MLP-Kiss Me Slowly

I awoke slowly at my house, hearing a bit of a commotion downstairs. I rubbed my eyes and slowly climbed out of bed, slipping on my hoodie and heading down the stairs to find that a katana and a throwing knife were embedded in the wall next to me. I sighed.

“Blades, are you kidding me?” I asked. My friend and housemate Takashi “Blades” poked his head into the room, as did my other two housemates, Gold Star and Shadow Soldier.

“Sorry, Silver,” he replied, looking at the two bladed weapons in the wall.

If you don’t remember me, my name is Silver Flare. I’m a silver stallion with a golden mane and tail, and my cutie mark was a flaming checkered flag with a bit of smoke coming off of it.

Anyway, Takashi, or “Blades” as we called him, was one of my best friends, a maroon stallion with a silver mane and a cyan tail; he had inherited both of his parent’s mane and tail colors, his father’s silver and his mother’s cyan. His cutie mark was two crossed Katana swords, as his specialty was creating and using these bladed weapons.

“Why can’t you use the garage or something?” I asked. “At least there the holes are easier to fix, and I don’t really care about them as much.”

“This is exactly what I said would happen,” Gold said, snorting and turning around. “Now he’s gonna have to fix more holes in the walls, Tak.” Gold Star was another one of my best friends, a golden Pegasus with a maroon tail and mane, and his cutie mark was a constellation of stars colored black and silver.

“Ah, I’m used to it,” I replied, pulling both items out of the wall and handing them back to Takashi. He stuck the katana in his scabbard on his left side and the knife in its sheath on his right foreleg before walking into the kitchen with me.

“I really am sorry,” he said. “I can fix the damage if you want me to.”

“Well, you can help keep the damage to a minimum,” I said, sighing a little. “I’m going to be honest here; I love ya, bro, but you gotta lighten up on the swords. One of these days it’s gonna get out of hoof.”

“I understand,” he said.

“Look, don’t take it personally,” I said, patting him on the back. “I get that it’s been a part of your family since your great-great-great-grandfather or whatever started making swords. Just try not to put so many holes in the walls, alright?”

“Alright.” He then walked out of the kitchen as Gold and Shadow walked in.

“So how’d you race last night?” Shadow asked me, using his magic to move some things around to make a comfortable place to sit down. Shadow Soldier was the last of my housemates and another one of my closest friends, a black unicorn with a gray mane and tail. His cutie mark, if I remember correctly, was the symbol for Captain within a certain branch of the military.

“Are you kidding?” Gold asked, laughing a little. “He probably dominated the competition like always.”

“Gold’s got it,” I said, smirking as I sat down next to Shad. “I also won a new car last night.”

“No way!” Gold said. “You gotta show me!” I smirked. Gold had always admired my racing skills and for some reason wanted to race as well, even though I’d seen him drive (he honestly would make a good getaway driver for a cop chase, but he wouldn’t make a very good racer until he got on the track and really practiced). I led him out to the garage and showed him my new S15.

“Pretty sweet, ain’t she?” I said, smiling.

“Man, once you get some sweet rims and stuff, this car will be a beast!” Gold said, walking around it in a circle, stretching out his wings at the same time. Shadow stood in the doorway, looking at the car from a distance.

“Well, let’s just hope that the Cold Air Intake and Turbo Systems don’t give us as much trouble in this car as they did in your 240SX,” Shadow commented. “It doesn’t look like it will though.” I smirked a little bit.

“You got that one right,” I said. “As much as I love my 240SX, I hated all that trouble it gave us with the turbo and C.A.I. That was just plain ridiculous.”

“What kind of visual parts were you gonna put on this one?” Gold asked.

“Ah, probably the wide body kit, a Gentera spoiler and some rims. Then a roll cage and some different exhaust tips, and maybe some different window tinting; maybe a new paintjob, too. And the usual vinyls and sponsorships that I have on my S13.” I walked back into the house with Shadow and Gold to find that Takashi was already fixing the walls.

“Tak, what are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m fixing the wall, what does it look like?” he replied. I smirked.

“Saving me a little work, huh?” I said. “Well, thanks buddy.” I walked into the kitchen right as there was a knock at the front door. “Who’s got the door?” I yelled out.

“I got it!” Shadow replied, heading towards the front. I heard the door open and a voice speak from outside. “Hey, Silv! Someone’s at the door for ya!” I walked to the front door and saw a pale yellow pony at the door wearing a uniform that had the logo for the Import Knights on it. I told Shadow to go and finish up breakfast and spoke to the pony at the door.

