private Rhapsody in Blue

[Inactive01 5,298]

After Blue Note put on her costume, Sterling couldn't help but smile. Blue Note already looked pretty to him, but now she looked even more amazing. Her outfit reminded him of Applejack and her family. He loved their apples and apple pies whenever they brought them to Manehattan. His parents would buy him their treats every week for dinner Maybe he and Blue Note could cook apple deserts together someday...

 

But Sterling quickly shook off those endearing thoughts. He heard Blue Note ask him about Cheesy, to which he couldn't think of a proper answer to... So he tried to make one up on the fly,

 

"Well, maybe Cheesy has a change of heart? What did he say?" Now that Blue Note mentioned it, Sterling did find it strange that Cheesy was trying to talk to her again, even after Blue Note explicitly asked him to leave her be. What did Cheesy want this time?

[lincolnshirepony 527]

"He just said hi." The words sounded foolish when she said them aloud. She briefly considered if she was overreacting. The memory of that ill-fated party, and the time he confronted her and Sterling, and all those days in freshman composition flashed through her mind, and she decided that she wasn't. "I sent him on his way pretty quickly. I don't know if I buy him having a change of heart." 

[Inactive01 5,298]

Sterling scratched his head when Blue Note said that he only said hi. He was usually a lot more... rampant and childish whenever he came up to Blue Note. What was with the sudden change of speech? And the party... he couldn't forget that! Especially not after what Chemm did to him and what Blue Note said about her experience at the party! Still... the encounter WAS different from past ones.

 

"I hope Cheesy's got a better attitude towards you now. He COULD be starting that since it's been a few months since the incident. But I won't count on it right now." Sterling responded with a nod. Now that Sterling was ready to go in his costume, the director called out for Nellie and Emile enthusiastically.

 

"Places everyone! I need Emile and Nellie here, as well as the foals! We'll be rehearsing the end of Act 1 now!" Sterling heard the director, and beckoned for Blue Note to get ready.

 

"You ready to go Blue Note? Let's show the cast who the best players are!" Sterling replied confidently. For Blue Note to say she enjoyed the musical much more with Sterling in the past, he just had to help Blue Note's spirits up even more as he began trotting towards the stage...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

A small smile appeared one Blue Note's face at the word "best". The idea of being an actor was still foreign to her, and she hoped to never have to take the front and center on stage again. Yet, Nellie and South Pacific had slowly grown on her. Certainly she wasn't better than any of the vocal majors at singing or even acting, but perhaps she really was the best pony suited to playing Nellie.

 

"I'm ready," Blue Note said. 

 

She followed Sterling up to the stage, ready to take her place. Before stepping out, she took a moment to think about Blue Note, second semester freshman at the University of Manehatten. She put that pony away, and let Nellie come through.

[Inactive01 5,298]

(I hope you don't mind me jumping through this scene.)

 

The scene went through relatively smoothly. Sterling's acting finally paid off... but was it really acting? When Nellie ran away from Emile because his two foals were darker skinned, he couldn't help but give a tear when he sobbed through the ending of Act 1. What if Blue Note really did leave him for some small thing he had on him? Perhaps his quirks or his background would have been the turn off Blue Note needed to scurry away... 

 

After the music called for the end of Act 1, the director began with a single word:

 

"Bravo!" The director exclaimed with a smile. He clapped his hooves enthusiastically before trotting to Sterling, 

 

"Sterling, Sterling! You were FANTASTIC! That's exactly the emotion I needed for the end of Act 1!" Sterling looked up after realizing that the act was over. At least he didn't have to realize that sad reality... for now.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Pony On The Shore

[lincolnshirepony 527]

(Nah, I think a faster pace is the right call.)

 

Blue Note felt pleased at her performance; it was probably her best run of the scenes in Act 1 yet. However, she knew that Sterling was the real star of the show. Blue Note agreed with the director; Sterling's acting was fantastic! 

 

After the Act 1 rehearsal, she went up to him. "Wow, Sterling!" Blue Note exclaimed. "That was your best run so far. I didn't realize you could act like that!" Sterling had been improving as much as she had, probably more. "Be careful that the director doesn't try to recruit you to join the theater majors." She flashed him a grin. 

