The Synthesizers

by Wiz Ahmad


Wild In The Streets

It’d been almost a month since Smolder and Silverstream had discovered their ‘toys’. For the most part they’d been just learning how to move around and rotate and spin on the spot, or ‘freestyling’, as Starlight Glimmer had put it. But then, through close observation of a ferret, Silverstream had discovered the key to jumping, and with Ocellus’s knowledge of physics, Smolder invented the ollie – jumping up and forward with the board. And for the next few days, that’s all Smolder had been doing – literally.

Just jumping up and over stuff. She fell many times but kept going – tough as a brick.

Silverstream, on the other hand, was too occupied with just spinning and going in circles in different balancing positions. She had mastered the art of manuals and nose manuals, though. But she couldn’t jump or hop. Which Smolder knew how to do almost effortlessly.

“Well, it looks like the teaching roles have switched, huh?” Gallus smirked, as they gathered in the gymnasium for a quick session one day.

“It certainly has!” Silverstream exclaimed, looking like she was having more fun being the student rather than the teacher.

“Let’s see here…” Smolder began, letting her little dragon brain process all the little details. “Okay. First few things, Silverstream. Keep your pedals level, like my feet when they’re on the board. And those knees and wrists, bent and loose. Stiffness is the last thing you want, because movement can’t be done with something that’s stiff.”

“Can confirm,” Ocellus added with a proud smirk.

Smolder returned the smile and continued talking, tapping Silverstream’s wrists. “You want these pointed downwards, so you have some leverage. Just like when climbing up rocks, you have to heave yourself upward. Now, you mentioned that you saw Sasha crouch and jump up and forward, right? Well, there’s also a level of leaning back. So here, you’re going to lean forward, back, up, and then forward again.”

“Like this?” Silverstream asked, leaning far forward so her head was beyond the handlebars.

Smolder had to release an amused laugh. “Close. A bit up more – keep a slight bend in those knees. Feel the weight pressing down more at the front than the back? That’s what you want.”

“Now back, you said?” Silverstream said excitedly, yanking her arms in and nearly toppling over.

“Whoa, easy!” Smolder gasped, rushing in to stabilize the bike. “Nuh-uh. Not with your arms. Opposite of that, really. Straighten ‘em out and use the force of your body’s core to pull you back. Not too far, just enough to raise the front wheel.”

“Like a manual!”

“Yeah. Exactly like that. Keep your feet firmly planted and level. Don’t try to pedal. Just roll.”

Realizing she was exaggerating the efforts, Silverstream eased off and paid closer attention. Shifting forward and then backward made raising the front wheel much easier.

“Don’t ‘throw’ the wheel back down,” Smolder advised, making air quotes. “Just use a little bit of your arms to ease it down. Doesn’t have to be super slow either. Figure out what works best. Keep practicing that.”

For all her exuberance, Silverstream was a quick learner, and after just a few hours she had the bike’s front wheel up and down like a swinging pendulum. It wasn’t long before Gallus picked up on Starlight’s footsteps and gestured over his shoulder.

“Time to go. We’ll come back again tomorrow.”

The very next afternoon, Silverstream rushed into the gymnasium so fast she almost crashed into the storage room door. Frantically unlocking it, she pulled out her bike and hopped on, remembering to strap on a helmet. Smolder had brought along her board, and so the teaching session continued.

“Now that we’ve brought the front wheel up, let’s bring the back wheel up. For this, it’s time to use those furry hooves of yours. This is where it gets tricky, because you don’t necessarily have toes. So, you’ll have to use your ankles here. Can you bend them forward?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, so as you shift yourself and push forward, dig into the pedals with your feet and point your hooves down and pull up with your feet.”

With some effort, Silverstream figured out how to apply pressure where needed. With a good hour and a half of practice, she got it to work. Now her back wheel was moving up and back down without hassle.

“Now this afternoon, we’re going to combine the motions,” Smolder announced as Silverstream rolled her bike out of the storage locker the following day. “We’ll start with two small books. Much like I did, but with a twist.”

“Which is?” Silverstream asked eagerly, tapping her fingers in earnest.

“You need to just bring the front wheel up over the books, then the back wheel. Just keep doing that for a while. Don’t worry if you hit the books.”

“Alright!”

Silverstream began pedaling a little, then levelled out her pedals, and shifted her weight back, letting the front wheel rise up off the ground, clearing the book. Right afterwards, she yanked the back wheel up, almost throwing herself off.

“Take it easy,” Smolder advised. “Just enough to raise it.”

After ten attempts, Silverstream found she could do it quickly and almost effortlessly. At twenty-five tries she started to merge the two motions together, guided by Smolder’s fast-paced instructions and signals. After forty tries, she became tired, but could now rise up and down with barely half a second in between motions.

“Ah! I’m tired.”

“But we gotta do this! You’re very close now!” Smolder urged.

“Okay, I’ll try a few more times,” Silverstream replied, sipping some water and wiping her legs and head with a small towel.

