The clock struck nine o’clock as the tour van approached the rear entrance to the concert hall, two hours before the concert was due to begin. Setup still needed to take place in all aspects – stage props and lighting, rehearsals, and more.

“Aw crap. Look at ya, you already snoozin’ girl,” Abel mused at Coloratura, who was sound asleep, her head resting on his lap like a puppy. “C’mon, the show’s gonna be starting soon and we need to get all kitted up.”

Coloratura woke up with a start at that one word “show”, and quickly rose to her feet. “Have we…”

“Yes, we’ve arrived, Coloratura,” Peter interrupted. “Got a lot of work cut out for us.”

Coloratura gazed back at him and smiled as she hopped out of the van. It felt very comforting to be in the presence and care of such nice and respectful people, even if both sides didn’t fully know each other. As she walked down a narrow hall, though, she couldn’t help but feel a little nervous being amongst so many other people who had now joined the group. Even her team was much fewer in number of assistants.

Bit by bit, the team soon disbanded to get to work on their respective tasks, while Coloratura stuck to Peter’s side. Still, she couldn’t help but be taken aback at the size and expanse of the area and what it contained.

“In here,” Peter urged, gesturing to another door, and Coloratura quickly followed him.

Inside, the room was crowded, with all kinds of instruments and bright lighting overhead, though the room still felt a little spacious at the same time. At the far end was a much larger door, along with a couple stage props. Amongst the instruments was a large grand piano, and Peter noticed the puppyish eagerness in Coloratura’s eyes. He pulled a thoughtful face, then picked up a guitar and sat down on a chair. Just as Abel was about to begin, Peter spoke up.

“As you know, Abel, you and I have been working together for many years and in that time, I’ve come to recognize and appreciate your talent for being the most amazing vocalist ever. I know great singers when I see them, and I believe Coloratura here is one. As such, I kindly ask if she can rehearse with us for one of her own songs after our sessions are done.”

Abel’s face went a little weird. He took a long stare at Coloratura, then glanced up at the overhead lights, then stepped back and sighed. “I know she’s been good company and all, but this is my tour, ya know?”

Coloratura bit back a hiss of anger at the thick, hard streak of pride and selfishness that had just been revealed. All this time she thought that he was a chill, good-natured singer who loved letting sexual lyrics flow, but now her doubt meter had risen up a considerable amount. But maybe he had a point. His lyrical subjectivity was completely different from hers, and the world she was from contained different elements that brought up different vibes which influenced her vocal motions. Maybe being on the sidelines and being an observant spectator would be a wise choice after all. Before she could think it over too much, Abel broke the silence.

“We’ll see how things flow. But no promises.”

Peter started smoothly jamming out on the guitar as Abel started to belt out a couple lines:

“Baby, you are so strong,
Baby, you are calm, you are so calm, yeah,
Tell me where it went wrong,
Tell me how to love, it's been so long…”

“When a call's not enough,
And you just need to touch,
Thinking twice on my one,
But you just need to trust…”

Coloratura stepped back in awe at the beauty that was flooding her ears. She’d only been with Abel for a couple hours, and got to know his story and his singing style. But now that she actually was hearing him sing with the full capabilities of his voice, her perspective on him changed. The way he let the words of the song flow so smoothly without continuous rhyming amazed her. His voice wasn’t overly sweet or loudly high-pitched – it was smooth, composed, beautiful, and emotional.

Abel reached the chorus, and Coloratura tuned in. For her, the chorus was one of the most important parts of any song.

“You're only looking for attention,
You only notice it cause I'm never around,
You're only looking for attention, oh, oh…”

From the sound of it, the subject here was having problems with a girl whom you loved, yet only appeared to merely have desire for attention – a hidden word for getting wet in bed at night, Coloratura theorized. Even though Abel’s lyrics were quite dirty by her standards, she couldn’t deny they ran deep by their meaning and perceptions, both visually and psychologically.

The session continued for a good four minutes, then a couple short dialogue was exchanged, and a second song started, this one with a generic, catchy beat that even she couldn’t escape from. Abel had to stop himself from looking at Coloratura as she danced across the floor to the beat.

“You’re a motherf**kin starboy at this point!” Peter remarked as the song ended and Abel took a couple long breaths to relax after the intense session. Coloratura winced at the blatant swear, but ignored it for the most part. “Yeah, I am a star, though I tend to think of myself as somepony who’s just like everybody else, but has a special talent that puts me above the rest. At least, in their eyes.”

“I remember those days,” Abel added in. “When my first mixtape rolled off the line, I was so secretive I didn’t even put myself on it. Had to ask a sexy chick for a freakin’ photo to use for the cover art instead.”

At those words, Coloratura laughed, a thick, hearty laugh, as if she truly knew the humor behind what he was saying. “So you really did have confidence issues. All good know, eh?”

“Yeah, it’s gotten a hell of a lot better. Peter says I should give you a chance, so let’s spin this, shall we? How about your biggest hit, that… that camp song?”

“It has been a long while, but I still remember it,” Coloratura replied with a friendly smile. She turned to Peter. “Too bad I didn’t have the sheet music on me when I arrived here. Will you be able to stay in tune?”

“No problem,” he reiterated. “I can pick up a melody even from raw vocals.”

“Length don’t matter at this point, I say,” Abel chimed in.

Coloratura sat down across from Abel, took a couple breaths, and gently let out the lyrics that she knew so well from many years ago.

“Equestria, the land I love…
A land of harmony,
Our flag does wave,
From high above,
For pony kind to see.

Equestria a land of friends
Where pony kind do roam
They say true friendship never ends,
Equestria my home!”

“Holy hell girl,” Abel mouthed, his eyes lit up with astonishment.

“Told you so,” Peter teased, adding a little short strum for joking effect. “She’s got it.”

“Can we…”

“…do a duet?!” Coloratura excitedly finished before he could even start.

Abel nodded. “I seriously want to see how your mid-tone pitched notes can blend with my falsettos.”

Feeling accepted and pleased, Coloratura repeated her iconic camp song. Right off the bat, Abel soon picked up the rhythm and seamlessly flowed his vocals into the song itself. It was only the second time ever she’d done so with somepony else – the last time being at the Helping Hooves Music Festival with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Having Abel sing in such incredible unison uplifted her spirits even more. For the first time since waking up in the back of the tour van, Coloratura knew with confidence that Applejack and her friends would arrive to bring her home.

Author's Note

finally got this out. songs here are "Attention" and "Starboy" fyi.

Big stuff happening in the next one!