The Biggest Fan
“So tell us, Rainbow Dash, what is your story about?” Asked a skeptical Rarity.
“Ooh ooh, is it about the Wonderbolts? I’m pretty sure every story you’ve told in the past is about the Wonderbolts.” Bounced Pinkie Pie excitedly.
“Hey now, that’s as bad as saying all of Applejack’s stories are about apples.” Twilight interjected.
“Yeah, seriously. What is wrong with you ponies? I’m not always Wonderbolts this, Wonderbolts that.” Dash huffed as she crossed her forelegs over her chest.
“You’re just usually always Wonderbolts this, and Wonderbolts that.” Rarity said with a little smirk, eliciting a glare from Rainbow.
“Fine fine, this story is about how not every fan you have is one you want. I’m pretty popular. I even have my own fan club. But this kind of fan is one I would not want to have no matter what.”
The bright lights beat down on the glistening stage. The air was filled with the rumble of sound as it pounded out across the amphitheatre. The crowd of ponies clustered together in the night cheered and pranced almost in unison in time with the music that was blaring out of the giant speakers on either side of the stage. Brightly colored lights flashed on and off as they swept across the crowd of ponies who were hollering their lungs out. The pony standing on the stage was Glamour Shot, a punk rocker singer from Trotland who became a huge hit once she had hit Baltimare. Her earth pony body was a bright neon yellow with steel blue mane and tail. The mane was done up in a spiked hairstyle and was frosted on the tips with bits of white. Heavy red eyeliner and white makeup coated her face as her voice rang out across the stadium. One of her hooves holding the microphone stand close to her as she poured out her feelings in the gift of song she was so well known for. Her Cutie mark was a silhouette of a pony head with a spiked mane and sparkles of what looked like glitter around it. Behind her was her band, the Screaming Banshees, playing on their respective instruments as they pounded out a beat to move the hearts of any pony who was listening to them.
After the show the crowd was still roaring for more as the band packed up their supplies and made way for the next band. All but a lone pegasus who was simply standing and watching, focusing entirely on Glamour Shot and nothing else.
“Good show, Glamour.” said the unicorn manager of the band, Seymour.
“Well you know how it is. Once I start feeling the beat, I just can’t let it go.” exclaimed the mare as she gave a shake of her mane. She looked herself over in front of a mirror as she checked to see if any of her makeup or hair glitter needed fixing.
“True enough, Glam’s the star of the band.” Exclaimed the earth pony drummer, Fast Beats.
“Oh Fasty’s just saying that cause he wants to shag her.” said the slender pegasus lead guitarist, Hot Lick. He then had to duck as a pair of drumsticks came sailing at his head.
“Now now, boys, there’s enough of me to go around.” Teased Glam as she gave her two band mates a flirty wink. She then looked around their dressing room. “Where’s Deep Tone?” She asked, looking for their bassist.
“Eh, he left soon as the gig was over, same as always.” Seymour said with a shake of his head as he adjusted his shades magically via his horn. Glam frowned at that.
“He’s always running off like that, he’s so mysterious.” She said as she blew an errant lock of her mane out of her eyes. “Well I guess I’ll see you guys later then? At the usual hangout?” She said with a flutter of her eyelids. The response being an exaggerated swoon from the trio of ponies as she giggled and left the dressing room. She stopped by the showers to wash her makeup, mane spray, and body paint off, revealing her natural color. It was a dark yellow with deep red mane and tail. She shook herself and finished toweling off. Otherwise, she’d never get any peace and quiet during her downtime. She examined herself in the mirror and nodded. She then trotted out into the night air of Baltimare as the concert was just winding down.
She trotted down the night street, taking in a deep breath through her nose as she enjoyed the night air. She was heading back to the motel her band was staying at. She could usually find Deep Tone there after a show, while her other band mates tended to party after a show. She passed by the same pegasus from the concert without noticing him. He watched her intently with his deep green eyes. She dug out a key from her bags and unlocked the door to the motel room after having made her oh so low-key entrance into the motel. Most of her band mates enjoyed the fame but she just loved to sing. She didn’t really care too much about the fame and money. She poked her head in as she looked around.
