The Magic of Harmonies

by darksymphony

Chapter 4

“All righty, girls, let’s get this show on the road!” Applejack said, turning to her three bandmates. They’d each done a little practice on their own over the course of the past week between their respective jobs, and Applejack had made several visits to Fluttershy’s cottage to teach her the basics, but this was the first time all four of them had met up for a group practice.

“Er, what are we doing exactly?” Twilight said from behind the drums, with a look of confusion.

“Yeah, we kinda…don’t have a plan. At all.” Luna said, her expression a mirror of Twilight’s.

“I don’t even know where to begin.” Fluttershy simply stated, looking down at the bass slung around her neck.

“Well, the best way to learn is to learn by doin’,” Applejack said with a confident smile.

“We’ll have ourselves a bit of a jam session.”

“A what now?” Twilight, Luna and Fluttershy chorused.

“A jam session! We’ll just play, nothin’ planned, see what works and get a feel for these here instruments.” Twilight looked a little worried at that. After all, planning was her speciality, and doing something without any plan whatsoever felt plain wrong to her.

“Come on, it’ll be fun. Look, Ah’ll start.” Applejack picked up her new guitar, a vintage looking semi- acoustic with an orangey red finish and ‘Electromatic’ written on the headstock (Twilight was sure that wasn’t a real word.) She gave an experimental strum, then began to play a repeating sequence of chords.

“Come on, just don’t think too much an’ join in!”

Twilight listened intently, remembering the music she listened to as well as thinking back to the music theory she’d researched. She slowly and cautiously began to play as well, adding a simple drum beat onto the guitar line. Fluttershy looked like she was steeling herself, then she played as well. Unfortunately, the note she played was at odds with Applejack’s chord, the dissonance cutting through the sound.

“Oh!” Fluttershy squeaked, “I’m so sorry!” Applejack continued to play, smiling encouragingly at Fluttershy.

“Never you mind, sugarcube, it’s yeh first time after all. Jus’ try a fret higher. Yup, that’s it. Now play.”

The second time, Fluttershy got the right note, and the pegasus smiled. She continued playing, occasionally catching a wrong note when the chords changed but not stopping.

Luna looked down at her instrument, changing the tone until she was happy. There were so many weird and wonderful sounds that it could make, but she settled on a simple piano, then joined in with the other three.

Luna was amazed. Sure, playing on her own had been fun, but this was like a whole other experience. She was creating something wonderful with her three friends, and it was almost as if their souls were singing in chorus together.

Suddenly she became aware of a change. Applejack had subtly changed the chords, as well as the rhythm. Twilight and Fluttershy faltered for a second at the change, but quickly recovered. Luna had read it perfectly, and with a playful smile she changed the synth’s tone to that of an organ and improvised a quick solo over the top of the other three.

Looking back, she saw that Applejack, Fluttershy and Twilight all had beaming smiles to mirror her own, each evidently feeling the same elation as she at the music they were making. Twilight suddenly added a cross rhythm, and then powered into a drum solo. Luna was astonished at how fast the unicorn had picked up learning the drums; even with her ability to learn quickly and her thirst for knowledge, she seemed to be a natural. Sure, it wasn’t quite as precise as it could have been, but it was an amazing effort for their first day of playing together.

As Twilight’s solo ended and she settled back into the same regular beat, she looked to Fluttershy and gave an encouraging nod. Eyes closed, Fluttershy then began her own solo section, keeping it simple but not making a single mistake. Luna could tell that the pegasus had taken everything on board that Applejack had taught her, and she felt reassured that her shy friend’s gut instinct about the instrument had been spot on.

Fluttershy finished with a happy and proud smile, one that was reflected on Applejack’s face as she noted her student’s progress. Then she took on a look of concentration as she launched into her own solo, a blinding display of technical skill and speed. This was the first time any of the band had seen Applejack play like that, and it filled them with confidence to know how talented she really was.

Drawing the solo to a close, Applejack settled back into the rhythm, quickly making eye contact with each of her bandmates and giving each a quick nod. They understood the wordless message, and at the end of the sequence they played one last chord before falling silent.

The silence stretched out for a few seconds, before everypony started talking at once.

“That was amazin’! Well done, everypony!”

“Oh, that went so much better than I thought it would…”

“I’m so glad I read up on drum solos, it made it so much easier…”

“That felt…I don’t know…like walking on air, or gazing at the night sky…”

After the chatter stopped Applejack looked at the others and smiled broadly.

“Well, girls, Ah’m guessin’ that makes us officially a band.” They nodded in agreement, grinning. “But y’know, practice makes perfect…”

As the sun began to set in the west, the sounds of music and laughter echoed around the library.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At the same time, in the Carousel Boutique, the atmosphere couldn’t have been further from that of the library. Once again, Rainbow Dash and Rarity were arguing over the music choice.

“I’m telling you, it’s gotta be something fast, and loud. I mean, I’m fast and loud, and I win competitions all the time.”

“Darling, I believe that you’ll find that music is far removed from flying.”

“But what you’re suggesting is boring! We’ll get laughed off the stage!”

“How dare you! My musical taste is exquisite, thank you very much, and I’m sure that the audience will appreciate it as well. Remember, this is still the Grand Galloping Gala.”

The two ponies glared at each other. Spike and Pinkie Pie resolutely remaining out of the conversation, talking to each other in hushed whispers.

“You should stop being so old fashioned and get with the times!”

“Well, maybe you should think before acting and act a little more appropriately for the event!”

“Well…”

Pinkie Pie suddenly interrupted.

“I have a suggestion! Well, actually it’s partially Spike’s idea, so I guess we have a suggestion.” Rarity and Rainbow Dash momentarily ceased their bickering to look at the pink earth pony.

