//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: The Sounds of Silence // by Asterilos the Star Watcher //------------------------------// It was a beautiful day in the land of Equestria, which is to say it was much like any other. This didn't detract from its glory, however. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue, the clouds were perfectly spaced, and the birds were singing sweet melodies as the residents of Ponyville prepared for another day, one they assumed to be quite ordinary. So, when a new pony arrived with a wagon full of possessions and a smile on his face, most ponies were understandably curious, and many stopped in what they were doing to watch for a minute. News of the new arrival spread quickly, and before long the most hospitable pony in Ponyville had quickly left the bakery and ran to meet the new arrival. Pinkie Pie bounced up as he began rummaging for something in his saddlebag, and squealed when she saw his C-Cleft cutie mark. “Ohmigosh, are you a music pony?!” she gasped, causing him to jump and spill his bag. A silver flute tumbled out alongside the map he wanted, and Pinkie’s eyes lit up as she squealed again. “You ARE a music pony! I’ve always wanted to meet a music pony because I like to sing but I’ve never had any music to go with it except for the time my friend Spike played the piano and at the Grand Galloping Gala! Oh!” She stopped and put a hoof on her face, eyes twinkling again. “We should throw a doubly fun party to welcome you! I like throwing parties, it’s my talent, see see see?!” She indicated her own balloon cutie mark before continuing on. “I mean I throw parties so well ponies call me Pinkie Pie the party pony! Well they should if they don’t, because it all starts with a ‘puh’ sound! By the way I’m Pinkie Pie!” She stuck a hoof out to him. It took him a moment to find his voice, face growing even redder than his deep crimson coat. “I, uh, I’m Allegretto. I’m new here from Manehattan to take a break from the music life.” He bent over to pick up his bag’s spilled contents, rubbing his flute against his flank to get some grit off of it, then noticed Pinkie staring at him expectantly. He sighed internally. It really never takes long before someone wants to hear me play. He took a deep breath and played a quick jig, swaying his head side to side as more ponies stopped and watched with rapt attention and growing happiness. Pinkie took up the beat and began to hop to it, giggling as she jumped around him in a circle. He finished with a flourish and bowed to the applause, tucking the flute away as Pinkie shook with excitement. “Wow, you’re really good! I can’t wait to tell everypony about you! Maybe you can play us another song at your party!” She began to hum the tune again and bounded off to plan another soiree, leaving a very confused Allegretto in her wake. Shaking his head to make sure he was awake, he began to pull his wagon towards the other end of town. Before he got much farther his attention was called to a cafe by a white unicorn with a very stylish purple mane sitting across from a lavender unicorn with a dark mane, a bright dash of pink in one section. The sight of the color made him shudder as he walked towards them, dropping the harness on his wagon to alleviate some of his back pain. He waved away the waiter and went to their table, bowing his head to them as they eyed him. “Nice to meet you, dear.” The white unicorn said with an air of nobility, sipping a drink daintily as she used her magic to add more sugar and stir it. “It’s always quite the commotion when somepony new shows up. I assume you’ve met Pinkie Pie?” He nodded and sat, blowing a lock of copper hair from his eyes as he readjusted his packs. “Met isn’t really the word. It was more along the lines of ‘verbally assailed.’” He chuckled as they laughed knowingly, wishing he hadn’t waved the waiter away. The long trip from Manehattan had made him thirsty, but the pleasure of playing for the excitable Pinkie pushed that away for a few minutes. With it lapping at his throat, he sat there and tried his best to not swallow every time one of the unicorns took a drink. “My name is Allegretto, I just moved here from Manehattan to-” Rarity was instantly upon him, eyes wide with wonder and passion. “Manehattan?! The big city?! Where the streets are paved with talent and everypony is on the cutting edge of every trend? Oh, how I envy you, sir Allegretto!” She pulled away and fanned herself, and Allegretto was again left confused in the wake of another excitable mare. The purple unicorn giggled as her friend realized what she did, sipping her tea with embarrassment. “You’ll have to excuse Rarity, she has large dreams involving the ‘cutting edge of trends’. I’m going to go ahead and introduce myself before somepony scares you off. I’m Twilight Sparkle, loyal student and messenger to Princess Celestia herself.” Her introduction wasn't without an unnecessary bit of pride, but if her claim was true, he couldn't blame her for it. She nodded her head politely as Rarity managed to recover her composure enough to be part of the conversation. Allegretto bowed his head and straightened a hoof, bowing to the two unicorns. “Pleasure to meet you both, ladies. Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Allegretto, a music pony, and I came from Manehattan to escape the pressure of the stage.” Rarity took a new interest in him altogether. “Ooo, a colt with manners and talent. And one at home on a stage. Oh, please say you come from a regal line!” She laid on the table and gazed at him, and again he felt uncomfortable. She noticed his silence and sighed, taking another sip of her tea. “I suppose it was too much to hope for. Ahh, maybe someday my pony will come.” He smiled slightly in sympathy for her and turned back to Twilight. “Miss Sparkle, Lady Rarity, do you think you could help me with finding my house? I’m absolutely unsure where everything is, and my map is no help at this point.” He reached his head into his saddlebag and pulled out the map, which was worn and smudged, and Ponyville was almost rubbed off. “It’s from my grandma, but she hasn’t exactly been up to date on anything for a while. I’d appreciate the help, for what that’s worth.” Both ponies finished their drinks and walked beside him. “It’d be our pleasure, Mister Allegretto.” Twilight said amicably. “Do you know where it’s supposed to be?” Allegretto tilted his head to think for a moment, slowly walking back towards his wagon. “Somewhere out of the way so I can practice my music without bothering anypony. Close to some woods or another.” He didn’t notice when both unicorn’s exchanged a glance, and when he hitched himself up he caught them looking. “Did I say something wrong?” he asked. Rarity cleared her throat and motioned for him to follow them, leading him down the main road towards a great treeline. “It seems you’re the owner of the house built near the Everfree Forest. It’s a nice enough place, dear, but you’ll have a neighbor who may not exactly enjoy a lot of noise.” She glanced over at Twilight, who nodded for her to go on. “She tends a lot of animals, and she’s a quiet thing, so if you could maybe not play very loudly…?” she trailed off, allowing him to extrapolate as he wished. He mulled it over in his head, then cast his thoughts back to some of his larger instruments. His cello, his trumpet, his snare, and his tuba might have to collect dust if he was to stay on the good side of as many ponies as possible. “Okay, I think I can handle that. I should probably practice my woodwinds and smaller strings more, anyway.” He beamed at them, and they both gave him appreciative smiles. He opened his mouth to talk again, when shouting could be heard coming down the main road towards them. A cloud of dust quickly closed in on them, and they could barely make out two ponies neck and neck in the midst of a race directly at them. While his companions didn’t bat a lash, he began to worry as they blazed towards them. They came to rest right before him, both talking rapidly at him while trying to nudge each other out of the way. One of them, a pale blue pegasus with rainbow mane and tail, took to fluttering above him trying to grab his attention. The other, a pale orange pony with a cowpony hat, was busy scrutinizing him while yelling just as loud as the pegasus. Finally, the pegasus won out. “Dang, Applejack, I told you I’d beat you here to introduce myself first!” “And ah’ guess ya think ya won, don’tcha? Well, we all know who the fastest pony in Ponyville happens to be, and it sure as sugar ain’t you!” She stuck her tongue out at the pegasus and turned to Allegretto. “Sorry ‘bout that, newcomer. Ah’m Applejack, proud member of the Apple family and best darn apple picker you ever seen!” She held a hoof out to him and smiled smugly at the pegasus. “Aww, no fair AJ! I wanted to be first!” she whined, lowering her head sulkily. She dropped to the ground and crossed her front hooves angrily. Allegretto, shaken for the third time in a day, took the outstretched hoof and shook it warily. “Nice to meet you, Applejack. Glad to hear