The concept of a decent night of slumber felt a distant memory. The wonders of deep sleep and pleasant dreams were fond recollections. So now, blank nothingness as she snoozed was itself something of a blessing. Hence why irritation set in immediately when a rap-tap-tap roused Pinkie Pie.
She arose with gritted teeth. Whatever had denied her a little more sleep was surely about to get it. But her stiff upper lip trembled anew when she realized the noise had come from her window and not the door. The tapping sounded again beyond the curtains which dimmed her room. She turned away, smacking her cheeks in hopes she’d wake up from another nightmare.
“Pinkie, c’mon girl. I know the bakery’s not opening for another hour, lemme in.”
Pinkie turned back over and propped up on one elbow. Her eyes searched the curtains, half expecting them to burst open. Was that Rainbow Dash?
“It’s Rainbow Dash.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Pinkie pulled back the curtain. Sure enough, Rainbow hovered outside her window in the early light of morn. Rolled up and tucked under the crook of one hoof was a paper or a poster of some kind. Tentatively, Pinkie opened the window to lean upon the sill. “Well hey. What’s up?”
“Hay is for horses.” teased Dash. She pulled upon the roll and unfurled it like a herald for royalty. “But check this out.”
Pinkie’s uncertain blue eyes peered over the colorful image and the lines of text below it. “A concert?”
“Tomorrow night!” exclaimed Dash with great excitement. “You should totally come with me.”
Gripping her own shoulder, Pinkie told her: “I mean, that sounds nice and all, but I dunno, Dash.”
Rainbow scoffed, feigning as though offended. “Whaddya mean you don’t know? It’s a party. But for music. You love parties and music.”
“It’s just…” Pinkie chewed on her lower lip. She was going to make her say it, wasn’t she? Pinkie really did not want to say it out loud. “I don’t get why you’re inviting me.”
“Uh, because you’re the funnest filly I know, duh.” Rainbow finally stowed the poster when she got a rather sheepish look. She didn’t resign just yet. “Also, you’re the only one who would see this band with me, okay? It’s out of genre for AJ and Rarity, probably Luna too. Plus, there’s definitely gonna be a mosh at some point knowing these guys, and Flutters is too polite to thrash with me in the pit.”
“That’s not what I meant.” squeaked out Pinkie. She faded back from her window and let herself slump down onto the side of her bed.
Rainbow growled with discomfort, her guts tightening. They had to have this conversation, didn’t they? Gingerly, she squeezed in through the window and set down beside her. “Look, not that I’m not disappointed or whatever with how that whole bizz with Luna went down—”
“Bizz?” Pinkie wrinkled up her lip. “I betrayed her, Rainbow.” She sighed, wrapping up her knees to bury her head into. “How can any of you face me after that?”
“Yeah. It was a pretty heavy mistake, dude.” Rainbow laid a hoof on her shoulder. That roused those eyes from beyond the peaks of her knees. Face as bold as she could muster, she told her: “But it was still a mistake. And it doesn’t make you a monster.”
Pinkie refused to rise any further just yet. So her voice was muffled when she said: “I sure feel like a monster.”
“See, this is why I’m inviting you.” Rainbow was practically scowling. Beneath her, Pinkie’s eyes only grew with a greater confusion. “All you’ve done since is wallow here, and that’s just not helping.”
“I-I can’t go face her yet, it—”
“Maybe not, but you’ve gotta remember you have your own life to live, outside of her. You need to get out, go do some things.” She placed her other hoof firmly on that remaining uncertain pink shoulder. “Spend some time and move on. In that time, Luna will move on too. Then, after the both of you have moved on, maybe you can reconcile.”
Pinkie had managed to maintain eye contact for a little while. But it faded, along with what little self-assurance she had left. “You really think we can make up?”
Rainbow was almost taken aback. “She really mean that much to you?”
Those words felt so heavy upon Pinkie’s shoulders where Rainbow held her. Her breath left her, and the corners of her eyes began to sting. There came no words, so she merely nodded.
“Dang, girl, I didn’t know you had it that bad.” sighed Rainbow. The firmness of her stance and grip faded, so she sat down next to her friend. “Look. Maybe she’s the one, and you’ll make up eventually, and have a beautiful spring wedding or whatever.”
“W-with daffodils?” meekly asked Pinkie.
