//------------------------------// // 35 – Falling In and Out of Place // Story: Playing House // by Krickis //------------------------------// Act V New Paths in the New Year ⠀ Chapter Thirty-Five Falling In and Out of Place ⠀ ⠀ Everything was falling into place. It had taken a long time, over a year since Rainbow and Lightning Dust had first decided to form the band, not to mention months of practice. Things got lost along the way – songs discarded for not being good enough, hours wasted working on material they no longer played, even their first rhythm guitarist. And yet, it had all brought them here. It wasn’t their first show. It was the first that Fluttershy had booked for them, but she’d worked diligently to get them more. They’d played two small shows to date, which hadn’t gotten them any real attention but had given them the practice they needed. But this one was different. True, no one had come to see them specifically, but the New Year’s Bash was a packed event where they might earn their first true fans. It could be a turning point for the band, and Fluttershy had a good feeling about it. They were playing in the middle of the event, at the nine o’clock slot, and they passed the time by sitting around watching the other bands and pretending they weren’t nervous. “We’re gonna own this show,” Lightning Dust said as another band finished. There was only one more band before Bitchette’s set. “You know it’s not a contest, right?” Lemon Zest asked. She fidgeted nervously. Out of everyone in the band, she was the least experienced at playing in front of an audience, having never been in a band before Bitchette. Lightning Dust shrugged. “Doesn’t have to be. We’re still the best band here.” “Dust is right,” Fluttershy said. “You’re going to be great up there.” “I just wish it was our turn,” Rainbow said. “I hate this waiting around part.” “Come on, Dash,” Windfall said as he nudged her. “That doesn’t sound like you. Where’s your confidence?” “I never said I was worried,” Rainbow defended, even though it was obvious that she was. “I just hate waiting around is all.” “Relax, Dash,” Lightning said. “We kicked ass at the last two shows, didn’t we? We got this.” “I guess, I just… Is that Flash?” Everyone turned towards where Rainbow was looking. Sure enough, Flash Sentry was looking around the venue. Rainbow waved to him and he noticed them, then smiled and made his way over. “Hey, Rainbow, Fluttershy,” he said as he walked up. “Hey, Flash,” Rainbow said. “What are you doing here?” “What else? I’m here to see your show!” “Even though we kicked your friend out of the band?” Flash shrugged. “Ringo can be difficult. If anything, I’m sorry for dropping him on you all.” Lightning Dust folded her arms and grinned. “So this is the Flash Sentry that left us with that deadbeat.” “That’d be me.” Rainbow made introductions, and they all scooted closer together to make room for Flash at their table. It was great to see that Flash had made it out to support them, but it did underline Fluttershy’s disappointment that someone else hadn’t. She tried to put it behind her, but couldn’t shake the feeling. “I’ll be right back,” Fluttershy said before excusing herself to the front of the venue where it was a little quieter. She pulled out her phone and found Sunset in her contacts. The phone rang a couple of times before Sunset answered. “Hey, Shy. Thought you’d be busy with the concert.” “Hi, Sunny. Uhm, Rainbow’s band hasn’t started yet. There’s still time if you, uhm…” There was a bit of hesitation of Sunset’s end, or maybe she just wasn’t sure if Fluttershy was going to finish the thought. “I just… I don’t know. I’m still not sure Rainbow really wants me there. She was kind of staring daggers at me when I showed up with you on Christmas.” “I know. But I talked to her, and… and you don’t have to come for her. You could come for me instead.” Sunset waited a moment, then sighed. “You’re too good at this, you know that?” Fluttershy giggled. “So you’ll come?” “Yeah, I’ll come.” “Alright, but you better hurry. There’s only one band before Bitchette goes on.” “Okay. I’ll see you soon.” “Love you.” “Love you, too.” Fluttershy smiled as she hung up. There. Now everything was falling into place. With that settled, she returned to the others. They were exactly as Fluttershy had left them, still watching the next band set up while trying to convince each other that none of them were nervous. “Everything okay?” Windfall asked as she sat down. “Yeah, I was just calling Sunset. She’s on her way.” “Oh, Sunset’s coming?” Rainbow asked. “That’s… great!” It was painfully obvious that Sunset was right about Rainbow not wanting her at the show. Still, Fluttershy knew she did the right thing for everyone. If they just spent a little more time together like this, they would remember why they were friends in the first place. “Oh, so you and Sunset are