This Is It!!! [Concluded]

[waxworks]

As some of the other ponies filtered out of the hall Grace trotted giddily amongst the group, still shaking her head and clicking her hooves to the music. Stump was similarly entranced, air-guitaring on her back and rocking back and forth along her as they went. It wasn't just good music, it was infectious music and Mannequin Grace had a fever. She really didn't want it to end, but of course that was the nature of a good show, always leave them wanting more. There was a small commotion going on, and Stump tapped her on the head a few times.

"Hey Manny! Look over there! Aren't those the members of the band?"

Grace glanced in the direction Stump's little wooden claw was pointing to see Onyx and his band, as well as Dark Star and Slipstream. Her eyes widened, the artist was meeting with the crowd? A quick trot in place and she was about to zip towards them when she realized she was forgetting herself. Any stage performer wants to get one particular thing after a terrific show from a great crowd, and for that reason she zipped out of the town hall and came racing back a moment later with a bouquet of red roses that had been purchased at high speed from a terrified merchant with a series of flailing hoof gestures and hurled bits.

The unicorn paused to sort herself out and adjust her hat before she neatly trotted over towards the group, stomped and whistled to show her approval, and promptly let the magic-enveloped bundle of roses smack Onyx neatly in the chest, propelled by far too much enthusiasm. Grace winced, blushed, and threw off a sheepish grin before quietly back-stepping her way to place the two mares between herself and the band.

[SkyBolt]

Sky marched over to the stallion, while more and more of her mind began questioning her anger. What are you doing Sky? She scolded herself mentally, but her bad mood marched her over to Onyx Bass semingly without her permission. After rudely shoving in front of Dark and Slipstream, she delivered a few stinging words to Bass, before realizing exactly who she was scolding like a naughty colt. She stopped, took a deep breath, and forced herself not to turn around just to see the angry stares she was likely getting. "Oh... Um, sorry? I had a bad day, and uh..." The white unicorn trailed off, suddenly feeling like she was the naughty foal. "I didn't really mean it. I, just, i'm sorry. Can we start over?" She asked, mentally berating herself for being so gosh darn rude! What was she thinking? She wasn't. That must be it. Very few sales today and then she was like a volcano getting ready to explode. But now all the light cerulean maned mare could think of, as she stared at her hooves, was how much she wanting to sink into the ground. And the stallion hadn't even responded yet. Oh, this was going well. "Uh, sorry?" She said to Dark and Slipstream, who she had shoved aside to reach the stallion she had just began, and stopped in the middle of, chewing out. And the plant loving mare normally wasn't very hot tempered at all... Oh, what had she done? To her reputation? To her life? Again, a more rational, less embarrassed part if her kicked in. You will be fine. Just get through this. It told her.

[20monkies]

Many mares and stallions were coming up to Onyx Bass to congratulate him and asking for autographs and pictures. Onyx Bass obliged happily, posing non-stop for the perfect shots and writing words of encouragement along with his signature on CD covers. It wasn't until one strange and hyperactive pegasus came rushing up to him and literally gushing enthusiasm and excitement. Onyx laughed softly, but not until the pony was wrapped in a red aura. He had to do a double take, blinking before grinning massively. He moved closer towards both of them, giving them a slight bow.

"Well, you must be the one that was flying about in the balconies during my performance. And you are the one with the red glow." He noticed her red eyes, just the same as her aura and had to blink momentarily. They seemed familiar. Something strangely odd about them… had he seen this mare somewhere before? He blushed at her comment and just put down his hoof, nudging it around on the ground nervously.

"Oh, I'm sure you beautiful mares are more talented in your skills than I can ever be." He was being humble - maybe too humble. A pegasus and unicorn, of course, would have more talent that came easily and naturally to them than himself. Those eyes…

He was just about to put his hoof on it when a bouquet of roses came hurtling towards him at top speed and Onyx Bass had to catch himself and the flowers before he stumbled back and embarrassed himself.

