After I took Moonshine home, I decided that I'd postpone my nap. I want to start on my guitar project right away. I should use my time productively, after all.

Well, what do I need? Some wood for the base, metal strings, magnets, and lots of other details I’ve forgotten... Crap, I need a lot. And if there aren't electronics that will help me make it sound right, I'll have to make one with magic... somehow. Yeah, I need to study magic much more than I do now. What can I do? Telekinesis and teleportation. Every unicorn can do the first, and I teleported, well, accidentally. I don't even know what the spell is!

Alright, the project will probably take months for me to complete... Damn.

Hm, but maybe everything will be a lot more easier with magic... I wonder if it can alter the sound. If it can, I will be able to alter the sound of an acoustic guitar into the sound of an electric one. Hey, that's not a bad idea at all! Surely magic can alter the sound or even create it!

It's settled, I need an acoustic guitar. Besides, I need practice, and any guitar will suffice for that.

Well, time to get to business! Let's see how many Bits I still have. The purse should be somewhere in the pockets...

Yep, here it is! And... Meh, I only have a little money. All I can do is hope that Lady Luck is smiling on me today.

Time to go and find a guitar.

Do they even have a store with musical instruments here in Canterlot? I've been searching for one for at least an hour and haven't found any! Candy shops, food stores, jewelers, everything but a music store! Damn, if it's this hard to find a musical instrument, it's no surprise they don't have genres like rock and metal here.

Damn, why don't they have these genres?! There could be so much for me to hear, and yet there is none! Absolutely nothing! How could it be so?!

Oh, wait, here's the shop I was looking for, finally! Let's see what they have.

***

Hm... Some synthesizers, drums, acoustic guitars, flutes, violins, violas, cellos... It has everything but electric-based instruments. Excluding the synthesizers, I suppose. Are they powered by magic? All of them have some kind of blue crystal attached underneath... Are these batteries or what? Interesting.

Alright, they have guitars here, but the prices are rather high. I would even like to buy a synthesizer, but, well... Where would I get all the money?

Wait, there's poster about a special offer. Hm, it says if you already can play an instrument well, you can prove it to the cashier and receive... Wow, seventy five percents off! That's an offer I like!

Let's do some math. Here’s a simple acoustic guitar, seventy bits. With the offer, it'll cost me seventeen and a half bits. I don't know how they round here, so it's either seventeen or eighteen bits.

How much money do I have?

...

Fifteen bits.

...

FUCK!

...

Alright, I have to find three bits, just do be sure I won't fuck up. Better make that five so I’ll have some left to buy some candy or chocolate once I’m finished.

There must be something in the streets. A bit in a pond, a dusty bit under the bench where no one looks, a bit hidden between the cobblestones... Yeah, plenty to find if know where to look.

Time to go money-hunting!

***

I was walking through the streets, looking for anything that looks round and shiny. I need to find three bits minimum, five bits for some candy later, or whatever amount of bits maximum. There’s no such thing as too much money, right?

There is nothing under the benches, nothing on the road... Even the ponds are empty!

Yep, I definitely need to earn some money. But who's going to hire a colt? I doubt anyone will take me for a job. What can I do? No, what is that I am able to do and get paid for it? I can play instruments, but I doubt there aren't adult professionals.

Yep, I have nothing.

Wait...

I see something glistening in the decorative bushes nearby. Is that what I think it is? A bit, two, three, five?

Better find out.

I walked to the bush and used my magic to grab that shiny thing.

...

Well, it's a purse with a small metal plate pressed in it. I opened the purse, and...

Damn, there's twenty three bits! Much more than I need! I could buy even two guitars with those and what I already have. Hey, even two bits will be left for me to spend on tasty stuff!

But... It's a purse. It belongs to someone. Someone that may need it more than I do.

I... I don't know. It's not stealing, but still, it doesn't feel right for me to take something that isn't mine. A bit that was lost, taking it would be okay. But a purse... It even has something written on that small plate!

Hm... Return to 7 Oak St. if found. It says nothing about a reward.

