BTS - You Never Walk Alone ft. Mane Six

by Blazer

Best of Me

“Not a single call’s gone through. Their phones are either out of battery or someone turned them off.”
“I’ve called headquarters. They’ll be contacting the proper authorities.”
“Is it a good idea to make this public?”
“We’ve got no choice. It’s been at least several hours and they still haven’t turned up.”
“Better they’re found quickly rather than avoid losing face.”
“Alright, listen up, people!”

The PD stepped forward, his face grave. “Our top priority is the well-being of our boys. The departmental budget is yours to use.”

A round of surprised murmurs broke out but was quickly silenced when the PD held up his hand.

“I hold everyone here in the highest regard and trust the money will be used efficiently. I don’t care what we must do—all that matters is that those boys are brought home as soon as possible. Call or email me with any updates or information.”

He exhaled shakily before adding, “Good luck, everyone.”

***

“We’re an idol group.”
“Idol group? Is it an occupation?”
“You can say that. It’s more of an entertainment concept.”
“And what do idol groups do?”
“A lot of things. Our main focuses are music and performance, but we try to engage with our fanbase through things like variety shows, signings, virtual hangouts—”
“Virtual?”
“Hm? You don’t…? Oh.”
“Nevermind, please continue.”
“Basically, we nurture our bond with our fanbase as much as possible—without them, we would’ve never made it this far.”
“Of course. Okay…”

RM clasped his hands across his knees, leaning forward in his chair. He glanced around the library-turned-living space, noting the warm, vibrant tones of the room. It was two floors tall, a vaulted ceiling allowing occupants on the first floor to see the second level and vice versa. While the second level looked to be more of a bedroom, the lower level was a veritable treasure trove of knowledge. Books crowded various nooks carved into the tree itself. Loose parchment crowded with notes detailing subjects both familiar and unfamiliar littered any available desk, table or chair space—save for the two that he and his interviewer were occupying.

The extreme coziness of the space made his own apartment look like a cold, sanitized prison cell by comparison.

“So, RM,” Twilight chewed the name carefully. “I heard your companions calling you Namjoon. Is that a nickname?”
“It’s my given name. RM is my ‘stage’ name.”
“Ah, so do you prefer one or the other?”
“No preference. I answer to both.”
“Interesting… And does RM stand for anything?”
“It stands for ‘Real Me.’”
“I see. ‘Real Me…’ Did you get that, Spike?”

“Every word,” the purple lizard stated proudly. While RM had initially been flabbergasted at the sight of a walking talking reptile, the normalcy that everyone seemed to downplay or ignore every contradiction to his own reality reined in his wonder.

“I had another question for you, RM.”
“Yup.”
“You told me that you were the ‘leader’ when everyone was introducing themselves back in the forest. Can you describe to me what those duties entail?”

RM crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair.

“Well, a ‘leader’ of an idol group mostly what you’d expect. We take care of the other members—mediate discussions during arguments, check in with everyone before, during and after any group activities, and so on. We also do a lot of the speaking when it comes to accepting awards, talking to large audiences composed of those unfamiliar with us, and so on. In those situations, we’re usually the group representative.”
“I understand. Sounds pretty important.”

RM shrugged, “We all have our part.”

Twilight regarded him with a cautious wince, “I wanted to ask you a more personal question regarding your role as leader. Is that alright?”

RM gestured to her with an open hand. Nodding, Twilight continued.

“Have you ever felt weighed down by the burden of being so responsible? Of either overseeing the harmony of everypony when together, representing the group in a positive way, or in some other capacity?”

Spike paused in his writing to look up at Twilight with a concerned expression.

“Not really.”

Twilight blinked, her eyes marginally wider as RM continued. “Being a leader does have some tougher moments, especially when members are fighting each other. It gets to be a lot at times. However, my members always seem to know when I’m getting overwhelmed and step in to help. They’ve all got my back just like I’ve got theirs.”

RM smiled, eyes unfocused as he thought of the group.

“With that kind of support, it’s pretty hard for me to be down for too long. Once I was able to let myself ask for help from time to time, I realized how reliable and strong my members can be.”

Twilight and Spike both stared intently at the human. He looked completely different with his gentle, reminiscent grin and profound wisdom tumbling from his lips. He looked so… vibrant.

“Does that answer your question?”
“Hm? Oh, yes. Thank you. I appreciate you humoring me.”
“Are you a leader, too?”

Twilight shook her head. “Not in the same capacity as you, no. Maybe mentally, perhaps.”

