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Prologue 1,547 words
A second chance1,718 words
Sidetracked 1,524 words
One worried mare1,971 words
Introductions2,097 words
The party2,405 words
Explanations and plans2,247 words
You'll be fine.2,190 words
New colt in town2,344 words
Making good impressions2,645 words
Warnings, rhythm and love2,862 words
The calm before the storm2,361 words
The good news and the bad news2,446 words
Desperate times...2,771 words
Desperate measures2,824 words
Preparations 2,733 words
The beginning of the end2,512 words
The Storm2,605 words
Closing time3,342 words
Epilogue399 words

New colt in town

Chapter 8

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Isaac stood on the spot as Twilight made her way out the door towards Ponyville, his eyes wide as he thought of the recent events. He then looked back at up the stairs towards the mares' room, and took a deep sigh before thinking to himself.
"If Applejack likes me....This is gonna make things a lot more complicated..."
As he exited the house, Isaac trotted up to Twilight who now had her sights on the local tavern. Smiling back to Isaac, she decided to treat herself and have some fun.

"Feeling thirsty?"

"Hey, anything's better than another treat from Big Mac."

Isaac took confidence in his movements as he made his way into the bar with Twilight a few steps behind, the bar came as a slight shock to Isaac. instead of the usual smoke-filled, run down taverns he spent his free time at during the war, this one was vibrant, filled with smiling ponies and above all, fun. He smiled to himself for a few moments as he made his way into the bar, but something pinged in the back of his mind. He noticed a dozen of the ponies in the room were staring at him, he looked around with a quizzical look on his face before rolling his eyes and breaking the sudden lapse in volume.

"Yeah yeah, I don't have a mark yet. Deal with it." The colts immediately took the hint, returning to their drinks and conversations. Most of the mares, however, blinked for a few moments before analyzing his blank flank, as if just realizing the lack of a cutie mark for the first time. They continued to murmur as Isaac took a seat at a table with Twilight, who sheepishly raised a hoof to wave at some of the ponies. As they sat down at their table, Twilight quickly jumped into conversation after ordering their drinks.

"So, what do you think so far?"

"The bar? Or Equestria in general?"

Twilight stammered for a second before responding. "I..Uhhh, both?" Isaac couldn't help but chuckle at the situation he put the lavender unicorn in. Looking around the bar, he noticed a few of the mares still looking at him, before he made contact and they looked away while smiling.

"The bar, I am loving, but it could use some music. The last time I was in a place even remotely like this, was when my militia took a break in one of the abandoned towns. The atmosphere is great. It's fun, colorful, friendly, even if some of the mares can't take their eyes off my blank flank." Isaac said with a smile on his face, which quickly disappeared as Twilight sat there, giggling at him.

"What's so funny?"

"I don't think your lack of a cutie mark is what the girls are so interested in, Isaac." Twilight said, still laughing in her seat.

"You can't be serious...." Isaac looked over his less-than-muscular body, then back to Twilight with a quizzical look plastered on his face. "I don't even have any muscle..." He groaned as Twilight helped herself to an even bigger laugh.

"It isn't that funny....

Before Twilight's laughter could die down, Isaac took the time to gaze out of the nearby window. Scanning the trees and perfect sky, the buildings and eventually the large structure in the distance. Ignoring Twilight's taps on his shoulder, he pondered to himself, hoping Celestia could hear him.

"What do you want from me, Celestia? Why save me?"

It took Isaac a moment to bring himself back to reality, blinking as he turned to the lavender mare who was desperately trying to get his attention. "Isaac? Isaac!?"

"I...Huh? What is it?"

"I said what you didn't answer the rest of my question." Isaac noticed the mare who now looked extremely agitated, she clearly didn't like to be ignored. So Isaac decided against letting his mind wander. He opened his mouth to speak, before looking back out the window. "Everything here is....Too peaceful. Like nothing bad ever happens here. It's unwise to let your guard down like that." Twilight stood upright at the comment, immediately stepping up to reply.

"We've had our fair share of bad times and scares in our history. Multiple times in my time, but we've pushed through and got back to where we are today." Isaac seemed more than satisfied with the answer, returning to his drink. He was about to engage in further conversation if not for Twilight speaking up once more. "Hey, where did you learn to sing like that anyway?"

"Sing? I'm not a good singer, I just always sung when I felt like it. Easier than sitting in the silence I guess. I never wanted to perform in front of a crowd or a group, so I just kept to myself." The colt contemplated the multiple times he practiced in his room, writing his own songs and never letting anyone see him.

"Oh come on, you're a great singer. And don't forget, you have six mares to back you up on that." Twilight grinned as the colt shared her expression. He was about to thank her but once again, he was cut off as a purple mare approached them from behind the bar.

"Oh hey there Twilight, who's your friend?" The mares overconfident voice sounding innocent and curious as she looked over to Isaac.

"Oh hey there Berry, this is Iridescent, he's new here."

"Uh, please, call me Irrie." Isaac said calmly, feeling at ease as the mare sat between the two ponies enjoying their drinks.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Irrie, my name's Berry Punch. Now I don't normally beg but," Her voice suddenly turned to a whisper as she pulled the two unicorns' heads closer to her, "I couldn't help but notice I got about ten more customers in the five minutes you've been here. So if it's not too much trouble, it would help if you came back more often." Her voice now directed almost solely at the squeamish colt. As Isaac scanned the room, sure enough there were quite a lot more ponies (more specifically, mares) in the tavern as there were when the pair entered.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me." Isaac cursed under his breath as he ignored the mares eyeing him from across the room. Some giggling like schoolgirls to each other, some winking and turning back to their drinks. His concentration changed to the ongoing conversation between Twilight and his new friend.

