> The Adventures of Pitch and Ruby
>  by Nirtha
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Playing With Magic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Pitch!!” 
Ruby trotted along the river, her long dark red mane pulled back by the wind, swirling behind her. The belts she wore on her legs clinked against each other as she sped toward the bridge.  She could see her friend across it, just ahead. The orange pegasus was looking up at the clouds near the forest, where he always waited for ruby. His wings were spread open against the grass. 
“Pitch!” Ruby called out again, but he didn’t seem to hear her.
Pitch was in his own world. He always was in the mornings. He had a tendency of dozing off and retreating to an awakened sleep. Daydreaming and staring at the sky, most likely thinking about how the clouds looked like colorless cotton candy.
He finally rolled off his back and onto his belly, not because he heard Ruby calling him, but because he heard her trot. She stopped by his side and he looked up at her, dazed. He still wasn’t quite awake. Soon though, they would get moving and he would be running around like a filly that finished a whole cake in one day. Ruby smiled, excited to show him her new trick. She had been working on it for weeks, and she finally had it down. 
“Let’s go!” Ruby said cheerfully. 
Pitch blinked his blue-green eyes, still laying down. His blonde mane was short, and stuck up, but the front strands fell forward, grazing the top of his eye-lids. Golden freckles sprinkled his face. Ruby had the same blue-green eyes, but they stood out much brighter against her pitch black coat.
“Come on!,” she said,  nudging him with her hoof.
“Where are we going?” Pitch asked.
“To the forest!” she said, pointing ahead with an extended hoof.
Pitch stood up, shaking grass blades out of his feathered wings. Ruby hopped back as he stretched his hoofs forward and yawned, eyes clenched tightly shut. 
“What for?” he asked, straightening up.
“I finally got it!”
“Got what?” Pitch tilted his head. “You’re unusually cheery.”
“My new spell,” Ruby said with a hop.
Pitch didn’t know how to react to her cheerfulness. It wasn’t common for Ruby to smile. She always put on a serious face, trying to seem tougher than she really was. 
“By Celestia, you’re broken,” he said.
Pitch was staring at her, eyes wide. He really did look concerned. This behavior was so rare from Ruby. Most of the joy she did show was for the type of things anypony else would be afraid of. 
“I’m not broken.” Ruby pushed him lightly. “I’ve been working on this spell for longer than I bother with most. Anyway, you’ll really like this one, trust me.”
Ruby started walking towards the forest, Pitch caught up in an instant and walked beside her. 
“Can you even really call them spells?” he asked. “You don’t even say anything.”
“What else would you have me call it?” Ruby asked. “It is magic whether or not I use words.”
They were making their way through the forest now. The trees they passed towered over them. Pitch was skipping forward and slowing down, then moving to the other side of Ruby. He repeated the process a couple times over. He was already waking up, and acting more like his usual hyper self. 
“I don’t know,” he said, pushing his hooves off the ground and taking flight. “Tricks? Magic tricks.”
“That sounds silly,” Ruby said. 
Pitch flew circles around her. “Yeah, but it’s more accurate.” He flew up in front of her, and hovered upside down with a smirk.
Ruby rolled her eyes and walked around him. “I’m doing serious work here, Pitch.”
“Serious work for no real reason other than having fun.” 
Pitch laughed and continued circling around his friend. There was clear annoyance on her face and her ear twitched. She finally stopped, but Pitch stayed in the air, flying circles around her. She cleared her throat, hinting that he should stop, but instead, he flipped back, and few a few more circles upside down, in reverse. She cleared her throat again, but he didn’t stop.
Ruby had a short temper. Patience was something she needed to work on, even when she was spending time with a friend. Her black horn glowed a dark red right before she zapped his wing. It was nowhere near enough to cause damage, just enough for a sharp pain that made him lose his focus and quickly retract his wing. 
Losing control, Pitch crashed to the ground, landing on his back. Ruby twirled around as he slid past her, slowing down and eventually stopping against a tree. The wing she zapped was still folded in, but his other was stretched, its feathers now filled with collected dirt. Ruby trotted over. 
“You ok?” she asked.
He glared at her. “You did that on purpose.”
“I know.” Ruby held back an amused smile. 
Pitch continued to glare. Since he didn’t seem to be making an effort to move, Ruby moved to his side and shoved him, causing him to roll over. He stood, stretched out both wings, and shook out the dirt that covered him. 
“Did you have to do that?” he asked.
“No.”
Ruby let herself smile that time. Pitch sat down, and his ears drooped slightly forward.
“Sorry,” she said.
His only response was a barely audible, “meh.”
“Aaaannnnyywayy,” Ruby went on. “We’re here for a reason.”
“Mmhhmm,” was also barely audible.
Ruby was hoping for a more encouraging response, but that would have to do. Whether he was excited now or not, he was going to like what she was about to show him. She backed up, farther away from him and closed her eyes. She needed to collect herself, and focus on what she was about to do. She had only succeeded at it once before, and didn’t want to do any more than one attempt now.  
She took a deep breath, and the red glow returned to her horn. Pitch sat up straighter, curious. She hadn’t said anything about this trick before. He didn’t even know she was working on one. She sat a while longer, eyes still shut, and his curiosity bubbled higher. She didn’t usually take this much time to prep. Ruby didn’t usually put this much effort into her magic. It was always something she just played with.
Ruby opened her eyes, and looked up into the trees. Pitch followed her gaze. Five leaves glowed with Ruby’s dark red aura. One by one, each was plucked from its branch and hovered down toward them. They circled Ruby. Pitch looked on confused. He didn’t understand what she could possibly be doing with leaves. Ruby ignored the look on Pitch’s face. It was too amusing to her. Letting herself laugh now would break her concentration. 
The circle broke and the leaves moved away, in a line. They gained and speed and shot upwards, above the trees. Pitch arched his neck and looked up at the leaves. They started circling again. One bye one, each leaf moved up and exploded into a small firework. Pitch watched in awe as tiny sparks of black and purple showered down.
The red glow vanished from Ruby’s horn and she smiled.
“Do it again!” Pitch demanded, jumping to his hooves. 
“I can’t right now,” Ruby admitted. “It took too much energy out of me.”
Pitch pouted. 
“Sorry, I can’t do it again.” 
“But I could have so much fun with it!” he exclaimed.
Ruby looked at him questioningly. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I doubt it’s a good idea.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Pitch said, trying to put on an innocent face. “So when do you think you can do it again?!”
“Tomorrow, I guess,” Ruby told him, with a touch of concern in her voice. 
“Great!” 
Pitch smiled brightly.
“I can’t wait,” he said. “Now let’s go get something to eat.”
***
After their lunch Ruby followed Pitch home. She followed on hoof as he flew through the air. She had to canter quickly, since he didn’t seem remember that she was following the entire time. Every few minutes, he would dash upward and fly through a cloud. He always did love clouds. Ruby wondered if she should call out to him, telling him to just come back down and trot instead. She decided against it, realizing that even if she did, he probably wouldn’t be paying enough attention.
Pitch lowered in altitude as they reached his home. At his gate, he folded his wings quickly and he fell to his hooves. He realized he was a little too high when he landed and the bottom of his hooves stung. Ruby noticed his expression.
“You ok?” she asked. 
“Fine,” he said, shaking it off. 
Pitch’s house was a little old, but he loved it. He thought it had character. The walls were painted a light yellow, and the door he just pushed open was a bright white, only it’s paint was peeling off and a dark brown peeked through the cracks. 
Pitch found his guitar in the living room, and Ruby went over to the sofa. She was tired from the all the magic she used earlier. Her horn ignited red agains, as she jumped and flipped onto her back. A pillow floated under head as she landed on the sofa. 
Ruby closed her eyes, and Pitch began strumming his blue guitar. It was his most valuable treasure. He named it Luna, after the princess. He and Ruby had both always looked up to her. A lovely alicorn of the night. Ruby thought the guitar was a little to0o bright to be named after a princess of night, but she didn’t complain. It still fit pretty well, and Pitch had given the guitar a name well before bothering to tell Ruby about it, so she didn’t have much say. It was his guitar after all.
The guitar matched the one of Pitch’s cutie mark. He had grown up with music, playing all sorts of instruments. The guitar had always been his favorite, and gained him quite a bit of popularity when he was a filly. He played to this day, and he was getting better and better. Ruby’s cutie mark was a pen and parchment. Her own skill was writing. She wrote all sorts of things, sometimes her and pitch would try to work together in making a song. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn’t.
Ruby fluctuated between dream and reality, going back and forth between the sound of echoing birds and Pitch’s music, in and out of sleep. They sounded the same to her, until Pitch picked up the pace of his strumming. The music went from a soothing melody to metal. Ruby jumped suddenly, falling off the sofa onto the hardwood floor. She laid there, hooves stretched out in front of her, and mane in her face, more-so than usual. 
“What was that?” Pitch laughed. He had stopped playing.
Ruby just growled. The situation wasn’t worthy of words.
Pitch let go of his guitar and it slowly slipped away, until it gently landed on the floor next to him, where he was sitting on the floor, leaning against a wall.
“What?” he asked, almost whining. 
Ruby rolled her eyes. “Why’d you play that?”
Pitch shrugged. “Since when don’t you like that kind of stuff?”
“Since I fell asleep,” Ruby groaned. 
Pitch laughed again, Ruby growled again. 
“I’m really tired,” she told him. “I’m just going to go home.”
“Noooooooooooo,” Pitch wailed, throwing his hooves up in the air for added dramatic effect. 
“If you want me to be able to repeat what I did today by tomorrow, I’m going to need really good rest,” Ruby told him.
Pitch pointed at the door. “Go home,” he said flatly.
Ruby pushed herself up, lazily. “See you tomorrow.” She gave a long yawn. 
“Same time, same place,” Pitch said in response.
***
Pitch didn’t have to wait the next day. Ruby was already in front of the forest when he got there, staring into the darkness between the trees. Pitch thought it was a little creepy, but he didn’t say anything about it. Normally he would, but he didn’t want to ruin her mood today. If he did she would just refuse to make the fireworks again. 
“Hey,” Ruby said. There was no enthusiasm in her voice. 
“Well you definitely seem more like yourself than yesterday, but now you’re TOO down.” Pitch nudged her shoulder.
“Didn’t get enough sleep,” she explained. 
“Mmmkay, lets go.”
Pitch skipped into the forest.
“Wait up,” Ruby called after him.
She let out a sigh before trotting after him. They went into the forest, following the same path, and stopping at the same place as the day before. Ruby’s eyes were drooping from lack of sleep, but Pitch was all smiles. He skipped a couple circles around her. She almost zapped him again, but decided against it this time. It just wasn't worth the effort.
“Can we get this over with?” she asked.
“Oh come oooonnn,” Pitch pestered. “Don’t be a downer now! This is fun. We’re having FUN.”
“Yeah,” Ruby scowled. “Fun.”
“Let’s go. Let’s go. Let’s go.” 
Pitch was jumping up and down in front of Ruby. She facehoofed.
“Alright.”
She walked further away again and closed her eyes. She didn't see that Pitch took flight. Her horn glowed red, and Pitch smiled, excited. It took longer this time, and she didn't open her eyes, but eventually she managed to pluck four leaves. She didn't bother circling herself with them. She needed to keep her eyes shut. It was harder to concentrate this time. The leaves flew up, and Pitch followed. 
He flew off to the side before the first leaf exploded. When the second one went off, Pitch whizzed right past it. Ruby didn’t hear Pitch laugh, she didn't know what he was doing at all. She was just concentrating, exploding a few leaves, and hoping Pitch didn’t expect her to do the trick again soon. 
