The Ponyville Rag

by Fernie Canto

Track 3: After the Beginning

That morning had gone by pretty smoothly. Dainty had packed his things, checked out of the hotel and exchanged very kind farewells with Warm Breeze and Silvery Light. He had made his way to the train station and boarded the first one that headed to Ponyville. He had read some more of his books as the train marched along, and had jumped once he was back in his hometown. He had eagerly rushed to his house, and unpacked his records.

Then, he put on The Town Troop’s first album, turned the volume up way loud, and let the music ring out with force.

Dainty danced along to the tune, jumped on bed, played air guitar, banged his head to the beat, and just let his body react however it wanted to, not caring at all whether other ponies would find him silly or ridiculous. If he was being ridiculous, it was a sincere form of ridiculousness.

As he started to get physically tired, he slowed down and started to pay attention to the musical structures of the songs: rhythms, melodies, chord progressions, lyrics. He needed to learn these songs inside and out, but this would certainly take some time.

The days progressed. On weekdays, after work, he’d go back home and study the songs. He copied the lyrics to sheets of paper and wrote down the chords, relying on his ears and on his piano. Most of the songs were harmonically simple, and he had little trouble learning the chords; the problem was the melodies, which could often be very stretched out, with little repetition. He decided the best thing to do was to focus on a few songs at a time, picking out his favourites, as well as the ones that he thought other ponies would like. He categorised the songs in three different lists: the “hits”, the “potential favourites”, and the “deep cuts”.

For the “hits”, he relied not only on his own listening, but on things he picked out from the books: Is It, Lost Time, It’s Still Early, I Know, For a While Now and others. The “potential favourites” were songs that really jumped out to him, though didn’t seem to have been huge hits back in the day: Theorem, Almost by Mistake, Wind on the Coast, Seven Cities and so on. As for the “deep cuts”, those were songs Dainty really loved, but might not be good choices as hits: For Now, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, The Vampire Theater, Twenty Nine, Waiting for Me and a bunch of others. Some songs weren’t allotted in any lists; they were good songs, but didn’t particularly stand out; they worked fine as part of the albums, though, and he liked that.

As he started to get comfortable with the songs, he started to learn to play and sing them: both on piano and on guitar. He wasn’t very confident on himself as a guitarist, while the piano just felt like his natural place: he first had to memorise the songs, and then figure out how to express them properly, with all the right nuances in his voice, the small embellishments on the piano, the proper dynamics and so on. Slowly, he amassed a chunk of songs he was confident about.

Still, if he wanted to play those songs in public, he needed something more. He needed a band. At some isolated moments, he thought that he could play them on his own, on the piano; or even on the guitar, as Steel Strings had done. But no, he thought, these songs need a proper band. They need to be fierce, bold, and full. They were made to be played by a band. Also, he didn’t think he could carry a whole show on his own; who would want to watch that? Just a single pony on a guitar playing two dozen songs? That wouldn’t work.

And so, he had to take his next step.

On the message board next to the town hall, he affixed a hoofwritten note:

“A special call for Ponyville musicians:

If you play guitar, bass guitar and/or drums and want to join a band, reach out to Dainty Tunes. We have a repertoire of about two dozen songs, with the intent of performing them in a live concert. This is not for profit, so don’t expect to get paid! You’re expected to do this in your free time, for the pure love of music. Let’s Rock!”

At the bottom, Dainty had haphazardly scribbled his address, as he had forgotten to include it in the text itself.

He had absolutely no idea whether this would work. In either case, the only thing he could do now was the worst thing to do: wait.

In the meantime, he kept working on the songs. He just kept making progressive improvements, as well as learning some more songs. He knew that he had way more songs in his hoof than he could fit into a single concert, but it was important to have options, in case some songs just didn’t work out.

Two days after he posted the message, in the evening after work, Dainty Tunes heard a knock on his door, and got up to open it.

“Oh… hi, there, Steel Strings.”

“Hey, buddy,” Steel said, his guitar case on his back. “So, I saw your request.”

“You did? That’s nice,” Dainty said. “I don’t know if you’re the first one who’s seen it, but you’re the first one to come here, so I guess that’s cool.”

“So, if I got this right, you’re trying to form a rock band, and you’ve already got a repertoire,” Steel Strings said. “Are they your own songs?”

“No, actually not. They’re all songs by The Town Troop.”

Steel made a pause. “Interesting. You want to make a cover band, then?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Dainty replied. “I, uh, I started to study their songs. I brought their albums from Manehattan, and I even got Shimmering Chord’s approval to do this, so I think it’s fair.”

He saw Steel Strings’s eyes widening. “You talked to Shimmering Chord?”

“Yeah, I did,” Dainty said, surprised at himself. “I… I actually wished he would reunite the band and go back to playing, but he was totally against it, because Deep Voice is irreplaceable… and, I mean, I agree, that’s a lofty task for anypony to take, but, well, he said that, if I wanted to try to make my own band, as long as we didn’t make money with it, it was fine. So, I wanna try it.”

“You put a lot of effort into this band, huh?” Steel Strings said. “I mean, I thought I was a fan of them, but you went all the way to Manehattan just because of them. I… guess, that’s pretty cool.”

“Yeah, when you put it that way, it was a crazy thing I did,” Dainty said, looking at the floor.

“And you need a guitarist, right?”

“I do, yes.” Dainty raised his eyes to meet Steel’s eyes. “You’re thinking of joining?”

He shrugged. “Wouldn’t make any sense if I didn’t, right?”

“Well, awesome! We officially have a new band member now!” Dainty said, weakly celebrating a small victory. “When do you think we can get started?”

“Are you available this evening?”

“Uh, sure!” Dainty said, taking a moment to step out of the way. “Come in.”

The pair sat down to look at the list of songs, and decide which ones to get started with. Steel Strings was very familiar with about six songs from that list, so it was an obvious choice to get started with them. Their first pick was Lost Time. Dainty sat by the piano, while Steel sat on the bed, playing the guitar and singing. The first pass had a few hiccups, but Dainty figured that was only natural for a first attempt. Still, as both knew the song very well, they played all the way to the end. Dainty felt a sudden rush of energy as the final chord faded out: that was a very, very different experience. It wasn’t at all like listening to the record or playing it on his own: Dainty was participating in it, but it was something larger than himself. There was somepony else involved, and that added a whole new layer of meaning to it. It was powerful.

“So, I think we really need to work on the tempo,” Steel Strings said. “We were kinda fluctuating a bit.”

“You noticed it?” Dainty said. “Huh, interesting. Maybe it’s because we have no drums.”

“Yeah, but we can work on that without a drummer. We just have to get tighter.”

“Okay, I guess so.”

“What do you think of my singing?”

Dainty noticed a slightly insecure tone in his voice. “I think it’s fine”

“You do?” Steel said. “I dunno, I’m never too impressed with my own singing.”

“Maybe you just demand too much of yourself. We do that, sometimes.”

“Do you wanna try singing?”

Dainty made a pause. “I don’t know… I think my voice is a bit too nasal, too gritty. It doesn’t sound smooth and full like Deep Voice sounds.”

“But you’re not trying to replace him, are you?” Steel said, almost in a scolding tone. “You don’t need to sound exactly like him. Just try it.”

They made another pass, and Dainty took the vocals this time. It went a little more smoothly than the previous attempt, and the tempo fluctuated a little less. Dainty made a few mistakes, as he had to split his attention between the keyboard and the singing, but they made it to the end just fine.

“I like your vocals way better,” Steel said. “You actually give weight to the words.”

“You think so? Well, that’s cool, I guess.”

“Yeah. Your voice might be a little nasal, but it works fine. I just think you might be straining yourself a little.”

“Straining? What do you mean?”

“Well, when you talk, your voice is more relaxed,” Steel said. “It’s like you’re pushing your vocal folds up when you sing,” he said, really making his own voice sound more nasal, “and you shouldn’t do that. You should leave your throat relaxed when you sing. It gives you more power. Try singing on your own.”

“Okay,” Dainty said, a little embarrassed, and cleaned his throat. He sang the first line of the song, trying to do what Steel had told him, and leave his throat relaxed.