“Deep? You in here, buddy?” She called out quietly. Carefully stepping inside as she looked around the thrashed motel room. Her band mates were so messy she wanted to scream sometimes. She carefully maneuvered past a pile of empty pizza boxes as she inspected the rest of the hotel suite. “Guess he’s not here.” She said with a small sigh. She turned around and headed for the door. Deep Tone was a foalhood friend of hers and had decided to help her start the band. She did not have any romantic feelings towards him but she still liked hanging out with him. She figured she would try the club they normally hang out at since he wasn’t at the motel. Her band often did tours, but Baltimare was their base of operations. It was the city where they were ‘formed’ and everypony in the city considered the Screaming Banshees part of Baltimare’s culture.
The nightclub was pretty empty that night. Most ponies had gone to the concert and were still at it. It wouldn’t end for another hour or so. She squinted her eyes in the dim light as she looked across the barely populated club. Soon enough she spotted her friend. A fellow earth pony with dark blue fur and a black mane and tail. She smiled to herself as she started to trot over towards him.
“Hey there, beautiful.” came a cool and quiet voice from a booth as she walked past it.
“Huh? what?” She blinked, turning towards the sound of the voice with some confusion. She was used to being hit on in her Glamour Shot guise but when she was au natural, she wasn’t normally approached by stallions. The source of the greeting was a dark red pegasus with his light brown mane pulled back into a ponytail. The same one who had been following her since her concert. There were several streaks of gray in his mane, suggesting he was only a little older than her. His deep green eyes seemed to swallow her up when she looked into them. He was wearing a suit not unlike a fancy pony. A top hat of all things tilted over his left ear at an angle as he smiled over at her.
“Looking for somepony?” He asked in his calm and almost hypnotic voice.
“Yeah, I was, um.” She shook her head, rubbing a hoof against a temple as she suddenly found herself having problems focusing. “Looking for, Oh!” She smiled as she spotted Deep and shook herself out of whatever strange feeling she was having, “I’m sorry, I’m with somepony.” She said as she quickly trotted over to sit down at the booth where her friend was. The earth pony looked up.
“Something wrong, Mel?” He usually called her by her real name when they weren’t performing. He was the only one who did. Their other band mates referred to her as Glam or Glamour.
“Nah, just some stranger hitting on me.” She said with a shake of her head, still fighting off whatever strange daze had come over her.
“Who was it?” He asked quietly, eyes narrowing slightly in over protection.
“Oh, somepony over, huh?” She frowned, she couldn’t see where he was, the booth was empty, “I guess he left.” She said with a shrug, turning and smiling at him. “You okay? You weren’t at the motel.”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He said simply as he looked down at the paper he’d been writing on. As the song-writer for the group, he tended to find a lot of quiet places in order to find his muse. He glanced up when he saw her frowning at him disapprovingly. He sighed.
“Fine. I’ve been having nightmares,” He started off, not making eye contact with her, “Just normal stuff, you know; falling down great heights, running down never ending corridors. Normal nightmare stuff.” He said with a shrug as he sipped on his beverage.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” She asked with some concern as she reached out and put a hoof on his warmly.
He smiled gently at her. “I can’t really think of anything, unless you can magic me up some safe dreams.” He said as he closed his eyes, rubbing them with a hoof. Then he closed the notebook and tucked it inside his saddlebags. He stood up, “Let’s head back to the motel. I’m pretty tired.” He said with a large yawn.
She giggled as she moved to stand next to him, offering her shoulder for him to lean on as she walked him out of the door. On an impulse she glanced over her shoulder, spotting that strange stallion back in that same booth smiling at her. She shook her head again and he was gone. She didn’t think too much on it as she worked on getting her friend back to the motel and into bed.
