//------------------------------// // Singing without Music. // Story: On Time For a Change // by LordSmokedMeatsandFishes //------------------------------// Despite my five minute delay, the rest of the evening went without issue. I finalized my notes early, giving me ample time to put out my clothes for tomorrow. Due to the damage to my previous suits, I was forced to utilize my official black suit and bowler hat. I consoled myself with the knowledge that the aura of discipline and control it displayed would almost certainly increase production by at least five seconds. This left me with plenty of time to reach the Ponyville Clocktower before it rang at seven. Due to its distance from any highly populated part of the town, my clocktower vigil wasn’t as enjoyable as it would have been on the Manehatten Clocktower. However, the principle was still there so I deemed it adequate. After experiencing a feeling of relief and overall peace at 7:15, I returned to my room to dine on a hotel sandwich and light salad. The rest of the evening was uneventful. Though I admit it probably took me four extra minutes than usual to finally drift off to sleep. I get like that when I’m excited. Not for today; today was tolerable at best. But tomorrow… Tomorrow they would all see. The Mayor, Rainbow Dash, Miss Rarity, every last one of them would see what a little organization and control is capable of. I awoke ten minutes before the my alarm clock rang. I knew that logically I should get up to take advantage of the additional time being offered to me. On the other hoof, that four minutes still had me a bit groggy. Also it would just be rude to deny my alarm clock the satisfaction of doing its most important job. Besides, I was still trying to understand the dream I had awoken from. I distinctly remembered a massive gray hexagon simply floating in the sky as if it were judging the whole world. It began speaking to me, telling me something vital about the future of Equestria itself. It said- BRING BRING BRING BRING BRING! Wait, what was I thinking about? Hmm…  Probably nothing important. What was I going to– “It’s time!” I shouted, all memories of fatigue and fancy flung from my mind as I remembered today was going to be the most important day of my life. I smiled eager to begin as I threw the covers off my bed, the slight woosh they created caused me to smile as I felt the small blanket’s breeze. THLUMP. I frowned at the subsequent thlump the blanket made bringing my excitement down to a normal level. “Must be this fresh country air getting to me,” I chuckled, feeling relieved that none had seen my ridiculous outburst and quickly picked my blanket up and placed it back on my bed. I mentally added making my bed before leaving to the schedule.   Looking at the clock I saw it was time for my morning bathroom break. Afterwards I had my breakfast, while watching the town begin to awaken from my window. Or perhaps awkwardly turn over would be a more accurate description. Despite being 6:45, only a few houses showed any signs of activity. The most prominent being a startling replica of a gingerbread house. Not only were the lights on, but even from this distance I could hear a faint noise of lively activity presumably of a baking variety. I decided to make a mental note to meet with the tenants since they were obviously a responsible bunch already ahead of most of their town. “That can wait,” I said as I marked the time on my schedule. Having long ago come to the conclusion that two minutes and a half minutes was a reasonable minimum for meeting new ponies. Fortunately my thoughts didn’t distract me from brushing my teeth at 6:52 for two and a half minutes exactly. Forty-five seconds in, I was struck by the strange coincidence of teeth brushing and acceptable social introduction sharing the same time. The world is just magical that way I suppose. Afterwards I made my bed, changed into my suit, and armed myself with my briefcase of notes, pocket watch, lunch and was out the door at exactly 7:00. I flew swiftly past the front desk hoping to give the hotel keeper a friendly hello at 7:01. Unfortunately she didn’t have the decency to be there. Deciding to greet her later, I continued out of the hotel hoping to reach the town square by 5 after. I succeeded and was rewarded with… an empty town square. I would have thought some citizens would be here by now, I thought while double checking my schedule. I needn’t have bothered since I was exactly on time. Looking around I saw nothing but town hall and an empty snowy field. Annoyed with the absence,  I consoled myself with the knowledge that since