“Yeah, you see? You’re not straining it as much now,” Steel said. “That’s the trick. Lower your vocal folds and really let them resonate. You’ll pick it up with time. Also, your tempo is still fluctuating. Do you practice with a metronome?”

Dainty felt a sudden embarrassment. “...well, I, uh, don’t. I don’t… have a metronome.”

“You should get one,” Steel replied, with a soft, counselling tone. “It helps a lot. I say that from personal experience. Well, do you wanna try another song?”

“Yeah, sure. What do you suggest?”

“I’m thinking of I Know. What do you think?”

“Sounds perfect. Let’s do it.”

The two of them did two passes on the song, and they felt it sounded pretty good. They started to talk about The Town Troop, discussing their music and history. Steel Strings was quite impressed with the amount of information Dainty learned from the books, and felt that could really help them get into the mood behind the song.

“You know, playing a song is not just about getting the notes and chords right,” Steel said. “It’s about delivering them. Ponies don’t just have to hear you, they have to believe you. You have to really make the song your own, and then you just forget about the chords and the words; it all becomes automatic to you, and you just focus on the meaning, which is what really matters in the end. If you play a wrong chord, it’s fine as long as you have the sentiment right; if you play all the correct notes but without feeling it, that’s unforgivable.”

“Yeah, that makes a lot of sense,” Dainty said. “I think that’s why I like this band so much: they really meant what they played.”

“I think so, yes. But don’t use that as an excuse to be sloppy, alright?” Steel said. “Get a metronome and practice. You’ll improve a lot.”

“Yes, yes, sure.”

After chatting some more, they played the two songs once more, and Steel Strings decided it was time to go home.

“I think we have potential,” Steel said, getting up. “I’ll try to talk around and recruit some more musicians. You should also get around and talk to ponies.”

“Maybe, but I don’t really know anypony who’s into music,” Dainty said. “The only place I went that attracts that kind of crowd is the Bamboo Pub, but they don’t really like The Town Troop a lot, do they?”

“Yeah, that’s not the ideal place for that,” Steel said. “Maybe just look around for music related stuff whenever it happens, and get in touch with the others. If you only stay in your house, you can’t be sure they’ll come looking for you.”

“Yes, I know… well, thanks a lot for coming, and for all the advice. That’s really helpful.”

“You’re welcome. Also, are you free tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure! You wanna show up again?”

“Sure. We have a lot of songs to go through.”

“Indeed… Well, see you tomorrow, then!”

“See ya.”

And so, Steel Strings left. Dainty felt a sudden urge of confidence, followed by a surge of pressure: he should get a metronome.

---

For the next couple of days, almost every evening, Steel Strings would visit Dainty Tunes, for rehearsals. In just a few days, they managed to play all the songs that Steel knew beforehoof, so Dainty started to play the records to show the other songs, and they’d study them together. For some time, they’d just stop playing and talk, discussing not only the band’s songs, but music in general, and also their lives. Dainty felt a little concerned when they started to get too personal, as he didn’t properly have a past; he’d either have to just make something up, or give vague answers, so he tried to avoid getting into that.

“I’ve been trying to generate some buzz among the ponies I know,” Steel said one evening. “I think we might be getting some new members soon, but I can’t be too sure.”

“Oh, well, that’s great,” Dainty said. “I, uh… I have to say I haven’t been able to do much of that. I’ve been hanging out in the record store during lunch breaks, but I haven’t met any musicians yet. Most ponies there just seem to be music fans.”

“Do you often go out to the town square on weekends? There are often some groups playing there,” Steel said. “We should try talking to them.”

“Yeah, that could be an idea… I figure we need a bassist and a drummer. That should be enough, right?”

“Maybe?” Steel said. “It would be good if we found somepony who plays electric guitar. I myself don’t have one.”

“Yeah, that could be good… well, we’ll just have to keep on trying, right?”

“Of course.”

That weekend, Dainty Tunes and Steel Strings both went to the town square. On Saturday, there was a trio of ponies playing some traditional folk songs. A few ponies were standing around watching, but most just passed by, occasionally bobbing their heads to the rhythm, and, even less occasionally, dropping a bit into an instrument case laid open before the stage.

“I don’t think any of those guys are into playing rock music,” Dainty said.

“Yeah, but they might know somepony who is,” Steel replied. “Let’s have a chat with them later on.”

They just hung around the town square. At one point, they got distant from each other, and Dainty spotted Steel Strings talking to a pair of ponies. He imagined they were just friends of his, but, as he tried to overhear them, he realised Steel had just met them right there. Dainty couldn’t help but wonder, with some frustration, how come some ponies just did that: they approached somepony else and managed to start a conversation, just out of the blue. How did he do that? Also, why those ponies?

That’s when he noticed one of the ponies had a bass clef as their cutie mark. A sudden realisation collapsed on him: he rarely ever noticed cutie marks at all. That’s a clue he could have gathered a long, long time ago, but he had been mostly oblivious to it.

Eventually, the conversation between the three ponies ended, and Steel Strings came back.

“So, any luck?” Dainty said.

“Well, one of them plays bass guitar, but he’s not interested in an unpaid side project right now,” Steel Strings said, not sounding very discouraged; but then again, his voice was always so calm, almost detached, and that made it hard to read anything in his tone of voice. “But he said he’ll talk to his acquaintances and see if anypony is interested. We can only hope.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Dainty replied.

Just after this, he spotted the Apple family stand a little far away, and he recognised all of those faces. By this time, Dainty had more or less forced himself to be casual whenever he crossed paths with any of those ponies; he wouldn’t just try to run away from them, nor try to get close and start a chat like best buddies. At best, he just tried to imagine what it would be like to be a regular member of the population who was aware of how important the Elements of Harmony were, but weren’t trying to be their groupies.

One particular pony stood out to him: a purple mare with fiery red mane. He had met her before, but something in his gut just told him it was better to keep a distance from her, but for fairly different reasons. If getting too close to the Elements of Harmony could mean trouble for Dainty, getting too close to that mare could mean trouble for both of them. Or so he thought.

Still, the two ponies waited for the band to stop playing, and then approached them. Steel Strings did most of the talking, and the outcome was more or less how Dainty had foreseen: none of the musicians were interested in playing in a rock band, but they were willing to pass the word around.

The next day, there was no group playing, and the square was just filled with the sound of regular day-to-day life breezing by. The two ponies still tried to do some recruiting—again, with similar outcomes.

Dainty couldn’t conceal his frustration. Not that he had ever thought this was going to be an easy matter, but he was getting sick of constantly bumping into a wall.

“We have to be patient, Dainty,” Steel said. “This will either work or it won’t. If it works, it might take a while. If it doesn’t, well… we kinda have to be prepared for failure, really.”

“I know,” Dainty said. “I mean, I know that in theory, but, in practice, it just… it’s shit, you know.”

He felt himself suddenly blushing, by the use of such vulgar language, but Steel Strings didn’t seem to mind.

“It’s just life as it is, my friend. Sometimes it’s meant to be, sometimes it isn’t. Our hope is to just keep trying.”

“Yeah, you’re right… You know, I’m really glad to have you as a companion in this,” Dainty said, “as you always manage to sound sensible and reasonable. It’s good to actually hear words of common sense from time to time, you know? I often just get this… this buzz of nasty thoughts and negative ideas and discouraging words, and you just cut through all that by being so cool and collected. It helps clear up the nonsense a little bit.”

“I’m glad to help,” Steel said. “But it’s strange to hear you talk about discouraging ideas, because you seem so motivated and full of resolve. You really want this to happen, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do,” Dainty replied. “I guess I’m… well, when it comes to music, I’m just like that. I want to get things done, and I really push myself. But when it comes to the whole rest… it’s a lot harder.”

“Interesting,” Steel said. “I guess music really is your passion, after all.”

“I suppose so.”

---

Dainty had to try to deal with his mixed feelings through the next few days: the urge to make that project happen filled him with a feverish heat which even made it hard to sleep sometimes, but the stagnation of not getting any new members also weighed on him. He felt like he was fettered by a massive weight, while his body was exploding with an irrational need to break out and fly. He couldn’t move, but he couldn’t settle either.

