44: These are the girls I love the most.
These are the girls I love the most
Chapter published 27th Dec 2013
*******************
Sept 1219 AC
With a snort Pinkie Pie awoke from her mid-afternoon power-nap.
Oh boy, power-naps were like one of the greatest things ever; they had dreams and stuff... and dreams about stuff and... stuff. Oh yeah, she’d had a totally fantasadoubly great dream, but it was getting away from her, she had to act fast, real fast, like ‘now’ fast. What had it been about? Ooohh, there’d been smiling, lots of smiling, and ideas and plans and singing, and a mare, no, a woman, no, a mare... and she’d asked her asked to do something... something important... it was a big something, it’d needed lots of other ponies to help her. But what was it? Oh yeah, that was it.
“So, I’m going to need instruments and the girls and lots of space... ohh this is going to be the most superest surprise thingie ever.”
Grabbing her mid-level-emergency bugle as she jumped out of bed, the pink blur that was Pinkie Pie was out of her room, down the stairs and away from Sugarcube Corner before her bedsheets had even managed to settle. By the time she was halfway across Ponyville she’d completely forgotten the details of her dream, but she did remember that she’d made a promise, and whenever Pinkie made a promise it was forever.
For-ev-er.
************
Gripping what had, until just a few years ago now, been his sleeping basket in his claws Spike carefully made his way down the stairs from his loft apartment and into the main hall of the Golden Oaks public library.
Pulling books from the basket, he placed each one carefully in the ‘to be reshelved’ stack and tossed the basket itself under the main desk. He hadn’t cleaned the books out from under his bed for a while - an embarrassingly long while if was to be truthful about it. The fact that he’d found some confetti from his sixteenth birthday all those months ago between some of the pages told him he’d been slacking in his duties. He’d been trying to fool himself that the confetti had been from Scoot’s sixteenth from last week, but no matter how he tried he just wasn’t falling for it.
What would Twilight think if she’d seen it? He was now the town’s Chief Librarian after all - even if old Dusty Tomes had been brought out of retirement to help him out two or three times a week - so he had to set a better example than this. Twilight may now only spend about half of her time in Ponyville these days but she still came to check up on how things were going at her old home whenever she could and as she’d been the one to put him forward for the job he’d hate to disappoint her.
His old basket had rolled back out from under the counter (how had he ever fitted in it?) so he picked it back up and placed it gently on the countertop. Too small for it’s original purpose it may now be, but it was still a precious gift from his sister, he’d have to remember to take more care of it.
Turning slowly, he checked around the room to see if there was anything else that needed tidying up, putting away or just generally taking care of. This library was his very own hoard, and it was the greatest hoard a dragon could ever ask for. Unlike other hoards, it didn’t diminish whenever part of it was taken away from him. All those words, all that knowledge, all stored safely within the covers of these books. With each one checked out his hoard only increased in size as the knowledge within them was absorbed into the hearts and minds of the many ponies of the fair town of Ponyville.
From claw to hoof and back again, his hoard was passed around, read aloud, absorbed, enjoyed, multiplied, expanded. And then, when each volume came back to him, the vessel of this shared enlightenment, he felt a warm glow inside that the pony in question had grown within them a tiny addition to his hoard, his own personal treasure expanding with each passing day.
Or perhaps the warm feeling was just gas? Cheese before bed still did that to him sometimes.
But, Spike reminded himself, you couldn't just give each pony just any old book... oh no, no, no. You had to get to know each and every potential reader personally, figure out what would appeal to them, which tome or volume or textbook could help them in whatever personal quest of self advancement had brought them to his door. Is was a job he was proud to have, a task he was proud to have been entrusted. And due to his long life ahead of him, we was sure he would continue to be proud to serve for as long as the town wanted him to.
Picking up his feather duster he started to beaver away with the daily cleaning, standing on tippy-claws to reach the higher shelves - he wasn’t quite tall enough to reach the topmost tomes without using a stepladder quite yet. As he neared the front door he could hear shouting from the empty lot across the street... it sounded like Pinkie Pie.
