Chapter 12
I Still can’t get over how beautiful the night sky *sniff* ughh.. is here. And all of this was created by just one pers- er, mare… Wow.
I had been laying in my bed for the better part of three hours now just staring at the night sky like a child experiencing fireworks for the very first time, transfixed on every little detail that the serene night had to offer. Every once in a while a stray cloud would float by the moon, covering it’s other worldly glow and allowing the stars to light up the canvas of dark blues and purples on their own. A chance to shine as bright as they wish.
The creaking of wood from behind me brought me out of my musings. Fluttershy was slowly making her way to my side near the windowsill, an exhausted look on her face as she gives me a groggy smile with half lidded eyes.
“Couldn’t sleep either, eh Shy?” I gave her a tired smile of my own as she took a seat next to me, leaning her head on my shoulder and letting her hair fall on my arm.
*Sigh* “No.. I’m just so nervous about tomorrow I guess.” I brushed a lock of her mane out of her face as I looked down at her. She was shaking a little and had a distant look in her eyes as she stared at the night sky.
“Yeah I get that too. I guess I’m a little nervous right now as well..”
“..Really?”
“Well sure. It’s our first real gig. In a new town of all places, of course I’m nervous.”
“But you look so.. Calm. How do you do it?”
I looked down at the floor with a chuckle before glancing back out the window just as a pair of bats were flying across the moons elegant spotlight, swooping down every now and then to catch a quick meal.
“I’m anything but calm, Shy. But nerves help build the anticipation for things like this. Everyone gets nervous once in a while. It’s natural. But trust me when I say you’re going to do fantastic tomorrow.”
She looked up at me with those big teal eyes, softly glinting in the moonlight. She had a nervous smile on her face.
“You.. You really think so?”
I put my hand on her head and ruffled her already slightly tangled mane a bit, eliciting a small giggle from the yellow Pegasus as she nuzzled closer to me.
“I know so. You have a beautiful voice, Shy. Now come on. We should get some sleep. It’s a big day tomorrow.”
“Okay.. Good night. And David?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Shy. Good night.”
I took one last long look up at the serene night sky, listening as Fluttershy crawled under the covers and began lightly snoring mere moments after. Joining in with the noise was Lyra’s quiet murmerings in her sleep as she rolled over and snuggled tighter to her pillow. I quietly got to my feet and made my way to my bed and got comfortable underneath the blankets. Well, as comfortable as I could in a bed made for a pony. I wiggled my toes as I let my feet dangle over the end of the bed frame. I hope I don’t feel too bad in the morning.
***
I awoke to the sound of someone mumbling in their sleep. I opened my eyes to take a look but quickly regretted it as they snapped shut from the assault of the sun creeping in through the window. Steeling my nerves, I slowly cracked open my eyes, gradually letting them adjust to the new source of light. They shot open however when a floor shaking thump was made from across the room. Looking over I saw Lyra sitting up slowly and rubbing her muzzle, whispering incoherent nothings to no one in particular.
“Not so fun, eh Lyra?” I stifled a giggle as I gingerly got out of bed and went to wake up the sweetly sleeping Fluttershy.
“Shut up, David.”
I looked over my shoulder and stuck my tongue out just as Lyra walked into the bathroom and slammed the door. I heard a surprised squeak and the shuffling of blankets in front of me. I guess Lyra woke startled her.
“Hey, hey, It’s okay Fluttershy, It was just Lyra slamming a door. She’s a little grumpy cause she fell off her bed.” I couldn't help but break into a fit of giggles which were promptly followed by a few small giggles from Fluttershy as she slowly rose up from under the covers.
“You okay?” She gave me a little nod before covering her mouth with a hoof as she let out an audible little yawn before giggling as a flush of red overtook her cheeks.
“Hehe, Good. Now come on. We're going for breakfast as soon as you two are ready."
"But.. Don't you need to get ready?"
