//------------------------------// // Part I // Story: Equestria Noir Side Series "Bright Eyes" // by Jacoboby1 //------------------------------// Equestria Noir “Bright Eyes” By Jacoboby1 Perspective: Raiden Bolt I sat on my couch strumming the guitar on my lap slowly. My manager said I needed to think about what to do when I finally had to get back on tour. So far nothing was hitting me. I must’ve sat there for two hours just strumming random songs on my guitar. I sighed and sat back on my couch. This small apartment had been my home for the past couple of weeks ever since I moved to Ponyville. It was a nice place, not as crazy as Las Pegasus or Manehatten. It was a nice change of pace. I picked up my guitar and flew over to set it in its stand. My manager was going to bitch at me if I didn’t give him something soon. Crash! Oh what now!? I opened my door; my apartment was on the first floor of the building so I got a full view of the sight. I saw a Pegasus who had her head stuck in the mail box. She was grey, her mane was a bright blond, and her cutie mark was a bunch of bubbles. What? Did she get her cutie mark for having a bubbly brain? I just rolled my eyes and decided to get some air. I didn’t need to worry about some crazy Pegasus who couldn’t get her head out of a mailbox. Didn’t help me get anywhere with my music… _______________________________________________________ Perspective: Private Eye “So you have writers block?” I asked as Raiden hovered beside me. My best friend was only flying half-heartedly. I could tell he had a lot on his mind. Raiden sighed and looked at me with his yellow eyes. “I got nothing dude, you’d think I would get all this crazy inspiration. But it’s like Ponish class all over again, every time I try to think of words they sound all disjointed and weird.” “You never were one for words, were you?” I said bemused. “Why not write a song about Rainbow?” Raiden blushed as he was obviously thinking about his marefriend. He landed down to earth and walked beside me. “I’ve already wrote four for her. But the problem is you can’t make an album out of only four songs. Even if I wanted to write a compilation just about her, I’m going to need something big to inspire me.” “You’re the artist,” I said looking ahead. “Who knows? Maybe something will strike you when you least expect it?” Suddenly a poster flew and hit Raiden in the face. Raiden pulled it off of his face and looked at me. “Dude! How’d you do that?” “When you hang out with Pinkie Pie like I do,” I started with a smile. “You come to expect random things like this.” Raiden’s eyes scanned the poster. I looked over my friend’s shoulder and saw it was a colorful poster showing a pony singing into a microphone. I read the description aloud. “Come one, Come all, in celebration of Ponyville’s 75th anniversary the citizens are all invited to perform in a singing contest. All ponies ages 16 to 35 are invited to perform a song of their choice in celebration of our beloved town. Winner will receive fabulous prizes.” “Dude!” Raiden said with a grin on his face. “This could be it!” “What do you mean?” I asked slowly. I didn’t like the grin on Raiden’s face. “I’m always better at coming up with stuff in a contest!” Raiden said flying into the air and puffing his chest in pride. “I’ll write an awesome song and mop the floor with the competition!” I rolled my eyes. That was Raiden for you I guess. He never backed down from a contest as far as music was concerned. He was like that ever since we were kids. Raiden smirked and landed on the ground. “So where does it say I sign up?” “Says here you can sign up at registration at Town Hall,” I explained while levitating the poster with my magic. “Raiden, are you sure this is a good idea?” “Dude,” Raiden said smugly. “I’ll wipe the floor with this contest, all I gotta do is enter.” _______________________________________________________ “What do you mean I can’t compete!?” Raiden exclaimed as we stood at the sign up table. It was helmed by none other than Twilight. The table was set up outside Town Hall and we had to wait quite a bit to get past all the mares that tried to enter. We had to wait even longer for them to finally get done with Raiden signing everypony’s gear. My marefriend shook her head slowly. “I’m sorry Raiden, I wanted you to compete but the Mayor is worried that your celebrity status will cause the judges to be biased.” “That’s horse cra-” Raiden saw that there were virgin ears nearby and stopped. “I mean that’s nuts Twilight! I can’t sing in the contest?” “You’re more than welcome to sing Raiden,” Twilight said smiling slowly. “Only problem is you can’t compete to win.” Raiden crossed his front legs and began flying off in defeat. I hated seeing