//------------------------------// // Your Star // Story: Through Martyr's Eyes // by ShouldNotExist //------------------------------// -Your Star- “Come on, Twilight!” Rainbow groaned, sinking deeper into the chair she had taken residence in. “We didn’t come to Manehattan so you could spend the whole trip in a musty old library.” She turned her head, locating the lavender unicorn with her muzzle buried in one of the many books piled around her. “The rest of the girls are gonna be here soon, Rarity said they’d be done shopping by noon, let’s go!” She tried, shifting her position and motioning with her hooves toward the huge doors leading out of the library. Twilight rolled her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips. However she did close the book. “Yeah, you’re right.” She said, rising from her own seat and bringing the books to the return desk. “You know, you didn’t actually have to come in here with me.” Twilight giggled, dropping the books with a loud thud, shaking dust from the books and the counter under them. “Well I heard that there were some new Daring Do books out, and I wanted to see if they had them. They didn’t, by the way.” Rainbow said, ending her comment with a sour note. “Besides, if I hadn’t been here, you never would have left this dusty old place.” Rainbow turned, making her way toward the door as Twilight finished with her books. “Come on, I think I saw a poster for a concert or something, we could probably catch that before we leave.” Rainbow said, excitement tracing her voice as she jumped up to hover near the door. “That could be fun, I guess. What sort of music?” She asked off-hoof, opening the large doors with her magic and exiting into the busy streets outside. The outside of the Manehattan Library was not nearly as busy a street as some of the others in the city, but there was plenty of city noise all the same. Carts rode by, their pullers yelling to, but mostly at, each other as they passed the library. The stairs leading down were marble, as was much of the building and the surrounding area dedicated to it. It was a classical Romane style, giving it stark contrast to the concrete and brick buildings on the other side of the street. Twilight made her way down the stairs leisurely, listening to Rainbow try to explain what she had seen on the poster. “I think it said something about multiple bands, maybe it was a battle of the bands, but I’m not really sure. The poster was awesome, though! And tickets didn’t look like they cost that much, we could probably get some decent seats with what’s left of our bits.” Rainbow said, darting around as she stretched her wings. “I think that could be great, did you see any bands you recognised?” Twilight commented, finally taking the last step off of the Library’s large and intricate staircase. “I think I saw a couple- Oh! Hey, there’s everypony else!” Rainbow said, her attention pulled away from the topic at hoof by the arrival of the rest of their friends. She waved them over. “Ah told ya’ll we’d find ‘er here.” Applejack said, smiling toward the duo as the rest of the group followed. “Hi girls!” Twilight said, waiting for them at the base of the stairs. “Rainbow thinks we should go see a show, what do you think?” She asked as they gathered around her. “Hold on!” Rainbow said, darting up into the air. “I think I can find one of the posters. Be back in flash!” She said, quickly darting over the busy street and disappearing. “That sounds like loads of fun, Twilight!” Pinkie exclaimed, hopping up and down as she continued to talk, quickly gaining momentum and being tuned out by the rest of the group. “Are you sure that’s a good idea, dear?” Rarity spoke up, tilting her head and flipping her hair. “After all, our train leaves today, and I’d rather not miss it.” She finished, shaking the large assortment of shopping bags hovering around her. “I’m sure.” Twilight replied. “Besides, if it gets to being too close to our train’s departure, we can just leave.” She reassured, lifting a hoof to punctuate her statement. Rainbow Dash flew over, doing a quick flip to bleed off her speed before landing. She had a rolled up paper in her mouth, which she quickly dropped. An apologetic expression overtook her features however, and she spread out the poster. “Sorry, guys. I guess I misread the poster, the tickets are, like, twice what I thought they were.” She finished spreading out the colorful poster, revealing its features to their group. It was mostly dark shades, a few vibrant yellows and reds highlighting it. Scrawled across the top in bold letters was; ‘BORING BASHER’S BATTLE OF THE BANDS’ and just below it, a list of performers. The names varied from ‘Hoof Tool’, to ‘Succubus’, some of the names becoming quite vulgar as the list went on. Then the list of prices was presented below that. “Three hundred bits a pop!” Rainbow exclaimed, clearly aggravated by the oversight. “And The Hydra’s performing, too! I really wanted to see one of her shows, and here it is, laughing at me!