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/pj250/ Atmosphere

By Writefag_Roulette
Created: 2021-07-16 21:31:33
Updated: 2021-03-07 03:07:27
Expiry: Never

twilight sparkle oc slice of life safe anonymous /pj250/pre-season 1

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>there are no heroes in a punk rock band
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>but damn if you don't feel like one
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>the atmosphere is just right for it
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>tonight, the band is Red Ring
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>when the band is Red Ring, it's Sweet Heart on bass
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>Green Hawk on drums
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>Honeydew on lead vocals
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>and you
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>you're on lead guitar
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>the fact that you never learned how to play guitar is, of course, no problem for you
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>some might say the way your fingers strike the chords is random and haphazard
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>but the ponies out there in the audience
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>they get it
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>they understand
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>that randomness
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>that chaos
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>it's precisely what makes Red Ring worth watching
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>as the night goes on, your hands find a simple melody that pleases you
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>you spend the rest of the night experimenting with different variations on it, adjusting the sequence as your bandmates' music moves you
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>unconstrained by the formality of meters and notes, what you're channeling is pure music
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>pure power
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>sure, it's true; when you step off this stage you'll be just a freakishly tall and bipedal lowlife
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>but right now
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>yeah
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>you feel like a hero
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>but no music, not even yours, can be completely without order
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>every performance of every song is different, but the lyrics have to stay the same
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>it's just not possible to go into a song as though you don't know how to sing
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>and yes, you've tried
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>the final words of the song pass through Honeydew's lips
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>the song comes to an end
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>you finish it off by repeating your melody one last time, striking the strings as hard as possible
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>a climactic finale
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>and then
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>it's over
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>after the show, you find yourself in the bar area of the Kanterlot Klub
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>your place on stage has been taken by a band called Spooky Parrot
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>Hawk and Dew are making out in a corner
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>Heart is laughing her ass off and surrounded by stallions
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>and you
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>you're just chilling by the bar
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>your shitty drink in one hand and the band's beaten guitar propped up in the other
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>it's moments like this
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>the calm after a performance
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>despite the surging life and sounds around you
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>no, not despite it
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>because of it
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>the atmosphere is peace itself
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>you take another sip from your battery acid flavored drink
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>and then
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>it happens
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<"Um, excuse me."
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"Hm?"
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>you look down
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>there's a little purple unicorn staring up at you with wide eyes
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"What's up?"
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<"I, um, well, I actually, you see, um-"
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>Sweet Heart's voice cracks into you from across the bar like lightning
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/"Yeah, Anon, get it!"
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>the little unicorn looks down and begins to stammer twice as hard
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<"Oh, I, um, I didn't mean, I didn't mean it like, I mean I'm not trying to-"
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"Relax. She's just giving me shit."
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>you pat the barstool next to yours
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"You look like you wanna talk about something."
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<"Yes, I um, I do."
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>she clambers up onto the stool
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>you swing around to face into the bar
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>she, after hesitating for a moment, follows your lead
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>the bartender is way down at the other end of the bar yelling at somebody over something
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>for now, at least, you should be safe from too much attention
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"So, what's up?"
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>she takes a deep breath
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<"Well, I don't mean to be terribly rude, but, um, what exactly are you?"
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"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..."
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>your voice trails off as the expression on the unicorn's face changes from wide-eyed and nervous to disdainful and cringing
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<"Uh, no, that's what I mean. What I mean is-"
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>she roughly prods your hand with her hoof
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<"What. Are you?"
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"Oh, that."
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>you pick up your hand and stare at it for a moment
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"We called ourselves humans back where I came from."
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<"And where did you come from?"
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>you shrug
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"Dunno."
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<"What? How can you not know?"
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"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."
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<"You've been here for ten years?"
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"More or less."
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<"How come I never heard about you until yesterday?"
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>you shrug
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"Can't expect the band to get famous overnight."
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<"No, I mean, you're a fascinating specimen."
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"Hey, thanks. You're pretty interesting too."
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<"I mean scientifically. There's no description of anything like you in any records I could find."
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"Oh."
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>you take another sip from your shitty drink
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"Hey, just out of curiosity, who told you about me?"
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>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
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"I see."
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<"So I'd like to get some sort of description of you submitted to the scientific community if I can."
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"What do I get out of it?"
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<"Ten bits."
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"Sold. When do we start?"
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<"Uh, not right now. Where can I get a hold of you?"
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"I'm... not sure, actually. I was planning on staying with some friends, but, uh..."
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>Hawk and Dew's makeout session has gotten very hot and heavy
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"I don't think they're gonna want any company tonight."
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<"Wait. Do you not have a place to stay?"
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"Eh, not exactly."
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>the purple unicorn jumps down from the barstool and gestures at the exit with her horn
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>a chorus of hoots and hollers erupts from throughout the Klub
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>she ignores it
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<"Stay with me tonight."
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"Gee, lady, we don't even know each other's names."
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<"I'm Twilight Sparkle, you're Anonymous. Let's go."
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>the next morning sees you descending the steps from some sort of library tower in uptown Canterlot, dead tired
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>as you come around the corner, you spot the three unicorn mares who sent Twilight your way last night
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/"Ah, this one's mine."
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>Sweet Heart comes trotting from around the other corner
