Here's chapter twelve! I can't believe I forgot to publish it here as soon as it was done, but there you go.
Sub-Volume 1 - Silly Love Songs
Chapter 12 - Maybe I'm Amazed (McCartney, 1970)
Written by Zack Wanzer, James Riddle, Rachel/TobyandMavisforever and Mike Nicholson
FEBRUARY 14, 2014
That Friday was going to be a big day for the Rainbooms; the six girls were going to perform their first ever show to an audience, and the gymnasium of Canterlot High School seemed like a good way to start off.
Not only that, but today was a shorter day at Canterlot High. Second and fourth period classes were back to back, followed by brunch period, and then sixth period classes before everyone went home early.
"Man, I wish all school days could be this short," said Rainbow Dash.
"Sounds ta me ya'd want that just so ya'll can lay about drinkin' apple cider and readin' dem Daring Do books," smirked Applejack.
"That's not true!" protested Rainbow Dash.
"She's just teasing, Dashie," said Pinkie Pie.
"No need to get angry over a tease," said Sunset, trying to prevent a fight. "Anyway, aren't you excited about our first ever show to a live audience?"
"Oh, I don't know," said Fluttershy. "The idea of playing in front of the live audience almost kind of makes me want to throw up..."
"I'm sure you'll do fine, cous," said Song Cue.
"Y-you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure," smiled Song Cue. Fluttershy felt rather better hearing this.
It was six-thirty in the evening at Canterlot High. One of the first couples to arrive was Micro Chips and Sandalwood. Both boys smiled at each other as they entered the school arm in arm.
"Can you believe it?" asked Micro Chips. "Today's been our first ever Valentine's Day together."
"Far out," said Sandalwood. They soon spotted another familiar couple.
"It's Comet Tail and Song Cue," said Micro Chips.
"Oh, hey there, guys," said Comet. "How's it going?"
"We've been pretty chill," said Sandalwood.
"That's good to hear," smiled Song Cue. The next couple to come in was Pinkie Pie and Thunderbass.
"You and Pinkie a thing?" asked Comet. "How'd that work out?"
"I wasn't sure about us being together at first," Thunderbass admitted, "but she was too fun loving to ignore. Plus have you seen how adorable she is?"
"Well, Pinkie does have her moments when she acts really adorable," Song Cue admitted. Pinkie Pie just giggled.
"Aw, shucks," she said. "And my Thundy here has a great sense of humor." She then got on her toes and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek, close to his lips.
"That's Pinkie for you," chuckled Song Cue.
"You can never guess her next move," added Comet Tail. Thunderbass didn't reply, but he blushed red.
"I wonder who else is coming," said Comet to himself.
"Well, I heard from the grapevine that Sandbar's got himself a date," said Thunderbass. "Or at least, it's what I heard..."
"Aww, Sandbar's seeing if he wants to be in a romance?" smiled Pinkie. "How sweet!"
"Not exactly," said Comet. "From what Vincent says, Sandbar and Blossomforth are going as friends."
"Well, all three of them have a point," said Song Cue. "Valentine's Day can be about a close friendship too." At that moment, Sunset came running up to the group, looking rather anxious.
"Sunset!" cried Pinkie. "What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"No, it's not that," said Sunset. "I'm calling the girls for an emergency meeting."
"Okay," said Pinkie.
"Could we go too?" asked Comet.
"I wish I could bring you," said Sunset. "But it's just the band members, you understand."
"Of course," said Song Cue.
"Sorry about interrupting your date, Thunderbass," said Sunset, "but I'll try not to take too long."
"I'm cool with it," shrugged Thunderbass.
The Rainbooms met up in one of the empty classrooms.
"So what's the problem?" asked Rarity.
"I don't want to cause any alarm," said Sunset, "but my mother said our show will be ninety minutes long rather than an hour like we first thought." The rest of the Rainbooms gasped.
"That means our song list is too short!" protested Rainbow Dash. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?!"