Or maybe I could just take three bits from the purse, no one would ever know!

But that would definitely be stealing.

I hate moral choices. But I need to make one.

Well, what do I need money for? For a guitar. I am not starving, and my life doesn't depend on this money. Someone else might have saved these twenty three bits to buy something they dreamed about.

No, I won't take this money. I'll be able to earn more, and somepony may need them more than me. I will definitely return the purse, right away.

Here it is, 7 Oak St. An average-looking house. I knocked at the door.

A few moments later the door opened, and I was greeted by a surprised-looking earth pony stallion. He wore a pair of really damaged glasses. The right lens is covered in a web of cracks, the frame is barely holding everything together. I guess now I know what the owner of the purse needs to buy.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" he asked.

I passed him his purse. For a moment, he was surprised. A moment later a smile grew on his face.

"Thank you!" he said in a cheerful tone. "I thought I'd never find it! What can I do to repay you, young colt?"

"You needn't do anything." I replied shyly. He really doesn't! When I help people, I never ask them to return the favor. First, they didn't ask me for help, and that means no reward was discussed. Second, I don't want anyone owing me anything. Well, if the stallion did ask me to find the purse for him for a reward, I'll just tell him I need three bits. But he didn't ask. When I help people like that, I never want anything back. Some would say I’m being stupid, others would praise me for being kind-hearted. In my opinion, everyone should help each other. That'll make the world a bit better to live.

"Nonsense!" he shook head. "I see it in your eyes that you need a reward."

"Um..."

"Don't be afraid! You did a good thing, and all good things should be rewarded." he smiled at me. "So, tell me what you want, maybe I can help you."

"I... I need three bits to... to buy a guitar." I blushed. I hate these moments! They are just so awkward!

"I think we can help each other." he scratched his chin. "Back when I was as young as you, my mother used to take me to musical school to learn how to play the guitar. She wanted me to become a musician. But—" he showed me his flank, which had a red cross on it… I guess showing butts to each other isn't a bad thing here. Still looks weird, though. "—I became a doctor! An oculist!" he chuckled. "Well, I still have my guitar back here. It's old and dusty, but I guarantee it still works. It just takes up space, but if it’s music you pursue, then you can rightfully take it from me. Just let me find it..."

He went back into the depths of his house, not even closing the door. I guess the crime rate is indeed really low. I wouldn't leave my door open with a stranger standing on the doorstep.

It seems that most ponies I meet are kind to strangers. I like it.

***

Alright, now I have a guitar. It’s rather old but still looks very good. Sounds rather nice, too! That stallion also gave me a case to store the guitar in.

Hm, I remembered a fact. Back on the Earth there is a guitar that is about four or maybe even five hundred years old, and it's still playable. Four hundred years!

Well, I have a guitar and fifteen bits. I'll save the money for later. Time for me to get home.

I returned to the apartment. Moonshine is awake now and doing her homework. Hm, what will she do over the weekend? Maybe her parents will take her home for these two days?

Anyway, I need to practice my guitar skills. It's been a long time since I played it properly.

Hm, I know a lot of notes from the songs I listen to. In fact, I have them memorized by now. I also have perfect pitch, and it’s really helpful for my playing.

"Moonshine," I addressed my roommate. "Would it be okay if I play the guitar?"

"Um, yes." she blushed a little. "Some music would be... nice."

I have a nice choice of songs to play. Different melodies, different themes... Since I don't have fingers anymore, I'll practice my telekinesis.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=GOv6wU216xg

https://youtube.com/watch?v=D5HNbLZtX_E

Author's Notes:

Some satanic metal for you, readers. Some of you may even find a new band to listen to — Ghost. It's not death metal with screaming or growling (I don't like screaming and growling, for example.), and that means it's rather easy to find Ghost to your liking, even if lyrics are connected to sex, satanism, and related stuff.

Anyway, I've just noticed it takes me a lot of time to update my stories. Sometimes I don't notice a week passing. That needs fixing, don't you agree?