The Ponyville Rag

by Fernie Canto

Track 8: Theorem

Since the beginning of the day, Dainty couldn’t keep his heart from racing. He had slept alone that night; even though Steel Strings had been spending most of his nights with Dainty, he had said he needed to get things done in the workshop and his house, and wanted to prepare for the show.

So, Dainty had to find things to keep his mind occupied before the concert. He double checked and triple checked everything, especially all the copies of the final setlist he had prepared:

• Is It
• Almost by Mistake
• When the Sun Shines Through...
• It’s Too Early
• Before Six
• I Was a Teenage Werewolf
• Factory
• Seven Cities
• The Vampire Theater
• I Know
• Pony in the Lions’ Den
• Let’s Make a Movie
• For a While Now
• Chalk
• Wind on the Coast
• The World’s Been Acting...
• Twenty Nine
• Theorem
• Waiting for Me
• Lost Time

His outfit was properly and neatly stored, so it wouldn’t get any wrinkles. He would often listen to the songs from his records, or play them on the piano, just to make sure he still remembered all the words and all the intonations he wanted to do.

Every once in a while, his mind would get caught up in some catastrophic scenario that could prevent the concert from happening; who knows if Honey Drop had some accident on the farm and couldn’t attend? What if the equipment had a complete failure and had become unusable? Anything could happen; in fact, everything could happen. Dainty tried to find solace in the music itself to cool down his head and keep his focus.

As he walked around town for the last few days, he often overheard ponies talking about the show. His bandmates had also seen them commenting. They were trying to promote the concert as much as they could, and even Pinkie Pie had been telling everypony about it—according to herself, during one of Honey’s lessons. All four were very excited and eager, and, if it depended on their attitude alone, nothing could go wrong.

If anything could go wrong, it was Dainty himself.

For the last few days, a thought would sometimes appear in his mind, but he ended up suppressing before it could come to the surface. Now, however, he was caught up in it: he wondered if ponies around time actually knew what this concert was all about.

It wasn’t about the Ponyville Rag: it was about The Town Troop.

It was a homage, a tribute to their work. Those songs were theirs. The Ponyville Rag had been conceived as a vessel to bring back those songs and let them be remembered. The five members of the Rag weren’t the stars of the show, they were just messengers; the songs were the stars.

The way the concert had been promoted, though, might not have made that clear. Judging by the poster, there was a hot new band in town, the Ponyville Rag, and they were five cool dudes with some cool new music to play. Well, the poster did mention in big, bold letters that those were songs by The Town Troop, but did ponies even notice that? Did they care? Would they hail Dainty and his bandmates as celebrities, when that was never the goal? And, if they did, what could Dainty do about it?

These thoughts worried him, and, even though he couldn’t do much about that, he kept getting his brain hammered with the thought that, maybe, Dainty was lifting up his image through somepony else’s work.

Was that the case? He couldn’t answer.

The band had arranged to get to the theater a few hours before the concert to do a soundcheck and get prepared. Dainty got himself dressed, adjusted his mane, and left his house on that balmy afternoon, heading to the theater. He trotted with confidence, but also shook with a bit of nervousness. He caught a few glimpses of curious eyes watching him as he walked, but he tried not to get distracted. This was an important day.

He was the first band member to get there. He met with the manager, while a couple of stage hooves were setting the equipment. They talked about some of the arrangements, cleared a few doubts, and Dainty stood on the stage to assist with the preparations.

A couple of minutes later, he spotted River Mouth arriving, with her bass guitar. She had also dressed herself for the occasion; she looked beautiful and eye-catching, but also discreet, like Dainty.

“Hey, there, Dainty,” she said. “We got here early, huh?”

“Nah, the others are late,” he joked with a smirk. “Lazy bums.”

The two laughed, and started to talk about some arrangements. She put her bass guitar next to the amps on the side she’d be in. They talked a little bit about assorted things, and River, almost by accident, mentioned that there was still no progress in getting the research project on the lake restarted.

“Oh, sheesh, really?” Dainty said. “Nothing?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “It’s a bummer, right?”

“But have you tried talking to somepony about it? Did you try to talk to Princess Twilight?”

“Oh, I couldn’t do that, Dainty, really,” River said, shaking her head. “I don’t think she has any power over matters like these. I mean, imagine if everypony in Ponyville started pestering her with problems that she has nothing to do with?”

“Well, it was just an idea,” Dainty said. “I don’t know if it had any chance to work, but… But, yeah, I understand what you mean. I don’t think I’d have the courage either.”

They moved on to other matters, and, in a few minutes, she spotted Steel Strings arriving. He had a bit of a stunned look on his face.

“Dainty Tunes!” he said, standing at the foot of the stage. “You look gorgeous!”

“Aw, thanks,” he replied, looking at the floor. “Credit goes to Rarity. She did this.”

“She’s amazing, ain’t she?” River said. “Good choice, Dainty.”

“You’re amazing, Dainty!” Steel said, as he climbed the stage. “Honestly, I wasn’t prepared for this.”

