"Well this was it. Out on my own... well kind of. Uncle Fender and I stayed in many hotels while we tried to make our living in Las Pegasus, trying to get a hold of every opportunity we could to show what we had, talent wise. While we shared almost every hotel room we stayed in, we didn't really see much of each other due to each of us having our own gigs to try and get to. However the time that we could spend together was awesome. Me and my uncle never had time to hang out like we did when we lived in Cloudsdale. Spending time with him was very helpful, especially since I was still missing my mother and Violet like crazy. There was one point in the five months that I had been gone so far, that I even missed my dad and Brawn, and wanted to go back and tell them that they were right, that I am as they said I was and that I'd never amount to anything and go get a second rate job at the weather factory. However when I'd have such thoughts, Fender would snap me out of it by whacking me on the head... yeah I was one of those "think out loud" guys. Fender was the one who was right, they were wrong about me, and I was going to prove it. I was going to show them all that Singer Case was a force to be reckoned with. That I would never back down...."
Five months had past since Singer left home, and despite the fact that he missed his mother, his best friend Violet, and at times even the family members who were the reason why he left in the first place, but he pressed on. He and Fender had come to the shiny streets of Las Pegasus for a reason and it was for this reason he needed to get into something that would help him be able to do what he was always meant to do, perform and sing for all to hear. And one day, he finally got a chance.
As he walked up to the talent scout's desk, he was shaking like a baby's rattle. For some reason, he was actually nervous to sing in front of somepony. He had never ever been nervous before performing for somepony, but the weight of this situation fell upon him like a ton of bricks, and it showed by the amount of sweat that was coming from his head.
"You alright?" said the talent scout known as Star Finder. She was, like Singer, a pegasus. She wore a small baret, round black framed glasses, with a cream colored coat and blonde mane. "I ask again, Mr Case... are you alright?"
Singer shook his head to get it back in the game. "You're darn right I'm alright, Ma'am! Just trying to get in the zone here." He said regaining his confidence.
"Well I would appreciate it if you got in the zone a little faster. I'm waiting on my next appointment."
"Right... sorry. Here I go..."
And the rest was history.
Singer had wowed Star Finder with his voice that day, and that earned him a spot in a series of performances at a Night Club called "Slappy's Pool Hall". It wasn't the big break that Singer was hoping for, but it was one of the biggest places that music promoters went to, and this was the kind of performing that Singer initially wanted to do in the first place. Making records would have been nice, but Singer's goals at the time were set mainly on performing. The former would have to wait for now.
The Club was cleverly decorated and highly pleasurable. Neon lights shone on the walls, mostly advertiser neon lights, but they were still cool to see. There was a stage on the left side of the room, built specially for special performances. Tonight, Singer was dealing with more than just music acts as competition, he was dealing with trickster ponies, magic ponies, and ponies with outrageous talents. When Singer had been shown to the back to get ready for the performances, he was awestruck at all of the other ponies had been there to perform. Getting noticed wasn't going to be easy here in this particular set up, especially since there were so many different varieties of acts, but Singer felt confident none-the-less.
As he waited back stage for his turn on stage, he notced a red unicorn mare preparing for what looked like a singing act as well, as she stood there vocalizing and drinking out of a water bottle. She had a long golden mane and tail, with a similar cutie mark as Singer's; a microphone but with sound symbols coming off of it. She was very attractive to say the least, or at least in Singer's eyes she was.
He thought about walking over there to talk to her, just to talk. He didn't figure he'd have a real chance to get a date, not that he was really concerned about that anyway. But he hadn't really talked to anypony socially since arriving in Las Pegasus, other than his uncle, and it wasn't like his performance was going to be in the next hour anyway, and it didn't hurt that she was pretty... What was he thinking? Singer wasn't a superficial type of stallion. He cleared that train of thought, and focussed on a good discussion topic. He'd be content with just making another friend.
