If You Hear Me, Let Me Know

Spitfire landed powerfully on the front porch of the Dash home, sending tufts of cloud cascading in all directions around her. Steel and Rainbow followed close behind, although their landings were far more tentative than the enraged mare that led the way. Spitfire punched the door open and strutted inside. Rainbow and Steel winced, looked at each other with one eye, swallowed, and slowly made their way into the home. Spitfire shoved Rainbow aside and stared Steel down. Steel swallowed hard.

"Umm..I think I'll save you the trouble of speech and just go to my room now. Uh, see you later, Mom." With that, Steel shot off to his room. Spitfire hadn't intended on making things that easy for him, but she was too stunned to move. She couldn't think straight. With wide eyes and mouth agape, she turned to face Rainbow, who bore a similar expression.

"Did...did he just call me...Mom?"

"Did I just call her Mom?!" Steel asked himself in shock. "But, that makes no sense! She's not my mom! I don't think...I mean, she has taken care of me for years, but...Ugh, what's going on with me!"

Steel continued to stew as he paced around his room. He was confused, and he hated being confused. He just wanted to be able to relax, to stop his mind from going haywire for just a little while. He was restless, his heart was beating at twice it's normal rhythm. He needed to leave, he needed to fly, he needed to clear his thoughts.

Steel let out an audible sigh as he flopped onto his bed.

"Autumn always gives me a clear head." He said to himself. He closed his eyes and let her face fill his thoughts. Her gentle smile, coaxing him out of his restless state. He smiled as exhaustion took over. He had gotten up far too early for his liking that morning, and he happily allowed sleep to overtake him.

Applebloom yawned for roughly the thousandth time that day as she trudged through the streets of Canterlot with her friends. The rehab center had been kind enough to allow Kitty a day's leave to be with her friends, and she refused to spend it inside the walls of the facility. That meant a day in the city.

As a rule, ponies that weren't residents of Canterlot spent all their time in the magnificent city marveling at every sight it had to offer, but Scootaloo and her friends had played enough shows there that none of them really cared anymore. Canterlot was just another city for them, and that was fine. Of course, every city bore the same problem for famous ponies such as themselves.

"OHMYGOSH! IT'S IRON PONY!"

"SCOOT, CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH?!"

"MARRY ME, JIMMY!"

The six young ponies sighed as they got mobbed at every turn by more fans. Signing autographs was fun, but it grew very tiresome, very fast. And being the one behind the scenes, Applebloom felt rather left out of the occasion. She shrugged it off though. She was happy not to have the fame. She was a simple farmpony at heart, after all. But this time, something was different about the fan mob. An occurrence of which there was no precedence for the simple mare.

"Your name's Applebloom, right?"

Applebloom stopped when she heard the voice behind her. She turned around and had to fight to keep her jaw up at the sight before her: The sight of the most attractive earth pony stallion she had ever laid eyes on. His beige coat was stained with grease and stood out against the brightly colored backdrop the city offered, and his deep brown mane fell flat against his head and neck, despite the gentle summer breeze that made her own mane dance in the sunlight. She blinked a couple of times to get herself back under control.

"Uhh, yeah, it is. What's yer name?"

"Name's Fixer. I must say, I'm very impressed with the work you do for Iron Pony's shows. I've been to every one that they've performed in Canterlot." Fixer extended a hoof to Applebloom. "It's truly an honor to meet you."

Applebloom did everything she could to hide her blush, but she failed miserably. She kept her eyes locked on the cobblestone below her as she accepted his hoof and shook.

"It's a pleasure makin' yer acquaintance." Applebloom mumbled. She could feel a fire igniting on her cheeks as she shook his hoof. As she lowered her hoof to the ground, she sighed. Ponies didn't walk up to her and strike up conversation because they wanted to talk to her. Ponies walked up to her and struck up conversation because they wanted something from her. She forced herself to regain control of her emotions. She was going to be polite and respectable, and she was going to politely and respectably refuse whatever he wanted from her.

"Well, now that the greetins' are done, what can Ah do ya for?" Applebloom asked cautiously. Fixer gave Applebloom an ear to ear grin.

"Getting right to the point, I see. I've always liked that in a mare."

Applebloom blushed hotly at his comment. She looked away and collected herself before meeting his gaze again. There was something about this stallion that Applebloom couldn't place. A sparkle in his brown eyes that allowed Applebloom to feel at ease with him. She nodded for him to continue. Fixer grinned wider and obliged.

