Ch 12: Musician's Commitment
Chapter 12: Musician’s Commitment
===[Carousel Beautique, Brook’s POV]===
Hello, my name is Dennis Brooks, and I was once human, now… I don't even know anymore.
When we arrived in this land, Equestria, I nearly had a mental breakdown. But I didn't- I couldn't, because I was with my daughter, who was equally as lost and scared and confused as I was. I had liked to believe that we were fairly normal people, who would continue being normal throughout our lives. I was no longer allowed to have thoughts like that again.
I was human, and now I am an undead skeleton. Heh, I'm not even that, what with our latest excursion having combined my DNA with some sort of mummy-alien. Whenever I walk down any streets, whether here in our ‘new home’ or some other universe, I can feel the stares, the fear in a person's eyes when they look at me.
“Be careful, that's a monster.”
“You can't trust an undead. They will sooner attack you than anything else.”
“Why is it in our town?”
That last one honestly hurts the most, being called an ‘it’ and not a ‘he.’ It made me feel less than what I am. I was a famous musician once upon a time, and now I'm lucky if I don't scare the daylights out of anyone just by saying a simple hello.
But, there are perks to my new body. I don't have facial muscles, only a skull, so no micro-mannerisms for me. The only indication to what I was feeling was my tone and my body language. Luckily, I was a very talented performer.
It was currently noon on the pony version of Halloween, Nightmare Night. I heard that one of the Princesses, the blue one, was being possessed and was forced to be trapped on the moon for a thousand years by her sister. And this holiday is based off of that, I think. To be entirely honest, Miss Belle sort of skimmed over the entire history of it and went straight to the customs.
Due to my daughter's wishes, I was dressed as some character she called ‘Ainz Ooal Gown.’ From a show called ‘Overlord.’
… it may not make me feel better when thinking of the implications, but I do like the shoulder pads.
“Does everything look good, Sir,” Rarity asked me, putting down her tools.
I looked myself over in the mirror. Boy did I look regal! If only I didn't have the afro, it would look much more serious.
“It's amazing. Thank you for putting your time into making this,” I say, slightly flapping my long sleeves like a bat. Oh this was fun.
“Nonsense, it was good to get a challenge like this every once in a while. Keeps me on my toes, so to speak. Oh, and Robin wouldn't terribly mind if I tried making a line based off this, would she?” I'm certain what we’re doing is probably breaking a few copyright laws, but I tell her that she wouldn't mind too much, but would like a little credit.
I paid her the bits I've earned from working in the music shop ran by a lovely couple named Vinyl and Octavia. I really do like them, especially since the former really appreciates my jokes.
As I walked outside, I smiled to myself. Halloween was always my favorite holiday. It was socially acceptable to scare people, you get free candy, and all those adorable costumes that Rach- Robin wore.
I was initially confused as to why she wanted to go by the character’s name, not her own, but now I understand. It's just like when a kid moves to a new city and decides to go by a nickname. New life, new name. I had thought it was a little fitting, given our situation, so I decided to go along with it.
I saw a few children running around, enjoying the chance to be allowed to eat candy way past their bedtime, a Pinkie Pie playing along in a chicken suit. A few of the customers that frequent the store waved at me, myself mirroring them.
As I walked towards the meeting point we had agreed on, the Golden Oak Library, I could see just how much effort my daughter put into making it look like an enchanted fairies house. Multiple colorful mushrooms and moss/glow glitter covered rocks surrounded the base of it, while hundreds of tiny lights adorning the branches. Twilight had set up an additional illusion, a light green aura surrounding it with the occasional illusionary butterfly horde or two.
It was simply magical. “Yohohoho.”
My mood fell a little at that. Not even my laugh is my own.
I slapped my cheekbones, beating away the melancholy. There is no room for that brand of negativity on any sort of Halloween!
I walked in through the door, smiling as the interior was just as enchanting as the exterior. Sitting at the center table were three people, engrossed in a talk about candy.
The purple unicorn, Twilight, was dressed in very stereotypical wizarding robes, the type that you would find in D&D LARPs. Even added a long, majestic beard that any man would be proud of. Young Spike, bless his heart, was dressed in the most adorable dragon onesie I have ever seen.