The next day she was awakened by a knocking at the door, blinking sleepily as she rubbed an eye. She stumbled out of her bed and quietly crept into the living room section of their motel suite, spotting Fast Beats asleep on the couch with several empty bottles of heavy cider nearby. She shook her head, trotting over and covering him up with his blanket that had slipped off. Then she answered the door. It was a mailpony with a bouquet of flowers and a card held precariously in one hoof as he examined the clipboard in his other hoof.
“Miss Melody Spring?” the mailpony asked as he looked at the name on his order form.
“Um, yes?” She said as she blinked sleepily at the pony, still in the process of waking up herself.
“You have an order, please sign.” He acquired her signature then offered her the bouquet of tulips along with a card. “Have a nice day.” he turned to leave as she stared stupidly at him, then down to the card and bouquet in front of her.
“How is this,” She started, glancing at the card. “No pony should know I’m here. They should only know that Glamour Shots is staying here.” she usually went out of her way to maintain her ‘secret’ identity, so she was surprised when she saw that the card was addressed to her real name. She carefully opened it and read the letter.
“Dearest Melody, your voice it does sing,
And happiness and delight it does bring,
Your painted fur and makeup cannot hide,
the true beauty of the mare hidden inside.”
Your Secret Admirer.
“What? I don’t even. Who sent this?” She blinked several times, starting to feel a little creeped out. How did this fan of hers even know her real name? “I guess if somepony does enough research they can figure it out. I’m not exactly a spy or anything.” she said to herself as she tried to justify this as anything other than the weirdest thing to ever happen to her. She tossed the letter in the trash and set the flowers on the counter. They were nice, she didn’t want to just throw them away. Even if they were sent by some creepy stalker. She supposed it was just a price for fame.
She was halfway through cooking breakfast for the boys when Fast started to wake up, “Nmmmg? Oh hey, food!” He said with a sleepy grin. Fast sat down at the table in the kitchen, stifling a yawn behind a hoof.
She smiled warmly. “Yup, I’m in such a good mood I’m cooking pancakes for everypony!” She said as she poured out some coffee into a mug and pushed it to him, setting a stack of pancakes on a plate in front of him shortly after. “Dig in! Family recipe.” She said with a wink.
Hot Lick trotted in shortly after Fast started munching on his breakfast. “My my, such a healthy appetite, Fasty, you certainly know how to look attractive.” He loved teasing their drummer, especially since male fans kept professing their love for him in fan letters. Fast almost choked on his food as he muffled out some kind of indignant response, waving a hoof for emphasis. Hot smirked and sat down at his plate as his own food was served, eating much more reservedly than the always eager drummer.
Several long minutes and still no sign of activity from Deep. Melody frowned worriedly.
“I wonder if he was able to get any sleep last night? I should go check.” She said as she set aside a plate for him and herself and eyed the other two. “No touching, those are for me and Deep.” She exclaimed as she trotted back to where his room was, knocking on his door.
“Deep? It’s Mel, you okay in there?” She asked with a worried tone. She didn’t get an answer. She raised a hoof again, but before she could knock the door swung open and a very tired looking Deep stared solemnly back at her. “Oh! Um, breakfast is ready. I cooked it.” She said with a nervous smile at his expression.
“Oh,” He said with disinterest. His mane was a mess and his eyes were somewhat bloodshot. His tone of voice was similar to that of a pony talking in their sleep. He kept the door mostly closed, as if aware of his appearance. He did not want her to see him this way.
“Deep? Are you okay? You don’t look so well.” She asked as she put a hoof on the door and gently pushed, wanting to go to her disturbed foalhood friend. His eyes widened and he shook his head suddenly.
“No! You have to stay away!” He whispered hoarsely, as if suddenly full of energy. “Whatever you do, don’t get near me!” With that the door shut rather suddenly, the click of the lock slipping into place echoing in her ears. She frowned heavily at that, hurt by this sudden change of behaviour in her friend. She turned and stomped back to the living room area. Both of her band mates were busy wrestling each other for who would have the last pancake. They looked up at her in unison as she tromped past them, then at each other. They quickly broke up their little tussle and moved to their hooves.
