My Little Pony: Harmony & Entropy

by LightOfTriumph

Chapter 4: Down Beat

Pound Cake was getting hard to walk with at this point.

What he had done had weighed heavily on him, and that regret was radiating off him, along with a desperate urge to make things right. Flurry was beginning to question why she had decided to go with him. This was a major downer.

But she cared. For some inexplicable reason. She cared about Pound Cake, and Pumpkin, and whoever this "Beat" was. She wondered if it was just some voyeuristic urge, just wanting to see drama for the sake of seeing drama. But... no, that wasn't it. She wanted to see things turn out okay. Pumpkin was in love with Beat. Genuinely. That was really rare to see in someone as young as they were. But it was there, it was real. That wonderful mix of happiness, worry, serenity, frustration, joy, and a little pain. Flurry had only felt it one other place before. It was whenever her parents got to talking about each other.

She wanted to see this have a happy ending. She was proud of herself for that. It was a trait she picked up from her mother.

But she quickly began to worry. Pound described Beat as "Irresponsible," what if he wasn't as serious as Pumpkin was... She would have to see.

The two Ponies approached the town square. In the middle was constructed a large soundstage, and many rows of seats. On the stage sat a drum set, and a guitar on a stand. There was some kind of logo on the bass drum, but Flurry heart couldn't make it out from this distance.

What interested her more was the stallion standing near the edge of the audience seating. He looked about her age, maybe a year older. He had a red mane and tail with what looked like blue highlights spiking the hair at strategic points. This did not look natural in the slightest, it was a die job. The mane was rather long for a stallion as well, falling down his shoulders (though it was tied back with a couple of rubber bands), and being generally bushy. His coat was eggshell white, except for directly under his right eye. Where there was painted, or possibly tattooed, a small design that looked like half of a black lightning bolt. He wore a black legband on his left foreleg.

As much as Flurry wanted to giggle at this rather ridiculous looking pony, she didn't. There were two reasons for this. The first being that, whoever this pony was, he carried himself as if he was quite serious about everything he was doing. He looked as if dressing like this was part of his job, and he was going to carry himself off as a professional. And somehow he did. Flurry didn't want to laugh at it because whatever this pony thought he was doing, it was very serious business.

She also didn't want to make his day harder than it already was. Because for some reason, this pony was desperately trying to build up courage to do or say something very unpleasant.

"Beat," Pound Cake called to the strange pony.

The pony turned to see Pound and Flurry. "Pound!" A wave of both relief and worry washed over him.

Flurry Heart's eyes widened. This... This ridiculous, and yet all at the same time very serious pony, was Down Beat.

"Dude," Beat said quickly. "Listen, we need to talk. I'm sorry, I should have told you about me and Pumpkin sooner-"

"Are you serious about this?" Pound asked quickly.

Beat stumbled a bit. "What?"

"Are you serious about my sister?" Pound asked frankly. "She's convinced you're in love with her, but I want to hear that from you. Are you going to actually try to make this work? Or is this another thing you're going to forget about a month down the line when you get bored?"

"I don't do that with Ponies," Beat said, a little offended. "You know that."

"In most cases, yeah, I do," Pound said firmly. "I just wanna hear you say it."

Beat paused, considering what to say. "I'm serious about her," he said finally. "And if I ever treat her badly, please, come and deal with me. No Ten-Count, no pulling your punches. I'll deserve it if I'm stupid enough to waste this."

"He's telling the truth," Flurry accidentally said out loud.

Pound looked at Flurry, and then back at Beat. "Well," he sighed. "If a princess is vouching for you, what the hell do I have to object to?" Pound and beat wrapped each other in a brotherly hug. "Just... look after her, alright? I worry."

"I will Pound," Beat smiled. "It's good to have you back..."

Flurry couldn't help but smile. These two were obviously very close. Beat caught sight of Flurry's warm smile, and quickly broke off the hug before he lost any more man points.

"So," he said quickly. "Princess?"

"Yeah," Pound said. "But you know... Don't tell anybody."

Beat smiled and offered a little bow. "Majesty." Flurry couldn't help but blush just a little.

"That's really not necessary," Flurry giggled.

"It most certainly is," Beat said as he rose with a little flourish. "After all, Primitive Hobbyhorse is here to perform our National Anthem. We're going to show as much Patriotism as we can. Right Pound?"

"What?" Pound said, having somehow procured a doughnut since they had last turned in his direction. "Oh yeah! Totally."

"You didn't bow did you?" Beat asked dryly.