[Inactive01 5,298]

(Alright. I'm gonna begin a scene featuring Erlen and Chemm soon. Feel free to add Cheesy and Ruby again.)

 

Sterling looked up after ending Act 1. Hearing Blue Note's gleeful expressions was enough to get Sterling's attention and divert him from his negative feelings. Sterling nodded happily with a small grin.

 

"Thanks Blue Note. I guess... all the practice paid off huh?" Sterling had to hide the fact he was really worried about Blue Note while singing. And he hopefully did it quite convincingly. He then heard the director ask to take a 5 minute recess before Act 2 was to begin... With that in mind, Sterling had to remind Blue Note about Cheesy...

 

"In Act 2, you're going to be dancing on stage... and Billus is going to chat with you after your wartime show. So yeah. You're going to be with Cheesy for a bit... Just wanted to say." Hopefully Blue Note would still act well even with her scene with Cheesy... He hid the fact about Billus kissing Nellie during Act 2 as to not make Blue Note angry...

 

Hopefully Act 2 would go just as well...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

"Oh, my favorite scene," Blue Note said, sighing. "Well, if he doesn't screw it up, I can probably get through it just fine." She shook her head. "I'm going to get some water before the next act starts." She walked off to get her water bottle, wanting to fill it up before she had to get back on.

 

---

 

"Yo, Ruby Diamond!" Cheesy called across the theater. 

 

Ruby was flipping through the script. She didn't look up as he approached her. "What do you want, Cheesy?"

 

"Hey, I thought we were friends now?" He shot her a dopey grin. 

 

"That's a strong word." She flipped the page.

 

Cheesy was undeterred. She had been helping him ever since the semester started, so he figured he had some kind of an in with her. "Why do you think Blue Note won't talk to me?"

 

Ruby jerked her head up so fast, Cheesy took a step back. Her eyes were wide, and he got the feeling that he'd pushed a button he shouldn't have have.

 

"Because she always has to be better than everyone else! Ugh!" She left the book under the seat and stormed off towards the stage. 

Edited May 20, 2015 by lincolnshirepony

[Inactive01 5,298]

Erlen trotted around the university as the sun began to set on the bustling town of Manehatten. As he passed by the university's auditorium, he could hear Sterling sing his heart out and sounding really sad at that. He must have reached one of the sad parts with Blue Note. It was the only way to explain his seeming sadness at how everything unfolded. He trotted slowly to the auditorium's door and slowly opened it, interested at what Sterling was singing about...

 

All the while, Chemm was trotting around Manehattan looking quite downtrodden... she thought she had gotten over losing Rocky over Christmas, but her glum expression suggested otherwise... She may have been doing well in her classes, but her friends knew that she lost Rocky, and it hurt big time. But when she looked up and turned her head, she saw Erlen peeking through the auditorium door. 

 

"Erlen...?" Chemm turned her head as she saw Erlen peeking through the door. Erlen took no notice of her calling him, so Chemm continued her sarcastic speech,

 

"Look Erlen, if you're going to ignore me, at least don't be a creep about it." Chemm then gave a huff and a puff before she trotted away. Upon realizing what he just heard, Erlen stopped and ran back to Chemm.

 

"Hey Chemm! I'm sorry about that! I was just listening to Sterling on the stage!" Erlen spoke desperately to keep Chemm from being angrier than she already was. He knew about her rocky relationship coming to a halt during Hearth's Warming and he didn't want her any angrier...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

The rehearsal was going well for Blue Note. She and Sterling had good energy, and the performance was really coming together. As she moved off-stage, she tensed up. Cheesy was standing behind the curtain, and she had to walk past him. 

 

"Good job," he whispered. She tersely nodded, not wanting to engage him. In the corner, she spotted Ruby. They made brief eye contact, before Ruby huffed and looked away. Blue Note inwardly sighed, wishing that the director, in his bizarre casting, had picked any other two ponies.

