//------------------------------// // Working Harmony, chapter 1 of 4: Ponies don't sing the blues // Story: Sunflower - Side Projects // by Hoopy McGee //------------------------------// The paper was thick and slightly inflexible, a creamy beige in color and with an odd grain to it. The writing on it was an elegant calligraphy, all curlicues and embellishments, which still somehow managed to avoid making the document difficult to read. It was, in short, the most unusual résumé Maggie Henson had ever seen in her life. Maggie put the résumé down on her desk and looked up at the unicorn sitting stiffly across the desk from her. She was glad to see that the date of birth listed on the résumé indicated that he was twenty-five years old; in spite of all the recent contact she’d had with Equestrians, she still had a hard time judging ages. And, sometimes, genders, which lead to the occasional and extremely embarrassing faux-pas. The unicorn had a silvery light-blue coat and a jet black mane cut in a very short style. Behind his wire-rimmed glasses his amber eyes flickered up at her, met her gaze, then darted away again. His gaze wandered over several of the various knick-knacks Maggie had in her office before briefly meeting her eyes again and then dropping to the desk in front of him. Maggie had hired enough people to tell when an applicant was terrified, and even though this was only her second pony applicant, all the signs were there. From the way his eyes flitted around, to the way he held himself so incredibly stiffly that he was almost trembling with the effort of it. She gave him a warm smile in an attempt to put him at his ease. Still, it wasn’t good news she had. “So, Mister Charm—” Maggie started saying. “Spectral Charm is sufficient,” the unicorn interrupted. “Spectral Charm, then,” Maggie said, cranking up her smile. She made a mental note to tell him not to interrupt his interviewers in the future. “This is definitely an impressive résumé. Though, I have to admit, I’m not familiar with any of these institutions or disciplines listed here—” “Ah, the Canterlot Royal Academy?” Spectral Charm interrupted again as he leaned forward. “I can assure you, it’s a top school. The top school, as a matter of fact. Most of its students are graduates of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.” Now that was a name Maggie recognized. “Twilight Sparkle went there, I believe?” “Princess Celestia’s personal student?” Some of the eagerness faded from Spectral’s voice, replaced with a slightly sour note that might have been envy. “Why, yes. She was a student at Celestia’s school, though she never attended at the Academy.” “Oh?” Maggie rested her elbows on her desk and steepled her fingers, which she touched to her chin. “I’m surprised. I’ve met Twilight. She seems a natural-born scholar to me.” “I, ah, can’t really speculate as to why Miss Sparkle hasn’t gone on to the Academy,” Spectral Charm said, fidgeting in his seat. “I’m afraid I’m not privy to that information.” “Of course,” Maggie said, forcing her smile back. “Sorry for getting sidetracked.” The unicorn waved a dismissive hoof. “Think nothing of it.” “Yes, anyway,” Maggie said, picking the résumé back up and scanning it. “A most impressive résumé. However, there’s a small problem in that we currently aren’t hiring.” The unicorn’s face fell. “Ah, I see.” “Why did you decide to submit your résumé in the first place?” “Well, as I understand it, you don’t have a magical expert on your staff at this time. I rather supposed that you could make use of my talents.” He glanced down at the desk and then back up. “I’m really very qualified. I don’t suppose I could change your mind?” “We do have a unicorn on staff,” Maggie said, frowning slightly. “Lyra Heartstrings, yes,” Spectral Charm said with a nod. “However, I believe she’s a graduate of Canterlot University.” “That’s a problem?” Maggie asked, leaning back and folding her arms. “Not in itself, no,” the unicorn said, shaking his head. “It’s not as prestigious as the Royal Academy, but it’s not a bad school. However, my understanding is that she majored in Music Theory and Composition. A liberal arts degree. I’m certain she’s talented in many ways, but she would hardly be an expert in magic.” “She’s done an excellent job for us so far,” Maggie replied. “But I could do so much more!” Spectral