Chapter 2
Meeting Celestia
Rush was locked into his work that he didn’t’ notice the door to his room had opened. Thrash stood at the doorway watching him work in peace. He knew he didn't like to be disturbed while he’s working, but how can he resist the perfect opportunity.
“Hey Rush.” He said.
“What is it now Thrash?” Rush responded in an uncaring tone.
“Are we there yet?”
“No.”
He paused. Rush could hear Whiplash and Snap giggling in the background.
“...How about now?”
“No.”
“...Now?”
“No!”
“Now?”
“NO!”
“Now?”
“NO!!”
Rush was getting irritated. He was trying to plan out the concert and balance the funds for the band all day. He would have been done by now if it wasn’t for Thrash and the band constantly messing around with him.
“Now?”
“GET OUT OF MY ROOM!!!!”
Rush walked over and shut the door on Thrash’s face. He locked it tight so he could finish working with no more disruptions. Outside of his door, on the other hoof...
“Ok Snap, commence the beats.” Thrash said, giggling with Whiplash.
Snap walked forward with his drumsticks in hooves and started tapping on Rush’s door.
“I swear to Celestia, I am going to take those drumsticks and use them ON YOUR FACES!!!”
“Stop pretending that you know how to actually drum as well as me you drongo!” Snap responded in his Trotstrailian accent.
Whiplash and Thrash fell on the floor laughing so hard that they started tearing.
“He’s even terrible at threats.” Whiplash said under her breath.
“Quick Snap, tap faster.” Commanded Thrash.
Snap laughed as he went faster with his drumsticks on Rush’s door.
The Three ponies laughed, but abruptly stopped when they heard the tumblers of the doorknob rattle. They all dashed down the hallway and into another room that they locked behind them. Rush galloped out of his room and started banging on the door they were behind.
“Open this door so I can pop you all in the...!!!!”
The door opened and Shredder stood at the doorway. His mane was messy and he had his reflector sunglasses on that Rush could himself in. He removed them revealing his blue eyes.
“Rush, can I help you with something?” He said in a deeply relaxed voice. He sounded disturbed
“Let me in that room Shredder!”
“Why?”
“So I can give those three ponies what for!”
“...Rush your disturbing me during the time I practice. And there is nopony else in here besides me.”
“Let me check!”
“Allow me. Who are you looking for?”
“Snap, Thrash, and Whiplash. WHO ELSE!?”
“Alright.”
Shredder turned around towards his room.
“Snap, Thrash, Whiplash!?”
All three ponies answered at once
“Yes?”
“Are you in my room?”
“Nope.” said Whiplash.
“I’m not in here!” Thrash said.
“Be Lying of I said yes mate!” said Snap.
Shredder turned back to Rush.
“Well there you go. Now go away.”
“But...!”
Shredder shut the door in Rush’s face.
“I HATE YOU SO MUCH, I’M GONNA...GONNA...AHHHHHH!”
He waited until he heard the sound of his bedroom slam. Shredder approached the sofa opposite from his bed. He picked up his guitar and played a quick riff on it. He then paused and sighed.
“You three are the most annoying thickheaded ponies I know.”
The closet next to the beds opened and the three ponies fell on top of each other laughing like crazy. Their prank was successful.
“Ok what should we do to him next?” asked Thrash.
“You three aren’t doing anything.” Shredder said walking to a coffee maker that he started up. “Whiplash, Snap let me talk to Thrash alone. I would go get ready, we'll be there soon.”
The two ponies left the room. Thrash fell on his bed that was next to Shredder’s.
“You boiling the good stuff?” he asked his roommate.
“Of course I am!” Shredder responded while pulling out a bag of hot chocolate mix.
“Hey just asking.”
“You’re my best friend Thrash, and I respect you very much. But you realize that Princess Celestia is a very important mare right?”
“Yea I know. Raises the sun. Goddess...something, another thing, objects of harmony.”
“Listen, we just can’t make fools of ourselves. This mare is kindly funding our tour. And despite you being the youngest, you need to stop acting like the out of control colt you are on and off stage.”
“Would it annoy Rush if I did act like an out of control colt?”
“Not just Rush, the whole band.”
“I’m going to pretend you said yes to that and respond with the following; I don’t take requests.”
He laughed as he put some headphones on and turned on some loud rock music. Shredder could hear the song and recognized it as “Iron Colt” by Black Saddle. Thrash sang the song out loud with his beautiful voice.