“Aw, stop flattering me, love!” Dainty replied, smiling. “You look lovely, too.”

“Yeah, well, I did the best with what I had.” Steel approached Dainty, and almost whispered in his ear. “Tonight you’re mine, you hear me?”

“Steel Strings!” Dainty scolded in a hiss, looking around. “We’re in public.”

“Yeah, I know, sorry,” he replied, awkwardly.

River pretended she was busy with something else, but quietly giggled.

Hard Fiber and Honey Drop arrived together, as they had bumped into each other outside the theater. When they met the band on stage, almost everything was set up. The manager said they were ready for a soundcheck, so the five got ready. The drums were upstage, on a raised platform, so Honey Drop could still be in view. River Mouth and Hard Fiber would be on stage right, while Steel Strings was on the opposite side. The upright piano was also on stage left, a little out of the way of the band, but not too far. There was a microphone stand on center stage, and another one by the piano, so Dainty could still sing on the songs he played. Steel Strings and Hard Fiber also had microphones, as they provided back up vocals in a few songs.

Dainty took some time to locate himself on the stage, and see where his bandmates would be in relation to him. They readied their instruments, and looked at each other.

“So? Let’s do Theorem?” Dainty said.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Fiber replied.

The five were in agreement, so Dainty let the manager know they were about to start. They launched into the song, while the technician at the mixing desk made the adjustments. They also played When the Sun Shines Through, and the technician asked them to play a song that used the piano. So, Steel Strings went over there and they played It’s Too Early.

Dainty was very satisfied with the sound of the band. The energy was good, and the playing was sharp. He was particularly impressed with Honey Drop’s drumming, as his rhythm was tight, and he played some quite sophisticated fills. It was very good drumming.

The technician confirmed that the soundcheck was done, and so they went to their dressing room. Now, they could only wait and be prepared.

They still had about half an hour before the show, and somepony knocked on the door. River Mouth opened it.

“Hellooo, Ponyville Rag!” Pinkie Pie said. “Hello, Honey Drop! How is my bestest student ever doing?”

“Hi, teacher!” Honey said, jumping up from his chair. “Come in, come in! Oh, I’m doing great! This is amazing, and I can’t wait to go on stage and show everypony everything you taught me. I can barely control myself!”

“Oh, I know the feeling!” she said. “So, did you do the exercises I told you? Did you warm up? Did you stretch? You know that’s important!”

“Yes, Pinkie, yes, I was just warming up right now,” he said dutifully. “I take your lessons seriously, you know!”

“I’m delighted that you came to the concert, Pinkie!” Dainty said. “It’s such an honour.”

“And you think I’d miss my student’s debut at the Ponyville Theater? Not in a million years!” she said, turning around to face him. “Or even in a billion years. Does a trillion years exist? If so, then that too. Really, a teacher should always be there to encourage their students and appreciate their effort. And I even brought my friends!”

“Friends?” Dainty said, already a little apprehensive. “Uh, who, exactly?”

“Oh, you know who: Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy…”

Dainty’s jaw was already hanging open just to think that the Elements of Harmony were in that theater, specifically to see them play.

“… and Twilight!”

Dainty almost passed out.

“Wait, Princess Twilight Sparkle is here?” River Mouth said.

“Pinkie, h-how the f—… how in Equestria did you get Princess Twilight Sparkle to be here tonight?” Dainty said, almost in panic.

Pinkie looked at him, furrowing her brow. “I invited her, of course.”

Dainty’s eyes were like glass. “But she’s a princess!! How come she’s got time to watch some rock band?”

“Well, she happened not to have any royal appointments scheduled for tonight, which means that she was free,” Pinkie dutifully explained. “And, she did it by my special request, because I wanted to encourage my best student ever, and, if I’m here doing it, then nothing better to have my friends here with me as well! Because, if it’s six of us, then it’s six times more encouragement! And when you’re six times more encouraged, you can play six times better than usual! And who would not want to play like that, right?”

“Well, yes, it’s a lot of encouragement,” Dainty said, “but, at the same time, it’s a… uh, a lot of responsibility to play for a princess, you know. I mean, does she even like this kind of music?”

“Oh! From what I’ve asked, she’s never heard it!” Pinkie said. “In fact, almost none of the girls know who that Town Troop band was. Only Dash knows them.”

“Well, that’s good,” Dainty said.

“She said they were bad.”

Dainty didn’t know what to say.

“But, she still wanted to do this to help a friend, so maybe she’ll enjoy it! Who knows, right?” Pinkie said. “I mean, you are a great band! I think everypony will like you. And, when I say I think, I mean I hope, because we don’t really know, right? And that’s the exciting part! It could be a massive success, or it could be a complete failure! And we’ll only know after it’s done! This is sure to cause a lot of apprehension! Apprehension and uncertainty! Uncertainty and fear! And we have to channel those emotions into the music! And that will make the music get into everypony’s hearts, and I know that you can do that, and I’m sure that everypony will be impressed! Well, not sure, because I don’t know, but I hope they do! And hope is all we’ve got.”

