Legacy: The End of Harmony

by Ficta_Scriptor

Volume 1: Eruditio - Chapter 8 - Ham Acting

Legacy volume 1: Eruditio

Chapter 8 – Ham Acting

Rosa felt lighter than a feather, gleefully galloping across the cobbled stone pathway, breathing in the fresh air and beaming from ear to ear. She knew that she must have looked like a playful filly in a grown mare’s body with the spring in her step, but she didn’t care. For once, the idea of not caring about anything but her own joy seemed unusually natural.

Most of the village was quiet barring the buzzing and chirping of wildlife. It was around 10 o’ clock, and Rosa was fully awake thanks to her early night. Her back muscles ached from the strenuous day just gone by but she ignored the pain; she was in too good of a mood to let that keep her from the outside world. She would’ve been out sooner, but she thought it best not to go banging on Summer’s door too early. Rosa was truly excited to be visiting her newfound friend instead of being disappointed at losing out on a day to herself for the week. If anything, the idea of spending her time sat alone in her room just wasn’t all that tantalising anymore. She wondered how Summer would react to seeing this side of her. One thing was for sure; that little yellow pony was in for a surprise.

Rosa spotted the odd looking lime green house out in front of her, the magenta coloured door being in stark contrast to the houses that surrounded it. It reminded her of Summer’s personality; bright, colourful and just a little bit strange.

She pushed open the dark green gate and walked to the step at Summer’s front door. There was an old style brass knocker at its centre in the shape of a griffin’s head. Rosa never saw the need for knockers; a hoof was the perfect tool to knock on a door with, so why make something else to do the job? She imagined a group of business ponies coming up with the invention as some kind of scam, and convincing everypony that door knockers were essential. Has this ever happened to you? She imagined a spokespony saying as he rapped on a door, feigning a pain in his hoof. With these new door knockers, hoof-ache will become a thing of the past!

Out of irony, Rosa tapped the knocker against the door making a tap, tap sound that was far quieter than if she’d just clobbered it with a hoof. The curtains were closed just as they were when she had last seen the house, so she couldn’t see if there was anypony coming. Suddenly, she felt a surge of guilt, imagining Summer’s mother in agony at the mere sound of somepony at the door this early. Oh, stop it! she told herself. She’s just disabled. She’s not some kind of freakish creature!

After a few moments she could hear hoof-steps coming towards the door. A latch was flicked on the other side and the door was pushed ajar, an orange eye peering out from behind it.

“Aha!”

Summer threw the door back and promptly leapt at Rosa, giving her an energetic hug.

“Rosa! You’re here! Hang on, just two seconds!”

Summer raced back into her house and into a room down the hallway. Rosa could hear some murmuring, then Summer burst back out and pranced her way through the front door, closing it behind her with a thud. The two ponies trotted out onto the road.

“You’re earlier than I thought you’d be,” Summer said with a raised eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t want to keep you waiting; that would be rude of me.”

“Hang on a second...”

Summer stood back and examined Rosa with a discerning gaze, her eyes lighting up.

“Well this is new,” she said, brushing a hoof through Rosa’s mane. “So was this a gift from your lover-colt?”

“What, this?” Rosa brought the pink ribbon in her mane to her eye line. She had gotten used to wearing it now and almost considered it a lucky charm after the amazing day she’d had. “Oh no, I’ve had this for ages. Do you think it looks good?”

“Good? Good!? Yeah, it looks OK I suppose... Oh I’m kidding, it looks great!”

“Thanks,” Rosa smiled back. “So where do you want to go?”

“Hmm...” Summer squinted and scratched her head. “You know, I hadn’t really thought about that!”

Rosa rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Well we can’t just stand here all day, unless I come inside?”

“Nah, sorry. My Mum could do with a bit of a rest, plus there’s not much we can do inside. Ah, there’s a nice cafe down the road that opens on Sundays. The stallion who works there is a real hunk too, though I guess that’s not really an issue for you, is it? And you can tell me all about your hot date. How does that sound?”

“That would be great,” remarked Rosa, happy to see that Summer was still her usual upbeat, spontaneous and somewhat perverted self.

“Excellent! Then we’d better get going Strider; I just hope I can keep up with your pace!” Summer began to skip down the road as fast as she could, trying to make it look as if she was walking normally. “This is my normal walking pace, I swear!”

Rosa laughed and raced up to her, following as she took the route to the cafe. Despite knowing that her friend was more than likely to crack a slew of rude jokes she was still excited to tell her all about the date. Simply relaying it in her mind brought a smile to her face.

The cafe in question was a modern building with stonework that resembled those she had seen in Canterlot, albeit nowhere near as flamboyantly designed. The words ‘GET STUFFED!’ were painted onto a sign hanging from the roof alongside a picture of a gluttonous pony in the middle of wolfing down an entire buffet. The front facing windows were enormous, with more glass on this side than there was wall. Summer entered first, pushing open the wood-framed glass door, setting off a small bell as she entered. There was a couple sat in the corner and an elderly stallion at his own table mulling over some kind of leaflet.

“Good morning, Earl!” Summer spouted to the unicorn stallion behind the counter, underplaying the fact that she was out of breath. He had a light green coat and a short mane with red and white stripes. He looked up from the newspaper he was reading and gave Summer a nod.

“Morning, Summer,” he said in a tone much lower than would be expected of his appearance. “If it isn’t favourite customer number thirty-two. Who’s your friend?”

“Earl, this is Rosa. Rosa, this is Earl.”

The two ponies shook hooves.

“Nice to meet you Earl.”

“Nice to meet you too, little lady,” Earl replied with a wink. Summer immediately stepped in and broke the hoof-shake.

