The world keeps spinning 'round, but I'm hanging by a moment here with youby KirakukChaptersRehearsal and travelThe day of the concertThe song and the partyRehearsal and travel“Where are they?!” I asked myself. The rest of the band was usually late for rehearsal, but we had to hit the road that night for Ponyville, and I didn’t want us to leave later than 10 o’clock. Marching band made me an extremely punctual pony (early means you’re on time, on time means you’re late, and late means you’re in trouble), but that also made me incredibly annoyed when others were late. Fortunately, my annoyance didn’t last long, as I saw the rest of the band coming up in our carriage. I trotted up to the carriage so they could see how disappointed I was. Jade, our unicorn singer and guitarist, was pulling the carriage with his green coat and white mane glistening with sweat. It was obvious that he wasn’t used to pulling it. “No wonder you three are late,” I said as the twin earth ponies Bench and Brody hopped out of the carriage, “Jade’s pulling.” “Well, excuse me for not being as fit as all of you. I’m only pulling because I lost a bet against these guys.” Jade said with some frustration. In order to avoid any more conflict within the band, I decided it was better not to ask what the bet was. “To be honest, I was surprised that he was able to pull it without using his magic.” Brody said as he took a sip of water. In response, Jade grabbed the bottle with his magic and poured it all over Brody’s head, drenching his brown coat and dark brown mane. “Try to make me pull that thing again, I dare you.” Jade growled, as the twins laughed again. “Too bad we all have to take turns pulling the carriage when we leave tonight after rehearsal.” I said. Jade frowned, but understood as we all had to pull our weight as a part of the band. “Speaking of rehearsal, it should’ve started five minutes ago. Let’s go, we have a concert tomorrow night.” I said as I flew into the auditorium to warm up. As I was practicing a certain part of one of our songs, Jade and Bench tuned their guitars, while Brody set up his bass. After everypony warmed up, I told them the setlist for our concert after the Wonderbolts show. “Since we’re opening with it, let’s practice “All In”, ok?” I said, and the others nodded in agreement. “Jade, start us off. One, two, one two three four…” and Jade started playing. The song went along smoothly, until Brody’s strap broke, resulting in him dropping his bass. “Uh, whoops?” he said. I shook my head, as we had no time for these problems. “Whatever, let’s just go to the next song.” I said. Fortunately for us, we flew through the rest of the setlist without any problems. It was about time too, as my black and yellow mane was starting to hang in front of my face thanks to all the sweat. “Alright guys, let’s get some grub. We need the energy to travel tonight.” I said, and we all got some food and sat down to eat. “Since we’re staying in Ponyville that night, where are you all staying?” Jade asked. “I’m staying with my sister Lyra.” How convenient, I thought. Too bad my closest relatives are near Fillydelphia. “I’m staying with a pen pal of mine, Trey. I’ve just been really excited to meet him. Good thing this opportunity came up, I guess.” I said. “That’s actually really cool.” Bench said. “But I’m simply looking forward to all those single mares that will be in attendance.” Then he started grinning. “Hopefully I’ll get some action tomorrow!” “Come on, seriously?” I said as I shook my head and laughed. “You and I both know that you get friendzoned all the time. Good luck with that!” Jade then spoke up and said, “This is coming from the pony that hasn’t had a relationship since high school.” The twins then started laughing. While that was true, I never really tried for one either. I chuckled anyway and continued speaking. “Anyway, I think I’ll enjoy my time at Trey’s house, as we’ve both been anxious to meet at some point, and this is the perfect opportunity.” I said. After finding out that the twins were staying with a cousin of theirs, we started packing our stuff into the carriage. I volunteered to pull first, and thanks to a spell Jade cast, I could actually pull it despite all of the equipment plus the three ponies onboard. “Alright guys,” I said. “Next stop: Ponyville!” XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX After an entire night of travel (and each of us pulling for a few hours at a time), Ponyville finally came into view. While it wasn’t the smallest town we’ve ever performed for, it certainly wasn’t the biggest, which would probably give us a cozier environment than normal. Good, I thought to myself. I like it when concerts are more personal. With that in mind, that only made me more excited for the show that night. After about ten more minutes, we stopped at the stage just outside of town and unpacked our music equipment. While it wasn’t desirable after several hours of travel, we decided it was better to do it now than wait until just before we performed. Once the last amp was taken off the carriage, we went our separate ways to meet family and (in my case) the ponies we would be staying with. While reading the directions Trey had given me, I wasn’t surprised to notice the cottage outside of town and by the Everfree Forest, considering his wife’s love for nature and animals. I also wouldn’t find it surprising if Trey himself had become a bit of a nature-lover as well. Fortunately, I didn’t have that much time to wait, as the cottage appeared before my very eyes as I crest a nearby hill. Animals of all kinds were scurrying about, making a clearer path to their front door. What a house! I thought. I think I’m going to enjoy my time here. I knocked on the door a few times and patiently waited a few moments for somepony to answer the door. Not surprisingly, the door opened slowly, and I saw a pair of light blue eyes partially hidden behind a pink mane that looked terrified to see a stranger like myself. “Um….hello? Who are you?” the shy pony said nervously. To show that I was a friend, I gave her a warm smile and said, “Hello, Fluttershy! I’m Trey’s friend, Kirakuk, and I believe he said I could stay the night after my concert?” Her eyes lit up, showing that she was expecting me to come, just like Trey said. “Oh, welcome! Trey said you would be coming!” Fluttershy said with more confidence. “Speaking of Trey, he should be home in about twenty minutes, as he’s still at the school.” I nodded as I took a seat and started patiently waiting for him to come home. The house was surprisingly quiet, save for a few birds chirping and a few squirrels skittering around. Their foals must still be at school as well. I thought, which explained how quiet the house was. Fortunately, sitting in near-silence was a favorite pastime of mine, so I wasn’t complaining. Right on time, I heard hoofsteps approaching the door. I stood up and got ready to meet my longtime pen pal. As he opened the door and saw me, he paused and smiled. “I’ve been waiting for you…” Trey said in a playfully menacing voice. “So have I.” I responded. “It’s good to finally meet you!” As I said this, I trot over to him and we bumped hooves, marking our first real meeting. The day of the concert**Author’s Note:* Sorry for the really late update, I’ve been really busy lately. Thanks for being so patient! Also, considering the slight style change in this chapter, keep an eye out for a rewrite of chapter one!