"Uhh..." I looked down at my self and sure enough I was still in my boxers. Coincidentally that's when a cool breeze blew through the room and rustled my jimmies a little. "Yes.. Yes I do. Thank you."
The next twenty minutes were spent by the three of us getting ready and presentable to go out for breakfast. We got ready in silence, the occasional small talk was thrown in every now and then to keep things interesting. Surprisingly it was Lyra that was the last one ready. Having to brush her mane until it was perfect left Fluttershy and I waiting by the door with unamused expressions on our faces.
***
Walking down the sunny streets of Trottingham we finally arrived at our destination. 'Henny's Diner'. We would have gotten here sooner. A lot sooner, had Lyra not had a mini freak out when a gust of wind swept up her carefully done mane. As we entered the dining establishment Lyra was still grumbling under her breath about the lousy weather pegasi in this town.
Breakfast was a simple affair for me, consisting of some scrambled eggs and toast, with a glass of orange juice on the side. I'm not entirely sure what Lyra and Fluttershy ordered, but it involved hay. lots and lots of hay.
we finished eating rather quickly and headed back to 'The Stall'. more and more ponies were out and about by this time and were giving us a wide berth as we walked the streets. A few passing ponies offered nervous looking nods in our direction before scampering off quickly after passing us by. I tried to smile as nice as possible while walking and did my best not to make any jerky or intimidating movements.
I let out an audible sigh of relief as we entered 'The Stall'.
"Am I really that scary looking?" I looked down at Fluttershy and Lyra for moral support as I hung my jacket up on a coat rack.
"No way, you just need a goofy looking hat! Sure, ponies will be looking at you more, but they won't be scared because they'll be laughing too much!"
"Lyra.. Have I ever told you how much I just love your advice?"
"No.. But you have now!" She gave me a big cheesy grin which I couldn't help but smile at. But I had to retort somehow so I took to just mussing up her hair a little which gave me the satisfaction of hearing her scream like a little girl.
Taking a look around, I noticed that ponies were already beginning to set up for the show tonight. The crew all paused and looked at my with wonder before Silent Night ushered them to carry on with their work and gave me a curt nod before carrying on with his own work.
There were boxes upon boxes of gear laying about. Full of cords and mic stands, as well as a few lights and a smoke machine. To my surprise I even saw a unicorn pull out and assemble a disco ball in the center of the ceiling.
Silent Night informed us that the show wouldn't be starting until around six o'clock tonight. Seeing that I was a little tired still I let the girls know that I was going to just hang out in the room until later tonight. They followed me to the room to drop off a few things before letting me know that they were going to explore Trottingham for a while.
"Are you sure you don't want to come? I mean.. You don't have to if you don't want too.. But it could be fun.."
"Thanks Fluttershy, but I'll pass. I've had enough ponies gawking at me for a little while, I just need some sleep. I'll just see you two when you get back."
"Okay, well see you later, David."
I watched as the two headed out the door of our room before turning around and laying down on the floor on my back in the middle of the room just to stare at the fan as it made it's rounds. It was a pretty comfortable position and soon enough I found myself being clutched by the gentle embrace of sleep.
***
I awoke to the sound of hooves on hardwood and the giggling of women. When I opened my eyes I saw Fluttershy and Lyra standing beside me laughing. Still groggy I looked down and promptly pulled my thumb out of my mouth while my pony friends began to laugh even harder at me.
"Uhh.. *ahem* What time is it?" I said with my face flush red as I slowly but surely pulled myself up off of the floor.
"It's about quarter to five." Lyra said matter of factly. "So we should probably head down to see Night soon so we can set up and maybe practice a little.
"Yeah that sounds like a good idea. sound good, Shy?"
"Uhm.. Yes." She gave me a nod and a determined look as I walked passed the two mares and head down stairs to the stage.
Silent Night was just putting up the microphones for our set in an hour or so as we walked in to greet him.