“Daddy! You look amazing,” my little girl said, rushing to hug me. I happily embraced her back. I loved moments like this, with my daughter, it made me feel like I was truly me.
“Why of course I do, you chose it after all! Yohohoho!”
She was, simply put, dressed as Sailor Moon, one of her favorite ‘anime' as she calls them. She had even asked to borrow a blond wig from Rarity, who had gotten even the pig tails right. Where she had gotten her moon-wand though remains a mystery to me.
“Excellent! Now all we have to do is wait for Applejack, Sanji, and Zoro then we can head out,” Twilight stated, with the young drake giving an enthusiastic “Woohoo!”
Ah, yes, them.
In all honesty, I didn't have a problem with Zoro or Sanji. Sanji may be a bit on the brash side, but he was courteous and helpful, always wanting to be kept busy. I can admire that a bit.
Zoro on the other hand… He rarely takes anything seriously from what I've seen so far, and is a bit abrasive to most around him. But what really shows himself are his eyes. Even before he got a transplant with those red eyes (which Robin calls “the most broken ability in all of fiction”), you could see a deep sadness, being heavily repressed. When you had seen those eyes, you realized how fake his smiles and smirks were, how they simply helped keep the mask he wears whole. It wasn't healthy at all. The only reason I haven't approached him about it because, well, the incident the first day we met him flashed in my mind. How he had acted like a wounded animal, lashing out then running off. I don't want to know what would happen if I tried to dig up the source of his sorrow, his pain.
A knock was heard, all of us turned towards the door.
“Sorry we’re late, Ah had trouble with this ol’ thing,” Applejack, in a very good scarecrow outfit, said. Behind her was the blond human, who…
Didn't do anything?
“Sanji! What the heck, man,” Robin said, gesturing to him. “Why aren't you in costume?”
“I am,” he said. He pulled out a bottle of hair gel, mixed it into his hair, and moved the locks usually covering his eye to the side. He spread his arms wide, a suave grin on his face. “I'm Leonardo DiCaprio.”
Awkward silence.
“Um… what's up with your eyebrows? Is that even natural,” Spike asked, breaking the silence. And it was a very good question. While the swirl on his usually exposed eyebrow was closer to the bridge of his nose, the other was completely opposite of that.
“Spike, that was very rude of you! Now apo-”
“No, no, it's fine, Miss Twilight,” he said. “Completely natural reaction.”
“Yes, but very uncalled for.”
“Sorry for being so… blunt, Sanji,” Spike said, head down.
“It's fine kid, now let's move on. Where’s the green moron?”
Almost like it was planned, a portal from the void opened before us, and out popped the aforementioned swordsman. Except, he wasn't in his usual clothing, or even a costume. He was wearing a camo zip up jacket, a black shirt with ‘Jerk' written in white, baggy jeans, and what I think are romeos on his feet. He had a strawberry milkshake in one hand and a plastic bag with black fabric poking out of the top.
“Wassup,” he said, taking a sip from his drink. He took one look at the chef before he started giggling.
“And what's so funny, greenie?”
“Nothing, Steve Buscemi.”
“I don't know who that is, but I feel like it should be an insult.”
“Zoro, can I ask you something?” Oh no, that's her scary voice. Like a smart man, I get out of the line of fire whenever a woman is angry, even my own daughter.
“Go ahead.” Truly, he knows no fear.
“I do believe we had agreed to go as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. Dare I ask why you aren't in costume?” Oh no, I think I can see steam. She's always taken dressing up seriously, but it got worse once she learned of conventions.
Zoro put the bag and drink onto the table, and held his hands up. “Alright, but promise me you won't get mad.”
“I don't make promises that I can't keep.”
“Fair enough. Okay, so, I was minding my own business-”
“Bullshit!”
“... Completely uncalled for but sure. Anywho, I jumped over to some version of Earth and ‘acquired' the suit, because of how bad Curls was backed up on work. Afterwards, I decided to get a treat for myself. Well, some jackass spilled his fancy-named-coffee all over the silk suit, I find a guy who was also attacked by the drink and we ended up putting all the Starbucks out of business in, like, twenty minutes.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“If it helps, they made some horrid creation called a unicorn-something that tasted like blue dye and disappointment.”
