//------------------------------//
//  Chapter One Part Ten 
// Story: Migraines 
// by SwiperTheFox 
//------------------------------//


Raspberry looked back up. Leo stood over them, panting heavily and holding a guitar cracked in half. He reached out a hoof and Raspberry took it. Flash waved from few steps behind Leo, and then he sped over. Scouse also waved from down at the entrance of the alley.

“So,” Leo began, “Who is this blasted pony?” Leo shoved the black colt with his back hooves, which remained still.

“I… I don’t really know,” answered Raspberry, and Leo and Flash looked back at him blankly. “Well, I suppose I sort of know… at least I know some part of our… ‘Relationship’, shall we say.”

A sudden flash of sparkly blue light shot up from underneath their hooves. The three of them immediately looked down to see the blue cape fluttering, and then nothing. The colt seemed to disappear into thin air.

“Well, that was… interesting,” Leo said, and he dropped the guitar to the ground.

“But I do basically know,” Raspberry said, rubbing the side of his face with his hooves, “I don’t know his name, but think I know pretty well why he’s here and what he’s after. I mean, he’s after the same thing I’m after I’m pretty sure.” He sounded like… we’re on the same ‘team’ or something? What the hell?

“Well?!” called out Flash. “What was that— thing?!”

“It’s, it’s,” replied Raspberry, “It’s a weird story, one that you’d find barely believable.”

“It often is the longest and least believable stories that are the truest,” Leo said, locking eyes with Raspberry. Leo patted Raspberry and Flash on their backs, and then all four colts started back home. It took a while for Raspberry to decide how much to tell them. He felt like he had no choice but to trust them. He desperately needed some kind of friends to help him out, anyway. 

“I’m looking for something,” Raspberry said as the four of them creaked open the door to Knack’s place. He had been quiet for a while, with the three colts clearly seeing how deeply he was thinking. “It’s this gem-like thing. It’s a substance that looks like a rare jewel, but it’s originally not even from this world. And the gem has been put into his special amulet.”

“Then what on earth are you doing here?!” Sparks said, giving Raspberry a soft smack on the side. “Get yourself to Spark’s jewelry place.”

“No, no, no,” Raspberry said, glancing at the floor as he shook his head. Ugh… I hate if I have to keep giving this little lecture to peop— to ponies.

“Whatever it is, you can tell us,” Scouse said, and then he twirled his hair around with his right hoof. “I GUARANTEE you that we’ve seen weirder things on the road.”

“Like— like— like” Flash began, tapping Scouse’s head, “Like that one time. When we we’re touring with Crush and going alongside Ponyville. The gig was totally canceled but we only found out when he got there later. But anyways, Crush kept saying that we needed to shortcut through the woods. And Twilight was all like, ‘No, way, that just has to be a dead end’. And I was all like, “Listen to Twilight, let’s just out of this blasted place’.”

“And Flash made Crash made his silly little scrunched face— he hates being called ‘Twilight’ since he thinks it’s only a mare’s name,” Scouse said, chuckling.

“Yeah, yeah,” Leo muttered, smiling big. “Keep going.”

“And then we went through the forest, and it just got darker and darker. And of course Twilight was totally tired,” Flash went on, “So, we all parked on this flat sort of mini-field thing. Twilight set himself up with this deluxe sleeping bag thing— all separate from the rest of us, of course— right on what looked like the comfiest spot. There was all of this soft marshy stuff on the ground.”

“Then, we all get to sleeping,” Scouse interrupted.

“Right, we all get to sleeping,” Flash continued, and then he muttered, “Hey, I’m telling it… okay…”
Scouse shrugged and took a step back.

“Sleeping,” said Flash, “And around half an hour into it, we start hearing this low moaning. Real pleasurable and real… like… ‘wanting’. So, Scouse, Leo, and I got up really slow and walked over to the side. And then just guess what we saw…”

“Yeah, totally!” Leo remarked.

“S-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-snakes,” Flash said, playing with the ‘s’, “He had set himself up on a bed of blasted SNAKES. And they were like these super-long, super-wide mutant snakes. But that’s not the best part. It was that they were all creeping and slithering over him, and he was just loving it. I mean LOVING it. Twilight was totally sound asleep, but he felt this one really, really long black one going down his shirt. And he had… the stupidest grin…”

Leo pressed against the sides of his face and curled up his cheeks while sticking his tongue out.

