II
Night Rage waited behind the curtains, adrenaline raging through her veins, ready to show her audience her stuff. She could hear the ponies out there getting restless, anticipating Night Rage's entrance. Night Rage got herself pumped up, stretching so she wouldn't pull a muscle during her performance. She flipped her dark purple hair out of her face, ready to show off her dark violet eyes that popped out with the help of her makeup. She then heard Vinyl announce her.
"Alright you party ponies. This is the moment you've been waiting for. You ready for a real show?" Vinyl turned on a bass that made Night Rage want to prematurely enter. She held herself back.
The ponies cheered in unison in response to Vinyl's announcement. Vinyl then cranked up the bass louder, which Night knew was her cue. The red, velvet curtains drew up right as Night struck a sexy pose facing away from the audience. The lights were dim and everypony could hardly see her. They knew she was there, however, because lights backstage were on, giving an allusion that Night Rage was just a black shadow. Then, simultaneously, Vinyl cranked up a dance beat just as light blue lights focused on Night Rage, making her dark purple mane and tail glisten. Night RAge waited until the crowd cheered loud enough and the dance beat got faster and faster until it stopped altogehter. Night RAge waited and the crowd fell silent.
Just as the beat came back on loud and strong, Night Rage flipped her head toward the crowd, her mane flying sexily behind her as the lights flashed brightly like lightning. The crowd went wild and she felt her heart race with excitement. She allowed a smile as she strutted down the runway to the beat, the crowd cheering her name, holding their money in their hooves. Night Rage then stopped in the center of the circle that was at the very end of the runway as she looked over nearly every colt that sat there admiring her every step. Night Rage then winked at one gentleman that was waving his hoof in the air along with the beat. She flipped her air once, and it onlny took that one smooth, sexy gesture to send bits and dollar bills flying her way. She then stepped up on her hind legs and waved her hooves in the air, flipping her air all around her. Vinyl tooke the hint and turned on the silent yet powerful fans, sending Night's mane and tail flying behind her. More cash was flown onstage, barely grazing Night's body as she worked her body to make the colts go crazy. She loved this rush. She hated her other self, Fluttershy. She hated her stupid voice and her damn whimpering. This was what she really wanted. She wanted this life forever. Sure, she loved her friends. But she wished they loved her for THIS part of her. She ignored the guilt however and focused on the colts that loved this part of her.
Night twirled and shook her back side, making the crowd reach it's climax excitement. Night knew this was the moment. She knew that this was the time to pull the show stopper. She carefully stood, facing the crowd once more. She stod on her hidn legs again and carefully ran her hoof up her body toward the ceiling then a little chord dropped and landed right beofre her hoof. The crowd knew this moment. They all instantaneously began very quietly cheering "oooh" until the noise was so loud, you'd think it was a siren. Night motioned for them to get louder. The crowd did get louder. They wanted her to do it. She inched her hoof onto the chord slowly, so they wouldn't notice. Then, she wraped her hoof around the chord and yanked it hard, striking a sexy pose just as water poured all over her hot, tired body. She knew that it was probably degrating to mares all over Equestria to do this, but she didn't care. She didn't care that this wasn't the pony that her friends knew. All she cared about was the relief of the icy, cold, refreshing water that soothed her hot, sweaty coat. She worked hard for her audience, she worked hard to earn bits for herself. She earned that ice cold water. And so did her fans.
The crowd screamed for her. They threw piles of money onto her, and she took a bow. The music continued as she strutted off the stage toward the place hat she had stood before the show began, striking one more pose before the curtains lowered in front of her, ending the show.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Night Rage trotted back onstage after the show was over and the customers had left. She listened to the music that Vinyl played after closing hours, the music turned way down so the employees could talk in normal voices as they cleaned up after the colts that had left about forty five minutes ago.
She took a broom and swept the piles of cash that the colts threw onstage for her and swept it into her green saddle bag with the butterfly on the clip. She sighed as she overheard her boss, Cash Stash, talking to Vinyl.
"I just knew that would go down. Didn't I say? Ya told me that it wouldn't but I knew it would go down that way." Cash Stash retorted in his Manehatten accent. Vinyl nodded reluctantly.
"I guess. It was pretty bad, too." She adjusted her shades on top of her horn with her magic, revealing her red eyes once more.
Night Rage joined them, her boss turning to her with excitement.
"There's my shining star!" He cheered, placing a hoof around Night's tired shoulder. "Great show tonight, toots! You got talent!" He smiled, showing his golden tooth in his mouth. Night laughed shyly.
"Yeah, but I'm beat," Night said, using her normal voice that didn't sound so shy. She liked her voice better, because it sounded more like Rainbow Dash's, but not so scratchy. "I've never danced that hard. I'm going to need some Ponedryl." She sighed, laughing slightly. "Not to mention all the weight of this cash." Cash Stash nodded, smiling happily.
"Yeh, well ya earned it, Rage! I'm real prod of ya!" Cash Stash gave a final goodbye hug, and Night Rage waved to Vinyl as she trotted back to her dressing room to get her things so she could go to her apartment down the street that she was staying in for the weekend.
Fluttershy wiped off her makeup with a moist towelette in the mirror, and carefully wiped the eyeliner. She rinsed off her contacts and brushed her sticky, sweaty mane. Some of the purple dye got on her hooves. Fluttershy groaned in frustration.
Quickly, urgent to get to her cousin's apartment so no pony would ask her for a photo or after-hour dance, Fluttershy swung on her saddle bags and trotted out the door, turning off the lights to her dressing room.
