“No, no, no, no!” Rarity said. This was the third time in a row that she’d stopped their practice. “Rainbow Dash, you’re still being too aggressive!”
“GAH! Well maybe if this wasn’t soooo dull I wouldn’t stand out as much!” she snapped in frustration. Rarity took a deep breath, composing herself as she spoke again, significantly calmer.
“I’m sorry, but you’ve got to keep with the tone of the song. It just doesn’t sound right with you cutting across like that. Now, how about we try again? And please, just play it the way we discussed, hmm?”
Rainbow Dash looked defeated. It was obvious that Rarity wouldn’t be moved on the issue. She silently nodded.
“Very well. OK, one more time. One, two, three, four…”
This time the four managed to make it all the way through the song, Rainbow Dash playing exactly what Rarity had written, nothing more, nothing less. As they finished, Rarity beamed.
“Yes! That’s exactly what I wanted. You must agree, Rainbow, it was much better that way.”
Rainbow Dash looked unsure. “Well…I guess…” On seeing Rarity’s hopeful expression, all of the pegasus’ fight left her. “You know what, if you’re happy then I’m happy. I’ll just try to get used to it, I guess.”
“Excellent! Pinkie Pie, Spike, you were both brilliant as well.” She smiled at the pair. “We’re sure to win this!”
There was a sudden knock at the door. Rarity looked outside; the sun had long since set, so it couldn’t be a customer. Before she could reach it, the door opened slowly and Twilight walked in.
“Hello, everypony. I have to say, that sounded wonderful,” Rarity smiled broadly again. “But that’s not why I’m here. The Gala is just over a month away now, and I thought it would be a good idea to get some experience playing in front of other ponies before then. So, after reading up a little I’ve decided that we’re going to have a concert right here in Ponyville! Rarity, I’m so sorry to spring this on you, but could we set up a stage outside the boutique? And Pinkie Pie, could you help me to advertise? We want as many ponies to come see as possible for it to be good practice for the Gala.”
Rarity and Pinkie pie nodded in agreement. It would certainly make the Gala performance a bit less daunting if they had some experience of playing live.
“Excellent! Well, I thought we could maybe do it this weekend?” she asked. Three heads nodded in agreement.
“Wait…this weekend? As in, three days away?” Rainbow Dash asked, a slight note of panic creeping into her voice.
“Don’t worry about it, my dear, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Just play like you did earlier.” Rarity offered. Rainbow Dash looked unconvinced.
“Well, I’ll see you later, everypony. Pinkie Pie, I’ll be round tomorrow to pick up more cake. And please make sure Spike gets back at a reasonable time,” she added to Rarity.
“Of course, my dear, it’ll be no problem at all. We wouldn’t be able to do it without him, so we need him to be nice and fresh for our rehearsal tomorrow morning.” Spike blushed at the compliment, averting his eyes from the white unicorn.
“Thanks very much. See you later then!” Twilight cheerfully said, making her exit.
“You know what, I think I’ll head back as well.” Rainbow Dash said. “Gonna have to be up soon to take care of the weather jobs before our practice sesh.” She unplugged her guitar, carefully packing it away before turning to Rarity.
“Mind if I take this?” she enquired, holding up the Nat King Foal record. “I’d like to listen to the other stuff to get a feel for how I should play.” Rarity was surprised at this; it was rare for Rainbow Dash to show a proactive attitude like this. Maybe she was changing her mind about the music…
“This weekend is the first chance to show the others what we’re made of. We’re gonna wipe the floor with them! And I’ve got a point to prove to AJ…”
Rarity sighed, but then again, even if driven by competition at least her brash friend was showing a spark of interest in the music at last.
“Of course you can.”
“Thanks a lot! Well, see ya later!” With a whoosh, the pegasus was gone, winging into the cool night air with her guitar slung across her back.
“Would you like a hand to clean up?” Spike offered. Rarity looked around.
“As grateful as I am for your kind offer, I think I can manage. Now, get on home. I was serious about what I said to Twilight.” Remembering her earlier compliment, Spike blushed deeply again, quickly mumbling a goodbye and leaving, Pinkie Pie closely following. One cheery farewell later and Rarity was left alone. Sweetie Belle was at a sleepover at Sweet Apple Acres, so the shop was left in complete, almost eerie silence. Rarity crossed over to the record player, before remembering that Rainbow Dash had taken her record with her. Suddenly she caught sight of the corner of a record sleeve poking out from beneath a swathe of silver fabric.
Pulling it out, she was met with an image of a muscular stallion, dressed in leather and chains. Rarity snorted at the sight; it was so over the top that it looked plain silly. Turning it over, she realised that it was the record Rainbow Dash had brought with her back when they’d decided on the music. Rarity thought back to the awful racket, shuddered and put the record back on the table, quickly walking away. Five paces later, she froze.
I wonder if it’s all that bad. The unicorn thought. I mean, if Rainbow Dash is willing to listen to my music, maybe I should make an effort to be a little more open minded as well.
