Chapter 20
The group of them slept most of the next day, but did not have much energy to do much else than just ride back to Ponyville on the train and drift in and out of sleep, the sounds and sights of the gala still rolling around in their heads. Once home, the twins did not waste any time in finding a recording studio in town, conveniently run by Vinyl Scratch. Considering her DJ skills, it was not surprising she had facilities to record her music, and anypony else’s who had a care to record. Once that was done, they got in contact with Billy Foal, who, a few days later, was able to arrive and bring with him his agent. Billy had already briefed him about what had transpired at the gala, who they had spoken to, what he offered, and how they were far savvier than their years let on. They met at their home on the orchard, and the twins knew this man was the one they needed to talk to. The first thing he asked them was what their dreams and goals were, and how they wanted to go about it. The twins felt at peace because this pony made them feel like the ball was in their court. Essentially, what he did was shape a contract that gave the twins conditions they felt they could meet. He explained that what Spin Doctor would have done was have them a slave to the company, having to produce on demand, have a single ready here or there when the company demanded it, tour on the company’s schedules, to open with whomever the company demanded, and that was usually someone that was also with the company, and someone not compatible with their music. It would have been the train to Tartarus after a while, and they would have had short careers, and then relegated to the back of the shelf. Yet, there still had to be some give and take. Thus, what they worked out was this: at least one new album every six months, depending on demand; 100% of royalties on original music to be owned strictly by the twins. They set up a holding company they called Bardic Twins Songs Ltd. It basically was a copyright for all their music, and no one was to copy it unless the twins gave consent. They were also given 20% of record sales, 10% of which were to go to a trust fund charity to aid orphanages and foster care organizations around Equestria. Touring and concerts would be to their discretion, considering the overarching goals they had of both reaching and teaching new Bardics to their cause. The agent then said, “You say you have a studio?”
They nodded, mentioned that it was in town, and they had it slated for the next few days. Both he and Billy wanted to see it to see if it met their needs for the time being. Considering their goals, it was suggested they added a studio for themselves that would give them more control on when they recorded and how long. They then headed into town to test the studio.
Vinyl was all pleased as punch that there was the possibility that her studio might be used to make hit records, and escorted them into the studio while she went into the booth. Billy looked around and saw that it was as state of the art that a small town might be able to produce, and it also seemed that this Vinyl Scratch had sunk a lot of bits into what was there. The twins brought their instruments, and there were a few basic things in there already: a few electric guitars, a basic drum set, a synthesizer, and a box piano. Billy checked the piano and was happy to see she kept it tuned. He then decided to see how things worked by saying, “Okay, get ready to record a demo. I want to see how well your mixing board works.”
She nodded and started hitting switches. Billy started to activate his magic as he said, “My magic is more geared to be able to use several at once when there is a deficit of players. Okay, this song is one I wrote when I and the recording industry were not getting along. Remember how I told you what some companies would do? Well, I had to go that route just to get going. Believe me, once I was successful enough to start making demands, things changed! This song talks about just how rough the business can get.”
Vinyl signaled him in as to when to start, and he played and sang a song called, “The Entertainer,” that spoke of how he had to stay popular by staying on the charts, how he often had to pay more money than he was bringing in just to stay in the business, how every town was a blur, how the radio stations would cut up his songs to make them fit a play list, and how he had to avoid going cold, lest the company tossed him to the curb. While this was going on, Vinyl was mixing it, bringing up and down this instrument, trying to get something that sounded full and met with his style of music. Once done, Vinyl gave a signal for them to come into the booth and she started the play back. Billy started to fiddle with the sliders, knowing how he normally liked his music mixed, but was glad to see that he did not have to adjust all that much, and that was the test: how well could she and her equipment capture his sound and style. Did she have the ear for this? He looked at her and said, “Your DJ skills are tight! You really have some good stuff here, and you mixed it well.”
She gave a smirk and the pony equivalent of a thumb’s up. Billy then said, “Hey, I just might consider doing my next album here! I think you two are in good hands.”
“We need a bit of time deciding on what songs we want to do, and then we’ll get on it right away,” answered Quill.
“Let us know when you get started, and good luck,” said the agent, and they went their way. They thanked Vinyl and told her they’d be in touch as to when they wanted to get started. She nodded as she went about working on a remix for a client, and the pair decided to check out the local music stores to see what groups were there.