Charm stated. His eyes brightened again and he leaned forward. “Magic has been my driving passion since I was a colt, when I received my cutie mark.” Maggie glanced briefly at the mark the stallion had mentioned. It was a series four interlocking magenta rings, each with a small starburst inside. What that had to do with magic, she had no idea. The stallion continued talking, becoming really animated for the first time since he’d entered her office. “I’ve studied everything from Advanced Magical Theory to Resonance Theory, from Veil Theory to Thaumaturgy.” His forehooves were now on her desk and he was speaking more enthusiastically than ever. “I can inscribe eight of the Major and twelve of the Minor circles from memory. I know every basic cantrip by heart, as well as having mastered seventeen distinct spells, more than anypony else in my class by far. I’ve also dabbled in Time Magic, Matter Manipulation, Displacement, and even a bit of Illusion and Evocation.” He hesitated, then, frowning. “Ah… do you know what those are?” “Some of them sound vaguely familiar,” Maggie said, then snorted in irritation, “We had a presentation last month on Basic Magical Theory from a Professor Dusty Tome, but he was pretty hard to follow.” “Professor Tome?” Spectral Charm perked up in his chair. “He was my professor in Resonance Theory. Why was it hard to follow?” Maggie rolled her eyes and shrugged. “He might be a good professor to anyone who’s already gotten a basic education in magic, but he started out with what seemed to be a fairly high-end presentation. It was as if he just started rattling off strings of words with five or more syllables and no context for what those words meant. When we asked him to slow down and explain on a more basic level, he got all huffy and left.” “I see,” Spectral Charm said, pursing his lips thoughtfully. “So, perhaps you could use someone on-staff who could give you that basic understanding you need?” Maggie grinned. The unicorn was persistent, she’d give him that. And, the more she thought about it, the more she thought that young Spectral Charm would be a good addition to the team. If nothing else, they might be able to learn something more about magic. “All right,” she said. “Keep in mind that I can’t promise anything, but let’s say that we did decide to hire you. Why would you even want to work here? We haven’t exactly been overflowing with pony applicants, after all.” “I imagine that might have something to do with how infrequently the gateway to Equestria is opened,” Spectral Charm replied. “Only once a month, for three days? Most ponies don’t like being away from home that long.” “And it doesn’t bother you?” “I’m not most ponies,” the unicorn replied, his voice carefully neutral. “That still doesn’t answer the why of ‘why do you want to work here’,” Maggie pointed out, folding her arms again. “Why would you?” The stallion across from her began fidgeting a little, and Maggie decided to press the issue. “From what I understand of what you’ve told me, your qualifications would allow you to basically write your own ticket. So, why here?” The unicorn hesitated, obviously gathering his thoughts, before finally clearing his throat and answering. “The primary reason that I wish to work for Project Harmonics,” he said, “is simply because it is a unique opportunity for a pony in my position to cover new ground. Most of the really intriguing work in Equestria has already been done, you see. We’ve simply been refining the basic theories of Starswirl the Bearded, Clover the Clever, Magical Resonance and Starlight Symphony for generations.” He leaned forward with a gleam in his eye. “I understand that this new world you’ve found, Harmony, has a magical field of its own. I could be the first unicorn to really study a non-Equestrian magical field! Not to mention any other worlds with magic that you may find. I might be able to do something new. Something unique. My name would be secure for generations after me.” Maggie was taken aback by the stallion’s intensity. She cleared her throat and considered for a moment. “Hmm. Well, I’ll need to check into this, Spectral Charm. If I get the okay to go forward, I’ll have to check your references, and then you’ll have to do an actual, proper interview with Lyra and myself. She’d be your manager, after all.” Spectral Charm blinked