I'm The Sentient Cloud, a now-retired fanfiction writer from New Zealand. If you're looking at this, then you've probably already found your way to either "The Piano Man" or "Those Who Came Before".
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A pianist from Earth is home on a lonely Saturday, getting ready to enjoy his weekend, when he is suddenly summoned to Equestria - only to find himself being held captive by The Great and Powerful Trixie, who plans to use him as a piano-playing slave in her show.
If you came here looking for the sequel, 'The Piano Man: Act II', it can be found here.
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Piano's and Trixie? I'll be sure to keep an eye on this!
I'll abstain from a proper review just yet, as there aren't enough chapters for me to give an accurate judge of quality. It certainly looks good so far.
Mane 6 to the Rescue!
I like it
I now demand more
Well, at least they're on what appears to be the same level for negotiations.
She needs someone to play the piano, which he won't do unless he goes all soft in the heart and the head after a sob story about living out of the trash. And she can't hurt him or he won't/can't play the piano.
He will want to go home, which probably won't happen until after so long or it's not even on the table, or he'll need food/shelter unless he can get someone else's attention.
Of course this all is moot if the summoning has a control/obey aspect, which it doesn't appear to have so far.
So.... up in the air on how this is going to play out.
Alright, you've got my attention.
You shouldn't show your pianist in public.
That'll get you arrested.
inb4 piano falling on trixie
Careful there, Trixie. Humans tend to kill the ones that abuse them...
Woah, Trixie! You do not just beat up a musician who can play and sing a Billy Joel song! That's like dropping a nuke on an orphanage, you just don't do it!
Also, Favorited and I shall continue to watch...
Also, in the words of a song by Justin Timberlake (though it doesn't real fit with the theme, I believe the message sticks): "What goes around, goes around, goes around, comes back around, yeah..."
In other words, Trixie's about to get the good 'ole 'karma' boot to the face.
827204
[youtube=vFldBVWFgWo]
827307
Win. You win an Internetz.
827317
OH BOI.
827321
WHAT FLAVO-
Boot to the head.
*kicked into a well*
dang, I was hoping the main charecter would be Billy Joel.
Sing us a song your the piano man!
sing us a song here tonight!
While were all in the mood for a melody,
and you've got us feeling alright!...
Sorry I had to do that.
Anyway that was really good.
Fascinating... I do believe, however, that Trixie is ultimately going to regret this. My imaginatively twisted mind can already see what could happen--Her ending up trapped in our world and being forced to perform as a circus pony.
I'm usually put off when the person is aware of MLP. It kind of takes away the wonderment if they already know everything about the world they're in. But this has a really interesting premise and I can't right now predict where it will go so I'm watching it.
This definitely looks interesting.
One thing, though: I hope the fact that the topic of the fictional nature of the ponies does not get in the way of the rest of the story of this guy and his captivity. Still, definitely looking forward to more of this. 
What I initially thought...
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/98/Billy_Joel_Piano_Man_single.jpg/220px-Billy_Joel_Piano_Man_single.jpg
i will eat a live puppy for more of this
Ouch haha shes mad.
Hmm, very interesting. I really want to see where this is heading! ^.^
826812
826924 I don't like to lead my readers on, so I'll tell you now that there is no even footing to this scenario. Trixie wants something, and she's taking it. I thought that the display of picking our main character up and dropping him on his face would point that out.
And trust me - she can hurt him.
827449 Eh. Sorry about that.
827841 Having the main character MLP aware allows for some interesting dialogue, and it gives a plausible reason why he doesn't just go insane from the mere sight of a talking pony.
827866 When pain is associated, I'm sure the fact that he's in MLP won't matter.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Remember, I'm juggling two stories at once, and this is the one with bigger chapter sizes. A very poorly thought out decision right there, but anyway: I'll see if I can update every three days or so.
EDIT: Sorry to everyone who were expecting Billy Joel.
EDIT 2: Egads, The Piano Man is 12th on the Popular stories list! Awesome!
yeah, listened to this while blasting the eponymous song. Noice.
828418 Good to hear. I'm sure the song will pop up at some point in the story - OMG. Number 9 on the Popular Stories list.
Me Gusta.
828432
If I may?
I formally request that Only The Good Die Young makes a cameo as well. First Billy Joel song I ever heard. A Bruce Hornsby solo would be awesome as well!
But, you are the author. I'll refrain from running too rampant with suggestions.
828448 Actually, thanks for reminding me to go onto the chat and ask around for suggestions.
Although, as for Only the Good Die Young; I'm mostly choosing sadder music for this. As a bonus, whenever the MC is playing a piece, I will provide a link to the song so that readers can listen while they read. I'll go into more detail with an authors note in a future chapter.
828497
*whistles innocently*
Fit the sad bill?
828510 It does. I'll bookmark that for later.
828402
First, let me say that of her ability to hurt him, there is no question.
