"Alright," the sound mare said. "We should be all set now. You've got about two hours to rehearse before the other bands show up, so make 'em count." Nightshade headed outside to listen to the rehearsal, and quickly noted that there were over a hundred ponies already by the stage. "What the...? It's too early for... Oh no... tell me he didn't."
Raven noticed all the ponies, panicked a bit, and spotted Night. "Nighty. You said eight. What the *squee!* is going on?!"
In answer to Zeran's question, a dozen stallions wearing Canterlot University sweatshirts walked into the bar and began hollering for beers. Flying over a crowd that was growing by the minute, Nightshade landed beside Raven, just as an enormously fat old Unicorn waddled up. Spotting Nightshade, he grabbed into a tight bearhug, grinning. "How's my favorite stuntmare? What do you think, little girl? Did I pull it off or did I pull it off?" Nightshade, still stunned, blinked in confusion. "Sweet Celestia, Marq! What is all this?" "It's your concert, of course! You said you wanted something that would impress those old bastards at Sunlight Records? Well, this is gonna be HUGE!"
Raven scratched her head, awaiting explanation. She whispered through her teeth to Night, "They're crazy early, girl, and we need to rehearse." Asmo's eyes widened in terror. "By Celesta. College kids."
Marquee Lights, the old Unicorn, laughed. "When you've got ten thousand ponies coming out, you've got to expect a few early birds. Just ignore them and do your rehearsal."
"Alright. Alright, sure. Ten thousand... Holy crap." Raven gathered herself and stood on her hind legs with her guitar. She turned to the band. "Let's get to it, huh?" Asmo leaned a bit closer to Zeran. "I don't think I can play nice with these kids. Gonna be a dick. Help."
Zeran frowned, then shrugged. "you could ban them from entering the bar itself, and have someone bring their drinks to them or something" she said. "otherwise, I've got nothing"
"Jeeze, dear, you must think I've got more authority than I have. I can be such a dick they decide to stay outside. Would that be close enough?"
"I don't think that'd be good for business. hm.... I could take their orders for you to keep you from having to talk to them" she said cheerfully
(Do phones exist in Equestria? They do now!) Blackout served the rowdy stallions their drinks, then walked to the back to make a call. A few minutes later, he returned with a smile on his face. "Problem solved. We've got five beer tents on the way, and a ten percent cut for the venue. That should keep Maya happy, and keep most of the crowd outside." Nightshade patted Raven's shoulder lightly. "Sorry to spring this on you. I really am. Good luck." She led Marq off the stage and left Raven to practice.
"Brilliant idea!" Asmo patted Blackout on the head with a tentacle. "Don't know how you got that much pull, but good work." Raven continued on with her rehearsal.
Blackout shrugged. "I know the mare who runs the Buddy Wise warehouse in Ponyville. It wasn't hard to pull off."
Nightshade walked in with Marquee, looking overwhelmed. "Hey, pones, this is Marq. He organized the concert."
"Hey, Marq. Pleasure." Asmo conjured up a tentacle and extended it, expecting a shake. "Night, would it be dicky if I gave this guy a nickname?"
"Probably, but we both know that's not going to stop you." Marq looked Asmo up and down, and grinned. "You ever thought of doing movies, kid?"
