Hook: The Dreamlands have reunited, but that doesn’t mean they’ve put aside their differences.
Story #257
Title: Creative Differences
Keyword: 1980s
Characters: Minty, Blue Belle, Snuzzle (The Dreamlands)
Hero/Chaos/Villain
The Dreamlands’ first album had been a raging success. The lead single had leapt up Maretime Bay’s chart to land squarely in the number one position. Positions two through ten were soon filled with more of their singles… and even a couple of their filler tracks.
Success had gone to their heads. The expectations for their follow-up album were unrealistic, and it crashed and burned upon release. They each had their own idea of how the band’s sound should progress, and the end result was a compromise, featuring songs with three very distinctive sounds. Critics had been unmerciful, deriding the band’s lack of a coherent vision.
It was only weeks after that that the band broke up. It was years before any of them spoke to one another again. They finally came back together for Bridlewoodstock, and the positive reception by their fans inspired them to go on tour.
But old grievances didn’t take long to resurface…
*****
High on a hill, Canterlogic Arena looms over the town Maretime Bay. The venue is packed with ponies eager to hear The Dreamlands in concert.
Blue Belle dips a hoof into the candy dish the venue has provided, per their contract. She pulls out a hoofful of chocolates in a rainbow of candy-coated colors. “Ew, they didn’t take the brown ones out like I requested.”
Snuzzle rolls her eyes. “They all taste the same. The only difference is the color.”
“But brown is such an icky color.”
“How can you say that? You’re eating chocolate. Chocolate is brown!”
Minty is frustrated at the antics of her friends and bandmates. We have bigger problems than candy. “Will you two grow up already? You’re acting like foals.”
“Yes, your majesty.” As one, Blue Belle and Snuzzle salute. The one surefire way to get the other two to stop arguing with each other is to give them a target they mutually dislike. Minty is getting tired of being the bad guy just to keep the peace.
It doesn’t take long for things to devolve into shouting and name-calling.
“Prima donna!”
“Wanna be!”
“Has been!”
“Never was!”
It sounds more like a playground than backstage at a concert. The concert’s start time comes and goes without any of the members making it out of their dressing room.
Minty finally trots onto the stage to cheers from the audience, but she holds up a hoof to quiet the crowd. She’s alone. “It is with much regret that I inform you that tonight’s concert is…” As she looks out at the faces in the crowd, many of them eager fillies and colts, she doesn’t have the heart to cancel the concert. “Is going to be a solo act. Blue Belle and Snuzzle are sick…” She couldn’t lie to the audience either – their fans deserve to hear the truth. “…Of me.”
She chuckles nervously at her joke. “The Dreamlands are having some creative differences at the moment. I think we may have just disbanded. But the show must go on. I understand if you want a refund. Blue Belle and Snuzzle are still here on the premises. Maybe… maybe if you make enough noise they can be convinced to come out and join me on stage and turn this into a farewell concert instead.” Tears stream from Minty’s eyes. “This is hard for me. We’ve been friends since… since well, as far back as I can remember. I don’t want it to end this way. Again. Ever since Bridlewoodstock all we’ve done is argue. About artistic direction. About album art. About percentages and who’s pulling more weight. We’ve even argued about candy. It was never supposed to be about that. It was never about the money, or even the music. We formed a band so we could always be together. Now we want to…not be together anymore and it’s breaking my heart.”
The crowd stomps – they want the whole band. The sound thunders through the arena, and Snuzzle and Blue Belle can’t help but hear it.
[CHOICE]
>The others come out on stage and reunite as a band. (hero)
>The others come out for a farewell concert, making sure to emphasize this is it for the band forever. (chaos)
>The others stay in the dressing room. (villain)