still friends then,” Flash said. “That’s good to hear.” “Actually, we got back together over the holidays,” Fluttershy said. Flash broke into a grin. “Well that’s even better then! Congratulations! I know we haven’t hung out much, but from the way Sunset talked about you, it always felt like you were perfect for each other.” Fluttershy smiled back, blushing a little. “Thank you. I think we have something really special, and I’m glad we have another chance.” Lightning Dust made gagging motions at the sentimentality, so Lemon Zest elbowed her. Everyone else just laughed. The next band starting put an end to the conversation, as it grew too loud to talk. Everyone turned their attention to them as they wasted no time in launching into their first song. It was good, but Bitchette was the better band by far. The band did make for a good way to pass the time, though. Not to mention every live band was something to be studied. What did they do, and how did the audience respond? Whether good or bad, there were lessons to be learned that could be folded into Bitchette’s sets. They watched for about half of the set before Rainbow got Fluttershy’s attention. Fluttershy leaned in and Rainbow brought her mouth right next to Fluttershy’s ear so she could hear. “We’re going backstage to get ready. You coming?” Fluttershy knew she should. She was Bitchette’s manager as well as their first supporter. She should stay with them. But Sunset was coming, and Fluttershy wanted to be there to greet her. She shook her head and put her mouth to Rainbow’s ear. “I’ll go back soon. Before you go on stage, promise.” Rainbow flashed her a thumbs up, then left with the rest of the band, leaving only Flash and Fluttershy. Flash gestured to the band as they walked away. “They on next?” Fluttershy nodded. She looked around and frowned. “I hope Sunset shows up soon…” Flash cupped a hand around his ear, and Fluttershy repeated louder so he could hear. He nodded. “She hasn’t texted you?” Fluttershy immediately felt silly. Of course she wouldn’t hear if Sunset had texted. She dug her phone out and sure enough, there was a text sent a few minutes ago. Unfortunately, it only said she was heading out the door. Fluttershy sighed, and Flash tapped her on the shoulder. “Bad news?” Instead of trying to answer, she just showed Flash the text. He nodded. “I can wait for her if you wanna go back with them.” Fluttershy shook her head. “I want to see her when she gets here.” Flash nodded and turned back to watch the band. They finished up with the song they were playing and gave a small speech, introducing the band members by name. Fluttershy barely listened, more focused on her phone as if paying attention to it would make Sunset’s text that she arrived come sooner. But as song after song ended, Sunset still hadn’t shown up. Eventually the band announced this would be their last song and Fluttershy was forced to make a decision. She cast one more glance to her phone and shoved it back in her pocket, then turned to Flash. He leaned in to hear her better. “Could you wait for Sunset after all? I really should be with them before they go on.” Flash smiled and gave her a thumbs up. “Leave it to me!” “Thank you. See you soon!” Fluttershy stood up and made her way through the crowd to the backstage area. She was briefly stopped by one of the venue employees, but he let her go without issues when she told him she was Bitchette’s manager. It was much quieter backstage, although the music was still easy to make out. Fluttershy found she preferred it to the overwhelming noise of being in the crowd. And it certainly helped when she found Bitchette, as they were actually able to talk without much difficulty. “How’s everyone feeling?” she asked as she approached them. Lightning grinned. “I feel great!” “I feel sick…” Lemon Zest said. “You’re going to do great,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “Yeah, we got this!” Lightning clapped her on the back. “I just want to get on that stage already,” Rainbow said. “Once I’m on stage, everything works out. But this waiting…” “Yeah, I’m with Dash,” Windfall said. “I’m sure we’ll be fine, but I’m ready to get this thing going.” Lemon Zest stood up and looked around. “Okay, but I’m seriously gonna be sick.” “Oh. Really?” Windfall asked before he and Fluttershy had to step aside as she ran out of the room. “I… guess that’s one way to answer that.” Everyone looked at each other. “I’ll… go after her and make sure she’s okay,” Lightning Dust said. She walked out of the room casually. “Guess it must be the crowd,” Windfall said. “She wasn’t this bad before the other shows.” “At least she got to warm up to this,” Rainbow said. “When me and Shy were in the Rainbooms, our first show was in front of the whole school.” “That was terrifying…” Fluttershy added. “But awesome!” Although Fluttershy remembered it being somewhat less than