The basement of Sugar Cube corner was cozy enough, with a cool draft that fended off the stifling heat of summer up above. Rainbow Dash sat comfortably on an old box of cooking utensils, fanning herself with an outstretched wing.

Scattered across the stone floor in pairs, Rainbow Dash's four other friends sat among one another, talking idly. Pinkie was behind a makeshift curtain at the back of the basement, tuning her instrument– a wicked hybrid that represented all the musical families at once. In all reality, only the filly wielding the complex looking device could tell you for certain what went together to make the impressive noisemaker.

“Okie dokey!” she said, still hidden behind the curtains. “Dash, can you turn off the lights now?” Nodding to nopony in particular, Rainbow Dash got off the box and cantered over to the switches at the base of the stairs, clicking all but one off. “Thank you! Applejack, could you get the curtains?”

“Ahm on it Sugarcube.” The mock-apron was slowly pulled open as the earth pony tugged on a pulley system off to the side. When the two hanging bed sheets were fully cleared, Pinkie Pie, sporting a trim drummer costume, appeared on the basement floor. Her instrument was mounted on her back, glistening as the lone light fixture highlighted the new layer of polish.

Suddenly all business, she breathed in and gave each of her friends a determined look before clenching down on the lip of a protruding trombone. A rough growling noise came out of her instrument as she exhaled into it, making Rainbow Dash’s eyes widen in confusion. In response to Pinkie’s poor attempt at music, and despite herself, the cyan filly couldn't fend off the reemergence of the feelings she had experienced the night Mozart had played his horrible tune.

After hearing the noise that she had just produced, Pinkie Pie looked angrily at her instrument. Her brow cringed momentarily as she pondered what had gone wrong. This look quickly faded however as she laughed at herself, putting off her poor start with a roll of her eyes.

“Sorry everypony! Let’s try it again.” She brought a hoof up and struck one of her drums. It gave off a dull plop with absolutely no reverb. A fine layer of sweat began to form on the party pony’s brow. Clenching her teeth she began to play again, starting off slow but then speeding up in desperation as she continuously struck the wrong notes. At one point the playing had become so frantic that Twilight had to intervene with a friendly, yet firm comment.

“I think you should stop, Pinkie, you’re… really working yourself up.” Pinkie hardly registered her friend’s interjection and continued to play, transfixed. Her eyes had gone wide as an inner turmoil overcame her, a tug-o-war between horror and determination.

“Pinkie…”Twilight's tone dropped to something along the lines of caution… things were getting out of hoof, and quickly at that.

Frustrated by her friend’s tame approach, Rainbow Dash cantered up and intervened with a firm hoof on Twilight shoulder.

"Let me handle this." She turned away from the lavender unicorn and addressed the panicked filly directly.

“Pinkie!” she hollered, stopping the pink filly in her tracks. Gasping for air, Pinkie Pie turned to her rainbow streaked friend.

“Yes?” her voice was labored.

“You've got to stop this freaking out business.” and then, as an afterthought; “what’s up with your instrument?”

“I don’t know!” Pinkie exclaimed. Her hair went flat. “I’ve tuned it, polished it, even sang to it!”

“What?” Rainbow Dash cocked her eyebrow in bewilderment. “You sang to it?” Pinkie nodded slowly. The cyan filly was about to question; but then she remembered who exactly she was talking too. “Oh, never mind."

“Could there be something wrong with your instrument, beyond tuning, I mean?”Twilight picked up the conversation after giving Rainbow Dash a grateful nod.

“Like something I’d have to bring it to the shop for?” Pinkie questioned, picking up on what Twilight was suggesting.

“That’s what I was thinking. If you’re fast enough, you could probably run over to the music shop, get your instrument fixed, and then return in the hour. I’m basing my calculations off of the theory that all your instrument needs is a quick fix mind you.”

Momentarily Pinkie Pie sat back, using the mounted instrument as a headrest. It was obvious from the way that the filly puckered up her lips that she was thinking over her options. Looking back at Twilight Sparkle, her frown turned upside-down.

In a flash her hair popped back up, and her step regained that spring that was o-so-Pinkie. The sight brought hope to her friends eyes.

“Good idea Twilight! I’ll head out to get it fixed right away… be back in jiffy!” In two leaps the energetic filly had launched herself across the basement floor and up the stairs, dragging her instrument behind her. When Twilight was certain Pinkie had gone, she let out a shaky sigh of relief.

“Disaster… averted.” The assembled ponies broke apart, filing out of the basement in a single line.

***

Skipping along, Pinkie Pie ran into the rump of a standing pony. The jolt of contact shook her out of her day-dream state and back to the reality at hoof.

“Sorry!” she said with a smile, trotting past the peeved colt and towards the music shop.

Turning around a final corner she noticed that a large crowd had amassed outside of ‘Tune’, the musical repair shop. Screwing up her eyes in curiosity, Pinkie weaved her way through the angry crowd and arrived at the front of the herd. Halftone, the owner of the shop, could be seen frantically running between the assembled groups of frustrated ponies, shouting out ‘I’ll be right with you’ and ‘one moment please’. The blazing sun did little to help the poor stallion, and he was drenched in sweat. As the shop owner brushed by Pinkie Pie, she stopped him with a hoof on his shoulder.

“Halftone, what’s going on?”