She looked around, proud of her speech, but the looks in the faces of the band members were fairly uncertain.

“Uh, so,” Dainty said, clearing his throat and trying to force a smile, “that was, um, very nice of you, Pinkie! Like you said, as long as we channel our emotions into the music, we’re gonna be the best we can be. And that’s what matters, right?”

“Well, it also matters whether everypony else will like you or no—”

She noticed Dainty was scowling at her, pointing at Honey Drop with his eyebrows.

Pinkie quickly glanced behind her back. “Yes, absolutely. If you do your best, that’s what truly matters. And I’m sure that you will do your best. And yes, that I know!”

“You sure do!” Honey said. “Ponyville has no idea what’s coming!”

“That’s right,” Dainty said. “Thank you for bringing your friends, Pinkie Pie. We really appreciate that. Now, we need to keep preparing, so we'll talk to you after the show. Is that okay?”

“Of course!” she grinned, turning around to Honey Drop. “Keep doing those exercises, alright? You’ll be great! You’ll all be great! Good luck with your show! Talk to you later! Bye!”

And, so, she disappeared behind the door. The five bandmates exchanged glances and took heavy breaths.

“Yeah, I gotta channel those emotions,” Dainty said, more to himself, and sat on his chair.

Time wore on, and they could hear louder and louder noises from the audience outside. They had no idea how full the audience was, but the noise was considerable. They kept talking, trying to keep themselves relaxed.

The manager opened the door and poked his head inside. “Five minutes, everypony!”

Dainty, by sheer instinct, glanced at the clock on the wall.

“Oh, sweet Celestia,” Dainty said.

The band waited just to the side of the stage, while the manager walked to the microphone in the center.

“Good evening, everypony!”

As the voice echoed around the hall, the noise from the audience died down. Dainty felt like his heart could thump right out of his chest.

“The Ponyville Theater is proud to welcome, this evening, a brand new musical act.” the manager went on. “Formed right here, in Ponyville, this band got together to play the songs of a band called The Town Troop. So now, without further ado, please welcome The Ponyville Rag!”

The audience applauded, and Dainty pressed his eyelids. There was no turning back now.

“Come on, sweetheart,” Steel whispered.

Dainty took a deep breath and marched into the stage.

Honey Drop walked in holding his drumsticks in his mouth, with a wide grin. He could hear Pinkie Pie cheering loudly from her seat. River Mouth, Hard Fiber and Steel Strings went to their positions and grabbed their instruments. Behind them, Dainty Tunes walked in, and headed straight to the mic stand.

He turned to face the crowd, and the lights almost blinded him. The audience was a mass of indistinct heads, all eyes fixed on the stage. The place didn’t look completely packed, but it was quite full.

“Hello,” he said, and heard his own voice reverberating off the walls. “We’re the Ponyville Rag. Hit it, Honey Drop!”

He clicked his drumsticks three times, and sharply hit the snare drum. And so, they were off. The show had begun, and the music completely took over Dainty’s body. He rocked himself from side to side to the beat, and grabbed the mic stand, as if dancing with it. He put his mouth up to the microphone and the melody just came out.

Dainty faced the crowd, but he didn’t see anypony. He just felt the music. After he sang his verse, he did try to pay attention to the faces in the crowd, and saw some heads bobbing up and down to the beat.

The music was loud and crisp, and it cut through the air like a blade. Dainty almost couldn’t recognise his own voice; it sounded bigger than himself. The whole sound was unbelievable, and he tried just to concentrate on the music, because, if he stopped to think, he felt he wouldn’t believe that they were the ones making that sound.

After his long note at the end of the chorus, Dainty turned around to look at the band. All the members were fully into the music, rocking their bodies and clearly enjoying themselves. Honey Drop smiled from ear to ear, and he moved around like he was dancing. Steel Strings couldn’t stop looking at Dainty.

On his cue, Dainty turned around to sing the next verse, and he had the impression the audience was warming up to the music. In the distance, he could spot some ponies who were really grooving along and waving their hooves in the air. The words came out crisp and clear out of Dainty’s wide open throat, and he started to play around the stage, making gestures, pointing at the crowd, raising his hoof towards the sky, as if daring the world not to pay attention.

Towards the end of the song, Steel Strings sang the back up vocals, harmonising with Dainty, and the song just seemed to erupt. Just at its peak, it ended, and the final chord rang through the air, until it was taken over by the applause.

“Thank you!” Dainty said, and turned to look at the band. They were electrified.

They exchanged a brief signal, and Steel Strings played the first chords to Almost by Mistake. As Honey Drop joined in with the rhythm, Dainty felt like he could just keep listening to that sound. The band was magical. However, he had words to sing, so he focused on the microphone and sang, as if talking to the audience.

The lyrics just went on and on, and Dainty sang them as if they were part of him. Hard Fiber played his arpeggios with added gusto, as he saw the audience paying attention. River Mouth grooved along, bobbing her head along and feeling the beat in every muscle, sometimes exchanging looks with Honey Drop, as if physically locking with him. Steel Strings played with his heart on his sleeve, feeling each strum, each vibrating note. Honey Drop played his drums as if he wanted to shake the very walls of the building.

