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Descant

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  1. Descant
    So, I was talking with some of my brony friends IRL yesterday, and we brought up the point of how Luna looks totally different in her Season 2 and 3 appearances than she does than she does in the second half of the first episode. Some might argue that this is because of improved budget and skills at animating the ponies. I disagree.
     
    Now, unless you've had your head stuck in a hole for the past two seasons, you know that instead of looking like this...
     
    Luna now looks like this...
     
     
    Now, some people would say that this is all because of the improvement in the budget and the animators, and that this was done for the sole purpose of making Luna look more... Princessy, but I disagree.
     
    Luna was banished to the moon for a thousand years. And she wasn't banished in the form of herself. She was banished in the form of Nightmare Moon, which suggests that the regular Luna might not have actually aged in those thousand years, which Celestia certainly did. The Luna we saw at the end of Friendship is Magic, P2, was the Luna from a thousand years ago, the way she looked like before actually becoming Nightmare Moon. Celestia undoubtedly looked similar a thousand years ago - it takes a while to transform into a flowy-maned goddess. That much must be true, considering that Cadence and Twilight are princesses of this millenium, and still have normal-looking manes. Surely, Celestia must have once been like that, too.
     
     
    Luna, looking like she did a thousand years ago, was helped along by modern, millennial Celestia to restore her original form, suppressed by Nightmare Moon, to its proper age with the use of an age spell, which is a spell that can only be performed by the highest-leveled unicorns.
     
    Of course, there's always the question of whether age affects Alicorns as it does everypony else. I think it does, but that since alicorns are powerful magic users, they are able to maintain their youth, but doing so over extended periods of time changes their figure to the more powerful, leaner, taller form an alicorn has, in comparison to others. Perhaps they still mature under the age spell, and all the spell does is prevent them from whithering away. Who can say? A lot of this is speculation. But I'm getting off topic.
     
    That's my theory of how Luna matured so quickly. Maybe one day, in this upcoming season, we'll see more of both princesses, and get their stories. How they became princesses, maybe?
     
     
  2. Descant

    Of My Characters

    By Descant,

    Okay, so this is my first blog entry, like, ever. So I figure I'll knock out two birds with one stone by getting all these extra thoughts out of my head, as well as linking my OC's to one page. Saves room on my sig, you know.
     
     
    I might rant a bit about something I don't like about one of them. If I do, feel free to comment about it. I don't really care.
     
    MY OC's
     
    Encore's page - Encore's Tale
    Ragtag
    Evergreen
    North Arrow
    Cascade
    Sunburst
    Moonstruck
     

    ((Info on Sunburst and Moonstruck is limited at the moment.))



    Before I dive in, I'd like to make the note that even though originally Descant/Encore was my Ponysona, now, in a way, each OC represents a different passion of mine, and a certain aspect of my personality exaggerated, and turned into its own person.
     
     
     
    Encore:
    Core represents many aspects of my personality, the most pronounced of which is my artiness, and my awkwardness.
     
    Encore is a lavender pony, with a maroon mane that is tinged with purple, and a bass clef cutie mark. He can be rather awkward and oblivious, and is known to be nosy and tends to give in to bribes. He's rather full of himself, as well. Other than that, Encore is probably the most flexible of my little ponies to roleplay with. As my first OC, Encore, originally named Descant, shares my account name and my face on the forums.
     
    In most roleplays, Encore lives in a one-story house with the Ragtag Twins, next door to Evergreen, about halfway between Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. The house shared by him and the Twins tends to be noisy, and has a long track record of explosions and fires (See the Twins). He plays various instruments and stuff, as is expected of a musical pony, and, as such, is on friendly terms with ponies such as Vinyl Scratch and Octavia.
     
    His skills, however, are easily the most interesting thing about him. Encore can affect they way things are heard by other pony's ears, as well as his own. He can use his magic to alter sound waves, whether their trajectory or the sound they represent. He can adjust volume and pitch, and has 'selective hearing', meaning he can adjust how he hears what's around him, almost as if he had volume nozzles for everything withing a square mile. As a result of these various skills, as well, he can hold private conversations with another pony, with something I call 'Voice Direction'.
     
