Play a Little Tune
“So now we just need to head over to Lyra and Bon Bon’s place and-”
“Could we not go to Lyra first? Why not… Octavia or Noteworthy?”
“Weeeelllllllll,” Pinkie drawled as she moved away from him. “Octavia likes living in Ponyville because it’s close to Canterlot without actually being Canterlot and she does almost all of her work over in Canterlot so she probably won’t be very useful when it comes to what kind of work you can find around here and Noteworthy does a lot of work just for the bar he works at or plays every so often in the park for extra bits plus most of the time when he does extra work it’s because somepony came to him for a request so he doesn’t really know much about where to find extra work either but Lyra’s instrument is kind of a niche thing so she doesn’t get anywhere near as many requests as Noteworthy and since she doesn’t want to leave Ponyville very often she doesn’t leave for work like Octavia does so she has the most information on how to find extra jobs for a musician,” she said before taking in a massive gulp of air.
Thankfully this pause allowed Gallus to overcome the confusion brought on by Pinkie’s near rant. “I… see,” he muttered, half to himself. “Are you sure that they won’t be able to help us? Or what about that last one, Vinyl?”
“Oh, she’s a DJ for a nightclub. She lives with Octavia but she does most of her work through the club and any extra stuff is by request so she probably won’t be very helpful.” Pinkie placed a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “Her work is a liiiittle different from yours so the places she plays for might not really be the same places you’ll play for.”
“Why? How is her work so different?”
Pinkie blinked, not used to being the one caught flathoofed. “Well it’s ‘cause she plays techno and stuff. It’s kinda like comparing pie and cupcakes, they’re both really ultra super tasty but they aren’t the same thing and when you’re in the mood for pie you want pie! Not cupcakes. Unless you want a cupcake pie.” She leaned towards him conspiratorially. “Cupcake pies aren’t actually all that good,” she whispered. “Trust me.”
Gallus thought about pursuing the topic of the cupcake pie for a few seconds but decided against it. Instead he opted to go with the first question her statement had brought up. “What exactly is techno?”
Pinkie blinked in surprise and a look of comprehension spread across her face. “Do you know about rock and roll?”
“I’ve heard of rocks that roll,” Gallus said hopefully.
“Metal?”
“Of course I’ve heard of metal. Damn useful material.”
“Hip Hop?”
“Not sure what jumping has to do with anything.”
“Blues?”
“What do colors have to do with music?”
“Jazz?”
“Slip Shine mentioned something like that.”
“Classical?”
Gallus merely looked at her blankly.
Pinkie nodded as though his answers confirmed something. “Okay! What instrument do you play?”
“Violin.”
Pinkie smiled and pointed down the road with a hoof. “Then to Lyra!”
“I don’t want to see Lyra first.”
“Then on to Octavia!” Pinkie shouted, her hoof swinging towards a different road without missing a beat.
Gallus watched in slight wonder as his hyperactive guide shot down the road, only to return seconds later with a massive grin on her face.
“Omigosh! I forgot all about your welcome wagon!”
<=[XXXXX]=>
Gallus glowered at Pinkie as he fished yet another chunk of cake from his mane.
“At least I remembered to put the cake batter in the oven and the confetti in the confetti cannon!” Pinkie pointed out as she bounced alongside him. “Not like last time when I put the cake batter in the confetti cannon and the confetti in the oven. Boy was that a mess.” She paused for a moment. “Still really super-duper tasty though. Have you ever had cake batter before? Mr. and Mr. Cake say I’m not supposed to eat it ‘cause then I might get sick but how could something so ultra-super scrumptious make you sick? It’s not possible!” She looked over as Gallus was about to throw the cake chunk away. “You gonna eat that?”
He eyed her wearily but ended up tossing the chunk of cake in her general direction. “Putting aside how you could confuse confetti with batter, why would it ever be a good idea to launch a cake at someone?”
“Well why not? It’s a cake! Everypony loves cake!”
“That does not mean they want it thrown at them. How would you like it if some… pony suddenly threw a bunch of cake at you?”
“I’d love it! Is somepony going to throw cake at me? What kind of cake? Chocolate? Vanilla? Marble? Cheese? Pineapple upside down? Bundt?”
Gallus tried his best to block out Pinkie as she listed more types of cake than he thought existed in this, or any, world. “Why are you helping me?” he finally asked. “In fact, ever since I got here ev- everypony has been helping me for little to no reason. Even Damien has assisted me for virtually no reason.”