Rainbow lost track of her thoughts. And rather than chase them down, she had to know. “Why daffodils?”
“Fake daffodils are common among clowns to spray someone with water as a gag.” explained Pinkie straightforwardly, but with a low droning tone. She pantomimed the act of squeezing a small bladder device and gestured towards where the false corsage would have been. But her heart simply wasn’t in it.
“Okay,” huffed Rainbow, “the flowers aren’t the point. Because maybe she’s not the one, and you’ll have to move on and learn to love again someday, b-but the point I’m trying to make here is…” She drew her wing over Pinkie. “Staying in your room all the time and avoiding your friends isn’t gonna help you move on so any of that can happen.”
“You’re right.” admitted Pinkie. A weight slid from her shoulders, and her head finally lifted up from her knees. “I’ve spent far too long stuck up here in my own head, and… I don’t think that’s been good for me.”
“Maybe getting outta here for a bit will do ya a world of good.” Rainbow pat her across the back.
At a snail’s pace, Pinkie’s head swiveled over. Her eyes vacant all over again, she mewled: “But I have work today.”
“I didn’t mean right this second, you dork.” Turning from loving to playful, Rainbow lightly shoved against her friend. “I was clearly referring to the concert.”
Where Pinkie had intentionally tumbled from the weak push, she looked up at her friend. For the first time in a while, a genuine giggle escaped her. She rolled over, slipping off the bed, and fwip, up she came with a steady thud of her hooves. As her long, straightened hair settled back over one shoulder, she told her with a little delight: “Ya know what? You’re right. I’d love to go dancing with a pal.”
Dash beamed. “Heeeey, now there’s the Pinkie I know. Just you wait, a quick thrash in the pit with me and you’ll spring back.”
A mischievous glee spread across Pinkie’s devious face. If one didn’t know better, they might assume she delighted at the prospect of thrashing and bashing. As Rainbow stood up, Pinkie met her halfway, clasping their hooves together with a healthy click, and said: “I look forward to it.”
“Fantastic! I’ll swing by tomorrow at six and we’ll head there together.” Plans set, Rainbow took her leave. She carefully crouched through the window and soared away.
Pinkie Pie took her sweet time. The window creaked as it closed painfully slowly. Smile fading, she stared at the pane within the frame, expecting it any moment now. Nothing came.
Ear flickering, she knew where next to look. Upon her desk sat the mirror she’d finally started using lately. She stretched her head to the side, and the reflection of her face came into view. Sitting down, she glanced over her reflected self, then around the room in the shiny portal behind her. Still nothing.
Her heart easesd, and her smile came back. “Heh… heheh.”
Silence had never felt so good. When she laughed a couple times, a couple hairs curled up. Compulsively, she reached for her comb to smooth them back down. And as she groomed, she smiled at herself, even humming a little melody, one that sounded so vaguely familiar.
It seemed as though she was finally poised to climb on out of this slump. The voice of her guilt was gone, and she wouldn’t convince herself she was some monster any longer.
“Have a nice one.” said Luna, but the patron didn’t respond. She watched him nervously scurry away with his borrowed books, peering over his shoulder the whole time at the imposing guard on watch who insisted on looming over the counter. Try as she might to stop herself, a little groan of irritation escaped her.
Marble Glade perked up. She had been looking out across the library, keeping an eye on the shadows of every corner. Her life as a soldier had prepped her well for this honor. And now her charge might be in need. “What is it, my lady?”
Drawing breath with considerable effort, Luna closed the space between her open hooves with a resounding click. “Now Marble. I know you’re just trying to do your job, but don’t you think there might be something a tad disconcerting about an armored guard scowling by my side at a library of all things?”
Marble Glade studied Luna’s face a moment, reading the air of disapproval. There came a clink when she felt at her chest piece. “This armor was earned with great honors.” She felt at her face, which luckily sounded much less metallic. “And you think I have a scowly face?”
“I didn’t say your face was scowly, merely your expression.” explained Luna thinly guising her exasperation. She drew a breath to refocus.
“No, I see what it is you’re getting at, my lady.” nodded Marble.
Propping her elbow onto her counter, Luna told her: “And you needn’t call me ‘my lady,’ either. My name would do rather nicely.”
