Chapter 13
It was now time for the concerts, and as it was set, the Rainbooms were going first. The stage was a small half-dome, the players facing to the north. Though it was broad daylight, because of the angle, the stage lighting was still going to be quite effective. Vinyl Scratch would see to that. Considering how the Rainbooms had the reputation they did with their fellow high school students, and how they spread the word to the rest of the neighborhood, a decent sized crowd was gathering. Fluttershy began to lock up a bit, and Dash started to look confused. “Fluttershy, what gives?” she muttered, “You’ve performed before a bunch of people before. Why are you so nervous?”
“It was never before that many before,” she said, with eyes as wide as dinner plates.
“Come on,” said Dash with a dismissing wave, “What’s the problem?”
She poked her head out to look at the crowd and saw the side of the group out there. There were about six or seven thousand folks out there, and there was a lot of people moving in and out, and more in than out. Rainbow brought her head back and then said, “Okay, I get being a little nervous. I don’t think we’ve ever played a crowd this big.”
“Hey, the bigger the party, the more fun it’s going to be!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie, “Just feed off their energy!”
Sunset pondered it and said, “You know, that might be just the thing. Look, let’s just start to play and kind of look over the crowd. If they feel it, then we will.”
Rarity pondered it, and then she pulled out some sparkly outfits and said, “If we’re going to feel the energy, we have to exude it ourselves.”
She handed them out and said, “It allows for free movement and is light enough to breathe in these summer temperatures.”
They looked a bit gaudy to the others, but Twilight said, “I’ll put it on. I mean, you’ve never let us down in fashion before, and I know you have us covered now. Let’s go for it!”
The girls began to feel more confident and put on the outfits as they got ready to go.
At this point, Celestia came out and said, “Okay, everyone, we have great entertainment for you all day and into the night!”
The crowd gave some somewhat enthusiastic response as she continued speaking, saying, “We’re going to start the festival’s entertainment with a group I am sure many of you know well. Here they are, Canterlot High’s finest, the Rainbooms!”
Those from the high school who knew them well cheered them well and caused a bit of excitement for those not as familiar with them. Fluttershy heard this, saw them, and grabbed her tambourine, but tried to hide in her percussion section a bit more than she usually would. Not only was it because of the crowd, but she also knew that she agreed to do a solo song later on before that crowd, and she was scared to death. Dash was not going to just let the growing enthusiasm die, and so she got in the microphone and said, “So, let me know; are you all awesome?”
They all screamed, and she egged them on and said, “I asked, ‘Are you all awesome!’”
They screamed louder, and she then asked, “How awesome are you?”
“As awesome as we wanna be!” all the students screamed, and Pinkie counted them off and started the number, now having the lyrics to her song changed to say, “As awesome as we wanna be,” knowing that this had always been a team effort, though the had not acted that way before when they had first formed. They then kicked into the song with great enthusiasm, just playing the notes at first, but then began to put some feeling into it as they really felt the energy grow and push them on. Vinyl started getting the lighting to bounce to the music, tweaking the soundboard here and there as she did, making them sound better and better as they went. After the first song was done, the crowd was now screaming excitedly and the girls now honestly felt at home out there on the stage. They went into the next song, feeling in the moment, the crowd now dancing and getting into it, and even Fluttershy loosened up a bit, but she was still anxious about what she had to do later on.
They finished the first set and left the stage to a pumped-up crowd. The band was now all buzzing and chattering over what was going on. Indeed, they had already pony’d up as they had before, but it wore off during their break. Yet, Sunset was sure it would return, knowing the magic that the music was bringing, and Rarity came out with knee-length dresses that were tye-dye and covered with sparkles. “Fresh clothes will make us feel fresh, and this will make us feel Funky!”
“Tye-dye?” asked an unsure Rainbow, “Really? You don’t see that as a bit tacky?”
“It worked for Quill and Downy, and it can work for us,” said a slightly hurt Rarity, “But I did make it a bit more us. They’ll love it!”
The others were too excited to question it and put them on enthusiastically, that is, all except for Fluttershy. Her moment was coming soon, and she was now feeling it, not liking what this was going to entail. Sunset could not help but notice and said, “What’s wrong?”
“All those people, and all those eyes,” she said, blankly, “That crowd has gotten so much bigger since we started.”
Indeed, it had swelled to about fifteen thousand, as most of the surrounding neighborhoods of the city had come for all the festival events, but were also pulled in by the music. Sunset sighed and said, “You know, they don’t hate you.”
“But, what if I mess up, or my voice cracks? It is warm and dry out there,” she mentioned, a bit more worry in her voice.
