//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: Beat of the Heart 
// by Dr.Shisno 
//------------------------------//

 	What a beautiful concert, Flare Chaser thought to himself as he trotted out of the concert hall into the moving nightlife of Manehattan. Glad I actually chose to do something with my night. It was a normal night: the cars, the lights, and the sounds; all just a normal evening. The cool breeze rustled his white fur and tossed his black and blue mane about, but his mind was far away. The pegasus smiled to himself, thinking about the wonderful sounds of the performance he was blessed to have heard.  The highs, the lows, the slow, the fast, the melodic parts, all seamlessly flowing together note after note. The music, though never speaking, spoke to his soul.
                And that pony on the cello... he continued to think. What a beautiful looking pony. He sighed to himself. At least I’ll have something nice to think about while I’m making deliveries on Monday. 
                He continued to drift in thought, recalling the intertwining of the music and that gray mare playing the cello. Octavia, if my memory serves me correctly. Flare continued to walk down the street, his head in the clouds, afraid that he might crash into someone or something if he took to the skies. Besides, the club he was going to was only a bit farther down the street.
                “The Hornless Alicorn” was a popular spot on 23rd Street. It’s a small hub in Manehattan for all the up and coming talented ponies try to make their start. To say the least, entertainment was always good each night, and each night was different then the last. To say it was packed was an understatement. The line at the door was somewhere between twenty to thirty ponies long. Flare put on his best smile and walked to the front door’s bouncer.
                “Hey, Boulder,” Flare started, giving the big earth stallion in front of him a brohoof, “still enjoying the good life out here?”
                “You know it, Flare,” the Stallion responded. “Hey, thanks for bringing in that shipment of cider at the last moment. By the way, Big Boss Pony wanted a word with ya. Grab a drink or two while you’re at it.” Opening the door, he gestured Flare inside. “My treat.”
                Flare gave Boulder a tap on the shoulder with his hoof. “I will try to enjoy myself then, thank you.” Much to the dismay of the other ponies in line, he trotted right in.
                The club was bouncing; lights of many colors were flickering and moving. The air was filled with the drops and beats of the latest DJ flavor of the day. Flare merely shook his head when he recognized the beat, but not the pony. Too much like DJ-Pon3, Flare commented in his head. Kid needs to learn to make his own beats. Slowly, Flare made his way through the club to the bar, careful not to step on too many hooves.
                Behind the bar was one blue unicorn, Regal Twist, or affectionately known as Big Boss Pony. She cared for her employees, just as long as you weren’t on her bad side. She worked her magic, fixing multiple drinks and serving them at the same time. It was no wonder how she got hundreds of bits in tips every night.
                “Hey, Twisty!” Flare called out. “A cold cider if you’d be kind enough!”
                The unicorn merely shook her head. “You better not be flying tonight! Not after the stunt you pulled the other night.” Her magic brought a mug to a tap which started to pour.
                “Come on, Twist, you know me better than that!” He took the mug out of the air as it levitated before him. “And besides, walking is good for me.” He took a long sip of the cider. “Oh and my drinks are on Boulder tonight, he said so.”
                “Is that so? Let me finish these last few orders and we can talk for a few minutes.”
                Flare waved her off. “Take your time, I wanna enjoy my drink first.” He turned around, scanning the club. Scanning for anything that peaked his interest. The place was crowded, the body heat from the dance floor resonated, and the fresh beats from the new DJ changed the pace of the crowd of ponies. Soon, more ponies were jumping up from tables to join the growing herd of jumping and dancing ponies on the floor. This pony knows his stuff, Flare began to comment. It’s a completely different beat, an almost unpredictable drop. This po-. His thoughts interrupted by a tap on the shoulder.
                “I caught a break,” Regal said, then gesturing for Flare to follow her. “Now come on, we need to talk for a few moments.”
                Flare set his empty mug down and shrugged. “Suits me, right behind you.” The pegasus followed close behind the unicorn through the crowd and to a private booth. They both sat down opposite from each other. “So, what’s up Twist?”
                “Well, to say the least, I’m pretty happy you got that shipment of cider in yesterday. It’s like you knew that a crowd would be showing up tonight.”
                “What can I say?” Flare mused, leaning back in the booth. “I know the crowd.”
                “And I’m glad you do,” Twist began, “but I can’t have you pulling off stunts like earlier this week!”
                “That cart ran the intersection, and I had the right of way!” Flare rebutted. “He’s lucky it was just his dumb cabbages I nicked. I could’ve hit him and the cabbages, but I just flew myself and the cart over him, saving both my life and the shipment.”
                “You think on your feet, kid,” The unicorn mused. “I want to be mad, but I’m too impressed. Tell ya what,” Twist leaned forward, “you get me that new batch of scotch cherries and you can consider this raise permanent.”
                Flare toyed with the thought in his head, though his face didn’t show it. Maybe go get those tickets for Hay Day, the pegasus mused in thought. I mean, they are on their Equestrian Idiot Tour. Or maybe try and see that string quartet again. His thoughts drifted to the mare on the cello. “... This that secret stash that very few ponies know the location of, and even fewer are willing to tell about?”
                “That would be the one,” Twist smiled.
                “You mean the same batch of scotch cherries that is the talk of all Equestria? Used from only the best cherries from Cherry Hill Ranch at Dodge Junction? Cherries only personally selected by Ms. Jubilee for only 100% perfection? Cherries then aged to excellence, that create a taste like none other is Equestria?”
