//------------------------------// // Chapter 07 - Ponying Up and a Guitar Lesson // Story: Heart of a Nobody // by OuijaSilverstar //------------------------------// (Luxerk POV) No flashback this time; strange. I slowly rose from the imprint in the bed and got to my feet. I yawned loudly, sulking out of the bedroom into the rest of the house. I could hear distant voices in the house, assuming those belong to Celestia and Luna. I quietly made my way into the dining room where the two colorful principals were nursing their breakfast. “Oh, Luxerk,” Luna exclaimed, “I would’ve made breakfast for you if you were awake; sorry about that.” “It’s alright,” I reassured, “Do you know where I could find the girls? I didn’t have the chance to thank them for watching over me while I was asleep.” “On Sundays, there are student clubs that meet at the school,” Celestia explained, “If you’re going there, let us take you to the school so we can enroll you.” “Aren’t you at least going to have some cereal or something?” Luna asked. “It’s alright, but thank you for the offering.” “You must be starving from that coma.” “Nobodies don’t seek nourishment from human food.” “Then what do you find to keep you alive?” (I could tell her about the green orbs that pop out of Heartless and lesser Nobodies, but I think that would be a ridiculous reason.) “We just simply exist, but eating that food does have some kind of a healing aspect. For example, can you hand me some bacon?” Luna handed me about three strips of bacon. I pulled back my coat sleeve to show the skin of my arm. I took the knife from the table and slashed it, making the two women cringe. I ate the bacon and the wound closed like I never slashed myself. “If only humans had that same ability to your kind,” Luna said, enviously. “I’m done, are you sister?” Celestia asked. “Yes. Let’s go.” I followed them both outside into the crisp Autumn morning towards the school. In Celestia’s office, I sat from across her desk while she was processing my forms with a device they called a ‘fax machine.’ “Considering that you’re from another world,” Celestia began, “We’ll have to create a facade for you.” “Can’t we just keep up with the old facade that I appear to be from another country?” “That works too.” “Hey, Principal Celestia; is it possible for me to explore the school while this paperwork is being processed?” “Before you do so, have this map of the school,” she said, handing me a folded pamphlet. Obtained Map Shows the area of Canterlot High School. I retraced my steps back to the main entrance to retake in my surroundings. The main hall was surrounded by 4 flights of stairs, each led to other hallways that held classrooms of certain subjects. From what I saw on the map, two of those flights connect to the other two. The building had 4 wings. North Wing held the Gym, Cafeteria, Shop classes and the music classroom. The Central wing is where the Administration office is. West Wing holds math and variations of science. East Wing holds, Language, Social Studies, Philosophy etc. From what I heard from Celestia, is that Sundays are club days for various students in and around out the school. I decided to visit the girls since I have nothing better to do and Luna mentioned that Sunset had a band. I can only assume that they’re in the music room. I jogged down the hallway towards the music room, my footsteps echoed in the empty corridor. As I got to the door, I could hear a conversation. “You, know, that’s one thing we never even dive into,” Rainbow brought up, “That is how the hell we are able to ‘Pony Up’ when we play music.” “I could run a few tests and prove a few hypotheses,” Sunset mentioned. “Yeah, but you remember what happened last time we hooked gadgets to ourselves while we played?” Applejack reminded the group, causing Sunset to sigh in disappointment. “It caused a massive explosion where we got covered in rainbow goop,” she deadpanned. “I agree with Sun,” Dash went over to Applejack, “I’m not in the mood for another ‘Rainbow Bukakke.’” “Rainbow Dash!” Rarity scolded Dash for her dirty joke. “Sounds like you got some weird science,” I added, walking through the open door. Everyone immediately turned and greeted me. “I’m relieved to see you walking,” Sunset beamed, “We were just reminiscing on my past failure.” “From the way I heard it, that experiment didn’t seem like a failure; you just managed to create