When the third went off, Pitch flew a circle, but didn’t time it well enough. He felt a couple sparks hit his stomach, burning him. He flinched in pain and for a moment, forgot what he was doing. Ruby opened her eyes as she let the last leaf burst. She didn’t see Pitch. Her stomach sank and she looked up just in time to see the final compressed blast hit Pitch. 
He began descending, gaining speed, towards the ground a little past where Ruby stood. She shot forward, heard his cries, and just barely managed to gain enough energy to catch him. Straining herself, she held him up, midair in her dark red aura. He gasped in pain. Tiny little droplets of blood splashed her face.

To be continued...
> Consequences 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Pitch?” 
Ruby was whispering. He looked as if he was asleep and she didn’t want to wake him. 
Still, she had a bit of hope that maybe he was awake and simply just resting his eyes. He was 
lying on his bed. His blue blanket, pulled up all the way over his muzzle, was slowly rising and 
falling with his breath. There was no way he was awake. He wouldn't look this peaceful if he was.
With a sigh, Ruby went down the stairs and to the living room. All of the lights were 
off, and only a crack of light shone through the crevice between the curtains of a window. The 
light glowed just enough for Ruby to make her way through the room without bumping into any 
furniture. She didn’t bother turning any of the lights on. They weren’t needed. They weren’t 
wanted.
She spent a few hours on the couch, head rested on the hoofrest, brooding over her 
friends injury. She shouldn’t have done the trick again. She shouldn’t have kept her eyes shut. 
She should have waited another day to recollect her energy. She should have known better. 
The regret flooded her thoughts, and clenched her heart. 
Looking at the clock, Ruby realized Pitch’s parents would be visiting soon. Pitch had a 
pretty big family. He had three sisters, and was the only boy in the family besides his father. 
They all had jobs now, except for Pitch, who preferred hobbies over work. They didn’t hold it 
against him though, he was the youngest of the family. He still had some time to figure out what 
it was he wanted to do.
Ruby stared at the door as she waited. She didn’t want to go upstairs. She didn’t want 
to be reminded of what she had done. She wouldn’t bother waking Pitch, or checking to see if 
he was awake. She would wait until his parents arrived. His mother would be tending to him as 
soon as she arrived. She would most likely wake Pitch immediately, checking for fevers, giving 
him soup, and making sure he was keeping on track with his medication.
Ruby’s eyes began to flicker shut. She resisted the urge to sleep, but her eyelids were 
becoming heavy. Her eyes fluttered slowly, open, closed, open, closed, until finally, the door 
opened. A stallion and mare walked in, Mr. and Mrs. Inverno. Pitch’s father was an orange 
pegasus with short greying  hair. His mother, who was just a bit shorter, was a yellow pony with 
curly blonde hair.
“Ruby?” Mrs. Inverno seemed a little startled.
Ruby gave a little wave with her hoof. She had sat up on the couch when they walked in.
Now that somepony was around, she didn’t feel so tired. Still, she let out a soft yawn.
“How long were you here?” Mr. Inferno asked.
Ruby shrugged. She really didn’t know. She couldn’t really remember when she got 
there. Her stomach growled. She couldn't remember eating either. Mrs. Inverno went right for 
the kitchen.
“I’ll make some chicken soup,” she said. “Hun, will you go check on Pitch?”
“Right away,” Mr. Inverno said, heading for the stairs. 
Ruby wondered if she should follow him, but decided against it. Pitch would be in a 
grumpy mood when he woke. It would be best to give him more space. She would wait until his 
father came back downstairs before heading over to see how her friend was doing. She knew 
he wasn’t doing well. He had slept throughout the day. He hadn’t been keeping on track with his
painkillers. 
“So how are you, Ruby?” Pitch’s mother asked. “It’s been awhile since I’ve last seen you."
Pitch’s parents lived in Canterlot. Pitch, though, thought that canterlot was a little too 
extravagant for his tastes, so he moved to Ponyville. Pitch had cousins in ponyville, so he used 
to visit a couple times a year when he was a little filly. Ruby still remembered the first time she 
met him, during one of those visits, but that was a story for another time.
“I’m okay,” Ruby said, a little glumly.
Mrs. Inverno looked at Ruby, a little concerned, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she 
continued searching the cupboards and fridge for the ingredients she needed. She continued 
working on the soup until Mr. Inverno was back. It wasn’t until then that she looked up.
“Is he keeping track of his medicine?” she asked urgently.
“No, but I made sure he took it just now.”
Ruby looked at Pitch’s father, questioningly.
“He’s fine, Ruby,” Pitch’s father said. “He slept too much though. I can’t imagine he will 
be able to fall asleep again anytime soon.”
“I’ll go up and say hi then,” Ruby said.
She hopped off the sofa and rushed up the stairs. Pitch had the blanket pulled up 
over his face. His ear poked out from under it and twitched when the floorboard creaked under 
Ruby’s hoof. He lifted his head, and the blanket slid away from his face. He had just woken up 
from a long rest, but he looked tired. It must have been an affect of his medicine.
“Hey,” Ruby said, a little too quietly.
Pitch yawned and blinked his eyes a couple times. “Hey.” He tilted his head to the side, 
as if he didn’t understand why Ruby looked so down.
“Feeling okay?” she asked him.
“No,” Pitch said, matter of factly.
Ruby frowned.
“Wanna see the stitches??” Pitch asked.
Ruby had not yet seen the aftermath of his injury. She had seen what her magic had 
done, and hurried him to the hospital as quick as she could, but she wasn’t able to stay with 
him. Once the nurse had seen his hoof, there was chaos. It was organised chaos, but still 
chaos. The nurse hurried off to find a doctor, and a couple more nurses hurried Pitch off into a 
room. He was rushed away from Ruby before she realized what was going on. 
“Um,” Ruby hesitated. She wasn’t sure she wanted to see. She was scared to see the 
damage she inflicted on him. Seeing all the blood before was bad enough. Now that it was 
clean, and stitches were in place, she would be able to really see what it was that was wrong.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Pitch said. He sat up and pointed his hoof towards Ruby. “See,” 
he said, smiling.
Ruby cringed. Stitches crossed the entire bottom surface of his hoof. She couldn’t even 
tell how many were in there, and she didn’t want to know. Scabs filled the spaces between each 
thread. Green on red against his bright orange coat. She didn’t want to look anymore, but he 
turned his hoof to the side. The stitches went a quarter of the way up his foreleg. He turned it to 
the other side, the stitches on that side were half of what they were on the other. 
“I was lucky no bone was damaged,” Pitch said, smiling. He thought it was cool, but as 
soon as he put his hoof down, “Ouch!”
“I’m sorry!” Ruby bursted out reflexively.
Pitch looked at her confused. “What?”
“This is my fault,” she went on.
Pitch shrugged. “Not really.”
Ruby’s ears drooped forward. No matter what Pitch believed, she would blame herself. It 
was her magic that put him in this situation. 
“Hey can you wrap this for me?” Pitch asked. “Dad took the old gauze off for me and I 
asked him to leave it off so I could show you.”
“Um, sure,” Ruby said. 
She looked around her, and found a roll of gauze right there on Pitch’s night stand and 
tape right beside it. With her magic, she lifted the gauze, and circled his hoof with the roll until 
it was wrapped up and his injury was completely covered. The gauze ripped easily and she 
placed the rest of the roll on the nightstand. She taped it together and stepped back.
“Thanks,” Pitch said, yawning again.
He hopped off his bed, making sure not to let his injured hoof touch the ground as he 
landed. He had no problem with it, and smiled on landing. He skipped awkwardly over to the 
stairs. Ruby followed him, hoping he would have no issues going down. There really wasn’t any 
reason to worry, though. Rather than bothering to attempt the feat of going down stairs on only 
three hooves, he decided to fly instead. 
“I’m starving!” Pitch said to his mother, a little too cheerfully given the circumstances of 
his injured hoof. 
“It’s almost done, sweetie!” she assured him.
Ruby waited along with Pitch for the soup to be done. She felt a little more eased as she 
waited with her friend. He was his usual hyper self. The situation didn’t seem to bother him as 
much as she thought it would. His cheerful mood lasted until he finished his soup. At that point, 
he looked a little down.
“What’s wrong?” Ruby asked. 
Pitch shrugged. “It’s no big deal,” he said.
“What?” Ruby pressed. She wasn't about to let him hide things now. If something was 
bothering him, she wanted to know about it. She would do whatever she could to fix the 
problem. She owed him that.
“I was working on something, too, you know,” he said. “While you were working on your 
magic. I was working on a new piece with Luna.” He was referring to his guitar.
“Oh.” Ruby didn't know how in Equestria she would manage to fix that.
“I finished it the night you left to go rest for trying the trick again.” Pitch rested his head 
on the kitchen table. “I was really bored so I did a lot more that night than I really ever do.” He 
let out a long sigh. “After that firework show you did with the leaves, I wanted to show you what 
I've been doing. Now I can’t”
“I’m sorry,” Ruby said, her ears drooping forward once again.
Pitch looked up at her. “It’s fine.” He wasn't fine though. He was clearly upset. This went 
past just the simple fact that he couldn't show Ruby what he had been working on. He couldn’t 
play guitar. He wouldn't be able to do anything with what he was meant for. 
“How long will it be before you can play again?” Ruby asked.
Pitch shrugged. “Can’t say yet. Don’t know how it’s going to heal, yet. There may be 
some permanent damage, so I may never be able to play the same again.”
Ruby’s stomach sank. This was horrible. Because of her, Pitch couldn’t do what he 
loved, and nopony knew when he would be able to start again. “I’m sorry,” she said again. 
There was nothing else to say. Nothing would fully express the guilt she felt.
It wasn’t long before Ruby decided to leave. Pitch hadn’t seen his parents in awhile, so 
she figured it would be best to leave the family to talk. Pitch’s mother assured Ruby that they 
would be staying for a few days, so that she would be rest assured that Pitch had somepony 
looking after him. 
Pitch woke the next morning feeling a little uneasy. He wanted to go back to sleep, but 
he couldn’t. Instead of laying around, doing nothing for hours on end, he reached under his bed 
with his good hoof, and found his old ballad horn. It was a gift from his grandfather. Something 
he hadn’t touched in a couple of years, but since he didn’t have much he could do with his bad 
hoof, he didn’t really have anything to lose.
He began to play, and it all came back effortlessly. Everything that his grandfather taught 
him. It was still there. He was able to play just as well as before. It was as if he never really 
stopped. He played a cheery tune, trying to pick up his spirits. It didn’t really work. Something 
was off. It wasn’t that the french horn felt wrong, it was that, he didn’t really want it to feel right. 
The guitar was his instrument, it always had been. The ballad horn was just something that he 
just happened to be able to do. It wasn’t something he cared for. It wasn’t something he showed 
off to anypony. It was just lame. He tucked the horn back under his bed, and rolled over under 
his blanket. 
Ruby didn’t show up that day. She had other things to tend to. She had spent so much 
of the day before at Pitch’s house, that her work had doubled. She had an article to write for 
Ponyville Express, and a book to complete. Ruby had been working hard on her writing, in 
hopes that one day she could publish. She wasn’t particularly fond of writing for a newspaper, 
but it was something that paid her bills, and was a way to get her through the doors of a writing 
career. 
It wasn’t until the next morning that Ruby showed up in front of Pitch’s home. She felt 
bad for being unable to go visit the day before, but there was nothing she could really do. She 
had a lot to get done, and she had already been putting it off. She needed to turn in her article 
about the history of town hall by the end of the week. She finished it last night. The write 
seemed to drag on, but in her current position she had no choice over her topics of writing. She 
had to be patient if she wanted to get anywhere. For now she stuck with the newspaper and 
worked on her book. She wanted to get as much work out of the way as she could while Pitch’s 
parents were visiting. She figured it would be better not to visit him while he had others there 
than when he was completely alone.