in surprise as he leaned back. “She would?” he asked uncertainly, his enthusiasm draining out of him. “Ah, is that a problem?” Maggie asked. “I just… I’m considerably more qualified. I rather thought I’d be getting her position, honestly.” Maggie frowned. “We don’t do things that way here. As I said, Lyra has been doing a fantastic job for us. I’ve got no plans to demote or replace her. Besides, there’s more to being a Team Lead than technical qualifications.” “I hadn’t realized that,” Spectral Charm said weakly, flushing under his silvery coat. “I meant no offense.” “None taken,” Maggie replied. “We still have until Monday morning before the Princesses close the gateway for another month. I’ll check with my own bosses to see if hiring you on is something we could even do. I should have some sort of answer by… Hmm, lets say ten o’clock tomorrow morning, if you want to stop back then. I assume you’ll be staying nearby in Canterlot this weekend?” “I will be, yes. I’ve rented a hotel room nearby.” “Alright. Check back with me tomorrow afternoon, I should have more information for you by then.” Maggie said. She frowned, adding, “Remember, I can’t say for sure if I can hire you or not, so there are no promises.” Spectral Charm breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m just glad that you’re willing to check for me,” he said. “Alright, then. Follow me, if you don’t mind,” Maggie said, leading him out of the office. She looked around for one of her staff that looked a little less busy than the others. “Steve? Could you come up here for a moment?” The bearded man nodded and left his station. “What’s up, Maggie?” he asked as he approached. “This is Spectral Charm. Could you escort him back to the gateway?” “Sure thing. Nice to meet ya, Spectral,” Steve said offering a smile. “This way.” Spectral Charm frowned as he trotted after the man. “My name is Spectral Charm.” “Uh, right. Sorry.” Steve replied. Maggie leaned against the frame of her office door and watched him go for a few seconds. She sighed and, shaking her head, returned to her office. She had some phone calls to make. ~~*~~ The Magical Research Department was fairly easy to miss if you didn’t know exactly where it was. It had once been a large conference room which was later repurposed to hold four offices, two on one side of a central doorway and two on the other. The entirety of the staff consisted of two humans, who were loaned out as needed from other departments, and one unicorn, who was currently lounging in a faux-leather chair in her office. The chair was designed for humans, forcing the mint-green unicorn to sit somewhat awkwardly with her rear legs splayed out in front of her and her tail wrapped around her side. Lyra shifted in her chair, squirming slightly in order to try and get more comfortable while once again wishing that the fabrication team would hurry up with her customized chair. Or at least stop by and cut a tail-hole into this one. She leaned back, appreciating the fact that the chair at least had a comfortable amount of padding. Her horn glowed with a golden aura as she reclined, levitating a pair of custom-made headphones down over her ears. The only other thing she was wearing was a wooden torc, wrapped with gold and silver wire and studded with the occasional gemstone, which stored the magic she used during her day-to-day life. Her horn glowed again as she drew on the power stored within, and the device the humans called a “mouse” moved, causing an arrow on her screen to move as well. She double-clicked on an icon called “Audio Diary”, then on “Record”. “Lyra’s music research log day... let’s see... twenty-two. I took Maggie’s advice and gave the musical form known as ‘the blues’ another chance, and I have to admit that it’s growing on me. What I had almost dismissed earlier as overly simple melodies and musicianship, when given a second listen, actually portrays surprising emotional and melodic depth. I still say the lyrics are often too depressing, but Maggie assures me that this is the whole point.” Lyra spun her chair in an idle circle, reveling in the freedom provided by the lack of a cable. The humans really seemed to enjoy building things that didn’t require wires to work, which seemed to Lyra to be almost a form of magic in itself. “Sadly, most of the earliest recordings are of