Rara's New Life

It's been a week since Mike decided to sign up for the singing contest. The good thing about the contest, is that it was going to be held in Nashville. According to Sapphire Shores, it makes sense to host the contest in Nashville, given the fact that it's the city of music. The contest was going to be held at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, located in Downtown Nashville. Since Mike lived in Lebanon, all he had to do was take the WeGo Star commuter train to the Riverfront station in Downtown Nashville, and then walk a short distance to the theater. Mike was currently in his apartment in Lebanon. He tuned his guitar, and kept a water bottle nearby to keep his voice in good shape. Applejack was able to find time to visit him and see how he was doing. The song Mike decided to use as his audition was "City of Music" by Brad Paisley, which was first played during NASCAR's inaugural weekend at Nashville Superspeedway in 2021.

'Cause you make a million dollars,

Just by singing the blues in the city of music.

Tell the truth, play some chords, pay your dues, and praise the lord.

Cadillacs and 4x4s. It's the city of music.

This ain't no Big Apple, or La La Land, Harlan drank right where you stand.

Tell the bouncer, you're with the band. It's the city of music.'

Mike then saw Applejack having a look of concern on her face, and stopped.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, not really, it's just...well, you sound very rusty. Man, you weren't lying when you said you haven't performed in a long time," replied Applejack.

Mike sighed, then grabbed his water bottle and took a few sips before explaining. "It's going to take a while for my singing voice to get back in shape, but I don't have a while. The auditions will close by the end of this week, and if I don't submit this tape, I won't get the invite for the contest."

Applejack was about to say more, but before she could, she began to feel a certain feeling on her hips. She pulled down the left side of her jeans and saw her cutie mark flashing.

"Looks like Twilight's cutie map is calling for you, AJ."

Applejack sighed. "Are you serious?" she asked, disapprovingly. "NOW?! Why now of all times?" She pulled out her cell phone from her pocket, but before she could start dialing Twilight's number, Twilight beat her to it. "Howdy y'all, this is Applejack."

"Applejack," Twilight answered through the cell phone. "Where are you?"

"I'm at Mike's place. What's going on Twi? Rara's contest is in 2 weeks, and trying to help Mike get ready for it."

"Well, I'm sorry Applejack, but whoever or whatever is causing this friendship problem has other ideas. In fact, all 6 of our cutie marks are going off, which means that whatever this is, it's a big one."

Applejack sighed. "Alright, I'll be right there." She hung up and looked back towards Mike. "I'm sorry Mike, but it seems that all of 6 of us are needed to save the world right now."

"It's alright, AJ," said Mike. "Just be careful."

"Will do, partner." Applejack then pulled out a bracelet from her pocket, but before she could activate her teleporter, a portal unexpectedly opened. A white earth pony mare with a blue mane and tail, wearing a white blouse and lavender skirt, fell out. It was Coco. Applejack quickly ran over and managed to catch her before she could hit the ground, as the portal closed behind her. Applejack then helped Coco back to her hooves, but Coco stumbled a bit.

"Ooh!" Coco said, dizzily. "How do you not get so dizzy when going through those things?"

Before Applejack could ask, she suddenly felt her cell phone vibrate, it was a text message. She looked at her phone, and saw that the text was from Rarity.

Hi Applejack,

As you know, the cutie map is calling for all 6 of us, and because your at Mike's house, I decided to send somepony to take your place. I'll see you at Twilight's castle.

Sincerely,
Rarity.

Applejack looked at Coco and smiled. "Seems like you finally got your passport, Coco," said Applejack.

When Earth and Equestria began their relations, it's been required, by law, that everypony and everybody must have a passport, and clear immigration customs before anypony can set hoof on Earth, or anybody can set foot on Equestria. Basically, the law is similar to international travel, where people must have a passport, and pass through immigration customs before they can leave an airport.

"I did," said Coco, eagerly. "Rarity delivered it to me, along with my very own teleporter bracelet." She then looked at the human in the room. "You must be Mike Rogers. Rarity and AJ told me a lot about you. It's an absolute pleasure to finally meet you." Coco extended her arm for a handshake, which Mike accepted.

"So you're Coco Pommel, Rarity's told me a lot about you too," said Mike.

Applejack then grabbed her teleporter bracelet and activated it. A portal soon opened in front of her. "Well, I better get going," She said. "I'll come back once the 6 of us fix this friendship problem." And with that, Applejack jumped through the portal, which closed shortly after.

Coco then looked at Mike. "So...how's the audition going?"

"Not good," replied Mike. "AJ said I sound very rusty, which quite the understatement, given I haven't performed in a long time." He then took another sip from his water bottle, which caused him to ask Coco. "You want anything?"

"No thanks, I'm good."

"Seems like Rarity wanted to give you a passport so you can travel with her on some of her business trips," said Mike. "She has made quite a lot of businesses here on Earth. Not just here in Nashville, but also in New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Seattle, and Miami."

"Well, actually, it was Sapphire Shores who gave me this passport. Apparently, she wants to me to help Rara and whoever her partner will be, when the multi-dimensional tour starts," Coco explained. "According to Sapphire, the tour will start on the last weekend of February."

"Really?" exclaimed Mike. "That's 4 months from now."

"Yeah," agreed Coco. "But when Rarity's was being called by Twilight's cutie map, she decided that I should come here to help you with your audition. Apparently, it's to help me become more familiar with how Earth works, since I WILL be touring with Rara. Rarity does want to bring me along on some of her business trips later on, although, I'm not sure if that can happen when I'm with Rara." Coco then changed the subject. "So, what are you planning on singing?"

