Chapter 5: Working Man's Blues (The Devil Makes Three)

The two pegasi searched for nearly an hour before they found a suitably cheap motel that wasn’t more than a twenty minute walk from the bar -- much less time to fly, of course, but it was difficult for either of them to fly considering all the gear they carried. They’d taken most of their bags and equipment all up to the tiny room, shoving the various cases and tattered bags along the walls to leave them as much space as possible. They’d shared a surprisingly brief shower together before passing out on the bed, not even bothering to completely dry off. It was unusual for the feminine stallion to be so exhausted despite the day not having been overly active, at least by his standards. They nevertheless napped for almost three hours before – unexpectedly – Riffraff stirred first and slowly rolled onto his stomach with a mumble. He looked blearily at the bedside clock before sighing and slapping quietly at the smaller male curled up against him. “C’mon, Grace, up-up-up. We gotta be there in an hour or so.”

The slender pegasus gave a muffled response against his side, shoving his muzzle firmly against his ribs. Riff smiled slightly despite himself, shaking his head and quietly elbowing his companion’s taut stomach before flapping his wings a few times to slap gently at Graceful’s features. He eased off the bed as the other stallion mumbled childishly and reached out for him. When his hoof met only air, he fumbled around blindly before finding one of the cheap pillows and hugging that to his chest instead. Riffraff rolled his eyes and lightly kicked the bed frame with a rear hoof before glancing at himself in the mirror through the broken bathroom door. “You can’t be all that tired, it was only a nap. So get up, if we’re late for the first night, we may not get another chance.” He grimaced at his reflection, tilting his head from side to side and checking for any splotches of red among the dark grey of his irises.

Graceful mumbled quietly again but eventually sat up with a sigh, still hugging the pillow childishly against his chest. “Riff, I wanna dress up.”

His companion sighed and looked over his shoulder. “I know you do. But...unless you’re dressing up in like. A bow-tie and a plain shirt, it sounds like we’re gonna get yelled at.” As the slender pegasus continued to glare at him, the larger male turned around and then looked at his partner with a helpless expression. “I don’t know what else to say, Grace. C’mon, please just...mature a little bit. We’re trying to make a living, not play Dress-Up and House.”

Graceful Melody lowered his pierced ears, letting the pillow fall to the side as he looked visibly stung by the comment. But Riffraff ignored him and began to pick through their stacked luggage to dig out his back-up guitar strings and the portable effects pedal he used in line with whatever amplifier system provided his instrument’s sound. The slender male punched the pillow immaturely a few times before slumping forward and letting himself slide from the mattress and onto his hooves. He picked silently at the ratty carpet before mumbling, “Should I get my microphone or anything else? Or am I just using the crappy one your new best friend has on stage?”

The muscular stallion closed his eyes and grit his teeth, still facing away before he forced himself to calm his nerves somewhat. “It...let’s just use the one up there tonight. If it doesn’t sound good enough, we’ll bring yours next time, okay?” He glanced down at the bags shoved against the wall, eyes catching a sliver of silvery-blue fabric. He smiled faintly and tossed his spare strings to the side before grasping the soft material. “Here, how...how about you wear this, Grace?” He quickly wound the long piece of wool around his hooves a few times before flicking it as a loose bundle to the other pegasus.

Graceful looked up in surprise and then caught the light streamer of fabric before smiling despite himself, gazing down at the grey-and-cyan scarf. Riffraff had gotten it for him a year ago on their unofficial anniversary, though he hadn’t taken it out in months. He nodded quietly and wrapped it around his neck a few times, letting one end dangle almost to his front hooves, the soft wool brushing against his tattooed foreleg. “Thanks, Riffy,” he murmured, blushing somewhat. “Sorry.”

The other male smiled slightly again, pulling out the effects pedal and then quickly tossing it and the extra strings into a small knapsack that he slid around his neck and under one leg. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I...know this is tough. I don’t wanna fight, but...maybe it won’t be as awful as we think, right?” He met the slender stallion’s eyes for a moment, sharing a reassuring gaze. “Let’s just get out there and get through the night. It might even been enjoyable. We’ve met a few real nice pianists, after all.”