a magical smoothie.” Pinkie giggled and snorted at my attempt at a joke. “Eh; joke could use some more work,” Rainbow critiqued, “You should take lessons from me!” Rarity scoffed at Dash’s offer. “I don’t think you should learn lewd humor,” Rarity mentioned, “It doesn’t sit well with most people.” “Yeah, but it’s hilarious to see some people’s reaction when I throw in a poorly-timed joke like there’s this one where it involves a priest and a-” “OKAY! Let’s move to a different topic before Dash here, goes and scars poor Lux,” Applejack suggested. “I’d like to know more about this band,” I requested. “We are the Rainbooms!” Rainbow announced enthusiastically, “We won the battle of the bands a month ago and all we do now is just brush up on our skills.” “I see,” was all I managed to say until I looked at Sunset’s guitar. “Do you girls have a spare that I can try?” “Sure,” Sunset said, handing me one. I held the fretboard with my left hand and cradled the rest with my right. Something felt off. It probably is an entirely different instrument altogether. I strummed it with a regular chord and I hit a sour note, causing all of the girls to cringe. “Sorry,” I sheepishly apologized, “I’m used to playing Sitar.” “I’m guessing this Demyx guy was the one who taught you,” Sunset rhetorically stated. I nodded. “Usually, when we got back from a mission, we’d sit on one of the couches and do a jam session.” “Here, let me show you how to play Guitar,” Sunset said, going behind me and moving my fingers to different positions, “There, now strum.” Using the pick that was in between the strings, I played a much clearer chord. “Sounds a lot more energetic than a Sitar,” I commented. “Now, instead of a basic strum, let me demonstrate you how to play properly,” Dash requested, cracking her knuckles before starting to play. She began by strumming a chord. “You got your G chord, here,” she sang in the same pitch as the note, “It’s like Pinkie’s house, this is where we start.” She strummed up a higher pitch. “Then we poke our head out with a C chord, everything is looking okay so far, maybe we go for a walk to the D chord, picking up the pace to go visit a friend’s house, then we go to an A Minor, your phone’s ringing, that friend might be sick and you can’t visit for chance of getting sick yourself, then we go to E Minor, she is definitely sick and it cancels your fun day, then we go back to Pinkie’s house.” “You sound like an unbelieveable jackass,” Applejack scowled. “And AJ comes in and we change up the tempo, telling me that my lessons make me a jackass, AJ, why are you bringing me down, girl? DON’T BRING ME DOWN!” I just sat there, tilting my head in confusion by the random hostility between the two. “Music and Lyrics by Rainbow Dash.” “I-it’s okay, Dash,” I said, putting the guitar back on the stand, “I’ll pick it up on my own.” “Eh; suit yourself.” “So, can you demonstrate to me this Pony Up magic?” “Sure; just pop a squat on the sofa, there and we’ll show you the magics!” “I’m sitting too,” Sunset said, plopping on the sofa next to me as well as Fluttershy. “You ready Lux? ‘Cause this will blow you out of your seat.” Rainbow passed a music sheet to the others, which made Applejack raise an eyebrow. “You want us to play a song from a viddia game?” she asked, skeptical. “It’s from Pinkie’s collection of RPGs; it’s something different for a change.” “Whatever.” Pinkie clicked her drumsticks together four times before they began to play. As Rainbow started a heavy riff on her guitar, goosebumps covered my entire body. After a couple of beats, Pinkie’s drums and Rarity’s keytar followed suit with Applejack being the last from hesitating. For some reason, I really liked this piece of music; it really made me want to headbang, but for the sake of looking like a dork, I refrained from doing so. As they were playing the piece of music, their hair grew longer, they sprouted ears and tails. Dash grew wings and Rarity had a horn grow out of her head. Their hair and clothes got combined with a mixture of rainbow colors, I could feel the intensity of the magic burning my retinas. After repeating the melody twice, they stopped playing and shortly changed back to normal, coloring me impressed. “What do you think?” Rainbow asked, “You don’t like it, do you?” “Don’t like it? As if! That’s pretty kickass magic.” “Your magic is pretty impressive, too,” Rainbow complimented. “That was only one ability,” I reminded her of my fight with that giant Nobody, “I have 12 others that need to reawaken over time.” “I can’t wait to see you at your fullest, then.” A random series of beeping interrupted the mood, causing Dash to immediately glance at her watch and leap off the crate she was standing on. