“Is everypony ready? You‘re on in five minutes!”
The voice was from Mayor Mare. Smiling with excitement, she trotted into the room where all of us were waiting. The four of us had spent the last hour and a half getting into our stage gear and warming up for the show.
“Just about.” Virtuoso answered, stretching his forelegs out while I checked my guitar over one more time.
“Excellent! You’ve got quite a crowd out there, and they’re all very excited! You ponies go out there and give them a show to remember!” The mayor exited the room, leaving us to prepare for what was about to happen. And like the anxiously waiting ponies, all of us were nothing short of excited.
We had played shows at nightclubs and performed specials during interviews, but this was something that we had never done before. This was our first time performing on an open-air stage, and for the first time, we had at least 50,000 ponies waiting for us. Though we had never expected to make it this far, we were nothing less than thrilled to be able to play in front of a massive crowd like many music giants.
The four of us simultaneously locked hooves and shouted “Midnight Manes! Showtime!”, a sort-of good luck tradition that we had always done before the beginning of each show. A security pony came in and informed us that it was time. We grabbed our instruments and followed him down the narrow hallway to where the stage was. As we got closer, we could hear the ponies out there. Never before had we heard sound from so many ponies. Then, we could see the lights coming from the front of the stage going out. Then, a cheer arose, sending electric surges through us.
Time seemed to slow down as we continued walking. The cheering soon turned into something that was like music to our own ears: the powerful chanting, “Mid-night Manes! Mid-night Manes! Mid-night Manes!” Believe it or not, this was the first time we’d actually had a crowd chanting our band’s name.
We approached the room adjacent to the stage and waited. Our breathing, though constantly steady, became deep inhales and exhales. This was a phenomenal sensation for anypony to experience.
From the corner of my eye, I saw one of the tech crew press a button on a soundboard. Then, we heard our intro.
Mares and gentlecolts…
Are you ready?
I ask again. ARE…YOU…READY!?
I shook my head wildly in anticipation, then took a very deep breath, exhaling slowly.
Then get up if you’re sitting down…
The Midnight Manes have come to town…
Don’t just stand there like a block
It’s time for everypony to rock!
Mares and gentlecolts,
I give you…
The Midnight Manes!
The lights came up on the stage, signaling our cue to go on. We braced ourselves and then walked out onstage. Upon our appearance, the already deafening cheer got louder and nearly shook the ground. We all felt a surge of excitement and ecstasy that we had never before felt. After a couple moments of standing and facing the enormous crowd of ponies, we began playing our intro song, “Feel This Power”, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Along with us, ponies everywhere began bobbing their heads and swaying their manes in rhythm to the song as the music flowed from the speakers and through the crowd. I got to the microphone and began singing:
Come with me on a journey now
Like you’ve never seen before
It’s time for all those dreams
To now become reality
I can see the thrill in your eyes…
I can feel the chill down your spine…
As my bandmates and I began the chorus, I could hear the ponies begin to sing with me, making me belt out the words with more might and adrenaline than I’d ever sung.
If you feel this power
Get your hooves in the air!
If you feel this power
Sway your head with me!
If you feel this power
Raise your voice
Make some noise
Feel the power!
We continued the song, and the crowd continued to sing with us. I’d been gazing proudly out at the crowd before us, thrilled beyond belief. Looking at this gigantic number of ponies cheering and singing, I knew now, without a doubt, that we’d made something out of ourselves. As we continued playing, I looked down and locked my view with two of the staff members we’d had lunch with earlier in the day- a pale yellow Pegasus named Fluttershy, and a purple Unicorn, named Twilight Sparkle. Her dragon buddy… I think his name was Spike, was seated on her back. This time, they had four other ponies standing next to them, enjoying the show. Though none of them were screaming wildly and losing their minds, I couldn’t help but to keep my eyes on them for a bit.
To the left of Twilight Sparkle, there was an orange Earth Pony wearing a western hat, who was standing beside a white Unicorn with a lavish, curly mane. Both of them were looking up with soft smiles, nodding their heads calmly and gently to the music.
I couldn’t help but laugh on the inside when I looked to Fluttershy’s right- a bright pink Earth Pony was in a rather hyper state- jumping up and down in rhythm, grinning from ear-to-ear, while swinging her head in rhythm and singing along.
I then looked to the right of the Earth Pony, and saw a beautiful cyan Pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane. She was looking up at the stage with a smile on her face, swaying her head and mane, singing the lyrics to herself. She then turned her view to me and our eyes met. We remained like that for a few moments. Though she continued to sway her head, her eyes kept locked with mine. As we looked at one another, I felt some sort of feeling spark from deep within my soul. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was, since I’d never felt anything like that before. It was a bit strange, I’ll admit.
