/pj250/ Atmosphere


                                            >there are no heroes in a punk rock band

                                            >but damn if you don't feel like one

                                            >the atmosphere is just right for it

                                            >tonight, the band is Red Ring

                                            >when the band is Red Ring, it's Sweet Heart on bass

                                            >Green Hawk on drums

                                            >Honeydew on lead vocals

                                            >and you

                                            >you're on lead guitar

                                            >the fact that you never learned how to play guitar is, of course, no problem for you

                                            >some might say the way your fingers strike the chords is random and haphazard

                                            >but the ponies out there in the audience

                                            >they get it

                                            >they understand

                                            >that randomness

                                            >that chaos

                                            >it's precisely what makes Red Ring worth watching

                                            >as the night goes on, your hands find a simple melody that pleases you

                                            >you spend the rest of the night experimenting with different variations on it, adjusting the sequence as your bandmates' music moves you

                                            >unconstrained by the formality of meters and notes, what you're channeling is pure music

                                            >pure power

                                            >sure, it's true; when you step off this stage you'll be just a freakishly tall and bipedal lowlife

                                            >but right now

                                            >yeah

                                            >you feel like a hero

                                            >but no music, not even yours, can be completely without order

                                            >every performance of every song is different, but the lyrics have to stay the same

                                            >it's just not possible to go into a song as though you don't know how to sing

                                            >and yes, you've tried

                                            >the final words of the song pass through Honeydew's lips

                                            >the song comes to an end

                                            >you finish it off by repeating your melody one last time, striking the strings as hard as possible

                                            >a climactic finale

                                            >and then

                                            >it's over


                                            >after the show, you find yourself in the bar area of the Kanterlot Klub

                                            >your place on stage has been taken by a band called Spooky Parrot

                                            >Hawk and Dew are making out in a corner

                                            >Heart is laughing her ass off and surrounded by stallions

                                            >and you

                                            >you're just chilling by the bar

                                            >your shitty drink in one hand and the band's beaten guitar propped up in the other

                                            >it's moments like this

                                            >the calm after a performance

                                            >despite the surging life and sounds around you

                                            >no, not despite it

                                            >because of it

                                            >the atmosphere is peace itself

                                            >you take another sip from your battery acid flavored drink

                                            >and then

                                            >it happens

                                            <"Um, excuse me."

                                            "Hm?"

                                            >you look down

                                            >there's a little purple unicorn staring up at you with wide eyes

                                            "What's up?"

                                            <"I, um, well, I actually, you see, um-"

                                            >Sweet Heart's voice cracks into you from across the bar like lightning

                                            /"Yeah, Anon, get it!"

                                            >the little unicorn looks down and begins to stammer twice as hard

                                            <"Oh, I, um, I didn't mean, I didn't mean it like, I mean I'm not trying to-"

                                            "Relax. She's just giving me shit."

                                            >you pat the barstool next to yours

                                            "You look like you wanna talk about something."

                                            <"Yes, I um, I do."

                                            >she clambers up onto the stool

                                            >you swing around to face into the bar

                                            >she, after hesitating for a moment, follows your lead

                                            >the bartender is way down at the other end of the bar yelling at somebody over something

                                            >for now, at least, you should be safe from too much attention

                                            "So, what's up?"

                                            >she takes a deep breath

                                            <"Well, I don't mean to be terribly rude, but, um, what exactly are you?"

                                            "Me? I'm lots of things. I'm a hard rocker, I'm a tender lover, I'm a starving artist, I'm a warrior poet, I'm a..."

                                            >your voice trails off as the expression on the unicorn's face changes from wide-eyed and nervous to disdainful and cringing

                                            <"Uh, no, that's what I mean. What I mean is-"

                                            >she roughly prods your hand with her hoof

                                            <"What. Are you?"

                                            "Oh, that."

                                            >you pick up your hand and stare at it for a moment

                                            "We called ourselves humans back where I came from."

                                            <"And where did you come from?"

                                            >you shrug

                                            "Dunno."

                                            <"What? How can you not know?"