He looked down at them, sniffed at them, and looked over the two ponies shoulders to see another strangely out of place looking mare backing away. Her rag-like mane and tail gave her a peculiar characteristic, and even the little wooden dragon on her back made his curiosity peek even more.

"Why lovely lady, I thank you so much for the flowers. They are quiet beautiful such as yourself. That is one unique looking pet that you have." He moved forward past the two mares and faced her, smiling kindly into her eyes. He plucked a rose out of the bouquet and placed it behind her ears, before turning around to do the same to the others. He sighed, loving the scent of the roses enveloping him.

And once again, another mare rushed up to him.

My, oh my, so many fans were approaching him and he was having a hard time trying to keep up with all of them. There were others waiting for their turn, but not as many as it would have been during the day time. At least it was night and many were too exhausted to hang back and have a meet and greet with him.

"Aren't you the lovely flower pony that came to be before the show?" He asked, tilting his head. "Why did you have such a bad day? I hope you can forgive and forget whoever made the day worse for you and just look on the bright side from here on now." He planted a rose behind her ear too and smiled at all the lovely mares standing before him.

"I hope you enjoyed my show. It was definitely lovely meeting you all. If you want autographs, I'll be happy to give them to you!" He plucked the marker from behind his ear, one of his band members sweeping the bouquet away to save for him later as he eyed all four of them.

[Dark Star]

Dark Star and Slipstream stood in astonishment at everything going on around them. In addition to themselves, they were joined by Mannequin Grace, a pony Slipstream had once attended a show for, and Sky Bolt, whom of which knew them both and were on good terms with, joining them just backstage following the show. For Grace, she had come out of admiration for his ability to entertain the masses. And Sky Bolt, originally out of hatred and jealousy, but then to apologize about her behavior. "You'd think that a rock star coming into town would be amazing business to sell flowers" Slipstream whispered to Dark Star, who nodded in agreement.

It was at this moment where Slipstream realized that Onyx Bass was looking at Dark Star curiously and only now decided to tease her about it. "So I guess you and Onyx must've been something back in Canterlot, huh?" she asked coyly. "I only lived there for less than a day and I would've remembered seeing a pony like him around if I had actually met him" she responded. As the two of them discussed among each other, Onyx Bass took a red rose and placed it behind the ears of the two mares. Slipstream acted giddily and nearly fainted while Dark Star simply levitated the rose out carefully with her magic. "You are so easy to please, truly you act more like a filly than you should" Dark Star said with a sigh. Slipstream just tapped her chest with a hoof and responded with "And you act more like an old maid instead of being more fun and spontaneous".

The two continued their back and forth until Onyx stepped in, saying that he'd be willing to sign CDs for them. Slipstream gave Dark Star the Filly eyes treatment, giving the latter an excuse to sigh and look at her like she would a foal. "Alright, just don't blare it loudly at home" she told her. In a matter of seconds, Slipstream had zipped across the stage, bought a CD and now stood before Onyx Bass excitedly. 'That girl, what am I going to do with her?" Dark Star wondered to herself.

[waxworks]

While she had been hoping to do a decent vanishing act behind Dark Star and Slipstream, Grace suddenly found herself not just coming face to face with Onyx, but then having a rose gently placed behind her ear. The effect was that her cheeks suddenly not only blushed a shade of dark blueberry, but also puffed up significantly as an uncontrollable smile took over her face. For a brief second she threatened to swoon, lost in just how perfectly dashing Onyx was in the moment, but she steadied herself with the assistance of, or rather by steadying herself against, Slipstream.

From her back there was a slight, grumpy noise as Stump folded his little wooden arms and muttered to himself, "I'm not a pet." If his face had had more articulation he would've been properly scowling, but as it was his little wooden eyebrows just crooked downwards and his eyelids drooped slightly. Grace was too swimmy to hush him, but did manage an apologetic series of gestures to Slipstream as she righted herself. The mare was mentally grumbling for not having thought to purchase a CD or a poster for Onyx to sign, but decided that the memory itself would have to be enough for her, all things considered.

