//------------------------------// // A Musical Passing for a Miserable Musty Scott // Story: The EK // by Magi Tail Welkin //------------------------------// Atop the hill overlooking Huntersfield, with Ponyville just in the distance three Earth Ponies laid on the grass. One of them included lanky Earth Pony, with the walking stick beside him and a scarf in the colours of some military regiment wrapped around his neck, his coat a pale cream, and two-toned mane and tail of a dark and light shade of purple, inherited from his mother, and unfortunately viewed as effeminate by many over ponies. His name Foggy Dew, born in Ponyville, severed in the Third Regiment of Hoof and moved to Huntersfield soon after its founding, now one is its, lesser, well-to-do citizens. The other two. One with a slightly unkempt white coat, and greying three tone coloured mane and tail of different shade of brown topped off by a scraggly tie around his neck. Helmet Listener. And the other, North Sentry, an Earth Pony with a deep orange almost brown coat, and the standard cut blue mane of the Royal Guard, himself a former member of the First Regiment of Hoof. Listener spoke “Did you know old Musty Scott’s dead?” Foggy spoke “I hope they double checked, or else he’ll be back to cause more misery.” North added his two bits “Well they’ll be burying him tomorrow, so he must be reasonably convincing.”, Listener spoke again “I thought he’d live forever, you can’t imagine any kind of god wanting him.”, Foggy added “You know what he was like, he probably pushed his way in.”, North chuckled “It’s really going to test whoever does the funeral to say something nice about him.” Foggy turned to North “I believe under those circumstances they have a dispensation which allows them to lie.”, the two others nodded and they all got up and walked back into the village. As they walked Listener turned to North “Hey North, how come your Mrs has been letting you out here?” “Well, it all this walking about. Fortune likes me more fit, good for the legs she said.”, Listener chuckled “I thought the exercise she gives you is already good for the legs.” Foggy rolled his eyes “For once Listener will you take your head out of the gutter.” He then turned to North and looked smug “I always said regular exercise would give you a good and happy life.” Listener looked round “You’re one to talk, you’re a bachelor.” “And you haven’t fared much better in love. Your longest courting mare-friend ran off with a Unicorn from Baltimare.” “Well, it wouldn’t have work out. She had no capacity for handle my ferrets. “Either me or those ferrets.” She said. How am I’m supposed to be a fur trapper in Ponyville without ferrets?” “I thought ferrets were simply for rabbits.” “We’ll I’ve trained mine for more. One time we were in the Everfree Forest and they saved me by scurrying up a Timberwolf’s woodwork.” He sighed and smiled “Been quite successful, foxes, racoons and ermine, make a lot of money of the ermine.” Foggy nodded “Yes and you bet it away on the athletes.” “I’ll get a winner one day.” North turned to him “Night Light told me a friend of his at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns betted on the losers.”, Listener turned to him amazed “You can bet on the loser?” He exclaimed “All this time I’ve be throwing my money when I could have bet on the loser!” “Well, the Equestria Daily doesn’t have a form for the losers, I think you’ve got to get one on your own.” Foggy blinked “The father of Princess Twilight Sparkle, the former student of Princess Celestia, knew some-pony who bets?” “Only on the side as a possible way to pay of his School fees, Night Light doesn’t know if he won a lot.”, Listener nudged him “But he did win money?”, North nodded, he then spoke “Speaking of Night Light, he and his wife Twilight Velvet have coming down to have a look around, Fortune’s going to show them. And I know Cipher and Fluttershy are staying the weekend here too.” Foggy grinned “Oh, well that sound nice, I hope you’ll introduce me of course.” “Don’t worry Foggy, I’ll do that.” As they entered the village North looked to his friend “Do you think we should go to the funeral?” “Why,” Foggy said “he’s not going to come to ours.”, Listener nodded “Typical