Krizak's Compendium of Concise Chronicles

by Krizak

Up on the Stage - Slice of Life

Every time I step onto the stage, blinking under the glare of bright spotlights that I still haven’t taken a liking to, and look out over a crowd of ponies shouting my name, cheering for me, proclaiming their love and worship of me, I take a moment and wonder just how this became my life, so far from the orchards and the ponies I love.

Mind you, that’s more one of Twilight’s philosophical questions, because I can tell you just how I ended up in this position. See, it all started at the wedding of Twilight’s brother – the real one, mind you, not that business with the changelings. Pinkie was put in charge of the reception, and let me tell you, that mare was set to use everything she could get her hooves on to make that the rowdiest shindig Canterlot had ever seen. That just so happened to include the talents of certain ponies that called her friend.

I don’t usually cotton to playing my fiddle in front of a crowd; I prefer to save it for Apple family gettogethers, because I know my kin can appreciate a good fiddling. But when Pinkie’s got her mind set on something, Celestia help the pony that tries to deny her. So I agreed to play a few songs on my ma’s old fiddle at the reception, and I figured that would be the end of it.

Well, it turned out that I figured much too soon. Something about my fiddling touched the hearts and souls of them hoity-toity big-city ponies, and I soon had one of the biggest crowds at the party gathered around me and my fiddle. The bride and groom wandered over to listen and stomp their approval; shoot, even Vinyl turned off her fancy rig for a while so I could take the spotlight. I played just about every song I knew and still had the crowd clamouring for more… and that’s when somepony slipped me their card.

His name is Double Platinum, and he likes to boast about representing some of Equestria’s finest musical talent. He likes to boast about a lot of things, actually; when I went to visit his fancy office a week later like he asked, he couldn’t help but show off his fancy suit and his fancy chariot and his fancy wife. I wasn’t mighty keen on him, but when he got down to business, well, the things he said were like music to my ears. He was talking about fame and fortune, all for taking my ma’s fiddle road and playing for ponies throughout Equestria, and while I wasn’t too sure at first, the number of bits he was talking about sure convinced me in a hurry. With that number, I could fix up Sweet Apple Acres, hire hands to make up for my being on the road, even send Apple Bloom to that fancy art college I’ve had my eye on. We could live in luxury, and it wouldn’t even be dishonest; Double Platinum told me no tales when he said how difficult the life of a star could get, the long hours and the constant travel, but I’ve never been the type to shy away from hard work. We shook hooves, and Applejack the Country Music Legend was born.

And now I’m here, one of the smaller venues on my tour, but one that is near and dear to my heart. And as I raise my fiddle and my backup begins their tune, I look down at the front row and see those ponies who, unlike the rest of this crowd, really mean it when they shout that they love me. Dash and Pinkie seem to have challenged each other to see who can wear more of my memorabilia, Rarity and Twilight are hooting and hollering in a decidely un-unicorn-like fashion, and even Fluttershy is cheering, though I can’t hear it. And there’s Apple Bloom, sitting on Big Macintosh’s back to see properly, and both of them are looking up at me with such love that I know I made the right decision.

…wait just one minute, what is Big Macintosh doing bringing Apple Bloom to my concert? She’s got school in the morning!

Author's Note:

This story was for Prompt #45: "A Little Bit of Country Charm." This prompt was for everypony to love Applejack, and who is loved more than a country music star, huh?