Broken Strings and Bucked Apples

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.