extremely poor quality. It seems like the recording technology wasn’t all that great a hundred and fifty years ago, and most of what I’ve been given access to is extremely low fidelity. Not only that, but it sounds all scratchy, with hissing and popping thrown into the mix. I’ve been making do with slightly less ancient reproductions of the same music by other artists. Maggie told me that the quality gets better every year, so I’m looking forward to that.” “Speaking of Maggie,” a voice said from her doorway. Lyra cracked an eye open, then smiled at the figure leaning against her door frame. “Speak of the double!” she said, sitting up and taking off her headphones. “I think you mean ‘speak of the devil’,” Maggie said with a chuckle. “Can I come in?” “Of course,” Lyra said, stopping her recording. “How’s the musical research coming?” Maggie asked as she lowered herself into a guest chair in Lyra’s office. “Fine, fine. You know what’s weird, though?” “What’s weird this time?” Maggie asked with a slightly strained smile. “All the parallels,” Lyra said, then waved a hoof in a vague circle. “You have classical, we have classical. You had ragtime a century ago, and we also had ragtime. It was pretty popular about forty years ago for us. And bluegrass is so close to what we call hoofstomp that I can’t tell any difference. And those aren’t the only examples.” She sighed and rubbed at a temple with a hoof. “I really don’t know what to make of it.” “It’s pretty weird, yeah. There’s an hypothesis out there that it’s to do with some sort of parallel development.” Maggie laughed, adding, “I’m just the gate-jockey, really. I’ll leave the deeper questions to the theoretical physicists and the philosophers. And, anyway, nothing even comes close to explaining why we both speak the same language.” “Roughly the same. That’s true. And it’s not all parallel. We’ve never had a musical style like the blues.” Lyra chuckled wryly and added, “Which is odd, because later forms of human music are obviously heavily influenced by it, and we Equestrians have music that parallels that.” A small frown appeared on her face for a few seconds as she pondered it. Then she shook her head, her former smile appearing once again. “I’m sure you didn’t stop down to discuss strange similarities in our music, though. What’s up?” “It’s about this,” Maggie said, holding out a folder that Lyra took with her magic. She flipped it open and began reading. “Spectral Charm. Hmm. What’s this about?” “He’s applying for a job. With your department, actually.” “Oh?” Lyra took a closer look at his qualifications. As she read, she let out a low whistle. “Impressive. The Royal Academy is a top university. Are you planning on hiring him?” “That’s not entirely up to me. The bosses okayed it, but I still needed to check with his prospective team lead.” “Oh. Do you think they’ll hire him?” Lyra asked, setting the folder aside. “I don’t know,” Maggie said with an impish grin. “What do you think?” “Huh? Oh! You meant me!” Lyra picked up the packet again while Maggie chuckled. “Sorry. Still not really used to being a boss.” She flipped through the pages, reading them more closely this time. In addition to the résumé, there was also various paperwork to fill out on Earth, mostly regarding the visa application he’d need to complete. “What was your impression?” she asked her human friend. “He’s a little stiff, but he seems pretty confident that he knows his stuff.” “Well, according to this, he definitely does. Just going by his résumé, he’d be a great addition.” “Did you want to meet him before we made the decision?” Maggie asked, taking the packet back. “Hmm. Nah,” Lyra said. “If you liked him, I’m sure he’ll be fine.” “I didn’t say I liked him,” Maggie said, holding up a cautioning hand. “I said he was stiff but confident. I barely got to know him. Also, he seemed to think he’d simply be handed your job.” Lyra stared incredulously for a few seconds before bursting into a rich belly laugh. “Oh, did he, now?” “Yep. Still don’t want to meet him?” “No, that’s fine. We need the expertise. We can work on his... expectations later.” “Sounds fine,” Maggie said, standing up. “Well, this took less time than I’d expected. We’re meeting tomorrow some time after eleven. You should be there.” “You got it, Maggie.” Lyra hesitated in the act of putting her headphones back