“Being as you can’t decide on a song, how about we each choose one and vote for the one we like the best? And to make it fair, you can’t vote for your own.” Rainbow Dash looked at Rarity.

“You game?” Rarity narrowed her eyes in response.

“Absolutely.”

“Yay! Then how about we meet up tomorrow afternoon, say…half past three with our songs of choice and we can choose what we’re performing? Everyone ok with that? Good! See you then!” With that, Pinkie Pie happily bounced out of the door, leaving the other three in dumbfounded silence.

“Well, I guess that means our session is over,” Spike said.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The atmosphere in the Carousel Boutique was more relaxed than it had been the day before, but there was still a little tension in the air. Spike cleared his throat, attempting to lighten the mood. He held a record up for the three ponies to see. The sleeve read simply “Equestria Girls.”

“No.”

Rainbow Dash and Rarity looked at each other in surprise; it was a rare occasion when they agreed when it came to music. Spike looked a little crestfallen.

“I’m very sorry, Spike, but I just don’t think it’s the right kind of song for the event.”

“I just think it’s not cool enough.”

“I want to forget all about it.” Everyone turned to look at Pinkie Pie. “What? I just don’t think it’s one of my better works. This, on the other hoof, is much better.” She walked to the record player, placing her record on it and pressing the play button. Instantly, a familiar tune blasted into the room.

“Isn’t this the song you used to get rid of the Parasprites?” Rainbow Dash enquired.

“Uh huh, isn’t it perfect!” Rainbow Dash facehoofed.

“Pinkie Pie, this isn’t exactly the sort of music that would sound good as a rock song…”

“Well, duh! Of course it would sound bad!”

“Ok…then why did you suggest it?”

“Well, I couldn’t think of anything we could play, so I brought it to show it off! It’s such a happy song!” the earth pony said happily, bouncing around the record player in time to the lively tune.

“Pinkie Pie. You. Are. So. Random.”

The earth pony giggled and turned off the record player.

“So I presume it’s down to us then,” Rarity stated dryly to Rainbow Dash. “What have you brought?”

Rainbow Dash proudly held up her record of choice. The sleeve read had a picture of a muscular foreleg bound with a chain, hoof hitting a large anvil. Written at the top was ‘Maneowar’ and at the bottom in smaller print was ‘Louder than Hay’.

Rarity sighed, already assuming the worst. Rainbow Dash flew to the record player, carefully setting the needle.

“This is one of my favourites, ‘The Goddesses Made Heavy Metal.’” Rarity wrinkled up her nose at that. Even the name suggested the worst. Her fears were confirmed a split second later as a wall of sound came from the record player.

There was no other way of describing it; it was brutal. Rarity cringed and held her hooves to her ears, wishing for nothing else but for the offensive, violent sound to cease. Contrary to the name of the song, she couldn’t imagine either of the alicorn sisters being responsible for creating such a monstrosity.

Unfortunately for Rarity, it was not a short song. Six torturous minutes later, it finally came to a close with a final scream from the band’s singer.

Not that you could call that singing. Rarity thought. She looked over at Pinkie Pie and Spike. To her horror, both were smiling. It can’t be true…How could anypony enjoy that?

“And that, my friends, is the sound of pure awesomeness.” Rainbow Dash declared. “And now it’s your turn,” she said to Rarity, though from the look on her face she was sure she’d already won. Rarity recomposed herself.

“Well, this is my choice for us to play. It’s a classic, and I’m sure we’d win the contest with such a beautiful piece.” Rainbow Dash looked carefully at the record sleeve.

“Nat King Foal? Never heard of him.” Rarity was quick to retort.

“With your taste in music…or lack of…I can’t say I’m surprised.” Rainbow Dash looked momentarily stunned, turning to Pinkie Pie and Spike. Pinkie Pie looked curiously at Rainbow Dash.

“You’ve never heard of Nat King Foal? He’s, like, one of the bestest most important musicians ever!”

Spike simply shook his head. “I’m gonna be honest…I hadn’t heard of him either. But knowing Rarity, I’m sure he’s brilliant.”

“Right, everypony, quieten down,” called Rarity from the record player as the music began to play.

A brief piano introduction played, and then the singer began. The song was a huge contrast with the heavy metal from before, being quiet and with a focus on the lyrics. There were even sections of complete silence, though they only emphasized the singing more. Rarity had her eyes closed, a dreamy expression on her face as she let the music flow through her.

All too soon, the song came to a close, and Rarity opened her eyes once more. Pinkie Pie and Spike looked spellbound, and Rarity smiled at Rainbow Dash. This was by no means an easy victory for the pegasus anymore.

“So, that was ‘Nature Colt.’ I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s a piece much more suited to a prestigious event such as the Gala.”

Rainbow Dash flew over to join the unicorn.

“So, which did you prefer?” She eagerly asked Spike and Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie looked thoughtful, absentmindedly scratching her chin.

“Well, I really liked both! I can’t choose which I liked best. So it’s a tie!” Rainbow Dash resisted the temptation to facehoof again. Instead, she turned to Spike.

“What about you? Awesomeness or ye olde boredom?” Rarity glared at her.

“Well…they both had their merits…it’s really hard to choose…” behind Rainbow Dash, Rarity looked imploringly at Spike, fluttering her eyelashes.

“But I suppose the one that would best fit the Gala would be Nat King Foal.”

“YES!” Rarity cried, before calming down and turning back to her pegasus friend. “Well, that settles it. We’ll be doing something along the lines of this for our Gala performance.”

“I. Can’t. Wait.” Rainbow Dash said, grinding her teeth. She hated losing.