//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: My Little Pony: the Harmony of Friendship 
// by Godzilla313 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 5

After their session with the Rainbooms, any worries about them being used or abused by the students at Canterlot were quickly removed. Their skills as musicians and singers were phenomenal, and because of the magic contained within them, they were causing to happen in a random fashion, and in the way that pony Twilight had told Sunset the Bardics were capable of. They had a calming and visual aspect, and they had taken effect there. Normally grumpy and confrontational students were calm, happy, and very willing to hang out with folks there. More and more, they were proving to be exactly what she and human Twilight had suspected of them: they were the ones for whom pony Twilight searched. They had no problem getting into classes, and they proved themselves good studies. They were not geniuses, but were above average. Yet, when it came to music, that is where their genius showed through, proving the pair were both staunch musicologists. They had musical theory down pat, and no matter the genre of music, they could put it all into musical terms as well as how and why certain aspects of the music interlocked in it. Still, they had their preferences, and their little lunchtime practice sessions in the schoolyard always attracted a crowd. Even Celestia and Luna came out that next day, hearing about what they could do. Now that it seemed like the session with the Rainbooms unlocked their power, they could do this now whenever they played and got really into it.

Interestingly enough, none of the students questioned it, considering all they had seen at Canterlot High up to this point. They were well aware of an alternate dimension, though they knew little of it. It is a little hard to conceal the fact when you have someone open up a cache of magic she knows nothing about or how to control and almost causes the universe they are in to crumble and collapse into the other. Sunset often pondered the disaster it would have caused, and the confusion. She imagined what would have happened if they had failed to stop it. Any humans that somehow managed to survive it would have an extremely hard time of coping with their new environs, and many ponies might have seen them as monsters and started to attack them out of fear, an attack of which Celestia would have put a stop to in time, but not before tragedy. It would have been catastrophic to both worlds. Therefore, when the twins started to do these things, it was no big deal, and actually made them more welcome with all the students. The seven that had befriended them were now becoming closer and closer to them, but there was still an issue.

Though they were not confrontational with others, (indeed, considering both were pacifists, and did not like violence or fighting,) and though they were willing to talk with others, it always seemed that there was only so close they would go. Knowing their past, the seven knew that they both had a hard time blending in, and also were reluctant to trust anyone considering how they had been burned in the past. They wanted to make friends, but they did not want to get so close that, if they were uprooted yet again, they would not hurt, or hurt others as much. This was something that both Twilight and Sunset knew would be an obstacle, and using her book like a journal, wrote pony Twilight to make sure she understood exactly what she faced when they tried to convince them of what they really were, and that they needed to go back there. In order to convince them, they had to get close to them, and in order to do that, they would have to break through somehow and get them to let them get that close.

That evening, they decided to go get a bite to eat and do their homework at the local eatery the students used as a hangout. By the time they were done, it was dark outside, and they were heading back to the home with the twins. As they went, they passed by a club that was being used as a hangout for the jocks of the A&M college that was in the town, the same one to which Big Macintosh had won a football scholarship to play nose tackle for the school. (Because it was an A&M, Mac loved the fact that he could play football and learn some of the business side of agriculture to better run the family orchard with his sister.) By this point, others had split off, and now it was just Applejack, Dash, and the twins, and a few of the players were standing outside and spotted the girls. "Yeehaw," shouted one, "Now aren't they pretty things!"

Another said, "Hey, girls, let's get together and maybe we can give you an advance in college education!"

Rainbow Dash wanted to react, but Applejack said, "Cool your jets. They's just big muscleheads."

However, one group of three spotted Downy, and one of them got a gleam in his eye. He nudged his buddies and they began to follow the girls. They ended up in a darker part of the town, and that's when the three came out of an alley. The bigger of them said, "Hey, hippie girl: let's turn on, tune in, and drop out."

The girls stiffened and Downy got real close to Quill. He then said, "Ah, I get it. Hey, why not ditch your skinny boyfriend and get with a real man."