“Yeah!” Flash said, “And oh, he was moaning and groaning softly as he was all rubbed and everything.” Flash tried to keep himself from laughing. “And then, when we realized that we just had to wake him up… Scouse over there shouted.”

“I screamed, ‘Hey, Twilight!” said Scouse.

Flash said, “And then, he bounced upwards like THAT,” Flash smacked one hoof upon another. “He twisted all about, grabbing himself. And then he screamed like he was trying to raise— the— dead!”

“Then he turned to me,” Leo said, pointing his hoof straight up, “He screamed, ‘Bottle! Bottle! BOTTLE!’ And it took a second for me to register, but then I tossed the green vial that he had given me two days before. And, what do you know—”

“In maybe four seconds, tops, Twilight had poured all of the stuff all over himself and all where he sat,” Flash said, “And then he jumped a step away, shot his hooves out, and then made this incantation. His horn was glowing as bright as a lighthouse.”

“These green sparkles flashed all over that spot,” Leo said, fluttering his hooves about, “And just like that!” He snapped the end of his hooves together. “There was nothing. No snakes. No sleeping bag. No mossy spot. Just one terrified colt, but now— fully naked.”

The three band members looked right at Raspberry, all of them making huge smiles.

“Uh… okay,” Raspberry said.

“The point is,” Scouse began, tapping Raspberry’s side, “Just tell us the truth. We’ll believe every word.”

Raspberry took a deep breath. He then filled the three colts in with what he had told Sparks and Knack. He also added a bit about his mental difficulties— in particular about his dealings with the since deceased lamp and the umbrella still on the loose— and what the cowpony had said. Raspberry skated around the whole human thing, though, and he kept mum about where he originally had come from.

“Well, then,” Leo said, rubbing his hooves together, “The answer is easy.”

“Easy,” Raspberry repeated, “How… can it be easy.”

“Or… at least…” said Leo, now glancing about evasively, “The next step is easy. You have to talk to a dragon. For sure.”
“Yeah,” Flash said, “There’s probably some legend. And that legend is probably true. And some real life house or museum or office or something holds what you’re looking for.”

“Of course, in the past few days finding a dragon is easier said than done,” Scouse said.

“But,” Leo commented, “This is quite literally THE best place to see dragons and ponies mingling together. Ever since their own clubs and bars on the other side of Coltsville closed, this is the only place I’ve seen a dragon walk into.”

“Yeah, that’s what Knack said,” Raspberry muttered, “I guess I’ll just wait…” Still, something really tells me I should be getting my ass to Everfree Forest. Just the name seems to trigger something in my mind.

The colts walked back into the main room. They seemed to gravitate towards their instruments without thinking. Scouse randomly played the beginning to some bouncy sonata, stopped, and then turned around to face the rest of the band.

“I, for one,” he said, brushing his hair out of his eyes, “Don’t see why you don’t grab your things, march outside, take the next pegasus ride to Canterlot, walk up to the castle, and then tell Celestia every single word you just told us.”

The very words ‘pegasus ride’ seemed to trigger a small panic attack in Raspberry. He visualized several solid minutes of vomiting, wetting himself, and non-stop screaming. Before Raspberry said a word, Flash called out, “Oh. My. Goodness. Are you really going to send him to his death sentence like that?”

“Death sentence?” Scouse replied, rolling his eyes. “Well, really? Seriously?”

“If she was so cold-blooded,” Flash began, grabbing his bass. “Black-hearted,” He threw the strap over his head. “And block-headed,” He thrust down his fist and heard a loud purr. “To her own sister, her own flesh and blood— her OWN SISTER.” He tapped out a chord. “Giving her a few THOUSAND YEARS banishment. What could possibly make you think she wouldn’t turn Raspberry into a smoking pile of ash? Or at least blow his rear to the moon.”

“A sister,” Scouse replied, plinking some of the low keys, “That, I’d like to remind you… tried to bathe Equestria in ETERNAL DARKNESS.”

