The final day of Winter Term had arrived and students were filing into CHS, not seeming to perturbed by the falling snow. Sunset and Forte went inside, having been driven to school by Travertine. The both returned to CHS on the Monday to the delight of many students and over the succeeding three days received apology after apology for they way they acted towards them.
"I'll be glad when the day's over," Forte said putting his coat hood down, "At least we finish on a Thursday, get an extra long weekend."
"Yeah, we'll have to go and watch Wonderbolts. Who are they playing again?"
"Canterlot FC, we should win this considering they're rooted to the foot of the table and Wonderbolts are twelve points clear at the top."
Sunset giggled and gently elbowed him on the arm, "Now now Pony Boy, don't get overconfident. As I recall, Wonderbolts should have beaten Terraville but ended up getting their arses handed to them."
"Yeah yeah, you seemed to enjoy their loss though."
"It was more enjoying seeing you all whiny about it."
"I wasn't whiny about it, I was complaining. Specifically about the dreadful refereeing."
"The ref didn't do anything wrong."
"He waved away a clear cut penalty for us and allowed Terraville a goal that was clearly offside," Forte said with increasing exasperation and gesticulating arms.
"Awwwww, is my little Pony Boy still upset about it?" Sunset teased mercilessly as she nuzzled his cheek with her nose.
Forte ignored the snickering from around him, his fellow students seemingly amused at the sight.
"No I am not upset......Bacon Hair."
"Bacon Hair huh? Good, but not original. Rainbow came up with that already."
"Damn right I did!"
Forte and Sunset turned around and saw the girl in question approach.
"Hey Rainbow," Sunset said, "You on the way to the form room?"
"On my way there now. Hey Forte."
"Hi Rainbow, you OK?"
"I'm good. Fluttershy's in your form room."
"I'll head there now. See you in Food Tech Sunny," he said, giving his girlfriend a hug.
"You too. Have fun in Maths, Egg Head."
Sunset began laughing again.
"What?" asked Forte.
"I came up with that as well," Rainbow replied.
Forte huffed and turned around, "I'll come up with something, mark my words Sunny."
Sunset and Rainbow watched as Forte walked away, biting their bottom lips to prevent themselves from bursting into laughter. They continued to watch until he was out of sight when they finally lost control and began laughing, Sunset's ribs hurting in the process. Other students slowly backed away, unsure just what they were laughing about.
They soon calmed down enough and carried on to their form room for registration.
Several boring hours of lessons later it was finally lunch. Being as it was the last day of term there was a special Christmas dinner. Almost everyone had roast turkey complete with roast potatoes, pigs in blankets (sausages wrapped in bacon), carrots, Brussels Sprouts, cauliflower.......and gravy.
Forte was sitting at a table with Sunset and the others, all but Fluttershy had the Christmas dinner; who chose the vegetarian option.
"Glad those lessons are over," Forte said, cutting some turkey, "Now we've all afternoon free before the school Christmas party."
"I can't wait to get up on stage again," Sunset said, "What about you? You gonna get up on stage as well?"
Forte shook his head, "Nein. I don't mind playing in front of people but singing is something I just can't bring myself to do."
"Well don't worry darling. We won't force you to if you don't want to."
"But you really should give it a try," Sunset said, "It's great fun."
"Speaking of our gig later, what will be playing?" asked Fluttershy.
"A few festive favourites," Rainbow replied, "Deck the Halls, Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, Twelve Days of Christmas, Days Gone By-"
"I love that one!"
Forte really wished he had a filter between his brain and his mouth that prevent him from saying things that would ultimately embarrass him. Like now. After his inadvertent outburst he facepalmed and looked down. He didn't need to look up to know the girls were looking at him with glee. Deeply embarrassed, he really wished a hole would open up and allow him to get out of the situation he was in; but such things don't happen in reality and he knew he would have to face the girls eventually.
Looking up slowly, he saw six girls with big, cheesy grins.
Forte sighed tiredly and slumped down in his seat, "When will I learn to keep quiet?"
"Forte, will you keep still!" Rarity demanded, "How can I make final touches to your costume if you don't stop fidgeting?"
