Arpeggio - Chapter 3: Don't Let Me Down

>Thanks to "Pinkie Power" as you put it, moving the drumset into your room was easy

>Pinkie, in excitement, basically gave away the drum set and zipped the entire thing to your place in a hurry

>You thanked her several times and gave her a big hug before parting ways

>You closed the door behind you and walked upstairs after seeing Pinkie off

>In the corner of your room sat the drum set, Rainbow on the stool behind it

>This thing was really quite something

>Besides the regular snare drum and bass pedal, this drum kit also had several tom-tom drums, suspended cymbals and last, but not least, a hi-hat with a foot pedal

>Yeah, pretty impressive drum kit. And it was completely free

>You contemplate on a name for this when Dash speaks up

>"I'm ready to go, Anon!"

>She held her drum sticks in preparation

"Yes, I can see that."

>You sit on the bed and lie back, reaching over the bed to grab Cyrus

>You sit back up and plug him in, turning his volume down

"Alright, first thing's first. Show me what you can do by yourself."

>"Whaddya mean?"

>You stand Cyrus on the floor, letting him lean on your bed

>You bring your arms up, elbows resting on your knees, and put your hands together, resting your head on them

"Play something...anything. Play what sounds right to you...How about this? You see that snare drum?"

>"You mean this one right in front of me?"

"Yeah, that one. See how fast you can play it in a beat. That oughtta get us a measure of your skill."

>She nods with a determined look before moving a hoof to the hi-hat pedal, pushing down on it quickly a few times

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY0XjgtfFww

>Seems she's jumping right in the playing instead of taking it easy. That's Rainbow Dash for ya

>You hear the bass drum before Dash gets to work on the snare

>She's using both the hi-hat and the bass drum

>Well she's got lower hoof-use down. Dash has already surpassed your expectations

>Soon she gets into the beat and becomes a bit more brave, deviating from the snare to the cymbals and tom-toms

>She soon moves away from the snare completely, banging out a tune on the cymbals and tom-toms before bouncing right back on the snare and pounding out that beat

>You're giving off a huge smile

>Dash lets loose on the drum kit before slamming the cymbals a few times to end it all

>She pants for a few seconds to catch her breath

>"So...how was that?"

>You sit there with wide eyes for a few seconds before standing up and beginning a slow clap

"Dash, you just blew my expectations out of the water! You've got talent. Loads of talent. With that kind of playing we could do big things!"

>You fall back on your bed, arms spread

>Dash flies from behind the drum kit, landing on the floor next to the bed

>"Whaddya mean big things?"

"Dash, we could start a band!"

>"Stop me if I'm wrong, but isn't a band more than just a human and a p0ny?"

>You place a hand on your chin

>She has a point

>Where you'd find others to perform with you, you don't know

>At least you've got an awesome drummer

>Who knows? Maybe finding some more talented ponies isn't as hard as you think

>There's got to be more than one p0ny with a cutie mark referencing music...right?

>Come to think of it, the only ones you can remember are Vinyl Scratch, a club DJ famous around Equestria and a cellist. You can't really recall her name unfortunately

>"So Anon, what's the next step in this dream of yours?"

>You sit up

"Well, Dash. Right now we're going to practice, get to know each others playing methods."

>"I don't get it."

"Don't worry about 'getting it' right now. Just worry about 'feeling it'."

>"Feeling it?"

"Yeah. Here, just get behind the kit again and follow my lead."

>Dash complies and hovers behind the drum kit while you pick up Cyrus and let his weight fall upon your lap

>You strum out a few notes before turning Cyrus' tone knob to help him give off a heavier sound

>You were going to need it for this next test

"Alright, Rainbow. I'm gonna see if you can keep up with me."

>"Hehe, that rhymed."

>You give the most deadpan look you can muster. Dash shuts up

>You then crack up, easing the tension

>You stifle your laughter

"Alright. Seriously now. I'm gonna play something heavy and it's your job to keep up with me. Now usually in a band it's the drummer that everyone has to follow. -Our- band is going to be different. We're going to listen to each other and play off of each others strengths."

>Dash nods

>"I see where you're gettin' at. You wanna see how well we work together under pressure."

"Exactly. Now get ready. When I play, you start up. Got it?"

>"Got it!"