Robin sighed. “Fine, I'll take it. I'm guessing the guy you met was called Dan?”
“How'd you know?”
“There was a show about him. One of my favorites. Was he obsessed with revenge, fire, and a need to scream at people?”
“You did hear about what happened to Starbucks, right?”
“Movin’ on,” Applejack so kindly interrupted for the rest of us. “Are y’all ready to head out fer Nightmare Night or what!”
That got a cheer out of all of us.
As we all walked outside to enjoy the night, I heard a conversation between Zoro and Twilight.
“Huh, that old coot? You do know that no one here is going to get your costume besides me, right?”
“I have faith in them that they'll know just who I'm dressed as.”
“Hey, Twi! You make a nice weirdo-clown!” Pinkie emerged from... somewhere, startling Twilight. Zoro just smirked.
“And your faith has been crushed.”
===ooo000ooo===
The festivities were underway and the whole town was having fun. Games galore were held in the town square, while someone called Zecora was setting up for some big show. Zoro, Robin, Spike, and eventually those three girls who always seem to be in trouble went door to door getting candy, the older Apple family members were operating an apple-bobbing station, Sanji was just wandering around, occasionally doing a game.
As for myself, I was doing what I do best.
Granted I was editing a few words here and there for the ponies to understand, but they were having fun! Pinkie even agreed to be the female singer for me.
This here was what I simply loved about music. It doesn't matter who or what is making it, music can change the entire atmosphere depending on the notes and tempos. I could both make a crowd filled with excitement one moment and have them emotional the next, all with a few simple changes to the same song. There was almost nothing else I lived for than this.
After a few more songs, I decided to call a break and watch Zecora, who turned out to be a zebra, do her little show. And boy did it impress. If I didn't know that magic was real, I would have been looking around for some hologram generator. Only problem was how nervous she acted around the green haired human, but he had explained that he was a ghost story about the dangers of power in other lands.
What was a real show stopper was when, right after the show, a dark carriage flew across the sky, pulled by two bat-winged ponies. I shook out the bizarreness of seeing grown men harnessed like that, chalking it up to culture shock.
The doors opened, and out floated a cloaked figure with what seemed like glowing eyes. No body was moving, looking in awe of the figure. When she touched down, a blue furred hand pulled the hood back revealing blue alicorn. Princess Luna, I believe. A majority of the crowd keeled, myself included. After all, isn't that the sort of thing you do with royalty?
“Moony,” Zoro said, clapping. “Nice show.” The blue woman stared at him with a slight glare before turning her attention to the rest of the crowd.
“Citizens of Ponyville! We have graced your tiny village with our presence, so that you might behold the real Princess of the Night! A creature of nightmares no longer, but instead a pony who desires your love and admiration! Together we shall change this dreadful celebration into a bright and glorious feast!” In the distance, lightning went off, giving the end of the speech a-
“Did you hear that, everypony? Nightmare Moon says she's gonna feast on us all!” Pinkie then made a stampede. Huh, had to hand it to her, she knew how to rile up a crowd.
“What? No, children, no! You no longer have reason to fear me! Screams of delight is what your princess desires, not screams of terror!” Her words didn't do anything besides make them more riled up. It was at this point that Zoro walked up to her.
“Hey, you do know what this holiday is about, yeah,” he asked quietly.
“Of course I do,” she snorted, almost insulted. “‘Tis a holiday dedicated to the monster I was! But now that the Nightmare is no more, there is no reason to celebrate.”
“Yeeeaaahh, that's not how it works. Started off like that, not it's degraded to kids dressing up and getting candy from strangers. Pretty fun. And besides, you can't get rid of a holiday like that,” he accentuated with a snap. “Go talk to Egghead, she can help with mingling.”
“And why can you not?”
“Because those kids dropped candy and I have a crazy sweet tooth.” With that he walked off, occasionally bending down to pick up something.
I… had no words. Luckily, young Twilight took it upon herself (partially out of peer pressure) to take the princess and help her enjoy the holiday!
===ooo000ooo===
She did not enjoy the holiday.
