//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 
// Story: Feeling the Rhythm: A New Beat 
// by DougtheLoremaster 
//------------------------------//

“Feather, could you come here, your mother and I need to tell you something.”
Bounding down the stairs of her home in the crystal empire, the little filly rushed to her father’s side in excitement; only to halt when she saw her parent's somber faces. Nervously she asked.
“Mommy? Daddy? What’s wrong?”
“Feather we love you very much, but your father and I…”
“We just don’t love each other like we used to.”
“Huh?”
“Sometimes mommies and daddies just-”
“Mostly daddy in this case-”
“Just don’t feel the same after a while. And it isn’t because we don’t love you, we do but-”
“Daddy decided to go and sleep with mommy’s boss.”
“You said you wouldn’t mention that!”
“And you said there was nothing between you two, Cloudburn!”
“Mommy, daddy why are you fighting, what's going on?”
“Sweetie, there is no easy way to say this, your father and I are getting a divorce.”





Feather Dance lay on her bed ad glanced over at Twinkle, who was snoring lightly beside her; his makeup without flaw making him resemble a female Pegasus. He or was it she, looked so adorable as she snored away. Meanwhile, Feather Dance thought about the moment at five years old, she lost the rhythm. Back when she quit dancing. It wasn’t long after that, Discord came into my life. And if it wasn’t for him, I might have lost the music forever.






“Hey kiddo, you seem down.”
“Go away, you aren’t my real dad.”
Sitting down next to her, the Draquonicus spoke uncharacteristically soft as he replied.
“You’re right, I’m not. Nor am I intending to replace him, but if I can offer some advice-”
A gently flowing beat surrounded them as he began to sing.
“~When life is low 
and you are down,
Just sing a little song.
It doesn’t have to be good.
Or particularly-”
His voice became screechy for a moment.
“On key-”
Discord’s voice became melodic once more as he sang in perfect harmony.
“~Just sing a little song.
“When you think it can’t get worse,
And your down on your luck,
Just sing a little song to
Make that smile last a little longer,
You’ll find you’ll be that much stronger,
Just sing a little song.~”
With a sleepy yawn, Feather Dance snuggled down under her sheets as Discord gave her snout a boop with his griffon claw. Her eyes slowly closed as she heard.
“Good night little Feathers, sweet dreams.”





Was I really eight years old when I met dad? Feather Dance gave a silent laugh as a single solitary tear rolled its way down her face. It had been years since these thoughts had crossed her mind. Whenever she was sad or angry, she sang; hurt or happy, she would sing. She sang in the showers of spring, in the frosty clutches of winter. When her stallionfriend broke up with her, she sang; and when she met Twinkle, she sang.
Laying next to him, however, she couldn’t help but feel a fluttering in her heart, and a harmony of joy, playing in her ears. She watched as he gave a little snort in his sleep and again had to just laugh. Around him, she felt different, she felt like dancing once again.