The one thing they wanted to see was if there was pony equivalents either presently or of the past that existed. If so, they may have to adjust what music they recorded, considering they did not want to get in trouble for plagiarism. What they found was that, though there was many recording stars, there were very few they recognized, and they had to guess that many had either not yet been discovered, or those they sought must have found different paths. They were not sure as to why, but then they remembered the way they had been taught in one school about dimensions 0-10, and they remembered that, just because another universe existed did not mean that everything would be copied. This meant that this universe must have been on the same plane, but not on the same line as the one they left. Thus, their reworked songs that they had brought could now be safely claimed as their own, being that they had to be either a little rewritten, or partially rewritten as to where they would make sense in this world. However, they also agreed that, if it was possible, they should write some things of their own. If they were going to be original, they had to go all the way, even if the public had no idea that there were some there that came partially from another source.
The next thing was to decide on a theme. What were they going to record? They wanted to stay in the realm of folk and folk rock, but they wanted to get their message out. Yet, they then realized something key: what should that be? They took a lunch break to talk about it, and Quill said, “Well, one thing is for certain, and that is, this world does not seem to have much in the way of wars, issues of the world we left, pollution…heck, their source of electric power has nothing to do with what we use, and it is very clean. For the most part, there was nothing going on that would call for some of the songs we use.”
“Well, love is always a good theme,” pondered Downy, “and patriotic themes we can use.”
“Well, then a few I can think of is Equestrian Tune, Equestria, This Land Is Your Land,” said Quill, “And I supposed that a few Everley Brothers tunes could go in.”
“I loved it when you did ‘Catch the Wind’ in the show,” said Downy, “That almost seems your song.”
“Well, if you have one, it’s ‘Brand New Key’,” said Quill, and thus they went on the list.
“We can dedicate one to Princess Celestia,” added Downy, “How about ‘Good Morning Starshine’?”
“That will work,” he said, “What about Luna? We owe her one as well.”
After a few minutes of thinking, they decided on “Day Is Done,” because of its parental sound, and because of her matronly ways. They had nine songs, and in this world, they were still using vinyl records, and they knew that most albums of that nature contained between10 and 14 songs. They therefore had a few more to put in. As they pondered this, the school foals had been let out for their lunch break, and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon came up with the newly marked Cutie Mark Crusaders, who now crusaded for the sake of others gaining their own marks, or understanding the ones they gained better to know where they were to go in the world. The five spotted the twins and were eager to come talk to them. They saw them noshing on their lunches slowly over a few cups of coffee while writing down their ideas. The twins invited them to sit with them, and Diamond Tiara instantly took up their bills and paid them off for them. “Wow!” said a happy and pleased Downy, “That was awfully nice of you.”
“Don’t worry,” she said, “I have a bit allowance, and I did some extra things for father, so he gave me some extra. So, I decided to treat everypony to lunch.”
“Sounds to me like some pony has a generous streak,” said a now understanding Downy.
“Oh, thanks to my friends,” she said, pointing at the CMC, “I am a whole new filly! They helped me to understand what my mark was all about.”
Quill, loving her enthusiasm, said, “And what is that?”
“Well,” she pondered, “I always thought that it meant that my money made it so everypony would do my bidding, and I used to be a big bully. But, they helped me understand that, if you have money, and more than you need, you can do so much good for others.”
“Well, that is so sweet!” said Downy, genuinely pleased to hear it, and Apple Bloom said, “And, because of that, we three know now that we were meant t’be together, and help others with findin’ out who they is.”
“We thought that some of our skills would one day lead to our marks,” added Scootaloo, “But we found that, because we had tried so much, and had talents of our own, we could help guide others to finding their own.”
“So now, we crusade for others, and do what we can to help them find themselves,” added Sweetie Bell, “And that will help lead to their marks. We used to think that the mark meant the one thing that you did special was you, but now we realize that it really says a lot about of who you are. I mean, I can sing, Scootaloo is quite the daredevil, and Apple Bloom is good with interior design, painting, and architecture. But, what we really can do is identify with others struggles, because we faced our own, and find so much peace in doing that.”
“So,” pondered Quill, “You learned all kinds of things, and because of that, you can dive in when they are doing things. You three are really Jills-of-All-Trades.”
“A Jill of what’s that you said,” asked a confused Apple Bloom.
“A Jack or Jill of all trades is a pony who has many basic skills and knowledge in many areas, but is a master of none,” said Downy, “That means you can help with lots of things, though it might not always be perfect. At least you know enough to help.”
“I never thought of it like that,” said Scootaloo, “Okay, I guess doing all those things really did pay off in the end.”
“Sure did,” said Diamond Tiara, “Because of that, I can, if not love others, at least tolerate what I would call a short coming and would have teased them about no end. Now, I like others despite those short comings.”