After many failures on their parts to have the residents ‘not run away or cower in fear, Princess Luna finally snapped.
“Since you choose to fear your princess rather than love her, and dishonor her with this insulting celebration, we decree that Nightmare Night shall be canceled! Forever!” Once again, thunder went off in the background, which is weird in and of itself, as it wasn’t scheduled to storm today.
When the blue princess had left, a majority of the population went into a slump, someone moaning about having wanted to be a zombie next year.
By now, some of our little group, whom I’ve learned is somehow able to pull miracles out of our asses, have met up.
“An’ why can’t ya do it? Ya’ve known her the longest?”
“Yeah, I have, and our meet ups usually ended up with me kicking her flank six ways to Kingdom Come! I am literally the worst person for the job.”
“Maybe I could go and do it,” the purple unicorn suggested.
“Twilight, no offence, but your advice led us to this situation,” Sanji said, lighting a cigarette. A part of me wondered where he keeps them all.
“Well we have to do something,” Spike stated. “This happens to be my favorite holiday!” For just a second, I almost scolded him for thinking that this was all about the holiday, and not the princess. But that one second sparked something else. She felt ashamed at the Nightmare Night, because it was a very forceful reminder of when she had been a monster, and was now trying to move past that part of her life.
“I believe I should be the one to go to her,” I finally spoke up, getting everyone’s attention. “After all, if she feels like a monster, who better to talk to than the living skeleton, no? Yohohoho!” There as a slight somber tone in my voice towards the end there, but it got the reaction I was hoping for, with the majority agreeing with me.
As I turned towards where Princess Luna had absconded, I felt a tug on my shoulders. It was my daughter, a worried expression written on her face.
“Daddy, are you okay?”
“Of course I am, darling. Why wouldn’t I be?” She stood there a moment, trying to read my non, existent expression, before pulling me into a hug.
“You know I love you, right?” My non-existent smile softened, embarrassing her tightly.
“Always. And I love you too.” I had to let her go eventually, but I love it when we do this. It helps me feel… grounded, myself. Hmm, perhaps I’ll use that for our wayward Luna.
She waved me goodbye, and I waved back.
As I walked towards the large statue of what I’m assuming to be Nightmare Moon, I’m allowing the words a chance to get together in my head before I release them through my mouth. A lot more people need to learn that certain skill. And the closer I got, and the better I could hear the sobbing, the clearer and more frequent the words came to me.
“Do you mind if I sit with you,” I ask, gaining her attention. Involuntarily, she flinched at the sight of me.
“Nay, be my guest.” She absent-mindedly pulled back a rubberband on her wrist, wincing when it struck. I nodded and sat down, dusting the area off a bit as to not get my clothes too dirty. When I was sitting down, I did the next best thing in this scenario.
I waited.
In situations like this, you should almost never force someone to open up to you. What is needed is time for them to get everything in their heads in order before they’ll even feel comfortable around you. Believe me, I was experienced in this lesson.
It took a few minutes before she started.
“I just want them to love me, like they used to,” she said, eyes gazing off into the distance. “I want them to look at me like they do Sister; a figure to be loved, not feared. I am no longer that… abomination! Why can they not see it that way?”
I tapped my fingers on the stone next to me before saying my piece. “Would you like to hear a story?” She turned to me, questioning but nodded for me to continue.
“Once upon a time, there was a man. He was a person who loved music so much and was so talented at it that he had decided to make a career out of it. One day, he met a wonderful woman at one of his concerts, and they eventually married and had a child. While he loved his family as much as anyone else, he always put his career first. WHile it as a birthday, the man was in Vegas. During his anniversary, he was in Miami. When his daughter took her first steps, he was in New York.
“One day, during a particularly lively tour concert, he got a call. He didn’t recognize the number, so he just put it on the backburner. After two days of partying, he finally called them back.” I had to take a deep breath on this one, and my voice was starting to get shaky. “It turned out that it was from a hospital. He was told that, three days ago, his wife had passed away in the ER, a victim of a drunk driving accident. The man was… shocked, to say the least. He didn’t want to believe it, but it was true.
