My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship

by Danieru

112. The Countess

A whole bunch of ponies gathered a little bit outside Ponyville, all of them working hard to set up a stage for an upcoming concert. Star Twinkle and Steel Hammer were also part of those ponies, the two carpenter ponies couldn't be missing when it came to set stuff up after all. Still, they were not told for whom this concert was supposed to be. That really didn't matter to Star Twinkle though, he just continued his work.

Star Twinkle carried some big apple decorations on his back. "Where do we put those?" The stallion asked the pony in charge of all of this, which surprisingly was none other than Applejack.

"Up on the stage with them," she said pointing at a specific location on the stage.

Star Twinkle did what he was told and went to the stage to place the apples on it. Some of his friends, like Rarity and Fluttershy, were putting some ribbons on the stage, as well as Rainbow Dash who was helping to put some ribbons around the place. All this while Applejack was overseeing with a keen eye and making sure that everything was going well.

Ironically, Twilight, the pony who was usually the one in charge of things like this, was praising Applejack for her work on all this. "Wow, Applejack! Are you sure you've never managed a concert before?" She asked in awe seeing how she could not have done it any better.

"Well, it turns out doin' up a concert's the same as settin' up a rodeo," Applejack replied in her modesty.

"And thanks to Pinkie's connections organizing the Ponypalooza Rock Concert, we've got quite a lineup for the Helping Hooves Music Festival."

Star Twinkle had to stop for a moment after hearing that Pinkie Pie was managing a Rock Concert before but he decided to get back to work. That was until he almost got a heart attack by Pinkie Pie popping up in front of him all of a sudden.

"Star Twinkle!" She said in her excitement before she did the same with the rest of her friends as well. "Twilight! Applejack! Rainbow Dash! Rarity! Fluttershy! Spike! Pinkie Pie! Oh wait, that's me," she said as she looked into a glass window that two ponies were carrying around, speaking to her own reflection.

"Everypony!" The mare then shouted across the place asking for everyone's attention.

Everyone was walking towards Pinkie Pie to see what this fuzz was about shortly after. "What is it, Pinkie?" Twilight asked curiously, wondering what the pink pony was so excited about.

"I have the most amazing news ever! It is totally gonna freak your frizz!" Pinkie Pie assured.

Unless the mare wasn't telling everyone that all the work was done, Star Twinkle was not too curious about her news, Pinkie Pie had the tendency to get a little bit too excited about the smallest things after all.

"Well, spill it, Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash prompted in an impatient tone.

Pinkie Pie then finally explained. "It wasn't easy. In fact, it was terribly difficult. But I have managed to book the biggest pony pop star in all of Equestria as the main attraction of the Helping Hooves Music Festival!" She announced.

Applejack was taking a quick guess of who that could have been. "Sapphire Shores?"

Pinkie Pie was shocked and offended to hear that though. "Sapphire Shores?! Please! Sapphire Shores is merely the second biggest pony pop star in Equestria," she corrected in an offended tone.

"Who would have thought," Star Twinkle casually added. He clearly was not seeing a big difference about the second and the most popular pony in the first place, not that he knew anything about pop stars to begin with to throw in his opinion at all.

But despite the stallion's comment, Pinkie Pie continued to share her good news and revealed the name of the biggest pony pop star of Equestria to everyone. "I have booked the one, the only, Countess Coloratura!" She said proudly.

Everyone immediately awed in response after hearing a name that Star Twinkle never heard before. He was about to ask who this pony was but Applejack also did not know that name and was faster.

"Who in the hay is Countess Coloratura?" She asked unimpressed.

And as soon as Star Twinkle saw the reaction of everyone around the place, he was happy that Applejack got ahead of his question. Everyone was clearly shocked to see how Applejack did not know about the most popular pony pop star of Equestria. Meanwhile, Star Twinkle was looking around in confusion. This was clearly not the best moment to admit that he never heard about this pony as well so to save tail, he decided to gasp as well. It was pretty awkward though since it was so much more delayed than the gasps of the others.

Pinkie Pie was so shocked that her mane started to stand up and got all messy. "My frizz has been freaked!" Was all she replied.

Apparently, for everyone around, not knowing a pony pop star was a pretty big deal. It was no surprise that Applejack was not into stuff like that, she probably could list a bunch of country singers on the top of her head instead but expecting her to know pop stars was a little bit much.

"Pinkie Pie, who is this Countess Coloratura pony?" Applejack asked once more since all she got was shocking reactions instead of answers.

After fixing her mane again, Pinkie walked up to Applejack. "Uh, I just told you that she's the biggest pony pop star in Equestria! How-how-how-how-how have you not heard of her?!" She asked pressingly as she pretty much climbed up on poor Applejack.

"Don't know," Applejack could just reply. "Though I did know a gal named Coloratura when I was just a filly," she added before she started laughing and snorting after realizing something. "Wouldn't it just be the funniest thing if that Coloratura and this Coloratura were the same Coloratura?" She said amused.

By now, Pinkie Pie was getting a little bit suspicious about all this. "Do you mean to tell me that you actually know Countess Coloratura?" For some reason, Star Twinkle could sense some kind of jealousy in her voice. It would be a hit in the face if that would be the case if the farmer pony, who never heard of this Coloratura before, knew the most popular pop star in Equestria from fillyhood.

But Applejack quickly came to the conclusion that this was not the case. "Well, I don't think it's the same pony, since my friend wasn't any sort of high-falutin' countess," she said.