the inhabitants knew the geography of their town they would not need to leave as early as I. No sooner had I thought this then I saw a small cart being pulled by two ponies. The ponies in question were a tall thin yellow colt, and a short chubby blue mare. No that’s rude and unfair, I corrected myself mentally. At worst she’s round. Besides, anything would look large when compared to that gangly skeleton. Realizing I was continuing to dig myself into a mental hole, I decided to instead focus on the cart. Or more importantly its contents. Despite being at least 30 feet away, I could detect a delectable aroma of breakfast pastries emanating from the cart like light from a scented candle. “Good morning!” I called to the well scented duo. “Well good morning to you too!” The yellow one said while suppressing a yawn. “Well it’s a morning,” said the blue mare as she began setting a small table for her enticing– no, mouth watering pastries. Noticing my line of sight, she chuckled as she asked “Would you like one Mr?” Cursing my weakness for baked goods, I forced myself to look away from the perfect flaky crust as I replied in order of importance “Pendulum, yes I would, and your name is...?” “Why I’m Mrs. Cake and this is Mr. Cake.” She said while gesturing to her husband as he began setting plates for the food. Gee, I wonder if they’re from that bakeshop, I asked myself sarcastically. Reaching for my wallet I asked “And how much would these be?” Mrs. Cake looked surprised as she said “Well nothing of course, it’s just a little something for the town. Nothing gets a group of groggy ponies going like free cake!” “Plus, it’s all about to go stale anyway,” grumbled a still tired Mr. Cake as he continued setting plates for a still absent populace. While Mrs. Cake glared at her husband as he prepared an apology, I decided to obtain a particularly delectable looking bear claw that practically secreted an apple filling like a crushed insect. In a good way. Making a quick mental note to my schedule I bit off a small portion of the pastry and was somewhat disappointed to find I had bitten a non apple filled part. Granted the crust was crunchy and delicious but it was still crust. But on the second bite, I was rewarded with an almost overwhelming sensation of pure and simple joy. It wasn’t so much eating a bear claw, as it was eating a bear claw shaped apple pie. Closing my eyes to savor the taste, I felt a strange surge of memory. I was reminded of a family dessert from my foalhood. I remember it distinctly because it was one of the few times mother and father could both afford to stay up a little late for dessert. Neither had to be at work until later in the morning so we all bonded over our slices of apple pie. My pleasant recollection was interrupted by Mrs. Cake. Annoyed by the obtrusion into my foalhood memory, I responded “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” “Oh, I was just saying our Pinkie sure can tell what ponies like, can’t she hunny?” “I don’t know how she does it. I guess she’s worth keeping around after all,” Mr. Cake or “hunny,” responded. “Now is that even nice?” she asked in a way that was only three quarters mocking. Through the haze of apple flavored bliss, that simple six letter word cut through like a knife in a particularly moist cake. “Did you say Pinkie?” I asked, the bear claw suddenly losing some of its perfection. “Yep, she told us you’d probably be here, and that you struck her as a bear claw kind of pony. Whatever that means,” Mr. Cake said as he finished putting the rest of the pastries onto the table. “Speaking of which, where is she?” Mrs. Cake asked. Suddenly I heard the sound. The springy sound I had so quickly learned to dread. Something pink this way comes. I found myself thinking just before I saw the shape bounding towards me from the distance. “Good morning Mr. Pendulum!” She shouted with an enthusiasm that would have been obscene in any other part of the day, but was especially so in the previously tranquil morning. “Well, time to get the day old bagels.” Mr. Cake said as he, picked up the cart perhaps a bit quicker than was necessary. “Oh, they’re only half a day and you know it,” his wife said as she followed him. I wanted to call to them, but in that split second I couldn’t think of a socially acceptable way of shouting Please, by all that is pure and decent don’t leave me alone with her! Anything but HER! But all I could say was “Well, come back soon.” I don’t even think they heard me. But she did. “Oh don’t worry, they’ll be back in no time. It’s a good thing too, because everypony should start getting here in about