Night Shade’s second concert was held later that night. Flurry, Pumpkin, Shutter Lens, Peachy Pie and Allegra were all given free passes to see his concert and were present in the front row. He started the show off singing Wicked, accompanied by female backup dancers to fit the theme of the song.
Verse 2:
Just watch her body
Her movements so smooth
Hard to believe
She’s here to weave
Her web to catch you
She’s out of your league
But it’s not too late
You can escape
You’ve got to run
Her looks are just bait
_________________
Better watch out
Don’t lock eyes
She’s no angel
It’s a disguise
Better watch out
Don’t lock eyes
She’s no angel
It’s a disguise
_________________
Chorus 2:
She’s wicked!
You’re under her hex
Just left her last man
Now you’re next
She’s wicked!
She’s smacking her lips
She’ll seal your fate
If she gives you a kiss
_________________
Don’t fall for bad girls
I tried to warn you
Boy, you’ll be sorry
Guess this is your doom
That girl is wicked!
_________________
Bridge:
I know you want a woman
You don’t want loneliness
But what you need is one that
Won’t leave you in distress
That girl you see is trouble
You’ll thank me in the end
Ignore her and save yourself my frieeeeeeend
_________________
Better watch out
She’s comin’ for you
(4x)
_________________
Final Chorus:
That’s right, she’s wicked!
You’re under her hex
Just left her last man
Now you’re next
She’s wicked!
She’s smacking her lips
She’ll seal your fate
If she gives you a kiss
_________________
You’ve got this my friend
This won’t be your doom
The right girl is out there
And you’re sure to find her sooooooooon
That girl is wicked! (3x)
The song faded out as the crowd applauded. The five winners jumped up and down as Night Shade waved to them. He then removed his sunglasses and took some time to talk to the crowd. The dancers went backstage to change clothes and the band retuned their instruments.
“You’re all an amazing crowd!” he said as they cheered in response. “It’s been a great experience performing in a small yet very positive town. I had an awesome time with the five ponies that won the contest last night. We had some who were already singers and a few who were still learning, and I think I really helped them. They’re right down here in the front row. Wave to the crowd, guys!”
Night Shade pointed to the winners in the front row. Flurry turned around and waved bashfully. Allegra went airborne and bowed. Peachy, Shutter and Pumpkin joined Flurry in waving.
Behind the curtain, Zeb listened as Night Shade was speaking. Everything was going fine until Night Shade mentioned the winners. Zeb immediately feared what would happen next.
“Night Shade, no. Don’t you do it,” he grumbled.
“So to show you all just how much they’ve improved, I’d like to invite these five wonderful ponies on the stage right now to sing Heart Can’t Stop Beating with me!”
“Did…did he just?! FLURRY, HE WANTS US ON STAGE! EEEEEEH!” Pumpkin screamed as she hugged her friend.
“OH MY GOSH! This is so nice of him!” Peachy added with her hooves against her cheeks.
“A chance for all of us to shine!” Allegra proudly said.
“Well what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Shutter told them.
The security guards let them through the rope dividers onto the steps on one end. They made their way out to the edge of the stage where Night Shade was waiting for them. Some staff ponies came out with new microphones and stands to let them use. Night Shade covered his to speak to them real quick.
“Alright, everypony, just like we did in practice. Don’t try too hard. Just sing like you were in our class earlier.”
The music started up and they all ran over to the microphones. The band began playing the hard rock overture that started the song. Night Shade started singing the first verse with the others joining him.
Verse 1:
Wish I could say how I feel about you
I’m holding back, I just don’t know what to do
Don’t wanna disappoint, don’t wanna be rude
It’s true…yes, it’s true
I think about you when I can’t fall asleep
When I’m awake, can’t even stand on my feet
Can’t take it anymore, can’t let this be my defeat
It’s true…
_________________
Chorus 1:
Oooooh, I got you on my mind
Oooooh, I want you to be mine
I’ll build up the courage, just give me some time
It’s true…my heart can’t stop beating for you!
Oooooh, I think I know what to say
Oooooh, I’m gonna do it today
I’ll open my heart. It’s no time to play
It’s true…my heart can’t stop beating for you!