“Glam? You okay there?” Hot managed to say before she shot them a glare that shut them both up. They shrank back and lowered their ears at the exact same time. She left the motel room with a slam of the door, clearly in a foul mood.
She made her way back to the club, which was dead as it was still morning, and it really was only busy at night. She ordered a drink and sat down at the bar, a scowl on her face as she brushed some bangs out of her face. Once her drink arrived, she took a long swig before setting the glass down. She sighed softly as she propped a foreleg up on the bar and rested her chin in a hoof.
“Troubles at home?” that familiar voice from last night spoke up as the pegasus sat down at the bar stool next to her, offering her a charming smile as he ordered his own drink. She was already in a dour mood but when she met his eyes again the tension slipped away. She caught herself staring before she shook herself out of it and glanced away.
“None of your business, pal.” she tried to be brusque, but she didn’t have the heart to be cold to this pony. She couldn’t put her hoof on it but it seemed somehow right for him to be there with her, “Who are you anyway?” She asked as she took a dainty sip of the remainder of her drink, suddenly feeling more girlish than she usually did. Something about this pony was making her feel and act so weird.
“Oh me? I’m a Secret Admirer.” He said with a dainty sip of his own, causing her to almost spit out her drink and turn to look at him in shock.
“How did you know my real name?”
“I’m a friend of the family, I knew your mother and grandmother, such lovely singing voices. Yours is no different, although in a much different style.” the stranger said as he looked at his beverage with a sort of thoughtful look in his deep green eyes. “An interesting choice, punk rock, as opposed to the classical styles your dams used. I was most saddened by their departure.”
“Wait, how did you know my Grandma? You’re like, younger than my mom too.” She asked somewhat suspiciously.
“I look much younger than I am, it’s a little family secret.” He said cryptically with a small smile. He turned to fix her with his alluring gaze again, “In the meantime, why don’t I try and help you forget about your troubles?” He said as he reached out a hoof to gently stroke her cheek. She found herself unable to resist. Soon after, her world became a dreamy haze.
She staggered back home a right mess, her mane and tail frazzled this way and that with a dreamy look on her face, a blush adorning her cheeks as she wobbled up to the door to their motel room and fiddled with her key to unlock it, giving a dreamy sigh as she stumbled inside and flopped down on the couch. Her eyes closed as she took a moment to rest. She felt giddy and weak-kneed as she rested on the couch. Unaware that Deep Tones was standing by the edge of the couch looking at her with a haunted expression on his face. He soon enough turned and went back to his room. She did not know how long she had been gone but she was so tired, and the couch seemed so inviting.
“Glam? Hey Glam?” She opened her eyes at a hoof poking her softly in the side, staring up at Fast Beats, who was standing next to Seymour, both of them looking at her with worry on their faces.
“Fasty? yeah? What?” She rubbed her forehead with a pained grimace, “Ooooh what did I do last night?” She groaned as it felt much like a hangover, her head was pounding.
“Well, Seymour and I were wondering. Is there anything going on here? You’ve been skipping practice and just vanishing on us and every time you come back you just pass out and sleep.”
“Yeah, you’ve been doing this for over a week now.” Seymour added. She sat bolt upright with a surprised look on her face.
“I WHAT?!” she exclaimed, moving to get off of the couch, feeling weaker than she thought, she stumbled to the floor. She had to be helped up by Fast and Seymour, noticing that she looked a lot thinner than before. “What’s, I don’t, I don’t recall the past week at all.” She said as she rubbed her forehead again. Seymour looked at Fast and nodded.
“Kiddo, we’re taking you to the doctor.” He said firmly. She looked up and shook her head.
“What about the show next week?” She pleaded with him.
