Moving On

by Ribe_FireRain

Music Teacher

Author's Note:

First off, if I get any facts wrong, please do tell me and I'll correct them at some point.

Meanwhile, this will be the only uploaded chapter as of now for a while because College is so demanding and grades mean more to me and my life than writing fiction, no matter how much I enjoy it.

And hey, if you're interested, go ahead and keep up to date with me on my Facebook or Twitter! All the support you guys gives me drives my inspiration and encouragement to the max! Into the red section on my mind-rev meter! Woo! What a rush! Also, thanks for the 100 followers, you guys and gals are awesome!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010222994447
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanielRiby

''So Ah just pluck the strings? Like this?'' Apple Bloom asked, lightly passing her hoof over the strings on her bass guitar in a strumming motion, making contact with the 'G' string and creating a dull, thick note that echoed softly in the room before dissipating.

''That's right, Apple Bloom. You're getting the hang of it.'' I complimented, to which she smiled. She was already learning pretty fast for a filly her age and she seemed to have taken a liking to the bass guitar I gave her.

Like her eyes, it was a vibrant orange in colour and had a polished shine to it with a tint of amethyst yellow. As for her two friends, I laid out and prepared a keyboard for Sweetie to have a go at whilst I allowed Scootaloo to use a drum kit that I had stashed away at the back of the room.

Seeing such young yet ambitious fillies was a heartwarming sight to behold and it was always a pleasure to teach the art of music to ponies who were interested. Who would have guessed that it would be me teaching school fillies just barely entering their teens?

''These are so cool!'' Scootaloo said cheerily from her stool that she was perched on behind the bass drum, giving the beater an experimental kick with a hoof. ''For one pony, how do you know so much about music? Even Vinyl probably doesn't know as much about it as you do!'' I looked over to her and smiled.

''Years of practice, Scoots. Years of practice.'' I said before heading over to the back where Sweetie Belle was stationed on a seat at the keyboard I set up for her. On her own, she barely even covered half of the bench she was sitting on and taking a seat next to her, I watched her look over the many various functions that controlled the sound output of the instrument in confusion. ''Everything alright, Sweetie?''

She scratched her head then looked at me with a frown. ''How do I know what key to press? I hardly even know any music to play on a keyboard.'' I smiled reassuringly to her.

''It's actually pretty easy, Sweetie.'' Resting on a stand was a music book that held various songs that ranged from easy lessons on playing keys and rhythm to harder levels that hooked into the levels that expert keyboard players would only be able to master. I opened it with a hoof and turned it to a song that was written by somepony around a few years ago that was really close to me.

The verses were all short in length and it didn't contain that much complications that a beginner player wouldn't be able to handle. The title written on the top of the page in black ink was in an Italic font and read 'Empty Raindrops'.

I briefly looked over the chords myself along with Sweetie and as she looked them over and saw the different key notes that made up the song on each verse, that look of confusion on her face grew.

''Alright, Sweetie, watch what I do and then I want you to copy me, okay?'' I instructed and she nodded, eager to start the lesson. With a nod of my own and showing her I was about to begin, I placed my bandaged hooves against the keys and followed the keys from the music book, going at a steady pace to allow Sweetie a clearer view on how to play the song.

I started off with a flat C and worked my way at a steady pace up to a D to not upset the rhythm. One by one, the electronic notes drifted out of the speakers at a steady pace, creating a blue atmosphere of emotions.

After around a minute of playing, I finished the first verse and looked back to Sweetie who looked back to me with awe in her eyes. ''See? It may look hard to begin with, but trust me, it is really easy. Take your time and you'll do fine.'' I motioned to the keyboard with a hoof and pointed to the first key on the far left where a single white key that was a C sat comfortable next to a C flat. ''See that there? Keyboards and pianos always start with a C key and you can identify them by finding two black keys like this,'' I pointed next to the key where a pair of black keys sat next to each other. ''Remember that they go in this order,'' I pointed back to the C and then continued on the different keys all the way up to the G before starting back at A, demonstrating it to Sweetie in the simplest way I possibly could. ''think you can remember that?''