"Why do I have to wear one anyway? I'm not performing."
"You're part of the band Forte, even if you're not performing you still need to look the part."
Forte's costume followed a similar design to the others Rarity had made him. This one consisted of an electric blue, sleeveless jacket with white collar, lapels and tie belt and an electric blue pair of trousers decorated with white lightning bolts; all with a glossy finish. Finishing off his costume was some white shin high boots. Rarity had also styled his hair by adding white highlights to his blue hair and gelling it into spikes.
The others too had costumes that matched their personal profiles, all in Rarity's usual flashy style.
"And there," Rarity said, pulling away from Forte and putting her tailoring kit away.
"Thanks," Forte replied.
"You're welcome darling."
Rarity walked away whilst Sunset joined him. Her costume, a full length one shoulder dress that looked like a swirling tower of fire, once again showed off her physique and got Forte all weak at the knees. Her hair was tied up into swirls above and behind her head, held in place by a phoenix shaped broach.
"You OK Pony Boy?"
"I'm OK........you look great by the way."
"Thank you, you're not too bad yourself."
"I suppose so, but being bloke there's only so much I can wear."
Sunset smirked and wrapped her arms around Forte's neck, "Well I'm sure if you talk to Rarity she could make you a dress next time."
All colour drained from Forte's face, "No no no no no no no no no!"
"One no would have sufficed darling," Rarity chimed in, "Though the offer's always there should you ever change your mind."
A few minutes later the girls went up on stage to cheering students, all animosity from the Anon-A-Miss fiasco completely gone. Forte was watching on from the sides, desperately hopeful he wouldn't be dragged up on stage.
"Hey CHS!" Rainbow bellowed from the stage, "Are you all ready to rock?!"
A cacophony of cheers erupted from the students, jumping up and down and waving their arms about in joy.
"RAINBOOMS RULE!"
The girls immediately began playing a festive favourite, Rainbow taking her place as lead vocalist for this song in particular.
One! Two! One, two, three, four!
Dashing through the snow
In a one-horse open sleigh
Over the fields we go
Laughing all the way (Ha-ha-ha!)
Bells on bob tail ring
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to fly and sing
A sleighing song tonight!
Oh, jingle bells (Hey!), jingle bells (Hey!)
Jingle all the way (Hey! Hey!)
Oh, what fun it is to fly
In a one-horse open sleigh
Jingle bells (Hey!), jingle bells (Hey!)
Jingle all the way (Hey! Hey!)
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh!
Thought I'd grab some friends
And take them for a ride
Not so sure what's up
As people run and hide
Put Rarity in the back
Right next to Pinkie Pie
Better buckle up, my friends
'Cause we're about to fly!
Oh, jingle bells (Hey!), jingle bells (Hey!)
Jingle all the way (Hey! Hey!)
Oh, what fun it is to fly
In a one-horse open sleigh
Jingle bells (Hey!), jingle bells (Hey!)
Jingle all the way (Hey! Hey!)
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh!
Go grab Applejack
Who's hiding in the barn
Put her in the back
And leave behind the farm
Sky is clear and blue
And the wind is at our tails
People, hold on tight because
We're about to tip the scales!
Tomorrow is Christmas morning
Tomorrow is Christmas day
And Santa's coming 'round the corner and he's bringing presents
'Cause he's been filling up that, filling up that Santa sleigh
We start speeding up
As colours start to show
Streaming through our manes
The higher up we go
Even faster still
Faces fearing doom
What fun it is to fly and sing
As we sonic rainboom!
Jingle bells (Hey!), jingle bells (Hey!)
Jingle all the way (Hey! Hey!)
Oh, what fun it is to fly
In a one-horse open sleigh
Jingle bells (Hey!), jingle bells (Hey!)
Jingle all the way (Hey! Hey!)
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh!
Upon finishing the crowd erupted into even louder cheers, Rainbow unsurprisingly relishing the attention and praise. Sunset looked over to Forte to see him giving her a thumbs up, a small act that brought a smile to her face.