The others were unsure of what to do, but Rainbow Dash was not about to tolerate this any further. Hearing that, she said, "We'll keep that in mind. And when a real man shows up, let us know!"

She then motioned for the others to try to go around them, but they stepped up and blocked their path, the main one sneering and saying, "Hey, you haven't given me a chance to prove your manhood."

Rainbow Dash was beginning to tense up, knowing this was going to turn ugly, and said, "Leave us alone, or I just might let your manhood know what pain is!"

Downy was pleading, "Please, no fighting! This won't help!"

Quill got in front of her, and though a pacifist, he was not going to let anything happen to his sister without a fight. The jock saw the gesturing and laughed hard, saying, "And just what do you think you're going to do?"

With that, he grabbed Downy's arm, and then swiftly found Dash's foot in a place he would have rather preferred it did not land. He dropped to the ground, groaning in pain, snarling through his teeth, "Get them!"

Dash was getting ready for the next one, taking a martial arts stance, but Quill and Downy grabbed Dash and called for everyone to just run, and run they did. The remaining two took off after them while the third managed to regain his feet and follow, though a bit slower as the pain wore off. Panic began to set in, and they finally made a wrong turn down an alley. At this, the three caught up and slowed down. They were not going anywhere. At this, they now had no choice but to fight. Quill and Downy were behind Applejack and Dash, with Quill staying in front of Downy. "Really?" said their ersatz leader, "Don't make me laugh."

However, the pair proved formidable, moving fast and being able to dish it out well, even causing a black eye in one of them. Yet, sheer size and strength overcame them, as they finally got fed up with the resistance and belted Applejack and Rainbow Dash with their full strength. Even that was too much for the girls, who then crumpled to the ground and were pinned there by two of the three. Their leader walked past them, now very angry, saw the guitars, and said, "Aww… Look at those nice guitars…" and then proceeded to smash them both. "NO!" screamed Downy, who then began to cry and cower. He then approached, and Quill then decided to step up and attack, but he was quickly brushed to the side. He tried again, got belted for his troubles, and the jock finally used the shoulder strap to hog tie Quill, but made him face out in the process. He took the other strap and said, "Now, let's you and I make good music," and walked over to her, planning to tie her up, and the others took the hint, looking to do something to the pair they had pinned. Yet, before they acted, they heard a very angry and low-pitched voice say, "If y'all wanna keep yer hands on yer wrists, y'all better get 'em off my sister and her friends!"

They froze, recognizing the voice, and Applejack smiled, knowing it was about to get VERY bad for them.

Before the two pinning down AJ and Dash could blink, Mac had them off the ground with one in each hand and summarily slammed their heads together. They crumpled in a heap as the third now confronted Mac. "That's your sister?" he asked.

"Ah yup," came the calm answer from an angry face.

"Hey, I didn't know," he pleaded, "You can understand, right?"

"Nnnnope," came the answer in the same way.

"Look, I mean, I just…" he tried to plea, but soon found himself in a scrap, and Mac was using him as a practice dummy. The jock now wished his father never met his mother, and in short order, it was over. "How'd you know?" asked AJ, now having regained herself, "You were there?"

"Ah yup."

"You saw us?"

"Ah yup."

"You saw them follow?"

"Ah yup."

"Heard the scream?"

"Ah yup."

"I love you," she said, giving him a big hug, to which he smiled and just said, "Ah yup."

The police finally arrived and now had the three men in cuffs and in the cars, and the police then said, "Okay, if you'd like, we can take you downtown so you can press charges…"

"No," Downy quietly cut in, "It's okay; they were stopped. We don't want to cause trouble."

"Say what?" said Applejack with some surprise, "After all that, and you wanna let it go?"

"Yeah!" added Dash, "That creep's got it coming…" but Downy just raised her hand and gently put it on Dash's lips, saying, "No, please; there could be trouble, and besides, I think they've paid their dues."