awesome, she smiled anyway. “Just like tonight is going to be.” “Exactly!” “You know, this is probably about as big as the biggest crowd I’ve played before,” Windfall said. “A little less pressure since back then we had our own fans that we needed to sound good for, but still, more or less the same size.” “How many bands you been in, Windfall?” Rainbow asked. “Bitchette is my fourth, although one of them never got to playing shows. One of them just did a few small gigs, a cover band at birthday parties and that sort of thing. The third one got kinda far locally, but then we graduated high school and suddenly everyone had other priorities.” “Yeah, that’s the same as what happened with the Rainbooms,” Rainbow said. “I miss playing with them, but it’s nice to be in a band where everyone’s primary focus is the band. Er, no offense, Shy.” “I understand,” Fluttershy said. “And I agree. There was no way the Rainbooms were ever going to break out of the local scene since you were the only one who really wanted to be a musician.” The band on stage finished their last song and thanked the audience, reminded them where they could listen to their music, and wrapped up their set. Fluttershy glanced nervously towards the door. “Think I should go and check on them?” “We have a few minutes,” Windfall pointed out. “Even from the bathroom, they should be able to hear that the band finished, and they know we’re next.” “I guess that’s true…” They sat around a few minutes longer as the band disassembled their gear. Just as someone came to tell them it was time to set up, Lemon Zest and Lightning Dust returned, and they didn’t return alone. “Sunny!” Fluttershy beamed as Sunset followed them in. “Hey, Shy.” “We picked up a stray on the way back,” Lightning Dust said with a wink. “Figured she seemed like your type.” Fluttershy held out her arms and Sunset accepted her hug. As they pulled apart, Fluttershy shifted her attention to Lemon Zest. “How are you feeling?” “Well… shitty.” Lemon Zest smiled. “But I think I can hold it together for the show.” “The anticipation is always worse,” Fluttershy said, hoping that was true. She knew that it wasn’t for her when she first started playing. The actual show was at least as bad as the anticipation, every time. At least Lemon Zest nodded. “Yeah. Anyway, we should set up, right?” “Well, we don’t have any roadies to do it for us,” Lightning Dust said. “So yeah, we better get to it.” The band left with Fluttershy giving them her final reminders that they were going to do great. Once they were gone, she and Sunset sat down beside each other. “Did you see Flash on the way in?” Fluttershy asked. “No, must’ve missed him. Didn’t know he was showing up.” “Poor Flash. We’ll have to go out and find him when the band starts.” “We could go find him now,” Sunset pointed out. Fluttershy placed her hands on Sunset’s shoulders. She had other plans. “Well, we could…” Sunset smirked, catching on quickly. “I missed you.” “Christmas was just last week, Sunny.” “I know. But I still missed you.” She placed her hands on Fluttershy’s sides and bent down to kiss her. Fluttershy kissed her back, but then pushed her away from the door. The fact that Sunset fell back into the wall was just an added bonus. Although she was much shorter than Sunset, Fluttershy pressed her girlfriend against the wall as she kissed her passionately. Sunset hardly seemed to mind, Pulling Fluttershy closer as they kissed. Despite being the one to suggest they take things slow, Fluttershy was already thinking about going to Sunset’s house after the concert. She had several things in mind that she’d like to do in private… “So what was that about not missing me?” Sunset asked as they pulled apart. “I didn’t say I didn’t miss you.” Fluttershy leaned her head against Sunset’s chest. “Hmm, you implied it.” “Shush.” “Nah, if you want me to keep quiet, you’ll have to make sure my mouth is doing something else.” Fluttershy giggled and gave Sunset one more quick kiss. “Someone’s feeling naughty tonight.” “Says the girl who pinned me to a wall.” “I didn’t say which one of us.” Sunset grinned widely. “Is that so? Should I get my hopes up then?” “Maybe. But first, we –” The sound of a drumroll followed by a whole band playing in unison cut off the rest of Fluttershy’s thought. Bitchette had launched immediately into their first song with no introduction. “So should we go out and meet Flash?” “Probably.” They stepped out of the room, but Sunset smiled and jerked her head away from the crowd. “Flash can wait for a song or two. Let’s get the backstage view.” Fluttershy nodded. This was the first venue they’d played that was large enough to have a proper backstage area, and she was interested in seeing what it was like to watch the band from the shadows. They walked as close to the stage as they could without getting on it. They were down a few steps from the