* After getting my things into the guest room and settling down a bit, I sat down with Trey outside so we could talk more. “So tell me Kirakuk, what kind of music do you guys play? Ever since I promised to see one of your shows, I always wondered.” Trey asked. “We usually play alternative rock, so it’s nothing too heavy,” I replied. Then, I chuckled and said, “I do catch myself manebanging every now and then to our heavier songs, however. In any case, I think that even Fluttershy wouldn’t mind listening to it.” “Is that so?” Now it was his turn to laugh. “Fluttershy doesn’t always like the louder songs that the marching band plays. She took Anacrusis and Flutterwing to a hoofball game one time, and she was holding Flutterwing so hard she almost choked her. Then again, considering she doesn’t like crowds to begin with, I guess the loud noises made it even worse.” he said as he laughed. “Oh don’t worry, most of our stuff is softer than what marching bands play. I think even your foals would enjoy it too!” I said. Then a light went off in my head. “Hey, do you want some extra tickets for your family and any other friends you may want to bring?” Trey’s eyes seemed to light up. “That would actually be fantastic! Now, I’m probably going to ask Flutterheart if she wants to bring anypony, but definitely the kids!” “Great! The more the merrier!” I said with excitement. Wow, I thought to myself, this is the first time I’ve ever brought friends to a concert. I hope I don’t blow it. With that in mind, we trotted into the house so I could give the tickets to Trey. “Hey, Flutterheart? Is there anypony you want to bring to the concert tonight?” Trey asked his wife. I smiled. I had to admit, that was a cute name for her. She then flew in and started beaming. “Oh, yes please! Um…can the girls come?” she asked. “Let me guess, you need 5 tickets for that?” I said with surprising knowledge. “Um....Treyngel? How did he know that?” she squeaked. “Treyngel?” I started laughing, “I didn’t know she called you tha-Ow!” I said as Trey playfully nudged me on the shoulder. “We write to each other a lot. I told him about the girls, right Kirakuk?” he said. “Yep.” I rubbed my shoulder, and then started throwing out names, “There’s Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie!” As I stopped talking, we all heard a loud gasp. I looked around, but saw nopony around. I then shrugged and opened up my bag to procure the tickets, but instead of tickets, a bright pink pony jumped out of the bag and starting hopping around the room. “YAY!!!!! I’M GOING TO THE CONCERT TONIGHT WITH MY FRIENDS! THIS IS GOING TO BE THE MOST AMAZING, SUPERLY TERRIFIC CONCERT EVER!” At that, she picked up 5 tickets, and then started hopping around again after she looked at them. “OH MY GOSH, THEY’RE FRONT ROW TOO! YAAAAAYYYYY!” she shouted and then dashed out of the house and towards Ponyville. I stared at the door for about five more seconds when Trey and Fluttershy started laughing. “What…just happened?” I asked. I knew Pinkie Pie was happy and bubbly, but she just appeared in my bag. No pony could possibly fit in there…. “This is actually normal around here.” Trey said. “Just wait until she throws a party for you and the band.” I cringed at the thought, as I never really liked attending parties, but I shrugged it off. I looked at the time, and noticed it was about 3 o’clock. “Oh gosh, I gotta hurry. Here are your tickets, the show starts at 7” I said as I shoved four tickets into Trey’s mouth. “I gotta go set up for the show, see you then!” I shouted as I cantered outside and took flight towards the temporary stage set up just outside Ponyville. (Later) As I got there, the rest of the band was just starting to set some things up on the stage, so I wasn’t as late as I feared. Phew, I thought. I always hated being late for anything, no matter how important or unimportant the event was. Fortunately, it was easy to settle my paranoia since I was only a few minutes late. At that, I started setting up my drum set. “Hello, my pretty,” I said to my drum set, “You’re in for great show tonight.” I remember the first time I said that around another band member. It was at a small gig during college when Jade and I had just started performing. I said it louder than I thought I did, and looked up to see Jade with a look of concern on his face. “Dude…..” he said, “You need therapy.” Only to add to his concern, I then burst into maniacal laughter. “Jade, I thought you figured it out by now. I lost my mind years ago.” I said as I was wiping tears from my face. I had a point though; we did know each other for a few years before we formed the band. Then I gave him a crazy smile, and he started laughing as well. As I finished reminiscing, I reminded myself that I had to get ready for the concert. As I was singing to myself, I started setting up my kit. Bass drum here, hi-hat there, tom-toms here, snare drum there, and then the various cymbals I owned. I finally set up my stool, and the drum kit was complete. As I sat my rump down on my stool, I looked out at the empty, but soon to be filled stands. To me, this was the scary part. After years of performing in front of crowds, I still found it scarier to imagine the crowd than to play in front of an actual crowd. I quickly pushed that thought out of my mind as I did a quick drum solo to make sure everything was in place. Satisfied, I headed backstage to see if the others needed any help. However, they were all sitting down in a circle talking about something, and they hushed up as I approached. Something’s up here, I thought. “Hey guys, sorry I’m late. Do you need any help setting up?” I asked. “We will in a moment, but first we want to ask you something.” Jade said. He sighed. “Look, K…” Uh oh, he called me K. The only time he ever called me that was when there’s something serious going on. My mind was racing, trying to figure out what was going on, and my heart started to book it. “We heard you singing one of the songs earlier, while you were setting up your drum kit.” Wait a second. That didn’t sound as serious as I expected it to be. “Uhhh, so?” I asked. “Dude, you have an amazing voice,” he said, “It’s just as good as mine, and you don’t even sing during any of the songs.” His comments caught me off guard. I do enjoy singing from time to time, but never thought my voice was anything special. Hey, that’s why I chose the drums; it meant I was less likely to sing anything. “What are you saying, Jade?” I asked. “You know how we’re doing an acoustic song tonight?” I nodded. “We want you to sing it.” “Wh…What?” I said. Singing in front of a crowd? Oh no…. “Since you don’t need to play drums for that song, it’s a perfect opportunity!” he said. “We all talked about it, and we agreed that you should give it a shot!” The twins nodded their heads after he finished. I thought about it. I did love to sing, but could I possibly do it in front of a crowd for the first time during a concert? Dammit, I’m having those thoughts again. Come on, K, just give it a shot. Now was the time to be gutsy. “Alright guys, I’ll try it out.” Jade, Bench, and Brody all brohoofed me, and we all stood up to get the rest of the stage set up. (Later that night) “Alright guys, you’re on in ten!” the stage manager shouted to us. The Wonderbolts had just finished their show, and I was pumping myself up for our performance. Of course, as excited as I was, I was also terrified for the inevitable acoustic number I would have to sing. We had practiced it earlier and it went smoothly, but I still had doubts in my mind. Am I going to remember the lyrics? Will I sing loud enough into the microphone? Am I really as good as the guys say I am? Noticing my discomfort, Jade trotted over and patted me on the back. “Take it easy bro. You’ll be fine. And don’t worry, it will be over before you know it.” He said. I chuckled nervously, “I certainly hope so. How do you handle looking out into the crowd all the time?” I asked. “It just comes naturally to me, I dunno” he said. “Just relax and sing. That’s all I can really say at this point.” Easier said than done I thought to myself. One thing’s for sure, this was going to be an interesting concert. “Fillies and gentlecolts…” It was finally time for us to get on stage, so we trotted onstage together while the mayor was introducing us. Jade put the acoustic guitar on around his neck while Bench and Brody did the same with their electric guitar and bass, respectively. We gathered for one last huddle. “Alright guys, let’s play some music!” I said. We then all shouted “BREAK” and I flew onto my drum kit stool to begin playing. Before Jade started the first song, I took a quick look at the crowd. Ponies of all ages were looking at us with excitement, and I could feel the energy from them