    His name comes from a vague musical term referring to the countermelody of the tenor, in music. I'm heavily involved in music, and my primary instrument is the french horn, which often plays descant parts, so this seemed suitable. I'm currently searching for a last name for him.
     
    His parents are occasionally given the names 'Bel Canto' and 'Plainsong'. These names can vary, depending on the context of the RP, like, if they are sporty instead of musical.
     
     
     
    Ragtag:
    The Ragtag Twins, as they are properly called, represent my mischievous argumentitave, lazy, and chaotic sides.
     
    They are loosely based upon Fred and George from Harry Potter, and much like Rowling's twins. Rag is like an exaggerated Fred, the fiercer; Tag is like an exaggerated George, the milder. Rag, the female, is much more hyperactive than her lazy-ish brother, Tag, who often acts as the restraining force in their shenanigans.
     
    They live with Descant in a small, one-story house between Ponyville and the Everfree. Evergreen is their neighbor, and she hates the pair. They have a bad habit of keeping their prank items around the house, and when left unattended, this could make for memorable results. One time, they blew away half the building with the fireworks they had stashed under their beds.
     
    These characters still have quite a lot of room to grow. I've finally decided on cutie marks for them, the Comedy and Tragedy drama masks, Rag getting the former and Tag the latter, and I'm considering giving them both longer names. I'm thinking Ragdoll and Tag... Tag Out? ...Nah. Anypony got any ideas?
     
     
     
    Evergreen:
    Eve represents my antisocial, quiet side, and my love of nature.
     
    Evergreen was originally named Rose Petal; this was changed after I discovered one of the Background Ponies shared the name, or something similar, or whatever. The concept originally came from having a literal 'Tree Fluttershy'.
     
    She's a tall, awkwardly proportioned unicorn whose appearance depends on how well she's been taking care of herself. When she's clean and well groomed, she's positively gorgeous. She's very soft-spoken, yet determined to make herself heard. Strange combination yes.
     
    Eve lives in a gigantic garden between Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. There are types of plants in this garden from all over the world, some of which are even only of legend. She's rather fond of her neighbor Descant, but despises the twins he lives with.
     
    She's probably the best developed of my characters; I know her personality the best of all of them. However, I'm not sure how far her powers should go; she can manipulate the growth and shape of plants, usually only subtly nudging and inspiring growth. I'm not sure how far I should take this power of hers.
     
     
     
    North Arrow:
    North represents my generous, efficient, and free sides, and also my love of geography.
     
    North probably has my favourite appearance, of all my little ponies. His coat is a shade of teal, while his silver mane sparkles faintly like a fresh, powdery snow, and when he flies, green streaks appear out of his tail, forming into a fully fledged Aurora Borealis when he's going fast enough.
     
    He always has some sort of close bond with Cascade, who could be anything from his cousin to his lover, depending on the RP.
     
    His character was, honestly, originally based off of a combination of Indiana Jones and Robin Hood, except plausible in Equestria. And it's him I'm probably happiest with.


     

    Yet oddly enough I rarely use him for RPs.
     
     
     
    Cascade:
    Cascade represents my love of the water, my fear of being judged and made fun of, and altogether, my more social, fun side.
     
    The concept of Cascade occured to me at three in the morning one morning, like most good ideas do. I think she's the most likely of all my OCs to be canon, but she's also my newest OC, so she's still in development.
     
    She was born with messed up wings, rendering her mostly unable to fly; but a natural in the water. Think penguin wings. Cascade's about the closest thing you're going to get to a sea-pony that's not actually a sea pony.
     
    She will always have a close personal bond with North Arrow, although the nature of that bond differs from RP to RP. Either way, it's official that he saved her life.


     

    Cascade's pretty bubbly and fun-loving, but a single mention of her wings is enough to get her to withdraw. She's very self-conscious of them. She was made fun of all the time in her youth due to her inability to fly.


