> Finding Home
>  by Auto-Buscus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"My name is Singer Case. I am a blue pegasus stallion from the magical land of Equestria. I have a mom, a dad and an annoying older brother. Sounds typical doesn't it? Well believe me, my life is anything BUT typical. So how did I end up where I am today? Well sit back and I'll tell you the story. A story about my quest to become the greatest performer that ever lived, a story about my trek for true friendship and the story of how I fell in love with the most wonderful mare in all of Equestria. So without further delay, this is how it all happened..."

It was a boy! Another successful birth in the Canterlot Hospital. This birth was the second for the happy parents, Briefs and Belle Case, a pegasus couple who currently resided in Canterlot. Briefs was a blue pegasus stallion with a white mane and tail, and a brief case as his cutie mark, while Belle was a purple pegasus mare with a pink mane and tail, who had a bell as hers. Their newest addition was a tiny blue colt foal with a tiny tuft of red hair on his head. They asked the nurse to call in their eldest son, Brawn a seven year old orange pegasus colt with an ebony black mane and a dumb bell as his cutie mark. As he entered the room, he saw his mother and father looking at him with warm and loving expressions.

"Brawn, this is your new little brother!" said Belle as Brawn flapped his wings and hovered above the hospital bed where his mother lie, holding his new brother who was fast asleep.

"Hello there." said Brawn, looking proudly at his new family member. "So... what are you going to call him?"

"Well we don't know yet, son." said Briefs. "We haven't really thought of a name for him yet."

"Why not?" 

"We want to get to know him a little better before we name him, Brawn. You know. To give him a name that suits him." Threw in Belle.

"Oh okay, I get it." said Brawn. "So is having him around going to be difficult? Because my friend, Lance, said that when his baby sister was born everything went downhill for him. He couldn't play his music anymore or anything."

"Well we will have to see. Things sure won't be the same for us anymore for sure. But we will all adapt. This baby, though a bit of a surprise, will always be a blessing to us." said Belle, as she caressed her baby.

Bringing the baby home wasn't so bad. He didn't really cry all that much, of course his mother hadn't let go of him the whole time they were going home either. A few moans every now and again would be the only thing that the young foal would give out. As the three pegasai entered the house, they were greeted by Brief's brother and his mother who both lived with them. Brief's brother was a red pegasus stallion with a brown mane, and a electric guitar as his cutie mark, who loved guitars. He went by the name of Fender. His mother was a light blue pegasus mare named Joy, who's cutie mark was a smiley face.

"Hi mom, hi Fender." said Briefs, opening the door for Belle, who was followed in by Brawn.

"Aaaaaw look at him, he looks just like his daddy!" said Joy. 

"Another member of the family to recruit in my epic band!" said Fender, strumming his electric guitar.

"FENDER!" yelled Belle. "Stop! You'll wake him up!"

Too late! The baby began to cry. At first the crying was relatively silent, but then something happened inside the baby's throat, causing his voice to rise and the crying getting louder and in a different tone than before. It almost as if he was singing with a choir, much to the amazement of everypony in the room. Baby's crying wasn't supposed to sound like that, was it?

"Whoa!" said Fender. "Dude, he's totally got the vocal chords to be a lead singer, bro!"

"That's a good name for him!" suggested Brawn. "Lead Singer!"

"I think you're right, son." said Briefs. "What do you think, Belle?"

"I think just 'Singer' will do fine."

"Singer it is then. Welcome to the family, little Singer!"


And that was how our hero was born. While he was pretty well recieved by his family as a newborn, as the days turned into months, three years had passed by and Singer's personality was really starting to develope. His brother became more and more distant from him, and his uncle didn't really seem to pay him much mind unless he just had to. The little foal was a big ball of energy, always zipping around the house. For Fender, the change wasn't too bad and nothing he hadn't gone through before, after all he was living with them when Brawn was a baby as well. He had to move his guitar practice to a friend's house everyday, but he didn't mind. Brawn, however didn't have anywhere else to go to play his music on his radio. Singer had been able to fly around the house and zip around since he was nine months old. And once he started to talk, that's when things got interesting. At first, all he could say were just rapid bursts of jibberish, but once he started to learn words he was quite the little pest. By this age, he had already learned quite a few words and was always looking to play with Brawn. His now ten year old brother, however didn't really warm up to him as well as he had thought he would three years ago.

"Bwan! Bwan! Bwan!" said Singer, knocking on Brawn's door repeatedly. "HEY BWAN!"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?" he yelled, opening his door after enduring Singer's calls for the last few minutes. "What is so important that you have to interrupt my workout sessions?"

Singer just let out a big smile and said only one word. "Hi!" Then sped off.

"You little runt!" said Brawn. "I'm going to get you!" Brawn flapped his wings and chased Singer all through the house, making a ton of noise.

"Ha ha ha!" laughed Singer. "Dis is fun, Bwan!" Singer dashed down the hallway and into his parents' room, Brawn still in hot persuit and forgetting to slow down and crashing into a big pile of boxes that had been stacked up in their room.

Belle had been lying in her bed at this time and she looked up at both of her children, with a less than pleased expression. Brawn could tell that he was in for it before his mother even opened her mouth to speak because the anger was all expressed in her eyebrows.

"Brawn!" she scolded. "What have I told you about chasing your brother through the house?"

"To not to."

"Use propper speech, Brawn! We live in Canterlot remember?"

"Who cares?" he mumbled. 

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"That's what I thought. Back to your room, now!"

"Fine by me!" said Brawn, looking up at his little brother who had perched himself at the end of his parents' bed. 

"Brawn! Room! NOW!"

"I'm going!"

As he walked out the door, he gritted his teeth angrily. "One day, you little runt! One day! I will get you! Homewrecker!" 

He stomped off into his room and slammed the door shut, annoying his father who was in the room next to him, which was his office, looking over his paperwork. The noise had slightly disturbed his train of thought and it had almost annoyed him. Briefs, being a lawyer, had to spend quite a bit of time away from home, and even if he was home, he spent most of his time in his home office. Having two sons around definitely made working at home more interesting, and a lot harder. But Briefs knew that he had to take what life dealt him. In this case, two rambunctious sons. 

"Those boys..." said Briefs in annoyance to himself as he looked over his cases for the jury. 

"And that's how the lives of my family were turned upside down. Yep. You guessed it. It was all because of my birth. And this was just the beginning..."


> The Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Six years old, and even more wired up and full of energy, Singer was getting too rambunctious for Canterlot's syle. The whole family was, really. It had been time for the family to consider relocating. The one that didn't mind the most, was Brawn. He'd hated living in Canterlot with all the snobs and Canterlot guards running around. Now thirteen years old, he was beginning to get more daring and often into more trouble at school. Almost a week before this day, a guard had escorted him home after he had gotten into a fight in the park with some unicorn colt from school. The guard issued a warning to Belle, who was the only one who had answered the door when the guard had showed up. 

Singer had been oblivious to the potential move. Had he found out, it really wouldn't have bothered him much. He didn't like being in the confined spaces of this house, and he couldn't exactly zip around in town either where there was just so much going on. But one day, Belle had finally gotten up the nerve to allow Singer to go to the park. Other than his kindergarten class, Singer didn't really go out much. He'd spend most of his time singing to himself in his room, or annoying Brawn. Belle decided that it was indeed time for him to go play in the park and try to mingle with other kids his age. Belle, however would be too busy with housework that day and Grandma Joy was out of town, so she'd have to recruit either Fender or Brawn. Brawn was grounded, so her only logical choice was Fender.

"Fender?" she said, knocking on his door.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Can I ask a favor of you?"

"Sure."

"Can you please take Singer to the park?"

Fender then opened his door and peaked his head out. This had been a bit of a surprise to him, since he knew that Singer rarely left the house. "You mean to tell me that you want Singer to go out? I thought you didn't..."

"I think he's ready to go out and meet new ponies. The poor little guy's always being kept inside all of the time and I think it will be good for him." said Belle. "Can you do that for me? It would be much appreciated."

"Yeah... I think I can manage that."

"Thank you, Fender! It's very much appreciated!"

"No problemo, Belle! Just let me finish tuning my guitar, and I'll take the little squirt to the park."

"Okay, take your time."

Once Fender had finished his tuning he went to knock on Singer's door. He and Singer had a special knock that they shared. Fender would knock five times, and Singer would knock twice if he would allow company, the roles reversing if it was the other way around. He knocked five times, and waited for Singer to respond. After about ten seconds, he got the two knocks of acceptance, which meant he was clear for entry.

"Hey little buddy, guess what?"

"What?" 

"We're going to go to the park today! Mom's orders!"

"REALLY?!?" said Singer, seemingly awe struck at what Fender had just told him. The dramatics of children.

"Yep. Come on, grab any toy that you want to if you're going to. We leave in five minutes."

"Okay!" said Singer grabbing his yellow ball. "Thank you Uncle Fender!"

"Yeah, no problemo brah!" said Fender as he pulled the happy colt off of his leg.

Fender led Singer through the house, not failing to meet Belle on the way out. She was happy to see him so excited about leaving the house. Her furniture couldn't take much more of his energy, being that he'd always bounce on it.

"Remember Singer, behave and listen to your uncle Fender!"

"I will!" He said happily. 

"I love you!"

"Love you too mom!"

Although he was a rambunctious and high wired child, he was suprisingly obedient... for the most part anyway. His mother went back to doing what she had been doing when they walked by, she was making soup for dinner. She looked up one more time and watched them fly off, still a little nervous about him going out for the first time. She had been the same way with Brawn, but not so bad due to him being alot more layed back than Singer was. She trusted Fender, even though he could be a bit wild at times.  She didn't really approve of his dredlog mane style either. She put her focus back on her work and left that train of thought for later.

Singer was overjoyed. It was his first time out in the park and he loved everything that he saw about it. He saw squirrels running up trees, birds flying around the branches and making nests, someponies walking their dogs, and other kids playing together. It had been everything that he had heard Brawn say it was. He turned his attention to the monkey bars and went for those first. Fender found a bench to sit down at so he could watch Singer and make sure he stayed out of trouble. 

There was a lot of activity at the park today. Singer couldn't find an excuse to be bored even if he tried. Once he got tired of the monkey bars, he scoped the area, looking around for anypony who might want to play with him. His attention was then drawn to a young white unicorn colt who had been playing by himself with his mother nearby.

"He looks like he could use somepony to play with" said Singer to himself. He then marched over to the young colt, hoping silently that he'd feel like playing with him.

As he drew closer, the young colt became aware of his presence. The colt looked up with a smile, as if he was waiting for Singer to say something.

"Are you going to speak or do I have to pull it out of your head?" laughed the colt. The colt was a white unicorn with a blue mane, and he appeared to be friendly enough to Singer, so he figured the bashfulness had reached it's usefulness.

"I-I'm Singer" said our young colt, still a little nervous. "What's your name?"

"I was born, Diamond Sword!" said the colt. "But you can just call me Sword if you want to.

"Nice to meet you Sword. I was just coming over to ask you if I could play with you."

"Mom, can Singer play with me?"

"I don't see why not. Just remember your manners!" lectured Sword's mother.

"Yes, ma'am."

"You may go further around the park, but do not wonder off too far."

"Of course" said Sword. "See ya mom!"

"Have fun!"

Singer and Diamond Sword took off and ran around the park together, tossing Singer's yellow ball back and forth to each other. They had been having a contest to see who would let it hit the ground first. Both had advantanges, Singer could fly and Diamond Sword could use his magic to keep it up if he needed to. No rules forbidding it had been made up by the two, so they just carried on.

"Looking a little tired, Sword" said Singer trying to make him lose focus.

"Not near as tired as you do" countered Sword.

"How much longer do you think you can keep this up?" said Singer. "You're about to fall down! Ha ha!"

All of that energy that Singer had, had finally paid off for something. It helped him outlast Diamond Sword, who eventually gave in to his tiredness and called it game by allowing th eball to hit the ground.

"How am I supposed to know this ball isn't rigged?" said Diamond Sword.

"How do you rig a ball?" said Singer.

"Good question." 

Suddenly a disturbance in the park aroused. A group of unicorn fillies and colts stood around, watching as yellow and red maned unicorn filly bullied a small lavendar colored unicorn filly. Singer and Diamond Sword also joined the group as the poor filly lied on the ground, covering her eyes.

"You really need to learn to watch where you're going, you little bookworm! You nearly ran into me!" shouted the bully.

"But... you tripped me..." replied the little filly.

"Oh I did, huh? You want to say that again?"

"I... um... no?"

The bully's friends began to laugh and point at the little filly, who was now crying on the ground while holding one of her books close to her.

Singer's blood began to boil with anger, but then he also began to feel a sense of fear inside as well. He wanted to stand up to the bully, but he was afraid that she might in turn bully him as well. He didn't have much more time to think about it, because after that. The bigger filly had had her fun and walked off, leaving the poor little filly alone, crying with her books scattered all over the ground.

Singer walked over to the little filly, and looked over the scene with a compassionate expression to his face. For the first time in his life, he didn't feel like saying anything. He picked up her books and placed them back into her bag, which the bully had taken the time to empty out. The little filly looked up while Singer put her books in her bag for her. It had been a nice gesture, but it still didn't make up for his lack of taking a stand, at least not in his mind. The filly wanted to thank him, but he flew off before she had the chance to.

After a while of wondering what could have been, he later found his uncle asleep on the park bench. After that scene with the filly, Diamond Sword had to leave, so he was pretty much by himself again. He figured it was time to go home, anyway so he walked over to his sleeping uncle to wake him up.

"Uncle Fender. Wake up." said Singer.

"Oh... hey squirt! You ready to go already?"

"Yes Uncle Fender."

"Okay, well don't forget your ball."

Singer grabbed his yellow ball and followed his uncle back to the house. He still couldn't get over that guilty feeling he had. Should he have done more? He decided that he would talk to either his mom or his grandma about it once he got home. They were always the ponies that he could count on to help him.

Belle had had dinner ready and was awaiting her husband's return from work. She had made Brawn set the table as a part of his grounding. Brawn's annoyance had increased when his bouncy little brother entered the house followed by Uncle Fender.

"Hi Brawn!" said Singer. 

"Shut up, you little..."

"Brawn!" yelled Belle. "You apologize to your brother right now! Don't take your anger out on him! He's not the one who got you in trouble, you did."

Brawn mumbled something under his breath, then turned to Singer and gave a half hearted apology to him. Singer didn't really seem to care either way, but his mother did. 

"Now go to your room! I'll bring you your dinner in a little while." 

As Brawn went back to his room, Briefs returned from home at last. He looked like he normally did when he got home. Tired and irratable.

"Hey dear, how was work?" Belle said giving him a small kiss on his cheek.

"Taxing... very very taxing." Briefs said as he sat down at the table. "My client for this case that I'm doing is a total snob! I am so looking forward to moving to Cloudsdale!"

"Briefs! Ugh! I wanted that to be a surprise!" said Belle.

"Sorry dear." 

"Oh... it's alright, you had a rough day at work."

"What's Cloudsdale?" asked Singer.

"It's a town in the clouds inhabited by pegasai like us, sweetie. Daddy is relocating us there. It will be a better place for you to go to school, as well. They have pleanty of flying excercises up there that young pegasai, such as yourself can do."

"Neato burrito!" said Singer, taking a seat at the table.

"Where's Brawn at?" inquired Briefs.

"In his room, pouting I'm afraid. He lashed out at Singer again today."

"What he do this time?"

"Why would you assume that it's Singer's fault for his lash out?"

"Because... it... usually is."

"Well not this time. All Singer did was say hi to him, and he told him to shut up."

"I'll talk to him, later. Where's that brother of mine?"

"Washing up for dinner. Brawn isn't the only one who won't be joining us for dinner. Grandma Joy decided to stay an extra day with her sister, so she won't be back until tomorrow."

"Okay. What did you do today, son?"

"Uncle Fender took me to the park! It was so much fun!"

"You let him go out? What took you so long?"

"Finding somepony who'd actually be willing to spend time with him for one."

"You know I can't!"

"I know. I'm sorry."

"What if I took him to Brawn's Jr wrestling match this Saturday?"

"That sounds like fun!" said Singer.

"Well... that's a start anyway."

Fender then walked in the kitchen with a towel over his hair.

"Hey brother!" said Fender.

"Hey Fender..." said Briefs annoyed at the sight of Fender's mane wrapped in a towel.

"Oh, Belle you've really out done yourself!" He complimented after taking a spoonful of her soup out of his bowl and trying it.

"Thank you Fender!"

The rest of the meal was relatively quiet, nopony made a sound other than Singer's occasional robot noises while playing with his spoon. After it was over, Briefs went back into his office, Fender went to his room and Belle stayed in the kitchen, cleaning the dishes. Singer, being the thoughtful little guy he was, decided to help his mom finish the work. He figured it would be a good time to talk to her about what had happened eariler that day.

"Mom..." said Singer. "I have a question for you."

"Go on..."

"When you see somepony picking on another pony, should you stand up to them and risk getting picked on too, or should you take the cautious route and stay out of it? I'm confused."

"Why? Was somepony picking on you today? Was Fender not watching you carefully?"

"No, not me... a little unicorn filly was getting picked on by a bigger unicorn filly! I stood there, not knowing what to do, so I just stayed out of it. I felt like I did the right thing at first, but now I'm not so sure."

"Take some time to think on this for a second. How would you feel if you were in her shoes? Would you not want somepony to stand up for you if you were being bullied?"

"Yes..."

"There is your answer."

Singer stood there for a second and realized his mistake. A small tear fell from his eye when he thought about how he would feel in that situation. 

"I am a bad pony." he said sadly.

"You are not a bad, pony Singer. You just made a mistake. Did you learn from it?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Do you want to ever do better next time?"

"Of course."

His mother then knealed down and hugged him.

"See? That right there, shows me that you are not a bad pony. Everypony is entitled to make mistakes. It's not the mistakes that determine a good or a bad pony, it's how they react to the mistake and whether or not they care to try and fix it. You are anything but a bad pony, my son." 

"Thank you, mom." said Singer. "And if I ever see that filly again, I will apologize to her."

"I think that sounds wonderful! Now you've helped me enough, Singer. You are free to go off and play now."

"Thanks mom!" said Singer, running off to go to his toys in his room. 

When he got to his room, he paused and had an idea. He reached for his notebook, and crayons and began to write a journal entry, reading it aloud.

"Dear Diary, 
Today I learned that it is never okay to sit there and let a bully be mean to somepony. Today I let a little unicorn filly get picked on by another, and I did a bad thing by doing nothing at all. Well after a talk with my super smart mom, I now realize that I cannot allow myself to stand there and do nothing ever again. From now on, no matter what. I will be a good friend.
-Singer Case"

"My first diary!" said Singer, smiling to himself.

Brawn had been standing at his door while he had been writing and reciting what he had wrote. The small opening of the open door made it easy for him to look in. Although Singer could be annoying, he had his times when even Brawn had to respect his character. Although this did make him all the more jealous of him as well. Brawn huffed while backing away from his door and walked back into his room.

"I made that promise to myself that day. I hated that feeling of guilt that came from not helping a pony in need. Though I never saw that filly again, I never forgot about my promise that I made to myself, that I'd aplogize to the filly if I ever did in fact meet her again. But now I had to prepare for the next chapter of my life, for moving day wasn't that far away."

> Friendship is Music
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The move to Cloudsdale was a good one, especially for Singer. The family of pegasai had taken well to their new surroundings and felt that they fit right into their new home, surrounded by clouds and sunshine. Singer was the most happy. He could freely fly around anywhere he wanted and didn't have to worry about upsetting anyone, although Brawn always seemed to manage to find something to get annoyed at him over. This was something that Singer couldn't figure out, no matter how hard he tried. His little innocent mind couldn't comprehend  why he and his brother had so much friction between them. or why Brawn always acted like he hated him. All Singer ever wanted to do was to play with Brawn and be a brother to him, but Brawn didn't see Singer the same way Singer saw him. But the open flying area of Cloudsdale provided more room for each of them to fly around without getting into each other's way. Singer hoped that this would play a contributing factor in his plan to make Brawn like him.

None-the-less, Singer wasn't about to let that get him down, the cheerful pegasus colt was excited for school to start back up. He had enjoyed going to school in Canterlot, but often felt left out because a majority of the students in his class practiced magic, which was something that Singer would never experience himself. Living in Cloudsdale would provide him the perfect opportunity he needed to fit in.

First day of school and Singer was excited to be a Cloudsdale student. The little six year old pegasus entered the school building with excitement and full of charisma. He got so excited that he felt like he wanted to sing, but he held back because he was unsure of how the other students would recieve such an act. He walked along the hallways of the school, looking around and getting to know the place better. The school was kept real clean and there were at least two water fountains down every hall. That told him that this school had alot of atheletics here. Something that Singer might be interested in. 

In all of his thinking, Singer wasn't watching where he was going and bumped into a small violet colored pegasus filly. She turned around upon impact, seemingly shy. Without hesitation, Singer aproached her to apologize.

"I'm sorry about that. Clumsy me. My name is Singer, what's yours?"

"I... I'm Violet." She said shyly. "Are you new here?"

"I am" said Singer. "I used to live in Canterlot, but I have a feeling that I'll like it better here."

"Yes... it's very, uh, nice." she replied back.

"You okay?"

"Yes, I'm sorry... I'm just a tiny bit shy when I first meet new ponies."

"I'm not... as you can tell." Singer chuckled and looked up at her, she appeared to be a little more welcoming the longer they talked. "So who's your teacher?"

"Ms Nymbus." 

"Oh my gosh! Me too! Hey, I know we just met... but... would you want to maybe... I dunno... sit together in class?"

"Really? You want to sit with me?"

"Sure, why not? I mean, I think I like you already. You seem like a nice pony. Maybe we can be friends."

Violet seemed to be shocked at his proposition. She didn't really think anypony would want to be friends with her, due to her shyness and lack of confidence, but in this lucky encounter she appeared to have gained a friend in Singer.

"I think that would be... nice." She finally let out after about a minute and a half of silence.

"Great!" said Singer. "Well... wanna go in, now?"

"Okay" she said with a little reluctance.

Singer led Violet into the brightly colored class room and they both took a seat at one of the tables. As the bell rang, the other students soon joined them.

"Good morning class" said Ms. Nymbus, an elderly pegasus mare with a kind voice.

"Good morning Ms. Nymbus." said all of the students in unison.

"Welcome to your first day of school! I trust that your summer went well?"

All of the students nodded. Singer grew excited, this was already way more fun than the kindergarten class he attended at Canterlot. His teacher was kind of snobby and stuck up, and nothing like Ms. Nymbus. 

"Today we are all going to introduce ourselves and have fun before our actual work begins when we return after the weekend. We'll start with the first table. Flash Sentry, why don't you go first?"

The golden colored pegasus walked up to the front of the class room and told everypony his name and a little about himself. He was one of the many blank flanks in the school. Singer wasn't excluded from this group. The other three ponies from Flash's table had been up and introduced themselves. Next it was Singer's table's turn. Violet, being the only other pony besides Singer sitting at her table went before Singer did. Singer watched as the poor little violet colored filly struggled to get more than her name out. "Violet Pedals" had been her revealed full name. Ms Nymbus looked upon her with understanding eyes, patting her on the head and sending her back to her table, calling upon Singer to be next.

Singer flew up to the front of the room, looking out all of the other fillies and colts looking back at him. He felt pretty cool standing up there. They had been sitting there at that moment to see him, to hear him speak. In his excitement of the moment though, he had forgotten to do so, getting a gentle nudge from his teacher to start.

"Oh... sorry. My name is Singer Case. I just moved here from Canterlot. I have a mom, a dad, a brother, an uncle, and a grandma, whom I all live with and love. I love to sing, play with toys and spend time with my family. Oh yeah and I love cheese fries!"

A few colts laughed at his last little tidbit of information as Ms Nymbus moved on. After everypony had been introduced, Ms Nymbus brought out snacks and drinks and had games prepared. All of the children seemed to be enjoying themselves, including Singer and Violet who mainly just sat there and talked the whole time.

"So you believe in them too?" said Violet, finally getting comfortable around Singer and acting like herself.

"Of course I do. Humans are totally real! I'm going to be the first to discover them for real!"

"We could go there together... you and me. Best friends forever!"

"I like that idea! Just make sure we pack alot of cheese fries for the trip!"

"You're really weird" she said, making him stop talking for a minute, almost looking a bit saddened. "I like that about you. I'm kind of weird too."

Singer looked up with a more upbeat expression as she finished her statement. She then grabbed his hoof and put a piece of paper on it for him to read. 

"What's this?"

"Read it!"

"Singer, please sign here for our contract to be friends forever! Signed, Violet."

"Friends forever?" he asked.

"Friends forever!" she answered back giving him a hug, then giving him a blue crayon so he could sign his name on the contract. "Now once you sign this, put this away and never ever let anyone take it away from you! Do you promise?"

"I promise!"

Singer had did everything that he said he would. He signed the "document" and placed it in his diary, then placing it back in his bag.

A couple more hours had gone by and Ms Nymbus decided to move on to a different activity. One that would be right up Singer's alley.
"Okay class! As your teacher it is my responsibity to help you discover who you are and what your special talent is so you may earn your cutie marks. And as it appears, most of you are still blank. Perhaps we can change that. Let's see... Singer. Would you like to come up and go first?"

"Me?" said Singer suprised.

"Yes you."

"Okay." 

The little colt walked back up to the front of the room once again to display his talent. All he knew was he could sing, so that's what he would do. He didn't get nervous, sure he'd never sing in front of anypony before, but for some reason he felt right standing up there as if what he was about to do would be a part of who he was.

"I am going to sing a song for you guys. This song is inspired by my new friend Violet, who may be the coolest pony in this room!"

Violet blushed at his comment as all the other ponies in the room smiled at her. 

"Lean on me
When you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
Til I'm gonna need
Somepony to lean on

You just call on me brother when you need a hand
We all need somepony to lean on
And I just might have a problem that you'll understand
We all need somepony to lean on"

Singer looked up and all of his classmates were overjoyed to hear his voice. His voice had been amazing, it was a high pitched, uncracking, sturdy voice that made everypony in the class room love it.

"Go Singer!" called a filly from the other side of the room.

"That was amazing!" called another.

"I think they want an encore, Singer." said Ms Nymbus.

"You got it!"

"Lean on me
When you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
Till I'm gonna need
Somepony to lean on"

Just then a small and swift light flashed on his flank, going unnoticed by Singer, but not by his teacher.

"Well I'll be a..." she said pleasantly surprised. "Singer, you might want to look at your flank!"

"Huh?" said Singer as he looked back. "WHAT? My cutie mark?"

"On your first day of school, no less!"

"Wow!" 

Singer then looked up at Violet who was smiling real big for him. She saw their newly found friendship blossom into something even more spectacular. As Singer rejoined her, she couldn't help but reach over and give him a hug.

"Singer, that was amazing!" she said.

"Yes... it was."

"And all of that happened because of us being friends?"

"I suppose so. Friendship is music. I gotta write this down in my journal!"

"So your song..."

"I meant every word of it, Violet. You and me are going to be best friends forever!"

"I take back what I said before I came to school today." she said happily. "I love school now, and it's all thanks to you."

"Aaaaw shucks!" he said, blushing.

It was most definitely a memorable day at school for Singer. He couldn't wait to get home and tell his parents about his cutie mark, and about his friend. His grandma had come to fly with him back home from school, and he couldn't wait to to tell her and everypony else back home about his wonderful day.

"So child, how was your first day at school?"

"It was great, Grandma Joy! I want to tell you all about it, but I want to wait until we get home so everypony can hear it!"

"Oh my, is that a cutie mark?"

"Yes!"

"My word! You got your cutie mark in school? That's great, Singer!"

"Thank you!"

Once they had gotten home, Singer dashed into the house full of excitement, waiting to tell everypony about how he got his cutie mark. Briefs had been home for about an hour and was asleep. Uncle Fender and Brawn were in their rooms doing their respective hobbies, while Belle was cooking dinner. Singer had hoped that his dad wouldn't be grumpy at him this time and that Brawn felt like being nice today. The former had been dealing with another loony client, boshing his dreams of having normal clients in Cloudsdale. Brawn's teachers had to get on to him several times in school and had informed his mother, who had to bring him home, early form school.

"Hey mom!" said Singer. "When is everypony going to come in for dinner? I got something I want to say to everypony!"

"In a few minutes, sweetie. Go wash up and everypony will be in here momentarily."

"Okay, thanks mom!"

Once Singer had washed up, everypony had gathered at the table for their meal. Brawn, looked less than pleased to be there and Briefs looked like he was having trouble staying awake. Everypony was getting what they wanted from the table, and Singer decided to speak after a few minutes of silence.

"So... guess what happened to me today!"

"No one cares." said Brawn, stuffing his face with broccoli.

"Brawn!" said Belle, angrily. "What have I told you about your attitude?"

"I dunno." said Brawn defiantly.

"I would send you to your room, but I think you want that. I just don't know what to do with you, anymore!"

"I got my..." said Singer, getting interrupted.

"You're mom's right, Brawn!" said Briefs. "You really need to watch yourself before you get yourself in some deep trouble with the both of us!"

"I was just saying that what Singer has to say is probably irrelevant and unimportant to our lives like everything else he says!"

"BRAWN!" yelled Belle. "How dare you say something like that! You are grounded!"

"Whatever!" he said as he got up from the table and walked to his room. Not before slamming the door. Fender and Grandma Joy exchanged puzzled looks at this.

"What was that all about?" said the former.

"I just can't figure out what has gotten into that kid." replied Belle.

Singer suddenly didn't feel like telling anypony anymore, he finished his plate and asked to be excused.

"But wasn't there something you wanted to tell us?" said Belle.

"No" he said quietly as he walked off to his room. "It's not fair! My day was perfect until my family ruined it!"

Singer then opened his bag and pulled out his diary again and was about to vent about Brawn, until he found the contract that Violet had signed with him. A contract to remain friends forever. This rekindled the joy in Singer's big heart. He wasn't going to let his family ruin a day that would forever be special to him. In his journal, for today he read his early entry that he had written in school. 

"Friendship is music" he read as he grabbed a pencil. "Thank you Violet!"

So what if he couldn't tell his family? He and Violet shared that moment together, making it that much more special to him. He hoped that he would always remember that and never take it for granted. He decided to add a little something to the entry for the day.

"No matter what, I will never forget this day that I shared with a very special somepony. A friend to call my own. I am the luckiest pony in Equestria. Even if Violet is the only friend I ever have, I am lucky! Signed, Singer Case."

Even though he had managed to not feel sad anymore, the hurt from what happened at the dinner table still remained. But in that moment, he got a knock on the door. It wasn't Fender's knock, so he asked who it was.

"Grandma Joy, here" she said. "May I come in?"

"Of course, Grandma Joy!" He said.

When she opened his door, she looked upon her grandson with great compassion. She saw how hurt he looked after the kithen table incident just a few minutes before. She walked over  and sat on his bed with him, wrapping him in her arms.

"I am so sorry that they ruined it for you, Singer."

"I'll get over it."

"If you want, you may tell me right now if you want. I am very curious as to how you got your cutie mark!"

"Okay!" said Singer with excitement as he prepared to tell her his story.

When Singer had completed his story, Grandma Joy gave him a good night kiss, before she'd head off to bed and left his room to first, pay a visit to Brawn. She would have a much different message for him. She wasn't happy when she entered his room, and he could see her face. She was in serious mode, no ammount of talking was going to get Brawn out of this conversation.

"Grandma Joy?" he said with fear.

"Hello Brawn. I think you know why I am here."

"Yeah..."

"You seriously need to straighten up and act your age! Your little brother has done nothing to earn that kind of behaviour toward him. And your parents definitely don't deseve it."

"I can't help it. He's just so annoying!"

"Are you really annoyed? Or are you just jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous of him?"

"You may not think anypony's noticed, but ever since Singer was born, you've been acting different. Like he came in and took over your territory."

"He wasn't even supposed to be born."

"Whether you want him or not, he's your brother and you're going to have to learn to accept that. The sad part is, Singer loves you and wants to be your brother but he can't because you won't let him. Just because you're thirteen years old, now doesn't give you the right to do what you want either. You've wasted the last six years of your life, being jealous. I would suggest you stop wasting your life on petty accusations and actually give him a chance. Did you know that he got his cutie mark today?"

"I didn't notice."

"Of course not. Well that's pretty much all I wanted to say. I hope that what I've just said to you sinks in. I love you Brawn, but eventually you're going to have to grow up."

And with that, she left his room. Brawn sat there thinking about what she had just said. He marveled over the thought of Singer still wanting to be his brother, even after treating him like garbage his whole life. He'd never really taken the time to get to know him, let alone hang out with him. He still felt anger towards him, but he figured he at least owed it to him to apologize.

Brawn opened his door to make sure that no one was stirring. The coast was clear. He then snuck across the hall over to Singer's room and entered. Singer looked up and noticed Brawn standing in his room, at first looking around, then looking up at him. Singer wasn't sure how to handle this, for he feared that Brawn had come to say something else mean.

"Brawn? What did I do this time? I'm sorry, whatever it was."

"You didn't do anything, Singer. I was just... coming to apologize for how I acted earlier."

"Huh?"

"You shouldn't have to pay for my bad attitude, and I'm sorry. You didn't do anything to deserve the way I treated you today."

"Then why are you mad at me?"

"Anyways, I heard you got your cutie mark today."

Singer stood up so Brawn could see it clearly. Singer's cutie mark was a microphone with a small cut off cord. A look of pride came across his brother's face when he saw this.

"I remember when I got my cutie mark."

"Can you tell me the story?"

"I'll tell you what. You tell me how you got yours and I'll tell you how I got mine, capiche?"

"Ca-what?"

"Capiche. It means, "alright?"."

"Oh okay... CAPICHE!"

Singer jumped back up in his bed, at the head part as Brawn sat down at the foot of his bed. Singer then proceeded to tell Brawn about everything that had happened at school. Brawn sat there and listened to the whole story. As he told it, he could see the excitement in the young colts gestures as he told it in detail. Brawn was beginning to wonder what it was that made this kid so unlikable to him in the first place. Maybe there was hope for them, yet.

I don't know what it was that changed Brawn's attitude, but whatever it was I am thankful for it. Although things between us didn't escalate into the brotherly love that I had hoped for after that, things did in fact get better between the two of us. Things that had fallen apart were now starting to come back together.

And on another positive note, things between Violet and I were just beginning to blossom. Just another thing that took my life in a turn for the good. Things were really looking up at that point, which was fine with me.









> Fun with Singer and Violet
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Six years and countless journal entries later, Singer and Violet were still going strong in their friendship. During the school years they had become each other's rock to stand on during the times when they felt like things were about to make them sink, hypothetically. It had been just like the song that Singer had sung during the first day of his first grade year and helped him earn his cutie mark. To him, friendship really was music and it was an amazing sound to his ears.

They spent pretty much all their time together whenever they could. It seemed as though they were just happy with each other's company. The other students would often make rumors about them being coltfriend and marefriend, but neither of them ever expressed that kind of affection for each other. Although, one had began to feel differently toward the other. Violet had been doodling in her notebook one day in class, when she caught herself writing her name and Singer's name with a heart around it. Though they were still just kids, Violet couldn't help but notice how she felt around him at times. Unfortunately at this time, she didn't understand romance, so she took this feeling as the need to just spend as much time as possible with him and be a friend to him. He was basically the only one that she ever really talked to in school anyway. 

Singer, however was much more open to conversations with the other colts and fillies in school. Although he didn't really hang out with anyone other Violet most of the time, he still managed to at least keep himself noticed amongst his peers and stay on a "hello, how are you doing" basis whenever he walked down the halls of the school between classes. But for the two friends, their fun usually occured after school.

It had been a normal day at school and Singer and Violet were headed to the latter's house to hang out. They had been conversing the entire way. The time they always spent together was always fun and today would be no acception.

"So, are you excited about tomorrow?" said Violet.

"Tomorrow? What's tomorrow?"

"Seriously? You don't remember?"

"Not really, no."

"Does 'happy birthday' ring a bell?"

"Oh right, my birthday!"

"How do you keep forgetting?"

"I don't know. I just forget stuff. So how is your dad doing?"

"He's good. He hasn't been the same since mom... you know."

"Yeah. I know how that feels. Losing a family member is never easy."

Singer understood how she felt. It had been a year since her mom had passed, and twice as long since he lost his Grandma Joy to a really bad sickness. He missed her so much and shared Violet's pain at the loss of her mother. However, Violet grew tired of grieving and decided to jump to a more positive topic.

"So what do you want for your birthday, Singer?"

"I already have it, really. I don't tell you enough how much I appreciate our friendship, Violet. I'd probably still be alone and confused if it weren't for you."

"But you're the one who coaxed me out of the lonely life and into friendship."

"True. But I too was also in a bit of a bind back then because I didn't know how to fit in. To be honest, I still don't. I get made fun of all of the time for being... well... goofy."

"But that's what I like about you. You don't really give a dern what anyone thinks of you, you act how you want. Something I've always thought was cool about you. And not to mention that you are probably one of the most kind-hearted ponies I know."

"Thank you Violet." said Singer. "I'm so happy that we feel the same way then. Although I'm pretty sure we've always known that we were meant to be friends."

"From the day you first asked me to sit at the table with you in school. You giant goof ball, you."

"If I weren't a goofball, I'd be boring." He replied with a large smile. "Oh we're here!"

Violet's house was one of the nicer ones in Cloudsdale. Similar to the kind that Singer lived in. Luckily for the two friends, they lived in the same neighborhood so they could visit each other any time they pleased. As they entered into her house, she called out for her dad and little brother, getting no reply from either. The former was probably up stairs and the latter was sitting at the table coloring. The little three year old colt with light blue fur and a small white mane was one of the memories of her mother that Violet had cherished, being that he was the same color that she was. 

"Hi Rain" she said.

"Hi Viowet" he returned. 

"What are you doing?"

"Colowing" he replied.

"Is that you and me?" she asked.

He only nodded in reply this time. She also noticed a figure that was a normal shade of blue and had red hair.

"Is that Singer?"

"Yetz" he replied again. He was having trouble saying 'yes' correctly as he did most of the words he said.

When Singer had heard his name he walked over to the table and looked at it.

"Wow Rain! It looks just like me. Good job!"

"Tanks." he replied once more.

"He's so cute!" she said, motioning to the door that led outside. "Come on, let's leave him be now."

"Okay." 

"So what do you want to do?" she asked after they had made it out the door.

"I was thinking. Maybe it might be good to interact with some of the other ponies today... unless you're still a bit nervous about it."

"I-I'm still not sure. I mean, you are the only friend I've ever had. The only pony other than my family that I really care about. But at the same time, I'd love to be more sociable."

"We don't have to do it if you don't want to Violet."

"But I do. It's just that I find it hard to open up to anypony but you."

"You want to? That's great! But we don't have to go and do it today, Violet. We can do it when you feel comfortable. But for what it's worth, Violet. Even if we don't, I do not, for one minute ever regret having you as my only friend. You're that special to me."

"You're sweet, buddy."

"I try. But let's cut the mushiness and get to our daily role play session."

"I agree."

Violet flew over to the small shed that she and Singer used as a club house, and grabbed a book from one of their book shelves.

"I was thinking we could role play a scene from this book." She held up a book with the title 'At World's End' a book from the "Pirates of the Mare-ibean series".

"Which scene do you want to do?"

"No... wait! I've got a better idea!" 

Violet ran back into the shed and brought out a book called 'Piper McCloud And The Adventures of Trottingham'.

"I love Piper McCloud! He's an awesome character."

"You be Piper and I'll be his lovely assistant Rosemary."

"Who will be the villain, the dasterdly Kernel Cornwall?"

"You will, silly! You're the best at playing multiple roles!"

"Ha ha... gotcha! Alright then. Let's get this role play session in motion, shall we?"

Their imaginations brought them to a more simpler time when Knighthood and chilvalry were one of the basic elements of Equestria, more so than in the present time they lived in. Everypony wanted to fight along side the unicorn sherriff of Trottingham, Kernel Cornwall. But little did they know, he was out to end Princess Celestia's reign and take Equestria as his own. After a series of deceptions, he finally had his dominoes in order. His powerful amulet that he stole from Celestia's vault had subdued the Princess and he was nearly complete with his plan. He had distracted the heroic Piper by kidnapping Rosemary and putting her in a deadly trap. One that Piper had to risk his life getting through to save his friend. He succeeded and now it was time for the final showdown. Piper, a light grey pegasus stallion, and Rosemary, a bright red pegasus mare, stood side by side as the evil Cornwall stood upon the hill that stood near the Fountain of Truth, a magical fountain,  laughing in celebration of his near complete victory.

"Cornwall! Today in the name of the Elements of Harmony and Princess Celestia, I hereby call you out for this final battle so we may end this one and for all!"

"Ah, Piper McCloud! I see you rescued the damsel! However, it is far too late! I've already won this fight!"

"I'll be the judge of that!" Piper pulled out his sword. "Today we fight to the finish!"

"Very well then. Only one of us can win. This will be our last stand!" The unicorn replied, pulling out his blade as well.

Piper readied his blade and blocked an early charge from the evil Sheriff of Trottingham. They swung their blades at each other, blocking all the while. Piper swung his to the left, only to get blocked by Cornwall again. Cornwall then swung his blade rapidly to the left and to the right five times, only to be blocked by Piper using his blade to counter the attacks.

Piper then pushed Cornwall back and flew up to the top of the rock where Cornwall previously stood, readying his blade for another charge when Cornwall used his horn to shoot multiple magic blasts at Piper, only managing to make him lose his sword. This victory, however small it may have seemed was enough to boost Cornwall's ego.

"Well, well, well... it appears that I have finally subdued you as well, great and mighty Piper!"

"I don't think so!" said Piper flapping his wings and charging at Cornwall at a rapid speed. That super speed that Piper had been so famous for, had been paying off as he was able to ram into Cornwall before he was able to use his sword again. The impact sent both of them into a large rock, giving both of them a headache. Cornwall then stood, the action would be repeated by Piper. They then exchanged expressions of anger toward each other and began to fight with all of their mights. No swords, as Cornwall had lost his to a gorge when he had dropped it, just their bare hooves. As they punched each other, Rosemary, the brave mare grabbed Piper's sword and flew in their direction, she flew over the waters of the Fountain of Truth and tried to deliver it to him. 

Cornwall managed to have Piper pinned down and he noticed Rosemary carrying Piper's sword and decided to put a stop to her plan as well by sending three very powerful blasts of magic directly at her, hitting her with all but one shot knocking her out cold. As she fell unconscious, she fell into the water. She appeared to have died right then and there. This set off an anger inside Piper. He used his might to push the villain off of him and began to punch him mercilessly until he fell to the ground. As Piper prepared to make the final blow that would either kill or render him unconscious, Cornwall used his magic to temporarily weaken Piper, only long enough to finish him off, then pushing him off and making him fall off the edge of the cliff, but Piper was able to grab it with his front hoof before he plumitted. Time was against him now because he couldn't fly due to his new state of weakness. Kernal Cornwall stood above him as he dangled off the cliff.

"Prepare to join your marefriend in death!"

"CORNWALL!" he heard a female voice come up behind him and as he turned around he felt a sharp pain enter his chest. The pain he felt all of a sudden, was a clear sign that his defeat was now certain. He was now doomed.

"What? But.. you... perished" he said weakly as he turned to see the angry form of Rosemary, holding Piper's sword as he stood there with it deep into his chest. When Rosemary had fallen into the Fountain of Truth, it must have boosted her strength to where she could come back and aid her friend before it was too late.

"You tried to take me away from Piper, you just tried to destroy him and you tried to take over Equestria! But you will never succeed in your quest. Especially not now! It is villains like you who always fail, because you do not understand where true power comes from! True friendship."

Cornwall's horn quit glowing as he fell to his knees. As he drew his final breath he fell backwards and then plumeted into the gorge and into the darkness, never to be seen again. Rosemary extended her hoof to pull Piper back up and off of the cliff. As she pulled him up, he sprung back up to her, knocking both of them over leaving him lying on her. Piper quickly got off of Rosemary and then helped her back up. Piper was starting to feel more normal every second, as Cornwall's evil magic was starting to fade away and he was regaining his strength at a moderate speed.

"You saved me." Piper said finally, embracing his friend and assistant in a hug.

"You saved me first..." she said in reply. "You were really amazing out there, Piper."

"Perhaps, but it was you who saved the day in the end. Don't ever forget that."

As their role play had started to get into the mushy part, Singer and Violet then left their fantasy and found themselves hugging each other in Violet's back yard. 

"Wow! You were amazing. I almost believed that you were both Cornwall and Piper!" she said to him, still in embrace with him.

"Thank you. You were very convincing as Rosemary as well, I could feel the emotion that you were giving off, as if you were really angry at him."

"Why thank you, Singer."

"But um... in this scene... Piper and Rosemary... uh... kiss..." said Singer nervously. "W-we don't have to do that do we?"

"Well, I don't suppose we have to. But the story wouldn't be finished if we didn't do something." Violet noted.

"Hmmm... well I suppose... maybe we could. Just for role play purposes. I mean, the two lead roles had to kiss in the school play we did a while back about one of Shakesmare's plays, and nopony seemed to mind."

"True... and it would just be a quick kiss, then?"

"Deal..."

Their lips quickly met for a small, just for play kiss. Of course, even though it was just for role play it still made them blush afterwards. They then released each other and fake coughed awkwardly.

"Let's agree never to do that again." said Singer with a laugh.

"Indeed." agreed Violet.

Singer looked at the clock that sat outside of Violet's house and realized how late it was.

"Oh no, my parents are going to kill me! I'm going to be late!"

"You better go then." Violet giggled. "See you tomorrow on your birthday!"

"Okay, bye Violet... oh and remember. It's our secret!"

"I'll never tell a soul, trust me!" 

Singer then saluted and flew off to go to his home. Violet trotted happily back into her house, to head to her room. She went through the kitchen and walked past her brother, who was still coloring. Her dad was still apparently napping since she didn't see him when she trotted through the living room and into her room. She then closed her door, and flew to her bed and sat there and smiled to herself. 

"Oh my gosh! We kissed! I can't believe we actually kissed!" she whispered to herself. Even though they agreed to never do that again, it still felt kind of good to Violet that they had done that. She had always wondered what it would be like to kiss someone and she got to experience it with someone she cared about. It was a pleasant experience to say the least. But she quickly came back to reality and began to doodle in her little book that she liked to draw in. Singer and her were friends and neither of them felt they were old enough, nor ready for a relationship. She wasn't so sure if they were even meant to be a couple anyway. She'd just been content with being his friend, although she couldn't stop thinking about him sometimes. It would just be something that would happen if it happened, at least as far as she could tell at that time. 

When Singer had gotten home, his mother scolded him a bit about being late, until he had tolder where he'd been. Then she didn't seem so aggrivated that he was late, since he was hanging with Violet. She stood where she normally did, in the kitchen making dinner, while. Fender was still living with them and he was in his room, practicing his guitar. Brawn was in his room, lifting weights.

"So did you and Violet have fun today?"

"Yep."

"Do anything interesting?"

"Nope."

"You're not as talketive as usual. Is everthing okay?"

"Oh yeah... everything is awesome mom! Just had a long day at school is all."

Brawn came thundering out of his room when he smelled the food, his mom was cooking. He hadn't had much to eat that day because he didn't go to school. The now seventeen year old stallion viewed his brother differently, now than he did six years ago. He didn't exactly be the big brother that he should have been to him, but at least he wasn't ignoring him or snapping at him all of the time. 

"Hey squirt" said the big orange pegasus, putting Singer in a headlock. "You ready to wrestle?"

"Brawn, you'll kill me if we wrestle."

"Oh yeah I forgot. We gotta put some meat on those bones, little colt. So how old are you turning tomorrow? Five? Six?" He said releasing him.

"I'm turning twelve, Brawn." 

Singer was the one starting to get annoyed at Brawn now. Even though he was glad that for the last six years that Brawn included him alot more, he still managed to be a big pest all the while. Examples of this were he and his friends sticking him in barrels and rolling him down hills to hit cation cones that they had set up, and constantly trying to get him to fight him and putting him in a headlock.

"Man... only twelve huh? I can't wait til you get older so we can mix it up on the ring! I'll make a pro out of you yet!"

"Indeed you will." Said Briefs, walking up behind them. "The Case family has had atheletes great and small come for the last seven generations. It's only fitting that you boys keep the line going."

"Does it have to be both of us? I mean, Brawn's worth two of me."

"Nonsense. You'll do fine, son! I'm sure you'll find something that you'd like to do."

"Okay then." Singer didn't really have much enthusiasm there, but his dad didn't seem to notice. Singer just wasn't sure if he could do any of the sports at school. But it looked like he didn't have much of a say in the matter, he'd have to try and find one.

Belle had finished preparing dinner and called the family in to eat. As everyone came in, they broke bread and and enjoyed family time together. Singer hadn't really said much during dinner. He was too busy thinking about Violet and what they had done earlier. He didn't know why, but he felt so happy afterwards. Putting too much thought into it, perhaps? Probably. He didn't say much during dinner, only asking if he could invite Violet over for his birthday, his parents both agreeing. 

Early in the morning, Singer awoke and immediately pulled out his journal. He had forgot to put an entry in last night like he had planned to.

Dear Diary,
Today is my twelth birthday. Yesterday, when I played with Violet in her back yard something amazing and weird happened. We ended up kissing. I'm very confused right now. I know I'm probably putting too much thought into it and I hope that I can straighten myself up soon. Violet is my best friend and I wouldn't want to say or do anything that would ruin that. I do know one thing, though. I don't think I'll ever feel the way for another friend, like I do for Violet. She's one of the best things that has ever happened in my life and I look forward to the future!
Also, my dad says that I have to get into sports. I'm not sure that I want to. But who knows? It might be fun! We'll see how that goes.

Singer Case

Singer's birthday celebration wasn't much bigger than what he was normally used to. It was just his family and Violet. But Singer didn't mind. While most kids his age would have loved to have had twenty to thirty guests, the most important guest was there and that was all that mattered to him. 

"Happy twelth birthday, Singer!" said Violet.

"Thank you! I'm glad that you got to come!" He replied.

"I am too." Her voice then softened significantly as she leaned over to whipser in his ear. "You didn't tell anypony did you? About the... you know what?"

"Mums the word!" he whispered back. "Our secret!"

"What are you rugrats whispering about over there?" inquired Brawn.

"Nothing!" said Singer with a sheepish smile.

"Puh... whatever." said Brawn deciding that it was, it wasn't worth prying into.

Singer and Violet both sat back in their chairs and did a hoof bump. They both then embraced in a hug quickly before Belle brought out the cake and ice cream. The candles were lit for Singer to blow out. The young pegasus took a deep breath and then blew as hard as he could to get all twelve of them in one blow.

"What did you wish for?" Asked Violet.

"For you and I to be together forever." Singer returned. "I honestly can't imagine life without you by my side, Violet. You're like my Rosemary."

Violet only smiled in response to his compliment. There was nothing else to say after that. She agreed with that. There really wasn't anypony else she would have rather been with at that moment than Singer.

"Violet was a big part of my ability to stay sane during my school years, no doubt about that. But rough homework and growing pains were soon to be the least of my worries. Let's just say going to school was about to get more dangerous."
> I'm No Hero
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It had been two months since Violet and Singer's "pretend" kiss, and they had both since moved on. Things went on as they normally did, but yet they couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't something else there. However, things like school work and extra activitie put their thoughts on such things on hold. Singer's father had urged him to find a sport he could do and become the best at it. For Singer, the only logical sport that he could think of doing was racing. He was full of energy and always wanting to zip around, so this would be the perfect sport for him to try. 

He walked out to the practice course where all of the young colts and fillies practiced their flying. There were several pegasai there, so this appeared to be a popular elective. Becoming the best wouldn't be easy for Singer to do here, but that's okay. Singer was one who appreciated a good challenge. As he looked around, watching the others fly above him, he noticed a young filly who stood out above the rest of them. A character that we all know very well. Rainbow Dash, one of the most popular kids in school flew through the air, flying perfectly through cloud hoops and  over large buildups of clouds. It had been a few years ago that she had successfully done the Sonic Rainboom, which was part of the reason for her popularity, and she was still recieving compliments about it.

Singer had heard alot about Rainbow Dash and he himself would have loved to ask her some questions. He had a good chance to at that instant when she had stopped to take a breather and was surrounded by several other ponies, who were wooing her for some of her skills that she had been showing off previously. Singer started off toward her, hoping to ask her a question or two but by the time he was able to reach her to talk to her, she had to leave.

"Darn!" said Singer, disappointed. "Oh well. I'll try again tomorrow."

"Hi Singer." said Violet flying up behind him. "What are you doing?"

"Still trying to ask that question to Rainbow Dash. Missed her again. How was your class?"

"Boring." She replied.

"Ready for lunch?"

"You know it!"

As Singer and Violet made their way to the lunch table, they noticed that a new student had shown up at the school. He was a taller and more muscular pegasus colt, black fur, white tips on his hooves and a white muzzle. His mane was silver with a streak of yellow, same for his tail. He went by the name of Thunder Clap. Everypony he looked at, he made them shake with fear. His attention drew him to a smaller pegasus colt with white fur and mane, a small red t-shirt, and a video game controller as his cutie mark. This young colt was called Gameboy. Gameboy had been minding his own business when Thunder Clap leaned over him and freaked him out. He then whispered something in his ear and walked away. Gameboy immediately grabbed his lunch and ran outside. Singer and Violet were surprised at this, unsure of what to make of it. After a few minutes of silence, they both dismissed it and went on to talk about other things.

"So... how was the first day of race practice?" inquired Violet.

"It went well." He replied. "Just going to take some time to get used to. You know when somepony like me runs out of breath in the middle of practice, especially with the amount of energy that I've got, you know it's a tough sport."

"I know right? You're one of the most energetic guys around!"

"That's what I'm known for."

"Also one of the cutest." she murmered to herself, Singer not able to make out what she was saying.

"What was that?"

"Oh... um... nothing..." she said moving her eyes back and forth.

"Okie dokie then. Hey you gonna eat that?" He said while eying her pudding.

"Oh... no... I'm not in the pudding mood, you may have mine."

"Oh thank you!"

Violet sat there looking at her now empty tray. She then let out a small sigh and looked up at Singer again. She admired him, the way he was always being the "glass half full" guy and how he always tried to make people laugh. One thing, she knew, was that Singer was meant to be her friend, and despite her random bursts of butterflies in her stomach every time they hung out, she was greatful for that. Still she had to wonder. Was he feeling the same way?

The final bell of the school day had rang and all of the children were flying home to their homes from the school building. One pegasus colt in particular, was acting real sneaky. Singer had noticed Gameboy's peculiar behaviour and decided to check up on him.

"Hey... uh Gameboy is it?"

"Yeah, what's it to you?"

"I was just wondering what was wrong."

"Nothing..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure now leave me alone!" said the small white pegasus as he ran off.

Singer watched as he flew off in the direction of the park. Singer didn't believe that nothing was wrong for one second, so he decided to follow the small colt and see what was going on. 

During the persuit, Violet had flown up behind him. She didn't look very happy.

"Singer" she said softly. "Why didn't you show up at the library?"

"I'm sorry Violet" he whispered. "I got sidetracked. I don't like what appears to be going on with Gameboy."

"You could be assuming things."

"Could be, and could not. Piper wouldn't let this go uninvestigated."

"Neither would Rosemary" said Violet finally giving in. 

As they got closer to the park, a small mist developed and began to make vision a bit more difficult, but the small white colt was still visible enough. They had finally arrived when Gameboy stopped and swooped down. Singer and Violet had hid behind a slide and kept a safe distance from the colt.

"What is this?" whispered Violet.

"I don't know. But I don't like it."

Just then three more pegasai appeared from the mist. One of them was Thunder Clap and the two others were a large chubby brown pegasus colt and a small skinny pink pegasus filly. All three of them looked down at the small colt, who was shivvering like one would in the snow.

"So... did you bring the money?" said Thunder Clap.

"I told you, I used my money during lunch!"