He started over to her, mind boggling with various thoughts. He'd only just seen her, so how could he have a crush on her? He'd never talked to her and he didn't even know her name or what she was like. This was just a social talk, he'd said to himself. Nothing more than that.
As he drew closer, she looked up and acknowledged him giving him a welcoming smile. She too appeared to be in the mood for a conversation. She motioned him to come a little closer once he stopped a few feet away.
"You nervous too?" she said.
Singer, deep in thought, had to snap out of it before he let himself pause too long. "Uuuuh... yeah. Super nervous. This could be my shot into the big time."
"Mine too. I'm not sure if I'll make it, but I have hopes to anyway."
"Same here. Are you from around here?"
"No, I'm from Canterlot originally. But I moved here when I was still in high school. So in a sense, you could say that I'm from around here." She giggled awkwardly as if she said something dumb.
"I came from Cloudsdale a few months ago. But I was born in Canterlot and lived there for the first six years of my life, so maybe we bumped into each other a few times."
"Maybe. I can't remember that far back. But it's a pleasure to meet you, Mister..."
"Oh, sorry. My name's Singer. Kind of redundant, considering my talent huh?"
"Not really..." she replied. "My name is Serenity Sound. And that's almost like Singer, I guess. And I kind of thought that most ponies names reflect their talents anyway."
"That is true. Silly me." He laughed. "I can do other things with my voice as well. Wanna see?"
"Sure!" she said eagerly.
"Well first of all, I can talk in other ponies' voices!" he said while perfectly replicating Serenity's voice.
"Whoa! That's impressive! How in the world do you learn to do that?!?"
"I have no idea! It's just a gift, I suppose." He said.
"Well that is very impressive, Mister Case. Any other raw talents and abilities you've got? Other than singing, of course...
"Well... I'm also great in the kitchen, snazzy dancer, and a ham on the acting stage."
He had kicked his hoof back a bit as they continued their conversation, and accidentally hit one of the ropes that they had tied to one of the sandbags that they use for the curtains, which were hanging up high. When he kicked it, it knocked the sandbag down and it landed inches away from another mare who was practicing her magic. The bag exploded and sand flew onto her cape a bit, making it a little dirty. Other than that, she was unharmed.
The light blue unicorn mare, wearing what looked like a wizard's outfit, looked up angrily at Singer, who was still in conversation with Serenity and trotted angrily over to them. She trotted so hard that she was almost stomping, she was that mad.
"HEY!" she yelled.
Singer and Serenity turned to see the angry mare glaring at them. The mare obviously meant business as she had gone so far as to get in Singer's face when she confronted him. Singer's tone went from a mild confidence back into a nervousness as he was now faced with trouble."
"Can I help you, Miss?" asked Singer, cocking his eye brow.
"Indeed, you can help me, you can help me by stop being such an oaf!"
"Beg pardon?"
"You and that clutzy hoof of yours nearly killed me and now my cape is all dirty! If this hurts the impression of my performance, I'm blaming you! The "Great and Powerful Trixie" will not stand for this type of stupidity!"
"Excuse me! If I did do as you say I did, then I apologize, but there's no need to be rude about it!"
"QUIET!!" she yelled again. "Trixie has heard enough of your excuses and protests! Just stay out of Trixie's way and Trixie might... MIGHT forget that this whole thing ever happened."
"Who's Trixie? Is that your sister?" heckled Serenity, followed by a smirk.
"Trixie is me, you twit! Now buzz off!"
"Now see here, Trixie!" said Singer. "I already apologized so can't we just let this go and stop being so rude?"
"Oh I'll let it go... when pigs learn how to fly! And furthermore..."
Just then a pig landed on Trixie as she continued to rant, shutting her up.
"What the..." said Serenity as she and Singer looked around for the source of the 'flying pig'.
"Sorry about that!" said a brown earth pony stallion with a dark brown poofy mane and tail style, wearing a yellow collared shirt and having a cutie mark that resembled a split in half grilled cheese sandwhich and for no apparent reason, a rubber chicken with a tiny bowler hat on his back, who appeared on the scene. "I don't know what got into Boris, here. He tried to fly off in my party cannon."