RM watched her intently as she managed a sad smile. “When you said you were responsible for taking care of everyone, I knew I had to ask you about the weight of it all. I may not necessarily be the leader, but I feel like with the responsibility granted to me by the Princess, I have some obligation to step into that role.”
“Do your friends often ask you for advice?”
“They do.”

RM nodded. “I would too—all these books give you the vibe of someone who would hold a lot of answers.”
“Thank you.”

Twilight’s ears folded back. “But sometimes, I’m afraid that I won’t be able to help them. Part of why I do what I do in this library is because I want to be there for them—and the fear that I might not be able to if I stop. But what you said about your group having your back… I think I needed to hear that.”

RM nodded again, a grin tugging the corner of his mouth. “You’re a good person, Twilight. I’m sure your friends have noticed your efforts, too. Otherwise they wouldn’t have stuck around, right?”

Twilight looked up, returning RM’s smile with a much brighter one than before. “Thank you.”

For a moment, the two enjoyed the sweetness of each other’s words.

Not before a low growl shattered the sentimental silence.

“Ugh… Sorry, I’m really, really hungry.”
“Oh! No, I’m sorry! Let’s go get something to eat! Do you like hay? Grass?”
“I… Er… I can’t eat either of those…”

***

“Wow… This place is incredible.”
“Why, thank you!”

J-Hope set his hands on his hips as he spun on one foot, his eyes scanning the interior of the Carousel Boutique. Every window boasted an extravagant outfit fitted perfectly to the mannequin wearing it: From the simpler yet stylish cottage dresses and button-up/slacks combos to the most extravagant three-piece suits and evening gowns.

“Man. I wish I hadn’t left my wallet with the crew…”
“Speak up, darling. I can’t hear you.”
“Oh, nothing. Just really like your outfits.”
“Ohoho! Well, aren’t you just the sweetest!”
“Whoa, you make hats too?”

J-Hope moved towards the haberdashery section of the store, examining a feathered bycocket with excitement. Rarity failed to hide a proud smirk.

“Well, of course! Some of my finest outfits wouldn’t be complete without them.”
“Which do you think those are?”
“Hmm… If I had to choose…”

She moved towards a side room, opening the door with her magic. “This way,” she whispered, stepping inside. J-Hope followed without delay, eager to lay his eyes upon what outfits this fashionista believed to be ‘the best of the best.’

“These ones will always be my favorite.”

J-Hope examined the six dresses arranged in a neat row. He held his chin in contemplation as he eyed what appeared to be some fairly normal dresses with different color schemes. The first dress seemed to be a common ball gown: A maroon shawl swaddled the upper half while the main body of the dress was supported by lavish white petticoats. A gold tiara with a purple gem set into the center rested on the mannequin’s head. All in all, within expectations for attending the fanciest of operas.

As he examined the other dresses, however, he noticed an overall theme with each one. From Athenian royalty to the starry cloak of a sorceress, each gown was meticulously crafted and detailed from head to toe.

“There’s something different about these ones.”
“Good eye, my dear.”
“Did you make these for someone?”
“Exactly!”

J-Hope’s eyes almost seemed to twinkle as he drank in the various themes of each outfit, each one seeming to be more detailed than the last.

“There’s so much personality in each one—almost as if I could learn a lot about the owners of these dresses just by studying these clothes.”
“You’re too kind, darling. I wish I had you around for all my clothing line releases. It would’ve been exactly what I needed to hear back then.”

The whistle of a teapot turned their attention to the kitchen.

“I have a dragon-pearl jasmine tea that is to die for. Would you be interested in trying some?”
“Oh, sure; I’d love some. Thank you.”

Within minutes, an arrangement of cookies and jam sandwiches was prepared as Rarity’s magic sliced bread, emptied biscuit boxes onto snack trays and levitated the entire tea set over to the dining table. J-Hope’s jaw remained open for the entirety of the impromptu magic show, bowing as Rarity approached the table.

“Wow… Uh, thank you. Everything looks delicious.”
“I should hope so. Wouldn’t be putting my best hoof forward if I served you stale cookies.”

Taking a small sip of the tea, J-Hope nodded in approval. “Yep. It’s good.”

“Oh, dear. Guess we’ll have to drink the lot of it, then.”

J-Hope smiled as he took a dainty bite of a butterscotch cookie, humming his delight as he wolfed down the remainder in a couple more less-controlled mouthfuls.

