This New Rhythm

Story 5

Chapter 1: Hard Work

By: FluttersIsAwesome

I left the house Octavia and I were living in and went to find Nova. I need somepony with speed. Luckily, it didn't take me long to find him. As I walked down the street, I heard traces of his trademark grass whistle, as well as Fluttershy's singing. I turned and listened closely, and I found that it was coming from Whitetail Woods. I ran as fast as I could, and luckily, I didn't have to go too far. I peeked through the bushes as I saw the pair playing a song with the birds.

I closed my eyes and listened for a bit. It was beautiful. It wasn't really my style, though. It was calm and peaceful, more like the sorta thing Octavia would be into. As I looked at them again, I couldn't help but smile. I remembered that day a while ago when griffins attacked Ponyville. I tried to help fight them off, but I'm a musician, not a soldier. It ended when Fluttershy took a few hits for Nova and he got pissed the fuck off. He ended up killing the griffin chief, but ended up in the hospital too. However, I found out later that while there, he proposed to Fluttershy. It was unexpected, but the brute and the gentle mare were engaged.

When they had finally finished, I walked up to them. "Nova, you got a minute?"

He turned to me, smiling. "Maaaaaybe. What do you need?"

I looked up at the sky for a minute. "I need a ride to Hoovesten. It's not that far away, but I need to get there fast."

He turned to Fluttershy, who smiled at him and nodded. "Go ahead; I'll be here when you get back."

He turned back to me and bent forward. "Hop on."

I grinned and jumped on his back. He lifted up off the ground and flew up. "Which way we headed?"

I pointed to my left. "Straight that way."

"Alright then, hang on!" He shot forward in the direction I pointed.

I felt my eyes starting to water even with my goggles on. It took a lot of effort to keep from falling off, but this was definitely the kind of speed I wanted. "This is awesome!"

Nova grinned. "Want me to do tricks?"

I shook my head. "No thanks, I'm not a fan of falling!"

He laughed. "Gotcha. Keep holding on, then." He sped up, and the rush just invigorated me even more. As we flew, the adrenaline flowed through me, and I felt a wave of inspiration hit me. Wow... this could be an awesome thing to make a song into.... "Thanks, Nova. You just gave me some inspiration!"

He tilted his head. "Uh... if you say so."

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I only needed to get to Hoovesten to buy a hug supply of quills and parchment, as well as a headset radio so I could listen to my music while Octavia had the radio. When we got back to Ponyville, I immediately got to work trying to write a new song that would fit to the rush I felt when I flew with Nova.

"Hm... guitars always go with speed... and quick drum beats, too." I wasn't good with writing notes for instruments. I was more used to composing music based on the commands you had to put into a sound processor and the different nodes and levers on a soundboard. I loved techno music, and Beat was good with both rock and techno, but most of his stuff was rock. It was hard to work with, but nothing could stop me.

I wracked my brain as to what Beat would be looking for. I tried different combinations of guitar and drum beats and played them back in my head, but nothing sounded good. Sheet after sheet was balled up and thrown in the trash can as I tried to think of something that Beat would like, and I continually came up short.

"Darling, come now." Octavia had just walked through the living room door behind me and was looking at the garbage can full of failed attempts. "This is not the Vinyl Scratch I know. The popular DJ PON3 would never simply throw away her work, nor would she make music to try and impress others." She walked up to me, and with each word she jabbed me in the chest with a hoof. "Listen, Vinyl. Why do you make music? Because it's what you love doing. You should never concern yourself with how a song will sound to others when you make it. All that matters is if you like it. If you keep writing like this, you will never make a song that will win this competition."

I looked at my friend apologetically for a moment, then I realized what she was saying. Of course... "You're right, Octavia. I completely forgot the entire birthplace of music." I put my hoof up to my chest proudly.

She nodded. "Exactly. Music comes from the heart. Write whatever you like, and I'm sure Sly will see it as nothing less than perfect."

I bowed to her. "Thanks, sis, I needed that." I used sis as a nickname; we were close enough to be sisters, so she didn't have a problem with it.

She nodded. "Gladly. Now get to it."

I smiled and turned back to my sheet. I still wanted to use instrumental notes, so that still made it hard, but as I thought of the feeling I got when flying, I was reminded of a song by Colt40 titled "Live and Learn."

It fit perfectly. "Hm... now I have something to work with." I used the instruments from that song as a template, and I began to fit certain notes with the effect that I wanted the song to have.

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It was about 11:00 P.M. when I had finally written something I liked. All the notes from the different instruments had been combined so I could write using standard notes. I looked at my sheet, satisfied.

╘ ╨ ┬ ╚ ╢ ╝ ╙ ╖╖ ╫ ╓ ╥ ╘ ╨ ╗ ╗ ╗ ╓ ╜ ╬ ╥ ┬ ╞ ╩ ╛ ╦

I used this as a guide and began writing the rest. When I looked at the clock after I had finished, it was 2 A.M. I got up and simply flopped on to the couch, exhausted but happy. Next Chapter: Chapter 2: The Arrival Estimated time remaining: 25 Minutes