//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: The Blessing and the Curse // by Equestria Buck Yeah //------------------------------// Matt hopped out of the car, closed the door behind him and leaned up against the door with a ridiculous smile. "Not bad, eh?" "Where in the world did you get this...thing?" Twilight asked. Being the first of the group to be aware of the presence of an otherworldly device, Applejack stepped up, silencing Matt before he could respond. "No, wait, let me guess. Wherever you found it, it wasn't there before." "Close, but only half right." Matt motioned to Rainbow Dash with his thumb. "She happened to find a house outside of town, but this bad boy was there too." "A whole house?!" "But, if you want to know where it came from," he interjected, getting back in the car to shuffle through the glove compartment for the vehicle's insurance papers, "uhhh, Springfield, Missouri." "Did... You didn't happen to find other people, did you?" He shook his head. "No, it was empty. We searched the place, didn't find anything weird going on anywhere in it, just like where Apple Bloom found the phone. Twilight, you realize I'm going to ask if you could do that thing that you did to the phone." "Err, yeah. But this is starting to worry me, Matt," she said with a stomp. "I was hoping that thing you showed me the other day was just a fluke, but now entire buildings are appearing out of nowhere? I'm sorry, but something weird's going on and I kind of want to get Celestia and Luna to take a look at this too. I'm not going to keep them in the dark like I did with you." Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy shared a look, none of whom were aware of what had happened over the last few days. Though Applejack had wanted to tell Rarity about the iPhone and what she and Matt had talked about while they had tea earlier, it got put on the back burner for the farm girl's love-related stories instead. "I'm sorry, but what's everypony talking about?" Fluttershy squeaked. Matt reached into his pocket and pulled out the first misplaced object, showing the phone briefly to the trio. "Ooo, a new toy that we've never seen before! I love new toys that we've never seen before!" Pinkie cooed before taking a second to stare blankly. "Uh, what's it do?" "I'll let Twilight show you guys that when we decide to head over to the place." He cocked an eyebrow at the dumbfounded unicorn. Her big purple eyes scanned over every contour of the Blazer as she tried to piece together what could be going on recently. "I'm assuming you're going to want to go see the house, right?" "Of course, but I still want to send notice to the Princesses. We really should head there, like, right now." A disappointed groan escaped his lips. "What? We kind of need to get to the bottom of all this!" "Yeah, I know," he muttered with a slouch. "It's just that...well, I was thinking about it on the way here and I figured maybe I could treat you to a little bit of fun while we were all together, play you some music or something." He glanced back and forth first between Twilight and the cowgirl, eventually sending a smile the rest of the girls as he argued his case. "You said it yourself you'd love to see how this stuff works and, well, here you go. I mean, if this is what's going to suddenly be happening for whatever reason, yeah, we're going to be busy trying to figure out why this stuff is showing up, but why not spend even just a little time having some fun with it? Besides, it's not like the house is going anywhere." Applejack had to do a double-take at Matt's last statement and frowned hard at him. "Yeah, I'm sure the house's owners aren't wondering where their home just up and disappeared to or anything." "Well... I mean, yeah, but... Come on, A.J., just a few songs? It'd take like, ten, fifteen minutes tops! You may even enjoy them!" He glanced around and grinned, having noticed some of the other restaurant patrons and surrounding locals approaching cautiously from out of the corner of his eye. Several of the girls happened to see them coming too over the last few minutes. "So might some of the crowd we've attracted." "Matt, you know there's more important things to worry about right now than–" He fell to his knees and shot her a patented sad face. It had shaken her defenses before, and under normal circumstances, she wouldn't budge – not even for Apple Bloom on most occasions. But seeing how ecstatic Matt was over this strange wagon thing and the...rather loud noise that apparently was music pouring out of it earlier was working against her. As much as she tried to avert her eyes, every time hers met his, her resolve crumbled further. "It's just that... Look, I know that you... Well, what about them?" she asked, nodding toward her friends. "I'm not the only one you need to talk