“Oh don’t you be getting any ideas! Rosa isn’t single there, partner!” she mocked in a fake southern accent.

“Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you two were...”

Summer began to blush immediately and stood stock still for a moment. Rosa laughed off her embarrassment, wondering if she too was as red as her friend. Without warning, Summer launched at Earl and slammed her hooves against the counter, gaining the attention of the other ponies in the cafe with her outburst.

“NO! She’s not my filly-friend! I meant she’s seeing somepony else!” she bellowed, taking both Earl and Rosa by complete surprise. Earl’s smile had quickly faded into a look of absolute terror.

“It... it was just a joke,” he stammered, sweat pouring from his brow. “Summer, I was just kidding.”

Rosa looked on in awe as Summer’s eyes darted around the room, seemingly searching for answers. The couple in the corner were gazing at her with smirks on their faces. At last, she locked eyes with Earl again and smiled unconvincingly.

“Right! Right... I knew that. You’re always such a jokester aren’t you?”

Summer began to walk over to the table situated as far from the other customers as possible, her breathing now completely irregular. Rosa was surprised to see the usually cool and outgoing mare get so hot under the collar. She turned to Earl who was still sporting a rather scared-looking expression and tried to snap him out of it.

“I... guess we’d like two cups of tea? One sugar in mine, but I think she’s had enough for today.”

“Oh... yeah, right on it,” he stuttered, quickly gathering two tea bags with telekinesis and stirring them as he added boiling water. “That’ll be two bits.”

Rosa handed over the two coins and looked over at her friend who shrugged and grinned back, her face still red.

“Tea will be fine! I’ll owe you one later!” she called from the corner, swinging on her wooden chair like a temperamental foal.

Earl had finished preparing the two cups and started levitating them over to Summer’s table.

“Sorry about that,” Rosa whispered.

“That’s OK,” Earl whispered back. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I’ve always kind of known she likes me so it was a bit unfair of me to say something like that. Anyway, let’s keep that between you and me.”

Rosa nodded and took her place opposite Summer at the table as the tea cups floated over and landed perfectly at each side.

“So what was he whispering to you about, eh? Trying to chat you up?” Summer said gleefully in an obvious attempt to reaffirm her position of being the jokester. Rosa found it amusing that despite being so confident, her friend still had that awkward teenage mare side to her that reminded her so much of herself.

“Something like that,” Rosa chuckled. She wondered how often her friend had paid a visit to this place if Earl was so aware of something that Summer had only just hinted at. Surely she had a thing for every stallion out there.

“So anyway, how was your date? Did the two of you share a romantic kiss under the stars? Did he sweep you off your hooves? Did he go down—”

“Well if you’d let me speak maybe I could tell you,” Rosa interrupted.

“OK Strider, I can tell you’ve got stories to get out into the open. Shoot!”

Rosa excitedly told her about Foal Gallagher’s show and was surprised to hear that Summer already knew about him and was supposedly a ‘big fan’.

“Foal Gallagher? Are you kidding me?! He’s amazing! I’ve always wanted to see him perform? Is he as cute as everypony says he is?”

As always, that seemed to be the most important thing on the teenager’s mind. Rosa told her about the various tricks and impressive moves of Foal and the birds, and of how the music was better than anything she’d ever heard. She almost felt like she was doing Summer a disservice by telling her all this given how the poor mare worked so hard and had little time or money to ever do any of this, but the mare was as inquisitive as ever, ushering Rosa to keep doling out more information and asking questions about Canterlot and the high flying bird show. Rosa was as truthful as she could be, but didn’t make any effort to mention Sparks’ little performance at the training ground. She didn’t want Summer demanding to see it for herself, or indeed making some kind of jibe about his speed.

“So did he kiss you? Come on, spill the beans!”

“No, we didn’t kiss.”

“Did he try to?”

“No... I don’t think so.”

“Did you try to?”

“Why is it so important to you?” Rosa fumed, getting a little flustered from Summer’s interrogation. “It was a first date; there’s no need to rush these things.” In all honesty she was anxious about when such a time would come. Just thinking about it made her feel uneasy; all these years the only pony who she had ever thought about in that way had been Nico, but now she was having to force those feelings away.

“I’m only asking, Strider, there’s no need to get your tail in a twist. Besides, I don’t know how you could resist it after holding hooves with him for so long.”

Rosa sighed and buried her head into her hooves. She looked down at her tea and gave it a sip, finding that it was slightly too cold to her taste. She’d spent so long nattering that she’d forgotten it was even there.

“Is there anywhere else you want to go?” she asked drearily.

---

After a few minutes of aimless walking and general banter, (most of which consisted of Summer blabbering on about fictitious romantic outings and ‘words of wisdom’ for Rosa to take heed of when dating Sparks, all while Rosa shook her head in dismay and humoured the peppy pony) Rosa suggested going to visit Spike, simply for something to do. It was difficult trying to come up with something productive to do with a new friend. After all, even when it came to spending time with Clover and Nico it was mostly a case of meeting up for drinks or the occasional trip because of a family event. Rosa’s interests in reading weren’t exactly the kind of thing that could be shared, and she didn’t really have any other hobbies. If ponies were to ever ask her about her favourite pastimes she would mention something about swimming on occasion even though she’d not been swimming for nearly a year.

Going to see Spike seemed like a good idea anyway; the lovable purple dragon may have gotten a lot of tourist attention over the years but he still gave off a vibe of loneliness. He couldn’t simply ‘hang out’ with other ponies and while he had the chance to speak to various citizens of Ponyville because of the work he was doing for the village it couldn’t be the same as having friends to talk to. Rosa wondered how he would handle Summer...