The multitude of ponies in the stands clopped and stomped in rhythm with the song. Flurry kept the volume of her voice low enough so Pumpkin and the others could be heard. Allegra was singing the loudest and boldest. Peachy and Shutter weren’t quite so loud, but they seemed rather confident with being on stage. Night Shade taught them this song quite well earlier that day, and they already had the lyrics memorized. He clearly prepared them for this moment. Even Pumpkin seemed to have the hang of things now. They all bobbed their heads to the music and smiled at the crowd. The song continued with the next verse.
Verse 2:
You walk right by me and I freeze in place
You smile at me and I’m red in the face
I need your presence. I need your embrace
It’s true…yes, it’s true
We’ve only known each other for a few years
And at some point I confirmed my worst fears
I’m lovesick…I want you…
It’s true…
_________________
Chorus 2:
Oooooh, I got you on my mind
Oooooh, I want you to be mine
I’ll build up the courage, just give me some time
It’s true…my heart can’t stop beating for you!
Oooooh, I think I know what to say
Oooooh, I’m gonna do it today
I’ll open my heart. It’s no time to play
It’s true…my heart can’t stop beating for you!
As the bridge of the song started up, Night Shade moonwalked a few yards behind them and joined the backup dancers with some of his signature dance moves. Some fireworks were launched off the stage just as the dancing ended and they came to the finale chorus. Night Shade made his way back to the stage and sang one more time with them. They were far more energized to face the crowd this time.
Final Chorus:
Oooooh, I got you on my mind
Oooooh, I want you to be mine
I’ll build up the courage, just give me some time
It’s true…my heart can’t stop beating for you!
Oooooh, I think I know what to say
Oooooh, I’m gonna do it today
I’ll open my heart, it’s no time to play
It’s true…my heart can’t stop beating for you!
My heart can’t stop beating for you! (4x)
More fireworks were launched, and the crowd roared. Everypony on stage waved and bowed their heads. Night Shade turned around and they all formed a circle.
“Everypony, you did awesome!” he told them.
“Thanks for having us on!” Pumpkin exclaimed.
“I wanted to get you guys ready for tonight and thought ‘what better way to do it than to let my students on stage with me to sing My Heart Can’t Stop Beating For You?’ I only regret that we won’t be able to do it again since tonight is the last night for concerts, but I’ll see you guys tomorrow and then the next day before I leave. Two more days of lessons.”
“Well we’ll all be there, Night Shade! I certainly will!” Shutter said.
“Can’t wait for tomorrow!” Peachy added.
Night Shade joined all of them in a group hug before they left to exit the stage. The security guards guided them back to their spots in the front row as Night Shade and his dancers got ready for the next song. Flurry and the others made conversation, while they waited for the performance to start up again.
“Wow, you guys did great up there!” said Flurry.
“Thanks, Flurry!” said Allegra. “I’ve been on stage before, but it feels way better to be up there with someone like Night Shade!”
“After everything we’ve learned from Night Shade so far, I’m way more confident about singing!” Pumpkin chimed in.
As Night Shade put on a different outfit backstage, Zeb tried to stop him to say something.
“Night Shade, what did I say about the princess?” he whispered loudly. “You’ve got to get rid of her!”
“Not now, Zeb. I have a show to do.”
“If not now, when then? We are going to get the shaft when the label finds out you’ve been hanging out with a royal.”
As Zeb and Night Shade spoke behind the curtain, Flurry was the only one to notice what was happening. She could not hear them but could tell they were not having a very positive conversation. She quickly forgot about it though as Night Shade walked out onto the stage to sing his next song.
“This is getting out of hoof,” Zeb said to one of the handlers.
“You want me to get you Svengallop on the phone?” the handler asked.
“Wait until after the concert, but I’m going to have to talk to him tonight. I can’t wait until he sees the paper or hears about it through the grapevine. That little princess is going to be the death of me if I don’t do something right now.”
That next morning, Night Shade continued his lessons with Flurry, Pumpkin, Allegra, Peachy and Shutter. He taught them some techniques to achieve high notes and even started teaching them a few dance moves. Pumpkin was in the middle of learning the moonwalk.
“Lift and slide. Lift and slide,” Night Shade said as he slowly demonstrated the dance for her.