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Oh my,” Fluttershy said, her quiet voice barely rising over the city’s noise. “that is a shame, I really like them.” She shrank, suddenly realizing that all the attention had leveled on her. “I mean - um .... well, they are pretty good.” She trailed a hoof on the ground, ducking behind her pink mane. “You like this kind of music, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, noting the obvious ‘heavy rock’ theme of the poster. “Oh, Twilight. They don’t call her ‘The Hydra’ for nothing, you really should listen to some of her singing, it’s absolutely fantastic. It’s probably the only ‘Rock and Roll’ that I can stand.” Rarity commented, sighing as she observed the price again. “But I must admit, this is quite a lot for tickets, and I’ve nearly emptied my purse.” “Well then, I guess we’ll have to find somethi-OOF!” Twilight’s breath left her lungs in a rush as something heavy knocked her to the ground, causing a bowling pin effect on the entire group as she fell. The heavy object rolled off her, landing with it’s own groan on the ground next to her. She looked up, ready to berate the clumsy pony. But stopped to observe the fallen pony first. Her eyes fell on the stallion, his black fur poking out from under the white dress shirt and pants, his silver mane parted messily around his horn. A pair of ratty saddlebags hung loosely over his back, their extended lifetime obvious in the fraying of the material. His hooves were massaging the back of his head, a pained expression decorating his face as he nursed the bruise that had formed there. “Hey! Watch where you’re goin, buddy!” Rainbow said, hovering over to put herself right in his face. He paused his pained movements to look up at her, his expression remaining the same as he looked, but not at her, his eyes remaining in a thousand yard stare. His irises were an almost unnaturally vibrant blue, and his pupils seemed almost shallow in the bright light of the afternoon sun. He took a moment to reply, most likely still recovering from the nasty fall. “I-I’m so sorry.” He said, his voice was soft, flowing fairly smoothly out of his mouth. Nothing like a Manehattan accent. “I didn’t realize that the stairs were there, a-and I fell. It really was an accident, ma’am.” He said, continuing to stare out the same way. “‘Sorry’ don’t cut it, buster!” Rainbow said, poking him in the chest to illustrate her point. The violent tone in her voice made the stallion balk, his ears folding back against his head. “You coulda really hurt somepony, you know!” She continued, her voice making him flinch back. “Loo-look.” He said, lifting a hoof to try and put a word in. “Maybe I can make it up to you?” He asked, reaching back into his saddlebags and fumbling around with them for a moment. “Look, I’m actually really late for something, but maybe this can make up for it.” He mumbled, pulling out a lanyard with a red card hanging off it. Rainbow gasped loudly, snatching the card from the stallion’s loose grip. “Holy Horseapples!” She exclaimed, staring down at the card and backing away from him so that she could look at it fully. “This is a VIP pass to the show!” She said, waving down to the others. “Yeah, you could go see it, or just sell it, whatever works. And that’ll get you into Even Essence’s green room, too.” He said quickly, patting the ground in front of him with his hooves, like a pony looking for his glasses. Only he never looked at the ground, just continuing to search it with his hooves. One of his hooves landed on top of Twilight’s, a sudden jolt sparking up their arms at the sudden contact, both of them pulling away at the same time. “Oh, sorry.” He mumbled, stretching his hoof in another direction. His hoof connected with a small cane, the end rounded off with years of use. His horn lit up, catching the cane before it could roll away. He hovered it up, resting one end lightly against the ground as he gingerly stood. “Do you have more of these?” Rainbow asked suddenly, darting back in front of him. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she buzzed her wings to keep herself aloft. “I have more than enough.” He said, nodding his head. One of his hooves moved back to Twilight, it was extended toward her. “Need a hoof?” He said, his slender arm stretching down to her in an offer of assistance. Twilight took the hoof, using it as a support to pull herself to her hooves. “Thanks.” She said, reaching back to rub her back where he had landed. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, by the way.” She continued, putting her hoof back out for a shake. “Oh, you’ll have to excuse my manners. You can call me Marty.” He replied, reaching out his hoof again in a similar matter. She took it in stride and bumped her hoof against his. “Sorry again for falling on you.” He said, his eyes remaining blank as he put on an apologetic frown. “This is perfect!” Rainbow exclaimed, landing on the ground in front of him. “We can go to the concert now!” She said, waving around the lanyard in her hoof. “And you can get us in! I take it back, you’re pretty awesome, Marty.” She said, reaching out her own hoof to bump against his. “I’m Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria!” She greeted, her trademarked grin plastered on her face. “Oh, a celebrity then?” He said, not moving to take the hoof. He turned, one of his ears flicking around. “I did mention that I was running late, didn’t I?” He said, turning back to them. Rainbow looked down at him, a small frown of annoyance decorating her features. “Yeah, ya did.” Applejack spoke up, knocking some dust off of herself. “Where were ya off ta in such a huff?” She asked, looking skeptically at him. “Well, I was actually on my way to the stadium. Which we should hurry to if we want to catch the first act.” He said, tapping the ground with his cane, still floating in his grey magical glow. “Actually, would you mind leading the way, I’ve ended up getting a little lost.” He chuckled, a sheepish grin on his face. “I know where it is!” Pinkie said, a sing-songy voice swirling around as she bounced up and off down the sidewalk. “It’s around the corner, not even that far!” She continued, talking excitedly, mentioning a party several times, but whether she was referring to the concert or not was unimportant as Twilight followed next to Marty. He was walking close to her, his side almost brushing against hers. And he would flick an ear in her direction every few moments, almost like he was making sure she was still there. “So who’s Even Essence?” She tried, a new conversational point coming into her mind as she tried to ignore the unusual closeness of the stallion. “Even Essence is The Hydra.” Fluttershy mumbled, hiding on the other side of Twilight, using her as a barrier between herself and the stallion. “That’s her name- that is ... She started being called the Hydra because of her unique style of vocal-” Fluttershy continued, but was swiftly cut off by the cyan pegasus. “Don’t tell her that yet, Fluttershy.” Rainbow said, a mischievous grin decorating her features. “I wanna see Twilight’s face when she sees it.” She snickered, Fluttershy giggling beside her as she quietly complied. “Oh, come on. Now I have to know!” Twilight said, a feigned desperation leaking into her voice. Marty grinned next to her. “I’ve heard it’s quite the sight to see.” He chuckled, but the humor escaped her. “What’s so funny?” Twilight said, actual curiosity starting to leak into her voice now. “Nothing, just a little inside joke I remembered.” He said, waving off the question easily. His nostrils flared open as he took a deep sniff of the air. “We need to go in the back entrance, near the loading ramps.” He called, Pinkie replying with an enthusiastic affirmative as the rounded the corner to the face the stadium. The stadium was as classically large as any other, its towering walls casting a huge shadow as the approached it. The Manehattan Stadium had been designed with multiple purposes in mind; hoofball games, baseball games, air shows, it was even designed as a storm shelter. Or in this case, a rather large musical event. Outside the stadium, ponies had gathered in a huge crowd. A slight resemblance to lines seemed to have formed, slowly wandering toward the entrance to the stadium. It was a veritable sea of bodies, all of them dressed in similar Rock ‘n Roll paraphernalia. “Hoowee!” Applejack said, casting her gaze over the mob near the stadium’s main entrance. “Even if tha tickets hadn’t cost so dern much, we never woulda gotten in!” She said, shaking her head and flicking her hat out of her vision. “Sure glad we- you ran into us, Marty!” Pinkie said, quickly snapping back into a bubbly fit of giggles at her joke. “Just find the stallion watching the freight entrance, that’s where we need to be. And judging from the crowd, we’re just in time.” Marty said, his cane tapping the ground next to him in time with his hoofsteps. “Ooh! There he is!” Pinkie shouted, jumping up and pointing toward a large brown pegasus stallion standing next to a door that was clearly labeled; ‘Authorized Personnel Only’. Pinkie quickly bounced up to him, babbling happily to him in a way that was clearly faster than the guard could follow, not that it deterred her. He looked up from the bouncing pink mare, his eyes locking onto Marty. “There you are! You’re up next, move yer rump!” He called, pushing open the door and motioning for them to pass. The group quickly rushed in, followed quickly by Marty and the larger stallion. “You six can get some passes on that cart there.” He said quickly, one of his wings extending, and bumping against the back of marty’s head, guided him past the mares. Marty called back them. “You can see me in the Red section, you’ll be right next to the stage!” He called, turning a corner with the stallion as they broke off into a trot. “Follow the signs!” His voice echoed once again, growing fainter as the stallions rushed off. “What in the world was that about?” Rarity said, floating up one of the red badges from the indicated cart. She scowled at it, noting how well it clashed with her coat. “I don’t know, and honestly, right now, I don’t care! We’re in!” Rainbow