For a tiny moment, the corner of Marble’s mouth nearly cracked into the tiniest of smirks. “Forgive an old knight, Luna. Habits that span decades are tricky to part with.” She peered toward the shelves, where another seeker of text ducked her little head upon noticing her gaze. The ghost of her smile faded once more. “At any rate… what would you have me do? I need to be on hoof should the moment arrive.”
“I should think myself capable of handling that.” complained Luna, knowing full well the suggestion had already been heard and promptly ignored. Though, perhaps it was less about independent combat prowess, and more to do with having to sleep with the two of them in bed rolls in her room. That had been difficult to abide.
“I don’t doubt that, truly I don’t.” Marble could see quite plainly that was unsatisfactory of a response. So with great hesitation, she added: “Your sister doesn’t either. I’ll tell you as she told me: ‘I only want my sister safe, and there’s safety in numbers.’”
“But I have numbers.” complained Luna with frustration. Tossing her powder blue bangs aside, she told Marble: “It is well known that my friends and I bested Nightmare once. We could do it again, surely.”
“But can your friends be at your side at all times?” Much like any good fight, sometimes persuasion required the right angle of attack. Marble found one to press. “They have their little lives to lead, no?”
Luna’s previously assured gaze faltered. And when Marble’s own eyes scrutinized, she cast her view aside. “You’re right. I should loathe to be a burden. Why, I haven’t even told any of them about it yet, I… I don’t want them to worry.”
Marble placed a solemn hoof upon Luna’s shoulder. “Rest assured, Luna. As a knight, my oath is my life. Ruby and I shall see you through this.”
“Fine.” huffed Luna with an air of defeat. “You win. I’ll stop trying to convince you two to abandon your charge.”
Smiles are all good and well. But Marble, she was a prideful one. She merely allowed herself to smirk. “We shan’t let you down.”
“But,” announced Luna with a resurgence of her own pride, “I still want Ruby behind the counter with me instead.” In this, she was resolute. “No offense, but you are a touch intense, and I can’t have you scaring the library’s patrons away.”
“Ruby is…” Marble’s ears folded back. “She’s adequate.”
“She’s approachable.” retorted Luna with a level gaze. “Look at it this way, if we have a softer immediate front, it’ll raise less suspicion that something’s amiss.”
Luna got her way. Ruby took Marble’s place as her shadow, and Marble went upstairs to monitor the perimeter from the windows in the loft. Luna wasn’t wild about a stranger ambling about her room all day, but was nonetheless more at ease having a friendlier face on hoof. Before heading up, Marble’s parting order was: “Call upon me at the first sign of danger, dea—I mean, Ruby. I’m… counting on you.”
“I won’t let you down.” With great resolve, Ruby took to her post, standing tall as she could manage. She remained attentive and vigilant there, a broad smile upon her lips. And then thirty minutes passed. Her chin slipped off her hoof where she’d propped herself up, and her helmet hit the main desk with a heavy thunk!
Luna had been pushing her cart nearby with a few scant out of place books on it when she heard. Hoof to her bemused chin, she said: “Goodness. Lucky you had your helmet on, else that mighty foe would surely have bested you.”
“You don’t think my mom heard that, did she?” Ruby eyed the stairs with great anxiety. “Oh man, she’s counting on me, and I messed up again.”
“Whoa now,” bade Luna in a worried tone, “calm down a moment. It’s alright, it was just a momentary lapse. Happens to me too when there’s less to do around here, especially on weekday mornings like this.”
With a sigh and a heavy heart, Ruby removed her helmet and set it down on the counter she helped overlook. Matted down locks of frizzy blonde hair tumbled over her brow, relaxing and breathing at last as she looked at herself in the warped reflection of the polished steel. Somehow these gilded waves seemed to weigh heavier upon her head than the metal had. “But I can’t keep letting her down.”
Luna glanced about the library. It was thankfully empty at the moment. There were some small graces to slow weekday mornings after all. She ambled over and said: “You know, that doesn’t strike me as a very soldierly hairstyle.”
“I’m overdue for a cut.” bemoaned Ruby, feeling and brushing at her messy bangs.
“Well.” said Luna quite simply. She left it there to hang on the air a moment, slowly bringing up one shoulder, inviting conversation when she finally asked: “Do you want a cut?”
“I need one.” replied Ruby without a second thought, looking up.