"A lot of things can happen over the years," Star Twinkle figured.

Pinkie Pie knew exactly how to get an answer to that though. "Do you remember her cutie mark?" She asked. If it were two different ponies, then they should have two different Cutie Marks, every Cutie Mark was unique after all.

Applejack still remembered her friends Cutie Mark and described it to Pinkie Pie. "Sure do. It had this super colorful bunch of musical notes that just shimmered in the light," she said.

"You mean... like this?!" Pinkie Pie then replied, showing off her flank that had a photo of Countess Coloratura's Cutie Mark. Why Pinkie Pie was sticking a photo of someone else's Cutie Mark on her own flank was begging some questions but that was not important. What was important though, was that the Cutie Mark on the photo looked exactly how Applejack described her friend's Cutie Mark.

"Well, fancy that! That there's the very same cutie mark!" Applejack then confirmed.

Pinkie Pie looked really stressed after hearing that. It could have helped if Applejack had pulled some strings for the festival, with her being a long friend with this pony after all. "Do you have any idea the number of hoops I had to jump through to get her to perform at the festival?! A whole lot of hoops! That pony is very demanding!" She explained.

"Nah," Applejack responded.

Pinkie Pie couldn't believe what she heard just now. "Yah!" She returned.

"I completely understand," Rarity said. "We artists require certain necessities in order to do our best work," she added.

"Yeah," Star Twinkle agreed. "Not everyone could just book the most popular pony pop star in Equestria after all," he figured.

Applejack was not too sure about that though. "This was clearly some sort of misunderstandin', 'cause Rara was just as down home as me!" She explained.

Again, all eyes widened up around Applejack and then fixed themselves on her. "Rara?!" Everyone asked in surprise.

Applejack explained. "Even that big name was too fancy for her, so I shortened Coloratura to "Rara"!"

More and more secrets and surprised seemed to surface between Applejack and "Rara". For the sake to avoid more shocked reactions, Applejack decided to share some stories about her and little Countess Coloratura, something that everyone had to admit, was very curious about.

"We had the best time at Camp Friendship! Rara was just so easygoin'! We were like two apples from the same branch. One day, Rara and I prepared this song for the camp talent show. When we performed, she belted it out, singin' in the most colorful, clear voice I'd ever heard! I was about to tear up just listening and playing along with her." There was a hint of nostalgia in Applejack's voice, not to mention a lot of happiness. There were clearly a lot of good memories back from that time.

"After camp, we wrote to each other for a bit, but...then we lost touch," Applejack added, her voice sounded sad just saying that. "But Rara always did want to go to Manehattan to try and make it big. But a demandin' diva? Just you wait, Pinkie," Applejack said as she put a hoof around her friend. "Once Rara gets here, you'll see she's just a plain old pony like you and me," she assured with not the slightest hint of worry in her voice.

"I don't have to wait – she's here!" Pinkie Pie then said in excitement as soon as she realized that some ponies were coming towards them.

"Really?" Applejack replied, looking forward to meeting her long lost friend after such a long time.

Four ponies were leading the way to the bunch of ponies. They carried what looked like a giant golden gem with them, which they placed on the ground. Shortly after, the gem opened and revealed itself to be some kind of cabin, that was transporting someone. The pony inside slowly walked down to the ground.

It was an Earth Pony mare with a light aquamarine gray-colored coat, a light orchidish gray-colored mane, that had purple streaks in it, and opal colored eyes. She also wore a black veil, and a really fancy purple leather jacket, along with some spiked hoof bracelets around her hooves.

Judging from an entrance like that, Star Twinkle came to the conclusion that this pony was Countess Coloratura. If there was one pony that would have an entrance like that, then it would be a pop star like her. Her appearance was accompanied by some pop music that came out of some speakers that set themselves up after the golden gem opened.

Needless to say, this was not the entrance that Applejack expected. She was rather confused unlike everyone else who seemed to lose their minds that someone so popular was visiting the little town of Ponyville.

"Countess Coloratura!" Pinkie Pie screamed in excitement, bouncing up and down on the spot before she fainted and dropped to the ground.

"Clear the way!" One stallion, leading a bunch of ponies behind him said as he and Countess Coloratura literally walked over Pinkie Pie as they made their way to the stage. "Stand back! Keep your hooves and tail to yourselves!" It looked like that one stallion in front was some kind of manager of Countess Coloratura or at least someone who was in charge of a few things. He was an Earth Pony stallion with a white coat, a pale light grayish-pink mane, and gold-colored eyes. He was also wearing some glasses and a blue suit.

Countess Coloratura, that pony in the suit, and some ponies who were dressed pretty similar like the pop singer, probably some background dancers, walked towards the stage, while ignoring most of the ponies around them, mainly because the pony in front kept them away.

Applejack was taken back by how this old friend of hers was dressed like that and how distanced she felt from anyone around her. "So..." Star Twinkle started, he was noticing how Applejack was looking at Countess Coloratura all this time. "Is this Rara?" He asked.

The answer did not come right away, probably because Applejack was not too sure herself. "I don't know, she looks like her but..." was the first thing she said before she watched that pony some more seconds only to come to one conclusion. "No... that can't be her," she added before she walked towards that mare to make absolutely sure of it.