                                            "I mean, I could describe it for you if you want, but I couldn't tell you how to get there. One second I was just some kid coming home from my first day at high school, the next second I was lost in downtown Canterlot. That was maybe, uh, ten-ish years ago."

                                            <"You've been here for ten years?"

                                            "More or less."

                                            <"How come I never heard about you until yesterday?"

                                            >you shrug

                                            "Can't expect the band to get famous overnight."

                                            <"No, I mean, you're a fascinating specimen."

                                            "Hey, thanks. You're pretty interesting too."

                                            <"I mean scientifically. There's no description of anything like you in any records I could find."

                                            "Oh."

                                            >you take another sip from your shitty drink

                                            "Hey, just out of curiosity, who told you about me?"

                                            >she frowns and gestures with her horn at a white unicorn with a pink mane, staring and giggling at you with couple other unicorn mares

                                            "I see."

                                            <"So I'd like to get some sort of description of you submitted to the scientific community if I can."

                                            "What do I get out of it?"

                                            <"Ten bits."

                                            "Sold. When do we start?"

                                            <"Uh, not right now. Where can I get a hold of you?"

                                            "I'm... not sure, actually. I was planning on staying with some friends, but, uh..."

                                            >Hawk and Dew's makeout session has gotten very hot and heavy

                                            "I don't think they're gonna want any company tonight."

                                            <"Wait. Do you not have a place to stay?"

                                            "Eh, not exactly."

                                            >the purple unicorn jumps down from the barstool and gestures at the exit with her horn

                                            >a chorus of hoots and hollers erupts from throughout the Klub

                                            >she ignores it

                                            <"Stay with me tonight."

                                            "Gee, lady, we don't even know each other's names."

                                            <"I'm Twilight Sparkle, you're Anonymous. Let's go."


                                            >the next morning sees you descending the steps from some sort of library tower in uptown Canterlot, dead tired

                                            >as you come around the corner, you spot the three unicorn mares who sent Twilight your way last night

                                            /"Ah, this one's mine."

                                            >Sweet Heart comes trotting from around the other corner

                                            "Geez, Heart, were you camping here for me?"

                                            /"Damn right. Now tell me everything."

                                            >you shoot a sidelong glance at Twilight's friends

                                            >and you get an idea

                                            >you pull a small bag from your pocket and jingle it around a bit

                                            "Got ten bits."

                                            >Heart's jaw goes slack

                                            /"She paid you for it?"

                                            "Oh yeah."

                                            >Twilight's friends unleash a scandalized gasp and dash up the stairs

                                            >you grin at Sweet Heart

                                            "She asked me a lot of questions about my biology, took a lot of notes, said she was gonna submit a paper to some science organization. The whole thing was strictly professional."

                                            >Heart takes a second to digest this

                                            >glances up the stairs

                                            >and laughs

                                            /"You're a dick, Anon."

                                            "Yeah. We getting ready for the battle of the bands tonight?"

                                            /"Uh, no? We never practice; you know that. It's not our way."

                                            "I didn't mean practice. I meant dick around at Hawk and Dew's place til the show."

                                            /"Oh. Yeah, totally. Let's go."


                                            >a few minutes later you're greeted at the door by a wild-eyed Green Hawk

                                            >something's got him excited

                                            >really excited

                                            ~"Anon! Heart! Yo, what's up?"

                                            "Sounds like we should be asking you that."

                                            ~"Dude! Dew and I have got big news for you guys."

                                            >Hawk looks over his shoulder and calls into his apartment

                                            ~"Dew! Anon and Heart are here!"

                                            >a call from within answers

                                            _"Well, let them in!"

                                            >Hawk gestures in with his wing

                                            ~"Yo, come on in!"

                                            >you and Heart follow Hawk inside, and he leads you to where his marefriend is sitting over a cup of tea at the breakfast table

                                            >Honeydew smiles

                                            _"Hi Heart, hi Anon. So, yeah, we've got some big news."

                                            /"Well don't keep us waiting any longer, what is it?"

                                            >Hawk and Dew share a sappy grin

                                            >and Dew lifts her chin up a little

                                            _"I'm pregnant."

                                            ~"And we're getting married."

                                            >you feel a big smile crack into your face

                                            "Nice! That's awesome."