She knocked on the door and waited. Nopony answered the door, so she knocked 
again. It was a few minutes before Mrs. Inverno opened the door, just a crack. She peaked out, 
and slowly opened it wider until she was able to poke her head out. 
“Hello, Ruby,” She said, cheerfully, but Ruby couldn’t get over the suspicious behavior. 
“Hey,” Ruby said, confusion clear in her tone. “How is Pitch?”
Mrs. Invernor frowned. “Oh.” She hesitated for just a moment. “Pitch? Well, he isn’t 
feeling well.”
“What’s wrong?” Ruby asked, tilting her head the slightest bit, concern creasing her 
forehead.
“Oh, it’s nothing to worry about,” Mrs. Inverno assured. “It’s just his medications. You 
know how they can be. I’m sure he’ll be over it by tomorrow. Why don’t you come back then?” 
The words rushed out, and they seemed to become more crammed as she spoke. It seemed to 
Ruby, like she was trying to get rid of her.
“Oh.” Ruby wasn’t sure what else to say. She felt a little hurt, but mostly confused.
“He’s sleeping anyway, the most he wakes up for right now is about two minutes,” 
Pitch’s mother seemed a little flustered as she went on, “and that’s just because we make him 
take his medicine and eat a little with it.”
“Alright,” Ruby said, unsure of how she should be responding. “I’ll be back tomorrow. 
Probably in the morning.”
“No need to hurry over,” Pitch’s mother said, with an awkward smile. 
Ruby nodded. “Um, okay.” 
The door shut with a thud, and Ruby stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. What was 
that? Pitch’s parents were always very welcoming. They were always very nice to her, and 
always seemed to like talking to her, with or without Pitch around. What just happened seemed 
odd. Something seemed off. It was possible that they thought Pitch wouldn’t get enough sleep if 
he knew a friend was over. It didn’t really seem to fit, but it was the only conclusion that Ruby 
was able to get a grasp on. 
It really wasn’t such a bad thing, she told herself. This would allow Ruby to get more work done.
She decided to forget about the odd behavior for the time being and go home, but without really 
thinking about it, Ruby looked up at Pitch’s window. Pitch’s face was peaking through a gap 
between the curtains, but as soon as he noticed her look up, he backed away from the window. 
“Are you sure you want her to leave?” Pitch’s mother called up to him.
“Yes,” he called back. 
“Alright,” his mother said. She didn’t know what was going on, only that Pitch wanted to 
be alone. He wouldn’t go downstairs to eat. He stayed in bed the whole day, huddled in his 
blanket. Now he wasn’t even letting Ruby in to visit. The whole situation was making his mother 
worry, but there wasn’t much she could do. 
Pitch crawled under his blanket. He didn’t want Ruby to see what had happened. He 
knew how badly she felt about the injury, and he didn’t want her to worry anymore. All she had 
done since the accident was blame herself. This would just break her heart. He couldn’t let her 
see it, he wouldn’t let anypony see. He dug his face into his pillow, eyes clenched tightly, 
holding back the tears. He didn’t understand why this was happening to him.
> The Truth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	On her way to Pitch’s house, Ruby was contemplating the possible reasons as to why Pitch had not wanted to let her in. It had been a week now since the first time Mrs. Inverno had told Ruby that Pitch was unable to have visitors. Ruby visited every day since, and every time she did, Mrs. Inverno had sent her away. 
The first few times were all just about the same. The excuse was always that Pitch had not been feeling good. After a few days, Mrs. Inverno started coming up with other reasons, none of which Ruby actually believed. Some made no sense, and some were really no reason for Ruby to leave. One of those excuses was that Pitch was in the shower and that Ruby should come back the next day. 
The question Ruby had was whether it was the parents trying to keep her out, or if it was Pitch. She didn’t really know, and wasn’t particularly fond of either possibility. Pitch was her friend for years and he had never really tried avoiding her, but neither had his parents. Either way it was confusing, and becoming a big concern. She didn’t like being in the dark. She wasn’t sure whether they had something against her, or if they were just trying to hide something from here. Whatever the reason was, Ruby was determined to find out. 
When she neared his home she slowed down. She took cover behind a few short shrubs near the path she broke away from. She could see Pitch’s parents standing outside looking in. They were talking, but she couldn’t hear them. She moved closer, keeping silent as she passed. They didn’t hear or see her sneak past them behind a corner of the home. She didn’t want them to know she was there. She figured once they left she might be able to visit without problems. With a slight feeling of guilt, she sat against the wall and listened to what she could. 
“Are you sure you don’t need us to stay longer?” she heard Mrs. Inverno ask. Her voice was heavy with concern.
“I’m not sure you should be alone right now, Pitch.” The doubt in Mr. Inverno’s tone matched the concern in his wife’s. 
Pitch’s voice was muffled, but Ruby just barely made out his words. “I’ll be fine. You stocked the cupboards up with enough food to last me a pretty long time. I can manage on my own as long as I don’t have to leave.”
“I don’t know,” his mother said.
“You have things back home that you need to get back to,” Pitch reminded them.
“Do you want us to send one of your sisters?” his father asked.
“No!”
Ruby could tell that he was frustrated. It seemed like he did want to be alone. She figured it was possible that had been the reason they weren’t very welcoming during her last few visits. That didn’t make her any more accepting of the fact. He could have just come down to say hi at the very least. He didn’t need to send her back home every time she visited. 
“I don’t want them knowing,” Pitch explained. “Don’t tell them anything!”
How could they not tell his sisters? Ruby was sure that they already knew about his injury. That just seemed like something that his parents would have told them right away. Ruby didn’t understand what more there was to the issue at hand. Pitch had no intention of letting her know. 
“They are going to ask about your injury,” his father said, clearing up Ruby’s question while adding more to the confusion.
“So what if they ask about the injury?” Ruby could hear the anger in his voice, but she wasn’t able to see the helplessness that filled his eyes. “Just tell them it’s healing fine, what more do they need to know? This isn’t about the injury, so just leave it alone. They won’t ask about it because they would never expect it!”
His parents both sighed in unison. Ruby was expecting them to make their goodbyes, but his mother brought something up that she hadn’t expected at that point.
“And what are you going to do when Ruby comes back?” 
Ruby felt uneasy as she listened to the following silence. Pitch didn’t really know what to say to that. In truth, he hadn’t been planning to do anything about it. He wasn’t planning on opening the door for anypony, no matter who it was. He knew he was hurting Ruby by avoiding her, but it was a lesser of two evils. He was only putting her through pain to avoid a greater pain. 
“She’s going to keep showing up, Pitch,” his mother went on when Pitch said nothing. “She’s going to get worried, and might try getting you help if she gets scared. How are you going to deal with that?”
The only response he gave was, “it’s not like I’d handle it any worse than you did.”
Ruby heard the door slam, and looked around the corner to see Mr. Inverno shaking his head. “He’ll be fine,” he assured his wife. 
“I don’t know,” she said. 
“He’ll be fine,” Mr. Inverno repeated. “He may not know how to deal with it, but he’ll figure it out.”
“I suppose he was right,” Mrs. Inverno sighed. “I really don’t know how to handle this.”
“Nopony would,” Mr. Inverno said. 
They left together and Ruby stepped out. Now that she knew that it was Pitch that didn’t want her there, she wasn’t sure how she felt. She was hurt yes, but there was still something odd about the whole situation. She was still confused, and there was still no valid explanation as to why he didn’t want her there. She also knew that she wasn’t the only one he was hiding something from. Still, as far as Ruby was concerned, he’s never kept secrets from her before. 
Ruby wasn’t sure what to do now. Without really thinking about it, she went over to the front door. She checked to see if it was locked. It wasn’t. As slowly as she could, she opened the front door to see if Pitch was around. He wasn’t, so she entered and closed the door, careful to make little sound. She stood in front of the door, unsure of how to proceed.
“Pitch?” she called out quietly.
When he heard her he sat up in his bed. “What are you doing here?” His stomach churned and he wrapped himself in his blanket. “Go home!”
“I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s going on,” Ruby told him. 
He heard her hooves tapping against the stairs as she walked up. “No!”
“What?” Ruby asked, but she was already upstairs.
“I just remembered I have to do something!”
Pitch rushed past Ruby, his blanket still wrapped tightly around him. He ran down on three hooves since the blanket was restricting his wings. He almost tripped twice on his way down, but didn’t slow down.
“Pitch?!” Ruby ran after him after a moment of watching him, jaw dropped, as he ran off. “What are you doing?? You’re going to hurt yourself!!”
“No I’m not, go home!” 
Rubby galloped after him through the front door. “Quit acting like a filly!!”
Pitch ignored her and ran around the back of the house. Ruby had chased him in a circle around it a total of four times before he changed directions. Ruby had no idea what was getting into him. This was just insane.
“What could you possibly need to do in the Everfree Forest?” she called out after him as he headed for the forest. 
He continued to ignore her as he ran through the trees. He was having a hard time running and Ruby was gaining on him. He couldn't have that. He ran around a tree and dropped his blanket, kicking off with his back legs as soon as he did and taking flight. Ruby chased after him from the ground. Pitch was flying in swerves, bending around trees, making random turns, and doing his best to make sure Ruby didn’t have a clear view of him.
“You can’t run forever, Pitch!” Ruby yelled.
“No, but I can go longer than you!” he called back.
It was true. She may have had an advantage when he was on the ground, but now that he was in the air, she had no hope of catching him. Ruby was never an athlete, and this was just impossible. She stopped running after him, and turned around, heading back for her own home. Pitch didn’t notice, but turned right, trying to stay along the edge of the forest rather than going too far in. 
Once he did realize that Ruby wasn’t following anymore, he relaxed. The relaxed state only lasted until he realized that he needed to go back and find his blanket. He spent about half an hour looking for it before he finally found it and went home. He sat a few hours alone before there was a knock on the door.
“By Celestia!” 
Pitch was getting fed up with having to send Ruby home. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to hang out with her, he just didn’t want to put her through more pain. He didn’t want to add more to what she was blaming herself for. If she knew what was going on, she would feel much worse over that than the sadness she felt over being avoided. It wasn’t easy on him to have to ignore her. He decided to put an end to it. He would tell her to stop. He would make something up if he had to, even if it meant hurting her.
He opened the front door just enough to stick his head out. He kept his hurt hoof in front of it, knowing that Ruby wouldn’t want to do anything that could hurt him. “I told you to go home!” Pitch snapped immediately. 
“Um.” It wasn’t Ruby standing before him. It was a young stallion with a dark brown coat and a messy black mane that fell every which way and covered an eye. “You did? Cause I don’t even remember the last time I’ve seen you.”
“Dusty Trailz?” Pitch asked, taken aback. “I-I”
Dusty Trailz laughed.
“Sorry I wasn’t expecting you.”
Dusty Trailz was Pitch’s childhood friend. He met him a couple years before he met Ruby. Pitch had even taken a class with him when he spent half a  year in ponyville with his cousins. They got along pretty well, but Dusty Trailz ended up retreating from social life. He became more of a solitary pony. By the time Pitch met Ruby, Dusty Trailz had barely bothered going out. He would go out with Pitch, but only if Pitch insisted.
“I saw your parent’s and said hi. They told me that you’ve been injured,” Dusty Trailz explained.
Pitch sighed. His parents knew that he didn’t want anypony visiting him, so why did they tell someone about his injury? “I didn’t think they’d actually talk about it. I told them not to tell anypony.”
“Oh, well,” Dusty Trailz gave an awkward and apologetic smile, “I’m not the only pony they’ve told.”
“What?!” Pitch asked angrily. 
“Yeah, I’ve heard your mom bring it up a couple times at a few shops. She wasn’t exactly quiet about it when she was telling me either.” 
“By Celestia! Why can’t they just listen?” 