As Dainty finished singing, he turned around and started to shake his body and interact with the band, dancing with them and making gestures, as if conducting them. They brought the song gently to its end, and Dainty stood there, panting, before the applause erupted. He heard some cheers and whistles from the crowd, and casually trotted back to the mic.

“Thank you, everypony!” he said, waiting for the applause to die down a little. “As you heard before, we’re playing music by a band called The Town Troop. They were formed quite a long time ago, and wrote all these songs you’re gonna hear tonight. We formed this band to honour their memory, and we hope you’ll enjoy it. The first song is called Is It, which is from their first album, and this last one was Almost by Mistake. This next song is about carrying on and moving forward, and being brave when times are hard.” He gave a wry smile. “At least I think that’s what it’s about.”

He heard some chuckles from the audience, and felt relieved that the quip seemed to work.

“Take it away, Steel!”

Steel Strings played the first chords to When the Sun Shines Through the Window of Your Room, and the magic just began again. The song was slower and gentler than the previous ones, but it still sparkled with energy, and, unless Dainty was terribly mistaken, the audience was getting more and more into it.

For the next song, It’s Too Early, Steel Strings dropped the guitar and went to the piano, and the pulsating, solid rhythm sounded so much more powerful in that huge room, and it felt like the audience was truly entranced by it. After his vocals were over, Dainty invited the audience to clap their hooves to the beat, and went on frolicking around the stage. He joined Steel Strings on the piano for a moment, and kept gesturing to the band to keep the song going for longer than they used to, as the audience still seemed to be enjoying it.

As he finally conducted the band to end the song, the applause filled the room. Dainty and Steel exchanged a loving glance, before Steel went back to his guitar.

“Steel Strings on the piano, everyone!” he said, and heard the applause swell again while he sat before the piano for the next few songs.

Staying on the piano was convenient for Dainty to take a little rest, as his moving around the stage was far more intense than he had anticipated. They played two more songs, and Dainty prepared for the song Factory, when something struck his mind.

He leaned towards the band. “Hey, River Mouth!” he yelled away from the mic. “What’s the name of that lake you were working on?”

She looked at him, not without an expression of perplexity. “Uh, it’s Lake Tranquility, Dainty. Why?”

“Leave it to me,” Dainty said.

He started to improvise a few chords on the piano, and started to speak. “You know, there are a few things going in my mind lately,” he said over his improvisations. “This next song we’re gonna play, it talks about… about how we do things that can change the environment, the world we live in, sometimes for the better, but sometimes for the worse.”

The chords and melodies he played seemed to echo the intention of his words. The band watched him in silence, and Hard Fiber took the chance to tune his guitar.

“And there are some ponies out there who are doing a huge effort to preserve the beauty of our world, and we have such a pony right here, on stage. Her name is River Mouth, and she’s our bassist, over there.”

River gave a sheepish wave, in response to the applause.

“She had been working for months in the preservation of a beautiful, beautiful place called Lake Tranquility. Lately, this place became threatened by a devastating plague, which might destroy its fauna and flora. Unfortunately, the project lost its funding, and River Mouth and her colleagues were unable to finish their work! Can you believe that?” he said, turning his head to the audience. “Are there really so many things much more important to put our money on than preserving our world? And now, if this project can’t find any funding, the beauty of Lake Tranquility may be lost forever.”

He played a few dramatic chords, before returning to something more quiet. “So, to those ponies out there who have the money, but don’t care about the nature of Equestria, we’d like to dedicate this song. To the ponies that put their greed above our future, we sing this song. It’s called Factory.”

Dainty made a gesture to Hard Fiber to start the opening riff, and the band gradually joined. River Mouth, encouraged by the speech, played her bass with force, almost anger, as the song truly boiled around the room. Dainty sang his guts out, and Honey Drop was a lot heavier on the cymbals and the toms than he usually did in rehearsals. By the time the song ended, the band was actually a little tired physically, but also satisfied.

Dainty got up from his piano and took the microphone at the center again, and the show rolled along. He kept doing bits of banter in between the songs, often reminding the audience of the importance of The Town Troop and its members. He noticed the band members sometimes did bits of improvisation that they didn’t often do. Hard Fiber’s guitar lines were often more colourful than usual, and Honey Drop’s drum fills sometimes shocked Dainty in their complexity.

When he realised, the band was reaching the final four songs of the set. In his mind, it felt like only about fifteen minutes had gone by. Time had flown before his eyes.

He went to the piano, for Twenty Nine, and started improvising again.

“Before the next song, I wanted to tell you a story,” he said. “It’s a story about a pony, who, by the power of coincidence, came across a band. A band he had never heard of before. He had to go all the way to Manehattan to listen to them, to find their records. And, once he found the records, and put them to play, he was… entranced. Hypnotised. By the power of those sounds, those melodies, those words, those rhythms, his world… had changed.”

He glanced at the audience, to make sure they were following him.