“He rushed down as fast as he could, just to get one last look at her. Needless to say, he went into a depression. He only escaped when, all too late, he realized that there was another who was mourning just as badly as he was. His seven year old daughter, who had grown without him for most of her life, resented the man. And, not wanting to lose the only family he had left, he tried to reconcile with her.
“He did everything he could to make up for all of his mistakes and more. He cancelled entire tours and planed shows just to be on time for some silly thing that she loved. He turned down big career opportunities just to be there for her when she had the cold. He made sure that she was as happy as possible under his care without trying to force himself onto her as much as he could. It took years until she could proudly call him her father.” I finished up my story, wiping away some tears that were spilling from my eye sockets. Luna herself had been paying close attention, and had her hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me. I nodded in appreciation. With that, I stood up and faced her.
“What I’m trying to say is that, no matter who you are, when you’ve hurt the ones you’ve loved, you need to show them that you can be better than what you were, that you can change into a better person than who you were. Do you understand,” I asked, holding my hand out for her to accept. She looked at it for a little bit before rubbing her own tears away, accepting the help up.
“I… thank you, Sir Brook. And, if it helps, I'm sorry for your loss.”
I closed my eyes (well, not really because I'm a skeleton), and nodded. “Thank you, your Highness.” When she was up, I pulled out my violin. Where was it on my person? You’ll never know.
“Now, this may seem strange, given what I just talked about, but I often find music to be a very good starting point for these sorts of things. And while it doesn’t exactly fit this particular scenario, it’s one of my daughter’s favorites. If you would kindly do a little magic pazzaz, that would be wonderful.”
“Of course, I would love too.” I watched as her body dissolved into a fog that resembled that of a starry sky. Don’t question it, it would go right over your head.
I raised the chinrest up to my, well, chin. And then I began to play.
“Fear not this night
You will not go astray
Though shadows fall
Still the stars find their way.”
I walked into the town, the princess swirling around me in tandem with the rhythm of the song.
“Awaken from a quiet sleep
Hear the whispering of the wind
Awaken as the silence grows
In the solitude of the night!”
“Darkness spreads through all the land
And your weary eyes open silently
Sunsets have forsaken all
The most far off horizons!”
A few denizens look in our direction, curious.
“Nightmares come when shadows grow
Eyes close and heartbeats slow.”
“Fear not this night
You will not go astray
Though shadows fall
Still the stars find their way!”
“And you can always be strong
Lift your voice with the first light of dawn!”
“Dawn's just a heartbeat away
Hope's just a sunrise away.”
There are even a few children in the group, slowly swaying along.
“Distant sounds of melodies
Darting through the night to your heart
Auroras, mists, and echoes dance
In the solitude of our life.”
“Pleading, sighing arias
Gently grieving in captive misery
Darkness sings a forlorn song
Yet our hope can still rise up!”
“Nightmares come when shadows grow
Lift your voice, lift your hope!”
We were slowly making our way to the center of town.
“Fear not this night
You will not go astray
Though shadows fall
Still the stars find their way”
“And though the night sky's filled with blackness
Fear not, rise up, call out and take my hand!”
I accuented the last stanza by jumping onto the water fountain, spinning while the words I sang were dripping in passion.
“Fear not this night
You will not go astray
Though shadows fall
Still the stars find their way!”
“Fear not this night
You will not go astray
Though shadows fall
Still the stars find their way!”
“And you can always be strong
Lift your voice with the first light of dawn!”
“Dawn's just a heartbeat away
Hope's just a sunrise away~.”
The song ended with a massive round of applause, nearly the entire town stood before us while the princess reformed above me.
“Let this be the greatest Nightmare Night in Equestria!”
The statement was met with a louder applause than before, gaining Luna a small smile. She glanced down to me, mouthing a thank you.
I simply nodded, a grin on my face and a new song for my instrument to play.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Vesperia · 30k words · 455 37 · 11k views
- PrincessMoonzilla · 8.7k words · 381 18 · 9.2k views
- Knight of Crows · 57k words · 414 53 · 9.8k views
- Urimas Ebonheart · 97k words · 513 54 · 14k views
- RegalCrescent45 · 29k words · 332 40 · 10k views
- Flowjam · 95k words · 289 40 · 8.7k views
- King Rose · 172k words · 276 26 · 10k views
- One of Nine · 282k words · 413 90 · 18k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.198 seconds
Total duration
652 users online
733,846 hits today, 2,156,967 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
you ahh kinda messed a bit with the size cap bit can you fix that pls
Everything past Luna declaring Nightmare Night cancelled is in the enlarged font.
