Bass Harmony has had a very interesting life. This biography will reveal just what made this curious pony tick, and why his comparatively insignificant life has impacted both Pencil Tip, and various other ponies lives. (All author's notes in this story are in-universe.)
My name is Pencil Tip. I am a male unicorn born and raised in Manehattan. A year ago, I was contacted by a friend of mine, Bass Harmony, to write his biography. However, despite my name, my special talent is not writing. I am an artist, and I primarily draw with pencils. I am by no means a professional writer and have never even written a short story before, and definitely never a biography of this magnitude. The past year has been an experience I will never forget, with me meeting the most interesting ponies who I cannot thank enough for their help on this vast project.
Bass Harmony was a good friend of everypony he met, and has made a huge impact on me. I had not known Bass Harmony for a long time; I had only met him three years ago, when I saw him on the street and offered him a place to sleep for the night. We soon became great friends. His life story deserves better writing than whatever I can do, but he specifically stated that he wanted me to write his biography. Why? I have no idea. I’ve done my very best, and I feel content with the final product.
Primarily, the information contained within this biography has stemmed from a 6 hour interview I had with Bass Harmony the day prior to his death. However, this makes the majority of the information contained therein simply word of mouth, and may not be completely accurate. In an effort to retrieve some more concrete information of Bass Harmony's life, I have contacted every living relative and friend of his I could locate, the latter vast outnumbering the former. Actually, through extensive searching, the only relative I was able to talk to was a very distant aunt that I'm fairly sure he'd never met. She had absolutely no knowledge of his existence, only ever even hearing his name from me. Bass Harmony’s many friends have also provided a fair chunk of the information contained in this biography. Old newspapers and various other mediums have provided information on older family members, such as his parents. I will provide citations at the end of each chapter in order to show where I have received all the information.
Bass Harmony was born during the Great Equestrian Depression. Jobs were rare, and many ponies became broke and, subsequently, homeless. Bass Harmony's mother and father were a unicorn and a pegasus respectively [1]. His mother, Nurse Redheart, a doctor (Strange, considering her name, but, the records proved it) at the Ponyville Hospital, was around 30 years of age when she met Bass Harmony’s father, a homeless pony named Silver Wrench. Nurse Redheart was born in Ponyville, and received her medical degree at the Ponyville University, so it can be assumed that she had lived there her entire life [2]. She resided in a small cottage near the center of town [3]. Her coat was white, her mane was pink, and her cutie mark was a red cross [4].
In comparison, the only record found for Silver Wrench was a criminal record for theft in Fillydelphia [5]. He had a yellow coat, light blue mane, and his cutie mark was a wrench [6]. It is not known if he had become homeless before the depression, or because of it.
They both met in a bar in Ponyville, called The Broken Record [7]. After a night of drinking, they took a liking to one-another, and engaged in a night of sexual intercourse. Silver Wrench left Nurse Redheart in the morning before she woke up. A week later, Nurse Redheart discovered that her one-night stand had gotten her pregnant. Perhaps because Nurse Redheart’s father had died while she was still a filly [8], she decided to try to make contact with Silver Wrench, so her foal would be able to grow up with a father. After her many tireless weeks of searching proved fruitless, she gave up.
Three months later, while Nurse Redheart was working in the emergency ward, Silver Wrench was rushed in with a concussion and a few cuts from a bar fight [9]. After she bandaged him up, she informed him about the pregnancy. Silver Wrench was taken aback. He had never been very committed to anything in his life, and assumed he wasn't ready for a foal, so his first reaction was to suggest she get an abortion. In a small town such as Ponyville, abortions were very much frowned upon. Nurse Redheart wasn’t ready to damage her nigh flawless reputation [10] and refused. In addition, she wouldn’t let Silver Wrench leave Ponyville, and made him promise to help raise the child. Silver Wrench reluctantly agreed. Nurse Redheart let Silver Wrench stay at her house, and the two were together for the following 6 months [11].
On the day of Bass Harmony’s birth, something went terribly wrong. The medical equipment was old, funding for the hospital was low, and Nurse Redheart was probably the most competent member of the staff. On top of that, a flu pandemic was breaking out [12]. Bass Harmony was delivered fine, but Nurse Redheart died during childbirth, most likely due to an infection [13]. In addition, she never wrote a will, and, since Nurse Redheart and Silver Wrench were never officially married, her house was taken by the government, as is usual in Equestrian Law [14]. Bass Harmony was born a Male Earth Pony, with an olive green coat, brown mane and tail, amber eyes, and weighed 14lbs [15]. His name promised him a career in music, just as Silver Wrench’s implied he was to be an engineer.
[1] According to birth records and Bass Harmony’s interview, for the mother and father respectively [2] According to birth records and graduation records from Ponyville University [3] According to old Ponyville House Records [4] According to old photos from the Ponyville University as well as what Bass Harmony was told by Silver Wrench. [5] According to criminal records from the Fillydelphia Police Station [6] According to Bass Harmony’s interview [7] According to Bass Harmony’s interview [8] According to old obituaries from the Ponyville Times [9] According to admission files from the Ponyville Hospital [10] Suggested by the fact that she graduated at the top of her class in Medical School [11] According to Bass Harmony’s interview, which he claimed to have been told by Silver Wrench. [12] According to an old edition of the Ponyville Times. [13] According to an obituary from an old edition of the Ponyville Times, and from Bass Harmony’s interview [14] According to old house records, with the address provided by my interview with Bass Harmony [15] According to medical records from the Ponyville Hospital.
Nurse Redheart’s funeral was a week later [1]. Silver Wrench didn’t attend*. The day following her death, the Ponyville Hospital refused to continue taking care of Bass Harmony as, it can be assumed; they needed the extra hospital bed. The doctors and nurses on staff all suggested that he take Bass Harmony to an orphanage, but Silver Wrench refused, as he probably felt like he had a responsibility to take care of the foal now *.
Silver Wrench had no friends in Ponyville, so he decided to take Bass Harmony to a place more familiar. They walked the entire way to Fillydelphia, which is a trip which takes around a day [2]. He transported Bass Harmony in the sheets that he had been given from the hospital, and fed him with a bottle of milk he bought from a general store*. In Fillydelphia, Silver Wrench contacted every friend of his he could think of, but they all refused to help him. This forced Silver Wrench and Bass Harmony onto the streets of Fillydelphia.
Under modern Equestrian Law, Bass Harmony would have promptly have been taken to an orphanage and Silver Wrench would have been put under welfare. However, since it was, as previously mentioned, during The Great Equestrian Depression, the government had too many homeless ponies to deal with, and Silver Wrench and Bass Harmony slipped under the radar [3]. They moved from place to place in the city, and they lived that way for the first four years of Bass Harmony’s life.
Regarding those four years, they lived off of the money Silver Wrench made by picking up bottles and occasionally fixing ponies wagons*. Around the second or third years, Silver Wrench was caught for stealing a toy car for Bass Harmony’s birthday [4]. Bass Harmony was left alone on the street for five days. Silver Wrench eventually found him sleeping on a park bench in Fillydelphia Park. He had fed himself with the extra food Silver Wrench had stored for them. Silver Wrench promised Bass Harmony that, from that day forward, he would never leave him alone ever again*.
[1] According to an old entry in the Ponyville Times [2] According to a map taken from the Equestrian Encyclopedia, while taking in account each cities expansion over the years. [3] According to A History of the Great Equestrian Depression, and it can be assumed they slipped under the radar as well. [4] According to old criminal records from the Fillydelphia Police Station
