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// Afterward 
// Story: The Apple Jamboree 
// by Coyote de La Mancha 
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Whereas this story is mine, it does not dwell in a vacuum. As aforementioned, it was inspired by Magpie Pony’s rendition of Son of Princess Luna on YouTube. I rewrote the original Hijo de la Luna’s lyrics for my own purposes, and I recommend Magpie Pony’s own version highly.

The story that Zacora tells is basically the backstory for the book The Face in the Abyss, by A. Merritt. If you like classic heroic fantasy (and if you want to see what happens when the evil wizard breaks loose again), check it out. There’s also the story that John told to Babs towards the end of Jamboree, called The Boy Who Saved the Stars. In our world, it was written by Doris Vallejo and illustrated by her husband Boris. It is one of the best children’s bedtime books ever.

There are a variety of songs mentioned in the story, as well.The Crow is an instrumental piece written by Steve Martin (yes, that Steve Martin), and Desolation is an organ and cello duet by Adam Hurst. The version of Thunderstruck I envision the Apples performing was rendered by a band called Steve’n’Seagulls. Other songs mentioned are also from our own world. Some describe common occurrences, like the traveler’s lament in Five Hundred Miles or the lost wanderer in They Call the Wind Maria. 
Others songs have more specific histories. Our world has Runaway Hardy, though we usually call it John Hardy. Then there’s Tom Dooley and The Ballad of Stagger Lee, which tell folk tales based upon those specific murderers and their fates. The songs serve as snapshots of how people viewed what was happening around them. The histories behind them are worth digging into as well: what John says about the songs of his world apply to many folksongs of our own. So far as I know, Nellie’s Golden Hair is just an incredibly creepy song. At least, I hope that’s all it is.

As of this writing, all of these songs can be found on YouTube for those who would like to give a listen. Of Murder Bull and Vandy, Vandy, alas, I have yet to find a recording. I may have to make one myself someday.

EDIT: Thanks to n3k1dsk1llz, I’ve now been exposed to several versions of Vandy, Vandy available on YouTube. My favorite, alas, is no longer available on YouTube, but this one is very nice, though of a very different tempo and slightly different lyrics. (I still may make a recording of the version I knew growing up, just for fun.)

As for The Lord of the Dance, it has a variety of versions, countless verses, and an assortment of alleged histories. It has been attributed to several authors here and there; many of you probably already know of one version or another. For obvious reasons, I wrote my own verses for the story rather than use another writer’s version, and likewise for Vandy, Vandy. That being said, some songs are like stories: living, growing things with a life of their own. The Lord of the Dance seems to be one of them, and I think that to be very fitting.

All of which brings us to John Songsmith.

The original John, aka Silver John, aka John the Balladeer, was the creation of an author named Manly Wade Wellman. Mr. Wellman wrote beautiful stories of fantasy and magic that take place in the Appalachian Mountains and deal with the folk who dwell there (the Apples would be right at home). Unlike the John of my story, the original article had no surname and was of no supernatural origin whatsoever. That being said, he did deal with the ancient wizard who was pursuing Vandy, a ghost train, and many other supernatural horrors armed only with faith, folk magic, horse sense, and his silver stringed guitar. For those who wish to read about the original John, there’s a compilation of short stories called John the Balladeer which is a perfect starting point, and all his tales (that I have read) are equally suitable for young adult readers and older ones. And yes, Mr. Wellman also wrote both Murder Bull and the original Vandy, Vandy. He was a man of many talents, and the world is poorer for his passing.

There will be a variety of other Elsequestria stories; this is the second I have started and the first I have finished. Many of my stories will be in this same continuity, though there will be at least one other timeline in the future. I hope you enjoy this tale and others upcoming as much as I enjoyed and am enjoying writing them. And yes, I do intend to get into John Songsmith’s origin and his careless love of life, as well as his doings during the creation of Nightmare Moon. But that is a story best told by Princess Luna herself, I think. Perhaps to the young granddaughter (with a mess a' greats in-between) she won’t even know about until they meet in person. Luna was still in exile, after all, when John Songsmith and Henrietta Apple met centuries ago.

But that tale (and others) will have to wait. For the present, I am finishing up a story dealing with Sunset Shimmer.

Sometime again,

--Coyote.