All of downtown Ponyville had been set up for a special celebration. Both indoor and outdoor stages had been prepared for the next few days. On all of the stages was one thing: jazz musicians. Ponyville was alive with the sound of jazz. Some of it was lively and upbeat, while other parts of it were solemn and calm. Walking among the stages and crowds was a purple unicorn and a baby dragon. The unicorn was looking around with fascination while the dragon was looking at a watch.
“I had no idea that Ponyville had a jazz festival,” Twilight said. “I wonder if they got anypony in the industry to perform here.”
“You never know,” Spike said. His eyes were glued to the watch. “Hey, Twilight. Do you think I can go wander on my own?”
“Spike, you’re a baby,” she answered. “If I let you wander off, that would make me an irresponsible guardian. And what would happen then?”
“You’d get charged for neglect?”
“Exactly. So you have to stay by my side for the whole festival.” A quiet swear left the dragon’s mouth. The two of them were passing a stage with nine ponies on it. They were all playing an upbeat tune. Spike recognized the group; they were one of Twilight’s favourites. A cheshire grin appeared on his face.
“Twilight!” Spike pointed to the band. “Look! It’s Paradise Lunch!”
“Ohmygosh! Where?!” Twilight’s head turned to the music. She ran towards the audience in front of the band with stars in her eyes. Spike chuckled at the sight and ran in the opposite direction. I hope I can make it.
*
A four pony band sat behind a curtain tuning their instruments. Gentle murmurs could be heard from the other side. The band consisted of an earth pony bassist, an earth pony trumpeter, an earth pony saxophonist, and a pegasus drummer. All of them were wearing white dress shirts, ties, black vests, and fedoras. The ribbon on their fedoras matched their ties in colour. After a few moments, they looked to an empty grand piano.
“Where is he?” the saxophonist asked. “We’re up soon.”
“Patience, Blues,” the trumpeter said. “He’ll be here. He’s never let us down before.”
“What happens if he doesn’t make it though?” the drummer asked. “Do we go on without him?”
“There’s two options we can go with, Sandy,” the bassist said. “We can perform without him, playing songs that don’t require a piano. And since some of the songs on our playlist include singing, one of us will have to sing in his place.” The trumpeter snickered.
“Oh yes, that’ll work,” he said rolling his eyes. “And I suppose you’ll sing in his place, Octavia?”
“I was going to suggest you, Baritone, or maybe Blues since you two actually can sing.”
“There’s a slight problem with that,” Sandy said. “Both of them have to use their lips for their instruments. They can’t sing, not unless they can throw their voices. …can you?”
“No,” both stallions said.
“Anyways, our second option is…”
“Is to let me perform so we can go on with our routine,” all four ponies turned the source of the voice. They found a baby dragon buttoning up a white dress shirt with a fedora over his head. “Were you planning to perform without me?”
“Of course not,” Octavia said. “We just needed a back-up plan in case you couldn’t show up. What kept you from here anyways?”
“Twilight,” he answered as he tied a purple tie around his collar.
“Ah yes, your guardian,” Baritone said. He idly pressed the valves on his trumpet. “Your wonderful, attractive guardian. Is she single?”
“She is,” Spike sat at the piano’s bench. He adjusted his fedora. “But I don’t think she’s attracted to anypony with a Y chromosome.”
“Can you set me up with her then?” Sandy asked. Three of the five band members chuckled.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Spike answered. His fingers gently danced on the piano’s keys. A white unicorn mare with a pink mane approached the band.
“You’re up in five minutes,” she said. “Ready to go?” All five musicians nodded. The mare turned around and left the backstage area. Spike cracked his neck and fingers.
“So, fillies and gents,” he held a fist to the other musicians. “Let’s make this showy.” The four ponies smiled and hit his fist.
*
The applause for Paradise Lunch died and the audience was beginning to disperse. A content smile was on Twilight’s face.
“That was incredible,” she said. “Wasn’t it?” She was met with silence.
“Spike?” Twilight looked around. “Spike?” The baby dragon was nowhere to be found.
“Son of a…”
“Twilight!” a scratchy voice said. Twilight looked up to see a rainbow maned pegasus flying towards her. She took two steps back to avoid being landed on.
“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said. “Listen, I lost track off…”
“You need to come see Smoking Aces with me,” Rainbow interrupted.
“Smoking who?” Twilight cocked her head in confusion.
“Smoking Aces, they’re a local jazz band here in Ponyville,” the pegasus lifted Twilight from the ground and flew off. “I love hearing them play. They have this new awesome pianist you’ll love. Come see them with me!”
“Wait! Rainbow, I can’t join you. I lost Spike!”
“Maybe we’ll find him where they’re performing!” before Twilight could argue any further, they reached a theatre. “Oh look, we’re here. Let’s go inside.” Twilight was gently placed on the ground. Rainbow walked inside with a smile on her face. The unicorn sighed and followed her friend. Maybe we will find him here. I hope he isn’t scared. Twilight found her rainbow friend sitting five rows away from the stage. She was fidgeting with glee.
“Can you tell me more about Smoking Aces?” Twilight asked.
“What’s to tell? They’re a local band that’s composed of five musicians. They travelled around Equestria playing in theatres and festivals. Their original pianist quit though, so they had to stop touring.”
“What’s this about a new pianist?”
“Isn’t it great? Now that they have a new pianist, they’ll be able to play again.”
“Who’s the new pianist?” As Rainbow opened her mouth to answer, the curtains on the stage opened up. Five shadowy figures stood on the stage. Three spot lights turned on showing who they were. All of the musicians had their eyes closed. Twilight’s eyes widened when she saw the baby dragon pianist. He raised his hands above his head. They dropped to the keys and the band began to play.
“Spike’s the new pianist for Smoking Aces?!” Twilight exclaimed.
“You didn’t know?” Rainbow whispered.
“You did?!” her cyan friend shrugged.
“I saw him playing with them at a pub a few nights back, I thought you knew.”
“We’re going to have a long talk about this,” Twilight whispered. She turned her head to the stage. The music coming from it was lively and soothing at the same time. There was a special expression on Spike’s face as he played. Twilight had only seen that expression on his face once in her lifetime. His face looked like that when he and Pinkie played a song in Appleloosa. A small smile appeared on her face. “Maybe a little chat, after they finish their sets for the festival.”