//------------------------------// // Chapter 18: Words and Music // Story: Newborn Mare // by nanashi_jones //------------------------------// I woke with a jerk. For a horrible, disoriented second, I thought I’d tripped and banged my head. I thought I was still on my way back to my broken home. Then, I heard the music. This wasn’t the dirge that had been dragging me down, back in the desert of Ponyville. This was a song that lifted me up. It cleared the dirt from my eyes and ears, and for what felt like the first time in a long time, I could think. Cracking my neck, I stood up and looked around the roof. “That’s a much better tune,” I said, feeling refreshed. “Seconded,” Twilight said, getting to her hooves, beside me. “Twilight!” I yipped, wrapping her up in a tight hug. “Lands… it’s- it's so good to see you.” She laughed, returning the embrace. She looked a lot better: there was color in her cheeks again, and she wasn’t wobbly in the knees. And most importantly? She was alive. “Yeah," she murmured. "I… I know the feeling.” “Twilight! RJ!” We turned and were suddenly tackled in a group hug by Erishy. Stephanie ran up just behind her. “Erishy?” Twilight laughed. "What just… happened?" Erishy pulled back so we could see her. Wiping her eyes, she grinned. "You were all asleep thanks to…" Her eyes widened slightly at something just behind us. "Oh no…" she murmured. Twilight and I turned to see. The rest of our friends were lying motionless on the concrete. Raritony, clearly in a deep sleep, scowled fiercely, while Dash twitched like a sleeping dog chasing a dream rabbit. But Pinkie looked the worst of all: her coat dull and dark, and her mane and tail splayed out around her in a flat sheet. “Why… why didn’t they wake up?” Erishy said, wringing her hooves. “You two woke up, so it works, so why didn’t they… Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no!” “Easy, Shy, easy sugarcube,” I said, stroking her back gently. "What didn't work? What happened?" "Discord hit you guys with a magic whammy, and you all passed out, cold," Stephanie explained. "Clearly," Twilight said, lighting up her horn. She went over to the napping group and passed it slowly over each pony. "But what kind of magical- Ah! Found it." After a moment, she nodded. "Well, whatever counterspell you two came up with, it is working," she announced "I think it's just going to take some more-" Raritony sat up abruptly with a little snrk! noise. "-time," Twilight finished. Raritony blinked blearily, and smiled up at us. “Oh good. You’re all real again,” she said. As Twilight and Stephanie helped Raritony to her hooves, I kept an eye on Dash and Pinkie, who were still down for the count. "Where is Discord?" I asked. "The Princesses are keeping him busy," Stephanie said, pointing over the roof. Looking in the direction Stephanie indicated, I caught a glimpse of a Princess Celestia colored blur. A Discord colored blur, of gray and plaid, rocketed after her a split-second behind. As they zipped by, I distinctly heard Discord yell out: “Quit calling me Q! That amateur is a hack!!” “Neener neener neener!” laughed Princess Luna, rushing up in a blur of blue and black to zap Discord’s rump. He wheeled to face her, but she looped around a skyscraper and tore off for the horizon, like a comet. Discord gave chase, with Princess Celestia close behind him. Twilight looked gobsmacked. “Did Princess Luna…?” “Eeyup,” I said. "But, I don’t think we have a lot of time." "We don't?" Twilight asked. "Yeah," I said, motioning everyone over to Pinkie and Dash. "We gotta speed this thing up. 'Shy? Steph? What'd y'all do to wake Twi, Rares, and me up?" Raritony yawned hugely. "Mostly awake," she muttered. "We sang," Erishy said. "Sang?" Twilight said, as Stephanie nodded in agreement. "Alright y'all," I said. "Time to get our song on." "Can I have coffee first?" Raritony asked. "Song first, defeat Discord second, coffee third," I instructed. "Slave driver," she replied, but she smiled. We all gathered around Pinkie and Dash, and looked at one another expectantly. I'd done this, purposely, only once before during a barfight- letting the music of Harmony wash through me, but that'd been mostly instinct. Harmony singing usually is. Sometimes, though, a group of ponies can call it up at will. They just have to decide who's going first. As we quietly watched one another, waiting to see who would get us started, I reflected on how Pinkie would get us going without a hitch. She was the best at making Harmony singing look like something everypony should be able to do. She wasn't gonna be any help here, but the rest of us were no slouches, either. I sang for myself and Big Mac when we worked the orchards and fields. Rarity sang when she sewed. Fluttershy was almost as good at bursting into song as Pinkie, so long as she didn't have too big of an audience. Even Twilight would hum under her breath, when she was studying hard enough. The trick was turning off your mind, and turning on your heart. So, I ignored the urge to growl out some alt rock from my iPod, tuned out the hoof-full of country riffs I'd done with the other Apples, and finally, finally found the song we needed. "A true, true friend helps a friend in need," I sang. "A friend will be there to help them see," Twilight picked up.. "A true true friend helps a friend in need," Erishy went on. "To see the light," Raritony belted out. "That shines from a true, true friend," Stephanie finished. I smirked at Stephanie, whose ears were pink. "Felt right," she muttered, scratching the back of her head. Before I could reply, I heard Pinkie’s snores stutter and stop. There was an audible sproing! as her color brightened and her mane and tail curled right back up. Her eyes snapped open, and she grinned up at us. “C’mon everypony,” she said, bouncing onto her hooves. “I wanna see you smile!” My laugh was filled with relief. Erishy wrapped Pinkie up in the fiercest hug she could. "It's so good to see you!" she squealed intently. “Whoo! You too!" Pinkie said, matching Erishy's enthusiasm. "Wow, did you know I had the worstest worst