band, but that meant the audience wouldn’t be able to see them and they had a good view. Granted, it was a view of everyone’s backs, but they were able to see the band up close and in a way that most people never would. And even though they were right next to the stage, it wasn’t as loud as being in the crowd since the speakers were pointed away from them. After their first song, someone else joined them back there. He must have been an executive at the venue because, on top of being backstage, he was wearing a suit. Hoping he was someone important enough to get them invited back to the venue, Fluttershy decided to play up her role as manager to talk up the band. “Enjoying the show?” He turned to her and smiled. “They’re pretty good. You heard them before?” “Yes. I’m the band’s manager.” He seemed to regard her more seriously. “You don’t say? They’re already big enough to need a manager, huh?” That wasn’t really true, but it would make them sound better. “Yes, they’ve been doing very well locally. We’re looking into our options to get a tour started soon.” Technically, they had started talking about a tour as a fun what if more than anything. Still, they had started talking about it, so it wasn’t a lie. “They do seem to have some good stage presence.” He thought about something for a second, then turned to Fluttershy with a smile. “Think I’ll go see how they look from the crowd.” “Hope you enjoy the show.” He left them alone and Sunset put her arm around Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Look at you, hyping up the band.” Fluttershy leaned against Sunset. “You know, when I first started managing the band, I had to stop and think about what you would do before talking to anyone.” Sunset kissed the top of her head. “I don’t think I’d be much of a manager, but I’m glad I was able to help somehow.” They watched for a few more songs before deciding to get out into the crowd. Sunset helped them push through the sea of people while Fluttershy guided them to the table they’d had before. Flash wasn’t at the table anymore, and after a few more minutes of looking, they gave up. They hadn’t managed to find Flash, but they did get to a good vantage point to watch the rest of the show. It was far too loud to talk comfortably, but that was okay. Sunset kept hold of Fluttershy as they watched, and Fluttershy couldn’t imagine a better place to be. She only wished she could freeze this moment in place, to keep it going for a little longer than an hour long set. And it was a hell of a show to watch. Bitchette really did have a natural stage presence. Rainbow’s, Lightning’s, and Windfall’s experience being in live bands clearly showed, as all of them knew how to hype up the audience. In particular, Lightning Dust acted as a second frontwoman for the band, announcing songs and talking to the audience. And while she may not have had experience playing in a band, Lemon Zest had been working under extreme pressure for her entire time at high school, and she really did handle it like a pro after she was past the anticipation. Even more importantly, the crowd responded well to the show. They cheered for songs even though they didn’t know them, and answered every call that Rainbow or Lightning Dust gave. There was an active mosh pit for most of the show, and everyone seemed to have a great time. Including Sunset. That was what really made Fluttershy feel like things were falling into place. If even Sunset was enjoying herself while watching Rainbow’s show, there was no doubt that it was good. They cheered as loud as anyone else when the last song ended, then they quickly made their way backstage to greet the band once more. Instead, they ran into the man in the suit. He smiled when he saw Fluttershy. “Gotta say, that was a good show. Your band’s got talent.” Fluttershy smiled back. “Thank you.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a business card. “My name’s Silver Song, and I’m a talent scout with Nightfall Records. I want to hear from you. How soon can you get me a demo reel?” Fluttershy was stunned speechless for a second, but she was saved by Sunset. “Doesn’t Bitchette already have some songs online?” “Yes,” Fluttershy said after once she finally found her voice. “But I can send you something better. Give me a week to put together a really professional demo tape and I’ll send it your way.” “Sounds good. I have high hopes for this partnership.” He flashed a grin. “Trust me, no one can take care of you like I can.” “Thank you so much, Mr. Song. I promise you’ll like what you hear.” “I expect I will.” “What’s going on?” Rainbow asked as she walked down from the stage. Silver Song flashed her a grin as well. “Well, if it isn’t the frontwoman herself. Name’s Silver Song, and I was just talking to your manager here about a business opportunity.” “What kind of opportunity?” Rainbow asked as Lightning Dust and Windfall