    So yeah, that's pretty much it. If you made it through all of this without falling asleep, I applaud you and give you a cookie. Sunburst and Moonstruck, being brand new, don't have a place on this blog yet.
  5. Descant

    A Rare Change of Heart

    By Descant,

    When I first started watching the show, Rarity was easily my least favourite pony. Hardest for me to sympathise with. However, I think Rarity is an acquired taste. I've come to love her, and she's probably replaced the Pinkie Pie/Fluttershy tie as best Mane Six. Here's why.
     

     
    1. Her Hypocrisy
     
    Originally, this is the mane reason I cited for disliking Rarity. However, I've come to disagree with my old view.
    Nopony's perfect, and as the Element of Generosity, she's probably the pony who most easily breaks her Elemental Spirit. But so do several others, to some extent. AppleJack often lies or stretches the truth when the time calls for it. Fluttershy is Flutterbitch on several occasions. Pinkie Pie... Well... Try Party for One on for size. And Rainbow Dash... Well, as the Element of Loyalty, you think she wouldn't put her friends behind her competitive spirit so often. This is easily shown at an extreme in Hurricane Fluttershy where, ignoring a sick pony in her determination to be the best, and nearly ruining their shot at completing their mission entirely, more focused on boosting Fluttershy's measly wingpower than paying attention to the contagion spreading through the rest of the group. Considering that all the elements break their elements occasionally, it's fine for Rarity to. In fact, since it's usually just for comic effect, Rarity's offenses are actually lesser. It doesn't hurt that Rarity always makes me laugh.
     
    2. Her Artistic Ability
     
    Well... as an artist... I gotta say, Rarity knows what she's doing. It's always impressive to see her creations. Fairly self explanitory.
     
    3. I can relate
     
    I've come to realise that I can actually relate to Rarity and her problems a great deal more than I'd like to admit. My relationship with my middle brother is not unlike Rarity's with Sweetie Belle in Sisterhooves Social, and therefore, that's one of my favourite episodes. Because I can relate to the love-hate sibling relationship.
     
    4. I totally dig her colour scheme
     
    'Nuff said.
     
    5. Tom the Rock
     
    Also 'nuff said.
     
    6. Disproving the stereotype
     
    Underneath the overdone beauty, love of fashion and awesome (yet undeniably pompous) accent, Rarity really does a good job of denying the 'diva' stereotype. But to see it, you have to look a bit deeper. Usually she plays up to that stereotype for comic effect, yet she isn't afraid to get her hooves dirty for her friends, and definitely isn't fragile. Didn't she deliver a flying judo kick to somepony's face during the Return of Discord, part two?
     
     
    In short, Rarity is new best mane six. Tank is best pet. And Vinyl Scratch/Octavia is best pony tie.
  6. Descant

    Time Management

    By Descant,

    I'll admit, I've never been good at managing my time. I'm a horrible procrastinator, and tend to put leisure in front of things that need to be done. And I can't really help it. I've always been this way. But I've noticed that this problem of mine has multiplied since discovering ponies.
     
    Don't get me wrong, MLP is the best thing to have ever happened to me. When I discovered the show in October, I was on breaking point. I'd just had a horrible breakup, and frankly, I had fallen into a depression based on that and the sudden absence of anything meaningful to occupy myself with (The musical I had been in had just ended.) MLP saved me from myself. However, I think that as a result, I developed a bit of a pony obsession.
     
    I didn't notice until recently how fast time has flown since I joined this forum in November. It's like my real life is here, in the forum, and in Equestria, and everything else is inconsequential, which is a dangerous mindset to have in college. I put off doing homework for participating in my roleplays; I deny myself the chance to be social by burying myself in my dorm room, on the internet. I just haven't figured out how to balance ponies with my regular life.
     
    How do you do it? How do you manage the delicate balance between ponies and reality? And how would you advise that I might fix my own priorities? Because doing so is not as easy at it seems...
  7. Descant

    Humble Beginnings

    By Descant,

    Okay, so this isn't really an advertisement. A lot of the time, I'm probably going to be using this blog to discuss roleplays from Novus, whether we should bring them here, funny moments, and all that jazz.
     
