Kicking Things Off
"Alright that's a rap" said Mr Jockey, the studio editor in the control room area, of the studio where Singer and Serenity were recording a song. They had just put the finishing touches on their first song as a duet. "Great work you two! This track is gonna be a gold mine! I can see great things happening in your careers!"
Singer was more than grateful for the comments that the editor was throwing he and Serenity. He and Serenity stood side by side, smiling at each other. The former nudging latter with his leg, out of excitment. The latter flashing a smile his way.
"Thank you for the opportunity that you're giving us Mr. Jockey." replied the greatful stallion.
"No, thank you both for performing so well. You have each earned more studio time for sure." replied Mr. Jockey, a gold colored earth pony who wore a plad styled trilby, his cutie mark being a record.
"We are grateful for your help in the process as well. I can't wait to hear the finished product!" added Serenity.
"Just a bit of editing and it will be complete. Why don't you kids take thirty, huh?"
"Sounds good to me" said Singer, sitting back in a reclining chair that had been in there, and eating a candy bar he had stored away in his bag earlier, while also gazing at a letter from Violet that he had recieved that morning, while Serenity sprayed perfume on herself to get rid of the small smell she'd developed after being in the hot recording room for so long. Singer liked the way it smelled, so it didn't bother him at all nor did it distract him. He sat and read the letter that his best friend had written him.
Violet had put some of her personal thoughts into the letter, that she would have normally shared with him. Things like 'today Rain came home from school and was proud to display his cutie mark, which is a rain cloud.... then he had to go and ask me where mine was. Little stinker. The every day "joys" of being a blank flank.' or 'Your mom is so cool, we are becoming besties for sure! She's really helped me alot in terms of getting used to not having you around.' After reading the latter, Singer felt bad for not saying good bye to Violet all those months ago when he left home. He missed hanging out with her, trying to help her get her cutie mark and over all just being with her. He wasn't sure what it was, but something about his life felt a sense of emptiness without her there. He knew that he would have to go and see her soon, to try and fill that void and hopefully feel better about things so he could focus on his career and so he could know that Violet was going to be alright without him.
As he read on in the letter, Singer also saw an entry from his mother who only expressed her motherly love and encouragement to him. She'd even tried to throw in a few tidbits about Brawn and his father, adding that she wishes that they could all be a family again. He read on about Brawn and Lovie already expecting to be parents after about five months of being married. Singer couldn't help but smile at the thought of being an uncle. His smile then turned into a frown however, at remembering that Brawn didn't like him and that his niece or nephew might not get to see him that much. He was truly crushed that his family had drifted apart, but at the same time, he wasn't going to feel bad because he had actually tried to be civil with them. Why should he feel bad that they pushed him to his limits, criticized him over everything he did, and just flat out didn't even try to under stand him? No... it wasn't his fault, he thought. But it still didn't keep him from placing some of the blame on his own self.
His mother, other than Fender, was the only family member that actually acted like they loved him, and he knew that she was always sincere with him. He really couldn't see how he was in the wrong. But still... he felt like he was at times. But he tried to force the thought away as he read on down to more of Violet's writing.
Something about the last passage 'I really miss you and want to be by your side, because you are my best friend' stuck out to him. She'd never been that passionate about hanging out with him before, though he couldn't blame her. It had been months since they saw each other. But for some reason he couldn't help but read it a different way. He wasn't sure exactly what it was about it all that made him squirm a tiny bit, but it did and he wasn't sure what to make of it. He dismissed the thought of it being a crush, because he "would be able to tell if it was", but he literally had no idea how much Violet really liked him. He just knew that they really enjoyed hanging out and got a sense of butterflies in his stomach when he did; he told himself that the butterflies just meant he knew she was his best friend and that he was always excited to see her every day.
The poor stallion was confused about his feelings, and it didn't help that he didn't think about it a lot either. It also didn't help that he now had his eyes on another mare, the one currently in the room with him. Serenity seemed like a nice mare. She usually kept her cool, even before performing. Her manners were fair. He noticed that she had a tendency to get short tempered when certain things happened, such as when Singer would spend too long trying to correct a mistake on a certain part of a song they'd been working on in the recording room, or when one of the studio control ponies played back the wrong part on accident. But things like that could have been anypony's reaction to any given situation. She wasn't near as easy going as Violet was, but she was good company none-the-less and far as Singer could tell, they were shaping up to being pretty good friends.
Serenity, looked up from a magazine that she was reading and noticed that Singer looked a bit down. Feeling a bit sympathetic, she decided to move over by him and strike a conversation and hopefully make him feel better. He was pretty deep in thought when she was moving over by him, so he barely noticed her while she did so. Once she reached his side, she nudged him with her shoulder to get his attention.