dream I ever dreamed?” "Uh, what just happened?" Dash asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "A lot, darling," Raritony said, fluffing Dash's mane. "Are you alright?" "Yeah, but I had this wicked- Incoming!" Dash shouted, pointing to the sky. A spiraling white and blue meteor screamed toward us, only to pull up at the last second as it skidded across the roof. The light faded, and the meteor became Princesses Celestia and Luna. They jerked to a halt on shaky legs, standing sweat-streaked and panting. The Princesses looked around, then sighted on us. It took her some effort, but Princess Celestia smiled at our ragtag group of just-woken ponies. “It worked?” Princess Celestia asked. Erishy nodded emphatically. “Yes, your Highnesses!” “Good,” Princess Luna huffed, lying on her stomach, wings splayed out. “I feel like plot. Fighting Discord sounded better before we actually had to do it.” "Question," Raritony said, raising her hoof. "What exactly, worked?" "’Twas fair Erishy and Stephanie's plan," Luna said, pointing to them. "Wait," Twilight said. "You two cast the spell that woke us up?" "Nooooot exactly," Erishy replied. "We figured out that Discord got to you guys through the whole pony music magic thing,” Stephanie said, which made Twilight’s eyes widen. “Holy…” Twilight murmured. “That’s… ingenious. Awful, but ingenious.” “You mean, totally Discord?” Dash said, as I jostled a drowsing Pinkie back to full wakefulness. “So you guys just sang to us and we woke up?" Erishy and Stephanie smiled at each other. “Not quite," Stephanie said. "We figured it was going to take more oomph, since Discord was the one who first put you guys down." "And since the Princesses needed to use their power to keep him distracted…" Erishy added. "We figured the best way to break Discord’s music magic was to get the ponies and the humans to sing together," Stephanie finished, proudly. “So… we got the whole city to sing.” Blinking, Twilight, Raritony, Dash, Pinkie, and I looked at each other, then out at the city. As we did, the tune I thought I'd pulled out of thin air became crystal clear. The entire City of New York, ponies and humans alike were singing together. I whistled in appreciation. “Damn, girls," I said. "That’s... pretty amazing." “Wait! Where is Discord now?” Twilight asked. “New Jersey,” Princess Celestia replied, with a tiny smirk. “But he’ll be back soon. And angry. We managed to prank him quite effectively.” “Myyyyy idea,” Princess Luna sang lightly, bobbing her head with a grin. "How angry is he?" I asked, squinting in Jersey's direction. "Very," Princess Celestia said. "Good," I said, with a decisive nod. "'Cause I got an idea of my own. Think y’all can make a little light show? Shoot some magic at him and keep his attention on you a little while longer?" Princess Celestia laughed, as Twilight cocked her head at me. “I... think I can do that much," the Princess said. "But why?" "Because y'all are gonna be the light to Discord’s bug," I said. "And we're gonna be the zappers." I tapped my Element by way of explanation. "That sound good to you, Highness?" Princess Celestia laughed. "That sounds good to me. How about you, Sister?” “Indeed!” Princess Luna said, joining my side. “‘Tis a grand plan in its simplicity. I can’t wait to see the look on his stoned face, when all is done.” “Thanks, y’all,” I said. “We’ll set up just behind ya. Shouldn’t take too long. We got some good fightin’ music going here.” “Work quickly. I see him,” Princess Celestia said, pointing to a pinprick of light that was getting bigger, fast. “On it!” Twilight said. She pulled her tiara out of her hospital gown. With Raritony’s assistance, she got it on her head. The Princesses' horns glowed brightly. They shot some very obvious sparks of blue and white-gold across the city at the oncoming Discord comet. Discord responded to the prodding with a roar that sounded like a hippo that ate a tuba. Stephanie returned Erishy’s Element to her, sliding it around her neck. Dash helped Erishy over to the group we were forming. From the look on her face, Dash was really looking forward to returning some of whatever hell Discord had dealt her. As I joined formation, Pinkie bouncing alongside me, I could feel my Element warming up. The magic that linked us was getting stronger. That same light-headed feeling I always got when the Elements were about to release rushed up behind my eyes. I took a spot next to Twilight, who smiled at me. “You know…” she said, gaze forward. “I usually make the battle calls in times like this.” I blushed, glancing down a little. “Heh. Sorry Twi. I guess I let the shield go to my head,” I said, with an apologetic grin. “No, no. It’s fine, RJ. You didn’t do anything wrong,” she said, her own smile widening, her Element pulsing with power. “I’m just glad I can count on you.” “Feeling’s mutual, Twi,” I said. Another roar broke into our moment, and Discord was here. He slammed into the Princesses' interlocked blue-white magic, reaching out to grab at us. The Princesses’ horns blazed bright as stars as they held him with a net made of multicolored light. Teeth bared, he pushed so close to us, I could count the whiskers on his goatee. Then their magic snapped down and yanked him back. “Let me go! Let me go! And quit singing!” Discord spat, wildly contorting himself in midair. “What is with you aggravating little ponies and all this singing?!” We all smiled at one another. “It’s a friendship thing,” I said. “Because…” I pointed to Twi, who picked up, right on the beat. “A true, true friend helps a friend in need,” Twi sang, her Element shining like a new sun. “A friend will be there to help them see,” Dash and Erishy added, their Elements glowing bright as well. “A true, true friend helps a friend in need,” Raritony continued, her Element joining the light show. “To see the light!” Pinkie and I crowed, our Elements rounding it out. “To see the light!” Luna, Celestia, Stephanie, and the city echoed. “That shines!” we sang. “That shines!” they echoed. “From a true, true friend!” we all sang. Harmony peaked, flowing out of us.