“So,” Dusty Trailz attempted changing the subject, “how is the injury?”
Pitch poked his hoof out the door, revealing the stitches creeping a quarter of the way up his leg. Dusty Trailz scrunched his face, but only for a moment. After that, he looked at it with a little more intrigue. 
“Does it hurt?” he asked.
“Like a timberwolf!” 
Pitch realized that he was probably being rude to have his friend, from all that time ago, just stand there in front of his door like that, but he didn’t want to let him in. He wasn’t sure what to do. He decided to be honest, but without telling too much.
“Hey, I’ve got a lot going on right now and it’s getting really stressful,” Pitch explained. “Do you think you could come back some other time? Maybe next week. I just want to have time to rest and such.”
“Sure,” Dusty Trailz said. 
Before his friend even got a chance to say good bye, they were interrupted by a loud and very angry voice. “You can’t keep hiding from me, Pitch! Just tell me what the issue is and I’ll leave you alone!”
Ruby was storming over. She practically pushed Dusty Trailz to the ground as she pushed him aside to stand directly in front of Pitch. She was angry now. Pitch was worried about something like this happening. When Ruby was in a depressive state or felt too pressured or stressed, she let it all out in a burst of anger. 
“You can’t just tell me to go away and expect me to just accept it like that. You have to, at the very least, tell me why,” Ruby went on.
Dusty Trailz was backing away, staring at her with his jaw dropped and eyes wide. He caught his hoof on a lump of dirt and tripped back. Pitch was beginning to feel sick. Most of Ruby’s outbursts had occurred in the forest or at her own home. It was rare for her to show this side of her to anypony other than himself. 
“Ruby!” Pitch snapped. “You’re creeping him out.”
Dusty Trailz pressed his ears back before Ruby even responded. He didn’t like having any attention brought to himself. Pitch knew that, but he didn’t want him seeing any worse from Ruby. This wasn’t who she was, it was just a little bit of a flaw. A flaw that burst out every so often. A flaw that was very difficult to control.
“I don’t care about your friend, Pitch!” Ruby exclaimed.
Pitch’s ears pressed back just as Dusty Trailz had. He hadn’t fixed anything. He only made it worse.
“So you ignore me, yet you talk to somepony else! Why is it that you talk to him, yet leave me in the dark! Am I the only pony you won’t explain this to?” 
“There’s nothing to explain,” Pitch said, making sure he had a good grasp of the door. He still didn’t want her to see what was going on.
“Liar!” Ruby accused. “You’re hiding something!”
Pitch made no show that he would admit to anything. Realizing that she wouldn’t get anything out of him, she turned to Dusty Trailz, who was sitting on the ground, looking quite paralyzed. She looked at him with fiery eyes and he snapped back. As quick as he could, he got onto his hooves.
“What do you know about this?” Ruby asked him, trying to calm her tone.
“I-” Dusty Trailz was backing away. “He just hurt his hoof.”
“I know that!” Ruby burst out. “What else? What’s the big secret?!”
“That’s all there is to it!” Dusty Trailz said.
“I heard him talking to his parents right before they left! They said there was something else!” Ruby yelled. “There’s more to it than just a simple injured hoof.”
Pitch’s heart sank. “You were spying?” he burst out.
“I’m not talking to you right now!” Ruby yelled, turning back at him with dark eyes, and a horn glowing in a dark red aura. 
Pitch said nothing in response, and considered shutting the door on her. This was the worst he had seen her in a very long time. All of a sudden, Dusty Trailz stood up and did something Pitch never would have expected from the usually passive pony.
“Well how in Equestria am I supposed to know?” he questioned in a confident and somewhat angry tone. “This isn’t my issue! I don’t even really care! I just came here to see if he was okay! I haven’t seen him in years! Do you expect him to refuse at least saying hello?”
“Ruby just forget about it! He’s right. It has nothing to do with him.” At that point Pitch just wanted the two separated, but he couldn’t risk stepping past the door. Pitch didn’t know Dusty Trailz had that in him or how far he would go, but he did know that standing up against Ruby when she was like that, was only asking for trouble. Pitch just hoped that he could bring her attention back to him.
It worked. Ruby turned away from Dusty Trailz and went right back for the door. Pitch was sure that she would barge through, and he had no chance against her at that moment. Still, he couldn’t let her in, so he took a risk.
Holding his bad hoof straight out the doorway he said, “you won’t be able to get in here without hurting me and possibly causing more damage to me! Do you really want to do that?!”
Ruby stopped dead in her tracks. The aura faded, but the anger didn’t leave her eyes. He did see her face twitch just slightly. She was holding back pain. She didn’t want to let out her real emotion. She didn’t want to show him her pain, so she hid it under anger and aggression. She would rather hurt than be hurt, but no matter how much she preferred that, it wasn’t her. She couldn’t really hurt her friend like that.
“Why?” Ruby asked.
“You have to calm down,” Pitch said calmly.
“But why?” Ruby asked again, her voice losing volume.
“You can’t lose yourself like that Ruby, because you will hurt somebody!” Pitch told her.
“Why won’t you tell me what’s wrong?!” Ruby’s voice cracked as she raised her voice.
“I-” Pitch didn’t know what to say. “I don’t want you to feel bad,” he said, breaking down  and telling the truth and hoping he wouldn’t be pressed to tell her anymore. 
“How can I feel worse than not knowing?!” Tears spilled from her eyes as she screamed. “What could possibly be worse than feeling scared for you like this?!”
Pitch stared in shock. He tried to explain to her that it wasn’t all bad. He tried telling her that it was okay. He tried, but he couldn’t find his voice. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t watch her like that any longer either, so he showed her. He opened the door and stepped out. 
Dusty Trailz was looking at Ruby in sympathy now as she wiped the tears away with her hoof. Steaks of moist fur still streaked her face. She looked at Pitch, waiting for a response. The only explanation he gave was by turning to his side, revealing his blank flank. His cutie mark was gone.

> Denial 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Where did you get this thing?” Pitch asked.
He was standing in his living with Ruby, wearing a black hooded cloak. Ruby was walking in a circle around him, admiring the cloak. She stopped in front of him and smiled. He just stared back, but she couldn’t see his shadowed face. 
“I’ve had it,” Ruby told him.
“Okay,” he said, not wanting to question why in Equestria his friend needed a hooded cloak. “And I’m wearing it why?”
“So that nopony can see that your cutie mark is gone,” Ruby explained. “Now we can go out and get you a new cutie mark!”
Pitch wondered if there was any point to the search. Nopony had ever lost their cutie mark before, as far as he was concerned. Ruby had even tried reading up on it, but found nothing on the matter. He wasn’t even sure he wanted a new one; he wanted his old one. Instead of lingering his thoughts on the depressing topic, he asked, “And why do I have to cover my face?”
Ruby shrugged. “Well, if you don’t want to have fun with this, you can take off the hood.”
Pitch tilted his head up and shook it until the hood fell away. He looked at Ruby, un-amused by her attempted humor. He had been cranky ever since she learned of his missing cutie mark. It pained her to know it was gone, and she did blame herself, but she didn’t show let Pitch see that. He had tried to hide the fact from her in an attempt to avoid hurting her but she didn’t want anymore secrets. 
“So, where to start?” Ruby asked. 
Pitch starred with a blank expression. “This was your idea. I don’t even know what we’re doing.”
“We’re getting you a new cutie mark.”
“I’m not a filly anymore,” Pitch said. “We can’t just go around in search of a cutie mark.”
Pitch turned around and made his way towards the stairs, but Ruby ran around him and blocked his path. 
“Come on!” Ruby nudged his shoulder. “You can’t just give up! You have to at least try!” 
“Fine,” Pitch said under his breath. He turned back around and went towards the door. Ruby trotted after him and used her magic to open the door. Pitch led the way until they reached the town hall. He stopped and asked, “So what are we doing exactly?”
“Finding you a new talent!,” Ruby said with a bit of a forced smile. “Starting with what we already know you’re good at.”
“I’m good at playing guitar,” Pitch said. “Can we go home now?”
“I just got you out of the house, and we haven’t even done anything,” Ruby said with a sigh. “Come on, what do you like doing? You’re good at skateboarding right?” Ruby’s face brightened up. “Let’s try that!”
Pitch waved his bad hoof in front of Ruby’s face. The scabbing was still pretty bad, but it had gotten thinner. Some scar tissue was now appearing along the edges. 
Ruby’s ears drooped to the side, but perked right back up again. She wasn’t going to give up. Pitch had been giving up enough for the two of them. “Your hoof hasn’t been stopping  you from flying!” 
“Okay, so what am I supposed to do now?” Pitch asked.
“Fly?” Ruby suggested. It had been a long time since she last went through the trouble of trying to earn a cutie mark. 
Pitch let his head fall with a swift movement. The situation felt hopeless. He knew it was a bad idea to tell Ruby about his cutie mark. She wasn’t going to let it go. With a sigh, Pitch looked up at her. She gave a half-hearted smile. Pitch rolled his eyes. “How do you expect me to fly in this thing?”
“Oh,” Ruby stared at him blankly, her smile vanished. “We could,” she thought for a moment, “go to the forest?”
Pitch sighed again. “But we just walked all the way over here.”
Ruby shrugged. “Come on.”
With that, she turned around and headed back for the forest. Pitch followed , but lagged behind. He wasn’t particularly excited. He didn’t have any high hopes. All he really wanted to do was go home and sleep. He wanted to just forget about everything that happened. Instead, he was being dragged out by Ruby, who was now determined to help him find a new cutie mark. It didn’t make sense to him. He wondered if she really believed they could do it, or if she was just trying to keep him hopeful. Either way, he didn’t think it would work. 
He wasn’t going to tell her that though. Pitch had always been the cheerful one of the two friends. He was usually the one trying to cheer her up. Now things were reversed. He was depressed, and she was doing her best to pick him back up.
Ruby stopped at the edge of the forest, waiting for Pitch to catch up. He walked right past her and left the cloak by the edge of a tree. Ruby shook her head and picked it up, swinging it onto her back. 
“Alright then,” Ruby said. “Fly.”
Without a word, Pitch kicked off the ground and took flight. He flew straight up until he was over the trees. He looked over the forest towards ponyville. Ruby was watching from below, but she could barely see him. Pitch spun around in the air, and dove down. Gaining speed, he dodged a couple branches, and just before he hit the ground he pulled up and flew straight ahead. Pitch was gaining so much speed that everything was a blur to him. He didn’t see the branch that he crashed into. It retracted and then flung him back. 
Ruby heard a distant thud and ran towards it. She found Pitch lying in a patch of long grass.
“Ooooowwwww,” he whined. 
“You’re fine,” Ruby said, walking closer to him.
“Do I really look fine to you?” Pitch asked in irritation.
“You don’t look bad, and you’re still talking quite a bit.”
Ruby smiled down at her friend, but Pitch didn’t seem amused. He rolled over to stand on his hooves, shaking the grass out of his coat as he stood. Ruby laughed a little at the annoyance on his face. She knew he wasn’t hurt, he was just annoyed. 
“I’m going home,” Pitch said.
“Why?” Ruby asked. 
Pitch stormed off in the direction of home. “Because I have dirt in my stitches, and I’m
tired.
“Wait!” Ruby ran over to him. He stopped and looked at her, looking as if he was trapped between anger and sadness. Ruby didn’t like the look on his face, but knew that he only wanted to be alone, so she just threw the cloak over him and said, “That’s all.”
“Thanks,” he mumbled as he turned away.
Ruby went home for awhile, wondering how she could help her friend. She racked her brain for ideas, but nothing was coming to her. She needed a break, so she began to write. She worked on her novel for a short while. She lost herself in her book, but slowly began to lose focus. Her thoughts wandered back to her friend. She was blaming herself again. She knew that Pitch didn’t want her too, but she couldn’t help it. She still felt that it was her own fault. 