"Well, I saw your article in Musician's Weekly. How you were looking for somepony more experienced to work with the stage set at your friend's shows. It must suck having to fire somepony because he can't tell the difference between a Quarter Inch and an XLR, especially when you only use cables to connect one speaker to another."

Applebloom groaned at the memory. Good ponies for the job of setting up a stage were hard to come by, so Applebloom had resorted to hiring anypony who could follow instructions. That wasn't working in her favor.

"Th' idiot couldn't even tell th' difference between a sub and a monitor wedge. He even plugged Shepard's bass int'a th' acoustic channel! If Ah hadn't caught that before the show, Shepard would'a blown the speaker on his first note! Not ta mention he used a cable ta hook up th' thing when th' band went wireless four years ago!"

Fixer threw his head back and laughed.

"Ponies just don't know the ins and outs of musical technology now, you know? It's nice to finally meet a mare who knows what she's doing backstage. Which brings me to my purpose in having this conversation." Fixer stopped there with an ear to ear grin. Applebloom raised an eyebrow at him.

"And Ah assume yer gonna tell me what that purpose is?" Applebloom stated more than asked. Fixer laughed.

"Right, I probably should do that. Anyway, I want to work for Iron Pony. More specifically, I want to work directly with you."

Applebloom raised an eyebrow and gave a smug grin. She turned back to her friends who had managed to shake the horde of adoring fans. They were now eying Applebloom and her new friend with ear-to-ear grins.

"Where y'all headed? Ah'll meet ya there."

"We're gonna hit the university and see what's up with Twi. Mom asked me to do that while I was here." Scootaloo called back.

"Seriously Scoot? You're twenty five and you're still running errands for your parents?" Sweetie asked condescendingly.

"Pretty much." Scootaloo answered nonchalantly. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes.

"If your parents weren't so awesome, I would never stop making fun of you for this. Well, let's go interrupt class!" Sweetie called to the group. That elicited a chorus of excited whoops from the band as they trotted off. Applebloom waved her friends off and turned back to Fixer.

"Well, Fixer. Ya want ta work for me, do ya?" Applebloom asked.

"Well, I was thinking I could work with you, not for you." Fixer answered. his voice unsure.

"Until ya prove that yer up to snuff, yer workin' for me." Applebloom stated. If there was one thing that everypony knew about Applebloom, it was that she knew how to put her hoof down. When it came to her work with Iron Pony, she had an iron hoof. A pun that she happily used every chance she got. Fixer grinned.

"Believe me, I'll prove myself three times over with the next show you do."

Now it was Applebloom's turn to grin.

"Good. 'Cause their next show is today."

Twilight had to fight to avoid spewing her tea.

"Are you serious?! You want ME to be the headmaster of YOUR school?!" Twilight half yelled to Princess Celestia. The Princess brought a hoof to her mouth as she chuckled.

"Why, yes indeed Twilight. I can't think of anypony I'd rather see in that position." Celestia responded warmly. "If I could do it myself, I would, but as it stands it's nigh impossible to even involve myself with the affairs of my school while running the country. So, what do you say?"

Twilight frowned. The proposition was a dream come true for any unicorn in her position. A dream come true for her. She had wanted that job for years, despite her position at the University. She had been waiting for the Princess to offer her that job ever since she started at the university. The Princess knew this of course, however it would have been horribly wrong of her to fire the pony that had held the position for so many years so Twilight could have it. Now that the old headmaster retired, the position was open, and the Princess wanted Twilight to know about the opening before anypony else.

Yet, there Twilight was, denying the offer.

"I'm sorry, Princess, but I can't accept the position."

Now it was Celestia's turn to fight to keep her tea in her mouth.

"I'm sorry, did I hear you correctly?" Celestia asked.

Twilight sighed heavily.

"Yes, yes you did. I've actually been putting off telling you this, but I've decided to retire from the University this year. In fact, the Board of Education already replaced me. I'm just finishing this last semester and then I'm going to retire to Ponyville once and for all." Twilight explained. Celestia was shocked, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed.

"May I ask why that is, Twilight?" Celestia asked. Twilight sighed and lowered her head.

"It's Mac. We're happy as ever when we're together, but my being here in Canterlot for so much of the year puts a serious strain on our relationship. I love my job, but I love my husband more."