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"Geez, Heart, were you camping here for me?"
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/"Damn right. Now tell me everything."
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>you shoot a sidelong glance at Twilight's friends
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>and you get an idea
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>you pull a small bag from your pocket and jingle it around a bit
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"Got ten bits."
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>Heart's jaw goes slack
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/"She paid you for it?"
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"Oh yeah."
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>Twilight's friends unleash a scandalized gasp and dash up the stairs
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>you grin at Sweet Heart
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"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."
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>Heart takes a second to digest this
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>glances up the stairs
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>and laughs
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/"You're a dick, Anon."
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"Yeah. We getting ready for the battle of the bands tonight?"
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/"Uh, no? We never practice; you know that. It's not our way."
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"I didn't mean practice. I meant dick around at Hawk and Dew's place til the show."
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/"Oh. Yeah, totally. Let's go."
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>a few minutes later you're greeted at the door by a wild-eyed Green Hawk
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>something's got him excited
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>really excited
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~"Anon! Heart! Yo, what's up?"
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"Sounds like we should be asking you that."
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~"Dude! Dew and I have got big news for you guys."
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>Hawk looks over his shoulder and calls into his apartment
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~"Dew! Anon and Heart are here!"
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>a call from within answers
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_"Well, let them in!"
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>Hawk gestures in with his wing
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~"Yo, come on in!"
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>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
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>Honeydew smiles
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_"Hi Heart, hi Anon. So, yeah, we've got some big news."
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/"Well don't keep us waiting any longer, what is it?"
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>Hawk and Dew share a sappy grin
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>and Dew lifts her chin up a little
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_"I'm pregnant."
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~"And we're getting married."
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>you feel a big smile crack into your face
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"Nice! That's awesome."
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~"Dude! I know!"
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/"Uh."
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>Heart falters
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/"So are we still good for the battle of the bands tonight?"
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>Hawk frowns
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~"Yeah. Yeah, we should be, right?"
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>Dew cocks her head
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_"I don't see why not."
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/"Okay, but, um, what about, you know, later? In the future?"
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>it dawns on you what Sweet Heart is getting at
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"I mean, geez, we gotta let them live their lives, Heart."
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>and then you see the realization hit the faces of Green Hawk and Honeydew:
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>a baby is a lot of work
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>more than likely too much work to be dicking around with an amateur punk rock band every night
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_"Well, it doesn't have to be the end of the band, exactly."
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~"No, yeah, totally. We can still play sometimes. Just, uh, maybe not as much."
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/"Yeah."
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>a silence hangs over a kitchen for a moment
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>and you feel the atmosphere
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>and it feels all wrong
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>so naturally
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>you do something to fix it
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"I mean, shit, you guys, what the hell are you getting upset about? You guys are having a baby. This is great!"
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>Honeydew breaks back into a smile first
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_"It is, isn't it?"
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"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."
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>smiles break out in the kitchen again
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>and the atmosphere becomes just right
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>that night sees you hanging out once more in the bar area of the Kanterlot Klub
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>the battle of the bands is over
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>Red Ring got second place
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>and that
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>is pretty cool
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>Green Hawk and Honeydew are sitting in the corner sharing a soda
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>the winners of the battle, Screaming Grasslands, are performing up on the stage
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>the lead guitarist is a unicorn
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>you watch the way she plucks the strings with her aura
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>there's a definite pattern to what she's doing
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>and you have to concede:
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>maybe you'd be a better guitarist if you actually learned how to play
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>though you hate to admit it, there's probably something to be said for order and reason
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>even in art
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>someone climbs into the barstool next to you
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/"Anon."
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"Yeah?"
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/"What happened to us?"
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"What do you mean?"
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/"You. Me. Hawk. Dew. Everything's all... different now."
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"Yeah."
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>you take a sip from your battery-acid flavored drink
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>and you let the atmosphere take you
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>your tranquility remains undisturbed when someone else climbs into the barstool on the other side of you
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<"Mr. Anonymous?"
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"Yeah?"
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<"So I submitted what you told me to the Canterlot Scientific Society, and they're interested in hearing more."
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"Like what?"
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<"Everything, really. Your culture, how you got here, what sorts of magics you're familiar with."
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"Sounds good. What's in it for me?"
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<"Twenty bits."
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"Need more than that."
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<"What? What more do you want?"
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"Some honest work, for starters."
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<"What do you mean?"
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"I mean, I've got a few marketable skills. I can reach high-up places and stuff."
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<"You mean you want employment?"
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"Yeah. That'd be cool."
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<"Tell you what. I've heard the Canterlot Archives are looking for an assistant bookkeeper. You talk to me, I talk to them."
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"Sounds good. You still at that library tower thing?"
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<"Yes."
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"I'll swing by tomorrow."
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>after that, Twilight spends a few seconds nodding
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>and she walks off
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>you lean back and let loose a sigh
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>Heart's head lolls over to look at you
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>and she hits you with a dull gaze
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/"Anon."
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"Yeah?"
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/"Did you just get a job?"
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"Yeah."
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/"Bruh."
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>you shrug
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"Had to be done. I can't crash at Hawk and Dew's place forever."
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>Sweet Heart grabs your drink and takes a sip from it
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/'"Man, what happened to us?"
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"Dunno."