[Inactive01 5,298]

Chemm huffed after Erlen apologized to her about not hearing her. He tried his best to explain himself and how he was so absorbed by Sterling's performance, but Chemm didn't want any of it. Remembering that Sterling was part of the production, she merely huffed again before Erlen asked apprehensively,

 

"Chemm... what's your beef on Sterling? You know I'm friends with him, and he's a nice stallion! All you had to do was-"

 

"Erlen just stop! Don't mention that name again in front of me. I bet he'll just gloat at how he's got a marefriend now when I just lost my coltfriend!" Chemm sighed after interjecting at Erlen like that. Erlen could only give a confused look before Chemm trotted away angrily. Erlen shook his head... If only Chemm lightened up for once... that alone could have saved their relationship...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blue Note felt very uncomfortable standing next to Cheesy. 

 

"Blue Note," he whispered after a few minutes had passed. She continued to watch the ponies on stage, staring straight ahead. "Blue Note," he whispered again. She had to notice that he used her full name this time. Bizarre. 

 

"Hey, what's up with Ruby?" He tapped her on the shoulder. Blue Note jumped at his touch and moved several steps to the side, away from him. She gave him a glare and a curt reply, "Don't touch me, ever." 

 

Cheesy's eyes widened, and his mouth formed a frown. "Sorry, I won't do that again."

 

"Good," Blue Note said, still glaring. "And shut up while you're at it." 

[Inactive01 5,298]

Erlen continued to trot around the auditorium, looking for a way to get inside. It was the best way for him to stop thinking about Chemm’s depressing demeanour as she continued to wallow about losing her coltfriend Rocky. Erlen eventually found a small little door which led backstage… While taking a quick peek for Sterling, he overheard Sterling’s voice with another filly… The conversation seemed cute enough, but when he could hear mentions of Sterling being in love, Erlen could only chuckle. Erlen continued to eavesdrop, clearly enthused by the conversation Sterling was having…

--------

 

“Wow! You were great out there Sterling! You’re a natural Emile! So mature, strong, and… emotional!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. Sweetie Belle had trotted up to Sterling while he took a quite stroll around the backstage, waiting for Emile to come back on the stage.

 

“Well… thanks!” Sterling replied with a chuckle. “I’m not normally known for my acting abilities… I guess I just acted my heart out!” Already Sterling began to feel awkward at the direction the conversation was turning. Sweetie Belle was a very cute filly, but he always wondered why romance kept popping up in his head in most conversations nowadays…

 

“Well Sterling, with that performance, I’m sure that you and Blue Note really DO have the thing for each other. I’ve never seen such an emotional response after a fictional breakup after all.” Sweetie giggled naughtily as Sterling blushed furiously. He could only stand there, wondering why it was so obvious he liked Blue Note to most ponies, as Sweetie Belle hopped away with another laugh.  

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blessedly, Cheesy left her alone. Blue Note had to go out for her break-up scene, anyway. Trying to imagine herself in Nellie's place was difficult, but she managed. She'd never broken up with anypony before, so she could only assume what it would feel like. Being in a committed relationship was very foreign to her, much less the idea of leaving one. She did know a thing or two about leaving other things behind, though. 

[Inactive01 5,298]

Sweetie Belle jumped away with a gleeful giggle, realizing that she just made Sterling blush and chuckle awkwardly. He was simply too cute whenever Blue Note ever popped up in a conversation. 

 

----

 

Sterling could only stand where he was, wondering what Sweetie Belle was up to with all her romantic fantasies of him and Blue Note. Did she have a point? Was Sweetie Belle's seemingly childish speech more meaningful than he thought? All these questions kept swirling in his mind before Erlen jumped out at Sterling from the back,

 

"Hey Sterling!" Erlen shouted as Sterling jumped and fell onto the floor, confused at the scream he just heard...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Ruby and several of the cast ponies turned their head towards towards the source of the scream. Something had to have gone wrong; nopony would dare scream backstage without a good reason. But not, it was just Sterling passed out on the ground with some unfamiliar pony standing over him. He wasn't even a member of the cast. She sauntered over to him, holding her nose up like something was rotten. 

 

"Excuse me," she whispered fiercely. "This is a serious rehearsal. We are serious performers. You need to leave. Now." She dramatically extended her hoof towards the door. 