“Yeah, but everypony makes this guy sound like a real douche,” Graceful replied, sliding the guitar case across the carpet to the crimson stallion.

“Everypony was only two ponies,” he reminded gently. “You’re the one who always told me not to judge a book by its cover.”

Graceful Melody stuck his tongue out impishly. “Yeah, well. Dumb drunk ponies who DO judge this book by its cover are usually the only reason I get so much action.”

Riffraff snorted quietly, shaking his head amusedly. “You really are a dirty little pony, Gracie. Alright.” He slung the guitar around his shoulder and then jerked a hoof toward the door. “Let’s get movin’.”

The two pegasi hooked themselves up to the cart and made it to the bar with twenty minutes to spare – it gave them just enough time to find a spot in the alley behind the building in which they could leave the cart. Five minutes later, the pair was on stage, hurriedly hooking up the guitar and pedal as five servers – Delilah among them – rushed about making last-minute adjustments to their various stations. Jet stood behind the bar, a smaller earth pony hovering nearby who looked almost too young to be working behind the bar; Riffraff assumed he might have been the barback, working under Jet as a sort of apprenticeship to learn the art of slinging alcohol. A few customers already lounged outside the doors, wearing thick square-shaped glasses and berets and smoking obscenely thin cigarettes. The blood-red stallion gave a morbid expression, hoping their entire crowd didn’t consist of the new breed of “hipster” ponies. But his thoughts soon shifted to a sudden need to smoke, himself, his muzzle wrinkling in distaste. Bad timing... He twitched and glanced across the stage, spotting the familiar light-green pegasus from earlier that afternoon. “Oh, uh...Delilah, where...can we go if we need to smoke?” he asked, already feeling a slight fidget in his forelegs.

She blinked and looked at him disbelievingly. “You...you serious? Uh...Keyes should be here like...in five minutes, and he always does his soundcheck pretty much right away, you can’t miss that...Buck will have your head.”

“Yeah, well...consider it a medical emergency,” he mumbled, carefully laying his guitar down as Graceful glanced at him worriedly. “I’ll be quick, just. Where do I go?” The stallion fumbled through the small satchel in which he’d stored the strings and pedal, snatching out a half-full pack of cigarettes as his vision blurred momentarily. Shit...

Delilah stared for a moment, then slowly pointed to a door beyond the public restrooms at the rear of the building. Riffraff muttered his thanks, nudging Grace lightly and meeting his eyes for a moment to once again reassure him before leaping off the back of the stage and trotting quickly out through the employee door.

The female pegasus tilted her head slightly before shifting her eyes to the other stallion on stage. “Is...he okay?”

Graceful smiled nervously, fiddling silently with his scarf and then nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, he’s...okay, just kinda has to go and smoke...sometimes. Sometimes more when he’s stressed and stuff.”

She studied him for a moment, her eyes attempting to measure the honesty – and perhaps sanity – of the periwinkle male. “Right,” she finally replied slowly. “Well. I just hope he is fast.”

The slender pegasus would have normally made a joke at his companion’s expense, but he only smiled weakly again and nodded again, suddenly feeling more than a little vulnerable alone on the stage as two of the other servers whispered to each other with glances in his direction. He tugged apprehensively at the scarf again before jumping in surprise when a voice barked up at him: “Where the hell is the other guy? With the guitar, I thought I was hiring BOTH of you, I don’t need just a damn singing colt up there, that’s pointless!”

Graceful Melody whimpered and shrunk a bit behind the microphone stand as Buck glared up at him, a pressed button-down shirt already drenched with sweat. “He...he just stepped outside, he’ll be right back,” the pegasus whispered, swallowing thickly as he nervously kneaded his hooves into the worn planking along the stage. The portly earth pony narrowed his eyes.

