lincolnshirepony

Blue Note gave him a small smile. "I think we'll be all right," she said. "Honestly I think Ruby and Cheesy are the ones they need to worry about. I don't how understand how they can be in the same room with some sort of minor explosion." Without Sterling she would go insane having to see those two all the time. "I'm sure this purgatory called rehearsal will end soon." --- Before they were needed on stage, Cheesy had to ask Ruby a question. Cheesy knew he had to ask it with some finesse, or he could forget getting anything from her. Luckily, charming ponies was one of his greatest skills. "Hey, Ruby," he said confidently going up to her. "What?" she snapped. Cheesy didn't cower or snap back like she was used to. He just flashed a grin. "You're a really talented actress." Ruby's annoyance melted away. "Thanks," she said cautiously. "You know," he leaned in and lowered his voice, "you're the only pony here with real talent. Blue Note and Sterling don't belong here, but you don't just belong; you own that stage. And me, I'm nowhere near as good as you." "Thank you for being the only pony with any idea of what constitutes real talent!" Ruby beamed at Cheesy. She finally was getting what she deserved from somepony at least! "See, I want to keep up with you, but I'm not a natural like you. I need some help, and you're the best pony for it. So what do ya say? Can you help me learn to play Billius." Ruby sized him up, giving him a thorough look. "I suppose you need to be able to keep up with me. I'll help." "Thanks," Cheesy said with a grin. "I'm looking forward to it."

@@Sterling Crimson Celestia's words had unsettled Blue Note. This would truly be a difficult task, requiring the strongest of magic. Everything she knew was in danger. Her nervousness threatened to overwhelm her, but Sterling Crimson came up to her and asked her a question. Answering while they walked to the garden was a welcome distraction. "Oh, I attended the music school at the University of Manehatten!" Blue Note gave him a wide smile. "I grew up here in Canterlot, but Manehatten is where I consider home now. I'm back temporarily for a job." At least she hoped she wouldn't be stuck in Canterlot permanently. Though with the impending doom facing Equestria, she wasn't sure if it mattered much.

"Okay," Blue Note said, breathing a sigh of relief. Nothing was going to go wrong between them. "We're going to be fine. We just have to get through South Pacific without any more incidents. I may be wrong in saying this, but I don't think anypony else will give us something to worry about." Hopefully the mistletoe was just a one off incident, never to occur again. Talking to Sterling made her better about their situation. Though underneath all of relief, a tiny part of her was disappointed. What if they could have become more? But staying best friends was for the best. Nothing was going to go wrong this way.

No pony had commented on Blue Note's presence, which she didn't necessarily mind. She was used to being a face in the crowd, a clarinet in an orchestra. She was skilled at blending in and blending together, never calling too much attention to herself. Perhaps this explained why she hung around at the back of the group, almost separate if not for her decision to stick with them. The night would only become more frightening. Listening to Princess Celestia, safely in the back, terrified her more. Who had a hope of stopping such powers. She could understand the doubts of the ponies put to the task. This was no common foe.

Blue Note was shocked to see Princess Celestia herself on the street. She had lived in Canterlot for years and had never been this close to the monarch. She wanted the group of heroic ponies to follow her. Blue Note was unsure if she was welcome to join, but the darkness was eerie and she did not want to be on the street alone. Walking back home on a normal night could be terrifying. She made an impulsive decision to follow the group. Maybe she could be helpful too.

Blue Note felt a little better getting her feelings out. Sterling looked as confused and unsure as she felt. "I don't know either," she said. "You're my best friend and..." Blue Note had to pick her next words carefully; she didn't want this to go away. "And I hate to lose that to this." She gestured at their costumes and the set of South Pacific. "I've never had a friend like you before, and ponies like you don't come around everyday. The last thing I want to do is ruin it." She looked away from Sterling for a moment, never having showed so much vulnerability. It was freeing in a way, but it was also terrifying.

Blue Note nodded at Sterling Crimson. This wasn't an easy mystery to solve, short of the perpetrator descending upon them and turning them into stone as well. Blue Note shuddered at the thought. It was a possibility though. If even Princess Twilight couldn't stop the magic, what could somepony like her do faced with this threat? She looked uneasily around. Hopefully, somepony would find an answer soon.

@Sterling Crimson "Not just anypony could pull off a spell like that," Blue Note said. "It must have been a really powerful unicorn, or perhaps a creature with some kind of special ability. Would anypony know who would want to get Princess Twilight and her friends out of the way? Why would somepony do this?" Equestrian was in danger; that much was certain. Their strongest defenders were now powerless.

"Ohh..." Blue Note said. The awkwardness reached its critical point for her. She paused a few beats. Sterling was wise not to bring this up immediately. "Well, this will be a good a lesson for her." She couldn't be too mad at Sweetie Belle; she wasn't doing anything out of spite. It still didn't help anything though. Blue Note sighed and decided to do the difficult thing. "This is really awkward for both of us. Isn't it?"

@Steel Accord (@Sterling Crimson I agree. I do, but I'm currently without my laptop and I'm not sure if my iPad can use gchat. We could always use PMing or regular email though.) "It's lovely to meet you all," Blue Note said. It was so surreal that she could remember her manners in such a grave situation. She listened to Sterling Crimson and nodded, remembering that detail of their story. The love story being him and Evening Glory was quite an epic one. She looked at the ponies. "So, have you been sent to handle... this?" The situation was too awful for words. "This is some powerful magic."

@Sterling Crimson Blue Note stood in shocked silence for moment. She was so caught off guard, it took her several seconds to register the red pony talking to her. "I'm Blue Note," she said. "I was working an orchestra event at the castle, but it was called off, so I was going home..." She looked more closely at the pony and realized he looked familiar. All of the ponies did. She saw Princess Clover and it hit her. "You were one of the ponies who defeated Raven."

