//------------------------------// // Lessons // Story: Eyes of a Musician // by artsofallkinds //------------------------------// All characters either belong to Hasbro and the Hub or to the Brony fan base as a whole, with the exception to OC ponies, who belong to their respective owners. Enjoy! -Arts ---------- Chapter 6: Lessons I’m not alone. Sheathed Lance snuck around the forest; he always had, and always would. Other ponies, no matter pegasi, unicorn, or his fellow earth ponies, were just trouble he'd rather avoid. His crimson coat was not perfect for blending in with his surroundings, but he made due by sticking to the shadows and keeping his black mane long. Some days, he felt like a predator. Most, he felt like prey. A scarf was tied around his neck. He kept it close, a reminder of who he was. He was all he had, and was all he needed. If he forgot who he was, there wouldn't be anything left. Home was far away, but he didn't miss it. He came and went, and he liked it that way. His trot became a climb as the land around him sloped upward. A challenge like this wouldn't stop him, not when he'd faced all he had. The steep slope reminded Lance about the time he'd helped that griffin girl. The poor thing was trapped by a landslide caused by the melting spring snow; the earth pony had barely heard her crying for help. Of course, he freed her, but she was drained and her wings were broken, so he carried her away and made a camp. He kept watch over her that night before she even came to, and helped her home when she was fit to walk a few days later. She had said her name was Ginger, and that she was eternally grateful. Heck, she had even kissed him in thanks. But Lance told the girl that he couldn't stay, that nothing in the world could end his quest. She wanted to go with him. She told him she'd find him when she was better. But that had been three months ago, when the leaves were barely growing on the trees. The peak of the hill was in sight. Lance tried to put the past behind him, but trying to forget something never lets you remove it from your mind. He remembered his parents, telling him to run and not to look back (something he forever took to heart). He remembered his first big good deed years ago, helping a filly his age find her way home. He remembered the guards, the endless woods he traveled, the countless number of camps he made over his lifetime. He remembered all that called him hero; not just the griffin, although she stood in his memory the most vividly. He remembered his loneliness, too. He reached the top of the hill, and he remembered why none of that mattered. The forest stretched on for what looked like an eternity. In any season, on any hill, the view of a woodland before and below him was all the comfort he needed. He might be alone... However if this was his reward, he would always be happy. Lance sighed. A breeze caught his scarf, and the forest rustled an undeniable call for him. A call he answered without hesitation. ----- UN TIS UN TIS UN TIS UN TIS By Celestia, that bass! Vinyl Scratch was turning the dial slowly to the right. It was about 75% to "10", but already the sound from the speakers was shaking the ground below her hooves. Specks of dirt were falling from the ceiling. The speakers and subwoofers were practically jumping in place. "Oh, come on!" screamed the mirror image of Vinyl, also behind the Turntable. "That can get at least 20 percent louder!" "What?" shouted Vinyl in response. "DROP THE BASS!!" screamed DJ Pon-3 as she pushed Vinyl out of the way. Shocked, Vinyl tried to regain her balance as her doppelganger rotated the dial labeled "Master Bass" all the way up to 10. The white unicorn couldn't even feel. The bass of the song reverberated through everything equally. She noticed her brain was rattling in her head and her lungs didn't seem to want to work right. The blood roared in her ears. Half the time, she wasn't sure she was touching the floor. And yet... "This... Is... AWESOME!!" --- "And that's today's lesson, DJ-in-training." sighed Pon-3. "When one says 'Drop the bass', you better flippin' drop the bass!" Vinyl was downing a cup of water, completely exhausted. Something about the way the crystals within the Turntable worked drained her magic and created a lot of heat, leading to exhaustion for whatever DJ was doing the set. The cup fully empty, Vinyl wiped her lips and looked at her mentor. "But... I thought you couldn't touch me?" "Correction;" smiled the pony behind the purple shades, "you can't touch me. I can do whatever the hay I want." Her grin was annoyingly triumphant. "Great..." sighed the real unicorn. She checked the Turntable; everything looked ready for shut-down. "See ya tomorrow, Pon-3." But the apparition wasn't going to be sent away without her usual sage words of advice. "Hey, don't be late tomorrow! Make sure to drink tons of soda; it keeps your magical energy up. And don't even think about touching broccoli-" "Yeah yeah, love ya