"Oh that's a shame..." said Thunder Clap. "I guess we'll have to find another way of payment then. After all you did agree to pay me protection from the other bullies in school, did you not?"

"Um... no, not really... I don't really get bullied that much."

"Oh that wasn't you? Oh... well I am sorry, but still. I want money, and you are going to give it to me."

"I told you, I'm all out!"

"Then your painful screams shall be alleviation for your insilence."

"NO!"

"Mocha, Taffy... it's stretchy time!"

Mocha and Taffy each quickly grabbed one of Gameboy's wings and started to slightly tug on them.

"Please, don't do this. I didn't do anything to you!"

"Oh boo hoo!" said Taffy, the filly, uncompassionately.

"I'm going to enjoy this!" said Mocha, the fat colt.

Singer and Violet witnessed this with great disgust. The former even more than the latter. Singer then stood up and started over to them. Violet, looking over at him noticed this and attempted to stop him.

"Singer, what are you doing? Stop!"

"No... I once made the mistake of not standing up for a poor innocent filly once. I'm not going to make that mistake a second time."

"But..."

"I have to Violet. It wouldn't be very knightly of me to just walk away and let these fiends harm this poor nave."

"Singer, this isn't role play, it's real life!"

"I'm sorry, Violet. But I am in anything but a playing mood now. Please stay back."

"Singer! No!" she reached out for him, but he continued on. She sat there by the slide and watched nervously. She knew that she wasn't going to change his mind.

"HEY!" yelled Singer. "Leave him alone, now!"

A smirk came across Thunder Clap's face as he looked over at the challenger.

"Well, well, well... a lost bird. A lost bird who's forgotten how to fly!" said Thunder Clap. "What makes you think you can stop us from doing our jobs as bullies to this loser?"

"He's not a loser! And you guys arent' doing your jobs, you're doing this for pleasure and it's just plain sick!"

"Little colt blue doesn't approve of our antics, you two." said Thunder Clap as he began to burst into laughter, being joined by Mocha and Taffy, still holding Gameboy's wings. "Release him." He said at last.

"What?" said Mocha. "But..."

"Don't ask questions, just do it." He then walked over to the small white colt. "You lucked out today, kid. Be thankful that this idiot stepped in and offered to take the beating for you. Now if I were you, I'd scram before we change our minds."

Gameboy didn't waste a second, he dashed off and flew away before another word was spoken. He looked back at Singer, who appeared unfazed by this action.

"Now... I'm going to show you what happens to the nobodies at this school who dare try and step in and ruin the balance of my reign. I am king where ever I go. And you best remember that!"

"You don't scare me, you big jerk!"

"Not yet, anyway." he said this motioning Mocha and Taffy to attack. "Get him!"

Violet, still standing by the slide watched in horror as Mocha and Taffy began to hit Singer in the face and pushed him to the ground.

"Singer, get up! Fly away!" she yelled.

"Somepony go shut her up!" said Thunder Clap.

"With pleasure!" said Mocha, heading off after Violet. The latter began to back up as the big brute in mention inched closer to her.

Singer watched as Violet began to back up at the sign of the approaching brute, his rage meter was about to go over the roof. 

"I don't think so!" said Singer as he darted up and sped after Mocha, tackling him and knocking him down. "You better not ever touch her! EVER!"

"Thunder Clap?" said the dazed colt.

"Don't let that beanpole take you down, throw him off!" yelled Thunder Clap.

Mocha then stood up and fell back over, rolling over Singer and then getting back up again.

"Funny how you are letting your goons do all your dirty work, Clap. Why don't you face me colt to colt?"

"Singer don't..." blurted Violet.

"I have to agree with your friend over there. It would be unwise to take me on."

"Why? Are you chicken?"

"Very well, then. I tried to warn you. Mocha, Taffy, back off."

The two lackies obeyed and walked back behind their leader. Thunder Clap then chuckled, while getting into a charge attack stance. "You just made a very big mistake, little kid." Thunder Clap took off after Singer.

Singer just stood there, calmly. He waited for Thunder Clap to get closer. As he did, he rared up his back legs and prepared to kick him. The fast approaching Thunder Clap would be unable to avoid it if he did it right. Singer's wait was over as Thunder Clap had just come into range, he quickly extended his legs out with all the force he could muster and successfully nailed him in the face.

Thunder Clap felt a ton of pain hit his face as Singer pulled his legs back in and turned around to face his foe. The black stallion then lied on the ground and held his face in pain. Singer then looked up at the other two with angry eyes, thus intimidating them. They didn't stick around much longer. It didn't appear that Thunder Clap would be getting up any time soon, so they fled the scene. Thunder Clap appeared to be defeated, so Singer trotted off, heading back to Violet. But that's just what Thunder had wanted him to do. Thunder then tackled Singer and pinned him to the ground and hit him twice in the face, nearly knocking him out.

"You think you've won?" he then stood back up and kicked Singer in the side. "Think again you little slime. I'm going to make your life miserable from here on out. I'm going to make an example out of you, to make sure that nopony ever stands up to me again. Thanks alot, pal. You're little act of chivalry just earned you a life time of beatings from yours truly. Enjoy your school year, lame-o." Thunder Clap, then sped off angrily at the others, apparently ticked that they fled the scene.

Violet rushed over to Singer's side feeling worried for her friend. She teared up as the extremely disoriented colt tried to get up.

"Violet? Have you seen my bag?" he said as he fell back over onto the soft cushy cloud surface. One positive thing about Cloudsdale was that falling didn't hurt, unless you fell through the clouds and were unable to  regain your flying capabilities before hitting the earth below.

Violet helped Singer back up from lying on his back and helped him sit up.

"Are you okay?" she said to him.

"I'll be okay." he said as he sniffed and tears were coming out of his eyes.

"Singer come here." Violet said as she hugged him. "Don't worry, I've got you."

"Thank you, Violet." said Singer still crying. "I... tried to do the right thing, but..."

"You did do the right thing. It was stupid, but it was the right thing to do. You felt it was right and you trusted your instincts. So... why don't you tell me about your previous experience with the said filly you mentioned earlier. Get it off of your chest."

Singer told Violet about how shortly before he moved to Cloudsdale from Canterlot, he witnessed a group of bigger unicorn fillies picking on one smaller filly. And how awful he felt after failing to make a stand for her and of his mother's advice to him that day.

"Wow. That's touching, Singer. You really are a brave knight aren't you? You're starting to remind me more and more of Piper McCloud."

"And you are starting to remind me more of Rosemary."

At the mention of that book, both of them remembered the small "pretend" kiss again. They both blushed and giggled together for a couple of minutes.

"Are we ever going to get past that?" said Singer.

"I think so..." said Violet. "Now come on, let's get you home and get you cleaned up. You have a little blood smeared all over you."

"Oh... my mom's going to freak out."

"I've got your back, buddy."

"Thanks, buddy." 

As the two friends walked together, they both smiled as warmly as they could when they glanced at one another. They didn't realize it yet, but they were starting to gradually fall in love with each other and they weren't even a couple yet.

Dealing with Singer's mother had been the easy part of the post drama. The hard part came when it came time for school the next day. Word of Singer's brave reistance to Thunder Clap had spread around the school. Singer either got a high five from his fellow peers or got something chunked at him, due to the various versions of the story. Violet stayed by his side, both of their front legs locked together as they walked down the hall. She wasn't about to let her best friend face the consequences alone. She was then pulled away from him by Taffy when Thunder Clap and his goons arrived in the hallway.

"Well, well, well Singer." said Thunder Clap. "I see you had the guts to show up at school today. Mommy didn't want you to come today I bet." Said Thunder Clap mockingly.

"Let my friend go..."

"Or what? You doing to do like you did, yesterday? Because you will NEVER have a chance to do that again, I promise you that. Due to the three or four different versions of what happened yesterday I have half of the school thinking I'm a wimp. Which means you are about to get some serious punishment!"

"Do your worst, Thunder Clap. I'm not going to stoop to your..."

He barely got his words out as Thunder Clap nailed him in the face.

"Thunder Clap!" yelled the principal. "Get in my office, NOW! The both of you!"

Singer sighed sadly. Mocha and Taffy had fled the scene once again when they heard the principal yell. Only Violet stood with him in the hallway as Thunder Clap and the principal waited for him to enter the office.

"Ms Pedals, go to class. Your friend will join you shortly, maybe."

She obeyed, but not without walking by and patting Singer on the back for comfort. As Singer got up he glanced back at his friend and walked into the office. The door then shut and it seemed to echo throug out the halls. All Violet could do at that point was head on to class.

Later on, that day. Violet had learned that both Singer and Thunder Clap had been suspended, and she went to his house later to check on him. She politely knocked on his door and waited for an answer.

"Oh, Violet" said Belle. "Please come in. Singer's grounded, but he needs a friend right now. I'm sure that's why you are here."

"I am. But I do need to say something. I feel that Singer is being unjustly punished by the school. All he did was defend himself."

"I know, Violet. But the school said that Singer added to the fight. I disagree with the reasons they gave, but I can't do anything about it."

"Then why is he grounded?"

"He forgot to clean his room."

"Oh..." she giggled. "Sorry."

"It's fine. He's in his now clean room if you wish to see him."

"Thank you, Mrs Case." she said politely as she made her way back to his room. She knocked on his door.

"Go away Brawn!" he yelled. "I told you, I don't want fighting lessons!"

"It's not Brawn." she said. 

Singer quickly got up out of his bed when he heard her voice and opened the door and invited her in his room. But the talking didn't start until Singer embraced her in a warm and welcoming hug. He had been wishing that she was there to comfort him, and there she was. Violet, graciously returned the hug. Singer needed a friend right now and she was the friend that he wanted to be there with him.



"While Thunder Clap was an oppressing force, nothing he could do could compare to the friendship that I shared with that special filly, Violet Pedals. I loved her... even back when I didn't even realize that I did. She made me feel important, and I can only assume that I did the same for her. This sweet pony had become the best friend that I would ever have. But I'm not going to give away anymore information. There is still much, much more to my story."




> I won't back down!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Practicing for the racing team at school had gone great for Singer. He was able to find his rythm early, and found out that he was pretty fast. He was among the fastest in school. Still wouldn't be able to beat Rainbow Dash, who remained the fastest. To add a major growth to his minor difficulty, Thunder Clap had joined the team as well, which meant that it would be yet another place for him to terrorize him. It also didn't help that Thunder Clap was fast as well.


Another practice race was coming up and our hero was extremely nervous. He eyed the cloud based course that had been set up, it had been larger than what he had grown accustomed to, as a part of the coach's teaching method. He tried to keep his eyes from wondering to Thunder Clap's direction, lest he catch him glaring at him and get intimidated before the game began.

"Alright, you little pansies! Today we are going to make mares and stallions out of you. You've all shown your abilities on the baby course, but let's see how you handle the "Gauntlet of Terror", the "Floating Rubber Balls of Terror", and "The Moving Pillars of Terror". Yes there will be a lot of terror in this course." said the coach, a tall slightly buff brown pegasus stallion, who's red cap made his eyes just barely visible. His cutie mark was a wistle, go figure.

Just then one of the colts raised his hoof, earning the annoyed expression of the coach. "What is it Buttersworth?"

"Um... was this cleared by the principal?"

"Mind your own business ya wimp or I'll have you sit out practice. There are three things we don't do here: We don't question the coach, we do not rough house the other competitors.... THUNDER CLAP, and we do not back down! Just in case you pea brains forgot the rules. Will there be anymore questions, Buttersworth?"

"Um... no..." replied Buttersworth.

"Any fake and made up sicknesses you want to try to pull on me today, Thunderlane?"

"No..."

"Any 'funny' jokes you want to make today, SINGER?!?"

"Um... heh heh... no sir."

"Alright then. Good... Oh yeah... And Miss Rainbow Dash, do you have any smart alek remarks to throw in?"

"No sir, coach sir!" giggled Rainbow Dash. "But would like to comment on how well aligned your cap is today. It really aligns to your eyebrows well."

The rest of the class began to chuckle and laugh at Rainbow's wise crack. "Just for that Miss Dash, I'll see you in detention tomorrow at lunch."

"Aw come, on coachy. I was just complimenting you."

"Miss Dash, do not try my patience! And do not ever call me 'coachy'!" said the impatient coach. "Now.. let's get this show going, shall we?"

There were about twelve pegasai at the start/finish line and all of them had the same look in their eyes... determination. For Thunder Clap, he wanted to beat the best and put a hurting on his competition, mainly Singer and partially Rainbow Dash, for Singer he just wanted to prove that he could run with the best and make his dad proud, for Rainbow Dash it was mainly about maintaining her status as the best in school. As they lined up with the rest of the pegasai, they anxiously awaited the start of the race. Singer's nerves were at ease when Violet had just made it to watch in the stands, but then he returned to his nervous state when his father and older brother came up and sat besides Violet.

"What are they doing here? Oh no... this isn't good! I'm so not ready for them to see me race yet."

"Perhaps it's a good thing, they showed up." Replied Thunder Clap. Oh crap, had he been talking out loud again? Now Thunder Clap was really going to let him have it. "So that way they can see how big of a loser you are, so they don't raise the bar on their hopes too high."

"Hey Thunder Flap, why don't you keep your stupid opinions to yourself? You feel good picking on ponies who are smaller than you?" said Rainbow Dash.

"It feels awesome to pick on somepony who's smaller than me, I don't have moral standards like you losers. It's almost as fun as it is picking on those who think they are top dog around here. You're going to eat my cloud dust, Rainbow Crash. You and your little colt friend here."

"That would be funny, but I hardly know this kid. Though I'm sure he could beat you in the 'class' department."

"Miss Dash, Mr Clap? Do you have something you two would like to share with the rest of the class? Don't make me be like Miss Merryweather and have you come up in front of the class to explain, because I just might do it for kicks and giggles." said the coach.

"Just putting the Clapinator in his place, coach." Rainbow Dash giggled at the glare he gave her, then turned to Singer. "Don't worry about old Thunder. He's all talk and no action... well unless he's dealing with somepony like... oh yeah... you. Sorry kid."

Singer just sighed and tried to ignore what Rainbow had just said. She wasn't all that good at being encouraging. Singer just shook it off and prepared for  wing to wing racing.

"Alright you cloud busters, I think you've waited long enough. It's time to get out there and go for the win! Try not to kill each other out there and don't come back until you've finished the course!" said the coach.

The colts and fillies readied themselves for the race. Each anxious to get going and go for the lead early, and hopefully keep it. As the coach, prepared to set them loose, he flew over to the start finish line near one of the poles that held the checkered banner.

"Alright, you have one lap to get to the lead and avoid all of the these obstacles. Whoever does NOT complete this course will automatically fail today's session. And we don't want any of that, do we?"

All he got were blank expressions from most of the students.

"Good. Now on your mark!"

Singer flittered his wings with great anticipation as he awaited the command.

"Get set..."

Thunder Clap looked over at Singer, and smirked. But got no reaction from his zoned out target.

"GO!"

Rainbow Dash was the quickest, taking off and sped on to an early sizable lead. Singer and Thunder Clap found themselves racing neck and neck for third, behind Thunderlane who was currently running in second. Singer scooted over to the right to avoid his adversary. Thunder Clap wasn't about to let the opportunity slide to ring Singer's hopes dry fade away though. He wasn't likely to let go of the day Singer stood up to him for a long time. However as much as Thunder Clap, tried to faze him, Singer wasn't budging. He wasn't about to let his dad, his brother, or his best friend down. Yeah the pressure was on, but so was his game.

As Rainbow Dash flew through the Gauntlet of terror with relative ease, only getting whacked by a boxing glove that came out of the wall once. Thunderlane, who surprisingly remained second for the moment, wasn't as lucky as Dash and kept getting punched out of line. Thunder Clap was running third at the time and he approached the Gauntlet with extreme predjudice... against Singer. He was able to actually manipulate one of the boxing gloves to whack Singer in the face, by grabbing it before he advanced. The impact knocked Singer off course and he had to go through it again.

"Ha.... loser" said Thunder Clap, narrowly avoiding the final boxing glove and advancing to the next obstacle. 

Singer, frustrated and wanting to beat Thunder Clap, so badly stormed through the Gauntlet again only to get the same result as last time. Singer hovered in the air along with the rest of the clueless pegasai when he finally decided to try again. He maneuvered at a steadier pace going between each of the seven punching bags. Though the possibility of beating Rainbow Dash and Thunder Clap, seemed out of the question now, he wasn't going to quit nor was he going to back down. Although, he would have to perservere anyway if he wanted to pass.

Another pegasus colt, with a light blue coat and a dark blue mane and short tail began to follow Singer through, doing exactly what he did. Soon everypony else would catch on and follow their example. But Singer and the other colt were already out of the Gauntlet and went straight for the the Giant Red Balls. On their way, while racing Singer and the other colt engaged in conversation.

"Hey, name's Singer. What's yours?"

"Star Chaser." replied the colt.

"That's a pretty cool name. Good job moving through the Gauntlet."

"Hey, I was just following you. Whoa..." said Star noticing that both Rainbow Dash and Thunder Clap were still at the Giant Red Balls, that moved up and down at a rapid pace.

"This can't be good." said Singer.

"Oh great, the rodents caught up. Have you figured out the strategy for moving through these things, yet?" inquired Thunder Clap of Rainbow Dash.

"Yep" she said speeding through the balls untouched.

"Hey! Gaaaaaaargh!" said Thunder Clap as he decided to go through before Singer could reach him. Only to get pounded by one of them and thrown off course.

"See you Thunder Clap" said Singer, somehow managing to avoid them all as Rainbow Dash had, with Star Chaser still in persuit as well.

"WHAT?!?" said Thunder Clap as he rushed through them again. He wasn't about to let some dork beat him. "I'm not going to let you beat me!"

Singer upped his pace and flew through all of the cloud rings. He wasn't about to let Thunder Clap scare him, and he had Rainbow Dash in his sights.

Well I won't back down...
No I won't back down!
You can stand me up against ol Thunder Clap
But I won't back down!
Gonna stand my ground
Won't be turned around
While this whole world keeps on dragging me down
I'm gonna stand my ground
And I won't back down!

Singer continued to chase Rainbow Dash through the clouds. He couldn't believe how well he was doing. As Rainbow started to slow down, he knew that the last obstacle was in nearing. The moving pillars.

"Hey, you're catching up pretty fast! You really have some spunk, kid. Tell you what. Grab my hoof and we'll go through this together. No rules against it."

"That sounds great, but... why?"

"I like to reward a strong willed attempt. Besides if I want any hint of a challenge for you to attempt to beat me, you will need all the help you can get."

"Sounds fair."

"We better get going before your "Best Friend" decides to rear end us."

"I'm going to destroy you both!" said Thunder Clap rapidly approaching."

"NOW!" said Rainbow Dash as she and Singer both dodged the first pillar that was moving side to side. They then had to dodge another that was going up and down. Rainbow was pretty much doing most of the work, as Singer found it hard to keep up. They then came upon a small hole created by a bunch of overlapping idle pillars coming from different directions. "Okay dude, you're going to need to fly up. We can't go through this part together. When I say now, you fly up and do not slow down!"

"Gotcha!" he said unconfindently.

"NOW!"

Singer and Rainbow then let go of each other's hooves and Singer flew upward as fast as he could, rising above the idle pillars.

"YES!" called Rainbow Dash as she flew up to meet him halfway and grab his hoof for the final time as they raced through a series of fast moving pillars. They let go of each other's hooves as they went through the end of the pillars and now it was every pony for themselves. "See ya dude, try to keep up!"

Singer stepped on the gas as not far behind, Thunder Clap, looking as rough as ever after getting hit by several pillars, stormed out and sped after Singer and Rainbow Dash, the latter of whom was pulling away. No matter how fast Singer flew, he couldn't catch her. He knew he'd have to settle for second.

However his finish wouldn't come easy as Thunder Clap had caught up with him and was now bumping into him trying to knock him out of the sky.

"DUDE! Get over your personal vendetta against me. It's old news! Nopony even cares about it anymore!" said Singer.

"That's where your wong, Dinger!"

"Oh nicknames... that's real mature."

"Shut up you little worm!" said Thunder Clap. "It's time to finish what I started..." 

Singer sped up again and pulled in front of Thunder Clap and started to pull away. Rainbow Dash had already passed the start finish line and Singer was nearing it. Just when things seemed well within reach, he felt a hard impact from behind. Thunder Clap had head butted his flank, causing Singer to lose control. Singer kicked his legs as hard as he could but was unable to stop himself, he spun out of control all the way to the start/finish line finishing third behind Thunder Clap, but not without hitting hard into a wall, that stopped his uncontrallable spinning.

Violet watched this from the stands with great horror and rushed down to help Singer. She was determined to be there to help him get back up.

Thunder Clap walked over to Singer, who was still lying on one of the clouds and feeling a bit disoriented.

"Looks like Singer is a real Dinger! He can't control himself to save his own flank. What a loser!"

"Hey! I saw what you did, Thunder Clap and that wasn't cool!" said the angry cyan pegasus filly.

"Coolness is beginning to escape you, Rainbow Dash. I mearly gave him a bump and run manuever and it sent him spinning. He's just a wimp and the fact that you are standing up for him makes it even more sad."

"If you know what's good for you, you are gonna shut it, now!"

"Thunder Clap, thanks to that litte stunt you pulled, you will spend the rest of the week and all of next week in detention." said the coach, looking down on him with disapproving eyes.

"Puh... whatever. I came in before that worthless runt so that's all that matters."

"Want to make it three weeks?"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, coachy!"

"One more outburst and you will be suspended again!"

Thunder Clap, not really feeling the need to continue this little exchange, decided to go off and leave. School was over now anyway and he had better things to do.

Singer was okay, but he had hurt his leg a bit. The worst pain he felt was in his pride. But his pain quickly went away when Violet suddenly appeared at his side.

"You've looked better." she said wiping some of the sweat off of his head.

"I've felt better." he said. 

"For what it's worth, you really did a great job out there. You improved a lot."

"Thanks Violet. That means a lot."

"Hey kid" said Rainbow Dash interrupting. "I just wanted to say that, that was one of the best performances I've ever seen by somepony who isn't me. Oh and don't think a whole lot of the holding hooves thing. That was just teamwork."

"Understood Dash. And Thanks for standing up to him. He seems more afraid of you than of me."

"Hey no problem. I heard about you standing up to him a while back and that took guts."

"It was one of the scarriest things I've ever been through." noted Violet.

"Indeed..." agreed Singer, who was the one who went through it all."

"Hey, don't let it get to you. He's just a bully. The ponies who stand up to bullies are worth twenty of them." said Rainbow Dash. "Well, I gotta go... see ya!"

"Bye and thanks again" said singer waving.

"Good race out there, Singer" said Star Chaser.

"Thanks man. Where did you come in?"

"Right behind you and Thunder Clap. Sorry about what happened to you. That wasn't very sportsman like of him to do that."

"I'm not too offended, that's just who he is."

"Still, it wasn't right. Good job out there."

"Thanks, you too!"

As Star Chaser flew off to meet with his mom, Singer was now starting to feel a bit better about how he did. That is until he meet up with his dad and Brawn.

"What in the hay was that, Singer?" said Briefs.

"Uuuuh... racing?" said Singer unsurely.

"If you wanna call it that." said Brawn.

"That was without a doubt, the worst display I've seen a member of this family do in an event like this!"

"But dad, I ran my best and tried as hard as I could for the win."

"You got all antzy when that other kid bumped into you and you spun out. That was horrible!"

"He cheap shotted me, Dad. Didn't you pay attention?"

"That's enough!"

"No really Mr. Case, it's true."

"Miss Pedals, please do not speak again."

"Dad!"

"Son! Let's go home!"

"Undeniably the worst flying i've ever seen." said Brawn. "A real champion would have had that rainbow haired kid beat."

Violet wanted to lash out at Brawn but held back in fear of Singer's father snapping at her again. She watched as they escorted Singer back home, Singer looking back at her sadly. It was going to be a long walk back home.

Later that night, Singer was in bed when he got a knock on his window. He looked up at his window and Violet was there. With a large grin, he let her in.

"Violet... am I ever glad to see you." whispered Singer.

"Hey. I figured you could use a bit of encouragement after your dad and Brawn got all flank hurt on you. They were way out of line."

"That's what my mom said when we discussed it as a family. My dad's been pretty tough on me as of late."

"I'm sure your dad just wants to see you do your best. But personally, I think he's being a bit unreasonable about it all."

"You too, huh?" chuckled Singer. 

"You did do a good thing out there. You showed Thunder Clap that you aren't afraid of him. I'm proud of you, Singer."

"While I do wish I could say that, I can't. I AM afraid of him. I took it upon myself today to prove to myself that I could do it, that I could stand up to him and that I won't be easily pushed around.."

"Well in my opinion, you finished well Singer. Though I highly doubt that Thunder Clap will leave you alone."

"Just so long as he leave you out of it, I'm fine."

"That's sweet, but you're my best friend. We will endure his antics together."

"You're awesome, Violet. I don't know if I tell you that enough."

Violet then gave him a hug and went back to his window. "I have to go now, Singer. But remember, don't back down!" 

"Never!" he said. "Hey... tomorrow? I think it's time that we extended our friendship circle, don't you? So many other nice ponies around, and it will be good for the both of us."

"I think your right" said Violet. "We should work on that tomorrow."

"Great! Goodnight, Violet."

"Good night, Singer!" she then flew off back to her house.

Singer then went for his journal, but then backed off.

"No need to write this down, I think I'll remember it... Then again, can't be too safe."

"Thanks to Violet, I was finally able to go to sleep that night. I wasn't about to let my dad's high expectations keep me down. Though my adventures as a colt were fun, it wouldn't be long until I would be forced to have to grow up. And boy I sure wasn't looking forward to that, especially if my dad and Brawn were going to act like that the whole time."
> The Pains of Growing Up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are you ready?" said Violet.

"Huh?" said Singer.

"The prom... it's coming up! Are you excited?"

"Oh... yeah... I almost forgot about that!"

"How could you forget about it? It's what we've been talking about for the last three years!"

"Sorry..."

"What's wrong, Singer?"

"Oh nothing. Just a little tired after work last night."

"Oh yeah, how was your first day at your new job?"

"Tiring... Being a waiter is very taxing and it fries my nerves."

"Rough day, huh?"

"You don't know the half of it. I mean, I guess working with Uncle Fender is cool and all, but it's not exactly what I invisioned my life would be. I actually want to do something with it, ya know?"

"I understand completely."

Singer didn't like the idea of working in a fast food restaraunt, and hoped that he didn't have to do that for the rest of his life. Luckily for him, his uncle had a plan that neither of them would tell anypony about. He was now 17 years old and close to being done with school. Fender had approached him about going to Las Pegasus and trying for a music career. Singer hadn't exactly given him a definite answer yet, but he would eventually when he decided.

Life for Singer, regardless of his less than pleasing job, had been great as of late. Thunder Clap had left Cloudsdale two years prior to this, much to the relief of Singer and countless other colts and fillies, so his life was almost stress free. The only exception to that was his father constantly hounding him to get back into sports and Brawn, now moved out, showing up at the house with his friends and harrassing Singer about his failed attempt to be a racer. 

While things between Brawn and Singer hadn't been going as well as they could have been, Singer still tried to be a good brother, despite their slight dislike for each other. They just couldn't get along. Most of it had to do with Brawn's insensitivity, at least as far as Singer was concerned. He would try his best to not show his annoyance when Brawn and his friends were around.

The two ponies, Singer could count on the most were his mother and Violet. His mother remained the one he could count on for anything, whether it would be advice, a shoulder to cry on, or just encouragement. His mother was always by his side and he loved her for that. Violet wasn't much different. He often found himself talking to mares and hanging with them, rather than hanging with other stallions, due to almost every other stallion making fun of him.

On the way to class, Singer and Violet were stopped by a couple of taller pegasus colts. One being a dark bown colt with a white mane and the other being a taller, light brown colt with a dark brown mane, which covered his eyes.

"Hey Singer NutCase" said the dark brown colt. "Where are you going with your marefriend? Huh?"

"Seriously?" said Singer. "Do you two have anything better to do? And we are just friends, for your information!"

"I bet you wish you were a mare, don't you? I mean all you ever do is hang out with them." said the taller colt.

"Well point me in the direction of a colt around here who has class and I might add a few of them to my friendship circle."

"Little boy blue has some strong comebacks, huh?"

"Why don't we see just how smart you are after we put you in your friend's locker?"

"Hey leave him alone!" said Violet. "We were doing just fine without you two coming and throwing your stupidity our way!"

"Quiet, you!" said the dark brown colt. "We were just kidding around... but still..."

Both colts grabbed Singer and tried forced him into Violet's locker, despite Violet's and Singer's opposing. Singer kicked and tried to break free, but in the end the two finally managed to shut the door on him.

"What a loser..." said the taller colt.

Violet quickly rushed to the door of her locker when the two colts had walked off and were out of sight, and opened it. Singer then fell out of her locker and on to the floor.

"Are you okay?" she said.

"Yeah... I'm fine." said Singer angrily.

"Everything will be okay." said Violet. "We are almost finished with school. We don't have to put up with this much longer."

"Believe me, nopony is more thankful than me. Ha ha... So, what were we talking about?"

"Prom..."

"Oh... yeah... actually, I was wondering if... maybe you weren't going with anypony else... if you'd like to..."

"Are you asking me to prom?"

"Yes... I mean... I know you and I are friends and everything, but... I really can't think of anypony else I'd rather go with... and..."

Violet put her hoof to his mouth. "I'd love to, Singer." She finally said.

"Really?" he said, surprised. Violet returned this with an amused facial expression.

"Why are you so suprised? You know that there isn't anypony I'd rather go with either."

"I don't know..." he cuckled. "I guess I wasn't sure if you would want to or not."

"You're my best friend. I'd go to the moon and back with you."

"Thanks Violet." 

Something started to happen between the two of them. They both, without realizing it, began to get closer to each other and appeared close to a kiss. They both stood there, each in their own little world and their faces began to get closer together, when out of no where the bell for their last class began to ring.

"Oh crap!" said Singer snapping out of it. "We're gonna be late!"

"Oh... right" said Violet as she too snapped out of it and followed Singer to their last class for the day.

After school was out, Singer and Violet walked back home. Their daily routine was second nature by now, since they'd been doing it for the past eleven years. Both of them remembered what had happened before the bell rang, but decided not to speak of it.

"So... class was pretty boring today, huh?" started Singer after about five minutes of silence.

"Pretty boring would be an understatement." returned Violet. "I didn't think he'd ever get done with that lecture over the Legend of Nightmare Moon."

"I don't believe in that, myself." said Singer. "I hear it's just an old Pony's tale."

"I know... about like the adventures of Piper McCloud."

"Hey now, I'm quite fond of those books."

"Still?" said Violet with a giggle. "Everypony's into Daring Do now."

"I love me some Daring Do stories, but Piper McCloud will always be one of my favorites!"

"Some things just never change..."  Violet paused after Singer started to turn a different direction. "Where are you going?"

"I have to turn this way to go to work." explained Singer.

"Oh... do you really have to go now?"

"Today I do. I'm sorry Violet. I know that we've walked home together every day since we were younger but... some things do change."

"I know." said Violet. "Things are fixing to change for me as well."

"How so?"

"Remember my mom's flower shop?"

"Oh yeah..."

"Well, I'm going to reopen it in her memory."

"Really? That's awesome, Violet!" said Singer excitedly. "You're mom would love it if you continued her legacy."

"I was going to keep it a surprise until later, but I figured I'd tell you now." she smiled.

"Well hey, if you ever need any help, and I'm off work, let me know and I'll zoom in faster than a herd of buffalo in a thunderstorm."

"What are you a country pony now?"

"Maybe lil lady." chuckled Singer, and changing his voice.

Violet giggled at Singer's change of voice. "When are you going to start showing everypony that you can mimic any voice?"

"I dunno... it's kind of weird. I'm not sure how well it will be recieved."

"You never know, they might like it."

"Maybe... well I gotta go, Violet. Please be careful."

"Don't worry about me it's just another few hundred feet to my house. Goodbye, Singer."

"See ya later Violet." He said speeding off to work.

It was busy at the restaurant that Singer was working at that day. Only his second day and Singer was already sweating and hard at work. Regardless of all of that, things were going considerably well. Singer hadn't messed up a single table yet and he was really taking to the waitering job like a fish to water.

"More water for you ma'am?" said Singer approaching a mare.

"Why yes please" she returned. "Thank you, young man!"

"No problem, ma'am!" said Singer, filling up her glass and moving on to the next customer.

"Need any ketchup for your fries?" asked Singer to another customer.

"No thank you." he replied.

"Okay then."

Singer's work day hadn't been at all what he'd been dreading. It was going pretty smoothly. Until they walked in. The two jerks from earlier in school. When he saw them, he flew behind the front desk and hid. Singer's uncle Fender tended to them while he hid.

"Evening brah" said Fender, tending to the two colts. "There's a booth over there next to the front desk."

Oh no! He didn't! The front desk was where Singer was hiding. He couldn't let them see him, so he snuck back into the kitchen where the boss was standing. At first the boss didn't see him standing by the kitchen doors, but after he got done chewing out one of the cooks, he turned around and saw Singer standing there.

"What are you doing back here? Get out there and serve the customers! I don't pay you minimum wage to stand there like a sissy!"

"Sorry sir... I... just... um... had to go to the bathroom... and I... don't know where it's at! Heh heh..."

"It's right there, dummy!" said the boss pointing to a door specifically labled "Colts' Bathroom".

"Oh... right... sorry..."

"Hurry up ya pansy! We ain't gonna serve customers by wasting time in the bathroom!"

"Roger that!" He said, speeding into the bathroom.

Singer sat in one of the stalls and began to tremble. This was one thing that he hadn't counted on. He knew that those two colts would some how try to mess him up if he showed his face out there. This was almost as bad as when Thunder Clap was around, but at least they didn't have a personal vendetta against him. He had to snap out of it. He had a job to do and he wasn't about to let those two knuckle heads stop him.

"My dad would kill me if he saw me cowering in the bathroom like a wuss! I need to get back out there and serve those ponies!"

He slowly opened the door of the bathroom stall and went to the sink to splash water on his face. The cool water felt good on his sweaty face and it helped relax him even further. It was until the door opened with the dark brown colt entering the bathroom, that Singer started to feel better. But when he and the colt stood there face to face, the latter giving the former a mischievious look, Singer knew things were about to get ugly.

"I-I'm warning you... I know karate!" said Singer.

"Save it for somepony who's scared of losers! I didn't know you worked here. This is going to be fun! This restaraunt sucks, but now that I know that you work here, me and my pal have a reason to come here... every day... and mess with you!"

"Stand back!" said Singer, glaring at him and holding a plunger. "This thing's loaded!"

The colt grabbed the plunger and stuck the cup part of it to Singer's face.

"GROOOOOOOOSS!" said Singer, pulling the plunger off of his face. His rage was growing and rapidly intensifying ever dying second, spent in the bathroom with the jerk. He wanted to get even. He didn't care if he was on the clock or not. This... was... personal.

"That's it!" said Singer. "I've allowed bullies like you to push me around for far too long! It's time I put a stop to that!"

"What are you gonna do? Cry me to sleep?" laughed the bully.

"No... I'm going to rip you apart!" said Singer attacking the bully furiously.

He tackled him first, then punching him several times in the face. The colt was a bit stunnded by this, and was unable to move while Singer attacked him. He then grabbed the plunger and stuck it on top of his head, adding  insult to injury.

"Take that jerk!" said Singer dusting himself off and starting out the door.

As he reached for the door knob, he felt somepony grab his back hoof. This wasn't over. Singer turned his head back and saw that the bully had recovered. Having a malicious expression and holding the plunger in his left hoof, the bully stood up and pulled Singer back to him. 

"You're going to wish that you'd never been born, Stinker!"

Moments later the bruised up bully walked out of the bathroom. Not going unnoticed by Singer's boss, how long it had taken Singer to come out, he angrily marched into the bathroom and found Singer tied up with toilet paper, and wet with what the boss hoped was sink water. Either way, the boss became furious at Singer.

"So... harrassing the customers are we?"

"No sir" replied Singer. "He came after me, I swear!"

"Likely story!" said the boss. "That customer looked pretty beat up when he came out, and he didn't look that way when he walked in. Trust me, I would have noticed if a bruised up pony walked into my restaraunt!"

"It wasn't my fault! Honest truth!"

"Shut up and quit wasting my time! Clean yourself up, clean up this mess and get out of here, you're fired!"

Singer hung his head in shame as the boss stormed out of the bathroom. He had screwed up big time. He not only felt shame, but also feared what would happen when his dad found out. He wasn't looking forward to that encounter at all.

Later that evening Singer finally found the courage to come home. He had spent the last few hours in the Cloudsdale park, sitting alone. He couldn't be around anypony right now, not even Violet. He had hoped that his parents weren't waiting for him when he walked in. He rubbed his leg before he opened the door and walked into his house. At first when he entered, he couldn't see anypony, but as he walked further into the living room, he saw that his dad had been sitting on the couch, reading a news paper. Singer knew he was in for it when his father looked up at him with disapproving eyes.

"One job... you had one job and you managed to blow it!" said Briefs angrily.

"Dad, you weren't there okay?" 

"Don't speak! Listen. I have had about enough of your little excuses, Singer! Why couldn't you be more like Brawn? He took his jobs seriously and he didn't drop out of atheletics just because they were "too hard"."

"Is this about my job or are you still angry at me for quitting atheletics class?" countered Singer.

"Don't you dare question me, son!" snapped his father, while maintaning a low volume. "I am asking the questions. And I'm not going to tell you again to listen. And don't raise your voice, your mom is taking a nap!"

Singer flinched when his dad snapped at him and hung his head while he continued to chew him out.

"When are you going to learn responsibility? To take things seriously? To.... GROW UP? All you want to do is go out and have fun with Violet or... make corny or stupid jokes... or ask stupid questions all the time and now you've resorted to getting into fights?!? All of that energy that you have.... wasted on pointless fun!"

Singer's eyes began to water as his father's hurtful words started to sink in. How could he say things like that? All of that stuff was a part of who he was.

"What are you going to do with your life, Singer? Huh? Are you gonna go off and sing on the streets? Honestly as of right now that voice is the only thing you've got going for you right now because you seem to screw everything else up! And it isn't much!"

"Dad..." That was all that Singer could get out while trying to respond to his father. His eyes were more watery than a waterfall and his throat felt tighter than that suit that he had to wear to his cousin's wedding. He couldn't take it anymore, so he turned around and high tailed it to his room.

"Singer, don't you dare run off when I'm talking to...." he said as Singer rushed to his room and slammed his door. "That boy!"

"Briefs?" said Belle entering the living room, coming from her room, still wearing her robe. "What's going on in here?"

"Our brilliant son lost his job today."

"Oh no... is he okay?"

"Probably not after that talk that I just gave him."

"You didn't bring up atheletics again did you?" she asked with a cross tone.

"I might have..."

"Are you sure this is about his job or are you still taking out your disappointment on him?"

"It's about both... he needs to learn responsibility and to stop acting like a kid. He's seventeen years old now. Time for him to grow up!"

"Did it ever occur to you how upset he might be over losing that job? Huh? Or were you just so wrapped up in your disappapointment that you over looked that? He probably felt bad enough before you chimed in your words of 'wisdom'!"

"Honey, I was only doing what was best...."

"Dear, please... go to bed. Now... I'll go talk to our son."

"Fine" sighed Briefs as he walked toward his bed room, feeling a small amount of remorse for what he had said to his son.

Belle walked up to Singer's door and knocked a few times to try and get him to respond. When she didn't get an answer, she knocked again.

"Go away, dad! I don't want to talk to you anymore!"

"It's me" said Belle from the other side of the door.

"Are you going to yell at me too?"

"No. I just want to talk to you."

Moments later, Singer opened the door and allowed his mother to come in.

"Hey sunshine" Belle said to Singer. "Did you have a rough day today?"

"I've had better" said Singer, choking up.

"I'm sorry about your father. He didn't really mean all of those things that he said."

"I dunno, he seemed pretty convincing to me."

"He didn't... he's just grouchy because he has to deal with other ponies who act far worse than he did."

"You're taking his side?"

"No, it's just that your dad was just stressed out form work today is all. I'm sorry that you had to put up with that."

"It's fine, I'm used to it by now anyway..."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I've been picked on at school ever since I can remember. It's probably my punishment for not standing up for that filly all those years ago."

"Hey, you listen to me. It's not your fault, whoever picks on you is the one with the problem. You are my son and you are a great pony. Your optimism and good attitude is what puts a smile on my face every day. I'm sure Violet would back me up on this. And as far as that incident all those years ago, it's in the past. It's time to move on."

"You, Violet, and maybe Uncle Fender are my only true friends in this world." he said hugging his mother.

"That's not true. Your father and brother both love you too. It's just going to take time for them to come to their senses. They aren't as bright as you are."

"You always know what to say to cheer me up, mom."

"Learned it from your Grandma Joy. Oh I sure do miss her."

"Me too, but I'm sure she's smiling down on us right now."

"I know she is."

"Try to get some sleep. You need it. I'll try to talk to your boss tomorrow and see if there isn't something we can't work out. And more good news, tomorrow is Saturday!"

"Awesome! Thank goodness for the weekend!"

"Good night, son."

"Good night, mom."

"My Grandma Joy used to tell me that when things are looking down, look up and laugh at them and make them wonder what hit them in the face. My Grandma was funny like that. Though that day was rough, I knew I had a great mom and a great best friend that I can lean on. I really don't know where I'd be right now if it wasn't for my mom or any of my friends. Oops! Did I use the word friend as a plural word? Yes, that's right I do end up making more friends along the way, but that's for another time."

	
> This is OUR Night!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	As Singer stood in his room, straightening the collar of his new dress shirt for prom that night, he looked in the mirror admiring the view. Vanity wasn't something that Singer practiced often, but he couldn't help but like what he saw. He hoped that he would make an impression on a few mares and leave school on a positive note. Despite his excellent singing voice, his clumsiness and constant theme of getting picked on didn't really make him the most popular stallion in school, but he hoped that he could change that, but not just for him, but for Violet too. But his main focus was to just have fun with Violet. She was the one pony that he could lean on and he had been there for her countless times. They deserved to have fun.

Belle walked in as Singer had been trying to tie his red bow tie. It was the last thing he had to do, other than put on that flowery thing that most stallions wear on there suits. She chuckled as he struggled and struggled to tie it right.

"Wow, you sure do look handsome." she said.

"Thanks mom. I just can't seem to get this stupid bow tie tied!" He tried again, but getting his hooves tangled.

"Why don't you let a licensed mom help you out with that bow tie, instead of killing yourself over it?"

Singer shrugged and chuckled as his mom approached him to assist in tying his bow tie.

"So... you and Violet, huh? Are things getting serious between the two of you?"

"Aaaw mom, come on. We're just friends. Two friends going to prom together. That's not unusual, right?"

"Of course not. Before I met your father, my best friend was my date to my prom as well. I was kind of like you as a teenager. I never really dated anypony either... until I met your father, that is."

"Well, so far I am doing great just being single. I have the best friend that I could ever hope for, and the best mom I could ever want. The marefriend thing will happen when it happens."

"Knock knock" said another mare at the door. It was Brawn's fiance, Love Cloud. 

By now this time, Brawn and Love Cloud had known each other for a couple of years and had gotten engaged just weeks before this day. Love Cloud was a young school teacher at Cloudsdale High and one of Singer's teachers to boot. So Singer kind of felt weird having her in his room, even though she was his future sister-in-law.

"Hey Miss Cloud." said Singer. "What a pleasant surprise..."

"My, my you look handsome." she complimented.

"Thank you."

"And you don't have to call me Miss Cloud outside of school, Singer. Especially since you're going to be my new brother in a few months."

"Well, that's going to be fun..." he chuckled.

"Once you graduate, you'll be fine with it all." she returned. "I understand how having your teacher hanging around all of the time can be uncomfortable."

"Well, I do like you a whole lot more than I like my brother... he he..."

"You're so funny!" said Love Cloud. "Well, I just wanted to come by and see you guys before I headed off to the prom. I didn't know you were going to go too, Singer."

"Well I wasn't... but I kind of asked Violet to be my date, so... yeah... I guess I'm going."

"Remember to just have fun, Singer." reminded Belle.

"Thanks Mom. You are the greatest!"

"Don't you think you should get going so you can fly with Violet to the prom?" said Love.

"Oh... shoot! I gotta go! Bye mom, say hi to my dumb brother for me, Love!"

"Okay, I will!" said Love, giggling.

Singer marched along the cloudy streets of Cloudsdale. The sun was getting ready to set, and the streets were getting darker. The lights along the path to Violet's house were like a pathway and he was following them accordingly. It wasn't a long walk, so he didn't really feel the need to fly there. 

Singer had reached her house and nervously approached the door. Why was he so nervous, for? Was it because it was the prom? Was he nervous that Violet would change her mind? Singer didn't know. But he was nervous for some reason. It wasn't like he was going on a date or anything. Okay, focus on having a good night. He knocked and anxiously awaited a response.

Just then, the door opened and her little brother, Rain was on the other side. He had grown up quite a bit over the years. He was now eight years old and a rotten little colt, he had become.

"Oh hey, Singer" said the colt. "Violet's up stairs. You can come in, if you want."

"Thank you Rain." said Singer as he walked inside. After walking in, he had probably stood at the door for ten minutes before Violet finally started walking down the stairs.

She looked amazing. She wore a fancy sparkly blue dress and she had her mane up in a bun plus a bit of makeup. She walked down stairs nervously and in that same modest fashion that she usually did. Violet wasn't a very show off-ish mare and preferred to keep it all modest. But that didn't stop Singer from seeing how pretty she looked. Rain stood beside him and elbowed him in the side because, according to him Singer had been staring at her.

"Mm-mm" grunted Rain, protectively.

"Oops... sorry, little buddy." said Singer. 

"Oh Rain, go play with your toys, and quit acting like dad" laughed Violet.

"Alright, but I'm watching you mister!" said Rain making an "I'm watching you" gesture with his hoof at Singer..

Singer and Violet just stood there laughing for a minute before Violet began talking.

"So, do I look okay?"

"You look great, Violet. Beautiful, actually. I guess friends can say that about each other."

"I think it's okay, Singer. If it helps, you look handsome in your suit as well."

"Thank you, Violet. I do look rather awesome, don't I?"

Violet then giggled and nodded in agreement.

"So... shall we be off then? We wouldn't want to get there and it be over." she said.

"Oh... yes... sorry. Yes, let us go!"

Singer opened the door for her as they left the house and he followed after her out. They both spread their wings and flew off to the school for the prom, not failing to engage in another conversation along the way.

"You ready?" said Violet.

"Oh yeah" said Singer. "By the way, that's a... um... nice dress. Where did you get it? If you don't mind me asking."

"My mom wore this to her prom. Where she first danced with my dad. So this dress is very special to me, and I'm glad that I got to wear it."

"I'm sure your mom would be very proud to have you wear it, Violet."

"Thank you."

"Violet, I just want to thank you again for agreeing to come with me. I probably wouldn't have if you weren't."

"It was my pleasure. I kind of wanted to try to go this year, anyway. When you asked me to come with you, I had to say yes. Especially since I'm going with my bestest friend in all of Equestria."

"Aaaaaaw thank you. Tell you, what... today let's make this our night! We don't take any bull from any pony and we go out there and have fun! Take chances, make mistakes and if it comes down to it, get messy!"

"Sounds like a plan, Singer!" she giggled. "We could even crash the party if we have to."

"Let's not get too carried away, my friend." chuckled Singer.

They both flew through the night sky until they reached the well lit school building for the prom. Several ponies, along with them, were just now arriving so they knew that they were just in time. Singer and Violet were both feeling the excitement rise up inside them as they both got closer to getting inside. At the door, Singer walked ahead so that he could open the door for Violet. As they both walked through the school, they viewed all of the decorations and banners that had adourned the walls. The place looked festive enough. As they found the gym, they saw the other ponies from school inside, dancing and having a good time. Violet studied the room, making sure that none of those bullies were around, also feeling a bit of tension and fear and it showed in her features. Singer looked over at her, not failing to notice this. He didn't waste any time expressing his concern.

"Violet? Is everything okay?" he asked.

"I'm... just nervous, is all. Now that I'm here it just feels a bit..."

"Scary?" 

"Yeah..."

Singer then reached over and grabbed her hoof without a second thought. He wasn't thinking about it, and apparently neither was she because she looked back up at him with a smile.

"Hey now. Remember something. This is OUR night, Violet. Nopony can tell us what to do. It's like, an adventure. Who knows what we are going to find? Danger, excitement, who knows maybe even love? Although I'm not quite sure about that last one."

Violet giggled a bit, before Singer tugged on her hoof, trying to help her gradually enter the room. She didn't protest, walking along with him, slowly out to the dance floor. Each step became easier for the both of them as Violet began to loosen up. They had other pegasai dancing around them. None of them seemed to pay the pair any mind. Perfect.

Singer smiled at her all the while, encouraging her so that way they could dance together. Violet looked into his eyes and felt comfort. She then embraced him for a second, the back of her head now against the back of his. Singer wasn't sure what the hug was for, but he didn't protest it. He only returned it.

"Thank you" she whispered into his ear. "If it wasn't for you, I'd have never gotten this far."

"That's what I'm here for, Violet. You've been there for me several times, I've been there for you, it's what friends are for."

"You're the best friend anypony could ever ask for."

After she said that, his heart began to beat at a rapid pace. He didn't know why he was doing this, but it felt good so he didn't fight it. It wasn't until Violet backed away slightly that the moment stopped. Her looking up at him, with a small smile once again.

"Are you ready to dance now?" she asked.

"Yes" he replied.

"Do you know how to? I can kind of guide you if you need any help, knowing what to do..."

"Oh... um... yes. I'm not quite sure what to do."

"It's okay, my cousin showed me how to do it... well okay I watched him and his marefriend dance, but I suppose that counts as showing me how." She then giggled. She was starting to have fun now, much to Singer's joy. "Now put your hooves around my waist, and I put my hooves on your shoulders."

"Are you sure that's how it goes?" he said nervously.

"Well that's how every pony else is doing it. See?" she said pointing to the other couples on the floor.

"Oh... I see... alright then."

Singer and Violet immediately got close together, him putting his hoofs at her waist and him putting her hooves over his shoulders and they began to slowly dance around the room. Only looking at each other. Unlike the other coupled dancers, Singer and Violet didn't really watch where they were going. That part had escaped their minds. But at the moment they were fine. 

"So... anything exciting happening for you?" she asked him.

"Um... not much. Mom tried to get me my job back, but apparently the boss up at the restaraunt doesn't like me, so she got shown the door. I feel bad for her. I messed up and let her and my dad down."

"It's alright, Singer. You made a mistake but if what you told me is the truth, and I don't doubt that it is, you were defending yourself. I'm sure they understand."

"My mom does. My dad? Well... he's hard to please. I've never been able to do anything right in his eyes."

"He'll come around. I know he will."

"I like your optimism. But enough about me, what about you?"

"Well remember a while back, I said I wanted to re-open my mom's flower shop?"

"Oh yeah, I remember that!"

"Well, I talked to my dad about it, and he liked the idea. I get the keys to the store after I graduate!"

"That's great news, Violet!"

"I know! I'm so excited! And anything new on your singing career?"

"No... not yet." 

He sort of lied there. He and his uncle Fender had been talking about leaving Cloudsdale and going to Las Pegasus after Singer was done with school. He wasn't sure if he was going to do it at this point, yet. But he knew that if it were to materialize, that he'd have to tell her eventually.

"Don't worry, something will open up."

"Yeah, I know. But I'm not worried about it right now. Especially at this moment."

Just then, the music was cut. Everypony looked up at the stage as the lights, which had been turned off were now turned back on, outshining the colored lights that had been turned on to light the room.

"Alright fillies and gentlecolts! Better get that groove on, because it's time for a fast paced dance!"

"Wait, what?" said Singer.

"Each of you prepare to start a swinging!"

A band got up on the stage and started to play a song called "Shake your Groove Thing".

Singer and Violet watched nervously as the other couples started to dance rapidly around them. Their forms had completely changed as they hopped around the dance floor with each other. Singer and Violet were probably the only pair, not doing it. Neither of them knew how to do it.

It wasn't until Violet grabbed Singer's hoof, catching him completely by surprise and pulle him close to her.

"This is our night, Singer. Time to make the most of it!"

Singer's features expressed a slight shock in Violet's aggressiveness to this situation. But the surprise was a pleasant one.

"May I have this dance, milady?" He said at last.

"I thought you'd never ask!" She giggled.

At first, they did the dance moves that every pony else was doing. Singer's left hoof was back at Violet's waste, while Violet's right hoof was back at Singer's shoulder. Singer and Violet's other hooves up in the air together, as they danced together across the floor like the others. However they broke the status quo, when Singer twirled Violet around and caught her while she fell back, not letting her hit the ground.

"Where did you learn to dance like that?" she asked, still being held up by Singer.

"I have no idea!" he said, picking her up and tossing her in the air, allowing her to glide with her wings all the way to the other side of the room. 

He flapped his wings to join her at the other side of the room.

This didn't go unnoticed by the other ponies. They watched as the two friends continued their crazy dancing.

"I don't think that they expected that." He told Violet.

"I didn't either." She giggled. 

As the song ended,  Singer and Violet took a break and went to get some punch. As they did, though they both found themselves being swarmed by a group of other ponies. This kind of made Singer uneasy, Violet as well.

"Look guys, we don't want any trouble. Me and my friend here are just wanting to have a fun night is all."

"Relax" said a red stallion. "We're not here to give you trouble. We're here to say that you have mad skills! The both of you"

"I agree" said a prissy mint green mare, one of the popular kids in school. "Impressive for a couple of nerds."

"Um... thanks?" Singer replied.

"Have a good night, you two. Enjoy the rest of the prom." The red stallion said as the rest of them scattered.

"That was.... something." said Singer.

"Indeed" replied Violet. "I don't think we've ever been complimented before. Not here."

"I am cautiously optimistic."

"As am I."

As the night was starting to wind down and the prom coming to a close, it was time to announce the king and queen of the prom. As the votes were counted, the results were put in an enevelope and handed to the principal of the school by Love Cloud, who then returned to her seat.

"Okay everypony" said the principal, holding the envelope up in the air. "Voting for prom king and queen has been closed and the results are in."

The ponies all began to clap their hooves and cheer as they awaited the big unveiling of the king and queen. Everypony's eyes were glued to the stage with anticipation. Singer and Violet were no different. They didn't expect to get any votes, but they were still anxious to see who would get it.

"This is actually the most surprising turn out ever! I mean no offense to the pair I am about to call out, but I never would have guessed this, but..."

"JUST SAY IT!" yelled several ponies, not just students but a few teachers as well.

"Alright already! Sheesh!" said the principal reading the paper. "Violet Petals is our prom queen!"

"WHAT?!?" said Violet in shock. "H-how?"

"Come on up on stage, Violet!" said the principal.

Singer walked with her. He was just as surprised as she was, probably not as much because of her facial expression the whole time. Violet then snapped out of it and nervously flew the rest of the way to the stage. She smiled nervously as she walked up to the principal to recieve her crown.

"Congratulations, Violet." he said to her, as he put the crown on her head.

"Thank you." she said modestly. Still amazed at what had just happened.

She then looked over at Singer who gave her a look that expressed pride in her accomplishment. Once she saw his smile, she was ready to accept what had just happened. This was really happening.

"And our prom king is..."

Singer, stood there laughing, while everyone else stared intently. "As if it's going to be me." 

"Singer Case! Singer is this year's prom king!"

A look of shock now adourned Singer's face before he spoke his next words. "What the..." was all he could say as he walked up to the stage.

This couldn't have been happening... could it? Singer and Violet were never that popular. So how did they win? It was a mystery to them.

As Singer was crowned, he thanked the principal as Violet had. The principal exited off of the stage and that same red stallion from earlier came back up and took the microphone again.

"So how about it, every pony?" he said as the others cheered. "I bet you two are wondering how this happened."