"I didn't know about it beforehand," insisted Sunset. "We'll just have to add a few more songs to fill in that time, or space them farther apart."
"But our show starts at seven," said Applejack. "Ah don't think we got time to rehearse."
"What are we going to do?" asked Fluttershy.
"Here's a thought," Sunset suggested. "Between each song, we do a sort of Question and Answers thing."
"A Q&A?" asked Rarity.
"That sounds like a fun idea!" cheered Pinkie Pie.
"But it might go beyond our scheduled runtime," said Rainbow Dash. "What about between sets? We've got two electric sets, an acoustic set, and our encore." She then pulled out a folded piece of paper from her pocket and unfolded it to reveal their setlist. The first electric set consisted of eight songs, the acoustic set five, the second electric set six, and the encore two.
"That could work," said Sunset.
"Shall we go back out?" asked Pinkie.
"Eeyup." With that, the Rainbooms made their way back to the party.
Back at the party, Sombra had also arrived.
"Heavens," he said. "This school has changed so much since I last saw it." As he was admiring the scenery, a familiar face came across him.
"Sombra!" cried Celestia happily. She raced over and embraced her husband. "It's not every day you come to my workplace, dear."
"I felt that today would be a fitting surprise," smiled Sombra, bringing out a rose for his wife.
"Oh, you," Celestia giggled, taking the rose. She then brought her husband closer for a kiss.
"Is that you, Sombra?" came a voice. The two adults looked over and saw Novo.
"Hello again, Novo." The two friends greeted each other in a hug.
"Who's that, mom?" came a voice. Novo looked back and saw Skystar coming up. She was wearing a dress that was ocean-themed.
"Sombra," said Novo, "this is my daughter, Skystar."
"Pleasure to meet you," greeted Sombra politely.
"How do you know my mom?" asked Skystar.
"She was a classmate of mine when I was in school," explained Sombra. "She was also one of Celestia's friends. And Celestia also happens to be my wife."
When Skystar heard this, her eyes lit up.
"Oh my gosh!" she squealed in excitement. "Our principal got married!"
"We got married almost twenty years ago," explained Celestia.
"How come she didn't mention you to us sooner?" asked Skystar.
"It's... rather complicated to explain," sighed Sombra.
Meanwhile, the Rainbooms were setting up their equipment onstage. The curtain that was facing the audience was closed, which was a good thing as they didn't want to be seen fiddling around with their equipment. Fluttershy was clutching onto her tambourine with an empty bucket nearby.
"What's with the bucket?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"In case I get sick," was Fluttershy's response.
"Do you really need that bucket?"
"You'll be fine, darling," said Rarity. Just then, Celestia poked her head in.
"You're on in a minute," she said.
"Copy that, boss," said Rainbow Dash.
"She's our principal, and my mother," said Sunset. "You don't have to call her 'boss'."
"I know, but I thought it would be cooler that way."
Meanwhile, Celestia stepped up to the front of the stage.
"Thank you everyone for coming to the Canterlot High Valentine's Formal," she greeted to the crowd. "Now, I've a big announcement to make. For your entertainment tonight, we have something special scheduled to rock your world."
The crowd murmured amongst themselves, wondering where the principal was coming from.
"This evening," continued Celestia, "I'd like to present our school's local rock band... the Rainbooms!"
As Celestia exited to stage right, there was the sound of the drum beating, and then the curtains opened to reveal six silhouettes.
"We used to fight with each other
But then we learned to recover
You know our friendship is real
When you just say what ya feel
And the music, yeah, the music gets us to the top
As we learn how the rainbow, Rainbow Rocks!"
The stage lights then turned on, revealing the Rainbooms in their full glory. The crowd cheered loudly when they saw them for the first time. This was going to be a night they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
"You can pick up the bass," Applejack sang.
"And you can play the guitar," added Rainbow Dash.
"You can bang on the drums," sang Pinkie Pie.