Pitch was at home, sulking in his room. He wasn’t thinking of anything in particular. He was trying to push his thoughts away. After hours of failed meditation, he decided that he should do something. Since he didn’t want to leave the house, and couldn’t play his guitar, he fished under his bed for his ballad horn. 
No longer able to focus on her writing, Ruby left home. She wandered aimlessly for a while before she decided to go see how Pitch was doing. She knew he might get angry, but she didn’t plan on asking him to go in search of a cutie mark again. She just thought he needed a little bit of company and didn’t want to leave him alone with his thoughts for too long.
When Ruby reached his house, she knocked on the door. There was no response, not because he was ignoring her, but because he couldn’t hear her. Ruby, however, could hear him. He had left his window open, just a crack, and Ruby could hear a sad tune. The music was beautiful, but the mood of the melody had brought her own mood down. She was sure it was Pitch, but she had only heard him play an instrument like this once. 
When Pitch was a filly, he had visited Ponyville to see his cousins. His whole family seemed to have musical talent, but his grandfather was amazing. On occasion, it was Pitch’s grandfather that brought him out to ponyville. When his grandfather was in town, he would sit by town hall, and play his ballad horn. For a while, he attracted a loud crowd in ponyville. Pitch had dragged Ruby over to show off his grandfather’s skill on several occasions. 
When he finished, the whole crowd cheered. Pitch’s grandfather simply nodded and smiled. The crowd would disperse, and Pitch would greet his grandfather with a big hug. A couple years had passed, and ponies started to lose interest in the old pony with the ballad horn. Still, Pitch’s grandfather would sit by town hall and play his horn. He didn’t care whether he played for a crowd of ponies, or just the birds perched on his bench. Pitch, on the other hoof, was starting to seem annoyed. Ruby would ask him if he wanted to listen to his grandfather play, but Pitch would just shrug it off. He didn’t understand why his grandfather kept playing when nopony cared anymore. 
Ruby had known that his grandfather taught him to play, but around the time that everypony stopped paying attention to his grandfather, Pitch stopped playing. He later found interest in guitar. Ruby wondered if maybe Pitch had a change of heart. Maybe his interest in the ballad horn was returning. The way he played, sounded as if he had never stopped playing. She was no musical expert, but his music seemed flawless. 
She tried knocking on the door again, but Pitch still didn’t hear. Ruby found a pebble on the ground near her, and used her magic to lift it. The pebble rose in her dark red aura and tapped against the glass window. The music stopped.
Pitch slid the ballad horn back under his bed and went over to the window. He pushed it farther open with his muzzle and looked down at the Black Pony. He half sighed and half groaned in irritation. He was sure she was able to hear him play the ballad horn.
“What are you doing here?” Pitch asked.
“I got bored,” Ruby told him.
Pitch shut the window and flew down the stairs to his front door. He let Ruby in and asked, “Do you really need to keep showing up unannounced?”
“It never bothered you before,” Ruby pointed out.
Pitch was about to speak, but Ruby went on.
“I thought you didn’t like the ballad horn,” she said.
“I-I don’t!” Pitch told her. “I was just bored. What else am I supposed to do?”
“You know you’re really good at it,” Ruby said. “Maybe it could be your new-”
“No!” Pitch stopped her. “I don’t like it. I was just bored.”
“Don’t be so stubborn about it! You’re really good at it! Maybe even better than you were with guitar!” Ruby’s expression was stern. She felt as if she was talking to a filly. She knew he would enjoy it if he would just stop thinking about what other ponies thought. Ruby was also sure that Pitch would be great with a crowd, no matter what he played. Pitch wasn’t exactly like his grandfather; Pitch was much less predictable. Nopony ever knew what to expect from him. If Ruby could just get him to play in front of a few ponies, she was sure he’d gain interest again.
Pitch didn’t care if he was being stubborn. He didn’t think anypony cared for the ballad horn. If nopony cared, then what 	kind of talent would it be? He paced the living room. Ruby sighed and tried reasoning with him.
“Just try playing in front of a few ponies,” she told him. “I know you think nopony likes the ballad horn, but you play differently. You aren’t like everypony else. Maybe they will like your style.”
Pitch ignored her. 
“Pitch?”
“I don’t like the ballad horn, alright?”
There was a knock on the door. They both turned their heads over. 
“Check who it is,” Pitch demanded. 
“Why do I have to?” Ruby asked. “It’s your house!”
Pitch responded by pointing at his blank flank with his hoof.
Ruby shook her head, but obliged. She opened the door to see a familiar face of somepony who was still a stranger to her.
“Oh, uh,” Dusty Trailz was lost for words. He was obviously expecting Pitch. 
Dusty Trailz had got caught in the middle when her and Pitch had their last argument. He had seen that Pitch had lost his cutie mark, so Ruby didn’t bother telling Pitch who it was before letting the visitor in. Pitch was about to ask her what she was doing, but then realized who it was.
“Hey, Dusty Trailz,” he greeted his old friend. 
“Hey, uh,” Dusty Trailz was looking at Ruby. He seemed uncomfortable with her around. Ruby wondered if he was a little afraid of her after the outburst he saw. Dusty Trailz looked back at Pitch. “What’s up?” he asked.
Ruby answered for Pitch. “He was just playing his ballad horn.” 
“Was not!” Pitch snapped.
“He was.”
“She’s lying.”
Dusty Trailz looked back and forth between the two ponies as they bickered. “Um” was all he said throughout the argument. Ruby seemed almost amused at the quarrel, but Pitch’s frustration was increasingly evident. Finally, Dusty Trailz broke off the argument by saying, “I don’t care.”
The two stopped and looked at him for a moment. Dusty Trailz looked down at his hooves. Pitch then looked at Ruby and said, “See?” as if making some sort of point. Dusty Trailz didn’t understand, of course. He wasn’t there when Ruby was trying to convince Pitch that ponies would probably love to listen to him play. 
“So he doesn’t care that you like ballad horn.” Ruby shrugged. “You’re the only pony bothered by it. You overthink it. You can’t just let yourself enjoy it, because you’re overthinking it and acting like a stubborn filly.”
“Whatever,” Pitch said.
Dusty Trailz stared at them again, confused. “What difference does it make if you like ballad horn or not?” he asked.
“It doesn’t make a difference,” Pitch stated, “but it’s got nothing to do with my cutie mark!”
“I’m confused,” Dusty Trailz said flatly. 
“Pitch isn’t willing to stop acting like a stubborn filly. I’m just trying to help him get a new cutie mark.” 
“Is that even possible?” Dusty Trailz asked. 
“She doesn’t know,” Pitch said. “She’s just thinking crazy.”
“Um,” Dusty Trailz discomfort was rising. “I think I’m going home.”
Pitch felt slightly guilty for driving his friend away, but he was too frustrated to show it. He didn’t say anything as Dusty Trailz turned and left. Ruby sighed and shook her head.
“What?” Pitch asked angrily, as the door shut.
“Oh, nothing,” Ruby said. “I’m going to head home too though.”
“You were barely even here!” Pitch was now annoyed at her leaving. Ruby almost laughed at how unreasonable he seemed, but she didn’t. She didn’t want him any angrier.
“Sorry,” Ruby said. “I’ll try coming back tomorrow. See, I announced it.” 
“But-”
“See you tomorrow, Pitch!” Ruby was at the door. 
“Bye,” Pitch said. 
Ruby left Pitch alone, and galloped off. She could see Dusty Trailz heading towards the market. “Wait up,” she called after him.
The brown pony turned around. He didn’t say anything. He only looked at Ruby, with surprise and more discomfort.
“I need your help,” Ruby said. 
“Huh?” was all he managed.
“You’re going to help me get Pitch’s cutie mark back,” Ruby told him.
“I-uh,” Dusty Trailz cleared his throat. “I’m not sure that’s-”
“It wasn’t a question,” Ruby said, with a bright smile.
Dusty Trailz looked at her. Confusion, discomfort, and even a little anxiety were written all over his face. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to upset his friend. He didn’t want to get dragged into this strange mare’s scheming but for some reason, he just couldn’t say no to her.

> No Pain, No Gain
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Pitch woke to the sound of knocking. Ruby was outside of his house, banging her hoof against the door. She knew it was early for him but she had other plans for the day. She continued to hit the door. Pitch wasn’t exactly a light sleeper, but she knew that he hated continuous noise. Eventually, he would give in and get out of bed. 
“For the love of Luna!” Pitch rolled over in bed. He lifted his pillow and covered his ears.
The knocking didn't stop; Ruby continued to knock until he got up. With a groan, Pitch sat up in bed. A few minutes passed he opened the door. He stared at Ruby with a zombie-like expression. 
Ruby stared back. “Hey.”
Pitch sighed and moved out of her way. She walked in and kicked the door shut with her back hoof. She needed to leave in a couple of hours without leaving him suspicious. She also needed to make sure that he felt sure that she wouldn't return. She pondered as Pitch dragged his hooves to the kitchen. He dug through his cupboard and found his cereal. Ruby used her magic to get a bowl and spoon from the cabinet, and the carton of milk out of the fridge. 
“Thanks,” Pitch said as he took a seat at the table.
“No problem.” Ruby sat across from him. 
Pitch rested his cheek against his hoof as he ate his cereal. Between each bite he swirled his spoon around in the cereal.When he finally finished he let out a long and dragged out yawn. Seeing Pitch yawn made Ruby want to yawn so she did. Pitch stretched his hooves across the table and rested his head on them. He closed his eyes for a moment, but Ruby tapped the table with her hoof. 
“Why are you here so early?” Pitch whined, refusing to lift his head.
“I don’t know,” Ruby said. “I guess I couldn't sleep and got bored.” It was only a half lie. She really couldn't sleep. She was up all night trying to figure everything out. As far as boredom went, she couldn't be bored with all of the work she piled on herself. 
“But I’m tired,” Pitched complained.
Ruby sighed. “Well I’m already here. Besides, I have a lot of work to do today, so I’ll need to get back home soon. I won’t be free again until tomorrow, at the soonest.”
“Why?” Pitch asked. This was the first he had heard of her being busy during that week.
“I was just asked to write an article,” Ruby lied. “They aren't giving me much time either. So, I’ll be really busy until I’m done with it.”
“Oh.” Pitch shrugged, without any doubt in his mind. He wasn’t particularly interested in what the article might be about either. 
Pitch lifted his head and stared out the window. He was bored of staying home all of the time but he wasn’t ready to head out. He didn’t want to walk around in a cloak and he most certainly didn’t want to walk around revealing his blank flank. He sighed and put his head back down. 
Ruby could tell that he was upset, but she didn’t know what to do about it. She knew he could use his company, but she had other things to do. Things that would be better for him in the long run. 
“What do you want to do while I’m here?” Ruby asked.
Pitch shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”
Ruby’s ears drooped slightly. “That isn’t very helpful. I can’t stay long, so think of something.”
Pitch looked out the window again. “Want to go to the Forest?”
“Sure.”
Pitch stood and trotted up the stairs. Ruby waited patiently and within a couple minutes, Pitch was back downstairs, wearing the cloak Ruby had left with him. The two ponies left his house and headed for the forest. 
“Have you been working on any magic recently?” Pitch asked.
“No,” Ruby responded. 
“Want to try redoing the leaf trick?”
“No!” Ruby snapped.
Pitch just laughed. “What’s the big deal? It’s really not your fault. I just made a minor error in judgment. I’m sure I could get the timing right next time.”
“There won’t be a next time!” Ruby was infuriated by the idea of letting him try again. “There was nothing minor about that mistake!”
Pitch was still laughing. Ruby didn’t understand why. “You worry too much, Ruby,” he said. 