too, GOOD-bye!" Vinyl finished exasperatedly before flipping the Power switch to the "Off" position. The final lights flicked down, the minor electrical buzz was silenced, and the strange mentor that was DJ Pon-3 disappeared from both sight and sound. "She's more annoying then helpful sometimes," yawned the DJ-in-training. Not quite sure what time it was, she wandered out of the hidden area and replaced the bookshelf that blocked any other ponies from entering the side room. Cliché as it was, she and Octavia both agreed that something so... What was the fancy word she used... Evolutionary? Revolutionary? Anyway, the two agreed the Turntable would be kept a secret until Vinyl knew enough to show-and-tell what it was for everypony. As the bookshelf was the closest concealing object, it had been volunteered to cover up the doorway. She trotted through the shelves of strings and tubes. She really did like this room; it was her favorite room in the whole Rhythm Underground beside the room she shared with Octavia. There were so many sounds to hear, so much she could experiment with. Her Turntable could emulate sounds to a certain extent, so if she found an instrument she really liked, she could play with it in more ways then should be possible, thanks to her device. She entered the plaza from the instrument room and instantly stopped. Everypony was in the plaza. As in, everypony. Vinyl looked around and quickly spotted her marefriend. They both exchanged eye contact and made their way towards each other. "Vinyl!" Octavia whispered. The room was eerily quiet and nopony talked above a hushed tone. "Where have you been? I was so worried..." Vinyl blinked. Why should 'Tavi be worried? "Huh?" she asked. "The earthquake! Didn't you feel that?" specified the earth pony. "Earth-" started the training DJ, but stopped herself. Earthquake meant the ground was shaking. And Vinyl was just... Vinyl face-hoofed, hard. What small conversation was going on was silenced when Quick Step reached the edge of one of the balconies. "Is everypony okay?" he asked. The ponies all nodded and muttered their assurance. "Awesome. When this place was founded, a few years back, we worried about earthquakes." Quick Step looked around at the audience before him. "So we built this place with safety in mind. Everything should still be structurally safe, but don't be afraid to inform me or somepony else if you're uncomfortable with a particular area." He nodded his head and continued on his way, dismissing the Underground back to it's activities. That guy always knows just what to say, thought Vinyl. Too bad he had no idea what that really was. The white unicorn tapped Octavia on the shoulder. "Do you think we should tell Quick Step?" she asked. "He should be the first to know," the bassist nodded. "But not yet." Vinyl sighed. It was hard to keep a big secret like this, especially from so many ponies. But she knew she had to, for now at least. If for no other reason, then because Octavia had a plan. And if Vinyl knew anything, she knew she trusted her partner. ----- A pair of ponies walked through the archway that lead to the cafeteria, helpfully labeled "Cafe" on a sign overhead. Well, technically, there were many ponies walking through the archway to the cafeteria, but Vinyl and Octavia were the only two mares there trotting in a way that was obviously only intended for couples. The cafeteria was the main food source for all the Rhythm Underground's residents. While a trip to Sugarcube Corner was nice every once and awhile, it just didn't have much of a selection compared to the Cafe. Anything they could grow, they sold here. The cool thing about the magic lights that kept the Rhythm Underground illuminated was that some of them could be set to imitate sunlight; ponies' fur would actually get lighter if one were to stand under one for too long, and all the energy a farm would normally need from the sun was found in the orb's glow. The Cafe was another popular hangout for everypony. On almost any eating hour, the place was pretty packed, and sometimes sported some sort of mish-mash of musicians making melodies. The line was impossibly kept moving at a decent pace despite the average length of the group of waiting ponies. Octavia guessed it was unicorn magic of some sort. "Uh, have you ever heard of 'soda' before, 'Tavi?" asked Vinyl. They were both just talking about what they were going to order, their tastes ludicrously different. "I think it was a drink. Like sparkling cider, but without the cider part," Octavia guessed. " Why, do they have it here?" "No idea, I was just gonna check," shrugged the unicorn. They both reached the line and began the wait. Octavia casted a look at the informal band playing at a table. "Hmm, perhaps I could test my newest tricks here, with those ponies. Should I run home after we finish our meal and get my instrument? Oh, but the instructor would get so mad if I were to drop my Bass on the-" Vinyl stumbled for a