“Uh…like this?” she said as she scuffed her hooves up on the floor.
“Not quite. It’s okay, Pumpkin. The moonwalk is kinda hard. The real trick is to know your center of gravity and get the balance right.”
“This would be a lot easier if I just used my magic, but that would be cheating.”
“Hehe. Tell you what: we’ll all try the moonwalk tomorrow during our final lessons. Right now, let’s all do some practice with some songs we know. Anyone in here wanna try singing a song that isn’t one of my songs?”
“I have one!” Flurry said, raising her hoof.
“Awesome! Why don’t you sing it for us, Flurry.”
All eyes turned to Flurry and she cleared her throat. She decided to sing the You’ll Never Be Alone song that everyone sang to her after she first came to Ponyville a few weeks ago.
With friends by your side
Helping you to stride
You’ll never be alone
You’ve got all you need right here
Friends to hold you dear
Watching you as you grow
You’ve got the chance of a lifetime
You’ll see it’s worth the while
With friends you’ll do just fine
Keep this song in mind
And you’ll never be a-you’ll never be alone
Everypony in the room cheered for Flurry and Night Shade clapped his front hooves. He then stopped and looked behind his students as Zeb stared menacingly at him. His heart nearly stopped at the sight of his manager. He knew right away what would happen. Zeb didn’t get the chance to talk to Night Shade about Flurry after the concert last night, so he would likely take the opportunity now.
“Alright, kids,” he said, doing his best to ignore his manager. “Flurry’s song might actually be good for-”
“AHEM. Night Shade, it’s important,” Zeb said, moving his head towards the door.
“Does it have to be now?”
“Now.”
Night Shade closed his eyes and sighed deeply.
“Sorry, everypony. I’ll be right back. In the meantime, Flurry, why don’t you try practicing that song with the others. We’ll see what we can do with it when I come back.”
“You got it, Night Shade,” Flurry said.
Night Shade followed Zeb out the door and down the hallway to a nearby office. Several handlers were waiting there and one of them had a large wireless phone on his hoof.
“Answer the phone, Night Shade,” Zeb said, sternly.
Night Shade hesitated for a second, not sure what to make of this situation. He was about to ask who was on the line, but he went ahead and answered the phone first.
“Uh…he-hello?”
“Night Shade, what’s going on over there?” said an irritating, effeminate male voice on the other end.
“Svengallop? Hey! Well we’re doing pretty awesome in Ponyville. We had a fantastic reception at the concert last night, and I’m in the middle of-”
“I’m going to stop you right there. What is this I’m hearing about you and Princess Flurry Heart? Why did you let her into your class? You know how we feel about those disgusting royals.”
“Well we drew five numbers and nopony was calling for the last one, so I let the fourth one bring up her friend, and it just so happened to be Flurry Heart.”
“And you didn’t think to tell her to bugger off right then?!”
“What? No! I would never do that in front of everypo-”
“Why not just quietly tell her the next day that she’s gotta scram?!”
“Svengallop, she’s doing fine and she’s got talent. It’s really not that big of a deal.”
“Not that big of a deal?! Oh, you are soooooo wrong my friend! I am getting phone-calls off the hook about this. Executives everywhere are threatening to take action and we may lose a few sponsors. You of all ponies should be well aware how dangerous it is to be seen making any form of contact with any family of that brat Twilight Sparkle. It’s just industry policies, Night Shade. We do NOT associate with royals or anypony who rubs shoulders with them!”
“Svengallop, please, what about my fans? No one in Ponyville is mad about this and I promise you my fans won’t mind it either. In fact they’re probably really happy to see me singing with her.”
“I don’t give a flying feather what fans think. So long as they pay for what we produce and keep us making more money, that’s all that matters. That’s literally their only purpose. When it comes to royals, however, that’s where we draw the line. Whatever the music industry executives say goes, Night Shade. This has got to stop now!”
“Can’t I just wait until I’m done with the final lesson tomorrow?”
“No! This is what you’re going to do: you’re going to march back into that classroom and get rid of that princess…oh, and her little friend while you’re at it. When you get back to Hinnywood, we’ve got some damage control to do over here.”
“I can’t just get rid of Flurry. How do you want me to do this?”