"Yes. I thnk we are wondering." admitted Singer.

"Well, this year we all decided to vote for someponies who don't get a lot of attention. Someponies who may have had it rough these past few years at school. It's not out of sympathy, don't take it like that. It's out of respect. Especially after the way you two were dancing out there on the dance floor tonight. Despite all of the drama you two have put up with, we all decided to make it all worth it."

"Wow..." said Singer. "Th-thanks. I... certainly never expected this..."

"You deserve it, brotha. Good job!"

Singer and Violet stood there, blushing. Cheeks as red as cherries. They honestly were at a loss for words and didn't really say much for the rest of the prom, other than a few thank yous over the microphone. Singer and Violet then grabbed each other's hooves and held them. This was a first for them as well. They both began to blush even more when they realized what they were doing, and let go.

"Sorry about that" he said.

"Oh... it's... okay..." she replied.

Later that night, Singer and Violet found themselves back at Violet's front door. Both of them over thier shock. Their night had been great, and what had happened at the prom was totally unexpected.

"Well, my queen... I hope you had a great night."

"I did. Did you, your highness?" she joked.

"I wouldn't have had it with anypony else. Thanks for coming with me."

"Thanks for asking me."

"We sure did have a blast didn't we?"

"Probably among the best nights I've ever had, Singer. Especially since I got to spend it with you!"

"Likewise."

"Would you like to come in for a little bit?" she asked.

"Oh, I better not. Thank you though. I should probably think about getting home before my parents start to worry."

"Oh... right." she said disappointedly. "Okay then. I suppose I will see you tomorrow then."

"Bet on it." he said giving her a hug. "Good night, Violet."

Without giving it a second thought, she kissed Singer on the cheek and then smiled at him. "Good night." She then went inside.

Singer didn't stand there but for a few seconds, but what Violet had did surprised him. What was that for? He wondered... maybe it was just to show appreciation for the great night. He  then put that thought aside as he spread his wings and flew off into the sky, and headed for home.

As Violet walked through her house, she saw that Rain had fallen asleep on the couch. She walked over to him and patted his head. She then turned around and saw her dad standing behind her.

"Daddy?" said Violet. "You're still up?"

"Yep. How'd it go, sugar bear?" replied her father, using his little nickname for her. He was a brown pegasus stallion with a small moustache, and a black mane and tail. 

"It was a great night. Me and Singer had a blast dancing tonight. We even won prom king and queen!"

"Whoa, how'd you two get so popular all of a sudden?"

"It's a long story. But it was an amazing night."

"I'm glad." He said. "I saw you two out there, just a second ago. You planted a wet one on his cheek. Do you like him?"

Violet's cheeks grew red at the mention of that.

"Dad! We've been friends since we were six, of course I like him."

"You know that's not what I meant, Violet."

"I know..." said Violet. "The more time I spend with him, the more and more I find myself wanting to be with him. Dad..."

"Yes baby?" he replied.

"I... think I might be having a crush on him..."

"Really? I never would have guessed." He said in a sarcastic tone, chuckling while his daughter glared at him. "Just kidding, baby girl. Well, I hope that he returns the feelings. You never know how us stallions can be. Some are bright and can tell if a mare likes them, and some can be quite ignorant to it. Just make sure that you don't try to move too fast on him until you know that he likes you in that way too. Trust me. There is nothing more terrifying to a stallion than when a mare, seemingly randomly expresses feelings for them."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, among one of the most terrifying things. But yeah. You don't have to listen to me. I'm full of it sometimes, but that's just how I'd do it."

"I'm just happy that we are as close as we are for now. I mean, I really really like him. But... if he doesn't get it right now, that's fine. I'm not so certain that I'm ready to go steady anyway."

"You're a smart mare, Violet. I know you'll make the right choices."

"Thanks daddy." she said hugging him. "Well I'm going to go to bed now. I love you. Good night."

"Good night, Violet." said her father as he too headed off to his room.

"If only I would have known how strongly she felt about me that day. Me? I was pretty blind. In my heart, I felt something there as well. But unlike Violet, I ignored it. Would I ever come through? Well, we'll just have to wait and see."


> The Last Straw!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a dark night, not just because of the night sky, but because of what had transpired during that fateful day. Singer felt lost, and that the only way out of this was to leave. He didn't want to stay home anymore. Not after what they, his own family members, had said to him. For the first time in his life, Singer didn't feel like talking. Not to any pony. Not even Violet could change his mind at this point, he knew he had to leave. The only one who was with him was his uncle Fender, who had thought up the idea to leave Cloudsdale and go to Las Pegasus to persue their careers in music. Singer had been on edge about leaving home, but knew he would have to evenutally. But he didn't want to leave like this.

While they waited for the right time to take off and head for the nearest train station, they were stopped. Belle had found them, thankfully. Singer was happy that his mother decided to come and be there, he needed to speak to her. He knew she'd show up because she, unlike her father and brother, she was the one family member he could count on to always be there and to always support him no matter what; or in other cases, to help him.

"Singer!" she cried out. "Wait! I got your note, are you serious? Are you really going to leave?"

"Yes..." he replied with a bit of regret in his tone. "I can't stay here any more, mom. I just can't... not while..." Singer almost broke out in tears there. He didn't want to leave his mom behind, and he especially didn't want to leave Violet alone. But his heart had been shattered that day. Any hope to earn the respect of his father and brother had been pretty much dashed at this point, as far as he could tell. She ran up to him and hugged him like she would never get to see him again, he gladly returned the gesture. He was already far bigger than she was, but that didn't take away the feeling that she had of holding him as a baby in her arms again.

"Singer..." was all she could get out as she too started to cry, while holding her youngest son. 

As she and Singer both stood there in embrace, Singer's mind went back to the events of earilier in the day, both as a reminder of what had happened, but also why he had to leave.

-----------


It was a bright and sunny day in Cloudsdale, and the wedding planning and preparations had been done and over with. Brawn and Love Cloud were as excited as ever, and both waiting with anticipation for their big day to kick off. Brawn had been waiting anxiously for the ceremony to start. He wanted to see her, but it was bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, or at least that's what he'd always heard. He wanted this day to go perfectly, and so far it was going as such.

Singer wasn't particularly excited about that day, but none-the-less, he was happy for his brother. Love Cloud was one of his favorite teachers and the fact that he'd be able to call her a part of his family excited him. She was a great mare, and one he could trust. It was an honor to be there and witness her marry his own flesh and blood.

He had tried to distance himself from everypony though, in order to keep mishaps from happening, as accident prone as he was. His father had made it perfectly clear to him, that he wanted him to stay out of the way. He hadn't liked the way his father adressed him about it, in fact he wanted to give him a piece of his mind. If it had been any pony other than his own father, he might have. But although Briefs showed little respect to Singer, he still tried his best to respect him.

Singer would not be without good company, though. Singer's mother had given him permission to invite Violet to accompany him as a guest. For this, he was grateful. Violet was a big help to him, she'd kept him company and talked to him about the usual things in order to keep him from losing his mind. He couldn't help but notice that she was dressed in a really nice gown, not like the one she had wore to prom, but it was still nice. He even thought she looked exceptionally pretty, even telling her directly what he thought of the dress and how it looked on her.

Violet's face turned red as she blushed from the comment he had made. She took the compliment well as she nudged him playfully and smiled in acceptance. She was falling head over hooves for him, and she knew it. Singer, though strongly aware of something changing between the two of them, was oblivious to what was going on inside Violet's head and her heart. This wasn't unnoticed, but she hoped that he would eventually see it, so they could both reveal their true feelings for each other. She wanted to tell him, but she was unsure at how he would recieve it at this juncture. But for now, she was okay with being his friend, they had survived this long being friends, and they would continue to do so.

As the family members conversed amongst each other, a few of them would poke fun and make jokes with Brawn, a few of them pointing at Singer. He couldn't hear them, but he knew they were probably making fun of him. He didn't let it bother him, though, at least not to the point where he felt anger. Violet, who was standing beside him could tell that he was getting a bit tense, and decided to try and comfort him a bit.

"Singer? Hey buddy are you okay?"

"I'm fine... I just... I'm glad that you are here with me. You always know how to make me feel better."

Violet smiled at this and put her hoof on his shoulder; he looked back at her and smiled. However their little moment was turned into about fifteen seconds when Brawn came up behind them.

"BOO!" he shouted, followed by a small manly laugh.

"Oh... Brawn... hey..." said Singer, a bit startled.

"Keeping out of trouble, squirt?"

"Doing my... best to..." chuckled Singer.

"He's not going to be any trouble" put in Violet. 

"Oh I know he won't" said Brawn. "Because he knows, that if he does, he's gonna be in big trouble with me and the old man."

Singer looked down with a saddened face, then looked back up with pointed eye brows, expressing a tiny bit of anger towards his brother. "I will behave as long as everypony leaves me alone, and I won't cause trouble."

"Sheesh, bro... take a chill pill, I was only kidding around!"

"I... sorry... I didn't wake up very good today..."

"Eeeh don't worry about it. It's all good. Enjoy the ceremony, little brother."

Brawn turned and walked off in another direction immediately after he said that. Singer was a bit skeptical of his niceness, just now.

"Wow" said Violet. "That was... interesting. He was really friendly to you just now."

"Probably just an act since he's about to get married and such. But I do think he was serious about what he said about me messing things up."

"Don't listen to him. He's just being the same egomaniac that he's always been."

"Might want to lower your voice, this is his day after all." Singer, noted.

"Ooops... sorry..." she whispered, throwing in a bit of a sheepish smile, cheeks blushing with embarrassment.

"Though I can't say I disagree with you" he whispered back to her.

Minutes later, everypony was filing in the main room for the ceremony, and went to take their seats. The room was nice, and decorated in the typical wedding decor. The pony behind the pipe organ appeared to be enjoying his job a little too well as he started playing way too soon. Briefs had to fly over to the organ and smack him in the head to get him to stop. Singer and Violet took their places in the seats and awaited the arrival of the lovely bride.

Brawn stood at the altar, with his father as the best stallion and Uncle Fender both standing beside him. Brawn was evidently nervous, given the serious expression he had on his face and the small beads of sweat coming from under his mane. Singer could tell most of these features from where he sat, and couldn't help but feel the same way as he was now lead to think about what his wedding would be like and how nervous he'd be waiting for his bride-to-be coming down the aisle. He knew that it would be a long ways away from that time though, and there would be pleanty of times to work up the nerves for something like that... But perhaps maybe that's what Brawn thought as well.

The faces of everypony turned when the lovely bride, also known as Love Cloud began walking down the aisle. She looked very lovely in her long white wedding gown. She had a viel, flowers in her hair, which was rolled up in a bun. Brawn watched her as she came down the aisle. The big brute had turned into a big softie at the very sight of his love coming toward him with a warm smile. It was like nopony else in the room mattered but her. As harsh as that sounded, it was partially true in that instance. The two never fixed their eyes off of each other.

"Wow..." whispered Violet as she witnessed this. She was enjoying the sight of this. Most everypony else could see it as well, Singer not excluded... at least to an extent anyway. But Violet, joining with everypony else watched as the elegant light green mare continued on down the aisle to her beaming fiance. Violet tried to imagine herself in her place, with Singer where Brawn was standing. The very thought of it made her excited, she almost giggled at it. She quickly snapped out of it when she became conscious of her actions, but luckily no pony else was looking at her.

As she finally reached the altar, she was now standing face to face with Brawn. The two looked into each other's eyes and their thoughts deep into the moment. Both were very much in the moment, and knew that they were right for each other.

"Dearly beloved we gather here today to witness the unity of Brawn and Love Cloud in the eternal bond of holy matrimony" began the priest. "If anypony feels that these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace!"

Nopony said a word.

"Brawn, do you take Love Cloud to be your lawful wedded wife for better or for worse, for rich or poor, in sickness and in health til death do you part?"

"I do" he said, followed by an excited giggle from his bride.

"And Love, do you take Brawn to be your lawful wedded husband for better or for worse, for rich or for poor, in sickness and in health til death do you part?"

"I do" she returned and glanced back up at Brawn who now had a big sideways smile going on.

"Well... then by the power invested in me, I no pronounce you husband and wife... mare and colt, however you wanna say it."

They both laughed lightly before they leaned in for a kiss. It was a pretty magical moment for the two, and everypony there was happy, giving their applaus while the newly married couple stood in front of their friends and family. 

Singer, despite all that had happened between he and Brawn, was among the happiest of all the witnesses. He had little realization of how much he loved his older brother, and how happy he was for him until that moment. He was about to take it upon himself to make sure that he had the best post-wedding reception ever. Would that be such a good idea? His father did tell him to stay out of the way, but he wanted to prove himself and do something right by his brother for once.

At the reception, everypony took their seats at their designated tables and waited for the married couple to cut the cake. Singer sat in his seat, anxiously waiting for an opportunity to help in some way or form. Violet, who was sitting with him, noticed his facial expression and her curiosity was awakened. Usually when he had made this face, he was about to do something a little crazy.

"Singer? Are you alright?"

"I'm great!" he said excitedly. "Thinking of ways to help out here and show my family that I'm not a total screw up."

"How do you plan on doing that, exactly?" she asked cautiously.

"I'm going find some way to do something helpful and I'm going to do it right. He's my brother and he and his wife deserve nothing but the best on this day."

"Singer... I don't know about this."

"Do you not believe I can do it?"

"It's not that, it's just I think maybe you're thinking about all of this way too much." 

"Oh please..." he scoffed. "I'm going to..."

"Singer... please think more clearly about this. I don't want to see you get hurt again."

"But you just said that I was putting way too much thought into it."

"I know I did, but... maybe a little further thought about the potential dangers of trying to butt in somewhere where you're not needed."

"Huh..." he said dejectedly. "I never... thought about that. Good point, Violet."

"I'm sure just being here and being supportive of him will be enough. And staying out of trouble will do you some good by your father. Sitting here minding your own business would be the best way to do so."

"I guess that's true. But I am at least going to walk over there and congratulate him."

Violet only nodded in response to this. What harm could come from this, right?

Singer excused himself and began to make his way over to the happy newly weds. As he trotted over to them, somepony stuck their hoof out to trip him, succeeding. He gathered himself up and looked around to see who had done it. But he remembered that he was at a wedding reception, so he decided to let it go. However when he turned around to continue over to Brawn, he found that his left back hoof had been tied to the nearby table he was standing at, but realized too late for when he made that step the table slid forward, spilling everypony who was sitting at the table's drinks all over their fancy clothing.

"Singer! You clutz!" said a stallion, grabbing a napkin and wiping off his clothes that were now stained with punch.

"I'm sorry, sir. I really am. I don't know how this happened."

"Save it! I know exactly what happened, that stupidity of yours is acting up again."

The rage inside Singer, building up in the words that he just spoke to him was rapidly building up. Almost to the point where he couldn't take it anymore. The disrespect he had gotten from so many ponies over the years was starting to build up in his mind and he couldn't contain the anger from it all any longer. He grabbed the stallion by the coat and pulled him closer to him, glaring at him. Singer had never done anything like this before. He'd never been angry like this before, either.

He then began to speak in a soft, but growling angry voice. "Listen, you... I've had enough of other ponies putting me down like that. I am not stupid and I am not a clutz! You just have your saddle in such a twist, that you'd rather nit pick at me than focus on your own short comings. You're no different than all of the other shallow hypocrites who point and laugh at me, just because they can. So why don't you just sit back down, enjoy your punch, get over the punch stains and enjoy the wedding, huh?"

The stallion, now frightened only nooded in response as Singer released him. He then looked around, seeing everypony else staring at him. He first looked toward Violet, who's features expressed concern and worry for her friend, but when he turned his head to his father, his features expressed fury and anger, as well as lack of surprise at what was happening. Brawn looked rather surprised, as did his newly wed wife, however Brawn too turned angry at this sight as well. He didn't see his mother, but he knew she was there somewhere, he just didn't take the time to single her out. He couldn't. Violet's, Briefs', Brawn's, and Love Cloud's stares of disappointment were enough, he couldn't bare to find out what his mother had been thinking at that moment.

His face red with embarassment, he started to make his way out of the room, not realizing that his foot was still tied to the table. After dragging the table a couple of inches, he bit the rope with his own teeth, snapping it in half and walked out. He didn't stop when Violet tried to call for him. He just kept going.

Singer's father gathered himeself mentally and looked around at the other ponies who were at the wedding. "Words cannot describe how sorry I am for my son's behaviour today. But know that I will take care of this problem, and I will pay for the damages that he caused during his little tantrum here today. But, let's not make this all about that. Let's get back to celebrating, shall we?" he said before heading off in the direction that his son went. Briefs angrily trotted towards the door, looking to go confront his son, however he was stopped midway by Violet. 

"Mr. Case, it wasn't his fault. Honestly."

"Not now, Miss Petals." he said manuvering around her and walking out the door, leaving Violet standing there and basically feeling helpless at this juncture.

Outside, Singer had been kicking the cloud dust under his hooves, feeling great remorse for letting his anger get the better of him, but anger towards the stallion and everypony else who gave him fits remained. He then paused from his action when his father, who had flown the short distance between him and the building, landed right behind him, glaring at him. Singer wanted to run, but he knew that it wouldn't help. It was time to face the music.

"Why? Of all the days, you decide to screw something up. Why did you pick today, huh? Are you really THAT jealous of your brother? Why can't you be like normal..."

"Hello to you too, dad."

"Answer my question!"

Okay, you asked for it....

"I am NOT normal, dad! I never have been, and I never will be! So you are just going to have to get over yourself!"

"Watch your mouth!" he said shaking a hoof at him.

"No! I'm so sick and tired of you putting me down, making me look like a bad kid! I have tried my hardest to impress you, but you are making it so freaking impossible! The whole time in there, you looked at me like you were expecting me to mess something up. But did you try to help me keep that from happening? NO! I'm starting to think you like yelling at me!" He couldn't take it anymore. What was said, had to be said. The hurt and insult he had felt from his father, whether intentional or not, over the years had finally taken it's toll.

"That's not true and you know it!" said his father, now a bit hurt.

"Is it? Is it, dad? You've never taken the time to get to know me. The only time you ever paid me much mind was when I was doing what you wanted me to do, and the only one you ever cared about was Brawn because he was the one living up to your expectations. And most of this is because I didn't stick with atheletics in school. You had one atheletic son, but for some reason that wasn't good enough for you. Did you know that I got my cutie mark in the FIRST GRADE? The first grade, dad! I was one of the first few in my class to have a cutie mark, but you never acknowledged that. I was prom king, but not even that was enough to impress you."

"Son... I..." began his father remorsefully, about to apologize until his pride began to take control. "wish you would grow up. All of that stuff is irrelevant. You have been nothing short of a clown since you were a kid, which I don't get. Why don't you just grow up?"

"This is about those snobby co-workers of yours, isn't it? They can't face facts that one of their own actually has a kid with charisma and personality and is actually NICE to other ponies..."

"Oh yeah, what you did in there was real nice!"

"Shut up dad! Just shut up! If you are going to care more about what some lame-os at work think, more than you do your own son, than maybe I don't want to be your son anymore! In fact, I don't even want to know you anymore."

"What? Are you kidding me?" said his father, outraged. "You know what? Fine! Keep acting like an immature brat! I don't need one of those as a son, anyway!" He then, turned around and flew rapidly back inside.

"You were never supposed to be born anyway" said a voice from behind him. Brawn had followed his father outside. Apparently he too had had enough of Singer's "antics".

"What?" said Singer, recognizing the voice and was now even more hurt. He then looked to his left to see his approaching brother meet him outside.

"You were a mistake. You weren't planned. Our parents never wanted a second child, but when you were born... everything changed."

"You're making this up..."

"I am not. And don't bother disbelieving it or saying I don't know, because I was there."

"Well so what. Maybe you and...him didn't want me, but I know somepony who does... actually three someponies." By three, he was referring to Violet, his mother and his uncle.

"Brawn! Stop talking, right now!" said another surprise voice. It was his uncle, Fender.

"Singer's been through enough drama today. Go back in there and enjoy your bride's company before you say something else, you'll regret saying later. This is your day, don't ruin it by being a jerk."

Brawn didn't say anything else, he just turned around, flapped his wings and went back inside as well.

"You alright, brah?"

"No... I'm not. But thank you. At least one fellow stallion in this family isn't a complete jerk."

"Well, I try to be a good example, thought it doesn't always work out." He chukled. "But don't pay any attention to what they said, alright? They didn't mean it."

"I have to disagree, Fender. They did mean it. It's for the best, anyway..."

"Why do you say that?"

"Remember our plans to leave for Las Pegasus?"

"Yeah..."

"Let's go tonight... as soon as possible! I've had enough of both of them and it's time for me to move on from this town."

"You sure about this?"

"Yeah... dad wants me to grow up, my brother obviously doesn't care whether I exist or not. I do not belong here. Not right now. It's time to move on, in life. We've got talent to share in the music industry and you're not getting any younger..."

"Hey..."

Singer lightly chuckled before continuing."I just want to get out of here."

"What about your mom, or Violet?" pointed Fender.

"It's not easy leaving them, but I have to. I can't stay here any longer. Believe me, leaving here isn't easy, but it has to be done. I've put up with everything here long enough."

Fender nodded in agreement and didn't say much else, other than for him to meet him at the edge of town later that night and that both his mom and Violet deserve a bit of notice before he left.

Later, while at home he was gathering his belongings, grabbing everything he could stuff into his bag. Tears falling from his face all the while. He had to do this while nopony was home, and right now was the time to do it. He then reluctantly wrote a letter to his mother. As he wiped his tears, he wrote:

Dear Mom,

I am sorry for everything that happened today, it was irresponsible of me and I do feel great remorse for my actions. 

And I also want you to know that, I can no longer stay here either. The weight that dad has been piling upon me since I was younger has finally broken me, and it's time for me to leave. I can't handle it any longer. This is the hardest thing, I've ever done but I have to do it. I cannot be myself while I am here, not that I don't appreciate your efforts. I do. I just can't do it anymore.

I also hate to ask this of you, but could you please tell Violet that I am sorry as well? This is very hard for me to leave her, the only friend that I've ever had. I love her and I will miss her, but I can't tell her to her face that I am leaving and besides, she's got plans for her life and I can't ask her to come with me. And I will try to come back to see her as soon as I can, same goes for you too, mom.

I just want you to know that no matter what happens, you will always be my mom and I will always love you. I'm your little boy forever.

If you can manage, I'd like to see you one last time before I leave.
-----------------------------------------------------------

As Singer stood there, embracing his loving mother in the moon light both of them shedding tears. She reached for his hoof and held it tight as she looked up at her son.

"You've grown up, Singer. I just want you to know how proud I am of you and all you've done while you were here. I love you, my son and I always will, no matter where you are or where you may go or what you do with your life. Just promise me something."

"Anything, mom."

"Do not change. I've always loved your enthusiasm, your funny jokes, your energy, all of it. It's a part of who you are." She pushed him back a bit while they hugged so she could make eye contact with him while she said this.

"Thank you, mom. You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that." 

"You're welcome, and I will talk to Violet for you. I know how hard all of this must be for you. But please don't take what your father said to you to heart, Singer. He didn't mean it, he really does love you and cares about you. Your brother loves you as well."

"I wish I could believe that, mom. But I don't think they care."

"Maybe someday, they'll show you otherwise."

"Yeah... maybe."

Fender had been standing beside them, the whole time wiping tears of his own. His bag, his guitar case and everything else at his side. But time for visiting was almost over, they had a train to catch in the town, below them.

"Singer, Belle, it's time..." he said softly.

Belle tightly hugged Singer one last time, before letting him go ultimately. Singer then walked over to his uncle, who was about to make the plunge down to the nearest train station, to join him. When they jumped and used their wings for balance, Fender's load nearly turned him upside down, but Singer helped keep the heavy side stable so Fender wouldn't hurt himself, and they were on their way down... a place that neither of them had been in a long time.As she stood at the edge of Cloudsdale, watching as the two stallions flew down with their loads, she began to cry. But she was thankful that she got to see him off before he left. However, there was still  only one thing that remained for her to do... tell Violet everything.

It wasn't an easy conversation, but Belle had explained everything to Violet in the privacy of Singer's room when she came over to see how he was doing. She explained to her how it wasn't just the wedding incident that did it for him, making him want to leave, it was basically everything. Violet had understood this as well, seeing as how she and Singer told each other everything. A few tears trickled down Violet's cheeks, as Belle told her why he left without saying goodbye. She took it a lot harder than she expected her to.

"I know this is a stupid question, but are you alright?" asked Belle of Violet.

"No, Mrs Case. I'm anything but fine with this. You see, I have a secret. One that only my brother and my dad knows of, regarding your son and me."

"Care to share?" 

"I like him... like, like like him. I've had a crush on him for... let's just say a really long time. Him leaving breaks my heart." she could barely get that last part out before she started to sob.

Belle moved closer to Violet and pulled her in for a hug. "I'm sorry, I had no idea."

"He was my only friend, and now he's gone."

"I wouldn't say he's gone. He's just going away for a while to find his destiny. But I feel your pain, I really do."

"I know you do."

"But... I know how we can make this a little easier for the both of us."

"How?"

"I am now missing my son in my life, and you've been without a mother for years, and practically raising your own little brother. I would very much like to have you two over quite a bit while we wait for him to come back. I've always loved you like a daughter, Violet. You and Singer were always such good friends, heck I even halfway expected you two to be dating by now. I guess what I'm trying to say is... I'd like to be friends with you."

"You'd do that?"

"Of course. And don't worry about Singer never coming back. I think somewhere deep inside, he cares for you just the same as you do for him. He just has things he needs to figure out, is all."

"Thank you Mrs. Case, and I'd very much love to be your friend. You kind of did sort of become my unofficial mom, when I lost mine."

Violet hugged Belle, instantly after saying this, followed by a small giggle from the latter.

"Thank you, Violet. Oh and one more thing. You don't have to call me Mrs. Case anymore. Just call me Belle."

"Deal."

["I look back on that day, sometimes and realize how selfish I was being for leaving my mom and my best friend behind. But enough was enough, and unfortunately it wasn't the end of my struggles in life... no, my life was about to get even more complicated. Good thing I was mentally prepared for Las Pegasus.


> Set the stage for Fireworks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well this was it. Out on my own... well kind of. Uncle Fender and I stayed in many hotels while we tried to make our living in Las Pegasus, trying to get a hold of every opportunity we could to show what we had, talent wise. While we shared almost every hotel room we stayed in, we didn't really see much of each other due to each of us having our own gigs to try and get to. However the time that we could spend together was awesome. Me and my uncle never had time to hang out like we did when we lived in Cloudsdale. Spending time with him was very helpful, especially since I was still missing my mother and Violet like crazy. There was one point in the five months that I had been gone so far, that I even missed my dad and Brawn, and wanted to go back and tell them that they were right, that I am as they said I was and that I'd never amount to anything and go get a second rate job at the weather factory. However when I'd have such thoughts, Fender would snap me out of it by whacking me on the head... yeah I was one of those "think out loud" guys. Fender was the one who was right, they were wrong about me, and I was going to prove it. I was going to show them all that Singer Case was a force to be reckoned with. That I would never back down...."


Five months had past since Singer left home, and despite the fact that he missed his mother, his best friend Violet, and at times even the family members who were the reason why he left in the first place, but he pressed on. He and Fender had come to the shiny streets of Las Pegasus for a reason and it was for this reason he needed to get into something that would help him be able to do what he was always meant to do, perform and sing for all to hear. And one day, he finally got a chance.

As he walked up to the talent scout's desk, he was shaking like a baby's rattle. For some reason, he was actually nervous to sing in front of somepony. He had never ever been nervous before performing for somepony, but the weight of this situation fell upon him like a ton of bricks, and it showed by the amount of sweat that was coming from his head.

"You alright?" said the talent scout known as Star Finder. She was, like Singer, a pegasus. She wore a small baret, round black framed glasses, with a cream colored coat and blonde mane. "I ask again, Mr Case... are you alright?"

Singer shook his head to get it back in the game. "You're darn right I'm alright, Ma'am! Just trying to get in the zone here." He said regaining his confidence.

"Well I would appreciate it if you got in the zone a little faster. I'm waiting on my next appointment."

"Right... sorry. Here I go..."

And the rest was history.

Singer had wowed Star Finder with his voice that day, and that earned him a spot in a series of performances at a Night Club called "Slappy's Pool Hall". It wasn't the big break that Singer was hoping for, but it was one of the biggest places that music promoters went to, and this was the kind of performing that Singer initially wanted to do in the first place. Making records would have been nice, but Singer's goals at the time were set mainly on performing. The former would have to wait for now.

The Club was cleverly decorated and highly pleasurable. Neon lights shone on the walls, mostly advertiser neon lights, but they were still cool to see. There was a stage on the left side of the room, built specially for special performances. Tonight, Singer was dealing with more than just music acts as competition, he was dealing with trickster ponies, magic ponies, and ponies with outrageous talents. When Singer had been shown to the back to get ready for the performances, he was awestruck at all of the other ponies had been there to perform. Getting noticed wasn't going to be easy here in this particular set up, especially since there were so many different varieties of acts, but Singer felt confident none-the-less.

As he waited back stage for his turn on stage, he notced a red unicorn mare preparing for what looked like a singing act as well, as she stood there vocalizing and drinking out of a water bottle. She had a long golden mane and tail, with a similar cutie mark as Singer's; a microphone but with sound symbols coming off of it. She was very attractive to say the least, or at least in Singer's eyes she was. 

He thought about walking over there to talk to her, just to talk. He didn't figure he'd have a real chance to get a date, not that he was really concerned about that anyway. But he hadn't really talked to anypony socially since arriving in Las Pegasus, other than his uncle, and it wasn't like his performance was going to be in the next hour anyway, and it didn't hurt that she was pretty... What was he thinking? Singer wasn't a superficial type of stallion. He cleared that train of thought, and focussed on a good discussion topic. He'd be content with just making another friend.

He started over to her, mind boggling with various thoughts. He'd only just seen her, so how could he have a crush on her? He'd never talked to her and he didn't even know her name or what she was like. This was just a social talk, he'd said to himself. Nothing more than that.

As he drew closer, she looked up and acknowledged him giving him a welcoming smile. She too appeared to be in the mood for a conversation. She motioned him to come a little closer once he stopped a few feet away.

"You nervous too?" she said.

Singer, deep in thought, had to snap out of it before he let himself pause too long. "Uuuuh... yeah. Super nervous. This could be my shot into the big time."

"Mine too. I'm not sure if I'll make it, but I have hopes to anyway."

"Same here. Are you from around here?"

"No, I'm from Canterlot originally. But I moved here when I was still in high school. So in a sense, you could say that I'm from around here." She giggled awkwardly as if she said something dumb.

"I came from Cloudsdale a few months ago. But I was born in Canterlot and lived there for the first six years of my life, so maybe we bumped into each other a few times." 

"Maybe. I can't remember that far back. But it's a pleasure to meet you, Mister..."

"Oh, sorry. My name's Singer. Kind of redundant, considering my talent huh?"

"Not really..." she replied. "My name is Serenity Sound. And that's almost like Singer, I guess. And I kind of thought that most ponies names reflect their talents anyway."

"That is true. Silly me." He laughed. "I can do other things with my voice as well. Wanna see?"

"Sure!" she said eagerly.

"Well first of all, I can talk in other ponies' voices!" he said while perfectly replicating Serenity's voice.

"Whoa! That's impressive! How in the world do you learn to do that?!?"

"I have no idea! It's just a gift, I suppose." He said.

"Well that is very impressive, Mister Case. Any other raw talents and abilities you've got? Other than singing, of course...

"Well... I'm also great in the kitchen, snazzy dancer, and a ham on the acting stage."

He had kicked his hoof back a bit as they continued their conversation, and accidentally hit one of the ropes that they had tied to one of the sandbags that they use for the curtains, which were hanging up high. When he kicked it, it knocked the sandbag down and it landed inches away from another mare who was practicing her magic. The bag exploded and sand flew onto her cape a bit, making it a little dirty. Other than that, she was unharmed.

The light blue unicorn mare, wearing what looked like a wizard's outfit, looked up angrily at Singer, who was still in conversation with Serenity and trotted angrily over to them. She trotted so hard that she was almost stomping, she was that mad.

"HEY!" she yelled.

Singer and Serenity turned to see the angry mare glaring at them. The mare obviously meant business as she had gone so far as to get in Singer's face when she confronted him. Singer's tone went from a mild confidence back into a nervousness as he was now faced with trouble."

"Can I help you, Miss?" asked Singer, cocking his eye brow.

"Indeed, you can help me, you can help me by stop being such an oaf!"

"Beg pardon?" 

"You and that clutzy hoof of yours nearly killed me and now my cape is all dirty! If this hurts the impression of my performance, I'm blaming you! The "Great and Powerful Trixie" will not stand for this type of stupidity!"

"Excuse me! If I did do as you say I did, then I apologize, but there's no need to be rude about it!"

"QUIET!!" she yelled again. "Trixie has heard enough of your excuses and protests! Just stay out of Trixie's way and Trixie might... MIGHT forget that this whole thing ever happened."

"Who's Trixie? Is that your sister?" heckled Serenity, followed by a smirk.

"Trixie is me, you twit! Now buzz off!"

"Now see here, Trixie!" said Singer. "I already apologized so can't we just let this go and stop being so rude?"

"Oh I'll let it go... when pigs learn how to fly! And furthermore..."

Just then a pig landed on Trixie as she continued to rant, shutting her up.

"What the..." said Serenity as she and Singer looked around for the source of the 'flying pig'.

"Sorry about that!" said a brown earth pony stallion with a dark brown poofy mane and tail style, wearing a yellow collared shirt and having a cutie mark that resembled a split in half grilled cheese sandwhich and for no apparent reason, a rubber chicken with a tiny bowler hat on his back, who appeared on the scene. "I don't know what got into Boris, here. He tried to fly off in my party cannon."

Trixie levitated the pig off and glared at the stallion, before stomping off and letting out a loud and exasperated sigh. "IDIOTS!"

The remaining ponies on the scene couln't help but laugh at this.

"Sorry about her" said Singer. "She's a few carrots short of a carrot cake, if you know what I mean."

"So am I!" said the goofy earth pony stallion with a laugh, getting a small chuckle and a giggle from Singer and Serenity. "Well I better get going! I don't know how we ended up here, but this Cheese Sandwich has to be off at a party soon! Come on Boris!"

Cheese and his pig left the room, leaving Singer and Serenity back to their conversation. 

"That was funny and random." said Serenity.

"I know! Isn't it great? I'd love to be in the party throwing business! That Cheese Sandwich guy sure knows how to live! And he got rid of "The Great and Powerful" Trixie." he said with a laugh.

"Indeed. That does sound fun, and yes I'm glad she went back to her spot. She's rather annoying!"

"Miss Sound, your performance is set to go in two minutes!" yelled one of the directors from the stage.

"Oh... well... I suppose I had better get ready then."

"Okay. Break a leg!" he said dutifully. "Um... do you think I could see you again? Like maybe hang out or something?"

"Sure. I like you, Singer. Come to the Corner Cafe at eight tonight and we can talk some more."

"Sure thing." he said. "See you then."

"Alright then." She smiled back at him before going on stage.

As she started her performance, Singer stood on the sidelines backstage watching her. She had a voice that sounded like a choir of angels, or at least it did to him. He couldn't help but admire how elegant she looked while she performed. She was definitely in her element. The song she sang was about a school mare going to a big city to follow her dream, which pretty much sounded like the story she had told him about herself. Singer was wowed by her performance, as was the rest of the audience. Once she left the stage, the audience was asking for an encore, but unfortunately the show was already behind schedule so they had to press on.

Singer waited for about half an hour more until his turn finally came. He was one of the two final performances and he was anxious for his chance to get up there and perform. However one little snag in his plan appeared when one of the back stage managers appeared.

"Hey kid, it's just you and one other act, but we only have time for one more show... so you're both gonna have to go on at the same time."

Singer shrugged indifferently as this didn't really bother him. But his tone changed when he saw who the other final performer was.

"Well, well, well..." said Trixie. "Looks like Trixie has to share the stage with a mediocre performer. Don't worry stallion, I'm sure somepony will recognize your lack of talent next to my brilliance."

"If by brilliance, you mean lameness." countered Singer, who was beginning to grow more and more annoyed by the second.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie is not lame! You however are so lame that lame-duck atheletes have a better chance of performing at their best than you do."

"What kind of insult is that?" Singer countered. "You're comparing me to atheletes now? Ya know if I didn't know any better I'd say you had a crush on me."

Trixie didn't respond with words, but with a shocked and outraged expression and a whack to Singer's head with a nearby street light stage prop. WHACK!

"I guess I had that one coming..." said Singer as he lie on the floor, holding his head in pain. "Stupid Trixie!" he murmered under his breath as it came time for the two performers to hit the stage together.

"And for the final performance of the night, we have our two last performers up on the stage. Please welcome the singing talents of Singer Case and the magic talents of The Great and Powerful Trixie." said the announcer.

As the introduction music played, Trixie appeared on the stage in a cloud of smoke, with a few fireworks going off behind her, while Singer slid on his knees onto the center of the stage, bumping into Trixie.

"Watch it you imbicile!" said Trixie, levitating Singer away from her, followed by her starting her magic act.

Singer just growled and rolled his eyes as he prepared to start singing a song that he'd listened to alot when he'd flip through the channels. This particular song came on the country station.

"I never was a straight laced, straight A student, teacher's pet or foal prodigy.
I wasn't going to get rich being a racer, and it'd take to long to get a law degree.
So I sat down with my mom and daddy, they tried to talk some sense into my thick head
But the best advice that I ever got was from my Uncle Fender and my best friend"

Before Singer could get into his chorus, Trixie turned him into a llama, causing the crowd to roar with laughter. The hustlers at the gambling table were probably laughing the loudest out of anypony there. He glared at Trixie, who had a smug smile on her face as she turned him back.

He took a deep breathe as the music continued to play and Trixie went back to making things appear out of her hat, and resumed his song.

"Just get you a guitar and learn how to play, 
start a routine, come up with a name
When you're living in a world that you don't understand
Find a few good buddies and just start a band.
Start a band, start a band!"

Trixie took his pause after the chorus as an opportunity to chang him into something else. This time he found himself inside a small bowl, and his new form was a blue Sea Pony.

"Shoo be doo shoo be doo" she mocked, while the background music was still playing for Singer's song. She gave a maniacle laugh as all of the ponies in the audience, gamblers, hustlers, other performers, you name it, were laughing at Singer's misfortune as Trixie used him as a prop. Singer's scowl continued to get bigger as he sat there in that fish bowl. 

"HEY! Turn me back!" he said in his squeaky voice while he floated in the fish tank. This earned him even more laughs by the crowd and it was making his confidence dwindle a bit. Regardless he had to finish the song, no matter what this jerk of a mare threw at him.

She smirked when she turned him back to his pegasus form, not failing to do something embarassing yet again. He was now in a dress!

"Seriously?" he protested. "A freaking dress?!?"

"What's the matter Singerella? Can't take the heat of competition?"

Singer ignored it all this time around and went straight back to singing, despite his "new outfit".

"All those mares that were too cool to talk to
They'll be waitin in a line out back!
Might get your picture in the hometown paper
Maybe record a top trending music track!"

When Trixie threw her magic his way again, the dress had disappeared and so had his wings. This angered him even further.

"That's it!" said Singer as he finally took action, galloping past her, grabbing her hat while he did. Trixie went from acting mischievious to having an annoyed expression in her features. Apparently, Singer had finally gained some footing on her.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie commands that you give her her hat back this instant, you little wretch!"

"I want my wings back!" said Singer picking up a left over clown nose that had been sitting on the ground and squeezed it to mock her as she chased him around the stage. The audience loving it even more, some of them even kept demanding more.

"Fine, I'll give you your ratty wings back, just give me my hat!"

"Wings first!" he demanded, holding her hat like he was about to throw it off the stage.

"Fine!" she yelled as she lit her horn and his wings appeared back on his body. Singer followed it up by tossing her his hat, keeping his end of the little deal. She took it back begrudgingly as Singer prepared to set the chorus again and to end the song.

"Just get you a guitar and learn how to play
Grow out your hair, come up with a name
With a little bit of luck you'll be packing the stands
So find a few good buddies and start a band
No need to study, start a band!
Call up some buddies and start a band!"

As his singing performance ended, the applause began to erupt. Despite Trixie's foolery, they had noticed his voice and they liked his singing. A smile adorned his face as a sense of accomplishment came over him. He'd done it. His first big gig had been a hit. There were several ponies in the building, at least one of them had to be looking for some talent. He clung on to that hope. 

His excitement was short lived however, when Trixie levitated a rope, wrapping it around Singer's legs, and then pulling it away making him spin around like a top. Making him hit the wall several times before falling off the stage. This, of course, brought on even more laughter from the audience and not one of them bothered to help him up after he fell.

Trixie smirked as she watched him fall off the stage. She then walked over to the edge and looked down at the fallen stallion, who had stars dancing around his head.

"If you can't take the heat, don't leave the basement!" she said with an evil chuckle before waving to the crowd.

As Singer lie there, his blood began to boil. Anger stirring inside, as she stood up there making a mockery of him. He knew that he was above this, but he HAD to get even. This was war!

He flapped his wings and flew up, then proceeded to dart towards the back of the stage, much to Trixie's pleasure. 

"Looks like the idiot couldn't handle the heat and he actually did head for the basement! TRIXIE IS THE WINNER!!!" she said out loud, getting more laughs from the audience who were eating this up. Her pride swelling up like a balloon, she bowed to the crowd as she took joy in Singer's apparent loss.

"You're the greatest, Trixie!" said a random stallion from across the room.

"Was there ever any doubt?" she said with a smug expression.

"I'll say there was!" said a voice from behind her. This surprised her just enough to make her turn around, this suprised her but it didn't frighten her. It just mildly annoyed her.

Singer now stood at the back of the stage with a rope tied to his waist, and whatever was attatched to it was behind the curtain. Trixie looked at Singer with a confused expression on her face. She then began to laugh at her rival.

"Well, well, well..." she said. "You don't know when to quit do you?"

"I never knew how to quit! Just ask my fourth grade teacher!" the now TO'ed stallion replied as he pulled the rope, bringing what was attatched him closer. As he pulled the rope it quickly revealed a party cannon that was left back stage, presumably by Cheese Sandwich. He then manned the cannon and aimed it right at her. This was the best Singer could think up in the short amount of time and the anger driven audrenaline could muster up. He halfway expected her to move out of the way, but she didn't appear to be threatened by this new maguffin.

"What do you expect to accomplish with that pea shooter?"

"The time has come to find out, my worthy adversary!" he said with a maniacle laugh. "Hasta la bye bye mamacita!" he shouted as he pulled the trigger on the cannon, shooting out streamers and confetti at an incredibly fast pace, making the impact that Trixie recieved from the blast throw her across the room and into the wall on the other side.

When she got back up on her hooves after momentarily lying on the ground, the crowd once again roared with laughter, and even Singer himself couldn't resist taking pride in this and laughing himself. She then recollected herself and began to charge back to the stage. 

When Singer saw her coming, he knew then that it was not a good idea to remain on stage. He had finished his song, though he was putting on a show that was apparently so entertaining that nopony was trying to stop them. In fact when he was running away from Trixie, you could hear the disappointment in the crowd's voices when they saw it seemingly come to an end.

However Trixie wasn't going to let this go, one bit. She jumped on the stage and used her magic to grab Singer before he could get very far. She then used horn to levitiate the rope that had been tied to the party cannon and tied Singer's hooves together. She then proceeded to put Singer into the party cannon and turned it so that he was facing a table where several pies had been sitting. 

'Oh no' he thought. 'The ultimate pie in the face awaits!'

As he prepared for his plunge into the wild pie wonder, he looked over at Trixie with a glare and said these foreshadowing words: "Someday, some pony is going to show you up, Trixie! And when they do, I hope that I have front row seats to it! I'm really looking forward to the day when somepony proves that the 'Great and Powerful' Trixie isn't so great or powerful!"

"Are you finished?"

"Do your worst!"

"Gladly!"

Trixie then pulled the trigger on the cannon, sending Singer, hurling out of the cannon. Singer began to see his life flash before his eyes as he, in slow motion, made his way to the pie table, flying across the room. Flapping his wings would do him no good here, his destiny was calling him. He was about to be a part of Equestria's largest pie in the face in history. The table had about twenty five pies on it and it was calling his name. The rest of the trip from his perspective happened in a snap as he felt a mixture of the hard impact of the table that he demolished, and the squishiness of him landing on pies and the remaining pies landing on top of him. The crowd all around, laughing at him. This was probably one of the worst showings of bullying he'd ever been a part of. It certainly topped anything even Thunder Clap had done to him while he was in school. The only difference was, this time he tried to fight back. Though even Singer had to admit, the whole thing was funny, it still made him mad. And thus another glorious rivalry was born!

The crowd loved it! Even the owner of the place had never seen a performance quite as humorous and spectacular in his place before, and an unscripted one on top of that. Slappy, the owner of the pool hall himself, walked over and pulled Singer out of the pie mess and patted him on the back, laughing all the while.

Had Singer done it? Had he made a mark in Las Pegasus? The answer to the question, while still remained to be seen was starting to sound more and more like a yes when reporters had caught wind of it all and rushed in to take pictures and interview the spectators of what had transpired. And much to Trixie's dismay, they all wanted pictures of the pony covered in pie, rather than the magical jerk who had made it all possible in the first place. Disgruntled, Trixie left the building. Never to be seen in Las Pegasus again, she fled the town after her short lived victory. In the end, Singer ended up being the victor.

Later that night, Singer met up with Serenity at the corner cafe, just like she had told him to. He sat across a booth from her as they both laughed and shared their thoughts on what had happened earlier that afternoon. Serenity herself, was more so intrigued with Singer's battle with Trixie when the subject came up. A battle that never would have happened had a scheduling conflict not had risen, forcing the two to demonstrate their performances together.

He could laugh about it talking with Serenity now, but he could still remember the anger he felt towards the blue mare for intentionally trying to sabotauge him. He wasn't a vengeful stallion, but he wouldn't soon forget this and hoped he'd never meet Trixie again. But now wasn't the time to stir the pot on what had already happened. Singer was making a new friend and it pleased him to talk to somepony again.

"So when you blasted her with that party cannon did she flinch?"

"No. She wasn't threatened at all by it, but she probably felt it when she hit the wall. Looking back on it now, I feel kind of bad for doing that to a mare, even if she did deserve it." he said feeling a twinge of guilt in his gut.

"I wouldn't worry about it. She was obviously alright and like you said and by what I gathered, she's a jerk and she deserved it anyway. Did she really turn you into a fish?"

"Sea Pony. I can still hear the mockery of 'shoo be doo shoo be doo'!" He said placing his head on the table and his hooves over his head.

"I bet it was hilarious! I wish I would have stuck around to see it now."

"It was a mess that much is sure. I'm still pulling pie out of my mane."

Serenity laughed at the mention of the pie. And Singer had found some crumbs in his mane that he missed. The two of them continued in their conversation when Fender came in the door, he looked like he had been running.

"Fender! You alright?"

The stallion took a bit of time to catch his breath, but eventually answered Singer. "Am I alright? I'm awesome! And apparently so are you!"

"What do you mean?" inquired Singer.

"You and some mare named Serenity wowed the audience with your voices and demands for you both have been skyrocketting over the course of the last few hours... Nephew... you've just hit the big time, baby!"

Singer could hardly believe it! Finally! He had other ponies wanting to hear him sing.

"Excuse me, Fender was it? I'm Serenity Sound." replied the singing mare.

"Oh how rude of me. Nice to meet you Miss Sound. If you're anything like my nephew or how I've heard you are I'm sure you'll make a fine vocalist."

"I agree with that sentiment. I heard you and you are a great singer, probably one of the best voices I've heard." agreed Singer.

"Thank you Singer, that means a lot." She smiled. "Perhaps we could maybe be a duet in the future?"

"If all works out well, I'd love to!"

"And perhaps you'll need a guitarist?" said Fender wide eyed. "Band auditions aren't going so hot for me, still."

"I'd be honored to have you on board with me, Fender. I could use some music to go with my voice, anyway! And you're one of the best guitarists I know!"

"Start a band!" said Fender holding his hoof out for Singer to hoof bump.

Singer returned the hoof bump while saying, "Start a band' back to his uncle.

While Singer and Fender talked about their arrangements, Serenity couldn't help but smile as she had just realized that she was going to be a star. And perhaps she might find her future performing with Singer. Singer seemed to entertain the idea so only time would tell if they would.

Meanwhile, outside of Las Pegasus Trixie continued on, leaving the town behind. "Good riddance to that idiot stallion and this stupid town! The Great and Powerful Trixie shall go where her magical talents will be the most appreciated act in Equestria! And there's nothing that is going to get in my way!"
> Kicking Things Off
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 "Alright that's a rap" said Mr Jockey, the studio editor in the control room area, of the studio where Singer and Serenity were recording a song. They had just put the finishing touches on their first song as a duet. "Great work you two! This track is gonna be a gold mine! I can see great things happening in your careers!"

Singer was more than grateful for the comments that the editor was throwing he and Serenity. He and Serenity stood side by side, smiling at each other. The former nudging latter with his leg, out of excitment. The latter flashing a smile his way.

"Thank you for the opportunity that you're giving us Mr. Jockey." replied the greatful stallion.

"No, thank you both for performing so well. You have each earned more studio time for sure." replied Mr. Jockey, a gold colored earth pony who wore a plad styled trilby, his cutie mark being a record.

"We are grateful for your help in the process as well. I can't wait to hear the finished product!" added Serenity.

"Just a bit of editing and it will be complete. Why don't you kids take thirty, huh?" 

"Sounds good to me" said Singer, sitting back in a reclining chair that had been in there, and eating a candy bar he had stored away in his bag earlier, while also gazing at a letter from Violet that he had recieved that morning, while Serenity sprayed perfume on herself to get rid of the small smell she'd developed after being in the hot recording room for so long. Singer liked the way it smelled, so it didn't bother him at all nor did it distract him. He sat and read the letter that his best friend had written him.

Violet had put some of her personal thoughts into the letter, that she would have normally shared with him. Things like 'today Rain came home from school and was proud to display his cutie mark, which is a rain cloud.... then he had to go and ask me where mine was. Little stinker. The every day "joys" of being a blank flank.' or 'Your mom is so cool, we are becoming besties for sure! She's really helped me alot in terms of getting used to not having you around.' After reading the latter, Singer felt bad for not saying good bye to Violet all those months ago when he left home. He missed hanging out with her, trying to help her get her cutie mark and over all just being with her. He wasn't sure what it was, but something about his life felt a sense of emptiness without her there. He knew that he would have to go and see her soon, to try and fill that void and hopefully feel better about things so he could focus on his career and so he could know that Violet was going to be alright without him. 

As he read on in the letter, Singer also saw an entry from his mother who only expressed her motherly love and encouragement to him. She'd even tried to throw in a few tidbits about Brawn and his father, adding that she wishes that they could all be a family again. He read on about Brawn and Lovie already expecting to be parents after about five months of being married. Singer couldn't help but smile at the thought of being an uncle. His smile then turned into a frown however, at remembering that Brawn didn't like him and that his niece or nephew might not get to see him that much. He was truly crushed that his family had drifted apart, but at the same time, he wasn't going to feel bad because he had actually tried to be civil with them. Why should he feel bad that they pushed him to his limits, criticized him over everything he did, and just flat out didn't even try to under stand him? No... it wasn't his fault, he thought. But it still didn't keep him from placing some of the blame on his own self.

His mother, other than Fender, was the only family member that actually acted like they loved him, and he knew that she was always sincere with him. He really couldn't see how he was in the wrong. But still... he felt like he was at times. But he tried to force the thought away as he read on down to more of Violet's writing.

Something about the last passage 'I really miss you and want to be by your side, because you are my best friend' stuck out to him. She'd never been that passionate about hanging out with him before, though he couldn't blame her. It had been months since they saw each other. But for some reason he couldn't help but read it a different way. He wasn't sure exactly what it was about it all that made him squirm a tiny bit, but it did and he wasn't sure what to make of it. He dismissed the thought of it being a crush, because he "would be able to tell if it was", but he literally had no idea how much Violet really liked him. He just knew that they really enjoyed hanging out and got a sense of butterflies in his stomach when he did; he told himself that the butterflies just meant he knew she was his best friend and that he was always excited to see her every day. 

The poor stallion was confused about his feelings, and it didn't help that he didn't think about it a lot either. It also didn't help that he now had his eyes on another mare, the one currently in the room with him. Serenity seemed like a nice mare. She usually kept her cool, even before performing. Her manners were fair. He noticed that she had a tendency to get short tempered when certain things happened, such as when Singer would spend too long trying to correct a mistake on a certain part of a song they'd been working on in the recording room, or when one of the studio control ponies played back the wrong part on accident. But things like that could have been anypony's reaction to any given situation. She wasn't near as easy going as Violet was, but she was good company none-the-less and  far as Singer could tell, they were shaping up to being pretty good friends.

Serenity, looked up from a magazine that she was reading and noticed that Singer looked a bit down. Feeling a bit sympathetic, she decided to move over by him and strike a conversation and hopefully make him feel better. He was pretty deep in thought when she was moving over by him, so he barely noticed her while she did so. Once she reached his side, she nudged him with her shoulder to get his attention.

"Hey, why the long face, Singer?" she asked, with a halfway concerned expression on her face.

"I... um.... I'm sorry if I was bothering you..." said the flustered stallion, who at first was startled to see Serenity sitting by him. He still found it a bit hard to deal with how attractive he found her at times. It wasn't like he didn't try not to think it, but his will power wasn't all that strong against the thought. 

"Not at all, Sing. Now tell me what's on your mind."

"Oh... I'm just thinking about home. I kinda miss a few things about it." he stated. "My mom, my old room, my best friend..." His voice trailed off when he had mentioned Violet. Serenity was quick to catch on to what he meant, which was pretty obvious. 

"I see. You're homesick!" she said. "It happens to us all who leave our homes and our loved ones for the sake of our careers. I missed home and my family when I first came here as well. Now that things have kicked off for us, I've handled it a lot better. You'll forget about them eventually because of all the fun we are fixing to have." She leviatated her water bottle to her lips and took a drink, looking at Singer, waiting for him to respond.

Singer didn't like the thought of 'forgetting' about them, but surely that wasn't the extent to Serenity's statement. Nah, surely not. He looked back up at his parnter with a small forced smile to reply.

"I suppose so..." he finally replied. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right!" said Serenity with a smile. "Now, perk up! After we finish this recording, we have to go get ready for our performance tonight."

"Oh yeah!" said Singer, perking up. He slipped Violet's letter into his small travel bag that he carried his stuff in. He'd finish reading it later. The mention of the performance was the perk up fuel that the stallion needed. Recording was nice, but performances was what Singer was really looking forward to. "You ready to get back to it, then?"

"Indeed, I am. Welcome back, Case." she smirked as she and Singer picked up their lyrics sheets and prepared to finish their song.

Singer looked in a mirror as he was preparing to start singing again, and he noticed something about his relfection. His fur had turned purple and his mane had turned orange. The irisses in his eyes had turned blood red to add to that. He stared for a few seconds before blinking, after which his reflection looked normal again. Opening and shutting his eyes repeatedly for a half a minute more, he looked to see if his reflection would change again. He momentarily ponderred as to why his reflection did that, but he quickly came to the conclusion that it was only his imagination. He snapped out of it and went back to focussing on his task. But still, that was weird... What the heck was that? 


Later that night, the duo of singers, Singer and Serenity met back at Slappy's Pool Hall for yet another show. Singer showed up wearing a yellow collarred shirt, and a trilby hat of the same color. This outfit was his signature Saturday night performance outfit. The only day of the week he had a set signature outfit. He called it his "Saturday Sunshine Suit", obviously not realizing how corny, or cheesey that it sounded when he had named it that. Serenity, however, never wore the same outfit twice. This particular night, she showed up wearing a light blue dress, decorated in bedazzled sparkles and her mane in a bun on her head, with a large white flower decoratation to compliment it. She looked amazing, thought every stallion there.