“The band was a part of his life. But just listening… wasn’t enough. He had to do more than that. He had to… start a band.” He played a little flourish on the piano. “I guess you can tell by now that the pony is me. And, sometimes I think, you could come up to me and ask, why start a band? What reason do you have to do all this, go to this length, just because of some band? And the answer is… that I don’t really need a reason. The music just moves me to do this. Music has power over me, and… and I don’t know what I could do without it. Music is an extension of me, it’s my reason for being in this world.”

He played a few more chords, and Steel Strings noticed he was slowly preparing the next song.

“The pony who introduced The Town Troop to me is Mr. Steel Strings, right here,” he said, pointing to him. Steel briefly bowed while the audience applauded. “And, when I was in Manehattan, the first song from the first record that I found was exactly this song. It’s a very special song to me, and it’s called Twenty Nine.”

Dainty held on to a dominant chord, and signalled Honey to do the count in, and the chord led straight into the song itself. He couldn’t help but smile to himself as he heard Honey play the rhythm perfectly, a rhythm that had given him so much trouble a while back. For an instant, he was transported back to that hotel room, where he sat in front of the record player, and the sound of that song blew his mind. And now, he was on that stage, and the music was happening around him.

He opened his mouth and sang. His voice wavered. He was almost moved to tears. He took a deep breath and focused himself on the second line, and he went all the way to the end. The song changed key, Honey did his drum roll, and the sound blasted off into the lightning fast ending. The band gave everything they had, and the music was unstoppable. Dainty improvised some vocalisations, and the music kept going and going, until Dainty felt it was enough and gestured for them to wrap it up with a final, rolling chord.

He went back to the center mic for the song Theorem, and he definitely could see the ponies moving in their seats, rocking their bodies and bobbing their heads. They were fully enjoying it, and Dainty actually felt a little sad that they were so close to the end. In the next song, Waiting for Me, Dainty actually kept hoping that the instrumental ending would never end. He didn’t want that energy to fade away.

As the applause started to quiet down, he approached the mic again. “And so, this is our final song. This is also a special song, because it is how I got to know the band in the first place, so it will always occupy a special place in my heart. I’d like to thank each and every one of you for coming here tonight, the Ponyville Theater management and staff for making all of this possible, Sharp Focus for taking our pictures and making our posters, and, of course, to Shimmering Chord, Rocky Rumble, Cymbal Crash and Deep Voice, who wrote all these beautiful songs you heard tonight. This one’s called Lost Time.”

Hard Fiber played the initial arpeggios, and the band launched into their final song. Dainty sang his heart out, and he couldn’t help but remember all their rehearsals, all the work they put into the music, all the troubles they went through to make it possible. He put it all into the song, and, by the time the final note rang out, he was panting.

The applause filled the room. Dainty’s heart skipped a beat.

The band watched as the ponies before them cheered, waved handkerchiefs and whistled. Dainty smiled from ear to ear, and called the band to stand next to him.

“Steel Strings on acoustic guitar! Hard Fiber on electric guitar! River Mouth on bass guitar! Honey Drop on drums! And me, Dainty Tunes, on vocals and piano! We are the Ponyville Rag, thank you very much!”

They bowed as the applause swelled. Dainty felt like he could stand there forever, but, eventually, the band exited the stage, and stood to the side as the applause roared on.

“Guys, this was incredible!” Honey Drop said, almost jumping up. “Just listen to them!”

“Actually, I think they’re asking for an encore,” River Mouth said, paying attention to the sounds.

Hard Fiber’s eyes went wide. “Oh, dang! We didn’t prepare an encore, did we?”

Dainty made an embarrassed face. “I… completely forgot about that.”

“Well, we can’t leave them waiting, guys,” Steel Strings said. “Maybe we’ll just repeat one of the songs.”

“Hold on,” Dainty said, his mind struck by an idea. “Uh, are you okay with me going there and doing a song on my own? I know we hadn’t agreed on this before, but I think it will solve the problem.”

The other four exchanged glances, and turned to give an approving look to Dainty.

“Sure, go ahead,” River said.

“Okay!” he replied, and trotted back to the stage.

He walked towards the piano, as the applause swelled. Just as he sat, the clapping started to cease, and he started playing some notes, apparently improvised. Gradually, it turned into an actual song. Steel Strings recognised it: it was For Now, and he knew Dainty loved the song. He just played the harmony for a while, and, when he opened his mouth to sing, his voice was tender, sweet, gentle. Steel couldn’t hold back the tears. River Mouth patted his shoulder, with a smile.

Dainty led the song towards a warm, heartfelt ending, and let the final chord ring out peacefully. The audience applauded again, and he got up from his bench, gesturing for the band to join him on stage.

They stood before the audience again and bowed.

“I think they want another one, Dainty,” River Mouth said.

“Guys, why don't we play the Ponyville Rag song we made up here during my audition?” Honey Drop said.

Dainty frowned. “Really? That was just a silly thing we improvised, Honey, it’s not a real song.”

“No, let’s do it!” Hard Fiber said. “It will be fun!”