The first sign of change came on the evening of Tuesday.

“I talked to somepony who has an electric guitar,” Steel Strings said, just after arriving at Dainty’s house. “He said he’s willing to join.”

“Fuck yeah!” Dainty blurted out, and immediately shut his mouth. “I mean, that’s great! We’re increasing our ranks.”

“Yeah, looks like it. He said he’ll be here tomorrow.”

“Great, but, like, did you tell him what our plan is?”

“Sure, I let him know all of it,” Steel said. “He just doesn’t know the songs, so he’ll have to learn from us.”

“Okay, no problem,” Dainty said. “I already expected that. Still, it’s progress!”

“It is. So, what are we gonna do today?”

“Well, I think we’re ready to learn a few new songs, what do you think?”

“Yeah, maybe, but I think I’m not fully confident on For a While Now. I think we should nail that one first, and then we’ll move on to new songs.”

“Sure, fair enough. Let’s do it.”

The following evening, about half an hour after Steel Strings showed up, Dainty received the visit of the new guitarist. His name was Hard Fiber, and he was an earth pony with a lime green coat and light blue, wavy mane. He looked at Dainty with a casual half smile.

“Hey. Dainty Tunes, right?”

“Yup, that’s me,” he said, stepping out of the way. “Come on in. This here is Steel Strings.”

“Yeah, I know him already.”

Dainty sighed, embarrassed. “Of course. Sorry. Uh, either way, make yourself at home.”

Fiber was lugging a cart with his guitar case and an amplifier. He greeted Steel Strings with a casual, loose stance, and started to set up his equipment.

“So, what do you guys wanna do?” he said. “How are we gonna do this?”

“Well, I think we should just start going through the songs one by one, just like Steel and I have been doing,” Dainty said. “We can give you the tabs for the song, and we’ll play it to you and you try to follow. Sounds good?”

“I guess so,” Fiber replied.

“So, what if we start with Time Lost?”

“Makes sense to me,” Steel said.

Dainty gave Hard Fiber his hoofwritten sheet with the lyrics and chords. Fiber quickly noticed they were mostly just four chords over and over again, and guessed it would be easy.

“So, let’s play it?” Dainty said, sitting by the piano.

“Hold on, hold on,” Steel Strings said. “Well, when we play this song, I mostly just strum the chords, but on the record, the guitar does this arpeggio thing instead of strumming. I think Fiber should listen to how it’s done and try to do the same. What do you think?”

Dainty’s eyes shone. “Yeah, you’re right! Wow, that’s really going to make the song shine, I think.”

“I just hope it’s not too complicated stuff,” Fiber said. “I don’t know if I’m that good.”

“Well, look, you don’t have to play it exactly the same way Shimmering Chord does on the record,” Steel said. “It’s just about trying to replicate the feel of it, you know? No need to be identical.”

Dainty was already setting up the record, and the three settled down to listen. Steel Strings sat on the bed, as usual, and Hard Fiber pulled a chair for himself. Dainty just sat on the piano bench, as the song played. Hard Fiber listened closely, but his face seemed to reveal some insecurity.

Dainty lifted the needle off the record before the instrumental coda of the song, as they had previously decided they wouldn’t play that; it only made sense on the record.

“I dunno, man, that sounds kinda hard to play,” Hard Fiber said, rubbing his face.

“Yeah, just remember what I said, you don’t need to play exactly the same,” Steel replied. “Look, why don’t you try to do it? We’ll just play the four chords and you’ll try doing what you can.”

“Okay, I guess.” Fiber got up and turned on the amp.

And so, Steel Strings started to strum the four chords, and Hard Fiber tried to play along, picking out the individual notes of each chord. His beginning was a little rough, as he had trouble changing the chords and keeping up with the patterns, but he seemed to be getting the hang of it slowly. Dainty watched, bobbing his head up and down to the rhythm, and mumbling some of the lyrics as they went.

After a couple of minutes, the two seemed to be doing quite well. Hard Fiber even attempted some trickier things, like some of the slides Shimmering Chord did on the record, and they were quite locked to the rhythm.

“Okay, that’s good, real good,” Steel strings said. “Now, you remember that break in the middle, when they go to the E minor chord, and he does those harmonics? Let’s try that.”

“Yeah, I don’t really know how to play that,” Hard Fiber said.

“No, no problem, I’ll show it to you. Here, pay attention.”

Steel Strings showed him how to play that part, and, in about a minute, Hard Fiber had learnt it. And so, they started to break down the song bit by bit, clearing up each individual nuance, until they felt ready to play the whole song. Dainty sat at the piano and they started the song from the top. Hard Fiber missed a transition, and they had to stop and discuss it.

“Yeah, here on the And so serious and savage line, we go into this heavy part, with the B minor chord,” Dainty said. “You can get a little heavier on the guitar here. I sing Savage three times, and on the third, you go into the harmonics thing. It’s the same at the very end.”

“Okay, I think I got it.”

“We can listen to the record again, if you want,” Steel said.

“Yeah, good idea.”

And so, they listened to the song again, and, after it was over, they tried playing it. This time, they made it all the way to the end, and Hard Fiber even played the note bend at the very end of the song.

“That was good, buddy,” Steel Strings said. “It still needs a bit of work, but it’s not bad.”

“Yeah, like, it’s the first time I play with you, guys,” Fiber replied. “I just guess I have to try and train this at home. By the way, how often are we gonna rehearse?”

Dainty and Steel exchanged glances. “Well, we’ve been doing this almost every evening,” Dainty said, “but I guess not everypony will be always available. Just try to be here as often as you can, I guess.”

“Oh, okay, because tomorrow I have other stuff to do,” Fiber said, “but I’m available on Friday. Is that alright?”

“Yeah, sure,” Steel said. “It’s not like we’re in a hurry or anything.”

“So, how about we play this again?” Dainty said.

And so, they got back to rehearsing, figuring out some minor improvements along the way, and just trying to play tighter and more fluidly. The evening wore on quite quickly, and they just had enough time to start studying another song. Still, Fiber had to go home, and Steel Strings stood just a while longer, chatting to Dainty.

The next day, Dainty Tunes felt his performance at work was a little bit better, even though he had trouble waking up in the morning, as he had stood up chatting with Steel Strings for a lot longer than usual. That pony had this soft spoken, casual way of talking, but he could just go on and on about a subject and it would never get boring. It was easy to lose track of time with him.

He had said he wouldn’t show up that evening, as, since Hard Fiber wouldn’t be able to come, he’d take the opportunity to get some other things done. That evening, Dainty felt like maybe he would take a break from the music, and focus on other tasks. His house needed a bit of cleaning.

Halfway during the process, somepony knocked on the door. Furrowing his brow, he went to pick it up. It was an earth pony with a white coat and purple mane. He felt a shock, as he almost looked like Rarity, though he was a male earth pony.

“Hey, uh, are you Dainty Tunes? I heard you’re looking for musicians.”

“Oh, yes! Yes, sure I am,” Dainty said, eagerly. “Yeah. What do you play?”

“Well, I play bass, mostly, but I can also play a little bit of guitar. You are forming a rock band, right?”

“Yes, we are,” Dainty said. “And wouldn’t you know, we do need a bass player right now.”

“Oh, cool. So, what’s the band about, exactly?”

“So, yeah, um, the plan is to play covers of The Town Troop.”

“The Town Troop? Seriously?” the white pony replied, disgust in his face. “Those guys are awful. No, like, seriously. Why are you even doing this?”

Dainty’s face fell a little. He already just wanted to go back to his house cleaning. “Oh, well, I guess you’re not joining, then.”

“Oh, I can’t believe it,” the pony went on, already taking a few steps back. “The Town Troop? Dude, what a waste. Just go and play something else, will ya? You’ll never get this band off the ground. I mean, I hope you won’t.”

“Thanks for your interest, at least,” Dainty said, before the pony just turned around and walked off, still grumbling.

He closed the door and went back inside, in a mix of disappointment and shock. He understood the pony not liking the band, but actually hoping they wouldn’t succeed? He tried to go back to his cleaning, but he couldn’t get his heart into it. The pony’s words just kept echoing, and the idea of “I hope you won’t get off the ground” slowly morphed into “You won’t get off the ground”.