The energetic yellow mare was bounding along the road and making up some nonsensical song as she went along.

“We’re gonna see Spike, a big purple dragon!
He’s as big as you could ever imagine!
I’m gonna see him breathe fire and flames!
If he burns down the village I’ll say Strider’s to blame!”

According to Summer, she’d only met Spike once when she was just a little filly, but she could hardly remember it. She’d seen him helping to build houses, (much like just about every pony in Ponyville) but was too nervous to actually go and meet him.

Rosa couldn’t help but smirk at the idea of a ‘nervous’ Summer as it reminded her of the debacle in the cafe that seemed a lot funnier now that they were out of there. She didn’t seem the type to be so anxious about things, but perhaps it was just a case of coming out of her shell or toughening up. After all, Rosa was starting to feel like she was becoming a new pony who wasn’t afraid of change anymore.

They approached the archway of the castle; the size of it was always impressive, even though Rosa had been here numerous times before. She thought of what it would be like when Spike was even smaller than a pony like he had claimed. It seemed almost impossible, though a few decades worth of eating mountains of food had to have some kind of repercussions.

Summer was smiling as wide as she could possibly manage, running in circles around Rosa who had been forced to slow her pace of risk knocking heads with the mare.

“Summer, will you just calm down for a second?”

“But I can’t! I’m so excited! I still can’t believe you’re friends with the Ponyville Dragon! I used to think you were a bit of a square, but you’re definitely the coolest pony ever!”

“Thanks... I think?”

Summer turned her attention away from Rosa and towards the open entrance.

“Coo-ee! Mister Spike!”

Rosa immediately grabbed her and clasped a hoof over her mouth.

“You can’t just go shouting his name! He might be resting or something. Dragons tend to sleep a lot longer than ponies and you never know, he might have been working hard...”

As Rosa continued to lecture Summer they both failed to notice a large purple head peer out from the archway and smirk at the scene before him.

“AHEM!” Spike said gruffly, making the two ponies jump in surprise. “Well, well, well. This is rather unexpected. So who’s your filly-friend, Rosa?”

Rosa turned to her friend to see that she still had one hoof pushed against the mare’s face and the other around her neck. At this sudden realisation the two ponies sprung away from each other and began to blurt out explanations in unison.

“No, Spike! This is my friend Summer! I wasn’t cuddling her or anything...”

“No! Me and Rosa aren’t together! We’re just friends!”

Spike’s head fell to the floor as he began to laugh heartily, tears in his eyes. The two ponies at first looked shocked, then they both began to frown with annoyance. Spike eventually stopped laughing and wiped away a tear, flicking it onto the ground. It quickly evaporated with a loud hiss. He pointed at the two ponies with his long, scaly claw.

“That’s for all the times you’ve teased me. I’m sorry if I offended you little one; I haven’t had many chances to get her back for all the things she’s said to me.”

At first the two mares traded peeved glances but Summer broke out into a grin and began to chuckle along with the dragon.

“Oh that’s OK Mister Spike! Yeah, she’s so easy to tease, isn’t she?”

Rosa could only shake her head as her two friends continued to chortle.

“Are you finished yet?” she scolded, stamping a hoof.

“OK, OK, I’m sorry,” Spike said, calming himself down. “So who’s your friend and what brings you here?”

“Spike, this is Summer. She’s a work colleague of mine. What brings me here is just getting her to meet you. You know, something nice like a good friend would do,” Rosa scowled, half-joking.

“Nice to meet you Mister Spike!” Summer said, raising a hoof for Spike to shake.

“Nice to meet you too, but I’d better not shake anypony’s hoof. These claws are annoyingly sharp and I wouldn’t want anything to happen. Also, just Spike is fine. I haven’t been called Mister in a long, long time.”

Summer raised a hoof to her forehead in salute. “Okie dokie, not Mister Spike!”

Spike gave a slight grin, a pensive expression appearing on his face. Rosa had seen that same face on only a few occasions, as if he was reminiscing about something.

“So what is it like being a dragon?” Summer blurted out excitedly.

“I don’t know... what’s it like being a pony?”

“It’s pretty good, especially when you’re an awesome pony like me! So is it just you that lives here or do you have yourself a lady dragon?” Summer said, raising her eyebrows.

Spike gave Rosa an anxious look, as if to say ‘help me!’

“She’s always like this, don’t worry. I’ve been getting an earful ever since I went on that date.”

At this, Spike’s eyes lit up.

“A date? Was it with that, erm... what’s his name? Sparky? The one you mentioned before?”

“Sparks, actually, and yes, we went on a date yesterday in Canterlot,” Rosa said proudly, unsure why she even considered it an impressive feat after so much talk of being proud not to have ‘been around’.

“Well isn’t that something,” Spike mused, scratching his chin. “Did you have a nice time?”

“You bet she did!” Summer butted in. “She saw Foal Gallagher’s high flying birds!”

“Yeah,” said Rosa, shooting Summer an annoyed look. “He took me to see Foal Gallagher, and it was amazing! Those birds were so well trained and did all kinds of aerial tricks, twirling and dancing all over the place!”

“It sounds like you enjoyed yourself,” murmured Spike approvingly. “So what is this Sparks guy like?”

“Oh, he’s great. I mean, it was kind of awkward at first but he’s really nice.”

“I see... Well, I’m really happy for you. You deserve that special somepony; you always have.”

Rosa blushed slightly at those words and looked to the ground. “You’re flattering me again, Spike; I guess you have a thing for ponies after all,” she teased.

Summer looked up at the dragon curiously as he rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I can see why you’d look at ponies in that way. It’s always the most unattainable ones that are the most enticing, isn’t it?” Summer noted plainly.