“Whatcha need?” I asked.

“Well, after hearing about your band yesterday,” the official started, “W really wanted you guys to do a show for us. He sent me here today to see if you guys were up for it; he knew that you were going to show up anyway, but he wanted the whole band to come along.” I thought for a moment.

“Well, first I have a question for you,” I said. “Do you have any means of transportation to get at least one of us and our gear there?”

“I’ve got the van,” the official replied, gesturing with his head behind him. I looked past him and saw the black van with the racing group’s logo on the side, and I smirked. I remembered the first time I’d been in that van.

“Alright, now I just have to ask the rest,” I said. “Come on inside, make yourself comfortable.”

“Oh, no, I wouldn’t want to impose,” the official said.

“It’s no problem,” I replied, “come on in. Excuse the clutter, there’s four ponies living in this house.” The official shyly took a step inside the house, and finally settled in a bit as he sat down in the front foyer. I asked if he wanted anything, to which he said no. I then went into the kitchen and sat down at the table, where the other three already sat with their breakfast in front of them. I fixed myself a plate and looked at them.

“So what was that all about?” Shadow asked, biting into his food.

“Ah, I told W about the band last night,” I said. “I guess now that he knows, he wants us to do our first live show at the race day today.”

“Are you kidding?” Gold asked, his jaw dropping slightly.

“Nope, I’m not,” I replied. “So the official asked me if we wanted to do that show today.” The others exchanged looks for a few moments before they looked back at me.

“Ah, what the hay,” Gold said. “I’ll go for it. I’ve got nothing to lose.”

“Sure, why not?” Shadow stated. “Even I need some excitement in my life.”

“I’ve really got nothing else to do today, plus I’ll get some more practice on my guitar,” Blades said. “I’m with these two; let’s go do this show.” I smiled.

“Well, looks like it’s time for us to go do our first live show, boys,” I said. “Let’s grab our gear and get on the road!” The others cheered, and we all went into the garage to grab our instruments and everything we needed. We headed back out into the foyer, where the official stood and smiled.

“So you’re gonna do it?” he asked.

“If we weren’t, would be carrying all of this?” I asked him in reply. He jumped in the air, whooping in joy.

“YEAH! I’ve never been to a live music show, so I’m super excited!” he said. “C’mon, I’ll help you guys get your gear in the van.” I smirked as we walked outside and loaded up everything for the show. We then decided on who would ride with the official to make sure nothing happened to our gear.

“I’m gonna drive down there in my own car,” I said. “After all, it would be weird if I showed up in the van and not my sweet ride.”

“Well, then who’s gonna go with him?” Shadow asked. “One of us needs to watch the gear.”

“I’ll do it,” Gold volunteered. “I can keep an eye on everything, make sure nothing gets broken.”

“I’m going to be honest here,” I said, “I would think that the best choice would be Shadow because he can use his magic to keep everything upright, but if Gold really think he can do a good job, I say that’s fine too.”

“Hey, why don’t we both go in the van?” Shadow suggested. “That way, if something starts falling over that Gold can’t get, I can get it before it gets broken.”

“Hey, good suggestion!” I said. “I like that idea. So you two will ride in the van, and Tak will come with me.” The others nodded in agreement. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road!” Gold smirked crazily and flew around the van a few times before landing again; Blades took his knife and spun it around a few times before putting it back in its sheath; and Shadow, the least emotional of us all, smiled. “C’mon Blades, let’s go grab my ride. You guys get a head start; you’re gonna need it!” I galloped over to the garage and opened it up, revealing my navy blue beauty. I practically jumped into the driver’s seat as Blades opened up the passenger door and got into the seat next to me. I started up the engine and revved it up before slamming on the gas and speeding out onto the road and drifting around the van, speeding towards the location where Import Knights sets up. Blades looked a little tense, so I decided to try and make conversation to put him at ease. “Thanks for fixing the hole in the wall, Tak.”

“No problem,” he replied. “After all, you’ve done a lot for me.”

“Haha, like what my friend?” I asked him.

“Well, you let me live with you out here,” he said. “You put up with my swords and all the damage I’ve caused to the house. And you also defended me in school that one time…” I thought back on that time that seemed so long ago.

“Well, that one there wasn’t much I could do about what happened,” I said. “But in the end everything worked out.”