Sunset didn't have time to stand around as the next sing was due to start, with her singing solo. Turning to Rainbow, she nodded, indicating she was ready.
The music started and Sunset started to sing.
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Day one: time to get my list in shape
Christmas is around the corner
So much to do, not a moment left to wait
Have to get it done before the holidays are here
It's that Christmas time of year
So everybody sing
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Through the streets of boutiques
Picking out the perfect presents
Every shop, have to stop
Try to find the perfect gift
Now the tree has to be
Just the perfect one – that's it! That's the one!
Every light shining bright
Starting from the base to tip
Have to bake, decorate
Now I need the perfect dress – a success!
Oh, no, I can't be late
I've got Pinkie Pie's party date
Where everybody sings
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
People carolling, singing songs we know and love
Music fills the air, rising to the stars above
Watching snow, reading by the fire
Family close, stockings hung with care
Outside those people singing merrily
Listen close as they start to sing
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Time to stop and count my blessings
Put the craziness aside
Christmas only comes around once a year
And every year fills my heart with pride
When everybody sings
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
And a happy, New, Year.
Once again the hall erupted into cheers, Forte still cheering on from the sides; trying to stay out of sight. Sunset realising this, took decisive action. Walking to the front of the stage she held the mic up to her mouth.
"Before we continue, I'd just like to say hi and offer a big thank you to my handsome boyfriend, Forte....who's watching on from the sidelines over there," she said, pointing in his direction.
Immediately a spotlight was shone in his direction. Forte felt like a rabbit in headlights, frozen in place by fear.
"Come on Forte," one of the students started, "Get up on stage and join your friends!"
"Yeah Forte," Lyra added, "Don't pretend you can't sing!"
"I can't!"
"My Pinkie Sense tells me you're telling Porky Pies!"
"Come on up Forte," Rainbow added, "You'll enjoy yourself a lot!"
"But-"
Before Forte could continue, he felt hands grab him and push him towards the stage.
"Come on Casanova, up on the stage with your girlfriend!" Aria commanded.
Time was running out rapidly for Forte to escape. As he neared the stage, he passed near an exit from the auditorium and into the school hallways. Faster than anyone could react; he bolted off through the door, shouting back his response.
"WHY CAN'T YOU ALL JUST ACCEPT I DON'T WANT TO PERFORM?!"
He then ran down the hallway out of sight. Everyone watched on, slightly shocked by his reaction.
"Should we go after him?" asked Sonata.
"No," Sunset said sadly, looking down, "Let him be."
Despite Forte's outburst, the girls carried on. Their next song being 'Silent Night' sung by Fluttershy, who despite her stage fright, received around of applause for her performance; boosting her confidence dramatically.
They sang a few more Christmas songs, while Forte was in the music room; fuming to himself.
"Is it really that difficult to accept my decision on not to perform?"
Just then there was a knock at the door.
"Hey Forte, it's me," Sunset said.
The door opened and she walked in, looking quite upset.
"How did you know I was here?" Forte asked.
"Principal Celestia saw you enter."
"Oh, well if you don't mind I'd rather be alone right now."
Sunset winced, before slowly walking up to Forte and stopping on front on him, "We're sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
"For trying to coerce you into performing, we should have respected your decision not to."
"You all should have, but you didn't. Now if there's nothing more, please leave me be."
Forte, still sat on a swivel chair, span back around so he was once again looking out of the window. Deflated, Sunset sighed in sadness and left the room, the other girls waiting for her. Noting the look on her face, Rainbow summarised the situation.
"I take it he's still upset?"
"WHAT DO YOU THINK?"
Forte's bellowing voice took the girls off guard, causing them to jump in fright. They nonetheless quickly composed themselves and approached the door.
"Forte darling, we're really sorry for how we acted."
"You can just watch if you want," Pinkie added, her hair less poofy than it was before.
"Leave, me, alone," came Forte's response.
The girls all slumped their shoulders in sadness.
"Come on girls," Applejack started, "Let's give Forte a little time to himself."