“Aw, fuck,” he mumbled to himself, already feeling awful for being sad. If only Steel Strings could be there.

He took a deep breath and tried to get back to work.

---

Throughout the next day, he tried to focus on his job and his day-to-day tasks, but his mind would just spontaneously zoom back to the visit from last night. He hated how a single conversation could pull him down so much, but he couldn’t avoid it. He didn’t understand why some ponies felt the need to be so mean-spirited. On the other hoof, could that pony be right? Maybe The Town Troop really wasn’t a good band after all. Dainty was no rock music connoisseur, so if they were just a cheap copy, he had no way of knowing. If he hadn’t been so eager and spent so much money on those records, but stopped to listen to other music and other bands out there, he could’ve made a more balanced assessment.

But what about all those things he felt when he listened to those songs? The effect the music had on him was real, it was genuine. Would it all just go away if he somehow learnt that they weren’t a good band? And what did that even mean? What made them bad, exactly?

Sometimes the minutious nature of his work would get his mind out of those spirals, but they kept coming back.

As he got home, he didn’t feel particularly eager to make music. He would have to do it, as his bandmates (imagine that, he had bandmates now) would be there to rehearse, and he had to be ready for it. Still, he didn’t feel like touching the piano for the time being.

Steel Strings arrived at around the usual time.

“Hey, there, pal,” he said, casual as always.

“Hi.” Dainty replied, closing the door as Steel made his way in.

“So, Hard Fiber said he’d come today, right? I might be misremembering it.”

“No, he should be on his way.”

Steel stopped, and turned to look at Dainty, in a more direct and profound way than he used to. “Is there something wrong, Dainty?”

He looked back at Steel, annoyed that he could be so visibly shaken. He just shook his head. “It’s nothing worth mentioning.”

“Is it something to do with the band?”

Dainty sighed. “Yeah, in a way.”

“Well, tell me, then.”

He sat on the piano bench, and Steel sat on the bed, as they used to. Dainty briefly told what happened last night.

Steel Strings stared at the door, scowling, as if he could see the white pony still standing there. “When will those ponies ever learn?” he said, almost growling. “Have they no respect? Will they ever stop insulting the band like that?” He shook his head, glancing at Dainty. “Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.”

“But that’s not what really gets me,” Dainty said, his voice wavering. “It’s just… Why does somepony actually wish that we won’t succeed? It’s already hard to get ponies to join us, and now somepony actually wants us to fail? Just because they don’t like the band? Geez, dude, just… why?”

“You see, that encourages me to make this band happen, Dainty,” Steel said, with sudden resolve. “We have to show those ponies that this music is worth listening to. It doesn’t deserve all that hate, they should quit that nonsense. We are gonna show that, Dainty.”

“But that’s not really why I’m doing this, Steel,” Dainty said, not facing him. “I honestly don’t care if somepony doesn’t like the band. Really, it doesn’t bother me. I’m not trying to change anypony’s mind. I’m doing this because… because I believe in the music,” he said. “I believe these songs have power, and I don’t think they deserve to be forgotten. I don’t expect everypony to like them, I just think… somepony might. Remember what you said at the pub that night? If one pony heard you play and liked it, it was worth it to you. That’s how I feel.”

“So why are you so hurt by what that jerk said?” Steel replied.

Dainty sighed. “Because… because it’s horrible to think that somepony will be happy if I fail,” he said. “They just can’t accept that I’m doing something that I love, and they feel the need to say it out loud. I mean, I never liked eggplant, so does that mean I should go up to an eggplant farmer and tell them, ‘hey, I hope your whole eggplant farm withers and dies’? Well, no, I don’t have that right! I should just keep my mouth shut and let ponies who like eggplant enjoy their eggplant and ponies who plant eggplant plant their eggplant and be happy with it. But, when it comes to me liking a rock band, then no, they can’t leave me alone. I mean, in Manehattan, in a record store, some random pony just told me I shouldn’t buy one of their records, because they were bad, and I should put the record back in its place. Why do they do that? Do I offend them with my musical taste?”

Steel made a pause, and then just shrugged and sighed. “I really don’t know what to tell you, Dainty. Some ponies just do weird, hurtful things, and there isn’t much we can do… But, you know, I admire you when you say you don’t mind that other ponies don’t like what we like. I just… I just wish they could hear what I hear, at least once in their lives. I just wish they listened more and judged less. But, they’re so concerned with maintaining their credibility and holding all the ‘right’ opinions, that they just don’t think with their own minds. And, you know, you didn’t let their opinion dissuade you. You liked the band, you went after their albums, and you don’t want to force them to think like you just like you don’t want to be forced to think like them. That’s really cool… So, it’s a bummer to see how one phrase can get you down.”

“Yeah, I think I just shouldn’t feel like this,” Dainty said, wiping his face. “I’m being silly. I’ll get over it. Besides, we have work to do, right? We should get to work.”

“Yes, we should.”

In reality, there wasn’t much work to do until Hard Fiber arrived. Steel Strings started to practice some scales and chords on the guitar, and Dainty thought it was a good idea to get some practice. He started to warm his voice, even though he had no idea what was the proper way to do it, and exercised his piano playing a little bit.

It took longer than expected for Hard Fiber to arrive, but he eventually got there, bringing his guitar and amp as usual. They had some casual chat while Fiber plugged in his equipment, and the trio decided the first order of business was to start with Lost Time again, just to keep it fresh.

In just a few seconds, though, it was clear that Fiber had forgotten how the opening went.

“Uh, can you show it to me again, Steel?”

“Yeah, sure,” he said, with his usual tone, but Dainty felt like he could notice a hint of a glare in his eyes.

Steel Strings showed him the intro, and Hard Fiber quickly picked it up. And so, they launched into the song, but it wasn’t working quite well. Fiber had forgotten quite a few things, like the transitions and the harmonics in the instrumental interludes.

“You didn’t practice this at home, Fiber?” Steel said.

“Eh, sorry, but I didn’t have time for that. I just thought I’d still have it in my head.”

“You gotta try to practice it, buddy. Both of us do,” he said, pointing at Dainty.

“Yeah, okay, I’ll try.”

It took them a few passes, but the song seemed to be back in shape. Dainty took a discreet breath of relief when they did the final pass, thinking it was all fine.

Then, they moved on to the next song, Almost by Mistake, which they had barely touched two days prior. Hard Fiber had forgotten pretty much everything about it, so they had no choice but to start from scratch.

Still, Dainty felt they were making progress. The rehearsal flowed smoothly, and it didn’t get boring to play the same song several times. When they felt confident with that song, they listened to some more songs from the record, mostly to decide which one to choose next, as Fiber wouldn’t stay long enough to get started on another song. Dainty prepared some tea for the three of them, and they chatted a little longer before Fiber grabbed his equipment and left.
Dainty looked at Steel, feeling he was regaining his confidence.

“Hard Fiber is lazier than I remembered,” Steel said.

“Lazy?” Dainty said, furrowing his brow. “You really think he’s lazy?”

“He forgot almost everything I showed him. He didn’t practice.”

“Yeah, well, but that’s not necessarily laziness, you know,” Dainty said. “We don’t know how his life out there is.”

“Come on, do you think he couldn’t spare a little bit of time to practice the stuff he learnt?” Steel insisted. “I’ve been practicing. You’ve been practicing. And yeah, I can see that because you bought the metronome, and your timing has become tighter since we began.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you’re right, Steel, but I think it’s early for us to start talking like this,” Dainty said. “It’s the second time he’s played with us. Maybe he just needs to get the hang of it.”

“Well, I hope so. Otherwise, we’ll be in trouble.”

Dainty paused for a moment, and gave a sad smile. “Well, it’s not like we’re in a super good position right now, is it?”

“I guess,” Steel said, with a hint of a smile, and made a pause. “So, you’re feeling better now?”

“A little, yes,” Dainty said, sitting on his bench. “The music just made me feel better again.”

“That’s a good sign. That means you’re feeling it, buddy. The music gets into your heart.”

“Well, of course. I wouldn’t be doing this otherwise, you know?”