said, darting over to the cart and putting one of the passes around her neck enthusiastically. She quickly tossed the other four their badges and started down the hall at a slow trot. “Come on! I wanna see the stage before they start!” She said, the others quickly grabbing onto their passes and following Rainbow as she ran past signs. She called out the directions that the signs indicated, theirs being the only color in the more dull hallways of the rear of the huge building. After a short run, and several twisting turns, they emerged onto the floor of the stadium. The sheer amount of ponies that had been placed in the seats around them was already incredible, and more flooded in by the second. Twilight noted, with a guilty satisfaction, that the section marked off with a red carpet was currently empty. They quickly made their way over, Rainbow quickly darting up to look around the stage and the various equipment there before being waved off by a mare in a director’s uniform. The stadium’s interior had been adjusted for the event, the actual stands having transformed from circular to something looking more akin to a theater’s. All the stands had been shifted over, splitting into two levels to accommodate the sheer number of ponies. The stage had been constructed with a faux building around it, the actual stage lit up by a multitude of lights. A heavy curtain blocked any view of the stage there. The roof had even been covered, creating an illusion of nightfall in the huge building. They all gathered in the large, red carpeted area. It was set in the perfect position to see the entire stage, but so close that they could make out every detail that was visible outside the curtain. The perfect seat. Twilight wondered for a moment how loud it was going to be this close, her ears flattening against her head at the thought. In a few moments, the stands behind them had completely filled with wild ponies, all cheering and chanting in anticipation. Soon the gates closed, the flow of ponies ceasing as the last of the ponies fought for a seat. A few moments later, the lights dimmed. Sets of black lights aimed toward the crowd, creating a starscape of luminescent coats and glowsticks. More cheers erupted from the crowds around them as a unicorn mare walked on stage. She waved toward the crowds, eliciting more cheers as she lit her horn with an amplification spell. “ARE YOU PONIES READY TO ROCK?!” Her voice echoed, blasting over the crowd and causing even more excitement over the crowd. “ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT!!” She jeered approvingly, walking across the stage. “NOW SHUT UP AND LISTEN UP!” She echoed, the crowd, their cheers dying down marginally, but nowhere near silent. “The first contestant of the day; The mare of many voices, the Hydra of Baltimare, Even Essence!” She jeered, the lights dimming slowly and drawing another hush over the crowd. Another set of curtains fell, hiding all but the first few inches of stage. And after a few moments they opened again, but revealed little in the darkness. The crowd quickly fell to a hush, the silence leaving a ringing in Twilight’s ears. And as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she was able to make out blurry shapes on the stage. A light dimmed itself on, revealing a white coated unicorn mare, her dark mane falling in waves off of her. The crowd gave a quick cheer, the applause rising and dying in a few moments. Another light lit, casting its glow onto a piano to the side of the stage. “Hey, isn’t that ...?” Twilight started, quickly being hushed by the rest of her friends as the music started. The horn of the stallion lit up, casting him into full view as his hooves danced across the keyboard, the grey light glowing eerily. It was Marty, she was sure of it. The stallion had the same mane, eyes, coat, even his magic looked the same. She tried to get a better look at him, but the piano hid all but his head and hooves. However she was able to note that he no longer had his clothes. She was quickly drawn away from her inspection however, as the mare started to sing, her words flowing smoothly and darkly. She raised her head up with the last drawn out word, dropping it again afterwards. At first her voice seemed to echo, but after she repeated the action she was sure that she had heard a second, and a third vocal. But no other singers were visible on the stage, quickly frustrating Twilight as she tried to locate the source of the new voices. However her answer came as a sharp surprise on the third repetition of the singer’s actions. She followed the singer’s head as she lifted it up, her eyes opening wide and her mind simply going blank as she watched a trail of ghostly after images follow her movements. And on this third stanza, she held her head high, singing for just a moment longer before the drums began to play. At the first strike of the drums, and another line of hallowed singing from the mare, she dropped her head. Her mane flew about, the horn on her head shifting into a white glow as two ghostly heads spread to the sides of