“He probably thought you were entertai~ning,” Pinkie half sang.
“Of course he did. But that doesn’t explain why you’re helping me.”
Pinkie looked at him and frowned slightly. “So I shouldn’t help you?”
“Well I’m not saying that you shouldn’t-”
“So if you don’t want me to not help you then there isn’t any reason to not help you right?” she asked with a smile.
“That’s not a reason!”
“Sure it is! Is there any reason for me not to help you?”
“Well you could be too busy, or not like me, or-” He was cut off when a pink hoof was shoved into his mouth.
“See! No reason for me not to help you at all,” Pinkie said firmly. An almost unsettling look of seriousness shone forth from her eyes as she stared him down. He was stuck between fighting of fleeing when a sudden smile split her muzzle. “Now turn that frown upside down and let your aunt Pinkie get you a job!”
Gallus sighed but didn’t bother trying to contradict Pinkie, for all he knew she may well be older than him. In an attempt to mask his confusion he looked around at the road they were travelling along. “Hey, did we pass by this way already?”
“Yeppers!”
“Why?!”
“We were busy talking and I didn’t want to ruin things!”
Gallus sighed. “Where is Octavia’s house?”
“Oh, that’s right here!” Pinkie chirped as she pointed a hoof at the building they were passing at the moment.
“And how many times have we passed this house?”
“Only once! You’re really observant!”
“Thank you?” He shook his head to clear his mind he as he turned to look at the house. “Hopefully she’s home.” When Pinkie didn’t respond he turned to where his guide had been standing to see nothing but a cupcake sitting in the middle of the empty street. With the presence of the cupcake assuring him that he hadn’t imagined the whole thing he looked around once more for the crazy mare. When the renewed search turned up nothing he was forced to turn his attention to the cupcake she had left for him. It rose into the air easily enough with a touch of magic and brought with it a small card.
“You’re invited to a super special welcome party at your new house later today! We hope to see you there! Directions to Noteworthy’s house are on the back if things don’t work out with Octavia.” He flipped the card over to see a crudely drawn map along with another message. “If things don’t work out with Noteworthy directions to Lyra’s house are on the back.” Gallus’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion but he flipped the card over once more anyway. He rolled his eyes as he was greeted by another crudely drawn map and a small reminder about his party. “How did she…” He flipped the card over several more times but the images on each side stubbornly refused to change to anything else. He heaved a tired sigh and returned his attention to the house he had been searching for.
It wasn’t until he reached the door and had already knocked that doubts began to creep into his mind. Up until this point his entire experience in job hunting had come down to working the farm he had grown up on and acts of supplication before Arkus. The former had been assured and, indeed, required of him. As such his appearance had been of little consequence in determining if he would get the job. As for the latter, Arkus was known for accepting anyone who had both the talent and the devotion necessary to carry out his will. Meaning his appearance had once more been unimportant. Now that he was faced with the possibility of getting work as a musician it occurred to him that his mane and tail were disheveled, his coat was a mess, and his hooves were stained with dust.
Before he could try and correct any of these now glaring oversights in his appearance the door was opened to reveal a pure white unicorn with a bright blue mane. “Hey, sup dude?” she asked with a grin.
“I… think I have the wrong place. I was looking for an earth mare by the name of Octavia,” Gallus said apologetically.
“Nah, you got the right place. Tavi ain’t here right now though, got some fancy gig up in Canterlot.” The unicorn waved her hoof dismissively. “Whatcha need her for anyway?”
Gallus grimaced slightly as his first prospect at a job was snatched away before he even had a chance at taking it. “Never mind. I was just hoping she might be able to help me find a job.” He shifted his violin case irritably; it somehow felt wrong to not be playing his instrument.
“Really? What instrument do ya play?”
“Violin.”
The unicorn smiled. “You ever think about playin’ something else?”
“No… Why?”
<=[XXXXX]=>
“YOU KNOW, YOU DID PRETTY GOOD FOR YOUR FIRST TIME!” Vinyl shouted into the ringing silence.
“WHAT?” Gallus replied as he tried to fight down the throbbing headache Vinyl’s damn machine had given him.
“YOU… Hold on.” Vinyl closed her eyes and her horn lit up with an aura similar in color to her mane.
Gallus heard a slight popping noise as his headache dimmed and he found that his hearing had returned. He turned a flat stare towards Vinyl who at least had the courtesy to look a little apologetic.
