The summer sun shone in all his glory that afternoon in the pleasant town of Ponyville. Lyra laid peacefully on her favorite spot in the park bench lost in the world of dreams with no sounds but her comical snoring.
In her head she began to hear a beautiful melody, something new yet very familiar. Timidly she smiled, “This is ... great ... pretty simple, but truly great...”
The turquoise pony gave a long yawn while stretching her hind legs and turned around. The power behind the melody took her to a magnificent field . The sound was raw and looked very old.
Lyra body felt as if it were a soft cloud of cotton. She had landed on a bed of hundreds and hundreds of pink flowers of the sweetest aromas any pony had ever experienced. It was quite refreshing and replenishing.
“ Lyra ... “ said a little weak and sensual voice.
The unicorn moaned a little bit as she writhed to readjust because taking a nap on an old bench was no picnic.
“ Lyra …” said the voice again, “the music …”
“ Oh yes, of course, music …” she answered.
“ You must go …”
The pony began to sound mesmerized, “ Sure, sure …”
“ You must go to play the music …” said the owner of that pushy voice.
“ Yes …”
“ THE MUSIC, you have to go!”
Lyra suddenly rolled and fell. While she shook her head and got herself together she was a bit surprised to be among her best friend in the whole wide world, Bon Bon who wasn’t exactly in the best of moods for she knew her zesty companion was always tardy.
“ Oh, wow, if it isn’t you, Bon Bon, how’ve you been, girl?” said the pony in a tone very careless yet friendly way.
“ AHEM ... - she coughed, “ listen Lyra! It's getting awfully late!”
“ Oh, by Celestia! “ she cried. “ You’re so damn right! Today is the big day, well my big day to be selected in the Summer Festival and this time I’ll leave them speechless...”
“ But Lyra,” Bon Bon continued nodding.
“ Hush now, sweetie, I've been practicing day and night until my hooves are numb, look,” she said.
“ I know, dear, but it’s just that...”
Lyra silenced her laying her hoof gently upon her cheek , “ No, you don’t feel the least sorry for me, I'm stronger than a rock!”
Bon Bon shouted desperately pounding the ground with his front legs and kicking up dust, “ Listen, you'll be late and you don’t wanna lose your place, do you? There’s not much time, love, so you better go pronto!”
Lyra smiled armed with an amazing confidence , “HA! Beautiful, I guarantee you everything will work out fine, bye now!”
And so the pony vanished leaving Bon Bon somewhat perplexed yet she did go back to give her a kiss on her cheek. “Oh, I forgot!”
“ GOOD LUCK!” She only sighed deeply thinking to herself, “When you will that pony ever learn?”
Twilight Sparkle and Spike came to town bright and early for the preparations of the highly anticipated Summer Festival. The magical pony was beginning to realize that she was truly standing out in Ponyville thanks to her flawless organization work, but deep down she longed for do more than that. The pink dragon was resting on her back as usual and was munching on a corn muffin that Mrs.Cake had made while he carefully penned the checklist.
“Food, check, and might I add super extra delicious!” he said while licking his paw.
Twilight looked gleeful and radiant as she trotted down the street, “Okay, so I think it definitely has your seal of approval, my little friend, what’s next on the list?”
“Well, there still some work to be done on important details such as the building of the main stage ... but …”
Their peaceful conversation was heavily interrupted as some pony came at full speed and crashed against our friends. Twilight got up looking a little dazed and shook her head while he stammered, “Ayayaye! WHAT happened?! Ah, hello Lyra, wait, Lyra?”
“That’s my name, don’t wear it out, Twi,” she called her affectionately, “ Sorry but I’m in a big hurry, today is a great day, you know!”
“ Okay,okay, no need to apologize,” said the purple pony.
“Hey, we should chat one of these days, for old times sake,” Lyra said cheerfully.
“That sounds incredible but …”
“SORRY! Gotta go, wish me luck, although I was practically born with it”, and thus she disappeared as she galloped into the horizon.
“Sheesh,” Spike said as he shook the dust off his scales, “She was pretty chaotic, like in the old school days, huh, Twilight? -
The unicorn suddenly blushed, “AH ... yeah, of course ... no need to go there.”