Spike cleared his throat ready to explain as Rosa chortled under her breath. The laughter was cut short as she began to think of how much that rang true of her own life. Were her feelings for Nico apparent just because he was ‘off-limits’?

“Oh for crying out loud, I don’t have a thing for ponies! You see, Summer, this is what I have to put up with.” Spike gave Rosa a discerning look. “So what does Clover think of this new colt-friend of yours?”

“Clover? Oh, she doesn’t know yet...” Rosa muttered, feeling a little guilty for not having mentioned it to her best friend.

“Really?” asked Spike, surprised. “I thought you must have been with her this morning.”

“What do you mean?” Rosa asked curiously.

“Well I saw her earlier; she was lining up for some kind of audition or something. She mentioned the theatre.”

“What? What do you mean, audition?”

Spike gave a slight shrug, as much as he was able to from where he was positioned. “I thought you would’ve known; as I say, that’s where I thought you’d come from.”

Rosa couldn’t help but feel a little betrayed, but she guessed she couldn’t say much because she was also guilty of not keeping her friends in the ‘know’.

“Clover, huh? Isn’t that your blank flank friend you mentioned before?” asked Summer, her interest piqued.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Rosa replied, wondering about her friend. “We can go meet her if you want; the theatre isn’t too far from here.”

“Oh, that would be neat-o! It was very nice meeting you Mister Spike, I mean Spike! You’re even cooler looking up close than you are from far off!”

“Well thanks,” chuckled the now bashful looking dragon, stroking the scales on the back of his neck.

“I hope you find a nice lady dragon soon,” Summer added, waving a hoof. “Now then Strider, let’s go meet Clover!”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Strider?”

“Because of the way I walk—”

“Oh, that.”

The two ponies said their goodbyes and headed out towards the theatre, Rosa wondering what her friend would be doing at such a place.

The Ponyville theatre could have been considered almost non-existent. Rosa could hardly remember the last time it was even accessible, let alone open to the public. Despite the fact that it was pretty much derelict it was a well-known building thanks to the huge sign jutting from its side with the word ‘THEATRE’ written vertically.

The last time it had actually operated as wasn’t open very often and was eventually closed down because hardly any ponies would go there anymore. The recession had hit Ponyville harder than most places, meaning such luxuries as going to see a play simply weren’t an option. There had been rumours about a grand re-opening in the past but they were met with little more than a flicker of interest. Sure, ponies would have liked to have the theatre open again but more for the novelty than the commodity.

“Why would Clover be at the theatre?” asked Summer.

“I have absolutely no idea. There’s no way it could be opening again, is there?”

“Crazier things have happened. I mean, you went out with Sparks and didn’t try to kiss him!”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Rosa mused, ignoring her friend’s joke entirely. “Why would they open it up again? And why would Clover be there?”

As they turned the corner to face the theatre the two ponies stopped dead in their tracks. Stretched out from the theatre entrance was a long queue of ponies that stretched the length of half a dozen houses. Near the front of the queue, Rosa noticed a familiar green pegasus staring into space with a pensive expression.

“Clover?” Rosa said aloud, catching her friend’s attention.

“Rosa? What are you doing here?” the pegasus asked, a smile coming across her face.

“That’s just what I was going to ask you!”

Rosa and Summer shuffled along to where Clover was standing, making sure not to make it seem as though they were jumping the queue. Before Rosa could ask her friend about what was going on Summer extended a hoof towards Clover.

“Nice to meet you Clover! My name’s Summer Sun! I would say Rosa’s told me all about you but she doesn’t talk very much.”

Clover smirked and happily shook the mare’s hoof. “Nice to meet you too, Summer.”

Rosa once again opened her mouth to speak but was again beaten to it by her yellow friend.

“So what’s happening here then? I thought this place had closed down; is it opening back up? Are you here for a job?”

“Summer, one question at a time,” Rosa butted in with. She turned back to Clover. “So what are you doing here?”

“I’m here for an audition. It’s for a play called Dreamworld. Maybe you’ve read the book?”

Rosa shook her head. “It rings a bell, but I’ve definitely not read it. It sounds like some kind of fantasy thing and I’ve never really been into that. So are they really opening up the theatre after all this time?”

“No, not exactly. They’re holding auditions here but it’s unlikely that anypony will actually perform here.”

Rosa furrowed her brow. “I... don’t get it.”

Clover rolled her eyes. “There’s some hotshot director who’s adapted Dreamworld into a play, but obviously can’t do anything about it in Ponyville given the fact that the theatre’s been closed since forever. There are places like Canterlot where you can find theatres, but the director lives here in Ponyville and would have a hard time convincing anypony there to let him set up auditions just like that.

“Here in Ponyville there are no such issues and because the theatre isn’t in use, so he can use it to his heart’s content. But since the theatre here is closed and officially re-opening it again would also be a hassle, he’s holding auditions here with the idea that he could convince ponies from these other places if he already has the cast and crew who can perform the play.”

“That sounds awfully complicated,” shrugged Rosa. “So you’re trying for an audition? I never knew you were into this kind of thing.”

“I’ve always had a slight interest in acting, but there was never any way for me to pursue it with the theatre being closed down and all, so I guess I kind of forgot that I had ever even wanted to do anything like this. That is, until I heard about what was going on. Who knows? Acting could even be my special talent.”

Clover glanced at her bare flank, bereft of a cutie mark. Rosa could tell that she still felt disappointed with herself, even if she put on a brave face and spoke about being a blank flank as if it was no big deal.

“Aww, but if you find your special talent we can’t be blank buddies!” Summer piped up.

Clover gave a friendly grin at the comment. “Well if you want to find your special talent you can always try and audition yourself. There’s sure to be a part for somepony like you.”