                Twist laughed, “Yes, that would be it.”
                “This same delicious concoction that creates a massive hangover like none other?”
                “Yes,” the unicorn shook her head in amusement. “It still happens to be our best seller, and we’re running low. So I need you to run out and-.”
                Flare raised a hoof, waited a moment, and then continued, “This same drink that I just so happen to have a few crates of back at my apartment?”
                Twist shook her head in disbelief, slowly putting her hooves together and clapping. “You’ll never cease to amaze, will you, Flare? Just as long as you bring at least one of the crates in soon, you’ll be generously rewarded.”
                The pegasus merely smiled, trying to hide his ego. “You know me, Ms. Twist. I always aim to please.”
                “That you do,” Twist began to leave the booth. “Come on, I’ve got to get back to work. I’ll fix you up a Cherry Surprise with whatever scotch cherries I can find. I know it’s your favorite.”
                The white stallion’s grin widened as he followed her back to the bar, “You know me all too well.”
                “Yeah, yeah,” she shook her head from behind the bar. “I get the feeling that’s becoming a bad thing.” She fixed his drink and levitated it toward him. A frothy red concoction, nearly overflowing the tall slender mug it was served in. Flare took a quick swig. A blunt burning sensation beat against his throat, but left a calming cherry aftertaste. Just what the doctor ordered, he thought to himself.
                “Now then,” Twist reassured. “Just get that crate in soon and we won’t have a problem. Get out there and enjoy yourself.”
                Flare turned around and entered the crowd, his confidence brewing over like the mug he held. “Oh, you know I will,” he spoke to himself.
                The crowd was moving to the beat of the music. The DJ not only making magic with the turntable, but also with the crowd. Moving like a controlled wave of water: up, down, all around. This DJ knows what the crowd likes. He’s gonna go far, Flare commented in the back of his head. Hay, this pony might one day be half as good as Pon3 herself. Navigating through the crowd, he spied a lone mare in the dark corner, sipping a drink. Flare’s confidence already through the roof, he took another long drink of his Cherry Surprise and decided it was worth a try.
                The dark and secluded corner didn’t show off the gray mare’s features, and it didn’t help that most of her face was covered in her long dark mane. But Flare knew it to be a mare; no stallion in his right mind would drink wine here. It was hard for Flare not to keep the smile from becoming too wide as he approached her.
                “Hey ther-“
                “No,” The mare interrupted.
                Flare was taken aback from this, but still determined as ever. “Um, I’m sorry miss, but I wasn’t quite finished asking if you wanted to dance.”
                “The answer remains the same. No.”
                Flare was puzzled but the look on his face did not show it. “What do you mean you don’t want dance?”
                “Are all you stallions this dense?” The mare flashed him a stern look with her deep violet eyes. “I said I do not want to dance.”
                “Miss,” Flare started in disbelief, “this DJ is on his game tonight, so why aren’t you dancing? It’s perfectly good music!”
                “Please,” the mare shook her head. “That noise coming out of the speakers? That’s not music at all.”
                Flare tried his best not to put his hoof to his face. “I don’t think you understand, these ponies work hard to get here on that stage. If you don’t like the music then why are you here?”
                If he could see the mare, Flare would’ve guessed she rolled her eyes at him. “I like having a drink or two and letting this noise erase my thoughts. Which does not change the fact that it’s still not music, music that I will still not dance to. And besides what would you know about music?”
                “May I?” Flare gestured to the seat across from the mare, to which she nodded, and he sat down. “Sure everyone has their opinions about what is or is not music, but that’s not the point. I don’t care if you make your beats electronically, rock out in a band, scream your little pony lungs out with your lyrics, or if you embrace the more classical style with a cello or piano. If you put the effort out to make music that speaks to other ponies’ souls, makes them think,” Flare raised his glass, “then you have my ear for a listen.”
                She too raised her glass. “My my, you may not be the dense stallion as I thought you out to be.”
                The pegasus chuckled, taking a long sip from his drink. “I surprise even myself sometimes.
 

* * *

 
                Flare awoke with a start, his alarm blaring the music of Hay Day and their hit, “Equestrian Idiot”. Flare sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He was in his bed in his sparsely furnished yet clean bedroom. The sun shone brightly through the window. He let the music play, letting the guitar, drums, bass and the stick-it-to-the-princess lyrics bring him to consciousness. His head ached, but it wasn’t something he wasn’t used to already. He took a deep breath, enjoying this calm, music-induced moment of peace.

Eventually he noticed a feeling of restriction about his neck. He brought a hoof up to find the source of this tightness. A bowtie, his senses told him. Now why in Equestria, he thought to himself, would I wearing a bowtie? I mean bowties are cool and all, bu-.

A soft, angelic voice and a stirring next to him interrupted his thoughts. “Would you please turn off that brutish noise?” Flare then felt the pony next to him lay a hoof on his body. “I woul-.” Which is when her eyes shot open and she too sat up in the bed, and eyed the pony next to her.

Flare did all he could to keep from laughing at the look of shock on the mare’s face. She looks so familiar... if I could only remember her name , Flare thought. Though the pegasus could do nothing to hide his now large grin. “Morning, Miss. I don’t suppose I could interest you in breakfast, could I?”