They'd been a real popular demand ever since they made their debuts on the very stage they had become accustomed to. Though Singer's "partner" from his first performance had fled Las Pegasus, after their little spat. Singer got all of the recognition that he deserved and was among the favorites of the general audience in the program that Slappy himself had kept organized. And it was Slappy who thought very highly of the duo, Singer and Serenity. Every performance they did, he'd show up right before they went on and wish them luck.

"You kids ready to blow them all away again?" said Slappy excitedly, per the norm, to see the duo perform.

"Oh yeah!" said Singer. "I'm pumped up and ready to knock 'em dead!"

"But not too dead, eh Mr. Case?" said Slappy with a chuckle.

"Right, sir" replied Singer the same way. "We're gonna make you proud, Slappy!"

"Oh I know you will! Now you two lovebirds get up there and knock our horse shoes off!" he said quickly before turning around to leave backstage.

The lovebird comment, caught Singer off guard. He started to get Slappy's attention to correct the mistake, but decided against it, deeming the action rudimentary and pointless, deciding to best keep his focus on his performance and to do his best. He caught himself looking over at Serenity's direction. She had been doing her vocal excercises almost the whole time that they had been there. He couldn't help but notice how graceful she seemed, even in her vocal warm ups. He shook his head and walked over to her. The warm ups she was doing seemed like a good idea and he wanted to get into it as well, and maybe it would help his performance.

"Sorry to bother you" he said, leaning on her music stand. "But those warm ups you are doing sound like an interesting idea. Mind helping me getting into it?"

"Not at all" she returned with a small smile, though Singer could since a bit of annoyance in her tone. But she didn't appear to be as she sounded, especially right before she began to speak again. "It's not hard at all. Just excercize your vocal chords and your diaphragm simultaniuosly by saying simple things like Ma! or eeeeh, or some stupid giberish like that while taking a big breath and saying whatever the hay you're saying as if you're belting out the words in a song. It's not that hard at all!"

"Thank you. I'll do that!" said Singer, immediately getting to it to get some practice in before it was their turn.

Five minutes of practicing Serenity's technique, and Singer was already feeling like a pro, though that is a matter of opinion; especially to anypony else who happened to see the pair doing that as they walked by. Confidence levels were at an all time high when it was finally their turn to go out on stage. Singer felt that tingle inside that he always felt before singing, only this time it was five times the intensity, which was a good thing. He was pumped and already entirely in his element. Same could be said for Serenity. She looked more like she had her game face on, as her features expressed determination and seriousness. Something that Singer had began to notice about her. She took her career very seriously, and rightfully so. This wasn't a game or just for fun. This was their career. Singer's maturity levels were going to have rise very quickly in order to keep himself under control.

As the piano player and the band, Uncle Fender with his guitar included, made their way out to the stage for the performance, Singer and Serenity followed suit and made their way to center stage. The lights dimmed, save for the spotlight that now shown on them. This was it, Singer thought. It's show time!

"I was thinking about you thinking bout me
Thinking bout us,where we gonna be
Open my eyes" Began Singer as Serenity joined in.

"It was only just a dream" they both sang.

"So I travel back, down that road
Will you come back?
Nopony knows 
I open my eyes
It was only just a dream" she sang before Singer began his verse, and then the light shone on him.

"I was at the top, now it's like I'm in the basement
Number one spot, now you're finding a replacement
I swear now that I can't take it
Knowing somepony's got my baby

Now you aren't around, baby I can't think
I shoulda put it down, shoulda got that ring
And I can see it palying repeat in my brain
See your pretty face, run my hoofs through your mane

My lover my life, my baby my wife
You left me I'm tight
Cause I know that it just aint right!"

They both returned to singing in unison for the chorus, with the crowd cheering loudly for them.

"I was thinking bout you thinking bout me
Thinking bout us, where we gonna be
Open my eyes
It was only just a dream

So I travel back, down that road
Will you come back? 
Nopony knows
I open my eyes
It was only just a dream" another round of cheers greeted them as they continued to sing. Serenity's verse was next, and she jumped right into it as the light shone on her.

"I'd be trottin
I swear I'd see your face at every turn.
Tryin ta get my DJ on, but I can't let it burn
And I just hope you know that you're the only pony I yearn for
No longer I be missin will I learn?

Didn't give it all my love
And now I guess I got my payback
Now I'm sitting in the club
Thinking all about you baby

Hey, but you were so easy to love
But hey, I guess our love wasn't enough
I'm going through it every time that I'm alone
And now I'm wishing that you'd pick up the phone
But you made a decision that you were ready to move on
Cause I was wrong"

The pair then quickly jumped back into the chorus for the final time.
"I was thinking bout you thinking bout me
Thinking bout us, where we gonna be
Open my eyes
It was only just a dream

So I travel back, down that road
Will you come back? 
Nopony knows
I open my eyes
It was only just a dream."

The crowd at the pool hall went crazy, the room had to have been packed. It had turned into so big of a performance that there wasn't any room for anypony to play pool or do much else besides eat and watch the show. There were obviously a few ponies who didn't share the enthusiasm that the rest of the crowd did. Those ponies just sat there rolling their eyes, trying to get service at the busy place. But neither performer paid that any mind. They were very pleased with the reactions that they were getting for their performance. They both put their forelegs around each other and took a bow before they both exited stage right.

"That went really well" she proclaimed as they reached back stage. She was beaming at him, and he returned.

"What a rush!" he returned enthusiastically. "I know that this wasn't a fast paced song, but still! IT WAS FREAKIN AWESOME!"

"It must have something to do with the fact that it's the song that we just got through performing. Ponies ate it up out there, so it's a big confidence booster!"

"Whatever the reason, we should celebrate... like right now!"

"Agreement!" Serenity said, as she grabbed her saddlebag. "What should we do?"

"I'm feeling a bit generous today, why not go to that fancy diner on fifth street? On me."

"Can you afford that?"

"Of course! I have a nice job that I do on the weekends that pays decently. I'll be able to afford dinner for the two of us." he replied quickly. He'd found him a job at a restaurant that gave him extra money, since he wasn't exactly raking in the dough just yet. He wanted to make sure he had something to fall back on if his career took a sudden wrong turn. However, that was before this opportunity came up and his career became promising. He hoped he wouldn't have to work there much longer.

"I'd love to!" she said. "But... we probably better go now, if we're going to. Rumor has it that Slappy makes the last performers still in the joint sweep the place up before they leave."

"Good thing we're ready to go now then. Exit, stage outside!" said Singer as he and Serenity ran out the door laughing.

Finally seated inside, Singer and Serenity sat across a round table from each other celebrating their successful performance. Each smiling at each other. The restaurant was a nice big two story building. There were a few balcony floors inside for ponies to dine if they ever needed extra space. It had been relatively easy for Singer to get tables, as it wasn't a horribly busy night for them, and this restaurant didn't do reservations like most did. Perfect way to celebrate, what felt like to he and his partner, a big victory, Singer thought to himself. He raised a glass of water and Serenity levitated her own glass as they tapped them together as a form of celebratory kick-off to their dinner. 

When the waitor made it to their table, they were in conversation about some of the future plans they were making. They were both so into their conversation that they were almost startled when the waiter let out an ahem to get their attention. They both looked up at the waiter, a tall brown clean shaven unicorn stallion with a toupe, who was imapatiently waiting to get their orders.

"Oh...right... Um, I'll have the large order of spaghetti with cheesy garlic bread." he said, taking one last look at the menu before handing it to the waiter, who then looked to Serenity for her order.

"I'll have the same, thank you." she said, handing him her menu as well.

"Two orders of spaghetti for the happy couple, coming right up." he said as he walked off.

Singer and Serenity both looked up at each other flustered and blushing. Singer chuckled nervously and sipped his water out of his glass.

"Why does everypony think we are a couple?" Serenity spoke at last, adding a slight giggle. 

"I dunno..." said Singer. "I guess it's because we spend so much time together working on music."

"It's not entirely a ridiculous notion." she said as she took a sip from her glass of water.

"It's... it's not?" he said.

"Of course not! I mean, we're both singers..."

"No I'm Singer, you're Serenity." he said mischiviously.

She flung some water at him, playfully as she continued. "We both sing, we're always hanging around each other, and we have a lot in common. Oh and we both like each other. I've seen the way you look at me some times."

Singer's face turned so red that it began to mix with his blue skin, causing him to have a purple face. He didn't know that she noticed that. Oh crap, he thought. That was embarrassing.

"I... am very sorry about that." he said apologetically. "I..."

"It's fine." she laughed. "I have done the same with you. You know you're not so bad on the eyes either."

'WAS SHE JUST FLIRTING WITH HIM? OH MY CELESTIA!' was what went on in his mind.

"Uh, Serenity... are you flirting with me?" he said, with a hint of flattery in his voice.

"I don't know, you tell me." she smiled at him.

There were several ponies in the room who had been at Slappy's earlier watching the exchange between the two. A group of ponies at a table across the room, began to chant the words "KISS! KISS! KISS!" over and over again.

Making the pair blush uncontrollably.

"Go ahead" Serenity said. "Since when have we ever disappointed our audience?"

Singer shrugged and said to himself, 'why not?' as they both leaned in for a kiss, garnering cheers from across the room. It had been Singer's first real kiss from a mare, and for him it was a pleasant experience. Serenity seemed to be satisfied as well as they both broke it up. Both ponies, leaning back in their chairs, after they had finished.

"So... I guess that makes it official then? We are... dating?" inquired Singer.

"Duh, you big dummy!" she said with a wink.

"Alright then." he said with a large smile. "Here's to kicking things off!"

They both raised their glasses again, and took another sip of their water. After that excitement, their food was ready as the waiter brought it to their table. They thanked the waiter as he walked off with his tray, levitating it in front of him. They both smiled at each other off and on, as they ate their spaghetti and bread sticks. Singer got the sauce all over his face when one of the spaghetti noodles fell off, but Serenity levitated a napkin and wiped it off. They both smiled and exchanged laughs over Singer's sauce face.

Was she really the mare for him? Time would tell, but as of right now, things looked like they were going in the right direction for Singer. He felt like he was moving up to the top of his world, and this pleased him. He couldn't wait to tell his mom and Violet back home about this in his next letter. But for the latter pony, this news woulndn't be the best. 

Poor Violet...












> A Small Reunion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was dark outside that night. The streets would have normally been alive with activity, and there would normally be laughter and shouting heard from the buildings that surrounded him... nothing. Silence. Singer wondered through the streets aimlessly looking for anypony, Serenity, Uncle Fender, just anypony. No luck.

Singer began to get scared, was he experiencing some sort of pony apocolypse? Or was this just a dream? He hoped it was all just a crazy messed up nightmare as continued his search for other ponies around. 

Singer twitched his ear when he heard movement around him. A purple blur, zipping past him from behind, then above him, then out from a door. Singer finally saw something speed by when it zoomed right in front of his face. At first he hesitated, but out of curiousity, quickly bolted after the figure. He tried to follow it but it was going faster than he could gallop or even fly. He then stopped in the middle of the street to catch his breath after chasing it for about two blocks.

"HEY!" he called out. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? WHY ARE YOU RUNNING FROM ME? SHOW YOURSELF NOW!"

No answer. Singer thought this odd, and came to the conclusion that maybe he didn't want to find out what it was and it'd be best to just go home. So he turned back to the dirction of home, but when he turned his back, he got struck from behind, causing him to fall on the ground. When he turned his head to see who it was, he gasped in horror. The pony who struck him looked just like him, only different colors. Instead of blue fur, this stallion's fur was purple, having an orange mane instead of his normal red mane and instead of his normal curulean colored eyes, the color of his eyes were blood red.

Gathering up all the courage he could muster, Singer decided to speak to him, nervously saying "Wh-who are you?"

The stranger only replied by turning his head in Singer's dirction, smirking after which he lunged at Singer with an evil laugh, causing Singer to hold up his hoof to try and sheild and defend himself from the impending contact... then black!

He then awoke in his room, breathing at a fast pace, in his bed and under his covers, which had been badly messed up from all of his tossing and turning he had been doing while running.  He had been asleep, it was all just a bad dream. As he calmed down he covered himself back up and rolled over on his side to try and get more sleep. Just a stupid, scary, messed up dream that was now over, he told himself mentally. He'd forget about it by morning.

When morning finally came, he woke up and prepared for his day, fixing himself some breakfast, hoping to shake off the weirdness from the night before. The dream from last night, still frazzling his mind, he quickly dismissed it however, letting it go. It was just a nightmare, right? Surely it was the end of it.

It had been about two and a half years, or more since Singer came to Las Pegasus and took on his career. By now he was pretty big in the town of Las Pegasus. He had his own record deal, he had his own music tour,  both of which he shared with his marefriend, Serenity as a duet. The two had been dating on and off for the last couple of years, breaking up at least four times in that time and getting back together not long after,  yet still continuing their music together. Singer had gotten pretty wrapped up in his music, Serenity herself doing the same, that it often caused problems with their relationship, causing them to break up and get back together off and on. Right now, they were doing pretty good with each other and their relationship. 

The only problem he faced was that she had grown uneasy about the amount of letters that he and "this Violet mare" had sent back in fourth to each other over the course of their career. She didn't like how his eye seemed to twinkle when she'd watch as he'd write back to her. This had caused problems for them and was one of the reasons that they broke up one of four times that they did so. But Singer wasn't about to let up and leave his best friend in the dust. Serenity, after a compromise, came to accept it, though she didn't like it one bit. She felt that his interaction with Violet, not only got in the way of his music, but also them as a couple. Singer could tell that it was still bothering her, so he'd try to ease her mind every time the issue came up. He just didn't understand why she acted this way. He figured she'd just have to get over it in time. His cluelessness in this situation was agging the whole thing on however, and the longer he tried to drag it on, it seemed the more it intensified. 

On the other hoof, he'd missed talking to Violet in person. How he wished there was some way he could do that. It was at that moment, sitting there in his room, that he thought about her and decided it was high time that they hung out again. He had a performance in Canterlot coming up in the very near future and decided that it was high time that he invited her to one of his performances. So he grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and began writing his letter of invitation to her.

"Dear Violet,

I just wanted you to know that I will be performing in Canterlot in a few days and I was hoping you'll be free to come see me. I really miss seeing you and talking to you in person. If you would, that would be great! I'm sending you three tickets so that you can bring my mom and Rain as well. I look forward to seeing you if you come. I love you guys and I really do miss you. And Uncle Fender says hi as well.

With love,
Singer"

He beamed brightly as he placed the letter in the envelope and placed a stamp on it. He then got up and got ready to take it to the post office. He was excited for his Canterlot performance, he was finally going to get to see them; he had every bit of confidence they would show up, despite how he had sounded in his letter, because he knew that they missed him as much as he missed them. The trip to Canterlot couldn't get there soon enough.

When he got back home, he found Serenity at his door, waiting for him. He knew it was time to get to work. He greeted his marefriend with a kiss and they were on their way to the studio.

A couple of days later, in Cloudsdale, Violet emerged from her house to check the mail. When she opened the mailbox, she looked through her mail. She smiled when she got her letter from Singer. Even though she knew that he was with somepony else, it still didn't change a thing. She still had feelings for him, but she also knew that he was her best friend and she'd support him regardless of his status, whether it'd be single or dating. Though she found it difficult at times, she pressed on with her life. 

During that time, she had gone on a few dates herself. The stallions she'd date would either be complete jerks or just lost interest in her on the first date, or vice versa. She'd even dated a stallion who was training to be in the royal guard, named Flash Sentry, who showed the most promise out of them all, but he had to move to Canterlot shortly after to persue his career in becoming a guard, so their relationship didn't last long as neither were into long distance relationships. It wouldn't have worked out anyway, she told herself.

In her mind, she was holding out for the hope that Singer would someday feel the way about her that she did for him, as selfish as it sounded. She'd been pretty selfless her whole life, so thinking such thoughts didn't really bother her a whole lot. At least not at first, then she'd metally slap herself for thinking such thoughts, as Singer already had a marefriend and thinking like that wasn't going to help make her situation any better. She put most of her focus on running her mother's flower shop. She liked the fortitude that the walls of the store gave her. It kept out all of her problems when she was inside. And having Singer's mother around to be a friend for her was another contributing factor to her coping. She'd been a blessing even before Singer had left for Las Pegasus, and the time they'd spend working in the shop together really helped her keep her mind off of things.

By the time she'd got inside, she was already anxious to read the letter that Singer had wrote to her. It'd been about a week or so since she'd recieved his last letter, so she was really excited to get this one. When she opened it up and read it, she couldn't believe her eyes. He'd invited her to his show in Canterlot! After reading the letter and finding the tickets inside, she let out a scream of excitement. This didn't go unnoticed by Rain, her little brother, who had been reading in the room next door.

"Violet? What's wrong?" Rain asked nervously, rushing in after hearing Violet scream, only to enter to see his older sister blushing; her face as red as a cherry.

"Oh... um sorry Rain. I just got a little bit excited." she replied, still blushing furiously.

"What's all the excitement about?" the young colt inquired, cocking his eye brow.

Violet showed Rain the letter that Singer had sent in the mail and the three tickets that he'd placed in the envelope. Rain read it and a small smile came on his face too. He was excited that he was going to get to go to Canterlot, a place that he'd only ever heard about. Rain then looked at Violet.

"You gonna tell Singer that you love him?" he asked playfully with a smirk.

Violet blushed, and deadpanned Rain. "No... I will not! As much as I do care for him, he's got a marefriend and I cannot and will not come between them. It just wouldn't be right! As long as I am his friend, that is enough for me... no matter how much I want to be with him."

Rain then frowned at the expression that now adorned Violet's face, which expressed sadness. She stopped for a second and began to look down at the ground. He felt a bit of remorse for this, so he quickly apologized.

"I'm sorry, Violet. I didn't mean to make you sad. I was only making a joke and I guess I stepped on the wrong tile."

Violet then looked up at her brother, smiling and then let out a small giggle. "It's alright, Rain. I was just thinking, that's all. No harm done. Although, I would like to know where you get your expressions from, that tile thing was pretty funny."

"I dunno, it just makes sense to me."

Violet reached over and pulled Rain in for a hug. "I love you little brother." 

"I love you too, sis."

She hugged him for a few seconds before letting him go. "Now go get washed up, it's time for lunch."

"Alright!" he said, heading off.

Due to her dad having to work a lot as a weather pony, she often found herself being Rain's caretaker. She didn't seem to mind much, as they got along fairly well and he didn't really make a lot of fuss... usually. One thing that they had in common, was that they were both always fairly calm in everyday life, and not easily excited like Singer was. This, as well as her maturity was a contributing factor to Violet's success with being his guardian seventy to eighty percent of the time. 

Violet, sat at the table, reading the letter over and over again. Her excitement was building up for she would soon get to hang out with Singer again. She just hoped that she would get to spend a little time with him.


The next few days couldn't have gone by any slower for Violet. She had been anticipating this ever since she had gotten Singer's letter. But the day had come and they were finally there. Luckily, the show was in Canterlot so the commute there was just a half hour or less flight away from Cloudsdale. Neither Violet, nor Rain had ever been to Canterlot, but since Belle, who once lived there, had come with them they felt better about being in a city they've never been to. Once they had landed in one of the streets, they rested their wings and began to walk around and looking at all of the sights that Canterlot had to offer. They even stood in front of the Castle of Princess Celestia, which they couldn't resist taking a picture in front of, as Belle took her camera and had Violet and Rain stand in front of the Castle and make goofy faces.

"Nice one" she laughed as the picture printed from the camera. Violet and Rain hovered over her shoulder to see how it turned out and they too laughed and revelled in the funny moment.

As they moved on, they noticed a few concert posters hanging on the walls of the streets, one in particular caught their eye. The poster for Singer and Serenity's show, later in the evening. Violet looked at the poster, that portrayed Singer and Serinity both holding microphones leaning against each other, back to back, each looking like they were belting out some heavy notes. Violet couldn't help but feel a small bit of envy, looking at the two together. She'd finally seen what Serenity looked like, and even she would have to agree that she was as attractive as a mare could be. She only wished she could say something to him, let him know how she felt about him. But this trip was intended her and Singer to reunite and hang out again, not to interfere with Singer's love life, as bad as she wanted that to be her with him. She would continue to be supportive of him, no matter what. 

Her uneasiness lifted when around the corner came the aformentioned stallion. Singer, with a big smile on his face, rounded the corner and once he saw the trio of pegasai that he loved so much, his smile only intensified. 

"Guys! You made it!" he shouted, rushing over to them, collecting them all in a large group hug. "I missed you all so much!"

"We missed you too, sweetie!" said Belle. "Now tell me. Have you been brushing your teeth?"

"Yes mom..." he replied. I should've known this was coming, he thought.

"Have you been making sure that you eat your vegitables BEFORE dessert?"

"Yes mom..."

"Have you been showering regularly? I know the busy schedule of a rockstar doesn't always leave time for personal hygene, but..."

"I love you too, mom." he cut her off, earning a smile from her.

"You may no longer live under my roof, son. But that doesn't mean my maternal instincts have withered away."

"Boy am I thankful for that." he said sincerely. He appreciated his mother, and although some of the naggy questions she asked annoyed him, he knew she only nagged because she loved him. Even after being separated for the last couple years, they're mother/son bond still remained in tact, much to each other's joy.

"Hey Singer!" said Rain, trying to make his presence known.

"Hey squirt!" exclaimed Singer, as he swooped over to him and picked him up, and placing him on his shoulders. "Ain't seen you in forever. Man, you've gotten bigger since the last time I saw you! Not much of a little squirt anymore, huh?"

"Nope!" he said proudly. "But I'm still too small to ride the fair rides..."

"Don't worry, kid. You won't stay small forever. But, between you and I, some of those rides aren't worth it anyway." he said as he put Rain back down.

Rain only responded by hugging Singer. Singer was pretty surprised that Rain still remembered him. Violet must have talked about him quite a bit while he'd been gone.

When he turned to talk to Violet, he was met with a slight playful punch on his shoulder. Violet smirked as he rubbed his shoulder. 

"Why did you leave without saying goodbye?" she said, trying to keep a straight face without laughing. She wasn't near as mad or hurt about it, as she was before, but she still wanted him to know how bad of an idea she thought leaving without a goodbye was.

"I deserve that..." he said rubbing his shoulder, looking back at her with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry, Vi. I didn't mean to cause you any pain or hurt your feelings. It was a tough night for me that night."

"I know" she replied knowingly, followed by a slight sigh. "I understand. I remember how difficult it was for you that day. So I wasn't too upset by it." She kind of lied there. When she found out that he'd left, she was devastated, but thought it best to leave that out.

"Why don't we let them catch up?" said Belle to Rain. "Let's go see about getting some dinner. 'Kay?"

"Alright!" replied the young colt as they both turned toward the nearest restaurant, leaving the two childhood friends to talk and to catch up.

As the old friends walked the opposite direction, more conversation began to open up. They had a lot of catching up to do, and they spent the hour enjoying each other's company and talking about the good ol' days, how things were going on each others ends; things like how Singer's career was going, how Violet was doing back home and about running her mom's flower shop in her mother's memory, things just came natural for the two as they reminisced over the good times that they shared, and hoped to share in the future. The conversation eventually somehow drifted towards Singer and Serenity, something that Violet wasn't sure she was prepared for.

"So how'd you two become a couple anyway?" she asked, though she knew she'd probably regret it.

"Well, it's kind of a cliche story, really. We obviously met through our music. She liked my voice, I liked hers, we became a duet, and a few months later we just started dating. We really get along well. Most of the time, anyway. You should meet her, she's pretty cool."

At that moment, Violet knew that what she said here would be critical. She didn't want her personal feelings to get in the way of being a good supportive friend, so she had to fight her desire to tell him how she felt. Despite herself, she agreed to meet Serenity, as hard as it would be. She'd just try her best to be friendly toward her, and hope for the best.

"I'd love to meet her" said Violet, with a smile as sincere as she could make it.

"That's great!" he replied back, obviously being decieved by Violet's shielding of her uneasiness. "However, before that happens, I was wanting to ask you something." He rubbed the back of his head, unsurely.

"What is it?" she inquired.

"I was wondering if maybe you'd like to come with me on my tour and stuff! It'd be 'Singer and Violet Best Buds on the Road', just like old times. Only we'd be traveling a lot! And I'd spend quite a bit of time with Serenity as well, but I would always be able to make time for my best friend!"

Violet, backed up a bit. This proposal, didn't sit well with her at all. Her eyes moved back and forth, and her smile grew faint.

"What's wrong, Vi?" he asked, concerned. "I thought you'd like this idea."

"It's not a bad idea, Singer... It's just... I can't do it. I mean, I've got Rain to take care of still, he's got school, plus I've got my mom's shop and I... I just couldn't."

"Well Rain could always come along as well."

"No, no, no... I can't, Singer. I can't subject him to travelling on the road. He's still young and he's never really been very far away from Cloudsdale before." she was running out of excuses, as legitimate as they were. She really wanted to do it, but she knew it would be hard being around Serenity. Who knows what would happen if the two mares got into an argument? Violet wasn't willing to chance it.

"But what if..."

"NO!" she said with a few tears sliding down her cheek, that had to be the end of it. She couldn't take it anymore.

Singer stopped talking, and put his hoof on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'll stop talking about it. It was kind of selfish of me to ask that of you."

"I'm sorry, as well." she said with a small sniffle, while rubbing the tears off of her face. "I really want to go with you, Singer. But you must understand why I can't."

"I do, and you're right. Let's just forget I even said anything, okay?"

"Alright."

He pulled a small rag out from under his wing and handed it to her. "Don't worry I haven't used it yet, it's clean. Wipe some of that off your face, there."

"Thank you" she replied. "I'm sorry for getting emotional back there."

"Don't worry about it. It was my fault. I'm just happy to see you again. If it helps, I'll try to make this happen more often. I can't be without my best friend for very long." 

Violet looked up and smiled at him with his smiling face looking back at her. It was like they were back in school again, memories of dancing at the prom came back to them both, they vaguely remembered the few times that they had nearly kissed between classes, and the close bond that they used to share when they hung out every day. For the both of them, it was like home. Even if they weren't at their physical home. Things looked to be heading in a good direction for the two friends, however their moment was broken when a voice calling for Singer interrupted the two.

"There you are!" shouted Serenity. "I've been looking all over for you!" she walked up to the pair of friends, and fixed her eyes on Violet. "And who is this?"

"Sernity, this is my best friend, Violet. I've told you about her."

"So this is her. It's... uh... nice to meet you." said Serenity, with a hint of awkwardness in her tone.

"Likewise" replied Violet politely, sensing Serenity's displeasure.

"Not to be rude here honey, but don't you think we should be getting ready?" she said, turning back to Singer.

"Oh gosh, I didn't realize how late it was. Vi, you wanna..."

"It's okay, Singer. I'll leave you two to it. See you after the show?"

"Sure thing!" replied Singer, smiling at her. "I'll see ya afterwards then."

"Okay!" 

Violet smiled back, before facing the direction, in which she was walking, disappearing around the street corner. Serenity watched this exchange and decided to voice her opionion on the matter, and she didn't seem pleased at all.

"You didn't tell me that she was going to be here." she said sternly.

"I'm sorry. I just really wanted to see my friends again. Saw my mom too."

"What did I tell you about friends?" she said, scowling at him. "Friends in this line of work, can be a distraction! How do you expect to strive in this business if you keep letting distractions get in the way?"

"That's not a problem with me. I'm not distracted one bit. Can we not argue about this? We do have a show to do, and I don't want to postpone another show because of an argument. Besides, being around my loved ones has left me more focussed than ever for the show. It's all good, honest!"

"Fine... But remember, if it becomes a hindrance, you need to leave them alone and let them live their own lives. We are at a very crucial point in our careers right now, and I'm not about to let either of us screw it up!"

"Yes, dear..." he replied sadly. "Well, we should probably get ready then."

"Let's go. The show starts in an hour and a half. That doesn't leave us much time!"

With that, the two walked off toward the autitorium to begin preparations for the show, which would start soon. Fender, who had been practicing his guitar for the show, was already back stage to greet them when they arrived.

"Say, do you think we'll have enough time to go to that ceremony to celebrate the return of Princess Luna?" asked Fender. "Who woulda thought that the Mare in the Moon tale was real, eh?"

Singer only chuckled in response to the Mare in the Moon part. As for Fender's first question..."I don't know. My mom, Violet and Rain are here and I kinda want to see them  again before they leave. You can go if you want to though." replied Singer.

"They're here? Awesome, man! I'll be going to see them too!"

"Both of you focus, please! Remember, Singer. No distractions!"

Singer nodded as rehersal began, and Fender lined up with the rest of the band to practice their number.

Meanwhile, Violet walked down the streets of Canterlot, alone. She needed some time to think about things. Not that she hadn't already decided upon what to do about them. She mainly just wanted to be by her self for a few minutes. After a short refreshing walk around the block she was walking around, she came across a donut store, called "Donut Joe's". She entered the store, not thinking about anything but getting a snack. She sat near the back, watching the line of customers. After they had all vanished, she left her seat to order something.

"Hello there, miss. What can I get for ya?" The friendly stallion behind the counter asked. It was apparent that the stallion was "Donut Joe".

"May I have a small bag of donut holes?" she asked.

"Coming right up!" he said, while preparing her order.

As Violet waited for her order, a dark blue unicorn stallion came in and sat up front by Violet to her right, not making any eye contact with her whatsoever. The stallion had emerald green eyes, and a chestnut brown mane and tail, which looked a bit scruffy. His cutie mark, a rolled out scroll. 

It didn't take long for Violet to notice that she had somepony to her right, so she looked over and tapped on his shoulder. This apparently startled him, as he looked up with his eyes slightly widened.

"Hi!" she said to him, hoping to strike a conversation.

"Umm..." the shy stallion replied, unsure of what to do. "Are y-you talking to m-me?"

Violet looked around the room, noticing nopony else was in there with them. "That would be correct. Nopony else to talk to."

The stallion, looked away shyly, not wanting to be rude, but he just wasn't used to ponies wanting to talk to him.

"I'm sorry, I'm not usually this good at making conversations... I'm normally pretty shy like that as well. I've just had a wonderful, yet horrible day. And I just want to talk to somepony."

"I apologize for my quietness. I'm just not used to other ponies wanting to strike a conversation with me. I'm not all that interesting, and if you talked to me long enough, you'd see that."

"Neither am I, but I'm sure you're a nice stallion." she replied. "My name is Violet, what is yours?"

"My name is Dusk Noir." He replied politely.

"A pleasure to meet you." said Violet as she recieved her food and payed for it. "You should really try to be more positive, Dusk. What do your friends usually say about this?"

The stallion only looked down at the ground at the mention of friends, which was something that he didn't have. Violet, having been down that road before, could tell that this stallion's social life was not very well if there even was one for him, by his reaction to her question.

"I'm sorry Dusk. I know what it's like to have problems finding friends. I have the most amazing friend, but I just can't tell him how I feel about him. It's driving me crazy!"

"There is this amazing mare that I have seen around..." he began when she finished. "I've tried for years to get the courage just to speak to her, in hopes of someday becoming her friend. But why would she want the be friends with a uninteresting stallion like me?"

Violet looked at the stallion compassionately and placed her hoof on his shoulder. "I'm sure you'd make a great friend. The mare you speak of or any other pony for that matter would be pleased to have you as a friend!"

She's probably just saying that to be nice, he thought. Better not waste any more of her time. "Th-thank you for the compliment, Miss. But... I-I had better get going, I just remembered that I had somewhere that I needed to be. Fairwell!" He said as he got up and walked out the door.

"Bye..." said Violet, confused as she sadly watched the stallion leave.

As a few minutes flew by, Violet's order had been completed and brought to her. She sat there and ate her snack, popping one donut hole at a time into her mouth, while still thinking about Singer. How glad she was to see him, but yet how sad she was inside because he was right there in front of her and she couldn't tell him how she felt! But at the same time her strong feelings toward being a good, supportive friend still remained. Conflicted, confused and frustrated, she could almost feel a headache coming on. But when her eyes drew toward the clock on the wall, she realized something... Singer's show was about to start!

She paid the clerk, grabbed what donut holes she had left, stuffed them in her bag, and gallopped as fast as she could to the auditorium. She did so for a couple of minutes before she remembered that she had wings, and flapped them as hard as she could hoping to make the show on time. In all her thinking she'd forgotten that she was a pegaus and could have been flying the whole way. How sad was that? She thought to herself.

Her worrying was for naught, however. She had arrived at the show, just five minutes shy of the start. The hard part was over. As she trotted closer to the gate, she was stopped by security, a tall brown earth pony stallion.

"Excuse me, Miss! I'm afraid I can't let you in! We're already packed out."

Unbelievable! "But wait! I have a ticket!" She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out her ticket and handed it to the guard.

After looking it over, he gasped and looked down at the mare apologetically. "Very sorry, Miss. But I can't let you have a seat!"

"Why not?" inquired Violet nervously.

"Because this is a backstage pass!" he exclaimed. "My sincerest apologies. I'll have the usher escort you backstage immediately!"

"Oh... well... thank you!" beamed Violet gratefully, as the usher came to guide her back stage.

She was able to catch up with Belle and Rain, who also had a similar experience with the security guards.

"Violet! There you are!" exclaimed Rain as he tackle hugged his approaching sister.

"Hey Rain! Sorry I'm late. Has he gone on stage yet?"

"Not yet." replied Belle. "He and Serenity are still getting ready for the show."

A tall red pegasus stallion appeared behind them. He had a guitar on his back, and was ready to perform. It was another familiar face to the trio.

"Well, well, well... I knew it was only a matter of time before Sing invited you guys to the party!" the friendly stallion said with a smile.

"Hello Fender!" replied Belle. "It's nice to see you again! You and Singer have been keeping yourselves busy, I see."

"Yep! It's been a pretty long road. Faust darn it! I've almost lost track of the time." he said with a chuckle, then eyeing the refreshment table. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get some food in my system real quick..." The stallion trailed off as he headed off to the table.

"I see he's still always hungry" remarked Violet with a giggle, Belle joined in briefly.

"He hasn't changed a bit. Singer, however..." said Belle. "I can definitly tell something is off about him. And I'm not sure that I like it."

"I'm sure he'll be fine." said Violet.

"You're right. He's probably just going through a phase that all artists go through. Good thing he has Serenity."

"Oh yeah..." Violet chuckled awkwardly. "Good ol Serenity!"

Belle suddenly remembered that she knew about Violet's crush on Singer, and her facial expression quickly became apologetic towards Violet for mentioning that. However, Violet was quick to send her signals that it didn't bother her and that it was fine, even if it did sting a little bit. Violet knew she meant no harm by it. Besides, she needed to be strong anyway.

Singer and Serenity both emerged from the dressing rooms in their uniforms. They were both kind of matching today. They both wore white, Singer wearing a suit and sunglesses and Serenity wearing a white dress. They both smiled at the others, as they walked on to the stage. Singer walked out first, and Serenity after him. She quickly scowelled at Violet when their eyes met as they walked by, Violet catching it. Nopony else seemed to notice. She wondered what it was all about. A look of fear came upon her face, as she watched the two stand on the stage as they began their performance.

............

After the performance had ended, the two took a bow and left the stage to prepare for their second and final song of the evening as their concert had cut in half of what it was originally to be to accomadate for the unexpected celebration of Princess Luna's return to the throne.So there was plenty of time during the half time break for Singer and Serenity to do whatever. 

The former, wanted to go over to his mother and his friends, but he got swamped by reporters wanting to ask him questions. Serenity however, managed to avoid them. Amid the chaos, she went on a mission to get Violet alone. She surfed through the crowd, searching for the mare. She'd take this matter into her own hooves. She eventually found her struggling to find a safe place to stay without running into any reporters or other crazed fans. Serenity made herself visible to Violet and signalled her into her dressing room. Desperate to get out of the stampede, the mare complied and followed Serenity inside.

Once inside, Violet let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks" she said with exaspiration.

"Think nothing of it." Serenity replied. "This happens all the time. Singer and I are both used to it." She boasted.

"I'm not so sure that I could handle that kind of pressure." said the modest mare.

"You don't look the type for that kind of bombasticness."

Violet awkwardly chuckled. "You would be correct in that assumption."

"And you don't look like the type who'd... I dunno... move in on some other mare's territory?" she said, now glaring at her with suspision in her features.

"O-Of course not! I would never d-do anything like that! I respect and know my boundaries..."

"Do you now?"

Violet suddenly got scared. She should have known that the glare she recieved from Serenity was a sign. This was a trap, and Violet walked right into it.

"Look Serenity... you seem like a reasonable mare. I don't want any trouble."

"Then stay away from my colt friend!" Serenity snapped.

Violet's eyes grew wider and she cowered down as Serenity seemed to tower over her with her condescending form. Her glare looked as if it could have gone through her body ten times, effortlessly. It was a classic death stare, something that Violet wanted nothing to do with.

"I've read your letters! He may be too blind to see it, but I can see plain as day that you are in love with him!" She had a few of the letters that she'd snuck out of Singer's saddle bags, and had them levitating them in front of Violet's face. "Don't even try to deny it, Violet!"

"I... I don't know what you're talking about!" Violet frightfully replied, holding her hooves over her head. She wanted to cry at that point. Serenity had her cornered and scared. She wanted to make a mad dash for the door and run or fly away as fast as she could, but there were still too many ponies out there.

"You listen to me..." she said, followed by a slight pause which she used to set one of the letters ablaze in front of her with a lighter. "Singer does not need you constantly bothering him with 'the good ol' days'! He has done just fine without you are his back-stabbing family! In fact, your presence here is becoming an even bigger hindrance!"

Violet burried her face into her hooves and began to sob. Serenity noticed, but chose not to let up. She felt that Violet needed to hear the truth, or her version of 'the truth' anyway.

"He will never feel that way for you, so you might as well leave him alone! We are both at a very crucial point in our careers, and I am not going to let him fall victim to distractions, nor will I put up with anymore of your feeble attempts to take Singer away from me!"

"But I'm not... I just want to be there for him! I just want to be his friend, and support him!"

"Well unfortunately for you, he doesn't need you anymore! So... if you really care about him, leave him alone! You'll be saving everypony some heart ache!"

Violet, hung her head in defeat. She couldn't help but give in to what Serenity was saying. Perhaps Serenity was right. Perhaps Violet was a hindrance, and Singer had only been responding to her letters because of their old friendship. In her despare, she over looked the fact that Singer had invited her to come and hang out with him. But even then, she might have come to the conclusion that Singer had only done so to be nice, and so that he could finally move on.

"I suggest you leave as soon as you can, before you hurt yourself or Singer any further!" she said sternly, showing her the door.

Defeated, and tears falling down her face, Violet turned and faced her while turning to head out, only to say one thing. "Well then... I hope that you two are happy together. You're obviously perfect together." She walked out of the dressing room, saying nothing further to Serenity. The unicorn mare smirked as she watched Violet leave the dressing room.

"Thank you! Now if you don't mind, I'm trying to get ready! Have a good life, Violet!" she said as she slammed the door.

Violet, with tears running all down her face, ran out from back stage and through the half empty seats in the auditorium. She hoped that nopony would see her so she could just be alone. However, what she failed to see when she stormed out of the building was that Singer had noticed her running out, and was in persuit of her.

"VIOLET!" she heard him calling, but she just ran and ran, hoping to lose him. Singer chased her for about two blocks on hoof, only to give up running and using his wings to catch up with her. Singer stopped right in front of her when he flew past her, hoping that she would stop. It worked.

Violet couldn't even look at him. She felt so humiliated. The confused stallion stared at her quizzically, trying to figure out why she was acting this way.

"Violet? What's wrong? Why are you upset?"

"I'm not!" She tried to lie keeping her head turned toward what was behind her, as to not make eye contact with him.

"Come on Violet! That's even worse than my lying attempts, and you could spot those from a mile away. Now please tell me what's wrong. I'm your friend remember? Best friends forever?"

She sighed and finally turned to face him. She couldn't help, but start to sob.

"Singer... I know that we were friends when we were growing up. But... now we have two totally different lives, and I can't keep distracting you from your goals. I know from your proposition from earlier that you were just asking me that to make me feel better."

"Where is this coming from? Violet! Don't be like this! We've never gotten in a fight before! I asked you to come with me because I want you by my side!"

"Maybe you did for a while. But now you're just holding on to our friendship because it reminds you of yourself as a kid. Well... we arent' kids anymore, Singer! You have your life, and I have mine. We can't keep this up anymore! You live miles away and are always on the go! I can't do that! The letters have been great, but I really can't keep doing it anymore! I'm sorry Singer. But I really don't think we should talk anymore... at least not for a while. It's time that we both moved on from our childhood. I don't want to hold you back anymore!"

"Violet Petals!" he scolded. "Listen to yourself! I know you don't really feel this way! Stop trying act grown up all the time, and realize that you're still young! Ponies do long distance friendships all the time! I can't not have you in my life!"

"I'm sorry Singer, but this is the way it has to be." she said with regret in her tone. "I don't want this either, but it's the way it has to be... I'm sorry!" She turned and walked off, leaving Singer hurt and stunned.

"Vi..." he could barely bring himself to call out. No! No! No! He thought to himself! This could NOT be happening! Why? His friendship with Violet was the only thing that he felt kept him connected with those that he cared about, but now she didn't want to be a part of his life anymore. By the time, he mentally gathered himself, it was too late. She had gone. Disappeared into the night. With tears streaming down his face, he trotted back to the auditorium.

.............................

Violet flew on home. She had told Belle that she wasn't feeling well, and asked her to bring Rain home. She could tell knew that she wasn't telling the truth, but she didn't try to talk her out of going home. She knew that something was wrong by the way she had acted. Minutes before his next performance, Singer met back up with Belle and Rain. He walked up to his mother, bearing a look of devistation on his face, and hugged his mother. 

Belle returned the hug, firmly holding her son. She knew that something had happened between he and Violet. It was blatantly obvious. But at that moment, saying anything about it didn't matter. She knew. All she could do was support Singer during the small amount of time he had left before the next song.

Serenity, unaware of the consequences of her actions, approached Singer while he and his mom continued their embrace. She tapped on his shoulder to let him know that it was almost show time. Singer gave her a nod, before he and his mother ended their hug. Poor Rain had watched the whole thing, and had no clue as to what was going on. Singer didn't say a word. He just turned and followed Serenity on stage.

With tears in his eyes, Singer grabbed his microphone and prepared to begin the song as the music started. But as the bright spot light shone upon him in the dark room, the audience barely visible to him, he found himself growing weak to the knees. He then collapsed on stage, much to the embarassment of Serenity. The audience gasped in horror, but many of them were quickly relieved when Singer picked himself back up off the ground. 
Feeling a lump in his throat, Singer adressed the audience with some bad news. "I'm sorry everypony..." he began. "I'm just not up for any more performing tonight!"

This earned a scowel from Serenity. But Singer didn't look his marefriend in the eye. He just turned and walked backstage, disappearing out of the limelight. Serenity was left standing alone, so she had to improvise. She oredered the DJ to play some music from one of her singles to make up for what just happened.

Singer approached Belle one last time before he retreated to his dressing room. "Thank you for coming. Thank you both. But I gotta go now." Belle nodded, knowingly as Singer retreated. She gave Rain a nudge, informing him that it was time to leave. As much as she wanted to go and comfort him some more, she knew that he wanted to be alone. Reluctantly, she took Rain on home. Perhaps she'd have more luck talking to Violet.

Singer slammed his door shut and jumped onto his makeshift bed inside his dressing room, burrying his head into a pillow. He just wanted to be alone for a while. Memories flashed through his mind of all of the things that he and Violet had been through. All the good, the bad, and the ugly things that they had faced together. But now, he could only think of how all of that was lost, as Violet had basically ended their friendship. She had felt like Singer didn't need her anymore, and Singer now felt the same way. If only he knew the whole story. If only he knew how Violet REALLY felt about him. But at this point, all of that didn't look to be revealed any time soon.

"Words could not describe the pain I felt in that instance! I felt betrayed, I felt abandoned, and I felt alone. That night was the beginning... the beginning of how I lost myself. The beginning of what I thought would be the end..."






> True Colors
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Moping. It was all Singer could do for the first few days after what had transpired. Eventually, Singer new he would have to come out of seclusion. He couldn't hide forever. Sooner or later, he'd have to go back to performing and face Serenity.

When he eventually did, he didn't get much out of her. She had appeared to be supportive of Singer during this time. As his marefriend, she felt obligated to do so. Singer felt a small sense of comfort in this. But things just didn't add up. There was a missing peice of the puzzle to why Violet left him behind, and decided to basically end her friendship with Singer. And he'd spend every minute he had in solitude, thinking and thinking of why it happened, how it happened. But he couldn't figure it out. Eventually, he came to accept that he would only know if Violet was willing to tell her, and as it stood right now, she didn't seem willing to tell him anything. He'd sent a few letters to her, but would get nothing back. Eventually he just gave up.

Serenity on the other hoof, had come to the conclusion that now that Violet was no longer in the picture, that what happened in Canterlot was merely a small price to pay for the deed she had done. She felt little remorse for it, the small part she felt was for the fact that Singer was hurt in the process. She had become somewhat of a monster over the course of the last few months. The fame had gone to her head, and everything had to be her way. And Singer's pushover nature often aided in her getting her way. She behaved dispicibly. She was rude to her makeup artists, was highly critical of her assistants. Showbizz had changed her for the worse. However Singer was too blind to see it. 

Singer was also too blind to see how showbizz had changed him as well. He too, often found himself acting like a bit of a diva. Especially now, six months after losing touch with Violet. Sadness and anger drove him into a new state of assertiveness towards the assitants and even to an extent, some of the ponies who he worked for and with; Uncle Fender included. Though he dare not try to talk back to Serenity. He knew that she would put him in his place if he ever tried to talk back to her. What he didn't realize was, that Serenity was ruling him. Her own self consciousness and insecurity had finally rubbed off on Singer completely. Neither of them were ever happy any more. And their relationship had become a joke. But, as aformentioned, they were both too blinded by their busy schedules and in themselves to realize it.

A huge show was coming up in Manehattan. Just a few days away, Singer and Serenity had already arrived in the city to get a little rest and relaxation, as well as prepare for a big show that would consist of several other solo performers, bands, duets, and instrumentals. Uncle Fender had two performances to prepare for. One with Singer and Serenity, as well as the rest of the band, which had different members, as far as drummers and keyboard players, in almost every show, and his own perfomance with his guitar solo in the instrumentals class. He had stayed in the hotel room with Singer and Serenity, as it was big enough for three. 

The two had grown accustomed to sleeping in the same bed over the last few months, but never really talked or did anything else but sleep when they did. They hadn't really bonded much in the last six months as they had both just been bitter, not so much towards each other, but neither of them ever seemed happy. They were like an old unhappy married couple that only griped and complained at each other and never got close. They had become a joke, as far as being a couple is concerned. 

Tonight was a bit different though. They were both excited to perform in front of the other bands and show them what they had in them. As they lie in bed, they both discussed all of the big names they were going to be performing with. HUGG, Imagine Griffins, Marelor Swift, even the King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Horsely, a personal hero of Singer's. Really, Singer was a big Elvis fan! He ranked him right up there with Princess Celestia on his heroes list, and for the first time in months, the two actually had a decent conversation.

"I can't believe it!" Singer exclaimed. "I'm going to be performing on the same stage, on the same day as THE KING HIMSELF!"

Serenity giggled. "I know you're excited Singer, but you really need to keep your composure. At least until we perform. We wouldn't want a repeat of Canterlot, now would we?"

Singer sighed at the mention of it, but his excitement for the show overruled his depression. "Yeah, yeah I know. I'm too pumped up for this thing to let something like that get in the way of this, though. THIS IS HUGE!"

"Hey! Could you two keep it down, please?" moaned a tired Uncle Fender, sleeping in the bed next to them. "I'm trying to sleep!"

"Sorry!" Singer whispered.

"It's alright... just don't forget to trim the pancakes on the staircase when you turn off the light..." he followed that weird sleep talk with a loud snore before going quiet once more.

The two laughed as quietly as they could at Fender's sleep talk, shortly before Singer planted a kiss on Serenity's cheek.

"I know I haven't been myself for a while, but I feel like now that we're here doing this show together, that I can finally move on form what happened. Thank you for being there for me."

Serenity felt a slight hint of guilt come upon her, as Singer rolled over and started to fall asleep. This trip had done wonders for her as well, at least so far it had. If she wasn't so tired from the train ride up there, she probably wouldn't have slept much due to dealing with the guilt of breaking up a long friendship between Singer and his best friend. She tried to justify what she did, but it only made her feel worse. She eventually shrugged it off and told herself that it was just because she was tired and needed to get some sleep. She'd feel better in the morning.

The next two days went off without a single problem. Singer and Serenity, along with Fender, went and saw the sights that could be seen in Manehattan. Forgetting about what she had thought about the first night, Serenity focussed on hanging out with Singer. The heat would be on soon, and they wanted to get as much fun as they could before it became crunch time.

All of the places that they could go,  and all of the tall buildings there were to look at, it wasn't hard for them to have a good time. Fender was especially excited because of all of the music stores that were in town. They counted at least six. All of them were great! Fender purchased some new picks for his guitar, since his old ones were getting worn out anyway. And Singer picked up a banjo that was on sale.

"Singer, brah, you don't even know how to play a banjo!" said Fender, with a chuckle.

"Well... no, but I can learn!" he said as he proudly walked out of the store with his new instrument. But as they continued down the block,  that wouldn't the only thing that he picked up that day.

The trio decided to go into a pet store. Well, Singer did. The others just followed. Singer had always wanted a pet, but was never allowed to have them when he lived at home with his parents. 

The store was run by a griffin who went by the name of Reggie, an avid pet owner and animal lover. Singer shared this fascination, and the two shared quite a conversation, before turning Singer loose in the store. He would sometimes read books about animals, as one of his many fascinations with life. As he walked through the store looking at all of the animals, from cats, to dogs, to fish, amphibians, and then he came across one section in particular that caught his eye... the reptile section. He looked into the tanks of the geckos, mostly. Most of them were green or yellow with black stripes. But one small gecko stood out to him above the others. This particular gecko was red with black stripes. According to what he'd read about them, it was rare. 

Singer stood there and looked at the gecko for a few minutes, and as he did, the gecko looked toward his direction and licked it's eye. 

"I'LL TAKE IT!" exclaimed Singer aloud, everypony in the store looking at him quizzically, including Serenity and Fender.

"Huh?" said Reggie, looking up from a magazine that he was reading. "You find something you wanna buy, kid?"

Singer beamed, "yes this little red gecko here!"

Reggie walked over to his side, and looked into the tank. "Ah... an interesting choice there. Nopony has ever taken an interest to this fella. He doesn't really do much, except sit there. He's kinda lazy."

"That's fine by me." he replied, as he paid for the gecko and some supplies that he'd need for him. He'd get a tank later, the gecko seemed content to just sit on Singer's shoulder. To Singer, this was the perfect kind of pet. One that he could always take with him, and that wouldn't be much of a problem.

Both Fender and Serenity scoffed and teased Singer about buying the thing all the way back to the hotel. But Singer didn't care. He had always wanted a pet, and now he finally had one.

"What in the wide world of Equestria compelled you to get that little thing?" asked Fender, still taunting Singer over buying the reptile.

"Because, he's a lot like me." responded Singer. "He's different from everypony-er-gecko else. Often viewed as less than other more normal ponies-er geckos."

"So what, buying that lizard is supposed to be some form of symoblism or something?" chimed in Serentiy.

"Kind of. I got him mostly because I wanted to help the little guy out. It wasn't long ago that I was in his situation, sort of... Plus, I think he likes me."

"Whatever makes you happy, Sunshine..." remarked Serenity satrically.

"Mock all you want, Reni! But this little guy is gonna be well worth all the stuff I'm going to do for him!"

"Reni?" she asked quizzically.

"Yeah it's a nick name. Well more like a shortened version of your name."

"Huh... I, uh, like it... Cheesey, but meh.." she said unsurely, as she once again as guilt came upon her once again. Nicknames were usually something that friends gave each other, and now Singer was giving her a nickname, because it was her herself had chased Violet away, and it was obvious that Singer was still working to fill that void as much as he could. She cringed at the thought of Singer ever finding out that it was her fault. She had to shake her head to get out of her train of thought. She didn't want to feel this way, for she still wanted to believe that she was in the right. But no matter what, she couldn't shake it.

"Something wrong?"

"No, I'm just a bit tired." she lied, trying to avoid any conversation about her personal thoughts. She turned in a different direction, facing the way back to the hotel. "I'm just going to go back to the hotel room and take a nap." Perfect cover story!

"Want me to come with you?" he inquired, seemingly hopeful that she'd let him.

"No... no, just keep having fun. I've got some things to take care of before I can nap. I'll see you later."

"Oh... alright then." said Singer. "Get well rested. We're still on for tonight, right?" he said, with a smile and a wink, referring to a date that they had planned for that night.

"Uh... yeah, definitely. I better get going, I'm getting more tired by the minute." 

"Alright. Be safe, Serenity. I guess I'll see you in a few hours." 

"Okay then..." she trailed off as she walked back to the hotel, and left Singer and Fender to partake in some Uncle/Nephew bonding, something that the two hardly ever got to do, due to their busy schedules. Once Serenity had disappeared, the two took out a map of the place and began plotting some fun, and perhaps even some mischief to do for the rest of the evening.

"So..." started Singer. "What do you want to do first?"


.............................

In the hotel room, Serenity lied down on the bed and pressed her face into the pillow. She didn't know why, just now that she was starting to feel guilty about everything that she did not only to Violet, but to Singer. What Singer had said to her about being supportive of him, hit her right between the eyes because she knew that it wasn't true. And as hard as she tried, she couldn't get it off of her mind. She then got up out of her bed and began walking around.

'Why do I feel so guilty? Why should I feel so guilty? I was only trying to do what it took to make sure that Singer didn't get distracted from what was important.' These were the thoughts that poured through her mind. No matter what excuse she could come up with, they all seemed petty to her now. This angered her greatly, and it showed when she threw a bar of soap across the room, while standing by sink.

As she lie back down to take her nap, she felt like she knew what had to be done. Keep her mind on the performance tomorrow at all costs, as long as she and Singer did that, things would be as they once were. And she could finally forget about all of this.

"You've got to get over this, now Serenity..." she said to herself, as she pulled her covers over her. "Tomorrow, the real work begins and you can finally put all of this behind you!"

...............................


The big day had finally come, the day that everypony had been waiting for! A small number of the greatest performers from all of Equestria and beyond had arrived in Manehattan, and were ready to showcase their talents. Including a couple of eager young perfomers by the names of Singer and Serenity. Their hearts liked to have skipped a beat when they walked past a few of their idols. Especially Singer's when "The King" walked by when they had reached the auditorium in which they would be doing their performances.

"OH MY GOODNESS!" squeeled Singer, like a raging fan-colt, as he walked by the rock and roll legend, and actually got a wink from him. "He winked at me! That's two parts disturbing, but fifty parts awesome!"

"Doesn't it feel great to be among those who inspire greatness rather than those who'll weigh you down?" Serenity said with a smirk.

"Uuuuh.... I suppose." replied Singer unsurely, as he tried to figure out what she meant by that.

"Well, I'll see you in the dressing room ASAP, alright?" she said giving him a kiss. "Bring me some fries, will ya?"

"Uh, yeah... sure thing, sweetie!" he said, shaking his head, as Serenity walked off. "Gotta clear my mind and focus on performing.... as well as finding out what time ELVIS goes on stage so I can see him perform! He he he.... Right! No more distractions... no more distractions... no more.... OOOH a distraction!" He said as he walked toward the concession stands located near the front doors of the auditorium that he'd be perfoming at soon.

As he waited in line at one of the many lines, he was so deep in thought that he almost didn't notice that in the line right next to him, was the King himself, Elvis Horesly, wearing a bit of a disguise to make it a little harder to tell who he was. The white stallion with a rock and roll style black mane, wearing garments that looked like they came from his parents' youth days, and a pair of shiny black sun glasses. Singer couldn't help but speak up, he had to, even if his voice cracked a bit during the first two attempts to talk to the star.