five minutes! Except the mayor, she’s always a little late. And Rainbow Dash, boy is she always super late! Normally I wouldn’t care but I mean come on! The Apples always get here early and they’re almost on the other side of town! I mean if you can fly then there–” “And how are you doing this morning Miss Pie?” I forced through gritted teeth. “Oh great! I made sure to get the Cakes up early. Usually I don’t have to, I mean they already work so hard already. But with the Winter Wrap Up and everything I wanted to make sure we were on time. I think we got here a little bit late though, Mr. Cake’s back isn’t what it used to be. Well that and we couldn’t remember where the yeast was. But then I reminded them that if the sun rises in the west then it–” “Hold on,” I interrupted. “Did you say you made sure they got up on time?” “Well sure,” she said with a look of surprise. “Your schedule said everypony has to get here by 7:30 didn’t it? I know it looks like they’re all late, but no pony can resist free food from the Cakes! Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if Rainbow Dash actually gets here to swipe a bagel. She has a weird loner thing when it comes to her bagels. In fact–” Pausing, Pinkie looked at an imaginary wristwatch then looked up just as a blue blur swiped a donut from the table. She then immediately resumed with… “Huh, I thought for sure she would go for the bagel. Then again it is a Wednesday. Well, as long as she doesn’t come back for seconds until everypony else has gotten their first. She’s usually pretty good about that. And it should only be about seven minutes until other ponies start showing up.” No sooner had she said that then multiple houses began lighting in the distance as the town finally began to awaken. Whether from alarm clock, the wonderful smell of baked perfection, or actually respect for my schedule things were starting to look up. Wait. Did she say your schedule? Does that mean? Is it possible? “Miss Pie, are you telling me you actually read my schedule?” I said through a small mouthful of baked goodness. “Well duh!” she cried almost looking offended. “You did say if everyone followed the schedule we’d finish our wrap up on time! And I can’t celebrate the Winter Wrap Up Party if its late!” “Oh, well I apologize for misjudging you Miss Pie,” was what I started to say but then… “Oh sure we could still do a We Almost Made it Party! Or a Still Better than Last Year Party! But those aren’t anywhere as much fun. I mean I’m pretty good at making parties. Ok that’s a lie, I’m SUPER good at making parties but there’s only so much I can do with that! I mean–” I began tuning out her party nonsense as I tried savoring the last bits of the pastry. Unfortunately this pink pony’s continued presence had made what was once so sweet taste as bitter as poorly made tea. (Or perfectly made tea depending on your preference). Don’t get me wrong, I love a good party as much as the next pony. It’s always nice to have your acquaintances remind you that you continue to exist. But the brief glimmers of madness I heard in her snippets of nonsense... How could anypony be so blind to what was so obviously an unhealthy obsession? Some ponies just have no self awareness and there’s nothing you can do for that. While looking around the square, I saw a few townsfolk approaching. Credit where credit is due, this pony knew her town. I didn’t recognize any of the townsfolk though if there barely whispered comments of “Thats the jerk that made us get up so early” were anything to go by they certainly knew who I was.   Pinkie seemed to recognize them as she began bounding toward each one in greeting. Giving each a specific pastry that they all wolfed down. Each one a completely satisfied customer. Relieved that her focus wasn’t on me anymore, I was able to focus on the incoming citizens with Pinkie’s ramblings becoming mere background noise. Finally my search was rewarded with a friendly face. In the distance I saw the farmer Applejack appear wearing a green vest and accompanied by her mammoth of a brother. I recalled that I had nothing against this family, so I made sure to tip my hat in greeting to them. I was pleased to see my hat tipping was met in kind, so I asked “And how are you this morning?” “Oh fine I suppose. I just wish them other ponies would show up so we could get started,” she responded as she trotted over to the table to snag a donut. Sensing a kindred spirit, I asked her “How late do you think they’ll be?” “Pffft.” She responded with a dismissive snort. Seeing my expectation for further detail she continued “Well, they’ve always been a little late even when it was at 8. I’m hoping it won’t be too bad today. The mayor is paying you for… whatever you’re doing here right?