“Yeah,” Steel said. “I just hope whoever joins us feels the same.”

Dainty nodded. “Hopefully.”

---

The next day, Dainty left his house to shop for some groceries. There would be no rehearsal that evening, as Hard Fiber would also not be available.

As he came home, he spotted a unicorn knocking on his door. She had a soft blue coat and a blond, short straight mane, and apparently she had been knocking for a while, as she was just about to leave.

“Hey, wait!!” Dainty called out, rushing towards her, which was made difficult because all that he was carrying in his saddlebags.

The unicorn turned to him and waited.

“Oh, hey,” she said with a soft, penetrating voice. “You’re the pony who lives here?”

“Yes, that’s right,” he said as he slowed his pace and walked towards her. “Did you come because of the band?”

“Yeah, I did. I heard some friends talking about this band, and I thought I’d give it a try. I play bass guitar.”

“Bass guitar? Excellent!” he said, his enthusiasm suddenly dying a little as he recalled the conversation he had with the white pony a few days ago. “We are in need of a bassist, but, well, it also depends if you want to play our kind of music.”

“Well, they said it was a rock band,” she said. “I’ve played in rock bands before… well, two of them… and we never performed live… but I guess I have a bit of an experience.”

“Wow, that’s cool, that’s really cool,” Dainty said, still trying to keep his composure. “Thing is, we’re forming a cover band. We’re going to play songs by The Town Troop.”

“The Town Troop,” she said, holding her chin, looking to the side. “I’ve heard of them. Don’t think I’ve ever listened to their songs, but the name is familiar.”

“And you don’t dislike them?”

The unicorn shrugged. “I’ve never heard them. Why should I dislike them?”

Dainty rubbed the back of his neck, with an awkward smile. “Well, eh… some ponies seem to have very strong feelings about them, so I just really needed to check. Well, uh, we’re gonna get together tomorrow in the evening for a rehearsal, so you can come over and join us, and you can see what you think.”

“Sure, that will do,” she replied. “By the way, you’re Dainty Tunes, right? I’m River Mouth, by the way.”

“Oh, nice to meet you,” he said. “Yeah, I’m Dainty, that’s me. Well, thanks for your interest, I guess! I’m really eager to see how we’ll get along tomorrow.”

“Yeah, me too,” River replied. “By the way, how are you learning the songs? You guys have the records?”

“Well, I have them, and we just listen to the songs in here and go along. I’ve actually pretty much learned them all already, but I have to show them to the other two.”

“So they don’t listen to the songs at home?”

Dainty pondered for a moment. “Actually, no. I guess since we’re learning them slowly, one by one, I don’t think it was ever needed. If you want, though, I can lend you the records.”

“You wouldn’t mind?” River said, with some surprise. “That’s really cool. But yeah, I can try to learn the songs until tomorrow night.”

“Excellent,” he said, opening the door and going inside to drop his saddlebags on the kitchen table. “Uh, come in, come in.”

She stepped inside, taking notice of his piano and some instruments hanging on the walls. Dainty grabbed a bag he had received from one of the record stores he had been in, and went to his records to show which songs they had been rehearsing. Then, he put the records in the bag and gave it to her.

“Just remember to bring them tomorrow, alright?” he said. “We might need to listen to the songs during the rehearsal.”

“Of course,” River replied. “I’ll return them to you when I’m done.”

“Great. Oh, and also,” he said, quickly reaching the desk next to the piano to get the lyric and chord sheets. “These are the tabs, in case you need them. They might be helpful.”

“Okay, this is great,” she said. “You’re quite organised, I like that.”

He gave a sheepish smile. “Sometimes I think I’m too methodical, but, well, it works, I guess.”

“If it works for you, that’s what really counts,” River replied, putting the sheets inside the bag. “Well, I‘ll see you tomorrow in the evening, then? In your house?”

“Yep. We’ll be waiting!”

“Fine. See you, then,” she said, bringing the bag along with her by magic, and walked out the door.

Dainty took a deep, satisfied breath as she watched her leave, and closed the door. Things were looking good again.

The following evening, Steel Strings showed up in his usual time, and Dainty gave him the good news.

“Her name is River Mouth,” Dainty said. “Do you know her?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Steel replied. “But, if she’s played in bands before, that’s a great thing.”

“Yes, exactly. Also, she took some of my records home to learn the songs,so, you know, she seems to be dedicated.”

“Looks like a really lucky find,” Steel said. “I hope we get along with her.”

River Mouth arrived about ten minutes later, bringing her bass guitar and an amp. Dainty introduced her to Steel Strings, and the two exchanged brief greetings.

“Oh, here are your records, by the way,” she said, pulling a bag from the cart with the instruments. “Thanks a lot. That bass player is pretty interesting, he does some cool things.”

“Really?” Dainty said. “I admit I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the bass playing, but next time I listen, I’ll hear more closely. So, did you learn the songs?”

“Yeah, I think I did,” River replied. “I played along with them at home.”

“And did you like them?”

“Yeah, they’re okay. I think I can play them without getting sick.”

Dainty and Steel fell silent, and exchanged slightly worried glances.

“I mean… I guess you must be fans of the band, right?” she said.

“Pretty much, yes,” Steel said, a little dry.

“Yeah, like, I’m not dissing them or anything,” River replied, a little nervous. “What I mean is, the stuff that I like to play is a little different, you know? That band’s not the stuff I’d listen to for pleasure. But they’re good, they wrote good songs. Besides, playing with a band is always a chance to learn something new, so I look forward to this.”

“Sure, that works for me!” Dainty replied, trying to lighten the mood. “I just, like, I’m not gonna force you to do something you don’t like.”

“Yeah, don’t worry,” she said. “If I thought I wouldn’t like it, I’d have said so. But I’m good.”

As usual, it took a while longer for Hard Fiber to arrive. When he got there, the other three ponies were all warming up, and he was already surprised to hear the deep notes of a bass guitar as he approached the house.

“So we have a new member?” he said, after Dainty greeted him. “Cool!”

“Yeah, meet River Mouth, our new bassist,” Dainty said, with clear pride. “This is Hard Fiber, our lead guitarist.”

“Hey, nice to meet you, Fiber,” she said, turning her attention back to the bass.

“Yeah, same, River,” he replied, bringing in his equipment. “So, what’s the plan for today?”

“Well, since we now have a bassist, I think we should play the songs we already know. Then, if we have time, we can move on to other songs.”

“Okay, so we begin with… it’s Lost Time, right?” Fiber said, plugging in his amp.

“That’s it,” Dainty said, sitting by the piano.

Fiber went on preparing his instrument, while the others kept warming up and chatting. Steel Strings noticed Fiber was training some of his parts for the song, and clearly he hadn’t fully learned them yet. He tried not to scowl at him, and just focused on his scales.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Fiber said at last.

“Aren’t we gonna wait for the drummer?” River Mouth said.

The other three ponies turned to look at her, in awkward silence.

“... you don’t have a drummer, I guess?”

“Not yet, sadly,” Dainty said. “Is that a problem?”

“No, no, I… I was just wondering,” she said. “Anyway, I’m ready when you are. Lost Time, right?”

“Yep. Okay, Fiber, let’s get this started.”

In a few seconds, the arpeggios of the song filled the room. River Mouth started playing right on cue, and Dainty and River played the first chord, compensating for the lack of the drum hit. They launched into the song proper, and Dainty quickly noticed that River Mouth’s playing was on point. She had a good sense of rhythm and knew her bassline. The only pony who made a few hiccups was Hard Fiber, but nothing that really interrupted the song.

Even though Dainty was focused on playing and singing, he tried to pay attention to what he heard. The sound of the band was a little bit wonky, but he figured it was a matter of rehearsing more. Also, something sounded off, but he couldn’t quite put his hoof on it. They played all the way to the end, and River played all the transitions correctly, even adding a few flourishes that Dainty recalled hearing on the record. She had indeed done her homework.

“Well, that was good,” Hard Fiber said. “It makes so much difference to have a bass!”

“It does,” Steel Strings said. “Did anypony feel like the song slowed down in the second half?”

“Yeah, it did,” River Mouth said. “I was trying to pick up the pace, but you didn’t follow, so I just went along.”