"She was trying to stay undercover for some reason!" Pound protested, spraying crumbs out of his mouth. "The hoof was I supposed to do, blow a freakin' bugle when I woke up on the train?"

"Oh she got to see you sleeping, did she?" Beat asked sarcastically. "Maybe she, me, and Pumpkin can all check into the same trauma clinic..."

"Oh yeah," Pound remembered. "Pumpkin said you and her needed to have a talk."

"Why?" Beat asked, suddenly panicking.

"Excuse me?" Flurry interrupted, now sporting a growing migraine. "I don't mean to intrude, but I am here to check on the music..."

"Oh, right!" Pound said. "Come on over to the stage, we'll do our set for you." Pound and Flurry hurried over to the stage.

"Uh...," Beat said, running to catch up with them. "We may have a slight problem there..."

"What did you break this time?" Pound sighed.

"Who says I broke- The amps." Beat said looking down at the floor.

"Again?" Pound scolded. "I told you not to turn them up that high!"

"It goes to eleven!" Beat protested.

"I don't care!" Pound argued back. "It was never meant to be turned up that high!"

"Then why does it go to eleven?!" Beat asked triumphantly.

"For the love of all things hooved and holy," Pound muttered. "Alright, let me check it out."

When they got to the stage, Flurry took a look around. She was surprised to see many pulleys and levers around the edges of the stage. They each seemed to activate a new backdrop or prop for the show. It was rather impressive.

"Neat, huh?" Beat said as soon as Pound was out of earshot. "Honestly, I don't know where Pound finds the time to do all of this stuff..."

"Pound Cake did all this?" Flurry asked, somewhat surprised.

"Oh yeah," Beat smiled. "He's a wizard on the drums because he's good with his Hooves in general. Anything. Plumbing, Wiring. Carpentry. That would kind of be wasting his talents though. I don't think we'd get paid for any live show we did, if it weren't for his set design. I really owe a lot to him."

"It feels like he owes a lot to you too," Flurry smiled.

"He really doesn't," Beat smiled. "Just don't tell him that."

"How did you two meet?" Flurry asked.

"He used to beat me up after class," Beat said rather frankly.

Before Flurry Heart could recover from the extreme mental whiplash, Pound returned from backstage. "It's fixed," Pound said. "Just don't do that again. For all of our sakes."

"But it goes to eleven...," Beat sighed.

"And ten is more than enough to kill everyone in the first three rows," Pound said sternly. "Should we get started?"

Flurry was suddenly very, very nervous. The one thing that the musical entertainment had to sing was the Equestrian National Anthem. It was a very somber tune. Very dignified. This band seemed a bit... Harsher than was called for. Flurry looked at the bass drum. She could see the logo now. It was a fiery pony skull on a stick. "Primitive Hobbyhorse." She got it now. She braced herself for the coming screech.

But then beat began to sing. Obviously in the voice of a rocker, but with the quiet dignity the song needed.

Dawn breaks through the darkened skies,
We lift our heads and dry our eyes,
When day is done we're doubly blessed,
With starry sky and moon for rest,
No longer bound to hopelessness
We dance as one with nature now,
The Sun and Moon will show us how.

Flurry was moved. There was a sincerity to his singing that seemed to pierce through any cynicism the song was every sung with. This song had been mumbled by schoolfoals every assembly that they ever had... It took someone like Down Beat to remind you that the song really meant something. Flurry didn't think she was going to tear up...

And then Pound Cake joined in.

Restless was the world we knew,
Cheerless were the days,
Colors ran together,
In an endless mirror maze,
And then two sisters brought us out of Discord's Dark Caprice
And gave us lights to guide us into Harmony and Peace.'

Without thinking Flurry joined in on the last line. Her voice cracking. Everyone who ever played for royalty had always said it was an honor. These two meant it. They felt real honor in singing this song for the crowd, showing a little pride for their kingdom... It was nice feeling. This sincerity coming from what Flurry had never thought to call "her subjects" made her feel a little better about her future somehow.

"That was wonderful," Flurry sniffed. "That will do very nicely. I have to admit, judging by appearance I thought you were the kind of band that... Never mind..."

"Majesty," Down Beat went to pick up his guitar. "Let me assure you..."

He then began a solo that Flurry would later learn from Beat was described as "facemelting." His hooves moved so fast across the frets it all came off as a blur. The guitar made sounds that she didn't think were possible for any musical instrument. He struck a hard note to end his performance and then stood there, carrying himself like he was the sexiest pony alive. To many, Flurry was sure he would have been.

"We are exactly that kind of band," Beat smirked. "But credit us with some sense of occasion."