“Oh, come on, after all she just wanted to be your friend …”
“Yes, but she discovered that her talent was music and mine was magic! They’re very different things. It appears she has been practicing very hard to play for the princesses and it would be so great if they gave her the chance!”
“But …” Spike said thoughtfully waiting for her to finish her remark.
“ ... Nothing, Spike, nothing,” Twilight said crestfallen but then remembered that she had several tasks that filled her mind with excitement, “Let’s go ! You have to catch up on a world of things!”
After that incident she refused to continue talking about the matter, Twilight was as if nothing had happened but her pink friend was so keen to read between the lines. It was as if for a moment it had opened an old wound.
“ Don’t you worry , Spike! I'm fine, really,” she said trotting cheerfully.
Meanwhile, Lyra was heading towards the great kingdom of Canterlot. Gone was the image of the humble town of Ponyville and ran up to the hills and sprinted down where she could see a path filled with thousands of honeysuckles pink as cotton candy in full bloom.
“ I haven’t noticed these before, they’re amazing! And they smell divine!” She said to herself. “It must be the work of Luna, she loves this kind of scenery, although it DOES reminds me of something …”
For a moment came a vague memory of a rather similar background, was what the old ponies called ,the feeling having been there before.
“ Something big is coming ! I can feel it , it has to be the intuition that Mom spoke,about but still I have to be alert, you never know …”
As if her suspicions were correct indeed behind her came across an earth pony she had never seen before.
It was a young colt perhaps the same age as Lyra (if there is such thing in the world as the pony years) he was pale as the fog in the autumn mornings and his mane and tail were purple like plum cake, he was entirely dressed in black and beared what seemed to be a embroidered cutie mark of a musical note with bright stars ,which seemed quite unusual at the moment. His look and his behavior were intimidating because as soon as Lyra looked back at him he chuckled maliciously. She didn’t get carried away and answered the same way. The mysterious colt continued to mock her and went ahead.
“The nerve of that guy!” cried Lyra “... wait ... he’s headed for the castle, it is possible that …”YES! This doesn’t seem right.” The turquoise unicorn quickened her pace as she had detected a possible threat, “Oh no you don’t !, Not if I can help it...”
Using the wind as her guide Lyra made every last effort to arrive on time but as soon as she saw the Great Music Hall of Canterlot she was greeted by another familiar face that was none other than Octavia, the bass and prodigy who had been chosen to perform at the Grand Galloping Gala year after boring year.
“My, my, my! Look what the cat dragged in... “said the brown pony with a somewhat contemptuous attitude. Lyra looked disheveled but her herbag which contained her beloved instrument with which she had practiced since childhood. She’d even called her Calliope.
“Oh, hello! Long time no see, eh?”- said the unicorn smothered, “I guess you have everything under control, right?”
“ But of course!,” said Octavia very properly, “ You see, my group is ALWAYS gets chosen I wonder why now the princesses want to have competition...”
“Well …” Lyra said. “ After the return of Princess Luna I suppose that we should be more open to other musical experiences, don’t you think? I feel very good about this change.but I know I have potential …”
“You do? We shall see about that, Lyra! I think you’re going to need more than luck for what’s coming,” said Octavia. “ Although I would recommend to avoid getting high hopes for the fall can be a little bit rough.”
“Huh? “ Lyra said surprised, “ I actually was chasing another mysterious newcomer but forget it.”
“ Anyway,no need to make these silly little contests it is clear who has the profile that Her Highness is searching for.”
“For heaven's sake, it seems as if this festival was the last of their lives! Relax, everything will be more than excellent no matter what, friends? Lyra said quieter pending approval extending her hoof but Octavia replied the noble gesture reluctantly, “Whatever you say, amateur...”
Feeling incredibly powerful and optimistic the mint colored unicorn entered the theatre. Lyra had never seen this part of the enclosure. The wall to wall decor evoked a style which they called PreCelestian, which was used before the arrival of alicorns to Equestria but it was a replica and they decided to keep some of the traditions of ancient times. It contained hundreds of ornamental purple flower which were sewn by crafts ponies who came from distant lands. It took at least fifteen years to complete the work. On the ceiling there was a huge crystal chandelier finely carved to complete the luxurious atmosphere.
