-up so, screw it, bodily functions!". But, you actually do have to pee, quite bad. You release her hoof and begin standing up, trying your best not to make eye-contact to further your embarrassment.

"You alright there?" she asks, standing up as well, looking a bit disappointed.

"Yeah. I just uhh... I should go. Thanks for the- and the- yeah with the-" you stumble over your words, mimicking her touching of the rag to your face.

She rolls her eyes and sighs with a nod, extending a hoof to the exit of the barn.

"Don't mention it." she says, chuckling weakly. "Later."

You bow your head and begin to walk out of the barn, slightly shamed at your lack of control. With a sigh, you make it to the road just outside of Sweet Apple Acres, walking the few blocks towards your home. Here's to hoping Trap-Set isn't still there.

* * *

You place your key in the door handle as you step onto the front porch, trying to be quiet in the event that crazy-colt is still around. As you start to turn your hoof and unlock it though, it's quickly pulled open, causing you to cringe at the aspect of being socked by Trap and the heavy light from inside.

"Please don't hit me, it just stopped hurting!" you plead.

After a few minutes of silence, you hear a chuckle and uncover your eyes. Standing in the doorway is Basswave, levitating a bottle beside him.

"Nice battle-scars, kiddo." he says, turning around and walking into house.

You sigh in relief and roll your eyes, stepping inside of the home as well.

"Screw you." you retort, stepping in and placing a hoof on the couch.

Basswave steps into the living room as well, throwing himself onto the couch across the room with a light grunt, taking a sip from the bottle that is most likely beer.

"Is uhh...?" you say, motioning to upstairs.

The unicorn shakes his head as he sets the beverage down on the end table beside the couch.

"Nah. Came home after the hospital and packed his stuff right up, said he was done with everything." Basswave says with a sigh.

You sigh and step around the couch, putting a hoof to your head in disbelief.

"Shit... I put him in the hospital?" you ask quietly.

Bass nods and points to you.

"Yep, and he's sending you the bill."

You roll your eyes and sink deeper into the couch, groaning as Bass levitates another bottle across the room to you.

"C'mon, let's just chill out and forget today happened." he says, nodding to the beer floating just inside your reach.

You sigh and take it, flicking the cap off and taking a swig. Across the room, you see Basswave lift his bottle in the air, chuckling as he does so.

"Here's... To the end of the band." he says, a hint of sadness in his voice.

You swallow your swig suddenly, choking on it as you lean forward on the couch.

"Oh no. Nononono. Fuck that." you say, shaking your head wildly.

Bass nods and takes a swig, smiling at you.

"Oh ok, cool. We can just start a Mumford band. Always wanted a reason to kill myself." he says with a hearty laugh.

You roll your eyes and clear your throat.

"No! AJ knows somepony. Somepony good. She can get her to play with us."

"Another chick in the band? I don't think that went so well last time." he replies, slightly concerned.

You nod slightly and look to the ground. After a few short moments of thought, you chuckle and look up to Bass.

"Heh, you get dibs on this one, alright?" you say with a smug grin, causing him to roll his eyes.

"Whatever. That reminds me," he says, tipping his bottle in your direction. "I never said I was OK with you fucking a family friend."

"And what are you going to do to stop me?" you reply.

"Absolutely nothing!" he says with a chuckle before finishing off the rest of his drink.

You chuckle as well, looking to the ground once more. Your mind then returns to the thoughts of Applejack and your complete screw-up at the barn earlier that night. You nearly cringe at the thought of it. "I have to pee." Who says that?

"I should've kissed her." you say quietly, still staring at the floor.

Basswave looks up, raising an eyebrow.

"I thought you did. You were tonguing her throat by the time I caught a glimpse of you guys." he says.

"No, not Lyra... AJ."

"AJ?" Bass asks, sitting up. "Wait a minute dude... Are you thinking of double-dipping? Two chicks?"

Looking to him, you can see he's concerned. Maybe with good reason, just one mare had almost gotten you paralyzed today, two was signing your own death warrant.

"No!" you reply quickly. "Neither of them are official..."

Basswave rolls his eyes and exhales slowly.

"Sweet Celestia, you're an asshole..." he says through the breath.

You chuckle weakly and nod.

"That I am..." you reply.

"Just don't hurt either one of them. They're nice ponies, and one of them is a badass guitarist." he says, nodding in your direction.

You nod in response, lounging back on the couch once more, staring at the ceiling.

"I'm gonna miss Trap..." you suddenly say, thoughts now returning to your childhood friend.

"Yeah... He's a good guy when he's not trying to bash your skull in." Bass replies, burping lightly as he cracks open another drink.

"Heh, remember junior year? When he 'stood-up' to Mrs. Breeze?" you ask with a light chuckle.

"Oh yeah, I'll never forget what that idiot said."