Celestia smiled warmly.

"Well, I'm happy you came to that decision, Twilight. You need to do what makes you happy."

"Yeah, well, there's also...something else..." Twilight stammered with a blush. Celestia cocked an eyebrow from behind her teacup.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Celestia asked. Twilight gave a warm, motherly smile as she looked down at her stomach. Immediately the Princess understood, but she still wanted to hear Twilight say it.

"Mac and I are having a foal. I found out about a month after the semester started. She should be about three months along now."

Celestia smiled warmly at Twilight. After a moment in thought, she chuckled, eliciting a strange look from Twilight.

"What's so funny, Princess?" Twilight asked curiously.

"Well, as long as I've known you, I've looked at you almost like a daughter. Now that you're having a foal, I guess that makes me Granny Celestia." The Princess said with a chuckle. Twilight failed to see the humor in it, but she chuckled for her mentor's sake. A look at the clock in Celestia's personal quarters forced Twilight's eyes wide open.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Princess, but I have to go! I have to be to class in two minutes! Oh my gosh, I'm going to be late!"

Celestia raised an eyebrow.

"Can't you just teleport to class?" Celestia asked.

"Not with the foal! If I teleport I could kill her!"

"Ahh...yes, that would be unfortunate." Celestia thought for a moment before smiling from ear to ear. She lowered herself to the floor and spread her wings. Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Twilight? Are you getting on?" Celestia asked. Twilight frowned.

"I can walk, Princess. You know that."

"Not if you want to be to the University in time. Come on, I haven't had a good flight in ages."

Twilight sighed. The Princess had a point. Begrudgingly, Twilight climbed onto her mentor's back. Celestia walked to the window and flew out towards the University.

Sweetie Belle stepped through the door to Twilight's classroom. Every student in the room immediately stopped their usual chatting and took in the sight of the unkempt mare standing before them. The rest of the band quickly followed suit behind Sweetie Belle, and they stood in the middle of the room with blank faces. While normally the five ponies were incredibly comfortable being the center of other ponies' attention, the ponies that usually watched them had paid for a ticket to get in. And Sweetie Belle usually didn't have a bag of bits and a letter in her mouth. Without a word, and with all eyes upon her, Sweetie Belle slowly made her way to Twilight's desk, set down the bits and the letter, and slowly made her way back to her friends.

"Umm..." Sweetie began.

"Well, we did what we came here for...I say we bail." Kitty offered. With no better plan, the five ponies turned and left without another word.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, class!" Twilight exclaimed as she barreled into her classroom. "I just got caught up talking to the Princess and...what is this?" She asked as she saw the bits and the letter on her desk. She opened the letter with her magic and immediately brought a hoof to her face.

Twilight,

We're probably going to end up in jail tonight. Here's a bag of bits for you to bring to the guard station to post bail.

Sincerely,

Scootaloo, Sweets, Applebloom, Kat, Jimmy, Shepard.

Twilight groaned after reading the note.

"You have GOT to be kidding me..."

"You guys are doing a surprise show in the middle of Canterlot tonight?! You do know you're going to get arrested for this, right?!" Fixer's jaw was on the ground. He was too stunned to say anything else.

"Yup." Applebloom responded. "We're countin' on it, actually. Some publicity stunt the band wants ta do. Now, ya gonna help or not? We got 'a lotta work ahead a us if we're gonna make this happen."

"Where are you even going to set it up? There's no way you'll be able to get all that equipment in place without getting spotted!"

Applebloom grinned and gestured her head towards a tall spire off in the distance. A spire on Canterlot castle. Fixer's jaw dropped.

"How are you gonna pull THAT off?!" Fixer half yelled his question. Applebloom snorted a laugh.

"Twilight made th' mistake 'a teachin' Sweets a cloakin' spell. All th' gear's already up there. All we gotta do is hook it all up and let Iron Pony rock Canterlot." As she finished her sentence, a black chariot landed next to her, the rest of Iron Pony already inside. The words "Band Wagon" were sloppily painted on the side, just under the Iron Pony logo.

"Come on, Applebloom! Quit playing kissy face with your new coltfriend and jump on the Band Wagon!" Scootaloo called out. Applebloom grinned, while Fixer failed to suppress a hot blush.

"Actually Scootaloo, this one's comin' with! He's got an audition today!" Applebloom exclaimed as she climbed onto the chariot. She turned and raised an eyebrow at Fixer.