Summer shook her head. “Nah, that stuff isn’t really my cup of tea. I don’t want to be memorizing lines and acting the way somepony else wants me to. I’m a free spirit!”

Clover chuckled. “I can definitely see that.”

“Since when was this going on? I never heard about any of this.” Rosa asked.

“I’m surprised you haven’t. There were ponies going around the whole village spreading the word and hoofing out leaflets. You didn’t stay in all day, did you?”

“No, of course not!” Rosa exclaimed. “I was out with...” She paused, trying to think of the best way to say what she was about to say. “I was in Canterlot with Sparks Fly, maybe you’ve heard of him?”

Clover eyed her friend knowingly. “Sparks Fly? The unicorn athlete? You were in Canterlot with him?”

“Isn’t it obvious?!” Summer blurted out. “They were out on a hot date!”

Rosa began to blush as Clovers eyes widened. Neither of them had ever had a colt-friend before and rarely even talked about the subject. As happy as Rosa was about where her life was heading she couldn’t help but feel awkward in that moment. I’m not sure how I’d feel when…

“You were out on a date with Sparks? Oh Rosa, that’s great! I’m so happy for you! I can’t wait to tell Nico!”

...when Nico finds out…

“Well, thanks. He took me to see Foal Gallagher, which was amazing.”

“Foal Gallagher? You lucky mare, you!” Clover lunged forward and gave Rosa a big hug, catching the earth pony by surprise. “I always knew you’d find somepony nice.”

“Nice? That guy is mint,” Summer interjected. Rosa wondered if having a friend who openly swooned over her colt-friend was such a good idea, and also wondered at what point the word ‘mint’ had come to describe anything other than flavour. Either slang words had evolved more among the younger generation than Rosa had realised or Summer was just making attempts to coin a new phrase.

Clover released her vice grip around Rosa’s neck and shuffled back into the queue, which had begun to move.

“You two can watch my audition if you’d like. I think they’ll allow it, and it’d be nice to have some support.”

Rosa shrugged. “Well if you don’t mind that, Summer?”

“Of course I don’t mind! Any friend of Rosa’s is a friend of mine. So when can I meet this Nico character?”

Rosa laughed nervously as Clover gave her a discerning look. “At some point in the future Summer; I can’t just gather my friends at the drop of a hat for your amusement.”

The queue lumbered forward once more leaving the three mares only a few feet from the entrance. It extended beyond it and to another set of doors inside the building.

“Well thanks for both tagging along, just make sure you make it clear that you’re not auditioning yourselves. Some ponies who have been queuing a long time might get a tad annoyed otherwise.”

“No problem,” Rosa said, nodding her head.

“And you can tell me more about your date. That is, if you want to.”

“Sure, I don’t mind.”

“And by the way, you look great with that pink bow.”

As the queue moved along, Rosa could see exactly why the theatre wasn’t going to be reopened. The interior was almost completely dilapidated. Cobwebs cluttered the ceiling and nearly every surface was lined with a thick layer of dust. The wallpaper was cracked and torn, in some places revealing scratches and broken stone in the walls. The floorboards were rough and uneven with rusty nails jutting out from them. The air was musty, accompanied by an earthy smell that bore into Rosa’s nostrils, making her feel grateful for the fresh air of the outside world. The only things that were at all preserved were numerous framed pictures and photographs pinned to the walls of the corridor beyond the entrance, depicting scenes from age-old performances. To renovate a place like this would take an inordinate amount of money and likely wouldn’t see a decent return if it was ever finished.

As they waited in the queue, Rosa told Clover all about her time in Canterlot with Sparks. The pegasus was unusually inquisitive, asking various questions about Foal Gallagher’s show, what Canterlot was like, and most of all, what Sparks was like and how Rosa felt about him. These questions made Rosa feel more uneasy than any as she imagined Clover spreading the word to Nico and repeating everything she had told her.

Even Summer with her juvenile attitude hadn’t made her feel uncomfortable like this. Clover was undoubtedly happy for her and was incredibly supportive, talking about possible future get-togethers and praising her for finding a stallion like Sparks. Clearly, she had known about him because she seemed to know a fair amount of information about his achievements, even more so than Rosa had. The idea of introducing Sparks to Nico scared her. Rosa didn’t want to think about it, but scenario after scenario ran through her mind uncontrollably. She couldn’t shake the thought that by doing this Nico would never consider her as a possible filly-friend, but given past experiences it wouldn’t exactly be causing any change.

Summer was occupying herself by butting in with comments about Sparks’ ‘glorious plot’ among other things and giving Rosa suggestive winks and gestures. If anything, Rosa hoped that the yellow mare would find herself a colt-friend just so she would be more interested with her own live life.

Some of the surrounding ponies gave a mixture of disgruntled glances and small smiles at their conversation making Rosa feel even more on the spot as they trudged along the corridor and into a large foyer with an old wooden staircase leading to the next floor with rotting wood and missing struts. They had been queuing for about half an hour now, with the supposed ‘end’ being a large door in front of them with a unicorn mare at its side, handing out scripts from a large wad of papers. Her eyelids were barely open and she stared at the floor in apparent despair. She looked even more bored and irritable than the receptionist at the Royal Canterlot Auditorium.

Ponies were passing through the door ahead in small, seemingly random groups. Clover became increasingly anxious as the three mares edged their way towards the door, knowing that they would be the next to go through.

Rosa and Summer politely declined the scripts levitated into their face and explained that they were only here to spectate, bringing a frown to the face of the grumpy young unicorn. Summer in turn pulled a similar face and crossed her forelegs angrily when the mare’s back was turned, immediately dropping the facade as soon as she turned back, nearly making Rosa burst into laughter.