“I’ll be right with you!” he replied, preparing to run off, but then stopping in his tracks as he registered what the party pony had said. Turning back to Pinkie, he shrugged.

“Beats me Pinkie! It seems as though everypony’s instrument has decided to die on them at the same time! I’m guessing you have a problem with yours as well?”

“Yup!”

“Well I’m sorry then. I can’t help you.”

“But you haven’t even…”

“Listen Pinkie, everypony is experiencing the same problem. It’s as if the instruments
have lost their ability to make music! Hay, I even had to turn back Octavia!”

“Octavia…” Pinkie Pie was promptly cut off as the noise of a single thunder boom exploded in the sky. All ponies stopped and looked around, gazing at the horizon to find the source. Strangely enough, the sky was clear.

Just as the Ponyfolk were about to return to their complaining, a figure appeared on the roof of ‘Tune’. It was Mozart, and he was laughing triumphantly.

“Did I not warn you?What did I say!”

“I forgot!” Pinkie chirped. Mozart ignored her and continued.

“When I arrived at the concert, all of you were not… in tune with my refined sense, so I had to, uh, correct that.” Every word the evil unicorn spoke sounded as though he was reading it off a script. It was obvious that he was enjoying himself, but he probably could of brushed off on some of his public speaking skills prior arriving to terrorize the Ponyfolk.

“What did you do to us!” a terrified voice from somewhere in the audience wailed.

“Nothing much.” and then, as an afterthought; “just took your musical talent away.”

“What!” Pinkie shrieked. A chorus of panicked whispers sprung up behind her.

“I took your talent away… ha! Even when we’re talking normally you’re deaf.” Mozart turned from Pinkie Pie to address the whole crowd. “You are all deaf! I presented you with only the most sublime, and you resented it!” Pressing silence met his words. Now was the time for him to leave, causing a very effective cliffhanger.

“That’s all folks!” He chuckled to himself. “I’ll leave and let you get used to your new… musical deduction.” A blue aura began to surround him and he lifted himself into the summer sky. Little did the Ponyfolk know of what was in store for them.

***

Twilight was in her library- frantically scribbling on a piece of parchment -when she heard a rapid knocking noise at her second story window. Slightly miffed, she got up and made her way up to her study on the second floor. The only friend of hers that would do something like that was Pinkie Pie, but she was off at Tune, so…

As Twilight opened the window pane to gaze out, Pinkie Pie, from the ground below, jumped up through the frame. She was sweating profusely, and trying to talk and catch her breath at the same time. Confronted by her friends energetic presence, Twilight strove to remain calm for the both of them.

“Pinkie? Why are you coming in through my window?"

“Because doors are for squares.” She replied simply. Twilight was about to point out logic, but then stopped herself; choosing instead to start a new segue that addressed the problem at hoof.

“I’m surprised you’re back; it’s only been fifteen minutes! Did you get your instrument fixed?”

“No!” The scholarly unicorn tipped her head in confusion.

“Then why are you…”

“I have some really, really, realrealyrealy bad news to tell you.” Pinkie Pie said.

“And what’s that?” Twilight felt her chest seize up, and she leaned in attentively. What could have possibly gone wrong?

“Well. I was at Halftone's, and there was this really, really big crowd outside. And I mean big! So big in fact, that if I was to bake a cake for them all I’d have to use over a hundred…

“Get to the point Pinkie!”

“Oh… sorry.” she said bashfully. “I’m just so confuzzled right now!”

“Confuzzled?” Twilight replied, trying in vain to translate what Pinkie had said.

“Confused and puzzled! Geez Twilight; I thought you were the egghead of the group.”

"But those two words are both synonyms! You cant combined the two, it's grammatically incorrect." Twilight exclaimed.

"Your point?" Pinkie replied, eliciting a drawn out groan from Twilight.

“Never mind... did you get your instrument fixed?” She asked again in a desperate bid to get a straight answer out of her friend.

“No. Not even close!”

“Why?”

“Because it’s not my instrument that’s out of tune…it’s me!”

“So you need to practice more? And you came all the way here to tell me that? Well, I could give you this one book…” Twilight’s horn glowed as she cast her magical energy throughout her library on the floor below. When she finally acquired the desired tome, she levitated it to float in front of the party pony.

“Noooo. I don’t need that!” Pinkie groaned, pushing away Twilights offering. “No matter how much I practice now, it won’t do anything.”

“But then…

“It’s Mozarts fault!” The name stopped Twilight Sparkle in her tracks.

“Mozart? Didn’t he leave Ponyville?”

“Nope! He appeared on the roof of the music shop and told us what he did.” Twilight's jaw went slack. The memory of the sheet of magical energy that had descended upon the audience back at the concert returned to her and suddenly, it all made sense.

“Oh my, this is a problem.” Twilight turned away from her friend and ran down the stairs, pulling books off shelves and gazing at titles. “Pinkie, I need some time to think.” she said over her shoulder. The earth pony ducked to avoid a sailing book on trigonometry before uttering an enthusiastic 'okie dokey!'

“Thank you” Twilight said, “Get all the rest of our friends together and meet me back here in ten minutes. I should have a plan by then.”

After nodding to Twilight Sparkle’s back, Pinkie leapt through the window again and onto the ground below.

Next Chapter: Rainbow Dash's Resolve Estimated time remaining: 19 Minutes