Shredder set a glass of hot chocolate next to Thrash on a nightstand and picked up his guitar. He started playing the same song Thrash was singing. Eventually, Thrash sat up on the side of the bed and took off the headphones and started singing the lyrics to the song being played by Shredder.
Thrash fell back onto the bed laughing and taking a drink of the hot chocolate. Shredder sat back on the couch and did the same.
“Look bro. I understand how much this means to the band. To me this is like eating dinner. You eat with the family you can be as “manner less” as you want, but when out on a fancy dinner with a bunch of strangers, you act like a king.”
“Fillydelphia was never kind to you was it”
“That’s the city of brotherly love my friend. It was never kind to anypony.”
“Here, here.”
The two ponies clanged their cups against one another and they drank.
The tour Carriage passed several buildings in the Canterlot area. Rush finally finished his work. He picked up his bass guitar and sat on his bed. He started strumming notes as he looked out the window.
Suddenly something caught his eye.
“Oh no.” He said to himself.
He jumped off his bed and ran into the hallway.
“Everypony, we have a problem!”
All the members of the band poked their heads out the doors of their rooms.
“Rush this better be good.” Slide said in his French accent. “You are disturbing my meditation.”
Slide often did meditation to relax his mind. He claims that it helps him focus on his piano playing in order to give the audience a real show.
“It’s not good, it’s terrible. Somepony put up posters for our concert!”
All the ponies looked at each other.
“That's not a bad thing.”
“It is a bad thing. Now we're going to have a mob of fans waiting at the palace. We're gonna get be distracted from our schedule.”
“Oh that reminds me,” said Thrash, “are we there yet?”
The whole band giggled.
“Laugh all you want, I am not going to end up behind schedule...”
The Carriege came to an instant halt.
“Canterlot Castle!” shouted one of the three drivers pulling the cart.
“A simple yes would have been easier to say Rush.”
Rush just shrugged and looked out the window. Thrash did the same in his room. He gave a huge smile at the large crowd of fans surrounding the sides of a red carpet path into the castle. Armored members of the Canterlot Royal Guard were lined up in front of the fans to hold them back when they exited.
“YES! We got a welcome wagon.” he said, excited off his mind.
“How much?” a8sked Snap at the door of his bedroom under the floor.
“Enough to fill this whole carriage to capacity. Shredder do you have a spare marker on you? I lost mine.”
Shredder finished packing his guitar case and tossed a black marker to Thrash. They proceeded their way to the door. Rush was worried stiff looking out the window.
“Common Rush. So what if we get a little behind schedule? These ponies came to welcome us.” Whiplash said giving him a nudge with her hoof.
A small group of unicorns came to the lower deck of the carriage to collect the other instruments that the band had packed for the tour. Using their magic, they lifted them onto a dolly and wheeled them to the stage through the back. The door to the carriage opened up and the sound of squealing fans was heard. Thrash and the band slipped some sunshades over their eyes.
“Show time.” Snap said as they started their way out.
The screaming fans became louder after they exited the carriage. The Guards had a hard time holding the fans back but they still were able to manage. They proceeded down the walkway behind an officer of the Royal Guard. Along the way they gave autographs and got a few pictures from fans and members of the press.
Finally they made it inside the palace. They were led to the grand staircase.
“The Princess will be with you in a moment.” said the officer as he left the room.
Everypony, except Shredder, removed their glasses and looked around at the glorious decor and stained glass windows.
“Fancy.” Thrash said.
“Now remember to be respectful bow down to the Princess when she...”
“We know what to do Rush!” shouted Shredder. “Can you go five minutes without acting like our mother?!”
Rush just shrugged. All he wanted to do was make sure things turn out well with ABSOLUTELY no flaws.
Princess Celestia entered the room. The whole band kneeled before her and rose. Rush trotted forward.
“Dear Princess Celestia, as the manager of the band I would like to say that it is an absolute...”
“Princess, as a former resident, let me say that it’s an honor to perform for you and the citizens of Canterlot.” Whiplash said gracefully as she interrupted Rush in mid-sentence.
Celestia smiled at the vanilla colored unicorn.
“Well it’s an honor to have you come here to perform.” She said kindly in her elegant voice. “Has the city not changed since you were last here?”
“Not one bit. It feels so good to be home.” Whiplash said as she jumped in place with excitement. “Oh, please excuse me I haven’t introduced myself and the rest of the band.”
Whiplash turned around introducing each pony.
“I go by the name Whiplash, I am the oldest of the band and the rhythm guitarist. That is our fancy keyboardist from Vanhoover, Ludwig Slide.”
“The pleasure, is all mine madam. Just call me Slide.” he said kneeling before the goddess.