seeping into my skin. I loved the feeling of adrenaline that the cheering crowd gave me. However, I looked at the front row, and I almost jumped off of my stool with excitement. Trey, Fluttershy, and their foals were standing front row, waving at me. I smiled and noticed that Fluttershy had indeed brought her friends along with her. Standing next to her was a white pony with a stylish purple mane that I could only guess was Rarity. She seemed to be trying to stand as far away as possible from an orange pony with a Stetson hat that could only be Applejack. Heh, she must’ve just gotten off work, I thought to myself. Hovering by Applejack was Rainbow Dash (who else could it be, nopony else has a mane like that), and she probably looked like the most excited pony (besides Pinkie) of the group to be there. Next to her was Pinkie Pie, who I had met earlier, and was still hopping in place out of excitement. She never runs out of energy, does she? I asked myself. I made a mental note to ask Trey about that later. I figured that Twilight must be the last one of the group remaining, so I looked next to Pinkie. What I saw shattered my expectations. Since Trey had mentioned to me that Twilight was the librarian and labeled an “egghead” by Rainbow, I was expecting a somewhat nerdy appearance. Instead of a nerd, I saw one of the most beautiful mares that I had ever laid eyes on in my entire life. Everything from her lavender fur to her dark purple mane with light purple highlights was perfect about her. But then, I saw her eyes. Those purple eyes…I had never seen anything like them before. I could spend all night looking into those eyes. All the more reason to get to know her, I guess. My thoughts were interrupted when Jade started playing the guitar. Well, as much as I want to admire Twilight, I have a show to perform. His first four chords started the tempo, and I started tapping my hoof. Eight measures later, I started hitting the bass drum as Jade started singing. “All night, staring at the ceiling…Counting, for minutes I’m feeling this way, so far away and so alone…” The crowd let out a cheer of approval as Jade started singing, showing us that they knew the song. They even started singing with him later on in the verse. Then, the chorus started with the crash of my cymbals. “And I’m all in, nothing left to hide I’ve fallen, harder than a landslide I spent, a week away from you last night…” The crowd grew wild, but it was not loud enough for me to lose my concentration. I was determined not to mess up in front of such a beautiful mare. Then again, I was also too lost in playing the music to care. The song later ended with much applause from the crowd, asking for more. Fortunately, the concert had just started, and we had more songs to play. The next few songs went on perfectly, but then my moment had arrived, and Jade was just starting to introduce the next number. “Alright, we’re going to quiet down for this next song. How many of you like acoustic numbers?” Jade asked. The crowd roared, eager for another song. “Well, we’re going to give you one of those tonight, but I won’t be singing it. Tonight, you’ll have the pleasure of hearing K sing the song “Take Me Away” tonight! How’s that sound?” More cheers. My stomach felt like it was sinking, but whether it was for excitement or anxiety, I couldn’t tell. As I strapped the microphone to my head, Jade smiled at me and gave me one last pat on the back. Alright, here goes nothing, I thought. The song and the partyI normally don’t get stage fright during an actual performance, but I could actually feel it starting to settle into my mind right there. While I did occasionally sing off stage, that was nothing compared to being the lead singer. I took a short moment just staring into space, but then had to remind myself that we had to start at some point. I looked over at Jade, who was sitting down and had his acoustic guitar, all set and ready to play. He looked me over, gave me a nod, and then I mouthed out a short countdown to begin the song. One…two….one, two, three…. “This time, what I want is you, there is no one else….who can take your place” I’ve only sang the first line, and the crowd is already quieting down. Much more quiet than they were earlier. Don’t stop now, I tell myself, keep going! “This time, you burn me with your eyes, you see past all the lies, you take it all away.” Alright K, keep it up! Try moving around I tell myself again. I start walking across the stage a bit as I sing the next line: “I’ve seen it all, and it’s never enough. It keeps leaving me needing you.” At the last word, I point my hoof into the crowd, not pointing at anypony specifically since I figured Jade would do something like that. After a short pause, I begin the chorus: “Take me away, take me away, I’ve got nothing left to say…Just take me away.” I look into the crowd to see some ponies starting to sway left and right along with the music, and even Trey and Fluttershy are moving, as well as smiling. I start smiling myself as I gain more confidence and start with the second verse. Something happens though. Just before I start singing, I start flying around the crowd. I’m not really thinking about it, I’m just doing it. The crowd lets out a small cheer, showing they did not expect me to come out into the crowd with them, especially considering I’m still singing. However, just like when I drum, I’m getting lost in the music, letting it fill me up, and singing without a care in the world. The second chorus ends, and I start singing the post chorus bridge: “Don’t give up on me yet, don’t forget who I am. I know I’m not there yet…but don’t let, me stay here alone….” It is after this part and during the instrumental portion of the song that I notice something going on in the crowd. Some couples are getting closer to one another, swaying together with the music, while others are even looking each other in the eyes, locked in an embrace that only two lovers could pull off. I don’t really think too much of it, but then I notice that Trey and Fluttershy are doing this too. It’s at this point that I think about my own life, and how I have longed for a lasting romance in my life. During this segment of the song, I feel a sense of loneliness as I look back on my life so far at all the moments I was too nervous to speak up and share my feelings. Regret starts to grow in my head, but something else takes its place. Something more powerful. Hope. And that newfound hope gives me an idea. I make my way back to the front of the crowd, land, and start walking along the front, with fans eager to see me being so close to them. I repeat the first verse, and then I start coming up to Fluttershy’s five friends. My heart starts pounding as I get closer to my eventual target, and I start singing again: “I’ve seen enough, and it’s never enough. It keeps leaving me needing you…” Right as I finish singing that, I stop and look at Twilight directly in the eyes, and I sing to her with honesty: “Take me away….Take me away…I’ve got nothing left to say….Just take me away…” As I’m singing, she lets out an enormous blush and moves her head to look down, yet keeps her eyes on me. I wonder if she has any idea how cute she looks right now? I think to myself as Jade finishes off the song and I jump back on stage to applause. I take a short bow and thank the crowd for their awesomeness, and I head back to my drum set. The twins give me a slap on the back as Jade looks at me with a huge grin on his face, which tells me only one thing: “You’ve got guts, bro.” The question is, I ask myself, will those guts come back to bite me in the flank later on? XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX The rest of the concert was fairly normal in terms of performance. However, I found it harder to concentrate on the music after that stunt I pulled with Twilight. My anxiety was starting to seep in again, and Jade noticed it and pulled me aside after the concert. “Hey bro, quite worrying.” He said. “I do stuff like that all the time in concerts.” “As always though, you make it look a hell of a lot easier to handle.” I said in