on. “Oh, almost forgot to ask... is he cute?” Maggie gave a short, surprised guffaw before putting her serious face back on. “Ahem. Does it matter?” “Well,” Lyra drawled with a sly grin, “we’re going to be the only two ponies on this side of the gate for weeks at a time. It might.” “Oh.” Maggie cleared her throat and adjusted her coat. “Uh, well, there’s a problem with that.” Lyra tilted her head and frowned. “What problem?” “Well, you see, there are certain regulations and laws...” Lyra listened as Maggie went on about sexual harassment laws, hostile work environments and the inappropriateness of a manager dating someone who reported to her. “Wow, you humans have a lot of rules, huh?” she said when Maggie wrapped up. “Well, it’s how we avoid problems.” “Fine, fine. It officially doesn’t matter if he’s cute or not,” Lyra said, waving a hoof. “Right.” “But unofficially, it sure wouldn’t hurt,” the unicorn added, waggling her eyebrows and grinning. Maggie laughed, shaking her head ruefully. “I really hope I don’t end up having to get HR involved.” “Does Human Resources actually apply to ponies?” Lyra asked, raising an eyebrow at her. “Let’s not find out, shall we?” Maggie said. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” “See ya, Maggie,” Lyra said. The project head left her office, and Lyra placed the headphones back over her ears and started recording again. “Now, where was I? Oh, yeah. Jazz.” ~~*~~ “Hi, hi, sorry I’m late!” Lyra said, stumbling into the conference room ten minutes after eleven the following morning. She turned a slightly accusing eye towards Maggie. “I thought we were meeting in your office!” “I didn’t tell you Conference room 101?” Maggie looked abashed. Lyra rolled her eyes at her. “Nope!” Lyra slipped into a chair next to the human and regarded the stallion across the table from her. The first thing she had to do was squelch her mild disappointment. It wasn’t that he was ugly, but he wasn’t cute. Or at least not her idea of cute. He was built too slender, for one. For another, his eyes were slightly watery, as if he had some sort of a cold or allergies or something. He was holding himself incredibly stiffly, both forehooves on the table and his back ramrod straight. That, with the fussy set of his muzzle and the fastidiousness of his appearance, told her that this was a stallion who most likely had a massive stick up his backside. And what kind of pony his age wears a bow tie? she wondered, looking at the black and red striped thing. Lyra noticed the frowning look on his face. She frowned back for a moment before realizing that she’d spent the last few seconds staring at him. She glanced away and noticed Maggie looking at her with an arched eyebrow. “All settled?” Maggie asked. Lyra nodded, as did Spectral Charm. “Right. Well, then, there’s not much formality here. We’re officially extending you an offer to work for us. There is an initial trial of ninety days, just to make sure we’re all happy with each other. At that time, assuming we all want the relationship to continue, we’ll have you sign the permanent contract.” Spectral Charm nodded his head once, sharply. Lyra tried to keep her attention focused, but quickly grew bored as Maggie started covering details such as compensation, health benefits and so on. She only zoned back in once she heard Maggie say her name. “Yes?” she said. “Time for the tour. I have to get back to work, you think you can handle it?” “Sure,” Lyra said, hopping down off of her chair. Spectral Charm moved to stand near her as Maggie left the room. Lyra glanced over at him. He sure was a skinny thing, and barely any taller than she was. Definitely not her idea of the ideal stallion. Also, at some point during the interview process that Lyra had zoned out during, he’d managed to acquire a magic-storing torc of his own. He’d arranged it so that it enveloped his collar but left his bow-tie exposed. “Well,” she said to him, “I suppose I should show you around the complex, eh?” “Very well.” “Alright. First stop, the cafeteria. Come on, Specs!” He spluttered indignantly. Lyra cocked her head at him. “Does it bother you if I call you Specs?” “Absolutely, yes!” “Aww... but it’s such a cute nickname!” “Spectral Charm is my name,” he said tonelessly. “‘Mister Charm’ if you’re feeling formal. ‘Spectral’ if our relationship ever becomes casual