"Drums aren't my life, it's my way of life!" you both recite, imitating Trap-Set's voice.

You both share a hearty laugh as the memories come back. You nearly roll off of the couch as your chest gasps for air from all of the rampant laughing. Bass wipes away a tear and sits back up.

"Oh gosh... Oh... The teacher was so damn confused she didn't even give him detention for walking out." he says through an exhale.

"Oh and then the spray paint on her house?" you ask.

"No... Don't even bring that up, dude!" Basswave says, chuckling loudly again. "I've never met a pony in the 11th grade who can't spell 'idiot' right...."

You both sigh as you reminisce, leaning back as the memories swirl through your mind. Or maybe that was pain. Yeah, definitely pain, coming back in strong waves. You clutch your head for a moment and groan as you stand up, using the couch for support as you make your way to your hooves.

"Fuck... Think I'm going to pack it in for the night...." you say through your pained groans, inching your way to the stairs.

"Alright, dude... Good times." he says, lifting his drink to you once more.

"And they'll keep on coming..." you say quietly to yourself, beginning to ascend up the steps.

First Show

Chapter 4: First Show

A few days after your charade with Applejack, you keep feeling that awkward flutter in your chest every time your think about the gorgeous farmpony. You constantly find yourself drifting off into a pleasant daydream containing nothing but her. Her deep, green eyes. Her cute little freckles.

"HEY!" Your boss screams at the top of his lungs, breaking you from your trance.

The only downside to daydreaming about your new best friend, is that you always happen to do it at work. Just like your greasy stallion of a boss expected, you jump away from the broomstick you were resting your head on. It and you quickly fall to the ground noisily, followed by a loud cackle from your boss. You groan in disgust and roll your eyes before getting back up on your hooves and adjusting the apron around your midsection.

"Y-yes sir, how can I help you?" you reply, trying not to sound like you had just been daydreaming.

Your boss scowls and turns to his office, sad to see that his joke had ended so soon.

"You've got a visitor..." The stallion says, retreating into his office, most likely to look at suggestive pictures or something else that greasy bastards do in their spare time.

As he moves out of the way, there she is. The mare literally in your dreams. Applejack is standing in the doorway leading into the messy kitchen. She quickly scowls at your boss, but then looks to you with a bright smile, her green eyes shining brightly from the outside light. You quickly shift position as if to hide your apron and the fact that you've been mopping floors. You find it odd however, you've never been embarrassed of your job. Til' then, everypony could just go screw themselves, why now would you be ashamed of mopping floors?

"Well howdy pardner." She says, her smile still holding strong.

You smile shyly in return, still trying to hide the fact that you're wearing a stained-white apron.

"Hey, what's up?" you reply quietly.

"You got a sec? Ah've got some real great news for yah'."

You look to your bosses office and then back to your bucket and mop.

Then throw the broom on the ground in an attempt to look like a bad ass.

"Yeah." you say.

No need to explain yourself, you already look awesome enough.

Applejack shakes her head with a chuckle and turns around as you approach her. You make your way out of the building with her at your side, and stop at the corner of it.

"Alright, what's going on?" you ask, eager to hear the news.

Applejack smiles smugly and cocks her head upwards.

"Ah got'chu a show." She says.

You pause, your heart fluttering the most it has since you met her. If Pony-aids was going to take you, it was going to take you now.

Nope, still alive.

You smile widely and dive forward, wrapping your forelegs around the orange mare and squeezing her tightly.

"No way! Thank you!" you shout in pure happiness.

Applejack hugs you in return, her stetson shifting position slightly as your head brushes across hers. You retreat from your attack hug a few seconds later and look at her once more.

"Where is it?" you ask eagerly.

"My friend Pinkie Pie throws parties all the time. She said she'd love ta' have you play at the next one coming up at Sugar Cube Corner." She replies happily.

You quickly remember a pink pony greeting you when you first came to Ponyville. She seemed hyperactive and slightly annoying at first, but eventually grew on you after throwing you a welcome party. You nod in response.

"When is it?" you ask.

"Today." Applejack replies, still smiling.

Your smile fades instantly however and you swear your heart has dropped into your hooves.

"As in, today, today?" you ask, confirming her previous statement.

She nods.

"Eyup. Today, Sugar Cube Corner, 7 O'clock."

Your neck twitches to the right slightly and you feel one of your eyes follow the same motion.

"Somethin' wrong?" She asks, tilting her head slightly.

Without another word, you break off in a full sprint towards you and your band's house.

"I'll be there!" You shout back.

After several minutes of intense sprinting, you finally reach your house. Without thinking, you throw open the door as hard as equinely possible. It gives way to the intense force, and flies into the nearby wall, cracking it extensively. Trap-Set and Basswave instantly jump in shock, the blue unicorn nearly having an asthma attack and the clumsy drummer pony falling over the couch after a short yelp of surprise. Lyra however, remains perfectly still, her guitar between her hooves. After Basswave has finally caught his breath and Trap-Set climbs back over the couch, they both look to you quizzically.