"Oh, hey dude! You're Elvis! My goodness you look even taller in person!" he whispered to the stallion, then biting his lip as he metally slapped himself for that stupid comment.

Elvis just turned and looked at Singer with a crooked smile, and acknowledged Singer.

"Why yes, son! I am!" he spoke back in a moderate tone of voice. "I'm mighty pumped for the show. You playin in it?"

"Yeah, I'm a vocalist. My name is actually pretty redundant to what I do. My name is Singer Case!"

"Well Singer" said Elvis. "Looking forward to hearing what you got!"

"And I look forward to seeing and hearing your performance as well, Mr The King!"

Before they knew it, they were both at the very front of their respective lines. 

"Well kid, I better order myself my peanut butter and banana sandwich and boogie on back-stage!" he replied swaying his hips a bit, in the way he usually did on stage. "Looks like I may have given myself away. Good luck kid!" he said as he grabbed his order and ran off, with a lot of adult mare fans began to chase him.

"Was that...?" said the vender working the concession stand, mesmerized that he just saw Elvis.

"Elvis 'The King' Horsely? No, I don't know what you're talking about!" smirked Singer. "That'll be two orders of fries, one with cheese on top please!"

"Yeah...sure" replied the still stunned vender. "You're a perfomer so it's on the house!"

"Oh, well... thanks sir!" Singer beemed as he took the try, slid it carefully onto his wings and wondered off backstage to find his and Serenity's dressing room. His new pet gecko, had slid out of his mane (where he'd been hiding) onto his back and began to eat one of Singer's cheese fries. "Oh Louie! My goodness! I already fed you this morning!"

The gecko didn't say anything. He just slowly chewed on one of the cheese fries in the tray while on Singer's back.

"I have a feeling that we are going to get along just fine!" chuckled the stallion as he pressed on.

.....................................

Singer stood backstage, watching "The King" perform one of his favorite songs, "Jail House Rock". It was one of his dreams to see Elvis perform live and in person, and he was getting a back stage view of the whole thing. He and a number of other performers, assistants, agents and whomever else happened to be nearby, all watched as the King rocked out.

"The Warden threw a party in the County Jail
The prison band was there and they began to wail
The band was jumpin and the joint began to swing
You shoulda heard those hyped up jailbirds sing!

Let's rock! Everypony let's a-rock!
Everypony in the whole cell block!
Come on and do the jail house rock!"

As he played his guitar, Singer noticed that his uncle made a bold move and joined Elvis on stage, joining his accoustic with his electric, making the instrumental sound ten times cooler than what it originally did. Elvis didn't seem to mind that Fender was on stage with him either, it was almost as if it was staged.

Little did anypony realize, that it was Fender's other act the whole time. Fender had planned the whole thing out with Elvis, as a treat to his nephew. Singer couldn't believe his eyes when the King himself waved Singer to come out on stage and sing with him.

Excited, Singer jumped at the opportunity and joined Elvis at the mic.

"Why don't you take the second verse, kid?" said Elvis.

"R-Really?!?"

"Oh yeah, come on! Show us all what you got!"

"ALRIGHT THEN!!!"

"Spider Murphey played the tenor saxiphone
Little Joe was blowin on the slide trombone
The drummer boy from Idahoof went crash, boom, bang
The whole rhythm section was the Canterlot gang"

Elvis joined him for the three lined chorus, as they both prepared to wrap the song up.

"Let's rock! Everypony let's rock!
Everypony on the whole cell block
was dancin to that jailhouse rock!"

As they finished the chorus, Fender and Elvis both jammed out playing the chorus instrumental one last time before they strummed the big finish. As the stallions began to catch their breaths, while collecting the applause of the spectating audience, the performance wouldn't have been complete without Elvis saying his famous catchphrase...

"Thank you, thank you very much!"

Many screaming fanmares on the front row screamed, and reached out for the middle aged stallion, as he and his guests went backstage. Much to the disappointment of his screaming fans, that was to be Elvis' only performance that day. Elvis had to run back stage as quicly as he could so that the fanmares who were able to get on stage and get past security wouldn't catch him. So Singer and Fender had to run or fly as fast as Elvis could run to stay with him.

Back in the dressing room, Serenity didn't feel like watching the show. She sat in the chair as her makeup assistants powdered her face, and getting her hooves hooficured. She was beginning to get nervous because her and Singer's time slot was coming soon, and Singer hadn't come back yet. She was getting impatient, and she began to take her frustration out on her assistants.

"OW!" she yelled at the pony powdering her face. "What do you think I am? A wall you can just hit on?!?"

"I'm very sorry miss..." said the mare apologetically. "I really didn't mean to... I'll be more careful..."

"Yes, you will or you'll be fired!" she snapped. The pre-vacation version of Serenity had returned. Her less than pleasant tone that her assistants had grown accustomed to with her. It was a wonder that she'd never had to replace any of them because of how impossible she could be at times.

"Yes ma'am..." said the assistant, trying her hardest to hold back her tears.

"Why are you crying? I didn't do anything to you! Go take a break until you can get your head back together!"

"Yes ma'am... thank you ma'am." she said, trying not to sob in front of Serenity or her fellow assitants.

Serenity's next victim would be her wardrobe advisor. Her advisor was a young unicorn mare with white fur and a short pink mane, who went by the name, Thimble. She levitated a beautiful white dress in front of Serenity, to show her what she thought would be good for the performance. Serenity, still on her power trip, scowelled at the dress, and then at her assistant, who immediately began to express her fear upon noticing Serenity's facial expression.

"This was the best you could do?!?" shouted Serenity as she stomped toward her assistant.

"I... uh... well..." was all the staggering mare could say. At this point, she was fearing for her life, trying to fight past her trembling teeth. "I thought you would like it... it matches the one that you did your first performance with, nicely... or at least I thought...."

"Well you thought wrong!" she said with a forceful tone, still scowling at her. Her eyes might as well had been stabbing her in the heart with the weight of her glare.

"I'm sorry, Miss Serenity! Please don't fire me! I... really didn't mean to offend..."

The mood calmed down instantly when the door flung open Singer and Fender entered the dressing room, apparently still in conversation with somepony, probably Elvis. Thimble high tailed it out of there, in hopes of letting Serenity calm down, while Serenity's attention turned to the two stallions who walked in the room, laughing their flanks off.

"No you're the stallion!" yelled Singer with laughter. "Thank you so much, sir! That was something I'll never forget!"

A bit of mumbling was heard, which was the sound of an un-readable voice to him being far away from where Serenity was sitting. But it was a brief mumble, because Singer quickly responded.

"Thank you again, you have a wonderful night!" Singer shouted as he waved good bye to the musical icon.

"Yeah! You rock, brah!" shouted Fender as he shut the door.

The two immediately plopped down into their chairs and exhaled. Both of them had just did a song with a Legend! They were pumped up! But one pony in particular was less than pleased at this.

"Serenity, you won't believe wha-"

"What do you think you're doing?!?" she belted furiously. "Do you realize that we have only ten minutes until we go on? Where were you?!?"

"Uncle Fender and I just performed with Elvis Horsely!" shouted Singer.

"We didn't just perform, we killed the audience! I mean The King did most of the work, but we added our share..."

"What have I told you two about being punctual and not getting distracted by stupid things?"

"There you go using the D word again..." chuckled Singer. "We weren't distracted, babe! We were performing! That was Fender's other performance and as a surprise, he invited me! It's far from stupid!"

"I hope you didn't strain your voice" she deadpanned, still scolding them. "Because I'd hate to have to perform ALONE, yet again!"

"What's your problem, Reni? You need to chillax!" replied Singer, now with a bit of irritation in his voice. "We came here to have fun, remember?"

"The fun ended five hours ago!" she quipped. "Or at least it should have! I told you, HONEY, that all performances are serious matters, vacation or not!" Her voice was growing more condescending by the minute.

"Okay, something is up with you! You've been acting really weird the whole time we've been here!"

"I'm not acting weird, and quit trying to change the subject!"

"I'm not! And come on, I thought we were done fighting! I really don't need this, not now... you know that."

"Oh when are you going to get over her?!?" she said. "I didn't get rid of her, just so you could keep bringing her up and being distracted without her even being.... in.... your......" she tried to stop herself, but it was too late. The guilt and the anger had finally brought it out, and a look of hurt came upon Singer's face. She was busted!

"Wait...." he said, trying to put it all together in his mind. "You... had something to with Violet leaving that night?"

"Um..." she clamped her mouth shut. She had been caught, there was no avoiding it this time. "........maybe."

"What did you say to her?" Singer growled angrily, his ears folded back. "What did you say to her, WHAT DID YOU DO?!?!"

"I told her to get lost and that you didn't need her anymore! You're with me, Singer!"

"That's what this has been about?!? You think that me and her.... NO! We're just friends! Always have been since we were six years old!"

Fender's facial expressions at this point had gone blank, as nervousness hit him while watching their exchange. He decided to sneak out the door and let them handle this one on their own. And who could blame him? The poor stallion already had to step in when Singer's own brother tore him down during his own wedding ceremony. He couldn't bare to watch this, especially since he'd had his own experiences with this kind of thing before. Thankfully, he left unnoticed.

"Oh please! I've seen you two together. All of the blushing, and the awkwardness and the sweet talk in your letters... It's as clear as day that at least one of you likes the other. And I think you like her!"

"...so you got rid of her because you're jealous then? Well... whatever the reason, that was a very messed up thing to do, Serenity! I can't believe how selfish you've become!"

"I've become selfish?!? Look in the mirror, you idiot! You are no better than me!"

"You know what? I don't have time for this!" Singer said, as he turned his face away. Conveniently, he was now facing a mirror. No, the purple version of himself wasn't there, but he could tell just by looking at himself in the mirror that he wasn't happy, and that perhaps Serenity may have been right about the selfish thing. He did in fact, leave his family. Though his reasons were understandable, he began to regret ever leaving home, ever seeking his career, ever meeting Serenity... but it was too late. No! It wasn't... there was one thing that he could take care of at least, one thing that had become a big mistake now that his eyes were now open to it.

"I'm done Serenity! I mean it this time. We're done! And not just us as a couple, but as your partner in music! We should never have become more than friends, but as of right now, I really don't care to be even that with you! You have become just like Trixie! And I want nothing to do with you anymore..." he said scowling back at her.

Serenity began to well up in tears, but still glaring at Singer.

"Don't you compare me to her!"

"Too late!"

"So you're just going to give up everything that we worked for? Everything that we had together? Over some... old childhood friend?"

"Thanks to you, she's not my friend anymore! She meant more to me than most ponies did in my life. She was special! And now she's gone, and it's all your fault! Yeah... I'm giving it up! I'm giving it all up! Because frankly, I don't give a flying buck anymore! Sorry for waisting your time..."

"You are the stupidest stallion I have ever had the displeasure of working with!"

Singer only responded with a cynical laugh. He turned around and walked toward the door. Not looking back at her, he kicked the door open with his front hooves, breifly sobbed and said three final words to Serenity.

"Good bye, forever!"

He jumped up and blasted out of there as quick as he could fly with his wings and zoomed out from back stage over the multitude of ponies watching the show. A performance by Marelor Swift was almost over, and everypony was so busy watching her sing, that none of them even noticed Singer as he flew over, not even the few that got their hats knocked off by the ghust of wind he created when he flew over them. Within 9 measly minutes, what might have been one of the best days of his life, had turned to one of the worst. 

"We are never, ever, ever
Getting back together!"

Sernity, out of frustration sat in her dressing room. Strangly she didn't cry. She cynically laughed to herself. "This isn't over... One day... I will get my revenge! Just you wait, Singer Case. You're going to be sorry you ever crossed me! That you ever met me..."

A knock on her door stopped her cyniscm and she immediately returned to her normal state, and faked it as good as she could.

"Miss, you and Singer go on in a couple of minutes..." said one of the managers of the facility.

"Tell them that the plans have changed and I will be doing a solo act." she said with a smug attitude. "This mare works alone now..."

"Uuuuuuuh....okay then." said the stallion as he walked off and shut the door behind him.

............................
Singer had finally made it outside and had flown as fast as he could to the hotel room to collect his things, and leave. He had grabbed everything he needed, and was standing outside about to take off to buy a train ticket back to Las Pegasus, when he was stopped by his Uncle.

"Sing! Wait!" he yelled. "Are you leaving?"

"Yes, Fender. It's over... Serenity and I are done. For good this time."

"I'm really sorry, Neph." he said giving Singer a hug. "Not much of a hugger, but you need one right now. I wish I would have known what she did."

"It's alright, Fender. Everything that's happened, everything I found out... it's for the best... I have my life now, Violet has hers. No matter how much I'm going to miss her, if I truly care about her, I need to just leave her alone. She's suffered enough at my hoof. And I've suffered enough at Serenity's."

"What are you going to do now?"

"Start over, I suppose. Get a job, try to climb my way back. This won't look good on me, so I'm going to have to repair my image as I'm sure Serenity is going to sabotauge it the next chance she gets. It's tough, but what's done is done. Nothing more I can do to fix what happened."

"It doesn't have to be this way, brah. You and Violet can still be friends." pleaded Fender with one last ditch effort to change Singer's mind. If there was one thing that Fender valued, was a good friendship. He knew that Violet was the best thing to ever happen to his nephew, and wasn't ready to see that go away.

With tears streaming from his eyes, he turned away. "No Fender, we can't... I don't think she wants anything to do with me now. I made my choice and it wound up being the wrong one. The best I can do is just move on, and stay out of her life. I'm sick of ruining it."

"Very well then. I hope you know what you're doing." replied Fender dejectedly.

"I do, and Fender, I don't tell you this often enough but thank you. I appreciate you. I always have. You've been kinda like a big brother and at times a father figure to me. I love you, brah!"

"Hey now, brah! Let's not get emotional, now. But I suppose I love you too." he said giving Singer a noogie, then releasing him. "I should probably come with you, huh?"

"I can't ask you to do that. Stay here, have a good time. I mean it. You deserve it, and I'll be okay. I have this guy with me." Singer pulled out his sleeping gecko and rubbed his back a few times, before sticking him back in his saddle bag.

"Alright then."

"If Serenity will still have you, you should stay with her. Though I wouldn't blame you if you moved on elsewhere."

"Yeah, she seemed pretty ticked. I'm sure there's a band out there somewhere in need of a guitarist!" he chuckled. "Well then, I guess I'll see you around town when I get back. If I do end up staying with Serenity's deal, I'll do the best I can to get away and come see you as often as I can. I wish you the best of luck."

"Same for you, Fender." said Singer extending his hoof out for a hoof bump.

Fender did the same, and then the two went their seperate ways.

										
> Freedom
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Don't worry
about a thing
cause every little thing
is gonna be alright

Don't worry
about a thing
cause every little thing
is gonna be alright

Rise up this morning
Smile with the rising sun
Three little birds
Each by my porch step
Singing sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true
Singing: This is my message to-"

"Yeah right...." said Singer woke up from his night's sleep, and turned off his record player. All four hours he had gotten to sleep that night were spent tossing and turning due to the dream he kept having about the purple stallion, dreams about something happening to Violet or his family and him not being able to do anything about it, dreams about losing the appartment that he now lived in, or losing his job, dreams about basically the worst possible things he could have. That's how it had been for him for the longest while, now. 

It had been a year and a few months since his break up with Serenity went down. As he predicted, when she had gotten back to Las Pegasus a couple days after he did, she immediately went to work trashing Singer's good name anyway that she could. She told the media that Singer cheated on her and stole a bunch of things in Manehattan, to get even with him. The bad part was, almost every pony took her side, which was something that Singer didn't see coming. 

Singer's breakup with Serenity was probably one of the worst in Equestria history, or at least that's how Singer felt. For the longest time he couldn't walk down the street without getting dirty looks from the other ponies. After all the lies Serenity told, Singer had to be detained by the police for five days until all of the charges had been dropped when they found that Serenity was lying after a few thurough investigations. At least he had the sympathy of the police force now that they knew what a liar she was, he thought to himself on the day he was released. 

Singer handled everything okay, he didn't protest the issue any because he knew that he wouldn't get convicted since he didn't do anything wrong. Quite a cheap blow to make, even over a break up, Singer thought to himself.

After a while, Serenity calmed the Singer bashing storm down and went back to focussing on her own life. But Singer was never able to recover after it all. He had to crawl back to where his career began, Slappy's Pool Hall, for a job. Slappy, having nothing against Singer graciously welcomed him with open arms and happily offered him a job. That was one positive thing for Singer to be thankful for. However, the environment of his job and pretty much anything to do with Las Pegasus, was wearing down on him. He wasn't happy anymore, he didn't socialize near as much as he used to. He barely ever sang a single note unless he was in a good mood, or unless he found a song that fit how he was feeling. 

This particular morning, Singer had to work the morning shift and his clock showed that he had half an hour to get ready for work and clock in for duty. Sighing and dragging his tired self out of bed, he poored himself a cup of coffee, and went to fix himself up and put on his red collared shirt with Slappy's logo on it. The coffee helped wake him up just enough to stay alert and helped him focus on what he had to do. Begrudgingly, after sticking his mug in the sink, he opened the door(which had zero little birds by it, by the way) and flew off to work.

.................................

On the other side of town, three pegasai, a tall stallion, a small mare and another stallion, tall as well but also fat all wearing trench coats and fedoras, walked into a recording studio where Serenity Sound was recording a song for her next album. The mix master who was overseeing her recording time, stopped the trio from entering the booth upon their entry into the facility but was bribed by the taller stallion to get him to let them in. After recieving the bribe, the mix master obliged them, and moved out of the way.

They listened until she was finished, and then ordered the producer to send her in to talk with them. Not willing to mess with these guys, the mix master again obliged them and exited the room once he'd signaled her to come in. He wasn't going to stick around, those guys looked scary.

Serenity emerged from the sound proof room, into the room with the three pegasai and took a seat in one of the revolving desk chairs that were in the control room. She appeared a bit irritated that she was interrupted, and was even more irritated that her mix master stallion wasn't in there where he was supposed to be.

"Alright, you have my attention. What do you want?" she demanded sternly. "Oh and make this quick! I've got business to attend to."

"As do we, my dear..." the tall stallion spoke up, removing his hat. The stallion was a black furred stallion with a silver mane, with yellow streaks going through his hair, a familiar face to us. "The name is Thunder Clap. I'm kind of a mercinary/theif for a classified client. However, I have come here to you for some help on a personal matter."

"And you think I can help you?" she asked suspiciously, cocking her eyebrow, while drinking the water bottle she had sitting beside her.

"Indeed. It's no secret that you and a certain stallion by the name of Singer Case were together as a couple last year, were you not?"

"We were. Why is that any of your concern?"

"Well, you see... Mr. Case is on my long list of ponies who's screwed me over in life, and it's high time I pay him a visit."

"Look, I hate Singer as much as you do, but I don't want him to die...." she said, but was stopped as Thunder Clap put his hoof up to Serenity's mouth.

"Oh no, of course not! I'm not seeking to kill him, you can be rest assured of that. I just want to pay him a little visit. Knock him around for a bit to kick off a new string of weekly, well deserved beat downs!"

"And you swear, you won't try to "k-word" him?" she inquired. Sure she didn't like Singer any more, but there was nothing inside her that wanted him dead, or to be an accomplice to a murder of anypony. It'd surely ruin her good name. Luckily for her, if there was one part of anything she could trust this guy on, that was one of them.

Despite being a jerk, Thunder Clap wasn't a killer, just a bully. He hadn't outgrown his old ways an inch. He was the same old jerk that he was when he went to school at Cloudsdale with Singer. The same could be said for his two companions, Mocha and Taffy.

"On my honor, my dear! You have my word! I'm not the killing type, you see. Perhaps mercinary wasn't the right word for me to use to describe myself. I'm more like a bounty hunter of sorts."

"I might know where to find him, but I'll need a bit of incentive before I give that information out." Serenity replied deviously.

"Incentive?" The stallion chuckled. "The arrogance of some ponies... Alright, I'll give you some incentive. Tell us what you know and I won't have my side kick beat you to a pulp!"

"You, being stallions, would dare inflict harm upon a mare?"

The smallest of the trio was the second to remove her hat. The mare named Taffy was pink furred with a long pink and white mane, with bangs that covered her eyes, and three wrapped up pieces of taffy as her cutie mark. "I would, sugar pie! Because I'm a mare and I'm not afraid to rearange your face! Te he he he..." she laughed maniacally as she pinned Serenity and her chair to the wall.

Serenity flinched as Taffy continued to pin her against the wall, until her boss interviened.

"Taffy! Get down, now! And I don't remember giving you permission to speak!" snapped Thunder Clap. "Save it for that idiot, Singer!"

"Sorry, boss!" said Taffy as she folded her ears back, and walked backwards back to the left side of the big fat pegasus stallion, named Mocha, who was a big brown stallion with a candy bar as his cutie mark. Mocha sniggered softly to himself, until Taffy swatted at his left front hoof as a way of telling him to stop.

"As I was saying, Serenity. You have two options. Tell us what you know about Singer's whereabouts and MAYBE you'll get a small reward. Or refuse and Taffy here will knock you around a bit. It's your choice!"

"Fine, I'll tell you everything that I know if it will get you to get the hay out of here!"

"Excellent!" chuckled Thunder Clap. "Excellent! We are all ears..."

..........................

Once Singer had gotten to work, he made himself look alive and tried to be as upbeat as he could. He went to work in the kitchen, preparing the food that would be served in the restaurant portion of the establishment. Soup, salad, sadwiches, fries, veggie burgers, Singer could make it all. Making food took his mind back to the days when he would help his mother out in the kitchen. It was one of the skills that he had that he actually had to be taught how to do. He enjoyed every chance he could take to indulge himself in the memories that he had of cooking with his mother, whenever he didn't have to focus his attention on what he was doing.

But that wasn't the only part of his job. He'd alternate from being one of the cooks to being a waiter, the part of his job that he absolutely hated. Some of the ponies who'd come into the joint were either rude, drunk or scary. This overwhelmed the positive side of the pleasant amount of customers that Singer had to deal with because Singer wasn't sure how to deal with those kinds of behaviour without either making a strategic withdrawal or in the case of the rude ponies, act out and cause a scene, thus causing him to be a bit twitchy. Thus far, he had done particularly well with all three, being able to act professional. But the stress from having to deal with that, on top of the adversity he'd faced outside of work over the last year or so was weighing down on him like crazy at this point. He wasn't sure how much longer he was going to be able to take it.

For the first part of the day, Singer took up his favorite part of the job, cooking. For the first three hours he watched the minutes quickly fly by when he prepared meals. He even began to sing while he was cooking one of the pots soup for the noon hour.

"Well you can tell by the way I cook my soup
I'm a chef stallion, no time to droop!
Music loud, soup is warm
I've been kicked around since I was born
But it's alright
I'm okay
I'll live to see another day

I feel the city shaking 
And everypony's breaking
As I'm stayin alive, stayin alive!"

"Come on, every pony sing along!" he exclaimed to the rest of the ponies preparing meals in the kitchen.

The rest of the ponies in the kitchen joined in as Singer led them.

"Ah, ha, ha, ha
Stayin alive, stayin alive!
Ah, ha, ha, ha
Stayin alive, stayin alive!

Ah, ha, ha, ha"

"Stayin ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-" Singer sang by himself, sliding across the kitchen floor as one of the managers walked in, and was standing there as Singer slid into him. "Hiya boss!" said Singer, grimacing sheepishly at brown earth pony looking down on him, scowling at him all the while. The manager pushed up his large round glasses up on his face and stepped back a bit.

The manager was an older stallion and was bald, skinny, wearing a bow tie. This particular stallion was known for his strictness, way more so than the owner and boss of the establishment, Slappy himself. He wasn't very popular among the employees and was responsible for over half of the job terminations at Slappy's.

The snooty manager looked down and Singer with disapproving eyes, straightened his glasses once more before finally speaking.

"Mr. Case if I remember right, you are on duty in the kitchen, are you not?" he asked satrically.

"Yes..." replied the irked pegasus.

"I thought so. This isn't one of your shows that you can just goof around and do whatever you want, Mr. Case. In fact, if I understand right, those days are all but over for you, aren't they?"

'Jerk', thought Singer to himself before he looked down to the floor with embarassment.

"I suggest you remember that if you want to hold on to your job, here at Slappy's! Wouldn't want you to be the fifth termination this month. Oy, it's so hard to get any decent help these days."

"Sorry..." said Singer as calmly as he could. His teeth gritted together, and his eyebrows pointed. He dare not make eye contact with the manager though. Scowling at him would only make things worse. He tried as hard as he could to let it go, but it proved difficult. He tried deep inhales and exhales until he was finally able to calm himself down and get back to work after the manager had left the kitchen, leaving the atmosphere feeling nice and welcome again. Amazing how one snooty attitude could change that.

He continued doing his part in the kitchen for the next two hours, and then he was called by the same manager. The manager tossed him an apron and pointed at the tables, then smirked. Singer knew what it meant. It meant he was now on waiter duty, his least favorite part of his job. Begrudgingly he took the apron and walked over to the nearest table to take the order of the first table. 

He could have sworn that he heard his manager chuckle. He better hope that he was just hearing things, thought Singer to himself. He wasn't in the mood, and was certainly not the pony any pony should mess with at that time. Singer was like a ticking time bomb of anger, and it appeared that this manager at Slappy's knew this. At times it seemed like he tried to rub Singer the wrong way, but he'd keep himself calm. He didn't know how he did it, but he was able to hold it in and eventually let it go each time he was heckled by the manager.

"My name is Singer, I'll be your waiter today. How may I help you?" said Singer in the most generic, fake way he could. He didn't really care about doing this waitering job, but he had to act like he did for the sake of keeping it, as he knew he needed it. If he was lucky, he'd get some pleasant customers to serve that would make the job more worth while.

"Uh yeah, I'll have that there number one on the dinner menu." said a stallion with a hick accent. "With a soda and some fries!" He and his friend were having a swell time from the look of it. They had poker game cards out and looked like they were betting their pay checks away with each other.

"And I'll have me a veggie burger with some of them fried taters on the side, mmmm hmmm...." said his friend, shortly before he began to snigger.

"Nice Slingblade reference, Cooter!" said the first stallion, hoofbumping his friend.

"Will that be all... uh.... gentlecolts?"

"Eyup! That'll do it!" said the first stallion.

"No you don't, Mud Sling! I ain't ordered mah sodie pop yet!"

"Soda added to your meal..." Singer said as he noted it down, adding it to the order. "Anything else....?" 'Please say no...'

"That'll git-er." said Mud.

"Yeah, thanks there bud! Heh heh!" laughed Cooter.

Singer shuddered as he walked away from the table. He was so glad that that was over.

.................................

Thunder Clap, Mocha and Taffy continued on down the street that they were on. Thunder Clap was frustrated. They'd tried at another appartment complex where Singer had previously lived before the one he was currently at. No avail. It was old news, as Singer had moved from there since Serenity was last aware of anything to do with Singer.

"I knew it!" said Clap. "That darn mare's information is old and outdated!"

"Too bad the stallion at the other complex couldn't give us the information..." said Taffy dejectedly. "I would really like to pound that Singer's face in right about now!"

"Yeah, me too!" said Mocha.

Thunder Clap reached over and slammed his two sidekicks' heads together, and watched as they both fell down.

"You numb skulls ain't doing anything to Singer! That's going to be my pleasure and fun! You donut holes got that? Now shut up and stop being stupid!"

"Yes sir..." replied Mocha.

"Whatever you say, TC!" said Taffy, shaking along side Moca as they both lie on the ground.

"Now get up! We've got some looking to do!"

.........................

Lunch break had finally arrived for Singer, and it couldn't have come soon enough! After dealing with a bunch of less-than-pleasant ponies, as well as some crazy rock stars, Singer was finally able to sit down and enjoy his peanut butter sandwich and the other good stuff that lie in his lunch sack. Only problem was, he had to sit in the same area as the ponies he had just got through serving. This caused a major problem for him, due to the noise in the area around him. Ponies playing card games, playing pool, and some even smoking cigars around him was enough to disturb what was supposed to be a tranquility time for him.

One table in particular was bothering him pretty badly as one of the ponies, an older brown earth pony stallion with a white beard sat with a bunch of Elvis impersonators, playing a game of black-jack behind him, and all he could do was sing this same song over and over again...

"You've gotta know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run
You never count your money
When your sittin at the table
There'll be plenty time fer countin
When the dealing's done..."

Singer looked behind him to see who was singing the song. Normally, hearing other ponies sing didn't bother him, but it was something about this song that really set him off. He'd just try to ignore it as he continued to eat his food. He sent a glare the stallion's way, but the stallion wasn't even looking his direction so he turned back around and took another bite of his sandwich.


"You've gotta know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run
You never count your money
When your sittin at the table
There'll be plenty time fer countin
When the dealing's done..."

Singer, again turned around. This time he called out to the table that the group was at.

"Hey, dude! Could you keep it down? I'm trying to enjoy my meal... thanks in advanced." Singer threw the latter part in at the last second, hoping that it wouldn't give the stallion much of a choice but to shut up. For a few minutes it seemed like it worked, but then...

"You've gotta know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run
You never count your money
When your sittin at the table
There'll be plenty time fer countin
When the dealing's done..."

Singer slammed his hoof down on the table, turning around and glaring at the group again. No eye contact from the group this time either. Singer mumbled a few times as he turned back around.

"You've gotta know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run
You never count your money
When your sittin at the table
There'll be plenty time fer countin
When the dealing's done..."

"Will you SHUT UP?!?" yelled Singer furiously.

The older stallion just smirked at Singer and stuck out his tongue at him. This made Singer's face turn redder than rudolph the red nosed reindeer's nose on Hearth's Warming day!

"You've gotta know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em-"

"THAT'S IT!!!!" said Singer as he turned around, stood up on the table he was sitting at, and zoomed after not just the old fart, but his buddies too. And one by one Singer took to tackling all of them. The other guys he tackled most likely because he didn't like Elvis impersonators, and the older guy he tackled for obvious reasons.

It was then Slappy and the manager both quickly emerged from the back room and pulled Singer off of the older stallion. It was when he was being pulled off the stallion that Singer began to feel great remorse for what he'd done.

"Case... go clean yourself off and meet me in my office, please." said Slappy. Singer could tell by his tone that he was disappointed in him. Singer didn't blame him. He was disappointed in himself as well.

"Are you finally going to fire that clown?" laughed the manager.

"Get back to work" snapped Slappy, as he scowelled at the manager.

The manager cleared his throat and went back to the kitchen, but not before adressing the rest of the costomers. "Return to your business! Free ice cream on the house! Uh... with purchases, of course!" he announced while pointing to the ice cream machine in the restaurant. Seconds later a line quickly formed. Each pony eager to get their free ice cream.

Singer stood in the stallion's bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror as he took the paper towels and wiped the food that was on the table of the ponies he attacked off. His mind went back to when he worked at the diner in Cloudsdale, when he got in the fight with the costomer, who happened to be one of his bullies. Only this time was different. Singer really didn't have much of a legitimate reason to attack the older stallion, other than the fact that he was being annoying. Singer felt tears coming from his eyes, and for a few minutes he stood at the sink and sobbed. When he looked up, he was slightly shocked to see his reflection had once again changed to purple furred, red eyed, orange maned version of himself. He gasped and took a few steps back, and then stepped forward again as the reflection grimmaced.

"Well, well, well..." said the reflection. "You really done it this time, didn't you?"

"Y-you... who are you?"

"You will find out someday." chuckled the imaginary figure. "You and everypony around will find out what kind of a monster you are. It's already happening to you right now..."

"YOU'RE LYING!" he yelled.

"Shhh.... don't yell. You're talking to me, but anypony else will just see you talking to yourself in the mirror!" it said as it smirked.

"Go away..." Singer whispered, right before he closed his eyes and re-opened them. He took a few deep breaths as he regained himself. He quickly reminded himself of what he was to soon face. His boss was waiting for him. Better not keep him waiting too long, Singer thought to himself as he started out the bathroom door.

A stallion sitting in one of the stalls, was trembling, wondering what Singer was talking to himslef about. All of the yelling, and gasping was really creeping the guy out. He was relieved when Singer left the room. 

"What a weirdo!" said the stall stallion softly, as he returned his attention to the magazine that he'd been reading.

Nervously, Singer made his way to the door of Slappy's office. He felt like there was a frog in his throat due to how nervous and overwhelmed this whole situation had made him. He just wanted to go back in thatt bathroom and cry some more. But he knew that that wasn't the right thing to do. It was the coward thing to do. His mother and in some instances, his father, taught him to do the right thing and to own up to his mistakes. Doing otherwise would've dishonored his family. That was something that Singer wasn't willing to do, regardless of how he felt about one half of his parents. It wasn't important right at this moment. Singer gathered his courage and knocked on the door. 

"Come in!" he heard Slappy yell. 

Singer, with his head hung low and tail tucked between his back legs, walked in looking like a scared puppy and sat down in the chair in front of Slappy's desk, watching as Slappy looked up.

"Hello, Case..." Slappy said, pausing for about a minute. "I suppose you understand why I called you in here."

"Probably something to do with me attacking customers off the clock." said Singer remoresfully.

"Something like that." said Slappy. "But it's more than just about that, Case. I've noticed something about you, ever since you've worked here. You aren't happy anymore. You're stressed, you're tired, you're grouchy and you have a really bad attitude towards almost every pony." 

"I'm sorry, sir. I understand if you want to fire me..." Singer hung his head low, but his eyes wondered back to the authoritive figure sitting behind the desk, who was now lightly smiling. Singer's ears that were once folded back, now pointed upward as he looked up in response to Slappy's expression.

"You've needed an excuse to get the hay out of Las Pegasus for a long time, Case. I truly believe that you do not belong here any longer. I'm not telling you this as your boss, but as a... kind of a... friend. Get out of here! Not just out of my facility, but out of Las Pegasus! Go back home, I dunno! Do something! Anything but wasting your life here! You are better than this! I know that sounds funny coming from an owner of a gambling faciltiy, but still." 

Singer looked up quizzically at his employer, cocking his eyebrows. But it hit Singer almost as quickly. Slappy was right. Singer was just asking for misery if he stayed in Las Pegasus. The city had taken from him more than it had done any good for him as of late. It was time for a change. It was time for him to leave Las Pegasus for good.

"You're right, sir." Singer said. "It's time."

"I'll take that as an official resignation, then."

"You mean you're not going to fire me?"

"It'll look better on your resume if you quit. When you and Serenity came here and got noticed, I saw great potential in both of you. But your time here is over. Your rep has been tarnished. Go elsewhere and start a new better life for yourself! You don't deserve to live in this hell hole of a town!" Slappy said in conlusion as he signed the paper work, releasing Singer from his obligations. "I wish you the best of luck, Case.... I mean, Singer. Leave this place and don't look back, for your sake!"

"Thanks Slappy!" said Singer. "Have a good life!"

"You too. And remember what I told you, now!"

"I will."

And with that, Singer was done. He walked out of the office and right by the manager, and waved good bye to him. 

"So I see the boss finally canned ya, you clown!" sniggered the manager. "Smell ya later, doofus!"

Singer turned around, walked up to the manager, and the once smug smile that adourned the manager's face disappeared, once he saw the seriousness in Singer's expression. The next thing he knew, Singer's hoof met his face and he was lying on the floor.

"I didn't get fired, I quit you jerk!" Singer laughed. "Now have a nice day!"

Singer made his way out of the building with his now ex-manager laying on the floor, holding his face. the latter now scowling at former the way that he always did. 

"Good riddance, loser!"

......................
Singer sat in the Corner Cafe, the same place where he and Serenity had shared their first dinner as friends. He don't know why he ended up there, but he figured that it would be an appropriate place for him to eat before he went home and grabbed what little things he had with him in his appartment and left the city forever.

As he sat there, eating his cheese fries that he ordered, the door opened which caused the bell to ring. Standing there was none other than Serenity Sound herself. Wearing a large feathery coat and a large hat as a disguise, she snuck over to Singer's table and sat down. Singer thought she looked awfully strange wearing the coat in the middle of summer, but he decided to just ignore that.

Singer glared at her with an unwelcoming expression, but didn't bother telling her to leave.

"What do you want?" he said, still giving her the stink eye.

"Don't you take that tone with me..." she snapped, while scowling at him. "I've come with bad news. You've got three goons on your tail. They tried to get me to tell them where your whereabouts were, but I ended up giving them your old adress."

"....why?"

"Because I don't trust them." she said, stealing one of his cheese fries. "And if I were you, I'd leave town."

Singer grabbed his tray of cheese fries and pulled it closer to him. "If I weren't already planning on leaving, I'd slam my hoof down and tell your smug self to get out of here and stop bothering me. But..." he sighed. "I suppose I at least owe you a thank you. At least you cared enough not to let me get killed."

"I don't care. I just don't want blood on my hooves, that's all." she said, followed by a small cough.

"Right..." he replied. "Well, if that's all. I'll be taking the rest of my meal to go. Thanks, I suppose."

"Have a nice life, if you can." said Serenity giving him a smug smirk as she got up and walked out of the diner.

Singer only growled as he picked up his cardboard made tray that contaned his cheese fries and high tailed it out of the diner.

..........................
"HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG!" yelled Thunder Clap in frustration. "Another bogus lead! Seriously! Not even the jail where he was at, knows where he is!"

"Maybe he's on the run?" said Taffy.

"How would he be on the run? He don't even know we're following him!" asked Thunder Clap. "Think before you talk, dimwit!"

"S-Sorry, TC!" said Taffy.

"Ugh... no matter, we'll find that little punk and knock him out yet!"

"Sure is a lot of work just for one pegasus..." smarted Mocha.

"I beg your pardon!" yelled Thunder Clap.

"Uuuuuh...."

SMACK! Mocha felt Thunder Clap's backhoof hit him on the back of the head, and his large body tumbled and fell right onto Taffy, who began squirming and groaning upon impact.

"Get off of me you fat lard!" she protested.

"That 'one pegasus' is part of the reason why I do what I do!" Thunder Clap screamed. "Those wasted years in that so-called correctional penitentiary for young colts, all because that ONE had the guts to stand up to me in school! That's not nothing! When I find that pegasus, he's going to wish he'd never been born because I'm going to make his life a living ball pit!"

"Ball pits are fun!" said Taffy, trying to crawl out from under the fazed Mocha.

"A living ball pit of terror, then!" shouted Thunder Clap.

"Sounds fun, boss!" said Taffy as she was finally able to pull herself out from under Mocha, when he decided to get up. She then caught a deadpan from Thunder Clap. "I mean... fun for us, not so much for him!"

Clap only sighed and facehoofed in response to this before shouting out: "Does anypony know where I can find Singer Case?!?"

A random pony pushing a maintainence cart with a mop bucket, mop, broom, dustpan and everything happened to be passing by when he heard Thunder Clap's query.

"Singer Case? You mean that ex-performer stallion?" he inquired in response.

"Yes...." said Thunder Clap. "Not a single pony in this Faust forsaken city seems to know where he lives!"

"He lives in the Carlisle Appartment Complex across town! He's such a nice guy! He recycles!"

"Thanks..." said Thunder Clap. "Mocha, Taffy! Let's ride!" Thunder Clap flapped his wings rapidly and took off, while Mocha and Taffy followed suit, leaving the janitor pony all alone in the street.

"Nopony ever talks to me..." he sighed as he pushed his cart along.

.....................
Once he got into his appartment, Singer began to put his belongings into his saddle bag. This included a picture of he and Violet in their younger days, a few letters that he had saved from their exchanges, some small bags of chips, a few shirts, his small collection of records, a bottle of water, food for Louie the gecko, and Louie himself, though he ended up crawling up Singer's neck into his mane. Singer didn't object to that, though. As long as Louie was with him, he didn't care where he rode. At this point the gecko was his only true friend, though there was one small part of him that was clinging on to the hope that he and Violet would be friends again some day. As he thought about it, a small tear rolled down his face, as he was reminded that he'd lost somepony truly special to him. But... no time to dwell on the past, now. Time to move on as best as he could.

He wrote a note to the landlords, stating his departure and that he wouldn't be coming back. Afterwards, he locked his door and went to the main office to turn in his key and give them his last rent payment. He also gave the receptionist a letter to send to his Uncle, to let him know that he was leaving Las Pegasus. No time for goodbyes, Singer had to flee Las Pegasus quickly before whoever was after him found out where he was.

Singer waved goodbye to the suburbian Carlisle Appartment complexes for the last time and zoomed off into the air. Mere moments later, Thunder Clap, Mocha and Taffy finally arrived after what to Thunder Clap, had seemed like days of searching, he was finally going to kick-start his revenge on Singer. Once he'd found out what appartment Singer lived at, he rushed to the door of the specific appartment and kicked it down, ripping the hinges off, only to find out that there was nopony inside. All that was left was an old record player, a bowl full of milk ;preseumedly remnants of breakfast cereal, and the note that he had written before he'd departed.

Thunder Clap's face began to ignite with anger, as his face turned red. All of that fury was about to be released when Mocha spoke up.

"Looks like somepony tipped him off, huh?" said Mocha, Taffy quickly but not quickly enough, put her hooves over his mouth.

Thunder Clap scowelled at the two furiously, while picking up the dislodged door and chunking it at them. They dodged it, and the door slammed against the wall.

"YA THINK?!?" he yelled as he kicked a table over, splattering the other two with the bowl of milk that Singer had forgotten to put away.

...............................
Singer, with his heavily packed saddle bag, pet gecko sticking his head out of his mane, had finally reached the edge of Las Pegasus, staring at miles of desert. He considered himself lucky that he was a pegasus and that he could just fly away. Buying a train ticket would only make it easier for whoever was following him to catch up to him, as they could trace it. Besides, he didn't know where he was going. He didn't care. He just wanted out of Las Pegasus.

"Adios, and good riddance old life! A new life awaits for me now!" said the heart broken stallion as he hovered behind the 'Welcome to Las Pegasus' sign. "Well, here I go..."

"I don't know where I'm going
But I sure know where I've been
Hanging on the promises and the songs of yesterday
And I know what it means
To walk along the lonely street of dreams

Here I go again on my own
Going down the only road, I've ever known
Like a loner I was born to walk alone
And I've made up my mind
I ain't waisting no more time
So here I go again"

Singer took off as fast as he could, not knowing where he'd end up. He just kept flying! Day after day, just flying aimlessly around Equestria. Taking breaks only when he felt tired or hungry, or if he needed to go do his 'business'. Singer flew over Idahoof, Appleloosa, Troxas, Marexico, and any other town that he'd fly over. It was a neat experinece for him.

"Here I go again on my own
Going down the only road I've ever known
Like a loner I was born to walk alone"

After several days of flying, he eventually met a storm. Normally he'd avoid it, but he pressed on due to not really giving a crap where he'd end up. He flew into the dark clouds, and all he was met with was rain so far, nothing too daunting. However, as the winds picked up he knew that he needed to find higher altitude. Especially because he saw a flash of light, which meant only one thing, lightning.

"And I've made up my mind
I ain't wasting no more time
So here I go again"

The wind picked up quicker than he could fly up, tossing him every which way. He was in deep trouble now. He tried to regain control of himself, but to no avail. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain as lightning struck one of his his wings. The next thing he knew, he was spiralling rapidly down to the ground. He was dead, he just knew it. What a way to die, he thought in his mind. As he tried his best to fly, his wing ached. Charred from the lightning strike, his wing was pretty much injured and useless at this point. 

However, fate had a different plan for Singer as he was suddenly turned into the path of a tree on his way down to the ground. The lights from the small down below began to get closer, as Singer quickly made impact with the tree. Singer hit a branch pretty hard, probably snapping it in half. He began to go unconscious before he even hit the ground, which he felt. As he lie on the ground, not able to hear anything, he could see that the tree was a building, and the lights from inside illuminated the ground in front of him, but it wouldn't matter for him as he began to go unconscious. Before everything went black, he saw three figures approaching him. He couldn't make them out quick enough but from what he could tell, one looked like a unicorn stallion, smaller in stature compared to him, and the other a unicorn mare, then a third that looked like a...baby dragon? It didn't matter, by the time they'd approached him, he'd fallen unconscious.

"Quck, get him inside!" said the mare.

The stallion and the dragon pulled Singer inside, then shut the door. What did mess had Singer gotten himself into, this time? Where was he? Would he live? Only time would tell. And who were his saviours?




> Welcome to Ponyville
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Singer had blacked out after he made impact with the ground when he crash landed into the tree. Singer's last thoughts were that he was a goner. However, all of that changed when he awoke a few days later. When his eyes opened for the first time, the light of the room hurt his eyes. He had to blink a few times before his eyesight had become one hundred percent. He felt pain all over his body. His head, his back, his legs, his wings all hurt, in addition to the scratches he'd recieved. He'd never been this hurt or in this much pain before, at least not physically.

When he finally came to mental stability he realized that he was in a hospital room, he studied the parts of his body that he could see and that weren't covered by the bed sheet that was on him. He had casts on both of his wings, his left leg was wrapped in gause, he felt his face and cringed when he touched around his right eye. He realized that he had a black eye, which was one of the injuries that he was used to.

He studied the room and saw that it was a smaller hospital. He could tell by the way the rooms were seperated. The curtains indicated there were other patients on the other side of them and the equipment they used were antiques compared to some of the things he'd seen in his few visits to the hospitals in Las Pegasus. Argh! That town! How could he even think of that place? He grew to hate that place with a passion. Too many bad memories. He would never return there if he could help it. But it did raise an interesting question. Where in the wide world of Equestria was he?

His question would be answered as a nurse by the name of Redheart walked in to check on him.

"Ah, you're awake!" she said with a smile as she walked into his room, using her unicorn magic to levitate her clipboard. "We were wondering when you'd come through."

Singer was a bit rattled still, and was a bit spooked at her sudden appearance in the room, but calmed down when he realized he was in a hospital.

"W-Where am I?" he inquired finally. At least he knew his voice worked, thank goodness.

"Oh, you don't know where you are? Apologies, I thought you knew. This is the Ponyville hospital."

"Ponyville?"

"Yes, that's right."

"How long have I been out?"

"About three days, you took quite a hit on the head."

"Oh...boy..."

"I assume you're from out of town, then."

"Um... yeah. Yes I am."

"That explains a few things. Do you realize you were flying about in a terrible storm?"

"I was?!" he asked. "I honestly don't really remember much about what happened before I blacked out. But now that you mention it..." he paused as it came back to him. His upbeat tone had gone back down to droop when he'd remembered why he was on the run. His facial expression changed to a sad one. "I can't believe that I would do something so stupid like that. I... wasn't in my right mind."

"Flying while intoxicated?" she asked.

"No, no ma'am. I don't drink. It was more of an emotional thing, doing something stupid because of it." he quickly stated before he got reported for an unnecessary charge of FUI, he wasn't in the mood to deal with a hefty fine, especially since the hospital bill was going to put a dent in his travel fund.

"Ah, well that's good to know. I mean, I'm sorry for your emotional problem, whatever it may be. But at least it wasn't involving heavy drinks. That'll help your case."

"That's a relief to hear."

"Oh, and I'll notify your friends who brought you in. I'm sure they'll be relieved to know that you're okay."

A puzzled look adorned Singer's face. What was she talking about? He didn't have any friends. His only friend no longer wanted anything to do with him, at least for so he thought, and the mare he thought was his marefriend turned out to be a total jerk. The only pony who would even come close to that would be his boss from Las Pegasus, but there's no way he was the one who brought him into the hospital.

"And who might these friends be?"

The nurse got called into another room and was unable to hear his question. "Hold tight, sir. I'll be back in a moment to see if you need anything else." The nurse quickly trotted out of the room, and now Singer was left alone. Something dawned on his mind, though. Thought about friends led him to think of companions, or pets. He had Louie, his gecko. Did he survive? Singer looked around the room for his bag, and as it turns out it was on the table right by his bed. He grabbed the bag and looked inside to search for his little pal. Only to find his bag void of any living things. All he found was his snacks and Louie's food.

Singer began to worry as he looked around and realized that he'd made that big fall with Louie on board, he gulped as the thought that he'd lost his gecko, who was probably the only thing close to a friend he had, came to mind. However movement up in his mane sparked hope. He'd momentarily forgotten that Louie liked to hide in his mane. He raised his right hoof into his mane and pulled out a fully conscious, fully healthy and alert gecko. He lightly nuzzled the reptile as he lightly celebrated the one good thing that had come from waking up that day. He was so grateful for Louie, although he was just a lizard, Singer found comfort in talking to him because he was a good listener, in his mind. While he was alone, he told Louie about his feelings of waking up in this strange place, and how he wondered what was next in his life. He even briefly mentioned how he had a small bit of hope that he and Violet could be friends again some day, and how he really missed her. He lightly hugged the gecko when tears began to, once again, fall from his eyes. He was still so saddened by the loss of Violet as his friend that just thinking about it brought back bad memories, his only friend in the world had gone and he had no idea how to get to her or if she'd even want to talk to him even if he did find her.

As Singer sat there, wallowing in regret and self pitty, the nurse returned to the room. Singer quickly snapped out of it and hid Louie to lower the risk of the nurse taking him away from him.

"Mr. Case, your friends are here to see you now."

"Friends?" he said in disbelief as he stared at the door, wondering in his head just who would walk in the door. He honestly didn't know who these 'friends' would be.

But the second they entered the room, he could make out their shapes from their sillhouettes that he saw seconds before he blacked out. It immediately came to him. They must be ticked about what he did to their tree, or whoever's tree it was. No way they were here to see if he was okay. He wanted to hide his face in the covers, but odds are they already saw his face when they helped bring him in. The confrontation he was dreading seemed inevitable. He hunkered down and prepared for what he was expecting to come.

However, when he looked up he was met not with scowls of anger, but with warm and friendly smiles. There were three of them. One of them was a unicorn mare, fur lavendar in color with a dark blue-ish purple colored mane with pink and light purple highlights in her mane and tail, the second a smaller than average unicorn stallion dark blue in fur, chestnut brown mane and tail, wearing glasses and a necklace with a piece that looked like a half of a heart, the mare also wore one. Both of their cutie marks were interesting as well. He didn't know what to make of them, but what interested him the most was their companion. A small purple dragon with green scales on the top of his head and small green frills on the side of his head. Singer thought them to be ears.

He was a bit surprised at their facial expressions. Especially since they looked sincerely friendly. He tried his best to return a smile back to them, but for some reason he was still nervous. And this was a big thing for him because nervousness was something that he wasn't accustomed to.

The mare was the first to speak. "Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle, the librarian at the Golden Oaks Library" probably the place he'd plowed into, he thought as she continued. "I don't believe that we have been introduced before."

"Uh... yeah" was all he could get out.

"Oh and this is my coltfriend, Dusk Noir" she said gestering to the stallion, who humbly bowed and tipped his black trilby hat, "and my number one dragon assistant and best friend, Spike" she said gestering to the dragon, who politely waved. "You gave us quite a scare the other night" she continued, showing concern in her expression. "Are you alright?"

"Um... yeah I'm fine." he said. "Just a little... a lot sore."

"That was quite a nasty fall you took." noted Dusk. "You're very fortunate to be alive right now. We're relieved to see that you're alive and well."

Though they seemed friendly, he couldn't help but feel like he knew that they'd begin to get a bit miffed at him for the possible damages to the library he'd caused.

"Well, I'm quite the resilient one, I suppose..." he chuckled lightly before getting down to the point. "I'm just sorry for any trouble I might have caused. I'll pay you for any of the damages that your place recieved because of my stupidity. I'm really sorry..." he said in panicky fashion. It apparenlty showed because the trio appeared to grow more concerned by the expressions on their faces.

"Nonsense!" said Twilight. "The library is fine, it's you who we're concerned about. You really didn't do a whole lot of damage, other than to your own self."

"Wait, you guys are concerned about me?" he asked in disbelief. "You're not even the slightest bit angry about the whole thing?"

"Of course not" said Dusk. "Besides, what are friends for?"

"Friends?" Singer said. "I'm not so sure you want to get involved with me. I'm kind of... bad news."

"What would make you think a thing like that?" asked an apparently surprised Twilight. He could tell that what he said threw her off because of her sudden shift in expressions.

Singer closed his eyes as if in pain, and told them about how he'd messed up in his friendships and they were able to come to the conclusion that this stallion was in serious need of some friends. He'd been mistreated by the ponies he'd been around for the last few years, which to him felt like a life time, that he'd literally forgotten how true friendship felt, and had come to start treating others around him the same way. He mainly gave a vague explanation that sort of summed up his experinece over the duration of the last few years, and didn't give any specific names.

"Is that why you were out in that storm?" asked Spike, finally speaking up. "Because you were running away from all of that?"

A look of pain came upon Singer's face, Twilight scolded Spike for being so forward. But Singer was quick to pardon him.

"It's alright. He's right. I was too busy running away from my past that I lost control of myself and got what I deserved. But it's my problem and I can deal with it on my own. Never needed anypony to help me and I never will."

Singer was an independant stallion. He didn't like to accept help from anypony. Most of that attitude was a result of his experiences in the last few years, the latter year to be more specific. The lifestyle he lived made him not want anypony helping him, he didn't feel he needed it. He'd been a lot more open when he and Violet were always hanging out and were actually able to be friends back in their younger days, but now he'd grown to be hard towards those things because they hadn't been available to him. He certainly didn't want to burden these strangers with his problems. And he wasn't sure he wanted to be their friends, his track record with friends hadn't exactly been that great and he didn't want to wind up making them hate him too. He truly believed that he was put on Equestria to hurt ponies at that point, whether he meant to or not. He thought it best not to get involved.

"I find that hard to believe" retorted Twilight. "Surely you've had somepony to be a friend to you when you needed it."

"Well..." he paused, he didn't want to talk about it. His only friend in the world was gone and he really didn't care to relive that by discussing it. "That was a long time ago, things change."

"But we can help you." said Dusk, starting to reach out with his hoof. "Nopony deserves to feel alone or that he has to go through trials alone. If you truly do have needs right now, let us help you in anyway we can. Believe me, having friends in these types of situations really makes a difference." The way he said that, made it sound as if he was speaking from experience, like he'd been through some sort of turmoil in the past and had friends to pull him through it. He obviously had a nice marefriend and a friend in Spike to get him through whatever it was.

"That's nice of you to say and all, but..."

"Dusk is right!" said Spike. "and from the looks of things, you like you could use some friends, dude."

"And we'd be happy to help you out until you get back on your hooves, and..." began Twilight, before Singer cut her off.

"NO!" he shouted. He turned his head away from the trio. He couldn't see them, but their faces showed shock and a little bit of offence taken at his refusal of their friendship offer. "Look, I appreciate what you've done for me, but I don't think you need to further involve yourselves with me. I'm bad news. You're better off just not getting involved."

"But if we could just..."

"Don't you guys have some trees to save, homeless to feed, or something? Just go away and leave me alone, dadgum it! I don't need your help!" he turned over and pulled his covers over his head.

"Fine..." Twilight gritting her teeth with a hint of anger in her voice, as she, Dusk and Spike turned to leave. "But I do hope you realize that you can't deal with everything on your own. Eventually, you'll need somepony to help you. Even if it's not with us, I hope you find friendship again. Come on Dusk, Spike. Let's go."

The trio sadly left the hospital room, first Twilight stormed out the door, Dusk turned his head away a little hurt himself, he didn't bother saying anything, he just looked back once and walked out, and Spike had already followed Twilight out of the room. He had come back out from under the covers as they left.

Singer couldn't believe himself. After watching them leave, he began to realize what he'd done. He'd hurt their feelings, doing just what he'd been trying not to do, and they were only trying to help. What a fine first impression, he told himself sarcastically. Regardless of whether or not he was used to screwing up like that, the way he acted was inexcusable. What if they were right? What if the problem wasn't what he thought? What if it wasn't him? What if the things about himself he thought was pushing everypony away was just in his head?

