Applejack stands before the storefront, looking up at the green neon sign. “Sensational String Instructional Institute” it reads. She sighs softly to herself before readjusting her Stetson hat. This ain't a good idea, she thinks to herself. After she steels herself, she slowly pulls open the glass front door and walks into a foyer about the size of her whole barn house. This in itself was surprising due to the fact that on the outside, the whole building looks like it can only fit two Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouses. This room is not just big, it is also quite immaculate. It has black and white checkered marble floors. The pillars look as if they came out of Ancient Grease. Hanging from the ceiling are five fully lit chandeliers, bathing the room in a soft golden light and leaving nothing in the shadows.
As Applejack continues forward, she looks to the front of the room. Behind a pristine desk of black marble sits a green mare with the same colored hair, bar a steak of white that follows the part. The mare is wearing a long-sleeved white blouse, unbuttoned to an almost immodest degree, baring a good portion of her ample bosom and leaving little to the imagination. On top of the blouse she wears an open black vest.
The mare smiles as Applejack approaches. “Welcome to the Sensational String Instructional Institute. I am the owner, manager, secretary, and sole employee, Lyra Heartstrings.” Her smile widens. “I was wondering if you would ever come in. You stood at the door for, like, five minutes.”
Applejack blushes sheepishly. “Uh, sorry. Ah was just... uh...”
“Nervous?” Lyra offers. Applejack nods. “That's perfectly normal.” She nods to herself as she pulls out a clip board with a blank sheet of paper on it. “Right, what kind of instrument do you wish to learn?”
“Uh, fiddle.” Applejack crosses her hooves sheepishly.
Lyra writes Applejack's name and starts writing down fiddle before looking up. “But, doesn't your cousin, Fiddlesticks, play the fiddle?”
Applejack nods once. “She does, but she lives in Appleloosa. Ah hardly ever get to see 'er. So, uh, it's not that easy ta learn from 'er.”
“Ah, I see. Well, follow me, please.” Lyra stands up from her chair. Her shirt stops just above her belly button. Resting low on her hips was a black plaid skirt that comes down to mid thigh. Applejack can't really judge her on her clothes due to the fact that she was wearing a red flannel shirt tied up so her stomach was bare and a pair of really short denim shorts. Lyra heads into a door behind her desk and a second later open another one so Applejack can follow. The two walk down a long white hallway, similar to one seen in hospitals. “You'll be happy to know that you are my very first student.”
“Uh, that's nice an' all, but Ah thought you played the lyre?” She raises her voice at the end to make it a question.
“I do. I can play all string instruments. The lyre is just my first love.” She stops in front of a door which looks to me made of mahogany. “Ah, here we are. The fiddle room. I have about twenty different makes. Pick them up and see which one feels the best in your hands. I will be back shortly with my own.”
“Thank you,” Applejack replies as Lyra backs out of the room and closes the door behind her. She finally takes a good look at the room. It is dimly lit with charcoal gray walls. One tiny window near the ceiling is the only source of light besides the one small, dangling light bulb in the center. A quick look out the window tell her that most of the room was underground, as the window opens up to the green grass right outside the shop. She can see Pinkie Pie setting up a banner for some party later on tonight at Sugar Cube Corner. She then turns her attention to the main attraction of the room. All the different violins lie around the room as if keeping silent vigil over something that is not there. Applejack walks over to the one closest to her on her right. It has a black belly with a white finger board. She picks it up and almost immediately sets it back down. Something just felt off about the violin. It did not seem right in her hands. She goes to the next one. It is slightly bigger than the last, and it has a crimson belly with an orange fingerboard. Once again, Applejack picked it up and immediately set it back down. She had had no idea that finding the perfect instrument would be so difficult.
After about thirty minutes, Applejack has gone through almost all the violins. Only one remained. It was not on a stand. In fact, it was just discarded in a corner. Applejack walked over to it and picked it up. The faded gray body was rough to the touch. The bridge was cracked in areas. The black fingerboard was warped as if from water damage. One of the tuning pegs was missing. Applejack hesitantly picked it up. It was perfect! She bent down to pick up the bow. The tail hair was dry and fraying. It had been taken from a pony who had a red tail. Slowly, she raises the violin to rest between her shoulder and chin. She lifts the bow and slowly drags it across the strings. It make a hauntingly beautiful sound, and Applejack's heart is sold.
As Applejack moves back into the center of the room, Lyra reenters and looks at the violin that she has chosen. Lyra smiles softly. I had almost forgotten about that one. That was my very first violin. The tail hair on the bow actually belonged to my first special somepony. I haven't played it ever since we broke up.”
Applejack looks up with worry in her eyes. “Ah'm sorry. I didn't know. I'll put it pack.”
Lyra holds up a hand to stop her. “It's fine, Applejack. Actually I think it kinda suits you. You are both rugged and worn, and you both have a hidden beauty beneath that rugged exterior. Yes, I think this instrument will suit you perfectly.”
Applejack blushes slightly at the compliment before being hit in the head by a flying amber cube. She grabs the cube and looks at Lyra questioningly. “What do I do with this?”
Lyra smiles. “Rosin up that bow so you can play that fiddle hard.”
Applejack cocks her head to the side in confusion. “Come again?”
Lyra stomps her hoof on the ground. “Damn it, totally killed my music reference.” She walks over to Applejack and grabs her bow and the amber cube. “Like this.” She slowly starts stroking the cube up and down the bow in a way that makes Applejack blush again. If Lyra notices, she does not voice it. When she is done, she hands the bow back to Applejack. “Keep the cube in your pocket.” She puts it there herself. “Now we can begin.”
Author's Note
AND THEN THEY FUCKED!!! No, not really. Later. Anyway I hope y'all liked the first chapter. Hopefully I can update this regularly. I want this to be a clopfic that actually has some plot to it. Well, and some other plot, but that's beside the point. Look at me, it's fucking 3 am and I'm publishing a story. Well, I've never claimed to be the smartest in the world. Well... actually I have. Aaaand now I'm rambling. Good night people who I will probably never meet. Or good morning, whichever you prefer.
Love,
Distorted