Blue Note had been enjoying playing Marezart, but yet another interruption had stopped the orchestra. A guard had come into the room and the guests of honor were whisked away. The conductor shook his head as a guard pony whispered something to him. He made an announcement and suddenly everypony around her was packing up. She quickly followed suite. Something strange was going on. As she went out the door, following the other ponies, a sick feeling manifested in the pit of her stomach. It reminded her of walking down the dark streets of Canterlot alone at night as a young pony, except for some reason it was more intense. She quickened her pace out on the street, wanting to get home quickly. But she saw something that stopped her in her tracks. Then heroes of Ponyville had been turned to stone.

Blue Note's curiosity was piqued now. "What, will I be an accessory to their crime if you tell me?" she asked. Maybe some banter would ease the tension. It was a bit odd he wouldn't directly tell her what was going on though. She wondered if things were okay between them and if this awkwardness would disappear after rehearsal.

Blue Note was glad to hear the guard's announcement. As nice as it would be to get paid to sit an watch the Wonderbolts, that was not why she was here. The aroma of the banquet being prepared made her wish she had eaten more before she had left home, or at least had eaten better food. She did not have much time to think about it though. The conductor was signaling for their attention. She could pick something up on her way home. It was time to play some Marezart.

Few things irked Blue Note more than being interrupted. An event was an event though, and no pony around her seemed too bothered. She sat back and looked on at the spectacle. The battle appeared to be some sort of exhibition. She had heard about these sorts of events taking place in Canterlot before, but had never been invited anywhere she could actually watch one.

Blue Note was left standing on the stage by herself. Sterling took off so quickly, and the director called for them to move on. There was nothing to do but move backstage. Dread came over her at the thought of talking to Sterling about this. It was already awkward between them. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom barreled past her. She saw Sterling standing farther away. She moved over to him. "What happened to them?" she asked. She felt unsure entering into this conversation, knowing that its direction might shift from the CMC to something less comfortable.

Blue Note stepped back when she saw something falling from above the stage. "Mistletoe?" she thought. "Why would somepony do that?" It was frustrating, especially since she had a very low tolerance for pranks. "I thought I heard voice from above the stage," she said. "I can't believe the nerve of some ponies." She looked very pointedly at the mistletoe. "Don't they understand that we're trying to do something serious?"

As the moment of the kiss approached, Blue Note felt her character falter a little. This was nerve-wracking. What made it worse was the voices wafting down from the above the stage. "Voices?" Blue Note thought. She looked up and did not see anything there. She hoped the director did not pick up on her moment's pause as she kept going through her lines about politics. Something did not seem right about this though...

Blue Note responded nervously, talking about the song. She was finding it easier to slip into Nellie's character. It was a nice break from herself. She could show Nellie's uncertainty, instead of her own. Her lines came naturally, and she almost forgot who she was.

Blue Note listened intently to Princess Celestia's introduction. There was an accomplished pony. She briefly wondered what it would be like to go an adventure like Princess Clover and her friends had, but pushed the thought away. She could never do that. Besides, the conductor was about to count off. Blue Note took a deep breathe and played the regal entrance music with the rest of the orchestra.

Blue Note smiled as the director gave her strong praise. She stood a little taller. The dancing would come along, but she had the sass down perfectly. She looked over to the backstage and saw Sterling clapping. She sent a smile his way, and turned back to face the director. He was giving instruction to other ponies in the scene. She waited patiently to move onto the next part.

Sass was something Blue Note could do. She usually did not have any problem giving a pony a piece of her mind. As she performed the scene, she just thought about all the ponies that had given her grief the whole semester. She wanted to be done with them all. Her dancing, while not perfect, certainly had attitude. She had to admit to herself that it was fun.

"Looks like I'm on," Blue Note said, hearing the director's call. "We'll have to finish talking after rehearsal." She was glad to be spared of the awkwardness. Hopefully, it was just due to the oddness of playing two ponies in love. She walked out onto the stage, ready to sing. --- Cheesy wondered where he could find a drama teacher. He wasn't sure where to look for one. Perhaps somepony else in the cast could help him out. He mentally went through the ponies in the show with him. Blue Note was out. She couldn't stand him, and he wasn't too keen on spending time with her anyway. Her coltfriend probably wouldn't be any better. Maybe he could ask that pony who was giving him the evil eye earlier... She wanted him to get better, right?

I've never asked anyone out initially. My ex was the one who asked me out. He asked me to go prom with him while we were at a band event together. After we became boyfriend and girlfriend, I did ask him out on dates sometimes. We traded off with the asking, but there usually wasn't any fanfare about it. I did get a little creative when my school had a Sadie Hawkins Dance. I got a box of chocolates and wrote on it asking if he would go with me, and then I put it in the passenger seat of my car, so he'd see it when he got in. I might ask someone out eventually though. I just haven't met anyone I'd be interested in dating yet. I'd probably wait to build a solid friendship first, and see if they had any of the signs of a crush. If so, I'd probably ask them, if they didn't beat me to it.

"Huh?" Blue Note asked. "Oh, it must be hot in here." She could feel her face growing warmer. Somehow she hadn't mastered keeping her blushing under control. She was trying really hard not to think about how cute Sterling was, or how she sort of wished that they were dating. "They certainly keep the heat up during the winter." Technically, it was true... --- Cheesy nodded. Maybe he wouldn't be so terrible. "Well, I guess I'll try some more," he said. He would have some time to look over his lines during the break. If he was really just acting like himself, it couldn't be that hard. Though it might be easier if he had somepony to help him...