She turned back and picked up the record with a touch of apprehension.
If nothing else, at least it’ll confirm my suspicions that Rainbow doesn’t have any taste whatsoever.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Rarity peeked out through the curtains, gulping nervously as she saw the crowd that had gathered in front of the stage that had been constructed outside her boutique. It was nearly as large as the last event held outside her boutique, the infamous fashion show that had almost irreparably crippled her career. Like then, she was more than a little nervous, though thankfully Twilight’s group would be the first to perform. She was spared further worry as the lights were dimmed and the event began, the Mayor taking the stage to introduce the performances.
“Fillies and gentlecolts, welcome one and all to the concert! Tonight we have two very special performances for you, from two local bands who are both performing at this year’s Grand Galloping Gala! So, without further ado, put you hooves together for…The Moonbeams!” There was a huge cheer from the crowd as four spotlights beamed on, each onto a member of the band. With a quick glance and a smile to each of her bandmates, Twilight hit her drumsticks together four times, then the song began.
Rarity, however, was near frantic. She quickly turned to her fellow band members at the side of the stage, panic in her voice.
“We forgot! We forgot to come up with a band name!” Rainbow Dash recovered quickly.
“Well, we’ll just have to come up with one in a hurry.”
“How about…Rarity and the Minions? Rarity and the Worshippers? Rarity and the Unworthy? Ooh, I got it, Rarity and the Disciples!” The unicorn gave Spike a slight glare. He swallowed nervously. “Or not…”
“I have an idea!” Pinkie Pie trilled. “How about we put all our initials together and make a name that way?”
“Yes! Excellent idea, Pinkie Pie, simple and effective. So, that makes us… RDPPSR?” Rarity paused for a split second. “Pinkie Pie! What on earth do you expect to come up with without vowels? Please, try to be serious.” Rarity looked at the stage, spotting Luna at the front, keytar round her neck as she sang passionately into a microphone. “We’re running out of time!”
“Um…the Rainbow Brigade?”
“Cupcake Appreciation Society?”
“Dragons Against Early Mornings?”
“Cutie Mark Crusaders? Oh, wait, silly me!”
“How about the Fashionista Militia? It kinda works, being as you’re a fashionista and militia makes it sound way cooler.” Rarity looked thoughtful at that.
“Well, I suppose it’ll have to do. We are now the Fashionista Milita.”
“Yeah!” Chorused Spike, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.
“Though with a name like that I wish we had costumes. Oh well, I’ll make us all something stunning for the real thing.”
Directing their attention back to the stage, it was obvious that The Moonbeam’s performance was coming to a close, all four members grinning widely as they played the outro. Rarity was a little disappointed to have missed most of the song; going off the end, it would have been quite the impressive performance.
With a final, perfectly timed chord the song ended, and at once the audience burst into cheers of appreciation, stamping their hooves until they were making almost as much noise as the band had. The four ponies on stage all made their way to the front, bowing before heading off to join the others.
“Well done, girls!” Rarity offered.
“Thank you!” Twilight said. “That was amazing, no other way to describe it. You’re going to have the time of your life out there!”
Rarity spied the Mayor beginning to head onto the stage, and quickly excusing herself from the conversation she trotted quickly over to inform the pony about their new band name.
On her return, she found Luna, Applejack, Twilight and Fluttershy still animatedly talking about the experience they’d just had. Rarity was by now feeling a little nervous, wondering if they’d be able to match their friend’s efforts. There was little time to ponder, however, as the stage preparations had been completed, Pinkie Pie’s bright pink drum kit replacing Twilight’s lilac one. Twilight had been more than a little surprised on seeing the difference between the two; Pinkie Pie’s had two of the large, pedal operated bass drums whilst hers only had one. Then again, she guessed that if Pinkie Pie could play as many instruments at once as she had during the Parasprite incident, she obviously knew what she was doing.
“And now we have our second band, so please give a big cheer for…The Fashionista Militia!” As Rarity made her way to the front of the stage clutching tightly at her cello, she felt like her heart would burst through her chest she was so nervous. It was one thing to do a fashion show, but as she mentally went through the song she realised how very many ways there were for it to go wrong. She looked over at Rainbow Dash, seeking reassurance, but her friend looked even more nervous, shaking slightly and wild eyed. Fighting back the nerves, Rarity turned to the crowd before her, firmly gripping her bow and placing it softly on the strings. With a swift nod to Spike, their song began.
Spike played the introduction alone, hands flying over the keys of the electric blue panelled synthesizer. Rarity had been more than a little worried at the size of the 61 key instrument; it weighed almost as much as the baby dragon that was playing it, but she’d rapidly come to realise that Spike knew what he was doing, and his experience had proved to be invaluable when helping to arrange the song.
Rarity took a deep breath, preparing to play. Driving thoughts of nerves from her mind, she tentatively began as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie joined her. It took a fraction of a second to realise things were not going as planned.