“There’s something a famous singer once said with nerves and putting on a good show,” answered Sunset, “Give them a good start, a great finish, and they’ll forgive a lot in the middle.”
Fluttershy just stayed silent and rubbed her arm, still not sure of the whole thing, Sunset then said, “Look, when it’s time, I’ll get aside you, and you just do what I say, okay? I won’t steer you wrong. I promise.”
“As long as you don’t leave me,” Fluttershy said quietly.
“Once you get going, I don’t think you’ll really worry that much if I were not,” said Sunset, “You’ll shine out there.”
“As long as I have my friends,” Fluttershy said, now with a bit of a smile. Sunset smiled and put an assuring arm around her shoulder as she gave her a reassuring rub as they went back out for the second set.
As this was going on, a stretch limo pulled up to the outside of the festival area, and out stepped the Dazzlings. They were wearing some beautiful summer garb, but they had their hair done up different from what they usually did, and they colored their hair temporarily, and all of this so as not to be detected. She thanked their chauffeur as they went, and the car drove off. Because of their new pendant, they practically ruled the neighborhood in which they now lived. They had no care for anything now, and were anxious for more as what they had in mind could mean the rule of the whole city, and then the world. They looked over the sights, and Sonata was all excited about all the activities there was to do. Adagio rolled her eyes and said, “Keep focused. We’re not here to have fun. We’re here to observe the music and style of our doubles. When we execute this, we have to be convincing. After that, we could sing, ‘Jimmy Crack Corn,’ and no one would care. This stupid world will bow to us, and then, Equestria!”
“But, they don’t play until later?” protested, “What do we do until then?”
Adagio had not thought of that, and she then said, “Okay, I get it. Blend in, then. At least, like this, we will not be mistaken for the others. That has caused us some trouble, but after this, they won’t be an issue.”
She hadn’t seen Sonata slip off, and after Adagio finished speaking, Sonata came up holding two large plushies, all atwitter. Adagio was ready to lose it and said, “I said, blend in, not stand out like a human in Equestria!”
“But they were cute!” she protested, “The nice men at the booth over there were so generous.”
Adagio looked past her at a gaming booth that was not one where the odds were never going to be in the player’s favor. However, the two men there, Flim and Flam, were looking back at Sonata lovingly, not even caring about their booth. “All I did was what we’ve done back home, and that was that.”
Adagio wanted to get mad, but then relaxed and said, “Okay, I cannot entirely fault you, but don’t be so obvious!”
Sonata turned gleeful, and Adagio was now worried if the limo was going to be loaded with so many toys that they won’t be able to fit in it.
Midsummer’s Dream, in the meantime, was looking around the festival, deciding to relax and have some fun so as to keep themselves calm for the show. There was no use in going over things more than they had. They knew that doing so would wear themselves out mentally. As would be expected, Jack and Starlight were together, enjoying the games and treats before the Rainbooms began their second set, while Andante was with them, playing chaperone, so to speak, at their request. Because of the way things were, they wanted there to be someone there to keep them from getting more romantic than they wanted to be, knowing that the feelings they now had were strong, but could not be indulged; it would make parting so much harder. However, they were still allowing themselves to be tactile with one another, with hands on shoulders, an occasional rub on the back, even holding hands. Andante, however, watched the two, and she wondered if they could really part without issue.
The Rainbooms then retook the stage and continued with their set, doing many of Fluttershy’s and Dash’s songs, as well as a few covers here and there. About a third of the way into the set, it was time for Fluttershy’s solo. She was practically trying to hide behind one of her conga drums, hoping they would forget about her and just keep going. She was let down, unfortunately, as Dash then said, “Okay, grab you’re sweethearts and get ready to hold them tight. The most romantic voice in our band is going to come out and sing one for you!”
The crowd all cheered, and Fluttershy nearly went into the fetal position behind the drum, shaking like a leaf. When she did not emerge, Dash said, “Yes, here comes Fluttershy!”
The crowd cheered again, and still, Fluttershy did not emerge. The waiting throng, growing impatient, started to clap in unison, hoping something would happen. Sunset, seeing disaster, went up to her and said, “Fluttershy, we’ve already announced you.”
“Really, you don’t have to have me do this,” she said, almost crying, “There are so many people out there.”
“What is to fear,” reasoned Sunset, “There are so many faces out there that don’t know you from anyone else, and many who may never see you again. Just go out and have fun.”
“Really, you all should be the stars,” Fluttershy weakly protested, “This really isn’t needed.”