Clover was diligently reading through the script, breathing deeply and trying to shake off her nerves.

“What’s in the script?” asked Rosa.

“It’s an excerpt from Dreamworld, something about an enchantress and two friends so far. It doesn’t say anything about which race any of these characters are supposed to be. I just hope they don’t need all unicorns; I know how it’d be easier for them if that were the case. The part of Esmeralda the enchantress seems interesting, but if any of the characters are going to be unicorns it’ll probably be her,” Clover responded glumly.

“Oh don’t worry about that,” Rosa said supportively. “Just do your best.”

“We’ll be cheering you on!” added Summer. “Just imagine you are in Dreamworld and you’ll be fine!”

“Don’t actually cheer her on; we don’t want to disturb anyone.”

“OK Strider, whatever you say. I’ll just cheer her on in silence, so you’ll just have to imagine that I’m making some noise, just like you’re imagining that you’re in Dreamworld!”

“For once, I completely agree with you,” said Rosa, raising her eyebrows.

Eventually, a young earth pony stallion nudged the door in front of them and signalled to the unicorn mare. She nodded, and ushered in the next group without uttering a word, simply swaying a hoof as the queue shuffled forward and then gesturing for them to stop. Rosa, Clover and Summer passed through, accompanied by two stallions and three mares, one of which was with her daughter who couldn’t have been older than twelve or thirteen.

Before them was a dimly lit wooden stage with two large red curtains draped either side. A dozen or so plastic chairs faced it, one taken by the earth pony from before and the other by an older looking unicorn stallion sporting a green fedora. There were no rows of plush seats like there were in the Royal Canterlot Auditorium, just marks and cracks left on the floor where the previous fixed seating had been removed. The theatre itself couldn’t have allowed for more than around eighty ponies, even with the upper balcony above them.

“This place is a dump,” Summer whispered, looking around with an unimpressed expression on her face.

“Hush!” Rosa exclaimed, even though she thought the exact same thing.

Summer smiled back. “Nopony even runs this place any more, there’s nopony to get offended by me saying that.”

Rosa frowned, but realised that her friend was right and let out a sigh.

The unicorn stallion glanced nonchalantly at the group and whispered to his companion. The earth pony turned to them and called out across the room.

“All those auditioning, please make your way to the stage where I’ll talk you through the parts I’ll want you to act out. Any friends or family spectating can take the seats behind me.”

The mare with her daughter shared a big hug as the mother gave a few words of encouragement. Clover looked at Rosa and Summer as the other ponies made their way to the stairs beside the stage.

“This is it, I guess.”

“Oh you’ll be fine,” encouraged Rosa.

“Yeah, go get ‘em, tiger!” Summer chimed in, emitting a quiet roar.

“Come on please, I have lots of ponies waiting outside,” the earth pony called, making his way to the stage. The young filly scurried on after him, followed by Clover.

“Good luck Berry!” the mother called out, and the filly waved back happily.

Rosa and Summer sauntered over to the row of chairs behind the unicorn who was looking through a script and scribbling notes with a quill. His eyes hadn’t even looked up at any of those who were auditioning; he simply sat there and muttered to himself, furiously flicking through the pages. Beneath his fedora was a short blue mane with a strand that ran down his nose. His coat was hot pink, meaning he could have easily been mistaken as a mare from afar.

“Could this guy be the director?” Summer whispered. “He looks like some washed up circus clown.”

“Summer, don’t be so judgemental,” Rosa quipped back, eliciting a playful smile from her yellow friend.

“You see, you’re speaking your mind to me now. Could it be that the great Sparks has filled you with confidence? I guess it’s the first of many things he’ll be filling you with...”

Rosa choked on her own breath and began to cough violently as Summer laughed, clutching at her sides. This gained the attention of the mother sat next to them, but the unicorn stallion still didn’t flinch.

“I just can’t take you anywhere, can I?” Rosa sighed, catching her breath.

“Hey, I was talking about hope, vigour, a new outlook on life and stuff like that. You’re the one with the dirty mind.”

“Somehow I don’t believe that.”

After a few more minutes of bickering, Rosa and Summer fell silent as three of the ponies came out onto stage, including the young filly from before. The mother clapped giddily in here seat as her daughter pranced out cheerily, clutching a script in her teeth alongside a pegasus mare and a unicorn stallion. The tall earth pony stallion went to each of them in turn, setting out their positions on the stage.

“Roadie!” the pink unicorn called out, taking Rosa and Summer by surprise. “Move her to the left!” he ordered, gesturing towards the young filly.

“No problem, Floyd,” the earth pony called back, and shuffled her a few paces.

“How rude!” Summer whispered. “Why can’t he just ask her instead of using his buddy as a go-between?”

The stallion known as Roadie stepped off stage and started playing a record; a soft piece of classical music played mainly by string instruments. The other stallion and mare on the stage nodded to Roadie and stepped forward, looking around the room in wonder.

“I don’t remember this being here before!”

“No, I was never... it was never anything more than an old dumping ground.”

The stallion’s acting was a little too over the top, but it was at least somewhat realistic. The mare stumbled over her lines and put emphasis on the wrong words leading to painfully awkward dialogue between the two. Summer was literally cringing with each mistake that the pair made.

“Even I could do better than that,” she murmured into Rosa’s ear.

It was apparently too painful for Floyd to watch as he sat, wordlessly shaking his head in disapproval, a melancholic look across his face. Rosa thought he looked like somepony who had just been told he was adopted.

“I think we should go back; we don’t know what we might... might find here.”

“Maybe you’re right, but what’s that?”