"But..." protested the others, but Downy said, "We'll be okay. We're not pressing charges."

The cops were confused themselves, and wondered what the case was, but then said, "Well, we'll let them go, but we'll watch them and make sure they don't come back here while you gather yourselves. Can't make you press if you don't want to."

"But, what if we wanna?" asked Applejack.

"It's all or nothing," answered the officer, "Everyone has to agree to it."

The girls just looked surprised and confused as they let the boys go, and Big Macintosh went with them to be sure they won't come back as well, and AJ then said, "We'll talk later?"

"Ah yup," answered Mac as they left. And as they did, one said to Mac, "Hey, they're dropping it. You can too, right?"

"Nnnnope."

"You're going to tell coach?"

"Ah yup."

They all expressed some choice metaphors and were gone. Soon after, the police were gone as well, but by this time, Quill looked bummed out and Downy had gone over to the broken guitars. Tears started to flow down her cheeks as she knelt over the broke instruments, and then she started to cry. AJ and Dash were about to get upset with them because they would not press charges, but then seeing this gave them pause, and even more so by what happened next.

Quill knelt beside her and took her in is arms from that position. Downy was sobbing and speaking through tear-choked words, "Why does this always happen? Why can't we ever be happy?"

"No, Sissy," answered Quill, "It is different. We have real friends now, and people like us at school. I told you it would be different. This was just a few strangers being stupid, that's all. It's not the same. It will be better, Sissy, you just have to believe."

He started rocking her back and forth gently, and said, "I'm here for you. I'll always be there for you."

He then started to sing "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" quietly, as if it was a lullaby, and she now held onto him. It started to calm her, but in the dimly lit alley, the girls could see some tears running down Quill's face as well. For certain, it was clear just how close they were with one another, and by it, they could tell that, for much of their lives, they were the only two either of them could rely on, and were essentially one entity. They had no one but each other, and grew very close by it. Now AJ and Dash could no longer be mad. They Dash was shedding tears while AJ was looking stoic, crying inside as she normally did. Dash then whispered, "When we get them back to th'home, you and I are gonna to call the others and go somewhere before classes tomorrow."

"What for?" asked Dash, confused.

"Let's just say, I hope y'all got some extra cash in yer bank account," answered AJ, "They need t'know they really got some friends."

The next day, both Quill and Downy approached the front entrance, still saddened by the night before, and looking naked without their guitars. All that changed when they saw the seven at the front steps, smiling, and standing there with two new acoustic guitars. Yet, these were no ordinary acoustic guitars. These were designed to be played either as acoustic, or could be plugged into an amp if need be. Both stared, not believing what they saw.

After they had been taken back to the shelter, they all called each other and spread what had happened. The next day, they met somewhere to eat breakfast, with Rarity looking a bit tired. "What happened to you?" asked Dash.

"Oh, well, I had to do something to help them, or make them feel better," answered Rarity, "So, I stayed up last night making some things for them."

"Well, that was part ah what this was all about," answered AJ, "And believe me, it ain't gonna be cheap, but it's the least we can do."

"Well, I sure want to help," said Fluttershy quietly, "That was horrible what happened, and then to hear what you said about what happened after… I cried and cried for them. I even cried myself to sleep."

"Then, I'm gonna have to make that party extra special for them tonight!" spouted a determined Pinkie Pie, "I'll be at your barn right after class, AJ! This is gonna be awesome!"

Sunset and Twilight just sat quiet, letting them talk, and really empathizing with the twins, both knowing to one extent or another what it was like to feel alone among many people. However, there was another matter, and that was that the pony Twilight was coming over that night, and now she was not sure, after this incident, it would be time to tell them the truth of everything. "This is getting so messed up," whispered Twilight, "There are so many variables in this, and many of them would end disastrous."

