The Walk Back
Coloratura yawned as she slowly trotted away from the stage. The concert had been a roaring success, and her fans were more than happy to follow her with her new direction. Her heart was swollen, she had new letters to write to a dear friend she hated having ever lost, and a bright future. All in all, a good night, but also deeply tiring, and now was the time for her to return to her trailer.
Her hoof steps pressed into the grass, dew clinging to them. It was far later than any had planned to stay up that night, but so many had so many questions, and she had been overjoyed to answer them all. Thinking of the smaller fillies, so excited to hear about how it felt to use her natural talent brought a smile to her face.
Another set of hooves perked her ears. and a subtle glance behind her brought another smile to her lips.
Of course, this would not be the end of all of it. Her future was uncertain, and while a small town, centered around the farm whose owner was the whole reason for this change, liked her, it did not mean everypony would stay behind her. With no manager to keep the press at bay, her next few weeks, no, months would be as if she were in Tartarus. Coloratura put a hoof to her head, wincing as she thought about trying to write all the stories that were bubbling within her while within that nightmare.
Her ears twitched again as the second set of hooves stumbled, not expecting Rara to stop until she was at the trailer. This time she decided to turn around, and saw a hint of light purple slip into a bush on the side of the trail. She smiled once more at the follower, but didn’t want to scare them off, so she merely shrugged, and continued to trot, as if she had noticed nothing.
The moonlight shimmered against the dew on the grass, and Coloratura found herself thankful to be able to enjoy it. She had spent so long in muted colors, and gaudy outfits, that such a walk like this used to be a burden. A detour before she could shake off that which she desired to. In a light dress like this though, she barely even had to worry about it getting dirty while she enjoyed the night. “It’s so peaceful…” She stopped herself from saying more, despite her deep desire to call to the filly behind herself. It would only make the shy pony run away though, so monologuing was all she kept it to.
Her steps continued to echo along the path as she began to see her trailer. It was still covered in whites and purples, with advertisements covering every inch of the steel frame. For so long she had just shrugged at the sight, but now they were reminders. Reminders of how much she had lost for so long. For a moment, she entirely forgot about her follower and stamped in front of them, before standing up, and placing her hooves on one.
She looked into the heavy eyelashes, the thick make up, the flashing lights, and it sickened her. That was an image, all a costume of the pony she was. When she tried to rip it down though, she couldn’t. She shut her eyes for a moment, and tried again, but the vision of a small filly, with a voice that could break glass, sobbing as she got to come onto stage, stopped her. She slowly lowered herself, laughing as a tear came down her face. She had spent this whole walk thinking about how much she loved this new life, and came so close to forgetting what she used to have. What The Countess had enabled her.
Without the sequins and lights, her voice would never have pierced the hearts of so many, at least not so quickly. She would not have had a crowd tonight, cheering for her true self. She raised a hoof to her cheek, a warmth coming from the memory of orange lips against it. Orange lips she may have never felt had she not had such a terrible manager, but still kept herself deep within.
She took one more look at the poster, before placing her lips against The Countess’ cheek. With the cold steel being surprisingly warm, and a tear running down her cheek, she walked to the door of the trailer. A glance out of the corner of her eye allowed her to see the small, pink filly, standing at the edge of the clearing. She was still being followed. Good.
Rara slipped into the trailer, enjoying its warmth for a few moments, before going towards the small cooking area. She ignored the Rainbow Fall’s water, but instead allowed her kettle to be filled with tap water. She would not simply shirk Pinkie’s efforts, but tonight, it simply wasn’t as appetizing. Soon, the water began to boil, and she hummed to herself along with it. Perhaps she would be able to get some songwriting done now, instead of waiting for when everyone was badgering her to go back.
The sound of a thump against her trailer stopped the humming, and instead, began her counting.
One, two.
Silence filled the air, and Coloratura’s ears flicked to and fro, trying to hear more.
Three, four.
She yawned, the late hours weighing down on her now that she was sitting.
Five, six.
She heard hooves upon the steps to her trailer, and glanced over, wondering if the filly would have the courage.
Seven, eight.
Silence filled the trailer, and Coloratura slowly got back to her own hooves, and walked to the door.
Nine, ten.
She threw open the door, and looked down. This time, the filly had nowhere to run, and could only look up, both of their pairs of blue eyes meeting. She stepped back, and looked away. “Sorry. Wrong trailer.”
“You didn’t see the posters?”
“N-no.”
Coloratura cocked her head, wondering why she was so scared. “You don’t need to cower like that. In fact, if you would like to come in and have some tea with me. The water should be done soon.”
The filly merely shook her head. “I doubt you would want to have tea with me. This was all a stupid idea anyways.”
A smile split over the mare’s face as she laid down. “Well, may I at least know what you came here for? I’m absolutely dying to know!”
The filly looked back to Coloratura’s wide smile, staring at the superstar who seemed to be so patient with her. The smile only brought the same painful questions as everypony else’s did for her, and she almost didn’t speak. “Well, I… I was wondering what one should do i-if,” she looked down, a tear hitting the ground before she resumed, “if the magic inside a pony only brought pain, or was seen as bad?”
There was no hesitation from Rara as she asked, “What might that magic that you’re so afraid of be?”
The filly looked up, barely making eye contact as she whispered, “Getting others to do as I want.”
Coloratura almost stopped dead in her tracks at the statement, but quickly pushed it aside and got her composure back. “And what do you hope to do with it?”
“Well, I hope that someday I can lead people to do great things, make great monuments, erected through teamwork that I lead, or help those who need help by getting them what they need. But with how I’ve been in the past-” The filly stopped, not having even realized how passionate she was getting, or the tears streaming down her face, and merely stared at Coloratura’s hoof.
“Tell me, what is your name?”
“My… my name?”
Coloratura nodded. “Mine is Coloratura, but you can call me Rara, if you so desire. It’s what all of my other friends do now. Now, may I know yours?”
The filly whispered, “Friend,” before the tears poured down, and she began to sob. “I… I’m Diamond Tiara.”
She nodded. “It’s my pleasure to meet you. Did you see the concert?” She waited for Diamond to nod, and nodded herself. “So, you know what happened, right?” Once more, a nod, and she kept talking. “How about the fact that I could use a pony to boss others around while I focus on singing, but this time with a good heart. like yours?”
Diamond Tiara stopped crying, her mind malfunctioning at the thought. She looked up, and couldn’t even speak, only numbly moving her lips up and down.
“You’ve made mistakes in the past, right? Well, so have I. What better pair to seek a new future together with than we?”
Diamond still couldn’t talk, but instead dove forwards, and hugged Coloratura’s leg. The mare in return nuzzled the top of the filly’s head, before stepping back into the trailer. “Now, about that tea?”
Diamond Tiara furiously nodded as she leapt in, and the two began talking while hot tea was sipped. Business was kept off the table for the night, but instead, until the first rays of sunrise, tales were told, and the two got to know each other, just as ponies, and not of what anyone thought they should be.