to, y'know." "I don't mind either way, but what I heard on the way here was pretty sweet. I wouldn't mind hearing some more," Rainbow said from above. "Well, if Matt says it'll be fun, sign me up!" Pinkie spoke up with a hop. Fluttershy and Rarity exchanged another lost look. Whether or not Pinkie was still unsure of what the others were talking about was anypony's guess. "I'm sorry, but I'm still not sure what all you're going on about." "Please, if one of you could just clarify..." Applejack groaned and spelled it out as bluntly as she could. "It seems twice now in the past few days, things from Matt's old home are showing up out of nowhere here. No rhyme, no reason, and before you ask, yes, we thought it may be Discord at first, but there doesn't seem to be much evidence to suggest it." Rarity turned to her human friend, eyeing him rather dubiously. "Aaaand you'd rather just sit and listen to music?" With a sheepish shrug, he replied, "Only for like, fifteen minutes or so. Right now. I...can't honestly promise anything later. Or tomorrow. Or the day after." Several glares found him. "Give me a break! I haven't heard this stuff in ages and I never expected to hear it again. What do you want?" "But...what about the movie you wanted to go see?" Applejack mumbled sadly. He wasn't going to forget about her despite the mess that was suddenly piling up, was he? Not that she was totally sure what he felt about her to begin with. "We can still go see it. Can hang out later and just listen to some stuff afterwards if you want. I'm sure I can find some quieter music if you're not as interested in the louder stuff I like." The idea of relaxing after a good show, enjoying some quiet time alone with Matt, and maybe with some pleasant music to go along with them...yeah, she could get behind that. Hopefully her reddening cheeks weren't giving away any of her thoughts on the matter. A long, irritated groan snapped Applejack out of her fantasy and grabbed Matt's attention in the process. "Fifteen minutes?" Twilight growled, receiving a ludicrously happy nod in response. "Fine." Matt hurried to his feet and scampered to the tailgate, yelling through a smile. "You guys rule!" Some were happy with the compliment; others rolled their eyes. Though half of them weren't as aware of the strange events happening recently up until then, they couldn't honestly blame Matt for being elated with reconnecting with his roots. For a while, he seemed content with how his life had turned out after the insanity with Discord was left behind, but Twilight and Applejack in particular always had a sneaking suspicion that he wished for more than Equestria could offer him. In the very least, studying these new additions to their homeland could prove educational in more ways than one, as long as it didn't do so in a way Applejack was concerned about. What if others of his kind did start showing up? How would he react? Would he or the others start thinking there really was a way for him to go home that they weren't aware of, provided they could fix what was happening? Would he go if given the chance? She put aside the questions for later when she heard the back of the Blazer hiss open and a bag of CDs fall hard to the ground. A second later, the other was emptied onto the car floor. As the rest of the group gathered, Matt told them, "Since R.D. here found the place to begin with, I wanted to play one specifically for her as a way to say thanks. I'm willing to bet the one I'm thinking of is here somewhere. The guy had a poster of the band on his wall, so it'd make sense." "Awesome!" "I'll warn you now, it's...kind of loud," he said with a wry grin. A look was shared among the others, save for Pinkie Pie, who was bouncing with glee. Maybe volume didn't matter so much as long as she thought it had a good beat or it could be danced to somehow. "Well, if you don't mind, I can listen from out here," Fluttershy spoke up. "I'm not exactly fond of loud...well, anything really." "I will too." "Same. I don't need my brains to be scrambled if I can help it," Twilight joked. "I...I'll tough it out," the farmer said, puffing her chest out. Rarity instantly knew what her friend was up to. Try to get in his good graces by trying out things he enjoys. An admirable approach, as long as she didn't let it overwhelm her sensibility. Still, it was just some music. What harm could it do? "So, what's the song about?" Rainbow asked as she hovered about. After a couple minutes of shifting through the dozens of disc cases, he managed to stumble across his target and held it up, smiling wide. "Racing." Her blue ears perked up. "Racing?" A quick wiggle of his brow was all he needed to say as he made his way to the driver's seat. "Okay, I call front!" Before she can speed the whole five feet away, Applejack called for her to wait. She