Admittedly, the script itself was less than stellar. Rosa suspected that it was merely adapted from the novel with identical dialogue rather than having been appropriately revised for a live production. She knew that in many books she had read, dialogue could be mundane but still allow for an enticing story because the reader would be spending time piecing together the scene and imagining the setting. With these things taken away, characters’ speech becomes everything, for better, or in this case, for worse.

“Who... what are you?”

The young filly on stage sprang to her hooves and threw her forelegs theatrically into the air.

“I am Esmeralda!” she squealed in a voice as sweet as sugar. “I have travelled this world, seeking to help those in need. I have the power to grant any wish that you—”

“STOP! STOP!” Floyd interrupted, a hoof flaying in the air. “That’s enough, thank you.”

The filly sat with her mouth agape while the other two trudged off to the side, their heads held low. Her mother shifted in her seat, a look of horror washing across her face.

“Please, Sir! My little Berry deserves another chance, just a few more lines. She’s very talented!”

“I’m sorry ma’am but I don’t have time to humour every pony who comes here. She’s too young for the part anyway,” he said drolly without even turning to look at the mare.

The filly’s eyes began to water. She rose to her hooves and bolted down the adjacent stairs, tears streaming down her cheeks. The mother leapt from her seat, a look of despair across her face, and caught the upset filly in her forelegs.

“I’m so sorry Mummy. I tried, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s OK, everything’s OK Berry,” the mother comforted, stroking the back of her daughter’s mane. “Don’t worry, Mummy’s got you. You did your best and that’s all that matters.”

“But that’s not what matters!” the filly shrieked. “I wanted to be in the play, and now—”

The mother quickly escorted her daughter from the theatre as she howled and wept, striking Floyd with an almighty glare as she passed. The stallion barely responded, merely shifting his fedora and gesturing to Roadie for the next batch of auditions.

As insensitive as it seemed, Rosa could understand why he had to act like this. He was brave to be holding auditions like this in hope of outsourcing the so called ‘talent’ to other theatres in Equestria, and having sub-par actors line up must be disheartening.

“Next please,” Roadie called, and Clover came on stage beaming from ear to ear, the other mare and stallion just behind her. Rosa grinned at her friend, nodding approvingly. Clover took the area of the stage where the filly had just been and crouched down, covering her face with her wings.

“She’s gonna be the enchantress!” Summer gasped, clapping her hooves together. “That’s the one she really wanted, right?”

“Shhh!” Rosa mocked pulling a zip across her mouth. “Yes, now be quiet. We don’t want to distract her.”

“You know earth ponies can’t use zips with their hooves right?” Summer taunted.

Rosa rolled her eyes and looked back to the stage as the audition started.

“Wait... I don’t remember this being here before?”

“Me neither. This was never more than an old dumping ground.”

“How would all of this have even gotten here?”

The acting this time around was at least bearable, but not astonishing. Then again, Rosa wasn’t sure what she would even class as ‘astonishing’ at this moment in time. She’d never been to see a play in her entire life, and secretly had only learned the meaning of the word a few years prior.

“Wait a second, what’s that?”

“I see her... it...”

Clover slowly rose to her hooves.

“Who... or what are you?”

Clover gracefully brought her wings downs from her face and sprung them high into the air, creating an air current that could even be felt from where Rosa and Summer were sat. She straightened her legs and gently shook her head, shuffling her mane lightly. Then she slowly opened her eyes and smiled brightly.

“I... am Esmeralda,” she said softly, then took a step forward to the other actors. “I have travelled this world seeking those in need of my help. I have the power to grant any wish that you may ask of me.”

Rosa’s jaw had dropped as she watched her friend command the stage, an air of unusual confidence about her. Even the stallion that faced her was gawping, transfixed by Clover’s grace and beauty. Silence fell; not even a breath could be heard for a few moments until the stallion was nudged by the accompanying mare.

“What... w-what do you mean, ‘grant us any wish’?” he stammered, his attention clearly fixed on the pale green pegasus in front of him rather than the task at hoof.

“I mean just that, young one. Any wish that you can think of; and dream that you might have, I can turn into a reality.”

Summer tapped Rosa’s shoulder. “She’s amazing!” she whispered gleefully. “You can tell that guy really wants a piece of her!”

“Uh-huh,” Rosa responded, only half listening to what Summer was saying. Right now she couldn’t help but stare blankly at Clover.

“Anything that you could possibly imagine is possible,” Clover explained, flapping her wings casually and taking to the air a few inches above the floor. “Though each choice comes with consequences. You must be careful what you wish for, young ones.”

“How do we even know you’re telling the truth?” the mare scoffed. “Grant us wishes? Make our dreams come true? I’ve never heard of anything so absurd! Come on Reverie, let’s get out of here.” The mare began to storm back to the edge of the stage.

“Veracity, wait!” the stallion cried out. “I know as well as you do that this doesn’t make sense, but it couldn’t hurt to try.”

The mare eyed Clover suspiciously, squinting with anger, then wandered to the stallion’s side. It was almost as if Clover’s display of acting prowess had made the audition seem much more real to them, as if they were now part of a real scenario. Far from the debacle of the ponies on stage previously, Rosa was actually enjoying what she was watching.

“You think you can change your life because of somepony claiming to be able to grant wishes?”

“You can see this place, right? It makes no sense, and yet it’s here, before our very eyes.”

“There’s a difference between the unexplainable and the impossible!”

Clover turned her back to the pair and began a slow retreat. “I see that you don’t believe me; that is understandable. It is a response I have become familiar with over the years. Nonetheless, I do not seek your trust or approval, merely your dreams and desires. Perhaps you could settle for that.”

The actors each stopped in their tracks, signalling the end of the scene.