"Hey, why the long face, Singer?" she asked, with a halfway concerned expression on her face.
"I... um.... I'm sorry if I was bothering you..." said the flustered stallion, who at first was startled to see Serenity sitting by him. He still found it a bit hard to deal with how attractive he found her at times. It wasn't like he didn't try not to think it, but his will power wasn't all that strong against the thought.
"Not at all, Sing. Now tell me what's on your mind."
"Oh... I'm just thinking about home. I kinda miss a few things about it." he stated. "My mom, my old room, my best friend..." His voice trailed off when he had mentioned Violet. Serenity was quick to catch on to what he meant, which was pretty obvious.
"I see. You're homesick!" she said. "It happens to us all who leave our homes and our loved ones for the sake of our careers. I missed home and my family when I first came here as well. Now that things have kicked off for us, I've handled it a lot better. You'll forget about them eventually because of all the fun we are fixing to have." She leviatated her water bottle to her lips and took a drink, looking at Singer, waiting for him to respond.
Singer didn't like the thought of 'forgetting' about them, but surely that wasn't the extent to Serenity's statement. Nah, surely not. He looked back up at his parnter with a small forced smile to reply.
"I suppose so..." he finally replied. "I guess you're right."
"Of course I'm right!" said Serenity with a smile. "Now, perk up! After we finish this recording, we have to go get ready for our performance tonight."
"Oh yeah!" said Singer, perking up. He slipped Violet's letter into his small travel bag that he carried his stuff in. He'd finish reading it later. The mention of the performance was the perk up fuel that the stallion needed. Recording was nice, but performances was what Singer was really looking forward to. "You ready to get back to it, then?"
"Indeed, I am. Welcome back, Case." she smirked as she and Singer picked up their lyrics sheets and prepared to finish their song.
Singer looked in a mirror as he was preparing to start singing again, and he noticed something about his relfection. His fur had turned purple and his mane had turned orange. The irisses in his eyes had turned blood red to add to that. He stared for a few seconds before blinking, after which his reflection looked normal again. Opening and shutting his eyes repeatedly for a half a minute more, he looked to see if his reflection would change again. He momentarily ponderred as to why his reflection did that, but he quickly came to the conclusion that it was only his imagination. He snapped out of it and went back to focussing on his task. But still, that was weird... What the heck was that?
Later that night, the duo of singers, Singer and Serenity met back at Slappy's Pool Hall for yet another show. Singer showed up wearing a yellow collarred shirt, and a trilby hat of the same color. This outfit was his signature Saturday night performance outfit. The only day of the week he had a set signature outfit. He called it his "Saturday Sunshine Suit", obviously not realizing how corny, or cheesey that it sounded when he had named it that. Serenity, however, never wore the same outfit twice. This particular night, she showed up wearing a light blue dress, decorated in bedazzled sparkles and her mane in a bun on her head, with a large white flower decoratation to compliment it. She looked amazing, thought every stallion there.
They'd been a real popular demand ever since they made their debuts on the very stage they had become accustomed to. Though Singer's "partner" from his first performance had fled Las Pegasus, after their little spat. Singer got all of the recognition that he deserved and was among the favorites of the general audience in the program that Slappy himself had kept organized. And it was Slappy who thought very highly of the duo, Singer and Serenity. Every performance they did, he'd show up right before they went on and wish them luck.
"You kids ready to blow them all away again?" said Slappy excitedly, per the norm, to see the duo perform.
"Oh yeah!" said Singer. "I'm pumped up and ready to knock 'em dead!"
"But not too dead, eh Mr. Case?" said Slappy with a chuckle.
"Right, sir" replied Singer the same way. "We're gonna make you proud, Slappy!"
"Oh I know you will! Now you two lovebirds get up there and knock our horse shoes off!" he said quickly before turning around to leave backstage.
The lovebird comment, caught Singer off guard. He started to get Slappy's attention to correct the mistake, but decided against it, deeming the action rudimentary and pointless, deciding to best keep his focus on his performance and to do his best. He caught himself looking over at Serenity's direction. She had been doing her vocal excercises almost the whole time that they had been there. He couldn't help but notice how graceful she seemed, even in her vocal warm ups. He shook his head and walked over to her. The warm ups she was doing seemed like a good idea and he wanted to get into it as well, and maybe it would help his performance.
"Sorry to bother you" he said, leaning on her music stand. "But those warm ups you are doing sound like an interesting idea. Mind helping me getting into it?"