hers, singing of their own accords. A light lit up behind her, casting the earth pony drummer into her own light. The title of ‘Hydra’ sprang back into Twilight’s head, the definition suddenly becoming clear as she watched the two ghostly heads shift in opacity as they moved. With every movement they became more visible, every instance of staticity was rewarded with a fading image. Another pair of instruments sprang to life, the lights illuminating them as they began. A unicorn strummed in determination on a magically amplified bass guitar, her face set in gleeful excitement as she thrummed out the deep beat of the song. But across from her, playing his guitar in downtuned, threatening power, was a griffon. His talons worked swiftly at the strings, forcing the sounds out with his will, and determination. The performance continued, the varied musicians continuing now in a display that screamed out a heavy, powerful feeling. It was exhilarating, so much so that Twilight could barely even hear the wild crowds behind her as she absorbed herself in the show. They all worked in pure synchronization, hooves, and even claws, flowing through dips and rises as quickly as Rainbow Dash pulled loops and turns. It was like watching the fire and ice, letting them balance each other in perfect destruction, a show of force and precision. She watched the heads shift and bob, their ghostly images moving and creating a symphony to emphasize the music perfectly. The piano played lightly, following the cadence of the guitarist to accent each other’s notes in a deepening way. The song came to a close, ending much more suddenly than its buildup. The crowd’s cheers suddenly becoming deafening as the lights on the stage brightened slightly, the stage coming into strong light as the band waved out to the crowd. All except one, Marty stood from the piano hurriedly, trotting off the stage quickly. Twilight jumped, his sudden actions surprising in the aftermath of the show. Twilight followed him off the stage with her eyes, trying to come up with some sort of reason. She started to walk, following the direction he had gone and out of the VIP section. She briefly heard the voices of her friends over the din of the crowd. Before she knew it, she was running, a sudden need driving her forward to the walls of the stadium. She ran through the door near the side of the stadium, the sounds of the show outside dying as the door closed. She jumped toward a sign that was posted inside the door, a map of the stadium’s labyrinth of hallways. She located Even Essence’s green room in just a moment, memorizing the route needed in an instant. If Marty had been playing with them, maybe he would be in their green room. The door behind her opened just after she jumped toward the hall needed, she vaguely heard another protest from one of her friends as she darted down the hallways. ‘A right, a left, past two turns, another left, third door on the right.’ She recited in her head, stopping in front of the brown pegasus as she reached the door she had sought. “Hey ...” She panted, attempting to catch her breath while speaking. “Did- Marty ... come in here?” Twilight asked, eyeing the stallion to try and determine his answer. He leaned forward, his voice low as he answered her. “I am Marty’s personal caretaker, wherever he goes, I go.” He stated simply, returning to his previous position and taking a step to the side to reveal the door. A star had been mounted to it, a small sign indicating it as Even Essence’s. She sighed in relief, the answer may have been indirect, but it was an answer. And she planned on getting a few more, her mind racing with questions brought up by the circumstances of their meeting. Twilight finally took a deep breath, steadying her breathing before moving toward the door. “Twilight, what the hay?!” Rainbow called out, her tomcoltish voice echoing down the hall and freezing Twilight in place. The rest of her friends skidded to a stop next to her, most panting from chasing her through the maze of hallways. “Yah, Twi. What’s got yer tail in a knot?” Applejack said, her eyes sparkling with an unnecessary amount of concern. “Don’t you think it’s a little strange?” Twilight asked, lifting a hoof to demonstrate her point. “Marty comes out of nowhere and knocks us all to the ground. Then he just happens to have a bunch of passes to this show. And then he runs off with this stallion, and next thing I know, he’s on stage!” She said, trying to let them see why she had been so flustered. “Well, he seemed pretty honest t’ me.” Applejack said, moving forward to stand next to her. “And Ah’m not the Element a’ Honesty fer nuthin’.” She finished, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “Why don’t ya calm down before ya give the fella a heart attack.” She said, bringing Twilight’s attention to her own nervous twitching. She hadn’t even noticed how worked up she must have looked. She took a deep breath, calming herself in just a moment. “Yeah, you’re right, Applejack.” Twilight said, pulling herself together and moving toward the door. She put her hoof