“Thank you very much,” Floyd commented nonchalantly. “If the two mares would like to record their names and addresses on the forms held by Roadie, please? As for you.” Floyd pointed a hoof at the stallion, “I’m afraid that randy young ponies aren’t part of my plan. I wouldn’t want any kind of mishap centre-stage for everypony to see.”

The stallion blushed brightly and looked to the floor in embarrassment, but nodded in acceptance. Clover and the other mare each hopped over to where Roadie was now stood, at a small table beside the stage while the stallion began to slowly make his way down the steps, his hind legs clenched together, as stiff as iron bars.

“Clover! You go girl! You were incredible!” Summer shouted, now prancing around like a lunatic. “You’d better get that part!” she bellowed, turning to Floyd and gesturing with one hoof, which was met with a frown that could frighten scarecrows.

Rosa quickly stepped up to the yellow mare and flashed an apologetic smile in Floyd’s direction. “Sorry about my friend here, she’s very excitable.”

Floyd’s frown dropped for a moment and he stared, a puzzled expression across his face. “You...” he began, shooting Rosa a look that made her feel most uncomfortable.

“Me?” she replied childishly, pointing a hoof at herself even though she knew who he was talking about.

“You... when was your audition?”

Rosa gulped. “My audition? I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t come here to audition; I just came to see my friend perform.”

Floyd stroked his chin and shifted his gaze to where Clover was now stood, looking over some forms. “And why aren’t you auditioning?”

“I guess because I’ve never really thought about it.”

“Perhaps it’s something you should think about.” Floyd dropped down from his chair for the first time since they’d been there, revealing a prominent scar across his left side that measured at least 3 inches in length. He began to inspect Rosa’s appearance; she could almost feel his eyes crawl across her body. “I think you could be a great enchantress. Your posture, your physique, there’s just something ‘right’ about you that would fit my vision.”

Rosa didn’t know whether to be flattered, thankful or frankly disgusted at Floyd’s comments and merely feigned a weak smile. “Well, I don’t know if I’d be able to act that well anyway.”

“Well, you could at least give it a try.”

“I don’t really know...”

Summer leapt between the two ponies in Rosa’s defence and snarled at Floyd, trying her best to pull an intimidating face. “If Rosa says no, that means no. Get it?”

“Just hold on,” Rosa stepped in with, surprising both Summer and Floyd. “I didn’t say ‘no’, but I didn’t say ‘yes’. I just... I’m not sure.”

Rosa considered her options. She’d never had an opportunity to try and do this kind of thing and probably wouldn’t have another chance, at least judging by the current state of the theatre. She’d never thought herself to have any kind of acting skill, especially when it came to embarrassing situations in life. There was also the fact that Clover had given such a magnificent performance, and she couldn’t even dream of doing such a thing herself. Why would Floyd care about me after he’d just seen that? she thought to herself.

“What is it about me?” she asked sternly. “What is it that you see?”

“Depth,” Floyd muttered naturally.

“Well now that’s just being perverted,” Summer quipped.

“Mystery,” Floyd continued. “Something intangible. It’s up to you whether you decide to audition, I guess I just hoped that I could find my ideal cast.”

“Hey, what’s up?” Clover chirped, gazing at Rosa as she mulled things over. “What did you think?”

“You were great, Clover!” chimed in Summer. “I really think you deserve a part.”

“Yeah, you were really good,” Rosa agreed, though Clover appeared somewhat unconvinced.

“Really? You’re not just saying things?”

“Oh don’t mind her, she’s just got her mane in a knot because Mister Pink over here wants her to audition.”

Floyd shot her with an annoyed look which was met with a cheeky smile.

“Oh really?” Clover asked. “That’s... interesting. So will you do it?”

Rosa cocked her head. “I’m not sure. I just... I have no idea.”

“As I said, the decision is up to you,” Floyd said ominously, setting himself back down in his chair and flicking through his script. “If you can’t act, you can’t act, and that’ll be the end of it. But if you can, your life could be changed forever.”

“That’s kind of sugar-coating it a bit, isn’t it?” Rosa commented.

“I don’t sugar-coat, my dear.”

Comments

[SoloAcapello]

Whew, finally found time to read it and relax!

That director sounds like many auditions I've been to, heh... poor Berry

[Dee Forty-Five]

"Did the two of you share a romantic kiss under the stars? Did he sweep you off your hooves? Did he go down--"

Oh lord, Summer, you crack me up.

I actually think Summer is a closeted lesbian. That's why she got so upset when that unicorn teased her about being with Rosa, and why she acts so perverted about her friend's colt-friend but doesn't actually have one herself. She's over-compensating.

[Ficta_Scriptor]

2395582

I'm glad to hear that my fic still entertains you! Summer happens to be one of my favourite characters to write dialogue for.

As for the latter half of your post... *ahem* No comment.

[True Blood]

Hmm... This chapter was enjoyable, but I think maybe Clover slid into the "holy cow, such an awesome actor" deal a bit too quickly. She could have stumbled over her lines for a bit, but after seeing her friends encouraging her from the 'audience', picked up her confidence and then get to the brilliant acting.
Just a thought. Keep it up I'm still enjoying it

[Ficta_Scriptor]

2444953

Thanks for the suggestion, but... I couldn't possibly make that change. Clover being instantly awesome was entirely deliberate, and... I can't tell you any more.

Great to know you're still enjoying it though!

[True Blood]

2445038
You're being very secretive about quite a number of things, so I'm starting to think that something is gonna go down sometime soon. I'm looking forward to it

[KamFiction]

I will be reading and reviewing shortly. But, I cannot start until a large, dedicated chunk of free time becomes available. I don't like to read stories and stop halfway, you see.