enough to warrant it, which I currently doubt is likely to happen.” “Oookay, then,” Lyra said, shaking her head. As she led him towards the cafeteria, she was already wondering what it was she’d gotten herself into. ~~*~~ “What have I gotten myself into?” the stallion next to her said quietly, staring around the cafeteria with wide eyes and twitching ears. Lyra shrugged. “It’s noon,” she said. “This is the busiest it gets, here. Come on.” Lyra led him confidently through the crowd, smiling and nodding to the people she knew, which was almost everyone in sight. Spectral Charm, his ears laid back and his eyes flickering rapidly around the room, stayed close up behind her. “It’s hard at first, but you do get used to it,” she told him, speaking loudly to be heard above the din. “What do you mean?” “Being the only pony surrounded by non-ponies. It’s scary to be the only one of your kind on a different world. But these humans are all pretty nice.” “Hmph. If you say so.” “Besides, you’ve got me here, so you won’t be the only pony.” She grinned over her shoulder at him. “Right?” “I imagine so,” he replied. Then his muzzle wrinkled in distaste. “What is that smell?” Lyra laughed. “Human cooking. They fry almost everything. Also, I think today is curry day.” “Are we going to be able to get food?” he asked, sounding suddenly nervous as he followed along behind her. “It’s just that I hear the humans are carnivores.” “Omnivores,” Lyra corrected. “And, I’m surprised that you didn’t research that before you decided to live among them.” “I was in a bit of a rush!” he said, sounding both affronted and defensive. “Uh, I wasn’t trying to insult you,” Lyra said with another glance over her shoulder. He was scowling back at her. “Sorry?” “Hmph.” Lyra shrugged it off and continued talking. “Anyway, we can get salads, fruits, pastries… a lot of the same kinds of food we get in Equestria, really. Just not any hay unless it’s imported from Equestria, because Earth hay is kind of gross. And not a whole lot of flowers. Ah, here we go! The salad bar!” “Salad bar?” Spectral Charm replied inquisitively, craning his neck to see. “Yup. Your choice of greens and dressings. Just watch out, because they have a few meat items here as well.” “Do they?” he asked. He scanned the salad bar for a few seconds and then said, sounding slightly disappointed, “I don’t see any.” Lyra giggled and then stood up on her back hooves, balancing easily, a trick that had taken her a few days to master. She pointed to a tray with a hoof. “Ham,from pigs,” she said, then pointed to another tray. “That’s turkey. And over there is chicken.” She allowed herself to fall back onto all four hooves and smiled at him. “My first day here, I didn’t notice the labels and put a bunch of ham and turkey on my salad. I thought it was some weird kind of cheese!” She laughed, though he didn’t join her. “You ate meat?” he asked in a voice of vaguely horrified curiosity. “Yeah, a little bit,” she said. “It was kind of weird in texture, sort of like a mushroom but not. And a little greasy, honestly. I didn’t much care for it. I felt a bit queasy for a while afterwards, though that might have only been because I’d only found out what it was after I ate it all.” “I’ll be avoiding that, thank you,” Spectral Charm said stiffly. Lyra nodded, then proceeded to show him where to find the trays, plates and silverware. The two unicorns went down the salad bar, picking and choosing as they went, eschewing the tongs in favor of just grabbing the food with their magic. “So,” Lyra said a minute or so after they sat down. “How’s your salad?” “It will suffice,” Spectral Charm said as he plucked away at his lunch. Lyra ate a bite herself, then decided to try again to get a conversation going. “Do you have any questions on where to find anything?” “Not as of yet,” came the curt reply. The stallion ate another bite of his salad, grimacing at the taste. Lyra went for a third try. “Do you think—” she began. “I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s been a long day already and I'm very hungry,” Spectral Charm said, arching an eyebrow at her. “Could I just eat my meal in peace?” Flushing, Lyra focused on her own food. It didn’t take long for the embarrassment to fade, though. In its place, annoyance grew. “Oh, yes,” she muttered to herself. “This will be so much fun.”