Trixie levitated the pig off and glared at the stallion, before stomping off and letting out a loud and exasperated sigh. "IDIOTS!"
The remaining ponies on the scene couln't help but laugh at this.
"Sorry about her" said Singer. "She's a few carrots short of a carrot cake, if you know what I mean."
"So am I!" said the goofy earth pony stallion with a laugh, getting a small chuckle and a giggle from Singer and Serenity. "Well I better get going! I don't know how we ended up here, but this Cheese Sandwich has to be off at a party soon! Come on Boris!"
Cheese and his pig left the room, leaving Singer and Serenity back to their conversation.
"That was funny and random." said Serenity.
"I know! Isn't it great? I'd love to be in the party throwing business! That Cheese Sandwich guy sure knows how to live! And he got rid of "The Great and Powerful" Trixie." he said with a laugh.
"Indeed. That does sound fun, and yes I'm glad she went back to her spot. She's rather annoying!"
"Miss Sound, your performance is set to go in two minutes!" yelled one of the directors from the stage.
"Oh... well... I suppose I had better get ready then."
"Okay. Break a leg!" he said dutifully. "Um... do you think I could see you again? Like maybe hang out or something?"
"Sure. I like you, Singer. Come to the Corner Cafe at eight tonight and we can talk some more."
"Sure thing." he said. "See you then."
"Alright then." She smiled back at him before going on stage.
As she started her performance, Singer stood on the sidelines backstage watching her. She had a voice that sounded like a choir of angels, or at least it did to him. He couldn't help but admire how elegant she looked while she performed. She was definitely in her element. The song she sang was about a school mare going to a big city to follow her dream, which pretty much sounded like the story she had told him about herself. Singer was wowed by her performance, as was the rest of the audience. Once she left the stage, the audience was asking for an encore, but unfortunately the show was already behind schedule so they had to press on.
Singer waited for about half an hour more until his turn finally came. He was one of the two final performances and he was anxious for his chance to get up there and perform. However one little snag in his plan appeared when one of the back stage managers appeared.
"Hey kid, it's just you and one other act, but we only have time for one more show... so you're both gonna have to go on at the same time."
Singer shrugged indifferently as this didn't really bother him. But his tone changed when he saw who the other final performer was.
"Well, well, well..." said Trixie. "Looks like Trixie has to share the stage with a mediocre performer. Don't worry stallion, I'm sure somepony will recognize your lack of talent next to my brilliance."
"If by brilliance, you mean lameness." countered Singer, who was beginning to grow more and more annoyed by the second.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie is not lame! You however are so lame that lame-duck atheletes have a better chance of performing at their best than you do."
"What kind of insult is that?" Singer countered. "You're comparing me to atheletes now? Ya know if I didn't know any better I'd say you had a crush on me."
Trixie didn't respond with words, but with a shocked and outraged expression and a whack to Singer's head with a nearby street light stage prop. WHACK!
"I guess I had that one coming..." said Singer as he lie on the floor, holding his head in pain. "Stupid Trixie!" he murmered under his breath as it came time for the two performers to hit the stage together.
"And for the final performance of the night, we have our two last performers up on the stage. Please welcome the singing talents of Singer Case and the magic talents of The Great and Powerful Trixie." said the announcer.
As the introduction music played, Trixie appeared on the stage in a cloud of smoke, with a few fireworks going off behind her, while Singer slid on his knees onto the center of the stage, bumping into Trixie.
"Watch it you imbicile!" said Trixie, levitating Singer away from her, followed by her starting her magic act.
Singer just growled and rolled his eyes as he prepared to start singing a song that he'd listened to alot when he'd flip through the channels. This particular song came on the country station.
"I never was a straight laced, straight A student, teacher's pet or foal prodigy.
I wasn't going to get rich being a racer, and it'd take to long to get a law degree.