"Or you can sing like a star," Sunset sang, before singing with the others:
"And the music, yeah, the music gets us to the top
As we learn how the rainbow, Rainbow Rocks!
As we learn how the rainbow, Rainbow Rocks!"
The crowd was cheering as the song drew to a close, and then the Rainbooms followed up on the ensemble songs "Shake Your Tail" and "Dance Magic" before addressing the crowd.
"Good evening, Canterlot High!" Rainbow Dash spoke into the microphone. "We're all glad to see you out here tonight."
"Yeah!" added Pinkie. "Performing together is such an amazing experience, especially if it makes everyone happy while we do it!" There was a video camera filming the band; Sunset had earlier asked Indigo Wreath to set it up so they could document their first ever performance.
"This has certainly been exciting," Sunset commented. "Writing each of the songs was a lot of work, but it's worth it in the end."
"And it ain't just our own originals we're playin' fer y'all tonight," said Applejack. "We're playin' some of our favorite tunes from some of our influences. Ah reckon a few of y'all will recognize this next number. One, two, three, four!"
Then the band began to play the opening notes to "I Won't Back Down". Some of the students cheered when they recognized the opening notes, and even more cheered when Rainbow Dash sang the lyrics. Applejack and Sunset provided the harmony vocals during the chorus. Following that was "Perfect Day for Fun", sung by all six, and when it was finished, Sunset put down her guitar and sat down at the piano. Rarity gave a nod to her in approval and the others quickly got ready.
"This next number of ours," said Sunset, "it's dedicated to a very special friend of mine. This person never gave up on me during my darkest days and now, I'm happy to say that I'm dating that person." Some of the faces in the crowd glanced knowingly at each other at Sunset's comment. She then began to play the first notes to "My Past is Not Today" and sung into the microphone.
"Freedom was all I desired
But all that grew within my heart was a darkness I acquired
When I began to fall and I lost the path ahead
That's when your friendship found me and it lifted me instead
Like a phoenix burning bright in the sky
I'll show there's another side to me you can't deny
I may not know what the future holds, but hear me when I say
That my past does not define me, 'cause my past is not today..."
At that point, Pinkie and Applejack joined in on the song on drums and bass, respectively.
"Resistance is what I believed
Would be the only way to set me free
But then my barriers fell, and I found myself all lost
That's when you came to help me, and protect me at any cost..."
Then the song began to pick up energy as Rainbow Dash joined in on guitar.
"Like a phoenix burning bright in the sky
I'll show there's another side to me you can't deny
I may not know what the future holds, but hear me when I say
That my past does not define me, 'cause my past is not today..."
And then Rainbow Dash performed the emotional guitar solo set to the tune of the first two verses, before there was a repeat of the chorus to draw the song to a close:
"Like a phoenix burning bright in the sky
I'll show there's another side to me you can't deny
I may not know what the future holds, but hear me when I say
That my past does not define me, 'cause my past is not...
My past is not today!"
The crowd cheered wildly as the song drew to a close. Sunset then returned the piano to Rarity, and as soon as the crowd's cheering died down, she began to perform "Art of the Dress", promptly followed by Pinkie's "Smile Song".
"While we're setting up our next set," said Rarity, "we'd be happy to answer some questions you have for us."
It was a girl called Amethyst Star who asked the first question. "How did you guys first meet?"
"Fluttershy, Sunset and I all met back in elementary school," said Rainbow Dash.
"Wow, elementary school?!" grinned Amethyst. "That's so cool!"
"Yeah, Rainbow Dash and I," said Sunset, "we've more or less known one another the longest. We met with Applejack and Rarity when we first entered high school, and then we introduced them to Fluttershy when she first joined. I was also the first of us to meet Pinkie at her workplace in Sugarcube Corner, and that was months before she started attending Canterlot High."
"Wow, I didn't know it took that long to meet everyone," called a student from further back.
