It was a long hour for The Pony Tones, but it was an hour well spent as the barbershop quartet covered as many as three songs during their rehearsal! By the end of their practice, the four ponies were exhausted.
“Well... that was quite the rehearsal!” Rarity panted. She lost her breath after holding a single note for eight beats!
“Ee…yup,” Big Macintosh concurred, but barely giving a sweat.
“How do you do it Big Mac? I struggled to hold my really high note at the end!” Toe Tapper waved his hoof by his mouth.
“Well much of it is learning how to control your breath, Toe Tapper. Or did you forget to learn that when you started singing lessons?” teased Torch Song.
“Of course I did Torchy! It’s still hard regardless,” Toe Tapper teased back.
1
“Now, now, settle down. We got a lot of work done today, and we’re already sounding fabulous!” Rarity mediated. “We just need to improve our intonation at those thirds! That’s where ponies will close their ears in fright if the tones aren’t perfectly in tune!” critiqued the white mane.
“You’ve got a point Rarity. It’s been a while since we sang together, so we’re still pretty rusty. It’s a good thing we’re practicing again!” Torch Song smiled.
“Ee-yup!” Big Macintosh enthusiastically agreed, keeping his straight face. “I best be going now,” Big Macintosh declared, waving goodbye and slowly trotting out the purple door.
“We need to get going too Rarity,” Toe Tapper and Torch Song spoke together.
“I’ve got quite a bit of composing to do!” Toe Tapper explained.
“And I’ve got to get back to my hat designs!” Torch Song added. The lanky stallion and chubby mare waved goodbye as they trotted out together.
“Ta-ta my fellow Pony Tones!” Rarity waved goodbye to the other two members. One the Pony Tones left, Rarity slowly closed the door. She gave herself sigh of relief.
“Well that rehearsal went much better than I hoped!” chuckled the purple mare.
Big Macintosh quickly took off his uniform, folded it, and placed it into his saddlebag. He then trotted back to Sweet Apple Acres with a contented, cheeky smile. He couldn’t believe his luck when his family believed his claim of being sick with the cold! Especially Applebloom! All he had to do was keep his voice hoarse and raise the thermometer by heating up his tea kettle just as Applejack came to wake him up! It was the oldest trick in the book!
Big Macintosh arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. The farm was quiet. Too quiet. Big Macintosh trotted to the front door. Sure Applejack was selling goods, and Applebloom was probably out with the Crusaders. But something still didn’t feel right…
When Big Macintosh opened the wooden door, a bucket of water was splashed upon his face! The bulky red stallion wagged his face and squinted his eyes.
“So you thought you could get away from doing yer chores huh Big Mac?!” Applebloom chuckled.
“Ee…Yup?” Big Macintosh replied with a sheepish smile.
“Well it wasn’t real nice of you to make me and Scootaloo do all the chores fer you!” pouted the yellow filly. “Scootaloo and I got real tired after we did all the work!” Applebloom continued. Big Macintosh kept silent with a straight face.
“Big Mac… I’m surprised. I thought that type of work would be easy peasy fer you!” Applebloom now scratched her head. “After all, it was just a few crates! They’re heavy for me and Scoots, but not fer you!” continued the confused filly. Big Mac kept quiet.
Applebloom’s memories rushed back to her, recalling the Crusaders’ detour at Sugarcube Corner. The intuitive filly had a hunch:
“Wait, hold up... Big Mac, are you trying to hide the comeback of The Pony Tones?” grinned Applebloom cheekily. Big Macintosh was just about to trot onward, but the question froze him. After a few moments of awkward silence, Big Macintosh solemnly asked,
“How did you know about that?” The young filly, unobservant of the seriousness in his voice, explained with a giggle,
“Well you see… We were headin’ to Fluttershy’s place and we overheard yer singin’ when we passed Carousel Boutique!” Big Macintosh kept a straight face, despite the devastation he felt.
“What’s wrong Big Mac? Don’t you guys want to tell Ponyville that y’all are coming back soon?!” exclaimed the confused filly.
“Ee-nope. Just wanted things to be kept quiet for a while. Rehearsal also took place at the same time I had to carry the apples,” Big Mac succinctly explained.
“Well you want me to keep things quiet?” offered the filly. “We can just say you recovered real quick!”
“Ee-yup,” Big Macintosh blandly replied. Big Macintosh then trotted away from the house and towards the apple trees to resume his bucking. Applebloom on the other hand stood by the doorstep and chuckled to herself.
“So they’re really coming back,” Applebloom said to herself, satisfied with the revelation.
Soon after Toe Tapper and Torch Song trotted out of Carousel Boutique, they took off their green sweaters, remembering Rarity’s wish to keep the comeback of The Pony Tones a secret until she gave the go-ahead. The two ponies looked around to see if any other ponies were around. The coast was clear. They then trotted towards Sugarcube Corner for a quick drink of a milkshake.
“You know, sometimes I wonder why Rarity wants us to keep things hush-hush about our comeback,” griped the lanky stallion. “I mean, if we start talking about our comeback earlier, ponies will have more time to spread the word about it! Like, have you seen Maretallica talk about their comeback a week before their concert?! They’d do it a month before!” Toe Tapper raised his hooves up in the air.
“I know what you mean Toe Tapper,” Torch Song assured. “But think of it like this: Ponyville treats us like celebrities whenever we become The Pony Tones. We can’t spend our time signing autographs and accepting requests to sing, especially not at this stage!” The chubby mare explained.