"City of Music," Mike replied. "Wanna hear it?"

Coco nodded and joined Mike on his laptop as he pulled up the video.

After listening to the song, Coco asked Mike to sing it to see how he sounded. Mike complied and grabbed his guitar, made sure it was tuned correctly, and sung again. When he finished singing, he looked at Coco to see what her opinion was.

"Hmmm, I see what AJ's talking about, but you know what, it doesn't have to be perfect. I think you sound good."

Mike was taken aback by her comment. "Look, I know you're trying to stay positive, but I don't think it sounds good."

"That's not what I meant," said Coco, sternly. "True, you need a little bit more of practice, but you might be able to impress the judges."

Mike, not expecting Coco's sudden stern attitude, still wasn't convinced, so Coco decided to use her reassuring attitude that she gave Rara last week.

"Look, I know you're trying your best, and I understand that. When I started the Midsummer Theatre Revival back in Manehattan, I wanted it to be big, but the park was a mess. When Rarity and AJ came to help me, we learned that we didn't need to go big to make it happen. So, we left the way we built it; a small stage that was able to get ponies who were walking by to stop and watch our show. And now we have a lot of members who brought new life to the park, which has added a lot more support."

"So, you're saying that I should do what I can to let it happen?" asked Mike.

"More like trust friends and trust yourself. You do have friends right?" asked Coco.

"Well, aside from my pony friends, not really," Mike replied. "Everyone I know has either moved away from this city, moved away from this state, or just enjoying their new lives without a care in the world. Work and home took over my life, so now I'm enjoying some freedom. Which will only last for the next 3 months."

"Ah yes, Rarity told me about your current profession," Coco responded. "But let me tell you this, there's always time to enjoy life, and as long as you enjoy what you do, then it won't be a problem."

"Coco, I LOVE what I do. Slip into a fireproof suit, climb behind the wheel of a stock car, open-wheeler, or prototype car, put on a crash protector helmet, and race along at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour. Yes, I did try to start a career in music before I went to race cars, but every time I tried to get into music, there was ALWAYS someone who was better than me. I don't even know if I still have that voice from the past."

Coco realized that she needed to lift Mike's spirits even more. She looked around his room to get a better idea of him. She saw lots of trophies. Without a doubt, they were from Mike's racing career. Many trophies were from late models, local short track racing, the Indy NXT series, IMSA's Michellin Pilot Challenge, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Then, she noticed a framed photo next to the trophy display. She looked closer at it, and saw a young, 6 or 7 year old Mike, smiling at the camera with a man wearing a blue, white, and black fireproof suit with the word 'Lowe's' on it. Behind them was a race car with blue, white, and black colors all over it, with a yellow '48' on the side.

"Say, who is this guy?" asked Coco.

Mike walked over and smiled at the photo. "Him," he responded. "That's my hero, Jimmie Johnson. 7-time NASCAR champion. One of only 3 drivers to ever accomplish such a thing. The other 2 being Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt."

"Is he still around?" asked Coco.

"Yes," Mike responded. "He retired in 2020 and spent sometime in IndyCar and IMSA. Last year, he took ownership of an existing team. He now owns said team, and calls it; Legacy Motor Club. And he does race for them on a part-time schedule."

"Do you know how his career started?" asked Coco.

"Yes," Mike responded. "Like most race car drivers, Jimmie began his career on go-karts, then he did some motorcycle dirt racing that is now known as Supercross. He then competed in midget cars on dirt tracks, before going off-road racing. He then finally got a deal with Herzog Motorsports in the NASCAR Busch Series, and after spending some years with them, he got the opportunity of a lifetime, when he signed with Hendrick Motorsports to race in the NASCAR Cup Series. And, well, the rest is history."

"So, that's what you want to do with your music, tell a story about what you went through?" asked Coco.

"Not just me, but others as well," Mike replied. "But like I said, whenever I tried, there was always someone who was better than me."

"Well then stop trying to be the best and be who you really are," said Coco, motivationally. "When the judges see your work, then I'm sure you'll win."

"Do you even know who the judges are?" asked Mike.

"No. But I DO know that Rara will be one of them," explained Coco. "Don't stop practicing. There's still a week left before you have to submit an audition. So come on, let's get rid of that rust, and make sure you can perform."

Coco's words caused Mike to suddenly get struck in the head by motivation. "You know what?" He grinned. "Let's do it!"

Mike grabbed his guitar and began singing the song once again with Coco by his side, telling him her side of his singing.

After a few hours of practice, and some small improvement, Coco decided to head back home. She took out her teleporter bracelet, opened a portal, and jumped through. Once she back in Equestria, she found herself in her apartment in Manehattan. When she put her bracelet away, Rara suddenly came down the stairs from her bedroom.

"So, how was your visit to Earth?"

"It was...interesting," replied Coco.

"What did you do while you were there?" asked Rara.

"Nothing much," replied Coco. "I just had to cover for AJ to get Mike ready for the singing contest."

"Mike?" Rara asked, confused. "Is he one of the humans who's trying out to be my partner?"

"Yes," Coco answered. "And let me tell you something; I think you'll love the way he sings, but enough about that, wanna eat something for dinner?"

"Oh, yes please!" said Rara. "I could really use some food right now."

As Coco put on an apron and began gathering cooking materials, Rara went back to her room. She couldn't help but feel more and more excited as the day of the contest drew closer and closer.

"Only 2 more weeks to go," she said to herself.

To Be Continued.