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “I’m late for practice!” Applejack noticed Dash’s guitar was laying on the floor and growled. “She fergot to put her instrument away again,” she grimaced. “Dash plays soccer,” Sunset informed me. “What’s soccer?” “Soccer is a game where two teams try to kick a ball into another team’s goal.” “Oh, so it’s like Blitzball?” “What’s Blitzball?” “It’s much like what you said about soccer, but it’s played underwater,” “That’s crazy! Do you wear scuba gear?” “The Humans do, at least. Few don't need it, but that takes years of practice.” “I wonder if we could go to other worlds,” Rarity fantasized, “Just think the variety of fashions.” “The different foods,” Applejack chimed in. “Also the animals,” Fluttershy added. “Will you be able to take all of us to other worlds when we go on winter vacation?” Sunset asked, inching closer to me. I shook my head in regret. “I don’t have a gummi ship nor am I able to create corridors of darkness at will. If Xemnas hadn’t revoked my ability to create said path, we would be on a first class trip to Traverse Town.” “What about the rift above the statue in front of the school?” “Too dangerous. Besides; that leads to my world of origin.” “The Organization.” “During my escape, I ran into a couple of friendly humans who told me that a keyblade wielder by the name of Sora had the power to stop Xemnas. If he succeeded, then there isn’t any Nobodies for the time being. Was there any during my slumber?” “No; not since you closed that portal,” Applejack reminded me. I sighed in relief and slumped deeper into the sofa. “Then Xemnas won’t be able to hunt me down, then. If that’s the case, then all of the other Organization members are dead except for Demyx and Roxas. I hope they’re okay.” Sunset then gently pulled me into a hug, feeling an intense warmth in my chest. “It’s okay, Lux,” she reassured me, “There might be a chance they could turn up here; just don’t give up, all right?” “Yes, thanks.” She broke the hug and looked into my eyes. “I have a feeling that things in this world are about to get more interesting,” she said. “What makes you say that?” I rhetorically asked. “Just...it was feeling inside; that’s all.” A knock on the room’s door broke the moment of silence as Celestia and Luna walked into the room. “Okay, we finished the paperwork and rather quickly too,” Celestia announced. “But, sister, where will Luxerk be staying for now on?” “He could stay with me!” Sunset quickly suggested, springing up from the couch. “O-okay,” Celestia said, taken back, “We hope to see you at school tomorrow at 7:30 A.M., goodbye.” They both left the room and I looked back at a blushing Sunset. “Well well well,” Rarity cooed, “Someone likes Luxerk.” “N-no!” she protested, “I didn’t want to sit through an hour deciding where he’s staying; that’s all, I volunteer as tribute.” “That’s all? Or is there something more?” “Land sakes, Rar! Stop teasin poor Sun. If she and Lux want to stay friends, let ‘em,” Applejack bluntly said. “Oh alright, sorry Lux and Sun.” “You ready to go, Lux?” Sunset asked me, guitar case hoisted around her shoulder. I nodded. “Yeah, let’s go.” (Stop Music) I followed Sun through the town, passing a few shops along the way. We stayed quiet until I broke the silence. “So, what was that back there?” I asked. She blushed. “I didn’t want to sit through the whole ‘Who gets to say with whom’ debate,” she brutally explained, “Besides, we’re from different worlds, we be like two peas in a pod.” “What about that Twilight girl?” “She’s a princess from her world; the same I’ve been from.” “Yeah; I heard the story. Don’t feel discouraged; take it from a guy like me who spent most of his life with a bunch of misfits obsessed with everything heart-shaped.” She chuckled lightly at my joke, slightly relieved that she’s not the only one with baggage. Something out of the corner of my eye broke my concentration; something’s up. To my convenience, I noticed a trio of slightly heavyset guys dressed in all black with hoods over their heads from further down