Serenade relaxed in his chair, letting the makeup artist do her work on his face. He really didn’t like to have to wear makeup but their group had an image to uphold. As long as he got to sing as he liked, he’d learn to deal with the slight annoyances.

Crash!

He let out a breath, knowing that as soon as he opened his eyes, there’d be something annoying in front of him. Steady Beat probably found some alcohol and crashed into some poor crew member again. He sighed. He wasn’t yet used to his band mates and it was hard to do so when they kept causing trouble. He heard somepony walk over to him. From the weight and speed of the hoofsteps, he could tell is was K.

“What did he do?” He asked, still not opening his eyes.

“Nothing too bad, boss.” K replied, his thick accent making the last sound more like ‘boose’ than ‘boss’. Why he chose to call Serenade that, he couldn’t say. Everyone else called his by his stage name, Chopin. “Steady was just flirting with the opening act and then she-”

“Opening act?” Serenade opened his eyes at that. “I thought this was just us?

“It was supposed to be but apparently they had her set up before we requested the place.” Serenade nodded at this, noting the noise coming from outside their dressing room. “Also, she apparently isn’t pleased about being an opening act.” He could understand that. It must be frustrating but it was life.

“Well, get Steady away from her and sobered up. Just deal with any problems like normal. We have to get ready for the show.” He ordered, knowing K would do as he said. He always did. Minutes later, another crash followed by a shout sounded from outside his door, prompting Serenade out of his chair. Apparently, K was unable to get Steady away from the mare outside. Upon opening the door, he could finally hear the words being shouted at one another.

“-and if you don’t get that perverted bastard away from my dressing room, I’ll knock his teeth down his fucking throat!” The mare shouted, stomping a hoof and glaring up at K. K towered over most ponies but this mare must have been a short thing cause she barely reached his chest.

“As I said, my bud’s just a bit drunk and-”

“That’s no excuse for trying to barge into my dressing room like that.” She interrupted, her short tail swishing with agitation. Serenade tried to keep his eyes off her ass but something about it was familiar. N-not her ass but her tail. She had a rainbow colored tail.

“Y-yeah, but- Boss! Thank Celestia, you’re here.” K sighed with relief. The mare turned to Serenade and the world shimmered with light. For just a second, there was only the mare. Her mane was a rainbow but black in front. Her eyes murky and beautiful blue. The fire in her eyes.

“Rhy!?” Serenade cried, his heart racing at the sight of his foalhood friend. He hadn’t seen her in years and yet she looked… she looked as beautiful as ever, even annoyed as she was. “Rhy, what are you doing here?” He sighed, probably creeping her out with wistful expression. He couldn’t help it when looking at her. For a second, she frowned in confusion just before her smile greeted him and he wanted to die looking at such a sight. Then she said it.

“Seren? Is that really you?” She asked, stepping forward. Serenade chuckled, enjoying that familiar feeling a fullness in his chest when she called to him. She was the only one who called him that. To everypony else, he was Chopin. He was her Seren. Serenade stepped forward, wanting to embrace her but was stopped by her next words. “Wait a sec, did he just call you boss?”

“Hm? Well, yeah, I guess but-” He tried to speak but Epic wouldn’t let him finish.

“So you know these two, then?” She demanded, her face losing its easy smile. Now she looked pissed.

“They’re my bandmates.” He replied, unsure of why she was so mad. “I’m sorry if my companion was bothering you but-”

“Bothering me?! This bastard tried to break into my dressing room!” She snapped, pointing at the near unconscious Steady on K’s back. Of course, he was drunk. “Then this hulking monstrosity insisted on trying to pay me off to stay silent about it.” Serenade’s eyes snapped open at that, turning to K with a glare.

“You tried to do what?!” He snapped, shocking K a bit. Apparently, he wasn’t expecting anger to be his reaction.

“B-but boss, you said to deal with it like normal.” He explained, as if this was a usual thing. Now that he thought about it, anytime Steady caused trouble, no one ever said anything. Was this what K did when he dealt with it? He turned back to Epic, hoping to explain that he hadn’t wanted this but noticed how her expression had darkened.

“Oh, so this is how you deal with ‘problems’ now, Seren?” She growled, looking at him like he was a stranger. “I had hoped getting on the fast lane to fame wouldn’t change you but apparently, the system works fast. Barely half a year in the business and you are already bribing folks to keep quiet about your bandmates little misadventures.” She accused, looking disgusted.

“Rhy, please listen, it’s not like that!” He tried, reaching out to her. She slapped his hoof away, glaring up at him.

“No, you listen!” She snarled, her ears flared back. “You may have the clout to get these big spots now but just you wait! I will be a bigger star than you.” She promised, ignoring the sadness in his eyes. She turned her back on him, walking back to her dressing room. It wasn’t even that far from his. “One day, you and your lackey’s will be the opening act for me… Chopin.”

She slammed the door hard, leaving the three of them standing there. Serenade stood there, staring at the door as his bandmates tried to talk to him. K apologized for causing trouble while Steady insisted that the mare was ‘totally digging him and was playing hard to get’. Serenade wanted to punch them both out but years of patience stayed his hoof. Besides, he couldn’t punch out his bandmates just before a show.

*****

Serenade and Epic Rhyme, meeting once again years after going on their separate paths. Serenade changed his name to Chopin and let his family help him into the music business. While he wanted to be a solo act, his dad insisted that he should be in a group first. Apparently, it helped to get used to working with other ponies in the beginning rather than later down the line. He doesn’t like his bandmates but he respects their talent enough to tolerate them.

Epic, on the other hand, didn’t want any handouts and has had to work her way up. She isn’t as big a star as ‘Chopin’ but she has managed to snag quite a few big venues. She is mostly a solo act and so far, has only done opening acts but she is popular in smaller spheres. Her looks make folks think she’s a small stallion, which results in mares trying to get with her. Her mother insists it’s the rainbow mane, cause she too had to alert others that she was straight very often.

While Epic respects Serenade, she hates that he got a leg up. She knows he’s talented but hates that he’s wasting his time being a pop star. His voice, in her opinion, isn’t boy band suitable. Serenade feels the same about her. She isn’t a rocker, no matter how cute she looks wearing the clothes.

Note: Serenade and Epic have similar cutiemarks because they gained them at the same time. They got their cutiemarks after singing together at a talent show when they were foals. Serenade did’t want to go out but agreed to go as long as Epic was by his side. After that, Serenade decided that he really just wanted to sing with Epic. She, on the other hoof, was very competitive and kept on challenging him. To please her, he chose to let her see him as a rival, though he doesn’t see her that way. So far, their scores are tied.