return. “I need to relax, dude. I don’t know why I’m getting so nervous, but I am.” “Good thing we don’t have any shows for another year. You can take all the time off you need until we have to start writing the new record.” Jade said. He was right; we had a lot of time off after our show here in Ponyville for me to unwind and chill. With that in mind, we started to head backstage so we could get at least some packing done before tomorrow. Before we could do anything though, we found the twins looking at an envelope addressed to us as a band sitting on one of the guitar cases. “Do you guys know who left this here?” I asked them. “No, it was sitting here when we put our stuff away.” Bench said. Brody nodded in acknowledgement with a look of confusion on his face. Jade then proceeded to open the envelope with his magic and started to read it out loud. “Dear awesome band members, you are invited to Pinkie Pie’s After Concert Party at Sugarcube Corner immediately after you finish reading this invitation! We want to thank you for giving us an awesome show tonight! Come as you are!” Jade read. He then looked at all of us and said, “Well, are you guys ready?” “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I said. “You say that like I have to go!” While I didn’t mind parties, I had no idea that I would possibly have to see Twilight again so soon. The idea, while it made me a bit excited, also made me nervous. “You really should, bro.” Brody said. “You gave them an awesome show, and they want to thank you for it!” “Seriously, they’re throwing a PARTY for us!” Jade exclaimed. “Don’t worry; we’ll make sure you have a good time.” He said with a wink. I then hung my head down, defeated. “Fine, you win. Let’s go, I’m ready when you three are.” I said with reluctance. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX As Sugarcube Corner came into view, my heart started pounding yet again. I could see from a distance a number of ponies trotting towards the gingerbread style building, excited to meet the band that had given them such a great show. Perfect, I thought to myself, time to put on my mask of zero anxiety. According to my friends, I was pretty good at hiding any negative emotions, which could be both a good and a bad thing. Jade knew this and smiled, as he liked seeing me at least appear confident. We looked at each other, nodded, and trotted into the building. Our arrival was met with instant applause and the usual swarm of fans eager to meet us. Somepony had even set up a camera and a table for us to sign the pictures. As I was being dragged to the camera with my band mates, I looked in the crowd for any sign of Trey. Unfortunately, I didn’t see him anywhere, though he was likely on his way. Fortunately, I managed to get through pictures with the full band without saying a word, save for an occasional “Thank you” or “Glad you enjoyed the show”. After that, however, were a few lines set up so ponies could get pictures with individual band members. I didn’t mind those, but they were still a bit uncomfortable due to the spontaneity of this meet and greet. Luckily, most of the pictures took no more than a few seconds to take. At the end of the line was a trio of young fillies, who practically tackled me to the ground in a hug (which was also normal, we were popular with the younger crowd too) and were constantly talking about how much they loved the concert. “Thank y’all so much for performing for us tonight!” said the filly with a yellow coat and a red mane with a bow. “Mah favorite part was the first song y’all played! What was it called, mister?” “That song was called “All In”, and I’m glad you liked it! That’s one of my favorite songs to play too!” I responded kindly. Then I turned to her two friends, a light gray unicorn with a purple and grayish-pink mane and an orange Pegasus with a fuchsia mane and asked them which part of the show they liked. “I liked your totally awesome drum solo in the fourth song! It was radical! Can you teach me to do that?” the Pegasus asked. “I sure can, whenever I come back here to give drum lessons. What’s your name, miss?” I asked. “Name’s Scootaloo, and this is Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle!” she responded. Then all three of them said together, “We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” “Well then, Cutie Mark Crusaders, have you ever considered forming a band?” I asked. They all fell silent and kicked at the ground until Sweetie Belle spoke up. “Yeah, we sang at a talent show a while ago, but it….didn’t end well.” she said with disappointment. They all sighed in unison, but then I smiled. “Hey, don’t feel too bad. My first show was a disaster too.” I said with a slight chuckle. “You just have to be persistent! Keep practicing and you could very well end up with something amazing!” This brought a smile to their faces and they gave me another hug. Then we all posed for the picture, with Scootaloo climbing onto my head and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle pretending to climb onto my shoulders, resulting in a silly picture. Ah, fillies. The future of Equestria. I thought to myself with a smile on my face. I was starting to feel better and less nervous, so my smiling face was actually genuine now. I looked over at my band mates, who were just finishing up with their pictures. I started trotting towards Jade, but then he shooed me away. “Come on, bro. Go socialize. You need to get out more anyway.” he said with a smirk. I lowered my head a bit, but relaxed a little as I summoned up some confidence and walked towards a small group of ponies and started conversation. Like anypony, they were excited to see me join them, but seemed to relax more when they noticed I was just a normal pony off stage. I was having an absolute blast when somepony tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around to see Trey and Fluttershy standing side by side with Anacrusis and Flutterwing on their backs, everypony having a huge smile on their face. “You did a great job, Kirakuk!” Trey said. “I’m glad you came to town.” “Same here.” I said. “It’s always fun to play shows, but it’s even better when I meet my longtime pen pal.” I then proceeded to ruffle his hair playfully, resulting in me earning an even bigger bruise on my shoulder. “What did you think of the show, Fluttershy?” “Oh, it was wonderful! I really liked that song you sang.” she said. Oh no. Please tell me this isn’t where the conversation is going…. “Speaking of which,” Trey said, “where did THAT come from?” He grinned and then continued, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone flatter a mare in that fashion.” I laughed nervously and said, “It was…kind of….well…spur of the moment?” I blushed and looked away momentarily. “I guess…I dunno….she’s just too cute NOT to sing to, ya know? Everypony deserves a special somepony, and I’m sure she’s probably a wonderful mare to know.” “And you can’t truly know until you get to meet her, right?” Trey said. I nodded, and he continued with a smile, “Fortunately, that can be arranged.” My pupils dilated, and I was starting to feel nervous again. “See, that’s what scares me….” I said with my voice shaking. Trey then shook his head “Seriously? You basically profess your attraction to her in front of a crowd, and you’re still too nervous to approach her?” he said. I nodded my head. “I think you’re ready to talk to her. She’s definitely ready to talk to you.” My ears perked at this. “Really?” I asked. “Yes!” Fluttershy said. “She couldn’t stop talking about you after the concert. The rest of the girls are all outside talking to her about it, probably having the same conversation we’re having with you.” She’s outside right now? The very mare I sang to? “Uhhh….what am I supposed to say to her?” I asked. Trey responded with an easy answer, “Hello is a good place to start.” Well, it looks like we’re both looking for something. Something we’re afraid to find. I swallowed and summoned all the courage I could muster. “Ok, I’m ready to talk to her.” I said. Trey instantly started to smile and nodded to somepony behind me. I turned around and nearly fainted to see Twilight standing right behind me. “Uh…hi…”