"Yeah, it's hard to imagine," agreed Sunset. "Last year was the only school year that all of us were attending at the same time."
Twinkleshine raised her hand for another question. "What gave you the idea to form a band?"
"Well," said Applejack, "we all had an interest in music and wanted to share it with the school."
"Coming up with a name was difficult," added Rainbow Dash. "One idea was the Girls of Canterlot, but it seemed too long. Then we tried Rainbow Power, but that was too girly. Canterlot Pony was also a no go, but then one night, I had that dream where some random woman - I forget what she was called - said that our band was destined to be the Sonic Rainbooms."
"Why isn't 'Sonic' part of the name?" asked an audience member.
"Nothing to do with blue hedgehogs running at super speeds," said Rainbow Dash, "but simply calling ourselves the Rainbooms seemed catchier."
After a few more questions, it was time for the acoustic set. It began with Sunset and Rarity's duet on "Space Oddity", followed up by the latter's duet with Fluttershy on the "Music in the Treetops/Find the Music in You" medley. Applejack's "Raise This Barn" came next, followed by Fluttershy's cover of "Mr. Tambourine Man" before the set ended with Sunset singing "A Friend for Life". Their next set of questions whilst setting up for their second electric set was about which songs they picked and why.
Lemon Hearts spoke up for the first question. "What made you choose to cover 'Mr. Tambourine Man' and 'I Won't Back Down'?"
"Ah guess it was the folk musician in me," Applejack admitted. "Ah'm a big fan of the Heartbreakers, but 'Won't Back Down' didn't exactly fit mah vocal style, so I asked Dash here to perform it instead."
"And... and we're all fans of Bob Dylan in one way or another," said Fluttershy. "He was a music pioneer, after all."
"You're not the only ones," called Moon Dancer with a smile. "They were amazing covers, girls."
"I especially loved how you did 'Space Oddity'," added Twilight. "One of my favorites."
Another audience member asked, "What song was the hardest one for you guys to write?"
"It was probably the medley Rarity and I composed," said Fluttershy. "I didn't have much material on me."
"You did great though, cous," smiled Song Cue. "Singing does run in the family."
"I'll say," said Comet. Fluttershy smiled at this.
"Honestly, both of the songs Ah wrote were tricky ta write," said Applejack. "It ain't like bakin' an apple pie or somethin' lak that."
"But you've only performed one of your compositions," an audience member pointed out.
"Yer right there," said Applejack, "but mah other one's in the next set."
Some of the other audience members nodded in understanding. One of the younger members, who looked to be in the same age group as Sandbar, raised her hand excitedly. "Which one was the most fun to write? I'm sure you had fun writing them all, but there has to be one that was most fun to write behind the scenes, yes?"
"There are a few that stand out indeed, Silverstream," said Sunset. "I really like 'Shake Your Tail'. It was all written by Dash, but we turned it into a group song."
"Yeah, and 'Perfect Day for Fun' was... well, fun," added Pinkie.
"I really enjoyed the group songs a lot," smiled Ocellus.
"Yeah, me too," said Rainbow Dash.
A few more questions later, the Rainbooms were onto their second electric set, beginning with an ensemble effort on "Time to Come Together", followed by Applejack's cover vocal on "Jailhouse Rock" and Rarity's "Generosity". Pinkie's cover of "Yellow Submarine" was next before being followed by the whole band singing "Shine Like Rainbows" and "A True, True Friend", the latter of which was an audience participation song. The crowd was cheering loudly as the song drew to a close.
"Well done, everyone," said Fluttershy. "Lovely voices."
"Now, before we get to our last few songs," said Sunset, "we're gonna answer a few more questions."
"What artists inspired you the most?" asked Smolder.
"We already mentioned Bob Dylan," said Applejack, "and Ah said earlier that Ah laked the Heartbreakers. Tom Petty's a real songwritin' genius. Plus he looks good wearin' a hat."