“Do you punks realize that once the show starts, you only get to leave the stage when Keyes has his break? Otherwise, I don’t give a flying flip if he tells you to shut up for an entire set, you do not leave the stage until he does. You don’t get to go have breaks, you don’t get to go have ‘some fresh air’...does this register, or do I need to break things down simpler for you?” The amber pony snorted and glared pointedly at the other stallion before hissing, “He better be back when Keyes is here for the soundcheck, or you two are done, do you get that?”

“Y-yes,” Graceful whimpered, nodding and feeling tears well up in his eyes. The owner grunted and turned around to storm across the rest of the floor, slinging insults and making audible notes about every issue he saw to the various servers. He paused at the bar, glancing across the hand-written specials and then eyeballing the numerous bottles on display behind the bored-looking Jet. But apparently Buck either found no issues or was simply afraid of the muscular unicorn, only nodding once with another grunt before storming back through the door leading to his office.

Back on stage, the slender pegasus trembled and rubbed his own foreleg nervously before staring over his shoulder hopefully as he heard a door open. But it was a different, third door, half-hidden behind the black pipe-and-drape that lined the back of the room. His eyes widened as a unicorn calmly stepped through, his hooves polished and his eyes covered by dark sunglasses. A tall horn of pale maroon stood out from between the neatly-styled black mane that was layered down along a hide of dark purple. A light blue turtleneck covered his upper body and forelegs, and a black and white silk scarf was wrapped loosely around his neck. He sniffed disdainfully at the air before slowly, creakily turning his head toward the petrified singer. “What the hell is THIS?!” the unicorn yelled distastefully, looking over the top of his sunglasses with glaring hazel eyes. “Get that scarf off, right now! Who told you you were allowed to wear any sort of apparel on stage!?”

Graceful looked horrified, trembling and then hurriedly yanking the scarf off with a quiet whimper as the unicorn made a face and then tossed his mane before approaching the back of the stage and slowly climbing the steps. He paused to look at Riffraff’s guitar for a moment, his muzzle wrinkling as if he’d spotted some rotting corpse. “What...is THIS?” He glared at the pale pegasus for explanation before narrowing his eyes as he turned his head to watch as the blood-red stallion re-entered through the door into the alley.

Riffraff tilted his head slightly, noticing his companion’s scarf laying discarded on the stage before anything else. “Hey, Grace...why’d you take off your scarf?” He frowned quietly and came closer. “It looked real good on you, hon.”

“I told him to take that despicable strip of cheap cloth off because it was making my stage look like a bad fashion show,” the unicorn replied icily, Riffraff immediately blinking in surprise as he turned his head to stare at the disgusted male. “Are you...are you the guitarist? Is this your actual guitar?” he added, muzzle wrinkling once more as he gestured rudely to the battered instrument.

Riffraff’s eyes narrowed and he felt a tremble of fury run through his body, but he quickly swallowed his anger and shook his head firmly to remind himself of the multiple times he told Graceful how badly they needed the money. He took a slow breath, then glanced up at the unicorn now tapping a hoof impatiently against the stage. “My apologies. Yes, that’s my guitar...I haven’t had a chance to...to replace it. I promise it will sound just fine, though, it--”

“Whatever, you just keep your ratty guitar at the BACK of the stage, behind the piano,” interjected the unicorn, looking sourly between the two pegasi as Graceful began to tremble slightly again. “Now get up here and get that...thing hooked up, we need to do the soundcheck.”

Riffraff nodded and glanced at his companion, hopping back onto the stage and then reaching out to quietly squeeze his shoulder. “You okay?” he asked softly before turning around and picking up the discarded scarf to tenderly fold it into his open guitar case, smiling a bit at Grace.

The smaller male looked down at the scarf, then nodded back silently with a murmur. “Yeah. Let’s just show him we aren’t some...wannabes.”

Smiling back, the crimson stallion looked briefly at the unicorn behind the piano, then turning his eyes back to Graceful. “That’s more like it.” He went to the front of the stage and lifted his guitar up before quickly moving back behind the piano when Keyes glared at him through the dark sunglasses. He pursed his lips but remained silent, hooking the thick cable into the jack on his guitar and then bending down to link it into the pedal, already tied into the speaker system. He sat back on his haunches, deciding it would be better not to ask for a chair or a stool. He grumbled to himself and slapped the pedal to switch the effects to the standard acoustic sound. He and Graceful then both looked at the pianist, who adjusted the microphone upon his open piano and then glared balefully at the companions.