    My name is Drew, online known as Descant, and I'm helping set up, and run, a new website completely dedicated to the Art of Roleplaying, known as NovusRP. It's set up rather differently than the roleplay system here, and would take forever for me to explain, but I'll try. Instead of being forum-based, it's email-styled, and players are able to divide up other players' posts, allowing for a more real-time feel in the interactions. It's rather a hard concept to explain; you'd have to check it out to understand completely.
     
    At the moment, we only have one roleplay even set up, called 'Road to Whitehorn', which I'll describe in a later blog entry. It's a pony roleplay, and I'm considering creating something similar up on this website relatively soon. Road to Whitehorn is a pony roleplay, but Novus is not dedicated solely to ponies. Eventually we'll have other roleplays set up, whether of our own invention, or of another universe. Star Trek springs to mind as a roleplay that Bakaiya, the... ah... Game Master, and owner of the site... would probably set up next. He's a brony too, don't get me wrong...
     
    I'm rambling. Anyhoo, if you enjoy roleplaying, join the site, and like us on Facebook. I'm trying to help Bakaiya modernize it, keep it running, and advertise it. If Bakaiya is agreeable, the site will be seeing some major renovations soon, too; and the more active members we can get; the faster and more successful we will be in the long run.
     
    If you check it out and have any brilliant ideas, don't be afraid to suggest anything.
  8. Descant

    Changed For Good

    By Descant,

    It's funny, I only ever seem to write these things when my life takes a turn for the worse, and this is definitely one of those occasions. Blogging seems to really help me vent, and this is the only real outlet I have. I hope, as I share this story, I'll gleam some meaning from it just as much as you, the reader, might.
     
    This year, at University, has really pushed me into places I've never been, shoved me into situations I've never had to deal with, and it's been a boatload of discomfort and stress, as I've had to push my boundaries in ways they've never been pushed. This year, I actually had friends, and despite the stress, and the discomfort, and all my insecurities and fears, I felt like I belonged. I felt happy.
     
    And I'm pretty sure I've managed to throw it all away.
     
    Just now, one of the people I'd call my closest friend visited me in my room to tell me that she just couldn't handle the drama I've managed to surround myself with - unintentionally, via my blundering around and my social ineptitude - and that she didn't think we could be friends anymore. And it killed me.
     
    This whole past week or two has been exactly like this. I had another closest friend tell me he expected more from me, and one just stop talking to me entirely, and my ex - who is part of my social group, and with whom I had repaired our relationship back to where we were before our little two-week experiment - is now sabotaging me every chance she can get.
     
    I feel like I need to elaborate. I mentioned blundering and social ineptitude? Well, that's really what it was. I've never had to deal with people, really, outside of my extended family. Much less did I have to deal with 8 or 9 people at a time, all the time. For when my friends and I hung out, it was almost always in a flock. I couldn't handle it, and usually became reclusive when this happened. I'd go to my computer and my phone, because people have hurt me, but my tech hasn't. Even in this reclusive state, I enjoyed the company, but they took this to mean pretty much the exact opposite. Especially when it got to the point where I would only be able to hear half of what they were saying.
     
    I know that I'm the one at fault here, for this, but a few weeks ago, I had these problems shoved in my face, and was told to change these ways. And I did, only for my friends to disappear, apparently to "Send a message", to try and force me to change, when I already had. Drama 1 Dez 0.
     
    I'm not sure what kind of message I was supposed to take from that, my friends abandoning me when I made a conscious effort to change, but I didn't take it too personally and still made the effort, and managed to get most of them back. Minus the ex, of course. Drama: 1, Dez: 1.
     
    And then my heart made mistakes before the group was truly stable again. I don't want to go into details. Drama: 3, Dez: 1.
     