                                            ~"Dude! I know!"

                                            /"Uh."

                                            >Heart falters

                                            /"So are we still good for the battle of the bands tonight?"

                                            >Hawk frowns

                                            ~"Yeah. Yeah, we should be, right?"

                                            >Dew cocks her head

                                            _"I don't see why not."

                                            /"Okay, but, um, what about, you know, later? In the future?"

                                            >it dawns on you what Sweet Heart is getting at

                                            "I mean, geez, we gotta let them live their lives, Heart."

                                            >and then you see the realization hit the faces of Green Hawk and Honeydew:

                                            >a baby is a lot of work

                                            >more than likely too much work to be dicking around with an amateur punk rock band every night

                                            _"Well, it doesn't have to be the end of the band, exactly."

                                            ~"No, yeah, totally. We can still play sometimes. Just, uh, maybe not as much."

                                            /"Yeah."

                                            >a silence hangs over a kitchen for a moment

                                            >and you feel the atmosphere

                                            >and it feels all wrong

                                            >so naturally

                                            >you do something to fix it

                                            "I mean, shit, you guys, what the hell are you getting upset about? You guys are having a baby. This is great!"

                                            >Honeydew breaks back into a smile first

                                            _"It is, isn't it?"

                                            "Hell yeah. We've all had each other's backs for, what, ten years now? I don't see how something as awesome as that could ever ruin what we've got."

                                            >smiles break out in the kitchen again

                                            >and the atmosphere becomes just right


                                            >that night sees you hanging out once more in the bar area of the Kanterlot Klub

                                            >the battle of the bands is over

                                            >Red Ring got second place

                                            >and that

                                            >is pretty cool

                                            >Green Hawk and Honeydew are sitting in the corner sharing a soda

                                            >the winners of the battle, Screaming Grasslands, are performing up on the stage

                                            >the lead guitarist is a unicorn

                                            >you watch the way she plucks the strings with her aura

                                            >there's a definite pattern to what she's doing

                                            >and you have to concede:

                                            >maybe you'd be a better guitarist if you actually learned how to play

                                            >though you hate to admit it, there's probably something to be said for order and reason

                                            >even in art

                                            >someone climbs into the barstool next to you

                                            /"Anon."

                                            "Yeah?"

                                            /"What happened to us?"

                                            "What do you mean?"

                                            /"You. Me. Hawk. Dew. Everything's all... different now."

                                            "Yeah."

                                            >you take a sip from your battery-acid flavored drink

                                            >and you let the atmosphere take you

                                            >your tranquility remains undisturbed when someone else climbs into the barstool on the other side of you

                                            <"Mr. Anonymous?"

                                            "Yeah?"

                                            <"So I submitted what you told me to the Canterlot Scientific Society, and they're interested in hearing more."

                                            "Like what?"

                                            <"Everything, really. Your culture, how you got here, what sorts of magics you're familiar with."

                                            "Sounds good. What's in it for me?"

                                            <"Twenty bits."

                                            "Need more than that."

                                            <"What? What more do you want?"

                                            "Some honest work, for starters."

                                            <"What do you mean?"

                                            "I mean, I've got a few marketable skills. I can reach high-up places and stuff."

                                            <"You mean you want employment?"

                                            "Yeah. That'd be cool."

                                            <"Tell you what. I've heard the Canterlot Archives are looking for an assistant bookkeeper. You talk to me, I talk to them."

                                            "Sounds good. You still at that library tower thing?"

                                            <"Yes."

                                            "I'll swing by tomorrow."

                                            >after that, Twilight spends a few seconds nodding

                                            >and she walks off

                                            >you lean back and let loose a sigh

                                            >Heart's head lolls over to look at you

                                            >and she hits you with a dull gaze

                                            /"Anon."

                                            "Yeah?"

                                            /"Did you just get a job?"

                                            "Yeah."

                                            /"Bruh."

                                            >you shrug

                                            "Had to be done. I can't crash at Hawk and Dew's place forever."

                                            >Sweet Heart grabs your drink and takes a sip from it

                                            /'"Man, what happened to us?"

                                            "Dunno."