Sunset was not having it. She grabbed Fluttershy by the arm and pulled her out. “This is for your own good,” said a slightly aggravated Sunset. When she did come up, the audience dropped their synchronized clapping and cheered enthusiastically. “See, they like you,” said Sunset, to which Fluttershy muttered, “Or they are just being polite.”
Sunset positioned her before the mic and sighed as she said, “Okay, trust me on this. Close your eyes and take a deep breath.”
Fluttershy did so, and Sunset then told her to let it out slowly. This she did and began to relax. Sunset, however, then said, “Now, keep your eyes closed.”
She nodded to Rarity to start playing. Pinkie began to tap her closed high hat cymbals to keep the beat. AJ started to play the low bass line, and Sunset whispered to Fluttershy, saying, “Okay, just feel the music and the mood. Picture someone you really care about that fits the song and pretend you are singing to that one.”
Fluttershy started feeling better once she could not see who was watching her and somehow began to sing a song entitled, “Eternal Flame.” She started real quiet, still not sure about things, and the audience strained to hear her. Fluttershy, however, instead of thinking about some kind of sweetheart or such, decided to picture herself, as if she was trying to reassure herself that she was worth any of the attention she was now getting. The image she was imagining began to smile some, and Fluttershy began to smile outwardly. As that happened, the music started to swell as the song gained momentum, and Fluttershy picked up her volume. She still had not opened her eyes, but she now looked into it. As the song approached the bridge, she opened her eyes, and she attacked the song with full emotion. She was not even looking at the audience, gazing over them, and singing to no one in particular, but she was yet singing to them. As she approached the end of the song, her voice was soaring into the high notes and trilling her vocals. All the while, part of the audience was mesmerized and cheering, while the other half was in a slow close dance, lost in the romance of the moment.
In the crowd, Jack and Starlight were dancing themselves. Andante was watching, looking to politely interrupt them with some minor unrelated thing to keep things where the two requested it, but the way they were looking at each other, she just could not bring herself to stop it. Yet, somehow, she knew she just might not have to. Meanwhile, the couple was lost in the thing, but then they stopped, and then they looked a bit down, realizing they were letting things get the better of them. Then, Starlight got bold and hugged him tightly, saying, “Look, I don’t care anymore. I like how I feel right now, how we feel. I know it will be hard to part, but let me have this moment.”
He held her as well now, realizing how silly they were being, resisting this. She then said, “I’ve never really been this close to a male before, and I like this. I might have someone over on the other side, and I don’t know how that will go, but you are what I have here. So, for now, please, let’s just enjoy this and have some good memories. Please, for my sake, I need this so much.”
Jack finally surrendered and said with concession, “Okay, for the summer, and for your sake. You told me how things were for you, and if this helps you, then so be it.”
With that, they danced some more, and Jack lifted her chin and kissed her very tenderly. Yet, he felt the kiss as bittersweet; there was always going to be in the back of his head that this was not going to last, and he hoped that he could let her go.
The Rainbooms finished the set and even had an encore of three songs as the audience had eaten up the performance with vigor. When they came off, all pony’d out, they were abuzz with how much fun that had been. Midsummer’s Dream came up to congratulate them, and they noticed that Jack and Starlight were joined at the hip. Sunset saw this, and she gave Starlight a glance out of the corner of her eye. Starlight weakly said, “I can explain later on.”
Sunset wanted to say something, but thought better of it, knowing that Midsummer’s Dream had yet to perform, and she didn’t want to disrupt their mojo. Meanwhile, Fluttershy was getting congratulated by her bandmates, and Fluttershy said, “I don’t know where it came from. It almost seemed I was not even there, but in another world.”
“You were in the moment,” said Jack, “You were in the isness of the moment.”
Fluttershy looked confused and said, “I don’t get it.”
Jack then said, “You see, when you give yourself over to your craft, especially in the moment of performing, you begin to envelop yourself into the isness of the moment to the point where you become the thing itself. When I say, ‘The thing,’ I mean whatever it is that is being created at the moment you do what you do; you become the thing itself. If you try to then figure out how you are doing what you are doing, or why it is happening, you then go one step detached from the thing, and you are no longer a part of it. It won’t be as unique. You stayed in the moment, and you really let it fly.”
She still looked a bit confused, but the then said, “Well, I guess I get it a little, but I hope I can be the thing, whatever that is, again.”
“You stay in music, you will,” assured Jack. Meanwhile, Trixie was bringing in her magic act and hugged Sunset, all happy to have seen how well the band had done and went on the stage for the lunchtime show. She then looked back at Starlight and Jack and wondered if they were doing the right thing.