“Well, I’m gonna side with them, Dainty,” Steel said, mischievously. “We’re the majority.”

Dainty smirked at him. “Okay, okay, let’s do it.”

They quickly rushed back to their instruments, and Dainty sat before the piano. They made some arrangements, and Dainty asked River to start with the bass line. Honey Drop joined on the hi hat, as he had originally done.

“You know,” Dainty said on the mic, “our drummer Honey Drop joined the band right here, on this very stage. He attended our audition, and, since we had time, we started to play some stuff, just… improvising a little beat. And it went just like that.”

Steel Strings played his guitar chords, and Honey started playing the snare drum as well.

“And as we kept going, our improvisation started to turn into a little song, if you could believe it.”

Hard Fiber started doing his guitar licks, and Dainty joined on the piano. Honey Drop then started to play the full beat, and Dainty smiled to himself, wondering what he would sing.

“And then, when the song was going like this, I just started to sing some stuff that came to my head. Sort of like this:”

We are singing this little song
Just me and my band
Yes,we’re singing this little song
Just-a me and my band!

Honey Drop smiled as he played, and kept glancing at his bandmates, noticing how much they were enjoying it.

And we’re here in Ponyville Theater
We did a show tonight!
And we have this wonderful audience
We all love you, alright!

The audience cheered a little, and Dainty chuckled.

“You know I gotta stroke the ego of our fans a little, you know?” he quipped.

And we’ve played some songs tonight
For all you ponies to see
And we hope we can do this again
This is the place to be!

Dainty made a gesture for the band to increase the intensity.

And we thank you for this wonderful time
And I don’t mean to brag, but
Look at us, listen to us,
We’re the Ponyville Rag!

As Dainty started to repeat the final lines, the band joined him on their microphones, and the chant slowly grew.

“Sing along, everypony!” Dainty said, and heard as some ponies in the audience responded.

He took his hooves off the piano and started to clap them, encouraging the audience to clap along and sing along. After just a few repeats, most of the audience was singing:

Look at us, listen to us,
We’re the Ponyville Rag!

“You’re all the Ponyville Rag! Come on!”

Dainty returned to the keyboard, and started to exchange some improvised lines with Hard Fiber, who walked next to the piano while the audience kept chanting and clapping. Honey Drop had no microphone for him, but he chanted along anyway.

The music went on, until Dainty finally announced “one more time!” The audience chanted the line, and Dainty raised his hoof for the band to stop:

We’re the Ponyville Rag!

Before Dainty could signal the final chord, Honey Drop played a long, complicated drum fill, and then held his drumsticks above his head. They crashed into the final chord, letting it roll on and on, as the audience cheered. Dainty played a wild glissando on the piano, and the music was over.

The band went back to the edge of the stage, where they received their applause and bowed. As they left the stage, they noticed the audience was satisfied, and started to get off their seats. The show was over, and Dainty’s whole body seemed taken over by electricity.

They hung around backstage, as the manager approached to congratulate them.

“Wonderful job, ponies!” he said, with enthusiasm. “Wonderful! The audience loved it! Congratulations, it was a splendid show.”

“We sure loved doing it too!” Honey Drop said, barely able to contain his excitement. “It was awesome.”

“Yes, it was. Thank you very kindly for giving us this opportunity,” Dainty said.

“It was an honour! We should do this again, in fact! We can arrange some further dates later on, if you wish. But now, I’ll let the other ponies come and greet you.”

“Oh, nice!” Steel said. “I think my parents might wanna say hi to me.”

The manager turned away, and, indeed, Steel Strings saw his parents approaching.

“Hi, mom! Dad!” he said, with a burst of joy Dainty had never seen from him. “I’m glad you came!”

“Oh, of course we came!” his mother said. She had a light brown coat and a dark, short mane. His father had a graying, slightly curly mane and a light purple coat. “We wouldn’t miss this for anything.”

“That was very good, son,” the father said. “We’re proud of you.”

“Aw, thanks, you’re always so kind,” Steel said, turning around to the band. “Here, let me introduce you to the others! This is Dainty Tunes, the pony who got all of us together.”

“Good evening to you,” Dainty said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you two!”

“It’s a pleasure for us too, Mr. Tunes,” the mother said.

Steel went on introducing the others, and Dainty spotted Honey Drop’s parents arriving.

“Mom! Dad! Come here!” Honey said, after he had greeted Steel’s parents. “Thanks for coming here! I’m super happy!”

“We noticed, son,” his father said. “You were very good.”

“Yes, maybe the music was too loud, but you did very fine, Honey Drop,” the mother said.

“Mom, dad, thank you so much for believing in me. This has been the best day of my life, and I’m thankful that you let this happen!”

“That’s nice to hear, son,” the father said. “You proved that you can keep up with your responsibilities while still being a musician. We fully approve if you want to carry on with this.”

“Oh, of course I want to!” Honey replied eagerly. “I mean, I already wanna do this again!”

Dainty smiled to himself as he heard the conversation, and then he noticed Hard Fiber’s family coming up.