“Yeah, and you didn’t even get in trouble for it either,” Blades replied, smiling a little. “I remember all the things we got away with as colts.” I smiled a little as well.

“You mean like that time we snuck into the school after hours?” I asked him.

“Oh-ho, definitely that time,” he replied, smiling. “Celestia, those were the good ol’ days, way back when. When we were carefree and wild.”

“Pff, we still are,” I replied, laughing. Takashi laughed as well.

“Haha, yeah we are,” he said. “Only problem is that we’re less carefree, but we’re still as wild as ever.” The tents of the Import Knights race weekend setup began to come into view over the horizon. “But even if we aren’t colts anymore, that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve grown up.”

“Well, maybe for Gold,” I said, “but the rest of us… ah, what the hay, we may be older, but we’re just like we were when we were colts!” Takashi laughed as I stopped outside the gates of the race day, where an attendant walked up to my car. I rolled down the window.

“Good morning, Mr. Flare!” the attendant said. “Coming to give us a little show today, eh?”

“You got it!” I replied. The attendant walked back to his office and opened up the gate for me, and I drove in slowly, waiting to see the crowd. Eventually it came into view, and everypony started screaming my name and pointed to my car as I carefully made my way through the sea of stallions and mares. Blades looked around, taking in the crowd.

“Is this always how it is?” he asked.

“Anytime I’m here, yeah,” I replied, chuckling a little. “Everypony who comes here knows about me, and most of them always want to see me race. Of course, some days I don’t race and just fill in for W when he’s away, but for the most part, this is what I do.” I came to an open spot in the crowd. “Here we go!” I revved up my engine to the point where flames shot out of my exhaust tips and then did a burnout, sending up a smokescreen as I then began spinning the car around. Takashi smiled like an idiot as I rolled down my window and stuck my head out.

“What’s goin’ on fans?!” I yelled out. Everyone screamed in excitement as they saw me. “Well, the day’s gonna get a TON more exciting now, everypony! If you see this blue beauty on the track, you know who’s driving it!”

“SIL-VER! SIL-VER! SIL-VER!” the crowd chanted. I smirked like crazy as I brought my car to a halt and revved up the engine again, causing more flames to exit the exhaust pipe before I opened up my door as the van showed up right behind my car. Takashi stepped out of the passenger side of my car and went over to the van to help Gold and Shadow get the equipment out of the van, and I trotted up to the stage.

“Haha, and our champion has returned for another day of racing!” W said.  “And I believe he brought some friends with him today, if I’m not mistaken! Am I right, mate?”

“You’ve got it right,” I said into the microphone. “I brought along the band today, because somebody wanted us to do a show, hint hint.” I hoofed W on the back, and everypony laughed. “Anyway, once they’ve got the gear unloaded, I’ll introduce them all to everypony! Which reminds me, I need to get my lazy flank over there and help them. I’ll be back in a flash, W!” I trotted off the stage to the van and grabbed a cymbal for the drum set and our microphone, walking behind the stage where Gold, Tak and Shadow were.

“Celestia, there’s a lot of ponies here,” Gold remarked, tuning his bass. “Are there always this many here?”

“Yeah,” I replied, setting the stuff down. “The crowd here is almost always this big, especially when I’m here.”

“Well, let’s just hope that our first show goes well,” Shadow said, using his magic to move the parts of his drum set around, putting everything together.

“It ought to,” I said. “We’ve had enough practice breaking windows in garages; now all we gotta do is not break any car windows.” Gold laughed and Shadow smirked a little.

“You’ve got that one right,” Gold said.

“Alright, that’s everything,” Takashi said, coming over with the keyboard and the last piece to the drum set.

“Sweet, thanks Tak,” I said. “Now come on, I told W I would introduce you three to the crowd!”

“Alright!” Gold exclaimed. “I’m ready for it!” I smiled.

“I love the enthusiasm, Gold,” I said. “I’ve gotta say, I’ve never seen you this excited before!” Gold jumped up and flew around for a moment before landing again, and I smiled. Gold was his usual happy-go-lucky self, just a little more so.

“Well, let’s go,” Shadow said. I walked back around to the stage and trotted onto it.

“Where’ve ya been, mate?” W asked. “We were beginning to think we lost ya!”

“Nah, I’ve just been backstage,” I told him, chuckling a little bit. “Now, is everypony out there ready to meet the band?!!!”