So I sat down with my mom and daddy, they tried to talk some sense into my thick head
But the best advice that I ever got was from my Uncle Fender and my best friend"
Before Singer could get into his chorus, Trixie turned him into a llama, causing the crowd to roar with laughter. The hustlers at the gambling table were probably laughing the loudest out of anypony there. He glared at Trixie, who had a smug smile on her face as she turned him back.
He took a deep breathe as the music continued to play and Trixie went back to making things appear out of her hat, and resumed his song.
"Just get you a guitar and learn how to play,
start a routine, come up with a name
When you're living in a world that you don't understand
Find a few good buddies and just start a band.
Start a band, start a band!"
Trixie took his pause after the chorus as an opportunity to chang him into something else. This time he found himself inside a small bowl, and his new form was a blue Sea Pony.
"Shoo be doo shoo be doo" she mocked, while the background music was still playing for Singer's song. She gave a maniacle laugh as all of the ponies in the audience, gamblers, hustlers, other performers, you name it, were laughing at Singer's misfortune as Trixie used him as a prop. Singer's scowl continued to get bigger as he sat there in that fish bowl.
"HEY! Turn me back!" he said in his squeaky voice while he floated in the fish tank. This earned him even more laughs by the crowd and it was making his confidence dwindle a bit. Regardless he had to finish the song, no matter what this jerk of a mare threw at him.
She smirked when she turned him back to his pegasus form, not failing to do something embarassing yet again. He was now in a dress!
"Seriously?" he protested. "A freaking dress?!?"
"What's the matter Singerella? Can't take the heat of competition?"
Singer ignored it all this time around and went straight back to singing, despite his "new outfit".
"All those mares that were too cool to talk to
They'll be waitin in a line out back!
Might get your picture in the hometown paper
Maybe record a top trending music track!"
When Trixie threw her magic his way again, the dress had disappeared and so had his wings. This angered him even further.
"That's it!" said Singer as he finally took action, galloping past her, grabbing her hat while he did. Trixie went from acting mischievious to having an annoyed expression in her features. Apparently, Singer had finally gained some footing on her.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie commands that you give her her hat back this instant, you little wretch!"
"I want my wings back!" said Singer picking up a left over clown nose that had been sitting on the ground and squeezed it to mock her as she chased him around the stage. The audience loving it even more, some of them even kept demanding more.
"Fine, I'll give you your ratty wings back, just give me my hat!"
"Wings first!" he demanded, holding her hat like he was about to throw it off the stage.
"Fine!" she yelled as she lit her horn and his wings appeared back on his body. Singer followed it up by tossing her his hat, keeping his end of the little deal. She took it back begrudgingly as Singer prepared to set the chorus again and to end the song.
"Just get you a guitar and learn how to play
Grow out your hair, come up with a name
With a little bit of luck you'll be packing the stands
So find a few good buddies and start a band
No need to study, start a band!
Call up some buddies and start a band!"
As his singing performance ended, the applause began to erupt. Despite Trixie's foolery, they had noticed his voice and they liked his singing. A smile adorned his face as a sense of accomplishment came over him. He'd done it. His first big gig had been a hit. There were several ponies in the building, at least one of them had to be looking for some talent. He clung on to that hope.
His excitement was short lived however, when Trixie levitated a rope, wrapping it around Singer's legs, and then pulling it away making him spin around like a top. Making him hit the wall several times before falling off the stage. This, of course, brought on even more laughter from the audience and not one of them bothered to help him up after he fell.
Trixie smirked as she watched him fall off the stage. She then walked over to the edge and looked down at the fallen stallion, who had stars dancing around his head.
"If you can't take the heat, don't leave the basement!" she said with an evil chuckle before waving to the crowd.
As Singer lie there, his blood began to boil. Anger stirring inside, as she stood up there making a mockery of him. He knew that he was above this, but he HAD to get even. This was war!