Fluttershy trotted quickly through the downtown part of Canterlot, admiring the flashing lights and fluorescent bulbs that decorated the friday-night clubs. Fluttershy then turned into a building named "High-Class Condos", where she pushed the button outside the door marked"3". She waited until she heard a voice on the speaker.
"Yeah?" Said a slightly-soft voice that resembled her own.
"It's me," Fluttershy stated uniformly. "Let me in." Fluttershy heard a slight chuckle on the speaker before there was a buzzing sound, and she pushed the now-unlocked-door open.
She trotted up the stairwell, now regretting her heavy saddle bags that were stashed to the brim with cash. She finally reached the third floor, where a single door marked "3" was sitting. Fluttershy took out her spare key that her cousin had given to her and unlocked the door, trotting inside. She plopped herself on the soft, plush couch and sighed as she joined her cousin, Dragonfly, in watching TV.
"So how was your performance, 'Night Rage'?" Dragonfly teased. Fluttershy chuckled in her normal voice.
"Tiring, loud, lots of money..." She racked off the adjectives. "Normal." Dragonfly nodded, turnign back to the 72" HD TV, which was playing some TV show about crazy mares that were getting married to colts that put up with their fiancees. Fluttershy yawned as she reached for the bottle of Ponedryl and a bottle of water. She dumped two pills out and gulped them down, washing them down with a swish of water. Fluttershy sighed, waiting for them to kick in, relaxing her muscles and help her sleep.
"Oh, a got a call today." Dragonfly stated in her sweet voice that wasn't quite shy, but still nice. Fluttershy turned to her in interest. "It was a mare named... like... Twinkle Sprinkle or something?" Flutterhy burst out laughing.
"You mean Twilight Sparkle?" Fluttershy asked, still snickering. Dragonfly laughed and nodded.
"Yeah, that's it." They both burst into laughter, startling the chocolate-brown and white spotted cat that lay sleeping on Dragonfly's lap. Fluttershy sighed, wiping a tear from her non-contacted eyes.
"Anyway," Dragonfly continued. "She said that she was wondering what your plans were for Rarity's bachelorette party." Fluttershy blinked. Rarity? Engaged? Rarity never mentioned getting engaged. Fluttershy sat, shocked at the news.
"Oh. You weren't told." Dragonly said. Fluttershy sighed. Her cousin's talent was psychology.
"I'm never told anything. Everypony tells me things LAST. I'm the LAST pony to know things." Fluttesrhy grumbled, fumbling witch her hair. Fluttershy smacked the couch with her hoof in frustration. "I can't believe some colt is marrying that self-centered piece of mare!" Dragonfly's eyes widened in shock. She'd never seen Fluttershy act so hostile. Well, not since Fluttershy got pissed about her butterfly cutie mark. Dragonfly shivered at the memory. (You don't want to know what Fluttershy's dark side did after that...)
Dragonfly and Flutteshy sat in silence for a while, just watching the crazy brides beating their bridesmaids. Then a knocked patted the door at about twelve forty, about when the Ponedryl started kicking in for Fluttershy. Dragonfly flew over to the door and opened it, revealing a bright pink, orange, blue, lavender, and white pony. They all stood there smiling, until it registered that the Pegasus standing there wasn't the mare they were hoping for. The pink-coated pony looked past her, but couldn't really see anything.
"Is this where Fluttershy was staying?" Twilight asked politely. Dragonfly turned back to Fluttershy, who was hardly aware that somepony was at the door.
"Uh..." Dragonfly stumbled upon words. Then Rainbow Dash, who was hovering in the air, saw Fluttershy lounging in the background. Rainbow gasped and zoomed into the condo without permission and landed right in front of the sleepy, lounging Pegasus.
"Fluttershy!" Rainbow exclaimed. Flutershy bolted up, suddenly aware of what was happening. She then noticed Rainbow's smile dropping after seeing Fluttershy's cutie mark and mane color. "Wait... you're not Fluttershy..." Rainbow said slowly. Dragonfly reluctantly let the other ponies into her condo, who circled in around the living room, getting situated, regardless whether this was the condo they were looking for or not.
Fluttershy stumbled upon words, shocked to see her friends. She then got an idea.
"No, I'm her cousin, Night Rage." Fluttershy said coolly in her normal speaking voice. "She's upstairs taking a shower. I'll go get her for you." She smiled nervously as she regretted taking her contacts out before coming home. She quickly flew above her excited friends over to the spiral staircase that laid to the opposite side of the condo and trotted up the stairs, quickly hopping in the shower to wash out the dye in her mane.
She could hear the ponies talking in the living room downstairs as she quickly washed out her mane and tail, as well as her painted cutie mark. She took about fifteen minutes to get back to Fluttershy, and quickly brushed abd curled her mane into the style that her friends had grown accustomed to. She adjusted her throat so her voice would come out soft and tender as she trotted down the spiral staircase, acting surprised to see her friends.
"W-what are you all doing her?" Fluttershy asked, faking a smile as her friend's faces lit up excitedly. They all chattered excitedly, especially Pinkie and Rarity.
"Well, we felt so bad that you were here in Canterlot and had to miss the bachelorette party, that we decided to move the date and the location near here!" Twilight beamed. Fluttershy continued to smile, even though she was frustrated and kicking herself in her head. She turned to her cousin Dragonfly, who smiled as well, but made an eye motion to say "oh, believe me, I'm right there with you..."
"Oh, you... uh... well I just..." Fluttershy was glad she wasn't good with words, that way she could stay in character. That's when Applejack chimed in.
"Listen to her, she's so excited she can hardly talk!" Applejack said in a southern twang. The others all got up and huddled around her for a group hug. Fluttershy acted as though she couldn't be happier, but in reality, all she wanted to do was punch Rarity in the face.