    And now, all the repercussions from every single mistake I've ever made are crashing down over me, one of my closest friends wants nothing more to do with me, my ex is making sure it's exceedingly uncomfortable for anyone else to be in the room while I'm there too, my dad's been laid off (unrelated, but still not helping with the migraines), and the friends I still have I'm scared I'm going to lose, so I've been hiding even more than I used to. And it was going so well; I was changing for the better, I was trying to let them in. And now they've pushed me back into the shut-out phase again.
     
    I don't know what to do, and I don't expect much advice from you guys, but... I needed to get some of this out, anyway. I'm scared of being alone again, and the Internet just isn't the same.
     
    Even if have managed to push all of my friends away, I still value the experience, the bonds I had made, and everything I've learned from them. I've come a long way thanks to all this experience, and even if I lose every single friend I've made, it was worth it.
     
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4BjwTzEZw8
     
    Never before have I grasped the meaning of this song so much as I have now. It's never really applied to me, and I'm grateful for it all.
  10. Descant
    (I evidently forgot to publish this... I wrote this on June 30th, the day after my birthday. And I stand by it all.)
     
    I know my birthday was yesterday, and I'd like to start this little spiel off with a disclaimer. I had a good birthday. Nothing horrible happened apart from the entire staff of a restaurant coming to serenade me and bring me free ice cream. And that wasn't bad either. I just wanted to share my thoughts, which have nothing to do with how the day itself actually went.
     
    Now that that's out of the way...
     
    I honestly have never cared for making as big a deal of my birthday as people insist on making out of birthdays. It always kills me a little bit inside, honestly, to see dozens of 'Happy Birthdays' plastering my facebook wall. It's not that I don't like being the center of attention - quite the opposite, in fact - but when I'm the center of everyone's attention, I want it to be for something I'm proud of, for something I worked for. And being born doesn't exactly meet those requirements. It's not special or everything, I mean, everyone I've ever met was born at some point in their lives. It's not special, and honestly, I don't think it's worth making such a big deal about. I never feel I deserve the attention or gifts or well-wishes I recieve on my birthday, because I've done nothing to warrant them. It's not like I cured cancer, or starred in a musical at my school, or was a background character in a musical at my school or anything worth bragging about like that. All I ever did to earn this day of superiority and attention was being expelled out of my mother.
     
    At least on Christmas it's the wishes, attention, and gifts are reciprocated and shared among my entire family. I don't want to sound ungrateful or anything, I love everybody who wished me a happy birthday, or gave me a nice gift, or sang that dreadful melody at me. But that being said, I don't like being recognized for something I didn't work for.
     
    I'm starting to ramble, so I'll just stop here, I guess. +10 Experience Points for whoever managed to read all that without falling asleep.
  11. Descant

    The Tale of Encore

    By Descant,

    The family trotted into the Gymnasium of Baltimare High School looking around proudly. There were four of them all together; a muscular unicorn stallion with a shiny puce coat and a haughty demeanor, who was unmistakably the father; a slim periwinkle pegasus mare with a long purple mane who trotted with her tail closely intertwined with the puce stallion; and two young colts.
     
    The older of the two colts, whose coat was a deeper shade of purple than his younger brother's lavender, and whose name was Kickoff, was shoving the younger unicorn around, laughing, and chanting demonically, "Blank Flank, Blank Flank, Dimeback is a Blank Flank." The parents were pointedly ignoring the mistreatment of their youngest son. So far, he had disappointed them.
     
    The family was very invested in the realm of physical sports, you see. The father, Endzone, was a very successful hoofball player, and had a set of goalposts as his cutie mark; now that he was retired from professional play, he ran a very successful company that sold horseshoes and saddles for players. The mother, Pom-pom, had been a cheerleader on Endzone's football team, and had pom-poms, rather obviously, as her cutie mark. Their two older sons, Jumpshot and Kickoff, both also had sporty cutie marks as well. However, despite all their best efforts, Dimeback was just not living up to their expectations. They had tried everything. They had had him play Netball with Jumpshot, and when he failed at that, Hoofball with Kickoff, and when that failed too, all the other sports they could think of. Pom-Pom and Endzone were proud parents, and could not bear to believe that one of their line were as clumsy and weak as Dimeback was.
     