“Our gut busting drummer from Trotstrailia, Snap Draw.”
“G’day, fair goddess Celestia.” Snap said.
“The Second oldest and most beloved lead guitarist, Shredder.”
“You’ll find out why soon enough.” Shredder said as he fixed his sunglasses.
“And our youngest member, and agile vocalist, Thrash Trotter.” she said, skipping Rush in the line.
“Ay!” shouted Rush.
“I am also the comical one.” he said smiling with a squee.
Whiplash looked back at Celestia.
“He tells no lies.”
Everypony, but Rush, chuckled.
“But what about me...”
“That’s Rush Lee. He plays bass and manages the band.” Whiplash said interrupting him again.
Celestia smiled.
“Well I’m happy to meet all of you. I’ve heard your music and I am really looking forward to seeing you perform.”
“What times the show?” asked Snap.
“8:30pm at night, tonight.” Rush and Celestia replied together.
Celestia led the band down a long wide hallway. The carpet was red, and there were closed beverage stands in either side under stained glass windows.
“You six will be performing in the concert hall.” The Princess said. “We hold our Hearts Warming Eve pageant in this room every year. There's enough room to hold up to 50,000 ponies. We have cleared it out to have it remodeled to your desire. That is what you requested, correct Rush?”
“Yes, thank you Princess.” Rush said with a smile. “With all that space, based on the layout we can fit an additional 1,000 more.
“That also makes more room for the fans to move around.” Shredder said. "Way to think.”
“I try.” he said proudly with a smile.
They continued walking until they got to a large white door.
“This is the concert hall’s main entrance.” Celestia explained. “Your Instruments and other equipment will be waiting for you backstage, and the stage crew will be there to set everything up based on Rush’s designs. If you require anything, just ask one of the guards inside. Are there any questions?”
Thrash raised his hoof like a school student in class
“Oooo! Ooooo! I have one! Are there any museums or historic sights around here? I wanted to take a look around the town and...”
“Thrash we are only here for one night.” Whiplash said. “The concert is in 12 and hours. We can’t schedule any side quests.”
“Awww.” Thrash moaned.
“You could consider this castle one of the most historic places in this kingdom.” Celestia explained. “But now that you mention it, I almost forgot to mention that you will be having some very special Ponies backstage to watch the concert.”
“How special?” Asked Slide.
“I have invited my best pupil and her friends to attend the concert backstage. These ponies were the ones that wielded the Elements of Harmony to stop Discord and Nightmare Moon.”
All members of the band gasped. Their mouths hung open.
“Well I’ll leave you alone to prepare for tonight.” Celestia said passing the six frozen ponies.
“...Rush?” said a squeaky voiced Whiplash.
“On it. BAND HUDDLE!” he shouted and all six ponies huddled into a circle. “Ok. I had no idea that we would be meeting these six heroes, so I’m just as surprised as you. The ponies that inspired our song "Six Basic Elements" will be watching this show.”
“We never performed that song live before.” said Slide. “We don’t have time to fit it in with the planned songs.”
“It's ok.” Rush continued. “We'll follow through with what we already have planned. Even if we don’t play it we will still give them a performance they'll never forget. So lets get in there and practice like we never practiced before!”
The band cheered as Rush opened the doors to the concert hall. The room was huge. The walls and balconies were made of a dark wooded material. The tiled floors were a dark grey and clear of the seats that were once attached to the floor. The balconies were lined with built in red velvet chairs.
“This place is huge!” Shredder said as the band proceeded their way into the hall.
As Thrash trailed behind the rest of the band, he felt a hoof tap him from behind. He turned to see that it was Princess Celestia. The band didn’t even notice her.
“Thrash was it?” she asked.
“Yes Princess.” he responded.
“What did you mean by museums and historic sites?”
“Well, I just enjoy exploring the places we visit. And I enjoy museum’s most of all.”
“You have a thing for them?”
“I just enjoy the Culture, the art, the history, you name it. I guess you can say it’s just something I picked up along the way.”
“Where are you having your next concert?”
Thrash rubbed his head with his hoof, trying to recall the name.
“I know the next concert is three days from tonight...and it takes place at.... I think it was called... Skysberg?”
“Cloudsdale?”
“That was it. Sorry my memories not so good. Guess that’s what I get for travelling everywhere.” he said with a smile.
“Well below that city is going to be your third stop. It’s a town called Ponyville. When you get the chance, hit up that town. The museum is worth the wait.”
“No fooling?” Thrash asked excited.
Celestia nodded her head.