came down. Lemon Zest must have been still on the stage disassembling her drum kit. “The kind that gets you in a studio and on the road. Nightfall Records wants to hear from you.” Everyone looked at each other, and Fluttershy worried that they were going to start freaking out in front of him. Not wanting to look unprofessional, she smiled at them and said, “We shouldn’t take up Mr. Song’s time. I’m sure he came here for more than just us.” He nodded and checked his watch. “Right you are. Now if you’ll excuse me, time is money. Gotta run, but I’ll be looking for your email.” “Of course. Thank you again.” He waved them off then left, and Fluttershy let out a sigh. “I can’t believe it…” she said to no one in particular. “Did we seriously just score a label already?” Lightning Dust asked. “Someone please tell me that’s what just happened.” “That’s what it sounds like,” Windfall said. “Well, he still wants a demo,” Fluttershy pointed out. “And he didn’t say exactly what he had in mind for us. But it sounds like a label might be a possibility.” “We need to celebrate!” Windfall said. “We need to get somewhere we can talk about this! We… we need to help Lemon Zest with her drums.” They all turned to see Lemon Zest trying to carry more of her drumkit than she could manage and nearly dropping it. Windfall and Sunset rushed up to help her. Once they got Lemon Zest’s drums down and packed up into Rainbow’s van, they got together before going back inside to figure out what to do. “I say we ditch the rest of the concert,” Lightning Dust said. “We should celebrate!” “Isn’t that kind of rude?” Lemon Zest asked. “Skipping out on the rest of the bands and all.” “Half the bands don’t even show up until it’s time for them to go on,” Rainbow pointed out. “I don’t think they’ll care.” “We should get Flash, at least,” Fluttershy said. “He’s probably wondering where we all got to…” “I think I saw him get in the pit,” Windfall said with a smirk. “So something tells me he wasn’t feeling too left out.” “I’ll go hunt him down,” Sunset said. “You all probably want to talk plans and stuff anyway.” “Tell him I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said. “Will do.” Sunset pulled out her phone as she walked back into the building. Fluttershy turned back to the rest of the band. They were catching Lemon Zest up on what she missed. “Oh man, you couldn’t have him stick around for like two more minutes?” she asked. Rainbow grinned and put an arm around Fluttershy. “I’m sure you’ll have the chance to meet him soon, thanks to Shy.” Fluttershy blushed a little. “Oh, you all were the ones who put on a show that impressed him, I just talked you up a bit.” “So we’ve gotta send him a demo that’ll win us a label within a week,” Windfall said. “Talk about pressure.” “I still have some connections at Crystal Prep,” Lemon Zest offered. “Maybe I can get us in one of their recording studios.” “That’d be sweet!” Lightning Dust said. “Doesn’t Flash study music?” Rainbow asked. “Maybe we can ask him to come to help out.” “That’s a good idea,” Fluttershy said. They kept talking over ideas of how to make the best demo they possibly could while they waited for Sunset and Flash to show up. It wasn’t long, and once they filled Flash in on what was happening, he was happy to offer his assistance. “But you know, it’s only my second year of being a music theory major. I haven’t even gotten into the advanced stuff yet.” Rainbow shrugged. “Hey, you probably know more than us.” “Most of us,” Lightning said with a grin. “So, where are we celebrating?” Sunset asked. Everyone looked at each other and laughed, realizing they hadn’t gotten around to that part of their plans. “So, if it comes down to it, are we ready to start touring?” Lemon Zest asked. They were sitting in a corner table at the restaurant where Lightning Dust worked because she’d be able to get them drinks despite the fact that most of the party was underage. They had made good use of it, most of their group being a few drinks in. “Well, I am.” Lightning Dust took a sip of her drink. “I mean, why not? This is what we want, the sooner the better.” “Yeah, it’s bound to happen sooner or later,” Rainbow agreed. “If anyone doesn’t want to tour, then I’m not sure being in a band was a good idea.” “Yeah, I’m cool with at least seeing where things go,” Lemon Zest said. “I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page.” Windfall nodded. “Plus our first tour is probably gonna be pretty small, right? I doubt we’re gonna be sent around the country.” “I dunno,” Flash said. “If they sign you a record deal, they might want to get you on a big tour to promote it. As like an opening act or something.” “True, but in that case they’d want us to record an album first, right?” Windfall asked. “Either way, it’s not like we’re going to be heading out too far right away.” “That’s true,” Fluttershy said, although