“YES!!!!” the crowd yelled out.

“Alright, here we go! Get on up here, boys!” Gold flew up and over the large wall that separated the main stage from backstage and flew at high speed over the crowd before coming back and landing next to me. I then felt a presence on my right; I looked over and saw a small portal forming just as Shadow came out of it, looking out to the crowd. And finally, Takashi came barreling onto the stage, then jumped and bounced off of the wall behind us, drawing his katana and landing, embedding his sword into the wooden floor of the stage. He then pulled it out, spun it around a few times and sheathed it.

The crowd went absolutely wild at the appearance of all of the members of our band and the way they entered. W looked stunned, speechless almost. But he soon found his voice and spoke.

“It sure looks like your boys here have taken to your tradition of making an epic entrance, my friend!” W said, applauding slightly himself. “Anypony here can agree with that!” The crowd laughed a little. “Now, are you going to introduce them to us or do they have to do that themselves?”

“Alright, alright, I’ll take the hint,” I said, causing the crowd to laugh a little more. “So, these are the guys in the band, though that’s already obvious. Gold, come on over here!” Gold stepped forward and smiled like an idiot.

“So, Gold!” W said. “What do you do for the band here?”

“I’m the bass player and the backup vocalist,” Gold replied. The crowd cheered.

“Haha, awesome my friend!” W said. “And how old are ya, mate?”

“Sixteen,” Gold replied.

“Ah, the young one of the group, eh?” W asked.

“Nah, you’ll find out later,” Gold said, smirking slyly. W raised his eyebrow for a moment but disregarded the comment.

“Alright, who’s next?” I asked Tak and Shad. Shadow stepped forward. “This is Shadow! He’s a bit silent, but he’s kind all in all.”

“Ah, Shadow!” W said. “What do you do for the band?”

“I’m the drummer,” Shadow replied. The crowd cheered again.

“Haha, sounds like my pal from back in the day,” W said. “And how old are ya?”

“Seventeen,” he replied. “Some people say that I look older than that though.”

“Well, I hate to say it,” W said, “but you do a little, mate. You look like you’re maybe eighteen or nineteen.”

“It’s because of my past,” Shadow told him. “It’s not a good one, and I’m not gonna tell you about it. Sorry.”

“It’s alright, we understand,” W replied. “But hey, you’ve turned out great! After all, you’re friends with Silver!” Shadow smiled a little.

“That’s true,” he said. “Anyway, I’m hogging the stage a little here. Tak, you’re the only one left.” Shadow stepped back as Blades stepped forward.

“Ah, Takashi “Blades”, I assume?” W said. “We’ve heard a bit about you, mate! Seems you’re quite infamous for making holes in things…” He looked to where Takashi had put his sword through the stage, and the crowd laughed. “Don’t worry about it; this stage has been through worse. Anyway, what do you do for the band?”

“You’re looking at the guitarist right here,” Takashi said. The crowd cheered once more, but more so than for Shadow or Gold. I guess they really liked Tak.

“Hoho, awesome!” W said. “And I see that you use some bladed weapons… care to demonstrate your skill?”

“It would be my pleasure, but I’ll need a volunteer,” Takashi said.

“What they hay, I’ll do it!” W said. “What do ya need, mate?”

“Just stand over there by the wall,” Takashi said. W did as he was told, and Takashi drew his knife. “Don’t worry; I have precise aiming. I’m going to hit two inches from your head.” W smiled nervously as Takashi took the knife in his hoof and then threw it. The blade embedded itself in the wall, just barely missing W’s head. W’s eyes flashed toward it for a moment before he exhaled and wiped his hoof across his head.

“Did ya have to go and scare me like that?” he said. “Measure how far away this is from my head, mate.” Takashi walked to W as an official gave him a measuring stick. He placed it next to W’s head and looked at the knife.

It had hit precisely two inches from his head. The crowd went absolutely wild, and Takashi pulled the knife out of the wall.

“Well, that’s about all the excitement I needed right there,” W remarked, rousing a bit of laughter from the crowd. “And how old are ya, my friend?

“I’m sixteen,” Blades replied.

“Ah, now I see what Gold was talking about,” W said, nodding his head. He then turned to the crowd. “Okay, mares and gentlecolts, we’re about to start up the first race of the day here in about fifteen minutes, and we’ve got some newcomers here today with us! Silver, I’d like you to say hello to your new fellow racers!” I smirked a little as I took the microphone from W.