“Mom! Dad! Macramé!” Fiber celebrated. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

“I’m so happy for you, son!” his mother said, quite moved. “It was beautiful. You were wonderful.”

“Aw, thanks, mom,” he said, sheepishly. “What about you, buddy?” he said, lowering his head to meet his brother’s eyes. “Did you enjoy it?”

“I’ve never seen him so calm, son,” his father said. “He couldn’t take his eyes off the stage. I think he has never been this happy.”

Dainty noticed Fiber was touched by this, and gave a heartfelt smile.

“I’m glad you were here to see me, you hear, brother?” Fiber said, patting him gently on the head. “I love you, buddy.”

Dainty turned to the side and noticed Sharp Focus walking towards them.

“Hey, folks, great show!” he said, with his slightly timid smile. “It was pretty amazing.”

“It’s cool to see you here, Focus!” Hard Fiber said. “Thanks for coming!”

“Ah, as if I’d miss this!” Focus replied.

“But it’s really nice to see you here,” Steel said. “We’re also thankful for the work you did for us. You sure played a part in the theater being so full tonight.”

“I guess that’s true,” he replied. “I’m proud of my work, but I’m also proud of you. I guess we make a pretty good team!” He giggled.

“We do, Focus, we do,” Fiber said.

Focus, then, approached Dainty and Steel. “By the way, there’s something I meant to do,” he said, while something that had been hovering behind him floated towards Dainty. “This is a gift to you. I took this on that Saturday, without you noticing, and I think it looks quite beautiful.”

Dainty held in his hoof a photo holder, with a photograph of himself and Steel, their faces gently touching. Steel’s heart almost melted.

“This is lovely, Focus! I love it,” Steel said.

“Yes, it’s beautiful,” Dainty said, quite moved. “Thank you for the gift, it’s very kind of you.”

“It’s nothing, guys,” he said, giggling. “I’m glad you liked it.”

“Can you put it away with your stuff in the dressing room, my love?” Dainty said.

“Of course, sweetheart,” Steel replied, trotting off with the photo holder in his teeth.

Sharp Focus remained around there, and Dainty noticed River Mouth chatting to a friend, who he guessed was the mare who worked in the theater. Then, two mares eagerly rushed towards Honey Drop to greet them—he remembered they were the mares he had met while putting up the posters. Then, in the distance, he spotted his workmates waving.

“Iron Bolt! Jack Hammer! You came!” he yelled, cheerfully.

“Of course, pal!” Jack Hammer said, walking close. “We wouldn’t miss your grand premiere, would we?”

“Gee, thanks, guys! I hope you had fun,” Dainty replied.

“We did, buddy,” Iron Bolt said, “and we gotta celebrate this sometime in the Bamboo Pub. What do you think?”

“Definitely!” Dainty replied, but then paused. “Well, if they want me there, that is.”

“Oh, they’ll have to,” Iron replied. “You’re a celebrity now.”

Dainty gave a mischievous smile. “Well, of course. Again, thanks for coming guys.”

“No problem!” Jack Hammer said, turning around to leave, and almost bumped into a pink pony who bounced her way backstage.

“Ooh, sorry, sorry!” she said, as her eyes darted towards the band. “Honey Drop! You were amaziiing!”

Honey looked at her. “Pinkie Pie! Thank you!”

“No, seriously, guys, it was totally amazing,” she said, with her apparently endless breath, “and everypony loved it, just like I said they would! Remember? Well, I said I hoped they’d love it, and they did! They were clapping and cheering and singing along! And it’s all because you were super incredible and your playing was even more incredible! I’m so proud of you, Honey Drop!”

Dainty almost felt his heart stop as he saw the other Elements of Harmony approaching them. Princess Twilight was right in the center, with Spike just a little behind. Pinkie made a little pause, and glanced to the side.

“Oh, and my friends are here too! They came to say hello!”

The band, taken aback, took a moment before they bowed.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle!” Dainty said, almost disbelieving his own words. “It’s… It’s such an honour to have Your Highness here tonight! I… I honestly… have no idea that you cared about watching… some rock band, you know…”

“Well, of course I care!” she replied, with a serenity that almost made him even more nervous. “You’re a new music act from our own Ponyville, having your debut in the Theatre, and it’s important for a princess to encourage the arts and culture from the townsfolk like you. Trust me, it was a pleasure for me.”

“It sure was a mighty fine show,” Applejack said, “even if the music ain’t really mah style, but it was quite a bop. Even mah employee over there seem’d ta like it.”

Dainty noticed Meteorite Shower waving and grinning in the distance. “You guys were great!” she yelled.

“It was a marvellous night, darlings!” Rarity proclaimed. “You were born for the stage! You had our eyes and ears from the first until the very last note.”

“Yes!” Fluttershy complemented. “You sounded beautiful.”

“You could have chosen a better band to cover, though!” Rainbow Dash said.

Dainty snickered.

“Rainbow Dash!” the other ponies scolded in unison.

“What? They were still good!” she defended herself.

“It’s okay, Dash, don’t worry, you don’t have to like the Town Troop,” Dainty said, gently. “I’m thankful that you spared your time to come and see us. It’s a… huge honour.”