“Use your imagination!”
Svengallop slammed the phone on his end. Night Shade gave his phone back to the handler who turned it off. He was in such shock over what happened; he could not speak.
“I told you this would happen, kid,” Zeb said, removing his sunglasses.
“You snitched on me, didn’t you?” Night Shade replied, angrily.
“Svengallop already saw the paper, Night Shade. Like I said, everypony was going to find out eventually. You should have listened to me when I told you this could hurt your career. Let’s just get this over with. Go do what you need to do.”
Zeb opened the door and let Night Shade out of the office. He walked down the hallway, nervous as ever. In all his life, he never thought he would have to do anything like this just to save his career.
Meanwhile in the classroom, Flurry had already gotten the others to sing her song and harmonize to it. They had just finished the chorus.
“You’ve got it, guys!” she told them. “Night Shade’s going to be so pleased when he gets back here!”
The door opened and Night Shade trudged into the room. He had his head down and looked very distressed.
“Oh, Night Shade! You’re just in time for…uh, Night Shade? Is everything alright?” Pumpkin asked.
Everyone watched as Night Shade put his hoof on a nearby desk and stood motionless for about ten seconds before speaking up.
“Everypony…I…I’m going to have to cut today’s lessons short.”
Flurry and the others looked at each other in confusion.
“Is there something wrong?” Peachy asked.
“Something has…just…come to my attention,” he responded. “Everything’s fine, but I can’t finish today. I’m sorry,”
“That’s okay, Night Shade. We’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow.” Allegra told him.
“Yeah, we’ll see you then,” Shutter added.
“Bye, everypony,” he said, waving.
They all headed out of the classroom through the back door. Flurry and Pumpkin took one last glance at him. Night Shade had turned around and they could not see his face. They looked worried for whatever he was going through, but they figured tomorrow would be different.
After the girls closed the door, Zeb walked in to speak to the young artist.
“I’m proud of you, Night Shade,” he said, putting his hoof on Night Shade’s shoulder. “Now tomorrow morning, we’re going to cancel that final class and leave on the train. Make sure you’ve got everything ready.”
Zeb walked out and left Night Shade behind. Night Shade couldn’t even respond to what Zeb just said about the last lesson. He felt so powerless now to do anything. He never thought his manager would have this much control over his life or that Svengallop would make such demands. He started to wonder if he was even that good of an influence if he had to avoid certain fans over politics. This situation made him feel sick and depressed. The only comforting thought was that he would not have to face Flurry or Pumpkin to tell them the truth, but he worried about how they would react to him not being there tomorrow.
“I’m sorry, girls.”
Zeb! Go away!
11456070
And Svengallop especially! Can't stand that guy!
11456072
Can they both go take a long walk off a short cliff?
Some sweet tunes you came up with in this chapter Alex, those were awesome!
Course Jerkgallop had to rain on everyone's parade, him & Zeb can go take a long walk on a very short pier!
11456075
I hate Svengallop too. Probably the most hated character in the show. Sadly there wont' be any comeuppance for those two in this story, but they'll eventually get what they deserve.
Grr I knew he was going to get involved sooner or later I really can't stand him
Ah the iconic dance move moonwalk from Michael Jackson
Maybe because Twilight and her friends busted you what a real trash to turn out to be Svengallop 😡
11456080
MJ, we miss you!!
That's an amazing concert and it's fitting that he's singing "Billie Jean", the very song this fanfic is named after!
Well, it looks like Svengallop didn't learn a thing from firing himself as RaRa's manager. Now he and Zeb are pulling a toxic double team on Night Shade, all because of corrupt and selfish music industry politics against royals. Flurry doesn't deserve that kind of hatred. None of the princesses do...
On a more positive note, I still admire your talent for writing song lyrics and accompanying compositions. How easy/difficult is it to think them up?
11456079
I can't stand him either. I only regret that he and Zeb won't be facing any consequences until a while later from this story.
11456082
That's part of why he's so against her.
Don't do this nightshade you cannot let those two get away with this if you truly care about your fans please don't do this man 🥺
11456089
Yup. They are the worst. >:(
Thanks! It can be easy for me to find rhymes and come up with the lyrics. I can do it in probably a total of an hour or two depending on how long the song is. The difficult part is the musical composition. Instiller was especially difficult since I tried a variety with tracks that time.