By this time, the song was over, and I had to focus my guitar. We finished the song and the crowd responded with a roar of enthusiasm. I approached the microphone.
“Good evening, Ponyville!”
The ponies responded with a loud roar, but I was determined to get them going.
“I said, good evening- let me hear you!”
An even louder wave of cheers satisfied my request.
“We are the Midnight Manes, and, believe it or not, we are right here from Ponyville! We are stoked to be a part of the first ever Post Winter Festival! This is our first time playing for such a large crowd, and we could not have asked for a better place to play! We’ve got an incredible show for you all, and the night’s only begun! Now Ponyville, make some noise!”
Once the crowd quieted down, we began playing again. Throughout a span of nine different songs, I would keep looking down at the rainbow-maned Pegasus. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t help myself from looking over at her. She didn’t seem to mind one bit, though, as she gave a wide grin every time our eyes met. After playing a new song that we hadn’t released yet, I spoke to the crowd.
“Man, you ponies are awesome! This next song is for anypony who gives it their all in life, no matter what it might be that they’re doing. This song is for anypony who might be undergoing some tough times. Trust me, I’ve been there; we’ve all been there. Believe me when I say, never give up- as long as you stay true to the ones who care about you, and as long as you stay true to yourself, you’ll always end up right where you want to be. This one’s called More Than Just The Music!”
We began playing the powerful chords and beats to our possibly most recognized song yet. Along with cheers, I could hear ponies voices blending with mine as I sang:
If there ever comes a day
When you don’t seem to know the way
And hope seems too far
Keep your head up high
Look into the sky
Don’t lose who you are
Others might show you hate
And say you’re not that great
But don’t listen to what they say
Just keep pressing on
Then the sorrow will be gone
And you’ll be headed for a new day
As I continued, I looked down at her once more. She’d been swaying her head enthusiastically, but as soon as our eyes met again, she stopped. Time seemed to slow down… no, seemed to stop, as she began singing the chorus along with me:
Don’t ever let them put you down
For doing what you do
Let the song free your mind
You’re gonna pull through
It’s more than what they think
They’re gonna get what they give
It’s more than just the music
It’s the life that you live!
My other bandmates continued to look out at the ponies who were all singing in unison, sending a feeling beyond magical through the air of the festival. However, I was entranced by a different type of magical feeling. As I stared into the magenta eyes of this Pegasus, I felt that same feeling from earlier begin to spread throughout my entire body. Whatever this feeling was, I was pretty sure that I liked it. And it didn’t happen when I glanced at other ponies in the audience- it only came whenever I was looking at her. The empty sorrow I’d been feeling lately seemed to have vanished. True, it was never there whenever we performed, but this time, it seemed to have disintegrated. For a split second, I wondered if that the sorrow would return, but that question evaded my mind as I continued to look at this cyan Pegasus.
After we finished the song, I was filled with a sense of adrenaline as I’d never felt. Feeling daring, I set my guitar down, and backed up. The crowd seemed to know what I was up to, as they all raised their hooves up. I darted forward and sprang off the stage, landing onto the supporting hooves of the ponies who’d traveled top come and see us. Indeed, they truly were our support. If it weren’t for our fans, we’d be nowhere. We’d be nothing. I shut me eyes and savored this for a few moments. Then I pointed to the stage, and surfed my way back as the ponies helped to push me forward. Getting back onstage, I grabbed my guitar, wiped my brow and spoke again.
“Heck yeah, Ponyville, that was nothing short of amazing!”
I took a moment before saying, "Well, allow me to introduce to you the ponies of Midnight Manes! Behind me on the drums, we have Striker, fillies and gentlecolts!”
Striker stood from his stool and raised his drumsticks above his head.
“Over here on the bass,” I said, gesturing to my right, “is Virtuoso!”
Virtuoso stretched his forelegs out and took a low bow for the roaring ponies.
“On lead guitar,” I nodded my head to my left “Lightning Shredder, everypony!”
Lightning Shredder pointed to the crowd and played a small solo on his guitar. I was about to begin the next song, until I heard Virtuoso speak from his microphone, taking me a bit by surprise.
“And of course, fillies and gentlecolts; on guitar and lead vocals; the one and only Shadow Chord!”
I quickly raised a hoof to the crowd, and began playing once the cheering had quieted down again.
*******************************
We played another seven songs and an encore of three before we thanked everypony for coming out and bid farewell with a closing song.
The four of us walked backstage, feeling a huge sense of pride. And not the bad kind of pride, either. We were proud that we had given everypony a great show, and we were grateful beyond words for the hospitality we had been shown. After a few high-hooves and a group hug, we set our instruments down and relaxed for a few minutes before the meet and greets began.