She was going to add another comment when SkyBolt made somewhat of a scene, and decided that despite how much she loved drama, perhaps this particular moment was as good as any to bow out. With a nod to nopony in particular, which made her feel more sheepish as she realized how many mares were still trying to cluster around, Mannequin Grace politely trotted out of the theater, sniffing blissfully at the rose.

"Didn't you buy that rose?" Said Stump, raising a wooden eyebrow.

Grace shushed him.

[SkyBolt]

Sky Bolt nodded. "Well, I really had no cause to storm up like that, it's just that people almost seem to forget the flower sales mare in the hubbub of a popular pony in town. You would think it would be the opposite, but strangely, no, and it just stars to feel almost intentional, you know? Like if, say, a pony even bigger and more famous then you came to town, and then you played your whole concert with just three ponies watching. It was kind of like that, and I figured I might as well enjoy the show, but then sort of, well, boiled over. I am sorry for approaching in sich a hostile manner, and the name is Sky Bolt, by the way. Sorry to you as well, I hope I didn't bruise any pony?" Sky said to any pony who she had shoved through to give Onyx the rather undeserved sharp side of her tongue. Maybe if the stallion wasn't busy, she could, well, while it sounded so romantic despite her disgust with the idea, out to dinner as apology, and she hadn't been out in a while. Perhaps if he didn't have plans after the show. "I usally don't explode like that. Can we just start over?" She asked in a less then comfortable tone of voice. It crossed her mind that Onyx Bass was very handsome, but sheinwardly kicked herself. Sky, you are no gushing fan mare! She practically yelled at herself. Him and DJ Pon3 would make a good couple.

[20monkies]

One of the first things Onyx Bass noticed was the purple pony ducking out and away from the crowd. His silver eyes opened widely, blinking as he automatically moved forward towards her. She intrigued him! But she was disappearing out of the theatre and he didn't know what other way to get her attention. He was forced back by the crowd of mares that were surrounding him, and he took in a deep breath to face the other ladies.

He turned to one of his bandmates and whispered something quickly into his ear before the other pony nodded his head and pushed his way through the crowd and out of the theatre after Mannequin Grace.

Onyx happily took the CD that Slipstream hurried to bring over to him and signed it, laughing lightly. "You two seem like the best of friends." then he leaned over towards Slipstream and spoke softly in her ear, "Is she so uptight all the time? Because I'd really like to take you two out on a date if I could. I just don't know if she would want to….?" he raised an eyebrow out of curiosity, gushing at the two.

Sky Bolt wanted to start over, and her intentions were of course, nothing evil or anything. She was just upset over the show taking place and had done poorly in terms of business.

"Well, we can definitely start over. I never hold grudges against anypony. Cross my heart." He made an X over his heart with a hoof.

Meanwhile - the bandmate that had run out and after Grace was calling out towards her.

"Excuse me - excuse me, ma'am!" He was huffing and puffing, taking in short breaths. "Onyx… asked me to tell you. That he would like you to join him for breakfast. He's still in town for the next couple of days before he continues to travel forward, and he really wants to get to know the ponies of Ponyville. I mean, I would like it if you came, too. You seem very nice!"

[Dark Star]

Slipstream was over-joyed to have gotten her favorite artist to sign one of their own CDs. She smiled so hard, she probably could've broken through solid steel with them. She swooned a bit when he started to whisper in her ears, then instantly flew into the rafters after his date proposal. She zipped around through the rafters so quickly, it would've made just about any pony's eyes spin, coincidentally it succeeded. Dark Star didn't know what it is he must've told her, but quickly grew annoyed at what she doing. Her eyes glowed a noticeably bright red as she focused her magic around Slipstream's wings, stopping them and watching as she face-planted behind the stage, right in front of her.