“But do you want one, though?” asked Luna a second time. She had shrugged so high by now, her shoulders nearly reached her jawline. They could go no higher, so she raised her brows instead.
“I don’t follow.” Ruby searched Luna’s face for some hidden meaning, one she couldn’t quite parse.
Luna’s brows fell right back down. Perhaps there was at least one way in which this apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree. Subtle social cues weren’t a strong point for either of them. “Listen, Ruby, I sincerely hope I’m not overstepping here in saying that, well… you don’t seem all that interested in becoming a knight like your mother.”
The look of confoundment upon Ruby’s face slowly turned to that of despair. The words struggled to form on her tightened lip for a moment. “Well. I mean. I dunno.”
“It’s alright if I’m mistaken. Stars above know it wouldn’t be the first time.” Luna gave her a second, readying to keep on with her cart if she’d rather not have this particular conversation.
The door swung open. In strode an excited unicorn, bangs bouncing where her horn parted them with each playful prance. From her bag, she produced a roll of parchment, proudly presenting it before Luna, proclaiming: “Luna, check this out!”
Luna caught Ruby piping up out of the corner of her eye. They’d have to come back to this later. For now, she glossed over the unrolled paper. “Is this good news, then?”
Churlish in expression, Hope-Heart rerolled her poster, stuffing it back into her bag. “It’s a concert, silly.”
“And you’re… inviting me?” Doubtless that had to be the reason for coming around when she’s off for the next two days, but Luna liked certainty.
“I know I said I wanted to keep our relationship at a certain professional distance since you became my boss,” admitted Hope with all the honesty of a traveling merchant in one’s doorway in need of a third no, “but I figured with everything going on lately, you could stand to unwind a little, ya know? Plus you’ll finally get to try some modern music, first-hoof.”
“Nice as that sounds, I’m not sure how my current retainers would take to this.” Luna glanced back toward Ruby. As genuine a concern as it might’ve been, it also worked as a way to let her back into the conversation.
“They can totally come too.” said Hope without missing a beat. A wicked thought occurred to her, and she added: “I bet that tall one would do great in a mosh pit.”
Ruby chuckled aloud, despite trying to hide it. “She’d probably wreck half the crowd and not even notice.”
“See, that’s the spirit.” jeered Hope, skipping over to the counter. She leaned upon it, looking Ruby up and down. “Say, Ruby was it?”
Clutching the loose helmet to her chest, the squat pegasus could hardly manage to cough up a response. “Uh. Yes?”
“I never caught you with your helmet off before.” added Hope with a bright smile. She moved on as Ruby tried to stammer a response to that. “I kinda like your hair. You know your way around a mosh?”
“Um.” said Ruby, the grapefruit shade of her cheeks deepening to a red not unlike the type of wine ripe for causing the exact kind of drunk-like confusion and loss for words she felt. “I-I’ve been through basic training, so—”
“Great,” interrupted Hope with glee, “it’s practically the same thing.”
“Well,” said Luna in a monotone, “you certainly seem excited.” Ponderous, Luna’s gaze swiveled around toward the stairs to her loft. Up there lied in wait she who needed more convincing than her. “But I’m not so certain.”
“Aw c’mon, Luna. Don’t you want to get out of the library for something that isn’t errands or your wider obligations to your country or whatever?”
It was oddly specific, but she wasn’t wrong. Head drooping, she bemoaned that: “It won’t be easy to convince her.”
“Let’s go for it.” spoke up Ruby. When eyes of blue and red were all on her, she added: “What better way to keep up appearances that Luna definitely doesn’t have some greater threat to worry about than her being seen at a public venue, having fun?”
“Ha,” hooted Hope, “that’s the ticket, Ruby. You two can work out the rest of the nitty gritty, I have to go meet my sister for brunch.”
Luna gawked at her, ever so slightly agape. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”
“Funny story, she actually plays the bass guitar for this band.” Hope-Heart’s grin grew at a crooked slant. “I don’t bring her up super often, she’s like, really embarrassing. You know how sisters are.”
A wistful sigh escaped Luna. “I most certainly do.”
“I’d better get going. Let’s meet thirty minutes ahead at the square and head over together. It’ll be fun, Luna, you’ll see.” Before Hope fully closed the door behind her, she leaned back in. “I’ll see you around too, Ruby.”