Whatever the case, he'd been really rude to them. He didn't even give them his name after they'd so politely introduced themselves. Singer looked into a small mirror that sad beside his bed. No purple version of himself this time was in his reflection, but he sure felt like it was there. Maybe the bullies from his school days were right. Maybe he really was a loser. All he had been able to accomplish was push everypony away because of his pride. He'd began to question a few things, like whether or not the whole thing with Serenity was all of her fault, if he too was to blame in that. His next thoughts moved to Violet, was there more he could have done there to keep her from running away from him? His father and brother... where it all began. Had the fear of being rejected by them brought out a vulnerable side to him that he didn't know existed until now?

Once again, he found himself in tears again, this time he sobbed a bit, not noticing when the nurses came in. When they did, the thought it best to leave him alone. After a couple hours of doing so, he lie in his bed thinking about his choices and where it led him. He'd been too busy blaming everypony else, that he didn't look at the key contributer to his problems. Himself. He'd let this happen to himself. He sat there, regretting some of the choices he made, and some of the things he allowed others around him to do. Realization dawned upon him that he wasn't a bad pony at all. He just wasn't making good choices, and chosing to ignore that and to shut anypony out who'd been willing to help him wasn't doing any favors. He knew that it was time for a change.

His thoughts were stopped by the sound of noise makers coming from the hall. He quizzically stared at the shadow of a pony coming down the hall. The shadow was bouncy, chock full of energy, similar to that of which he had in his youth, that of which could still be inside of him. He stared at the wall until the shadow grew as the pony got closer to the room. Once she did, Singer couldn't believe it. The pony stopped at his room and beamed big at the sight of him. This pink earth pony mare with a main and tail that to him, resembled cotton candy.

"There he is!" she shouted as she rushed over to the side of his hospital bed. "Welcome to Ponyville, my name's Pinkie Pie! It's so great to have you here!"

"You're quite the optimistic one, aren't ya?" he said with a small chuckle. "Thanks for the welcome."

"Yes indeedie! I love making everypony feel welcome!" she exclaimed. "It's kind of my self appointed duty! I live to make ponies smile! So come on, dude! Smile, smile, smile!"

Singer couldn't fight it even if he wanted to. He smiled warmly at the mare. He wished that he could've responded to Dusk, Twilight and Spike's offer to be friends like she acted towards everypony. The once very optimistic stallion was suddenly feeling that way again. Something about this mare was beginning to bring that out in him.

"YAY! As soon as you're all better, I'm going to throw you a big welcome to Ponyville party!"

"Whoa! Are you sure about that?"

"Of course I'm sure! I'm more surier than sure! I'm super sure! Nopony who's ever lived here has never been thrown one of my parties! You've gotta experience it! Parties thrown by mua, are the bestest paries ever!" she said before clearing her throat, after catching glares from nurses and doctors for being so loud. "So I've been told..." She followed that up with another beaming smile.

Singer sat back in his bed and sighed.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Aren't you excited?"

"Of course I am, but... so far, I've really stunk things up in this town. Not sure if I deserve a party..."

"I'm sure worse has been done. Whatever you've done that you think is so horrible, which I bet it isn't, I'm sure whoever it was you did it to will forgive you. Lot's of forgiving ponies in this town!" she gave a reassuring smile.

"I sure hope so." he said, getting a little bit of hope back. "Thank you Pinkie Pie."

"You're welcome... uh... what's your name?"

"My name is Singer Case." Singer replied.

"Nice to meet ya, Singy!" she smiled. "I'd love to stay and chat some more, but duty calls!"

"More cheer to spread?"

"Ha! I wish! I've gotta get back to baking sweets at Sugar Cube Corner, where I work! You should come by some time, it's really great there! Lot's of sweets and treats!"

"Hmmm, my kinda thing. Maybe I will." smiled Singer.

"Gotta blast! See ya later!" she said speeding out of the room.

"Bye" Singer said quietly as he pulled his covers back over him.

Seeing the upbeat personailty of Pinkie Pie, really made Singer feel better. But he still felt pretty bad about how he treated the trio of friends how came to help him earlier. He couldn't wait to get out of the hospital. He wanted to at least attempt to set things right.

...

A couple of days went by and Singer's condition was improving. It improved so well that they were able to realease him a few days earlier than they first anticipated, to Singer's joy. So on the day he was released, all the bandages he had to have were the casts on his wings and what bandages he needed to cover the cuts on his left leg. He'd be grounded for a while, so he couldn't just up and take off and leave even if he wanted to. Besides, after what he did the other day, he knew what he had to do.

He'd gotten directions to the library once he'd checked out of the hospital, and he followed the directions all the way to the place. They didn't lie, the place didn't look near as bad as he did while he was in the hospital. He'd gotten the worst of it. So that made him feel a little bit better about the whole crashing into the place part. Only a limb seemed to be damaged, but with proper care, it would be repared in no time. He couldn't believe that after the hard impact he'd made with it, that it was all that he'd done to the place, or that he even lived after it. Perhaps life was giving him a new chance to turn things around for himself. If so, then this was a key moment.

He felt nervous. Something, again, that was unusual for him. He'd usually been so sure of himself. This told him that he really cared about whether or not they forgave him, truly a step in the right direction.

He knocked a few times on the door, and heard a call from the inside. "It's a public library, we're open!" sounded like it came from the dragon, Spike... if he was going to do this he needed to remember their names. As he opened the door, he was greeted by Dusk and Spike, who had been cleaning on the library, and sorting books back onto the shelves they belonged to. The latter looked up and saw Singer standing there, and his eyes grew wide. He walked over to Dusk and elbowed him, gestering to Singer's direction. Dusk didn't look as surprised to see him there. In fact with him, it was almost as if what happened the other day never happened at all.

"Oh hello" said Dusk.

"Uh, hey..." said Singer with an apologetic facial expression. "Um... I just wanted to apologize for what I said to you guys the other day. You were trying to help and... yeah. Darn it! I'm usually better at this."

"Water under the bridge" Dusk replied. "Besides, you had just gone through a pretty traumatic endevour, we understood why you were a bit apprehensive. But I assume that you've had time to reflect upon what happened?"

"Yeah, I have. And it doesn't really matter. It was no excuse for the way I treated you guys back there.

"I actually thought the tree thing was kind of funny. I had to run behind Twilight to cover my face so none of you would see me laughing." said Spike.

"Really?!" said Singer.

"No, but it was still kinda funny."

"I have to agree, I've been said worse things to." said Dusk "Don't worry about it... Forgive me but I don't believe we ever got your name."

"My name is Singer. Apologies. I guess I was so caught up being rude that I forgot to give my name."

"Indeed" came a voice from the top of the stairs. Twilight had been standing there listening to the whole exchange.

"I guess my apology is for you most of all, Miss Twilight. You were the one doing most of the talking back there. And I shouldn't have snapped at you guys the way I did."

"It's okay Singer, we got over it. And I knew you didn't really mean it. I can tell a fake tough guy act when I see one."

"As can I." said Dusk, chuckling a bit. "I should know, I've tried it quite a few times, myself."

"Well, I guess this puts more truth to my saying about all Stallions being idiots." said Twilight with a smug smile.

"I suppose I deserve that." Singer with a light chuckle, than began rubbing his hurt front leg with his good one. "Just one question. Is it too late to become friends? I mean..."

"You don't even have to ask, dude!" said Spike. "Of course it's not!"

"It's never too late." said Dusk, smiling. "Forgiveness is a big part of friendship. We all make mistakes, but in the end we remember that we all make them and having friends to help support you is key to staying true to yourself."

Twilight smiled proudly at Dusk, after going through an endeavour of their own, it brought her joy to hear him say such things, especially given how down he'd been on himself in the past. She walked over to Dusk and nuzzled him.

Singer saw the two nuzzling and guessed what came next. "Aaaw you're not gonna kiss are you?"

"Maybe..." said Twilight with a light blush, Dusk blushed a little bit as well.

"Well then, do it already! I don't judge!" said Singer beaming goofily. The couple just rolled their eyes and shared a breif kiss.

"Well, look who finally developed a personality." said Spike, who was making a gagging motion with his claw into his mouth at Dusk and Twi's intiment moment.

"What?" inquired Singer, before it dawned on him. "Oh... yeah. I'm not always such a downer, ya know. I'm usually way more upbeat and tend to get a little crazy at times. I blame my addiction to sugared sweets and junk food."

"You're in good company then." noted Dusk. "We have a friend, who we think you'll get along with. You may have already met her."

"Wouldn't happen to be Pinkie Pie would it?" said Singer.

"Ah, I see you have met her then."

"Yep! And I gotta say, she really knows how to lift one's spirits! It wasn't maybe a couple of hours after you guys left my hospital room, that she came to visit me. But how did she know I was here, or even know about me at all?"

"That's just Pinkie Pie" said Twilight with a giggle. "Not a lot goes on in this town that she doesn't know about."

Spike looked at the time and nudged Twilight. "Hey! Speaking of which, we have to meet her at Sugar Cube Corner in five minutes!"

"Oh, that's right we do!" said Twilight. "I almost forgot, she wanted us to come see her."

"Singer, you're more than welcome to come along if you'd like." invited Dusk.

"Uh, sure! Yeah if you guys don't mind." he smiled.

"Not at all." replied Dusk. "We'd best be off, then so we aren't late."

With that, they all exited the the library and went on to Sugar Cube Corner. For what? Singer wasn't sure, but he had friends again. He didn't care where they went, he was just glad that he wasn't alone anymore.

Upon arrival to Sugar Cube Corner, Singer couldn't help but wonder what lie inside. He knew that it was a bakery from what it had been described to him, but he pondered what it'd be like inside before he entered. And for the most part, he was right. It was a brightly colored interior design with cupcakes and other goodies designed on the walls. Booths and tables for the customers to enjoy certain orders that they made. It was heaven to Singer, he was so busy admiring that, that he was completely caught off guard when he heard multiple voices yell "SURPRISE!".

A couple of party cannons went off, shooting confetti into the air. "Welcome to Ponyville, Singer!" said Pinkie Pie before gripping him in a big bear hug. While a few other ponies surrounded them. He was surprised, for sure. Pinkie had told him about a party before, but he was still caught off guard and it showed in his facial expression with his bottom jaw hanging from his mouth, eyes widened. He wasn't expecting this at all. After he gathered himself his glance turned towards Dusk, Twilight and Spike.

"Did you guys know about this?" he asked.

"We might have caught wind of it, yes." said Dusk with a wink, the other two hardly able to contain their laughter.

This made Singer feel really warm inside. Happy tears streaming down his face. "This is all for me?" he said.

"Yep! When I hear you were having a rough time, I knew that this party needed to be extra special!" explained Pinkie. "I invited all of my friends to make you feel welcome in our town! And I sure hope I delivered!"

"I'll say that you did." said Singer. "Thank you Pinkie Pie." He hugged her back.

"Well, well, well..." he heard a voice from behind, a familiar voice. "What a small world. I knew I recognized you. It's been a while, Singer." said a cyan colored pegasus mare with a rainbow colored mane, whom he'd went to school with.

"Rainbow Dash?" said Singer. "Woe, it has been! How are you?"

"I'm good. Though, you don't look quite so good."

"Yeah, I'm going to be grounded for a little bit." he said looking back at his bandaged up wings. "But it's alright. I'm just happy to be alive right now. Those friends of yours..." he motioned to Dusk, Twilight, Spike and Pinkie Pie. "...are really something. You're one lucky pony."

"Yeah, they're pretty cool." she said. "I don't know where I'd be without any of my friends, oh and there are a few other ponies you should probably meet too."

"There are more of you?" he said excitedly.

"Yep! There's Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack and Ray!" she said motioning to a yellow pegasus mare with a long pink mane and tail, a white unicorn mare with a fancy purple stylized mane and tale, an orange earth pony with a long yellow mane and tail, each having rubber bands on the end of them, and lastly a taller jalepeno green colored unicorn stallion with a messy, spikey, medium lengthed light silver mane and tail.

"Hey guys!" said Singer. "My name is Singer, nice to meet you."

"Oh, uh... hi there." said the timid Fluttershy.

"Salutations" said Rarity, Spike then ran toward her and hugged her.

"Howdy there, Singer!" said Applejack, shaking his hoof rapidly, and his hoof was still shaking when she'd let go. "Welcome to Ponyville!"

"Sup!" said Ray.

"You guys are awesome!" said Singer.

"So, how long are you staying?" asked Dash.

Singer hadn't really thought about it that much. He would be staying in a motel for a while until he got better, that's for sure. But he hadn't really thought that far ahead. But being that he'd been so well recieved and that being around these ponies made him feel better, he wasn't sure if leaving was really much of an option now. Maybe, just maybe, he'd landed in Ponyville for a reason. Maybe this was where he'd find his new start in life.

"I think I want to live here, actually." Singer said, smiling as he looked around. Looking at all of the ponies who had shown up. He saw several ponies there conversing, cutting up and having a good time. This wasn't an environment that Singer was used to, but perhaps that was a good thing. He'd been used to being put down and having life just hit him in the face, but here... it was different. He had made new friends, more friends than he'd ever had at one time, and even reunited with a former acquaintance and becoming friends with her, there was no doubt in his mind that this was where he needed to be, where he wanted to be.

"Awesome!" said Rainbow Dash.

"For reals?" said Pinkie Pie, listening into their conversation, and sheepishly smiling when they glanced her way.

"Yeah..." he said. "I think this is where I want my new home to be. I've never felt more at home, than I do now."

While it was all great, meeting new friends, and even finding a new place to call his home, Singer knew that he'd eventually have to face a few things, still. Even with all of this positive reinforcement, he still missed his best friend, and he knew that the time would come when he'd have to go see her, and not just her, he'd need to make things right with his family as well. But for now, he was content to stay in Ponyville. He wasn't sure what life had in store for him, but he didn't care. He'd take it one day at a time and try to enjoy life again.
> Settling In
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thunder Clap tapped his hoof impatiently, with a gruff to his groan as he awaited the arrival of his sidekicks returning from the streets of Las Pegasus to their meet up point in a small rural village outside of the metropolis town. After about a week and a half of searching, the trio of Pegasai had finally given up any hope of finding him in "Sin City". They'd tried to track Serenity down, but she'd left town on her next tour destination, and they didn't really have much time for chasing her down all over Equestria trying to get answers. Searching for Singer was just a personal vendetta of Clap's and it was irrelevant to Thunder Clap's real mission from his superiors that he worked for. 

Mocha, Taffy and himself were supposed to be hunting down magical artifacts left behind by ancient magic wielding unicorns, but Thunder Clap had decided to pay his old adversary a visit, only to find that he had vacated his living quarters. If he had known that he'd just missed him by mere minutes, it would have made him all the more angry. It was best that he didn't know. 

His black fur complemented the shading of that his had and trench coat provided, while hiding his white mane with yellow streaks going through it. He stood there breathing in the rich country side air, followed by coughs after possibly picking up some allergens that had been floating through the air. Certain types of pollen did things to certain ponies' nasal cavities, and Thunder's wasn't any different from any other hay fever prone ponies' was. The sooner he got out of there, the slightly less irritated and better he'd feel.

Fortunately his waiting was near done as his compatriots finally returned.

"Let me guess" he sneered. 

"Nothing...." replied Taffy who, in fear, pressed her mane over her face in hopes of not seeing Clap's rage.

"That's fine..." he huffed. "I'm ready to get the hay out of here anyway..." He expanded his wings and prepared to fly off, but was stopped when Mocha spoke up.

"I managed to get a small tidbit of information for you, though." said Mocha, who also began to flinch when he noted his boss's halt in his take off.

"And what would that be?" he said turning his head to the right. He couldn't tell what expression adorned on Clap's face because his still expanded wing was still blocking it. Something that he was, in part, grateful for.

"Some pony noticed a heavily packed stallion of Singer's description leaving town and heading in the direction of Canterlot, Ponyville, Manehattan, and a few other towns..." the husky pegasus continued, and trailed off when he saw a smirk forming on the mouth of Thunder Clap.

"Excellent work, Mocha!" he said. "...I've decided to make a small change in our game plan. You two continue on searching for him. I'll go check in with the boss with what we've collected." He said with a gulp while pacing, thinking about the times he'd returned to his boss with rudimentary and useless objects and had been punished for failing. He hoped that he wouldn't be so unfortunate this time, and what he had would be enough to at least get a chewing out. If there was one pony he feared, it was his master, and his master only. "I figure that I've kept him waiting long enough, and that it'd be best to face him now than to wait and anger him any further. I'll meet back up with you baffoons in Cloudsdale and we'll work from there."

"S-sounds like a plan, boss" said Mocha.

"When you find him, report back to me understand?" he reminded before preparing his wings for flight.

"You got it..." said Taffy, as she and Mocha watched Thunder Clap zoom off into the morning sky, disappearing behind a cloud.

The two of them breathed a sigh of relief. "He usually conks us on the head, no matter what." said Mocha.

"Unless the big boss is involved." retorted Taffy in her Bitalian accent. "Things were so much more fun for the three of us, and stealing things was much more riveting  before we got involved with the likes of him! I wish Clap never even found that stupid fortress..." She deadpanned.

"Not much we can do about it right now. We best be off. If he gets to the meet up point before we do again, he'll hurt us for sure!" responded Mocha, taking off. It had been one of the few times Taffy had seen Mocha use any sense of logic, as he tended to be more of a stallion who rushed foolishly into things. She was glad to see that she wasn't alone in her suspicions, and lack of faith in this boss of theirs. 

"Oh, yeah... right." she said following suit, snapping out of her thoughts and proceeding onto the next town. "Let's go find that little rat!"
.....................

It wasn't a glorious house, but it was more than big enough for a single stallion of his type, and it gave Singer the peace and quiet he wanted to have. Not to mention the solitude. After living in cities his entire life, this would be a great change of pace and scenery for the stallion who just wanted to relax. 

The shack was a two bedroom house, with an upstairs loft, living room, and a bathroom located caddy corner to the kitchen. The place was about as big as Twilight's library, minus the space for all of the bookshelves there. All of his things would go into the larger room, the smaller room he would keep empty for now.

Singer stared at his small shack located on the outskirts of Ponyville, just a few miles away from the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres that he had purchased with some of the money he had saved back from his Las Pegasus days. And no he hadn't earned it by gambling, he'd told his new friend, Dusk Noir, who hadn't really inquired about how he got it in the first place. Singer had just been kidding around with him while he, Spike, and Applejack helped Singer move his newly acquired furniture into his new home. 

His injuries had healed up quite a bit since his injury the following week. Only his wings remained in casts and would remain that way for a few more days, meaning he was still Earthbound.  And though his leg still hurt a bit and he felt some headaches every now and then, he felt much much better than he did while lying in that hospital bed, feeling bitter towards everything. He now had friends to help him out, and to hang out with. One of his more prominent friends was Rainbow Dash, who took it upon herself to help him train to get back into shape, and stepped up his routine as he got better. He felt relieved that she understood that the injuries he had at the time wouldn't give results that he'd like to see. She helped him work his way back up to where he was before any injuries took place, and for that he'd been grateful because it seemed to help his recovery along. Plus it was a good way to continue to catch up with a former pal from school.

He'd loved going through all of his clothes with Rarity, who helped him decide which stuff to keep and to throw away. Fortunately for him, it wasn't a lot as she found his taste in clothing intriguing. Though he was a bit saddened that he had to get rid of his yellow suit, minus his custom yellow trilby that he managed to sneak into the keep pile without her noticing. He wasn't going to part with that. Over all, he got along with her just fine.

He'd began taking banjo lessons from Applejack, and while he displayed very little improvement. But it didn't bother Applejack because she'd enjoyed some of his stories about some of the Country artists he'd either performed with, opened for, or went to see perform when they'd give up on the lessons for each day. He'd also tried applebucking with AJ, Big MacIntosh, Ray and Applebloom but it took him quite a while to actually get apples to fall, due to the after shock on his legs causing him to stagger. He'd even tried to have a contest with Ray to see who could buck the most apples once he did get the hang of it. He got smoked badly, needless to say, because Ray's methods of Applebucking worked far better than Singer's did, especially since Ray was a unicorn who could teleport rapidly from tree to tree when he wanted to. That is, if he wasn't busy slacking off on the job. Singer enjoyed the family atmosphere that he felt when he visited the farm, as well as the fresh air that blew on his face out there.

He and Spike had enjoyed the time they'd spent hanging out, even though it didn't typically last long. They enjoyed the mutual taste in junk food like ice cream or cookies. Singer had even baked some of his 'Case Family Cookies' for Spike, Dusk and Twilight for a reading meeting they'd had a few days back, and they'd loved them, much to Singer's joy. He and Spike also shared some of the same humor in jokes, and Singer would usually laugh at jokes that would normally be deadpan producing jokes with Dusk and Twilight.

Speaking of everypony's favorite couple, he did enjoy his frequent visits to the library to read any random book for any random topic he'd felt like reading about, and he'd enjoy talking with them about some of his favorite books and books that they'd like to read too. Most of the time though, he'd choose adventure themed books like 'Daring Do', 'War on Cybertron', and other fantastic adventure books, in addition to books about the mysterious, mythical, or otherwise real-to-those-who-believed-in-them, creatures that had sparked debate among ponies from both sides of the argument. Creatures such as trolls, humans, or Cybertronians. He had to be careful when Twilight brought out super complicated educational books, however. Especially math books. Math was a weakness of his. But one thing above all he'd enjoyed about them was their wisdom beyond their years, something that he admired about the two of them, and something he often found himself lacking. Both Dusk and Twilight had been able to help him with almost anything he'd needed advice with or with anything he'd needed to know about. These two weren't his first friends in Ponyville for nothing, they proved to be pretty special friends to Singer and he felt lucky to have them around.

He didn't really hang around Fluttershy all that often, but when he did, he'd enjoyed talking about animals with her. He loved going and seeing all of the baby animals she'd had; namely bunnies, hamsters, puppies and kittens since he had a soft spot for baby animals. Whether or not he'd seen her at school when she too went to school at Cloudsdale, he coudn't remember, but he seemed to understand how to approach Fluttershy and talk to her because of his past friendship with Violet, and because of how timid Violet had started out to be. Though Violet contrasted greatly to Fluttershy in most cases, there were a few similarities there as well. But above all, Singer was happy to have a friend who he could just sit back with, on occasion, and have a glass of tea with and just enjoy nature.

But the pony who he'd probably enjoyed hanging out with the most was Pinkie Pie, who's taste in junk food surpassed that of his, in addition to her baking skills in the kitchen of Sugar Cube Corner greatly surpassed Singer's skills, despite Singer learning everything he knew by watching his mom bake as a child. That and her constant need for fun and parties was something that Singer could really relate to. Though he'd been kinda torn away from that due to having to focus on his career and having a nagging marefriend, now ex, on his case all the time, it often sucked the fun out of everything. But he was glad to have been revived in that matter because he'd had a lot of catching up to do. Oh he just couldn't wait to be able to use his wings again. 

As Dusk had neatly leviatated Singer's new chair into his living room, Singer thanked his friends for their help with some of his freshly baked cookies along with a glass of milk for each of them. Within minutes the plate was wiped clean. Everypony sat down for a glass of milk to go with the cookies as they took a small break.

"It's not a problem, there buck-a-roo." Applejack said with a friendly smile. "It's always a pleasure ta help a friend or a neighbor. And it's especially nice to help a friend when they been hurt."

"Aw AJ, I'm mostly fine now. But thank you for your concern." said Singer with a pleasant smile.

"Nice to see that you're actually accepting help from your friends now." said Dusk as he dipped his cookie into his milk. 

"Yeah, I was kind of a jerk to you guys at first, but you guys helped me remember what friendship was like, and for that I thank you. I thought that after I lost my best friend in the whole wide world, and then my marefriend turned out to be a total jerk, that maybe I was just meant to be a loner as I'd screwed up with everypony who was important to me. I appreciate you all for helping me regain the true feel good feeling of having friends again."

"Have you tried to contact your friend yet, or are you still having reservations about attempting that?" asked Dusk, concerned. He could tell that mentioning the memory of losing his friend was hard on him, just at the straining of his voice and the expression on his face when he thought about it.

"The latter..." Singer admitted sadly. "I really miss her. She was a very special friend that one only comes across once in a lifetime. I really wish I knew what I did to chase her away."

"Maybe it wasn't somethin that ya did, Sugarcube." Applejack said, as she placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Maybe it was somethin that she was a strugglin with, and didn't want ta burden ya with. Er maybe it was somethin else that she couldn't bring herself ta tell ya. Ya never know."

"Yeah this doesn't make much sense to me, either" said Dusk. "I mean from what you've told me, you two were practically inseparable."

"It definitely had to have been something my ex said to her, but what it could have been, I have no idea. I've always been kind of afraid to find out." he admitted.

"I think it would be worth the exploration to find out where you two stand in your friendship" said Dusk. "You two owe it to each other as friends, especially if you two were that close." Singer hated to admit it, but Dusk was right. As scared as he was to do it. "And try to have faith, if you two are such good friends, it'll all work out in the end and you'll become better friends because of it."

"You know what I think?" said Spike as he grinned. "I think you liiiike her..." He got stern looks from Applejack and Dusk. "What? Why else would he be afraid to go talk to her?"

"What?!?" said Singer, his cheeks turned bright red at the thought. "N-No... we're like childhood best friends, and I... no that can't be it." Singer wasn't liking the way this conversation was going. How could he like Violet like that? As far as he knew, she'd never displayed such feelings for him, right?

"Spike, don't taunt him like that!" Dusk said sharply. "His situation's already hard enough without such childish teasing making it any worse."

"Sorry Sing..." Spike said apologetically. 

"It's cool, guys." Singer said, still a bit frazzled at the contemplation of he and Violet actually dating. "You guys did bring up some good points, but maybe it's best that we focus on finishing this for now. I'll continue to think on this later." he said grabbing a small table and dragging it inside. Dusk continued to levitate what little was left to take inside, while Applejack and Spike took things off of the wagon they'd used to help him pick up his stuff.

After about half an hour more of moving things into the house, putting Singer's bed together, and other small details, they were finished, and were treated to more snacks that Singer made for them. 

"Thank you guys again for your help. I'd still be dragging a lot of big stuff in by myself if you guys hadn't stepped in to help." he said gratefully.

"Not a problem, my friend. I was happy to help. I'll have to leave you to it now, though. I believe Twilight is expecting me back at Golden Oaks soon."

"Me too" added Spike.

"That's alright guys. I appreciated the help, and I'll be sure to have you guys over for dinner some time."

"That would be great. Have a great day, Singer" said Dusk, politely tipping his hat as he started on back to Ponyville with Spike following suit.

"You too, safe travels!" he called back before turning to his stetson wearing friend. "That offer also certainly extends to you, miss Applejack." said Singer to his apple farming friend, who was saddling her now empty wagon to take back home.

"Mighty kind of ya, Sugar Cube! Ah'd be happy to come ta dinner sometime!" She said with a wink. "Now if ya find yerself need'n anythin atall, don't hesitate ta come find us." She hugged Singer before she took off toward the direction of home.

"I'll remember that. Thank you, Applejack!" said Singer as he waved goodbye to his departing friend.

With that, Singer decided to also head into the direction of town. While peace and quiet was something he looked forward to in his new solitary home, that wasn't in his plans for the day. He'd needed to shop for more supplies and food, as well as looking for a job. He couldn't keep living off of the money he'd made from his career forever, especially not after he bought that land. Another thing, he'd be able to think more about whether or not to go try and find things out and try to fix things with Violet on his walk to town.

He breathed in the fresh country air, and exhaled nice and slow as if the air soothed and relaxed him. It was definitely more pleasant being in the open spaces of the country than being in the crowded and dangerous city of Las Pegasus.
...........
After hours upon hours of flying and searching, Mocha and Taffy had reached Ponyville. Best to get the smaller, quicker stops out of the way first. They stopped at the "Welcome to Ponyville" sign, in an effort to rest their already tired and pulsating wings after all of that activity.

"Finally! We made it!" Taffy said exasperatedly. "I didn't think we were ever gonna get here..." she moaned as she took each step.

"I'm starving..." Mocha complained, trudging behind her.

"You're always starving!" she quipped. "If you'd lose some weight, you'd be better off." she sniggered.

"Yeah, don't try telling me that you're not tired too!" he snapped back.

"Much less so than you... fatty!" she smirked.

"Who you calling fatty, beanpole?" he said, giving a snappy comeback. "Actually, I can't even see your eyes through all of that mane covering them. You're more like a walking equine mop!" He laughed loudly.

"You wanna say that again?!?" she replied death glaring him straight in the face.

"What? What's the Pony Mop gonna do? Poke me to death? Mop me til I drown in dirty water?" He fell to his back, laughing until his already tired sides couldn't take it any more. Though what happened next was far from funny.

Taffy's nostrils flared as her anger intensified and she tackled Mocha and began hitting him in the face with her hooves.

"Shut... UP!" she yelled, gritting her teeth as she punched him.

Mocha, threw her off of him, and began to run off of the trail, and into the tall weeds near the Ever Free Forest. Taffy jumped on his back, causing him to lose balance, and the two of them rolling into the Ever Free.

"Uncle! Uncle!" cried Mocha as Taffy was pulling his back leg over his back. "That hurts, man! Stop it!"

"Am I a mop? Tell me what I want to hear!" she said.

The stallion kept struggling...

"AM I A MOP?!?" she yelled again.

"NO! NO YOU'RE NOT A MOP!" he cried in agony. "Now please let go before I get a cramp- OH TOO LATE!" His normally deep voice turned high pitched as he began to scream in his pain. On account of this, she released his leg and hopped off of the stallion's back.

"And don't you forget it!" she sniggered in her victory. That is until she looked around. "Crap... where are we?"

"I've heard about this place... I think it's called Forever Free Forest or something like that." noted a now limping Mocha. "Whatever it is, it's giving me the creeps."

"What? Are you scared of a few trees?" retorted Taffy, still sniggering at her defeat of Mocha.

"It's not the trees, but what may be lurking behind them..." he said, shaking. And not just in pain of his cramped led, but in fear as he heard a twig snap close by.

"Oh grow up!" she said, observing her surroundings, seeing nothing threatening. "Whatever you heard about this place, you probably heard from some old senile old coot who doesn't even know what day it is... ha!"

"Yeah and you know what happens to the young kids who don't listen to the elder in most horror stories, right?"

"They... don't get eaten by the crazy elder pony?"

"No, they get eaten by something else!" said Mocha, who was now starting to see yellow eyes coming at them from their North.

"What could possibly be big enough in these woods to eat us?" inquired Taffy, failing to note the approaching danger incoming from behind her.

"Them?" said Mocha in a wheezed voice.

Taffy turned around and noticed at least half a dozen timber wolves were closing in on them. It was then, they both realized that it was move it or lose it.

"RUN!" she shouted, as she darted off, rapidly. Mocha's leg was still too cramped to run, so he re-utilized his exhausted wings with all the strength he could, and he narrowly escaped getting bitten by one of them as he was taking off with his wings, narrowly missing the jumping timber wolf's jaw's by a few mere inches.

Taffy had made her way out of the forest and back on to the road leading to Ponyville, when she got an unpleasant surprise. She felt a shadow, that she played off was an over passing cloud,  come over her as she slowly walked along the trail, sort of hoping that Mocha would follow her back. To her displeasure, Mocha was the cause of the shadow and was on a crash collision course. Destination: right on top of her. 

As his large mass made impact with her small slender body, she began to curse under the weight of her exhausted compatriot, as she tried to push him off of her.

"You big lump! Get off of me now!" she screamed, trying to push him off.

........
Roaming through the market, Singer picked up some fresh apples from yet another run in with Applejack, who had Applebloom helping her with selling them. Among other things, he got an order of cheese fries from his stop at the cafe, because his day would not be perfect without those cheesy spuds to munch on. He also got some eggs, peanut butter, honey, sugar, the things he'd need to make sweet tea, and various vegetables for when he made his mom's soup, something that he held on to to keep his mom close, even while she was far away. Though he argued that she made it way better than he did. At least it was edible, though. 

As he continued on through town, he noticed that another cafe, the building larger than the one he'd just eaten at, had a help wanted sign on the large window. He walked inside, filled out the application, and gave it to the manager. The manger looked over it, and said he'd schedule an interview with him in the next few days. Singer, content with the chance, thanked the manager and exited the facility. It'd be the perfect first job, for at least the time being. It was something he was experienced in doing, though he'd hated his jobs prior to this one, he figured since the town was so nice, maybe this one would be different. Maybe... but it was a job, and he'd take what he could get up to this point.

Another place of business caught his eye. Not as a place of potential interest in finding employment, however. It was an art shop with paintings displayed outside and inside the store. He saw many paintings of landscapes, portraits of other ponies, paintings of buildings, as well as sketches, and many other media of art displayed in the store. Quite impressive, he thought to himself.

"Do you like what you see?" Singer turned around in response to the voice that he'd just heard. The voice belonged to a young unicorn mare, a with purple wavy mane, one side of it covering her right eye with a pink highlight going through it as well as her tail. Her cutie mark was a paint brush with pink paint dripping off of it, and she just so happened to be wearing a beret at the time. This was no doubt, her place.

"Very much so... it looks awesome in here!" said Singer. "Is all of this your work?"

"You bet!" she said walking over to his side and stair up at the art pieces he was gawking at. "My name's Gentle Dream, what's yours?"

"Singer Case" he replied, extending his hoof to shake hers. "I've got to say, this is really good!"

"Thank you!" she beamed proudly. "I take great pride in my work."

"The building doesn't look half bad, either."

"It's had some work done recently... in light of a certain tyrannical villain resurfacing around here."

"Wait, what?" Singer inquired. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, are you new to this town?"

Singer nodded. 

"Oh, that explains a few things then. Like why I haven't seen you around before and stuff. Where are you from?"

"Well, I originally lived in Cloudsdale where I spent my childhood from when I was six to when I turned seventeen and moved out. I've spent the last four years in Las Pegasus. Was born in Canterlot though."

"Wow, you've been all over the place, haven't you?" she giggled.

"Yeah..." Singer said awkwardly. 

"I used to live in Canterlot too, until I moved here. This is where I was reunited with my childhood best friend, Star Chaser. He and I began dating shortly after that." She squeed, relishing the memories. 

"Your story hits pretty close to home, for me..." Singer said with a saddened sigh. "Only, I haven't seen my friend in a while.... but let's not get into that, I'm sure you don't want to hear about that."

"It's okay, if you wanna talk about it. It sounds like it's weighing pretty heavily on your mind, and it's always good to have a friend to talk to about these things. Plus it's been kind of a slow day. It's not like I have anything better to do."

"You already consider me a friend? But we've barely even met."

"Well, we've exchanged names and we already seem to get along pretty well, I don't see why not." she smiled warmly at him.

"I guess I can't argue with that. I guess it's official, then." he smiled back. "Thanks."

"Not a problem." she replied. "Now, on to the matter."

After half an hour or so, Singer explained to her how he had gotten to this point. And what had happened between he and Violet that fateful night when his world was turned upside down, as well as when he'd began taking the step in the right direction by breaking it off with Serenity, and how he had came to stay in Ponyville. Her conclusion was about the same as what Dusk had said earlier.

"That's what Dusk said." he responded.

"So you've met Dusk! That's great! He's a good friend to have!"

"I agree. He's a class act, and a well mannered pony. I should take a cue from some of his good qualities."

"Just be you, Sing. If you don't mind me calling you that."

"It's cool." he replied.

"Duly noted." she said, as she continued. "Just be you. That's the kind of pony everypony wants to know you as."

"Agreed, though I don't think learning a little decorum ever killed any pony either."

"I suppose that's true." she agreed. 

Suddenly Gentle felt somepony nuzzling on the back of her head. She turned to see that it was her coltfriend Star Chaser, who had just gotten back from doing his job as a part of weather control in Ponyville. The pony was just a bit smaller in stature than Singer was. He had indigo colored fur, a blue mane and short blue tail. Singer had been wondering where he recognized his name before, and it suddenly hit him.

"Star Chaser!" he said tapping his hoof on the ground. "I thought your name sounded familiar! Seeing your face brings clarity to it. It's me, Singer. We went to school together!"

"I remember." he said smiling, extending his hoof to shake Singer's, in which the latter returned. "It's good to see you again."

"Likewise!" said Singer. "I see you haven't changed much."

"Neither have you." he replied politely. "I see you've met my marefriend."

"I have, and she's pretty cool." said Singer. "Just the latest addition to my growing number of friends, which had a total of zero when I first moved to Ponyville, so she's a welcome addition for sure."

"Glad you've made yourself at home here!" said Star. "Count me in on that as well, if you wish."

"Sure thing!" Singer said. "Didn't really get to know you all that well when we were younger, but perhaps we can start again."

"Indeed." he smiled back, and pulled Gentle closer to him. "Anytime you want to hang out, I'm down."

"Heck yeah, and when my wings get better we can actually fly. Maybe even help me finally be able to cloud bust and be able to move clouds."

"You don't already know how to do that?" Star Chaser looked surprised at this.

"Never learned..." he replied with a hint of embarrassment.

"Never fear, you've always got me or another pony named Rainbow Dash around who can help out with that. Even if it isn't a job you don't end up doing long term, it always helps to have some extra wings around to help out in the event of an emergency."

"Right!" he nodded, noting his groceries. "Crap! Totally forgot I had groceries! I'll have to make my exit now, but I'll totally catch you two later."

"Definitely!" said Star Chaser.

"See ya Singer, have a good day!" she beamed, waving good bye to him as he flew out of her store.

"Thank you, and you too!" he shouted back as he zoomed on home in an effort to salvage the food he'd just bought, flying over the town getting a nice view of above the buildings and the ponies who walked below. He noticed Dusk and Twilight standing outside talking, and he waved to them as he flew on by the library. They waved back, as he flew off.
.......
Mocha and Taffy, covered in dirt and bruises trudged on through town square, diverting their eyes from the eyes of the other ponies who stared at them. They were in route to the Ponyville hotel. They'd stay there and rest and continue their search tomorrow. However, a stroke of luck happened upon them, as Taffy looked up, noticing a familiar pony fly by above them... The pony they'd come so far to find had just flown over their heads with a load of groceries. Her eyes gleamed with excitement as she nudged Mocha, who looked a bit like a zombie, by how slow he was walking. 

"Look up in the sky!" she exclaimed. 

Mocha looked up as fast as he could and just barely caught the glimpse. Good fortune had finally stricken them. He and Taffy smirked sinisterly at each other, as realization dawned upon them. They'd accomplished their goal, and now it was time for some well deserved rest. Won't Thunder Clap be pleased?
...........

Thunder Clap's body was beaten and bruised yet again. His latest findings were not enough to appease his master, and he'd gotten an extra round due to him being late, garnering a warning issued by his master for being late. He walked through the halls of the heavily guarded and well hidden fortress located deep into the Ever Free Forest, a place that was so scary that Clap had never brought Mocha and Taffy to in fear that they'd decide to bail on him and he'd end up having to do everything on his own. He kept his eyes pointed toward the ground, not looking at the other ponies, most of whom were wearing armor. Some sniggered and pointed at him in his humiliation. 

He was stopped by one of his commanding officers, a tall silver colored pegasus stallion, with spikey silver hair and a tail, medium in length. This stallion was one that Thunder Clap despised more than any of the other fellow henchmen of their masters, due to the fact that he'd always targeted him in humiliating him. This stallion's cutie mark was that of an eagle, and like many of the stallions and few mares in the fortress, he was a reject of Celestia's Royal guard, who'd failed meet the requirements in training. But his past didn't stop the stallion from being a smug, conceited jerk to every pony under him. One other reason in particular he hated this stallion was the fact that he was his master's head lackey, Wingo, and was often the one who informed their leader of his failures.

"So, did he give you another warning again?" he asked irritatingly. "I would expect so, since you're still breathing..."

Clap continued on, trying not to let him get the best of him. Maintaining his angry facial expression as he tried to avoid making eye contact while he walked past him.

"I don't think I'd expect him to tolerate any further failures, Thunder Clap. You'd might want to keep your head screwed on right from now on, and start bringing in results or our master may not decide to be as merciful next time."

"Shut...the buck...up...." he muttered, gritting his teeth as he stomped out of the hall, turning to go down another, still muttering under his breath. "Singer... when I find you, you're going to REALLY get it, now!"















> Turning Things Around
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nervousness is what Singer felt as he held the letter close to him while he stood in the post office. He didn't have a mail box yet, so he had to send his letter through the Ponyville Postal Service. It had been something he'd been accustomed whenever he thought about the possibility of he and Violet being friends again. He knew that he was ready to take this step, but at the same time he was still clinging on to the fear of it all being rejected, and maybe Violet really did wish to stop being friends...

NO! He slapped himself mentally. He couldn't allow himself to think like that! Dusk was right. If she was truly his friend to begin with, then there was no reason why the two of them couldn't get through this and work everything out! He inhaled and exhaled deeply before reaching for the post office box he was assigned to to insert the letter. He halted when he heard someone holler at him.

"Wait!" said a white pegasus stallion dressed in a brown uniform, wearing a pair of fancy sun glasses, wearing his hair spiked with hair gel, as opposed to Singer's natural brushed sticking up style. "You don't want to send that letter that way!" he said.

"I don't?" Singer inquired with a hint of deadpan. All of that dramatic buildup for nothing...

"No way!" he said as he pulled out a clipboard. "When you choose to send your mail through CPS, your package will be sent at the highest speeds. Beating all of the competition! Especially the standard Equestrian Mail service!"

"CPS?"

"Canterlot Postal Service! What can Brown do for you?"

"Canterlot Postal Service? I thought you said it was the fastest way and that you are better than standard Equestrian Mail Delivery... Wouldn't you also be classified as the Canterlot division of the Equestrian Mail service?"

"No no no no no no..." replied the stallion. "You see, CPS was merely FOUNDED in Canterlot, thus explaining it's name. The main headquarters are located there, but we have stations all over Equestria and even in other kingdoms!"

"That is interesting!" said Singer, amazed.

"And I can deliver your letter to..." he looked at the destination address. "....Cloudsdale in no time at all!"

"Really?" said Singer.

"Psssssssh.... Don't listen to him!" scoffed a Black colored pegasus stallion wearing the same type of attire as CPS pony was, only he was wearing the purple uniform of CPS's greatest rival EqEx. "Equestrian Express has been the leading mail service in all of the prospects that makes delivery services successful!"

"Ha!" scoffed CPS. "Yes, your turtle speeds are about as impressive as your sloth like minds..."

"Wait, what?" asked the flustered EqEx pony.

"It's an EqEx joke, you'll get it tomorrow." quipped CPS, causing EqEx to become enraged.

"You'll never get away with this, CPS! I shall return far better prepared to handle your cheap quips!" shouted EqEx as he flew off angrily.

"We'll see about that. I always win!" shouted CPS, smugly, relishing his defeating of his rival.

Singer just stood in a complete dumbfounded state as he watched what had to have been the corniest smack talk he'd ever witnessed. He decided not to comment on it, however as he had places to go and didn't want to be delayed more than he already was. 

"Sorry CPS" Singer said, almost apologetically. "But I'm not in any real hurry for this one to go through. But I'll definitely keep you in mind the next time I send some pony to deliver anything important."

"That's all I can ever ask for!" he smiled brightly as he started backing out of the post office. "Have a nice day, and remember to check out our logistics's section in our pamphlet."

When the delivery ponies had finally vacated the premises, he breathed a sigh of relief and placed the letter in the office box, and was ready for it to get sent off to Violet. Though he was still nervous, he wanted to know if he could save his friendship, something he should have been fighting harder to save a long time ago, and if he and Violet could possibly get back to the way things were between them.
...................

It had taken Thunder Clap a couple of days to return to Cloudsdale after his last encounter with his master. Humiliated, he retreated to a hotel for that duration of time to recuperate and to plan his next moves.He was still slightly bruised, but this particular beating wasn't as bad as it usually was. He was unsure why, but he didn't question it. He just knew that he wanted to get out of that stupid fortress as quickly as equinely possible, and to avoid failing him in the future. 

He hated it there, as many of his fellow thieves that served with him did. And he hated Wingo and his smug face. That arrogant jerk was as irritating as can be, and every opportunity Clap had to get away from his smugness, he'd take it. It added insult to injury that he'd returned to the very town where his humiliation had begun. Clap's disdain for Singer, the pony who had stood up to him for being a bully and sent him on a downward spiral into juvenile detention, some jail time until he'd escaped and rounded up his companions and went to join the hidden fortress, to him seemed warranted and the return to Cloudsdale just added coal to the fire that was his anger. In part, he'd taken the job as a thief to get money, but mostly for his chance at revenge against his old foe, as he'd found that looking for something else often brings up things you'd been looking for prior to that. 

He sat back in his booth at a local diner, which in a just sort of irony was the very one that Singer had gotten fired from years ago for getting in a fight with a bully on the job. Clap had heard about it, but there was no smile on his face. Only more anger because it only strengthened the fact that he viewed Singer as a do-good-er wannabe and a nuisance. The more Clap thought about this, the more infuriated he got. 

He'd waited for Mocha and Taffy who'd taken their sweet little time meeting him there. Those two were about as reliable as a two legged mule, and they had four times the legs and four wings among the two of them, he thought. 

As they came bumbling into the diner, they stumbled over each other trying to squeeze into the booth, pushing and shoving trying to get seated first. Both eager to tell Thunder Clap the good news.

"What has you two acting so stupid?!?" he asked bitterly sneering at them from the other side of the booth. "Straighten up before I do it for you!"

"You'll never believe it, but we found him! We found Singer!" Taffy said, beating Mocha to the punch. The latter pouted at the missed opportunity.

"Wait, you did?" asked Thunder Clap with a smirk on his face and with a hush tone to avoid garnering too much attention. The two nodded in confirmation. His mood had changed dramatically almost instantly with this news. Meanwhile, failing to notice that some pony was in the booth behind him, listening to every word.

"Yeah, we think he lives in Ponyville now! It's not too far away from here!" added Mocha. "We saw him walking through town with a boat load of groceries."

"Turns out your lead from Las Pegasus was correct, you fat flubber ball, you!" said Thunder Clap now more upbeat, giving his version of a compliment.

A fearful flinch had turned into an accomplished smile that adorned Mocha's face, but it was immediately shot down as Thunder Clap, in excitement, hit a ketchup bottle splattering ketchup all over Mocha and Taffy's faces in an abrupt change of tides in his mood pattern.

"Wipe the sauce off of your faces, and let's hit the road!" said Clap, as he got up and sped out the door. The other two wiped the ketchup off of their faces and headed out the door. 

Mocha was mightily disappointed because he thought they'd be able to get something to eat, he quickly rubbed his belly for comfort as he took off after the others. "Hey! Wait for me!" he called as he went off after the others, who had already began to vanish.

Little did they know, they'd had an audience. A tall orange pegasus stallion had followed slowly out the door upon over hearing the conversation that the trio had had about Singer. His own brother. The brother who Brawn had forsaken, foolishly, was now in trouble. Though he said nothing, for the first time in many years, worry grew inside him for his brother's safety. Brawn, knowing that Singer may never forgive him, but also knowing that Singer was his brother and it was about high time he did his job as his brother. He pondered on the thought of following the three punks and putting a stop to them. Time for thinking was dwindling by the second, and the trio was getting smaller. He wanted to return home to his wife and his foals, as they would be waiting with his favorite dinner that evening. But... something was tugging on him to go elsewhere....

..............

Violet had been very very busy over the course of the year. She'd been so heartbroken after what she'd done, telling Singer that he didn't need her in his life anymore as she reluctantly left him to his life. She knew what she'd done to Singer was wrong. Leaving him like that. But she couldn't help it. It was hard to be around him. Of course she still loved him. Of course she wanted to be with him. Though she realized her big mistake, she thought it was for the best for him that she continued to stay away and not risk making things worse. She only hoped that he and Serenity were happy together, little did she know they had broken up not six months after she'd left Singer in Canterlot that fateful night. She hadn't received a letter from Singer in so long, though for that she credited her negligence to respond to any of the last letters he'd sent her. Over time, she quietly carried her pain. But eventually, she was able to collect herself and do her best to press on. Though she'd stopped dating other stallions, she spent her time helping Rain with his homework, taking care of her dad when he'd come home from work for some rest before having to be sent back out, and doing her best to keep her mom's old shop open, which sadly was on it's way down the drain due to financial problems. But at the end of the day, nothing, not even the worries of losing her mom's old shop could quench her rotten feelings. 

Her father had tried to talk to her about it, but she persisted in resisting it. Her decision had been final. She'd felt that Singer had been so much better off without him. Her father worried about her often, making frequent visits back home. Far more than before. Though he couldn't be around much, he still cared deeply for his children. His busy schedule left little time for socialization or time for finding a potential mate to be a mother for his kids, so Violet was left with the task of being a surrogate mother in addition to being a big sister to her little brother. That was something that he'd been so sick of having to know.

The tall brown black maned pegasus stallion walked into the kitchen where he saw Violet helping Rain with his homework from school. In his wing, was a letter. Recently sent from Ponyville. His heart dropped when he'd read the name on the envelope. He wasn't sure how Violet would react to this, but he knew that it had to be given to her. He wasted little time, making sure that he got it.

He wasn't angry with Singer, despite what he'd been told about everything that had happened among his family and with Serenity in Las Pegasus. He understood what was going on, and what Singer was going through, as well as Violet. He'd gone through a similar scenario with his wife, Violet's mother. Oh how he missed her. He knew of the significant feelings that his daughter had for Singer, and he could relate from a few years before Violet had been born. He and her mother had gone through a similar miscommunication and almost never recovered from it. Until she stepped back out and took him back, and rekindled the fire also known as their love and they stayed together until she passed away years later. He hoped that this recent letter from him would be that step that at least would start an upward spiral for the rekindling of their friendship. They were too good of friends to just give up and wonder what might have been.

Calmly he placed the letter on the table, sliding it in front of her. "Rain, could you go to your room for a few minutes please? I need to talk to your sister." he asked calmly.

"Um... okay..." he looked up at Violet, who was equally as surprised. She nodded and he went off to his room, unsure of what it was about, but he knew that it was something important.

Violet's eyes finally moved down to the letter, once her father had pushed it closer to her. She read the name on the sender section, and pushed it back.

"No..." she said, resisting it. "Daddy, you know how I feel about this..."

"No I don't, because you refuse to talk to me about it." he said with a semi stern voice, with tears of concern in his eyes. "And I don't expect you to. But I can tell that, even now, this still weighs on you. You may have manged to shut it out, but I know you. You still love him."

"No!" she protested loudly. "I can't... I don't... Daddy, why are you doing this to me?"

"Why are you doing this to yourself?" he said putting his hooves on her shoulders. "Violet, why can't you see that Singer still needs you?"

"No he doesn't! I know that for a fact!" tears began to work from her eyes. "He doesn't need me! All I was doing was holding him back from doing what he loved doing!"

"Is that what she said? That pony he's dating?" he said, referring to Serenity. "Because I don't believe that for a second. I've seen you two grow up together over the years. Whether you realize it or not, Singer still cares about you! Or he wouldn't have sent this letter."

Violet grew silent, tears still trickling down her face.

"I know this is hard, Violet. I know how hard it is to love somepony who seems to show no hint at feeling the same way, but you've got to look past your feelings some times and see things for what they are."

"So love has blinded me, then?"

"No... I'm saying that you've felt so strongly about this, that you feel that you need to be with him in an intimate relationship to be with him at all. I know all about the friend zone, sweetie. But it's such an over used term. You can still love him and be what you once were to him. It's never easy, but if you two are meant to be friends, and if you truly love him, you need to accept it. But there is always that small bit of hope that maybe one day you will be together as more. It's not something that can be rushed, if it's even meant to happen at all. But regardless, you both need to be there for each other."

"I can't...."

"Violet. You and Singer need closure, otherwise you'll live with regrets for the rest of your life. Singer obviously misses you. Though it may or may not be in the capacity that you wish, he's still your friend, your best friend. You at least owe him to be that for him once again. You'll never be that sweet happy cheerful adorable filly that I used to know unless you do. I'm telling this to you for your own good, sweetie."

She looked down in shame, still teary eyed... and looked back up at him again. "I know... I know... I just... I wish I wasn't so selfish..."

"Baby, you're the least selfish pony that I know." he said wrapping his foreleg around her, and pulling her in for a hug. "I know I'm not much of the dad, that you deserve, but I want you to know that I'm proud of you, and the wonderful young mare that you've become. You're so mature for your age, but yet you still have that beautiful little filly inside you that I will always see you as until the day I die. I love you, Violet!"

"I love you too, dad!" she said embracing him for a good five minutes or so. He wiped her tears with his wing. He then pushed the letter back to her and left the room, to let her be alone with her thoughts and to read the letter. She stared at the envelope for a good few minutes before reluctantly deciding to open it. She took a deep breath as she pulled the letter out, and unfolded it.

Dear Violet,

I know it's been quite a while since I last wrote to you. Even longer since I last talked to you. I don't even know where we stand right now, to be honest. But I just want you to know that I'm sorry... for whatever it was that I did to you. I'm so sorry. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about you and all the memories we've had over the years. And I hate that I'm not out in the back yard doing role play from our adventure books with you. And I just can't shake the feelings that I have every time that I think about you.

But I want you to know, that although much has changed for me over the last few years, becoming your friend is still the best thing that has ever happened to me, you amazing pony. And I'd want nothing more than to hug you, and laugh with you, and maybe even kiss you... um... well... maybe. Ha ha...probably not helping...

I've moved away from Las Pegasus and I've began a new life in Ponyville. I would love to meet up again with you, some day and talk. And I honestly would really love to go back to the way we were. I miss you... I miss Rain... my mom... heck at this point I even miss my dad and my brother.

I'd like to reclaim my life, and getting you back as a friend is a huge part of it. I'll always remember sitting in Ms. Nimbus' class together in first grade on that first day. It's because of my friendship with you that I have my cutie mark. I hope you finally have yours, but if not, we'll find it together. That is, if you want me to....

The point I'm trying to make here is simple. I need you Violet. I don't know what Serenity told you, but dismiss it! I miss you, darn it! My only hope is that my arrogance hasn't burned the bridge with you. I really do hope to see you soon. I love you, no sugarcoating it. I love you!

PS, tell Rain I said hello.

Your best friend, 
Singer Case.

Violet's eyes watered even more after reading that. She felt a bit of guilt at first, for making him believe that it was his fault. But after everything else he'd said, she was able to breathe a sigh of relief! She'd been so worried that he hadn't missed her at all, and that the letter was inviting her to his and Serenity's wedding or something like that. But that aside, it took a huge chip off her shoulder. She'd been so sad for over a year because she thought she'd lost him. Her dad was right, even if she and Singer never ever got together intimately, she was more than content to be his friend til the day that she died. It was like the letter reignited a spark within her. She couldn't believe it! It wasn't too late! She even giggled a bit, diverting her eyes back to the part where he might even kiss her. She knew it was meant to be a funny, so she went along with the joke as she normally would. It was like he'd never left.

She squealed happily, forgetting that her dad and brother were in the other room.

"I told you so!" she heard her dad holler from Rain's room.

"And I've never been so happy to be proven wrong..." she said as she hugged the letter, corny as it was. But she was happy! That entire year of sadness was all for nothing, and that was okay with her as long as everything worked out.

.........

"I must say, that I'm very proud of you Singer." said Dusk, as he sat at the dinner table with Singer, Twilight, and Spike. They'd invited him over for lunch/dinner as a way to get him back for him inviting them over for dinner the night before. He enjoyed hanging out the with the trio of librarians, and so he loved being in their company. Singer had brought over some nacho soup he'd made, while Spike had made straight up nachos in addition to what Singer brought. Though that looked good to the dragon, he eyed the chocolate cake that Dusk had brought with him, and Twilight, using a warning expression, without having to say a word, issued a warning to Spike not to touch the cake until it was time for dessert. Spike yielded to Twilight's commands because he knew not to cross her.

"Thanks, Dusk. It wasn't easy to do, but writing it was so easy. I feel so much better now that I got what I needed to say out of my system. I only hope that she'll respond."

"I think she will." said Twilight. "Like Dusk said to you the other day, if she's truly your friend, she'll respond. Though, Spike mentioned that there may be more to it than that?"