"Ah, David, Girls, how are you all doing this evening?"
"We're doing good Night, how are things goin here?"
"Smooth as silk my friend. We should be starting right on time, and I have a feeling this place is going to be packed!"
"P-p-packed?" Flutterhshy shrunk down a little in worry so I placed my hand on her head and gave her a reassuring smile as I gently smoothed out her mane. She relaxed a little but I could still see the apprehension and worry in her eyes.
"Yes, I've spread news of you three all over Trottingham and a few of the neighboring towns. You three are a real hit."
After hearing this I felt the nerves start to kick in. This really was going to be a big show. and It was starting in little more then an hour. "Now, do you have everything you need for your set?"
I did a quick check of the stage. My guitar case was leaning against the back wall, as well as Lyra's bag with her lyre. I had been teaching her how to play the guitar, as well as the bass so that we could have a full band eventually. But for this show we decided it would be best just to stick with what we know.
"Yeah it looks like everything is there, we should be good. You two see anything missing?" both Lyra and Fluttershy shook their heads in response so I gave them a smile and turned back to Night. "Yep, everything's there. We're ready."
"That's great, I want you on stage in exactly on hour. I'll announce you to the crowd before you step on stage, so be listening." We all nodded before heading back up stairs to get ready. Fixing our hair and in my case getting changed into better looking performance clothes consisting of a very comfortable pair of jeans and a black V-neck T shirt.
It took about half an hour before we were all set to perform. Doing one last sweep over each other we had a quick group hug and exchanged encouraging words before heading down stairs to a reserved table just for us.
The place was packed, just as Silent Night had predicted. Ponies of all shapes and sized filled up the room, not a single chair was left empty. Flutter stuck tight to my side as we made our way to the far left corner of the room where our table lay untouched with a reserved sign sitting in the middle.
Everypony seemed to be enjoying themselves, although the few sitting closer to us were stealing glances my way every now and then before whispering to each other. I gave them a calm smile the third they glanced my way. They all froze stock still before glancing at eachother then giving me very nervous smiles themselves and turning around and hurriedly ordering a round of shots for themselves. As for ourselves, we had a little chuckle at the surrounding ponies antics and enjoyed eachothers company over a round of iced teas. We kept going over our set and giving words of encouragement to calm our nerves, and before long we saw Night walk onto the stage.
"All right ladies and gents. We have a very special act for you tonight. Now I'm sure most, if not all of you have noticed the strange creature in the far corner of my fine establishment," A sea of eyes turned to look in my direction as Silent Night directed the establishments attention to me. I tried to make myself as small as possible while hiding my face in my drink. Fluttershy did not look amused in the slightest as we waited for Night to continue. "Well it just so happens that he is in a band with the two beautiful mares sitting with him. "This time it was Fluttershy and Lyra's turn to blush a the crowd let out a few hoots and hollers. "And it is my pleasure now to invite this troop of musicians to the stage. Now I know what you're all thinking, 'That tall thing is a musician?' well fret not. He is a very talented guitarist. Very talented I assure you. Now why don't you all give them a round of applause!"
As we stood up to head to the stage, the crowd let out a few cheers while they stomped their hooves in uneasy welcome. As we stepped up on stage the crowd grew silent with anticipation. I head straight for my guitar case while Lyra and Fluttershy head for their own places on stage. Fluttershy looked back at me, worry in her eyes. I gave her a nod of encouragement and looked to Lyra for support but she was too busy eyeing the crowd with pure bliss written on her face, she was ready.
Fluttershy nodded back my way andd took a deep breath before turning around and facing the crowd. Just as she was about to sing the first note of the song, the door to the venue opened up and in walks five mares and a dragon. They each looked around the joint before all their eyes finally locked onto Fluttershy's on the stage. I could see their faces light up with glee, but not before I saw Fluttershy shrink in front of their gaze.
"Oh no.. How did they know I was here..."