Ponyville has a nice supply of apples. Quite a fan of them, myself. You’ll probably see me quite a bit.” He turned to the sulking pegasus and trotted over to her, whispering in her ear. “If it makes you feel any better, it’s just as big a pleasure to meet you, too.” She looked over at him and winked, flapping back up into the air. “It’s nothing! If I could’ve flown over here I would’ve won hands down! Nopony flies faster than Rainbow Dash!” She puffed out her chest and awaited his gasp of recognition, his begging for an autograph, his total and utter awe. Allegretto looked up at her with his head cocked to the side. “Nice to meet you, Miss Dash,” he replied with a grin. “My name’s Allegretto, a music pony. Nopony plays faster than me!” he said, mimicking her stance of bravado while the others snickered at her. He laughed and then winked at her, repairing her broken ego while they all accompanied him towards his new abode. “I already like Ponyville better than Manehattan. It’s so much more personal here, so friendly,” he remarked casually. Applejack nodded in agreement. “Yeah, mah time in Manehattan taught me that, too. Couldn’t nopony be bothered to spare ya a second glance.” She smiled at the old memory and what it had taught her, the town falling away behind them as they neared his new home. Rarity cleared her throat and trotted ahead of them a bit, prancing before them. “Well, that’s only if you’re a nopony. One day my name will be all over Equestria, and I’ll be hard pressed to be able to walk outdoors without being swarmed.” She sighed and fell into another fantasy of the glamour life, eyes glazed and half-open. Allegretto grimaced, his own memories being drudged up with theirs. “Well, you may want to rethink that. Being a nopony is much better than being swarmed all the time. I’ve… seen it happen a lot to some good friends, and it does get to you,” he mumbled the end, as if thought up on the spot. Twilight and Applejack both noticed, and both gave him the same questioning glance. “Oh, you know how it is in showbiz!” he said nervously. “I had lots of famous friends, moving up without me, getting the glitz and glamour!” He paused as Rarity sighed and slipped off into fantasy again. “Then they get mobbed, lose their privacy, and they miss the simplicity of their old lives.” He lowered his head for a minute and became lost in thought, leaving the others to come to their own conclusions. Rainbow Dash tapped his head twice as they approached his house, a homely hut built into a tree. Nearby was another home, covered in greenery with a river running nearby. “I say we take you to meet your neighbor before you get set up!” she said excitedly before taking off towards the house, the others following suit. Bracing himself for another emotionally taxing encounter, he trudged up with them as they were trying to draw out their friend. “Fluttershy!” Rainbow called, darting up to the windows and knocking on them as the others waited below. The door swung open with a comforting creak as the resident edged out, a yellow pegasus with a pink mane that drooped over her right eye. She carried a strip of gauze in her mouth as a small white bunny cradled the rest of the roll. “Oh, hey girls,” she said timidly, passing the gauze to the bunny. “What’s going on?” Twilight waved a hoof towards Allegretto. “This is your new neighbor. He’s a music pony from the big city.” She looked back at him and nodded towards Fluttershy. “Go on, introduce yourself.” Allegretto stood there motionless, mouth working like a fish. He pawed at the ground and looked down, hoping the blush on his face wasn’t showing. The others stared at him, Applejack and Rarity both smiling. This made him blush more, so he turned back towards the village and tried to compose himself. “I… I’m uh… Alle…Allegretto. N-n-nice to… nice to meet you, Fluh… Fluttershy.” He coughed in embarrassment and went to go inspect his wagon. Rainbow Dash glanced at her friends, then flew over to land next to him. “Hey, you alright? You’re actin’ kinda… lame. You’re gonna make Fluttershy self-conscious. What, you scared of animals or something?” She waited for a response, but all she got was a clank as he shifted his things around. She huffed and grabbed his tail with both fore hooves, dragging him back to them against his will. “Now, say hi like a normal pony!” she demanded, blocking his escape. He gulped once and turned back to Fluttershy, his heart in his throat as he tried to find his voice. Her eyes met his, and he was sure all the blood in him was rushing to his face. His mouth