"Not at all" she returned with a small smile, though Singer could since a bit of annoyance in her tone. But she didn't appear to be as she sounded, especially right before she began to speak again. "It's not hard at all. Just excercize your vocal chords and your diaphragm simultaniuosly by saying simple things like Ma! or eeeeh, or some stupid giberish like that while taking a big breath and saying whatever the hay you're saying as if you're belting out the words in a song. It's not that hard at all!"
"Thank you. I'll do that!" said Singer, immediately getting to it to get some practice in before it was their turn.
Five minutes of practicing Serenity's technique, and Singer was already feeling like a pro, though that is a matter of opinion; especially to anypony else who happened to see the pair doing that as they walked by. Confidence levels were at an all time high when it was finally their turn to go out on stage. Singer felt that tingle inside that he always felt before singing, only this time it was five times the intensity, which was a good thing. He was pumped and already entirely in his element. Same could be said for Serenity. She looked more like she had her game face on, as her features expressed determination and seriousness. Something that Singer had began to notice about her. She took her career very seriously, and rightfully so. This wasn't a game or just for fun. This was their career. Singer's maturity levels were going to have rise very quickly in order to keep himself under control.
As the piano player and the band, Uncle Fender with his guitar included, made their way out to the stage for the performance, Singer and Serenity followed suit and made their way to center stage. The lights dimmed, save for the spotlight that now shown on them. This was it, Singer thought. It's show time!
"I was thinking about you thinking bout me
Thinking bout us,where we gonna be
Open my eyes" Began Singer as Serenity joined in.
"It was only just a dream" they both sang.
"So I travel back, down that road
Will you come back?
Nopony knows
I open my eyes
It was only just a dream" she sang before Singer began his verse, and then the light shone on him.
"I was at the top, now it's like I'm in the basement
Number one spot, now you're finding a replacement
I swear now that I can't take it
Knowing somepony's got my baby
Now you aren't around, baby I can't think
I shoulda put it down, shoulda got that ring
And I can see it palying repeat in my brain
See your pretty face, run my hoofs through your mane
My lover my life, my baby my wife
You left me I'm tight
Cause I know that it just aint right!"
They both returned to singing in unison for the chorus, with the crowd cheering loudly for them.
"I was thinking bout you thinking bout me
Thinking bout us, where we gonna be
Open my eyes
It was only just a dream
So I travel back, down that road
Will you come back?
Nopony knows
I open my eyes
It was only just a dream" another round of cheers greeted them as they continued to sing. Serenity's verse was next, and she jumped right into it as the light shone on her.
"I'd be trottin
I swear I'd see your face at every turn.
Tryin ta get my DJ on, but I can't let it burn
And I just hope you know that you're the only pony I yearn for
No longer I be missin will I learn?
Didn't give it all my love
And now I guess I got my payback
Now I'm sitting in the club
Thinking all about you baby
Hey, but you were so easy to love
But hey, I guess our love wasn't enough
I'm going through it every time that I'm alone
And now I'm wishing that you'd pick up the phone
But you made a decision that you were ready to move on
Cause I was wrong"
The pair then quickly jumped back into the chorus for the final time.
"I was thinking bout you thinking bout me
Thinking bout us, where we gonna be
Open my eyes
It was only just a dream
So I travel back, down that road
Will you come back?
Nopony knows
I open my eyes
It was only just a dream."
The crowd at the pool hall went crazy, the room had to have been packed. It had turned into so big of a performance that there wasn't any room for anypony to play pool or do much else besides eat and watch the show. There were obviously a few ponies who didn't share the enthusiasm that the rest of the crowd did. Those ponies just sat there rolling their eyes, trying to get service at the busy place. But neither performer paid that any mind. They were very pleased with the reactions that they were getting for their performance. They both put their forelegs around each other and took a bow before they both exited stage right.
"That went really well" she proclaimed as they reached back stage. She was beaming at him, and he returned.
"What a rush!" he returned enthusiastically. "I know that this wasn't a fast paced song, but still! IT WAS FREAKIN AWESOME!"
"It must have something to do with the fact that it's the song that we just got through performing. Ponies ate it up out there, so it's a big confidence booster!"
"Whatever the reason, we should celebrate... like right now!"
"Agreement!" Serenity said, as she grabbed her saddlebag. "What should we do?"
"I'm feeling a bit generous today, why not go to that fancy diner on fifth street? On me."
"Can you afford that?"
"Of course! I have a nice job that I do on the weekends that pays decently. I'll be able to afford dinner for the two of us." he replied quickly. He'd found him a job at a restaurant that gave him extra money, since he wasn't exactly raking in the dough just yet. He wanted to make sure he had something to fall back on if his career took a sudden wrong turn. However, that was before this opportunity came up and his career became promising. He hoped he wouldn't have to work there much longer.