Rehearsal and travel“Where are they?!” I asked myself. The rest of the band was usually late for rehearsal, but we had to hit the road that night for Ponyville, and I didn’t want us to leave later than 10 o’clock. Marching band made me an extremely punctual pony (early means you’re on time, on time means you’re late, and late means you’re in trouble), but that also made me incredibly annoyed when others were late. Fortunately, my annoyance didn’t last long, as I saw the rest of the band coming up in our carriage. I trotted up to the carriage so they could see how disappointed I was. Jade, our unicorn singer and guitarist, was pulling the carriage with his green coat and white mane glistening with sweat. It was obvious that he wasn’t used to pulling it. “No wonder you three are late,” I said as the twin earth ponies Bench and Brody hopped out of the carriage, “Jade’s pulling.” “Well, excuse me for not being as fit as all of you. I’m only pulling because I lost a bet against these guys.” Jade said with some frustration. In order to avoid any more conflict within the band, I decided it was better not to ask what the bet was. “To be honest, I was surprised that he was able to pull it without using his magic.” Brody said as he took a sip of water. In response, Jade grabbed the bottle with his magic and poured it all over Brody’s head, drenching his brown coat and dark brown mane. “Try to make me pull that thing again, I dare you.” Jade growled, as the twins laughed again. “Too bad we all have to take turns pulling the carriage when we leave tonight after rehearsal.” I said. Jade frowned, but understood as we all had to pull our weight as a part of the band. “Speaking of rehearsal, it should’ve started five minutes ago. Let’s go, we have a concert tomorrow night.” I said as I flew into the auditorium to warm up. As I was practicing a certain part of one of our songs, Jade and Bench tuned their guitars, while Brody set up his bass. After everypony warmed up, I told them the setlist for our concert after the Wonderbolts show. “Since we’re opening with it, let’s practice “All In”, ok?” I said, and the others nodded in agreement. “Jade, start us off. One, two, one two three four…” and Jade started playing. The song went along smoothly, until Brody’s strap broke, resulting in him dropping his bass. “Uh, whoops?” he said. I shook my head, as we had no time for these problems. “Whatever, let’s just go to the next song.” I said. Fortunately for us, we flew through the rest of the setlist without any problems. It was about time too, as my black and yellow mane was starting to hang in front of my face thanks to all the sweat. “Alright guys, let’s get some grub. We need the energy to travel tonight.” I said, and we all got some food and sat down to eat. “Since we’re staying in Ponyville that night, where are you all staying?” Jade asked. “I’m staying with my sister Lyra.” How convenient, I thought. Too bad my closest relatives are near Fillydelphia. “I’m staying with a pen pal of mine, Trey. I’ve just been really excited to meet him. Good thing this opportunity came up, I guess.” I said. “That’s actually really cool.” Bench said. “But I’m simply looking forward to all those single mares that will be in attendance.” Then he started grinning. “Hopefully I’ll get some action tomorrow!” “Come on, seriously?” I said as I shook my head and laughed. “You and I both know that you get friendzoned all the time. Good luck with that!” Jade then spoke up and said, “This is coming from the pony that hasn’t had a relationship since high school.” The twins then started laughing. While that was true, I never really tried for one either. I chuckled anyway and continued speaking. “Anyway, I think I’ll enjoy my time at Trey’s house, as we’ve both been anxious to meet at some point, and this is the perfect opportunity.” I said. After finding out that the twins were staying with a cousin of theirs, we started packing our stuff into the carriage. I volunteered to pull first, and thanks to a spell Jade cast, I could actually pull it despite all of the equipment plus the three ponies onboard. “Alright guys,” I said. “Next stop: Ponyville!” XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX After an entire night of travel (and each of us pulling for a few hours at a time), Ponyville finally came into view. While it wasn’t the smallest town we’ve ever performed for, it certainly wasn’t the biggest, which would probably give us a cozier environment than normal. Good, I thought to myself. I like it when concerts are more personal. With that in mind, that only made me more excited for the show that night. After about ten more minutes, we stopped at the stage just outside of town and unpacked our music equipment. While it wasn’t desirable after several hours of travel, we decided it was better to do it now than wait until just before we performed. Once the last amp was taken off the carriage, we went our separate ways to meet family and (in my case) the ponies we would be staying with. While reading the directions Trey had given me, I wasn’t surprised to notice the cottage outside of town and by the Everfree Forest, considering his wife’s love for nature and animals. I also wouldn’t find it surprising if Trey himself had become a bit of a nature-lover as well. Fortunately, I didn’t have that much time to wait, as the cottage appeared before my very eyes as I crest a nearby hill. Animals of all kinds were scurrying about, making a clearer path to their front door. What a house! I thought. I think I’m going to enjoy my time here. I knocked on the door a few times and patiently waited a few moments for somepony to answer the door. Not surprisingly, the door opened slowly, and I saw a pair of light blue eyes partially hidden behind a pink mane that looked terrified to see a stranger like myself. “Um….hello? Who are you?” the shy pony said nervously. To show that I was a friend, I gave her a warm smile and said, “Hello, Fluttershy! I’m Trey’s friend, Kirakuk, and I believe he said I could stay the night after my concert?” Her eyes lit up, showing that she was expecting me to come, just like Trey said. “Oh, welcome! Trey said you would be coming!” Fluttershy said with more confidence. “Speaking of Trey, he should be home in about twenty minutes, as he’s still at the school.” I nodded as I took a seat and started patiently waiting for him to come home. The house was surprisingly quiet, save for a few birds chirping and a few squirrels skittering around. Their foals must still be at school as well. I thought, which explained how quiet the house was. Fortunately, sitting in near-silence was a favorite pastime of mine, so I wasn’t complaining. Right on time, I heard hoofsteps approaching the door. I stood up and got ready to meet my longtime pen pal. As he opened the door and saw me, he paused and smiled. “I’ve been waiting for you…” Trey said in a playfully menacing voice. “So have I.” I responded. “It’s good to finally meet you!” As I said this, I trot over to him and we bumped hooves, marking our first real meeting.