Ruby’s ear flickered at the click of the door. She turned her head to watch her pass underneath the far window before she was all but gone. Facing Luna once more, Ruby gently set her helmet back upon the counter. “I don’t think I want a haircut anymore.”
Pursing her lips, Luna tried to parse her meaning. The latch caught rather quickly, though. Her brows shot up, and a coy smirk accompanied them. “Ohhhhh? Like the compliment, did we?”
“Luna, we’ve gotta go to this concert.” said Ruby quietly.
“I’m not opposed, though I’m less convinced about your excuse. It feels a bit simplistic.” complained Luna dourly. Considering the stubbornness she had come to know in Marble, she felt naught but doubt. “I’m just not sure this will work.”
The next night, Luna found herself ambling through town on a cool fall night. Leading the way, Hope-Heart tread with great confidence in her second-hoof black boots, and a simple dress to match their hue, strung over her shoulders with thin straps.
By her side, Ruby gladly kept pace, metal pieces of armor left behind in favor of her oversized tunic, the hem of which flowed over her thighs. With it, she wore a simple white scarf. She walked along, Luna noted, with a greater ease, seemingly brighter in demeanor than when she marched about in her armor.
Less light on her hooves, Marble brought up the rear. Similarly, she too wore a relatively simple tunic, though hers was much less loose and flowing compared to Ruby’s. The size of their tunics were comparable, even if their builds certainly weren’t.
Trailing behind, but just ahead of Marble, Luna herself sported a plain white dress with a simple form. And worn over the otherwise exposed shoulders was a jacket for the cool fall night air, made of a most novel material: jean. Rarity assured her, the material had a credibility for a retro chic owed to its rugged and old fashioned sturdiness. Also, the jacket was within her budget, and the blue played well enough with her complexion and hair.
Again she found herself comparing her new life to the old. In days gone by, she would have been given silks and satins and jewelry of painfully bright glitter and gleam to attend a social function. Here and now, she wore jean. How quaint. Yet in a way, the jean felt more comfortable, more deserved.
“Those two have become rather tightly knit.” said Marble. Perhaps it might have been a complaint, but her stoic nature masked it well.
“Hope-Heart complimented her hair earlier.” explained Luna quietly as they looked along. It was not information she felt some shame in sharing, but she hoped to relay the observation without pressuring Ruby in the process. When glancing over her shoulder, she saw Marble had stopped in her tracks.
“I see.” announced Marble. Then she started walking again and quickened her pace to catch back up to Luna. “She does have pretty hair. Just like her father’s.”
“Touchy subject?” Luna veered to one side as she walked to give Marble room in more ways than one. This felt like the first heart to heart she’d gotten to have with her.
“Only slightly.” admitted Marble unexpectedly, though with an expectedly cool tone. “Though, in this instance, it happens to be because I always envied his hair.”
“I’m sure yours would be a fine mane, should you let it grow out.” She offered Marble a friendly grin, and quite shockingly, received one in kind.
“Believe me or don’t, in my youth I wore an inky black mohawk, swept to one side.” Nodding to Hope ahead of them, Marble chuckled and added: “I’d give your assistant a run for her money on broody cuts.”
An arch high enough to suspend a bridge by rose upon Luna’s brow. “Really now?”
“Somehow I knew I’d get a response like that.” bemoaned Marble, acutely aware of her lack of a mane. “I’d say I got rid of my mane to make constantly wearing a helmet easier. But I’m honor-bound not to lie…”
Nodding at her as they walked, Luna gestured for what came after that. “So?”
“So I simply won’t tell you.” She drew a sharp breath and turned her head up and away. It was, after all, unbecoming for a knight to laugh at her charge, even if she did whine like a foal. So she suppressed it. “Alright, alright, calm down, would you? Heh, okay, it looks like we’re here, at any rate.”
Luna ceased her complaining about the lack of an answer she’d received. In truth, she’d not seen this part of town before. Here, the buildings crowded together more snugly, and before them, the line stretched before a long, narrow one that didn’t just occupy this street’s corner, but reached back to take up the far street’s corner as well. Along the long, long side, a few idle carts sat, likely transport for any equipment brought for the performers.
Meanwhile, in line stood Pinkie and Rainbow, putting on their best bad girls without a care in the world between them routine. Each wore a pleather jacket made for feeling the winds whip through your hair; Rainbow’s was black, and Pinkie’s white. They leaned against the wall as they waited, stoic facades both, but secretly waiting for the height of the night where the music would be at its most exciting, and the throngs of the audience would begin to thrash.