The girls just nodded, Sunset in particular though was more upset than the others. Considering what she and Forte had been through together, she was kicking herself for not being more supportive of his decisions or taking into account why Forte may not want to sing in front of others.
The girls left to return to the auditorium, the second half of their performance due to start any minute.
After a few more minutes, Forte heard the girls play once again. Still sitting on the chair looking out of the window, he heard another knock at the door followed by it opening.
"Forte, it's Aria."
Forte didn't reply.
Aria walked in and closed the door behind her. Grabbing a chair she placed it next to Forte and sat down, "You OK?"
"I'm fine."
"Forte, don't pretend nothing's wrong."
"I said I'm fine!"
Aria recoiled slightly at Forte's outburst. A few moments of awkward silence lingered, the air so tense you could cut it with a knife.
"Forte, we really are sorry for trying to force you up on stage."
"So you all keep saying, but it's an apology none of you would have to make had you respected my decision."
"We only wanted you to enjoy yourself."
"I was enjoying myself just watching."
"Why didn't you want to join in? You can sing."
"No I can't, hence why I didn't want to take part."
"Are you sure you can't sing? Or have you never tried?"
Forte didn't answer, his reluctance to look at or respond to Aria confirmed her suspicions. Aria, being unusually sensitive, wrapped an arm around Forte consolingly.
"You scared of sounding awful aren't you, and being humiliated in front of everyone?"
Forte nodded, still looking down at the floor.
"You can't let thoughts like that hold you back Forte, don't think how bad you might feel; think instead of how great you'll make other people feel when they hear you sing."
"It's difficult to be confident when the spotlight's on you."
"You didn't seem to struggle with confidence at that carnival a few weeks back, or the concert soon after."
Forte looked to Aria confused, "How did you know about those?"
Aria tapped the side of her nose.
Forte huffed, "Fine , don't tell me."
Aria giggled and the next thing Forte felt was someone's arms wrap tightly around him, "Cheer up, grumpy guts! It's Christmas!"
"Sonata!" Aria scolded, "Don't sneak up on us like that!"
"Hi Sonata," Forte wheezed, still being slowly crushed by Sonata's death hug.
She finally let go, allowing Forte to breath again, "Come back with us, you can't sit in here and mope all for the rest of the day."
"Oh yeah? Watch me!"
Sonata groaned loudly, "Come on, you don't want to miss out on the party afterwards do you?"
As much as Forte didn't want to admit it, he was. Free food was very appealing to him....so long as it wasn't salad related. Reluctantly, he stood up and and stretched his muscles.
"Fine, I'll go back.......just no forcing me up on stage or singing."
A few minutes later, Forte, Aria and Sonata had quietly rejoined the auditorium. The CHS students were cheering the girls along, another song finished. Looking up to the stage, Forte's and Sunset's eyes met. Sunset looked away quickly, looking slightly hurt, most probably from the incident earlier. Forte, despite his inner voice telling him not to, started walking towards the stage.
The students fell silent as Forte ascended the stairs up to the stage; Sunset began looking around at the other girls who looked just as confused and worried as her.
Very much aware every set of eyes were on him, Forte's heart pounded fiercely as he slowly walked towards Sunset.
Before Sunset could say anything, Forte hugged her.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
Sunset smiled softly and returned the hug, "And I'm sorry if you felt as if we were forcing you to sing."
The two love birds stared longingly into each others eyes, completely oblivious to the the concert and of the passage of time itself.
"KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!"
The chanted of the students brought Forte and Sunset back to reality. Looking out at the crown, they saw the students carrying on their chant. Looking back to each other, they didn't need to ask each other whether or not to oblige.
The two wrapped their arms around each other and locked lips, their tongues having a sparring contest while the students cheered wildly.
"Get a room you two!" Rainbow yelled.
Forte and Sunset eventually stopped playing tongue hockey and turned their attention back to the crowd.
"There's still a few songs we need to play.......you don't have to sing, but do you want to stay up here?" Sunset asked.
Forte wrapped his arm around her waist, "Sure, I'd love to."
The girls began playing the music for the next piece, one Sunset recognised from Equestria, albeit with slightly different lyrics.