Countess Coloratura did not turn around as Applejack came walking towards her but Applejack still decided to talk to the singer, much to the dislike of her manager who just shot a disapproval look at the farm pony. "Um... hi. Remember me? We met at Camp Friendship? I gave you the nickname "Rara"?" Applejack asked almost sheepishly as if she was no longer believing that this pony was her friend.

The pony pop star was confused at first but she clearly made an attempt to remember. It didn't take long until a smile formed on her face and she turned around. "AJ?" The mare asked.

This confirmed it. Countess Coloratura and Applejack knew each other from fillyhood. "Yeah! Heh. Howdy, Rara!" Applejack replied with her smile on her face. She was really happy seeing how her friend was remembering her as well.

But before they could exchange more words, the pony in the blue suit whispered some words into Countess Coloratura's ear. The mare then nodded before reaching out her hoof, using some kind of stamp to put something on Applejack's cheek.

"Hoofsies!" She then said happily followed by a short laugh.

The mare then walked away and left a pretty confused Applejack who was just rubbing her cheek in response and looked at Star Twinkle who could only shrug his shoulders in response.

"Ooh, you got hoofsies from Countess Coloratura!" Rarity noticed as she took a look at this heart-shaped mark that was on Applejack's cheek now.

"What are hoofsies?" Star Twinkle asked confused.

Rarity explained. "Countess Coloratura only gives hoofsies to someone who she thinks are very special," she said.

This was good to know and Applejack would be happy about that if there wasn't literally a line of ponies standing in front of the pop star, all of them getting a hoofsie as well and walking away happily. "Yeah... real special," Applejack commented after seeing that before she rubbed that heart away from her cheek.

Pinkie Pie appeared next to the three ponies. "I'm sure she is just busy with all this "getting ready for her performance" thing," she said before she noticed how Countess Coloratura's manager was calling for her. "Speaking of which!" The mare said before she went over to the two ponies to take care of things.

What Pinkie Pie said made sense to some degree. You just don't become the most famous pony pop star by doing nothing and Countess Coloratura probably put a lot of work into her career. There was a good chance that she was too stressed to afford to spend time with anyone right now.

Still, Applejack was looking rather worried, something that Star Twinkle noticed. "I'm sure you will have time to catch up once everything is taken care of for the event," he said.

That did not seem to be the main concern of Applejack though. All she wanted to see was how her old friend was still the pony she once knew from fillyhood, which is why she decided to stay and watch her from afar. There was not much talking coming from her though because her manager, his name was Svengallop by the way, was busy taking care of the things that Countess Coloratura demanded.

"Do you have the water imported from Rainbow Falls that I requested for Countess Coloratura?" The stallion asked Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie, of course, being the overly prepared pony like always had everything ready. "I have twenty glass containers full right here!" She said as she presented them to the stallion.

Svengallop took a quick glance at the bottles that Pinkie Pie showed him and immediately found a flaw in it. "Did I not tell you to provide straws in all of Countess Coloratura's beverages?" He asked offended.

Pinkie Pie looked a little puzzled. "Uh, I don't think so," she replied confused. "But lucky for you, I have the biggest straw collection in Equestria!" She said proudly before she took the chance to present one of her straws to the stallion. "I call this straw Fernando," she said with a wide smile on her face as a strange feeling of flamenco seemed to have surrounded the area for a moment.

But Svengallop was not impressed at all and just walked past the mare and Fernando to take a look at some of the other things that needed to be there for Countess Coloratura.

"Floral arrangements from the royal Canterlot gardens... Chocolate éclairs made by Gustave le Grand... A selection of crystals from the Crystal Empire... Freshly picked cherries from Cherry Jubilee's farm separated red from yellow..." He listed, all of those things surprisingly being present as well.

Star Twinkle had to admit that he was impressed by how Pinkie Pie managed to get all those things, but then again, it was Pinkie Pie and she always made sure to be well prepared for everything that she planned.

Svengallop had to admit that everything was to his liking and walked back to Countess Coloratura. "Well, by some miracle, your requests have been reasonably met. So let us move on... to rehearsal!" He said before he and Countess Coloratura walked away to take care of said rehearsal.

Pinkie Pie looked back at Star Twinkle and Applejack who were watching all of this happening. "See? Demanding!" She just said before she walked away as well.

Applejack still couldn't believe that this diva was her old friend from fillyhood and she made sure to let everyone know that. "The Rara I knew didn't hide behind a veil givin' out fake stamp kisses, sippin' up imported water, and needin' her cherries separated," she said in disbelieve.

"Oh, I do understand," Rarity said. "Sometimes it's hard to see our friends change," she said before she looked over to Star Twinkle. "And sometimes it's for the better! Do you remember when Star Twinkle was a lot more grumpy than he was now?" She added almost teasingly.

"Thanks, Rarity..." Star Twinkle replied with a bothered expression on his face.

"You're welcome," the mare replied, not realizing Star Twinkle's reaction to her words.

But Applejack was still thinking that the thing with Rara was a little bit more different. "She's become a whole other pony!" She pointed out.

Rarity was still being optimistic though. "Trust me. Once you see Countess Coloratura perform, you simply won't believe it!" She assured.

From what they could tell, Countess Coloratura was about to do a rehearsal in a few minutes so they might as well stay and watch. Applejack was still a little bit worried but she was looking forward to hearing her old friend sing again and Star Twinkle couldn't help but being curious about how good the singing of the most popular pony pop star sounded like.