“Rainbow, Lyra... stop sparring and follow me,” yep, that was definitely Pinkie Pie, “this is super duper important, no time to lose.”
Dragon-sense a-tingling, Spike moved back from the front door a split second before it flew open as PInkie burst in to the library.
“Spike, we’ve got a job to do.” Pinkie found Spike waiting by the door, a claw held to his forehead like a new recruit awaiting orders. “Get to the market and grab Applejack. Fluttershy should be there as well so grab her too. Market should be finishing up soon so they’ll both be there helping Big Mac. Get ‘Bloom to take care of the kids if need be but do it quickity-quick and meet me at town hall as soon as you can.”
“Yes, ma'am,“ Spike respond quickly before tossing his duster onto a shelf behind him and running off out of the door.
“So what’s up?” Rainbow asked from where she was hovering just outside the doorway, pulling herself out of the way as a pink blur shot past her and off towards the home of Herd Lero.
Shrugging to her herdmate - Lyra just responding with the same though without the slightly exasperated expression - Rainbow flapped over to the herd’s front door which Pinkie had left open when she’d barreled her way into the house.
“Twilight, where are you?” the earth pony called as her head disappeared through doorways, leaving her derriere with its great mass of tail wiggling about in the corridor as its owner went room to room.
Twilight’s head poked out from an upstairs doorway that Pinkie had yet to check, a pair of reading glasses perched upon her nose.
“What’s up?” the purple mare shouted, pulling the eyeglasses from her nose and teleporting them away before anypony could notice she was wearing them. “You’re making enough noise to wake the dead!”
As if she herself had teleported - which would have been an astoundingly impressive feat for a normal earth pony, but was just par for the course for the town’s resident party pony - Pinkie was right up in Twilight’s face in less than a millisecond, the brass instrument around her neck bouncing around on its velvet cord.
“We need to get to the town hall STAT!” hearing the two other mares of the herd coming up the stairs behind her, Pinkie zipped over to the top step. “Lyra, grab a harp and your drum thingy; Twilight, bring your flute; Rainbow, shake that plot over to Carousel Boutique and grab Rarity as fast as you can.”
Clopping her forehooves together the earth pony danced in place before making ‘hurry up motions’ towards the front door. “Let’s go, ponies, we’ve got a number to put on.”
In a split second she was down the stairs and halfway out of the house, stopping at the threshold to take in the three rather puzzled mares behind her. Well, two rather puzzled mares and one enigmatically amused unicorn who was beginning to bob her head to a rhythm only she could hear.
“Ooh, and when the music of harmony kicks in, you gotta resist for as long as you can!” Pinkie urged waving a hoof at the minty unicorn.
“But Pinkie,” Twilight objected, “when the music of harmony calls then everypony knows resistance is futile. No pony’s ever stopped it before, it just does its own thing, that’s how Equestria works.”
“Then we’ll just have to resist like we’ve never resisted before,” Pinkie rolled her eyes as if it was the most obvious answer in the world, “Come on girls, let’s get hopping.”
With a ‘whoosh’ and a pink blur, she was gone.
****************
The main hall of Ponyville’s town hall had been designed with acoustics very much in mind, the curved walls and ceiling crafted in such a way that no matter where the audience were standing - be it in the stalls, on a balcony or out on the main floor - they’d be able to hear perfectly whatever was happening up on the stage. As such, Doctor Scratch of Canterlot University and Miss Melody from the Royal Canterlot Conservatorium had found it to be the ideal place to conduct their studies whilst here in Ponyville.
But as the glow faded from her horn just as the last few notes faded from her mind, Sweetie Belle wasn’t thinking of any of this, instead she was trying hard not to let her heart beat its way right out of her chest.
“I think we got it,” Vinyl Scratch called from where she was sitting behind a large pile of incredibly complicated equipment that she’d ‘borrowed’ from the audio-acoustic labs back at the university.