Does Erebus appear in this story at all, or is it just Zeb?
I figured things will go downhill way quickly and it's going to be a lot of heartaches I do like the song lyrics so that's pretty cool anyway nightshade really enjoyed having the five ponies singing along with him but of course zeb had to ruin every thing by calling one of the worst ponies in the world Svengallop I figured he will get involved in this he even threatened Nightshade if he doesn't go through getting rid of flurry heart and of course they had to pull this whole political on him that's a cheap move but of course that's what corruption does and Nightshade sadly had to do it and the five Ponies were pretty confused why did he cancel everything something tells me things are going to get really bad well I guess we'll find out next time
11456090
What really blows my mind that he didn't get and travel after what he did with rara he just left without any consequences I mean they got rid of him but he just escaped from trouble and it really kind of burns me about that
11456099
You'll see.
11456108
Yeah, it's a shame, though he did get humiliated by Twilight so there's that.
Seems like Svengallop is always involved in sleazy corrupt managers abusing their stars. This time when he goes down he better get jail time or something. Same with Zeb.
I feel very bad for Night Shade.
11456166
That's what everyone is going to want of those two. They aren't committing any crimes right now of course, but Zeb's true intentions will definitely be more concerning.
11456175
Same. He's at a point of no return right now.
Question since Flurry is a natural born Alicorn won’t she have like some super hearing? Like horse ears are pretty strong to hear things far away I think.
Anyways, so instead of Mr Evil Cloud Monster we get Svengallop and other elite like from Applewood. That’s alright I can’t wait to see Flurry clear this corruption out of Equestria
11456235
Uh...Not sure how that goes with being a natural-born alicorn, but no.
Well the story isn't over just yet...
those two really hate Royals
11458693
nice
So... that's what all of this came to.
Poor Night Shade. All the guy wants to do is have a good time doing what he likes and give others a good time of their own, but between Zeb and Svengallop, it very much doesn't look like he's going to be able to do just that anytime soon, at least not without a lot of strings attached, the shortest and strongest of which seems to be 'DON'T INTERACT WITH ROYALTY!'. If nothing else, Flurry seems to have gotten an inkling that something is going on, but it's clearly not meant to last.
And Svengallop... honestly, I hated that guy from the moment he showed up in the series, and he definitely didn't do himself ANY favors from the way he acted here. None at all. Pity he didn't seem to have learned his lesson from the hard times that he appeared to have fallen in, considering that both of his background appearances in the show had him do nothing but drown his sorrows... but then again, considering how he had Rara completely fooled (and likely would have had if Applejack hadn't happened to overhear him talking to Pinkie) it makes sense he would have been able to pull wool over another artist's eyes and get himself in a better place... unfortunately.
At least Flurry and Pumpkin and the other foals managed to have fun once more before things went to crap... but it seems that it was for the last time. Hopefully something can be done about Zeb and Svengallop in a relatively near future.
On a brighter side, kudos to you not only for managing to integrate so many songs into this chapter, but also for doing it so naturally. It makes sense that a 'performance episode' would have many songs, and you found a good way to put them all in. Also, nice touch to put in a song from an earlier episode, which was something I don't think the series ever did. Great move from you!
All in all... while it was a chapter with a lot of sour notes, it was a well done chapter as well, and I very much liked it! I'll try to catch up on the next ones as soon as I can.
11479596
If you didn't like Svengallop then, you'll definitely hate him a lot more as well as Zeb after you read the next chapter! That's when things really start to make sense. Unfortunately, this is the beginning of Flurry and Pumpkin's hardships with this story. It's going to get pretty emotional later on.
Oh, Svengallop is involved? Excuse me for a second. *Goes into another room and takes out his anger of Svengallop by destroying whatever he can get his hands on.*
*pants in the middle of a destroyed room.* As you can no doubt tell, my hatred for Svengallop is right up there with Cozy Glow.
I'm sure I'm going to hate what he forces Night Shade to do in the end.
11834543
Svengallop will definitely be the easiest to hate in this. Just you wait till the ending.