my friend like this. I looked at Twilight. “Is there anything you can do?” Twilight shook her head and looked at me apologetically. “Sorry Private, the best I can get Raiden to compete is if he accompanies another pony.” “As in he plays the piano or something while the contestant sings?” I said knowingly. Suddenly Raiden zoomed back to the table, a wide grin on his face. “That’s it!” “What’s it?” Twilight asked looking at Raiden. “I can still technically compete if I accompany somepony else right?” Raiden said looking at my marefriend in excitement. “I guess…” Twilight said slowly. “But you won’t earn the prize yourself.” “Details,” Raiden said with a shrug. “Now I just to find somepony willing to let me accompany them.” I slowly turned around as everypony else in the line stopped talking and heard Raiden speak up. Raiden looked at the crowd with his yellow eyes and I whispered, “Brace yourself buddy, you’re about to become very popular.” Twilight and I leaped out of the way as every mare in the line ran to Raiden. All begged him to be their accompanist. Several even offered to sire his children if he agreed, completely ignoring the fact that Raiden was already dating somepony else. Thankfully Rainbow was up in Cloudsdale as all of this was going on. I looked at Twilight. “Care to get Raiden and me out of here please?” She nodded and her horn glowed brightly. Next thing I knew I was in a back alley with Raiden by my side. A lot of lipstick was on his face and his mane was messier than it usually is. Then again it always looked like he just had a bed head all day. Raiden wiped the lipstick off his face with his foreleg and looked at me. “Thank Celestia Rainbow didn’t see that. She’d buck me into next week.” “So what now Raiden?” I asked looking at my friend. “I’m going to find my perfect songstress!” Raiden said in affirmation. I didn’t like where this was going… ________________________________________________________ Perspective: Ditzy Doo I bit into my muffin and it tasted very good. Snack time was always my favorite time of the day. The mail is done, Dinky is playing with her friends today, and the sun is shining very brightly. A very good looking day! Hello? What’s this? I looked and saw a huge line coming out of Ponyville’s theater. I don’t go there a lot but I heard there are plays there. The outfits the ponies wore looked funny. But I wonder what play could be so popular that everypony in town would want to see it? I flew down and saw the line. Everypony was talking excitedly about something. My eyes fell on a familiar yellow earth pony with an orange poofy mane. I walked over to her and spoke friendly like, “Hey Carrot Top!” She turned her green eyes towards me and smiled. “Hello Ditzy! Not out raiding fridges are you?” I laughed a little; Carrot Top still hadn’t forgotten how I would occasionally eat out of her fridge. It’s not my fault Sugar Cube Corner closes at night! Muffin cravings are hard to fight! “So what’s going on here?” I asked gesturing to the long line coming out of the theater. “Is there a play going on or something?” Carrot Top’s eyes grew wide and they seemed to get shiny. “Raiden Bolt is offering to accompany and train a singer in the contest coming up!” “Singing contest?” I said tilting my head. “But Carrot Top, you can’t sing at all!” “Well, I’ll learn!” Carrot Top said hopping up and down. “How many chances do you get to have a celebrity teach you like this?” “Okay,” I said not really getting it, but I guess it made her feel better. “I should get going.” I turned to start walking off. “Aren’t you going to try out?” Carrot asked behind me. I lowered my head and looked at the ground. “I don’t think I’d do so good.” I heard Carrot Top walk to me and put a hoof on my shoulder. “Hey, I’ve heard you sing before. And if Raiden doesn’t train you I can always convince Noteworthy or somepony to help you out.” “How did you know I was going to sing at the competition?” I said looking at her with wide eyes. “I only told Dinky!” “Well I might have overheard your boyfriend Time Turner talking about it with her,” Carrot Top said with a smirk. “The Doc- I mean, Time Turner is not my boyfriend!” I looked down at the ground trying to hide my blush. “I just thought it’d be nice if I just sang a little. He said I sang nice.” Carrot Top smiled at me. “Just give this tryout a chance. It’ll be good practice for singing in front of a crowd.” I looked Carrot Top in the eye and sighed. I give up. “Alright, I’ll give it a try.” __________________________________________________________ Perspective: Private Eye “Thank you for trying out,” I said from my seat on the stage. “We’ll send you a letter if you made it or not.” The contestant left the stage almost in a