    Kickoff shoved his brother again, prodding him in the ribs this time. Dimeback, who was much smaller than his brother, and most ponies his age, merely sighed, and endured, fighting back the tears that he knew would only egg his brother on.
     
    ----------------
     
    The game was over, and Jumpshot had proven the MVP of his netball team yet again. Jumpshot was the oldest, and most mature of the three brothers; his popstar red coat and dark purple mane, his streamlined, strong figure, and magnificent wings made him rather popular with the fillies; he had a tendency to sneak out at night to go to parties or meet up with some secret marefriend of his, or else to drink far too much cider with his buddies on the netball team. Despite all of this, he always treated Dimeback kindly, or at least more kindly than anyone else in the family did.
     
    Endzone and Pom-Pom did not say a word when Jumpshot did not accompany them, Kickoff, and Dimeback home. They had a tendency to overlook any shenanigans on Jumpshot's part, including the unacceptable bond he had with his uncoordinated youngest brother. Usually he was allowed free reign, and it was not until late that night that he returned to the family house in the heart of Baltimare, rather intoxicated from the after-game party. The Hero of the Baltimare Netball Team had to share a drink with all of his admirers, after all.
     
    As soon as they got home. Kickoff had started harassing Dimeback, humiliating him over and over in a one-on-one game of hoofball, always allowing him to claim the hoofball, and always knocking him to the ground immediately after. This was their nightly ritual, after all, and more often than not Dimeback would go to school with a black and blue coat than a lavender one. Endzone always turned up his nose at the behaviour, saying it was 'character-building stuff' and maybe that Dimeback would rise up and pound his brother right back one of these times, and get his cutie mark.
     
    But how could Dimeback possibly do that? Kickoff was twice his size! Dimeback hated them all. He hated them all, except maybe Jumpshot. It was from Jumpshot only that he ever recieved any kindness. Even in school, he was picked on. Jumpshot was literally his only friend. And his life was indeed a miserable one.
     
    As Kickoff found himself distracted by the arrival of his idolized eldest brother, Dimeback retreated into his room, and only then did he allow the tears to spill, as he cried himself to sleep.
     
     
    --------------
    Much later
    --------------
     
    It was a week into Dimeback's own entry into Baltimare High School, a cruel and judgmental place. And he still didn't have his cutie mark - an oddity. Most fillies and colts found their cutie marks at least by middle school. Dimeback was a nobody, and ponies in passing would always whisper - isn't he Endzone's son? THE Endzone? Blank flank... He's a failure, he has no potential, he's a disgrace to his family's name.
     
    As such, where Dimeback walked, he walked alone.
     
    One day, Baltimare High School was visited by somepony from Canterlot Music Academy - and, as it always is with big important schools like CMA, the entire school was required to attend. The students of the school managed to squeeze themselves in the large, heavily graffiti-ed auditorium, where they babbled incessantly. Dimeback could hear his brother Kickoff, who was only two years older than him, say over the din, "This is pointless."
     
    After the harried-looking teachers managed to silence the crowd to a respectable level, a grey earth pony walked out onto the stage. She was clearly the representative of Canterlot Music Academy - her tender hooves looked perfectly suited to gently hold the bow of a violin, and her dark mane was elegant and simple, living up to the standards of Canterlot. On her flank, Dimeback eyed a pink cutie mark of a symbol he didn't recognize.
     
    The pony spoke of the Music Academy, and of how only the most talented students were accepted. She spoke of the fantastic careers that one could forge for themselves there, and, at a lesser length, of her own experience there, how she was a senior at the moment, and of the violin and cello she played, confirming Dimeback's suspicions. She spoke of the wing choirs and the applications of phonic magics, and of many other things besides; even by the time most of the students had gotten bored and began to speak of other things, Dimeback remained inexplicably enthralled. He'd never had much to do with the world outside of sports, yet, he felt an inexplicable yearning audition for this Music Academy anyway.
     