“Alright! I’m so there. Thank you Princess Celestia.”
He gave her a quick hug and ran into the concert hall. Celestia stood in place shaking her head and smiling.
“It’s always the youngest one who’s most adventurous.” she said to herself as she walked away.
“Ok, the Lighting is set on the board. Is the zip line secured!?” Rush asked Thrash from the balcony with a megaphone.
“I’ve tested it nine times! It's functioning great and capable of supporting my weight!” Thrash shouted from the stage to Rush. “It still kind of makes me nervous! Will there be a safety net below me?!”
“They didn’t already set it up?!”
“Did you tell them to set it up?!”
Rush stopped.
“...Dear Celestia.” He grumbled to himself. “Can somepony please secure a safety net under the zip line for Thrash!?”
Two white Pegasus ponies flew up to the highest balcony and started setting up a net.
“At least I can tumble onto the stage like a boss if I don’t end up sliding onto the stage like a boss.” Thrash said to himself as he took a drink from a bottle of water.
A yellow unicorn mare approached Thrash and tapped him in the back.
“Mr. Trotter?” she asked. He turned and looked.
“Please call me Thrash.” he said kindly with a smile. “You’re the stage manager, correct?”
“Yes sir.” she responded with a nod. “My name is Honeycomb. I just wanted to say that we've finished padding the walls and ground for your stunt work. We thought you would enjoy a test run.”
“Heck yea I would!” Thrash shouted happily dropping his water on ground. He leaped up towards the wall at the peak of his height. He grabbed a metal handle that was drilled into the structure, and swung back and fourth, till he flew forward and landed to the side of the drummer’s platform followed by a flip on stage. He picked up his bottled water and drank it some more.
“I hereby dub that to be awesome. Good on yah, its perfect.”
“That was amazing!" she said. “Where did you learn those stunts?”
“Let’s just say Fillydelphia has some talented ponies hidden in certain places. If you find those places you can learn a lot.”
“What?”
“To simplify, that’s band secret.”
“Oh, well ok. Oh, before I forget I have a son who enjoys your music. It’s his birthday tomorrow and I was wondering if you’d sign this CD.”
She held out a copy of their fourth album, "Radiation". Thrash took it and looked at the back to see the picture of the band. Thrash noticed at how different they all looked back then. Whiplash had a shorter mane, Snap’s mane had its natural dark blond color and it was much more messy, and Rush’s glasses were darker.
“Ah memories. I remember recording this Album last year. It was Whiplash's turn to choose the title and Rush became our manager.”
“What happened to the old manager?”
“Eh, it’s a long story. Anyway I’d love to sign this but I have a better Idea.”
Thrash walked to the back. Honeycomb waited there for a few minutes and he returned with a copy of the new "Poison Ponies" album.
“This is the new album, it won’t be released until next month. We autographed several to give to certain ponies we meet during the tour. Give this to your son. Tell him Thrash said hi.” he said with a smile and a wink.
“Thank you. You are a very nice colt, you know that.” she stated accepting the gift and leaving to inspect the rest of the stage. Thrash stood there sighing to himself after what he did.
“You know we have only 150 of those Cd’s.” Whiplash said from behind him.
“Ah, we got plenty of those things. Heck we still have a ton of leftover from the last tour.”
“Your gonna make Rush angry.”
“I know.”
“She is right about you. She kind of reminds me of your mother.”
Thrash lifted his hoof and starred at the two gold bracelets dangling from them.
“...A little.”
“Well you should see what we got planned for tonight’s finale.”
Whiplash handed Thrash a piece of paper that outlined a plan that they had for the finale. His eyes swept through it swiftly. He looked back up at Whiplash.
“I need to see this to believe this!”
“Ok lets get our first rehearsal through the whole show.” Rush said as he arrived on stage with his bass guitar hooked to an amp. “Everypony ready?”
Each member got into position; Snap on the platform where his drums were set. Slides piano was to left on his own platform. Rush stood on the left of the stage while Whiplash stood behind Shredder on the right. Thrash walked up to the microphone in center stage to do the usual mic check.
“Check 1, 2. Mic check, check. Checkidy check, check. Rush’s vest looks stupid check check.” he joked. The whole band giggled to themselves.
“Sometimes I wonder why I haven’t quit yet.” Rush said to the band in his microphone.
“We love you!” Said Whiplash on her microphone.
Rush turned away, and smiled to himself.
“I just can’t live without’em!”
“OK LETS TAKE IT TO THE OPENER!” Thrash howled into his mic. “1...2...3...4!”
PART 1
PART 2