It didn't take long until the lights on the stage turned off and the song started, leaving everyone in excitement to see Countess Coloratura perform in front of them. The lights turned on and off to the rhythm to Countess Coloratura as she danced her way down the stairs.

"Time for the spectacle
Time for the show
The lights are bright and the colors glow
I'm not just anypony
I think you know
The time is now, it's about to blow!"

After she made her way down, the music became louder and wilder accompanied by a light show with so many colors that no one could even count them. As the song continued, the lights kept on and a bunch of background dancers were dancing along with Countess Coloratura's singing.

"Razzle dazzle
Glitz and glam
Turn it all up, it's a spectacle
Razzle dazzle
Glitz and glam
Turn it all up, it's a spectacle
Give me more
Razzle dazzle
Glitter eyes, big surprise
Lights, cameras"

The lights and special effects accompanying the song were going crazy and looked pretty impressive. Countess Coloratura's singing was, of course, pretty amazing as well. She had a pretty powerful voice that was demanding authority. All the effects and the background dancers only complimented that further. It was a spectacle to look at, that much was sure.

"Razzle dazzle
Glitz and glam
Turn it all up, it's a spectacle
Hear the applause
Here to impress
Not just a pony, I am the Countess!"

The song ended and everyone who watched was cheering and clapping as expected, Star Twinkle included. He had not really a comparison to other pony pop stars but he definitely enjoyed that song even if it was a little bit too flashy for his taste.

"Wooow! Awesome!" A really excited Steel Hammer shouted across the place, sharing his excitement for this song.

Star Twinkle couldn't help but look at him and chuckle, seeing how his boss was so excited. The complete opposite was the case for Applejack though. She was neither cheering nor visibly happy to listen to this song.

"Rarity was right! I don't believe it!" Was all she said in response to this song.

"What do you mean?" Star Twinkle asked confused. That was a rather mild reaction to an awesome song like that after all.

Svengallop was not too far away from complimenting Countess Coloratura after her performance. "Oh, my shining star! Thanks to the sparkling costumes, dazzling choreography, and brilliant vocal effects that I designed, your performance was spectacular, Countess Coloratura!"

"Oh, thank you, Svengallop!" Countess Coloratura responded happily.

Still, Applejack noticed how something was off by listening to that conversation of those two. "Correct me if I'm wrong here, but that feller isn't actually complimentin' Rara. He's complimentin' all the bells and whistles he's piled on to make her Countess Coloratura," she pointed out in a bothered tone.

"He seems to be proud of his work, that much is clear," Star Twinkle agreed after watching the guy for a while.

But Rarity quickly took care of what those two Earth Ponies took as a misunderstanding. "Oh, no-no-no-no-no, you don't understand. Creating all those elements is a lot of work, and Countess Coloratura's performance wouldn't exist without them," she explained to the two.

"If you ask me, that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing," Applejack said before she walked away towards the stage.

This was all really bothering Applejack. The change that her friend went through didn't sit right with her at all and she was desperately hoping that the Rara she knew was still inside this fancy pop diva. Just like before she made sure to stay close to listen to her conversation with her manager. Star Twinkle just quietly tagged along, it was not as if he had anything better to do anyway.

"Oh, if we're all done here, I'd love to go back to my trailer and rest, Svengallop," she said in an exhausted tone.

This is where Pinkie Pie stepped in. "Actually, right now you're scheduled for your meet and greet with the schoolponies!" She mentioned.

Svengallop was really annoyed to hear that. "Ugh. I can totally get you out of meeting with the schoolponies, Countess," he said towards the mare.

Applejack was glaring at the stallion. She did not approve of the way he was acting so far at all. However, her expression changed to a happy smile as soon as she heard Rara's response. "Absolutely not. My favorite part of any event is meeting with the schoolponies!" She said in an almost demanding tone as if she was not okay with Svengallop suggesting that at all.

For the first time now, Applejack was seeing the friend that she knew all these years ago. It made her happy to see that her Rara was still in there somewhere. Realizing that, the mare walked up to the stage. "The schoolponies'll be so happy to hear that, Rara!" She said before she led the way and asked Rara to follow her.

The two then walked over to where the schoolponies were waiting while Star Twinkle decided to stay where he was, he had the feeling that he should let the two alone for a moment, even if it was just the way to the schoolponies. The moment, the two were out of sight though, Svengallop approached Star Twinkle from behind and threw a mean glare at him.

"You!" He said in a serious tone out of nowhere, making Star Twinkle flinch for a moment.

"Y-yes?" Star Twinkle replied confused.

"You and that other pony...stop hanging around Countess Coloratura that much. You are bothering her, not to mention that you make her look bad by hanging around her so much!" He pointed out.

"Making her look bad?" Star Twinkle asked confused. "What do you mean? Applejack is an old friend of Rara, that is why she wants to spend time with her," he explained.

"First of all," Svengallop replied annoyed as he moved his face closer to Star Twinkle. "It's Countess Coloratura! And secondly, she doesn't need friends, all she needs is me to take care of everything!" He explained. "Now if you excuse me, I need to get everything prepared for the event!" He added before he walked past the stallion in an annoyed fashion.

Star Twinkle was left a little bit confused by this behavior. He was not sure if that Rara would share that opinion too because she was not looking mad or upset whenever Applejack was around. This all reminded him of what Applejack said about Svengallop and how he wanted to only praise his own work. He kept the words of this stallion in mind and decided to tell Applejack on the next opportunity, she was with the schoolponies and Rara right now so Star Twinkle went to them as well.