"I'd love to!" she said. "But... we probably better go now, if we're going to. Rumor has it that Slappy makes the last performers still in the joint sweep the place up before they leave."
"Good thing we're ready to go now then. Exit, stage outside!" said Singer as he and Serenity ran out the door laughing.
Finally seated inside, Singer and Serenity sat across a round table from each other celebrating their successful performance. Each smiling at each other. The restaurant was a nice big two story building. There were a few balcony floors inside for ponies to dine if they ever needed extra space. It had been relatively easy for Singer to get tables, as it wasn't a horribly busy night for them, and this restaurant didn't do reservations like most did. Perfect way to celebrate, what felt like to he and his partner, a big victory, Singer thought to himself. He raised a glass of water and Serenity levitated her own glass as they tapped them together as a form of celebratory kick-off to their dinner.
When the waitor made it to their table, they were in conversation about some of the future plans they were making. They were both so into their conversation that they were almost startled when the waiter let out an ahem to get their attention. They both looked up at the waiter, a tall brown clean shaven unicorn stallion with a toupe, who was imapatiently waiting to get their orders.
"Oh...right... Um, I'll have the large order of spaghetti with cheesy garlic bread." he said, taking one last look at the menu before handing it to the waiter, who then looked to Serenity for her order.
"I'll have the same, thank you." she said, handing him her menu as well.
"Two orders of spaghetti for the happy couple, coming right up." he said as he walked off.
Singer and Serenity both looked up at each other flustered and blushing. Singer chuckled nervously and sipped his water out of his glass.
"Why does everypony think we are a couple?" Serenity spoke at last, adding a slight giggle.
"I dunno..." said Singer. "I guess it's because we spend so much time together working on music."
"It's not entirely a ridiculous notion." she said as she took a sip from her glass of water.
"It's... it's not?" he said.
"Of course not! I mean, we're both singers..."
"No I'm Singer, you're Serenity." he said mischiviously.
She flung some water at him, playfully as she continued. "We both sing, we're always hanging around each other, and we have a lot in common. Oh and we both like each other. I've seen the way you look at me some times."
Singer's face turned so red that it began to mix with his blue skin, causing him to have a purple face. He didn't know that she noticed that. Oh crap, he thought. That was embarrassing.
"I... am very sorry about that." he said apologetically. "I..."
"It's fine." she laughed. "I have done the same with you. You know you're not so bad on the eyes either."
'WAS SHE JUST FLIRTING WITH HIM? OH MY CELESTIA!' was what went on in his mind.
"Uh, Serenity... are you flirting with me?" he said, with a hint of flattery in his voice.
"I don't know, you tell me." she smiled at him.
There were several ponies in the room who had been at Slappy's earlier watching the exchange between the two. A group of ponies at a table across the room, began to chant the words "KISS! KISS! KISS!" over and over again.
Making the pair blush uncontrollably.
"Go ahead" Serenity said. "Since when have we ever disappointed our audience?"
Singer shrugged and said to himself, 'why not?' as they both leaned in for a kiss, garnering cheers from across the room. It had been Singer's first real kiss from a mare, and for him it was a pleasant experience. Serenity seemed to be satisfied as well as they both broke it up. Both ponies, leaning back in their chairs, after they had finished.
"So... I guess that makes it official then? We are... dating?" inquired Singer.
"Duh, you big dummy!" she said with a wink.
"Alright then." he said with a large smile. "Here's to kicking things off!"
They both raised their glasses again, and took another sip of their water. After that excitement, their food was ready as the waiter brought it to their table. They thanked the waiter as he walked off with his tray, levitating it in front of him. They both smiled at each other off and on, as they ate their spaghetti and bread sticks. Singer got the sauce all over his face when one of the spaghetti noodles fell off, but Serenity levitated a napkin and wiped it off. They both smiled and exchanged laughs over Singer's sauce face.
Was she really the mare for him? Time would tell, but as of right now, things looked like they were going in the right direction for Singer. He felt like he was moving up to the top of his world, and this pleased him. He couldn't wait to tell his mom and Violet back home about this in his next letter. But for the latter pony, this news woulndn't be the best.
Poor Violet...
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Nice chapter. I'm glad you're back. I can't wait to see what happens to singer now.
Wow, this chapter was awesome. I'm actually wondering whether Serenity is suitable for Singer or not... well, only time will tell. Anyways, I look forward to the next one.
4640738 As far as the yelling part, that's what was supposed to make that scene funny, with irony.
And the name/cutie mark part...I just wanted to do something a little different. Not all OCs have done the name/cutie mark thing according to the show, heck not all of the characters have done it either.
It may not make all that much sense, but it's how I decided to go about writing my story.