“So…” Flash muttered, going on with his impromptu jam. “What’s so blasted bad about that? It’s too blasted hot and sunny outside with long enough days…”

“The point is!” Scouse called out, getting more annoyed and plinking the keys harder, “Given that Raspberry has done absolutely NOTHING to hurt ANYONE and he’s going to an alicorn that is supposed to represent love and tolerance for help—”

“Noone in this world is going to help you for anything. Period. Everything in this world has to be either earned, or taken, that’s the reality of life,” Flash replied, moving his hooves as if he was giving a lecture.

“You know you don’t really mean that,” Leo said. The three colts began grousing at each other again, and Raspberry quickly tuned them out. He kept trying with the drums, replaying in his mind that classic two-bits Bo Diddley beat that he’d hear hundreds of times before. He tapped the drums aimlessly for a little bit, but soon a light-bulb went over his head.

“Something simple, right?” Raspberry asked. The three colts looked at him. “So, maybe something in like the Chuck Berry or Little Richard vein?” They kept looking at him. “Okay, then maybe something in the ‘Berry Punch’ and ‘Little Orchard’ pony-world vein?” Raspberry started straight at the drums, and he visualized one of the songs that had been rattling around in brain over and over again for the past week.

The sticks floated in the air and slammed down that bombastic *thumpa thumpa thumpa*beat that he desperately wanted. “Yeah!” he screamed. He clapped his hooves to the rhythm.

“Awwwww— see! See-See Rider! I said— see! What— you have done now!” Raspberry sang. He flung out his right hoof and the piano, totally bathed in purple, began playing the melody. He let out a happy screech while bouncing up and down. The rest of the band continued to blankly stare at him, but he paid no attention.

“What else, what else?” Raspberry yelled, and then he sped out the door. He flung himself up the stairs into his room, grabbed his iPod, and then flung back down. The piano and drums kept hammering away as he ran. Raspberry threw the iPod down onto the drummer stool, clicked the wheel over to Mitch Ryder, and then cranked the volume to the max. He tipped his glowing horn at the earbuds, and the sound began to fill the room.

“OOOOH!” shrieked Flash as he twirled himself about like a tornado. He clutched his bass against his chest and began flipping through the funky beat. Leo followed immediately— closing his eyes and pounding the guitar without mercy. Scouse gave up competing with Raspberry’s magical piano playing and started shaking the maracas.

“NOW!” Raspberry announced, about a minute or so into the song, “It’s time for The Attractions’ version!” He magically clicked off the iPod and then kicked it off of the stool. He reached up his front hooves like a sorcerer casting a spell. “Jenny, Jenny, Jenny! Won't you come along with me! Jenny, Jenny! WHOOOOOO— Jenny, Jenny!”

The three colts seemed to be having the time of their lives. Leo knelt back and flung his hoof back and forth like a spinning top. Flash bit his lip, closed his eyes tightly, and hopped upwards as if he was about to fly. Raspberry jumped off the stool and pointed both hooves at Flash. Raspberry screamed, “Just GO! Pony GO!”

Flash thrust the bass in front of him and his hooves seemed to melt. He sped through note after note, chord after chord. He made a huge kick, leaned back, and balanced the bass on his chest while still flowing through his solo. Raspberry pounded the tom-toms and then smacked around the cymbals, trying his best to keep up.

Leo banged through a quick burst of notes— shifting the guitar side to side almost as if he was juggling it. Flash began building a scream. The whole group just built up and up and moved faster and faster. Then, Raspberry threw himself to the floor and bellowed, “Jenny! Jenny! JENNY!” He heard the lights above him flashing and then popping just like fireworks.

Everypony paused. They then immediately congratulated each other, all smiles. Flash in particularly looked just like the cat that had just swallowed the canary.

“Holy cheese and crackers!” Flash called out, rubbing his sweat-soaked mane.

“Wow, just… wow…” Leo said, feeling a bit in shock, “I haven’t felt that way since Crush left.”

“Absolutely,” Scouse added.

“And just where,” Leo said, shaking his head, “Where did you possibly learn that magic?”

Raspberry’s smile left. “I… uh… learned…” he stammered. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?” the three colts asked in unison, which creeped Raspberry out.