"Ya comin', Fixer?" She asked. Fixer picked his jaw up off the pavement and grinned.

"You bet I am." With that, Fixer hopped aboard the chariot. The horns of each of the four unicorns flared, and the chariot, it's passengers and drivers all disappeared from sight.

"I thought you said that spell was supposed to make us invisible. I can see all of you just fine. And everything else around me." Fixer said with a raised eyebrow. Applebloom laughed.

"We ARE invisible, Fixer. The spell lets us see everything and everypony else the unicorns who cast it used it on, but nopony else can see us." Applebloom explained. Fixer sighed.

"Magic is weird. I like technology better."

"You think magic is weird?!" Kitty asked. "I think it's weird that you earth ponies and pegasi can live without it!"

"It's easy." Fixer said. "You just eat, drink, and have magically enchanted talons to help with the rest."

"Didn't ya just say that magic is weird?" Applebloom asked. "Besides, only candy-flank Canterlot earth ponies use talons fer every day life."

"Yeah!" Scootaloo agreed. "We only use talons to play our instruments!"

Fixer was stunned. How did an earth pony get through everyday life without the assistance of talons? It was just an absurd thought!

"How do you-"

"Ah grew up on a farm. We never could afford them fancy talon things. Ah just got through life without 'em." Applebloom explained.

Fixer was about to respond when Sweetie Belle got to her hooves.

"Enough reminiscing, everypony! Time to set up!" The chariot came to a stop just above "stagelet" that was already built on the side of the spire. The band needed a flat area to play from, and given that the spires of Canterlot Castle didn't exactly condone standing, a series of small stages had been built under the cover of invisibility to allow the band a surface to play from. They were just large enough to stand on, but just small enough that the crowd below would still be able to see the band members. Fixer was stunned.

"How long have you been preparing for this?" He asked Applebloom. Applebloom shrugged.

"Three, four days? Somethin' like that. Doesn't matter, we got work ta do. Go and get those monitors set up. Ah'll get ta work with the speakers fer the audience." Applebloom ordered. Fixer grinned and saluted.

"Aye Aye, Ma'am."

"Is everything ready?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Yeah, Ah just got ta turn it on." Applebloom responded.

"What about the lights?" Kitty asked.

"We don't have any lights." Applebloom responded. Kitty's jaw dropped.

"What in the hay are we playing a show without lights for?!" She demanded.

"The lights would be too heavy for the stages. Stages would break and fall, and so would we. And it's a long way down." Applebloom said as she looked over her shoulder at the ground-Ground that was three hundred feet below her.

"That seems like an acceptable answer." Kitty responded with a nervous glance down. She took a couple steps toward the middle of her stage.

"Dude...We're totally going to get arrested for this..." Jimmy began. "I am STOKED! Applebloom! Start the show!"

Applebloom grinned.

"Iron Pony, Live in Canterlot, in 3, 2, 1." Applebloom paused as she flipped the switch to turn on the speakers. The sound of bells began to flow from the still hidden speakers.

"Go." Applebloom said with a grin as a cello accompanied the bells. Ponies on the street below began to turn their heads as they began to hear the music. A steady murmuring could be heard from the streets below from ponies curious as to what was causing the sounds that were entering their ears. A few ponies seemed to recognize what they were hearing, but certainly didn't believe their ears.

"Those are some powerful speakers." Fixer noted. Applebloom grinned.

"Y'all have no idea. Those things could shatter glass from across town if Ah turned 'em up high enough."

Fixer let out an ear to ear grin.

"This should be a fun afternoon."

"Yes. Yes it should." Applebloom responded, her grin intensifying.

As the band hit the intro, the unicorns lifted the invisibility spell. Screams of shock and terror rang out from below. Scootaloo spread her wings and flew just in front of the stage for her part. She laughed as some of the younger ponies in the crowd recognized her. She nodded to a few fans as she swooped low over the crowd of shocked ponies, some from fear, others from excitement.

"NIGHTMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE!" Sweetie Belle sang as Scootaloo flew back down to the stage.

"Now your nightmare comes to life.." Kat echoed.

"Dragged you down below! Down to Discord's Show! To be his guest forever!" Sweetie began.

"PIECE OF MIND IS LESS THAN NEVER!" Kat responded.