"Beg your pardon?" Singer asked surprised. "Uh... what do you mean?"

"Spike was just telling me that he thinks you might like Violet." Twilight returned. "As in, like like her."

"Oh, he did, eh?" said Singer, narrowing his eyes at the dragon, who had just remembered said exchange and was now feeling a bit awkward.

"Spike, we've already talked about this..." said Dusk. 

"I know... but I still think he does." said Spike, standing firm on his belief.

"I do not have a crush on Violet!" said Singer, crossing his forelegs, and looking away from the others.

"I don't know, the evidence is looking pretty clear to me, as well." said Twilight noting that Singer's face had began to turn red.

"I'm not... I don't... can we just drop this, please? I'm not going to push my luck with that. At this point, I'd consider myself lucky to just be her friend again."

"Implying that you do like her as more than a friend, then?" asked Dusk.

"Dusk... I thought you were on my side!" said Singer.

"I am on your side." Dusk insisted.

"It's called teasing, Singer." Twilight giggled. "Trust me, Dusk and I got our fair share of it when we were just friends."

"Still having a hard time imagining you two as just friends..." said Singer.

"After all this time, it's seemed like a distant memory to us as well. Yet, sometimes I look back on the pony I was and it feels like only yesterday I was waiting to get the nerve to talk to Twilight in hopes of becoming friends with her." Dusk said in response.

"Followed her around for twelve years!" added Spike.

"Wow, that's kinda sad, dude." said Singer.

"I think it's kind of sweet." said Twilight giving Dusk a kiss on the lips. 

"Bleh!" said Spike sticking one of his claws in his mouth.

Singer tried to think about he and Violet in a relationship like Dusk and Twilight's. The more he thought about it, the more he was liking it... but also the more it scared him as well. He wasn't even sure if he even liked Violet that way, nor was he going to force the issue on that. But that thought seemed to be embedded into his brain, because now he couldn't get rid of it, and he felt his heart rate increase a bit at the thought. He picked up his glass of water and began to drink it fast.

"Is everything alright, Singer?" asked Dusk.

"Um... yeah... fine..." he said, pouring another glass and drinking it just as fast. "All is well in the world of Singer!"

"Would you mind stepping outside with me for a minute?" he asked, motioning him to follow him.

"Uh, yeah... Sure." said Singer as he followed Dusk outside.

"What's wrong?" asked Dusk with concern.

"I... well... you see.... the thought of me and Violet together makes me kind of nervous." he staggered. "I don't know. If I'm able to reunite in friendship with Violet, won't a relationship possibly mess things up?"

"Not exactly." Dusk said. "A relationship is like a friendship. Only more intimate. If you're in one, be honest with your partner, and always treat each other with utmost respect. I would think that you would already know this, having mentioned being in a relationship before."

"Yeah, and we both know how well that went..." he said bitterly.

"Duly noted" he said. "But my point is, that if you do decide that you want to be more than friends with Violet, and if she agrees, then things don't have to be all that different between the two of you, at least from a certain vantage point anyway. It all depends on you two and how you both go about doing things."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Thank you, Dusk" said Singer. "This definitely does make me feel better about the thought of it. You know, you're a good friend as well."

"Thank you, Singer. I appreciate that. I extend that to you, as well." They briefly smiled at each other before Singer's stomach began to rumble.

"Think we should be getting back in there?"

"Probably so..." said Dusk, leading him back inside. "I'm eager to try that nacho soup that you brought."

"You'll love it! It's one of my mom's recipes! Just don't drink the juice too fast because it's real spicy!"

"Thanks for the warning" said Dusk as he closed the door.
............
Later on, Singer had been in the park with Star Chaser, Gentle and Rainbow Dash. The former two, observing as Dash was trying to get Singer back into shape. Now that his wings were back in proper working order, it was time to put them back to work so that way he would get the feel back in them that he had prior to his accident. He also needed to get back into shape, as even before his injury he'd slacked off on working out and was beginning to retain a tiny bit of weight. Time to cut that off, he'd told himself on his way to the park before they'd begun training. It wasn't something he was looking forward to, but he knew that he needed to do it. Besides once he got enough of it in, he'd be in better shape and it wouldn't bother him as badly.

There he was doing push ups in the park in the middle of the afternoon. Sweat trickling down his face, legs already beginning to feel jiggly. Rainbow Dash had been keeping track as to how many that he'd been doing.

"Twenty five, twenty six, twenty seven" she counted. "....twenty eight, twenty nine..." she paused as Singer locked his wings after the twenty ninth wing up. Already he was getting tired, and these wing ups were making him feel weaker every time he did one. "Come on, Singer! You have to make it to thirty or you'll have to start over!"

"What?!?" he asked exasperatingly. "No!" he moaned.

"Yes!" said Dash. "When I first started, my minimum was forty! You're having a difficulty with doing thirty! Don't be a whimp!" 

"Yeah, well you didn't just come off of an injury to your wings either." he countered.

"I've had my fair share of injuries too, you know. Now stop being a ninny and get that last one finished!" she drilled. "Do you hear me, Case?"

"Sir, yes sir...ma'am boss Bob!" said Singer in the most strenuous voice he'd ever made, as he loosened his wings yet again to try and complete the last wing up. As he pushed up and collapsed to the ground after his wings let him go down, Dash face hoofed. "I'm sorry Dash." He was now breathing heavily and covered in sweat. Gentle and Star came to his aid. The former spraying some water from a water bottle into his mouth, and the latter offering him a damp towel to cool off with. He thanked them graciously, and they nodded in response.

"It's alright Sing..." replied Dash. "I'll give it to you this time since you showed that you really wanted it. But tomorrow, don't forget to do warm ups and do a bit of practicing on this before the actual training session, or this type of thing will be unpardonable in the future."

"Being a bit rough on him, aren't you Dash?" asked Star Chaser.

"Nope!" she replied. "This is how I was trained and, come to think of it how you were trained as well, in gym class. All strong flyers must exercise or their muscles will turn to flab, like Singer's here."

"Hey!" protested Singer.

"Just kidding, Sing." Dash smirked before putting her coach face back on. "Now that that's over, I want you to make a couple of laps around Ponyville in the air. I've got markers set up in the clouds as guides so you don't get lost." she said pointing to the clouds with numbered flags sticking up to help Singer memorize the path. "Just follow that path at the highest speed you can manage, and you're done for the day."

Singer breathed hard as he stood back up, and flapped his wings. He couldn't get them to flap as fast as he wanted, due to them being subject to thirty wing ups after being in a cast for over a week.

"I don't know why I need a path, flying around Ponyville should be a breeze..."

"True, but I want you to hit your marks precisely!" said Rainbow Dash. "That way you won't be able to cut corners."

"Alright, alright!" he said about to take off. But as he did, a small storm cloud appeared behind him and clapped when it collided with another cloud, causing a thunder clap with lightning. This was something that Singer was very wary of, so when he heard it he ducked down rapidly out of fear of being struck by lightning again.

"What's the matter, Singer?" teased Rainbow. "Scared of a little thunder?"

"No!" glared Singer as he hovered above his friends.

"Singer, look out!" shouted Gentle, noticing a black furred pegasus lunging from the storm cloud rapidly in Singer's direction. 

Singer was unable act in time and was trounced upon by Thunder Clap, who slammed him into the ground, and held his head down to it with his hoof.

"Remember me?" asked Thunder Clap in a menacing and scary voice. 

Singer could recognize that voice anywhere... Though it had been years, Singer's memory of this particular foe of his couldn't be clouded. Singer's old school bully and nemesis, Thunder Clap had returned. As two other familiar pegasai, Mocha and Taffy emerged and descended from the clouds they'd been hiding in, smirking, sniggering and making punching gestures with their hooves, Singer knew that trouble had found him yet again.


> Oh Clap!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Singer lay on the ground, being held down by Thunder Clap, he began to get very peeved. What right does this guy have to come after all of the years of bullying him, to begin harassing him yet again? Hadn't he done that enough already? This dude seriously needs a hobby!

"Clap, I'm going to give you to the count of three to get off my-" he was cut off when Clap's left front hoof hit him on the head.

"What are you going to do, Singer? Sing me to death? Or are you really foolish enough to try and stand up to me again?"

Singer fell silent.

"That's what I thought." Clap remarked.

"Who is that?" inquired Gentle to Star Chaser, as they both pondered what to do about this, or if there was anything they could even do.

"Thunder Clap." he informed. "He was a brutal bully in our earlier years of school in Cloudsdale. And it appears that he hasn't changed one bit."

"That's not good, what are we going to do?" Gentle asked frantically, while trotting in place. "We can't just stand here and do nothing!"

"We're not!" said Rainbow Dash standing ahead of them, adding to the conversation before flying over to the bully, who was still currently pinning Singer down. "Hey Clap! Why don't you pick on some pony who can take it? I'd like to take you on a few rounds!" She said hovering above them, making punching and kicking motions with her hooves.

"I don't think that's quite the 'do something' we were thinking about." remarked Star Chaser to Gentle. If Dash had heard it, she didn't respond.

"Bug off, Dash! This has nothing to do with you! This is personal business between me and Singer." Clap said as he hit Singer in the head again.

"Will you stop that?" protested Singer.

"Shut up!" Clap said as he again hit his head.

"It does if one of my friends is involved!" she said defensively. "Don't make me come over there and rearrange your face!"

"You and what army?" Clap said, as he signaled Mocha and Taffy to fly and hover in front of Dash.

"Give me a break, am I supposed to be afraid of these clowns? They're nothing more than mere tag-alongs to make you look like you matter!" Dash said.

"You wanna repeat that, Clown Hair?" said Taffy, who was showing signs of anger when Thunder Clap was being brought up, and when their status as Clap's loyal sidekicks was being questioned.

"Ha! I've seen better comebacks on my breakfast cereal box!" snarked Rainbow Dash. Now Taffy's blood was really beginning to boil.

"Listen here, Rainbow Crash! I've put mares like you in the hospital for lipping back! I won't hesitate to do the same to you. I don't care how popular you are. All the more reason for me to put you in a head lock!"

"Bring it, powder puff!" said Dash as she laughed. "How about I pull that mane over your eyes even more!"

Taffy made the first move, flying over and hitting Rainbow Dash in the face while she wasn't paying attention. Rainbow slightly flew back and rubbed her face where Taffy's hoof had made impact. "You got me when my guard was down..." said Rainbow. "It won't happen again!" Dash said as she came back, and gave Taffy a punch of her own.

"Better back out, while you still can. Wouldn't want to smear your mascara!" 

"Rainbow Dash!" she shouted angrily as she charged at Rainbow and rammed into her. Rainbow, however, was able to counter this by turning her body sideways, sending Taffy sliding off of her, heading straight down to the ground and making some hard, yet comical impact, causing a hole in the shape of her body when she did. "Screw you, Rainbow Dash...." said Taffy from inside her bodily shaped hole in the dirt.

Dash sniggered and held her stomach as she burst into laughter as she celebrated her victory. This was short lived, however, when she noticed that Mocha was charging from below her with every bit of speed he had, which was surprisingly fast considering his weight. She flew to the right to avoid him, successfully doing so, causing Mocha go upward with too much speed, making it harder for him to stop and fly back down. After struggling for a few seconds, he finally was able to regain himself and hover back down to face off with Rainbow Dash as Taffy had just done.

"You're going to pay for that, Rainbow Crash..." Mocha bellowed with his deep voice.

"I doubt it." said Rainbow Dash. "But you're welcome to try and collect your fee."

"Very funny..." he said. 

"Will that be cash or credit?" she continued to satirize.

"Shut up!" said Mocha as he charged at her, yet again.

"Oh, they never learn!" said Rainbow Dash as she too charged at full speed.

Once they made contact, something unexpected happened. Unlike when she made contact with Taffy, it wasn't her pushing back, she was being pushed back by Mocha's weight. She didn't think that this was going to be a problem. Evidently it was, because upon impact she was immediately deflected off of Mocha's thick stomach, and sent careening back in the direction of a tree a tree, on which she made contact with, where Taffy had been waiting with a rope and took advantage of Rainbow Dash being stunned and tied her to it, so she wouldn't interfere anymore.

Upon realizing that she had been duped, Dash cursed and ranted. "Come on! I want a rematch!"

Her ranting was ignored as the duo of Mocha and Taffy only chuckled maniacally as they did their own awkward hoof shake in celebration.

Singer saw this and was even more agitated. "Let her go, now!" he commanded sternly.

"You're not in any position to make commands, you idiot! Now shut up..." Clap hit him on the head again, then held it up so he could watch. "And enjoy the show. Your time is coming."

Upon defeating Rainbow Dash, Mocha and Taffy set their eyes on Gentle and Star Chaser, who did not look like they were in any mood to fight. They narrowed their eyes at the couple, and smirked, followed by maniacal sniggering. They then looked back at Clap to make sure they'd have permission.

"What are you two standing around for? Just get them!" he commanded. "Get them out of here so that way I can handle this in private!" That's all they needed to hear, as they ran after them, flapping their wings as if they were preparing to take off. Gentle and Star Chaser turned in the other direction and fled in an attempt to lose them.

"What have we.... gotten ourselves into?" asked Gentle, as she breathed heavily while running.

"I don't know..... but we gotta get rid of these guys!" returned Star as they continued on. "Any ideas?" he asked.

"It's dangerous, but we could try to lose them in the Ever Free." she said, pointing with her eyes, noting that they were in fact approaching the forest.

"Let's try it" he said as he flew ahead and led his marefriend into the everfree with Mocha and Taffy behind them in persuit.

The bullies halted when they saw that they had entered the Ever Free. Just the very edge of the forest stopped them in their tracks, and scared them.

"Are you freakin kidding me?!?" shouted Taffy. "They had to go into the Ever Free?" Taffy deadpanned. 

"They must have a death wish!" said Mocha. "This place is scary!"

"Just shut up and get them!" forced Taffy as she pushed back the brush and rushed in after them.

"I really don't like this..." said Mocha as he followed his companion.
.....
"It really stinks that we've had to wait this long to get down to business, little Singer." said Thunder Clap smugly. "But I do prefer a little entertainment before I commence a royal beating!" he chuckled.

"You're insane, Thunder Clap!" said Singer. "What the heck happened to you? I mean, yeah you've always been messed up, but this. This is a new level of insanity! Why come looking for me after all these years? What business could you possibly have with me?"

"You just don't get it, do you?" sneered the vengeful stallion. "Allow me to sum it all up. The day you stood up to me, was the day that ponies began to question my stronghold of dominance on the weaker members of the student body at school! I had other bullies that I had fought off, were coming back to challenge me to try and regain the turf I took from them."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" said Singer. "Seriously, that's not-"

"But wait, there's more..." he continued. "After showing that I was the top dog in school, I was able to reclaim my place at the top of the 'food chain'. But it didn't come without a price. Word had gotten to some of the parents and they crowded the principal's office... apparently. They deemed me too belligerent to be around on school grounds, so they sent me away to a boot camp. A boot camp!"

"I heard you the first time..."

"Shut up!"  

"Boo hoo!" shouted Rainbow Dash, still tied up on a tree. "You got what you deserved, ya psycho!"

"Shut up!!!" he shouted. "Or you're next!"

"I still don't see how this is my fault..."

"It's simple. Had you not challenged me, I wouldn't have had to pick up the pace on my daily routine and put some other wannabes in their place."

"You were trying to take an innocent colt's bits. How could I just sit there and let you do that? Anypony who just sits by and watches is just as guilty as the pony committing the act! I had no choice!"

"Don't buy into that bull!" said Clap. "That's just what teachers tell us to keep us from doing stuff that we stallions are supposed to do. Fight for dominance!"

"We're civilized ponies, not feral ponies... wow, if I get any more 'civilized', I'm going to start sounding like Dusk..." During chats with Dusk, Singer had learned of his reservations toward fighting and violence, and how he preferred not to partake in it. And he could respect that, but even he had moments where he needed to stand up for himself and kick some flank. But only if needed. Singer wished he could do better at taking that cue. It would have saved him a lot of trouble, sadly Singer's impulsive anger outbursts weren't as easy to control as Dusk's were for him. 

"What the heck is a 'Dusk'?" inquired Clap, immediately dismissing it afterwards.

"Ha ha, yeah." agreed Dash, still listening. "You are starting to sound a little like him. Just need to throw in some more pacifistic ideals at him."

"I told you to shut up!" said Thunder Clap. 

"Make me!" said Rainbow Dash.

"I'd love to oblige, but I'm currently bus-" 

This distracted Thunder Clap long enough for Singer to push one of Clap's legs out from under him, causing him to collapse and allowing Singer to push him off and regain his footing, or hoofing if you will. Finally free, Singer took this opportunity to distance himself from him a bit. Just enough to where he was within eye contact range.

"So... you're free now." he said. "I see you've gotten a bit better at fighting since our last dust-up."

"You could say that..." said Singer. "But I'm just getting warmed up... Hey is that a piano? What's it doing out here?"

Clap, surprisingly, fell for the 'monkey see' trick as he turned around and quickly turned back to see that Singer had flown off, while screaming for dear life.

"Get back here!" Thunder Clap growled. "I'm not near finished with you!" He took off angrily after Singer, starting a cat and mouse chase.

Meanwhile, Rainbow remained tied to the tree. "Don't mind me, just hanging around... I hate bad puns..."

But a stroke of luck fell upon her as a familiar face happened to be bouncing by. 

"Pinkie! Hey Pinkie!" shouted Dash.

"Hi Rainbow, what are you doing tied to a tree?" asked Pinkie Pie. She then gasped excitedly. "Are you protesting for 'Save The Trees Day'? I didn't think you were into that sort of thing!"

"Never mind that! Just please climb up here and untie me!" she snapped. "And no, I wouldn't be caught dead at one of those meetings!"

"Okie dokie lokie!" she said as she bounced happily up the tree to aid her friend. "So, how'd you get up here anyway?"

"Ugh...."
.....
After several minutes of being pursued, Star Chaser began to notice that Gentle was getting exhausted from running. He knew they had to do something and fast. He led her through a thicker part of the forest where many trees and vines were hanging, and flew directly in front of her while they tried to elude their chasers.

Star moved up over a log, and Gentle in turn, attempted to jump over it. Though she didn't quite make it over it so she had to jump off of it, and continue on. She then followed him as he kept swerving right and left to get around the trees that were in their way. He then spotted a jumbled mess of vines and signaled Gentle back in front of him and to keep running straight. As Gentle ran under them, and he flew under them. He stopped and bit one of the vines, causing the whole mess to start falling and right on the dot it landed on Mocha and Taffy, causing them to get entangled. 

"Aw crap!" moaned Mocha.

"This is all your fault!" said Taffy.

"My fault? I believe it was your brilliant idea to keep chasing them. I wanted to just turn around and go back, but nooooo..."

"And risk disappointing Clap? Don't you remember what he usually does to us when we botch our tasks?" countered Taffy.

"That's a lot better than being tangled up in a forest filled with those wooden beasts that attacked us...."

"Oh well excuse me for trying to...." 

Happy with their victory, and ready to get away from the bickering duo of lackeys, Chase grabbed Gentle in a warm and loving embrace, and lifted her up so they could get above the trees to figure out see where they were. Just as he had feared. They were deep into the forest. They were lost. Chase flew along the tops of the trees, far enough away away from where they previously were and gently placed Gentle down on the ground so they could at least rest a minute.

"What are we going to do, now?" asked Gentle, with a hint of fear in her voice. "We can't stay here forever, and those two might find us again before long."

"Don't worry, we'll get out of here..." comforted Star Chaser as he nuzzled her. "We always do."

His reassuring smile did ease her nerves a bit, but it wasn't enough to keep them from being alert of any potential danger in the area. They stood close to each other, hoping to be able to keep away from any of the beasts of the forest. The dwindling sunlight would soon warrant the use of Gentle's horn for light. They hoped they wouldn't be in there that long.

Suddenly a snapping twig got their attention. Had it been Mocha and Taffy? Or worse, a predator?" they both gulped and stood back to back in order to keep themselves looking in both directions. Foot steps became more audible, as the two braced themselves for contact of any sort.

"Hello?" said a voice. Hopefully the voice of someone friendly.

"Hello there..." said Star Chaser. "Are you friendly?"

"That depends." the stranger said. "Are you hear to poach animals or to steal from me?"

"N-No sir." said Star Chaser. "Merely trying to escape a couple of pursuers that meant to hurt us, and now we are lost."

"Oh, well in that case. I'd be happy to guide you home, and offer any protection necessary." The figure emerged from the shadows of the tree. He wasn't a pony, but a griffin. A large male griffin with blue feathers, and black markings on his face. He also wore a compass around his neck. He appeared to be an explorer of some sorts. "My name is Steve. Steve the Griffin. I'm an animal observer who lives in the Ever Free forest."

"It's nice to meet someone friendly." said Gentle. "Especially in a place so scary..."

"It's not so scary once you get the hang of living here. Though it does have it's hazards." he stopped to check them both out to make sure they were on the level. "Would I be safe to assume that you are from Ponyville?"

"Yes, sir. We both live there." replied Star Chaser.

"Alright then." he replied with a friendly smile in his beak. "Let us be off to Ponyville!"
.........
Singer didn't know why, but fleeing seemed like the best course of action. Strategic withdrawal is what he'd called it to make himself feel less cowardly. But apparently his strategy wasn't really getting him anywhere or doing him any favors as Thunder Clap continued to chase after him.

He flew through clouds to try and confuse him, but Clap just used his skills as a former weather pony to move the clouds out of the way with strong winds from his wings, revealing where Singer had been hiding. Clap lunged at him, but Singer ducked low by ceasing the flapping of his wings just in time for Clap to miss him. Clap fought back hard to keep from flying off in that direction too far. He turned himself around and continued the chase.

He flew around chimneys and over roof tops, and even ducked through an alley once or twice in an effort to lose him. But to no avail. Clap was persistent, and he was bent on getting his revenge on Singer and working out the beatings he'd received from his master to take them out on Singer. But Singer wasn't having any of that! When Thunder Clap was chasing him, Singer seemed to finally give him the slip as he lost him down one of the alley ways. Singer checked to see if the coast was clear, and as soon as he confirmed no sightings of Thunder Clap, he darted back up into the sky near a small patch of clouds.

Fear struck him though, as Thunder Clap had been hiding in that small patch of clouds. Unable to react in time, Thunder Clap once again had a hold of him and began to push him back down to the ground. As they got closer to the ground, Singer tried to muscle his way back out of Clap's grasp, but couldn't do it. They wound up both crashing down on an empty field, that looked to have already seen some action some time before this, due to the pushed back dirt and other marks looking like slash marks. Though they looked to be months old. Their impact made a small crater into the field, adding to the damage on the ground.

"Now... are you finished running?" said Thunder Clap. "Because I'm ready to beat the living snot out of you!"

"Thunder Clap, listen to me. You've got to stop this right now! You're letting this whole revenge thing consume you and driving you mad!" begged Singer.

"So be it. As long as I get to pound you in, that's fine by me!" he lunged at Singer, who moved out of the way to avoid getting punched. "Hold still you rodent!"

Singer finally had enough of dodging and made an offensive attack on Thunder Clap's nose. "Dude, I'm serious! Stop! It's not worth it!"

This proved to be a bad move as Thunder Clap became more motivated than ever to pound him. "NEVER!" he shouted in fury. Singer knew at this point, that he was probably fighting for his life, so it was now or never. Singer then made his own charge and pushed Thunder Clap back. Clap collected himself, came right back up, and clobbered him right in the face, causing Singer to careen back a couple of feet, knocking him flat on his back.

"Nuh uh uh..." said Clap. "You didn't really think a weak punch like that was going to stun me, did you?" he mocked. "Because it clearly wasn't enough. You're weak just like any of those other weak colts. Yet somehow you stood out above the rest."

"Probably because I was the only pony brave enough to stand up to you."

"And look how well things are turning out for you..." Clap stopped talking when he noticed Singer pulling what looked like a small speaker out from behind him, and pressed play on it, starting the acoustic guitar music.

"Well I know what's right 
I only got one life
In a world that keeps on pushing me around
I'm gonna stand my ground
And I won't back down

Hey, baby
There ain't no easy way out
And hey I will stand my ground
And I won't back down..."

"Very touching..." said Clap insincerely. "You can not back down all you want, but that's not going to stop me from sending you to the Emergency Room!"

"Bring it!" said Singer, the words to the song, still playing in his head, as he lunged forth again to try and land a blow to Thunder Clap, but Clap was able to grab him and slam him down on the ground. He grabbed him again and threw him across the field as far as he could throw him.

Singer caught himself, and was able to land on his feet, sliding dirt behind his hooves as he stood to face Thunder Clap again.

"Resilient aren't we?" Clap chuckled. "Alright then. Let's see how long it takes to break you, Singer!" Clap announced as he attacked yet again. Singer dodged and grabbed Clap by the lower torso and swung him once towards the ground behind him. Clap immediately got back up and round house kicked Singer in the face, nearly knocking him out. Singer was now in trouble. He was stunned, and for the moment unable to get back up as the impact with his head from Thunder Clap's back hoof made his head feel light headed, and it became harder for him to get up. 

Thunder Clap approached the barely conscious form of Singer, and prepared to strike another blow. This, however was interrupted by a very familiar face who came out of no where and rammed Thunder Clap, knocking him over, causing him to roll a bit until he came to a complete stop, landing on his right side.

Singer couldn't believe it. He was now staring at his older brother, Brawn. How the hay did he get here? Singer thought, as he tried to regain his strength.

"Why don't you pick on some pony who's got years worth of fighting training under his belt?" asked the orange pegasus stallion. "Or do you prefer the smaller, weaker ponies who can't defend themselves? Sounds like the makings of a coward to me."

"Y-You? But how did you get here?" inquired Thunder Clap. "How did you know where to find us?"

"You should really work on the volume of your voices during your conversations with each other, practically the whole diner could hear your stupid plan..." said Brawn. "I hope you're happy. I'm missing my wife's best dinner for this."

Brawn had never cared about Singer's well being before, or at least as far as he knew. He'd wondered if he was dreaming. Had that much really changed back home in his absence?

"Back off and let us finish our fight!" said Thunder Clap.

"The fight's over, he's almost knocked out cold. And if you want to inflict further harm on my little brother, you're going to have to come through me!"

Brawn was a little taller as well as more built than Thunder Clap was. Yeah, Clap was strong, but he couldn't hold a candle to Brawn if the two of them were to get in a fight.

Beginning to realize his defeat, Clap snorted and begrudgingly flew off, leaving Brawn and Singer alone on the open field. Singer was beginning to regain his consciousness as Brawn towered over him. "This is far from over, Singer!" he murmured to himself as he flew off.

"Brawn?" said Singer.

"Hold still, Singer." he said in the most comforting tone he could muster without sounding too compassionate and concerned. He picked Singer up, and put one of his front legs around his neck and shoulders, in an effort to help him fly home. "I'm gonna get you home. Where are we going?"

"The northern outskirts of Ponyville. My house is just a few miles away from a place called Sweet Apple Acres." Singer replied as clearly as he could. "Do you think you know how to get there?"

"I'm sure I'll figure it out."

"Brawn?" Singer said.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks..."

"Don't mention it. Really, it's cool."
.......
As Steve, Gentle and Star Chaser neared the edge of the forest, they were met by a dazed and exhausted Mocha and Taffy. 

"Alright, Mocha... we got 'em..." Taffy said as she tried to swipe at them, but fell down due to how much energy she'd used. Mocha fell over on his first step to aid Taffy, deeming their efforts to all be in vain. But it wasn't exactly something that Gentle and Star would be upset about. They took this opportunity to get away from them before they came back to it, and tried to nab them again.

Steve, with his wings out stretched, to warn off any other animal or dangerous characters not to mess with him, giving Star and Gentle the Ever Free equivalent of a police escort, as Steve was sort of the unofficial animal cop of the forest. 

"Thank you so much, for helping us get back to Ponyville." said Gentle.

"Not a problem, mate!" said Steve. "Don't hesitate to come back, now."

"We shall see." replied Star Chaser.

"Oh my gosh, Singer!" exclaimed Gentle. "Hurry, let's go see if he's alright!"
......
Singer lied down on his couch and rested his head on his pillow, once they had reached his house. Brawn, for the first time was standing in his house and looked around at it. He seemed to be impressed with how nice the interior was inside. But having him there was still a bit awkward considering how everything went down the last time, they'd met.

"So, you came to save me?" inquired Singer. "Why?"

Brawn sighed. "I don't know. I guess when I heard those goons talking about it at the diner in Cloudsdale, the instincts as an older brother that should have been kicking in all these years, finally did."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I sucked as a brother, growing up. And what I said to you the last time I saw you, sucked as well." Brawn sighed again, feeling really guilty. "I regretted saying all of those things that I said to you not long after it happened. I figured, I'd just get back to celebrating my wedding, then talk to you when I got a break. It wasn't until I'd gotten back from the honeymoon with Lovie, that I found out that you'd left home and followed Uncle Fender to Las Pegasus. It was then, I began to feel really guilty. I never meant any of that stuff I said. Not even the part where I told you that you weren't supposed to be born."

"Are... you apologizing to me?" Singer asked, almost in disbelief.

"I am..." he responded. "It was stupid of me to act like that. And not just at the wedding. But my attitude towards you growing up. I should have taken Grandma Joy's advice that one day. I'm really, really sorry, brother."

Singer's eyes began to water again. He mentally told himself not to cry, but there was no holding back the tears. "What you said really hurt me, and sent me down a dark path of denial...." Singer said glaring at Brawn sternly.

Brawn only hung his head in shame in response to this. "But..." His ears perked up and he looked at Singer again. "What's past is past... There's really no need to dwell on it anymore. I learned that today while dealing with Thunder Clap. I don't want to end up like him."

"And you won't." said Brawn. "You're stronger than that, Singer. You always have been. I guess that's partially why I've always been a little jealous of you."

"You were jealous of me?" Singer was awestruck. 

"In certain respects, yes. Everypony at first, seemed to like you better because of your upbeat personality. All I was ever able to do was intimidate, not necessarily bully, but intimidate most every pony I came across. I didn't have many real friends growing up, but you had Violet. Who, if you are wondering, is still doing quite well."

"So you know about what happened in Canterlot?"

"I heard, yes." he said quietly. "Looking back I wish I would have faced my fear of facing you again, and just apologized. I really wanted to help you through that, but I didn't think you'd want to read anything from me."

Singer thought that over, and it seemed logical to him. At the time, he was still miffed at Brawn. Anything Brawn would have sent him a couple of years ago, would have likely ended up in the trash. "I understand, Brawn."

"In short, I didn't realize what a wonderful brother that I had, until you were gone. After a while, I actually found myself missing having you around. Do you think that we can try to start over and be real brothers?"

"We can definitely try." Singer smiled. It seemed surreal to him. Brawn was actually making an effort to  mend fences with Singer and actually trying to spend time with him. "I've always wanted to have you around to talk to, Brawn. I never stopped believing that we could actually get along. I'm more than willing to give it a shot."

"Thank you." said Brawn with a smile on his face. The burden of guilt he'd quietly carried over the last few years was finally falling off of him. "I know two other ponies who'd like to see you again. Mom and Dad."

"I don't know about dad..." said Singer.

"Trust me, dad feels just as bad as I did about what happened that day. And mom misses you, especially after you stopped writing to her."

"I do feel bad about that. It's been over a year since I last sent her a letter." Singer admitted, though it wasn't really a secret to begin with.

"As soon as you can, you need to come back to Cloudsdale for a day or two. There are some of us who really miss you."

"I will. I promise. As soon as I gather my wit and grit." Singer chuckled lightly.

"With that said, I really must be getting back to Cloudsdale. It's getting late and Lovie's already going to be mad enough as it is for me being late for dinner."

"Understood" Singer smirked. "Wouldn't want to end up in the doghouse."

"Ha ha, yeah..."

"I can't wait to meet your kids, and get to know Lovie better as well. It's been a long time since I've seen any of you."

"It'll be cool to have the whole family back together again for sure. Maybe even Uncle Fender can make it too."

"Hopefully..." he said. "Well I don't want to keep ya."

"Ah, yes. Of course." Brawn said awkwardly as he started toward Singer's front door. "Good evening, Singer and bye for now."

"You too." He said as Brawn walked out and shut the door behind him.

Singer rolled over on his side, pulled up the covers, turned off the lamp and began to drift off into slumber. 

Later on that night, he'd get a visit from Gentle and Star Chaser, both checking in on him to make sure he was okay. Both were relieved to see that he was. He spent the next hour explaining to them what had went on before they'd gotten there, and he told it proudly.

"It was at that moment, I began to feel my life coming back together. Having my brother come and defend me like that, and then to come back into my life because of it was unbelievable. How could I not forgive him? I knew that us trying to get along would be a bit of a challenge, but if we both really worked at it, we'd be okay. But the next step is what scared me a bit. Getting back together with my parents, namely my dad. Part of me was still bitter thinking about him, but the other part of me really hoped that what Brawn said was true, and that I'd have similar results with him as well."


> Home Again
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning rose with the sun in Ponyville, and all seemed to be well with the town. Unfortunately for Singer, things weren't so serene. He'd been worrying about what he'd say, what he'd do... He of course, was thinking about the fact that today was the day he'd told himself he was finally going to go back to Cloudsdale and try to mend fences with his family and friends, one pony in particular he was especially nervous about seeing. As he'd gotten around that morning, he'd been so nervous about it that he couldn't even cook his own breakfast. So with no other choice, he'd take a small detour into town and grab something to eat before making the "grueling" fifteen minute flight to Cloudsdale from Ponyville. A nice stack of chocolate chip pancakes should do the the trick, he thought as he received his plate and began to eat.

Sadly, Singer had only just learned how close Ponyville was to Cloudsdale just a few days prior due to being informed by Rainbow Dash. Needless to say, he'd kinda wished he'd known this earlier. Growing up, even while living in Cloudsdale, Singer had always heard about Ponyville and how nice it was, but he barely knew anything further than that. Didn't even know how close he was to it, and vice versa.

While he slowly ate his meal, he went deep in thought of what he'd say to everypony when he'd get there, he was spooked by the sudden appearance of Rainbow Dash. She'd tried to get his attention twice before he'd realized she was there. And the realization of her presence slightly surprised him.

"Rainbow Dash... Hi..." said Singer, trying not to look too scared out of not wanting to be called a wimp. "What brings you around here?"

"Nothin much." she said, exasperatingly . "Just trying to make the most out of this boring Monday. I really wish that the Weather bosses would let us do a little storm this afternoon or something. When you're supposed to be working, and you have no orders whatsoever, things tend to be a little boring!"

"When I'm bored, I go to the library and read books." said Singer. "Plus it helps me take my mind off a few... er... things."

"Tried that already. Really the only thing I'm interested in reading right now is the latest Daring Do installment. But that won't come out for another week and a half!"

"There's another one?!" inquired Singer. "Darn, I'm still trying to catch up. I'm still on 'Daring Do and The Impossible Mineshaft'."

"That one's meh..." said Rainbow Dash. "The story in that one isn't all that great. It actually turns out that-" she was cut off by Singer protesting the spoiler.

"Aw come on, Dashie! Don't spoil it for me! I really want to read it myself. Even if the ending isn't all that great for some reason."

"I wasn't really talking about the ending as much as I was talking about-"

"La la la la la la la" said Singer placing his hooves over his ears. "I can't hear you! Blah blah blah!"

"Take a chill pill, there Sing. I was only kidding around with you." she smirked. "The Impossible Mineshaft is probably one of the awesomest installments ever! You're really going to like that one. Has a great villain."

"DAH!" shouted Singer putting his hooves over his ears.

Dash cocked her head. "Come on, you big baby. I was only saying it has a great villain, no spoilers, I promise! Besides, I've already had this same scenario happen with Dusk and Twilight when I zipped ahead of them in the series and couldn't contain my excitement!"

"Are you insane?" Singer asked nervously. "Trying to out do librarians in any series is asking for a trip to the emergency room! They don't like being upstaged!"

"Clearly you need to spend more time with our resident librarians then. Egotistical isn't exactly part of their personalities." she chukled.

"I suppose you're right now that I think back on that. Heh heh..." chuckled Singer.

"So what's got you all tense, Sing?" inquired Rainbow Dash.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." said Singer trying to hide his nervousness.

"You lived in Las Pegasus, Singer. Surely you'd know how to tell a poker face when you see one. Or even learn how to do a half way decent one..." deadpanned Rainbow before a playful smirk replaced it.

"Fine, you got me!" admitted Singer. "You see, I'm going back to Cloudsdale for a day or maybe more. It's high time that I try to get closure with some ponies back home. Namely, my parents... well my dad more specifically."

"That's good news, or otherwise bad news." said Dash. "Depends on how it all turns out, I guess."

"Which is exactly why I'm nervous." said Singer. "I'm not sure how it's going to go. I'm kind of having second thoughts. I don't want to make things worse."

"Hey, don't sweat it." said Rainbow. "It's your family, right? If you truly care about one another, why should you be worried about seeing them again?"

Rainbow could make out another hint of nervousness in Singer's features. "Well, the last time I saw each of them, things didn't exactly end well."

"Sounds like bad communication to me. That's kind of what families do. Stop being a wuss and mare up already!" said Rainbow Dash. "You can't keep hiding from your problems forever, you know. Did you back down when Thunder Clap showed up to beat you senseless the other day?"

Singer remembered how he'd had to act upon that day that Thunder Clap had found him in Ponyville, and threatened him and even his friends. Somehow though, facing an old bully from his vulnerable childhood past wasn't as scary as it seemed to be to face down his family. Namely, his dad. Then there was Violet. He was still anxious with anticipation to see if she'd even opened the letter he sent or if she'd ignored it like she seemingly ignored the rest of them.

Singer knew she had a point, and suddenly realized how silly he was acting. "No..." he admitted bitterly. "Well, technically..."

"Shut up with the technicalities!" she said, raising her voice, then having a halfway apologetic look on her face as some of the ponies in the area diverted their attention in their direction. "Sorry about that."

Singer waved it off. "You're right, Dash. I think this has gone on long enough. For too long I've been hiding from my past, and using the present and the future to try and make up for it, when I should've been making an effort to try and fix it from the get go. I realize now that it's not going to cut it anymore. It's time for me to go and fix things." He said in an upbeat fashion as he took the last bite of his stack of pancakes and finished by washing it down with a glass of milk.

He then rose from his seat at the table and prepared to fly off. "Thanks for the chat and pep talk, Dash. I'll see ya later."

She smiled and placed a pair of sunglasses on her face. "It's no thing..." she said. "I better be zipping off, too. Later, dude!" she took off before Singer even tried to take off. As a result, he felt a bit of a small sonic boom as she took off in the air.

Singer coughed out the dust that had flown into his mouth during Rainbow's take off and commenced take off as well. This was it, he thought to himself. Destination: Cloudsdale.

...

It was just as beautiful as he remembered it, and then some. The white fluffy surface evaporated slightly under his hooves as he trudged on through the town. Singer had missed Cloudsdale. Like most pegasai who lived there, being located in the sky helped add to the beauty and luster and also aided in the experience of being up so high. This town was the jazz, he thought to himself. Forget all that had happened for just a second, and just enjoy being up and breathing that fresh moist air! It was so good to be back.

As he got further into town, he saw some recognizable faces and some new faces as well. Singer would often linger on any new building that he saw and study it momentarily before moving on.

He stopped by his old high school and stood in front of the building. Looking upon it, reminiscing on the days of old when he used to walk the halls with Violet, and face the bullies who would taunt him almost every day. Despite that, he couldn't hate the place. True, many of his worst times happened there. But many good times happened there as well. It had been he and Violet's socializing grounds most of the time, and that was the place that the two had really gotten as close as they had ever been. Throughout all of his years of school, she'd been by his side. Singer smiled with a small tear falling from his eye, as he bore the place no ill feelings towards the place. The place that had been the worst to him, ironically was the place he went to escape what he thought at the time was the horrors of Cloudsdale. The place where his career and first relationship fell apart, Las Pegasus.

He took one more look at the school before moving on his way. He did have business to attend to, after all. As he did, he saw the diner that he'd once worked at. That place didn't bring him many good memories, as the time he'd gotten that job was during the latter years of school when he and Violet were beginning to get busy with their own aspirations, and had less time to hang out than they previously had when they were foals. He didn't linger but a few seconds upon that place, as he pressed on.

But on his way, he did come across a familiar, friendly sight. Violet's house. Though not his destination at this time, was for sure next on the agenda. He had to see her. He wanted to go now, but there was something he needed to take care of first. He'd waited a little over a year, another few hours to a day wouldn't kill him. He wasn't sure how long it would take, so he didn't get too excited to get to talk to her today. From there, he decided to fly as the anxiety from the wait had become a bit overbearing. It wasn't but a minute of flying until he saw it. Home.

The house hadn't changed much. Maybe a few new decorations on the house he'd never seen before, but nothing really new. Singer breathed a deep breath as he prepared himself. As he reached up to knock on the door, many thoughts flowed through his mind. Who would be the one to answer the door? He contemplated a few scenarios of what would happen if different ponies answered the door. What would he do if it was his dad? He really wasn't sure, he just knew that it would be awkward. What would he say to his mom? Well with her, he probably wouldn't have to say much because she'd probably try to suffocate him with a big hug immediately when she saw him. What if this wasn't even their house anymore? Singer screwed his eyes and shook his head, trying to rid himself of these thoughts.

He inhaled and exhaled once more. Here it goes... He knocked on the door, and took a couple of steps back as he awaited a response. Nothing. He didn't want to give up, no matter how nervous he was. So he knocked again, and repeated his steps from the first time. He stood nervously as he waited to be answered.

This time, he got a response. The door took, what seemed like to Singer, forever to open. But it did. On the other side was Singer's awestruck mother. The two of them stared at each other for half a minute before Belle threw her forearms around Singer and pulled him in for a tight hug. Singer could hear the joyful sobs, and could feel the happy tears rolling down her cheek onto his shoulder. Singer took little time to return the hug. He wrapped his forearms around his mother and was content to just stand there all day. To feel the warmth of his mother again. It was just about how he'd imagined it.

"Mom..." he started to say before trailing off.

"Shhhh..." she stopped him, and looked at his face. "I'm glad to see you again."

"It's good to see you too, mom. I missed you." Singer said sincerely.

"You have no idea how I've missed your hugs." she said hugging him once more.

"Mom... just so you know that I've missed you. And have thought a lot about you ever since the last time I saw you."

"And I you..." she said wiping the tears from her eyes. "My goodness, son. You must be hungry. Please come on in."

Belle led Singer into the house and into the living room. Not much had changed on the inside, either. The place was tidy and well kept, save for the area where Singer's dad would sit when he'd come home from work. Singer noted. While he was on that subject.

"Mom... just to get this out of the way now. Is... Is dad going to be home soon?" Singer asked, almost awkwardly.

He could see a look of worry start to come upon her face.

"Don't worry, mom." Singer said in a soothing tone. "I...want to try to talk to him today, because I'm tired of all of this conflict between us. I want to be a family again."

Still a bit worried, Belle put on her most confident face she could muster up. "Yes. He'll be home in a few hours. Just please..."

"I know mom, I know. Inside voice." Singer smirked and chuckled. Belle couldn't help but giggle a little bit. She smiled at her son, happily.

"Still every bit the playful little colt you've always been." she beamed.

"Oh, you have no idea." he said. "Despite everything that's happened, even."

"Can you tell me about everything?" Belle inquired.

"Yes. We've got a lot of catching up to do."

Over the course of the hour, Singer and Belle sat in the dining room of their house sharing sweet tea and cheese fries, a personal favorite of his, as Singer explained everything. He'd explained how after the show in Canterlot, he'd discovered that it was Serenity who'd driven a wedge between he and Violet. Ultimately, at least to his knowledge, destroying the friendship he'd built ever since he was six years old. He then told her about the downward spiral that went on from there. What had happened when he'd found out about what Serenity did, them breaking up. His year of hiatus from music and having to work dead end jobs to keep himself balanced. Even when he decided to leave Las Pegasus and crash landed in Ponyville.

Belle cringed when he clarified what he meant by 'crash landing'. But she was proud when she heard him talk about all of the new friends that he'd made in Ponyville. And then he explained to her what his new mission was. First, it was get back with his family. She'd already heard from Brawn about he and Singer burying the hatchet, so to speak, after the attack from Thunder Clap. So part of that was done. And mending fences with Belle wasn't hard at all. The big one was his father. One that he knew would be a challenge. Or at least he felt like it would considering when last they saw each other and everything that was said. His next and final phase of his plan, was to get back together with Violet and be friends again.

"You've got quite a bit of dedication to Violet, Singer." noted Belle. "Not that you shouldn't, quite the contrary. It's just that, it seems like there may be something more to this..."

Belle knew about Violet's crush on Singer, due to her many talks with Violet over the past few years. And she'd always suspected that Singer liked her back, but just didn't realize it. She knew that Violet still loved Singer, even to this day. Despite what she'd told him at Canterlot. If it was at all still possible, she'd do her best to aid in the process of getting to the two friends out of the friend zone with each other.

"Mom... I don't think that-" Singer countered, still having doubts that Violet still wanted to even be his friend.

"Dinner's almost ready. Your dad will start smelling it and come flying home any minute." giggled Belle. She'd never tolerated negativity, especially from the cheeriest of her two sons, so she wasn't about to let him begin a new career in pessimism.

The purple furred pink maned pegasus mare continued to tend to her dish. As she did so, Singer heard the door open. Those familiar hoof steps coming up from behind him. It was only a matter of seconds before he'd see him again.

And again Singer began to tense up. He really didn't want to be this nervous about speaking to his own father. Part of him feared that a heavy conflict would arise upon seeing each other. However, Singer maintained his composure as well as he could when he finally saw him entering the kitchen from the front hall.

He was in his best attire. The normal black tie and white collar that he wore. He still had the same large square shaped glasses with the black frames, and the same neatly kept white mane to go along with his blue fur, almost the same shade as Singer's and the tired looking wings that were strained from aging and hours of hovering. His facial expression, one of exaspiration and tiredness was the same old expression Singer'd grown accustom to as a colt. Yet his facial expression quickly changed upon laying eyes on his second born for the first time in a little over four years.

Briefs' heart began to pound as he saw his son sitting at the table with innocent eyes. He looked every bit as nervous as he did. A sense of awkwarness was evident as Briefs laid his brief case on the table and took a seat a couple of chairs away.

"Well..." was all he knew how to say.

"Hello dad..." Singer tried to do a little better.

Belle watched intently, making a mental note to keep looking at her cooking as well. She wasn't really sure what was going to happen. But she pretended to not be too concerned so she could hopefully gain control over the situation, albeit that wasn't really going anywhere to begin with. However, she'd be lying if she'd said she wasn't nervous.

Finally Singer gathered up some courage and decided to speak. "So, how've you been?"

Briefs breathed a little in relief. He'd found it odd that he'd never been nervous about going to a court room, but when it came to staring face to face with the son who'd ran away because of his horrible parenting, he was near speachless. However, once he saw that Singer was just as nervous and had as civil intentions as he did, he too began loosen up, and replied as quickly as he could regather himself.

"Oh, you know... same life. Same career. Not too bad. And yourself?"

"Could be better, but... I could be worse as well." he responded. This wasn't near as nerve wracking as he'd expected it to be. "I'm really happy where I'm at though. My career is kind of on hold for now, but you know..."

"I see..." said Briefs.

"What?" Singer inquired. "What do you mean by that?" Darn it! He blew it.

"Nothing. I was just saying that I understand." his father replied.

"It's not because I didn't make it in the music business or anything. I just made a couple of bad misjudgements and it kinda set me back a bit, is all."

"You don't need to get all defensive, son. I was just-"

"I know, but I just felt like I needed to clarify that."

"Dinner's ready!" said Belle placing the pot of finished nacho soup on the table. She didn't like the way that the conversation had been going, so she'd placed the dish on the table to try and keep it from getting out of hand.

Both Briefs and Singer shifted their eyes awkwardly again, and expressed a little bit of shame in their features. Just a few minutes and they'd already began to show signs of arguing. Singer felt the worst for it, because he knew that he'd been the one who started it by being defensive. He made a mental note to refrian from that for the rest of the night.

They all dove into their meal and spent most of the meal in silence. Singer had been particularly grateful for this as he'd been getting hungry despite his big breakfast and the cheese fries he'd eaten not long after that. He usually had quite the appetite. After they'd finished, they all migrated into the living room and sat down to visit.

Belle had started the conversation with a story about how she'd coincidentally had bumped into Uncle Fender in town a few days prior. From what she'd said, it sounded like he was doing well for himself. He'd joined a band and happened to be on tour with them. Singer smiled at this, and was silently happy for him. At least one of us made it in our careers, Singer thought to himself.

Even Briefs, despite his feelings toward such things in the past, appeared to be a bit more accepting to this. "That's great for him." he said. "I'm glad that Fender finally has a place to screech that thing other than in our house."

Singer was a bit surprised at this, but shrugged it off. After a while of talking, Briefs began to feel a lot better. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was like for the first time, he was seeing his son in a whole new light. He hadn't, if ever, really taken the time to actually get to know him. He'd only ever seen him as a goof ball who liked to act out. But even in his career's and life's current state, nothing had really changed.

He seemed happy like he usually did, which was something that Briefs had always noticed, but never took the time to question it. It was then that it had hit him how wrong he'd been about trying to force his son to take athletics in school, rather than let him take his own career path. Because he remembered how when he'd tried to force all of that pressure on him that he wasn't cut out for that. At least not at the time. Singer had always been a laid back, free spirited colt and just wanted to have fun and sing.

Briefs began to feel a sense of guilt well up inside, and suddenly felt the need to go outside and think. "Could you two excuse me for a bit. I need to go outside and take a breather..." he said as he awkwardly walked to the small doors in the living room that led to the balcony outside. He rested his front hooves on it and began to stare out into the the mostly clear, slightly cloudy sky as the sun was beginning to set for the evening.

Singer hung his head slightly, thinking that he was the problem here. Belle noticed this, and quickly responded.

"I'm sure it's not you, sweetie. Your father's been dealing with a few things lately. Work related stress with a client of his, and other things..."

"What kind of other things?" he asked, hoping he wasn't overstepping.

"Well. Lately he's been reflecting on some of the choices he's made as a father and how it's affected the present. Sadly the reflection is pretty ugly to him."

"He wasn't a bad father, he just never really understood me. He always provided for us and took care of us. That's all I could have ever asked for. Even if I would've preferred us to have been on more common ground." Singer said in his father's defense.

His mother stared at him proudly. "You should go tell him that." She said turning her eyes to the glass doors.

"I dunno..." staggered Singer. "In the past, he's never really liked to be disturbed."

"Somehow, I feel this could be an exception." she said. "Go talk to him. This is what you came here for."

Singer hesitated for a few more seconds before sighing, and giving in to his mother's advice. "You're right. I suppose it's now or never." He got up and started toward the double glass doors that led outside. His heart was thumping, but he wasn't going to be deterred.

He gathered up the courage to open the doors and to walk up to his father's side. He rested his front hooves on the railing just like his father did.

He could see his father shift his gaze over toward him, and it looked like he was lightly smiling.

"I guess you and I are more alike than I thought." he said.

"I guess so." Singer chuckled. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm just thinking about how things were back then. I think you get where I'm going with this."

"I do. Dad, I really think we need to talk about what happened on the day of Brawn's wedding, and well everything before that. I can be civil about it, and I'm pretty sure you can too."

"I agree." Briefs said, starting to feel a lot more proud of the way his son was getting straight to the point. "You're every bit the hard headed colt I was when I was your age. And younger. Funny thing is, you remind me a lot of a younger me."

"I do?"

"Yep. But I knew where that type of attitude and kind of outlook ended me up, and back then I didn't really care for that. I guess I didn't realize how blessed I truly was until you left."

"You have a great life, dad. A great career, albiet daunting, a beautiful wife, and two sons who've always looked up to you. Even after... you know."

"I know... I was pretty selfish a few years ago, though. I was bitter that we had to move here, and I guess I held on to that for too long. I didn't want you to end up like I did, so I tried to get you into the same path that Brawn was on, because I've always viewed sports as a positive attitude developing experience."

"It depends on the pony. I won't say that I'm not grateful for the experience, but I just didn't want it in the volumes I was getting it in. I love to race from time to time. I'm pretty fast to add to that, but... it's just not what I'm meant to be in the long run. It's more of a fun pass time, than a career. What worked for Brawn didn't work for me. My cutie mark is a big indication of that."

"I understand that now... I tookt the liberty of swiping one of your mom's copies that you sent her of one of your tracks. The cover to that song called... 'Sideways'?"

"Aw no... that one wasn't my best one."

"I thought your vocals were really good, son. If that's not your best, then I'm pretty blown away. You're really good. And I mean it."

"That really means alot to me, dad..." Singer began to get emotional.

"Good. Glad I could finally do something right by you, in terms of moral support."

"Dad." Singer started. "I know you weren't perfect. But everything you did was always in my best interests. I know that, I've always known that. So even if you were a bit overbearing, you are still my dad. And upon realizing that, I feel like I can finally forgive you. If you can forgive me for leaving and causing all of this family stress."

"There's nothing to forgive, son... I'm just glad to have you back in my life again. And it overjoys me to hear you forgive me. I guess I made good on my promise to your grandma, after all."

"Grandma Joy?" Singer's ears perked up. "What did you promise her."

"Before she passed, she was quite aware of our friction. Her motherly intuition is strong like that, I suppose. She did raise me and Fender up like that, after all" he smiled fondly while reliving that in his mind. "She told me to promise that I'd start listening, and to try to understand you. And I did, but I just didn't do a very good job of it."

"Well you are now. I'm sure she's smiling down on us right now." Singer said with a warm smile. "I'm glad that we've finally put all of this behind us now. I love you, dad." He said as he threw his forelegs around him. Realizing who he was hugging, he backed up a bit awkwardly. "Sorry..." he chuckled. "I forgot that you always said that stallions don't hug."

"Another thing to add to the list of stupid things that I said to you kids, growing up." He grabbed Singer and gave him the biggest and hardest hug that he could give. "I love you too, son."

Belle was overjoyed when the two returned from outside. She'd been watching the interaction between the two. While she couldn't hear what they were saying, she could tell that progress was definitely being made.

Shortly after that, Brawn and Love Cloud had graced them all with their appearances. More ponies that Singer was glad to see. Having already reconciled with Brawn, he greeted him with a brohug, as well as a hug from his former school teacher and sister-in-law, that he hadn't seen since their wedding. And behind them were a couple of three year old colts. Both orange like their father, one having a red mane and tail, the other having a green mane and tail.

"Singer, meet your nephews, Rough and Tough Case." said Love Cloud said proudly.

Singer walked over to them to say hello for the first time, and was greeted with a hard whack in the nose by Rough, the little red haired colt.

"Ow!" Singer said, as he rubbed his nose.

"That's my boy!" said Brawn, proudly.

"I can't argue with that..." said Singer as he rubbed his nose. "They both certainly take after you."

The two then tackled Briefs, like they had done. Though still too small to make much of an impact, Briefs would pretend that their tackling was strong enough, and proceeded to play with them like a good grandfather should.

Singer smiled at this, and finally felt at home with his family. One down, one to go... said Singer in his mind, as his eyes turned to glance outside the window to see Violet's house. He hoped that his reconciliation with Violet would be as good as with his family.

"The times from that moment on were good for my family. It was like me coming back brought on a 'New World Order' for our clan, and it was great! What felt like a war became peace, and I felt like I was apart of a family again! Grandma Joy would most certainly be proud!"

...

"Come on, Singer! You can do it!" said Briefs as he stood on a cloud. "You zip around the house all the time. I know that you can fly for real!"

The little three year old colt looked down from the high up cloud, and quivered with fear. "I don't know about this, daddy..." he said fearfully. "What if I fall?"

"You won't, but if you do I'll be able to catch you!" reassured his father. "You're going to be okay! Just don't look down and fly to me!"