she wasn’t sure about this all of a sudden. A few weeks ago, the idea of touring had sounded amazing. She’d probably be busy every day, and she’d be able to get away from all her bad memories. But now as she glanced at Sunset, she was filled with doubt about what this would mean for her future. Judging from the look she got in return, it seemed that Sunset was having similar thoughts. “Are we even sure this guy is who he says he is? I don’t want to knock a good thing, but he could be trying to fast talk you into something.” “Seemed alright to me,” Rainbow said with a frown. “I think it’d be worth checking him out if we can,” Lightning said. “I’m not in a hurry to get scammed, you know?” Flash pulled out his phone. “He said he was with Nightfall Records, right? Anyone remember his name.” “Silver Song,” Fluttershy said. She pulled out his business card and handed it to Flash. “He can’t lock us into anything without giving us a contract,” Lemon Zest pointed out. “If he tries to get us to work without a contract or tries to fast talk us into signing one without being able to look it over properly, then we’ll know he’s BS.” “Yeah, fair,” Lightning said. “Still, it’d be nice to know something about the guy.” “Well, he is who he says he is.” Flash set his phone down on the table where the others could see it. There was a picture of Silver Song pulled up on a website that Fluttershy couldn’t read any of from her angle. “This is an official page on the Nightfall Records site with his contact info and everything, it’s the same as on his business card. He might be talking himself up a bit, but he’s legit.” “Still, best to be careful,” Sunset said. “Not saying not to check it out, but you know. Just watch out for something that seems like it might be too good to be true.” “We know, we know,” Rainbow said irritably. Fluttershy pursed her lips. Everyone else could no doubt see that Sunset was just looking out of them, it was just Rainbow who had a problem. She held her tongue and sipped some of the mixed drink she’d ordered, hoping if she didn’t draw attention to it they could move on. Sunset seemed to have a similar idea, although she took more than a sip from her drink. Still, it was better than arguing. “Hopefully they’ll want you to record something first,” Flash said. “They probably will, anyway. A record label kind of needs to put out records to make money, right?” “Yeah, so there’s no point in worrying about touring just yet,” Fluttershy said with a pointed look at Rainbow. “You two okay?” Lightning asked. “Because I really don’t want another scene like last time you were both here.” “We’re fine,” Rainbow said. “Well that makes one of us…” Sunset mumbled. Fluttershy took hold of Sunset’s arm. “Sunny, please…” Sunset sighed and did nothing to hide her irritation. “Yeah. Everything’s just great.” Now it was Rainbow who was drinking to keep quiet. Fluttershy was beginning to think it would be best if she and Sunset left. “So, Shy,” Sunset asked before she could say anything. “If they do go on tour, what do you want to do?” “I… I don’t know,” Fluttershy admitted. She knew it was something that had to be brought up, but she wished Sunset had waited until they were alone to do that. “Wait, aren’t you coming with us?” Lemon Zest asked innocently. Fluttershy cursed internally, wondering how she couldn’t see that was something better to leave alone. “That’s what we talked about when we first brought up touring a while ago.” “I know, Zesty, but things are more complicated now.” “You’re our manager,” Rainbow reminded her. “You should be there with us.” Fluttershy opened her mouth to answer, but Sunset beat her to it. “I think she should make her own decision, Rainbow.” “I think you’re just worried that your girlfriend is going to be away,” Rainbow shot back. Sunset looked at her critically for a moment, then inclined her head. “Well, yeah. No shit I’m worried my girlfriend might be leaving for who knows how long right after we got back together. That’s kind of a big deal.” “Uh, actually, maybe this isn’t the time to talk about this…” Lemon Zest said. “Yeah, come on, we’re here to celebrate!” Windfall reminded them. Rainbow squinted at Sunset. “I don’t know, sounds like we got something to talk about.” “Be cool, Dash,” Lightning Dust said. “I am cool! I just want to know why Sunset is trying to hold Fluttershy back is all.” “Dash…” Fluttershy warned. “I’m not trying to hold her back! I’m just trying to talk this through!” Fluttershy whipped her head towards Sunset. “Sunny, please, keep –” “Fluttershy should go,” Rainbow insisted. “It’s an important career move for her.” “I’m not even saying she shouldn’t,” Sunset said. “I’m just saying that we need to talk about that. And that you shouldn’t be the one making that decision for her!” “Hey, Sunset, maybe talk about that with Fluttershy later?” Flash suggested. “There’s nothing to