    Why? He'd never even touched an instrument in his life, and the only music he was familiar with was the chants his mother would perform to cheer on her sons at their netball and hoofball games. He didn't know why, but he just felt it was the right thing to do. At any rate, no matter how unlikely it was he would make it into the Music Academy, if there was even a chance he could escape this place, he would happily take it.
     
    The mare onstage stated that tryouts would be taking place the following day, and departed the stage. Not that anypony else in the auditorium was listening by that point.
     
    ------------------
    The next day
    ------------------
     
    Dimeback arrived at the auditorium early. It seems only two other ponies had bothered to show up. They spared him a somewhat surprised glance before returning their attention to the impassive Academy representative before them. It seems they had not expected one of Endzone's bloodline to show up.
     
    If the Academy rep was disappointed by the turnout, she did not show it. With an elegant gesture of her hoof, she beckoned for the first pony to accompany her to a soundproof room for tryouts. Twenty minutes later, she came back for the second. Dimeback was nervous, not sure what to expect, yet it was not long before he was claimed.
     
    He found himself in a small, cramped room, alone with the elegant Canterlot mare. He noticed she had donned a pink bowtie today, which somehow fit well with her rigid demeanor.
     
    "And what will you be playing for me today?" she said, in a refined voice. He could tell she was looking him over and passing judgement based on appearances alone, and that she did not expect much. In fact, he thought he could detect the faintest sneer when she noticed his lack of cutie mark, but it had disappeared from her lip nearly as quickly as it had appeared there.
     
    Dimeback realized, too late, that he ought to have at least made himself look presentable for the occasion. His mane was a mess, as always, and he still looked rather roughed up from a recent 'training session' with Kickoff. He briefly lamented the fact that Jumpshot had left for college before saying, "I don't really... Have anything." The mare sighed, and began to shuffle through her papers. "What do you play, then?" she asked in a bored voice. "I don't." She gazed at him for ten full seconds before asking, "Then why are you wasting my time?"
     
    Before Dime could respond, she went on, this time impatiently, "Just use this. Let's get this over with." She thrust a long, shiny brass instrument into his unexpecting arms, and sat back, gazing at the colt with a harsh expression. Dime took a moment to experiment with the slide, that seemed to be the way to change pitch, before raising the instrument to his mouth. He blew. No sound came out. He tried again. Again, no change. The mare began to scribble impatiently on an evaluation form in front of her.
     
    Dimeback began to panic, and he desperately blew on the horn again. This time, he felt something change. His lips vibrated, and out of the horn came a long, beautiful, pure, resounding note. The mare flinched almost as badly as Dimeback did. Neither had expected the note to actually come out. For the first time, the mare returned her attention to Dimeback in full, her mulberry eyes contemplative, and said, "Do that again."
     
    Dimeback complied, and the pure, resounding note sounded again, loud and clear. A flicker of a smile crossed the mare's face, and she instructed, "Try moving the slide." Dimeback did so, and as he did the pitch shifted. After a moment of experimentation, he began to get the hang of how the slide changed the notes played.
     
    "Try blowing faster." Confused for a moment, Dime hesitated, then complied, blowing the air faster through the horn. The pitch shifted up a half an octave, and the mare clapped. "Not bad," she said. "Now impress me."
     
    Rising to the challenge, Dimeback tried his hardest to provide a strain of music that the mare would be able to follow. He was actually surprised at how easily he provided such, and looking reasonably impressed, the mare scribbled on the paper. Dimeback played and played until the mare held up a single hoof, and said, "That'll be enough. I'm pretty sure I can guarantee you a spot at the Canterlot Music Academy. Even with a substansial scholarship! You've got talent like few others." Dime held up his head pridefully, before the mare continued, "All you need to do is get permission from a parent or guardian, and after that, you can simply take the train to Canterlot and expect us waiting with open arms." As she stood up and opened the door to the room, she looked over her shoulder at the stunned Dimeback, and said, with a slight smile, "Check your flank. And have a good day."
     