When he arrived at the school, he already saw laughing fillies and colts from afar. Rara seemed a lot happier as well, much to Applejack's delight. "Now that's more like the Rara I remember," she said as she walked towards Star Twinkle.

It was a pretty bad time to tell her but Star Twinkle decided to tell her about Svengallop and how he was thinking about what would be the best. Applejack already was having a hard time liking the guy because of what he said and did so far so there was no way she was not believing him of course. As soon as she received that news, she walked away from Rara and the schoolponies to not bother them about this.

"I knew this guy was fishy but that is just mean!" She said in a mad tone.

"Maybe he just takes his job a little bit too seriously?" Star Twinkle said, not wanting to come to any quick conclusions already.

"But that doesn't give him the right to decide who Rara needs to spend time with!" Applejack said. She was clearly being offended since this was one of her friends that they were talking about.

The two were about to decide what to do with this information but they noticed someone talking in the distance. It was Pinkie Pie and she sounded a little bit distressed so they decided to cut their discussion short to check it out.

"But... I got everything you requested!" The mare said towards what looked like Svengallop.

"That was for Countess Coloratura! This is for me! And what I want is premium oats!" He demanded in a strict tone.

"Oh! Well, we have lots of tasty oats right here in Ponyville!" Pinkie Pie replied before she presented said oat to the stallion.

"I would not feed those to a chicken!" He said in disgust before he slapped the plate of oat away. "I want top-of-the-line Appleloosan oats!" He said before he took a look around to come up with one more task. "Next, it appears that we are surrounded by apple trees. Bring me five hundred pre-peeled, pre-cored apples, and I want those things in twenty-four hours!" He demanded.

Pinkie Pie gasped in shock. "But that's impossible!" She said, strangely enough. Star Twinkle was sure that she was pulling off more impossible things before after all.

"Do you want me to pull Countess Coloratura from your little podunk charity show?! Because I will!" Svengallop then threatened before he walked away and left Pinkie Pie with his unreasonable tasks.

It was a pretty big shock to hear that from Svengallop, although, not surprising. That he would go so far to cancel the event was just proving how much he cared about all of this. This was something that Rara would definitely not approve of.

Pinkie Pie, while still being really frustrated about all this, noticed how Star Twinkle and Applejack were approaching her. "Star Twinkle! Applejack! Svengallop just made all of these new demands and he said—"

"We heard, Pinkie," Applejack interrupted.

"To think that he would go so far..." Star Twinkle added worriedly.

"Yes, Rara would never agree with all of this, I'm sure of it!" Applejack said in a pretty confident tone. "We have to tell Rara to fix things up again!" She then suggested.

"Yeah," Star Twinkle agreed. This was the best thing that they could do after all. Once Rara was aware of all of this she might think about looking for another manager, someone who would share the same way of thinking that she did and wasn't thinking about selfish demands.

The two wasted no time to go to Rara and tell her about her manager. As soon as they approached her, Apple Bloom came running towards the two ponies. "Did'ja see, sis?! Did'ja see?!" She asked in a pretty excited tone. Applejack did not exactly know what she was referring to but she smiled nonetheless after seeing her sister this happy.

"Is this the little sister you wrote to me about, AJ?" Rara asked.

Apple Bloom widened her eyes in surprise. "Hold on, Applejack. You wrote to Countess Coloratura about me?!" She asked in disbelieve.

"AJ said you were the best little sister ever, Apple Bloom!" Rara said, leaving Apple Bloom in a state of shock while looking at her big sister with an open mouth. The same could be told about Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, who all stood not too far away. They must have been really big fans of Countess Coloratura judging from this reaction.

As cute as this all was though, Applejack still needed to talk about some more serious issues. "Alright now, you'd best get along, little ponies," she said, asking the three fillies to leave them alone for a moment. Rara seemed to be in a rather good mood after spending a little bit of time with the schoolponies. She was laughing for the first time since she arrived in Ponyville. This just made it harder for Applejack to tell her about what was going on behind her back. But still, it had to be done.

"Uh... Hey, Rara, you mind if I talk to you about your manager?" Applejack asked.

"Sure, what about him?" Rara replied.

Star Twinkle decided to remain quiet while Applejack did the talking. If there was someone that Rara would listen to, then it was her old friend after all.

"Well, while you were meetin' with the schoolponies, he was demandin' all sorts of stuff from Pinkie Pie," Applejack explained.

Rara did not see a problem in that though. "Svengallop works very hard as my manager, AJ, so if he needs some things when we're on the road, I don't see anything wrong with that," she replied.

What she said made sense and would be understandable if Svengallop's demands were reasonable and didn't threaten to cancel the whole event which Applejack quickly got to now.

"Well, do you see somethin' wrong with him tellin' Pinkie that if she doesn't get those things by tomorrow, he'd pull you from our charity festival?" Applejack further informed.

"What? But he knows how important charity is to me, and leaving the festival would completely ruin my image!" Rara said.

"I'm afraid Svengallop doesn't give a pickled pippin about your charity work," Applejack further explained.

Now Rara seemed a bit angry to hear Applejack saying all those things about her manager. "That's not true! Svengallop has always supported me in all my interests. You're just saying those things because you're jealous!" She accused Applejack off.

"Jealous of what?" Applejack replied offended. "A pony who hides behind a veil so thick she can't see when somepony's usin' her? No, I'm not jealous of that, Rara!" She shot back at her old friend.