quickly glanced behind her to make sure nopony could hear her as she whispered to her friend. "Listen, R.D., I know this song he's picked out is for you and all, but...could you let me sit up front by him? It'd...it'd really mean a lot to me." "Aw, come on, A.J., there's plenty of room." "Please, Rainbow?" she asked again, using her version of puppy dog eyes. Though she wasn't as good as other more experienced pouters, Rainbow Dash still managed to feel a bit uncomfortable. She'd never seen her old friend act like this. "Uh...s-sure, okay. Just promise me I never see you act like that again." Applejack didn't reply with anything but a tight hug, but it got the point across and she bounded for the passenger's side door. "Hey, Matt, you may want to get the door for her." "Close it behind her, I can open it from inside," he requested as took his seat behind the wheel. After popping the door and offering his hand for the cowgirl – who so graciously took it with her cheeks turning red again – Rainbow did as she was asked once Applejack's blonde tail was safely in. With her duty finished, she zipped in through the tailgate and sat down in the middle row. "Hey, where's Pinkie Pie?" she asked. Almost instinctively, Matt reached for the glove compartment and opened it to reveal a hidden pink prize inside. "Thanks, it was getting a bit cramped in there," the bizarre mare said as she bounced off A.J.'s head and into the back seat with her pegasus companion. Oddly enough, or maybe not, neither pony was surprised by this. "Okay, Matt, let's hear this now." After flicking the key backwards to allow the radio to play, he ejected the Tool album they were listening to on their way to the diner and slid the new disc in, slightly cranking the volume and lowering the electric windows. The three present ponies nearly jumped out of their skin when the first notes blasted from the speakers a second after the first lines. "Gimme fuel, gimme fire, gimme that which I desire!" Rainbow Dash took to the intense beat right away while Pinkie needed a moment to adjust. However, when she saw how much Rainbow and Matt were loving every pulse-pounding slam of the drums and growls of the guitars, she started hopping up and down to the beat. Applejack, on the other hand, had clenched up and it felt like her eyes were going to rattle out of her head as the song went on, but she was going to stick to her guns no matter what. Matt had his eyes slammed shut and swung his head to the music the second it erupted, allowing adrenaline to take hold. With every notable cymbal crash, he swung at the rear view mirror. Every rhythmic guitar measure made him switch to his own invisible instrument. Whenever the double bass kicked in, he'd pound away on the steering wheel. When the relatively calmer bridge arrived, he swung around and waited a second for Rainbow to notice him. They grinned with delight at each other when she finally spotted him, having been just as engrossed in the rock song as he was. They and Pinkie Pie nodded in unison to the simple beat. In that moment, he realized he must have looked ridiculous to the ponies who had gathered around the car, but he couldn't have cared less; he hadn't felt such a rush in a long while. The track finally came to a close with Matt hollering the last lines and popping the disc out. The long-forgotten ringing in his ears was totally worth it. Rainbow and Pinkie joined Matt in howling in a frenzy as he stepped out of the car. A few others cheered out from the small but growing crowd outside. Whether it was the music itself or its strange source that drew them more was anypony's guess. Rock did exist in Equestria, but what the ponies knew up until that point wasn't anywhere near what Matt had listened to most of his life. Rainbow raced out the window with Pinkie hopping out right behind her, stopping just short of Matt's face. "That was so awesome! I gotta hear more! Tell me you've got more of that in there!" A frazzled squeak from a below answered for him. Fluttershy, Rarity and Twilight all looked as if they'd just seen a ghost. "Uh, i-if it's all the same, I think the three of us would prefer something a little, um..." "Less loud, please?" Rarity finished for the yellow pegasus. "If that's what you're going to play, Matt, I'm going to have to cut you short," Twilight mumbled through her rattling teeth. "Aw, come on, girls! It wasn't that bad!" "Pinkie, darling, how in the world can you say you enjoyed that? In all the years you've been throwing parties, can you ever say anypony has ever wanted such noise for their entertainment before?" "Well, it had a good beat, and Rainbow and Matt could dance to it, and since they were having a good time, so was I!" she said with a happy bounce. "Say, where's Applejack? Did anypony see her come out?" Matt looked inside and found