Sweetie mouthed the keys to herself a few times and mumbled something inaudible to my own ears before her eyes brightened and she smiled sweetly to me. ''Sure, sounds easy enough. Thanks, Strike.'' She thanked me and I left her be to practice whilst I made my way towards Scootaloo, who actually reminded me a little bit of myself when I was around her age. Perhaps even younger.

She was looking over the different drums arranged around her, as if wondering on which one to take a strike at first with the wooden drumsticks I provided her with. There was the bass in front of the stool she was sat on that nearly almost covered her up from sight with its huge size and at either side of the bass were two smaller drums with a pair of cymbals on either of their sides.

When I approached her, she glanced up at me with curious eyes and she smiled. ''Everything alright, Scoots?''

''Yeah, I think so.'' She replied but then looked around in confusion as if searching for something. ''So, um...where's the music book or whatnot?''

I felt a giggle rise in my chest but I managed to suppress it. I came behind the drum kit and to her side. ''Oh, Scoots, drummers don't use sheet music.''

''They don't?'' Her ear perked and she raised a brow at me with a small shrug.

''No, they just play a beat that fits best to the genre of music. All that you need to get right is your timing. If you were in a concert and got a note wrong, it would jeopardize the performance. In my own opinion, using a standard drum kit such as this doesn't sound as good as an electronic drum kit, but this one is of a more traditional method. Want me to show you?'' I offered and almost immediately, a beaming smile found its way to her lips.

''Yes, yes! This should be awesome!'' She said giddily. What made me laugh warmly inside was that ever since she found that I was Rainbow Dash's brother, she seemed to take an instant liking to me as if she idolized me more than Dash herself, and Scootaloo absolutely adored her!

Moving aside, she allowed me to take a seat upon the stool she once occupied and exhaling slowly through my nostrils, I began to play them.

When I finished, I wiped away a bead of sweat from my forehead and when I looked up from the drums, I saw the three fillies staring at me with dropped down jaws and admiring, sparkling eyes.

''That. Was. Awesome!'' Scootaloo praised with a jump into the air and a flap of her wings as she performed a small backflip before landing.

''Yeah, that sure was somethin'!'' Apple Bloom joined in, giving a short round of applause with a stomp of her small hooves against the floorboards along with Sweetie.

''And that, girls, is how you use a drum kit!'' I said with a proud smile. Huh, didn't know I still had it in me. Thanks, Beats. I thought as I removed myself from the stool and let Scootaloo back on it before hoofing over the drumsticks to her.

''Hey, Strike? How did you even learn to drum like that?'' Scootaloo asked me, turning back towards me from her seat on the stool.

''The same way that I learned to play my guitar: years and years of practice. I owe it to my friend, Beats, for showing me how to do that one.'' I said with a beaming pride in my heart and a smile on my lips that transformed into a cocky grin as a thought drifted through my mind. ''I told the same thing to Sweetie - you'll never know where learning to play an instrument will get you in life until you learn to master it and get to know it. Trust me on that one.''

Scootaloo grinned a grin that matched my own, close to Dash's trademark grin that came with the tomboyish attitude to match.

''All of you can make something of yourselves with an instrument if you really put your mind to it and the paths that will open ahead of you when you master them are truly awesome, and take that from me. I've been there and if you choose to go that way, you won't regret it.'' Or at least not as much as I did after making all the wrong choices....

''Maybe we could form our own band!'' Apple Bloom said with an inspired and ambitious gasp, followed by her fellow Crusaders who shared her expression.

''Yeah, maybe we could be the next best band Equestria has ever seen!'' Scootaloo chimed in.

''Maybe we can even impress Sapphire Shores, too!'' Sweetie said with an enthusiastic smile of her own, grinning along with both of her friends.

With that ambition in mind, the three of them all got together and raised their hooves together in one big high-hoof-five and they all exclaimed 'Yeah!' in unison.

It wasn't until moments later that they all began to practice playing their instruments and making some noise.

Today was without a doubt going to be a long one.