Musty, anti-social to the end.” He looked up and frowned “Hey up,” he pointed. A little further up the road a male Earth Pony with a white coat, and bright orange and almost Pinkie Pie levels of curly hair, with light orange highlights, jumped and skipped about. His cutie mark resembled a musical note but with an X for the note head instead of the oval. Listener raised an eyebrow “Who’s the barmpot?” Foggy sighed “That’s Billy Ignoble.” “Billy?” North raised an eyebrow “Is he related to Billy Shoepack?”, both turned to him and North scratched below his ear “Some-pony Flash and Princess Twilight came across while in Bridle City Port, this Billy seems to partly resemble him. Anyway Foggy, how do you know him?” “Well, in a village this small every-pony knows each other. He came into town a few years ago, claiming to be a pianist, and he did have skills with this musical introduction, I arranged to have a concert held for him, but it turned out he could actually play, he trained himself to do the introduction, everything else he’d be terrible at.” North frowned “How did you get out of that then?” “I came up with this plan. Billy pretended to faint on stage and I helped him backstage and pretended to take him to Ponyville General Hospital, he laid low for a little while, but he came back soon after he saying he decided against the piano.” He glanced back at the skipping Earth Pony “But I’ve never seen him like this.” They approached gingerly and Listener spoke “I’ve seen this before, you’re not supposed to scratch it, but it gets unbearable.” Billy looked up with a wide grin and called over “Hello Foggy, and who are these two?”, Foggy made the introduction, and Billy looked to North “Sentry? As in…”, North help up his hoof “I’ve been getting that a lot recently, yes, I’m the father of Captain Flash Sentry.” Billy smiled “Well, come and look at this, you’re going to love it!” North whispered to his friend “If he’s going to show us his rash I don’t wish to love it.” Billy looked offended “I haven’t got a rash. Are you going to come and have a look at this, or aren’t you?” North spoke again “I once had a nasty experience following an invitation like that.” But they followed Billy anyway. They turned onto a back street and bucked under a filled washing line to Billy’s home. Sitting in his yard, a bright yellow cart with red wheels, covered in a tarpaulin. Billy smiled “This is one off.” And he trotted over the cart, and pulled the tarpaulin off, showing the fine red patterns on the side of the cart. The tarp felling onto him, Billy started flailing about under it. Finally, the pulled himself out and looked up proudly at the cart “Here she is, something rare she is.” Foggy sniffed “A prehistoric cart. Billy Ignoble has found a fossil.” North looked bored “This is really exciting. I bet old Musty Scott’s having more fun than this.” Listener stepped closer to the cart but turned back at North’s comment “I bet he’s a better colour.” Billy fumed and walk around to the front of the cart “Wait till you here why this one’s different.” He climbed onto a seat with a vertical steam boiler with dull cooper piper, gauges and levers “Get ready for this.”, he pulled a lever and the hissing of steam and the pumping of pistons sounded. Foggy chuckled “Oh, a steam engine, to think we could have missed this.” “Not the boiler,” Billy said put his hoof to another lever “this.” He pushed it. A pair of doors on the side on the cart opened revealing thirty-two steam whistle of different sizes, a couple of drums, a cymbal and a glockenspiel, then music started playing. But some of the whistles being lose just hissed, and some of the whistles head, the bells, seem lose as well, some screwed out of place and thus made the notes off-key, others play fine and gave a vague melody. The trio held their ears at the volume and the off-note whistles. Billy got down and smiled “How about that then? A travelling fairground organ! And she’s mine, all mine!”, then the pressure of the steam started going down and it went silent “Oh well, I’m an honest stallion, she needs a touch of work. But I’ve got a huge selection of music rolls, so I don’t need to play it, just keep her steamed up and in working order.” The trio looked at each other. North