All around her great tangles of printouts were forming, vast lengths of paper spewing from the machines, the dozens of quills on little arms twitching away as their scribbles recorded what only two beings on the entire planet could hear for themselves.
For the last ten minutes they’d been busily scrawling down note after note, cadence and melody, rhythm and hue, each quill recording the sounds of a different instrument, each combining to create a piece of music that no pony on the planet had ever heard themselves.
No pony but one - the young mare who was currently basking in the afterglow of the experience, breathing deeply with heart all a-flutter. With each immersion into the music of humanity she fell a little more in love with it every single time. If this was what it was like to go without the music of harmony, well she knew by now which of the two she’d choose.
Octavia Melody looked up from where she was pouring over page of page of notations, mentally turning the stark and impersonal markings on the paper into a soaring symphony in her head.
“This is...” the earth pony started, “Oh my, I don’t even know how to describe this one. It’s just so... so... big! Look at the way the strings work together here... and then the brass comes in with.... and then... I thought Ride of the Valkyries was something, but this?...”
The usually prim and proper mare waved the paper around her head, her mouth opening and closing as she struggled for words. In the end she just gave up and threw the reams of paper into the air as she giggled like a school filly.
“Think what Octy’s trying to say,” Vinyl added as her *ahem* friend rolled around on the floor, occasionally kicking her rear hooves in excitement, “is that this is going to be Epic! What’s this piece called again?”
“Ode to Joy” Lero replied from where he was sitting next to Sweetie Belle, his pen scribbling against a notepad as he hurried to finish his own task before the last of Sweetie’s channeling faded from his mind, “seems quite apt, considering this is the happiest I’ve ever seen her.”
“Me too,” Vinyl added, “well except for that time last spring when I... well, yeah.” Pulling her ever present sunglasses down her snout, the unicorn wiggled her eyebrows at the human in a way that reminded him of his pegasus herdmate when she was getting a bit... excited.
“Well, just wait until we do Rhapsody in Blue, she’ll be all over you!” Lero laughed as he casually tossed the notepad towards the unicorn, her magic plucking it effortlessly from the air, “I think this more than makes up for last month. If I’d known Adagio for Strings was going to make her burst into tears like that I’d have never have suggested it.”
“She wasn’t the only one,” Sweetie added as she unbuckled a high-tech sensor collar from around her neck and placed it on the floor beside her, “I think I cried for almost an hour the night after we tried channeling the choral version.”
“Oh, Sweetie, I’m sorry.” Lero reached over and gently pulled the youngster against his chest, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, his hands absently stroking at her mane as he had done when she was younger, though these days she was a whole lot bigger than she used to be and her mane was much much longer.
“I really should have warned you all more strongly than I did.” As he rested his chin on the young mare’s forehead, the human couldn't see just how red the already flushed unicorn's face was becoming. “There’s a lot of emotional baggage goes with that piece and I guess it must have come through with the music. All whole lot of humans thought it was one of the saddest pieces of music we’d ever made... and that’s saying something.”
“It’s all good,” Vinyl said, “Gotta take the happy with the sad. Just makes the good times that much better, ya’know. You should have seen Octy the next day, she was like a mare possessed, she’s been working on the arrangement with the orchestra almost every day since then.”
“Wait... the orchestra?” As Lero’s hand stopped in mid stroke, the DJ noticed the flicker of disappointment on the younger unicorn’s face but decided to say nothing.
“Yeah,” Vinyl grinned, “The Royal Canterlot Philharmonic. Bunch of stuffy old mares most of ‘em but they got some cool cats too. I think it’s going to be huge. I recorded some of their practice sessions, did a coupl’a remixes on em, gave it a bit more punch, cranked up the bass, slipped it a bit more jive, turned it into something uplifting, know what I’m sayin’? I think the kids in the clubs are going to go nuts for it.”