>She raises the drumsticks, spinning one on the surface of her hoof

>Impressive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Xz5fDwSjk&feature=related

(Drums at the beginning is just an intro to the video. Ignore it.)

>You strum out heavy chords, Dash immediately following and keeping in time with you

>She alternates between using the hi-hat and cymbals for a beat alongside the bass drum

>You keep the pace going as she switches between each drum

>She improvises a few beats while still staying in time with you

>You both play a breakdown before a heavy chord from you and a banging on the drums from her line up perfectly

>It's silent for a split-second in the room

"Faster."

>Dash throws out a drum roll on the snare before you join in, staying with the now faster beat

>Dash begins to fly on the drum set, letting everything loose

>At this point you've already stood up and threw the guitar strap around your shoulders, headbanging while strumming out the chords

>A few minutes of interchanging time signatures and weird beats, you stop strumming and hold a hand up to Dash

>She keeps pounding out that heavy beat for a bit before you hold one of the cymbals to silence it

>Dash looks up at you, breathing heavily

"Alright, Rainbow. First off, fantastic work keeping up with me. Second, you're way better at adapting than any other person I've seen. Third. You deserve a fuckin' drink, eh?"

>Dash smiles before placing the laying the drumsticks on the snare and hovering from behind the drum kit

 

>You unplug Cyrus and put him on his stand before grabbing Nelson, putting the guitar strap on him and wrapping it around your torso

>You slide Nelson around so that he's on your back

>Dash stands outside your doorway

>You exit the room and head downstairs, Dash in tow

>"So Anon. How are we gonna get others in this band?"

"I dunno, honestly. I can ask around our friends to see if they know anyp0ny."

>"Alright. Sounds cool."

>You enter the living room through the staircase archway and make your way to the kitchen

>You pull out two whiskey glasses and a bottle of Eversteer

>"I've never seen that stuff before. It looks like water."

>You place the glasses on the table and fill them with much less than half the glass

>"Hey, what's the big deal?"

"Dash, this stuff is really, really hard. One full glass and you're already hammered."

>"Then let's get hammered!"

"Another time. Right now we have to seize this day and find some bandmates."

>You hold up your glass to her, she does the same

"To new members."

>"To new members."

>You both clink your glasses before downing the shot

>Dash coughs

>You exhale sharply after swallowing as to get the alcohol fumes out of your system

"Alright. Feeling good?"

>Dash wiggles her head around a bit

>"Yeah..I got a nice light buzz. Well, where are we going first?"

>She looks up at you enthusiastically

"First we check with our other friends to see what we can get."

>"Sounds good to me!"

>She's out the door before you even leave the kitchen

>You follow her outside, closing and locking the door behind you

 

>You had visited Sugarcube Corner to see if Pinkie was interested

>Unfortunately she was already too wrapped up in the routine of helping out in the bakery and babysitting Pound and Pumpkin Cake to jump in a band

>That, and the only music she was comfortable performing was polka

>After that you checked at the Carousel Boutique

>Rarity was too caught up in dress orders to learn an instrument and Sweetie Belle was too shy to lend her vocals to the mix

>You couldn't blame them, Rarity had to keep the business going

>And Sweetie Belle is still in school

>It wouldn't be the smartest idea to tear a filly away from schooling

>When the first two locations proved to have no solution, you visited Fluttershy's cottage

>Unfortunately, like Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy was too shy to join a band

>She also didn't know an instrument

>And using her birds was out of the question

>Only she could train them or get them to play, and the loud booming of a band would scare them off immediately

>Bird chirping also wouldn't fit in a band anyway

>With your head held not so high you and Rainbow made your way to the library, the last stop before Sweet Apple Acres

>You knock on the door

>The door opens and you're greeted by Spike

"Hey, little dude. What's the haps?"

>"Hi Anon and Rainbow. Not really much going on besides shelving books."

"Cool, cool. Twilight around?"

>"Nope. She went to Applejack's house a while ago. I'm sure she's still there."

"Alright, thanks Spike."

>"No prob."

>You hold out your fist and Spike pounds it

>While walking away you wave to him before he closes the door

>"So next stop Sweet Apple Acres?"

"You know it."

>You both take a path out of P0nyville and begin walking to Sweet Apple Acres

>A bit of worry rises in your gut

>What would happen if you didn't find any new bandmates?

>Would this idea of a band be over?