"We need to practice, now." You say in a commanding tone.

"Why-?" Basswave tries to ask.

"Shut up! Nopony cares about the bassist!" You shout in return.

"Why do we need you practice?" Trap-Set asks.

"Applejack got us a show." you say quickly as you trot over to your amp and begin making preparations.

"Oh, sweet. When?"

"Tonight."

"HOLY HELL!" Trap-Set shouts, nearly teleporting behind his drum set.

"And you accepted this show on such short notice?" Basswave asks as he slowly trots over to his amp and instrument.

"Well yeah, when the hell else are we going to get this opportunity?!" you say, your eyes going wide in anger at Basswave.

Lyra trots between the two of you happily, nearly bouncing in excitement as her guitar levitates by her head. She quickly plugs it in and flips a switch on her amp, then looks to both of you happily.

"I'm so excited! What songs are we going to play?" She asks eagerly.

You look up in thought for a moment, readying your guitar around your neck.

"Uhh... Fucked if I know, we should just practice." you reply.

Lyra shrugs, the smile never leaving her lips. You honestly can't recall a time you haven't seen that mare smile.

"1, 2, 3 ,4!" You shout, beginning the practice session.

* * *

"Trap, calm down, alright?!" you shout, Trap-set breathing heavily in-front of you.

The brown earthpony shakes his head frantically, pointing out from behind the back of the stage.

"Do you see that?! That's like... A MILLION PONIES!" he replies in a frantic tone.

You roll your eyes and turn around to survey the crowd in front of the tall, black stage. It's a substantial amount of attendees for a First-Show, but nowhere near a million. With a sigh, you turn back around and shake your head.

"It's like, a hundred." you say.

"THAT'S CLOSE TO A MILLION!" Trap replies, biting at his hooves.

A few seconds later, Basswave makes his way to the back stage, his bass in his saddlebags, and notices Trap-set's demeanor.

"What's up with him?" Bass asks.

"He's afraid of going on." you say, rolling your eyes again.

Bass pauses and cocks his head to the right.

"Seriously?" he asks.

"YES! What if we screw up?! or like... Something catches on fire?! I'm flammable!" Trap shouts worriedly.

"Calm down, dude. Just... Imagine them in their underwear or something." Basswave replies.

"What?! Ponies don't wear underwear you jackass!"

"The weird ones don't!"

"Guys!" you shout, interrupting the two.

They look to you, instantly quieting.

"Ponies don't wear underwear, only you do... Because you're weird. Trap. Calm the fuck down. We don't have time for this." you say.

Completely breaking the laws of known physics, a bubbly, pink, earthpony appears next to Trap-set, causing him to scream and fall backwards.

"Hey guys!" Pinkie Pie says, a wide smile on her face.

"I think I'm dying." Trap says quietly.

"What's up?" you ask, ignoring Trap.

"You're going on in 2 minutes, thanks again so much for doing this on such short notice!" she chirps.

You nod with a smile.

"Thank you for giving us the opportunity to play a first show."

Pinkie's face brightens even more, which you didn't think was possible, but is.

"Oh my gosh! So like, when you guys get famous, you can tell everypony you played here first! OHHHHH THIS IS SO EXCITING!" she squeals happily, trotting out in front of the stage.

"Two minutes... Alright... Wait. Where's Lyra?!" you ask, looking around.

Just as you finish asking your question, a hoof softly taps you on the back. You turn hurriedly and notice Lyra standing behind you. She looks different. Her hair is stylized differently, but still has it's alluring colors. Her coat is literally glowing in the light on the stage behind her, adding to her amazing looks. You try to shove a quick flutter back down into your heart and swallow nervously.

"L-Lyra?" you ask.

The sea-green unicorn giggles and rolls her eyes.

"Well duh." she replies cockily.

"You look... Amazing..." you say absentmindedly.

"Well... Thanks! I just thought I might as well get dressed up for the show and-"

"Guys, can we just like... Get this over with already?! I want to throw up and fall asleep as fast as I can after this!" Trap replies, still breathing heavily.

You sigh, pissed that your bro has totally ruined the moment. You quickly discard the anger however, and smile as you throw your hooves in the air.

"YEAHHH!" you shout, charging up the steps to the stage.

The crowd of ponies cheers as you enter the stage, filling you with just enough confidence need to blow the freaking roof off of this cupcake stand. You smile and wave to the hundred ponies in the room, and proceed to the amp you had previously set up.

As you prepare your instrument, Trap-set, Lyra, and Basswave set up theirs.

"Now, the moment that you've all probably been waiting for... LIVE MUSIC!" Pinkie screams happily.