Still grinning, the DJ lifted Lero’s notepad up so she could hide behind it while the human took a few more seconds to get his brain around the concept of the nation’s greatest orchestra performing something that was just a few weeks ago still locked away in his head.
Lowering the pad, Vinyl could see the human still working the idea through. He was quite cute when he was all gawpy like that. In a small-eyed flat-faced kinda way, yeah, but still cute. Hey’d where’d the pad gone?
“So,” Octavia asked as she scanned the notepad she’d just pulled from her friend’s magical field, also doing her best not to look embarrassed about her earlier roll on the floor, “these lyrics, they’re in Germane?”
“German, yeah, so pretty much the same thing.” Lero nodded as Sweetie shyly moved away from his chest. “You really need to hear it with a full choir to get the best effect, humans were known to sing it with hundreds, even thousands.”
“Thousands?” Sweetie asked, the idea of that many humans signing along together, all without the music of harmony to help them, was just astounding.
Peering over Octavia’s shoulder at the words on the pad, Vinyl added, “We know a couple of mares from the Stuttcart State Orchestra who’ve been dying to get in on some of this stuff.”
Now it was Lero’s turn to be astounded. “Really?”
“Absolutely,” Octavia looked up from lyrics, “I don't think you realise just how big a stir your ‘human music’ is making in musical circles all around the globe, and not just classical either. The conservatory's had contact from musicians from just about every musical genre and discipline, asking if there’s any way in which they can get involved.”
“Yeah,” Vinyl added, “this is pretty much the biggest thing to happen to the Equestrian music scene since the dark ages.”
“Oh,” was about the best Lero could manage.
“Yes, indeed.” Octavia added, “and did you know that Princess Luna has recently been overheard singing a few of them around the castle.” The earth pony waved a hoof at her companion, “That one she especially likes, what was it?”
“Which one?” Vinyl asked, playfully batting at her friend’s idly waved hoof with her own. “Dream a little dream of me or Fly me to the moon?”
“Both, I think,” Octavia playfully batted a hoof back before remembering that they were in company. “Ahem, yes. Sapphire Shores herself is eager to record them both for inclusion on her next album.”
“Luna’s been what?” Lero rested his head in his hand, this was all a bit much for one day. “Oh my word. Thank god she’s not been singing Queen of the Night.”
As Lero looked up again, Vinyl leant forward so she could see the human’s expression up close and personal.
“She has.“ she told him, laughing heartily as his head dropped back into his palm.
“Oh dear.”
For a second the human glanced up to the sky.
“I’m sorry, Whitney.”
“Err, guys,“ Sweetie suddenly added, urgency coloring her tone, “We have to go outside.”
As Lero turned to take her in, he could see a faint pink glow around her horn that suddenly started to spark and fizz. The glow around her horn fluctuating between pink and purple rather than the static pale green of her usual magical aura meant that she was channeling the music of humanity... But they weren’t channeling anything right now so how could it be doing that?
“Seriously, we have to go outside, like right now.” Getting to her feet, the generous curls of her lengthy mane spilling over her shoulders, reaching well past the tops of her long legs as she started for the door. But before she could get far Pinkie burst into the hall.
“Lero!” the earth pony shouted, “come outside, quickly. Bring your guitar.”
By now Lero had learnt to just do as he was told in situations like this so after grabbing his instrument he hopped off the stage and made for the door.
“Doctor Scratch, hi!” Pinkie grabbed Vinyl, lifted her up in the air and put her back down again so that the unicorn was facing the hall’s instrument store which was usually, though not today, hidden behind a curtain. “Could you grab that piano and levitate it outside? We’re going to need it. Tavi, hi, rockin’ the bow tie as always.”
****************
As Lero made his way outside he found a huge gathering of mares from all around town milling about outside the town hall. Many of the earth ponies had instruments of some kind and all of them seemed to be shifting uncomfortably on their hooves. To Lero’s eyes it looked like half the town’s population were dying to go to the toilet all at the same time, which was something he really didn't want to think about.