“You were so generous with that new mare. A free dancing lesson, do you know how murderous those watching were with jealousy?”
Lying on a couch, Rainbow watched as Diamond Charity leaned over the nearby billiards table, enjoying the show. Charity stood on her hind hooves, and bent over the table to line up her shot. Smiling in satisfaction as the eight ball rolled into the side pocket, Charity turned to look at her marefriend. Laughing, she teased her.
“Oh? And were you jealous, as well?”
Rainbow laughed as Charity walked over and laid her head on Rainbow’s chest fluff, as she snuggled next to her on the couch.
“Why would I be jealous, when I have the first place trophy?.”
Charity grinned as she lovingly nuzzled her partner’s neck.
“Mmm. Well then, let me show you what you’ve won.”
“Oh?”
Rainbow Jr. leaned in for a kiss from her lover, closing her eyes to savor the moment when the door to the dorm burst open, and in ran a panicked Lemon Sherbert, waving a sheet of parchment wildly. 
“Girls! We got a problem!”
Rising off of Rainbow Jr., Charity angrily stalked over to Lemon and snatched the parchment from her hooves.
“Haven’t you heard of knocking? Give me that!”
Ignoring the hasty apologies from Lemon, Charity’s eyes fiercely scanned the parchment before shaking it and looking at Lemon.
“Is this for real?”
“What’s it say?”
All eyes turned to look at the billiards table, on which lay a very bored-looking Bop Pie. Rainbow stared at her for a moment before breaking the silence.
“When did you get here?”
Shrugging, yet giving no explanation, Bop asked Charity once more.
“What’s it say?”
“It’s an invite for a dance-off against Shadow Tech, for some spectacular prize, but it doesn’t say what.”
“Shadow Tech? Never heard of them.”
“Yeah-”
Charity stared at the parchment, and at the strange logo of a black Unicorn horn, a strange feeling in her gut.
“Me neither, but I don’t see what the big worry is, Lemon, we do dance-offs every school year.”	
Lemon pointed frantically at a part of the parchment.
“There! At the bottom.”
Following where her hoof was pointing, Charity read out loud.
“Due to a change in rulings, a team of six must…be…provided. Well, that’s not too bad Lemon.”
“But we only have four dancers that can even compete at that level!”
This time Rainbow chimed in. 
“So we hold a competition of our own. A tournament of the first 64 to sign up. A dancing tourney to determine the best. Check it, 1 on 1 performances, to try out for the team. Every day we eliminate half of them until we are left with two, the best two in the school. Six days, one round each. What do you think?”
Lemon looked aghast.
“Us? Dance with commoners?”
Before Rainbow could say a word, Charity spoke up.
“Well, Darling, it’s either that or Rainbow and I walk. And then you can dance on your little lonesome.”
Lemon’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates.
“What?”
Bop then spoke up, hopping off the billiards table.
“Yeah, me too, not much fun to be had if Charity and Rainbow aren’t here to dance with.”





Stepping out of the shower, Twinkle turned to look in the mirror letting out a sigh. His mane was straight, not the bouncy, flowing locks after Featherdance styled it. It looked limp, lifeless. It hurt to see. It felt wrong, it looked wrong. It hurt. Not just mentally but he could feel it in his very bones, the agony of it; it was completely unnatural to him. And he didn’t know why.
He reached out his hoof and touched his reflection, his face crestfallen; was this him? What happened to the smiling mare he had seen before his shower? The door to the bathroom swung open to reveal Featherdance’s smiling face.
However, her smile faded as Twinkle slammed his forehoof into the mirror breaking it and shouting.
“This isn’t me!”
In slow motion, the glass shards fell, shattering on impact with the sink and floor. Featherdance felt her heart plunge into her stomach as she stared at him. He was shaking with tears falling like rain, and it hurt her to see. Sure, they hadn’t known each other that long, but something about the sight tore her up inside. There had to be something she could do, to make Twinkle feel better. Looking down at her hooves, she remembered the reason for her entering the bathroom; a package had arrived for Twinkle. She spoke kindly to the distraught stallion.
“Hey, a package arrived for you a few minutes ago.”
The effect was instantaneous, completely shocking him out of his fit. He blinked in confusion, he hadn’t told anypony about him being there, how could there possibly be a package for him?
Still stunned, he followed Featherdance to a small box on the couch. His eyes went wide; sure enough, the box had his alias on it: Sparkles. A sense of dread surged through him as he opened the box while Feather Dance watched.
He stared in confusion at the odd contents of the box: Two toy figurines, one of Twilight Sparkle and the other of Chrysalis; their faces frozen in terror as they seemed to be reaching for each other. Next to the figurines was a delicately folded parchment with the words ‘With love’ written in dark red calligraphy. Unfolding the letter, Twinkle read out loud the following.
“Two down. Well, that doesn’t make sense. Two what? What is this?” 
Huh, is there anything else?”
“It’s just signed by somepony I think.”
“Who’s the signature?”
“Shadow Tech.”
Examining the two figurines, Twinkle noticed that although they resembled typical merchandise of his mothers, these two seemed to be crafted particularly detailed, realistically so. But what was the purpose? And what was the meaning behind the strange note? He shrugged and placed them on his bedstand, in their horrified poses.
“How weird.”