Flurry didn't really know how to respond to that. "Right," she came up with after a moment. "This has been lovely, but I really should attend to the rest of this list."

"Sure thing," Pound Cake smiled. "Who's next on the docket?"

"Financing," Flurry read aloud. "Gildisen Accounting and Loan."

A wave of exasperation and anger washed over the two stallions. "You are kidding me!" Beat exclaimed. "Leon?! Leon is paying for this whole damn thing?!"

"I can't believe this. I can't believe he is pulling this horsehockey again. I-" Pound Cake caught his breath. "One, two, three, four, five..."

"No!" Beat protested. "No ten-count! Go to his office and beat the feathers off him!"

"No, no," Pound Cake said, keeping his composure. "I'll just have a talk with him. It'll be fine."

Flurry was hopelessly confused. "I'm sorry, I don't understand the reaction," she said quietly. "This seems like a rather generous gesture."

"Oho," Beat gave a little forced laugh. "I'm sure it was."

---

Rainbow Dash had collapsed on the ground, wheezing. Every muscle in her body was aching. When her wings stopped working, she had to start running. But he was always ahead of her. He was always waiting. No matter how long he ran...

Scratch was just too fast.

"There's a book I like," Scratch said very matter-of-factly. "You wouldn't know it. It wasn't written here. It's about this boring little world. It's run by a Government that goes out of its way to make it as drab and boring as possible. No interesting words... No interesting thoughts... Nothing is done without nine layers of paperwork and the government is always watching.

"And in this drab, gray, boring, oppressive environment... Boy meets girl.

"They fall in love, and suddenly their eyes are opened! Everything is interesting now! With each other they feel alive! Spitting in the face of their society they think, talk and love freely! They act like untamed souls free from the prying eye of the system.

"And then the system sees them... And shows them what happens to interesting people.

"The guy goes through hell. He's tortured for a really long time... And then they're gonna kill them in a really... Hoo... Really inspiring way. Seriously, I wish I had the imagination this guy had... And he sees what they're about to do to him... And he sells her out! Almost immediately he just sells her out! And that's not even the kicker! After their brains are scrambled and they meet again, turns out she sold him out too!! Seriously, funniest damn book I've ever read."

Scratch bent down next to Dash's ear. "You're never going to catch me saying 'loyalty is cheap,'" he whispered. "It's not. It takes effort. It takes time. It takes patience and resolve. Loyalty is one of the more costly traits ponies possess. And like all other luxuries it's one of the first things over the side of the boat when times get too rough."

"Shut up," Rainbow Dash spat. "Just shut up! I don't care what you have to say about my element, so stow it!"

That evil grin split across Scratch's face again. "Fair enough," he said, straightening up. "Anyway, there's a flaw in the book. The author wanted to sell that distopia as this hideous, monolithic, unstoppable force. Never bought it. I give it ten more years tops. That kind of fiefdom never lasts. Just because our leads knew when to quit, most people wouldn't. They'd keep thinking and talking, and eventually it would all just collapse. Life tends toward freedom. As long as you leave one of them alive, they have hope.

"Luckily..." Scratch let out another all too casual laugh. "I won't be making that mistake."

Author's Note:

... Did you just have Scratch reference--?

Yes I did. And we'll see how many people in the comments get it.

He's from an entirely different dimension, how would he-?

Magic.

Why did you even-?

BECAUSE I FELT LIKE SHOWING OFF HOW WELL READ I WAS! OKAY?!

Ugh. Whatever. You gonna credit the song, or what?

Yes. The Equestrian National Anthem is Harmony Ascendant by the incomparable Ponyphonic.

They get all the credit for those fantastic lyrics, and I humbly bow to their amazing talents.

Please Rate and Comment!

Comments

[Atlantis Productions]

You're well read? Okay, how about this: In a world were everything, even weather, emotions, and color, has been eradicated for the purpose of Sameness, one boy with an amazing gift is taught how to see beyond thanks to the assistance of an old man with the same gift.

It's not too great of a summary, but it's pretty close. Also, this is easily my favorite dystopian novel, though the movie is a lot better.

[Choral Note]

I don't know what the book is, but I might want to read it. Either way, I enjoyed the chapter! Looking forward to more as always! (that's not to mean you should rush the next chapter, of course, you should take your time writing so that it's the best it can be!)

[Atlantis Productions]

I just had a thought. If pushed to his limits, what would Scratch be capable of? I want to know because I'm pretty sure I have made a character that can top him easily, and I want her to know she has some competition.

[thegamerator10]

"facemelting"

I detect a Brütal Legend reference.