“I admit I didn’t notice,” Dainty said, pondering. “Maybe it was my fault.”

“I was just following the two of you,” Fiber said, pointing to Dainty and Steel.

“Yeah, we have to pay attention to that,” Steel said. “Speeding up a little is okay, but not slowing down. It kills the mood.”

“Should we use the metronome, maybe?” Dainty said.

“No, bad idea,” Steel replied instantly. “We’ll have no metronome when we play live. We have to have the rhythm inside us. I think River Mouth had it, so, if in doubt, just follow her.”

“Okay, I’ll try,” Dainty said. “I’m sorry for that. You wanna try again?”

The three ponies agreed, and they launched into the song again. Perhaps because of the criticism last time, the song’s tempo was a bit more brisk, but both Dainty and Fiber tried to be careful not to lose the beat.

As they finished, Steel gave a brief chuckle. “We were a bit fast this time.”

“I think it sounded cool,” Fiber said.

“I believe we should try to follow what’s on the record,” Dainty said. “Like, we don’t have to sound identical, just… try to approximate it.”

“I agree,” River Mouth said. “But we don’t know how they sounded when they played live, do we? I mean, that song doesn’t have an acoustic guitar on the record, but it sounds fine with it.”

“Sure, maybe we can experiment a little bit,” Dainty said. “But, if the song is too fast, it doesn’t really breathe, and if it’s too slow, it loses energy. We just have to find the balance.”

“So, we’ll do it again?” Fiber said.

“Maybe we should move on to the next one,” Dainty said, a hoof on his chin. “Just so we don’t get tired. So, it’s Almost by Mistake.”

“I don’t know if I remember everything,” Fiber said, “but yeah, let’s do it.”

“Do you need to remember any parts?” Steel said, with some weariness in his voice.

“Yeah, like, there’s… a thing he does after the second chorus, right? Like, a little melody thing?”

“Yes. You don’t remember how it goes?”

“Let me see if I do.”

Fiber tried playing it, but it wasn’t right. Dainty and Steel showed it to him on their respective instruments, and, after a moment, he had learnt it.

“So, this song has a long instrumental ending, right?” River said. “How many measures do you play?”

Dainty scratched his mane. “Actually, we didn’t decide that. I don’t remember how many times they play it on the record.”

“I think maybe we can cut it a little short,” she replied. “It doesn’t need to be that long when we play it live.”

“I like that instrumental,” Dainty said. “Maybe we can just try playing it and decide along the way.”

“But how do we know when to stop?” River said.

“Well, I can give you a count. I’ll count to four, and that’s when we go to the ending.”

“That’s fine in rehearsals,” Steel said, “but, if we play that live, we have to know beforehand.”

“Guys, we don’t even have a drummer yet,” Fiber said. “Why are you so worried about playing live?”

“Because someday we will, Hard Fiber,” Steel said, with a hint of frustration in his voice. “We have to prepare ourselves. We’re not just going to rehearse forever.”

“Okay, so, how about this: I’ll give you the cue to when we should go to the ending, and then we’ll discuss how many measures we should play more or less. We can always change it as we go. Is that fair?”

“It’s fine by me,” Fiber replied.

“Sure,” Steel said.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” River said.

“Okay, then,” Dainty said. “This one starts with you, Steel.”

He made a count and played the first chords. Dainty and Fiber soon joined, and River Mouth jumped in after the intro. Fiber’s playing was rough around the edges, but it was acceptable. Dainty noticed River added flourishes on the bass that he didn’t recall hearing on the record, but he was focused on singing. On the second and final chorus, Fiber managed to play his guitar melody correctly, and they launched into the instrumental ending. Dainty tried to keep count of how many times they repeated the chords, and, once he was satisfied, he made a count from one to four. They went into the ending, and Steel played the final, brief chord, and everything fell silent.

“Well, that wasn’t bad,” Dainty said. “I liked the energy.”

“It was alright,” Steel said. “Just needs to get tighter.”

“Did I miss a chord?” River Mouth said. “I heard something odd in the second verse.”

“I played a wrong chord,” Dainty said. “My bad.”

“Oh, no problem.”

They played the song once again, and then tried Lost Time for a third time. They still had some time remaining, so Dainty suggested they pick another song.

“I’m up for it,” Fiber said. “Do you have anything in mind?”

“I was thinking of Is It,” Dainty said. “Let me get the record.”

He proceeded to distribute copies of the tabs to the three, and started to prepare the record.
“I don’t think it’s a complex song, and it’s short,” he said. “I think we’ll nail it quickly.”

“Dainty,” Fiber said, furrowing his brow. “I think there’s a mistake here.”

“Really?” he replied, putting the disc on the turntable.

“Yeah, it says here that it’s in the key of C, but there’s a B flat in here.”

“Yeah,” Dainty said. “So?”

Fiber made a pause. “There’s no B flat in the key of C. Did you get the chord wrong?”

“No. I checked it on the piano.”

“But, like, doesn’t that sound wrong? The chord is not in the key!”

“Let’s just listen to the song, you’ll hear it yourself,” Dainty said.

“Also, here, where it’s written G/B,” Steel said, “what does that mean?”

“That’s a G major chord with a B on the bass,” Dainty said. “I guess you two can just play regular G, and River plays a B. Basically the guitarists look at the letter to the left of the slash, and River looks at the letter to the right. It’s just that.”

He smiled at his own wit, while the others just nodded.

“Okay, let’s listen to the record, then.”

They listened to the song, which was indeed rather short. Dainty couldn’t help quietly sing along, while River Mouth followed with her hoof on the strings, without playing.

“So? What do you guys say?” Dainty said.

“It sounds pretty tricky,” Fiber said. “There’s some guitar stuff that I need to learn.”

“Well, let’s do it now. Do you think you can help him, Steel?”

“We’ll have to figure it out together,” he said. “Can you play the solo on the intro?”

“I think… I don’t remember how it goes.”

“Oh, here you go,” Dainty said, and played the melody on the piano.

They slowly figured the song out, but they ran out of time before they could make a full pass. Both Fiber and River had to leave.

“Shame you have to go,” Dainty said, “but let’s try to pick up from where we stopped. Can you guys come tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I can,” River replied, while she put away her amp.

“Me too,” Fiber said.

“I’m free too,” Steel said.

“It’s just a shame that we have no drummer yet,” River said. “Why don’t we just hold an audition?”

“An audition?” Steel said. “Isn’t that too ambitious?”

“Well, the band is almost complete,” she said. “All we need is a drummer. I think just having a request by the town hall is not good enough. We should really call ponies to come and try.”

“But could we hold an audition here?” Dainty said. “Will each pony have to bring their own drums?”

“I have a friend who works in the theater,” River said. “I think I can get her to arrange some time for us. If I recall correctly, they have a drum kit in there. We could ask to use it. Then, we’ll just spread posters and requests all over Ponyville, you know, make something big. The band’s getting real by now. We’re serious about this, aren’t we?”

“I am dead serious, you can count on that!” Dainty said.

“I think it can be done,” Steel Strings said, “as long as we can talk to your friend.”

“I’ll get in touch with her,” River said. “I’ll keep you guys up to speed.”

“Well, I’ll be waiting, then,” Dainty said. “If you want me to go along to talk to her, just let me know.”

“Yeah, we’ll talk about it.”

She and Hard Fiber finished putting away their equipment, said their farewells and left. Steel stood behind.

“She’s pretty awesome, isn’t she?” Dainty said.

“Her playing is kinda busy,” Steel replied, “and a little mechanical, but she keeps time really well. And she’s proactive.”

“Yeah. Oh, I just realised, I forgot to ask if any of them wanted to borrow the record.”

“We’ll have to listen to it again, anyway,” Steel said. “I’m sure Hard Fiber will have forgotten everything anyway, and I doubt he’d study the song at home. River seems to be a fast learner, so no point in having her study if Fiber will have to learn it all tomorrow.”

“You’re really not getting along with him, are you?” Dainty said. “I don’t want you guys to fight. I need you both.”

“I just wish he’d be more dedicated,” Steel said. “But I guess we’ll have to do with what we have.”