“Nothing,” Raspberry replied, “I’ve never learned anything, at all, about magic… from anyone…”

“Well, I know we’ve been through this, but seriously,” Flash said, giving Raspberry a gentle whack to the side, “I’ve never seen that kind of magic playing before. Oh sure, I’ve seen ponies use magic. But I’ve never— EVER— seen a pony walk completely out the room… and the blasted instruments kept playing WITHOUT HIM!”

“Oh…” Raspberry said, making a nervous chuckle, “I didn’t… even… notice… that…”

“And you turned whatever tiny electronic gizmo you’ve got there,” Scouse said, “Magically loud enough that they could hear it outside.”

“And— again, all of this at the same time that you played two instruments without seeing them— you blew out all of the bulbs after a little lightshow,” Flash said, and Raspberry suddenly felt embarrassed.

“Sorry about that,” Raspberry replied. Without really thinking, he threw himself back and shot his hooves to the air. A loud sucking sound flew through the room and the ceiling became bathed in purple light. The lines of bulbs seemed to twist and pulse like caterpillars coming out of pupas. In just a few seconds, all of the lights had been reformed good as new.

“Aw, come on, we’re not going to have another lamp-like performance are we?” Raspberry asked himself. Not lit? Dammit. He closed his eyes and his horn began glowing brightly. He twitched his ears. The lights went back on. A-ha, fabulous!

“Uh— uh—uh— uh— uh—” Flash muttered. Raspberry suddenly realized that all three colts had their mouths open.

“Well…” Raspberry began, “Umm, sorry about that. Maybe we should rehearse outside next time.”

“Are those… permanent?” Scouse muttered. He ambled up onto the piano stool and then onto the piano. He stood up high, reached out, and touched a few bulbs. “Praise Celestia, they’re the real deal. It’s a total and complete transmogrification.”

“I fixed the bulbs, so yeah, they sure as hell are permanent,” Raspberry retorted, “Look— can’t we just drop this and get back to—”

“You’re… you’re not…” Leo began, “An… alicorn? Are you?”

“Alley— corn?” Raspberry murmured. Flash suddenly pulled down part of his pants and lifted part of his suit. “HEY!”

“He’s clean,” Flash calmly said. Raspberry went as if to smack Flash’s hoof, but he didn’t.

“An alicorn,” Leo said, “It’s like Princess Celestia or like Princess Luna. Or like… somepony else.” He tapped his head. “Okay then, I guess there’s only two. I think. But anyways, they’re the ponies that have both wings AND a horn AND special strength.”

“Well, it’s one for three here,” Raspberry replied. He felt rather annoyed, and he went back over to grab his iPod and slide it into his suit pocket. He walked back over to where the three colts sat in the middle of the floor. “Oh, geez, you guys seriously look like you’ve never seen magic before. Don’t you see that sort of thing like every second of every day?”

“Raspberry,” Leo said, seizing Raspberry’s face with his hooves and setting themselves up eye to eye, “Do you realize— that even the SMARTEST unicorns who have spent their ENTIRE LIVES studying magic are usually unable to do in days what you just did in TWENTY SECONDS?”

“I guess I didn’t,” Raspberry answered. He jerked out of Leo’s hold and trotted over to the door upstairs. “Now, seriously guys, stop joking with me. I’m super freaking-hungry and super-freaking tired. So I’m going to hit the buffet and then the hay. It’s either ‘nap’ or ‘sleep’. So, should we run through some of our specific setlist tonight?”

The three colts stared upwards at the lights, which they apparently expected to burst into flames or something. Raspberry rolled his head around, and then he said, “Okay, silence means— ‘sleep’.”

“Is it just me,” Scouse muttered, “Or does the rest of the ceiling besides the lights look… cleaned?”

“I’ve been working here for four— blasted— years,” Leo declared, “And now I learn that it’s actually painted— white.”

Raspberry hurled himself upon his bed. He took off his suit, undershirt, and belt and threw them into the laundry basket. He began to go for the pants but they seemed stuck like a lollipop to a theater floor. Raspberry waved his hands in annoyance and just leaned flat down. He gazed out the window.

The moon looked so beautiful. He felt himself drifting off already. His eyes trailed the shooting stars darting about around the moon. One of those… just might be home…

=End Chapter One