A Different Kind of Special
They say that each cutie mark is given due to a unique skill that every pony has. Every pony has their own skill, and therefore, their own cutie mark. Due to this fact of life, every pony gets one skill, and one ability that makes them special. Every pony has a cutie mark and that is the way that it has been for centuries. This story is not that of a pony that has an amazing cutie mark, but that of a pony that had no cutie mark.
Half Note was born of two musician parents; this is obviously where he got his name. His parents were so proud of him when he was born, they knew that his musical talent would be every bit as good as theirs if not better, but this was not so. His parents obviously didn't realize that he would be special in a whole different way. This is why when he turned 5; they set him up at one of the most prestigious music academies in all of Equestria. He would have resented this if it weren't for the great amount of stress that was put on his parents just to make his attendance at the school possible.
Half Note was not a different colt; he did nothing to show that he was excellent and nothing to prove himself to have a higher level of power. This is why he was surprised when his parents told him that he would be going off to the greatest music academy in western Equestria. Half Note hated that he had to leave his small town. He didn't want to leave all of his friends and his parents behind. He resented his parents for sending him away at such a young age. He would resent them even more for sending him before giving him any formal lessons or seeing how well he could play.
Half Note would leave in one week, he had that much time to say goodbye to his friends and to prepare to leave his small town. This short period of time would teach him very important knowledge that he would need later in his life. The main person who would teach it to him in the short time was the old stallion Dallum. He told his parents where he was going to the park, but this was a lie. His parents would never accept his friendship with Dallum, but Half Note showed early intelligence by not only seeking Dallum for knowledge, but also hiding this fact from his parents.
Dallum was old, and his age brought him wisdom. He was a bit of a vagrant, but his vagrancy had given him world knowledge that would be one of the most important things to help morph Half Note to find is true potential, yet he didn't know this yet. Dallum had seen something special in Half Note, and the fact that he wasn't able to see what this specialness was assured to him that it existed. Dallum wanted to teach Half Note his knowledge so that he could be sure that Half Note's specialty was used for good, and that Half Note would take his teachings to make sure that he was around long enough to BE special.
Dallum was greatly worried once he found that Half Note was being sent away. His wisdom told him that he greatly needed to teach Half Note some of the lessons that he needed now, or the situation could possibly never happen again. Dallum turned to Half Note and said, "Half Note, I see greatness in you, and the fact that your parents are sending you away is proof that they don't have the ability to see it." He paused, thought over his words, and continued," That greatness in you, it needs to be pushed along the right path and given the necessary guidance to make sure that you can have the ability to be strong enough to fight the influence of other's that will want to use your greatness for bad."
Half Note looked at Dallum and said," I don't understand, I don't feel special. I haven't done anything to show off any talent that I have or any specialness that will help me to be something that has an effect on people."
Dallum replied," I don't expect you to see it now, even I don't see what that greatness is, yet I know it is there." He looked at Half Note to see if he understood, and when he thought he did, he continued," I want to teach you what I know, but I have the time to do it now. I need you to make sure that you come and see me the next time that you come back to this town."
Half Note replied to Dallum," I see you as a friend with great wisdom, and I promise to come to you when I return to our town, but that will be in a long time. I thank you for this opportunity and I will make sure to take any information that you give me with great thought. But now I must go friend, I have to leave now… but I will return in 3 months."
Half Note returned to his house after being gone for a few hours, when he opened the door, his parents were standing there looking worried. He saw this and he knew that something was wrong. This feeling of wrongness changed to that of guilt when his mother ran toward him and grasped him in her hooves and his father shot him a glare.
His mother burst out, "Oh honey, I love you so much, I thought we had lost you! We went to the park and you weren't there! We were so worried!"
His father joined in saying, "If you weren't at the park, then were you?"
Half Note responded, "I love you both very much, and you deserve an explanation… I was with Dallum. Now before you freak out, he is a friend. I will resent you both every step of the way if you don't let me be his friend. He is very wise and I would like to be able to experience some of that wisdom of his for myself."
His parents looked at each other, and decided to allow him to do this. They were both very doubtful that this relationship could be beneficial, but they had faith that Dallum wouldn't harm their son either. They also took assurance in the fact that Half Note would be miles away from the old stallion so he wouldn't be a problem to them.