---

In the next few days, the band managed to get in touch with the ponies in the theater, and they arranged an afternoon to hold an audition. It was set for about ten days later, so Dainty and his bandmates had time to promote the event and generate interest. They created posters in Dainty’s house and spread it around Ponyville, and also chatted to ponies from the music circles to make the news spread. They needed buzz.

In the meantime, they kept rehearsing the songs. They knew they couldn’t rely on their potential drummers knowing the songs beforehand, so they had to be able to play them well, so the drummer could try to play along.

Slowly, they expanded their repertoire of songs. One of those evenings, after playing For a While Now, Steel made a comment:

“It gets hard to hear your vocals at times, Dainty. You should consider getting a microphone.”

“Really?” he replied. “You think that’s necessary?”

“Dainty, we’re playing without a drummer, and your voice already gets drowned out,” Steel said. “Once we have drums playing along, we won’t hear anything.”

“Yeah, it makes sense,” Dainty replied. “But what about your acoustic guitar? It’s also gonna get drowned out.”

“It has a pickup,” Steel promptly replied, showing him the input at the bottom of the body. “I’m just not plugging it in yet because it’s not necessary, but it will soon be.”

“Okay, yeah, I guess I’ll get myself a mic.”

Dainty did exactly that the next day, buying a microphone and a stand. He couldn’t buy one of the best ones, but he figured it should be enough for rehearsals.

On their next evening, Dainty mounted the mic so that he could play the piano and sing, but he found it very challenging.

“I feel like I can either sing into the mic or play piano, but not both at the same time,” he complained.

“I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it, Dainty,” Hard Fiber said.

Steel Strings had other ideas in his mind, but he wasn’t confident about saying it yet.

Finally, the day of the audition arrived. Dainty and Steel were the first ones to arrive at the theatre on that Saturday afternoon. They talked to the manager, and proceeded to start assembling the equipment.

“Just take extreme care with that drum kit, alright?” the manager said. “It’s a delicate instrument.”

“You can count on us!” Dainty replied with a smile, and glanced at Steel Strings with some concern. Steel just shrugged.

River Mouth arrived soon afterwards, and helped bring the drum kit to the stage. Her magic made things much easier for the two earth ponies. Hard Fiber, as usual, arrived later, and started to set up his equipment.

“We have a couple of minutes until the audition begins,” Dainty said. “Let’s play something to warm up?”

“I suggest we do For a While Now,” Steel said.

“Yeah, let’s do this,” River replied.

And so, Dainty made a count, and they launched into the song. Just as the sound filled the theatre, Dainty shivered: they sounded so massive, full, powerful. Once he heard his own voice reverberating off those walls, he was shocked by his own power.

They played two more songs, and just after they were done, the manager approached the stage.

“Are you ready to begin? I can call the first one for you.”

“Yes, please,” Dainty said.

The manager trotted through the front door, and, within a few moments, a young pegasus with a maroon coat rushed down the aisle towards the stage. His unruly brown mane bounced along as he stared at the stage.

“So you’re the first one?” Dainty said, trying to sound welcoming.

“Uh, yes, I am,” the pegasus replied, with a creaky voice.

“Alright, come up and take your seat.”

The pegasus used his wings to lift himself towards the stage, and walked to the drum kit. He had brought his own drumsticks, as requested, and took a moment to feel at ease in his instrument.

“So, what’s your name?” Dainty said.

He was still fumbling about a little with the drums. “Uh, hold on… I’m Honey Drop,” he said. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Honey Drop. I’m Dainty Tunes, and these are Steel Strings, Hard Fiber and River Mouth.”

Honey Drop tested the toms and the snare drum. “So do you have a name? Like, the band?”

The four ponies exchanged glances. “Not yet,” Steel Strings. “We can choose one once the line up is complete.”

“Okay, so, how is this gonna work?”

“So, Honey Drop, do you play rock music?” Dainty said.

“Well, kind of, I guess,” he replied.

Steel and River exchanged glances.

“And have you ever heard any songs by The Town Troop?”

“Uh, no,” Honey Drop replied. “I have no idea who they are, really.”

“Well, what we can do is, we’ll start playing a song, and you just try to join,” Dainty said. “The rhythms aren’t really complicated, it’s all four on four, kick, snare, kick, snare. No need to do anything fancy, we just wanna hear how you gel with us. Alright?”

“Yeah, okay, I guess that’s fine,” Honey replied.

Dainty looked at the others. “So, let’s do For a While Now? I think that’s easy enough.”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Hard Fiber said.

Dainty made the count, and they started the song. Honey Drop listened for a few measures, bobbing his head up and down to the beat, in deep concentration. Just before Dainty started to sing, he came in, playing a simple pattern on the kick and snare, hitting the closed hi hat on eighth notes.

Steel exchanged glances with his band members: they were all making nervous faces.

Honey Drop’s rhythm was all over the place. He could more or less follow the rhythm of the song, but his notes never landed on the right place. He sounded hesitant, and, just looking at his movements, it was clear he wasn’t very confident with the drum kit: his hoof joints weren’t firm, he hit the drum heads sloppily, and he sometimes tried to do some fills and just completely lost track of the rhythm. In short, it was a disaster.

The band trudged on all the way to the end of the song, and Honey played a few extra notes, as he wasn’t expecting the song to end. Silence filled the theatre.

“So, um, Honey Drop,” Dainty said, already trembling with embarrassment, “for how long have you been playing?”

“Uh, a month,” the pegasus replied.

A sudden expression of understanding showed up on the other four faces.

“Okay,” Dainty replied, nodding. “Well, you’ve sure got potential. Just make sure to keep on practicing. Pay attention to the tempo. Do you play along with a metronome?”

Honey Drop frowned. “What is that?”

“Well, ask for it at a music shop and they’ll show you, but it will help you. Anyway, thank you a lot for your time, and, if we’re interested, we’ll get in touch, alright? Just leave your name and address on the book by the exit.”

“Okay, okay,” Honey Drop said, lowering himself down to the aisle.

“Also, can you please call the next one once you’re out?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Thanks a lot!”

Dainty looked at the other three and shrugged. “I’m sure it’ll get better.”

“I gotta say, I admire his courage,” Steel Strings said. “With just one month of practicing, I’d never show up at an audition.”

“Um, hey?” Honey Drop called out from the door. “There’s… There’s nopony else here.”

Dainty’s jaw hung open, his glassy eyes staring at the young pegasus. Hard Fiber and River Mouth exchanged glances. Steel Strings took a deep breath.

The band still had a fair amount of time reserved for them in the theatre, so they thought they’d do the best with what they had. Honey Drop sat at the drums, just hitting the hi hat, as Dainty counted from one to four and waved a hoof to a slow, steady beat. The other band members just sat around, watching, and occasionally exchanging a few words.

“One, two, three, four! One, two, three, four! One, two— pay attention to the beat, Honey,” Dainty said, trying to sound didactic. “Feel it in your body. One, two, three, just watch me. One, two, three, four.”

Steel felt like Honey Drop wasn’t really making any progress, but he didn’t want to just say that. He just exchanged confiding glances with Hard Fiber and River Mouth, while the endless counting and erratic hi hats lingered on.

“One, two, don’t look at your hooves, Honey! Look at my hoof, here! Four! One, two, three…”

“Ah, by Celestia, this is boring!” Honey suddenly grumbled and stopped playing, shaking his head. “I can’t stand this!”

“But, Honey Drop, this is a fundamental exercise!” Dainty said. “This is the most basic thing you can do, and, if you can’t do that, you just won’t be able to play drums.”

“But this is just not what real drumming is like!” Honey said. “Drummers don’t just keep hitting a hi hat like this! I want to actually play songs.

Dainty Tunes shrugged. “I’m sorry, Honey Drop, but you just have to go by steps. Every instrument has its own exercises. That’s just the way it goes.

“Just, hold on, Dainty,” Steel Strings said, getting up. “Look, if Honey finds this boring and wants to play an actual song, why don’t we just… make up an actual song? Let’s just improvise, and he can play along.”

Dainty looked at him, and back at Honey Drop, who had a slightly more enthusiastic expression, and then, he shrugged. “Well, sure. Let’s see what you guys have in mind, then.”

