//------------------------------// // Highwayman // Story: The Man in Black // by Eagle //------------------------------// The next day, he awoke in the same way. Just like the day before, he walked outside and played guitar as he watched the sunrise. This time, however, the first one to meet him was Twilight, walking up to the house. “Mornin’” “Good morning. How’s everything been?” she asked. “Oh, just fine. Nothin’ much goin’ on. I kinda prefer the quiet now and then.” “That’s nice,” she said. “Do you have anything major planned for today?” “Not that I know of, no,” he answered. “Why?” “Princess Celestia wanted to meet you today. She’s waiting at the library for you.” “That’s ya’ll’s leader, correct?” “Yes, that’s her.” “Alright, then,” he said, putting the guitar away and poking his head through the door. “Hey, AJ. Twilight’s takin’ me to meet your Princess. Ya’ll need any more help today?” “No, we can handle it,” the response came. “You just make sure to make a good impression on her.” “Don’t worry. I’ll be very polite.” Johnny followed Twilight into town. She spent the time telling him about all the things about Celestia and what she could do; raising the sun, immortality, etc. However, Cash was paying more attention to the town he moved through. All of its inhabitants seemed to be missing. “They aren’t scared of me, are they?” he thought to himself. “Well, here we are,” Twilight said, bringing him back to reality. “Uh, the tree you mean?” “The library is built inside the tree.” “Ah, I see; very clever.” Waiting inside for them was a large, white alicorn. She was about his height, with a long mane that seemed to flow as if a fan was constantly in front of her. Again, Cash had a surprised look on his face. “Ah, you must be the human Twilight told me about,” she said. “Mr. Cash, correct?” “Uh, yes ma’am.” The three stood there for a moment, sharing a silence, before Twilight finally talked to John. “Johnny, why aren’t you bowing?” “Huh, I didn’t know I had to.” “Didn’t know!?” she jumped. “I told you on the way here that she’s the princess goddess that controls the sun and you have to bow when greeting her! Weren’t you listening?” “Oh, uh, no, not really,” he said, causing Twilight to get an angry look and Celestia to chuckle to herself. “Sorry, I was daydreamin'.” “Well, now you know.” “If it’s ok, I’d rather not,” he said. “Wait, what?” Twilight asked, with a confused look. “Well, she may be a goddess to you, but she’s not to me,” he said. “I mean, of course I respect her, but I have my own god.” Twilight wanted to say something. Not necessarily angry or hateful, but something to make him listen so her teacher wouldn’t throw him into the sun. Fortunately, Celestia spoke up first. “That would be fine with me,” she said. “I can understand if you worship another deity.” “Well, thank you ma’am. That’s very kind an undertsndin' of you.” Twilight relaxed and mentally let out a sigh of relief. “So, you have no way of returning home; is that correct?” Celestia asked. “Well, no. I mean, I died and woke up here, so I don’t think I would be able to go back. People might start getting’ scared when they see a corpse crawl out of the ground.” “True,” she replied. “Well, I see no reason why you can’t stay here. Just so long as you don’t cause any trouble, but I’m sure there’s no need to worry about that.” “No ma’am.” “And all the requirements for your stay have been met?” “Yes ma’am.” “Excellent,” she said. “And one more thing, you said you were a musician, correct?” “Yes ma’am, I play a music form called country,” he said. “From what I’ve heard, none of ya’ll have heard it around here.” “No, we haven’t,” she replied. “Did you play in a band?” “I have played in bands before, yes.” “Would you mind playing some of this, please?” she asked. “So that I can hear what it is like?” “It’d be an honor, ma’am.” Celestia sat there listening, intrigued by the sound. She spent most of the time trying to decipher the lyrics and meaning of the song, as few songs they had actually had words to them. As it ended, she caved and decided to ask him. “I’m afraid I don’t understand the meaning of the song. What was it about?” “It’s about the soul of a man who has different incarnations over time,” Cash explained, “a Highwayman, Sailor, Dam Builder, and a spaceman.” “Interesting; I wonder if that is what happened to you,” she suggested. “I have no idea, ma’am,” he replied. “Well, thank you very much, sir,” she said, walking over to the door. “If you need help with anything, feel free to call and ask for my help.” “Thank you, ma’am.” “Take care, Johnny Cash,” And with that she left, leaving only Twilight and the singer there. “Well, I guess I ought to be getting back,” he said. “The Apples might need my help with work.” “Oh, wait! Pinkie wanted you to come by