spoke “I wonder where Night Light and Twilight Velvet, Cipher and Fluttershy are?” In the village square, Night Light and Cipher sat on a bench. Night smoked a pipe and Cipher read a book Fluttershy gave him. He glanced the white café seeing a group of mares inside sat around a table with cups of tea. Velvet and Fluttershy included. The regular mares included Ivy, the café owner. Mrs Thunder, the oldest of them and her daughter White Wonder. Light-Honour Batty, Listener’s next door neighbour. And Fortune Sentry. Twilight Velvet sat next to her. Fluttershy sat next to White. Mrs Thunder spoke “Apparently, Billy Ignoble went over two-hundred miles to buy an old cart full of a fairground organ.” Ivy shook her head “The things they do collect.” “Um,” Fluttershy meekly asked keeping her tea closet to her mouth and keeping her head within her mane “who’s Billy Ignoble?”, Twilight Velvet nodded as well. They explained about him and Mrs Batty shook her head “Ponyville seems to attract the dangerous, Huntersfield attracts the stupid,” he turned to Fortune “I can’t believe your North is friends with both Helmet Listener and Foggy Dew.” Ivy nodded “Come to that I didn’t know Foggy Dew was friend with Listener.” Fortune shrugged “They were school friend. Went their separate ways, Foggy volunteered for the Royal Guard, North was called up for training and Listener stayed in Ponyville fur trapping.” Batty nodded “And all of them remained daft in one way or another.” She turned to Mrs Thunder “Does this fairground organ work?” Mrs Thunder shrugged and said, “I expect so.” Ivy looked to Batty “Not wanting to pry, but, are you thinking what I’ve thinking.” “Well,” Batty said “I was thinking it could be useful for our charity event at the Everfree Fair, it could draw us a crowd.” “Oh my,” Fluttershy said putting her tea down “I’d forgotten about the fair.” Fortune frowned “I still not quite what the fair’s all about.”, Twilight Velvet answer “Princess Celestia never got around to make the official decree about the Everfree Kingdom on Ponyville Day, because every-pony just want the band to keep playing. So, Pinkie Pie is arranging the fair so the official decree can be read out.” Batty smiled “They were a good band; your Flash and young Cipher were the best players.” She looked to Fluttershy “And you have a very lovely singing voice Fluttershy.”, the others nodded. Fluttershy blushed and smiled “Thank you, if it hadn’t been for Rarity and Cipher I don’t think I could have sang.” Batty turned back to Mrs Thunder “Do you think he’ll be willing to take it to the fair? Or shall we have to make him an offer he can’t refuse.” Fluttershy squeaked and shook her head frantically. Thunder, Ivy and Batty looked at each other then turned to her, Ivy spoke “You’ve got a lot to learn young lady.”, Batty nodded “You’ve got to be forceful to get them to do things, my Wally just wanted to spend all day with his racing pigeons, cutie mark in it or not I wasn’t going to clean up the bird muck, they were his reasonability.” Mrs Thunder turned back to Batty “Billy will be willing alright. He’s like all stallions, pining to show it off somewhere.” Batty nodded and turned to Ivy “We’ll have to listen to that organ first, see if it works before we get him involved.”, Ivy nodded. The café door opened and Cipher walked in “Sorry, ladies it’s just myself and Night Light would a cup ourselves.” Ivy got up and poured two cups “There,” she gave them over “give the cups back when you’re finished.”, Cipher nodded and took the cups in his magic and left. When the door shut Fluttershy sighed and looked to Ivy “Do you really have to keep them outside the café?” Every mare apart from Velvet stared at her, Ivy looked offended “Of course, this is lady talk. We can’t allow stallions to pry into a lady’s conversation.” She turned to White Wonder “Tell her about that time your husband Sharp was repairing the shelves on the counter.” White sighed and put her tea down, she opened her mouth but then Batty spoke “We were talking about a local couple, he took her on holiday three times a year.” “Yes, thank you Mrs Batty,” White said, “I would like to tell the story myself.” She turned back to Fluttershy. Then Ivy spoke “He took her skiing that