"Would it kill you to keep your emotions intact, you're going to ruin both of our images pulling those kinds of stunts" Dark Star scolded the younger mare. Slipstream quickly picked herself up, shaking off the dust and then glared back at the dark unicorn. "Hey, if I get excited, I fly around. It's nothing different from how you teleport around the place when you're excited" she responded to her friend with. "Only because it's excess magic I need to blow off from time to time, you're just foalishly excitable" countered Dark Star. Once again, something involves these two mares and it ends with them both arguing with each other over the subject, bickering even. This was just one of the many kinds of antics these two got into, however. Luckily, all it takes is one pony getting in-between the two of them to settle their argument and even disperse it.

[waxworks]

"Excuse me - excuse me, ma'am!"

It took a moment for Grace to realize she was the one being called, when eventually Stump elbowed her in the back of the neck. She turned around looking at the approaching pony warily for a moment, but then adopted a look of flattered surprise when she recognized him as being one Onyx's fellow band members. She listened while he spoke, her ears flickering and her eyes widening. Breakfast? Onyx wanted to meet her? Specifically her? She glanced around for a moment as though she were expecting to see the Candid Pony crew sneaking around somewhere, but she was sufficiently flattered to overcome this suspicion. She nodded eagerly to the musical pony, then flailed a bit as Stump suddenly climbed up her neck and onto her hat, shoving it down over her eyes as he went.

"What kinda breakfast? Will there be those little moon shaped biscuit things?"

Grace tilted her head forward and let the little wooden puppet fall to the ground with a thud as she flashed an apologetic smile to the band member. She tapped her chest and nodded her head, then threw a gesture towards her eyes and the pony she was talking to, followed by another gesture up towards the town hall's clock. To drive the gestures home she lifted one of her forelegs and tapped it twice where one would wear a wrist watch. Her puppet was meanwhile dusting himself off, and trying to scale back up her robe with a series of small, squeaky grumbles. This jostling stirred Grace's brain, as she'd almost forgotten the most important thing. Levitating her hat off in a polite sort of way, the top of it popped open and a little brass rod slid out with a card on the end that read:

Mannequin Grace, Proud Puppeteer of Ponyville's Puppet Theater.

[20monkies]

There were still many ponies that wanted to meet with Onyx Bass, and he hurriedly went and greeted every single one of them. He signed autographs, took pictures, signed some more autographs, and very few were as easily excitable as he had seen in Slip Stream. She was a unique one, and her friend equally as dark and intriguing as he could imagine. Still, those eyes were bothering him. Somewhere, in his heart, he knew he had seen them somewhere and that was the only thing that he seemed to recognize out of everything in his memory. He knew it was going to bother him, and he would actually want to spend some time with her and find out some more so that he could pinpoint that recognition. He was having such a hard time wracking his brain that he didn’t notice when his Manager came up behind him.

His concert had been a hit, and Manager Light was smiling a wide smile.

“Onyx, you have done such an outstanding job! We’ve got a lot of money for donating to schools across Equestria, and it’s all thanks to you.”

Onyx blushed.

“It wouldn’t have been possible without your help, of course. And the rest of the band. I could never pull it off on my own without all of you guys.”

He loved being center of attention, and the praise just made his efforts all worthwhile in the end. It made him that much more determined to keep singing and inspiring young colts and fillies everywhere, and even the older generation of stallions and mares. At least he was working towards something good for the world. In his heart, that was all that put peace in him.

*****

Drum Beat, Onyx Bass’ band member, smiled at the little wooden dragon.

“If you enjoy those, I’m sure we’ll have them at breakfast!” But no sooner was he talking to the little creature than he was blinking in confusion as Grace started to gesture with her hooves. He tried to follow her movements – I accept… I’ll look for you? … at Town Hall? And at what time? The poor stallion had to make sure he understood her gestures properly, but it was then she had produced a card and he took it, still a little baffled at her gestures.

“Oh!” He exclaimed, seeing what was written on there. “A puppeteer! I love puppets! This is so cool! It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mannequin Grace!” He held out his hooves to shakes hers, a wide smile on his face.

“Yes, come to breakfast tomorrow morning if that’s okay with you? 8 am sharp. I’ll meet you here, and then we can go together. We’re going to have so much fun! You should do a show for us too!” The drummer was so excited he couldn’t hold it in himself.