the farm girl still curled up in the chair looking completely drained, her head wobbling to and fro. "Hey, girl. You okay?" Slowly, she faced him, half-smiling. "Yeah! No problem. Didn't quite expect that, is all." "You sure?" "Sure I'm sure. Just, uh, when we go out later, can you maybe like, not put on anything quite so err...deafening? I kinda like my hearing," she practically begged. "Heh, alright, you got it." "Thank ya kindly, shug." In his next breath, he turned to Rainbow, still riding her high, and said, "So, something else?" "Matt, please?" Twilight groaned. "Okay, okay, I'll find something we all can enjoy. It's just that the other bag has stuff you guys would probably like more. Mind helping me put the other stuff away? It'll speed this all up." If there was a desk in front of Twilight, her face would have probably hit it. "Fine, fine." Rarity and Fluttershy followed a step behind. Despite not wanting to hear any more of the ear-bleeding stuff Matt seemed to enjoy, they couldn't help be a little inquisitive as to what the covers looked like. Hopefully there wouldn't be anything terribly garish, but knowing how most rock bands in Equestria tended to push the envelope, it wouldn't be surprising if these groups did as well. In the meantime, Matt grabbed the empty garbage bags and opened them wide for the annoyed unicorn, allowing her to file the cases in in a row of purple magic. While the CDs floated their way down, Rainbow poked her snout in the other bag and waded through the other collection, not really having any idea what bands or groups she was looking at but was curious nonetheless. "Wait a minute," Matt suddenly said, grabbing a certain case from out of the air. He had instantly recognized the front cover. It had a mostly black background with a familiar skull-decorated cross in the center, adorned both on the top and bottom by a red banner. Any semblance of joy that burned through his soul was snuffed out like a candle in a harsh wind. He sat hard on the bumper, staring at the album until his gaze sank as low as his spirits. A lump made its way up his throat and he just barely managed to hold back a hard sob. His glistening eyes though told enough of a story to the girls, no matter how much he had tried to prevent it. He felt a gentle tug on his leg. A concerned pair of aquamarine eyes looked up at him. "What's wrong?" Before he answered, Applejack had craned her head backward, equally worried for the object of her affection. What could suddenly be bugging him so badly? Gradually, she climbed past the armrest and over the backseat, making sure not to step on any of the plastic cases still laying about. Her tender hoof on his shoulder gave him the courage to open up. "It was...a little over eight years ago now. Turned twenty-one about three months prior." He held up the disc. "These guys were performing, like, several hours away. Me and a few friends figured screw it, we'll go see them anyway, take a few days off and stuff." The album sparkled and hovered over to Twilight. "Guns...'N' Roses. Appetite for Destruction," she read, eventually setting it down next to Matt. "Err, interesting name." "Heh. Anyway, we got tickets, made our way there. Show's great. I decide to go grab a beer and while I'm waiting in line, I overheard these two girls talking and one of them mentions this professor I had in...eh, I forget what class he taught, but I knew the guy's name. I kind of butted in and I'm like 'hey, do you mean so and so?' and she says 'yeah'. We start talking and turns out she's from my hometown too. She and a couple girlfriends had the same idea me and the guys had. We hung out for most of the rest of the show. She gave me her number, I called her when I got back. We were together until...well, y'know." "Rachel," Twilight suggested. Hearing her name for the first time since overcoming Discord still made his stomach dance as much as it did on their first date. His deep breath again barely kept his aching at bay. "You've never really mentioned her much since you came here. How come?" He shook his head and shrugged. "After you said you had no way to send me home, I-I...guess I was just trying to let go. If I wasn't going to see them again, after a while I figured it best to move on, y'know? Then this shows up." "Was it because of where you met her that that particular record thing has got you so upset? That, err, Guns 'N' Roses show?" Rainbow asked. "It's just...well, turned out we had the same favorite G'n'R song. Not that it wasn't a lot of people's favorite. It was one of the most popular songs they ever released. We...we played it a lot." Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were on the verge of tears as Matt told his tale and, while the others felt for their friend too, Applejack was fighting hard to hold off her own sorrow. Did this mean he didn't feel the same about her as she did about him all along? Was he just reminiscing? After all, she would feel just as terrible when she thought about her own lost loved ones. Regardless, Matt needed support and she was more than willing to give it. "Why not play it one more time?" she said, wrapping his head in her embrace. "Hm?" "Matt, you know ma and pa are gone. I still think about them a lot, and it can hurt, yeah. But–" She paused, trying to put together the right words. "–when I'm feeling my worst, I start to think of the good times we had while we were together and it helps a lot. I was really young when they passed on but that doesn't mean I don't have fond memories of them. I'll keep them with me all my life. So, if playing that song will help you remember some of the good times you had then...I say play it." He thought hard about it for a moment, and the farm girl seemed to make a good amount of sense. With a sigh, he wrapped an arm around her, rubbing thankfully up and down her side. "Just try not to make it too loud, okay?" she joked. "It's not as bad as the other one, but I'll turn it down a bit. Let me just finish putting the rest away here." Setting the album aside, Matt opened the bag up again and helped Twilight finish up their previous task. Once the final CD was put away and the bag tied off as well as it could be, he invited the girls in to listen to the Guns 'N' Roses track, promising not to blast it again. Applejack crawled her way back to the front seat as Rainbow and Pinkie Pie eagerly sat down in the middle again. Though hesitant at first, Fluttershy eventually flew in through a window and sat beside Rainbow Dash, leaving Rarity and Twilight to nervously take up residence in the very back. After double-checking the track number, Matt switched discs and skipped ahead, making sure to drop the volume a notch or two. The player whirred as it found the right spot, and after a second of silence, a simple yet familiar melody came to life. All but Pinkie and Rainbow Dash had subtly clenched up in preparation for the worst but were pleasantly surprised that they still had their hearing intact. The second guitar joined in and then the drumbeat after a few measures. As the snare rang out, Matt began to tap the lower end of the steering wheel and gently nod his head to the beat. Axl began to sing, prompting Matt to join in quietly under his breath. "She's got a smile that it seems to me reminds me of childhood memories where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky." Like before, the two loudest and wildest mares seemed to take to the song quickly, mimicking their human friend's nods and sways. At first, Rainbow was a little surprised how much lighter in tone the current song sounded from the one Matt played specifically for her but still enjoyed the melody. The unicorns and timid pegasus shared a shrug, not particularly a fan nor a critic of what they were listening to but were still grateful they could at least hear their own thoughts. Though Rarity couldn't really see Applejack that well from the back of the Blazer, she couldn't help but crack a tiny smile for the mare. It must have taken her quite a bit of courage to suggest Matt play something that reminded him of what was essentially a rival of hers that he still obviously missed dearly, despite being a lifetime ago. She did have the right idea though – remember the good instead of the bad. In the meanwhile, the country girl watched intently as Matt's solemn gloom seemed to change to mild contentment as the song went on; the bitter frown he carried only a few minutes ago had left him, having been replaced with a subdued grin. As much as he tried to hide it, she could see the heartache in his glistening eyes as plain as day. Being just as intimate with such personal pain made spotting it easy enough. 'Where do we go now?', the speakers repeated as the song came to a conclusion. Was that ever the question Applejack was suddenly asking herself. How exactly was she supposed to eventually ask him how he felt about her with things now showing up that reminded him of his old girlfriend? She'd probably need to have another sit-down with Rarity at some point. With the last notes fading away, Matt popped out the disc, looking over it softly as he held it in his hand. He didn't hear the few cheers and muted applause from outside, but a sweetly-accented voice caught his ear. "Matt?" Her warm smile made his grow too. "Feel any better?" He replied through a long sigh. "Yeah, a little. S-so, uh...what'd you think? Of the song, I mean." "Heh, it was alright. Better than the other one." "I don't know if those two in the back would agree." "Who, us?" Rarity asked. "Yeah, you," he retorted with a wry smirk. "Why do you say that?" He adjusted the rear view mirror, allowing the