The day of the concert**Author’s Note:* Sorry for the really late update, I’ve been really busy lately. Thanks for being so patient! Also, considering the slight style change in this chapter, keep an eye out for a rewrite of chapter one!* After getting my things into the guest room and settling down a bit, I sat down with Trey outside so we could talk more. “So tell me Kirakuk, what kind of music do you guys play? Ever since I promised to see one of your shows, I always wondered.” Trey asked. “We usually play alternative rock, so it’s nothing too heavy,” I replied. Then, I chuckled and said, “I do catch myself manebanging every now and then to our heavier songs, however. In any case, I think that even Fluttershy wouldn’t mind listening to it.” “Is that so?” Now it was his turn to laugh. “Fluttershy doesn’t always like the louder songs that the marching band plays. She took Anacrusis and Flutterwing to a hoofball game one time, and she was holding Flutterwing so hard she almost choked her. Then again, considering she doesn’t like crowds to begin with, I guess the loud noises made it even worse.” he said as he laughed. “Oh don’t worry, most of our stuff is softer than what marching bands play. I think even your foals would enjoy it too!” I said. Then a light went off in my head. “Hey, do you want some extra tickets for your family and any other friends you may want to bring?” Trey’s eyes seemed to light up. “That would actually be fantastic! Now, I’m probably going to ask Flutterheart if she wants to bring anypony, but definitely the kids!” “Great! The more the merrier!” I said with excitement. Wow, I thought to myself, this is the first time I’ve ever brought friends to a concert. I hope I don’t blow it. With that in mind, we trotted into the house so I could give the tickets to Trey. “Hey, Flutterheart? Is there anypony you want to bring to the concert tonight?” Trey asked his wife. I smiled. I had to admit, that was a cute name for her. She then flew in and started beaming. “Oh, yes please! Um…can the girls come?” she asked. “Let me guess, you need 5 tickets for that?” I said with surprising knowledge. “Um....Treyngel? How did he know that?” she squeaked. “Treyngel?” I started laughing, “I didn’t know she called you tha-Ow!” I said as Trey playfully nudged me on the shoulder. “We write to each other a lot. I told him about the girls, right Kirakuk?” he said. “Yep.” I rubbed my shoulder, and then started throwing out names, “There’s Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie!” As I stopped talking, we all heard a loud gasp. I looked around, but saw nopony around. I then shrugged and opened up my bag to procure the tickets, but instead of tickets, a bright pink pony jumped out of the bag and starting hopping around the room. “YAY!!!!! I’M GOING TO THE CONCERT TONIGHT WITH MY FRIENDS! THIS IS GOING TO BE THE MOST AMAZING, SUPERLY TERRIFIC CONCERT EVER!” At that, she picked up 5 tickets, and then started hopping around again after she looked at them. “OH MY GOSH, THEY’RE FRONT ROW TOO! YAAAAAYYYYY!” she shouted and then dashed out of the house and towards Ponyville. I stared at the door for about five more seconds when Trey and Fluttershy started laughing. “What…just happened?” I asked. I knew Pinkie Pie was happy and bubbly, but she just appeared in my bag. No pony could possibly fit in there…. “This is actually normal around here.” Trey said. “Just wait until she throws a party for you and the band.” I cringed at the thought, as I never really liked attending parties, but I shrugged it off. I looked at the time, and noticed it was about 3 o’clock. “Oh gosh, I gotta hurry. Here are your tickets, the show starts at 7” I said as I shoved four tickets into Trey’s mouth. “I gotta go set up for the show, see you then!” I shouted as I cantered outside and took flight towards the temporary stage set up just outside Ponyville. (Later) As I got there, the rest of the band was just starting to set some things up on the stage, so I wasn’t as late as I feared. Phew, I thought. I always hated being late for anything, no matter how important or unimportant the event was. Fortunately, it was easy to settle my paranoia since I was only a few minutes late. At that, I started setting up my drum set. “Hello, my pretty,” I said to my drum set, “You’re in for great show tonight.” I remember the first time I said that around another band member. It was at a small gig during college when Jade and I had just started performing. I said it louder than I thought I did, and looked up to see Jade with a look of concern on his face. “Dude…..” he said, “You need therapy.” Only to add to his concern, I then burst into maniacal laughter. “Jade, I thought you figured it out by now. I lost my mind years ago.” I said as I was wiping tears from my face. I had a point though; we did know each other for a few years before we formed the band. Then I gave him a crazy smile, and he started laughing as well. As I finished reminiscing, I reminded myself that I had to get ready for the concert. As I was singing to myself, I started setting up my kit. Bass drum here, hi-hat there, tom-toms here, snare drum there, and then the various cymbals I owned. I finally set up my stool, and the drum kit was complete. As I sat my rump down on my stool, I looked out at the empty, but soon to be filled stands. To me, this was the scary part. After years of performing in front of crowds, I still found it scarier to imagine the crowd than to play in front of an actual crowd. I quickly pushed that thought out of my mind as I did a quick drum solo to make sure everything was in place. Satisfied, I headed backstage to see if the others needed any help. However, they were all sitting down in a circle talking about something, and they hushed up as I approached. Something’s up here, I thought. “Hey guys, sorry I’m late. Do you need any help setting up?” I asked. “We will in a moment, but first we want to ask you something.” Jade said. He sighed. “Look, K…” Uh oh, he called me K. The only time he ever called me that was when there’s something serious going on. My mind was racing, trying to figure out what was going on, and my heart started to book it. “We heard you singing one of the songs earlier, while you were setting up your drum kit.” Wait a second. That didn’t sound as serious as I expected it to be. “Uhhh, so?” I asked. “Dude, you have an amazing voice,” he said, “It’s just as good as mine, and you don’t even sing during any of the songs.” His comments caught me off guard. I do enjoy singing from time to time, but never thought my voice was anything special. Hey, that’s why I chose the drums; it meant I was less likely to sing anything. “What are you saying, Jade?” I asked. “You know how we’re doing an acoustic song tonight?” I nodded. “We want you to sing it.” “Wh…What?” I said. Singing in front of a crowd? Oh no…. “Since you don’t need to play drums for that song, it’s a perfect opportunity!” he said. “We all talked about it, and we agreed that you should give it a shot!” The twins nodded their heads after he finished. I thought about it. I did love to sing, but could I possibly do it in front of a crowd for the first time during a concert? Dammit, I’m having those thoughts again. Come on, K, just give it a shot. Now was the time to be gutsy. “Alright guys, I’ll try it out.” Jade, Bench, and Brody all brohoofed me, and we all stood up to get the rest of the stage set up. (Later that night) “Alright guys, you’re on in ten!” the stage manager shouted to us. The Wonderbolts had just finished their show, and I was pumping myself up for our performance. Of course, as excited as I was, I was also terrified for the inevitable acoustic number I would have to sing. We had practiced it earlier and it went smoothly, but I still had doubts in my mind. Am I going to remember the lyrics? Will I sing loud enough into the microphone? Am I really as good as the guys say I am? Noticing my discomfort, Jade trotted over and patted me on the back. “Take it easy bro. You’ll be fine. And don’t worry, it will be over before you know it.” He said. I chuckled nervously, “I certainly hope so. How do you handle looking out into the crowd all the time?” I asked. “It just comes naturally to me, I dunno” he said. “Just relax and sing. That’s all I can really say at this point.” Easier said than done I thought to myself. One thing’s for sure, this was going to be an interesting concert. “Fillies and gentlecolts…” It was finally time for us to get on stage, so we trotted onstage together while the mayor was introducing us. Jade put the acoustic guitar on around his neck while Bench and Brody did the same with their electric guitar and bass, respectively. We gathered for one last huddle. “Alright guys, let’s play some music!” I said. We then all shouted “BREAK” and I flew onto my drum kit stool to begin playing. Before Jade started the first song, I took a quick look at the crowd. Ponies of all ages were looking at us with excitement, and I could feel the energy from them seeping into my skin. I loved the feeling of adrenaline that the cheering crowd