“Sweet …” said the unicorn with its head held high, “this is what I call living large. Not so far away another tiny white unicorn with electric blue mane and large and colorful sunglasses was getting ready, “Oh, I see you also want to duel with me,Vinyl …” Following his friendly attitude she greeted her warmly and unlike Octavia she was more cordial. “Give me that hoof!” And both clashed their rumps.
At the top of the seats were three other important personages. The first was a renowned talent scout known Simon Von Hooves, who came from Manehattan. His body was colored sand and wore thick glasses which reflected his excellent taste. Sapphire Shores, the pony of pop sensation from Fillydelphia who had a mane of bright shades of blue , and a smaller one with tousled mane named Vyla of Neon City. And while the contestants came they chatted among theirselves subtly complaining about the lack of taste in this event.
“Seriously,” Simon began in a low tone to preserve discretion, “I do not see any sense in continuing with these shenanigans , I feel like I'm really wasting my time , you know who’s selected every year, not because of popularity but for its quality of performance and their extensive experience.”
“Settle down, now sugar,” interrupted Miss Shores, “ I think it's a good idea to bring some pizazz, get with the times now, Honey,” she said accommodating her curly hair, “hopefully these improvements of Her Highness, Luna will please everyone. Just the thought of more concerts at night time will make put me in the spotlight.”
“So true!,” Vyla said. “ After all the actual fun begins when the sun goes down, you know, or perhaps you're still a little bit conservative, eh?”
“Ah …” Simon gave a short sigh, “Let’s get on with it.”
The first to appear was Octavia Octave and her quartet composed of basses and cellos. They performed an original piece entitled, Miracolo,something a little out of her repertoire but the strength and tenacity of her execution gave the environment a very dramatic tone as if the fury of the gods had been awakened and came to do a tremendous chaos in the room. In the end the proud brown pony closed her presentation without losing control or style.
“THANKS! It's amazing! No more to say …” Von Hooves said in a scornful tone, clopping energetically , “ Can we go now?”
“Hold on, big guy!” Sapphire cried . “The decision must be unanimous, there are others who deserve to be heard.”
“Well, but I’m warning you, anyone else will not make me change my mind, pure rubbish.”
Oh, our next contestant is the young enthusiast Vinyl Scratch who has brought a selection of remixed tracks of popular themes.
“Electronic music …” Simon said quietly, with his arms crossed, “Surprise me, why don’t you?”
Vinyl knew that this was a pretty big challenge because she had to instill some formality so she opted for a nice smooth style of acid jazz.The judges looked relaxed but not so impressed.
“ Charming …” said Vyla shyly as she took some notes.
“DIVINE!” Sapphire said, rising.
“I still don’t like it …” Simon was only doing what he did best , which was nothing but reject the new, “ for a fashion show it would be acceptable but not for an entire concert.”
Vinyl left a little bit frustrated and quite quickly she saw that success was not expected. But she took it rather well and mature enough.
Now came Lyra’s turn, one of the most important moments of her life was about to take place, the day she stopped being a fan to enter the major leagues.
“This is it, don’t get scared now,” she said to herself, “fate is on your side, remember the signs that Mom told you about..”
The pony DJ went backstage sobbing, “Why? WHY?”
Lyra gulped feeling nervous, to calm herself down she closed her eyes and thought about the landscape of her dreams of honeysuckle, sweet and succulent honeysuckle ...
“NEXT!” Simon shouted vigorously.
The stage was almost completely dark and one light pointed out toward the aquamarine unicorn.
“WELL, what shall it be, young lady?,” said the arrogant colt.
“Ahem .. . “ she began, “this is a song my mother taught me. It may not be much but it's all I have. It's called "The Melody of the Heart."
She took out her favorite instrument that certainly was a tiny lyre she dubbed Calliope. It fell into misuse in these modern times but she learned to honor the ponies of yesteryear. She started well but something was causing frustration and an occasional yawn. Lyra felt her legs trembling while the cold sweat was covering her body. Then she thought, “Tough hard, time for plan B.” So she began to apply more aggressive notes, shook all over the place as her own, the rhythm took a higher speed and increasingly almost like a acoustic guitar. The judges were almost speechless.
Finally the turquoise pony swept and spontaneously shouted, “THANK YOU ,CANTERLOT AND HAVE A GOOD NIGHT!”