year.”, White rolled her eyes and drank her tea. Thunder spoke “Well White.” “Well what Mother? I’ve yet to have a word in about my own husband.” Fluttershy smiled and put her hoof on White’s “I’ve had that before.” She turned to the others “And if any-pony interrupts White again then I will go and sit with Cipher.” The table went silent. White smiled “Thanks Fluttershy. About Sharp, he was under the counter with a drill and just before Ivy told us about the places he took her, the couple remember, we caught him with his head above the counter and his ear turned towards us. When we asked, he said he wasn’t really listening, just that his ear was in the general directions.”, the others shook their heads. Twilight Velvet spoke next “I’ll luck to have remember an honest and quiet stallion like Night.” She turned to Fortune “What about you dear?” “Well,” Fortune said slyly “North’s not one to lie, he just doesn’t have the imagination, he’s better with his hooves than with his mind.” White tilted her head “What’s he good at with his hooves.”, Mrs Thunder quickly turned to her and snapped “Drink your tea.”, White rolled her eyes with a sigh and took her cup. After taking a sip she returned to Fluttershy “We then moved away from the counter and talked about the placed he’d taken her, then Ivy mentioned the skiing, and when went on a tangent about how much the mare spend in the hairdressers.” Batty shook her head “I’ve said it before, show me an expressive mane-style and I’ll show you a mare who’s no better than she should be.” Fluttershy spoke up and softly said “My little brother Zephyr is a Mane Therapist.”, they all turned to her and Batty frowned “Mane Therapy?” Ivy nodded “What the blood and stomach pills is that?” “Well, there’s so much that can ruin a mane, so a Mane Therapist is some-pony who gives treatments, part of it included styling,” she rolled her eyes “you would not believe what it took to convince Zephyr he could actually do it. He acts nothing me and my parents but deep down he can be as timid as the rest of us.” A smiled grin appeared on her face and she sighed “He’s also got this big crush on Rainbow Dash, not matter how many times me and Rainbow tell him it’s not true he just believes we’re playing with him.” Batty nodded “I’ve seen that before, sometimes they just won’t listen.”, Fluttershy nodded “Even my parents started believing it, until I told them it isn’t.” Fortune blinked “Even your mother?”, Fluttershy nodded then sighed “How am I going to explain Cipher to them.” The others blinked and looked out the window. Cipher sat on the bench taking a sip of his tea, cup held in his magic and turned the page of his book. His eyes glanced to the café window, he flinched at the manes staring at him and he dug his face deeper into the book. The mares turned back to Fluttershy and Ivy spoke up “Are you and him?” Fluttershy hide inside her mane “Not exactly, we aren’t officially colt and mare-friend, we just spend a lot of time together.” She turned to White “You were saying about your husband?” “Oh yes, after we talked about her splashing out at the hairdressers Ivy noticed movement behind the bag with Sharp’s tool, I moved them and there he was with his ears pointed at us. We started to argue about it and then Foggy Dew came in, he asked and Sharp said he wasn’t eavesdropping, Mr Dew then asked what he’d learnt and Sharp told him about the skiing.” She fumed “I had to push him straight into the kitchen and get him to do the shelves in there.” Cipher came in shuffled passed and put the cups back in, then he quickly left. Ivy got up and looked at the cup “Well, I’ll say one thing about him, he likes tea.” Batty looked at the door “Very quiet.” “Oh,” Fluttershy said “he doesn’t like being looked at like he’s guilty of something. He is a Changeling after all.” She sighed “That’s what worries me about introducing him to Mom and Dad, I’m sure they’ll accept him, but will they like him, and how will Cloudsdale react to a Changeling?” Mrs Thunder spoke up “Can’t he just disguise himself as some-pony else?” Fluttershy bit her lip “Yes, but he doesn’t like doing that.” Fortune spoke up “Isn’t your dad retired? And you mother always been the stay at home type?”, Fluttershy nodded, Fortune