//------------------------------// // A Canterlot Concert // Story: Man in a Pony’s World // by Nugget27 //------------------------------// Bob sat backstage, messing around with the drum machine. Luna was sitting beside him. They had a long list of songs they would be playing with Octavia, who was looking over the sheet music for all the songs. She had none of the titles for said songs, or the lyrics, but it was arranged in order from when each song would be played. Luna and Bob were going to sing three songs together, two were sung exclusively by Luna, another two were just sung by Bob, and a third would be just Bob and Octvavia.  The show was to start in several hours, so the trio were just getting everything set up. “I have to say, Bob,” Octavia said, overlooking a bit of sheet music. “Some of these pieces look a lot different to the ‘classier’ music I usually play in Canterlot. Given that a lot of these ponies are nobles…” “They’ll bend over when they see Celestia cheering for some of this. Luna sang one of the few songs I wrote with her, to Celestia without telling me,” he glared at the Princess who promptly blew a raspberry like an adult. “And Tia sent a letter to me saying she’s already a fan…” Bob chuckled. “I had to make due without a saxophone since I don't know how to play one, but…” The human shrugged. “I’m sure everyone’ll like it. The first song does have your name in it, after all.” “...Why?” “To poke fun at you. The two of us are gonna be playing string instruments for it,” Bob held up his electric bass. “You’ll be playing your cello, obviously.” “...I don’t know how to feel about this.” “You said my violin playing could use some work, so I practiced some, and decided to play the song we’re about to play with a completely different instrument.” Luna picked up the electric bass and strummed it a few times while staring at her own sheet music. “I didn’t know you could play the bass,” Bob remarked. “Not very well,” Luna admitted. “Not very quickly either; I don’t know how you picked up on so many instruments.” “Being a one man indie band sure helped, even if I had to cheat a lot when it came to putting music together.” Bob tapped the drum machine. “I used a computer that was basically a box with a drum machine in it. Except it had several hundred instruments, along with every note those instruments can play, loaded onto it. Using a screen, I could pick an instrument, choose a few notes, and tell the machine when to play them. I did learn the guitar and the other instruments I can play, since a hand played solo is better than one that a machine played most of the time. It was great; I could change the BPM in a heartbeat.” “That… sounds incredibly useful,” Octavia noted. “Is that why you can play so many instruments?” “No, it’s how I could use any instrument I wanted without knowing how to play it.” Bob chuckled. “Out of everything from Earth, aside from my family, I would love to get my hands on a computer that is loaded up with as many instruments as you can stuff into it… along with the needed software to put what you write onto vinyl and the software to write music to begin with.” The human shrugged. “I love this drum machine that Filthy Rich gave me, but whenever I fuck up, I have to completely redo a part, which could take hours.” “Oh boohoo, Mr. ‘I can play fifteen different instruments,” Octavia rolled her eyes. “Oh, I am so going to love hearing you do that cello solo while trying not to giggle at the first song.” A few hours later, Bob was taking peeks at the crowd. “Okay, there goes any confidence I had going in,” the human said, turning back to the Cellist and Luna. “I have faced death so many times, and stage fright is what gets me.” The human chuckled. Bob closed his eyes and giggled, before stealing himself. “Well ladies, let’s make these nobles’ brains explode with guitar solos, cool vocals, and a party Princess!” The curtains pulled back once everypony was in place.  There were three microphones, a cello and a bass sat near one of the microphones. four various instruments, including Bob’s old guitar, sat near another, and one off to the side. Essentially Bob would be taking center stage, but Luna would be rearranging everything as needed with her magic.  “Good evening, everypony,” Octavia said, walking up to the mic in the center stage. “As you all know, I am Octavia Melody. Tonight will be a lot different from my usual concerts; tonight I am accompanied by Bob,” there was some cheering in the crowd. Up in the box, in the Canterlot Theater, sat Princess Celestia, the Elements of Harmony and Twilight’s family. Cadance and Shining Armor managed to take a train from the Crystal Empire and catch the show as well, as they were in their own box.  All the cheers were from ponies in Ponyville who had come to watch Bob play alongside a musician that was popular across all of Equus. “And surprisingly, the Princess of the Night, the Mare in the Moon herself… Princess Luna will be performing alongside us for some of the songs that we will be playing tonight. Everything being played tonight was written, and mostly, performed by Bob and co-written by Luna; I will be following their lead throughout the show.” Bob sat down by the bass as Octavia took to her cello, which was right beside Bob. “With that said, everyone, sit back, relax. The first song is from a genre from home, but something I entirely wrote myself… one about my good friend Octavia Melody.” The mentioned cellist took a moment to realize that Bob had the electric bass on his back, with the actual bass that was rented, was still on the stand even if Bob was still able to play it. Bob started out on the classical bass once the drum machine started playing the piano parts that Bob had pre-recorded. Luna helped with backup vocals, and as soon as the earth pony’s name was mentioned, Octavia actually snorted, before a genuine smile found its way on her face as the chorus started. As soon as said chorus