With ten more tries, Silverstream started to clear the books more smoothly. At last, she cleared the books in a smooth, low hill-shaped arc, with both wheels off the ground in the process.

“There it is! There it is, Silverstream! You’ve done it!” Smolder exclaimed, pointing in excitement and joy. “You’ve cleared the books in one smooth set of motions!”

“I… I did?” Silverstream asked, panting a little from tiredness.

Smolder nodded. “All we have to do now is get you higher and farther! But that’s for tomorrow. Be proud! We’ve crossed another milestone.”

“Yay!” Silverstream squealed, pulling her friend into a hug. “Thank you!”

Smolder blushed a little and wrapped one arm around her friend’s fuzzy warm body. “You too, Silverstream.”


By the end of the week, Silverstream and Smolder’s legs were sore and numb as a frozen tomato, but they’d cleaned up and mastered their jumps, managing to get them high and decently long. Now it was time to use what they’ve learned in a new environment.

“Are you serious? You two are gonna ride through Ponyville?” Sandbar exclaimed, as they gathered around their favorite table in the library.

“We sure are!” Silverstream exclaimed. “It’ll be so much fun seeing all the market stands, the houses, and the town hall!”

“Silverstream’s right,” Yona replied firmly. “Very good to explore new places. Yona think it not wise to stay in gymnasium all evening.”

“I want to buy some fruits for Applejack’s cooking class,” Gallus added. “So if you two don’t mind, I’ll tag along…”

“Aww, of course you can come, Gally!” Silverstream cooed, pulling him into a half-hug and nuzzling his cheek, much to his offence and dismay.

“OFF.”

“Personal space, Silvy,” Smolder added in a stern voice.

“Now, now, everyone,” Sandbar interjected, keeping his voice calm yet assertive. “No need to get upset here. Let’s focus on our weekend excursion. Gallus, you’ll be visiting Ponyville to buy apples, right?”

“Yep.”

He then turned to Ocellus, and Yona. “What about you three?”

“Meh! We’ll just be chilling on the school grounds,” Yona replied.

“And some studying,” Ocellus added.

Sandbar’s eyes softened, and he affectionately rubbed the little changeling’s head. “You gotta take a break sometimes.”

“Alright, I’ll come too,” she agreed.

“Yona made promise not to smash, so she’ll come too,” Yona declared excitedly.

“Then it’s settled – we’ll all go,” Sandbar concluded. “Ocellus will be with Silverstream and Smolder, while Yona, Gallus, and I will visit the marketplace.”

It was a rather intensive evening, and no after-hours gym session was done due to the higher amount of homework. Fluttershy did everything hands-on in a fun and fully interactive way, so there was literally no homework assigned from her. The other teachers… were a different story. Rarity had the least amount of assigned work, while Applejack had the most.

Nonetheless, the six friends helped each other out as best they could to understand and solve what they were faced with, and by nightfall every last question from each subject was answered.


By breakfast time the following morning there were more butterflies in Sandbar’s stomach than there were in Fluttershy’s classroom. It was the defining day.

“Heading out now?” Starlight Glimmer asked, taking note of Yona walking down the hall, a saddlebag atop her back, accompanied by Gallus, who was also carrying a small basket and holding some coins.

“Yep,” Sandbar replied, walking up behind. “We’re all heading out for the weekend.”

“Okay, just be sure to return back for lunch!” Starlight said with a smile, watching the students head off towards the door.

What she didn’t see was Smolder and Silverstream sneaking their toys out from the gym and carrying them out through a window, where they then flew down onto the stone path to join their friends.

As soon as they hit the hard concrete where Ponyville’s street met the path that lead to Twilight’s Castle, Smolder just dropped her board and took off, pushing and pushing. Silverstream climbed onto her bike and began pedaling, following her friend in eager pursuit. Ocellus happily fluttered alongside the cycling hippogriff.

“Well, there they go,” Yona stated bluntly.

“And Twilight’s gonna have a lot to pay for by noon,” Sandbar muttered. “Rest in peace, dear Ponyville.” He turned to Gallus. “C’mon, let’s go get some fruit.”


With hardly any consideration for traffic, Smolder and Silverstream powered through the streets, weaving in between ponies and jumping over anything that came in their way. Arriving at a turn, Smolder squatted and used her body and arm to carve around the turn at high speed without losing momentum. Silverstream, on the other hand, wanted to get up on stuff. So, she headed straight for the town center, where all the action was. And then she spotted it – the hard-polished stone ledge around the fountain. Pedaling hard, she approached the edge and pumped up and forward as she’d practiced before.

SSSSKKKKRRRRTTTTT!

Her back peg hit the edge hard, and she adjusted herself to keep balance. With some of the water acting like wax, she slid across the edge, the metal grinding it down like a nail file. As the edge curved in a circle, she soon had to slide off. So, she hopped up a little, letting the peg run off the edge without throwing off her balance.