Every now again again one of the mares carrying instruments would raise it to their mouths or their hooves would move as if preparing to let loose a note or two, only to be stopped by whatever ponies were closest to them.
Over by the town’s ornate water fountain Lero could see Spike, Big Mac and Time Turner rushing to set up Turner’s drum kit while a visibly sweating Rainbow hovered overheard, shouting encouragement to the collection of ponies gathered below her.
“Okay, just a few seconds longer, hold out as long as you can, you know you can do it.”
“What’s going on?” Lero asked of any pony close enough to hear him.
“It’s the music of harmony,” Twilight stepped out of the crowd, noticeably sweating herself, “It seems to be having some trouble with timing, started too early, we’re trying to delay it as much as we can, but this is a biggie.”
“What’s a biggie?” Lero asked as an upright piano floated past his head.
“Okay, Vinyl, piano over there,” Pinkie directed the weighty instrument into place next to Time Turner’s drums. “Spikey boy, get on it, we’re ready to go.”
As the teenage dragon’s claws danced across the piano’s keys a large number of ponies could be heard breathing an even larger sigh of relief. As they lifted their own instruments en-masse and began to play it struck Lero that with the music of harmony they didn't actually need any instruments, that they could all hear the music in their heads. The instruments they were carrying, the music they were playing, it was purely for him.
After a few seconds, another realisation hit him
“Hey, I know this tune,” he said as Pinkie bounced up to him, “it came out when I was just a kid.”
“Yepperonie,” the earth pony grinned, “so grab your guitar and play along. Ooh, now’s my part.”
Strong hooves grabbed him from behind and Lero found himself being lifted into the air by Big Mac, just to be put down again between Spike at the piano and Time Turner on the drums. All around them the mares of ponyville danced and played their instruments, most of them actually in time.
Bouncing her way into the middle of the town square Pinkie began to sing and dance.
--Pinkie Pie--
There is a place
Where the grass is what's for dinner
She was soon joined by the rest of the element bearers as they all danced in unison... a remarkably clumsy unison but still a unison none the less.
--Pinkie Pie--
Charmed, fun, and wild
There must be something in the water
--Applejack--
Sippin' rainbow juice
--Rarity--
Talking Elements of Harmony
--Twilight--
Our bronies
As the element bearers all swung their forehooves towards the guys, Big Mac and Spike sang their lines.
--Big Mac & Spike--
Hang out too
--Rainbow Dash--
'Cause they know we're awesome fillies
From the edge of the crowd, Lyra, Sweetie, Vinyl, and Octavia trotted onto the impromptu dance stage, joining the element bearers to create a chorus line ten ponies long.
--Sweetie Belle--
You could travel the world
--Vinyl & Octavia--
But no one can groove like the girls with the hooves
--Pinkie Pie--
Once you party with ponies
--Rainbow Dash--
You'll be seeing Rainbooms!
--Fluttershy--
O-oh o-oh o-ooh!
Lero was nearly deafened as the entire crowd joined in, dozens of mares all singing together.
--Crowd--
Equestria girls
--Twilight, Rarity, Vinyl & Lyra--
We're kinda magical
--Applejack--
Boots on hooves, bikinis on top
--Rarity--
Furry coats, so cute
--Pinkie Pie--
We'll blow your mind
--Fluttershy--
Aoaoah oh, aoaoaoh!
--Crowd--
Equestria girls
--Rarity & Sweetie Belle--
We're pony-fabulous
--Rainbow Dash, Applejack & Lyra --
Fast, fine, fierce, we trot till we drop
--Twilight--
Cutie marks represent
--Applejack--
Now put your hooves up
--Futtershy--
Aoaoah oh, aoaoaoh!
As the song came to an end, ponies all around him jumping up and down and hugging each other, Lero let his guitar dangle from his fingers. After an untold number of waves and smiles in his direction the town square slowly started to empty out, the town’s residents drifted away to get back to their day’s doings.