Half Note got off without being in any trouble, but his parents decided they were going to send him off to his new school a little early. Instead of being leaving at the end of the week, he would be leaving in two days. Half Note, while angered by this, chose not to fight back due to the feeling of getting let off easily any way. He now had a big decision on his hands. He wasn't sure who he should spend his last day with. He decided and then went to bed.
Half Note's sleep was not restful that night. He had a terrible dream. The Dream chilled him to the bone and he woke up. He was drenched in sweat and his hair was stuck to the back of his neck. He got up for a glass of water and headed for the kitchen of his house. He overheard a conversation between his parents as he walked down the hall from his room to the stairway that led down to the kitchen and living room. What he heard gave him a little bit of uncertainty in the upcoming days.
"Why do we have to send him when he is this young honey, I don't think that he is ready to go to the academy yet," said Half Note's mother.
His father replied, "We've been over this a hundred times. War is has broken out in far East Equestria. I want him to be as far away from it as possible and sending him to the west is the best possible way to do that. Plus, I was his age when I went there, and now I am a master jazz musician. You too went to a music school at his age as well if my memory serves me."
Half Notes Mother was not relieved by this, though, she told her husband, "But you must remember that we were playing instruments when we were his age, and we were quite good as well. Every time that we have given him an instrument, he has either broken it, or played it badly enough that he never wanted to touch it again."
Half Note's father had thought that she was going to say this, so his reply came quickly and gruffly, "Tasha, it isn't like we have given him every instrument to try yet. I play trumpet and you play saxophone, we have pretty much only given him brass and wood winds instruments because of this. Did you ever think that he could be a piano player or a guitarist? What about a percussionist? Any of these things are possible, and the Academy will find them out for us. He is going, as scheduled, and that… is… that!"
Half Note went into his room and was overtaken with sadness. His parents had always told him that their expertise in music never came until they had been in an academy. If he was to be as great as them his musical expertise should have already come about by now. He just lay in his bed with these thought as he drifted back to sleep. This time his dreams were not scary in the sense that they were before, but in the sense that great unhappiness was about to come his way.
He woke up the next morning and found his parents in the kitchen. His mother had made the family a large breakfast for them all. Half Note remained silent and thoughtful. His parents noticed but they didn't say anything. They had known, deep down, that he wanted more time to grow up before being shipped off to the academy. His mother might have let him stay home too, but his father didn't want this. After they had finished breakfast, Half Note left to see the rest of his friends for the final time.
His mother decided to drive him to make sure that he would go where he said he would. This was alright with Half Note because he didn't plan on wandering any way. But instead of taking him up to the farm where he had invited his friends to say goodbye, his mother took him to get ice cream. He would have protested but he felt like he deserved some sort of reward for having to put up with all the extra problems that he has been having lately. He told his mother that he wanted to get to his friends, but even with this request, the ice cream trip turned into an entire day of fun. From the ice cream parlor, to the arcade, to the movies, and then finally, a very special treat. Half Note's mother brought him to a jewelry store where she bought him the nicest pocket watch that he had ever seen.
She told him, "I have seen this watch for awhile, I thought that you would like it and it seemed to just jump off the display. I love you very much and want you to have this in case you ever get home sick.
Half Note eyes widened, "Really mom?! You mean it?! I will love it forever!"
Half Note's mother bought him the watch and they left. They headed towards the farm, but when they got to the farm, Half Note's mother just continued driving. She then headed towards there house. When they home, she led him inside. When he opened the door, all of the lights were off, and then all of a sudden, "SURPRISE!" shouted everypony who had been hidden in the room.
All of his friends were there. They had all come together to say good bye to their friend. It seemed that everyone he had ever really talked to was there. His friends, the people that he had went to school with, even a few of the adults that he had known where there. The only pony, who wasn't there, was Dallum. This didn't really surprise Half Note though because he knew his parents didn't really approve of the friendship.
Half Note had a great time at the party, and he felt ready to go to his new school. When he finally went to sleep, he was finally at rest. When he woke up in the morning, his parents took him to the bus stop. From there he was finally on his journey to the mysterious, Western Academy of Music for the Rhythmically Advanced.