Determination and a generous mare
“C'mon we have to hurry or they’ll catch us,” a low raspy voice said out of breath.
“I’m running as fast as I can,” another voice said, this time the voice was more feminine and squeaky.
The duo was running through a forest. It was dark and the rain didn’t make things any better as the two ran over tree roots, past bushes, and through some muddy puddles.
“We could’ve been even farther by now if you would just fly,” the raspy voice said.
“No, you don’t have wings, I’m not going to leave you behind” the other voice squeaked as they ran through a small clearing.After a short silence the duo were beginning to close in on their destination.
“Look! It’s the train station, we’re almo-” he was cut off by somepony screaming not to far behind them.
“HEY! GET BACK HERE YOU TWO” came the voice of what sounded like a stallion.
They glanced at each other shocked as they ran.
“Oh no, they’re gonna catch us” said the feminine voice.
“No they’re not,” said the raspy voice,”you have to trust me, we will make it if it’s the last thing-”
He was cut off again by the sound of a train whistle off in the distance.
“Horseapples, it can’t leave now, we’re so close!,” the raspy voice said sounding out of breath.
“THERE’S NOWHERE TO RUN, STOP NOW AND YOUR PUNISHMENT WILL BE LESS SEVERE.” came the voice of the stallion who was now gaining on the two.
“NO! WE’LL NEVER GO BACK TO THAT HELL HOLE YOU WANT TO CALL HOME!” shouted the raspy voice, which earned a squeak from his companion.
“It's ok, we won’t lose to him,” the raspy voice said trying to calm her down.
“O-ok,” she said “look the train, it's moving!”
And ever so slowly, the wheels began to crank forward putting the train in motion moving faster and faster each second. The duo were now a few hundred feet away and approaching fast.
“C’mon Fluttershy, push harder!” said the raspy voice,” We’re almost there, and we’ll be free.”
“Oka-AAAAAHHH” shouted Fluttershy.
“FLUTTERSHY!” shouted the raspy voice in panic.
Fluttershy was now of the ground being carried by what seemed to be a pegasus.
“Ha! I got you now you naughty little filly!” exclaimed the pegasus as it started to fly away.
“NO I WON’T LET YOU,” he screamed. His horn started to glow. In one fluent motion the glow was pushed to the tip of his horn and released in what came out as a beam, hitting the pegasus dead on causing it to shriek in pain as it dropped Fluttershy.
“AHHH!” shouted Fluttershy as she fell through the sky flapping her wings in a desperate attempt to fly.
Before reaching the ground she was enveloped in a blueish glow and started to hover slowly over the ground. The train was now at full speed, and little by little it was getting away from them.
“It’s too late, there’s no way we’ll reach the train...it's over” Fluttershy whispered now starting to cry.
“No, it’s not over...for you at least,” he said in a low monotone voice.
“What are you talking about... wait you don’t mean-”
“Get ready,” He said.
In a last ditch effort, he mustered up all his strength and sent Fluttershy soaring through the air. Fluttershy could only stare in astonishment as she flew through the air, landing on the top of the train with a metallic thump.Once she got her bearings, she looked over to the colt that just sacrificed himself for her, only to find him being wrestled down to the ground by the pegasus and stallion from earlier.
“MUSICNOOOOOOOTE!” screamed Fluttershy as she was going further and further away.
“DON’T WORRY WE’LL MEET UP SOON...” Musicnote shouted,”... I hope” he said whispering to himself.
“Now,” said the stallion,” be a good little colt and go to sleep,” he said bringing his hoof up to the air and bringing it down.
“BUCK YOU”
“AHHHH” shouted Musicnote waking up sweat dripping from his forehead.”Ugg that bucking dream again..” he said. He rested his head when suddenly he was shaking. ”what the” he said shakily, but just as quickly as the shaking started it ended.” huh.. train must of ran over something...” he said while looking out the window of his cabin.All that he could see was a barren wasteland, nothing but sand and cacti as far as the eye could see.
“Ugg this scenery is so dull,” Musicnote said in an irritated tone. He just sat there staring out the window for what seemed like an eternity. Bored out of his mind he reached his left and grabbed his suitcase. Not just any suitcase, this suitcase was shaped differently than any other normal suitcase. He set it down and flipped the clips keeping it closed and opened the case up revealing an electric guitar. It was a jet black Paul Reed Smith custom 24 guitar. It made him think of what happened earlier...