from where we are. Two were looking out for cops and the other had his foot on an end of a crowbar, trying to pry an ATM machine open. Their voices sound eerily familiar to the three nutcases I floored the other day. Wait a minute! I got up close to them, they were all focused on prying the damn thing open. I internally facepalmed at their apparent obliviousness. “How are we going to crack this?” one said, anxiously. “I think I can hear sirens.” “Will both of you just shut up!? If you can’t pry it, I can just bash it open, like that.” “You can’t just use brute force; you need to screw the sides off and then you can pry the front open,” I quietly said. My words made all of them jump away from the ATM, causing the crowbar to crunch onto the cement. “Oh, shit! It’s that monster! Run!” the middle one yelled. They sprinted through a dark alley and disappeared from my sight, leaving a confused Sunset, who was about 500 feet away from me, creeping closer. “What was that about?” she asked. “Hoops and his troops, failing at being moops,” I joked. “C’mon, Seinfeld,” she laughed, “It’s time you see your new home, for the time being.” The walk went on for about 10 more minutes until we found an entrance to a cornerstone club. My eyes grew wide at the sight. “Woah, Woah, Woah,” I said, backing away slowly, “You LIVE in a nightclub!?” “Sort of; it’s owned by Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melody. The apartment is above the club,” she pointed at the sign. “The Zodiac?” “Yeah, it’s a weird name for a weekend nightclub, but it’s the only one in the local area. They’re usually here instead of at the school.” “They sound like a couple of cool cats.” “Vinyl is very laid-back; she’ll be okay with you staying with us, but Octavia...let’s hope she’s in a forthcoming mood.” We went through the side door and up an enclosed flight of stairs to a door labeled “666.” Sunset rang the doorbell before hearing an English-accented girl speak from the other side. “Door’s open,” she said before Sunset opened the door. The apartment was similar to Pinkie’s place, but each part of the living room was divided into 4 different sections that matched each of the person’s taste of music in the house. All except 1, which was blank and colorless. Oddly specific until the two girls first see my face. “So you’re Lux, right? Nice to meetcha,” the girl with messy blue hair shook my hand, “That was something badass.” “What was?” “You last week, genius. You beat the piss out of hoops and his gang while in gauze and you cracked the skulls of those weird white rubber clowns and something about a giant key.” Her accurate description of the events that unfolded last week took me back a few feet. “Wait, how do you know this?” “Sun told me.” I furrowed my brow at the embarrassed human beside me. “Sorry, Lux,” she gingerly apologized, “But it wasn’t just me and the girls that saw those Dusks.” I noticed one girl out of the corner of my eye, tuning her Cello. I walked over and bowed. She noticed and bowed back quickly. “My name’s Octavia,” she said. “Yeah, but you can call her Tavi,” Vinyl interrupted. Ignoring her rude friend, she continued. “Yes; we saw those, Dusks, as you call them, they were looking for someone, it seemed.” “You’re looking at him,” I quietly said. She looked at me, confused. “Why would they look for someone like you?” she asked. “Let’s just say that I was apart of a cult, I left and they went looking for me.” “What kind of cult WERE you in? Those things didn’t even seem human.” “Not a good one, I’ll tell you that much. Let’s talk about something else; this topic is just putting me in a bad mood.” “Okay. What kind of music do you like?” “The only music I listened to so far was Sunset’s band performing; that’s it.” “I can play some classical music on my cello if you like.” “How about some energetic music, like my wubs?” Vinyl offered. “I’ll listen later; I need to go on a walk, clear my mind and all that. “Alright, but don’t get back too late,” Sunset requested, “You start school tomorrow.” “I know, see ya later.” As I left, I was met with goodbyes from the three girls. Now that I was by myself once more, I could have some time to think and possibly vanquish a few stray Heartless. Luxerk's Current Stats Lv. 3 HP: 30 MP: 17 STR: 9 MAG: 9 DEF: 12 Crit. %: 6 Crit. Bonus: 7 WEAPON: Starlight Keyblade ARMOR: N/A ITEM: Diary "Winner" Popsicle Stick Seashell