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Scaramouche Fandango Crew
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 Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 10:25 am
Pale Moonlight was waiting outside his piano teacher's house. He was a little early for his lesson, early enough that he could still hear the student before him. He didn't know who the other colt was, only that the lesson before him was a singing lesson. He knew the mare taught voice lessons at all levels, but the voice coming from the house sounded... Well, to be honest, hopeless. Maybe the other colt was a beginner? Or just didn't come from a family where music was really valued or practiced in the house? Pale Moonlight knew he had it lucky; while neither of his parents was a musician, a number of his aunts and uncles were, as was his grandfather. Gritting his teeth, he waited it out. Soon it would be time for his lesson, and he could forget the caterwauling he could hear through the door.
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 10:30 am
Sweet Surrender sang his little heart out! He knew now that his purpose in life was to be a great singer, just like his dad. He was going to be cool and popular, and everyone was going to love him. It was going to be the best day ever!
While he was singing, he kept looking back at his flank, waiting for the magic mark to appear. Nothing happened.
And then, the lesson was over. His voice teacher was giving him an impatient look to get out of the practice room so the next student could come in. Surrender smiled and exited. Maybe now that the lesson was done, he would get his cutie mark? He wasn't exactly sure how these things worked.
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Scaramouche Fandango Crew
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 10:40 am
Pale Moonlight trotted into the practice room, ready to show his poor teacher that not every student was completely inept. He swept in past the curly-headed kid who'd butchered the melody. Something about the colt looked familiar, and he felt a twinge of sympathy- he felt a little bad that he thought the kid was inept. That wasn't a very nice thing to think, after all.
Still, though, it was his turn. He hopped up on the bench in front of the piano and started unpacking his music books while practicing his scales. Up and down, hitting the thirds- once you knew what you were doing on the piano, it was really just a question of precision and the ability to look ahead just a bit. Magic certainly helped with the precision aspect. As he fiddled around, he noticed the colt staring at him, as if he was supposed to say something. Why was he still standing in the doorway? Pale Moonlight smiled nervously. "Can I help you?" he said, wondering where he'd seen the other boy before.
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 10:45 am
Could he help him? This other colt sounded like he was the most magnificent musician ever. He wasn't sure why he needed lessons; he could probably teach piano if he wanted to.
Surrender looked back at his blank flank. Still nothing.
"You sound really good," he said, stating the obvious. "Is this your purpose in life? I just found mine today, but I think the magic is taking a little long to work because I don't have my cutie mark for it yet. I'm going to be a rock star singer just like my dad."
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Scaramouche Fandango Crew
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 10:51 am
A rock singer? Like his dad? Oh boy. Pale Moonlight realized exactly where he'd seen this kid before- at his uncle's wedding. He was one of his other uncles. Sweet something, maybe; he didn't really remember too much about their conversation or about the kid at all.
"Thanks! I hope so. I think it might be. But it might not be because I know that the magic is simultaneous; it happens immediately once you find your purpose." He frowned. "Maybe the music's just something I'm dabbling in and it's a hobby, not my purpose. I read once that sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between a hobby and a purpose. Maybe that's how it is with you, too- I mean, maybe your singing is just a hobby?" Pale Moonlight wasn't a fortune teller, but one thing he did know- being a rock star was not in his uncle's cards.
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 10:57 am
Well, if music wasn't the unicorn's purpose, then what else could it possibly be? There was something he was even better at? Sweet Surrender wished he had been cursed with being good at too many things; instead, he was good at nothing. He really thought he was good at singing though.
"Maybe you're right... maybe singing isn't my thing if my cutie mark hasn't appeared yet. I really felt like I was in the groove during my lesson though."
He frowned. "I'm going to be stuck as a blank flank forever!"
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Scaramouche Fandango Crew
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:04 am
"Or maybe-" Pale Moonlight took a deep breath, not wanting to be offensive but understanding how important being honest here was. There was no way that singing was this kid's special talent. He knew that a lot of the cutie mark magic was internal- you had to REALIZE that your talent made you unique, after all- but this kid had the opposite problem."Maybe the groove wasn't feeling you? I mean, your cutie mark- it's what makes you unique and how you stand out. And your dad's a rock star. But maybe that's not your destiny. Maybe your destiny is... being something else?"
He hoped his uncle bought it. The argument that if his destiny was just the same as his dad's was pretty flimsy because he knew that TACO had at least two children who were rock musicians and one of them was even a singer. But he'd heard his aunt sing, and she was extremely good, whereas this one... well, wasn't. And fate wouldn't be mean enough to give you a cutie mark of something you were horrible at, right?
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:15 am
Sweet Surrender hung his head hung low. He felt really defeated. The truth hurt. Possibly though, it was better than staying delusional that he could ever be as cool as TACO. No one could be as cool as TACO.
"I guess I better let you start your lesson now... sorry you had to hear me sing, but thanks for talking to me." he said while keeping his eyes on the ground. Of all the things he'd tried and failed at, this was maybe the most embarrassing.
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Scaramouche Fandango Crew
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:21 am
Pale Moonlight felt really bad- he hadn't wanted to hurt any feelings- but he couldn't let his uncle go on thinking that his special talent was music. Having a talented parent didn't mean that you had to be the same, and family diversity was always great, right? "Hey, now! Cheer up!" he said at his uncle's retreating back. "There's a lot of different things in this world. Your cutie mark could be anything, even if it's not like your dad's. The important thing is that you be yourself and you try a lot of new things. Your cutie mark will come when you figure out exactly what it is that's unique to you and you alone." That wasn't a lie. But maybe... maybe he shouldn't have said anything. He hated the fact that honesty could make somebody so sad. But a lie could, too- if he had lied and said that the singing was great, then he would have been guilty of perpetuating a terrible false hope, and his uncle didn't deserve that. He deserved to know the truth.
Even if it hurt.
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:33 am
When Surrender got home, he felt horrible. Fortunately, his mother was a goddess of the kitchen, and there were fresh cupcakes sitting on the counter. They were on a decorative plate, and looked simply amazing.
He took the whole platter and sat down on his bed and shoveled them in his mouth while crying. Why wasn't he good at anything?! He kept trying, but he always gave up and never mastered anything. He was going to be a blank flank his whole life. He'd never be happy. Sweet Surrender decided that it was time that he quit trying to figure out his purpose and just enjoyed what small pieces of hope he could drag out of life.
After a while, the cupcakes were gone, and Surrender went to go put the dirty plate in the sink. On his way out of his room, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, and he almost died of shock!
There was his cutie mark! A cupcake with a white flag in it.
This whole time, he had been trying to be good at something, but really his purpose in life was to give up. It was probably the last thing he would have thought of. Sweet Surrender supposed that maybe it was okay for him to be good at nothing after all.
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