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. “Well of course,” I said, and before I could decide whether that was rudeness or simply ignorance, she continued. “Well if she’s paying, then she might actually be here early. Of course you never can tell with her.”  She said while devouring her donut. “I take it you’re not satisfied with the mayor’s… abilities?” “Well she tries, I’ll give her that. Heck, she does a good job most of the time. It’s just stuff like this, where she has to tell a lot of ponies what to do at once that she has problems.” Trying to respond as non offensively as possible I asked, “So you’re saying she does a good job as leader, except when she actually has to lead?” Laughing nervously she said, “Now I’m not saying that. I’m just saying uh…” Her eyes began shifting nervously as she tried to come up with some clarification that wouldn’t boil down to criticising her elected official. She looked to her brother for support, unfortunately he was too busy eating a particularly good looking bear claw. Although judging by his expression he had eaten better. Impossible as that seemed to me. Nevertheless, he must have been listening since he looked from me to his sister, and while continuing to chew his fritter, lifted a single hoof up to gesture to the town hall. Given the size of his limb, I couldn’t help but follow its direction to see the most unexpected sight of the Mayor walking out of the building. Somewhat frazzled looking admittedly but still very much here and… six minutes early! “Excuse me Miss Applejack, but I must speak with the Mayor.” I said whilst nodding my head in a polite manner. “Oh, sure thing! Just make sure to remind her about the speech thing. It’s only supposed to be four and a half minutes right?” “And not a second more,” I said before flying toward the mayor, grinning to myself with the knowledge that ponies were actually reading my schedule. At first I was glad to see the Mayor since her presence in the town hall meant that technically she was here before I was. Therefore miracles did indeed exist and truthfully anything was possible. Sadly this was not to be. My first sign that something was amiss should have been the large stack of notecards she had in her hooves, or the size of the podium that her poor secretary Amber Pointment had to lug around with her magic. I recognized the kind. That was a speech podium. A ten minute one at least. I would have to put a stop to this madness here and now. After making sure my suit was straightened and my bowler hat balanced just right, I opened my wings and began hovering vertically off the ground with my front hooves behind the small of my back. Floating at a seemingly leisurely pace to the Mayor,  I asked “And what do you have there, Mayor?” Looking away from Amber’s heavy lifting, the Mayor looked towards me and happily said “Why this is my new speech! Only ten minutes long just like you said!” Then, as if forgetting I existed, she returned to looking through her accursed notecards. I spent the next two seconds registering what she said.  Finally I realized she must have been joking.  It was a crass and tasteless joke but she was a politician after all, and you just can’t blame things for following their nature. “Very funny Mayor. But you know I said four and a half minutes.” I said deciding to play along as I followed her to her podium.   “Oh no, I’m quite certain it was ten,” she said with a with a look of self satisfied self delusion that could rival Rainbow Dash. “Mayor. I know what I said. You have four and a half minutes.” I almost growled as I realized she was serious. Then, the mayor did something most unexpected. She actually seemed to listen to what I was telling. Even more unexpected, she did not look happy. If anything she looked angry. And judging by the facehoof her secretary was doing I may have made a serious error. “Oh, I have four and a half minutes do I? I’m sorry Mr. Pendulum. Please remind me, who is paying for your services?” She said as she took one step towards me. Despite floating several feet off the ground, I felt myself instinctively moving away from her treading hoof.  “Well you are but–” “And whose town is this?” she asked as she continued to move forward. Again I found myself floating backward as I said “You are.” Although inside I was screaming No! This is not supposed to be happening!  “Well then Pardon me Mr. Pendulum, but as Mayor I think I have final say in any and all matters. And I say I am giving my speech. What do you say to that?” You could have heard a feather drop in that town square. All around everypony was waiting to see how I could respond. (Even Pinkie froze while tossing a pastry into her mouth. How the pastry froze in midair was anypony’s guess.) I admit I was having a bit of a difficulty figuring out how to respond myself. My first instinct was to simply shout YOU INCOMPETENT DERANGED SOW! YOU HAVE FAILED TO DO YOUR JOB FOR DECADES AND YOU DARE TO CHANGE MY SCHEDULE JUST TO STROKE YOUR EGO FOR TEN MINUTES! YOU… YOU…  IMBECILE!–right into her smug face.  Fortunately I rejected this initial response despite how satisfying it would have been. Although keeping it in did cause my left eye to very visibly twitch in agitation. Aside from that I made sure to give no sign of outrage. Instead, I slowly landed on the ground all the while maintaining eye contact with the Mayor. Twitching eye notwithstanding. I then simply stared at the Mayor for fifteen seconds as I calmed myself  with the almost metronomel sounds of ticks and tocks in my head, waiting for her to make the first mistake. She stared back at me with a look of satisfaction. This soon turned to confusion at my silence and self awareness at the attention we were attracting. Finally it happened. She blinked. Perfect. “You’re right Mayor. You are in charge. Now much as I’m sure your citizens would love to hear your full speech, I’m sure you realize that they are all eager to get to work. And surely such an acclaimed speech writer as yourself can convey your ideas in a mere five minutes?” I asked while whipping out my pocketwatch to illustrate my point as well as check how we were doing on time. It was 7:24. If I didn’t get her to reduce her speech, the consequences could be catastrophic. I am giving you an out. You’ll even be able to save what little face you have. Just nod your head, say your stupid speech and stay out of my way. I thought trying to will my thought process into her thick skull. We continued to glare at each other for an additional five seconds until she finally said “Well of course I can. I am the Mayor after all.” And with a surprising amount of dignity she went to her podium and made quite a show of discarding various cards in her pile. As I walked away from the self centered mare I couldn’t help but notice the townsfolk doing a poor show of acting like they hadn’t been listening to my little exchange. I decided to ignore their stares as I tried to hunt down another pastry. I was able to snag one of the remaining croissants when I bumped into Amethyst in her brown animal team vest. “Hey, good job with the mayor.” She told me almost as surprised with her approval as I was. “Thank you.” We’ll need every available minute because of your team. Speaking of which. “And how is your team doing? They have looked at the schedule. haven’t they?” “Don’t worry, my team can handle it. We’ve had a lot of practice and I have a good feeling about this year.” She said with a contemptible sense of satisfaction. Oh yes, and I’m sure you’ve said that all five years you’ve been in charge. “Very good.” I said. Looking around I saw a few more faces. Most notably Rarity and Fluttershy were both together talking about… whatever two ponies of such vastly different personalities could talk about. I was surprised to find that Rarity was wearing an animal team vest. Curious I asked Amythyst about it. Her response was “Oh yeah, she makes some of the best bird nests you’ve ever seen. Seriously they make you want to live in them.” “What do you mean?” “Oh she puts these bows and ribbons in them to make them look fancy. Heck some of them look better then my house.” “And she does it all by herself?” “Yeah, but she does it better than half of the animal team combined.” What an… achievement. Hold on. “Does she do anything else?” “Well, not really. I mean she’s not very good with the animals, and she’s a bit… limited in what she’s allowed to do.” “You mean because she’s not allowed to use magic?” “Well, you’re one of those put everything out there ponies aren’t you?” she asked with what I’m sure was exaggerated offense. “Not at all. I simply wanted to ensure that we were on the same page.” I replied. “Speaking of which...” I continued while scanning my notes and comparing them to my watch. “If the mayor actually follows the schedule she should be speaking–” “Citizens of Ponyville!” The Mayor said in her best speech giving voice. Seven seconds early. I know you did that on purpose Mayor. “Well I must be off, Miss Amethyst. I hope you’re ready for today.” “Of course I’m ready. I don’t care what your papers say, the animal team