The crowd roars and stomps their hooves on the ground.

Looking to your bandmates for confirmation, you trot to the mic and pull it forwards.

"Hello... We're here to play music." you say.

"Oh, really?!"

"Shut up." you reply, getting a chuckle from the crowd.

Looking down to your guitar, you get your hooves in position, ready to rock. The first note blares from the speaker, followed by possibly the smoothest riff you've ever written. As you continue, Trap-set cracks his sticks together, setting the tempo for the rest of the band. You strike one final note, letting Trap-set take over. His beat is confident, almost as if all of his nerves have just disappeared. Confused, you turn back and find the earthpony smiling widely, nodding his head to the tempo. A smile cracks across your own face as you shrug and look to Basswave and Lyra. You simultaneously strike a note that shakes the whole room, followed by three more. You clear your throat and step towards the microphone.

"Haven't seen the sun in weeks." you shout, in-key. "My skin is getting pale. Haven't got a mind left to speak, And I'm skinny as a rail."

As you continue your lyrics, Lyra moves her whole body with the beat, throwing herself into every note. Her mane swings wildly with every strike, and her eyes are shut tight.

"Conversations getting dull." you continue, throwing yourself with the rhythm as well. "There's a constant buzzing in my ears. Sense of humor's void and numb, And I'm bored to tears."

You repeat the line several times, swinging like a pendulum in-front of the microphone, lost in the moment. As you finish however, you strike a note as hard as your hooves will let you, and throw yourself away from it. Instantly, Lyra stomps towards the microphone as the song slows down.

"If you're looking for an accomplice!" she screams. "A confederate! Sompony that's helpless!"

The unicorn pulls away from the microphone and cocks her head up to the ceiling.

"You're gonna find, you'll find yourself alone!" she screams at the top of her lungs.

Lyra told you she could sing, but you never expected her to be this good. You watch as she sways her body with each strike of a chord, her vocal chords filling in all the empty spaces of your music.

The mare leans forward just over the stage to the watching crowd, and continues singing.

"You're gonna find, you'll find yourself alone!"

You watch, dumbfounded at her amazing stage-presence. The crowd just below her is cheering and clap their hooves on the ground as she continues harmonizing with Basswave.

"Looking for sympathy!"

"I can get you somethin'!

"Something good, something good to eat!"

Lyra quickly jumps away from the microphone just in time for you to continue your lyrics.

"Haven't had a decent meal."

"My brain is fried."

"Haven't slept a week for real."

"My tongue is tied."

"Lightbulbs are getting dim."

"My interests are starting to wane."

"I'm told it's everything a colt could want."

"And I shouldn't complain." you sing, your eyes shut tight.

You swing your body back and forth as you sing the chorus once more, the notes still shaking the room and the stage. The room shakes even more as you begin jumping up and down with the tempo of the song, readying yourself for the next part. A small light appears at the tip of your horn, followed by Basswave's following suit.

"I'm bored to tears, yeah!"

The rest of the song dies down as Basswave begins his own section. You know your horn is working, and a quick look to Bass shows that his is... But looking to Lyra, you notice nothing going on. Lyra shrugs and looks between you and Basswave frantically. You shake your head and narrow your eyebrows with a smirk.

Do it. you mouth.

As the song speeds up again, Lyra smiles wickedly and moves her hoof higher on the neck. A sharp squeal leaves the speakers as she begins her solo. She throws herself backwards onto the floor and continues savagely striking the notes while she thrashes around. As expected, her horn begins to glow just as bright as yours and bass's, causing a wide smile to crack across your face. You walk to the center of the stage as Lyra continues soloing, and close your eyes. The light at the tip of your horn slowly grows brighter, showering the room in bright-colored sparks that dance across the stage. The sparks spit in two directions, towards Lyra and Basswaves', and cause their horns to spark as well. A bright fountain of sparks erupts from the stage, creating a large canopy of magical energy over the stage.

Everything suddenly stops, leaving the audience completely dumbfounded while you play your final, calming riff. Most of their mouths are completely agape, and their eyes are as wide as their sockets.

After several seconds of silence, a massive roar of applause erupts from the room. You smile widely and throw your hoof into the air, and look between your bandmates. You stop at Lyra however, and examine her. She's crazy happy, bouncing around on the stage, her smile almost as large as the guitar she had just played. She's... Pretty. Not just because of her change in appearance, but you're actually realizing how amazing she looks, and the smile on her face is only making things better. You pause for a moment and feel the flutter in your chest more intense than you've ever felt it before. You feel like you want to sprint over to the ecstatic mare and just throw your hooves around her, and hold her for as long as you can. After several more seconds of applause, you slowly shake your head, trying to process what you had just been feeling. Settling to think about it later, you turn to your other bandmates.

"Gentlecolts... Let the games begin." you say, readying yourself for another song.