Waving a maniacally grinning Pinkie over to his side, Lero crouched down next to her.
“What on earth was all that about?” he asked in wonder, “how did an old human song end up all mixed in with the magic of harmony?”
“I don’t know.” Pinkie admitted, though it didn't stop the grinning, “Well, I did know, but now I don’t. I’m not sure what happened really, not anymore, but I think it’s Equestria’s way of saying thank you or at least that might be what She meant. I’m not too sure about some of the lyrics and the choreography needed more work but we were in a reaaally big rush ‘cos it was only a power nap so we only had a few minutes.”
“Thanking me?” Lero asked, “what for?”
“For being you, you silly billy, and for being our friend.”
As Pinkie continued to grin at him in that extra wide beamy way she had, for just a second the pink of her mane darkened dramatically while the colour of her coat bleached away. At the edges of her mane and tail a few burning embers glowed as they floated away from her to dance in the breeze.
“For being true of heart and strong of mind,” Pinkie said in a voice which Lero heard not with his ears but rather felt echoing around his mind, “for protecting my little ponies, for teaching my little ponies, and for loving my little ponies. For this, and for what is still to come, I thank you.”
Shaking her head, Pinkie’s mane and coat were suddenly back to their normal colours... and just like that the magic was gone.
But it wasn’t, for the magic was never truly gone.
The magic was forever.
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Channeling the almighty Fausticorn, eh? Pinky has a lot of secrets, it would seem...
very touching ending
staring?
Spooky
Darn it, Youtube banned a few links, and I know I have the Equestria Girls mix but not the source I got it from... might have been Soundcloud or Bandcamp.
Ok, found it. MLP Equestria Girls
3691062
He meant Sparring. Training by fighting one another.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparring
Wow, visualizing them singing this sent shivers through me, that was amazing!
Also, from earlier in the chapter, it seemed like Twilight was embarrassed about needing reading glasses, Why? She'd look so sexy with reading glasses.
Pinkie channels god?
Woah, that's some deep stuff.
This one sent some shivers down my spine. Nicely done, sir!
Sadly, I can only upvote story onece and no more
. Some awesome chapters like this deserve an additional one, dedicated to them entirely 
Thank you
3692934
Pinkie IS God.
That was awesome!
3696887 If she isn't God she sure can channel God.
3692934 What you said.
Beautiful chapter.
3701399
In a previous chapter Lero, in dreamtime, was invited into Mother´s lair (Equestria´s Creator). She talked with him about several things, like how Pinkie´ special perception allowed her to visit Mother from time to time, why Lero, as an outsider, couldn´t conect with the magic of Harmony and how he could help to the ponies by offering them new perspectives and directions. Obviously, he has done a good job.
Since no one has posted it
Ok I can buy that Octavia got a doctorate, but Vinyl?
3692934
That comment coupled with your avatar is highly amusing
Wow. Im glad someone used my proposal for a Human Music Society with Vinyl, Octy, and Sweetie. Or is it a happy coincidence?
Personally, I’ve always had a soft spot for Mozart’s Sonata in A Major (specifically the first movement).
[youtube=dP9KWQ8hAYk]
3799041 I myself have a soft spot for beethovens sonata number 14 in c# minor OP.27:2 moonlight sonata(I'd love to see Luna playing it) and Bach and Toccata's fugue in d major
4151733
I have been honestly thinking of those two numbers appearing for some time now tbh with you, it would be interesting to see their reactions.
The question is.
Can Lero show Sweetie songs in all languages or not?
And another question, if Lero and Luna watch Evangelon, will they watch it like a normal people, with subs, or like plebs, with dub?
5377290 I don't think it matters, because Evangelion is incomprehensible no matter what language it's in.
It's gas.
That sounds very odd. Even for Pinkie.
*sigh* and then it hits the lyrics, and I start skimming again.