Other than that, great chapter.
Brook owned this chapter and I find it impossible to compain about that
. Need to edit after the Royal Canterlot Voice for text size though.
Well done is always my friend. However......... I was expecting Brooks daughter to be more involved in the chapter? But still good character growth.
9159303
9159305
9159346
IT IS FIXED, YOU PHEASANTS
9159367
Oh, she's going to have the next chapter all to herself.
9159370
Pheasants are a type of fowl, we are peasants, Your Loudness.
9159398
I KNOW WHAT I SAID!
Also wondering if I should use that phrasing for griffin nobility...
.... Who's Dan ?........ wait no no, i remember now
9159424
Yes. It would be both an insult and a pun. A pheasant is one of the most common gamebirds, so calling a griffon noble a pheasant could be equivalent saying they are from common stock.
(looks around before sneaking around in the background with a big bag full of devil fruit) not even zoro will discover this plan. (opens a hidden door on a tree then quickly closes it)
9159730
Shhh, he may hear you...
9159760
(pokes head out of a different tree) well luckily there is a huge maze of tunnels under his feet for me to use.
9159431
He is Fluffle Puff's roommate.
lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2cwWZiQTMdo/U6ry5VTCL8I/AAAAAAAAAS8/i_y6_ZQjIKs/s500/Photo%25252020140625110414.jpg
Forgive me for I have watched too little shows, but what costume Zolo was wearing?
wait is this anthro? i don't remember also i don't like angst in storys leave a bad taste in my mouth
9159964
He just wore a Dan Vs shirt with a hoodie. He was originally supposed to be Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon
9159980
As it has been stated before, I have this story as an anthro to save me the headache that is autocorrect.
Great story and I think the cover is just fine
How old is his daughter?
9177273
18-ish. It would have been her Senior year, if... well...
i have to say i am very impressed with ur story its funny action packed somber and u make it to where to characters can be understood and not everybody is a otaku or a geek i myself have been inspired by u to do my own displaced story on FMAB and i hope i can i ask for advice in the future and possibly do a crossover
9181280
Well... damn, I don't know how to respond to that. Thanks for liking the story and good luck with your story.
9159398
9159424
9159462
Cleeeeeeeeevvvveeerrrrrrrr.
Hope to see more
This song could be epic with Tabitha's voice...
9358126 By either placing it down as something to be used, like if you were a virgin and you are using it as a bet, if you win you either are declaring that you will lose said virginity or that you are protecting it from being taken. Losing the bet with your virginity on the line means that you are going to get the sex and therefore losing your virginity just not in the way you want it.
me thinks it dead
i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/309/389/982.png
Update soon?
9572030 Not always, no. It's just poorly done most times. Because of that, many have a biased view about the genre.
No offence, but I think my mind shut down a little when I saw your profile picture. I'm just thankful you didn't put him in the Sailor Moon outfit. . . . . .
What have I just done.
(Minion 788)
(Me)
Is the story in hiatus or closed?
9743473
Must be a pretty serious bet to lose virginity over. What if one has already lost their virginity? Can't bet what you don't have... does that mean that Zoro is a virgin in this story?
9812358
Oh well I've moved on. And yeah I didn't know that then
9767417
I don't think mr'torgue has a real question...……………. but I agree with you guys.
It's 2020. Time to update.
Nice
9239949
Drunkthrix?
Can we expect an update this year?
So sad, I'm all caught up. :/ I hope for the next update.
Update?
this story is very lonely. it has not been updated in such a long time. and that makes everyone sad. even fluttershy.
POG
I want continueation!
10362230
I mean, in that case she technically wasn't wrong.
Can this story get a damn update?
is this story dead or did the author forget about it?
Really good hope to see more
i think this guy is dead everyone. he's been off line for so long now.