“You lost your cutie mark to your minor mistake!”
“So I have some serious consequence to a small mistake,” Pitch said.  
“Do you not understand how dangerous that was?” Ruby asked, almost yelling. “You were extremely lucky it was only your hoof that you hurt.”
They had reached the edge of the forest now. Pitch trotted past a few trees before grabbing a corner of the cloak between his teeth and pulling it off. He hung it on a branch and said, “practice makes perfect.” 
“Practice ruined your hoof,” Ruby pointed out. 
“No pain, no gain,” the orange pony said through a cheesy smile.
Ruby huffed and walked up to her friend. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”
“So you’ll let me try again?” Pitch asked.
“Nope.”
“Well, I’m going to fly around for a bit. You have fun down here.” With that, Pitch kicked off the ground with his back hooves and took flight.
“Don’t go too crazy,” Ruby called out as he flew higher. “You’re still injured!”
Pitch didn’t care. He was finally out of his house and for the time being, he was free. He flew circles around trees and dove down at full speed, only slowing down to avoid crashing into the ground. 
Hours passed, and he stayed in the air, loving the feeling of the wind against his coat. He didn’t hear Ruby call him down the few times he passed over her. He was too caught up in his own adrenaline. He was never anypony special when it came to flying, but he did love it. It was especially refreshing after all those days of staying home alone. So when Ruby got up to leave, he was still in his own little world.
Ruby didn’t mind at all. She was happy that he was enjoying himself. Being able to leave unnoticed was an added perk. This way, there would be no questions. Ruby trotted off to Sugarcube Corner, running the details of her plan through her mind. So far, she felt pretty good about it all.
Dusty Trailz was standing outside of the bakery with a small box by his hoof. She gave him a small smile, but it faded away quickly. Dusty Trailz returned the smile, only his looked almost painful. 
“Um. Do you like cupcakes?” Dusty Trailz asked. 
“They’re good,” she said. “I prefer cookies though.”
“Oh.” Dusty Trailz looked disappointed.
Ruby didn’t understand his expression. She didn’t get why it would matter. “Why?” she asked.
“No reason,” he said, a little too quickly.
Ruby noticed the small box at Dusty Trailz hooves. “What’s that?” she asked.
“Cupcakes.” Dusty Trailz facehoofed milliseconds after answering.  	
“Oh.” Ruby smiled. “Well yeah, I like cupcakes, but we should save them for later. Did you bring what I asked for?”
“Yeah.” Dusty Trailz picked up a small voice recorder that he had behind the box and placed it on top of it. 
“Great!” Ruby picked it up and inspected it. It seemed simple enough to manage. 
“So, do we go now?” Dusty Trailz asked.
“No,” Ruby replied. “Pitch was out flying when I left him. He might be home already, but even if he is, he’ll have to get bored before he gives in.”
“Oh.” Dusty Trailz kicked the dirt by his hoof around. “How long have you been friends with Pitch?”
“Years,” Ruby said simply. “I’ve known him since I was a filly.” 
“Oh, so you’re close?”
Ruby looked up at Dusty Trailz again. “Yeah, why?” 
“N-no reason” Dusty Trailz took a small step backwards.
“Are you okay?” Ruby asked. Dusty Trailz seemed to be acting a little odd and he looked uncomfortable. 
“Uh-huh.”
“Alright.” Ruby began trotting away from the bakery and Dusty Trailz followed. “Maybe we should hang out at my house for an hour or so,” she suggested.
“Wha-” Dusty Trailz front hoof bumped into his other and he tripped, crashing into the ground and sliding forward a couple of inches.
Ruby twirled around and was imediatly leaning over him. “Are you sure you’re okay?” 
Dustry Trailz looked up at her. Her muzzle seemed to close for comfort and he inched back.
“You really don’t seem okay,” Ruby said. “I know I was a little mean when we first met, but I’m not going to bite you.”
“I’m fine,” Dusty Trailz said, avoiding eye contact. “I’m just a little...tired.” 
“Should we just put this off for awhile?”
“No no.” He sat up. “Now is as good a time as any.” 
Ruby looked down at the troubled pony. She wasn’t sure if she should let him go on in his state. If he was really that tired, he should go home. Still, if she put it off, she would have to come up with more excuses. The day would have been a waste. Dusty Trailz forced a smile. It almost made Ruby want to laugh, but she knew it wouldn’t be of any help to either of them.
“Alright.” 
“How about we just uh,” Dusty Trailz stood and brushed dirt out of his coat, “just hang out somewhere here.” 

While Ruby ate cupcakes with Dusty Trailz, Pitch was going through some of his old stuff. He was bored out of his mind, and didn’t have the heart to leave the house again. He found some old toys and a couple of attempted projects. There were two unfinished plane models and a few boxes of puzzles that he really never wanted to see again. 
After rummaging through his things, Pitch finally gave up and fell back onto the floor. He stared at the ceiling and tried to think of something to pass the time with. He stayed put for an entire half of an hour before finally deciding to get up. He found his ballad horn under his bed and held it in his hooves. 
This time, Pitch wanted to play something a little more upbeat. He remembered a tune he used to play at his grandfather’s house. His grandfather had showed him one of his own melody’s, but Pitch had adjusted it to fit his own preference. He thought the original was too mellow, so he played it at a faster pace and at a higher pitch.
Pitch ran through his memories. He could vaguely play the tune in his head, but it wasn’t perfect. When he felt he had a general idea, he started playing. It was rough at first, but he kept going. Ten minutes went by, and he was still working on it. It was getting better, but it needed work. Thirty minutes past, and Pitch was playing it just as he had as a foal, better even. 
He got a kick out of it. He had fun without even meaning too. He lost himself in the music and the memories that it triggered. By the time Ruby and Dusty Trailz were standing before his door, he was playing loud enough for his neighbors to hear. A couple had even opened their windows to let the sound fill their homes. 
Ruby smiled. She stood below his window and used her magic to unlatch the lock. Slowly, she opened it, and the volume raised slightly. She took the voice recorder from Dusty Trailz and pressed play with her hoof before levitating it with her magic. She raised it to the window and balanced it on the ledge. All she could do then, was wait. 
When Pitch finally finished, Ruby pulled the recorder away and shut the window, only without the sound of the music to overwhelm other sounds, Pitch was able to hear the click of the lock. He trotted over to the window and looked down to see Ruby and Dusty Trailz. Angrily, he flew down the stairs and to the door. Ruby tossed the recorder into a bush just before Pitch stormed out. 
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I-uh,” Ruby was lost for words. She forced a smile as she scratched at the back of her neck.
“I thought you had an article to work on.” Pitch said.
“Well, uh, I do,” Ruby was running her thoughts in overdrive but the only excuse could come up with was, “Writer’s block.”
“So why are you here?” Pitch asked. “And why is he here?” Pitch pointed his hoof at Dusty Trailz, who was standing, paralyzed. 
Ruby felt a pang of guilt for bringing the pony into this, but she hadn’t expected it to turn out this way. Even with this drawback, it was for Pitch’s good and Ruby couldn’t do it alone. She was sure he would forgive both her and Dusty Trailz in the end.
“I ran into him and thought you might want to hang out with him.” 
Pitch glared at Ruby. He didn’t blame Dusty Trailz at all. He was only upset that another pony now knew about the ballad horn. Ruby would most definitely try getting his friend to side with her in convincing him to play the horn more often. He didn’t need two ponies trying to tell him that the ballad horn would bring him a new cutie mark. 
“I’m sorry,” Ruby said. She didn’t think she was wrong, but she still felt sorry for upsetting her friend.
“I don’t want to hear it,” Pitch said. He went back inside and shut the door.
Ruby stood there, unsure of how to proceed. All she could do was hope that her friend would forgive her. She would hope he would forgive her but wouldn’t give up in helping her friend gain his cutie mark. 
Ruby searched through the bush and found the recorder. She placed it down by Dusty Trailz feet. “I won’t be much help with this,” she said. “So you could do that part on your own.”
“You sure this is a good idea?” Dusty Trailz asked.
Ruby nodded. She didn't want to anger Pitch anymore but she was thinking about the future, not the present. 
> Rewards Reaped?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Relax,” Ruby said. “Pitch won’t know what’s happening till it’s happened, and by then he’ll be so happy he’ll forgive us right away.”
“But what if he doesn’t?” Dusty Trailz asked.
Dusty Trailz was sitting at his desk with his computer. Ruby pushed the eject button and a shiny disk popped out. She grabbed the disk and looked at Dusty Trailz with a smile.
“He will,” she assured.
Dusty Trailz was blushing. “Okay,” he said quietly. 
He rummaged through one of his  desk drawers and found a clear case. Ruby took it and snapped the disk in place before closing it and placing it in a small black and red bag she brought. She took the strap between her teeth and flung it over her head, then let go to let it fall onto her shoulder.
Dusty Trialz walked her to the door. He didn’t say anything else, but he wanted to. She had let herself out and was standing at the other side of the door. Dusty Trails opened his mouth to speak, but closed it right away. 
“Well,” Ruby said, “I have to get going now. Thanks for everything!”
“Oh, um.” Dusty Trailz was fidgeting with his hooves. “Um, do you need any more help with anything?”
“No. I got it from here.” Ruby seemed to be lost in thought even as she spoke. Dusty Trailz wondered what she was staring at. Her head was turned to the side when she said, “If I get caught by Pitch again, I don’t want to have you involved. If I have to take any blame, it’s better that it’s only on me.”
“I don’t mind,” Dusty Trailz told her.
Ruby looked at him. Her expression seemed a little too serious for the situation; It was apologetic. “I’ve already involved you too much. I know you’ve felt uncomfortable about it up until now. I’m sorry I asked you for help with this even though I hardly know you.”
Dusty Trailz looked at his hooves as soon as Ruby made eye contact with him. “You’re forgiven,” he said. 
“Well that’s good.” Ruby was more relieved than Dusty Trailz could see. 
She had noticed Dusty Trailz's discomfort and she knew that he was shy, but his discomfort seemed to increase as they spent more time together. The only logical explanation that Ruby could come up with was that Dusty Trail hadn’t liked doing things behind Pitch’s back.
“Well, I'll see you later,” Ruby said, turning around and trotting away. 
Dusty Trailz gave an awkward wave as she trotted off to Celestia knows where. She hadn’t given him much information on her plans; She only told him what she needed and when she needed it. He was happy to oblige though. He hadn’t spent much time with anypony recently. Ruby wasn’t exactly sociable, but the more time he spent with her, the odder she seemed. She was interesting. 

Ruby made her way to the town hall. She found the bench that Pitch’s grandfather always played at. There were large speakers waiting below it. She opened her bag and pulled out the CD and a small CD player. She plugged the CD player into the speakers and sat up on the bench. Now all she had to do was wait. 
Celestia’s sun was almost at it’s peak. Ruby looked up at the sky, waiting for it to be right above her. Town Square was most crowded at noon, and even more-so in the afternoon. There were ponies already making their way to and from shops and homes, but there weren't enough quite yet. She needed to be patient; Everything needed to go perfectly. She hadn’t done all of that work to have it ruined by her own impatience. 
When the sun was finally high, and ponies were rushing past town hall and chatting near the shops and booths, Ruby rolled off of the bench and onto her hooves. Her face was serene, but her thoughts were rushing with giddy excitement. She almost cracked a smile, but there was work to be done. 
She hovered her hoof over the CD player for a couple of moments, almost feeling like she was putting her own work on the line. She took a deep breath and pressed play. The sound of Pitch’s music filled the air, and the ground vibrated under the speakers. Ruby wondered for a brief moment if the music was too loud. She immediately brushed the thought aside, and turned up the volume a tad bit. She wanted everypony to hear. 