Then Pinkie saw her, and the facade faded. Luna strode on by with all these new friends, seemingly carefree. She didn’t notice her in line with Rainbow, she was far too busy talking to Hope-Heart and those other two. That tall mare next to her added something, and she laughed that laugh that Pinkie missed.
A single hoof left the line as Pinkie abandoned the wall. She didn’t want to be here, not if she might bump into her. She just wasn’t ready for that. But she stayed in place, realizing that they were heading to the street corner, not getting in line. Standing stiffly a moment, she saw them slowly vanish beyond the far side of the building’s exterior.
“Yo, Pinks, you okay?” Rainbow approached her with a heavy sense of caution.
“Can I ask you something?” asked Pinkie rather flatly, not turning her head.
Dash had a feeling she might regret entertaining this. “Sure.”
“Would you have invited Gilda to this concert?” Pinkie left those words upon the air, and there they hung, suspended amidst the idle chatter of the crowd. They were not the only friends there that evening, so she solemnly swung her head about to gauge if Rainbow had heard her.
“Yeesh, that’s a pretty loaded question.” admitted Dash with ponderous weight to her words. She hesitated, scratching at the back of her neck, until those pleading sky blue eyes became too much. “I mean, I guess it depends, ya know?”
“Whaddya mean?” begged Pinkie with an onset of weakness to her voice.
“It depends on if she was actually sorry.” told Rainbow bluntly. Leaning back against the wall, she crossed her hooves. Trying to avoid eye contact, she added: “When I heard you’d been avoiding the girls, I had to see for myself. That’s really it, I guess.”
Pinkie tilted her head. “You guess?”
“Look.” sighed Rainbow. She begrudgingly made eye contact and said: “You’re not some monster, you’re just a girl who messed up. Like, the big thing is ya seem to know you messed up, right?”
There was a certainty to how she felt about the whole situation. Not a day had gone by yet she didn’t regret what she’d done and ponder what she’d trade to undo her misdeeds. They seemed to haunt her like a spirit. But putting all of that into words was a struggle, one she couldn’t seem to overcome. So instead, Pinkie slowly nodded, acknowledging her fault.
“That’s the first step to moving on.” The next part, Dash was less proud to admit. “Plus I guess this was kinda selfish of me. I’ve already lost one best friend, I didn’t want to have to give up another.”
Pinkie felt a weak smile coming on. It had been too long. She put her hooves around her and squeezed. The material of their jackets made a crinkly squeaking sound.
“All right, all right,” groaned Rainbow, “that’s enough of the mushy stuff.” The crinkling went on and her feathers bristled up. Finally, Pinkie let go.
“Thanks, Rainbow. You’re a real good friend.”
Beyond their sight, beyond the bend of the intersection, Hope-Heart led her confused entourage up to the backstage entrance. Perhaps it was funny to call it that, since it was very clearly along the long side of the building. Here at street level lay a decently sized door, likely intentionally wide enough to ease the flow of equipment and personnel. She pranced up and gave it solid couple knocks.
“You still haven’t explained why you’ve brought us around the side.” complained Luna. Anxiously, she peered toward the corner of the building. She hadn’t been paying attention to the line, but certainly noticed its length. “They’ll be letting the audience in soon, shouldn’t we queue up?”
“It’s like I said.” Hope explained vaguely. She heard someone approaching the door, and gestured toward the reward for their patience. “My sister’s in the band.”
The door popped inward and out sprang a maroon unicorn filly. She was of a similar build to Hope, and while their hair was the same only shade of black, hers was a mop of onyx waves that engulfed the base of her horn and seemed to cover her eyes. Which is what made it so surprising she was able to recognize her sister by sight. “Hope, you made it!”
“Heya, Red.” said Hope with an underplayed sort of enthusiasm as she opened her hooves to welcome the oncoming hug.
Red turned to look at the ponies she’d brought. But again, her bangs should not have allowed for this. Neither did she make the effort to lift them. “All of you get in here, it’s nice to meet ya. We’ve got 15 minutes before the doors open, so ya better hurry if you wanna see the band and pick your spots.”
In they went at her behest. And behind them, Red shut the door right with a resounding thud.