continued “Why don’t you invite them to your cottage and introduce him there?”, Fluttershy blinked “I hadn’t thought of that, it could work.” Twilight Velvet pulled out her pocket watch “Oh dear, is that the time?” She turned to Fortune “We’re not going to have another time to explore the village if we stay any longer.” Fortune nodded and she, Velvet and Fluttershy got up. Velvet looked to the other mare “It been very nice meeting you all, I hope we can do this again sometime.”, Fluttershy nodded and turned to Ivy “Yes and the tea was very nice.” After they left Ivy and Batty stood up, Ivy turned to Thunder and White “We’re going to talk with Billy Ignoble.” White nodded “I should get home in time for Sharp to arrive.”, Mrs Thunder finished her tea. Billy, dressed in overalls, stood next to the organ as it discordantly played, he turned to the two mares “When I’ve finished it won’t look like this. When I’ve finished, it’ll look great.” Batty asked “How long will that be?” “You won’t recognise it in a week.” The mares looked at each other and exclaimed “A week?” “What have you got in mind?” Billy asked, “Now if I pushed I, really pushed it, I could do it in about four days.” “Four days?” they repeated with the same tone as before. Billy looked at before of them “What’s the hurry?” “I’ll tell you what’s the hurry.” Ivy said, “We need it tomorrow afternoon.” Billy’s eyes widened “Tomorrow afternoon?” The mares smiled and nodded “Good.” They said together and Batty continued “That’s settled.” She pointed to the organ “Now get it to play something more recognisable.” Billy frowned “Have you got anymore suggestion?” “Yes,” Batty said “we suggest you should stop chatting with us and get a move on, we need it tomorrow afternoon.” And they walked off. Billy turned to the pipes and gulped ‘I guess the painting can wait. Let’s get those pipes sorted out.’ Next day, about lunchtime, Foggy, North and Listener sat outside a pub having a drink of cider. Listener almost took his entire pint down in one go. Foggy watched him put the tankard down “Don’t overdo it.” Listener frown “Listener you long prong I’m thirsty, all this walking drains you.” “All this walking? When I was in the Third Regiment of Hoof we’d have speed marching, marching at a running pace, each unit would compete to see who could get the further in the shortest time. My group once went sixty-three miles in nineteen hours. And we did it with all our kit, they mentally equipped us to do anything. It was the Third Hoof that invented the assault course.” North put his cider down “Instead of arguing let’s have another round.” “Can we join you?” said a voice, the trio looked around and they saw Cipher and Night Light walking up. Night Light spoke “Fortune is showing Velvet and Fluttershy something private, not sure what but I know not to pry into a lady’s business.” Listener hissed “Bad move Night, you don’t know what they’ll be up to, one of my mare-friends went off with a Unicorn for Baltimare.” North looked to Foggy “Well Foggy you wanted to meet him, so let me introduce Night Light. Night this is Foggy Dew.”, Night smiled and offered his hoof “North’s told me about you.” “Oh really?” Foggy took Night’s hoof and they shook “I hope he hasn’t been say bad things.” “Oh no, what he’s said has been very interesting.” A throat cleared. Foggy looked to Cipher. North spoke again “Foggy this is Cipher, he’s the current Post-stallion for Ponyville.” “Yes,” Foggy said with a neutral face “I remember seeing you on the Mail Coach.” Cipher frowned and nodded “I know, I know. I’m a Changeling. I’ve been getting that a bit today. I thought it best to be in the company of ponies who know me.” North smiled “I know what will cheer you up Cipher, some music. There’s DJ equipment setup inside.”, Foggy nodded “The Landlord’s got nothing booked this afternoon I’ll be able to convince him for us to use it.” Cipher gulped “Me sing in a pub?”, he’d only ever sung to himself or in his dreams, “I’m fine playing the tuba, it’s not my voice.” “Oh, come on.” North said, “We’re just having fun.”, Cipher across the table seeing the encouraging faces “Alright.” Inside the Landlord agreed, Cipher didn’t want to go first so Listener went up first. “There I was, digging this