“Here you go honey, this is exactly what you wanted right?” the unicorn mare said holding up a case with her magic. Musicnote examined the case briefly before opening it with his own magic, a wide smile began to appear on his face.
“It’s perfect!” Musicnote said excitedly.
“I thought you would like it.” the mare said
“So, how much does it cost?”
“Hmm...” the mare thought to herself, “How about this, play me a little somethin and I’ll think about it,” she said
Musicnote thought about itfor a second before he made his decision, a wicked smile formed on his face.
“I may have a little something to play for you,” Musicnote said levitating the guitar in front of himself. He focused his magic on each string, it was a spell he learned a while back, a spell that amplified the guitar without having to plug it into a real amp. He started plucking each string to make sure it was in tune. When he was satisfied, he then broke out into a very recognizable guitar solo .The mare was shocked, it was played with such enthusiasm and little to no error. She sat there slowly bobbing her head to the lovely sound. After few seconds Musicnote finished his little show leaving an impressed mare in his wake. After a few moments to rest, the mare spoke.
“That's what I call good music, you got talent,” the mare said
“Ha thanks, this guitar is great too, so how much is it now?” Musicnote said unplugging the guitar putting it back in the case and closing it levitating it back to the mare.
“Tell ya what, how much you got on ya?” the mare asked.
"Well i only have 50 bits... I've been saving up for a while," Musicnote added.
'THAT'S HALF THE ORIGINAL COST!' the mare screamed in her head. She opened her mouth to tell him off but was interrupted by...barking?
"Ruff ruff" happily barked a dog as it ran towards the two. When it got close enough it lunged straight for Musicnote, knocking him right of his hooves. The dog was the same size as him! Musicnote was crushed under the dog, and the dog took this opportunity to assault his face with his tongue.
"Hey, stop it Bandit, that tickles, hahaHAHA!" Musicnote could barely breath from being viciously assaulted by the fury of licks.
The mare was a little annoyed, but took the time to look at the colt. He had an orange coat that matched with his horn. His mane was a dark blue, it was long and dirty, just like the rest of his body. 'I've never seen such a untreated colt here in Canterlot, unless they were... wait a minute.'
"Umm excuse me sir?" She looked at him quizzically.
Musicnote looked up and blushed as he pushed Bandit of of him. " Hehe, sorry about that."
"He seems to like you a lot."
Music Note blushed even harder," yeah, he's been like that ever since I found him on my journey.
"Wait a minute, does that mean your-"
"Yes, I don't have a real place to call home, I've been wandering from town to town for a good long while now..."
"Oh, I'm sorry," the mare hung her head.
"It's ok, you didn't know anything it's not your fault."
She still stood there looking a sad for him. Musicnote decided to break the awkwardness.
"Ahem, so um, how much is this gonna cost me?"
The mare shook her head," oh sorry, that will be..." she paused for a moment. ' I can't tell him he can't by it, this is probably the only way he will make money to eat, for him and that beast!’ she eyed Bandit suspiciously. ‘ Hmm....' she thought to herself.
" 40 bits," She finished.
“ Wait, really!?” Musicnote shouted excitedly.
“Yes,” she sighed.
“ Oh my gosh! you hear that boy?” he faced Bandit. Bandit replied by wagging his tail and barking happily. “ Thank you so much ma’am!”
“ The names sally,” she replied
The mare couldn’t help but smile at the scene in front of here. She watched as the colt dance around happily with his mangy mutt in tow. 40 bits later, she was about to wave them off before she heard something that peaked her interest.
“You think this will be enough to find her bandit?” Musicnote asked Bandit. Bandit in return tilted his head in a questioning gaze.
“ Hey, Musicnote was it?”
Musicnote turned around to see sally. “Yeah?”
“ I was jus wonderin whom you were lookin for, maybe I can help you,” Sally said with a hopeful smile.
“ Really?”
“ Trust me, I've been around these parts for longer than ya think, now tell me whom ya lookin for.”
Musicnote looked down at Bandit for an answer, only to receive another puzzled look. He sighed as he looked back up to Sally
“ Well...”
“I hope she’s pointing me in the right direction,” he said to himself still holding the guitar in his hooves.
“This Ponyville place sounds nice, I wonder if Fluttershy will even remember...”