"Your twin is the princess of friendship," answered Sunset, "If there is anyone who can give us some answers, it would be her. Let's just take it one step at a time.

At the school, the twins were flabbergasted. They didn't know what to say. "I…I can't believe it!" Quill sputtered out, "How did you get those!"

"We pooled some money together and bought y'all these," answered AJ, and Rarity then added, "We certainly could not allow the school minstrels go without their instruments."

Downy, all worried, said, "But…but those must have cost you a fortune!"

"Nah," said Dash, "We had some in the bank, money we raised for the band for things we needed, and other things, and these were on sale. They were actually $100 a pop, but luckily we had enough when we combined our money. Considering how expensive some of these things are, I'm sure they probably won't be the best sound, but…"

"Oh no!" interrupted Quill, "We thank you, really! I mean, we've never had brand new instruments before. We've always got them from pawn shops and thrift stores! We've never had new ones."

"Then you'll be delighted to know that these are also able to be plugged into amps," pointed out Twilight, showing the volume knobs, to which Dash added, "Besides, when we play, you need to be heard."

Now their tears were tears of joy. They took the guitars and quickly had them tuned. AJ then said, "They even threw in the cases for free, since we bought two of them."

Pinkie then said, "And because they were what they were, we were still able to buy all the things for the party! It's going to be awesome."

Downy then said, "You mean, you still want one, after last night?"

Sunset sighed and walked up to them, saying, "Look, I know people have always treated you like you were always the troublemakers, but you have to stop thinking like that. Canterlot is not like that, and we won't do that to you. It's okay to get close to people."

Downy slung the guitar on her back and hugged Sunset, while Quill gave her the peace sign, and said, "See, Sissy? I told you it was going to be better!"

Rarity then came up and said, "And to add to this, I made you these."

She then pulled out of a large bag she had brought some things for them. For Quill, she knew he liked it simple, but liked his tie-dye shirts, and made some of various color patterns and unique designs. She had also made some Native American styled jackets for him, complete with the leather fringes and calf length Moccasins. She then said, "This will really enhance your look so well! This indeed put the 'ooh' in your cool."

She then had about five country girl full length dresses, complete with thick sash that could be tide in a nice bow in the back, all frilly and in the style she liked. "You must have been at work a long time on this! You must be exhausted," said a surprised Downy.

"Oh, it's nothing really," she answered, "In truth, I started working on these the first day I met you. I had them mostly finished, but I wanted to have them ready to day, so I burned a bit of the midnight oil to have them ready today. I'm a bit tired, but if you are happy, then it was all worth it."

She then put a hand to her cheek as if to share something secret, and said, "Trust me: I can do a throw rug in my sleep!"

She then handed her a pair of mid heel black leather boots that buttoned at the side and said, "I hope these are your size. I bought these, but I've never really worn them, but they look like they'll fit you. They accent your ensemble a bit better than your sneaker, though I don't think them terrible, it's just…"

"The sneakers clash and all I had," said Downy, smiling, "They stink, if you ask me!"

They both laughed, and that got everyone laughing, but now taking it all in, they were now just stunned, not believing the outpouring of kindness they were now receiving. They looked like they were getting into sensory overload again, and Twilight, recognizing it, said, "Say, why don't you play us something that tells us how you feel."

They both shook themselves, thought about it, but instead of playing a fast paced song, they started in on a reggae rhythm and started to sing "Three Little Birds," and suddenly, the bad of the night before began to melt away. "Come now," said Rarity, "You two must absolutely try these on! I am dying to see how they look on you!"

With that, they headed into class, and seeing all that happened Sunset felt a bit relieved, knowing that, if they could win their trust even more, breaking things to them would be all that easier. For now, she put that aside and prepared her mind for the party. She'd think more on that when she met pony Twilight that night. She had not yet told the others what was going on, and she figured she could tell them as they prepared for the party and awaited the twins. If they could get them in a good mood, it might make the pill easier to swallow…

…she hoped.