“Are we ready for the check?” he asked sarcastically, horn glowing lightly as the keys began to tinkle. Riffraff blinked, wondering if the unicorn was even going to use his hooves to play. Oh come on, that’s a little cheap, isn’t it? Graceful quickly nodded, wiping unshed tears from his silver eyes before the unicorn could throw any other insults their way. “Good. Goddamn Buck can’t do any better than dirty peasants off the street...” He snorted, his horn glowing brighter as a jaunty tune began to roll out from the piano – one that Riffraff recognized, but also considered to be an exceptionally old song taught to beginner piano players, likely now used as some uncredited source to a modern hit. The larger pegasus grimaced but sighed and started to pluck idly along with the simple piece, his hooves still whole and yet easily able to keep up. Graceful wasn’t sure what he could do on his end, and so he meekly leaned forward into the microphone and sang gently without using any words, simply matching the highest notes of each chord.

Keyes himself shoved his muzzle against his own microphone, then simply said crudely, “Test...test one, test two, test THREE, TEST FOUR! Test...TEST...TEST!!” Riffraff immediately winced, unable to sneak a disbelieving stare at the unprofessional vocal check as he almost lost the tempo of the overly easy plucking. Keyes immediately glared at him over the piano, hissing just next to the microphone: “You’re too loud! Turn down that goddamn piece of junk, I can’t even hear myself think!”

The masculine guitarist stared back, jaw dropping slightly before he looked down at the guitar stupidly, unable to comprehend what sort of physical disorder would make the unicorn's hearing so unnaturally sensitive. His volume knob was sitting just past the ‘2’ marking and he made a face before closing his eyes and silently twisting it just past the ‘1’ before continuing to plunk slowly along the strings. Keyes grunted in satisfaction, then finished his “check” with a sloppy flourish before standing up abruptly. “Fine, that will do. You two will sit up here and wait for my cue when we start. Don’t adjust your volumes or I’ll have Buck kick you out on your flanks before you know what hit you, understand?”

Riffraff grit his teeth but forced a smile as he nodded. Behind him, Grace nodded as well, looking down at his hooves and then sitting on his haunches as well while reaching up to silently pull his microphone down dejectedly. The purple stallion snorted and tossed his neatly-styled hair before storming across the stage and yelling at the nearest server to bring him an ice water with three slices of lemon and a splash of grenadine. Riffraff took the moment to look over at the slumped pegasus at his side, muting his guitar with a tap of the pedal and gripping it in one hoof as he leaned over. “Hey...Gracie, you gonna be alright?”

The periwinkle male turned to look at his partner, then sighed quietly. “Yeah. This is just...” He trailed off, then dropped his head on Riffraff’s shoulder for a moment.

“It sucks?” Riff supplied dryly, reaching up with his free hoof to gently pat the slender pegasus’s cheek. “I know. But maybe he’s just a douche because he’s good enough to act like one.”

“His soundcheck was ‘Tara Had a Little Foal’,” Graceful mumbled, sitting up straight again and giving a nervous expression as his eyes shifted to the opening doors at the front of the bar. “They’re coming in...”

“Don’t worry. We’ll just play it by ear,” Riffraff replied softly, watching the first few patrons enter and immediately search out a table near the front, walking directly past the bar and yet signaling for a server the moment they sat down to order drinks. “This is gonna be a great crowd...”

Thirty minutes later, most of the bar’s tables had filled up with chatting patrons as a few others sat along the long bar. Riffraff looked over the audience with a grimace -- the bar charged a small cover, but obviously made most of the money from the obscenely overpriced beer, liquor and wine, and he had a feeling that many of the ponies he saw among the crowd wouldn’t balk at paying those prices. That, however, was the reason he felt somewhat disillusioned with their audience. These ponies aren’t here to enjoy real music. They’re here to be fancy and talk about the latest “controversial” best-seller and tell each other about all the writing they’ve been doing.