[Inactive01 5,298]

Sterling was just about to get up and wave hello to Erlen, when the familiar red mare came around and harshly told Erlen off. Sterling wanted to let him stay for just a moment to say hi, but with Ruby around, he didn't have much of a choice.

 

Erlen took a quick glance at Sterling, noticing his motion to leave the room. He didn't want to do it, but it was Ruby he had to face up against... Erlen understood the signal, although he was disappointed at not being able to talk to Sterling right away. Erlen trotted away quietly, wondering just who that red mare was who told him off... All he knew was that he didn't want to mess with that mare at all...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

As soon as the green pony was on his way, Ruby looked down at Sterling. "Tell your friends that they can't come backstage whenever they want." She turned around to focus back on the performance; it would be her time to go on soon. 

 

---

 

Cheesy had turned away from the performance to focus on the drama backstage. He didn't get what Ruby was so upset about. Yeah, getting distracted by somepony screaming backstage was hard, but it was just something to roll with. When the green pony passed by him, he whispered "Don't take her too seriously."

[Inactive01 5,298]

Sterling grunted heavily when Ruby scoffed at one of his closest friends giving him a happy greeting. He couldn't stand her terrible attitude and wished he had a chance to humble Ruby for once. There wasn't anything wrong with Erlen coming by just to say hi when he was on his break. But the scene between Cheesy and Blue Note was just ending, and it was time to Sterling to become a sad Emile, singing about losing his Nellie...

 

----

 

Erlen trotted away from the auditorium, struggling to wonder why there was such a mean mare in the play. Must have been one of the snobby actresses the common pony would always talk about every now and then. Just as he continued on his way, he heard a pony whispering to him about not taking Ruby too seriously... who was that pony? Erlen turned around and saw a yellow pegasus... He didn't seem familiar, but he was nice enough to say that to him.

 

"Umm...  thanks I guess." Erlen spoke, wondering why that pony in particular would tell him something like that. "Ummm... the name's Erlen by the way." Erlen introduced himself, thinking that he was a nice pony...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

"Yeah, no problem man," Cheesy said. "Name's Cheesy. Anyway, Ruby gets wound up real easy, so you've just gotta roll with it. Her bark is way worse than her bite. If you don't let what she says bother you, she's not so bad." Ruby had pretty much insulted him through all their practice sessions, but she'd helped him out a lot. Not taking ponies seriously had gotten him into plenty of trouble before, but sometimes it came in handy.  

[Inactive01 5,298]

Erlen nodded at what Cheesy had to say. He sounded like one of those punks Sterling would mention every now and then. In fact, he was probably the same Cheesy who Sterling rambled out every now and then. Still, Cheesy sounded like a nice guy... something for Erlen to tell Sterling about once he was done his rehearsal!

 

"Thanks for the advice. I'll be sure to remember that as I go my merry way. Have a good one!" Erlen then trotted back to his dorm, hoping that he could talk to Sterling after his rehearsal was done.

[lincolnshirepony 527]

"Take care, man," Cheesy said as Erlen made his exit. He glanced over at Ruby. Thankfully, her attention was elsewhere.

 

He quickly looked to the other side of the room, so Ruby wouldn't turn around and see him staring. He glanced across the room, barely registering the theater ponies around him. His eyes only stopped moving when a particular blue mare came into his line of sight. Blue Note was cute, with her ever changing mane-style and violet eyes and light blue fur. He quickly looked down; she hated him for sure, and he didn't want to get caught staring. Her icy attitude towards him wasn't thawing anytime soon, and Cheesy was only now starting to realize it. 

[Inactive01 5,298]

While Erlen was finishing up his brief encounter with Cheesy, Sterling was busy being a very sad Emile, one saddened deeply at the loss of his fiancee... and all because of his foals and his first wife not being of Equestrian background... "This was Nearly Mine..." Even now, he could imagine dancing with Blue Note and the vision of it leaving him as soon as the dance was set to begin... All of it was gone... He kept singing while The Director just sat on his chair, motionless... As he watched, he knew that he chose the right couple to be Emile and Nellie...