Embers Fall

by CrimsonWave

27 - Discord

Blast Furnace was going to be occupied with official business over the next few days, so Sun Beamer found it necessary to explore on his own for now.

He ignored the alleged conspiracy for now, and basked in the sights and sounds of Duskgem instead. On Monday, Sun Beamer got caught up in several absurd attractions, such as a quote unquote "beginner's course" on "Basic Magic for Non-Unicorns" (spoiler: there was a unicorn behind the curtain!), an army of pegasi with cardboard horns (because alicorns!), and a quote unquote "seminar" on "Caring for your world-destroying canine beast" (the "professor" looked like he came from the wilderness, and he was really just rambling about his pet puppies).

He witnessed a few spiritual rituals, and some, ahem, inappropriate "rituals". Although he was prepared for it because Blast Furnace said this was occasional and accepted, he slowly backed away instead, and pledged that he would not elaborate (beyond the fact that it was something which sounded innocent on paper). Listening to a live, experimental ambient band ended up being the simplest way to cleanse his mind of these images.

In other news, he also found the smoothie nightclub place that everypony seemed to be hyping up; it was called "The Fringe", and it was definitely worth it. He also met a random unicorn there who liked his outfit, and correctly identified it as being reminiscent of Captain Wretch (who just so happens to be Blast Furnace's main on Super Hooves of Fury III). She was a fighting game player too, and Sun Beamer shared some of the anecdotes that Blast Furnace told him on the way here.

On Tuesday, inclement weather was a recurring theme; that afternoon, Sun Beamer had to deal with his first sandstorm. When he saw it brewing up ahead, he sprang to get his headgear on just in case; the goggles were easy (given that they were already on from the start), but getting his mask on was a bit more of an ordeal with just hooves.

"Why didn't Blast make this thing easier?" his muffled voice mumbled,

He darted in the direction of the Blazicorn, as the sky around him turned to a bright yellow color. The entire atmosphere seemed surreal; besides a slightly larger number of bandanas than usual, everypony seemed to be going about their business without a care in the world.

As the visibility grew worse, Sun Beamer started to hear a somewhat familiar tune coming from somewhere close-by. It didn't sound like how it usually did; it sounded jazzier for some reason.

"Wait is that song. I know I've heard it somewhere before...." Sun Beamer said to himself as he trotted towards the source. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. I think they're playing Sandstorm, in a sandstorm."

He decided to follow the music, knowing it would probably lead him to a place where he could ride out the storm.

"That is got to be the most obligatory thing one could do out here, and I'm pretty sure they're not alone." he noted. "Though one could probably gallop to this rather elegantly."

Sun Beamer triangulated the music to a nearby tent; upon his arrival, he discovered a crowd of ponies doing swing dances to a live jazz band. Some of the sand from outside was also blowing in, but that wasn't stopping anyone here either.

Plus, for some reason, Blast Furnace was there too, right at the front door.

"Bienvenue." Blast Furnace trotted up to Sun Beamer. She also had her scarf and goggles on.

"Bee ven-what?" asked a confused Sun Beamer.

"It's French for welcome." Blast Furnace clarified. "So, how'd you enjoy your first dust storm?"

Sun Beamer pushed his mask down to spit into a nearby receptacle. "I don't think I got this on stuff right; sand doesn't really have a nice flavor to it."

Blast Furnace gestured to a unicorn also at the door, signalling for some help. "Anyway, welcome to the Guild of Hephaestus's JazzDome V: Fury Grove. 130 hours of nonstop jazz and swing."

"Well, that explains it." remarked Sun Beamer, as the aforementioned unicorn strapped his mask back on in a tighter and more comfortable manner.

"They always being in tons of acts from around the world, but the big guns ... or should I say horns ... are from their home city of New Oreins." Blast Furnace explained. "I helped them out in their early years, but now they're an annual fixture."

"That name sounds familiar; I remember Diablo mentioning that she had family and a 'guild of followers' there." recalled Sun Beamer

"Well, they might be it." predicted Blast Furnace. "I've learned bits and pieces of the local culture by working with Hephaestus, and they apparently organize celebrations for some local holiday called the 'Spring Renaissance' in the spirit of the Gathering."

"Many ponies moved there from Prance back in the day, so the region developed rather unique cultures." she added.

"Oh, that's cool." acknowledged Sun Beamer, as Blast Furnace led him into the makeshift dance hall.

"They're mainly metalworkers and costumers, but they started doing the JazzDome so they could showcase their region's culture more." she continued.

Meanwhile, Sun Beamer was trying his best to dance in these varying atmospheric and musical conditions.

"This band is just the kind of unexpected thing I'd expect to see out here!" he announced.

"Yup, they know how to party!" confirmed Blast Furnace, as she tried to join in.

The band's singer emerged on stage, as they smoothly transitioned into a version of a rather popular song from earlier in the decade, "Discord".

"The JazzDome performances typically feature tongue-and-cheek stuff like this to attract curious onlookers. Clearly, it works." explained Blast Furnace. "This is Jambalaya and the Jammers' world-famous dance anthem revue. Or well, they say its world-famous."

A loud cheer erupted over the opening strains; everypony but Sun Beamer and Blast Furnace were singing along.

"I wasn't really fond of this song when it was on the radio." abhorred Blast Furnace. "I'm not really much of a hip-hop horse."

"The original version was a faster dance song they loved to play at raves. But then someone made a hip-hop version." Sun Beamer explained. "Clearly, everypony latched onto the latter, and now they're playing it at raves too."

"You definitely know your music!" complimented Blast Furnace.

"Indeed."

Author's Note:

I'M HOWLING AT THE MOON SOMETHING SOMETHING SOMETHING SOMETHING something ah forget it.