It didn't take much to realize that things were not going too well. Star Twinkle knew that things would escalate a little bit more if they continued to shout at each other like this so he decided to diffuse the situation.

"Um...there is no need of you two to get so-"

"You stay quiet!" Rara shouted in the face of the stallion.

"Yes, ma'am!" Star Twinkle replied before remaining quiet again and abandoning his plan right away.

Once Star Twinkle backpedaled again, Rara was returning her focus on Applejack again. "I am not Rara! I am Countess Coloratura! And while we may have been friends when we were young, we have clearly gone in different directions!" The mare said before she took her leave.

This did not play out the way Applejack expected. Rara did not believe her at all and put all of her trust into her manager. It was frustrating, to say the least. Star Twinkle knew that Applejack wasn't taking it too lightly so he decided to say something.

"Hey, Applejack-" He started before he got interrupted almost immediately by the mare.

"Can you believe it!?" She said angrily. "She thinks so highly of herself that she doesn't even listen to an old friend!? If that's the way she wants it then just let her be!" She said in a really mad tone before she walked away from the scene.

Star Twinkle should be shocked to hear this but for some reason, he saw right through what Applejack said. This was her way to let of steam, and he was just unfortunately, the only pony around to be targeted. He decided to not let up though.

"I know you are not angry at her Applejack. She is not the one who is to blame for all of this," the stallion said.

Applejack sighed in response after stopping for a moment. "I know, I know," she replied before she turned around to face the stallion again, letting him see how bad she felt about how things turned out. "It just ain't right! He's manipulatin' her, and she's just not seein' it!"

Star Twinkle tipped his chin for a moment before coming up with a solution for this problem. "All we have to do is let her see how her manager is acting behind her back," he suggested.

The mare really liked the sound of that. "I'm sure there is a way to pull that off!" Applejack said confidently. "There is no way I'm lettin' that lousy Svengallop use my friend like that!" She said before she was on her way to talk with Rara one more time to set things straight for good.

Seeing Applejack like that again made Star Twinkle rather happy. It was not like her to give up that easily, especially when it came to a friend. This was not only about making sure that the event was happening, but it was also important for Rara's future and Applejack was not gonna stand there and look at how one of her friends was taking advantage of like this.

A little later...

Back at the stage, Rara was waiting for everything to be taken care of for the event. Applejack was just arriving at the stage with Star Twinkle following close behind. She attempted to talk one more time to her old friend.

"Countess Coloratura!" She shouted up the stage to where Rara was standing at.

Rara seemed positively surprised. "Wow, AJ, you said my real name," she said happily.

"I said your new name, but I saw the real you hangin' out with those schoolponies yesterday. And I know somepony that'd prefer if you stop doin' those little events," Applejack said.

"Ugh, not this again," Rara replied annoyed before she turned around again. She did not want any of that anymore.

"Come on now. You've just got to give me a chance to prove what I'm sayin' is true," Applejack asked.

"And just how are you going to do that?" Rara asked.

Star Twinkle stepped up and joined in the conversation. "We came up with a plan and if you go along and do exactly as we say, then you can see yourself if Svengallop has your best interests in mind," he explained.

Rara was looking over to Applejack as if she wanted to confirm if she could trust Star Twinkle's words. It was just now that Star Twinkle realized that they were not properly introduced to each other which might be the reason for Rara's hesitation. Applejack just gave her a soft nod while smiling and that was enough to convince Rara to go along with all of this. She was convinced though that this would all be a huge waste of time.

Later...

After agreeing to Star Twinkle's and Applejack's plan, Rara was walking up and down the stage in the search of Svengallop. Star Twinkle and the rest of his friends were not too far away as well. They decided to watch from afar and waited for everything to be in place.

It didn't take long until Svengallop heard Rara calling his name and came running to her. "Here I am! Did you need something?" He asked as he bowed down to the mare for a moment.

Rara knew what she was supposed to say at this moment but she was still feeling a little nervous to see how Svengallop would react to it. "Yes, I was... considering... m-maybe canceling the contest with the schoolponies...?" She said in a heavy voice. Even though this was all part of the plan, it did not feel good to say it out loud.

Much to Rara's surprise and shock Svengallop was practically beaming as soon as he heard that. "Countess, this is wonderful! I've been waiting forever for you to cancel that pointless schoolpony contest," he said.

"You... have?" Rara replied confused.

"You do it at every charity event, and it does absolutely nothing to promote the Countess Coloratura image that I built! Consider it canceled," he said with not a single hint of regret.

Rara could not believe what she was hearing and only looked at Applejack who watched all of this unfolding in front of her. Of course, she was not surprised one bit by all of this.

"Pinkie Pie!" Svengallop then screamed across the stage, causing a pretty stressed out Pinkie Pie to come running towards him.

"Yes, Svengallop, sir!" The mare said before she coughed up an apple while catching some breaths.

Pinkie Pie was pretty exhausted and a mess to look at because she was taking care of Svengallop's demands the whole time. She could only hope that there were not more demands heading towards her now.

"We are making some adjustments to the show. Follow me!" Svengallop said as he prompted Pinkie Pie to follow him backstage.

Star Twinkle was watching how the two were walking away and he began smiling. Everything was going exactly as planned so far. The next step was for Twilight to take action who, until now, was pretending to do some work around the stage. The mare was flying after them, out of sight of course, and took care of the rest.