“Sorry ‘bout that dude. I always forget that not everypony is used to that level of bass.” Her wild grin reappeared. “So what did you think?”
“That was…” Terrifying? Destructive? Something he never wanted to experience again in his entire life? “Interesting,” he finished lamely. It seemed that Pinkie had been right about his own musical stylings being a touch different from those of the DJ. “I don’t think I have much of a future with your kind of… music.” If you could call that damned cacophony music anyway.
Even if his last thoughts weren’t vocalized Vinyl seemed to pick up on them. “Ha! Tavi said the same thing but I wore her down eventually. Besides, you got potential! I think I might use that little bit in the middle in my next gig.”
Gallus tried in vain to remember what exactly he had been doing that, according to Vinyl anyway, had apparently qualified as music. “I… see.” Why was it that almost every single mare he had met today was crazy in some way? Lyra and Twilight willingly let Damien stay in their town, Pinkie had defied nature in ways that he had been told were impossible for a non-unicorn, and Vinyl had that infernal machine. “I suppose I should move on to my next stop then.”
“Really? Who ya seein’ next?”
“Noteworthy. Hopefully that meeting will be more… productive than ours was. No offense,” he quickly tacked on.
“Bah, don’t worry. I know my stuff ain’t for everpony. But hey, good luck findin’ a gig!” Her well wishes given she turned to look up at the ceiling. "Now how to get you back down," she muttered to herself as she frowned slightly at the bass that had somehow gotten jammed into her ceiling. Maybe she had made it too strong.
<=[XXXXX]=>
“Second time’s the charm,” Gallus muttered under his breath as he stood in front of yet another picturesque house. As he looked over the house appreciatively he began to really understand what Pendulum had said about this being a tourist town. After giving himself a quick once over to make sure that he at least looked presentable (actually getting cleaned and groomed would take money he was stockpiling against the possibility of not finding a job) he knocked on the door.
The door opened to reveal an earth pony of similar coloration as his: a blue coat and mane, although Noteworthy’s own mane was much darker and closer to his coat than Gallus’s near white icy blue. The stallion seemed to be following a similar train of thought as he sized up a unicorn that others might be forgiven in thinking was a long lost brother or cousin. “Need something?” he finally asked.
“Yes actually,” Gallus said with a slight chuckle. “I heard you were one of the musicians of note in town and was hoping you’d be able to help me find a job or give me tips on finding some freelance work.”
Noteworthy raised an eyebrow and frowned slightly. “You want me to either give up work for you or tell you how to take jobs away from me?”
Gallus’s eyes widened in surprise. “No! I… uh… I never thought of it like that. I mean-” He stopped as he saw Noteworthy crack a smile and soon replied with one of his own. Seconds later they were both laughing whole-heartedly.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself,” Noteworthy said when a pause finally punctuated their laughter.
“No, no. I needed that,” Gallus replied with a grateful smile. “I have had little enough to laugh about since coming here.”
“Really?” Noteworthy inquired. “You’ll have to explain that one. Why don’t you come inside?”
“Of course, and thank you,” Gallus said as he entered the building, a ghost of a smile still lurking on his muzzle.
The interior of the house was a good deal more subdued than what Gallus had seen of the town as a whole. Instead of the bright cheery colors that he had come to associate with ponykind as a whole, Noteworthy’s home boasted darker greens and blues, with very little that could be called bright or warm.
“Like it?” his host asked with a smile that spoke of countless comments on his decorations.
“Yes, actually. It is a very welcome change from the rest of town.”
Apparently this reaction hadn’t been the one Noteworthy had expected as a wide grin split his muzzle. “Glad to see that somepony else out there likes a little variety!” he cried as he slapped Gallus on the back. “Even if you are buttering me up to make sure I’ll help you I appreciate the compliment!”
Gallus chuckled at this. “My compliments are genuine, I assure you.” His eyes widened slightly as he came to a sudden realization. “Before I forget again I’m Blueflame.”
“Noteworthy. But I‘m sure you already knew that,” Noteworthy replied with a smile. A curious expression crossed his face before he continued, “kind of surprised by your name though. You’re certainly blue, but I don’t see much fire.”
