• Published 20th Nov 2012
  • 3,377 Views, 208 Comments

The Jackelope Valley Festival - Froborr



Lunaverse story. Lyra and Raindrops go to a music festival and find themselves racing against time.

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One: Two Meetings and a Departure

The sky was clear and blue and cloudless, just as it had been yesterday and the day before and the day before that.

He did not remember as ponies remembered, or know things as ponies knew them. He could not count days or recite his knowledge to himself with an inner voice. His mind was not divided into voices chattering to one another or layers of thoughts and feelings; he was at once simpler and more unified.

But he was very very old and very very tired and it had been hot and dry and cloudless a very very long time, and in some sense he knew all these things. He knew that he was thirsty and he knew that he was tired.

He knew that soon he would die.

---

Raindrops stormed across the sunny sky and down to the ground, grumbling to herself the whole way. She slammed open the door to Berry Punch's shop and stomped over to the bar. "Cider. Hard," she said.

"It's only three in the afternoon!" objected Berry Punch. "Wouldn't you rather--"

"Cider. Hard," repeated Raindrops.

Berry Punch hastened to comply. Clearly, whatever was bothering Raindrops was worse than the usual.

Raindrops took a long pull of her cider, then sighed. "Snow," she said.

"What?" asked Berry Punch.

"Snow!" Raindrops growled. "Bucking snow! Straight out of the Everfree, and at this time of year. Do you have any idea what that would do to the crops? It's all wrong, and there's a ton of it, and where's our oh-so-responsible weather manager? Nowhere! And with half the team down with the feather flu, who does that leave to handle the entire storm? Just me and Thunderlane!"

"Sounds rough?" ventured Berry Punch.

Raindrops snorted. "Six hours of cloud-corraling in high winds, racing to get the clouds dispersed before the snow could fall on any of the fields? Yeah, I'd say it was a little rough! And then, when our fearless leader finally bothered to show up, you know what she said?"

"Uh... good job?"

Raindrops wickered bitterly. "She said she could've done it in half the time!" She thunked her head on the table. "This is officially the worst day ever, got it? If I so much as see another pony in a good mood, I'm going to go berserk!"

The door to the bar swung open and Lyra walked in, beaming from ear to ear. "This is the best day ever!" she announced.

---

My little pony, My little pony
Ahh ahh ahh ahhh...
My little pony
Friendship never meant that much to me
My little pony
But you're all here and now I can see
Stormy weather; Lots to share
A musical bond; With love and care
Teaching laughter; It's an easy feat,
And magic makes it all complete!
You have my little ponies
How'd I ever make so many true friends?

---

Lyra stared as an infuriated Raindrops hovered in front of her, nose-to-nose, the pegasus' wings beating slowly and menacingly.

"You may live, because you are my friend," said Raindrops. "But: Smile. Reason. Tell."

"Because I'm going to Jackelope Valley!" Lyra announced.

"Oh wow," said Berry Punch. "That's awesome!"

Raindrops blinked. "That... is that some kind of... thing with Bon-Bon?"

"What?" asked Lyra. "No, it's a festival! One of the biggest in Equestria! All the big names performed there early in their careers, Canter Culture, Sapphire Shores, the Trotting Stones, everypony! Even Octavia was there a couple years ago."

"Oh. A music thing." Raindrops returned to the bar and her cider. "Well, congrats."

"Aw, c'mon," said Lyra. "This is a big deal for me. Lime sodas for everypony!"

"I'll stick to cider," muttered Raindrops.

"At three in the afternoon? Are you Trixie in disguise?"

"Har-de-har," muttered Raindrops. "Look, I'm happy for you, I'm just having a lousy day..."

But Lyra was already reading her letter of invitation. "Look, it's got a list of other invited musicians--oh hey, Salt Lick is on here, Octavia's mentioned him a bunch of times. And, ooh, I've heard recordings of Ivory Tickle, his keyboarding is amazing... eh, Daughters of Discord, never been much for crystalcore--"

Raindrops snatched the letter from her hand. "Daughters of Discord? The Daughters of Discord? The ponies who did 'Spellfire' and 'Ice of the North'?"

"Uh... I guess so?"

"Tell me you get to bring guests," said Raindrops.

"Well, one--"

"Oh," said Raindrops. "So you picked Bon-Bon, of course..."

"Uh, actually," said Lyra, "Bon-Bon's got the Trottingham Chocolate Festival to get ready for, so..." So I was going to ask Cheerilee, but...

Berry muttered something darkly about making sure no Apples were in the contest, but Lyra ignored her. "I take it you're a Daughters of Discord fan?"

"You kidding? They're the best new crystalcore band in years! How could anypony not be a fan?"