In the meantime, Rara came walking down the stage to talk with Applejack. "He seemed really happy about canceling the contest," she said with a frown on her face.

"Of course he was!" Applejack replied. "That's because he was happy!" She pointed out.

But Rara was still in denial about all of this. "Maybe he was just happy because he thought I was exhausted? And canceling the contest was a good way for me to relax a bit?" She figured. "Maybe he was just thinking about my well-being?" She asked.

Applejack was shaking her head, she couldn't believe that Rara was still defending that guy.

"Does your well-being include not being allowed to have any friends as well?" Star Twinkle said, much to Rara's and Applejack's confusion. "That's what he told me," he explained.

Meanwhile, Twilight came back from her mission with a confident smile on her face. "Everything is taken care of!" She said victoriously.

Star Twinkle was happy to hear this and smiled. "Alright," he replied.

Rara was still a little confused though. "What has been taken care of? What did you do?" She asked.

"You'll see," Star Twinkle replied.

Svengallop and Pinkie Pie now came back from behind the stage, "Okay, Countess Coloratura, all taken care of!" The stallion said proudly.

This was the perfect opportunity to let Twilight take care of the rest. She used her magic to create a screen on the stage that showed Svengallop and Pinkie Pie's conversation from behind the stage. Twilight was recording all of it and played it so that everyone could see the real Svengallop in all of his glory.

"Cancel the contest for the fillies and schedule me a spa treatment. Now that I don't have to oversee a rehearsal with those brats, I have time for the works! You know the drill! Deliver, or the diva ditches your dippy charity!"

It was a short conversation but it was enough to open the eyes of Rara. Needless to say, she was shocked to see the footage and walked up to her manager.

"So that's how you've been managing things?" She asked angrily.

It was plainly visible that Svengallop was nervous to be caught like that but he tried to play it off professionally. "Yeah, so? What's the problem?" He asked.

"The problem is, is you've been using my name to intimidate ponies to get what you want!" Rara said.

"But I work incredibly hard for you! I deserve everything I get!" Svengallop replied.

"But not because you scare ponies into thinking I won't perform for their charities otherwise! I would never do that to my fans! Which is why you should have known that I would never cancel the schoolponies' contest!"

"Hmph. All this charity and schoolpony contest nonsense is just remnants of that boring little Rara I met back in Manehattan!" The stallion said in disgust.

Rara was pretty mad that the pony she was trusting the most was not seeing the real problem in all of this. "You clearly don't understand the real me!" Was all she could say to this as she lifted her veil off from her face.

"Ha, that's a joke!" Svengallop said amused. "I made you somepony! What can you even do without me? Good luck, Countess Coloratura! Good luck," he said before he walked off as if he just won the war even though he clearly lost the battle.

Rara just now lost her manager, that is something that hit everyone else. "Oh, Rara, I'm so sorry. Are you gonna be okay for the concert tonight?" Applejack asked in concern.

Rara might be a good singer but her performance was more than singing. Countess Coloratura was known for colorful costumes, skilled background dancers, and special effects, all of which were taken care of by Svengallop who now was no longer working for her.

Still, Rara was confident that things will work out well. "Of course. After all, the show must go on!" Is all she said.

Later that evening...

Quite a crowd had gathered in front of the stage, all of them expecting a usual flashy Countess Coloratura performance from Rara. Star Twinkle and the rest of his friends were waiting as well. Rara sounded pretty confident when earlier this day, even though she lost her manager who was taking care of all the stuff that would make a performance from Countess Coloratura possible.

Everyone was just hoping that things turned out well in the end, Star Twinkle included. This was a charity event so the focus should not be on how good the performance of a singer was to make it successful but that was not what was at stake here. If Rara's performance would end up being mediocre then her image would surely suffer from it. But knowing that Applejack was there for here and Rarity was helping with the outfit backstage is what made him feel a little bit better.

As soon as Rarity then started appearing next to him in the crowd though, he began to get a little bit worried again. "How is she doing?" The stallion asked.

Rarity hesitated to answer at first. "Well...um..she is not...doing terrible..."

She was not good at lying, that much was sure. Things did not go as planned. According to Rarity, Rara was freaking out a little bit backstage after realizing that Svengallop was the one managing all the things around her Countess Coloratura image. Since he was gone, all of those things were gone as well, leaving a pretty frustrated Rara behind.

"That is not good," Star Twinkle commented. "Where is Applejack?" He then asked.

But as soon as her name fell, Applejack appeared next to Star Twinkle, Rarity, and the rest of their friends. She looked rather happy or at the very least relieved. "All has been taken care of," is all she said.

"So you took care of all the special effects and such?" Star Twinkle asked.

"Nope," Applejack replied casually and calmly.

No one knew what to take away from this. It did not really sound as if things have been taken care of if that was the case. It was too late now anyway, Twilight appeared on stage and announced Rara already.

"Good evening, everypony! Welcome to the opening night of the Helping Hooves Music Festival! Now it is my great honor to introduce you to our headlining act – Countess Coloratura!"

The curtains opened and Rara was revealed to the audience. Much to the shock of everyone though, she was not wearing a flashy costume or had background dancers with her. There was just Rara, sitting next to a piano in her usual get up.

"This song may be familiar, but yet, it's totally different. Kind of like me, Rara," is all she said before she prepared herself to play.

Star Twinkle looked over to Applejack as if he tried to find some answers and the mare actually gave him one right away.