*****

Once the rush had died down in Town Hall, with but a handful of ponies lingering still in the afterglow of the concert, Onyx Bass was seeking out the two ponies he was speaking with earlier. He was lost in his own achievement that he almost forgot.

When he spotted them, he casually went up to them and was grinning an almost maniacal grin.

“So – would you ladies like to accompany me on a casual stroll through Ponyville? You can tell me about the best places to visit here during the day.”

[Dark Star]

Dark Star and Slipstream's argument was unintentionally broken up once Onyx Bass got their attention. The two mares stared at him with a sense of excitement (Slipstream) and annoyance (Dark Star) and payed attention to what it is he had to say. He had wanted to walk around the town with the two of them, unusually friendly to the two of them. They looked at each other and broke away for a short huddled-together strategy. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, Bright Eyes. Think of how famous we'll become if we go through with this" Slipstream said excitedly. Dark Star simply stared at her, scowling at the entire idea of it. "That's entirely the problem; I don't want to hurt Crimson in case he happens to see it" she explained. Slipstream returned the stare and by extension, the scowl.

"It's not like he's going to be awake to see it. And besides, you could just explain it to him sooner than he can respond. Either way you slice it, it's a win-win" she tried to coerce. "Dark, you've been talking about how familiar he looks to ya all night. We both need to find out why and this is the perfect chance to find out. You gotta grab life to the horns while you can, 'cause it ain't gonna be around forever" she said. "Just let me come with ya and I'll do ALL the chores for the rest of the year, I swear" she bartered. Dark Star sighed and smiled at her, a clear sign that she had submitted to Slipstream's will and proceeded to walk over to Onyx Bass. 

She smiled warmly and turned on her own charm. "We'd love to give you a tour of our fine town" she said with a slight gleam in her eyes. 'Slipstream, you had better not betray my expectations of you after tonight' Dark Star thought to herself. Slipstream flew just overhead and smiled enthusiastically, eager to get this show on the road. "Alright, let's get moving" she said as she gave a slight push to the back of the other two; pushing them both out from behind backstage with considerable force. Truly, this would be a night neither of them would forget.

 

[20monkies]

With breakfast settled with Mannequin Grace, Drum Beat returned back to the building to where the other members were gathered. They were still chattering and relaxing, and not too many ponies were left in Town Hall. After all it was past bed time now, and rest was definitely needed.

Not for Onyx Bass. He was still riding the high of the concert, excited and thrilled that the two mares were willing to take him around Ponyville. He had definitely been to this little town a couple of times before and each time he was discovering something new. It was always expanding with new merchants and vendors popping up in the Marketplace, and even shop signs were ever changing to show new delicacies and specialities.

So when Dark Star approached him instead of Slip Stream, he was ever more pleased. He chuckled softly and nodded his head.

"I'm more than happy you are willing to assist me. I'm sure you don't mind, right?" He raised a brow out of curiosity. He had seen the two whispering a whole awful lot during his time with them, and the cat inside of him wanted to know what they were talking about. It must have been about him, right? Sure, they kept glancing over at him too. It must have been!

Turning around, he felt the slight push that Slip Stream gave him and beside him was Dark Star. They were BOTH being pushed out from the backstage area and out the door that led to the backside of Town Hall. The cool wind whipped against his face, his hair blasting back against the chill. It made his mane stand up on ends, so that when he turned to the others his appearance made him look like he just went through a tornado.

"Wow, it's cold tonight!" He exclaimed, laughing. "I didn't think such a warm and welcoming town could be so cold! But it's better this way I think. The cold always seems to clear my mind." Onyx Bass smiled at the two and walked a short distance, looking around. "So, where do we begin our tour? Oh! Maybe the best place to eat. I'm starving!"