It's a human kind of Christmas
In every colour shade
All around the world of Terreria
It's Christmastime here today
It's a human kind of Christmas
Its light never fades
All around the world of Terreria
Christmas is here to stay
Christmas is a time of joy
When the light of friendship burns bright
Takin' time for family
To recall the past and do what's right
And outside gentle snow is falling
Forest creatures keeping warm below
Knowing the next verse was the chorus once more, the students of CHS joined in.
And all throughout Terreria
We feel the light of friendship only grow
It's a human kind of Christmas
Its light never fades
All around the world of Terreria
Christmas is here to stay
Dashing through the snow
In a one-horse open sleigh
Over the fields we go
Laughing all the way
Decorate with boughs of holly
Fill the halls with wonder
Wrap the presents, silver paper
Trim the tree and place them under
Time for counting down the days to Christmas
Every day that passes is a party we can throw
The students once again joined in for the last verse, the spirit of the occasion giving the overwhelming need to join in and enjoy the night.
Time for counting down the days to Christmas
And everyday our friendship grows
It's a human kind of Christmas
In every colour shade
All around the world of Terreria
It's Christmastime here today
It's a human kind of Christmas
Its light never fades
All around the world of Terreria
Christmas is here...
To stay
As soon as the song finished, the crowd erupted into cheers; most of the praise aimed at the girls.
"You were great Forte," Sunset said, "And you said you couldn't sing."
Forte shrugged his shoulders, "I just got caught up in the occasion."
"Are you up for one more?"
"Maybe, it depends on the song."
As soon as the music started playing, Forte's eyes widened and his ears perked up. Applejack started things off with a solo in the first verse.
When family cannot be here
Havin' journeyed far and wide
We sing a song to honour them
To remember days gone by
The other girls, the students and Forte all joined in, Days Gone By being one of those timeless classics that you can't help but join in.
So take your cup and raise it high
Just as surely I'll do mine
And laugh we will at stories told
As we smile at days gone by
As we smile at days gone by
For family not here, my dears
Havin' journeyed far and wide
For loyalty and kindness both
We smile at days gone by
Our paths will cross again one day
In time to reunite
For family is always near
Even when the seas are wide
So take your cup and raise it high
Just as surely I'll do mine
And make a toast for family
And the tales of days gone by
For family not here, my dears
Havin' journeyed far and wide
For loyalty and kindness both
Take joy at days gone by
For loyalty and kindness both
We smile at days gone by
As the crowd cheered, Forte and Sunset were joined at the front of the stage by the other girls, Pinkie excitedly jumping on Forte's back and put a Santa hat on his head. In the next instant, she jumped down and ran towards the crowd.
"STAGE JUMP!"
A short while later, all the food had been brought out and everyone was stuffing their faces; Forte's plate piled high with food.
"You look hungry," Sunset commented, looking at his plate of sausage rolls, cheese sandwiches, cocktail sausages, slices of ham and pork pie.
"I am."
"No surprise there then."
"Hey Forte!"
Forte looked over to see Rainbow and the girls approaching.
"Hey girls, you OK?"
"We're cool," Rainbow replied, "Forte, about earlier; we just want to apologise for trying to force you into performing earlier."
"No need to apologise, I didn't exactly behave appropriately."
"Then how about we put it all behind us?"
"I see no problem with that."
"Great! 'Cause we're planning on putting an album together and we want you to be a part of it."
"R-really?"
"Sure, you are part of the band after all," she said sitting down next to Forte and hooking an arm around his neck.
"When do you plan to start recording?"
"After the holidays."
"How do we afford it though? Recording an album isn't cheap."
Applejack stepped forward, "We may have gotten an offer of assistance from an industry veteran."
"Industry veteran?" Forte repeated.
"Yer old babysitter."
"Ra-Ra? How did she find out about it?"
"We suggested it at the fair a few weeks back, remember?"
"But when did Ra-Ra come to you with the offer?"
"Just the other day. We were going to surprise you on Christmas Day, but decided to tell you now," Applejack replied. She made a quick glance at Sunset and the pairs eyes met but for brief moment before Applejack turned back to Forte.