"Hey Berry, did you end up finding someone to replace the DJ for Friday night?" The purple mares' smile suddenly drained as she slouched in her seat.

"Nope, Vinyl is still sick, and nopony else is able to work. And the Friday night music night is what gets me most of my bits for the week."

Isaac couldn't help but feel sorry for the distraught mare as she placed her hooves on her head. Unable to take anypony else being sad, he did the only thing he could to help. Gathering up almost all of his courage, and tossing aside his rational thought, he took the plunge.

"If you like, i'll perform for you, if you need me to." Twilight stared, wide eyed at the colt who just moments ago admitted to never performing in front of a crowd. Berry gave a more suspicious and wary look at the nervous unicorn, who seemed to regret his decision and sunk back into his chair.

"Can you sing?"

"Yes."

"Can you play an instrument?"

"Just guitar and piano..."

"Fine with me, you're hired."

"Alright, thanks any......Wait, what?"

"I....Said you're hired?"

Isaac took a moment to absorb the information and process it in his now blank mind. Before turning to Twilight, who had a similar look of surprise on her face. She shook her head and got her bearings, leaving Isaac frozen on the spot. She got the information from Berry, times, where to set up. Isaac only heard the last few words of the conversation before zipping back into reality. "So, any song is fine?" To which Berry nodded.

"As long as it isn't too foul, an easy mood night will be a welcome change to the usual style we have here."

Isaac shook Berry's hoof with a huge smile upon his face, and she then left the two unicorns to finish their drinks. Twilight kept giving sly smiles at Isaac until they left the tavern, at which point he became fed up and held a hoof on the mares shoulder, "Alright, what is it?"

"You just admitted to NEVER singing to anypony besides yourself, now all of a sudden you're eager to perform?" Twilight's smile faded into a look of curiosity as she waited for his answer. Isaac looked at the ground, before moving slightly closer to Twilight.

"All my life I have hidden, and ran away from things I should have faced. Now is my chance to restart, Besides, I want to make a good impression."

"On Fluttershy?" Twilight teased, leaving Isaac holding a hoof to his face for a moment, before setting it back down on the path and smirking.

"On everypony....But yes, Fluttershy too."

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As the pair made it back to the library, something occurred to Isaac that had passed his mind until this moment.

"Hey Twilight, please tell me you have showers here....."

"Of course we do, why?" Twilight realized how her question was so simple, her and Isaac both realizing he hasn't had a proper wash since Fluttershy cleaned him two nights ago. "Upstairs, to the right of my bedroom.", Isaac quickly hurried to the shower room, and flicked on the hot water. He let the warm water coat his body for a good ten minutes before deciding to turn off the water, realizing Twilight went out somewhere, he stepped out onto the balcony and sat down on the single chair to the side, letting the sunlight dry his coat. After a few seconds, he noticed a small group of mares walk past near the library. He decided to ignore them, until he heard a sharp whistle from below.

"Lookin' good Irrie!"

"...The hell?"

As he looked over the balcony, he saw a group of around five mares giggling to each other before continuing on their journey, a few meters behind her, he saw a familiar lavender unicorn. Unfortunately she was staring at him as if he had done something terribly wrong. "Oh god, IRRIE! PUT A TOWEL ON!!!" Deciding not to argue, he placed a towel over his back and stepped back down the stairs.

"Isaac, you can't just step outside after having a shower!"

"Why? it's not like we wear any clothes anyway..."

"That's not the point Isaac. Look, just...Put on a towel next time, okay?"

Isaac sighed jokingly before responding, "Fine...." His attention drifted from the grumpy mare to the large package she was holding with her magic. "Hey, what's in the package anyway?"

"Oh, I took the liberty of buying a suit off of Rarity, seeing as you WILL need to look good for Friday night." The mere mention of the job on Friday sent shivers down Isaac's spine, he shook off the feeling as Twilight took out the suit. A smart ,black tuxedo with a clever green bow tie to match his mane. He asked Twilight if he needed to try it on before she placed a barrier between the suit and Isaac.

"Don't worry, Rarity took the liberty of....Measuring you after you passed out." Isaac looked horrified at the thought of the mare analyzing him in his sleep.

"Hey, look at it this way. You won't have to visit Rarity and spend hours getting ready."

"Yeah, I guess....But still it's a little weird..." Twilight chuckled at the panicky colt, and looked back outside. The sunset came quickly to her and she then realized that she fell far behind on her studies with the new arrival. She said her goodbyes to Isaac and headed up to her room. Isaac looked back towards the staircase and noticed a paper and quill on the desk, he suddenly felt the need to write to the Princess. After a few minutes, he finished the letter as Spike entered the library, the small dragon struggling to reach the doorknob. As he entered Isaac eagerly made his way towards him.

"Hey Spike, could you post this for me real quick?"

"Sure Irrie, glad you're feeling better."

"Thanks, I..." His words were suddenly silenced as the baby dragon blew fire onto the note, sending it off into the distance. Isaac soon shrugged this off, not coming close to the strangest thing he had seen all week. The two residents made their way to bed after saying their good nights. As he climbed in bed, Isaac looked over to his guitar on the wall, and wondered what the next few days would bring. Closing his eyes, he felt himself drift off to sleep as darkness encased him once more.

Author's Note:

Ok guys, sorry for the crappy quality up until we meet Berry, I accidentally closed the tab before saving and it got rid of everything, so i ended up forgetting what I wrote. And this chapter feels worse than my others, due to me staying up until 12am. But, enjoy anyway.

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