takes its job very seriously. Unlike some ponies I could mention.” She said while eyeing the sky. Following her gaze I noticed that there was indeed a distinct lack of Rainbow Dash despite the fact she was one of the first to arrive in the first place. I didn’t know whether to feel sympathy for the pegasus that so clearly had a problem, or annoyance that said pegasus was completely incapable of recognizing their problem. So distracted was I by my search that I when I looked over Amethyst had already joined Applejack in the unofficial “captain’s corner” of the chaotic circular crowd. So flustered was I by the sudden change that I almost missed a part of the Mayor’s speech. “Also, I’d like to thank Mr. Pendulum whose expertise and planning will finally give us  our first successful Winter Wrap Up in years! Isn’t that right Mr. Pendulum?” She asked with a slight edge to her voice. I looked to see the entire town staring at me, waiting for some response. Trying to throw me under the carriage? Very well Mayor. If thats how you want to play it. Flying above the crowd so that I could be heard I shouted“Well of course Mayor. In fact, if you’re done with your speech we can get started. And I can guarantee Ponyville that by noon tomorrow we will successfully start Spring!” With everypony looking at me, only I noticed the Mayor’s glare. I didn’t even need to look at my watch to know I had cut off her speech by at least two minutes. Suddenly a cheer erupted among the crowd which quickly spread like a sports cheer. I found myself grinning at the Mayor just daring her to try and start her speech again. But, credit where credit is due she didn’t get to her post without some means of knowing a crowds mood. “Let the Winter Wrap Up begin!” She concluded. This was met with some polite applause but nowhere near the amount I had received. As I started to fly to the “Captains Corner” I could still feel the eyes of the crowd watching me. Deep down I knew it was probably the sugar in the pastries or the fact I cut off the Mayor and her useless speech, but for now that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that right here, right now everypony was looking up to me. All looking up to me… WHOOOSH! What the– “Sorry I’m late Ponyville. Now are we going to get this Winter Wrap Up started or what?” Shouted a familiar grating voice from a familiar grating mare, wearing an unfamiliar blue vest . Well it was nice while it lasted. “How kind of you to join us Miss Dash.” I said. “No prob.” “Actually Miss Dash, it is a prob. In fact it is very much prob. How can you expect your team to take you seriously if you can’t even show up on time?” I know I wouldn’t. “Geez. I said I was sorry. Besides, did I miss anything? Aside from another one of the Mayor’s speeches?” she said while rolling her eyes in a particularly infuriating manner.          I thought carefully about the question. Looking to the other captains I saw they too were considering the question and had probably come to the same conclusion. No she hadn’t missed anything, but that wasn’t the point. The point was about principle, about practicing what you preach, about us being late if we don’t get a move on.          Wait a minute…          “Ugh, can you talk about Rainbow Dash’s faults later? We said we were getting started so lets get started,” cried Amethyst.          “Agreed,” declared Applejack.          “Fine, but we’ll talk about this later.”          “Allright. Calm down mom.” she said with a face that would have looked much more appealing underneath a heavy blunt instrument.          Just ignore her. She is an imbecile and not worth your time. I thought as I looked to my schedule and ignored the twitching in my eye.          “Miss Dash. Is your weather team at the ready?”          Looking to the sky she seemed to make some mental calculations as she responded “The bird team is double checking their instructions before takeoff, the cloud team is arranging the clouds as we speak, and the others are getting ready to help the plant team with the snow.”           “And who is on your bird team? My notes say that is your most consistently… lacking group.”          “Don’t worry, we got Ditzy taking care of that.”          “Fine.”          Looking to the other captains I asked “I expect you’ve both made the proper preparations?”          “Yep.”          “Sure have.”          “Very well. You have your teams, you have your instructions, let us begin”                                          Three Hours Later.          