unicorns to get a look at themselves. "Oh. I'm sorry, Matt, but not all of us here care much for rock and roll. I hope you understand." "No, it's okay. It's not for everyone. I do want to find something that hopefully you'll all enjoy though," he said as he got out of the car again and walked to the tailgate. "And I do have a few minutes still. Here, step out a second, I'm going to need the room." Once Rarity and Twilight cleared out, Matt hoisted the other annoyingly heavy bag into the car and dumped out its contents. He had a pretty good idea exactly what song he hoped to find, but going through the even larger pile of older music could prove to take as long as it took to listen to the first two songs. "Want to do the same thing as before?" he asked the nerdy unicorn as he grabbed the garbage bags. "Sure, it'll probably be easier that way." "Cool. I gotta warn you though, I never had any albums by the band I'm looking for, so I see anything by them, you'll need to give a minute. I don't know what album the song I'm looking for is on." "No problem," Twilight said as several CDs floated into the air. Dozens of discs made their way into the bag as Matt skimmed over them, so far having no luck. One in particular eventually caught his eye, but not in the way he had hoped. "Egh, this had to have been the wife's," he muttered as he plucked the culprit from the lavender line-up. "Hey, Twilight, if I flung this one into the air, would you blast it out of the sky for me?" She frowned in disappointment at the request. "I'm not destroying anypony else's property, Matt." "Meh, you're no fun." Light blue magic took the disc from his hand. "What's so bad about this...Kenny G person that you'd want to destroy his record?" Rarity asked. He grabbed the case back as tossed it into the bag with its brethren. "The guy writes the cheesiest love songs you could ever imagine." "Hey, I like a good love song every now and again," the miffed mare retorted. "Trust me, that guy's stuff has more sap than most forests." The dressmaker pursed her lips. "Oh...hmph, even I have my limits, I suppose." "Y'know, if you want at some point, if I end up finding the guy in this pile somewhere, I could let you listen to some stuff that would get the ladies in the mood back when he was still alive and at his peak." He wiggled his eyebrows at the suddenly blushing mare. "Err..." Matt leaned in close to her red cheek and put on the lowest voice he could. "Mmmm, baby. What do you say we head on up the bedroom and you...slip out of them clothes all nice and slow for me? Awwww yeah." Rarity shifted uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact with everyone, particularly Twilight, who was having a hard time holding back giggling right next to her. "Yes, well, um...moving right along then." "Again, if you want." "I'll keep it in mind, Matt, thank you," the seamstress deadpanned. A few minutes passed once Matt returned to the matter at hand. Finally, after checking several albums by the band that passed in front of him, he found the one he was looking for. "Bingo! This is the one! Was beginning to wonder if we were going to find it." "Good. We're running a little behind as it is," Twilight commented as she stuffed the remainder of the discs back into the bag and tied it off. Though her magical abilities made it trivial to lift the cumbersome sack into the back of the car, she was a bit surprised how heavy a bunch of tiny sleeves of plastic could be. Having both bags stuffed in the back didn't leave much room for her and Rarity, but they managed to squeeze back into place while Matt made his way back up front. "The place where I worked would play older rock from like, thirty, forty, fifty years ago." "More rock music?" Rarity asked in annoyance. "Trust me, I think you'll like this. These guys did play rock music, but it was a lot different when they were around for the most part," he explained. "Hell, none of these guys had done anything for thirty or so years and half of the band is dead and they're still relevant. Anyway, like I said, I never had any of their stuff, but hearing it on the radio every day, it grew on me." He slipped the disc into the player and added with a grin, "By the way, I'm turning this back up," much to the displeasure of most of his companions. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" However, when the song finally came, the group's collective annoyance switched to confusion. Only a piano and a pleasant voice sang to them. "Hey Jude, don't make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better." "This is rock music?" Fluttershy asked. "I know, right? Rock's supposed to be like, loud and fast and stuff," Rainbow complained. "I don't know, this seems...kind of nice actually," Twilight said, eventually smiling. "Trust. Me," Matt turned around to add, already swaying to the rhythm. His leg was bobbing up and down right from the start as well. Pinkie once again seemed to enjoy herself almost right away, swinging from side to side. Fluttershy and Twilight soon followed suit, tapping a hoof against the seats. Though it wasn't anything country, Applejack was having a good time too. Seeing Matt jubilant over something she wouldn't have expected him to like after hearing the earlier examples – particularly with how the last one affected him – certainly helped. Rarity shouted to Twilight as the song continued on, "I'm surprised! This really isn't too bad!" Eventually, she succumbed to the simple, upbeat rhythm and began rocking back and forth in unison with the others, following Matt's movements. The only holdout for the longest time was the sky-blue pegasus in denial. Though she wasn't as critical of the music by the time the first half was coming to a close, she couldn't let anypony think she was uncool by enjoying something like this, no matter how much the flow had grown on her. In contrast, Matt leaned over, grinning happily at the girls, and sang along – regardless of how bad he may or may not have sounded – as the memorable second half came. "Naaaaaa na na na-na-na naaaa! Na-na-na naaaa! Hee-eey Juuude." Little by little, one by one, as the famous line repeated, the mares got swept up in the moment and joined their otherworldly friend, singing with heartwarming glee. Twilight and Rarity ended up wrapping a forelimb around each others' shoulders as Pinkie and Fluttershy did the same to Rainbow Dash. Finally, a smile found her cyan cheeks and she reciprocated, the infectious song taking hold of her too. Applejack wasn't yet aware of how close her friends had become as they sang. She was too starry-eyed by Matt's enthusiasm to notice. The fact that he was able to sneak his hand up and take her by the hoof startled her briefly, but his warm smile while he serenaded along washed any surprise away, and she could feel her heart melting in that moment. Any concerns she had about what he may or may not feel about Rachel disappeared; she was enjoying the 'now' far too much. After enjoying a moment of her own personal heaven, she noticed Matt pausing to giggle and followed his eyes past her and out the window. The crowd outside had gotten larger than before, but that wasn't what made her chuckle as well. Most of their guests had apparently picked up on the song and were singing and swaying in harmony as they were in the car. As the song faded finally faded away and the disc was ejected, the ponies gathered outside whooped and cheered, grabbing the attention of the other girls inside. Seeing how elated their audience was got a cheerful laugh out of them too. "Oh goodness, that was so much fun!" Fluttershy squealed. "I know, right?! That was super-duper-riffi-tastic fun!" "You don't happen to have anything else by that band, do you? I mean, if you'd want to play something else, that is." Twilight giggled behind them. "As nice as that song was, we really do need to get–" A knock on one of the doors up front cut her off, much to her chagrin. "–going." An electric blue mane popped up in the window with its widely-smiling owner right behind it. "You don't happen to have any electronica in there, do you?" Matt thought for a second until he snapped his fingers and wiggled them knowingly at the mare. "Y'know, I'm, like, ninety-nine percent sure I saw something by this group you'd probably like called Prodigy." "Maaaatt..." Twilight droned. He winced and bit his lip. "Err...sorry, Vinyl. Going to have to take a rain check on that. Maybe tomorrow afternoon or something?" "Awesome!" "What's this Prodigy like?" Rainbow asked. "Ohh, they're loud." "I'm so there then!" "And if you guys are going to be having fun, count me in too!" Pinkie added. "What about the movie?" Applejack interjected. "It's no problem. It's later on that night, so it's all good. Maybe grab something to eat beforehand if you want." "That sounds fine." "Cool. Alright, let's head out then." Matt returned the mirror to its original position and glanced at Twilight's reflection. "Could you close the tailgate back there? There's a handle on the back part. Just make sure the bags aren't hanging out or anything." "Hold on one second. Almost forgot something," Twilight said as she hopped out to pay the bill. As she got back in the car, the handle glowed purple behind her and pulled the door shut. "Okay, all set." "You mind if we head back to my place so I can drop off those bags?" "That's fine. It's kind of crowded back here. It is on the way back to the library anyway, and I did say I wanted to get in touch with the Princesses." "Then, we're off!" With a twist of the key, Matt fired up the engine and slowly crawled past the crowd as they got out of the two-ton vehicle's way.