"Okay... I twust you..." he said as he flapped his little wings. He didn't look down, taking his father's advice, and he flew towards his father who was holding his forelegs open, ready to catch him. As he did so, he began to pick up a little speed. When he finally made it to his father, he'd gone a little too fast and knocked his dad over on his back when he'd caught him.

Briefs only laughed and hugged him. "You did it son! You did it! I'm so proud of you!"

Singer hugged back, as he enjoyed the loving embrace of his father. 



> Rekindling
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spending the night in his old room in his parents' house wasn't as hard as Singer had expected it to be. In fact, it was quite nice. His room had been left the same way it was when he'd packed up and left home four years earlier. Though he'd noticed that his journal was missing. He tried eagerly to find it, but with no avail after a half hour of searching before finally going to bed. 

Most of the night in his old bed was quite pleasant. He remembered how his mom had always put care into keeping the sheets clean and how they always smelled fresh. She'd even come in the room every week to dust it, or at least that's what she told him. And knowing her, she probably did. Even when Singer wasn't present, she was still taking care of him in some way or form. For the dusting, he was grateful because dust set off his allergies fairly easily. 

As peaceful as his sleep was, nothing could prepare him for the nightmares he'd have. He tossed and turned in his bed, sweat beading from his forehead, trying to escape the nightmare within his sleep. Kicking his blankets everywhere and even tossing his pillow aside, knocking over a few of his action figures and books on his dresser. 

............

Singer trotted down the streets of Cloudsdale, looking for anypony. But Cloudsdale was empty. For what reason, he wasn't sure. He became scared as he continued to look around the eerie setting. Sadly, not a soul was to be found at all. It wasn't like this town to be empty on such a nice day. 

The setting took an abrupt turn for a grimmer tone when the sky suddenly turned red. Singer yelped like a dog in fear as he twitched and looked around, taking note of his surroundings. Nothing. 

He turned his head to every direction once more before his eyes landed on a figure, slowly walking his way. The figure walked normally, but lagged in it's approach. But as it got closer, the silhouette was beginning to bear resemblance more like his own. Singer flinched as his doppelganger continued to inch closer into the light. As he did so, Singer saw him in better detail. This stallion was a dark purple with an orange mane and tail. 

Wait... where had he seen that bef-..... After a bit of thought, he vaguely remembered a dream that had a similar, if not identical character in it. It looked eerily similar to him, but why? And why was this thing back in his dreams?

"Alright you... no running this time." Singer said adamantly, as he slammed his hoof to the ground and staring at the figure with a scowl. "I want to know who you are, and why you feel the need to be so secretive and creepy."

The figure let out a maniacal chuckle and trotted away, making Singer begin to hover after him. However, he did stop and turn back around to face him, causing Singer to freeze in place, and he said these words: "The mirror will give you the answer...."

With that, he ran towards the setting sun as it was disappearing behind the clouds and he was gone in a flash... Singer tried to pursue him, but was cut off when the sky returned to it's natural state and he was blinded by the abrupt reappearance of the sun. 
............

Singer awoke from his dream sweating, and breathing heavily. He made a mental note not to scream, even in the lack of alertness of just waking up. He didn't want to wake his parents. Without thinking, he got up and walked to the bathroom to wash his face. He had to wipe the sweat off his brow so he wouldn't soil his nice clean room. 

But he was startled when he looked up and noticed that his reflection looked like that pony. It was the bathroom in Las Pegasus all over again... He tried not to remember that. The reflection stared cruelly at him, smirking. His blood red eyes staring into Singer's blue eyes,  trying to intimidate him. Singer scowled at the dark purple colored stallion, who was smirking at him.

"What do you want?" Singer finally gathered up the gall to ask, with his most confident facial expression ever. He had his chest sticking out as well, to let this thing know he meant business. "You some kind of ghost, demon or something like that?"

"Nope! Just a really bad dream. A dream that would have kept quiet if you hadn't begun to act so freakin happy again!" it replied.

Singer glared at the apparition, trying to stare it down. "I'm not afraid of you!" He said. "I don't know what you have against me, but you're not going to get the better of me. Especially not since everything is finally going my way. I got my family back, and I'm not going to let you ruin it!"

"But... there remains one other pony who means a great deal to you..." the evil pony replied.

Singer glared at him, as he knew who he was referring to. "You stay away from her, you... you...."

"Fortunately for you, I cannot hurt her. I'm stuck in your brain. I'd rather be elsewhere, but we are stuck with each other. Ha ha." He chuckled.

"You don't seem too disappointed." Singer quipped.

"Don't mistake my cynical humor for contentment, boy!" it said. "I hate it in this stupid brain. First chance I get, I'm breaking out of here!"

"Good luck!" said Singer. "Revealing yourself was a horrible move. Because now that you've done so, I now know who you are. And I'm never letting you out, and I'm definitely not going to let to let you hurt anypony!"

"I have my ways of getting what I want. I will do what I need to do." it said again, sternly. "There's very little you can do about it either way, so you best get ready for it because it's going to rock your world!"

"We'll see about that!" Singer bellowed angrily. He quickly remembered to keep it down and he mentally slapped himself for raising his voice. Last thing he wanted was to wake his parents and have them see him talking to himself. As he looked back up to tell it off again, he saw that it had vanished and his normal reflection had replaced it. He turned around and looked again, and got nothing. Darn! Oh well... Good riddance to that thing.

He splashed more water on his face and then went back to bed. He didn't want to at first, for the fear of being bothered by that thing again, but once he'd gotten under the covers and fallen asleep, he was fine and found the rest of his slumber quite peaceful, in spite of what he'd just went through.

But that didn't mean it was over by any means.
.......................

The smell of his mother's pancakes woke Singer up from his sleep, and he eagerly got up and rushed to the kitchen to give her a big hug. Singer slightly surprised her when he'd shown up from around the corner, but she welcomed his loving embrace. He felt happy to be back and to have her to talk to and to hug whenever he wanted. The events of the night before were completely overshadowed by the remembering of what had happened with his dad as well. 

Being able to put aside their differences was what Singer had hoped for. Though he was less optimistic about the chances of it actually happening, it made it that much more special and meaningful when it actually did. Now if he could just get through the rest of the day, and get up the nerve to finally go talk to Violet.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" inquired Belle to Singer. "I heard you in the bathroom, shouting a little last night."

"Um... yeah. Just a late night sleep walk to the bathroom. I was probably giving myself a pep-talk or something. No biggie." he said with the most sincere smile he could concoct. "I apologize if I disturbed you and Dad."

"Not at all. I fell back to sleep when your shouting stopped, and your dad never even moved. I'm just glad that you're okay." She bought it. "I guess you're still a little nervous about talking to Violet, huh?"

"Very..." he admitted.

"Well, I really doubt you have anything to worry about, baby. Violet is your friend and always will be. I'd be willing to bet she's looking forward to seeing you."

"You think so?" Singer asked. "What makes you so sure?"

"Call it a hunch..." she said, not willing to give anything away. It would have been easy for her to tell him of Violet's feelings of affection for him, but she knew she couldn't fight this battle for him. No matter how much she wanted to make this easy for him, her gut feeling was to let the two friends sort this out, and if it led to something more than friendship, it would happen because of each other. Not because she stepped in like a super-mom. "Just know that Violet has and always will be your friend. No matter how things appear right now. True friends always find their way back to each other. And I've never seen two friends more true to each other than you two."

"Yeah, some friend I turned out to be..." he said cynically.

"It's not all your fault, Singer. You know that." she said looking upon him with motherly eyes. An expression that said 'I'm your mother and I know these things'. Belle had never steered him wrong before. Why should this time be any different? 

Besides, Singer knew deep down that she was right. He knew how he felt about her absence in his life. It's highly likely she feels the same. 

As each minute began to beat closer and closer to that fateful moment, his heart began to race faster the more he thought about it. Singer knew that the longer he avoided it, the more his nerves would begin to make him anxious. It was time to venture out to the 'real of the unknown', as he had decided to go ahead and head out the door. This was it, he thought in his head.

Was he being silly? Maybe. Were his fears warranted or founded? Possibly. He wasn't sure, but all of this worrying had built up to this moment. He decided, eventually to suck it up and play it as cool as he could. After all, this was his best friend he was talking about. But... why was he so nervous?

You realize how pointless this all is, don't you? He heard the voice of that pony from his nightmares as if it was his conscious. He'd never heard it talk to him before, and especially not so audible. He shook it off as he continued to trudge over to Violet's house. You hurt her, and now you're paying for it. Why bother risk hurting her again?

"Shut up you stupid...THING!" Singer muttered as he shook his head again. But the voice wouldn't shut up until he hit his head repeatedly against a light pole until it briefly knocked him out. "Ow..." he said softly as he passed out on the ground.

He woke up lying on a bench that sat along the path he was walking on. Apparently somepony had saw him lying on the ground and had the decency to help him remain that way on the bench. Why they didn't just take him to the hospital, he didn't know. But was silently glad that they didn't. He didn't want to delay this any further. That voice appeared to have ceased it's blethering, much to Singer's joy. He then proceeded en route to Violet's house after yet another diversion, though he staggered a bit when he got up to walk. Seriously, what was up with all of these distractions?
...........................

Finally! This was it. The moment that he'd been building up to for well over a year was finally here. He began to feel nervous again, his heart beating like a snare drum on a drum set. But he inhaled and exhaled deeply to snap himself out of it. It was now or never. He raised his hoof, and knocked on the door. He stood there for well over two minutes afterwards. Perhaps out of nervousness, he'd not knocked hard enough. So he did it again. This time, he got a response. He could hear the faint sounds of hoof prints approaching the door. He stood back a couple of steps as he waited for the door to open.

When the door went ajar, Singer could make out the shape of the pony who'd answered the door before it became better visible. It wasn't Violet, but Rain, her little brother. A colt who was about a little less than half his size. He recognized Singer instantly.

"Hey... Singer... what brings you in the neighborhood?" he asked curiously, acting a little stunned to see him. Singer didn't blame him.

"Hi, Rain." he replied. "How are you doing?"

"Pretty good. You?" 

"Much better now that I'm back home, for sure."

"You moved back to Cloudsdale?"

"Well... no. I live in Ponyville now, but it's not far from here at all." he informed. "How are things, here?"

"Everything is a-okay!" Rain said with a wink. Rain used to be a little shy like Violet used to be, but since the last time he saw him he'd become more out going, and rowdy, albeit mildly. It wasn't just Violet he missed. He'd also missed this little guy. He'd almost been like a brother to Singer when they were growing up. In fact, Rain wouldn't have been bothered at all if Singer had considered him as such. Even though Rain had grown up a little since he'd left four years ago, Rain still seemed to remember him and that bond seemed to have the potential to remain intact. "But I'm guessing that I'm not the real reason you came here."

"I will say that you're part of the reason, but no... not the full extent of the reason." he admitted. "I feel like I've done wrong toward Violet, and I really want to right it so we can be friends again." Singer's face began to show signs of forlorn as he'd said that. 

Rain stared at him briefly with a compassionate expression. He knew that Violet missed him, and since hearing about the letter that Singer had sent her, he knew that he missed her. He knew that what he was about to do was the right thing. "She isn't here." he said.

"Oh..." Singer said disappointingly. 

"But she is at the flower shop. Why, I don't know, but I really think you should go see her." Rain said.

"I will." Singer said. "Thank you, Rain. And it was good seeing you again, little buddy."

"It was good to see you too. See you around, Singer." Rain said as he walked back inside and shut the door behind him.

Singer breathed in and out slowly once more before spreading his wings and took off off of the front step of the house. Now... this was it. Hopefully she'd be there. He didn't think he could handle any more suspense. 
...............

A short flight to the flower shop, a building that resembled a green house, and he was there. He noted the sign on the door said "closed", but the door was slightly opened. He knew that somepony was inside, and he hoped that it was the somepony he wanted to see, and not some robber or a random pony. 

He cautiously entered the building, and began scoping the area. He noted that all of the shelves were empty, and a few of the signs that lay on the ground said "clearance sale". Sadly, it looked as if she'd had to close the shop back down. This saddened him. He reflected back on the promise he'd made before he'd left that he'd come over from time to time to help her with her shop. But it appeared that he'd been too late to make good on that. 

He'd been so deep into thought that he hadn't heard the hoof steps coming from the back storage room of the building. The hoof steps got even closer to the door that was right behind him, until the pony behind the steps revealed herself to be Violet. He was startled by a sudden shattering of what sounded like a clay pot behind him. He turned around to see an equally, if not even more, stunned Violet standing there. They probably stood there a good minute and a half before either of them uttered a word.

"Oh... um... I'm sorry, Violet. I didn't mean to..." he staggered over himself.

"Um... no, I'm sorry I just..." she staggered as well. "I just wasn't expecting to see you...standing there."

There were a couple of minutes of awkward silence. They both stood there, looking at each other.

"I should have knocked, I know. But I wasn't thinking straight. I just wanted to see you so badly." he said.

"I know... I read your letter." she said. "I just haven't had a chance to respond to it, yet... I've been... busy."

Singer looked around and could tell that that was a fib. He looked down sadly, this was awkward for her. He knew it. He'd done something wrong and she was still upset with him over it.

But little did he know that she was just as nervous about seeing him as he was about seeing her. She could tell that he knew that she was fibbing. "I mean, I just... didn't know what to..." she trailed off.

"Say?" Singer finished for her. She nodded in response.

"But I do, if you're willing to hear it." said Singer. Violet nodded again, allowing him to proceed.

"I'm sorry..." he said, sincerely. "I'm sorry for everything that happened. I'm sorry for running away from Cloudsdale and not telling you. I'm sorry for breaking my promise to help you with this place. I'm sorry for making you sad. And above all, I'm sorry for taking your friendship for granted."

Violet smiled warmly at Singer. It was as if being with him, hearing him say it, rather than reading it in a letter made it all that more real to her. She knew that he was sorry for it all, and that he really missed her, but it was as if him saying it brought a new sense of understanding. Her smile then turned into a frown as she too felt like she too, needed to issue an apology as well.

"While I do appreciate that, I'm not entirely guiltless either." she admitted. "I'm sorry for shutting you out when you tried to reach out to me. I've been dealing with certain issues regarding... well you... lately that made it really hard to be around at the time, although I wanted to be there and support you the whole time. I just had some conflicted feelings..."

Singer cocked his eye brow and looked quizzically at his friend. "Conflicted feelings? I'm not sure that I follow... Oh... I get it. It had something to do with what Serenity said to you, didn't it?"

Violet began to grow quieter. He was treading closer across the line of awareness to what should have been obvious. But at this time, Violet was scared to death of him finding out, now. She was afraid of it being the final piece to fall out of their friendship. But at the same time, she felt like he deserved to know.

"Hey..." he said approaching her, breaking the awkwardness of the situation and acting instead, like the friend she deserved to have as he put his hoof under her chin and lifted her slightly hung face up to his revealing her pretty violet colored eyes that glistened in the small amount of light that lit the room. "I never stopped needing you. You were never a distraction. Quite the contrary, actually. You were part of what made me stronger. We worked off of each other for the better through the worse. Though we were different, we worked together to make our differences coincide with each other and we made a beautiful friendship. Something that I'm not about to let anything get in the way of. I realize how important you are to me. We're more than just school friends, we're best friends and that's all that matters. Nopony understands me like you do."

Violet couldn't contain herself. She knew that he was right. She couldn't fight it any longer. She began to tear up something fierce and then she hugged him in a tight embrace. None of their hugs had ever been this meaningful. She felt like she'd found a missing piece of herself, as weird as that sounded as she hugged Singer, in an obvious acceptance to his friendship.

"You're right..." she said with tears streaming down her cheeks and onto Singer's shoulder. "You're right. I'm so sorry. I just got to a point where I was blinded by..." she stopped and looked at him. His facial expression turned to a puzzled one.

"Blinded by what, Violet?"

"My feelings for you..." she'd finally let it out after a brief pause. "I-I've always l-liked you in more ways than one." She screwed her eyes shut for a few moments, but Singer was still standing there. The reaction that she'd feared he'd have wasn't happening. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw on his face a look of realization, and possible embarrassment for not realizing this sooner. 

"It all makes sense now..." he said as countless memories went through his mind rapidly, as he realized just how obvious it should have been. "Violet I'm sorry that I didn't..."

"That's okay, Singer..." she said quickly. "If you don't return the feelings, it doesn't matter. We're friends again. That's all I need."

"But... I don't know that I necessarily don't return the feelings. I don't know. I've actually pondered on this myself, but I was afraid that if I tried it, that it would..."

"Ruin our friendship?" she finished.

"Yeah..." said Singer. 

"Me too." she said. "That's why I never said anything before."

"Fortunately it doesn't have to be that way." he said, recollecting a conversation he'd had about this subject. "A good friend of mine told me that a relationship is kind of like a friendship. A lot like it, really. Only it's more intimate. And the obvious, honesty and faithfulness to each other. Plus I've done a bit of reading on the subject as well."

"Singer, you know that I'd love nothing more than to be with you. But... this is all so sudden." even though she wanted to be with him, she wasn't willing to jump into such a big commitment like this just because of a warm and fuzzy reunion after so long apart. She wanted it to be genuine and real, as it should be.

"I agree completely." he said. "I'd really like to try and get to know you as a friend again, first. Maybe after a while of getting to know each other, we'll see about... dating. Because I'm very much open to it as well."

"Y-You are?!?" she asked with a certain hint of boosted happiness in her tone. She wasn't sure if he was really considering it at first. She'd thought he was merely trying to make her feel better about it all, but to know that he might feel the same way was really beginning to get her excited.

"Of course. But as I said-"

"And I agree. I want to make sure that this is right as well." she said.

Singer smiled. "Then it's settled."

"I guess it is." a playful look suddenly adorned her face. "But you better come hang out with me a lot!"

"Count on it, Vi!" he said in an upbeat voice. He couldn't believe it! He'd successfully won his friend back over. Singer's happiness was unchartable at this time. Not only had he gotten his family back, but he'd gotten his best friend.

"Are you free now?" he asked, hoping that she wasn't. 

"Well, I'm not exactly selling anything, and the things I have to do can wait til later." she said. "Want to go to the park or something?"

"Sounds good to me." Singer smiled as his stomach began to rumble.

"Or maybe we should get something to eat first." she giggled, noting his stomach rumblings.

Singer blushed with embarrassment. "Even better idea." He chuckled as he followed Violet out of the shut-down flower shop and took to the sky. "We can catch up there, as well. I have so much to tell you."

"And I can't wait to hear all about it!" she replied, beaming happily. "Where would you like to eat?"

"How about my mom and dad's place for old time's sake? I'm sure my mom would be more than happy to fix us something for lunch."

"That's a great idea! This day just keeps getting better, and better!" Violet said as she took off. "Last one there is a rotten apple!"

"Hey, come on now!" he said with a chuckle as he took off after her, while she giggled and continued on. "Come on, that's cheating!"
.................

Lunch at Singer's parents' house was great. It was great to have everypony back together like they were in the old days. His mom was happy to fix the two friends some cheese fries as they all reminisced on the past, and looked forward to the future. Singer had already made plans to come to Cloudsdale every day for the next week. When Singer told his mom about what had been said earlier, she was excited for both of them. She was glad that they were all good as far as their friendship, but secretly hoped that they would decide to get together and be more than friends. Only time would tell. 

Also during the lunch, Singer and Violet exchanged stories about what had happened. Singer even told Violet about how he'd broken up with Serenity, and how he'd been influenced to leave Las Pegasus, and wound up in Ponyville. Her reaction to hearing about the the injuries he sustained in his crash landing mirrored Belle's. Violet told him about a few of the dates that she went on, but stopped after a certain point so that Singer wouldn't think that she was trying to manipulate the situation to get him into a relationship. Though in all likelihood, they were delaying the inevitable.

Singer, however, didn't seem to mind hearing about the dates she'd been on. He was glad that she'd at least tried to move on. Though he did feel necessary to apologize once again for putting her through that. She'd shrugged it off, and said that it was okay. She was glad that they had put all of that jazz behind them.

They spent at least three or four hours talking before Violet had to go back home. Singer offered to fly back with her so they could talk a little bit more before she had to go back in. 

The two pegasus friends were laughing when they'd landed at her doorstep in front of her house. They exchanged warm smiles again, hoping that this wasn't a dream. Fortunately this was far from it, this was really happening.

"Singer, today was a great day." she said.

"I agree. I'm so thankful that I can still say that I have you as a friend." Singer replied.

"Our friendship was never in danger" said Violet. "But I do thank you for coming back. I really missed you." She said as she nuzzled him on the cheek.

He didn't protest, but he nuzzled back. "I missed you too." He said. "Life without you was kinda rough. I guess we're stuck with each other, no matter what."

"Indeed." she smiled warmly. "Thanks for not giving up on me."

"That's what friends do." He said, as he realized that he was still leaning up against her. "Oops... sorry about that." He chuckled, while his cheeks flushed bright red.

She reacted the same way. "Yeah, me too." She smiled awkwardly.

Her mind briefly trailed off as the two stood there. She went back to when they'd first met back in the first grade, and how Singer had written about it in his journal. Wait! Singer's journal.

"Oh! Hold on a second, Singer!" she said as she rushed inside. She wasn't gone for maybe a minute and a half before she came rushing back out the door with a small red book under her wing. Singer recognized it well.

"Is that...?" he said, pausing mid-sentence.

"Your journal." she said as she pulled it out from under her wing and gave it to him. "I'm sorry that I took it with me."

"No, it's okay. I'm glad that you had it. I wouldn't have wanted anypony else to." He smiled again.

"I may or may not have put a few entries in there myself, while you were gone. I hope you don't mind."

"Anything too personal?"

"Now that I've admitted my... feelings, there are no secrets between us now." she smiled. "Read at your own risk." She winked at him.

Singer moved closer to her and kissed her on the cheek. It surprised her, but she didn't protest. She kind of liked it. She looked up at his smiling face quizzically to get clarification. 

"What was that for?" she asked.

"It's how we ended our prom night, remember?" he replied. "That was probably one of the best memories I had with you."

"Yes... how could I forget?" she said. "And just like that night, I believe that it's time that I go inside."

"Yeah, I'd better be off as well. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes. Yes you will."

"Until then, see you later."

"Bye!" she said as she walked into the already ajar door.

Singer took off to spend the rest of the evening back home, before flying back to Ponyville that night. The day before had been wonderful, but the day he'd had today was twofold what that one was.

I was happy. I may have been before that day, but I knew for sure that I was happy. I'd found my home yet again. It was always with my family and my best friend, Violet Petals. Memories of the past were great to relive, but at that point I was really excited for the future and what it had in store for me, next.
> Finding Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The night was almost over, and the streets of Cloudsdale were beginning to quiet down. The street lights turned on as the sun set behind the cloudy surface of the nimbussy town. Two young pegasai, friends separated for nearly four years, were about to cap off their first week back in each other's company. A bond, still labled a friendship. Many ponies who saw the two together, even if they didn't know them, would have assumed they were a couple by now, due to how close to each other they appeared. It was time to head home and Singer was walking Violet home before he made his descent back to Ponyville.

"Tonight was awesome, Singer!" said Violet, smiling at her long time best friend as they arrived at her doorstep. "Thanks for such a great time!" 

"I kinda feel like I owed it to you, really..." he said. "After that long four year time frame, I'm glad that we are able to talk normally again and not having to rely on letters to talk to each other anymore."

"I agree, though your pen-pony-ship wasn't painful on the eyes." she complimented, smiling at him all the while. She caught herself before she got too flirtatious.

"Yours wasn't either." he said with a grin. "How about that movie, huh? Do you think it lived up to the hype?"

"I think it did." she nodded. "I really liked the part where Daring Do judo kicked Ahuizotl in the face to save her father from his menacing clutches, while also getting that artifact from his cronies!" Violet began to get excited as she and Singer began to nerd out like they did back in their younger years. It was just like old times.

"Or the part where she's once again dumped in the middle of the forest and does a wonderful adaptation of how it works in the books to escape that angry manticore's cave!" Singer exclaimed. "Or the funny scene that followed when she has the music box and it goes off, alerting all of the tigers sleeping nearby? How did that song go again?"

"I like to Move it Move it?" she giggled.

"Yeah, that's it!" Singer laughed. "That's when she realized that she got the wrong one, and starting punching some faces to get the real one!"

Violet continued to giggle until it turned into a full on laugh, in which a small snort followed. Then her face shot red with embarrassment. "Sorry about that..." she smiled sheepishly.

"Think nothing of it!" laughed Singer, he even made it a point to laugh as well, adding a painfully obviously forced snort to his laugh in attempt to make Violet's cheeks stop blushing. 

"Thank you" she said gratefully while giving him a hug. "You always know how to make me feel better!"

"I think you and I are a champion team for sure!" Singer added.

"We definitely belong togeth- uh I mean. You know..." she said awkwardly, catching herself before she went too far with that. Despite how she felt, how she was still feeling, she wasn't totally sure that Singer was sold on the idea of them dating. She wanted to bring it up as little as possible to avoid awkwardness.

"I get it" he smiled at her, before looking to the side. He wasn't sure but he felt that this might be the right time to say something. Something that he'd been wanting to say for the last couple of days. He knew it would change their relationship, but he hoped it would be in a good way. He took a deep breath and started.

"Violet I..." he paused. Crap! It wasn't going to be as easy as he thought it would be. "I..." he face-hoofed himself as he tried to get the words to come out. This was a real problem for him, as he'd almost never had struggled to get his word out before. Usually you couldn't get him to shut up! But now, this was different. This was a big deal, and for some reason he found it hard to come out and say it. Why? Why was it so hard?!?

"Are you okay, Singer?" she asked.

Singer looked at her. He wasn't sure what it was, whether it was the moonlight reflecting on her eyes or what, but when he stared into those big violet colored eyes, he became speechless. It had finally happened. He may not have been a hundred percent sure before he was going to say what he wanted to say but in that moment, he knew. He was smitten. If there was any doubt about it prior to this moment, there wasn't now. 

He could no longer see her as just a friend anymore, and he was beginning to doubt that he saw her that way a few days ago, as the more they hung out, the more he was drawn to just be by her side. The question looming in his mind was, why now? Why not a few years ago when he had the chance? In hindsight, he knew that something else was always there, but why is he JUST NOW seeing it? 

Violet quizzically stared at him while he was deep in thought, and she was frankly getting a little worried about him. "Singer?" she finally said after his continued hesitation.

Singer shook his head snapping himself out of the little "trance" he was in. "Yes, I'm fine" he replied quickly. "Just got lost in a thought."

"Oh, okay" she beamed. "Now, what was it that you wanted to tell me?" she asked.

"Oh... r-r-right" he fidgeted. "I-I'm s-sorry Violet. I think I'm just a little tired, is all."

"Oh, do you need to go to bed?" she asked with a concerned expression.

"Uh, yeah probably so!" he smiled awkwardly, shifting his eyes back and forth, heart beating like a drum being hit at fast pace. 

A small look of disappointment adorned her face as she nodded. "Oh... Alright then. I suppose I'll let you go get some sleep. But I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Oh, yeah definitely!" he said. "Have a good night." He began to calm down, his eyes shrinking back down, his heart began to slow down as well.

"You too!" she gave him one more smile before she walked inside, and closed her door. 

Singer took a deep breath and sighed again, before embarking on his flight back home. He spread his wings and took off back towards Ponyville. And as he flew through the night sky, he vented his frustration among the black night time clouds.

"Daaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggghhh!" he shouted. "What's wrong with you? Why couldn't you say it?!?" He slapped himself in the face with his hoof, and waved both his front hooves around as he ranted. "She was standing right in front of you, and you had every opportunity! Why didn't you just freaking say it already?!?" He growled and rubbed his face with his front hooves in frustration while flying. "I need some help with this!" he shouted. "I hope Dusk and Twilight are still awake!"

He zoomed downward and than forward again in a zigzagged fashion as he kicked it into high gear towards the Golden Oaks Library, hopefull that his new friends might be able to help him.

...................

Violet leaned up against the front door as she closed it, and sighed. Thoughts began to enter her mind as to why Singer suddenly started to act weird. Love stricken for him herself, this really made her think. She wasn't really sure how to feel about it, but it worried her a bit. Did she come on too strong there? She'd made him feel uncomfortable, she bet to herself. She shook her head in frustration and buried her face into her hooves.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" she heard a familiar voice. It was her father.

"Daddy! You're home!" she jumped up and embraced him, happily.

"Sure am!" he said. "They let me come home a week early this time, so here I am!"

"I'm so glad you're back!" she exclaimed happily.

"Glad to be back!" he said. "Now... back to doing what a dad should be doing. Checking up on my children. What had you all frustrated just now?"

Violet explained what had happened the last week and how close she and Singer were again. And how happy it had made her to be so close with him. And then she explained that she and Singer discussed her feelings for him and how something she'd just said minutes ago might have made him a little awkward, and how bad she felt about it.

"I didn't really see anything wrong with what you said" replied her father. "You even made it a point to apologize, even though there really wasn't any needed there."

"Then why did he act so awkward after I said it?" 

"Hmmm...." he pondered. "That is interesting. Perhaps you're reading into this all wrong? What if he's just struggling with his own feelings?"

"I don't think that's very likely dad. I don't think we'll ever be anything more than just friends in his eyes. And I'm fine with that. There are probably other far more pretty mares he has his eye on anyway..."

"Don't be so pessimistic, Vi." scolded her father. "Besides, didn't you say yourself that if friendship is as far as it goes between the two of you, that it would be fine?"

"Yes, I did..." she said, realizing the folly of her worries. "You're right, dad. If that's all that ever happens, I should... I WILL be happy with it. Singer's an amazing stallion, and I am honored to be his friend."

"And I'm sure he's honored to be yours as well, Violet!" he said pulling her into a hug. "I love you, sweetie. And I have a feeling that Singer loves you as well."

"I know he does." Violet smiled. "And I know you do too!"

"What am I, chopped cabbage?" said her ornery little brother, Rain who had just come out of his room.

"I love you too, little brother!" she hugged him as well. "But aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"Bed time's overrated..." Rain remarked.

Violet looked at him crossly, and Rain suddenly remembered what time it was. 

"Right! Back to bed!" he said. "See you tomorrow, dad!"

"Night!" he hollered back as Rain went back to his room. "Way to keep him in line, champ" he said, putting her in a headlock and giving her a noogie. "But I think it's time for you to go to bed too."

"Daddy, I'm too old for the noogies!" she laughed as she pushed her dad's front leg off of her.

"You're never too old for them!" he chuckled. "Nor are you too old for bed! Off with you."

"Good night, dad!" she said as she started for her room.

"Good night, Violet. Sweet dreams."

"Thank you dad, you too!" she said as she walked into her room and closed her door for the night.

..........

Singer flew as frantically as possible before reaching the Golden Oaks Library in Ponyville. The lights were still on, so that was a good sign. Normally, he could wait til moring, but this was kind of important to him. 

He flew down and charged at the door.
............

"Almost done!" shouted Dusk as he had levitated the last stack of books that needed to be reshelved. As he fitted the last one in it's place, he turned around to see his lovely marefriend standing behind him. 

"Thank you so much for staying late and helping me clean up!" said Twilight as she nuzzled him.

"Well I am you're number one Pony assistant!" said Dusk. "And I couldn't just leave my marefriend to put all of these books up by herself, now could I?"

"No, I suppose not" she giggled and gave him a kiss. "Any chance I can get you to stay a little longer?"

"I would, but I'm actually a little tired today" said Dusk, as he started toward the door, but turned to face her as he kept talking. "Or I would certainly oblige."

"Oh, well. There is always tomorrow!" she beamed. "I love you, Dusk!"

"I love you too Tw-" he was cut off by the door bursting open, slaming into him, and sending him careening into Twilight, knocking them both back onto the floor. Dusk's hat fell off of his head and landed on the floor. Dusk was now lying on top of her. "S-sorry, Twi" he said as he pulled himself up off of her and helped her onto her hooves, and then reached for his hat, dusted it off and placed it dutifully back onto his head.

"It's okay Dusk, it wasn't your fault" said Twilight, noting they had a late visitor, after which her mood suddenly took a one hundred eighty degree turn toward anger. "SINGER!" she yelled with a slight scowl.

"Hey guys..." he said, looking back at the ajar door. "Sorry about the rude entry there..."

"You had better have a good reason for this, Singer!" said an obviously irritated Twilight.

"Right... sorry! This wasn't how I wanted this conversation to start... Oy..." He said frantically.

"Time is of the essence, Singer..." said Dusk, equally as annoyed, though he showed it far less. Albeit irritated, his friend looked like he needed some help, and upon noting that, Dusk did what he could to hold back his anger for the sake of helping.

"Yes... well... I was hoping that you two could help me with this problem I'm having..."

Twilight calmed down a bit and fixed her mane back to normal. After a second or two of this, she allowed him to proceed.

Singer explained his problem to them as best as he could. Explaining to them how he wanted so badly to tell Violet how much she really means to him and that he truly loved her, but for some reason he froze up and couldn't tell her just minutes before he'd departed from her.

Dusk and Twilight exchanged knowing looks, and Twilight was up first. "Sounds to me like you're still afraid of the whole relationship possibility and what might happen if something goes wrong."

"I don't know... I feel like I'm ready to tell her, and to move on with it... but..." he covered his face with his hooves. "I don't know. Maybe I'm not ready."

"I struggled with denial at first, before I was able to admit my true feelings to Dusk myself, Singer." Twilight admitted. "Even after we began dating, I wasn't sure if I truly loved him or not."

"What happened?" he asked.

"I eventually realized that I did love him." She pulled Dusk closer to her and looked into his eyes. "...and that it was worth saying!"

"It wasn't easy for me to say at first, either" Dusk added. "I even got interrupted several times before I was eventually able to tell her. But after we both realized that we did, we've become a better couple for it. Truly, if there's no love in it than there is no purpose to a relationship."

"I see..." said Singer.

"Don't second guess it, Singer." Twilight added. "If you truly love her, and if she truly loves you. It needs to be said."

"But... HOW?!?" he yelled.

"Try to get alone with her and discuss it with her personally." Dusk advised. "Be honest with her, don't try and sugar coat anything, and be serious."

"I agree" nodded Twilight. "This is a really big deal and should be treated as such, but don't tense up when you talk, it'll just make everything feel uncomfortable."

"Also, be assertive, but not too assertive, when you tell her." said Dusk. "Don't beat around the bush, just tell her."

"But what if she's changed her mind? What if she doesn't love me back?"

"Love is unconditional. Even if she doesn't love you back, you don't have to stop loving her. But at that point, it will be time to try and move on. But based off what you've told me in our last conversation, I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"You really think so?"

"I do."

"I do as well." Twilight chimed in.

"And if everything does work out, just take every thing one day at a time. Show her the respect she deserves, as well."

"Right. Okay, I will! Thanks, you guys!" Singer said. "I'll definitely heed your advice. And um... once again, sorry about the whole entrance I made. I feel like such a jerk, now."

"Let's just never speak of it again. I think we can give you a pass just this once." said Dusk.

"But don't let it happen again" warned Twilight.

"Duly noted!" Singer said. "Oh look at the time, I gotta go!" With that, he kicked a leg up and darted out of the library with great speed. 

"What have we gotten ourselves into?" said Twilight. "That stallion is goofier than a circus act!"

"Well, you can't always pick your friends" chuckled Dusk. "Sometimes they pick you, and that's kind of what happened here."

"Indeed" said Twilight with a yawn. "What a silly stallion."

"That he is, but a good pony all in all."

"He seems to be. It is nice to know that we were able play a part in helping him get back on his hooves, and back on the right path." 

"Agreed, but I think I've done all the helping I can muster for one night. Good night, Twilight. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Good night, Dusk." she said as she gave  Dusk another kiss before he trotted out the door.
..........

The next morning came a bit later than usual for Singer. He'd spent much of the night tossing and turning in his bed, trying to think of how and when he'd tell Violet how he felt. Once he finally woke up for the day, he spent much of the morning hours trying to prepare a nice evening for her, so that way whenever he told her, it would be a nice setting.

After a while of pondering, he'd come up with a fantastic idea. He would set up a picnic in the Ponyville park and he and Violet would watch the sunset together, and hopefully nopony would bother them. It was a brilliant idea if he did say so himself. He immediately got to work preparing the picnic lunch, or dinner to be more accurate, hoping that his efforts would bring his idea into fruition. 

After about an hour and a half of preparing, it was complete. A picnic basket packed with sandwiches, juice boxes, carrots, pickles, and a personal favorite, Cheese fries! The very thought of the meal was sounding pretty good at the moment. He figured he'd make a small portion for himself to eat right on the spot, since his appetite returned to make his stomach rumble. After all of that work to put this together, he felt like he'd earned it. And thus, the clock began to tick as Singer waited impatiently for the time for the picnic to come. Anxiety and anticipation began to weigh heavily on Singer's mind as he thought of how he'd tell Violet.

A good percentage of him was hoping that she'd return his feelings and the two of them could be together, but that same percentage was also nervous and scared of rejection. But then he remembered who he was thinking about. Violet was the nicest, kindest pony he knew. There was nothing that the two hadn't endured. Even after being separated from each other for a good part of nearly four years, they were together again and arguably better than ever. Dusk's advice from the night before began to play in his head, as had already been doing all day prior to this.

.....

Violet had looked pleasantly surprised when Singer asked her to go on a picnic with him to Ponyville. She rarely left the town of Cloudsdale, so the idea of going to Ponyville sounded like a pretty good idea to her. After going to Singer's place, during which Singer gave her a tour of his home, the two loaded their picnic stuff up in a small wagon that Singer had found outside his rural home and proceeded to the green park.

Singer pulled out the table cloth and spread it out across the ground. He tried a bit too hard as the cloth was much larger than he was. He fell over when he tried to get the red checkered table cloth to spread all the way. Violet couldn't help but giggle a little as she extended her hoof to help her blushing friend back to his hooves.

"Thanks, Vi" he said awkwardly, as he began to patch the holes in his ego. At least his ability to make her laugh was still there.

"Not a problem." she said as she placed the picnic basket on the table cloth, and began to distribute the food among the two of the them.

The sandwiches that Singer made for Violet were just the way that she liked them. No crust, and filled with peanut butter and honey. A personal favorite of hers. She ate those fairly quickly, while also doing so in a lady-like manner as her grandma had showed her how to growing up.

Singer looked up at her while she was eating the sandwiches he made for her and smiled. She looked up and noticed this and she smiled back. How was this not right? Singer thought to himself? What was he so worried about? Dusk and Twilight had been right about it all. Singer began to realize that what he wanted to say really needed to be said and as soon as possible. 

He took a couple of deep breaths and began to speak. However, the wind began to pick up. Neither of them had been paying attention to the large black wall cloud overhead. They'd subconsciously noticed ponies packing up and leaving but had not thought anything of it. How could he had been so careless.

"Singer!" screamed Violet as a lightning bolt struck from a hundred yards away. This scared her, as Violet did not like storms at all. She began to tremble as she began to put the food back into the basket.

"Ditch the stuff, it's coming in too fast, we need to find shelter!" said Singer as he motioned with his hoof for her to follow. The wind was picking up and the rain began to fall. Their lives mattered more than a bunch of food and stuff that could be replaced. She complied and quickly trotted away with him.

"Better just run, it's too dangerous to fly" she said as she ran past him. He followed suit as they headed for a nearby shed. It was a 

As they frantically entered out of the rain and wind from outside, Singer let her go in first, shutting the door behind him when he got in as well. Violet began to shake violently as she had a fear of thunderstorms, that and a combination of the chill that it brought with it.

Singer, using his quick thinking, grabbed a blanket that was sitting on one of the shelves in the shed. He got rid of any of the dust that was on it and placed it around Violet.

"Is that better?" he asked.

She nodded nervously.

"I'm so sorry, Violet. I had no idea that it was supposed to storm today."

"Neither did I" she said. "It's alright Singer. It wasn't your fault."

"I'm just glad that you're not hurt. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you."

Violet still shivered a little as she had a timid lowering of her voice as she spoke up. "S-Singer?"

"Yeah?" he responded. 

"Could you... uh... maybe come under the blanket too?" she asked awkwardly. "I mean... I'd feel a little better if you were beside me."

Giving it little to no thought, Singer nodded and joined her under the blanket, as they waited out the storm. 

Violet, moved closer to him and snuggled up with him.

Singer put his foreleg around her and cuddled back.

"I have a confession to make, Violet." he said in all seriousness, hoping that she'd hear what he was going to say to her.

"Hmmm?" she said, sounding half asleep. She appeared that way too, as her eyes were closed.

"I... am in love with you." he said as he screwed his eyes shut, waiting for a response. At this point, he still wasn't sure what to expect, but despite his optimism, he was still nervous as he awaited her response.

This quickly made Violet more alert, and an expression of shock came to her features. "W-What did you say?" she asked in disbelief.

Singer opened his eyes and made eye contact with her. "I said that I am in love with you." Singer said again, but instead of more timidly, he said it more boldly.

"Y-You are?!?" she gasped.

"Yes. This? This right here? It feels right. You being by my side... it always has. I've always known it, deep down, but now it's more clear to me than anything else."

Violet was taken aback. She didn't know what to say. All this time, she wasn't sure if he returned her feelings. But her heart fluttered inside when she heard him utter those words.

"I understand if you don't feel the same way-" he said getting cut off by her.

"I'm in love with you too, Singer!" she blurted with a smile on her face. She then blushed again, just realizing that she yelled that out loud. "Oh... I'm sorry..."

"Don't be." he said as he stood up and helped her to her hooves. He then gave her a heart warming hug. The two had shared many hugs before, but this... this one meant something more than any of the other ones did. "So, I guess what I mean to say is... Violet, would you do me the honor of becoming my marefriend?"

Violet hugged him tightly and she squealed with excitement. Singer suddenly found it hard to breathe, but he was strangely okay with that. 

"I'll take that as a yes, then?" he wheezed.

She let him go and faced him yet again with a smile. "Yes!" she said.

"But on one condition..." Singer said.

"I'm listening..." Violet said in a serious tone.

"I want us to be completely real with each other. No running away for four years, or keeping our feelings to ourselves anymore. And furthermore, you're still my best friend. You'll always be. I don't think we'll have much of a problem with this, but I'd like to continue our traditions, changing very little about what we do, other than the obvious hoof holding and um..."

"I agree..." she smiled and then a smirk came to her lips. "And were you about to ask if you could kiss me?"

His face lightly turned red. "Well, I... was kinda working my way up to that, but..."

"You may, you goofball!" she said as she inched closer to him. "You most certainly may..."

He inched closer as well until they came face to face with each other. Singer's lips touched Violet's and for the first time, they shared their first kiss. While the latter was terrified of storms, the continuing thunder didn't dampen the moment. In fact, when she felt the warmth of  Singer's body with her own, this storm was as nothing more than a little bug that goes unnoticed on the wall of a sleeping child. As they stopped kissing, they took a second to catch their breaths, and Singer looked into her eyes once more.

"When I'm with you Violet, I always feel like I'm home. Where I belong. My home is with you." he said, still catching his breath.

Her eyes began to water. "Aaaaaw, Singer..." she began to cry a little. "That's the sweetest thing that anypony has ever said to me!" 

Singer chuckled a bit, before Violet pulled him back in for kiss number two. And as they continued to wait out the storm, the two lovers began to talk some more like they normally would when they were friends. As the storm began to wind down, their laughter and conversation could be heard vaguely from the outside of the shed, but they didn't care. This was the start of something new with them, and it was going to be great! Singer couldn't wait to see what this new adventure had in store for the both of them.




> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Singer and Violet's new adventure in romance began to come into fruition, they'd had to work on not being so distantly awkward around each other when it came to physical contact. Sure they would share the occasional hug now and then, but prior to becoming an official couple, they often fought the urge for nuzzling and cuddling with each other. But now, things were different. The awkwardness was gone, and while it was still going to take some time to get used to, it felt wonderful to be in each other's company. 

They were glad that they didn't have to hide it anymore. They'd finally convinced themselves and each other that they belonged together, and they sure wished that they'd done this much sooner. But the past was the past, and they both agreed to move past it all. They were together now, and nothing was going to get in the way of them sharing their special bond.

While at Violet's house one evening for a celebratory dinner, the two were often caught in the glances of Violet's father, her little brother, and also Singer's parents, who had attended the dinner as well. It had been a long time coming, and they were glad to finally see Singer and Violet come together and be happy. Singer's mother, Belle, in particular had always believed that they would be together one day and she was right, after all she was a mom after all. She watched the two of them talk, sitting on the living room couch, while they patiently waited for everypony else to get their food first. It's not like they didn't mind.

"Hey Violet, do you wanna..." asked Singer as his stomach began to growl, while they waited for everypony else to fix their plates.

"Get something to eat?" she finished, as hers did so as well. "Yes."

"Wait right here, I'll get both of our plates."

"Thank you, sweetie!" her cheeks flushed red when she said that. It was going to take a little time to get used to calling him that. But Singer didn't appear to be fazed by it all, he just smiled back at her before going to the table.

"They're finishing each other's sentences..." said Briefs. "How corny."

"Do you mean to tell me that you and Belle didn't do the same thing when you two got together?" smirked Violet's dad.

Briefs stumbled over himself when he tried to respond. "Well... we..."

"....may have done it once or twice?" finished Belle as she beamed.

"Don't encourage him, dear..." Briefs responded with a deadpan.

Violet's father only chuckled in response. For him, it brought back memories of when he and Violet's mother were married before her unfortunate passing. He looked at a picture on the wall of the two of them as a young couple. He sighed, but not sadly. He had long since come to a sort of peace since she passed. He was more happy for his daughter, now. His 'little Violet' resembled her mom so much, not only in her features and appearance, save for the colors of her fur, she also reminded him of his late wife's personality and character. She was so much like her mother in many ways. Though he missed his wife, he was proud of the mare Violet turned out to be.

Rain trotted over to Violet while Singer was getting food for both of them. "So... are you two going to hug and kiss all the time, now?" Colts say the darndest things.

Violet giggled, as she smiled at Singer. "I think so, Rain. As much as possible."

"Oh brother..." he rolled his eyes. "Mushy stuff..."

"It'll happen to you too one day, mister."

"Yeah, we'll see..." he remarked.

This made everypony in the room laugh, and Rain's cheeks flushed bright red.

"I'm going to go back to eating now..." he said as he went back to the table to finish eating his food.

Singer returned to the couch and placed their food on the end table next to them, but motioned for Violet to follow him.

"Don't worry, it won't take but a minute." he said. "I just want to tell you something real quick."

Violet duly nodded and followed him outside to the back yard to a picnic table made from the cloudy surface outside. It was still barely daylight outside, but bright enough to where Singer could see what he was doing as he pulled out his old journal. Violet smiled when she saw it.

"This is ours." Singer said of the journal he'd had since he was a young colt. "I want us to use this journal to write about our new adventures together. That is, if you don't think that it's too cheesy..." Singer folded his ears back, as he awaited her response. He didn't have to wait but a few seconds for it.

"I think it's sweet, and a really nice idea." she said sincerely and with a smile. "I would be more than honored to share a journal with you."

Singer beamed, then turned and pulled a feather off of his wing and pulled an ink pot out of his saddle bag. "I'd kind of like our first journal entry to be together."

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" she said as she took the feather turned quill and prepared to write. "What should we say?"

"I'll start." He said as he assumed the floor.

"It's been a long and bumpy road to get where we are. Heartache and pain ensued, but we overcame it. Though some of the time was spent apart, we came together in the end and joined in a special bond that was always there." He stopped and put the quill down. "Do you want to put something in now?"

"I don't know if I can top that, but I'll give it a try" she said as she took the quill. "Deep down, we've always known we were meant for each other. It's shown through all we've been through. But the journey hasn't ended yet, it's only just beginning, and I look forward to sharing it all with the stallion I love."

"Same here, but with the mare I love..." Singer wrote after Violet had finished, after which the latter kissed the former. "You know, if we don't be careful we're going to end up being as mushy as a certain other couple I know back in Ponyville, scratch that two really nice couples I know back in Ponyville. I'll introduce you to them sometime, they're really good ponies."

"I'd like that. Besides I need to keep close tabs on you now. Just to make sure some other mare doesn't try to take you away." she giggled.

"Not going to happen, Vi." Singer smiled as, out of his saddle bag, he pulled out the contract that they had made on the day they first met.

"You still have that old thing after all these years?" Violet said with tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"It's not just an old thing anymore, Vi." Singer said. "It's one of my most prized possessions. It's a symbol of our friendship, but I do believe it needs a few modifications now, since... well, we're more than friends now."

"I agree." She wiped the joyful tears off of her face, and hugged him.

"I wonder what they're doing out there" said Rain peaking out the window from inside.

"Why not give them a little privacy, huh?" said Belle as she closed the blinds on the window. "Let's see if your dad will let you have any more cake."

A knock on the door disrupted the laughter and conversation between the two dads, who had finally found something to talk about in the cliche dad's favorite topic, sports. "I wonder who that could be." said Briefs, breaking the conversation they were having to acknowledge the knock.

"I'll get the door" said Violet's father.

When he opened the door, he saw a darker red pegasus stallion with brown dreadlocks, big black sunglasses on, and a thick brown beard.

"Anypony call for Bob Marely?" joked Violet's dad.

"Fender?" said Briefs. "Is that you?"

"Right you are, Big Bruh!" he said entering the house and giving his brother a bear hug. "Good to see you after all these years, dude!"

"Good to... uh... see you too." said Briefs. "But it's only been a few months since I last saw you."

"Oh, really?" he said. "Sorry bro, I must have been to one too many parties since then."

"This is your brother?" inquired Violet's dad, with his eyebrow cocked.

"Unfortunately..." confirmed Briefs. "I think he's had one too many, if you know what I mean" he said before turning to his brother. "Come on Fender, let's get you out of here." Briefs deadpanned as he guided his brother out the door and started for his home.

Belle walked into the room shortly after to see what the commotion was. 

"Apparently your brother-in-law is back in town." Violet's dad said before Belle could ask. "Kinda makes me wonder what's in store for me when Singer and Violet get married and I have to come to all of the Case family reunions."

"Our family is kind of an acquired taste, you'll get used to us in time." Belle said. "Now if you want to meet crazy, you should meet my side of the family."

"I think I'll pass on that." he chuckled. "You know, you've got a pretty great son. I know this, because my daughter wouldn't be swept off her hooves for just anypony."

"I know. Violet is a good friend of mine, and I raised Singer to do the right thing. They are both great kids, and I can see them being happy together."

"My little filly is all grown up." said Violet's dad, letting a prideful smile form on his lips.

"And what a fine young mare she's turned out to be." complemented Belle, as she walked over to the kitchen window again and looked outside to see Singer and Violet snuggling underneath the sunset. "I love those kids, and I can't wait to see where this new step in life leads them."

Outside, Singer and Violet still sitting at the picnic table, the former wrapped his wing around the latter and pulled her as close as he could get her. "At least we got to see the sunset tonight" he said.

"No random rain clouds this time, thank goodness." said Violet, thankfully.

"Sure is beautiful, and I'm not just talking about the sky."

"You know, I think you're going to make a fine coltfriend, Singer. You always know just what to say to me."

"You're definitly a keeper as well" he chuckled as he kissed her forehead. 
.....
As if being trapped inside the mind of this musical pegasus wasn't bad enough, now he had all of this gushy romance crap to put up with as well. The purple furred, orange-maned Singer look alike figure sat on a chair inside Singer's mind. It had chosen a door inside his mind that led to a void so it could be alone to think about it's next move, and how to escape it's prison. 

Finding a way to kill the pegasus wasn't an option, as it could mean death for the both of them. So that was out of the question. The only other option would be to somehow lure Singer into a place where it had visited before. Within the Castle of the Two Sisters lie a mirror, a mirror that would solve it's problem for good. This would be the gateway to it's freedom! It smirked and then let out a boisterous laughter as it conjured up a blank sheet of paper, and began to write down ideas for a plan to get Singer to go to this place, so that way he could once again return to the mission set forward by his master, who he hadn't seen in years.

"Soon my master, soon I'll return to you and with the items you seek...." he paused for a dramatic effect, creating an explosion behind him thanks to the free range of things he could do inside the mind of the pegasus. "The Elements of Harmony!" If there was one thing that he and this pegasus had in common was their shared enthusiasm for theatrics.

It wouldn't be easy, as Singer had little to no idea that it was inside his mind, nor did he act like he even feared it. It certainly showed after the latest attempt to scare him, Singer snapped back. It would have to think of something clever, before it's self went mad dealing with the goofy, half-witted thoughts of the pegasus that it had endured up to this point. Though it could have been argued that this particular character may have already been mad from the beginning. It just knew that it wanted out, and that time was beginning to run out. Or had it already?
.........

Deep in the Everfree Forest, the fortress was quiet for the most part. Everypony that resided within were either asleep or on guard duty. Precautions were made just in case. After all, there were unspeakable acts of anarchy going on behind these walls. How they had gotten away with it for as long as they have remained a mystery to this day.

The halls of the fortress were livened up a little bit as hoof steps could be heard coming. The hoof steps belonged to a silver furred pegasus, with a spikey silver mane, wearing a cape and a guard helmet, who was walking towards his masters' quarters to address recent progress to him. This stallion was his second in command, and while older than many of the other ponies who worked under his master, he was among the most experienced and most trusted of the entire clan of criminals that resided in the walls. 

The doors that led to the big boss's quarters opened wide, by the levitation of one of his hoof maids. The seasoned officer entered when given the clear. The pony in question was lying in his bed, covered by his bedding as he was prepared to go to sleep. He had a bowl of grapes at his side that he had been eating before he would fall asleep.

"Master, I apologize for the inconvenient timing, but I have a report regarding one of our scouts. With permission, I wish to address this to you."

The master was a tall elderly stallion, who'd kept his figure from his youth well intact. Even his teeth and mane were still natural. He was a brown unicorn stallion, with baggy eyes, a small white beard as well as a long white and grey mane and short tail. This tyrannical unicorn nodded his head allowing his loyal servant to proceed. 

"Thank you, Lord Barber" he began courteously. "Our scout, Thunder Clap, has been returning back with nothing to show for at least the past five times he's been out. We have reason to believe he's using the time he's been given to settle personal vendettas. I was able to overlook it the first few times, but-"

"You mean to tell me that you let his failure go unpunished?" inquired Barber.

"No, no, of course not!" he replied. "I have sent him to you before and you've sent him out with a beating. But this stallion is hard pressed to learn his lesson, I'm afraid."

Barber rubbed his beard with his hoof, as he briefly took time to think of what command to give. It didn't take long. "The next time he comes up empty handed, stick him in the dungeon with the other prisoners with no food or water for three days, and we shall see if he fails us again. And if he does return with something, and he comes back late it had better be something good, or the same punishment applies."

"And if he runs away?"

"Send one of your best troops to capture and kill him on the spot. A deserter is a possible traitor, and we cannot have that happening. Not after all that I've worked so hard to build."

"Duly noted, master. Should that scenario come to be, I shall take the responsibility of finding and killing him, myself to ensure that it gets done right!"

"Excellent." The elderly stallion had a sinister smile appear on his face for an abrupt second, before returning to his serious facial expression. "Is there anything else? If so, please state your business quickly. I am growing tired and am ready for sleep."

"There is something of good news, Lord Barber."

"What is it? Tell me!"

"One of our magical trackers has uncovered something that might be of interest to you near Ponyville. The energy signals emitting from somewhere within the town have lead to one of your magical seeker drones that you sent out in search of the Elements of Harmony, years ago."

"How is that possible? There's no way that they could have lasted this long unless..." he paused, and chuckled. "Unless one of them has entered the mind of one of the ponies within the town." His chuckles turned to laughter, which descended into a calm whisper. "Clever, it's as if they've developed a mind of their own."

"Any orders, sir?"

"Let us wait and see what will become of this, first. No need in sending out one of our guards to go searching for something that is decades old without knowing for sure. Especially since our spies have indicated that the Elements are sadly no longer up for grabs. These horrible failures of experiments aren't exactly first priority as of right now. We shall wait this one out until further notice."

"As you wish." he said with a bow.

"Things are finally looking up for us, Wingo." Barber smiled in an evil fashion. "Let the games, begin!"
.......