    She left the room, and Dimeback, bemused, indeed looked back, and his jaw dropped. His cutie mark had finally arrived. It was some maroon musical symbol he didn't recognize, but nevertheless, he laughed with excitement, happy it was finally here. After his initial jubilation, his spirits sank. His parents wouldn't approve. They'd never let him touch an instrument again, and they'd never let him go to Canterlot...
     
    --------------
    That night
    --------------
     
    When Dimeback arrived home, covering his flank with his tail apprehensively his parents and brother took no notice of him, for Jumpshot had arrived home, on break from college. Dimeback didn't complain, and slipped past them all into his room, where he sat, in the dark, to lay unhappily on his bed, staring at the ceiling sullenly. He'd never get to nurture his newly discovered talent...
     
    With a faint knock on the door, Dime heard Jumpshot's deep voice. "May I come in?" Dime mumbled in assent, and Jumpshot trotted in through the door, and turned on the lights. Jumpshot immediately noticed the new cutie mark, and said, "nice one. What's it mean?" His voice was heavy and tenative, as if he recognised that Dime was upset. "Music." "Oh." The brothers were silent for a second, before Jumpshot said, "How'd you get it?" And before Dimeback knew it, he was spilling all his disappointments and fears to his eldest brother, who was tactful enough to listen and not interrupt. "And I'll never get to live up to my talents. Mom and Dad... They won't..." Dimeback fell apart into sobs, and Jumpshot patted him on the back. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll think of something," he said. "We?" "Yeah, we. You should get to do what you love, and I understand that."
     
     
     
    Indeed, they did think of something. Jumpshot managed to get Endzone and Pompom to sign the form without even reading it, telling them it was required for a scholarship, and even escorted his youngest brother to the train station the day he was destined to leave. "Mom and Dad don't know, remember. I'd suggest picking a different name to go by up in Canterlot. You don't want them following you there." Dimeback nodded in agreement. Despite the fact he was sure they wouldn't care about the disappearance of their youngest son, if he could help it, he didn't want his parents to find him. "Thanks for everything, Jump." "No worries. Now get on the train! You'll miss your chance."
     
    ----------
    Years later
    ----------
     
    At the end of three very successful years at the Canterlot Music Academy, which provided all the same classes as a normal high school, with more emphasis on music, Descant - as now he was called - found himself as first in his class, flourishing in the absence of his oppresive family. It was his graduation, as he gave the speech thanking his classmates for the time they had spent together, that he was found. It was only Jumpshot he spotted immediately in the stands, watching him graduate, but little did he know, his family was there as well. For after the graduation, when Jumpshot was congratulation his younger brother, Endzone and Pompom converged upon him, and caused quite a scene as the screamed at him about running away, and about what he'd been doing with his life, and about what a disgrace he was to the family name.
     
    Needless to say, Endzone was neither the most passive nor the most sensible pony.
     
    Descant went on from there to go to even further lengths to try to escape his parents. He even had to cut off contact with Jumpshot as he traveled abroad. He was simply paranoid they would find him again.
     
    As he traveled, he became acquainted with the strange cultures and hierarchies and aristocracies of many a foreign nation, and became familiar with many a foreign language, including, among others, Germane, Camelutian, and Cervidish. Eventually, he met a pair of rambunctious twins in the city of Barceleona, capital of Catalonia, named Rag and Tag, who were travelling with a circus. They became friends, and Descant followed the circus for a while before deciding to settle in the small town of Ponyville, back in Equestria where things made sense. Rag and Tag settled with him, and he decided to change his name again, this time to Encore, in hopes his parents wouldn't bother him again. He met up again with his old acquaintances from the Academy, and has since been working to make his name well known again as it once was, and as his father's once was, in the land of Equestria.
     
     
    -------------
    OOC
    -------------
     
    This is the first of a series I hope to make going into detail about the origins of each of my RPing characters. This may very well not be the finalized version of Encore's tale, either; there is much I'm unhappy with in this telling, but do not have time to fix or achieve.
     
    Please, if you have read this all the way through, tell me what you think, or else, ways you think I can improve upon the work I've already done. Thank you.
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