Ponies stopped for a moment to see what was going on but nopony seemed to take any permanent interest. After a brief turn of their heads, they went back to what they were doing. Some even showed sign of irritation towards the loud music. Ruby’s heart sank as she watched ponies come and go, none of which seemed to have any time to stop for a listen. 
She considered stopping the recording but thought she would give it a little more time. If she stayed a little longer, maybe somepony would stop and listen. If she could just get one pony to listen, maybe more would follow. She sat on the bench trying to think up a way to get somepony’s attention.
While Ruby tried gaining fans for Pitch, Pitch was at home lying on his couch, very bored. He had nothing to do, and didn’t even consider touching his ballad horn. Bad things happened when he did. They weren’t horrible things, but he had been getting sick of Ruby’s antics. It was a little ironic. It had always been Pitch annoying Ruby. 
Thinking about it made him feel a little guilty. Ruby had never really blamed him for anything. She hardly complained about what he did and when she did, she seemed to forget about it by the next day. Even with the issue of his injured hoof, she just blamed herself. All of what she was doing now was because she blamed herself. He knew that he was being hard on her, but he didn’t know what else to do. He didn’t want her to try helping him anymore. It wasn’t her problem. 
Pitch’s stomach grumbled. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and it was an oddly early breakfast for him. Ruby’s frequent visitations had gotten him in the habit of waking up early. He didn’t like waking up early. It gave him too much time for nothing. He considered getting a job, but shrugged it off. If he got a job, then he wouldn’t be able to get back into his lovely habit of oversleeping. A job could wait just a little longer.
His stomach growled again and he moaned. He was too lazy to get up. He wanted to eat, but he didn’t want to leave the comfort of the couch. He began wishing Ruby was over. He would have been able to just exaggerate and complain about the pain of his hoof and she would do all of his work for him. She wouldn’t even have to get up herself. She had magic at the tip of her horn. He envied her for it at that moment.
The third growl finally had him on his hooves. He trotted over to kitchen, keeping his bad hoof off of the ground. It was getting much better, and the scabbing was beginning to disappear, but he was still worried about using it. He’d never been hurt so badly before and was afraid of pushing anything. He continued on the way he had been since he hurt his foot, keeping his hoof out of harms way.
Ruby was still in front of town hall, sitting on the bench with her back slouched and CD player on her lap. The music was more upbeat and slightly louder now. More ponies seemed to show interest but still, nopony bothered to stop. Ruby was glad to see a few heads turn and some of the smiles on their faces, but it wasn’t turning out as she had hoped. This wouldn't be enough to give Pitch that shove that he really needed. She was about to lose hope when a yellow filly with red hair tapped her leg. She was wearing a large big bow, and a huge smile.
“What’s that?” the filly asked. 
“A CD player,” Ruby answered, a little dazed. She hadn’t snapped out of her disappointment. 
The filly laughed. “I know that, but what is the music? I don’t think I’ve heard it before. Is that just one instrument?”
“Oh!” Ruby let out a soft laugh of embarrasment. “It’s a ballad horn.”
“Uh, I’ve never heard of it.” Her expression was thoughtful. “Where did ya find this?”
“I recorded my friend playing,” Ruby told her with a smile.
“Really?” the filly asked? “Is he famous?”
“Not yet,” Ruby said, “but I’m sure he’ll get there if he doesn’t tires hard enough.”
“It sound really really good!” the filly said.
“I think so too!” Ruby told her. “That’s why I’ve been out here all day. I’m trying to show everypony how amazing it is.”
“Wait here!” the filly commanded. “I’ll go get my friends!” The filly galloped off, but halted. She trotted back to Ruby and said, “Oh, I’m Apple Bloom by the way.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ruby.”
The filly kept her smile and galloped away to find her friends. 

After finishing his breakfast, Pitch circled his house. He was losing his mind to boredom. He threw himself back and onto the couch again. He wondered why Ruby hadn’t tried visiting him that day. The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. It was possible that she felt like she was only a nuisance to him now. It was also possible that she was busy with her work but he didn’t like the way they left things the last time.
He got off the couch and flew up the stairs. He found the cloak that Ruby gave him and threw it on. He carefully made his way down the stairs on three hooves, and left his house. He headed over to Ruby’s house, hoping he wouldn't be interrupting any serious work. When he arrived, he knocked on the door but there was no response. He tried opening the door, but it was locked. Ruby only locked the door when she left the house, so he trotted away. 
He wasn’t sure where he would be able to find her, so he just headed for the shops. On his way, he realized that he wasn’t far from Dusty Trailz. He decided to take a detour and stop at his friends house. 
He knocked on the door, and waited for a response.
Dusty Trailz opened the door with a hopeful smile but it vanished instantly. “Hey,” he greeted.
“Hi,” Pitch said back, feeling a little insulted by the reaction. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I just,” Dusty Trailz thought about it, “um, I just got a stomachache.” 
“Just now?” Pitch asked.
Dusty Trailz looked Pitch dead in the eye. “Yes.”
“Okay then,” Pitch didn’t know how to respond to the horrible excuse, so he went straight to the point. “Well, I was just wondering if you know where Ruby is.”
“I haven’t seen her,” Dusty Trailz said quickly, slamming the door in Pitch’s face. 
Pitch stood for a moment in utter confusion. “Dusty Trailz? Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah,” he said through the door. “I just, uh.”
“Do you have a mare in there or something?” Pitch joked, laughing to himself.
“No!” Dusty Trailz snapped. “I already told you I haven’t seen Ruby!”
Pitch went quiet. “Is Ruby in there?” he asked, feeling a little awkward about the question.
Pitch heard the sound of his friend's forehead hitting the door. “No.”
“Maybe you should let me in,” Pitch said. “You really don’t seem okay.”
“No no,” Dusty Trailz said. “I’m fine. You go find Ruby.” Pitch heard Dusty Trailz's hit his head on the door a second time as the brown pony realized what he had just said. He shouldn't have been suggesting that Pitch go find Ruby, when Ruby was deliberately trying to avoid him.
“Alright,” Pitch said, still feeling a little concerned for Dusty Trailz. “Bye. I’ll see you later.” 
He trotted away, forgetting about the odd behavior. Now he just had to think of something to do. If he couldn’t find Ruby, he could at least find something to do now that he was out of the house. He considered going to a pet shop. He always wanted a puppy; A puppy would be a good companion for those days he couldn’t do anything. 
As he trotted towards the shops, he heard the music. It was faint, but he followed the sound towards the town hall. It was only a matter of seconds before he realized that it was the sound of a ballad horn. At first he was confused, but then he saw Ruby standing in front of the town hall, talking to three fillies. 
Apple Bloom had returned with her friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. They weren’t a crowd, but Ruby accepted it as enough for the time being. 
“It sounds pretty,” Sweetie Belle said, “but don’t you think it’s a little too loud?”
“Too loud?” Scootaloo asked. “This is awesome!” 
Ruby was about to respond, but went silent when she saw Pitch storming over. 
“What are you doing?” he asked. “You know I didn’t want anypony hearing this!”
“We should probably go guys,” Sweetie Belle said. The three fillies cantered away and Ruby was left alone, aside from all the ponies walking by, with Pitch. 
“I can’t believe you,” Pitch went on. 
Ruby’s ears drooped to the side. Pitch didn’t care. He was too upset with her. Still, he didn’t want to yell at her in front of everypony.
“Can we talk about this somewhere else?” he asked, lowering his voice.
“Sure,” Ruby said, knowing there wasn’t much else to say. She could say no, but what good would that do either of them? She would listen to all of his ranting as long as he was willing to listen to her apology, but to get to get to that point she would need to let him finish first.
Pitch trotted away from town hall and Ruby followed him. They passed the major shops and a few houses before he stopped and turned to her. There was nopony there and Ruby waited for Pitch to let all of his anger out at her. 
“Why do you keep doing this?” he asked, anger filling his expression and his tone.
Ruby shrugged. “Somepony needs to give you a shove in the right direction.”
“And what makes you think this is the right direction?” he asked.
“Well it’s better than giving up the way you’ve been doing,” Ruby threw back.
“It’s my life and it’s my problem!”
“No, it’s not just your problem!” Ruby yelled back. She didn’t mean to let this turn into a heated argument, but emotions got the best of her. “That’s not what a friendship is, Pitch! All of your problems are my problems!” 
Pitch went silent. His ears began to droop but he wasn’t finished. With a softer expression, he went on. “Friends don’t do things behind another friends back.”
“I know,” Ruby looked down at her hooves, “and I’m sorry.” 
Pitch sighed. “I’ve already tried forgiving you,” Pitch said. “Even when I do, you keep going with this stuff.” 
Ruby didn’t look up at him. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “I won’t do it again.” 
“Okay,” Pitch said. 
“We should probably go turn off the CD player,” Ruby mentioned.
Pitch facehoofed. “Yeah. We should.”
The two ponies trotted back toward the town hall. Ruby had intended to go straight to the CD player and shut it off, but it didn’t turn out to be that simple. When they arrived before town hall, ponies were surrounding the bench. Many were tapping their hooves to the sound of the ballad horn. 
Pitch’s jaw was dropped and Ruby was ecstatic. The music came to a stop, and everypony applauded. One pony yelled out, “Who is this by? I’ve never heard this before, but I’d like to know where I can buy this.”
Ruby looked at Pitch. “Well,” she said. “Tell them.”  
Pitch was speechless. He looked at Ruby, who was smiling at him, and back at the ponies cheering. He didn't know what to say. He had never expected anypony to get this excited over a ballad horn no matter how he played. 
"That was the work of this pony right here!" Ruby yelled out. 
Ruby pushed Pitch forward as everypony turned around to look at him. He couldn't find any words to express what he felt, which was mostly made up of shock. He stared in wonder and excitement. 
"Can you play more for us?" A mare asked. 
"I, uh." Pitch let out an awkward chuckle. "I don't have my horn with me." 
"Go get it!" Ruby told him. "I'm sure at least some of us can wait for you to return."
"I can wait," a stallion added. 
"So can I," somepony else added.
"Oh, Oh, Oh!" A pink pony was jumbing up and down in the middle of the crowd. She appeared in one spot, and the next second she was jumping up from another. "I'll wait too!! Then you can show us all how to play!" 
"Uhhhhh." Pitch stood motionless. Had she really expected him to teach everypony how to play a ballad horn.
Ruby was laughing beside him. It was nice to see her happy, but he felt that this just pushed them back twenty steps in the lesson she was just starting to learn. 
"Just go get the horn," Ruby told him. 
"Alright," Pitch said. He turned around and began trotting away. He turned to look back at Ruby. "Hey."
Ruby looked at him. "What?"
"Thanks."
"Any time!' Ruby said.
"I really hope you don't mean that," Pitch said as he left as fast as he could with only three hooves to trot with.

Ruby was surprised when he arrived ten minutes later. Pitch had given up the cloak and was flying back with a smile on his face. He passed over everypony still waiting at town square. He landed gently on the bench and stood before everypony with the small picture of a ballad horn and colorful music notes now decorating his flank.
> Return of an Idol?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Ruby had awoken unusually early. She hadn't quite liked being awake when the sun was just beginning to rise. She trod in circles around her bedroom, anxious for no reason, bored out of her mind, and too awake to fall back asleep. Though it was too early for it, she knew exactly what her problem was. She needed to write. Times like this, when her head was spinning circles and memories began dancing through her thoughts, only had one cure, ink. 
She cantered out of her room and down the hall, where her study was. It was a small room and it didn't have much space. Her tiny desk, that rested right in front of a large curtained window, seemed to be crammed between the bookshelves. She took a seat and rummaged through the drawers of her desk. A bottle of ink and a quill floated out in the midst of her dark red aura and landed gently on the desk next next to her spiral bound book. 
Ruby took the quill and began to write. 