The train whistled signaling that it was approaching it’s destination.
“It’s been too long Fluttershy. I told you we would meet again,” he said as he put the guitar back in his case and closed it. “Come on boy, we got work to do.”
“Woof”
The train pulled up to a stop at the Ponyville train station. It was rather early in the morning, the sun was barely making it’s peek over the small town of ponyville. Musicnote looked out the small window to see all the cute little village. He couldn't help but feel excited as he press his face on the glass to get a better view.
“Hmm, this place looks nice, what do you think Bandit?” Musicnote asked his faithful companion. Bandit in return gave him a happy bark and wagged his tail. The doors on the train pull open allowing the orange unicorn to get an up close view along with his gargantuan friend. He slung his case over his back and began his trek. Musicnote awed as he trotted closer to the middle of the village. There weren't a lot of ponies out right then, most of them were setting up stalls to sell what goods they had.
“Cool, maybe when this little market opens we can get some food, sound good?” Musicnote looked at Bandit who was right next to him. The dog just barked in approval. This place was pretty peace-full looking. It reminded him of the town he escaped into... stupid flash-backs.
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“Now,” said the stallion, “be a good little colt and go to sleep,” he said bringing his hoof up to the air and bringing it down.
“BUCK YOU” Musicnote yelled shutting his eyes tightly preparing himself for what was to come.
“Hey! What do you think you're doing bub!?” Musicnote heard a voice boom from across the plains. The orange colt glanced over to see another stallion followed by a few other angered ponies that were about to witness this poor colt get knocked out. The stallion on top of Musicnote gritted his teeth.
“What does it look like, I’m teaching this little crap a lesson”
“That doesn't mean you have the right to hurt him!” another pony said, this time a mare within the crowd.
“Does it look like I care?”
“Apparently not!”
The whole crowd started to make their way to the abusive stallion. The stallion in question was even more mad than before. He looked down and was shocked to find nothing under him, he glanced around to see Musicnote making a run past the group of ponies into the nearby town.
Now he was mad.
“GET BACK HERE YOU-” knocked down with a loud *oof* as the stallion leading the group tackled him preventing him from movement.
“You’re not going anywhere ,” He said struggling to keep him down.
Musicnote looked back to see is pursuer held down. He took his chance and kept running toward the town. He didn't know what town it was, he didn't care! He ran as fast as his little legs could take him, hearing the yells of frustration and anger behind him getting more quiet each second. He couldn't take it any longer! Musicnote blocked out everything to focus on getting away.
Musicnote looked up and noticed he was inside the town. He looked around frantically for some place to hide. A dark alleyway caught his eye. ‘Better than out in the open’ he thought. One final push and he successfully hid in the shadows.
Musicnote’s heart pumped furiously in his little chest. His breathing was unstable from how fast he was running as he tried to escape.
Escape.
Musicnote shifted his blue eyes nervously around looking for his angry pursuer. The orange colt stood there for what felt like an eternity. “Is he really gone?” He asked himself. After another few moments, he exhaled to try to calm himself. he lied on the cold pavement still breathing pretty heavily. That's when he noticed the puffs of steam he was making. All his adrenaline from his run kept him from noticing how cold it really was. Reality struck him.
‘ No, I’m not gonna give up that easily, I need to find some shelter!’ Musicnote thought worriedly. He staggered a bit to get on his hooves, the cold was starting to get to him as it nipped his coat. “ W-wow, its really c-cold!” Musicnote exclaimed his teeth chattering.
The situation only got worse as the sun started to set and the brilliant white moon could be seen raising over the horizon. He had to think of something, and fast! He picked up his pace a little bit. The light from all the houses were starting to dim and turn off completely. Even if he found a house, it would be hard to explain your situation. Hi I'm a runaway, do you mind if I stay here for a while? . The thoughts of nobody helping him started to scare him.
Musicnote became even more frantic by each second Luna's moon rose into the night sky. But despite this, he started to feel a bit more sluggish and started to slow down. He was breathing heavily. "Just... a little bit... farther-" his body shut down that instant and he collapsed on the cold ground. His vision started to blur. 'At least shes safe.... I hope,' that last start worried him a little. That's when out of the corner of his eye, a tall figure looked down on him with a worried expression. Musicnote's vision was to dark to fully make it out but he assumed it was another pony. This was his last chance to survive. The breathless colt used the rest of his energy to try and reach out to it. "H-help-" He finally blacked out.
