Ponies All Day-Writing Challenge

by ThunderTempest


10:30-11:00 "The Power of Music"

The first Pony to reportedly harness the power of Music as magic in Equestria has long since been lost to time. The few facts we know about this pony are thus: it was a mare, a travelling bard. She wandered up and down Equestria, bringing music and joy into the lives of every pony she met. But Equestria was not as peaceful then as it is now, but the bard was quick of wit, and silver of tongue, and talked and wheedled her way out of many a troubling situation. But one day, she was faced with a foe that she could not talk her escape from. What this foe was is unknown to us, but what happened between the two is clear enough. As the foe charged, the bard picked up her instrument, and prayed to the goddesses of the Sun, and the Moon, and the Earth to grant her the strength to defeat this foe. The Sun and the Moon remained silent, as they always have, but the Earth answered her call. As the mare played, magic poured into her instrument. The faster she played, the more magic it pulled in. As the bard struck the final note of her song, the magic released and in a display of power on a scale which the world has seen few of since, obliterated the bard’s enemy.

After realised that she had survived the encounter, the bard hurried away from the area, and dedicated herself to understanding what had happened. She came to the eventual conclusion that music is magic, and magic can be music. This is perhaps one of the most important discoveries of the period, as it first introduces the idea that magic is everywhere, in everything, even in something as abstract and inconcrete as music, and that with the right tools, and mind set, a skilled enough pony can convert freely between the two. The Unknown Bard, as we now call her, chronicled her efforts to train this new force in her journals, the contents of which are now, at least in part, copied into every magical textbook currently in print. This book exists as a guide to your journey in the hoofsteps of the Unknown Bard, and the free conversion of music to magic. Not everypony is capable of following this path, but the sheer fact that you are reading this means you are willing to try. It was the Unknown Bard who formed the first League of Combat Musicians, a group of individuals who shared her talent and desires. If you wish to follow in their hoofsteps, read on.

While this book contains many exercises and tips, do not treat it like a recipe to be followed exactly. This book, like the magic and music of life, is flexible. Start in the middle, if you so wish. Chop and change movements. Tailor the lessons within to your own style and instrument. There are 12 possible keys over an octave. Within that key, there are eight notes per major and minor scale. There are infinite possibilities for your path. Find your key and scale. There is no right or wrong answer.

Chapter 1, The Prelude-‘An Introduction to Combat Musicianship’, Unknown Author.