 I was sleeping comfortably in my bed. My black comforter was warm and cozy against my pelt. Everything was perfect as I drifted along in my dreams. At least, I was sleeping comfortably up until Pitch started screaming at my door.
"Ruby? Ruby are you awake?" 
I was once he started screaming. I rubbed my face with my hoof. It was too early. I was having such pleasant dreams before all of his racket dragged me away from them. I rolled out of bed with a sigh and trod over to the front door. Pitch continued to bang on the door. It was driving me nuts. 
"Come on! The summer solstice is tomorrow!"
I opened the door and looked at him with my death stare. He glared back, tilting his head and trying to look cute. He didn't look cute. 
"Are you ready for the Summer Sun Celebration?" he asked.
"Why would I be ready?" I asked, annoyed. "We have an entire day to prepare!" 
Pitch shook his head. "Waiting till last minute?"
My expression went blank. I wasn't going to bother responding.
"What?" he asked.
"You always wait till last minute," I told him, giving in to his questioning immediately. There was no use in letting him sit there and figure it out on  his own.
"Can we go now, or what?" Pitch pressed.
"One minute." 
I closed the door, leaving pitch outside by himself. I didn't waste any time as I brushed my teeth and combed my mane and tail. I decided my coat looked neat enough as it was and went back outside to join Pitch.
"Are you sure you're not a stallion?"
"What?" I asked, tilting my head in confusion.
"Mares don't get ready that quickly," he explained.
I rolled my eyes at the stereotypical joke and he gave me a cheesy smile. I let him lead the way, but he soon stopped, looking up at the sky.
"That's interesting," he said. 
"What is?" I asked as I looked up to follow his gaze. 
I noticed a golden chariot being pulled by two Pegasuses. I hadn't seen a chariot of the sort in a long time. 
"That's weird," I thought aloud. 
"It's from Canterlot," Pitch told me. He had a much better knowledge of the city than I, being originally from there and all. 
"Interesting."
"Yep," Pitch said cheerfully. "Let's go."
With that, he trod off again and I quickly caught up to trot at his side. Without even needing to discuss it, we were heading to Sugarcube Corner. Pitch always loved having a sugary treat for breakfast. It wasn't exactly healthy, but I wasn't going to complain. I had been rushed out and didn't get the chance to eat. I was starving. My stomach growled for food. It wasn't far now.
On our way, we noticed Pinky Pie and a purple pony that I hadn't met or even seen before. What was even stranger, was that there was a small purple baby dragon at the new ponies side. Pitch was about to trod over, but I stopped him with an outstretched leg and a shake of my head. Pitch was a bit much on first impression and the purple pony looked uncomfortable enough without him trying to greet her. 
"Come on Twilight, just try," the baby dragon said. 
"Uh." The purple pony seemed to be gathering her courage. "Hello," she said bashfully. 
Pinkie Pie jumped out, let out an exaggerated gasp, and whizzed past them.
"Well, that was interesting," the purple pony said before turning around and trotting on her way. The purple dragon followed her with a sigh. 
Pitch and I continued on our way, putting past the strange encounter. When we arrived at Sugarcube corner, we found that Pinkie Pie had found her way there as well. She was hopping around the bakery and speaking really fast to all of the guests. I found a table while Pitch got our breakfast from Mrs. Cake.  He returned with a muffin for each of us. His was chocolate chip and mine was double chocolate. I always did love chocolate.
Pinkie Pie made her way to every visitor and eventually to us. 
"Are you guys ready to pparrttyy?" she asked, hopping the whole time. It was as if she was attached to a spring.
"You mean the Summer Sun Celebration?" Pitch asked.
"Oh!" Pinkie Pie explained. "That too!" 
"What party were you talking about then?" I asked her.
"The welcoming party, of course!!" 
"For the new pony in town?" Pitch asked. 
"Yup yup yup. It's at the library later today!! You should go there right away!" Pinkie Pie said with another series of hops.
"Why now?" Pitch asked.
"So we can get there before she does! It's a surprise party, silly!" Pinkie Pie explained. 
Pitch and I looked at each other and Pinkie pie hopped away. 
"Should we go?" I asked him.
"Why not?" he shrugged. "It should be fun!" 
We finished our muffins and headed off once again. Pitch was trotting with a bit of a skip. He always got excited when new ponies came in town. It meant that he had somepony new to tell all of his strange stories to. I laughed at him and shook my head, feeling sorry for his future victims. When we arrived at the library, I knocked on the door. Pinkie Pie greeted us with a big smile but quickly grabbed us both and pulled us in. It was pitch black and completely silent on the inside.
"Should we maybe turn a light on?" I asked, trying to maneuver my way in carefully, without hitting anything.
"Ssshhhhh," Pinkie hushed.
"Is she-" 
"Ssshhhhhh."
I didn't say anything more. Pitch and I managed to find our way next to a bookshelf where we sat down in wait. It seemed to me that we spent half of a day waiting before anything happen. Eventually the door opened and for a moment it seemed that a yellow pink maned pony was about to enter but she vanished as quickly as she appeared. Twilight then entered, but she was facing outside and luckily didn't see anypony under the light she let in. She quickly slammed the door shut after a slur of words. 
"Huh, rude much?" a voice asked. 
"I'm sorry, Spike, but I have to convince the princess that Nightmare Moon is coming and we're running out of time!" another voice responded. "I just need to be alone so that I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. Now where's the light?"
Someone flicked the switch and the lights were on. Confetti fell and horns were blown. There were even balloons floating to the ceiling. 
"Surprise!" everypony cheered.
The new pony didn't seem at all pleased. Pitch laughed at the excitement of the party, but I was sitting there mulling over what she had said before the lights went on. Had nopony cared about what she said? Frankly, it was a little insulting. She was calling us all crazy for wanting to make friends, when she was the one babbling on about Nightmare Moon's return. Everypony knew that that was just a myth. If it wasn't, Celestia would be taking care of it instead of preparing for some celebration. 
"Surrprriiiiiisseee." Pinkie Pie was the first to officially greet the new visitor. "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you!" she said in a single breath. "Were you surprised?" The pink pony began hopping in place. "Were you? Were you?" She hopped over the the purple pony. "Huh? Huh? Huh?"
"I was very surprised," the purple mare told her. "Libraries are supposed to be quiet."
Pitch and I began mingling with the rest of the crowd. Even if this new pony wasn't going to enjoy the party, we still could. We spent some time greeting everypony. Pitch stayed by my side for most of the time. He didn't know everypony as well as I did. He had moved to Ponyville, while I spent my entire life there. Pitch enjoyed chatting with the ponies that he didn't often see and a few that he never really talked to at all. I got bored and a little frustrated with the crowd and lack of space, but I didn't want to drag him away and if I left on my own, he would worry and follow. 
Eventually, the music went up and the party livened up. I didn't think it was possible to get any more lively than it had already been. Even so, it did, and I wasn't too fond of it. Pinkie Pie declared that it was time to play a game and everypony enjoyed themselves with pin the tail on the pony. We stayed through pretty much the entire night. 
"It's almost time for Celestia to raise the sun!" Pitch exclaimed. "We should get going!"
"Great!" I said, excited to get out of the crowded room, though I would only be entering a new crowded room. 
We left the library and trod over to town hall. It wasn't long before it was filled with everypony waiting for the raising of the sun. Pitch and I stood at the side, not too far from the platform. It wasn't long at all before the birds began singing, calling for us all to quiet down. A stage light shone and focused on the mayor of Ponyville as she stepped up to the stage.
"Fillies and gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!" 
Everypony cheered in excitement. 
The mayor continued. "In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise and celebrate this, the longest day of the year. And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you, the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria, Princess Celestia!"
The birds sang once again as the curtains of the balcony spread apart and the light focused on the higher platform. There was no pony there other than Rarity, who was looking around in shock.
"Remain calm everypony," the mayor said. "There must be a reasonable explanation."
Rarity disappeared behind the curtains and returned moments later. "She's gone!" she announced.
Everypony in the town hall gasped.
Moments later, a blue aura formed on the balcony. Within it's midst, the form of a black unicorn began to appear. The aura vanished and there stood a black alicorn with a glowing blue mane and tail.
"Oh, my beloved subjects," she said, looking down to everpony. "It's been so long since I've seen your precious, little, sun-loving faces."
"What have you done with our princess?" Rainbow Dash demanded.
She tried dashing towards the black pony, but her tail was grabbed by Apple Jack. The alicorn laughed from the balcony.
"Why, am I not Royal enough for you?" she asked. "Don't you know who I am?"
She faced Fluttershy, who cowered away in fear.
"Does my crown no longer count, now that I've been imprisoned for a thousand years?" the black alicorn asked. She turned over to Rarity. "Did you not recall the legend?" she lifted rarities chin with her glowing, magical mane. "Did you not see the signs?"
"I did!" the new purple pony announced. "And I know who you are! You're the mare in the moon! Nightmare Moon!"
Everypony gasped again.
"Well, well, well. Somepony remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here," Nightmare Moon said.
"You're here to-to," the purple pony didn't seem to want to say it.
Nightmare Moon cut her off with a laugh. "Remember this day little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth the night will last forever!" Nightmare Moon let out another laugh. Her magic spread and swirled in the air above her. Lightning struck from within the building itself. 
Pitch was staring in some sort of awe. He seemed to be in shock. My own stomach churned as I witnessed the beginning of this new ponies reign. 
"Seize her!" the mayor commanded. "Only she knows where the princess is!"
I could only watch as the guards sprung into the air. They flew straight for Nightmare Moon.
"Stand back you foals!" Nightmare Moon yelled as she struck them all away with her lightning. 
She then vanished into a sliver of her magical blue aura and whizzed out of the door. It had been my first sighting of Nightmare Moon, and luckily, my last. I couldn't say I knew much about the pony, but I did know that she had previously been Princess Luna. I always did have a thing for the darker ponytales, but that's all I ever considered the mare in the moon to be, a ponytale. 
Nightmare Moon was defeated and was transformed back into Luna, who was then able to take back her rightful place as a princess and once again raise the moon each and every night. Since I was not there myself, I can only retell the bits and pieces of the story. She was defeated by six ponies, one of which was the new pony I had met that day. I now know, and can tell you, that her name is Twilight. 
Of course, the feat was not completed by her hooves alone. The other five were Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Apple Jack, and Pinkie Pie. Who would have thought that these ponies that I had seen regularly in this town I live in would have managed such an amazing deed? The six of them together, managed to harness the power of what we call, the Elements of Harmony. 
These ponies were tested in the Everfree Forest. Through these tests, each of the ponies learned their element. Apple Jack had harnessed the element of honesty. Fluttershy gained the element of kindness. Pinkie Pie now has the element of laughter. Rarity found the element of generosity while Rainbow dash earned the element of loyalty. Twilight, the pony I hadn't known before, harnessed the element of Magic, also known as the element of Friendship. 
A party was held to celebrate the achievement and return of the past princess. Twilight and Celestia had decided that Twilight should stay here, in Ponyville. She has been living here ever since with her new friends. She still sticks very closely to her studies, but not nearly as much as I've been told she did in the past. She had learned the importance of friendship, and thus, made room for it in her life.
Twilight and the other five ponies, thanks to friendship, managed to fight the powers of Nightmare Moon with their own magic of friendship. Together they did the unthinkable, and though I have to say I somewhat enjoyed the thought of an eternal night, the day was saved, quite literally. 



Ruby placed her quill on the desk and smiled at the old memories. The day that Nightmare Moon had returned and stayed as Princess Luna would always be considered one of the most exciting days of her life. She put away her ink and quill and closed the notebook. Having put everything in place, Ruby left her her study. Now that some time had passed and it wasn't so early, she could go out and hang out with Pitch, her own very best friend.