"Uhhh, 'scuse me but you ok?"
"hmm?" Musicnote broke out of his stupor to find the source of the voice. He came face to face with an orange mare with a braided yellow mane that was covered by an old looking cowboy hat. But what really got his attention were her big green eyes, they were stunning to say the least. He stood in aw unable to form any words. The mare raised a brow.
'Oh c'mon Musicnote. Use words dang-it! Just say something nice and formal, but nothing to formal or she might think your a show off, hurry up she is just standing there!' He argued with himself. Finally he looked her in the eyes and began to speak.
Bad move.
What was supposed to come out as a hell turned into a "Gosh your pretty!" he loudly exclaimed. The mare was stunned from the sudden outburst.
"Uh, howdy? Mah names Applejack...."she said slowly reaching a hoof out.' What in tarnation is wrong with this stallion?'
" I'm Musicnote," he said and lifted a hoof to shake. Applejack smiled and they both made a firm hoof-shake, but in reality Applejack shook him all over the place. 'Wow she's strong!' he thought trying to ignore the pain in his whole leg. When he looked up he saw that Applejack a giant cart in tow filled with buckets of apples. It suddenly dawned on him.
"... I'm in your spot aren't I?"
"well... yes, but it's okay i can just set up fine right here," Applejack replied.
"Sorry, I'm so dumb," Musicnote hung his head.
"H-hey there, it's okay you didn't know it's not yer fault sugercube." Applejack tried said soothingly trying to calm him down. But despite her attempt, Musicnote walked away with his head hung low. Then Applejack noticed the case he was carrying. It had a weird shape to it to bay any normal suitcase. The farm pony's curiosity got the better of her.
" Hey Musicnote!"
The orange unicorn turned around to face her, still visibly upset even though he was trying to hide it.
"Whats that you got carrying there?" Applejack motion with a hoof toward the case on his back. Musicnote followed where she was pointing and realized what she was talking about.
"Oh, this is just my electric guitar," he said rather proudly as he took it off."
"Ah, heard about those. But aren't you supposed to have some big box to make it make noise?" She asked.
"An amplifier? Yes, but there is a spell that does it without one. It's not as loud but you can also alter the way the guitar sounds this way," Musicnote said. His mood started to brighten up a bit.
'Well at least he is in a better mood now.' Applejack thought and smiled a little bit. "Well do you think you can play me somethin while I set up?" she asked.
Musicnote's heart stopped for a moment. "Y-you want m-me to play for y-you?" he stammered trying to control his breathing.
'What is wrong with this one?' She thought. "Just don't play too loud, ponies are still asleep at this hour, it's still pretty early," she warned him.
"O-oh right!" Musicnote said. He started to carefully opened the case and slowly levitated the instrument out. He put it in his hooves to admire the smooth jet-back surface. Applejack couldn't help but stare at the thing he was holding. ' I've only seen pictures of the other ponies that played these in Fillydelphia. But to see one right in front of me-' her thoughts were interrupted when he started to pluck the strings with his magic. It was much different from when she played her acoustic guitar. It was more quit and sounded a little... distorted? After a few experimental strums he started to play a beautiful melody .
"So that's what he meant when he said alter..." Applejack said to herself and continued to listen to Musicnote's skillful playing. It was really catchy, so catchy that she started to bob her head a little bit. She looked around and saw that the ponies nearby could hear it to, bobbing their heads happily as they greeted their customers. Wait, costumers?
"Oh shoot, I forgot to set up!" Applejack looked back at her cart and was about to get ready when she was interrupted by some-pony. talking to her.
"Hi Applejack, good music huh?" Applejack turned around to find the source of the voice was from none other than her good friend Twilight.
"Hi Twilight, what are you doing up so early?" Applejack asked.
"Oh I'm just trying to get grocery shopping off my list of things to do so I can get to all the other things I need to do. I'm sorry are you not set up yet? I can come back if you need more time-"
"Don't worry... about... it...." Applejack looked at the long line of ponies waiting behind Twilight looking pretty happy as they moving to the beat of Musicnote's guitar.' Are all these ponies here because of him?' She thought and looked back at Musicnote. Musicnote looked at her and gave her a sly wink and went back to playing. Applejack smiled and faced Twilight again. " So, what can I do for ya sugarcube?"