Harmonic opened his eyes. It was still dark, and the rain slammed against the house even harder than it had the day before.
"Mm…What time is it?" He said in a groggy tone.
He got up and looked outside.
"Man, it's raining like there's no tomorrow."
He then noticed the young filly, who was still sleeping.
"Scootaloo…"
He walked over to Scootaloo and lightly nuzzled her cheek, careful not to wake her.
"Why in Equestria did I ju-"
He stopped mid-sentence.
"Oh…I think I understand."
He had already grown accustomed to having the filly in his home. He figured it was because they got along so well.
"Rest easy. You deserve it. I wish I could be there to take care of ponies like you forever…But my time is short. I hope to teach you the best I can before my time is over."
Harmonic went back and lied down on his pallet once again. He was no longer sleepy, and was lost in thought.
"I hope she has fun later when she wakes up. I'll teach her a little about playing instruments. Maybe we'll play some video games after that."
It was then Harmonic had an idea.
"I forgot! She's a Pegasus, so maybe she'll want to do some flying. Good thing the room upstairs is mostly clear. She can fly up there."
He looked over at the filly.
"She's so brave. I remember when I was her age. I wasn't half as courageous as she is. I hope she lives a long and happy life. Celestia knows she deserves it."
Harmonic moved his gaze back to the wall in front of him, sleepiness making a slight return.
"I guess I'll go back to sleep. No sense wasting energy."
Harmonic closed his eyes again. After a short time, he drifted off to sleep…
"mon…ic…"
"Hm…?"
"Harmonic?"
Harmonic opened his eyes slowly.
"Are you okay?" Scootaloo asked.
"Mm…What time is it?"
"It's around eight. Are you alright?"
"Yeah. Why do you ask?"
"You looked kinda' weird in your sleep."
"I did?"
"Yeah. Your eyes were shut really tight. You looked like you were about to cry..."
"I did?"
"Yeah."
"Must've been a nightmare…"
A tear rolled down his cheek, but was unnoticed by Scootaloo.
"I thought older ponies didn't have nightmares."
Harmonic wiped the tear away, and then responded to Scootaloo.
"Who told you that?"
"Rainbow Dash."
"I see…"
"Is something wrong?"
"Listen Scootaloo, don't let everything Rainbow says be the example you follow. I know the type of personality she possesses. She tries to act tough, but she has her own struggles."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I've met enough ponies to know the type. They don't want to admit their own fears and insecurities."
"Oh…"
The two sat in silence for a while. It was as if Scootaloo knew what he meant, even if the words sounded nonsensical. Harmonic broke the silence to change the topic.
"So, what do you want to do?"
"I'm kinda' hungry."
"I gotcha' covered."
Harmonic went to the fridge and pulled out some orange juice, milk, and cereal.
"Breakfast of warriors. Am I right," He said.
Scootaloo laughed at this. One of Harmonic's best qualities was his ability to make anything sound epic. This wasn't even a warm up for him.
"Yeah. We can battle evil wizards after we eat," Scootaloo responded, still cracking up.
"Oh! I almost forgot the toa-, I mean, mighty shield!"
Scootaloo laughed uncontrollably at the idea of toast being used to fend off evil wizards. Harmonic poured them both bowls of cereal and put the bread in the toaster.
"That should do it. Let's go ahead and eat our cereal while we wait on the toast."
"Okay."
They sat down and started eating breakfast. Harmonic decided to ask about the day's planned activities.
"So, what kind of music do you want to practice today?"
"Rock, silly!"
Harmonic laughed.
"I know that, but what kind of rock? Hard rock, metal, punk…?"
"What's punk?"
"Punk is a genre of rock that's known for its faster playing speeds, aggressive nature and general loudness."
"That sounds cool!"
"Trust me, it is. After that, we can play some video games, and you can do some flying."
Scootaloo stopped as she was about to place another spoonful of cereal in her mouth. She frowned.
"Hey, why the long face?"
"I…can't fly."
"Hm?"
"I don't know how to fly yet."
"Oh…Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. Rainbow Dash teaches me a little from time to time."
"That's cool. You can also practice upstairs. All that's up there anyway is my instruments and my games."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks."
"You keep thanking me like that and I'll have to cook a turkey," He joked.
This made Scootaloo giggle.
"You think that's funny? That's nothin'. I've got more where that came from."
"Why do you like to make jokes so much?" Scootaloo asked.
"Life would seem pretty bleak without humor, don't ya' think?"
"Bleak?"
"Yeah. It would look sad all the time."
"Oh." She replied with a frown.
"Don't worry about that right now. Just eat so we can have fun."
"Okay."
Scootaloo ate in silence after the end of the conversation. Thinking about sadness wasn't doing much good for her spirit. This didn't go unnoticed by Harmonic. After they finished eating, he led her upstairs.
"This is my practice room. I'm going to get some more equipment so I can start recording soon."
"What should I play first?"
"I think you should practice the drums first. I want you to get a feel for the set and see how playing the drums helps when you're feeling sad or angry."
"It does?"
"Yeah. I've been playing for years. It's kept my spirits up during hard times."
Scootaloo looked at the drum set. It was a modest size, perfect for both beginners and seasoned players.
"Should I start playing now?"
"Yeah. Don't be afraid to play as fast and loud as you want. Just make sure you stretch and hit each piece one at a time first, so you'll be warmed up and feel used to the set. I'm going to go get a friend and come right back here. Will you be okay here alone for a few minutes?"
"Yeah."
"Alright. I'll be back soon."
Harmonic left the room, and a few moments later, Scootaloo heard the front door open and then close again. She decided to stretch out like Harmonic suggested. She then sat down on the throne.
"Where are the sticks?"
She looked around quickly and saw they were already on one of the drums; the floor tom to be precise.
"Okay, now to hit each piece."
Scootaloo hit the crash cymbal first. She flinched in surprise at the loudness of it. She had been around drums before, but not this close. Most of the cymbals she'd heard weren't usually that loud anyway. After regaining her composure, she hit the other pieces, one at a time. She quickly learned what sound each piece produced, and started thinking of various combinations of sounds that she felt would work well together.
"Okay, let's try the bottom drum."
She pressed her hoof down on the kick drum pedal. The drum itself had a deep, powerful tone.
"Hm…"
Scootaloo hit the crash cymbal, and then quickly switched to the hi-hat cymbal, which was still open. Before she knew it, she was playing a 4/4 pattern. She played with such vigor and intensity. It felt natural to her. Half an hour later, Harmonic returned, followed by a white female Pegasus with a long, brown mane and a teardrop cutie mark. They headed upstairs, where Scootaloo was jamming. Both their mouths stood agape when they saw how skilled she'd already become.
"Wow. You're already playing patterns it took me weeks to master."
"Woah! You scared me." Scootaloo said
"Sorry."
Scootaloo looked at the Pegasus beside Harmonic. She stood up and walked over to her.
"Hi! I'm Scootaloo."
"Nice to meet you. My name is Atmospheric, Atmospheric Doom." The white Pegasus said sweetly, a smile on her face.
Scootaloo was again confused by a strange name, but decided not to ask about it.
"This is my friend. She plays bass."
"Wow, that's so cool!"
"Harmonic told me he was teaching you to play, and wanted me to come over so we could practice together."
"Seemed like a good idea. It'll give you the experience of playing as part of a band."
Scootaloo was excited to play now. Making music was something that had always appealed to her.
"Can we start playing now?"
"Sure thing."
Harmonic and Atmospheric grabbed their instruments, and the raw power of punk began to flood the room.