second. Octavia turned her head to find her partner holding in what looked like either a huge laughing fit or a burp. But considering the way her head was bobbing in time to concealed giggles, Octavia had to guess the former applied. " How is that funny?" she frowned. "S-sorry," chuckled Vinyl. "It's that... you said..." Her face resembled a pony holding a gulp of water in her mouth (but more entertaining) before she outright busted out laughing. Octavia wasn't going to even pretend she knew what was going on in that mare's head. The line shortened, and Vinyl and Octavia both paid for and got their food. They saw a small table made for two and walked to it. To get there required they go by the makeshift band set up in the center of the room. As they trotted past, one band member jokingly played the first few bars of "Here Comes the Bride". After a few chuckles from the group (and a heavy blush from Octavia), they did start playing a slow, pretty, romantic tune. For an unplanned meet up, this group really does work well together, thought Octavia. The pair sat down to eat. Vinyl, of course, tore into her meal. Octavia took a more civil approach, at least using utensils. Vinyl smiled up at her marefriend, who was sitting strait in her chair. The music flowed in the background. "You're so adorable when you do that, you know." Octavia blushed. "D-Do what, Vinyl?" she asked, looking down and to the right. Vinyl rolled her eyes. "When you're all fancy! It's just..." She shrugged. "Adorable." "Well, thank you," answered Octavia, wondering where the random complement came from. It wasn't bad, just unexpected, out of the blue, spontaneous. Just, well, Vinyl. They both dug into their meals. The band continued to play on. The crowd ate and talked, and many friends passed by. "Hey, girls," Quick Step called as he trotted up. "Hey," said Vinyl. Octavia nodded her head, not quite done chewing. The white earth pony smiled. "Wow, it's been three weeks since you've been here. Octavia, you're showing serious ability, you know!" He turned to Vinyl. "And don't even think about not spending all the time you can finding an instrument. You'll get it, you just gotta keep trying!" Vinyl nodded. "Thanks, Step." Octavia swallowed her food and turned towards the Underground's leader. "Why are you here, Quick Step?" she asked. Quick Step raised an eyebrow. "Well, it is lunchtime," he pointed out. "I was gonna meet some friends for a meal- Ah, here they are!" Two ponies walked up. The first, the girls knew; Inert Scribe, the green zebra from when they first came to the Underground with Quick Step. He was as thinking and cautious as ever. But a second pony joined him, a unicorn with dark sea-green fur and a bored expression. She was younger then Octavia, and her glare seemed rather rebellious. Her cutie mark was a sideways purple triangle, the same purple as her irises. "You, of course, already know Inert Scribe," Quick Step said, Inert nodding at the two mares. "But I don't believe you've meet Ikuze." "I've seen her around," smiled Vinyl. "Yeah, and I've seen you too, you know," spat Ikuze. Octavia noticed Vinyl become taken aback. "Uh, hello, my name is Octavia, and this is my friend, Vinyl," introduced the bassist. "What's your cutie mark for, Ikuze?" She was a bit put off my this filly's attitude, but regardless tried to make conversation. "It's a guitar pick. I play guitar." Ikuze looked away, and Octavia thought better of asking her to go into more detail. Quick Step shot an apologetic look. "Um, we're gonna go get our food now. I could really use a dandelion sandwich. See you around!" he said. "Nice to see you again, my friends," rhymed Inert Scribe. Ikuze just began walking, forcing the two stallions to catch up. "Cute kid," scowled Vinyl when the three were a respectable distance away. "She was at least twelve, Vinyl, not that much younger then us," Octavia pointed out. "And besides, everypony here's got a story. Her story may just be a bit more... sad." Vinyl sighed. "Nopony's mean for no reason," she agreed. "Yeah, and with Quick Step, we know she's in good care." Octavia smiled at her marefriend. "Now, I have to ask, what was so funny about what I said a few minutes ago? Is dropping an instrument that laughable?" The unicorn rolled her eyes. "You really had to be there," smiled Vinyl as she took a swig of water. ----- ‘Sup bronies? Yeah, it’s short. I’m at one of those dull moments in a story where I know what I want to do next but I haven’t figured out how to get there. Keep sending me your OCs, I’ll get there eventually! *sigh* So many ideas, so little… uh… transition? Also, I really wanna do the National Pony Writing Month Competition. Basically, write 50,000 words in 31 days. I already have an idea, and a basic storyline, so I can’t wait to see how I do. This probably means I won’t be updating Eyes at all in the month of August. But you do get an extra-long story out of it, so chin up! As always, thanks for reading! -Arts