Sugar Cube Corner for something,” Twilight said. “Pinkie, huh?” he replied. “Now what could she want me for?” “Uh…I don’t know!” she replied quickly. “Maybe we should go and find out.” It didn’t take much for Johnny to guess what was going to happen. “Alright, let’s get goin’.” “Hello?” Johnny called, walking into the pitch black building. “Anyone home?” “SURPRISE!” Pinkie yelled, jumping into his face again. “Yea, I figured,” he thought to himself. The rest of the lights came on to show the town was all stuffed into the building. Everything that was needed to throw a party was there. Johnny even noticed they had gone so far as to include a fresh steak for him,; albeit, it was being kept separate from the rest of the food, and the other party-goers were trying to avoid it. “So were you surprised?” Pinkie asked. “Well, you kinda told me you’d be throwin’ me a party,” Johnny said. “Oh ,shoot! I forgot I told you.” “It’s alright; this is still very nice of you to get all this for me,” “Oh, it’s no big deal,” Pinkie replied. “Every new pony, er…person, gets a welcoming party!” She grabbed his hand and dragged him to the center of the room. “Everyone, this is Johnny,” Pinkie said. “He’s an alien who died on his world and came here. And he’s a musician, too!” Some of the ponies became confused on her explanation of her description of him, but they all greeted them happily all the same. “It’s a pleasure to meet ya’ll,” he said. Each one looked rather different, so he wouldn’t be having trouble with the names. “Hey, Pinkie said you played music, right?” one of the ponies in the crowd asked. “Would you play us some music from your world?” The rest of the town amply agreed. “Alright,” he replied. “It’s been a while since I performed for a crowd, but it shouldn’t be a problem.” Taking out his guitar, he sat down on one of the tables, as the chairs were too small. The rest of the party quieted down and gathered tightly around him, eager to listen to this new form of music. Johnny noticed this, and couldn’t help but feel young, really young, again. “Hello,” he said, beginning his usual opening lines to his performances. “I’m Johnny Cash. This song here is about travelin’ around my home. And well, now that I’m on another world altogether, I guess I’ve really been everywhere!”” Most of the names of the places were missed by the crowd; but, they seemed to get the general idea, and applauded at the end. “Thanks,” Cash responded. “Ya’ll really know how to make an alien feel welcome.” The rest of the party went off fine. Johnny, most of the time, was being swarmed by ponies. They asked about his home world, what his life was like, how he came up with his music. He answered them all, which became rather exhausting, until the party died down and he finally found some peace. He was just finishing his steak when Pinkie came back to him. “Hey, Johnny; I’ve got some important ponies you’ll want to meet!” “Who are they?” he asked. “They’re both musicians, too! They heard your singing and wanted to hear some more!” “Really?” “Yep! They’re both really popular.” “Alright, send ‘em over.” Knowing what to expect, he got his guitar out again as Pinkie brought the two other ponies over. One was a white unicorn with shades covering her eyes. The second was a normal earth pony with a grey body. “Nice to meet ya’ll,” Cash greeted. “Nice to meet you, too,” the white one said. “I’m Vinyl Scratch.” “Octavia,” the other said. “Your music is very, interesting.” “What kind of music do ya’ll have here, anyways?” he asked. “My specialty is in Orchestra,” Octavia said. “Vinyl mostly plays dubstep.” “You ever heard of them?” Vinyl asked. “Orchestra is alright, a bit too fancy for me, though,” he said. “And dubstep is that electronic music, right? I just never really got into it. I prefer it when the song tells a story.” “That’s why your songs have words?” Vinyl asked. “I don’t see much in that, you can just read stories in books.” “Yea, but music has a certain way of putting it,” Cash explained. “Would you mind giving us another demonstration?” Octavia asked. “Sure,” he said simply, getting his guitar. “That was certainly interesting,” Octavia said. “Would you be willing to come by our house for an audition?” Cash nearly jumped to his feet at this. “Yea ma’am! I’d love to!” “Perfect,” she responded. “We can see if your new music is workable. Can you come in the day after tomorrow?” “Yes ma’am!” “Are you sure about this, Octy?” Vinyl asked. “I mean, it feels kinda…old.” “Not everything has to be as new or loud as your dubstep, Vinyl,” Octavia responded strictly. “I know talent when I see it.” “Pff, if you say so,” the unicorn responded. “He’s on you now.” “Don’t worry about Vinyl, you just need to show her you can be successful,” Octavia told John. “Until then, Mr. Cash.”