"I really love listening to David Bowie and Queen," said Rarity. "It's their musical style and variety that I find appealing."
"I'm more into the hard rock territory," said Rainbow Dash. "Y'know, like The Who, AC/DC, Elvis Costello, you name it."
"Drummers are really underrated," said Pinkie. "They don't get enough focus like Keith, Ringo, Ginger, John, Dave, et cetera."
"Unless you're Phil Collins," called Math Equation, and everyone laughed.
"And by John, she means the dude who played for Led Zeppelin," said Rainbow Dash.
"That's lot of inspiration," Yona called. "Yona think you outdid yourselves."
"That they have," said Gallus.
"Did any friends inspire you?" asked another crowd member.
"My family did," said Fluttershy. "Like my cousin Song Cue said, music runs in our family."
"Vincent definitely inspired me," said Sunset. "I even wrote 'My Past is Not Today' inspired by the hell I was put through."
"'Generosity' was inspired by a summer trip my family took to New York a few years ago," said Rarity. "Once you go there, it never leaves your memory."
A few more questions followed before there came the final question of the day; "Will you guys make more music in the future?"
"We'll see," said Rainbow Dash. "We haven't much planned for a second album, but then again, you never know."
"That's understandable," said Sandbar.
"Well, we'd like to say thank you all for your questions for the evening," said Sunset as she once again sat by the piano, "and especially for coming here to see us. But don't forget this when you head home tonight..."
She then started to play the piano, leading the band into playing "Friendship Through the Ages".
"Wow..." gushed Orange Sherbet. "This song's probably the best of the bunch."
"Seems fitting that they end strong," agreed Blossomforth.
As the song played, Trixie felt someone taking hold of her hand. She looked over and saw that it was none other than Cherry Crash. Both girls were now blushing. Before Trixie knew it, Cherry Crash had kissed her right on the lips. Trixie's face blushed so red, one would think she had eaten a ghost pepper.
"S-s-so," she finally managed to say, "you have any plans for winter break?"
In another part of the gym, Celestia and Sombra were talking about other changes to the school over a glass of punch.
"So, has there been any other major things going on?" asked Sombra.
"A lot," said Celestia. "For a time, I was an English teacher whilst Abacus Cinch was principal. You remember her, right?"
"Oh yeah," said Sombra. "Always a stick in the mud, she was."
"But she got worse," said Celestia. "She practically used medieval punishment on students when they misbehaved or did even something she thought was wrong. Many of us feared her, but I reported her to the superintendent and Abacus was given the pink slip."
"Pink slip?" asked Skystar. "How would a brightly colored piece of paper help?"
"She meant that our former principal was fired," said Novo. "After the fearsome reputation CHS got, Celestia did everything she could to make it a friendlier environment."
"Oh, that's a relief!" Skystar smiled. "I'm so glad my cousins Silverstream and Terramar don't have to go to school with that huffy know it all in charge."
"Though, what did come of Abacus since she was fired?" asked Sombra.
"Last I heard, she went into politics instead," said Celestia. "Not sure what she's planning at this point."
"Politics?" Novo sounded nervous. "Let's hope that doesn't lead to anything rash."
"Let's hope not," said Celestia.
The Rainbooms were now finishing up "Friendship Through the Ages", and the audience was applauding the performance. There was even more as they began their performance of "Bohemian Rhapsody". All six girls performed the a cappella introduction, followed by Rarity and Sunset each singing a verse in the ballad section. All six then performed the operatic section, occasionally alternating vocal solos. Rainbow Dash then sang the rock section before Rarity sang the closing verse, followed by Pinkie banging the cymbal to bring the song to a close. All six then walked up the stage and bowed before the crowd, now cheering the loudest they have all night.
The Rainbooms then exited stage right and Rainbow Dash looked at the time on her phone - 8:24 in the evening.
"8:24?!" Rainbow Dash nearly dropped her phone in shock.