hole… Hole in the ground… So, big and sort of round it was… And there was I digging it deep… It was flat at the bottom, and the sides were step… When along comes this bloke in a bowler, which he lifted and scratched his head… Oh, he looked down the hole, poor demented soul and he said… “Don’t dig it there… Dig it elsewhere… You’re digging it round and it ought to be square… The shape of it’s wrong… It’s much too long… And you can’t put a hole where a hole don’t belong… “Well, there I was stood my hole… Shovelling earth… For all that I was worth I was… And there was him, standing up there… So, grand and official with his noise in the air… So, I gave him a look sort of sideways and I leaned on my shovel inside… Oh, brush of the dirt… Tucked in my shirt and replied… “I just couldn’t bear… To did it elsewhere… I’m digging it round as I don’t want it square… And if you disagree it don’t bother me… That’s the place where the hole’s going to be… “So, there we were, discussing this hole… Hole in the ground… So, big and sort of round it was… But it’s not there now… The ground’s all flat… And beneath it is the bloke, in the bowler hat… And that’s that.” Foggy stood up next and glared at Listener as he took his place, he took a breath and started his song “If I ruled the world… Every day would be the first day of spring… Every heart would have a new song to sing… And we’d sing of the joy every morning would bring… If I ruled the world…” Listener cut in “Hey Foggy, better be careful what you sing or you could find yourself in trouble.” He laughed. Foggy fumed “If the audience going to be like that then I won’t waste my talents.” He walked back to his seat. Cipher got a couple of nodded and he gulped. At the microphone, he spoke “This is just a small nonsense song I created while growing up and hearing things from older Changelings in the hive.” He cleared his throat “Round… Like a circle in a spiral… Like a wheel within a wheel… Never ending or beginning… On an ever-spinning reel… Like a snowball down a mountain… Or a carnival balloon… Like a carousel that’s turning… Running rings around the moon… Like a clock whose arms are sweeping… Past the minutes of its face… And the world is like an apple… Whirling silently in space… Like the circles that you find… In the windmills of your mind… “Like a tunnel that you follow… To a tunnel of its own… Down a hollow to a cavern… Where the sun has never shown… Like a door that keeps revolving… In a half forget dream… Or the ripple from a pebble… Some-pony tosses in a stream… Like a clock whose arms are sweeping… Past the minutes of its face… And the world is like an apple… Whirling silently in space… Like the circles that you find… In the windmills of your mind… “Keys that jiggle in your pocket… Words that jangle in your head… Why did summer go so quickly… Was it something that you said? Lovers walk along the shore… And leave their hoof-prints in the sand… Is the sound of distant drumming just the fingers of you hand? Pictures hanging in a hallway… And a fragment of this song… Half remembered names and faces… But to whom do they belong? When you knew that it was over… You suddenly aware… That the autumn leaves were turning… To the colour of her hair… “Like a circle in a spiral… Like a wheel within a wheel… Never ending or beginning… On an ever-spinning reel… As the images unwind… Like the circle that you find… In the windmills of your mind…” Night and North looked at each other and they look back and said together “That’s quite a good baritone.” Cipher blinked “You think I’m good?”, they all nodded, even the Landlord who spoke “Do you know anymore?” “Well,” Cipher said looking down “there is one I wrote. About a fear of mine.” Listener frowned “What could a Changeling fear?” Cipher shut his eyes as whispered, into the microphone “Losing Fluttershy.” North spoke “Losing? What do you mean?” “Losing her, in any sense. Do you want me to sing it?” Listener grunted “Just sing it already.” “Okay,” Cipher took a couple of deep breaths, remembering the lyrics made his eye water, he slumped onto his flank “Yesterday… All my troubles seemed so far away… Now it looks as though they're here to stay… Oh, I believe in yesterday… “Suddenly… I'm not half the colt I used to be… There's