"Svengallop might have turned her into Countess Coloratura and acted like your friend so he could enjoy the perks that came with bein' a star. But the real perk of friendship is gettin' to see your friend bein' true to their self. And when Rara is simply herself, then she is the brightest of them all."

The stallion took those words to heart before he looked at the stage again. Rara played a beautiful song on the piano, something slow and not fast, unlike what you would expect from Countess Coloratura. Of course, everyone was pretty confused to not see the pony that they all expected, which was funny since it was the same pony nonetheless but still every pony in the audience remained quiet and listened to the song that Rara began to sing for them.

"I'm here to show you who I am
Throw off the veil, it's finally time
There's more to me than glitz and glam, oh-whoa
And now I feel my stars align

For I had believed what I was sold
I did all the things that I was told
But all that has changed, and now I'm bold
'Cause I know
That I am just a pony!

I make mistakes from time to time
But now I know the real me
And put my heart out on the line
And let the magic in my heart stay true

Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa

And let the magic in my heart stay true

Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa

Just like the magic inside of you"

Everyone still remained quiet and listened to the song with an open heart. All the unicorns in the crowd started to use their horns as lights to create a sea of colors. Rara had such a powerful voice even without any special effects. In fact, her voice sounded even better than it ever did before.

"And now I see those colors
Right before my eyes
I hear my voice so clearly
And I know that it is right

They thought I was weak, but I am strong
They sold me the world, but they were wrong
And now that I'm back, I still belong
'Cause I know
That I am just a pony!"

The crowd started cheering loudly. They were blown away by this performance. Hearing Rara singing like that was just beautiful. Star Twinkle himself had to admit that he never heard a better song before and it was all thanks to Applejack. He was about to tell her that in the middle of the song but then he saw how she was having tears in her eyes listening to Rara's singing. It felt wrong to say anything right now so Star Twinkle decided to remain quiet. He wanted her to enjoy this song. Hearing a friend singing like that after so many years was probably warming her heart at this moment.

Star Twinkle continued to listen to this song again and he realized that it was a pretty bad time to interrupt anyone while it was still being sung.

"But now I know the real me
And put my heart out on the line
And let the magic in my heart stay true

Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa

And let the magic in my heart stay true

Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa

Just like the magic inside of you

Just like the magic inside of you..."

The song was done and Rara looked at the crowd with a smile on her face. What she received as a crowd cheering back at her in amazement. There was not a single pony in the crowd that didn't enjoy this song. This was the best performance that Rara did so far and Svengallop was most likely furious if he was somewhere in there listening to the crowd.

"Thank you, everypony!" Rara said. Tears were visible in her eyes as well. It must have felt really great to finally sing the way she used to after all those years. "When I arrived at the Helping Hooves Music Festival, I had forgotten who I really was! But then an old friend reminded me what real friendship is about, and she told me that if I was true to myself, I couldn't go wrong!" She explained while she looked at Applejack, who soon had all the eyes in the crowd focused on her, making her quite nervous in the process, Understandable, Star Twinkle would react the same way.

"So I have a very special surprise for her. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, come on up!" Rara asked of the three before they walked up to the stage to join her for another song. The song that she promised to sing with them earlier.

"Equestria, the land I love
A land of harmony
Our flag does wave from high above
For ponykind to see"

Rara then offered a hoof to Applejack to join her up on the stage something that she accepted right away with a smile on her face. This was a song that Rara used to sing back when she and Applejack were at camp Friendship. Yet another thing from her fillyhood that Applejack appreciated being brought back.

"Equestria, a land of friends
Where ponykind do roam
They say true friendship never ends
Equestria, my home"

The song ended with a hug between the two friends. Both were happy that things ended up like this and that they got to meet each other after such a long time.

Star Twinkle was looking at the two mares hugging each other. He smiled and was happy for them. Still, no matter how happy this scene was to look at, some other things were circling around in Star Twinkle's mind.

For some reason, instead of Applejack and Rara, Star Twinkle imagined himself and Summershine in this exact situation. Summershine, the pony he only had little memories of, if any at all, was someone who he knew used to be his friend. But that was about it, there was nothing more. He wanted to know more, more about him and Summershine's past but he didn't remember anything because of this memory erase spell that Summershine supposedly used on him.

The expression on Star Twinkle's face turned into a slight frown. He wished that things with him and his supposedly friend would end up just like this, just like with Applejack and Rara.

"Someday...right?" Star Twinkle said beneath his breath as he continued watching the reunion of two close friends in front of him.

Author's Note:

The Slice of Life chapters for this season are done and there are five more chapters planned for Season 5. The next two will be the Cutie Re-Mark so you better get excited about it. As for the three chapters after that...I'm curious about what you think might happen. I think you will like what I have in mind...I hope O_O.

With all that said, please consider leaving a review or some other kind of feedback and make sure to follow me or this story to always be up to date with everything that I upload.

See you all in the next chapter.
Bye Bye ^^.

Reading Order:

My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship Season 1 + 2(Chapter 1 - 53)

My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship - Diary of The Storm Wings

My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship Season 3(Chapter 54 - 65)

Equestria Girls - The Legend of Friendship

My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship - Outcasts

My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship Season 4(Chapter 66 - 91)

Rainbow Rocks - The Legend of Friendship

The Legend of Friendship - Harmony

My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship Season 5(Chapter 92 - 117)