“So, I’ve been meaning to ask you about your world. What’s it like?”

J-Hope washed down the last of the cookie with another sip of tea before replying.

“Kind of a broad question. What to say… It’s a busy place. There’s a lot going on.”
“I guess that can be said about both our worlds.”
“Yeah. I’ll admit that I definitely like it here. Everything’s a slower pace out in the countryside, or at least in smaller towns. Do you have big cities here?”
“Of course. We have our capital, Canterlot. Then there’s Fillydelphia, Detrot, Seaddle…”
“That’s kind of like where I live now. A lot of my work goes on in big cities, so I need to live as close to it all as possible.”
“Of course. I occasionally have to spend a month or so at my shop in Canterlot, so I know how intense that can be.”
“Mhmm. Anyways, our world is a huge place. Seven billion people crowded together on one big rock floating in space.”
“Seven billion?!”
“Yeah. It’s a lot of people.”
“How do you all get along?”

J-Hope sighed, staring at his tea. “It’s half and half. There’s a lot of good and a lot of bad.”

“Oh, dear. I’m sorry.”
“No, no, you’re okay. You sort of get desensitized to it after awhile.”
“So what do you mean by ‘bad things?’”
“It can get pretty bad. Enough to drive you crazy if you focus on it for too long.”

Rarity cocked her head. “That doesn’t sound like an ideal living at all.”

J-Hope shrugged. “It’s up to everyone to do what they can. It’s why we do what we do.”

“Why you do what you do?”
“I mean, don’t get me wrong: Not everything is bad in our world. It’s split down the middle. Some will say there’s more good, others vice versa, but I always think it’s in the middle. Neither half-empty or half-full. That’s why doing good is so important—maybe you can tip the scales towards positivity for maybe a day or two.”

Rarity nodded emphatically. “But of course! Not to mention it feels good to give to others.”

“Exactly. So especially when writing music or interacting with our fans, we’re always trying to make something that promotes or spreads something positive. Hopefully, our fans can reciprocate that positivity to others to let us tip that scale just a little bit more.”

The mare smiled, clasping a hoof over her chest. “Oh, wow. You’ve all really thought this out.”

J-Hope grabbed another butterscotch cookie, inspecting it for a moment. “We’ve had a lot of time to think about things. We’ve been at this for almost a decade now.”

“I wonder what you were all like when you first started.”

J-Hope laughed, his booming voice breaking the relative quiet of the sitting room. “You would’ve hated the way we looked. It was awful.”

“Oh? And why would you think that?”
“It was bad… At least, by our standards today.”
“Care to fill a curious mare in?”

J-Hope’s mind drifted to that debut stage. The tank tops. The chains. The snapbacks. Flashing his abs.

Rarity leaned in expectantly, becoming worried as J-Hope’s expression morphed into a thousand-yard stare.

“J-Hope? Are you alright? Say something!”

***

Suga found himself completely alone.

Just the way he liked it.

He had missed the days where his wandering held no consequence—not to mention most of the town’s residents were too nervous to approach their first human. That left him with few worries as he found himself gravitating towards what appeared to be a local park.

Moving to the shade of a large willow, he ran his hands through the long, hair-like branches as they swayed in the gentle breeze rushing through them. Grunting as he sat on the grass below, he lay down with his hands behind his head, his eyes sliding closed.

The excitement of the day had left him drained. First, their arrival in the middle of the night, then being interrogated by the ruler of the country they had accidentally “invaded,” before being deemed as “trustworthy” and left to roam the town under supervision.

Suga’s company was one of the Princess’s own royal “guardsponies.” He felt the other guides that were provided all seemed like too much for him—having someone that didn’t talk back seemed like a better alternative in the heat of the moment.

Sighing as another breeze played with his hair, he felt like he had made the right choice.

“Sugar, is it?”

Suga’s eyes snapped open as he bolted upright, his voice catching in his throat as he suddenly noticed the large blue equine sitting next to him.

“Did we get that correct?”

“I-it’s Suga,” he wheezed, taking a few big breaths to calm himself.

“Forgive us. It was not our intention to startle you.”
“No, no. It’s fine.”

The blue horse leaned in, her eyes seeming to search Suga’s for something before staring out into the park.

“We only wished to inform you of what we discovered while examining the artifact you brought with you.”

Suga turned towards her.

“Sorry. Who are you?”

The blue horse smiled, bowing her head.

“We are Princess Luna. It would please us greatly if you came with us. We have much to discuss.”