All around, ponies gazed – some in awe, some in disappointment and anger, given the damage done to the polished edge of the fountain.

Turning and jumping over a group of three barrels, Silverstream soon caught up with her friend, who was trying to jump off the stairs of the Town Hall building. Every time, Smolder’s feet kicked out too hard and the board flung in front of her, or she missed the last step. It was a five-stair set, with no handrail and a six-foot-something distance to clear. But she wouldn’t give up, even after chipping a scale on her leg and the soreness within her body. And then, weirdly, chants of encouragement were heard.

“Keep going!”

“Try again! You’re so close!”

Smolder turned to see a crowd of ponies, their eyes all eagerly fixed on her and what she was attempting to do. It felt kind of intimidating, like she had to do it for them instead of herself, but she pushed that away, and instead focused on pushing towards the stairs. Towards her goal.

She popped hard, brought out her foot, paid close attention to how it was underneath her feet and how far she was going over the stairs… and landed, the board’s tail just shy of the last step by mere millimeters. Squatting low and firmly placing her weight over the bolts, she stabilized her landing and rolled away, much to the cheering and exclaimed gasps of many of the townsfolk. Still in awe, Smolder remained unaware that several cameras had flashed behind her as she’d leaped. Silverstream was estatic, leaping off her bike and grabbing Smolder into a snug hug.

“Ohmigosh, Smoldy! You did it! You did it! You finally did it!”

“That was… incredible,” Ocellus added with a proud smile, stepping out from the crowd. “Props to you for not giving up.”

“I… think I’m good now,” Smolder blushed, easing out of Silverstream’s crushing embrace. “Let’s try some more spots!”


“And that’s almost all of the bits spent,” Gallus declared, adding a dozen pears into his basket. Yona’s saddlebag was full of apples, and Sandbar had bought a bunch of cherries… which he carried in a bag held in his mouth.

“Lethsssse eaaathhee,” Sandbar mumbled through his mouthful of bag, before letting it down temporarily. “We can go to the Hay Burger restaurant. I’ve been yearning to try something there.”

“Hmmm,” Gallus pondered, holding up three bits. “Not sure what I can get with this, but it’s worth a shot.”


“YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS!” a shop vendor shouted, scrambling to pick up a pile of spilled oranges.

“I… I’m sorry,” Silverstream pouted, rushing to assist.

“JUST GET LOST!” he snapped, nearly hitting her in the face.

“Um, okay,” Silverstream whimpered, hopping onto her bike and pedaling away with tears in her eyes. She’d been trying a difficult trick – a nose manual tailwhip – on top of what she thought was a hard elevated surface but turned out to be a large crate of oranges. Just as she nearly completed the trick, the crate failed to hold the combined weight of her and the bike. The wood top spit and wobbled, causing her to fall off with her bike – and spilling the oranges everywhere.


Smolder and Ocellus had figured out how to grind on ledges and were scoping out any storefronts with large elevated steps. It wasn’t easy, but with some grease, Smolder was soon sliding across the edge – after many tries, of course. This attracted unwanted attention, however, and soon the storeowners came rushing out to find the cause of the noise, only to find their highly prized steps being worn down by a rebel dragon.

“We shouldn’t keep doing this,” Ocellus pleaded, as they took off down a narrow side street to hide after running from the third enraged store owner.

“It’s not like they can catch us,” Smolder shrugged. “And even then, what would they be able to do to us to fix the problem? It’s not gonna make themselves feel better or anything.”

“I expected you to be more considerate of a friend,” Ocellus glared. “Now let’s find our friends.”


It didn’t take long for Smolder’s energy to run low, thus directing them to the source of good food – the Hay Burger restaurant. Smolder pulled the door open and stepped inside. Sure enough, the rest of their friends were gathered around a table, trying to console a grieving Silverstream.

“B-b-but I destroyed his oranges!” she sobbed. “All his hard work, gone. Because of me.”

“Silverstream, you have to accept that fact that some damages are irreversible,” Gallus insisted.

“Yona knows frustration and anger,” Yona added, patting and caressing her sad hippogriff friend. “But Yona keep going, and accept when others refuse kind gestures.”

“Your ‘sorry’ was enough,” Sandbar added. “Even if he didn’t accept it. Ponies will be like that sometimes. They’ll be so wrapped up in anger they’ll block out anything positive or kind offered to them.”

“Guess you haven’t had a nice encounter either,” Smolder said, pulling up a chair and joining her friends. Gallus had just enough left for a burger and a drink, and so they shared it between all, while discussing the events that occurred during the past three hours or so.

“I think you two going to get a lot of attention now,” Gallus stated, wrapping up the serving packaging and tossing it into a trash bin. “And it may not be all positive. I was thinking you both should visit Canterlot next, but now, it doesn’t seem like a good choice. For now, though, these run-ins don’t seem too serious. But try avoiding them. Now, let’s get back to the school so we can bake.”