Gallus chuckled and levitated his violin off his back. A casual mental flick unlocked the case, causing Noteworthy to whistle in appreciation at the beautiful instrument within. Gallus couldn’t help but join in the admiration for the instrument. He had loved his old violin but this one was a thing of beauty. He sat back on his haunches and reached for the spell that had let him truly play. Fingers of flickering blue fire sprang up from his hooves, eliciting a slight jump from his audience.
Noteworthy made to speak up when Gallus picked up the violin with the fiery fingers but stayed silent, reasoning that if Blueflame was willing to touch the violin with those things they must be safe. “Well those are definitely blue flames,” he conceded as his guest settled into a griffon playing stance. “Now how does it sound?”
Gallus grinned and closed his eyes in concentration. According to Pinkie the techno stuff Vinyl played was one of the newer types of music and was quickly gaining popularity so that at least gave him an idea of what ponies liked. Although there was no way he could emulate what he had heard before his eardrums had burst, he could likely reproduce some of the energy he had felt in the song. In fact he was sure he could do it. What many of the songs he had learned to play before he left home lacked in complexity or refinement they more than made up for with energy and passion. His inspiration found he drew the bow across the violin and let himself get lost in the music.
Unlike last time he found he was actually aware of how much he was pouring into the song. He may not have been putting forward as much emotion or venting his frustrations though the music but he was still giving his entire being over to the music. It started out slow and tremulous, quivering notes hanging in the air like cloth caught in the wind. But then it grew, quickened and bold. A smile touched his face as his bow danced along the violin and brought forth a lively tune. His confidence grew as he began to let the song shift; slowing down and moving from a mad dash to a leisurely stroll. He let this pace continue for a few minutes more before drawing the bow across the violin in a final long note. “So what did you think?” he asked with a smile.
“Pretty good, pretty good.” Noteworthy nodded, “a little rough and unpolished at places but you’ll improve in time and the audience usually won’t notice unless they’re big music lovers or you really screw up.”
“So you think you can help me get some work?”
“Definitely.” Noteworthy chuckled and shook his head before continuing. “There’s actually a lot of work for a good musician around Ponyville, especially during tourist season. Most of the resturants’ll want somepony to play a little atmosphere music, the bars’ll want somepony to do some shows to draw in customers, and even just playing in the streets can pick up some serious coin. All you really have to do is land one gig, show that you can play, and you should be pretty much set. Offers might be a little slow at first but they pick up fast when they realize you’re good with that thing.” He paused thoughtfully. “The fire thing’ll also pick up some attention. That sort of thing could probably be an entire act by itself if you wanted it to be.”
“I think I’ll stick with the violin,” Gallus said with a laugh.
“Good enough. Think you’ll be able to come by the bar tomorrow night to try playing?”
“Why not tonight?”
“You run into a pink mare with a three balloon mark?”
“Pinkie Pie?”
“Then yeah, you’ll be a bit busy tonight.”
<=[XXXXX]=>
Those confusing and slightly unsettling words were still ringing in Gallus’s head half an hour later when he finally managed to find his way back home. Apparently basing a day long trip around town on in the moment directions wasn’t the best idea. Luckily Damien was well known enough around town for most ponies to be able to at least point Gallus in the right direction. As unsettling as it was for the ponies to be so… nice he had to admit it was useful. He also had to admit that the kindness, naiveté and sheer trust these ponies had for others was likely the main reason Damien had chosen to escape to here instead of another world. This train of thought kept him occupied as he opened the door and started heading inside. As such he was caught completely off guard when the lights came on to reveal about half the town waiting for him. He barely registered the ensuing burst of noise and reacted more or less the way any warrior experienced enough to have a good stockpile of paranoia and possessing skill with fire magic would.
Good thing Damien fireproofed the entire house ages ago.
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Even then Damien is gonna milk him for money for that.
I hope the ponies were fireproofed too!
Well, glad to see this updated.
akros demarko alamontosa
EDITO: ELKO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ELKO!!!!!!!!!!!!!EKLO!!!!!!ELKO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DEMARKONA
1097675 Let's hope your are fireproofed too.
I bet things certainly get heated at the party.
Oh Gallus, seems your going to make a lasting impression on the ponies.
Surprise
Fireball 
Ahh yes, the old "Surprise and Explode" sub-routine. Haven't seen that one in ages.
1097765
Not impression, burn mark d'Ho Ho Ho
Fun fact: there is such a thing as fourth degree burns
Ah, Vinyl, you never fail to burst the eardrums of visitors, do you?