Instead of the beautiful, gentle chord that they should have been playing, the sound was dissonant and messy. Looking up in panic, Rarity saw a few members of the audience near the front frowning.
Never mind them. Just focus. Long, smooth bowing. Plenty of vibrato. Nearly time to sing, get ready, take a deep breath…
Rarity mentally winced at another discord. Rainbow Dash, standing to the unicorn’s side, looked heavily flustered. Rarity tried to ignore her, and began to sing.
By now, muttering had begun to break out in the crowd, the audience showing their displeasure at the distinctly unpolished performance of Rarity and Rainbow Dash. On one hand, Rarity’s singing and cello playing were fine together, but she kept slipping off key. Rainbow Dash’s nerves had utterly failed her and she misplayed one chord for every four she got right.
Rarity could read the mood, and faltered. She could see that the performance had utterly gone to pieces, and there was little point in continuing. Mid chorus, she fell silent, quickly followed by Rainbow Dash. Spike and Pinkie Pie stopped moments later. The audience’s muttering grew louder. Rarity quickly called a group huddle in the middle of the stage, talking to her three friends in a fast whisper.
“I’m so sorry, girls. And Spike,” she added at a glance from the dragon. “I was just so nervous, I couldn’t play properly. Rainbow Dash, I know you felt exactly the same way. But I think it’s time we stopped treating this like a competition and had some fun.”
“Yay! Fun is my favourite! Even more than Something, regardless of what I may have said in the past!”
“Yes, Pinkie Pie. And here’s how we’re going to do it.” Rarity looked at the guitar wielding pegasus. “Rainbow, you know that record you made us listen to? Yes, the Maneowar one. Can you play the guitar part? Brilliant. Spike, Pinkie Pie, you’re both talented musicians, so I’m assuming you can pick this up.” The earth pony nodded.
“Well…I’m sorry to admit this, but I actually went and bought a copy after hearing it.” Spike said, eyes averted.
“Wait, Rarity, I thought you hated that song.” Rainbow Dash interjected.
“Times change, and so do opinions.” Rarity said. “Now, let’s go and have ourselves some fun! Oh, Rainbow Dash, I need to borrow something…”
Rarity and Rainbow Dash returned to the front of the stage, taking up their instruments once more whilst the other two took their seats behind the synthesizer and drum kit. Rarity fiddled quickly with the cables before picking up her cello once again. This time she felt no nerves, only a desire to prove herself and make up for the dismal performance earlier.
The crowd fell silent once more, then from somewhere a colt shouted at the performers.
“You suck! Get off the stage!”
“Yeah! That was awful, I’ve seen better at a school talent show!” another called.
A large colt in the front row that Rarity didn’t recognise suddenly spoke up.
“This is even worse than that fashion show I saw here once, by that talentless unicorn, what was her name again…” He suddenly fell silent under Rarity’s terrible glare, a look that even gave Fluttershy’s trademark look a run for its money.
“It. Is. ON!” Rarity screamed, kicking the distortion pedal she’d borrowed from Rainbow Dash and beginning to bow her cello with violent intensity. Pinkie Pie was quick to join in, as were Rainbow Dash and Spike, the heavy sounds echoing well beyond the stage and deep into the streets of Ponyville.
Rarity was, to use Twilight’s expression, having the time of her life. She revelled in the anger, and the aggression of the song, and as the verse started she began to half scream the vocals into the microphone with visceral joy. The audience were all struck dumb by the display; every single pony had the same look of slack jawed amazement at the transformation they’d witnessed. Before, they’d been watching a terrible, incoherent shambles of a band. By contrast, the band that was owning the stage before them looked like they were born to perform. It wasn’t long before the crowd started nodding their heads, and not long after that they were screaming their appreciation at the performance they were witnessing.
Rainbow Dash was lost in the glory of the sound, truly and deeply loving life and what she was doing as she furiously belted out the notes. Playing this, unlike the first song, wasn’t a chore. This was a privilege, and she was near euphoric in the sheer joy of it. She realised that the guitar solo was coming up, and slowly strutted to the centre of the stage, confidently looking at the crowd as she walked right up to Rarity. The unicorn was surprised to see her so close, but kept playing the rhythmic accompaniment on her cello as Rainbow Dash’s solo started.
Off the stage, Applejack watched Rainbow Dash in awe. The pegasus, living up to her personality, was playing faster than her friend believed was possible.
When the song came to a close with a final scream from Rarity, the unicorn turned to her bandmates with a near delirious smile, one mirrored on their faces as well. It was then that she became aware of a sound behind her.
The gathered crowd were all screaming at the tops of their voices, stamping on the ground as loudly as they had for Twilight’s band. Rarity smiled at the sight, took a deep breath and grabbed the microphone one last time.
“WE’RE THE FASHIONISTA MILITIA, LOVE US OR PREPARE FOR THE FLANK KICKING OF A LIFETIME!”
Rainbow Dash leant over to Pinkie Pie. “You know, I think heavy metal might have been a bad influence on her.” The pink earth pony nodded in silent agreement.