The room was dead for matter of seconds.
“Eh, well?” Simon Von Hooves reacted. “Is that all? Quite frankly I’m not interested in hearing the rest of it.”
Feeling somewhat defeated Lyra frowned and responded as any professional, would ,“When you touch the soul is all or nothing . I hope you understand that someday ... thanks for the opportunity, though,” And so she went dragging her feet as if there was no hope in this dreamy place. Months after arduous months of rehearsals, unconditional support from her best friend Bon Bon, sleep deprivations to see her magnificent work vanished in a couple of seconds.
“This not only has reached the point of satiety but it’s is almost insulting, ladies !” said the judge sand-colored pony. “That's all I'll be listening, one more and I’ll never come back to participate in these events, my ears are accustomed to a point less than excellence.”
“Now hold, you big nincompoop!,” Sapphire Shores responded forcefully. “You should apologize, that girl may not have much experience but I could see a genuine love of being on stage and shine like the great ones, we call it guts, I think it is unfair to let her go so soon...”
Vyla interrupted, “I remind you that the decision must be unanimous and we can not really afford that to admit someone with so little audience”
“TRUE! Therefore I declare that it shall be the quartet …”
Vyla interrupted again, “there’s one more participant , he comes from the city of Greyville and …”
The lights went out leaving the room feeling as gloomy as walking through a graveyard at night. Lyra could not help but notice and decided to spy or to ensure that everything was okay, so she peeked from backstage.
The silence was cut by the presence of the young earth pony. His dark clothing and made him look equally imposing as the presence of the former Nightmare Moon almost like a villain.
“It's him! ... I mean, he’s the one …,” Lyra whispered. “The one I came across to this very afternoon …”
The mysterious Greyvillian was introduced himself as Knight Shade.
“I see you've saved the best for last and I assure you will not regret it ,” he began with a sweet and somber tone, “as this will be the only and last song that you’ll ever listen to...”
Next he pulled out what appeared to be a long string instrument that was colored ebony and gold. It was a wooden lyre which design was quite common before the arrival of the princesses. Its notes were crude, similar to an acoustic guitar but giving deeper sense of being transported to another era. The interpretation was brief but effective. The judges were possessed by the moment , or the music and they all cried in unison,
“SENSATIONAL .... BRAVO ... THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR !”
“Look no further,” Simon exclaimed, “We’ve found our new star!”
“And he’s SO cute …” Vyla said cheerfully.
“Incredibly sensational,” Sapphire said, “Now that’s what I call talent!”
But there was something wrong in their eyes that did not please the young Lyra. She kept hiding to avoid being discovered by the intimidating white pony and kept thinking about a logical explanation,
“That song sounds so familiar ... I swear that I heard it before, but where?” asked the girl very distraught, “What makes it so good to have chosen it, he is the worst by far ... not that I hated this grimdark music but …”
Knight Shade hurried behind the stage and looked from side to side while the unicorn stood in a corner because she couldn’t believe he was smart enough to sense the presence of someone who was spying on him. Then put the prodigious lyre away instead.
Lyra came out and the first pony she ran into came across was Octavia. “I gotta tell someone about this …”
“Say what, rookie?” said the brown pony.
“Ah ... nothing! In fact I wanted to congratulate you because I really feel you’ll win anyway, so there's nothing more I could possibly add...”
Octavia didn’t sound very convinced and arched her eyebrows as a sign of mistrust,”That's it, or are you hiding something from me?”
“Me? Why should I? In fact we should put our differences, behind, please?”
Octavia said, “I knew it! There’s something fishy around here!”
“Oh great!” continued Lyra, “now we all know that something is wrong ... oops!” and smiled nervously.
“Out of my way …” The young interpreter stepped out into the theatre longing to hear Simon Von Hooves, Sapphire and Vyla mention her name forming part of the Summer Festival. However when she saw the mysterious pony being congratulated instead her expression changed dramatically as if he had seen a ghost. It was clear that these news would be catastrophic for her and her reputation.
“ By all Equestria skies! No way …” Octavia fainted quickly and fortunately Lyra was there to catch her although it was slightly disastrous. After the weight of the brown pony fell on her she said only with great difficulty, “I have the slightest feeling this won’t end well.”
END OF CHAPTER 1.