It is simply that being called a fraud would press anyone's temper, and adding onto that the humiliation and lasting ramifications of "that" incident.
Well... I think I could excuse her for that.
And as for negotiation:
She needs him to play the piano, something that requires dexterity and fine motor control.
Something he won't have if she injures him too much, making this whole endeavor useless.
Also, should she abuse him, what's to stop him from seeking help at the first opportunity such as trying to escape, screaming for help, or telling the audience or others of his plight. Perhaps even yelling for police or guard.
And if all that weren't enough, what's to stop him from simply refusing to play if she abuses him.
Obviously she's not going to send him back, or it won't be possible to send him back.
Either way, a return home isn't even brought to the table.
"A city is built of brick, Pharaoh. The strong make many, the starving make few. The dead make none."
Somewhat appropriate I believe.
828627 I don't really want to give too much away, but I will point out that in this story Trixie isn't completely inept at magic. I haven't fully decided on every last detail of how Trixie's going to keep the MC is check...
But have you ever considered that Everypony won't be scrambling to help?
828669
Yes, the thought has crossed my mind.
And there are any number of reasons why they wouldn't.
1.) Humans are a myth, there's no way he's real. A pony in disguise, a puppet, or he's entirely an illusion.
2.) It's all part of the act.
3.) They don't care.
4.) Summons are considered beneath them, and can be treated however the summoner decides.
5.) Bystander Effect
6.) He's faking.
And etc.
Of course, this is all speculation. Just me trying to predict what might happen or figure out the reasons why they do.
You're the author and you decide where it goes. I still want to read it anyways.
828741 Thanks. Stay tuned for more Evilness.
Author's Note:
Okay, a shorter chapter today. It's basically an info-dump explaining how Trixie's going to be doing things. I'm just setting up for the rest of the story.
I think I caught any mistakes. Feel free (as always) to point them out so that I can fix them.
(By the way, I don't get why so many people insist on the idea of Trixie speaking in 3rd person ALL THE TIME. I disagree with the idea. *shrug* It just seems unlikely to me)
Writing as Trixie is kinda fun. There's a little elbow-room with her personality because she only appeared in one episode, and only showed one defining characteristic. Because there's no way ANYONE can be dominated by a single characteristic, I can have some fun with her personality.
I have never hated Trixie more than I do now.
We need Princess Celestia to say, "I sense a disturbance in the force..." and come and beat Trixie's flank.
MOAR cannon fireing
MMMMMMOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRR
So, this is how the Stare works.
Also, I can't wait for the inevitable ass kicking trixie is going to get. Also, I wonder if a touch of stockholm syndrome will kick in.
Trixie you magnificent bitch.
827475
It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The Regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin
He says, "Son, can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes."
La la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's someplace that he'd rather be
He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me."
As the smile ran away from his face
"Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place"
Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinkin' alone
Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you got us feeling alright
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talkin' with Davy, who's still in the Navy
And probably will be for life
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about life for a while
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"
Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you got us feeling alright.
Well...
It appears that he's going to have to get very clever, very quickly if he is to survive and have any chance of escape.
Come on man, the long game isn't that hard.
841996 o god thats hilarious and you cloud are very interesting in most fanfics i read/imagined humans are immune to magic or they can use magic much more powerfully then any alicorn i follow this
Only if he had a gun on him.
Fuck you Trixie.
Urge to Kill...Rising
842044
In my opinion, they should be. Taking an object from one dimension and placing it in another would exempt said object from the natural laws of the world he/she/it was summoned into. Granted, seeing as we as humans have yet to look beyond our current dimension (assuming there are physical dimensions with reverse worlds), it's all theory and speculation.
842297 Either that, or that object would have no natural immunity to - or a way to compensate for - forces unique to the new dimension - as what is happening now. (Say that Equestria was the fourth dimension, but instead of the fourth dimension being sideways movement in Space/time, it was something akin to what we would call magic.)
Yes, I know that is bad science. Either way, that's what I'm talking about.
841941 Ditto.
841941 842404 *evil laugh*
You haven't seen anything yet.
...well. Bit creepier than I thought it would be, but in the best possible way.
842403
However, magic would have unknown effects, and function differently on said object. Also, I too, am using bad Science and self-made theories.
...*throws Quantum Mechanics book at you*
That should over-load your brain while I spray-paint graffiti on your house :3.
842403
However, magic would have unknown effects, and function differently on said object. Also, I too, am using bad Science and self-made theories.
...*throws Quantum Mechanics book at you*
That should over-load your brain while I spray-paint graffiti on your house :3.
842432
Also, based on canon and what we know of Trixie, are you planning on giving us some back history for the reason WHY she would treat him in such a way? You don't just go 'slave-lord' because you need money and feel like it. Even the slave trade from several hundred years ago was due to race supremacy and such.