started, Bob ditched the classical bass to begin playing the electric bass with practiced ease. The song was so different from what the cellist was used to playing, and she wasn’t complaining about it. After all, it was a song making a friendly jab at her. And she had to admit, Bob’s bass skills were impressive, mostly on the electric bass side of things. Of course, Luna was just happy to be there. Bob caught Chrysalis’ hungry eyes as she watched the Moon Princess perform… actually a lot of ponies in the crowd were trying to get a few peeks at Luna’s legs, or following her mane as she performed. Especially the mares; they were trying to get looks at the Princess’s flanks. The crowd started politely clapping… well, the noble parts of the crowd. Everypony else was cheering… And Celestia was so loud that she almost reached the Canterlot Royal Voice levels and might’ve cracked the glass in the royal box. The next few songs were promptly performed, and the crowd was loving it. A song that Luna specifically wrote about Nightmare Night was a bit polarizing, namely because most ponies haven’t even heard of rap. A few times, Bob and Octavia would stick together and play the violin and cello, with the former having vastly improved since his last concert, getting a few surprised looks from the cellist. Meanwhile, during these bits of pure instrumentality, Luna sat and swayed side to side. Meanwhile, the human got a lot of weird looks when he chose to pluck the strings of his violin, especially from the nobles. Bob soon picked up an electric guitar and walked over to the drum machine. “Aight ladies and gents, fillies and gentlecolts, my bad,” Bob chuckled. “So as you know, Princess Luna usually rules over the Night, but did y’all know what else she loves doing?” Bob walked over to the drum machine and slid a new vinyl into it. Luna was now properly vibrating with excitement, she grabbed the microphone with her magic as soon as Bob started the track. The human looped the bass sound before bolting to the piano. Octavia caught on pretty quickly, switching to the classic bass in favor of her cello. Needless to say… As soon as Luna started singing, the crowd exploded. Bob specifically worked overtime, playing a saxophone, not by sheet music, but by remembering finger placements that he had experimented with in between his parts on piano. Luna spun around, tears of joy were streaming down her cheeks as she danced and constantly drank in the looks she was receiving from the crowd. No longer were the nobles of Canterlot looking at her with mild disgust or fear, no, they were staring at her with wide eyes of shock. She even caught a few stallions taking a peek at her flanks while she spun around and danced to the beat. The ponies from Ponyville, along with a few stragglers who were fans of Octavia or her human friend, were smiling brightly as they watched what was ‘presumably an evil Princess of Nightmares’ dance and swing to the song she had worked so hard on, weeks of practicing, writing with the help of her human, and test running instrumentals that Bob had written for the song… All of them boiled down into this moment where she was repainting her image as a Princess… who was just like the rest of her subjects. A mare looking to have a good time at night.  Towards the end, Bob hopped off the piano bench, and joined Luna while she sang her heart out. “The two of them danced for a bit while Octavia closed out the song with the drum machine. The use of the drum machine was making a lot of nobles give the human the stink eye; it isn’t proper art if he’s using machines to perform. The only reason why the nobles hadn’t chased Bob off stage was because of Octavia being there, and, in their eyes, his somewhat lackluster live performances of any of the instruments he actually played on stage.  And the Princess that would vicerate them for hurting her favorite human. That was a good deterrent to the nobles. Bob laughed as the song concluded beside Luna, who had fallen on her rump and was wiping the tears from her eyes. “How was it, Lulu?” Bob whispered, not realizing that Luna was still holding the mic rather close to their mouths. That… elicited an ‘aw’ from the crowd. Celestia’s wings ruffled; she was a bit jealous of Bob being allowed to use that nickname because that was exclusive for her usage. However, the sheer amount of joy, and Celestia finding the gesture to be adorable anyways, stopped her from holding any anger towards the human. That and he might as well be Luna’s brother at this point, with how close the two of them. So Celestia had to tell herself that Bob earned it. “It was… truly wonderful. Perhaps we should do this another time?” Luna nuzzled the human, before trying to stand… only to find her legs were a little too shaky. “Sorry Bob, I know the next song that you had planned was meant to mean a lot to you,” she giggled. “But I don’t think- BOB WHAT THE BUCK? NOT IN PUBLIC!” Bob, with his now aching back, carried Luna bridle style over to the piano for her to rest. That got a lot of laughs, a bunch of stink eyes from the nobles, and a snicker from Octavia. Because now both the Moon and the Human realized that everything that was said between the two of them was broadcasted to the entire crowd. Bob snickered to himself, despite the blush on his cheeks sticking out like a sore thumb, and walked up to the mic in the center of the stage. Luna was resting on the piano bench, burying her face in her wings and squealing, having dismantled the microphone because she couldn’t figure out how to take it apart. “Sorry about that everybody, me and Luna just got a bit carried away with how this all worked out. Believe it or not, over the last few months… Me and Luna have gotten super close, and we both wanted to perform on stage together at least once. “Seeing you all love what Luna essentially built from the ground up brings me just happiness as it brings Luna. Thank you all…” Bob took a deep breath. However, on