huff. Raiden was rather…harsh… My best friend leaned back in his chair. “How many has that been?” “Next one is contestant number fifty five,” I said with a sigh. Never thought Raiden would twist my leg to join on this crazy escapade. “Well bring her out,” Raiden said leaning forward in his seat. “Let’s see what we’ve got” Raiden had been rather harsh to the previous contestants... Here are some highlights: Berry Punch: Girl you are so drunk I’m afraid for my health Rose: I only said your performance was a little bad, you don’t need to have a heart attack! Colgate: I don’t care about your shiny teeth, no matter how happy they make you Cloudchaser/Flitter: “That was actually pretty good,” Raiden said with a smile. “You mean it!?” The girls said at the same time. “Sadly I can only accompany one of you,” Raiden said with a shrug. Both of their eyes dilated and they gripped each other tightly. “You want to separate us!?” Flitter said in shock. “What’s the big deal?” Raiden asked as the pair left the stage holding each other. “They have separation anxiety,” I said simply. “They don’t go anywhere without each other.” “Geez,” Raiden sighed. “When am I going to find the perfect one?” “Maybe your standards are too high,” I said with a smug grin. “Just send in the next one before I dress Rainbow up and have her sing.” Rainbow honestly would probably kill my friend in his sleep. I sighed and shouted, “Next!” _______________________________________________________ Perspective: Ditzy Doo “I don’t know Carrot Top…” I said looking back at my friend before I walked on stage. “Just give it a shot Ditzy,” Carrot said encouragingly. “I know you’ll do great.” “I hope I do…” I said as I walked onto the stage. I looked up at the two ponies sitting in front of me. The first one I knew, a unicorn with a grey coat and a funny hat. The other was probably Raiden Bolt. I’ve only met him in passing, but Dinky likes his music. He was about my age; he had a very messy yellow and black mane. His own black coat almost had him blend into the seats. But I could find him by the lightning bolt marks on his sides. He just looked at me with yellow eyes. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking… “Hey Ditzy,” Private said friendly like. “I didn’t know you were going to try out.” “Well,” I said shyly. “I thought I could just give it a try…” “What song are you singing?” Private asked, writing something down on a clipboard. “Beautiful, a song mommy always sang when I was little.” “Well show us what you’ve got,” Private said with a smile. I couldn’t tell what Raiden’s face was saying. He just kept looking at me. I opened my mouth and sang… Every day is so wonderful… And suddenly it’s hard to breathe… Now and then, I get insecure From all the pain, feel so ashamed… I am beautiful, no matter what they say Words can’t bring me down I am beautiful, in every single way Yes words can’t bring me down… So don’tcha bring me down today… “Stop…” I stopped singing and looked up at Raiden. He was the one who spoke up. He got up from his seat and looked at me. “You’re it…” “I’m sorry?” I said tilting my head. “I mean you’re the one I’m going to accompany,” he said flapping his wings. “Now, meet me at my place and we’ll talk…” He just flew out at that point. Private watched him leave, then he met me on the stage. “You did great Ditzy,” he said with a smile. “I didn’t know you had that talent.” “Is Raiden mad or something?” I asked. Private shook his head and looked to where Raiden left. “I don’t know, I’ve never seen him act like that…” ___________________________________________________________ We are beautiful… No matter what they say… Big Brother, will I make a good singer someday? You will Amaya, I know you will… Aniki arigatō I know you’ll be a great singer too… _________________________________________________________ Perspective: Raiden Bolt I stopped tapping the keys on the piano I had set up in my room. I can’t believe it… She looked so much like Amaya… I heard a knock on my door and I hovered over to open it. There the cross eyed Pegasus from before stood there with a smile on her face. I returned the smile and gestured for her to come in. “You’re Ditzy right?” She nodded her head. “Uh huh! I’m Ditzy Doo, always here for good times and muffins.” I chuckled; she certainly was easy to please. She looked around my place with her crossed yellow eyes. My place was rather messy; a bunch of computer equipment for song editing was in the corner. A bunch of cds and other junk were strewn everywhere. A small piano occupied one corner of the apartment as well as my guitar. “Let’s get to it shall we?” I said flapping over and landing at the piano. “Hey mister,” Ditzy said hovering over to me. “I have to ask, why’d you