Filly Friends is done! · 12:30am Aug 6th, 2020
As of just about right now, I've finished the draft of the last chapter of Filly Friends! I've passed it off to quick and Qrow, and as long as they don't think it's total garbage, it'll go up next Tuesday along with the epilogue. It has been a lot of fun, and though I would change parts of the story if I were to do it now, I'm happy with how it came out. I'll go more in depth on posting day with an extended author's note for the entire thing, but if there are any questions or things you'd like me to touch on, go ahead and drop them here.
I'll go ahead and leave a little teaser. Note this isn't edited, and may suck and/or not make it in the final cut.
“I’ve got this,” I whispered to myself. “I’ve got this.”
“I believe in you, miss,” one of the stagehands said. An announcement from the club floor echoed back into our little hallway. “We’re ready for you.”
“Thank you.” I took a deep breath and turned around to face the stage. Three short, creaky steps separated me from my instrument. Night-Glo didn’t have a curtain or anything of the sort, so the minute I stepped over the last step I was visible to the crowd. Around one hundred ponies had crammed into the club, most sitting in folding chairs, but some were standing around the edges of the room as well, and it looked like Midnight Oil had opened the VIP balcony to some as well.
Mother waved slightly from the front row. Both she and Father were smiling at me, just barely visible in the light cast towards me from the spotlights. Vinyl was there as well; she mouthed something at me I couldn’t really understand, but took to be encouragement anyway.
My cello stood waiting for me on a small stand in the middle of the stage. It stood proudly, gleaming, next to a stool that was honestly there more for show. I almost didn’t want to touch it, knowing exactly how long I spent polishing it the night before. I walked in measured steps to the middle of the stage and rose gracefully to my hind hooves. Quickly, so I wouldn’t fall over, I pulled the cello from it’s cradle and against my body. It took a few seconds to get the balance right so I could grab my bow.
I took a deep breath and held it to clear my mind. My left hoof found the string and fret for the first note, my right set my bow on the string. I pulled, coaxing the first note of the night from my instrument, and everything fell away. Given the short time I had to prepare, I had to pick simpler songs that I knew well from Mother’s collection.
Oh gosh, this is the perfect incentive to catch up!