a heavier topic, I believe today marks the two year anniversary of me coming to Equestria. As you all might know, I am a human being, or a mini-sasquatch. Over the last two years, I’ve been through a lot. Nearly faced death more times than I can count on my fingers, I’ve gotten into fist fights with ponies over food, and never did I think I’d ever be friends with a pony princess, or perform for ponies without immediately getting blasted with spells or arrows. “And Princess Luna, or Lulu as you all heard me call her, was one of the main reasons why I’m not dead. Had she not found when she did, I either woulda killed myself, froze to death in the Everfree Forest, or got eaten by timber wolves. So seeing some ponies finally reaccept her means so much more to me than if I ever get widely accepted by any of you…” The human chuckled humorlessly. “This next song is a solo performance. I didn’t record anything using that ‘evil’ drum machine behind me. Tonight, for this song, I just have my guitar, my voice, and my heart. “Over the last year, when I stopped having to worry about my next meal, I came to another realization. I am not of this world, I am not native to Equestria. With that in mind, I can never go home, I can never ever see my biological parents ever again. And while a certain family in Canterlot have done well to alleviate that, I still keep thinking about my father and my brothers. This… isn’t a song I wrote, rather it’s a song that somebody else wrote, but it’s something special to me. “It’s one of the first songs I learnt how to play, that I played with my brothers and father sitting on the couch while I gave them a performance. A song about how it feels to come home.” By the time the song was done, Bob gently set his guitar down, sitting with his legs crossed, resting his chin in his hands. The crowd was silent while the curtains fell. The show was over. He sighed and leaned back, propping himself with his hands. “Fuck, I’m not going home,” the human chuckled as he stood up.  “Bob…” Octavia trotted up to the human. “I cannot begin to fathom what it must feel like for you-” “Hey…” Bob booped the mare on the nose. “I may not be able to go ‘home’ but I can make one in Equestria. I got my Luna, I got Twilight and her family, I’m now more famous than I thought I’d ever be for being a musician, and I’m rich. I… I miss home, obviously. I miss my biological family, but home is where you make it, and the people that make you feel welcomed. So,” Bob stood up. “C’mon guys, I have six friends, Princess Celestia, Queen Chrysalis, Twilight Sparkle’s whole family, and Luna. Now, I’ve got you, and don’t think I didn’t see Vinyl in the crowd. Let’s get our friends and go party, eh?” “That… You moved on from seeming depressed rather quickly.” “Yeah. I may not be fully okay, but I can pretend to be. I just try to keep my mind off of the bad things and focus on what I’ve got, and what I have right now is something I’ll cherish until I die.” Bob walked over to Luna, who was now just staring at the human. She didn’t even register the fact that the human had picked her up and started heading towards the stairs of the stage to meet any ponies that had backstage passes. Instead of uttering a word, she simply nuzzled her cheek into the side of Bob’s neck, and kept her head resting there. Bob may not look at it on the surface, but the Moon could tell that Bob needed the snuggles right now.  And she was going to provide them as best as she could…  Those plans were thrown at the window when Chrysalis snatched her from Bob the very moment that she met up with them. For a brief moment, Bob stopped, now missing the familiar, heavy yet relaxing, weight in his arms. Luckily for Luna, her older sister was there to fill in the shoes for her now absence in comforting him. She felt a little mad; Chrysalis could probably sense how Bob was feeling, and she ignored it… to try and spend the rest of the night with her, rather than letting the Princess comfort her best friend. Of course, Bob looked just a little betrayed by what Chrysalis had just done, so he sat down on a bench. Shining Armor went into full guard mode, keeping most of the ponies who wanted to speak with him away unless Bob requested they be let through. Even the older stallion could tell Bob wasn’t feeling the greatest after his last song. “Hey Bob, if you’re not feeling great,” Cadance nuzzled him. “Me and Shiny still have our house here in Canterlot, if you’d like you can spend the night with us…” “...That would be nice. I just wanna go, sit on a couch while snuggling a fluffy pony,” Bob noted as Chrysalis dragged Luna out the door. “And somebody just stole the pony I was gonna cuddle with… Make sure you thank Shining for me if I don’t get the chance to. I don’t think I can deal with any fans with how shit I’m feeling. I feel a wee bit empty, if you know what I mean.” “Of course I do, Bob. My abilities may not be as good as a changeling’s, but I can sense your emotions. You’re clearly depressed after that,” the Princess of Love nuzzled her little brother in law. “I think everypony’s about to get moving. C’mon, the rest of the family will be spending the night over with us, and I’m certain one of us can get you out of this ditch.” “Can I snuggle with Shining Armor?” The stallion’s ears flicked in his direction when he asked that. A small, proud smile on his face formed, before he went back into guard mode to redirect a pair of mares away from the human. “Of course!” Cadance lowered herself to the ground, making the human raise an eyebrow. “Do you not want to be carried on my back?” “Are you okay with it?” Bob asked. Cadance gave him a ‘really?’ look. “Okay… If I’m too heavy, just say something.” Bob climbed on the Princess, and eventually somehow found himself resting his chin on Shining Armor’s mane, just between the ears. The stallion was gleaming with delight that he could now bond with his younger, otherworldly sibling even more now.