a shadow hanging over me… Oh, yesterday came suddenly… “Why she had to go, I don't know, she wouldn't say…I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday… “Yesterday… Love was such an easy game to play… Now I need a place to hide away… Oh, I believe in yesterday… “Why she had to go, I don't know, she wouldn't say… I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday… “Yesterday… Love was such an easy game to play… Now I need a place to hide away… Oh, I believe in yesterday…” He hummed the last part, he shut his eyes and tears fell. He felt some-pony wrap their hooves around him, and a soft cheek press against his. He opened his eyes and he met the yellow and pink. Fluttershy shed tears herself and whispered softly “I’m not going to leave you Cipher, you’re one of the few stallion, one of the few ponies who truly understands me. Discord is a friend who’s learning, Twilight and the others know enough about me to understand, but even they get it wrong. You Cipher you understand me, because, just seeing this, I can see some of myself in you, and I’m not ashamed at what I see. I,” she whimpered “this sounds so cliché but, I, I’ve, fallen in love with you.” Cipher remained still and spoke just as softly as she did “Fluttershy, I, I’m not sure how to put it…”, she shushed him “You put it in the emotion you sang. You don’t have to tell me I know already.” And she kissed him on the cheek. From the door, Twilight Velvet and Fortune joined their husbands. Velvet leaned into Night and whispered, “Twilight was right, they do look so cute together.” North planted a kiss onto Fortune’s forehead before clearing his throat “Well now, why don’t we check on Billy Ignoble, shall we?” Fortune nodded “I’ll want to see how he’s doing get it ready for the Everfree Fair.” Foggy looked at her as they all existed “Billy’s showcasing the old piece of off-key brass at something as important as the Everfree Fair?” Altogether, Fortune, Fluttershy and Twilight Velvet said, “It was Ivy and Light-Honour Batty.”, both Foggy and Listener nodded with understanding. Billy polished the cart “Who’s a pretty cart then?” He beamed. A familiar voice called “At least it looks clean.”, Billy turned around as Foggy, his friends, three mares, a male Unicorn and to his surprise a very bright Changeling walked up. Introductions exchanged quickly. Billy still smiled “I'm so proud of this beauty because they said that I, Billy Ignoble would never amount to anything. I remember they even gave it to me in writing.” Foggy snorted. Cipher nudged him and gave his stern Changeling look. “I believed them.” Billy continued “I took it for granted that I'd be, no-pony, forever, that I was doomed to wander the streets through a cruel world, without recognition. Even at family gatherings, my dad used to say, “Oh, this is our thingamabob.” And my mother used to say, “it’s our what’s-is-name.” Obviously, my parents didn't want me.” Fluttery whimpered “Oh, you poor thing.” Then Billy brightened “But the world should see me now.” He started dance in sang after lines “If they could see me now… That little gang of mine… I’m eating fine chow… And drinking fancy wine…” he even did a couple of tap dance steps. Foggy leaned into the others “The stallion’s delusional, all this over a faulty fairground organ.” Billy stopped and ran to the front “Don't just stand there. Mane’s aboard. Stallion’s help me pull.”, Listener piped in “Hey Billy, I should tell thee I have this terrible back.” Foggy rolled his eyes “Here we go again, the phantom back.”, they hitched him to a yoke anyway. Cipher and Fluttershy stay on the ground, Cipher explained “We’re using the Mail Couch to transport Ivy and Mrs Batty.” And they flew off. They rode into town and met up with Ivy and Mrs Batty, Billy’s cleaning impressed them. They went into the outskirts of the village. Foggy put one of his hind leg deep into a pothole and broke it. As the stallions helped him up the mare around at where they stopped. A graveyard. Reverend Farthing walked out followed by Vigil and her assistants bearing a coffin, Musky Scott’s. Walking behind one lonely mare, Mrs Scott. Ivy spoke up “She on her own.” Fortune spoke up “Well, he was never going to be popular.” Fluttershy whimpered “Oh, the poor dear.”, the mares looked at each other and nodded. Then the stallions looked at the funeral, looked at other each and shrugged. They joined Mrs Scott at the grave. Farthing read out the prayer “We have entrusted Mustard Scott to God’s mercy, and now we commit his body to the ground. Earth to earth. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust.” At this moment, the doors to Billy’s cart opened and it started playing music, in perfect harmony, but Billy didn’t care about the music, he needed to stop it. He rushed over and tried to find the fault. Farthing looked up to the sky, smirked and shook his head, he continued and projected over the music “In sure and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life…” Billy climbed up into the compartment with the pipes. And suddenly the doors closed. Farthing finished the funeral. After getting Billy out and with Listener and Cipher’s help, fixed the fault. The group rode and towed themselves into Ponyville to take part in the fair. With a bandaged Foggy guarding the organ Billy walked over to Mrs Scott “Sorry about the organ.”, she grinned “No, love. It proved a lot of ponies wrong. They all said it would be a quiet funeral.” Laughing, Billy returned to the organ and readied the next roll you play. A knock came from the side. Billy looked out and there stood a female pony dressed in a ringmaster’s costume “Excuse me, are you owner of this fine machine?” “Yes, Billy Ignoble at you service Miss?” “Banger. Carol Banger. Head of Banger’s Circus, I’m recruiting for my next tour and I must say this organ of yours is very finely tuned sir.” “Oh, thank you, I only had about twenty-four hours to fix her, but I did it. There are a few faults to sort out, I do plan to repaint her though.” “Well them, might I suggest these colours,” she gave over a flyer with bright colours “I’m offering you and your organ a place in this coming tour, this will be a real crowd drawer.” Billy’s eye widened “Really?” He jumped for joy and danced. Banger smiled and walked off to talk with the Unicorn mare dressed in the wizard’s outfit. Riolu licked his ice cream as sat on Cipher back. The Changeling and Fluttershy stayed close as they up to the stage in front of the Castle where the Council of Friendship sat with Twilight and of the other Princesses. Fluttershy gave Cipher one last hug before ascending the stair to take her seat, she still looked at Cipher. Pinkie turned to her and grinned widely “Ooh, I think some-pony’s in love…” Applejack quickly put her hoof in Pinkie’s mouth “Don’t embarrass the gal in front of every-pony.” She then turned to Fluttershy and grinned “Though it’s about time you and Cipher got together.” Rainbow nudged “Good for you Flutters.” Fluttershy blushed “I don’t want to make it public yet, may be not ever, but,” she smiled “Cipher and I have said we love each other.” Princess Twilight smiled for her friend and turned to Cadance “Can you tell if it’s going to work?”, Cadance smirked and gave a small nod. Princess Celestia stood up “May I have every-ponies’ attention?” The crowd fell silent and quickly assembled to the stage. Billy shut off steam to his organ. They all bowed. Celestia nodded “Please raise my little ponies. I had original plan to make this during the Ponyville day celebrations however events meant this Decree needed to be postponed. After today copies of this shall be sent throughout Equestria.” She brought out a scroll and read it aloud. “Royal Decree. By the power vested in Princess Celestia of the Sun, and approved by Princess Luna of the Moon and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of Love and the Crystal Empire, it is henceforth decreed that a new kingdom shall be formed. A kingdom whose territories includes not only the town of Ponyville and its surrounding lands up to and including the settlement of Huntersfield and Rockville, but also the adjacent region of the Everfree Forest. “This new nation, which will officially be called the Everfree Kingdom, will be ruled over by Princess Twilight Sparkle, born of Canterlot, and Princess of Friendship, will be the appointed monarch of this new land, as such she shall carry the additional title of Everfree Princess.” And there came much rejoicing.