The two stiffened and the lights were coming on in their heads. “That’s it!” said Quill, “You girls are brilliant!”
They all looked at Quill like he had something stuck to the end of his muzzle, and Downy said, “We’ve been looking for a theme for our musical approach, and you’ve given it to us: love and tolerate.”
“And ‘tolerate’ does not always mean ‘accept’,” said Quill, “But it does mean to make allowances for things where other ponies come up short and by that, love them anyway: love the pony, not necessarily all the pony does.”
Downy then added, “It is what makes us different is what unites us. Our talents can aid where somepony else comes up short, and just because tastes are different or does things you personally might not find acceptable does not mean somepony is a bad pony and not deserving of friendship. This is something we can definitely add to our repertoire.”
They showed the girls the playlist they now had, and Quill admitted, “Some of these don’t necessarily reflect that theme yet, but it’s a start. However, we have four more songs we can put on the album, and we’re going to write some songs based on that theme.”
“YES!” the CMC exclaimed and did a high hoop, “Another successful mission!”
The twins were not sure that this would qualify as that which falls under what they did for other ponies, but they let them have their little victory anyway. After that, they ate heartily, and soon the bell in the school tower rang to let them know that class was soon to restart. The twins then said for them to let Miss Cheerilee know they wanted to speak with her at her convince, because they had a surprise. The five all shouted they would and now skipped contentedly back to school, ready to face the rest of their lessons. Downy then said, “Quill, I never want to go back, ever!”
“I dig it, Sissy,” he answered, “I really do.”
General War Eagle sat in the national stockade, enraged to this day for what he thought was a major injustice. He also now despised the pair, not understanding what kind of a powerful weapon they possessed. They could inflict great damage to a foe where his own stallions would not risk their lives and completely incapacitate attacking armies. Besides, they were peace doves, and that crowd never sat well with him. His only hope was that he could live long enough to get out of this place and get his revenge. He sat in his cell, eating the slop that came from the kitchens when he heard a voice say, “Toying with the Bardics? Not a wise move if you ask me.”
“Who is that!” snapped War Eagle, looking around and seeing nothing.
“A friend,” he said with a chuckle, “Or foe, depending on how you take this greeting, and if you are a fool.”
“Don’t toy with me!” he snapped, now on his hoofs and looking around, ready to fight, “Guards!”
“Yell all you want,” said Ponaeros, “I have a silence spell on the cell. No one will hear you, and no one is coming.”
Out from the darkness came a jet black unicorn with white mane and tail, and sanguine eyes, along with an evil grin. War Eagle was ready to go at it, but Ponaeros locked him in place, saying, “Don’t bother. I could vaporize you where you stand. I actually have a mind to, but I have use for you.”
“What would that be?” asked the general.
“Your history may not remember me, but I was very close to creating a world of order,” he answered, “I had an ideal world planned, but those ungrateful ponies did not appreciate the good things I was bringing.”
“What do you mean?” asked the General, “I have no idea who you are.”
“I am the Great Ponaeros!” he thundered, “The true master of the world! I have been exiled for hundreds of years, and now I am free, more empowered than ever before, and I am ready to bring this world back to order again!”
“How do I play in?” he asked.
“Simple,” was the answer, “I need a good military man to run the armies. After all, not everypony would be anxious for change. Sometimes you have to ‘strong hoof’ them into compliance. I need a good strategist.”
“And?”
“And…those princesses that did this to you could pay for their lack of vision.”
War Eagle smirked and said, “And you really think you could take on Celestia and Luna? The Elements of Harmony were returned to the tree of harmony, but they could easily be pulled out in the case of dire emergency. You’d stand no chance. And now that those awful Bardics are involved, what chance would anypony stand?”
“This is why you should stick with military matters,” spit out Ponaeros, “The first thing you do is get many ponies to join your cause first. You build popularity for yourself, something to hate, and then make those on your side seem and feel like they are superior to everypony else. You continue by smearing the leadership. You want to destroy someone politically, then you don’t go for their record, you go for their character. Assassinate that, and it doesn’t matter what good they do. Then and only then do you attack. It will take time, but when it comes, this world will finally know law and order like they have never seen. Join me, and I can get you out of here and in better conditions. You can make them pay for what they did.”
War Eagle was beginning to warm to this honey tongued unicorn, and finally said, “You’re on!”
Ponaeros got a contented grin as the pair vanished and appeared hundreds of miles away in a remote location in a mansion Ponaeros created for himself. It would take some work, but they could take over the world. Ponaeros then thought, “Once you are all under my hoofs, you will bow to me and worship me. In the name of all that is wicked, I swear it!”