>You shake your head to dispel the negative thoughts

>No good to think things are going downhill, especially when they might be

>A philosophy of yours that always helps keep you in good spirits

>"You think Applejack or Twilight will be able to help?"

"Not sure, but it helps to hope."

>"I guess."

>You arrive at the entrance to the orchard

>Walking underneath the wooden archway, you both make your way to the porch

>You knock on the door and wait for an answer

>A short second later Applebloom answers the door

>"Hiya Anon and Rainbow! Come on in!"

>Applebloom opens the door completely and allows you both in

>Applejack and Twilight are sitting in the living room chatting over some tea and apple pie

>They both greet you as you sit next to Twilight on the couch

>Rainbow sits on the other side of her

>"Howdy, ya'll. What brings you two 'round here?"

>"Talent searchin'. Think you could help?"

>Twilight speaks up after a sip of tea

>"Talent searching? What kind of talent?"

"Musical, Twilight my dear. Me and Dashie here have been looking for some new bandmates. See, right now we only have me on lead guitar and vocals and Dash there on percussion."

>"Ya'll can play the drums, Dash?"

>"Yeah I can! I just never knew it until today."

"We finished rehearsing earlier and she's pretty damn good."

>"Ah see. Well ah'm sorry you two but ah don't have any musical talent. All ah do is buck apples and that keeps me busy."

"That's fine. Gotta keep this orchard running somehow, right?"

>Applejack smiles and nods

>"Ah could get Sweetie Belle ta join up!"

"Sorry Applebloom, but we already tried her. She's much too shy to sing for a crowd, let alone us. Not to mention that she's still in school. Thanks for the input, though."

>"Perhaps I could help?"

>You look to Twilight

>What could you add to a band that a Unicorn would be great at?

>Well, she's got magic. So there are a few things she could play

"Twi, you ever hold a bass guitar before?"

>"A few times, but I never was any good at playing it."

>So she's tried an instrument before

>This makes things slightly easier

"Okay. What else did you try?"

>She lists a few instruments, among them being an electric guitar, a saxophone, a cowbell, and a didgeridoo

>She liked the cowbell

"So...besides the bass and six-string, you haven't really tried anything useful for a rock band?"

>She shakes her head

>You lean back in the couch

"Hmm..."

>You search deep in your mind for anything that could be useful she hasn't tried yet

>Brass? No, only if you were doing a ska band

>Woodwinds? No, this isn't a jazz ensemble

>Percussion? Nope, Dash already has all that covered

>Rhythm guitar? Unless she finds her own that idea is out of the question

>Piano?...

>...

"That's it!"

>The three p0nies in the room jump from your exclamation

>"What's -it-, sugarcube?"

>You look to Twilight

"Twi, you ever play a keyboard?"

>"A keyboard? You mean one of those electric pianos?"

"Yes, that. Do you think you can play or at least try to play one?"

>"Of course. Do you want me to use yours?"

"Unless you know of another place with a keyboard."

>She giggles and takes a sip of tea

>"Okay, Anon. I'll come around tomorrow to try it out."

>You stand from the couch, Rainbow flutters from the couch to hover next to you

"Sweet. Thanks, Twi."

>"Yeah, thanks! Now this plan is moving along smoothly!"

>"It's no problem you two. "

"I'm glad. Now if you'll excuse us, I should be getting home. Rainbow, you staying here?"

>"Nah, I think I'm gonna head home too. I need to make myself a drumset out of clouds!"

"I doubt you'll get the same sound from clouds as you do an actual kit, man."

>"Says you."

>Everyone in the room laughs

>You both exit the Apple home after saying goodbye to everyp0ny

>You hook your bro around the neck and squeeze her lightly

"So, same time tomorrow?"

>"Same time tomorrow."

"Cool, cool. I'll see you then, Dash."

>"Bye, Anon."

>She speeds off to her home leaving a rainbow trail behind her that quickly fades out

>You release a content sigh and walk home

 

>The walk back took a good ten minutes or so

>Sweet Apple Acres isn't exactly right outside P0nyville

>You open your door and enter your home, closing the door behind you

>You then walk upstairs and flop on your bed

"I wonder if Twilight'll be any good at the keyboard...she -does- have magic..."

"Will this band idea work if she joins? Will it flop if she doesn't?"

 

>You continue to contemplate the future until you drift off into sleep's warm embrace...