“I guess you have a point. After all, we are among Ponyville’s elite when we wear these green sweaters,” Toe Tapper chuckled.
“We sure are Toey,” Torch Song playfully punched the stallion with her right hoof.
“Oww! What was that for?” spoke Toe Tapper in protest as he rubbed his back. Torch Song simply giggled,
“What? Don’t you like it when you’re receiving attention?” The cream mare teased.
“Well not like this!” Toe Tapper interjected. “That said, you also called me Toey. You know I hate being called Toey!” complained the stallion.
“That’s why I like saying it! You like calling me Torchy every now and then!” Torch Song winked.
“Well… that’s different…” Toe Tapper sheepishly chuckled, not noticing the blush growing on his face. Thankfully, neither did Torch Song.
“What do you mean that’s different? I don’t mind being called Torchy as much as you do, but it does get annoying if you do it too much!” explained Torch Song.
“Well… forget about it ok?!” the flabbergasted stallion requested. Torch Song shrugged. She was used to seeing the lanky stallion stutter whenever she was around, but not like this! But for now, she let it go.
“Well, if you say so!” As she let the topic loose, the two ponies reached Sugarcube Corner. The perfect chance for Toe Tapper to pull his senses back together and remove the fact the previous discussion ever happened!
“Well, we’re here! Let’s go grab a milkshake or two!” encouraged Toe Tapper as he trotted into the bakery first. Torch Song happily nodded before she followed closely behind the stallion.
The two ponies quickly found an empty round table near the centre of the desert emporium and sat opposite of each other. The ponies breathed sighs of satisfaction, but no sooner did Pinkie Pie jump from the ground and greet the two ponies!
“Ohh hey you guys! Welcome back to Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie Pie then stared down upon the two ponies with scrutinizing eyes. Torch Song and Toe Tapper quivered on their pink seats. They knew of Pinkie Pie’s eccentric, oft maniacal antics, but even if they knew it was to come, Pinkie Pie was always unpredictable!
Pinkie Pie quickly jumped using her tail as a spring! She tip-toed in place as if she stepped upon a burning pit of coal! The party pony then gave as wide a grin as she could before declaring,
“Hey I know you two! You’re part of The Pony Tones! Toe Tapper’s the tenor and Torch Song’s the mezzo-soprano!” The two customers sheepishly chuckled.
“Why… yes we are Pinkie Pie…” Torch Song awkwardly smiled.
“And you two are going to host a comeback concert in the next month!” Pinkie Pie gleefully skipped and hopped around the table. Toe Tapper immediately scratched his head.
“Wait how did you know that?!" asked the flustered stallion.
I just know! Teehee!" chuckled the bumbling mare.
Well please don't tell anypony about this! We want to keep that a secret!” Toe Tapper shoved Pinkie Pie down below the table, trying his darndest to not draw a crowd! To Torch Song’s astonishment, no pony took any notice of what was transpiring at their table!
“A secret?! Why the secrecy?!” Pinkie Pie immediately shot up from her table, now wearing a detective’s costume!
“A mystery’s ahoof! It’s time for detective Pinkie Pie to figure out why The Pony Tones are keeping quiet about their comeback concert!” Pinkie Pie closely inspected the table, checking for any signs of grime or evidence that would help her self-created mystery.
“Pinkie, there doesn’t need to be a mystery ok?! We just want to keep things between us so we can take time to practice our thing!” Toe Tapper whispered in distress to Pinkie Pie. All the while, Torch Song couldn’t help but giggle at everything that unfolded before her eyes!
“You want to practice on me?! Oh I’m really honoured!” Pinkie Pie giggled. “You didn’t have to Toe Tapper!” Toe Tapper slapped his face with his hooves.
“Pinkie Pie, I just want you to keep your mouth shutfor now ok?” Toe Tapper grabbed the pink mare by her throat.
“Ok, ok! I’ll keep my mouth shut, and I’ll even Pinkie Promise if you let me go!” replied the choking mare. Toe Tapper immediately let her go.
“Good. Now, Torch Song and I would like two chocolate milkshakes please,” Toe Tapper briskly demanded. Pinkie Pie took a few deep breaths to compose herself.
“Two chocolate milkshakes. Gotcha!” Pinkie Pie ran off towards the kitchen, but not before she cheekily remarked,
“Well you seem to like taking charge for Torch Song in ordering for her. It’s pretty cute!” Pinkie Pie trotted away, leaving a very cross Toe Tapper alone. But Torch Song found the entire conversation very entertaining.
“Well Toe Tapper, you certainly got your just deserts with Pinkie Pie eh?” the chubby mare giggled.
“Whatever do you mean Torch Song?!” Toe Tapper grunted.
“Well you just got a taste of your medicine after all. Sometimes bantering just isn’t a lot of fun for the ponies at the receiving end. It doesn’t mean you should stop being silly, but it does mean that you’ve got to keep it under control so it doesn’t hurt others,” explained Torch. Toe Tapper placed himself in his thinking pose.
“I guess you have a point,” replied Toe Tapper in resignation. But not before he took a light shot at his friend. “But… you gotta admit. Rarity was a hoot as Susanna at the Running of the Leaves.” Torch Song gleefully giggled.
“She sure was… she sure was.”