gave me. However, I looked at the front row, and I almost jumped off of my stool with excitement. Trey, Fluttershy, and their foals were standing front row, waving at me. I smiled and noticed that Fluttershy had indeed brought her friends along with her. Standing next to her was a white pony with a stylish purple mane that I could only guess was Rarity. She seemed to be trying to stand as far away as possible from an orange pony with a Stetson hat that could only be Applejack. Heh, she must’ve just gotten off work, I thought to myself. Hovering by Applejack was Rainbow Dash (who else could it be, nopony else has a mane like that), and she probably looked like the most excited pony (besides Pinkie) of the group to be there. Next to her was Pinkie Pie, who I had met earlier, and was still hopping in place out of excitement. She never runs out of energy, does she? I asked myself. I made a mental note to ask Trey about that later. I figured that Twilight must be the last one of the group remaining, so I looked next to Pinkie. What I saw shattered my expectations. Since Trey had mentioned to me that Twilight was the librarian and labeled an “egghead” by Rainbow, I was expecting a somewhat nerdy appearance. Instead of a nerd, I saw one of the most beautiful mares that I had ever laid eyes on in my entire life. Everything from her lavender fur to her dark purple mane with light purple highlights was perfect about her. But then, I saw her eyes. Those purple eyes…I had never seen anything like them before. I could spend all night looking into those eyes. All the more reason to get to know her, I guess. My thoughts were interrupted when Jade started playing the guitar. Well, as much as I want to admire Twilight, I have a show to perform. His first four chords started the tempo, and I started tapping my hoof. Eight measures later, I started hitting the bass drum as Jade started singing. “All night, staring at the ceiling…Counting, for minutes I’m feeling this way, so far away and so alone…” The crowd let out a cheer of approval as Jade started singing, showing us that they knew the song. They even started singing with him later on in the verse. Then, the chorus started with the crash of my cymbals. “And I’m all in, nothing left to hide I’ve fallen, harder than a landslide I spent, a week away from you last night…” The crowd grew wild, but it was not loud enough for me to lose my concentration. I was determined not to mess up in front of such a beautiful mare. Then again, I was also too lost in playing the music to care. The song later ended with much applause from the crowd, asking for more. Fortunately, the concert had just started, and we had more songs to play. The next few songs went on perfectly, but then my moment had arrived, and Jade was just starting to introduce the next number. “Alright, we’re going to quiet down for this next song. How many of you like acoustic numbers?” Jade asked. The crowd roared, eager for another song. “Well, we’re going to give you one of those tonight, but I won’t be singing it. Tonight, you’ll have the pleasure of hearing K sing the song “Take Me Away” tonight! How’s that sound?” More cheers. My stomach felt like it was sinking, but whether it was for excitement or anxiety, I couldn’t tell. As I strapped the microphone to my head, Jade smiled at me and gave me one last pat on the back. Alright, here goes nothing, I thought.
The song and the partyI normally don’t get stage fright during an actual performance, but I could actually feel it starting to settle into my mind right there. While I did occasionally sing off stage, that was nothing compared to being the lead singer. I took a short moment just staring into space, but then had to remind myself that we had to start at some point. I looked over at Jade, who was sitting down and had his acoustic guitar, all set and ready to play. He looked me over, gave me a nod, and then I mouthed out a short countdown to begin the song. One…two….one, two, three…. “This time, what I want is you, there is no one else….who can take your place” I’ve only sang the first line, and the crowd is already quieting down. Much more quiet than they were earlier. Don’t stop now, I tell myself, keep going! “This time, you burn me with your eyes, you see past all the lies, you take it all away.” Alright K, keep it up! Try moving around I tell myself again. I start walking across the stage a bit as I sing the next line: “I’ve seen it all, and it’s never enough. It keeps leaving me needing you.” At the last word, I point my hoof into the crowd, not pointing at anypony specifically since I figured Jade would do something like that. After a short pause, I begin the chorus: “Take me away, take me away, I’ve got nothing left to say…Just take me away.” I look into the crowd to see some ponies starting to sway left and right along with the music, and even Trey and Fluttershy are moving, as well as smiling. I start smiling myself as I gain more confidence and start with the second verse. Something happens though. Just before I start singing, I start flying around the crowd. I’m not really thinking about it, I’m just doing it. The crowd lets out a small cheer, showing they did not expect me to come out into the crowd with them, especially considering I’m still singing. However, just like when I drum, I’m getting lost in the music, letting it fill me up, and singing without a care in the world. The second chorus ends, and I start singing the post chorus bridge: “Don’t give up on me yet, don’t forget who I am. I know I’m not there yet…but don’t let, me stay here alone….” It is after this part and during the instrumental portion of the song that I notice something going on in the crowd. Some couples are getting closer to one another, swaying together with the music, while others are even looking each other in the eyes, locked in an embrace that only two lovers could pull off. I don’t really think too much of it, but then I notice that Trey and Fluttershy are doing this too. It’s at this point that I think about my own life, and how I have longed for a lasting romance in my life. During this segment of the song, I feel a sense of loneliness as I look back on my life so far at all the moments I was too nervous to speak up and share my feelings. Regret starts to grow in my head, but something else takes its place. Something more powerful. Hope. And that newfound hope gives me an idea. I make my way back to the front of the crowd, land, and start walking along the front, with fans eager to see me being so close to them. I repeat the first verse, and then I start coming up to Fluttershy’s five friends. My heart starts pounding as I get closer to my eventual target, and I start singing again: “I’ve seen enough, and it’s never enough. It keeps leaving me needing you…” Right as I finish singing that, I stop and look at Twilight directly in the eyes, and I sing to her with honesty: “Take me away….Take me away…I’ve got nothing left to say….Just take me away…” As I’m singing, she lets out an enormous blush and moves her head to look down, yet keeps her eyes on me. I wonder if she has any idea how cute she looks right now? I think to myself as Jade finishes off the song and I jump back on stage to applause. I take a short bow and thank the crowd for their awesomeness, and I head back to my drum set. The twins give me a slap on the back as Jade looks at me with a huge grin on his face, which tells me only one thing: “You’ve got guts, bro.” The question is, I ask myself, will those guts come back to bite me in the flank later on? XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX The rest of the concert was fairly normal in terms of performance. However, I found it harder to concentrate on the music after that stunt I pulled with Twilight. My anxiety was starting to seep in again, and Jade noticed it and pulled me aside after the concert. “Hey bro, quite worrying.” He said. “I do stuff like that all the time in concerts.” “As always though, you make it look a hell of a lot easier to handle.” I said in return. “I need to relax, dude. I don’t know why I’m getting so nervous, but I