“You’re in no condition to sing or perform right now. We’ll just have to reschedule. Now you sit tight, get some more rest. We’ll be back once we find Hot and get a carriage ready for transport.” They lead her to her bedroom and sat her down on the bed. She rolled up with the covers and closed her eyes again, drifting off into a fitful sleep.
She had a dream, it was so vivid, so real. She almost didn’t want to wake up from it. She was back in her homeland of Trotland, she was dressed in her grandmother’s old performing dress and singing in front of a group of people at a tavern. She remembered the dress from pictures of her grandmother for the short time she was with her mother. The faces of the ponies in the crowd were a blur, she couldn’t pick any of them out. Until she spotted him among the group. After the performance she felt herself drawn to him, to talk and spend time with him. Even forsaking the pony she knew to be her grandfather for him, although he was acting strange as well during that time. He was acting much like Deep Tones was acting now actually. The pegasus was like a drug she could not get enough of. The dream was fuzzy when it came to what they did together. But she knew that whatever it was, it was the best thing ever.
Then the dream cut to her old home again, this time she was dressed as her mother. She was performing at an old folks home for charity. Every female in her family always had a great talent for singing, it was what her family was known for back home. Yet again, she saw that exact same pegasus stallion in the audience, looking exactly the same as all the other times she’d seen him. Just like before, she was drawn to this stallion, away from her loving husband and baby daughter. She herself remembered how strange her father acted before her mother’s death. Her mother gave every excuse to go and see him until it was time for her death as well. The stallion attended this funeral like all of the others, a profound look of sadness in his eyes as he watched her lowered into the ground.
She awoke with a start, it was nighttime and her window was open, letting a cool breeze blow in through her room. She wasn’t sure why she was startled awake, she was still so tired. Then she felt him, rather than saw him. She turned her eyes to stare into the deep green eyes peering back at her in the darkness of the room.
“I dreamt about you.” She said in a quiet, almost hollow voice. He drew closer to her, “I dreamt you knew my grandmother, and my mother. But that’s impossible.” She whispered weakly as he stepped out of the shadows and stood by her bedside.
“No, it’s not.” He said quietly. “I have been visiting the females of your family for generations now. Your beautiful voices always call to me from my slumber. I give you all the most rapt pleasure you can imagine. I loved all of you. You are all dear to me. Sadly, it always ends up killing you all. In exchange I take your voices, so that they may be immortalized. I must confess I am a little sad. You have no children to pass on your talent to. Once I take you, it’s over.” He smiled a bit sadly, leaning in as his deep green eyes slowly shifted to a mucky purple, to bright crimson red. “I have always been, your biggest fan.” He whispered as he closed in on her and then she knew nothing else.
When Dash finished her story she looked around the room, smirking to herself at everypony’s expression. Rarity’s mouth was slightly agape and she had a dignified blush on her cheeks. Fluttershy was blushing furiously and had the cover of her sleeping bag up to hide behind it. Twilight was staring googly-eyed at the story. Pinkie’s eyes were wide and sparkly, but otherwise her usual expression. Applejack had an awkward embarrassed blush as well.
“Well?” She said smugly.
“That was, um, nice.” Fluttershy said in a small squeak.
“Rainbow Dash. I never knew you had it in you.” Rarity said with some pride. “Being able to tell a story like that.”
“Ah agree with Rarity, that was a pretty, um. Interestin’ story.” Applejack said with an uncomfortable cough.
“It was sweet.” Pinkie said, getting a surprised look from the other ponies.
“Sweet? He was some kinda ancient monster thingy preying on her family.” Applejack said with some surprise.
“Well he loved them though, right? He always showed them a good time before he killed them. That’s something isn’t it?” Pinkie said as she looked around.
“Riiiiight, anyways, moving on!” Twilight said with a confused shake of her head.
“I believe I shall be next, Twilight is the host and she should tell hers last.” Rarity said as she fluffed her mane.
“Ooooh, what’s your story going to be about?” Pinkie asked with an excited bounce.
“What else? Dresses.”