"There's going to be enough surprises on Christmas Day."
Applejack's glance and statement gave Sunset cause for confusion.
What does she mean by that? Sunset wondered.
Sunset didn't get time to ask as the girls went off to mingle with other students, leaving the pair alone once more.
"So," Forte said, "Looking forward to Christmas?"
"Yeah, first time in a long while though."
"Are you still good for having Christmas dinner at my place?" asked Forte.
"Definitely. After everything your family's done for me these past few days, I can't really ditch them at Christmas."
"Great, just so you know.....my mum cooks a lot of food. You've no chance of going hungry."
Sunset giggled, "Be sure to leave some food for me, or I will go hungry. Who else is coming?"
"My dad's family from Germaney, so I'll teach you a little Germanian before then."
"Wunderbar," Sunset replied, before deflating slightly, "That's about all I know at the moment."
Forte laughed, "Mach dir keine Sorgen kleiner Sonnenschein, ich werde dir beibringen wie man wie eine Tochter des Vaterlandes spricht, bevor du es weißt. "
He gave a kiss on the cheek, causing Sunset to go a bright shade of red.
An hour or so later the party had finished and everyone was making their way home. Forte and Sunset were walking towards the school car park, Forte's Citroen DS3 left where he parked it. The pair said their goodbyes to the other girls and had arranged to meet at the Dazzling's house on Christmas Day evening, there they would exchange presents and have even more fun.
Opening the car doors, they got in and closed the doors; eager to shut out the cold. Forte started the engine and switched the heaters on, much to Sunset's relief. She warmed her hands up by placing her hands just above the heaters,
"Comfortable?" Forte asked.
"Yeah thanks. But whoever invented the heater, has my eternal gratitude."
Forte started the engine and the pair put their seatbelts on, Sunset taking the liberty of putting the radio on. She went through the channels until she found appropriately Christmassy songs, and started singing along.
So here it is Merry Christmas, everybody's having fun,
Look to the future now, it's only just begun!
Whilst Sunset was merrily enjoying herself in her own little world, Forte was busy concentrating on the road. Heavy snow in the past couple of hours had resulted in the roads being very slippery, and with fog starting to crawl in reduced visibility by the minute.
Forte drove much slower than usual, not that he drove fast in the first place, to ensure he and Sunset got back safely.
About twenty minutes later, they did. Forte reversed into the garage, parking his car next to his father's Mercedes, and got out; Forte noting the absence of his mother's Jag. The pair entered the house through the inner garage door, Forte immediately noting the lights were off. Curious, he went into the kitchen where his parents usually left notes for him. Switching the kitchen light and walking over to the fridge, he saw a note held in place by a magnet.
Forte, Sunset,
We're both out for the night and won't be back until after midnight.
We'll see you both tomorrow.
Love Mum and Dad.
"I guess that explains why your mum's car wasn't in the garage."
"Yeah, we have the night to ourselves."
As he said that, Sunset was rummaging through her handbag when she saw something she forgot was in there.
"The night to ourselves huh?"
"Yeah, we can stay down here and watch a film if you like?"
"We can do that....or we could do something else?"
"Like what?"
"Comfortable?" Sunset asked as she looked down to her boyfriend.
Who was tied up spread-eagle style to the bed, completely naked.
"Yeah," Forte replied, his face the brightest shade of red it's ever been.
"Great!"
"This wouldn't have anything to do with our conversation the other day, would it?"
"You mean the one where we joked about sending dirty messages to each other and ended in me making a note to buys lots of rope?"
"Yeah......that one."
"Maybe, anyway; performing tonight has made me thirsty."
"Go downstairs and get a drink then, or go to my mini-fridge over there."
Sunset couldn't help but burst into laughter. As she was straddling Forte, her giggling fit caused her to flop down onto Forte who could only look on in confusion at his girlfriend's behaviour.
"Sunny?"
Sunset continued laughing, "Oh Forte, you're so funny at times."
"Eh?"
"You're going to provide the drink, but first........I need to get you warmed up."