He flapped his wings and flew up, then proceeded to dart towards the back of the stage, much to Trixie's pleasure.
"Looks like the idiot couldn't handle the heat and he actually did head for the basement! TRIXIE IS THE WINNER!!!" she said out loud, getting more laughs from the audience who were eating this up. Her pride swelling up like a balloon, she bowed to the crowd as she took joy in Singer's apparent loss.
"You're the greatest, Trixie!" said a random stallion from across the room.
"Was there ever any doubt?" she said with a smug expression.
"I'll say there was!" said a voice from behind her. This surprised her just enough to make her turn around, this suprised her but it didn't frighten her. It just mildly annoyed her.
Singer now stood at the back of the stage with a rope tied to his waist, and whatever was attatched to it was behind the curtain. Trixie looked at Singer with a confused expression on her face. She then began to laugh at her rival.
"Well, well, well..." she said. "You don't know when to quit do you?"
"I never knew how to quit! Just ask my fourth grade teacher!" the now TO'ed stallion replied as he pulled the rope, bringing what was attatched him closer. As he pulled the rope it quickly revealed a party cannon that was left back stage, presumably by Cheese Sandwich. He then manned the cannon and aimed it right at her. This was the best Singer could think up in the short amount of time and the anger driven audrenaline could muster up. He halfway expected her to move out of the way, but she didn't appear to be threatened by this new maguffin.
"What do you expect to accomplish with that pea shooter?"
"The time has come to find out, my worthy adversary!" he said with a maniacle laugh. "Hasta la bye bye mamacita!" he shouted as he pulled the trigger on the cannon, shooting out streamers and confetti at an incredibly fast pace, making the impact that Trixie recieved from the blast throw her across the room and into the wall on the other side.
When she got back up on her hooves after momentarily lying on the ground, the crowd once again roared with laughter, and even Singer himself couldn't resist taking pride in this and laughing himself. She then recollected herself and began to charge back to the stage.
When Singer saw her coming, he knew then that it was not a good idea to remain on stage. He had finished his song, though he was putting on a show that was apparently so entertaining that nopony was trying to stop them. In fact when he was running away from Trixie, you could hear the disappointment in the crowd's voices when they saw it seemingly come to an end.
However Trixie wasn't going to let this go, one bit. She jumped on the stage and used her magic to grab Singer before he could get very far. She then used horn to levitiate the rope that had been tied to the party cannon and tied Singer's hooves together. She then proceeded to put Singer into the party cannon and turned it so that he was facing a table where several pies had been sitting.
'Oh no' he thought. 'The ultimate pie in the face awaits!'
As he prepared for his plunge into the wild pie wonder, he looked over at Trixie with a glare and said these foreshadowing words: "Someday, some pony is going to show you up, Trixie! And when they do, I hope that I have front row seats to it! I'm really looking forward to the day when somepony proves that the 'Great and Powerful' Trixie isn't so great or powerful!"
"Are you finished?"
"Do your worst!"
"Gladly!"
Trixie then pulled the trigger on the cannon, sending Singer, hurling out of the cannon. Singer began to see his life flash before his eyes as he, in slow motion, made his way to the pie table, flying across the room. Flapping his wings would do him no good here, his destiny was calling him. He was about to be a part of Equestria's largest pie in the face in history. The table had about twenty five pies on it and it was calling his name. The rest of the trip from his perspective happened in a snap as he felt a mixture of the hard impact of the table that he demolished, and the squishiness of him landing on pies and the remaining pies landing on top of him. The crowd all around, laughing at him. This was probably one of the worst showings of bullying he'd ever been a part of. It certainly topped anything even Thunder Clap had done to him while he was in school. The only difference was, this time he tried to fight back. Though even Singer had to admit, the whole thing was funny, it still made him mad. And thus another glorious rivalry was born!
The crowd loved it! Even the owner of the place had never seen a performance quite as humorous and spectacular in his place before, and an unscripted one on top of that. Slappy, the owner of the pool hall himself, walked over and pulled Singer out of the pie mess and patted him on the back, laughing all the while.