Progress was.. going surprisingly well. With the additional half hour preparations (as well as a steady supply of excess baked goods) we were already showing in increase of 5% from last years records. Flying overhead I saw all of the ponies hard at work, particularly the plant team who were shoveling snow into wheelbarrows that were quickly transported to a pile to be melted later. After watching this for five minutes I recommended a more organized approach considering the current one was… haphazard to say the least.          Thats not to say it didn’t work, just nowhere near as well as it could. Too much focus was being given on completely clearing an area, despite the scheduled melting from the weather team. After a talk with Applejack, the teams were beginning to clear large portions of the town, leaving the remainder to be melted later. Unfortunately, Amethyst complained that this could potentially lead to some flooding to the burrows to close to the town. Why they had been so close to the town in the first place was a question for another day. At the same time, Miss Ditzy was already a half hour late so I would have to talk with Rainbow Dash about sending a messenger. In addition.. what is that noise? “Three months of Winter coolness…” Ugh. Are they really starting that now? Flying higher for a better look I saw my fears were true, they were singing. Even from my height I could hear them and they were just doing opening lyrics. I could hear their voices… and nothing else. I listened in hope that this time I could hear the music. The music that could cause an entire town like this to burst into song for a brief moment of perfect synchronous harmony… But I couldn’t. I never did. I could never understand what moments made the songs happen, nor how an entire town could sing such a complex piece despite no practice sessions whatsoever. “Winter Wrap Up Winter Wrap UPPPP!” And there goes the chorus. It’s catchy I’ll give it that. I thought as I looked at a small group that somehow managed to sing while shoveling their snow in a manner I could only assume was intune to whatever music they could hear. I knew it was a necessary evil. That there was evidence going back hundreds of years of music to alleviate work fatigue, that it brought groups together. Not to mention that the town records indicated some of their best work was done to song. But… why did they all have to look so smug about it? Sitting on a rooftop I listened as the song came from all directions. Not just from the town, but the farm area, as well as the animal burrows. (Why they animals weren't awoken by this melodus racket I would never know.) It seemed every citizen was singing. To me it seemed a song without music, a fit of shared temporary insanity but to them, it was something that united them. Something that helped them put aside their differences for a single purpose. It must have been a beautiful song indeed but… but.. “Why can’t I hear it? Why can’t I ever be allowed to join? What makes them so special?” I yelled at the uninterested universe. In my outrage I ended up falling off the roof. Through the rush of adrenaline as I righted myself bits of memory flashed through my mind. FLASH “Nothing wrong with him mam. Some foals just… can’t hear it. I’m sure he’ll grow out of it in, and if not I may have some prescriptions here–” FLASH “Well son you heard the singing. You should know by now to get out of the way. No the dancers can’t be held responsible, besides the swelling should go down in a day or two.” FLASH         “It’ll be the best time ever. Just join the dance!” “Be be be BEST TIME EVER JUST JOIN THE DANCE!” “ENOUGH!” I shouted cutting the memory off and not caring who was around to hear me. Looking down I saw a vacant table with a few leftover pastries I decided a decent donut might be enough to calm me down.         “Let them have their songs. Let them have their dance. I’ve never needed it. I’ve never needed them. Once the song ends they’ll have to carry on, while I can keep going just the same if not better then all of them.”         Thats right, say it enough times, you might even convince yourself.         “SHUT UP!” I shouted only later realizing the futility of yelling at myself. Unfortunately I wasn’t alone.         “Jeez! I didn’t even say anything!”         That voice, there was something in it’s inflection, something unpleasantly familiar. Looking down I saw a small orange pegasi with a purple mane. Despite her distinctive appearance I must say I didn’t recognize her. Until she spoke in that same grating tone.         “I mean jeez if you wanted the chocolate you just had to ask,” she said in a tone just as bad if not worse than a certain tardy weather captain.         What fresh hell is this?