Glad to see Gallus get a job, though, and hopefully nopony got singed excessively. 6d6 damage is no fun.
suddenly: an explosion
[img] http://stick-2-it.com/images/bombface.jpg [/img]
I think I saw a mistake somewhere, but I can't for the life of me remember what or where.
Maybe it was in a different story
1097754
1097754
oi50.tinypic.com/2s9tavo.jpg
In before Blueflame, Octavia, Vinyl, and Noteworthy get together and put on Yanni's THE STORM.
Yanni: The Storm
Can't say I've haven't done/wouldn't do something similar
dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_unsuresweetie_flip.png
1098074
Really?
1099006
Thank you for sharing the music dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Vinyl_Scratch_lolface.png dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Octavia.png
Well bursting into flames is one way to start a party......
I am wondering if any other character is going to show up in time, be it another pawn to try and ruin Damiens retirement, maybe a mind flayer or two.
1099216
Yup, it when the burn goes though the skin and muscle and down to the joints and bones. It doesn't come up much because at that point your usually dead.
If your referencing the joke, I make no apologies.
EDIT: BURNING MAN PARTY!
1099600
I have know idea what joke your even talking about sadly...
Cool (or hot), now I have knowledge!
Also, I think I may have seen that before but now have name for for it.
Besides Bone Burn-That's what the "Doc" called it, it was someone where I grew up that had it.
Edit: Hello Again!
Still liking the story, but I want more Damien please!
best book ive read yet!
I don't see what all the hype is about, the ponies have no chance against Mary Sue. Yet I still feel compelled to finish the story
A overlord that actually read the list nice!
Great great great just great! So fun and Damien is such a troll!
keep it up sir!
1097721
ok i just read though this story fully and i gotta say its pretty awesome.
nice work with running it along with the shows and doing it episodic it works well.
I recently re-read the whole story, and now I'm wondering...
Does Damien realize just how BADLY things could go, for him personally, if he can make the stable portal back to his native world as he has planned? 'Cuz if not, this could get EPICALLY hilarious.
1194650: You've got a point there. Sure, he can deal with the heroes, but it's not the difficulty he loathed, it was the fact that there were so freaking many of them. Maybe he's got a way to close it if need be? He doesn't seem like the sort to miss that kind of thing.
1203185
Oh, it's not the heroes that he's going to be worried about...
1205461: Than what is? It's not the gods, he said himself that they wouldn't exert the energy and leave their home plane undefended.
1211543
Well, if Damien makes it cheap enough for them to RETURN, they just might follow him.
1212206: Maybe so. I really doubt they'd abandon their home planes just to follow him, though. They've had him for centuries, shouldn't they be at least mildly bored of them by now?
i have a question? when is the next update?
1221598
Between classes, work, helping my sister with her website, the new puppy my roommate got recently, and standard writer's block I haven't really been writing much. It still might be a while before things really get settled. Sorry for the wait.
1223611 i didnt know that. me sorry!
vood luck with life!
1227345
Bah, no need to apologize. You were just askin' a question.
lol this fic is awesome
i look forward to reading more 
An excellent story and one I greatly look forward to seeing develop further.
The ‘canon’ elements are handled reasonably, although I hope we don’t see any more of them. Having a character like Scary Overlord Damien around and not changing events around him… it grates after a while.
The latest arc is, to me, the weakest. Blueflame goes from a blood thirsty avenger to completely accepting the situation as the others view it pretty much instantly. It feels rushed.
Also you included the nonsense theory that ponies, despite eating egg based stuff all the time, are somehow allergic to meat.
Otherwise I can find no problems even when looking. Pray continue good sir.
y u no moar?
you know, this is the first story, crossover or not, where a very lethal, person/thing that has killed many things and sentient creatures does infact react with defensive attacks when he/she gets a surprise party. Which is weird, I mean, they should at the very least bring up weapons or whatever if they're really warriors of some sort.
Or zombie survivalists.
Or blacklight viruses.
Or Angels from the High Heavens.
Or evil overlords taking a break/retiring.
Or-but I digress....
...
Anyway.
Since this is infact the first story I have yet read that takes this into consideration, I'll award you with something!
BOOBIESMUSTACHES
chicquero.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/mustache-dave-mead-chicquero-hipster-5.jpg?w=800
and now for my finale, imagine the text below sung in the voice used by the character whilst said character is in the costume the character is in in the picture
25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltyl8lYotQ1qjql2lo1_500.jpg