up to it, but paused when she heard a chuckle from her left. She looked over toward the stallion, who was trying, and failing, to hide his mirth. “What’s so funny?” Twilight asked, annoyance raising an eyebrow for her. The stallion shook his head, letting out one more explosive chuckle before replying. “Just wish I could see your face when you find out who he is.” He stated, returning to his static position, a small smile continuing to decorate her face. Twilight huffed, not willing to pleasure the stallion with a response, and pushed open the door. Contrary to what most ponies think, a green room is not necessarily a green room. It could be any color, or any room for that matter. It’s simply a place for performers to relax when they aren’t needed on stage. And why so many of the bands had their own was probably evident to their level of fame, and the quality of the room as well. It was large, several  couches placed around a central table that overflowed with various food items. A bar sat near the back of the room, several expensive looking bottle sitting proudly on display there. An icebox sat in the corner across from the bar, most likely stocked with more chilled drinks. Various drawings and names were scrawled across the ironically green walls, their almost luminescent color being both relaxing and eye catching. Sitting with his back to them was Marty, one of his hooves rubbing an eye with frustrated mumblings. She heard something about sea air mumbled before he stopped, his ears swiveled around to face the door. “Who’s there?” He asked, turning his head slightly but not looking toward them. “It’s Twilight.” She tried, taking a step into the room. Marty perked up instantly, a smile forming on his face. “Oh. Did you enjoy the show? Why aren’t you out watching the next act ... why aren’t eny of you?” He said, his ears flicking as he heard more hoofsteps enter the room. “Are you kidding? It was awesome!” Rainbow exclaimed, jumping up in the air. “And we would be watching the rest of the show, if Twilight hadn’t started freaking out after you left the stage.” She said, hovering in place over her friends. “Yes, what happened, dear? You seemed quite flustered as you left.” Rarity said, starting to walk around to him. “Oh, it’s nothing.” He started, turning back so that he faced away from the door. Twilight and the rest of the girls followed Rarity around the couch. “My contacts were just starting to get annoying.” He said, lighting his horn with his grey magical aura. They made their way to the front of him, stopping to watch the strange activity. He was sitting up on the couch, a small tray with water in it lying between his forelegs. He had one eyes squinted and the other opened wide as his magic made it glow. With a gentle tug the color of his eyes came off in a disk, revealing his actual eyes. They were clouded, completely greyed and without color. He set down the false colored contact lense inside the tray, opening his other eye to remove that one as well. When he had finished, he closed a lid onto the tray and levitated it into the saddlebag leaning against him. “Much better.” He sighed, opening his blank eyes again and looking toward them. “So how come you’re not out enjoying the rest of the acts?” He asked, tilting his head as he looked in the general direction they had been. “Well that explains why you didn’t shake my hoof!” Rainbow said, smacking herself in the face. “You’re freaking blind!” She said, taking a seat in one of the couches with a loud thump as she dropped to it. “Rainbow! That is very rude.” Rarity reprimanded, shaking a hoof toward her. She looked back at Marty, an apologetic smile placed forcefully on her lips. “You’ll have to excuse her, she isn’t nearly as civilised as the rest of us-” Rarity was quickly cut off by a loud burp from the rear of the room. They all jumped, turning to the sound quickly. Pinkie sat in the corner, an open can of fizzy drink overflowing in her hoof. She hummed in pure glee, licking her lips as she savored the sugary drink that was still on her lips. How she had managed to open it without them realizing was a mystery in and of itself, but before Rarity could respond to the interruption, Marty started to laugh. He had a hoof pressed to his muzzle in a vain attempt to hide the already loud laughter. “I can see what you mean, Miss Canterlot.” He said, setting himself into a new set of guffaws. “Miss Canterlot?” She said, a slightly insulted tone in her voice. “What is that supposed to mean?” She started, a pout forming on her face that he couldn’t see. “Oh, nothing.” He said quickly, recovering from his laughing fit, barely. “Your voice just screamed ‘Canterlot’.” He waved his hoof in the air, dismissing the comment. “I never did get all of your names. In fact, I’m not even sure how many of you there are in here.” He chuckled, settling back down onto the couch in a more comfortable position. “Oh geeze, you’re right.” Twilight said, realizing how impromptu their trip had been. They had never even fully introduced themselves. “Well let’s see, I’ve already introduced myself. Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s personal student.” She said, walking up to him and taking his hoof in hers for a proper hoofshake. He smiled warmly, but didn’t comment. “And Ah’m Applejack.” The cowpony said, walking up just after Twilight and pumping his hoof up and down enthusiastically. “I jus’ gotta say thanks fer helpin us get in ta tha show, I can’t wait ti see more of it!” She said, finally backing up as Marty recovered from the violent hoofshake. “My name is Rarity,” The fashionista said, gingerly taking his hoof in hers as she greeted him. “And while I’ve always loved Canterlot, I’m not from there.” She said, giggling as he suddenly showed interest in the topic. “Then where are you from? Some sort of prestigious city, no doubt. Manehattan, maybe?” He said as the hoofshake ended, looking at her with his blank eyes and a smile. “Oh no,” Rarity said, shaking her head. “A lovely little town, Ponyville. It’s much more relaxing than a big city like this, although not nearly so fabulous.” She continued, walking over to take a seat. “Sounds refreshing.” Marty said, his voice catching a daydreaming type tone to it. “And I’m Pinkie Pie!” The pink mare said, a fizzy mustache still dripping from her muzzle. She gasped loudly jumping into the air. “Oh my gosh, I just realized! You’re our friend now! And I still haven’t thrown you a party!” She exclaimed, but before she could continue babbling Marty interrupted her. “Well, Pinkie. You’re my guests, VIP’s even. So there’s no reason, and while I’d be happy to entertain you, it’s a little harder to decorate without eyes.” He chuckled. “So, technically, this is my party.” He said, motioning to the room around him. “Unacceptable!” Pinkie yelled, a determined face set firmly. “We need more music, more candy, more decorations, and finally more PARTIERS!” She yelled, hopping up and down as she started to imagine the party plans. “I’ll start planning it right now!” She finished, hopping over to the bar and taking her place in a stool there. “So who’s the quiet one?” Marty said, turning his head in Twilight’s direction. “Fluttershy? I’m surprised you even noticed her.” Twilight said, looking skeptically at him. “Well, when you came in there was a new smell.” He said, waving a hoof in the air. “Flowers, and animal feed. And none of you five smelled like that, so why haven’t they introduced themselves?” He said, a confused expression taking place on his normally blank features. “Fluttershy is jist a little nervous ‘round new ponies.” Applejack said, pushing Fluttershy closer to him. “Go on an’ intraduce yerself, sugarcube.” She whispered in the little pegasus’s ear, trying to be encouraging. The yellow pegasus slowly recovered from her shivering as she walked up to him. But when she mumbled something unintelligible he just looked confused. “Um ... Hello?” He said, not actually sure if he had been approached. He turned his head from side to side, his ears flicking around as he tried to locate her. “I uhm ... I’m Flutter....” She tried, her voice continuing to drift back into mumbles that couldn’t be understood. “I’m ... sorry, I uh ... didn’t catch that.” He said carefully, obviously taking note of the nervousness of the pony. “I’m Fluttershy.” She finally said, her voice still extremely quiet, but just understandable. “Uh ... did you like the show, Fluttershy?” He tried, his own nervousness coming out as he was unable to read the quiet pegasus at all. “Oh, yes!” She said, much more clearly now that the subject had shifted away from herself. “I always loved Even Essence’s music, and it was really fun to see her actually perform.” Fluttershy stuttered out, backing away to take a tentative seat near Applejack. “Actually, that’s something I was curious about, Marty.” Rarity started, putting one of the grapes she had started eating from the table down. “How do you know Even Essence? I never realized she had a stallion on the piano, and I always thought the pianist was a pegasus.” She finished, drawing the attention of the entire group back on him. He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, Tickling Ivory actually ended up spraining her hoof the other day, and couldn’t play.” He started, naming the usual mare who played the instrument. “So Essence asked me if I could do it.” He shrugged, a bead of sweat rolling off his temple as he nervously chuckled again. “You haven’t answered my question, dear.” Rarity sing-songed, leaning forward to glare at him playfully, although he didn’t react to it. “Okay,” Marty said, raising his hooves up in a placating gesture. “I’m actually-” The door flew open behind him, slamming against the wall loudly and startling everypony as Even Essence walked into the room, a sour glare on her face. “Eyes Of Martyr!” She said, her voice sounding reprimanding and furious. “What were you thinking? Those ponies wanted a fucking encore, and you just ran off!” She said angrily, leaning over the couch and snorting loudly so that it ruffled his mane. “Hi, mom.” He said, a defeated sound dipping his voice to a low tone.