“Eh, it was nothing,” Spike said casually. “You were cool!”

“Well, I gotta say, I wasn’t expecting to have an actual princess on our first show,” Honey said. “It’s awesome!”

“Yes, we’re delighted,” Steel Strings said. “I can barely believe it.”

“Also, before we leave, I’d like to have a word with you, River Mouth,” Twilight said, “if you have the time.”

River looked at her blankly for a moment. “Me?”

“Yes,” Twilight said, taking a step towards her, while the others gave her space. “I heard what Dainty Tunes said about your work on the lake, and I just wanted to say that you have my full support in securing the funding.”

River Mouth trembled. “S-seriously?”

“Of course, I can’t give you any guarantees, but the least I can do is use my influence to get the interest from the ponies who have wealth. After all, this is a problem that affects everypony, and we should do our best to take care of Equestria.”

“Oh… oh, dear, thank you, Princess Twilight!” she said, taking a bow. “Thank you, Your Highness! This means the world to me!”

Dainty was overhearing the conversation, and couldn’t help but feel a tinge of pride for having made that happen.

“Oh, I think those stallions over there want to talk to you!” Pinkie Pie said, “maybe? I think so!”

Dainty casually turned around, and spotted three ponies standing a few steps away.

His legs almost went limp.

The rest of the band also turned to look, and, for a moment, they weren’t sure what was going on. Honey Drop thought he recognised those faces, but he couldn’t be right. It made no sense.

For Dainty, however, it was clear as water.

“So, nice show you put on tonight,” Shimmering Chord said.

As Dainty gasped for air, Hard Fiber was the first one who dared to speak. “Are you… The Town Troop? Or part of it, at least?”

“As far as I can tell, yes,” Cymbal Crash said, with a casual smile.

“But how did you even come here?” Dainty said, almost exasperated. “I mean, on such a short notice? How did… How?”

“Well, word gets around, you know,” Shimmering Chord replied. “Since you did that gig months ago, the news just reached somepony over in Manehattan, and it eventually reached me. And, so, I reached out to the other guys. And here we are.”

“We wouldn’t wanna miss out on seeing our songs getting played live,” Rocky Rumble said, “after all this time.”

“And it was impressive to hear,” Cymbal Crash said. “You played the songs almost exactly like we used to play them. You did your homework.”

“Well, we rehearsed our flanks off!” Honey Drop said. “It had to sound good, right?”

“I have to say, Dainty Tunes,” Shimmering Chord said, “back when you met me, and asked whether you could play our songs, I figured you’d find maybe one or two other ponies to join you, and learn about half a dozen songs, just for fun. I never expected you’d put on an actual concert, with a full band. You really went all the way, the five of you. You have my congratulations.”

“I need to say this,” Dainty said, with urgency, “this show was all about you. This was done in your homage, you and Deep Voice, wherever he is right now. This would’ve never happened, I would… I would’ve never done this… I wouldn’t have a band, these guys, if it weren’t for you. Thank you. Thank you for your songs, thank you for trusting me with this… I’m… I’m endlessly thankful.”

Steel Strings put a hoof on his shoulder. “I say the same. Thank you, and Deep Voice, for everything.”

“Your songs are awesome!” Honey Drop said. “You are awesome!”

“Yes, I’m happy I joined this band,” Hard Fiber said, “and it’s all thanks to you.”

“Same thing,” River Mouth said. “You made our lives better.”

“That’s what music is all about, isn’t it?” Cymbal Crash said. “That’s why we did it.”

“You do plan on going on with the band, right?” Rocky Rumble said. “This wasn’t just a one off thing, was it?”

“No, it wasn’t!” Dainty said. “We wanna go on!”

“Yes, please do,” Shimmering Chord said. “And keep your ears perked up. You never know, someday, maybe, you’ll get an invitation to play somewhere in Manehattan… Not saying it will happen, but it might.”

Dainty’s eyes went wide. He was careful enough to not cling too hard to fleeting hopes, but that was still a surprising thing to hear. “Well, that would be amazing!”

“It sure would!” Cymbal Crash said, just before the three nodded and left.

Almost breathless, Dainty turned around to his bandmates.

“Well, after that, we’ll just have to go out and celebrate, right?” Honey Drop said.

Dainty Tunes chuckled, feeling glad that somepony lightened the mood, otherwise he’d probably burst into tears.

“Yeah,” he said. “Let’s bring our instruments to my house and do something!”

Honey Drop casually glanced at the two mares, who stood by his side. “Can they come along?”

Dainty gave him a savvy smile. “Of course they can.”

Comments

[Dashie04]

”Only Dash knows them.”

“Well, that’s good,” Dainty said.

“She said they were bad.”

Oh, come on, they’re pretty good. I really enjoyed them, I’ll have to listen to the last album or two of theirs soon.

(Yes, part of the reason I’m called ‘Dashie’ is because I can pretend that people are talking to me when they’re actually referring to Rainbow Dash as a character. I chose this in association, pretty much.)