"What's wrong, Rainbow?" asked Pinkie.
"We're supposed to end at 8:30, but we're about five minutes ahead of schedule!"
"Well, what're we gonna do now?" asked Applejack. None of them noticed Sunset returning to the stage.
"Okay, uh... we need one more song real quick," said Fluttershy. "Do you girls have any ideas? I don't have any..."
"I've got... nothing," said Rarity.
"I don't have any either," said Pinkie.
"Nope, nuthin'," said Applejack.
Rainbow Dash groaned. "What're we gonna do now?!" Before a full-blown freak out could commence, the five girls then heard the sound of the piano playing, followed by the audience cheering, and then came Sunset's voice:
"Maybe I'm amazed at the way you love me all the time
Maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you..."
The five girls just stared in awe. Pinkie quickly went over to play the drums, and the other Rainbooms followed to play their respective isntruments, with Rarity taking over for Sunset on rhythm guitar.
"Maybe I'm amazed at the the way you pulled me out of time," sang Sunset.
"And hung me on a line
Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you
Maybe I'm a girl and maybe I'm a lonely girl
Who's in the middle of something
That she doesn't really understand
Maybe I'm a girl and maybe you're the only man
Who could ever help me
Baby, won't you help me understand?"
Rainbow Dash then followed up with a soaring, emotional guitar solo. The crowd was now on their feet in excitement, even if this was a spur of the moment performance.
"Maybe I'm a girl and maybe I'm a lonely girl
Who's in the middle of something
That she doesn't really understand
Baby, I'm a girl and maybe you're the only man
Who could ever help me
Baby, won't you help me understand?
Baby, I'm amazed at the way you're with me all the time
Maybe I'm afraid of the way I leave you
Baby, I'm amazed at the way you help me sing my song
Right me when I'm wrong
Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you..."
Then Sunset played a piano solo whilst she vocalized. After that, she slowed to a stop. There was some applause when suddenly, Sunset started up again, aided by Rainbow Dash whilst she played her second guitar solo.
"Maybe I'm a girl and maybe I'm a lonely girl
Who's in the middle of something
That she doesn't really understand
Baby, I'm a girl and maybe you're the only man
Who could ever help me
Baby, won't you help me understand?
Oh, maybe I'm amazed, maybe I'm amazed
Yeah, maybe I'm amazed, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, maybe I'm amazed, I'm amazed with you..."
"That was... beautiful..." Ocellus whispered.
"Now that's a show closer if I ever heard of one!" remarked Orange Sherbet. The audience was cheering loudly as the band bowed once more before them.
"That's a rap, folks!" grinned Rainbow Dash. "I hope you all have a good rest of the night."
"Thanks fer savin' our hides there, Sunset," said Applejack.
"I wonder if quick thinking runs in my family," Sunset grinned.
"That was such an amazing show!" Vincent cried in excitement. He ran up to Sunset and gave his girlfriend a big hug.
"Aw, thanks, Vinnie." Sunset hugged him back, just as Song Cue and Orange Sherbet rushed over to Fluttershy.
"Wonderful singing, cous!" Both twins hugged their shy cousin tight. Fluttershy blushed modestly.
Thunderbass ran over and almost glomped Pinkie Pie. "That was awesome singing!" In fact, for the rest of the Formal, the Rainbooms were given more praise than they knew what to do with.
"You girls up for hanging out tomorrow?" asked Rainbow Dash. "If you got the time, of course."
"Of course, darling," said Rarity.
"How about at Sugarcube Corner?" suggested Pinkie Pie.
"I'm up for it if we can each bring a plus one with us," said Sunset.
"That's a great idea!" grinned Pinkie.
"I think I've got someone in mind," said Rarity.
"It could be fun," said Fluttershy. "Though... I don't know who to bring as a plus one."
"Just as long as it isn't your brother," sighed Rainbow Dash.
"Don't remind us," said Applejack. The remaining friends just laughed at the comment.