“Okay, River Mouth, why don’t you play a very simple bass line, like, all quarter notes? Just a walking bass thing.”

“Yeah, sure,” she replied, and got in position. Then, she just started to play a very simple line, just an arpeggio on an A major chord, on the same beat that Dainty had been counting before.

“Right, Honey Drop, now just follow along on the hi hat, together with her,” Steel Strings said.

“Aw, the hi hat again?” Honey Drop whined.

“It’s just for a while,” Steel said. “We’ll make it interesting later. Just do it.”

Honey shook his head and started hitting the hi hat again. His playing was still erratic, and the fact that he wasn’t too much into it didn’t help at all. Steel Strings then prepared his guitar, and started to play a chord pattern along with the bass line. Dainty Tunes and Hard Fiber just watched, as the guitar and bass were fully locked into each other, and Honey struggled to keep up.

Then, Steel started to call out some chord names, and River Mouth would make the changes along with him. It was just a simple A - D - E - A progression, as banal as it could be, but it was far more lively than Dainty’s counting.

“Keep it up, Honey Drop, keep it up,” Steel said. “Just feel the music. Now, remember the way Dainty counted, one, two, three, four. I want you to hit the hi hat a little harder on the two and four, alright? Just a little harder, no need to make a dent on it. Try it.”

“Okay,” Honey said, and tried to follow the instructions. The change in intensity did give a bit of extra swing to his hi hat pattern.

“Yeah, that’s it, buddy,” Steel Strings said. “Now, listen closely. On top of what you’re doing, I want you to play the snare on the two and the four, okay? Keep the hi hat up, just play the snare along with it. Think you can do it?”

“I think so, yes!” Honey called out.

Soon, he was hitting the snare along. Dainty paid close attention, and had the impression that his rhythm was a little tighter now. It still drifted back and forth a little, but he could almost call it a beat. Then, Dainty rushed to the piano, and started to play along to the chords, improvising some embellishments on the right hoof.

“Woo, yeah!” Steel said. “Keep it up, buddy!”

“I’m doing it!” Honey Drop said.

Soon, Hard Fiber started to play some licks on his guitar, and all four were jamming to those four chords.

“How do you feel, Honey Drop?” Steel said.

“Kinda good!” he replied.

“Okay. Now, if I ask you to play the kick drum on the one and three, do you think you can do it?”

“I think so!”

“Right, then do it!”

Honey Drop started to add the kicks, which threw his rhythm off a little bit, but he persisted. He clung to the rhythm as if he were holding it in his teeth. It took a moment for him to get used to the swing of the kick pedal, but he started to get steady, and now the music actually sounded like a proper jam.

“Oh, yeah, boy!” Steel Strings yelled. “We’re doing this!”

"Haha, yes!” Honey replied.

Dainty Tunes started to make some wordless vocalisations on the microphone, quietly at first, and then with more and more confidence. He noticed River Mouth was rocking her whole body to the rhythm, feeling it intensely, and Hard Fiber played guitar licks with his eyes closed, swinging from side to side. Dainty smiled, and thought he’d join in the fun, somehow.

We’re just playing a jam
Me and my band
We’re just playing a little jam
Just-a me and my band

He just made up the melody as he went. It didn’t need to be catchy, just sound like an actual song.

“You’re doing good, Honey Drop,” Steel Strings said.

“See? I can play!” he replied.

“You can. Now, on the three, can you play the kick drum twice? Like this: Dum, dah! Dum dum dah! Dum, dah! Dum dum dah!”

“Let me try!”

Honey Drop started to double the second kick drum, which was a bit wonky at first, but started to get a little tighter as he went. Dainty was still making up words as he played:

We’re here in Ponyville Theatre
And we’re playing a little jam!
We don’t really have a name yet
So I just call it my band!

Steel Strings couldn’t help but smile. Honey Drop still had a concentrated, determined face, but he started to bob his head back and forth to the beat.

We want to play some songs
By a band called The Town Troop
So I guess I’m gonna call my band
The Ponyville Rag!

Hard Fiber responded with a wild guitar lick, and River Mouth yelled a “woo!”.

I don’t know if that name is any good
But I think they kinda like it,so
Look at us, listen to us,
We are The Ponyville Rag!

Dainty then started to repeat the final two lines as a sort of chorus, and heard as the music kept getting more lively and more energetic. Hard Fiber then started to sing along to the chorus, and River Mouth soon followed. Steel Strings decided he didn’t want to be left aside, so he joined in the chorus, and they kept singing it and singing it, while Honey Drop held on steady to the beat.

And then, after another repeat of the chorus, Honey Drop played a loud fill on the snare drum and hit the crash cymbal, which threw off his rhythm a little bit, but he picked it back up. The playing and the singing just kept getting louder, and Honey Drop opened the hi hat, turning the dull clicking sound into a continuous loud splash. They went on for several more repeats, just getting into the feeling of it.

“Twice more for me, baby!” Dainty called out.

Look at us, listen to us,
We are The Ponyville Rag!
Look at us, listen to us...

Just as they sang that line, Dainty raised his hoof and yelled “hold!” The whole band stopped playing their instruments, and just sang the final line out loud:

We are The Ponyville Rag!

And then, Dainty lowered his roof, and they crashed into the final chord. Honey Drop made a cymbal roll and Hard Fiber played a long, rousing final solo, while the others just stretched the chord for a while, until Dainty gave them a sign and played a final, dry, definitive chord.

And then they all laughed.

“Dude, what was that?” Hard Fiber said, shaking his head in disbelief. “That was awesome!”

“Hey, Dainty, seems like we’re a jam band now!” River Mouth said, smiling.

“So, Honey Drop, was that less boring to you?” Steel said, giving him a sideways glance.

“Boring?” Honey retorted. “That was super cool. Like, we were actually playing a song! And I held the beat! I actually kept the beat!”

“Yeah, you did,” Steel said. “I mean, you still have to practice a lot, but you’re on the right path. You have to start simple and build from there.”

“I guess so. But it’s so much more fun when you’re playing with me.”

“I’m sure it is,” he replied, turning to look at the piano. There was nopony there. Steel looked around. “Where’s Dainty? Where did he go?”

“I think he went backstage,” River Mouth said, pointing towards stage right.

Steel Strings frowned for a moment, put his guitar down and went backstage.

He found Dainty standing alone with his back against a wall, sobbing, tears in his eyes.

“Dainty? What happened?” Steel said, softly.

He raised his face to Steel. “I’m in a band now,” he said. “I’m in a band.”

Author's Note:

The "purple mare with fiery red mane" mentioned in this story is Meteorite Shower, introduced in the story A Second Chance. It's recommended to read that story, as the character will appear again in the future.

All the illustrations were drawn by me.

Comments

[Meteorite Shower]

Ohh, it's me! I'm here now!

[Dashie04]

Dainty felt a sudden embarrassment. “...well, I, uh, don’t. I don’t… have a metronome.”

I still don’t use a metronome. I’ve been playing an e-kit for 3 years and I still don’t use a metronome. As one would expect, I’ve gotten some criticism over my tempo consistency, but who needs one? (I request that you actually use a metronome.)

Also, the whole band rehearsal thing, it’s incredibly accurate. You managed to just include every element of a timed band rehearsal and wrap it up in a little bow. This story is so incredibly realistic. I appreciate that.

[Fernie Canto]

10871391
The bit about the metronome was a little bit of mea culpa on my part, as I hate practising with one. When I record my own stuff and with my band (that is, before the pandemic rudely suspended our activities), I'd rather let the tempo drift feely was the song goes. It makes the song more alive, you know? I only play with a click in case of real necessity. But, if I were to play in a band like the one in this story, having a sloppy tempo would be quite a bit of a problem.

I'm glad the story feel realistic, because I really wanted the feeling of putting the reader there with the band, getting a feel for how the process really is. The process of music tends to be quite oversimplified in fiction, or exaggerated for drama; but I wanted that feeling more or less like when Steven Tyler watched This Is Spinal Tap and didn't see what was supposed to be funny, because that's just what playing in a band was really like for him.