pick me?” I knew this would come up, that didn’t make answering her any easier. I sighed and simply said. “You remind me of somepony, now let’s see if we can’t find your range.” “Well I can throw a hoofball pretty far,” she said. “No, I mean your vocal range,” I said knowingly. “How high or low your voice can go.” “Oh.” She gave me an odd look. “How am I going to throw my voice though?” I just laughed; this was going to be an interesting partnership. ___________________________________________________________ Perspective: Private Eye “And then he just flew out,” I said as I sat under an umbrella table outside Potso’s place. Potso came by and tossed me and Twilight’s breadsticks onto our table. “I’ve never seen him act like this in a while.” “Did Ditzy actually sing well?” Twilight asked before taking a bite into her breadstick. “Yeah actually,” I said with a nod. “Granted she could still use some work but she’s got a lot of heart.” “What’s this about Derpy and Raiden?” I heard a voice say behind me. I turned and saw Rainbow looking at me with curious magenta eyes. “Oh, hey Rainbow,” Twilight said with a smile. “We were just talking about Raiden agreeing to help Ditzy with her singing during the contest.” “Why’s he helping her?” Rainbow asked taking a seat between us. “Raiden’s never taken on a student before.” “That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Twilight said after Rainbow took a breadstick and started eating it. “Did Raiden ever tell you why?” “I just heard about it today,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “I’m still wondering why Raiden’s helping her out.” “Why didn’t you try out Rainbow?” I asked. “Me? Sing in some contest?” Rainbow just stuck her head up smugly. “I’d lose street cred faster than I fly during a sonic rainboom.” “That’s Rainbow for you,” Twilight said with a roll of her eyes. “Anyways,” she continued, looking at me. “I don’t know much about Raiden. What was he like?” “Yeah, I’m curious too,” Rainbow said when Potso came by with some soda for her. I smiled a little. “I first met Raiden in kindergarten. He was always the kid who’d get in trouble at recess or slacked off during class. Growing up him and I were almost complete opposites. While I was trying to keep my grades up he was doing everything in his power to show his rebellious side.” “Sounds like somepony I know,” Twilight said with a sly glance at Rainbow. My Pegasus friend just chuckled. “Hey, I only do crazy things because I care.” I continued, “Raiden’s family was actually quite successful. Raiden’s grandfather came from Neighpan and his family hit it big in Canterlot. Raiden’s dad moved to Manehatten to start his entrepreneurship business there.” “No wonder he’s in with Canterlot nobles,” Rainbow said recalling our case with Scootaloo. Raiden helped us set up a meeting with a noble family thanks to his old connections. Ultimately that case brought him here to Ponyville in the first place. “Raiden’s family was quite large,” I explained. “He had five older brothers” “Five!?” Twilight exclaimed, her jaw dropping. “Yep,” I said nodding. “They all went on to become doctors and lawyers. Raiden was the last son of the Bolt Family. He wasn’t interested in becoming a doctor or lawyer though. He didn’t have the academic skills to pass entrance exams to some of the bigger schools. As a result he became kind of the black sheep of the family.” “So he was a trouble maker?” Twilight deduced. “You bet,” I confirmed. “Raiden was always in trouble at school. He was a slacker when it came to his school work. He talked back to his teachers; he was essentially the opposite of how I was in school.” “How did you guys become friends?” Rainbow asked. “Mostly because I felt sorry for him,” I said with a shrug. “I learned in kindergarten he had this amazing talent for music and stage work. I knew he could become a rock star so I introduced him to Leopony, my music teacher, and he found his true potential. Finally he found something he was good at and he wouldn’t stop doing it.” “So in a way you made him a rock star,” Rainbow said with a smile. “He would’ve become one anyway,” I said knowingly. “I just made sure he got there clean.” “How did his family react to his new career path?” Twilight asked curiously. “I don’t know,” I said with a shake of my head. “Raiden isn’t one to talk about his family too often. I’ve met them and his brothers seemed to like me. But I’ve never actually visited Raiden’s house or anything.” “So why do you think Raiden picked Derpy?” Rainbow asked. “She doesn’t really strike me as super musical.” “Raiden probably has a good reason,” I said firmly. “He usually does when it comes to things like this…” _________________________________________________________