[Dark Star]

As Slipstream escorted Onyx Bass and Dark Star out of the town hall, they were surprised to feel a big blast of wind at their faces. Dark Star shivered slightly but didn't really mind; she had always been out in the cold, cold nighttime atmosphere, so a little chill like that was nothing for her. Slipstream started to shake as well, but she was merely shaking with excitement. Any time the wind picked, you could expect Slipstream to start flying immediately. When she was in the presence of guests/friends however, she has to nearly bite her lips to keep from flying away, trying not to seem rude. Dark Star noticed her shaking and gave her a concerned look. The blue pegasus merely shot her a coy smile, implying that she was alright.

Onyx turned around and quickly got the ball rolling by asking them the best place to grab a bite to eat, which made the two mares look to each other. Dark Star quickly got just the idea she needed and asked him "It all depends on what it is you're in the mood for?". Slipstream snuck off and flew around Ponyville while Dark Star kept Onyx distracted, making certain to find the place that had the best deals for the three of them, and then found her answer. Before Onyx could tell Slipstream had left, she returned to face him with the location she had found. "The cafe's open this time of night, plus they've got great things on the menu there" she explained with a smile. Dark Star looked over Onyx's shoulder and winked at her. 'Hopefully, Onyx wouldn't mind such a place' Dark Star thought to herself.

[20monkies]

As Dark Star asked the question, he put a hoof up to his chin and thought about it. What was he in the mood for? He took a moment, before looking back at the other with polished silver eyes and grinned.

"What are you in the mood for?" Those words were heavily weighed with many implications, Onyx knew it would throw the mare off. He wouldn't have been surprised. It was something that just happened naturally to him when he was around a mare. He just found them all beautiful and wanted all of them to feel special. But he always had a hard time making a commitment to just one. He never had a proper relationship, so he wasn't exactly sure of what was expected of him when it came down to it.

He approached her slowly, and raised a hoof to tuck up a stray piece of mane behind her ear before he heard Slip Stream speaking.

He turned around to face her, and smiled widely.

"I LOVE cafe's! What are we waiting for?" He glanced over his shoulder at Dark Star and winked at her before turning back to stride up to Slip Stream. He wrapped an arm over her shoulder and grinned again.

"What do they have on the menu? DO they have caramelized apples? Because I have a really big sweet tooth for those." He was definitely surprised that the other hadn't spoken up about him approaching Dark Star. THen he suspected as much - she was a pegasus. She did appear a bit out of breath. She must have quickly flown away to find a place for them to go to. But he didn't let on that he knew. He just went with the flow, laughing softly.

[Dark Star]

Dark Star was taken aback slightly when Onyx had turned the question, as well as the tables, on her. She wasn't anticipating such a thing happening and was caught completely off-guard. Normally, this was the kind of thing that would never happen to her, but leave it to a womanizer like Onyx to bring it to light. Luckily, she didn't need to come up with an answer after Slipstream returned. She thought the latter had pretty good timing, but was still impressed regardless. She suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable after he had suddenly become so enthusiastic towards the idea of entering the cafe, but then went back to his usual "charming" self soon after.

Although when Onyx wrapped a leg around Dark Star's shoulders, this is when things got noticeably difficult for the dark unicorn. Slipstream could see that she was straining herself as hard as she could trying to keep a friendly-looking smile, her eyes glowing bright enough to burn through solid wood. 'I swear, I'm going to buck this guy if he does any more' Dark Star thought to herself. Slipstream could read all of this in her eyes and quickly broke up the two of them the best she could without seeming rude. "H-hey, let's shake a leg, wouldn't wanna keep that stomach o' yours waitin'" she quickly said. Dark Star breathed a heavy sigh of relief and winked at her, happy that she could see where things were going. 

They then started trotting forward, leading Onyx directly to the place Slipstream had mentioned, but whispered things to one another along the way. "How could you possibly like him?" Dark Star asked in a stress-filled tone. "He's shallow, quick to flirt, just-UGH!" she told her. Slipstream just smiled dreamily and sighed, "Isn't he though?". Dark Star frowned, knowing full-well that Slipstream couldn't hear a word she just said. "I guess love is blind" she deadpanned.