failed to produce sounds again, so he stood there gaping before finally forcing out a weak “Hello.” “Hi…” she mumbled back just as weak, lowering her head much like he did. “I’m…Fluttershy…” Her name was so low he strained to hear it past the thudding of his heart. “I… take care of animals like Angel…” The bunny on her back shot him a glare before hopping down and back inside. “Oh, don’t mind him… He doesn’t really like strangers.” “Hello,” Allegretto repeated, locked into emotional overload. They all stared at him for a minute before he seemed to break out of it. He realized almost instantly he’d made a foal of himself, so he quickly backpedaled to his wagon and stuck his head back inside. Applejack opened her mouth to say something before she heard a familiar voice bounding up towards them. Pinkie Pie raced towards them with a basket full of invitations, her confetti cannons firing at full blast. “Hey guys! I’m throwing a party for the new pony in town! He plays music and he’s really good, so I thought ‘Hey, why not throw a party and get him to play for us!’” She looked around and saw him with his head in his wagon, gasping. “There’s that silly filly!” Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Pinkie, he’s a colt, not a filly.” She tilted her head in confusion, the narrowed her eyes as she stared at him. “But I don’t really have any names for colts. Ooo, unless I call him a ‘dolty colty’! Oh, that works!” She squealed and started to bounce in place. “Dolty colty, dolty colty, dolty colty!” she repeated, the invitations staying in place by some strange Pinkie miracle. She stopped suddenly and passed all the invites out, confetti firing off again. “I have it all set up and everything! Cupcakes and cakes and punch and music and fun!” She switched gears again and looked around, searching. “Has anyone seen Gummy?” There was a shout, and they all stifled laughter as Allegretto came up with a new alligator hat, Gummy’s eyes blinking out of sync. “Mrrm mrrrrm mrrrm hrrm mrrm,” they heard, muffled by the toothless gator. Pinkie gasped. “Gummy! You silly, he’s not food! He’s a new pony friend!” She took a deep breath. “Don’t worry!” she shouted, making them all jump and spooking Fluttershy, who hid behind Twilight’s flank. “This just mean Gummy likes you!” His retort was muffled again, so Pinkie gently bit Gummy’s tail and pulled him off with a wet plop. “It’s okay, he just brushed, so his mouth is super clean!” “Consider me overjoyed,” he said in a deadpan voice, then wiped the spit from his face. His sight restored, he saw Fluttershy emerge from behind Twilight and locked up again, trying hard to force a breath past the lump in his throat. Again, the most he could muster was a weak wheeze, so he turned to bury his head again. Twilight moved next to him and turned back to her friends. “Girls, why don’t you all go help Pinkie with the party? I’ll go make sure Allegretto gets home.” Catching his extremely grateful glance, she trotted with him as he drug his wagon towards his house. When they were out of earshot, she looked at him with the most serious look she could muster. “You’ve got a crush on Fluttershy.” He gulped, then nodded once slowly. “No use hiding something from Celestia’s number one student.” He tried to get his thoughts in a line before talking, not wanting to dig further into his own grave. “I don’t even know her, though. I just saw her, and my heart just sort of went ‘There she is.’” He sighed and waited for her to mock him like his older acquaintances would have, so the reassuring nudge he got from her was a bit of a shock. “You’re not going to berate me for that?” She shook her head and opened the door for him, using her magic to help unload his things as quickly as possible. “No, not at all. I’ve known you for how long? Maybe an hour or so at that? And already I can tell you’re a sweet pony, just the kind of colt that Fluttershy deserves. I’m behind you one hundred percent on this, Allegretto.” He beamed at her as he drug his piano in on its side, trying his best to not hug her right now and forget his instruments. “I don’t suppose you have any spells that’ll help me talk to her, do you?” Twilight thought, then scanned over his assortment of instruments in the main room. “Why would a music pony need his voice when he can convey how he feels in other ways?” Thanks to his taxing day, it took him a minute to register what she was implying. Then he followed her gaze to his veritable orchestra, and the gears turned as his grin returned. “I’m going to need some music sheets and a quill.”