"I hate to twist your mind! Celestia ain't on your side! An old acquaintance severed!"

"BURN THE WORLD YOUR LAST ENDEAVOR!"

"Flesh is burning you can smell it in the air 'cause mares like you have such an easy soul to steal! So stand in line while they ink numbers in your head you're now a slave until the end of time!"

"NOTHING STOPS THE MADNESS TURNING! HAUNTING, YEARNING, PULL THE TRIGGER!"

"You should've known, the price of evil! And it hurts to know that you belong here, yeah! Ooooooooooh!"

"IT'S YOUR BUCKIN' NIGHTMARE!" The whole bang sang in response.

In the throne room, Celestia was stunned. She stared out the window at the spectacle taking place on the spires of her own castle.

"Luna...Do you see this?" She asked. "Luna? Luna, are you listening?"

Luna was not listening. Luna was bobbing her head in rhythm with the band that was playing. It appeared she was enjoying herself greatly, and didn't seem to want the surprise show to end. Celestia sighed and brought her hoof to her face.

"Luna, we don't have the luxury of taking time to enjoy this."

"Admit it, you like it too, 'Tia."

"I don't have to admit to anything, Luna. All I have to admit to is that a rock band has just commandeered a spire of my castle to put on a surprise performance and I NEVER SAW THEM SET IT UP!"

"You have to give them credit for that." Luna responded. Celestia sighed. She was awfully impressed that the ponies had managed to set that up right under her nose. Unfortunately, it had to go.

"Guards, please ensure that the situation in the spire is taken care of." Celestia said with a sigh.

"Aaaaaaaaaaw! They're just getting to the solo!" Luna whined."

Celestia sighed again.

"I swear, if it's who I think it is-"

"It is." Luna said. "This album was just released two months ago! I bought it as soon as it hit the shelves!"

Celestia, again, allowed a sigh to escape her lips.

"Luna...I swear..."

"Just because I took well to metal after my banishment doesn't mean I'm trapped in my youth, 'Tia! I'm just embracing the culture of the world today!" A wry smile past Luna's features. "If you want to be a proper leader you'll let them play so you can better learn about today's popular culture."

"Nice try." Celestia said with yet another sigh. "Guards, just arrest them. They'll get bail by tomorrow I'm sure."

Despite their best efforts, Iron Pony was eventually forced to end the show. Scootaloo spent her entire escape attempt shredding a solo for no purpose beyond taunting the guards flying after her. Jimmy was pulled away from his drum kit while still making a vain attempt to play. He managed to wrestle free of the guards and get back to his kit for a four and a half second long drum roll before the guards descended on him again and pulled him away. He kicked his snare as he was dragged off of his drum throne and it fell to the street below. A group of fans quickly moved in to grab the pieces for souvenirs. Sweetie Belle managed to use her natural beauty to entice a guard into letting her go, but her victory was short lived. Her Mohawk was just not an enticing hairstyle to the guard, and he quickly regained his senses and had her bound. Shepard was an oddity among the band members in that he went quietly. Not without striking a deal, of course. He was guaranteed to get his bass back without a scratch if he didn't resist arrest. Kitty, however, was a different story. As soon as the guards descended on the band, she fell to her knees on her stage, screaming about voices in her head. When a guard tried to touch her, she shrieked and and curled into a ball. Immediately afterward, she began rocking back in forth, cryptic warnings flowing from her mouth. The guard sent to apprehend her had no idea what to do, so he just slapped a magic inhibitor on her horn and tossed her into the chariot with the rest of the band members. Applebloom and Fixer, like Shepard, went quietly. Applebloom did request that all the equipment be returned to her, and one of the guards said he'd see what he could do.

"Dude..." Jimmy started. "Our next tour is destined to sell out every show after this."

"So much bad publicity..." Sweetie responded. "The younger ponies are going to LOVE it!"

"And we get more "Spent a night in jail" stories to tell when we get back to Ponyville!" Scootaloo chimed in. Everypony in the chariot brought their hooves together in a mighty clop. After the groupwide brohoof, Applebloom extended a hoof to Fixer.

"Ya sure do know what yer doin' with the stage. Ah could use a pony like you. And ya willingly get yerself arrested your first night on th' job. That's rare among staff now." She said. Fixer grinned and shook her hoof.

"What are you trying to say?" He asked. Applebloom smirked.

"Ah'm sayin' welcome to th' family."