am.” “Good thing we don’t have any shows for another year. You can take all the time off you need until we have to start writing the new record.” Jade said. He was right; we had a lot of time off after our show here in Ponyville for me to unwind and chill. With that in mind, we started to head backstage so we could get at least some packing done before tomorrow. Before we could do anything though, we found the twins looking at an envelope addressed to us as a band sitting on one of the guitar cases. “Do you guys know who left this here?” I asked them. “No, it was sitting here when we put our stuff away.” Bench said. Brody nodded in acknowledgement with a look of confusion on his face. Jade then proceeded to open the envelope with his magic and started to read it out loud. “Dear awesome band members, you are invited to Pinkie Pie’s After Concert Party at Sugarcube Corner immediately after you finish reading this invitation! We want to thank you for giving us an awesome show tonight! Come as you are!” Jade read. He then looked at all of us and said, “Well, are you guys ready?” “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I said. “You say that like I have to go!” While I didn’t mind parties, I had no idea that I would possibly have to see Twilight again so soon. The idea, while it made me a bit excited, also made me nervous. “You really should, bro.” Brody said. “You gave them an awesome show, and they want to thank you for it!” “Seriously, they’re throwing a PARTY for us!” Jade exclaimed. “Don’t worry; we’ll make sure you have a good time.” He said with a wink. I then hung my head down, defeated. “Fine, you win. Let’s go, I’m ready when you three are.” I said with reluctance. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX As Sugarcube Corner came into view, my heart started pounding yet again. I could see from a distance a number of ponies trotting towards the gingerbread style building, excited to meet the band that had given them such a great show. Perfect, I thought to myself, time to put on my mask of zero anxiety. According to my friends, I was pretty good at hiding any negative emotions, which could be both a good and a bad thing. Jade knew this and smiled, as he liked seeing me at least appear confident. We looked at each other, nodded, and trotted into the building. Our arrival was met with instant applause and the usual swarm of fans eager to meet us. Somepony had even set up a camera and a table for us to sign the pictures. As I was being dragged to the camera with my band mates, I looked in the crowd for any sign of Trey. Unfortunately, I didn’t see him anywhere, though he was likely on his way. Fortunately, I managed to get through pictures with the full band without saying a word, save for an occasional “Thank you” or “Glad you enjoyed the show”. After that, however, were a few lines set up so ponies could get pictures with individual band members. I didn’t mind those, but they were still a bit uncomfortable due to the spontaneity of this meet and greet. Luckily, most of the pictures took no more than a few seconds to take. At the end of the line was a trio of young fillies, who practically tackled me to the ground in a hug (which was also normal, we were popular with the younger crowd too) and were constantly talking about how much they loved the concert. “Thank y’all so much for performing for us tonight!” said the filly with a yellow coat and a red mane with a bow. “Mah favorite part was the first song y’all played! What was it called, mister?” “That song was called “All In”, and I’m glad you liked it! That’s one of my favorite songs to play too!” I responded kindly. Then I turned to her two friends, a light gray unicorn with a purple and grayish-pink mane and an orange Pegasus with a fuchsia mane and asked them which part of the show they liked. “I liked your totally awesome drum solo in the fourth song! It was radical! Can you teach me to do that?” the Pegasus asked. “I sure can, whenever I come back here to give drum lessons. What’s your name, miss?” I asked. “Name’s Scootaloo, and this is Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle!” she responded. Then all three of them said together, “We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” “Well then, Cutie Mark Crusaders, have you ever considered forming a band?” I asked. They all fell silent and kicked at the ground until Sweetie Belle spoke up. “Yeah, we sang at a talent show a while ago, but it….didn’t end well.” she said with disappointment. They all sighed in unison, but then I smiled. “Hey, don’t feel too bad. My first show was a disaster too.” I said with a slight chuckle. “You just have to be persistent! Keep practicing and you could very well end up with something amazing!” This brought a smile to their faces and they gave me another hug. Then we all posed for the picture, with Scootaloo climbing onto my head and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle pretending to climb onto my shoulders, resulting in a silly picture. Ah, fillies. The future of Equestria. I thought to myself with a smile on my face. I was starting to feel better and less nervous, so my smiling face was actually genuine now. I looked over at my band mates, who were just finishing up with their pictures. I started trotting towards Jade, but then he shooed me away. “Come on, bro. Go socialize. You need to get out more anyway.” he said with a smirk. I lowered my head a bit, but relaxed a little as I summoned up some confidence and walked towards a small group of ponies and started conversation. Like anypony, they were excited to see me join them, but seemed to relax more when they noticed I was just a normal pony off stage. I was having an absolute blast when somepony tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around to see Trey and Fluttershy standing side by side with Anacrusis and Flutterwing on their backs, everypony having a huge smile on their face. “You did a great job, Kirakuk!” Trey said. “I’m glad you came to town.” “Same here.” I said. “It’s always fun to play shows, but it’s even better when I meet my longtime pen pal.” I then proceeded to ruffle his hair playfully, resulting in me earning an even bigger bruise on my shoulder. “What did you think of the show, Fluttershy?” “Oh, it was wonderful! I really liked that song you sang.” she said. Oh no. Please tell me this isn’t where the conversation is going…. “Speaking of which,” Trey said, “where did THAT come from?” He grinned and then continued, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone flatter a mare in that fashion.” I laughed nervously and said, “It was…kind of….well…spur of the moment?” I blushed and looked away momentarily. “I guess…I dunno….she’s just too cute NOT to sing to, ya know? Everypony deserves a special somepony, and I’m sure she’s probably a wonderful mare to know.” “And you can’t truly know until you get to meet her, right?” Trey said. I nodded, and he continued with a smile, “Fortunately, that can be arranged.” My pupils dilated, and I was starting to feel nervous again. “See, that’s what scares me….” I said with my voice shaking. Trey then shook his head “Seriously? You basically profess your attraction to her in front of a crowd, and you’re still too nervous to approach her?” he said. I nodded my head. “I think you’re ready to talk to her. She’s definitely ready to talk to you.” My ears perked at this. “Really?” I asked. “Yes!” Fluttershy said. “She couldn’t stop talking about you after the concert. The rest of the girls are all outside talking to her about it, probably having the same conversation we’re having with you.” She’s outside right now? The very mare I sang to? “Uhhh….what am I supposed to say to her?” I asked. Trey responded with an easy answer, “Hello is a good place to start.” Well, it looks like we’re both looking for something. Something we’re afraid to find. I swallowed and summoned all the courage I could muster. “Ok, I’m ready to talk to her.” I said. Trey instantly started to smile and nodded to somepony behind me. I turned around and nearly fainted to see Twilight standing right behind me. “Uh…hi…”