Had Singer done it? Had he made a mark in Las Pegasus? The answer to the question, while still remained to be seen was starting to sound more and more like a yes when reporters had caught wind of it all and rushed in to take pictures and interview the spectators of what had transpired. And much to Trixie's dismay, they all wanted pictures of the pony covered in pie, rather than the magical jerk who had made it all possible in the first place. Disgruntled, Trixie left the building. Never to be seen in Las Pegasus again, she fled the town after her short lived victory. In the end, Singer ended up being the victor.
Later that night, Singer met up with Serenity at the corner cafe, just like she had told him to. He sat across a booth from her as they both laughed and shared their thoughts on what had happened earlier that afternoon. Serenity herself, was more so intrigued with Singer's battle with Trixie when the subject came up. A battle that never would have happened had a scheduling conflict not had risen, forcing the two to demonstrate their performances together.
He could laugh about it talking with Serenity now, but he could still remember the anger he felt towards the blue mare for intentionally trying to sabotauge him. He wasn't a vengeful stallion, but he wouldn't soon forget this and hoped he'd never meet Trixie again. But now wasn't the time to stir the pot on what had already happened. Singer was making a new friend and it pleased him to talk to somepony again.
"So when you blasted her with that party cannon did she flinch?"
"No. She wasn't threatened at all by it, but she probably felt it when she hit the wall. Looking back on it now, I feel kind of bad for doing that to a mare, even if she did deserve it." he said feeling a twinge of guilt in his gut.
"I wouldn't worry about it. She was obviously alright and like you said and by what I gathered, she's a jerk and she deserved it anyway. Did she really turn you into a fish?"
"Sea Pony. I can still hear the mockery of 'shoo be doo shoo be doo'!" He said placing his head on the table and his hooves over his head.
"I bet it was hilarious! I wish I would have stuck around to see it now."
"It was a mess that much is sure. I'm still pulling pie out of my mane."
Serenity laughed at the mention of the pie. And Singer had found some crumbs in his mane that he missed. The two of them continued in their conversation when Fender came in the door, he looked like he had been running.
"Fender! You alright?"
The stallion took a bit of time to catch his breath, but eventually answered Singer. "Am I alright? I'm awesome! And apparently so are you!"
"What do you mean?" inquired Singer.
"You and some mare named Serenity wowed the audience with your voices and demands for you both have been skyrocketting over the course of the last few hours... Nephew... you've just hit the big time, baby!"
Singer could hardly believe it! Finally! He had other ponies wanting to hear him sing.
"Excuse me, Fender was it? I'm Serenity Sound." replied the singing mare.
"Oh how rude of me. Nice to meet you Miss Sound. If you're anything like my nephew or how I've heard you are I'm sure you'll make a fine vocalist."
"I agree with that sentiment. I heard you and you are a great singer, probably one of the best voices I've heard." agreed Singer.
"Thank you Singer, that means a lot." She smiled. "Perhaps we could maybe be a duet in the future?"
"If all works out well, I'd love to!"
"And perhaps you'll need a guitarist?" said Fender wide eyed. "Band auditions aren't going so hot for me, still."
"I'd be honored to have you on board with me, Fender. I could use some music to go with my voice, anyway! And you're one of the best guitarists I know!"
"Start a band!" said Fender holding his hoof out for Singer to hoof bump.
Singer returned the hoof bump while saying, "Start a band' back to his uncle.
While Singer and Fender talked about their arrangements, Serenity couldn't help but smile as she had just realized that she was going to be a star. And perhaps she might find her future performing with Singer. Singer seemed to entertain the idea so only time would tell if they would.
Meanwhile, outside of Las Pegasus Trixie continued on, leaving the town behind. "Good riddance to that idiot stallion and this stupid town! The Great and Powerful Trixie shall go where her magical talents will be the most appreciated act in Equestria! And there's nothing that is going to get in my way!"