Lyra glanced sideways a moment. "Well, um..." I don't think I've ever seen Raindrops this excited about something that isn't a rainstorm. I can't just leave her hanging... "Would you, uh, like to come?"

"YES!" shouted Raindrops. "I'll go pack now." She hugged Lyra, nearly crushing the lighter-framed unicorn, and rushed out of the bar.

As the door shut, Lyra weakly called after her, "Uh, we don't leave for two days..."

---

Lyra arrived at the train platform shortly after ten in the morning two days later. She'd meant to be a little earlier, but the particularly pleasant way in which Bon-Bon had woken her meant a bit of a delay. Specifically: Waffles and boysenberry syrup, some of which eventually found its way onto the waffles.

She trotted onto the Ponyville train platform, humming happily to herself. She found Raindrops already waiting for her. Lyra's own saddlebag contained her lyre, sheet music, snacks for the trip, a couple of books, and two or three outfits for performing in--more than enough for a two-week trip. Raindrops, on the other hand, seemed to have brought half of Ponyville with her, if the two bulging saddlebags hanging from her flanks were anything to go by.

"Funny, you always struck me as a light packer," said Lyra.

"Eh, I don't travel much, but normally, yeah," answered Raindrops.

"So, uh..." Lyra gestured at the saddlebags with her horn.

Raindrops actually blushed slightly, to Lyra's surprise. "Uh... I was hoping to get some autographs, so I brought my autograph book... and all three of DoD's albums... and all four singles... and my complete set of band member shot glasses... and all six posters... and both tour t-shirts... and..."

"Okay, I get the idea," said Lyra. "I haven't seen you this excited since that one rainstorm last--"

"We agreed to never speak of that day again," Raindrops growled.

"I know," Lyra said. "I was just--"

"Neeevvveeeerrrr..." Raindrops glared.

Lyra laughed weakly. Oh, this trip is going to be loads of fun. Why didn't I ask Cheerilee again? She sighed. Because Raindrops is your friend and you've never spent time alone with her, and she really wanted it, is why.

As the candy-colored train chugged into view, an irregular clatter of hoofbeats sounded and a floating mass of speakers and turntables hove into view, suspended in the glow of unicorn levitation. "Look out!" cried a voice as a subwoofer slipped out of the mass and plummeted to the ground. Lyra's horn flared, and with a grunt of effort she managed to catch the speaker just before it hit the ground.

"Sorry, sorry," muttered a sunglass-clad white pony. She settled the other equipment on the platform and shook out her wild, electric-and-dark-blue mane. "Just in time, huh?"

Lyra repressed an urge to roll her eyes. "Vinyl Scratch? Are you taking the train, too?"

"Sh'yeah," said the unicorn. "And it's DJ Pon3 when I'm working, L."

"Uh... huh..." Lyra glanced at Raindrops. Did you know about this? she mouthed.

Raindrops shook her head.

"You, uh, weren't on the list," said Lyra.

"Ah, that? Nah, I go as a techie. Set up speakers, keep 'em running with the ol' horn magic, that sorta stuff."

"Oh," said Lyra. "I guess that makes sense."

"So we're all on the same train, huh? Sweeet. Let's get this party started!"

"Uh... sure. Need any help getting loaded on the train?" Lyra asked, against her better judgment.

"Yeah, thanks," Vinyl Scratch answered, of course.

When the speakers and mixing table and other equipment Lyra didn't even recognize were all finally loaded, and the trio of ponies safely ensconced in their sleeper car aboard the 10:43 overnight to Dodge Junction, Vinyl Scratch thanked Lyra. "It's your first year, right?"

Lyra nodded, looking around the small compartment that would be their home for the next twenty-two hours. It wasn't much: three bunks, one on each of the walls that wasn't a door to the hallway, a space for their bags under each bunk, and a card table bolted to the floor in the middle of the room. "Octavia's not going now that she's got a royal appointment, and she recommended me to take her place."

"Sweet. Connections are awesome in this business." Vinyl sprawled across one of the bunks. "It's my third. Too bad the turnout's so low this year."

"What do you mean?" asked Raindrops, still engaged in trying to force her second bag into the space under her bunk.

"Well, there were almost twice as many acts last year. Not a lot of ponies signed up this time around, because--"

"Maybe," Lyra said thoughtfully, "we should wait until after midday to talk about it?" Outside the windows, the Ponyville train platform began to slide toward the back of the train as its engine started chugging.

"Talk about what?" Raindrops insisted.

Vinyl Scratch grinned. "You mean you agreed to come without anypony telling you about it?"

"Seriously," said Lyra, "I really think we should leave it for a couple of hours--"

"And I think I should know about it," Raindrops said. "Especially if it's a reason not to go."

"Fine!" said Lyra. "It's because of Corona's curse."