talk about.” Rainbow stood up. “Fluttershy is our manager, she needs to go.” “No, she doesn’t.” Sunset remained seated. “If you’re set on the tour, then what do you even need a manager with you for? Your shows will be lined up, and you’ll just have to get yourself from place to place.” “Both of you, stop it!” Fluttershy demanded. She turned to Rainbow first, her glare causing Rainbow to sit back down. “Sunset’s right, this is my decision. And you’ve been disagreeing with Sunset all night for no reason other than that you don’t want her to be right.” She turned to Sunset. “And Rainbow’s right that this is important to me. Besides, you knew if you brought it up like that it would start a fight, and don’t try to tell me you didn’t.” Both Sunset and Rainbow stared at the table. Fluttershy sighed and stood up. “I’m going to get some fresh air. I don’t want either of you to follow me.” She turned and walked to the door. At least it was better than Sunset’s birthday, but still. Was it too much to ask that they could behave themselves for one night? As soon as she stepped outside it was apparent it would be a short breath of fresh air. It was far too cold to stay out longer than a few minutes. That was probably for the best, though; as far as she knew, they were already back at each other’s throats as soon as Fluttershy left them alone. No doubt they’d be arguing over who was more in the wrong. It wasn’t right. They were supposed to be friends, but lately, they couldn’t stand the sight of each other. Maybe a tour to separate the two of them for a while really would be a good thing, but then Fluttershy would have to decide which side she’d take. She leaned against the building. What was she supposed to do? She couldn’t even decide which one she wanted to go home with in the immediate future anymore, let alone which one she’d side with when it came time to go on tour. The door opened and Fluttershy winced, but the voice that greeted her wasn’t one she expected. “Uh, hey, Shy…” Lemon Zest said as she stepped outside. “Sorry I made things awkward in there…” “You didn’t do anything, Zesty,” Fluttershy said. “I was the one who brought up the topic though,” Lemon Zest said. “Anyway, I just wanted to check on you. Well, we all did, but we figured it might be best if only one of us came out.” Fluttershy sighed. All of her friends were so considerate to her. She only wished Rainbow and Sunset would extend that same consideration to each other. “I don’t know what to do…” Lemon Zest joined her in leaning on the building. “You’ve got time to figure that out. We still have to see what they even want to do with us, you know?” “I guess so…” “And for whatever it’s worth, I don’t think you need to come with us. It’d be nice if you do, but I’ll still think you’re the best manager ever if you decide to stay here.” Fluttershy smiled a little. “You’ve never even had another manager, how would you know?” “Trust me, I know the best of the best when I see it.” “Thank you, Zesty. That… means a lot to me.” “Don’t mention it.” They stood side by side wordlessly for a few moments while Fluttershy weighed her options. She wasn’t sure what to do about the tour, but she was okay with waiting on that. But there was another far more pressing question at hand… “I have to go home with one of them,” Fluttershy said with a sigh. “Even though I’m upset with both of them.” “At least you have your own room at Rainbow’s, right?” “Yeah. I should just go there.” Lemon Zest shrugged. “If it’s that big of a deal, you could also come to my house tonight if you want.” Fluttershy looked up at her. “Oh. Are you sure?” Lemon Zest smiled. “Yeah, it’d be fine. We’d just have to keep it down since my grandparents are probably asleep already. I don’t have a guest room or anything, but I’m cool with bed sharing if you don’t mind.” “That’s really nice of you, Zesty, but I couldn’t…” Lemon Zest shrugged. “It’s fine with me either way. But if you don’t wanna go back with Rainbow or Sunset, it’s an option.” Fluttershy thought about it. She did hate to impose, but she knew if she went with either of them the other would use it as a reason to be resentful. “Well… if you’re sure, I’d like that.” “Cool, it’ll be fun! Our own super quiet party!” From inside the building, someone announced it was 11:59. “Speaking of parties…” Fluttershy said. “Let’s join the others for New Year’s.” Fluttershy nodded and followed Lemon Zest back into the building. She’d need to tell them both that she wasn’t going to either of their houses tonight, anyway. She just hoped this didn’t set the tone for the rest of the year. Things had fallen into place so well, only to threaten to fall back out so quickly. There was no doubt that whatever the new year brought to Fluttershy, it would be one full of changes. She just had to hope that when the dust settled, everything was in place exactly where it should be.