Graceful himself looked almost uncomfortable, his usual ease on stage apparently lost with what he considered a threatening audience. He had some experience with this type of crowd, and had no doubt that he could convince at least a hoof-full of “curious” stallions to spend ten minutes with him...but as an audience, they hardly seemed interested in anything beyond themselves. His pierced ears drooped a bit as his spiked mane seemed to wilt somewhat as well, rubbing nervously at a foreleg and then glancing at Riffraff. But the guitarist had his own eyes turned to Keyes, anxious to start the show in whatever way would please the self-centered unicorn. I hope you’re right about this, Riff...

The show began within five minutes or so...well, rather, Keyes addressed the audience within five minutes. The two pegasi watched with frustrated expressions as the unicorn told recycled jokes, poorly thought-out anecdotes and made a few attempts at insulting those ponies sitting closest...something that he seemed to possess little skill with, and yet worse, something those particular ponies found hilarious and comparable to being chosen as guests of honor. Riffraff muttered under his breath, idly thumping his low E-string but hardly making a sound with his pedal still muted. At his side, Graceful fidgeted nervously and yet realized almost none of the ponies even gave him a second glance, enraptured either with whatever self-indulgent tale they were telling, or with the bad jokes of the purple unicorn behind the piano.

“I know, I know, hard to believe, but it’s true! She never walked straight again!” Keyes half-yelled as the two pegasi shrank back with matching winces, the largest speakers planted just behind their location on the stage. “Anyway, this is a brand-new song I’ve been working on, Blackbird Records is interested in it, and I know you all are gonna love it! It’s called ‘The Long Lonely Lane’ and you all get the first listen, so you better feel lucky!” With that, his horn glowed a sparkling opalescent off-white and the keys of the piano started to move as his front hooves floated above the keyboard, acting as a means of focus for his telekinesis. Riffraff looked sour as a melody rolled through the speakers, hardly any more difficult than the child’s rhyme used for the soundcheck. He listened carefully nonetheless, quickly identifying the main chord progression and the overall key of the song. He punched the pedal and reactivated his instrument before drolly starting to move his hooves along the strings, still confident he didn’t need to push out the flexible tendrils to keep up to the simple composition.

Keyes began to sing in a decent-enough voice, somewhere between an alto and a baritone, though Graceful made a face to himself at the lyrics. Normally he was extremely conscientious of the expressions he showed on stage, knowing that a single odd look to the audience could ruin an entire show. But he’d barely even caught the eye of more than a couple patrons...And these words are just...so lame. Down the long lonely lane again, wishing for my Jane again? Really? He’d already picked out the key, himself, and could hear obvious places during the song in which he could add simple back-up lyrics. He mumbled and tapped a hoof to keep time, then leaned forward as he tried to revitalize himself with the fact he was performing to a decent enough audience.

But not two or three lines after Graceful began to sing gentle harmonies, Keyes glared across the piano at him. His horn glowed brighter as the piano’s music rang out twice as loud before a similar glow surrounded Graceful’s boom stand and forcefully jerked it several inches away from his muzzle. The slender pegasus lowered his ears again, instinctively stepping forward as he struggled to maintain his composure as well as keep his voice harmonized with the nonsensical shifts in the unicorn’s tune. Abruptly, Keyes began a rough solo, gritting his teeth furiously as he once again shoved the microphone further away. Graceful lowered his head but kept his distance this time, looking down at the stage once again and mumbling to himself.

Riffraff himself looked disgruntled at both the unicorn’s cruel behavior as well as his poorly timed solo. The chord progression barely changed, yet the sheer simplicity of the fancy-sounding trills and full-scale rolls made it difficult for the crimson stallion to match chords, having to force himself to abandon everything he’d learned as a free-lance blues guitarist just to keep his strumming amateur enough to avoid sounding dissonant. He met Graceful’s eyes helplessly when the smaller pegasus looked over his shoulder with a pained expression, mouthing “I’m sorry,” even as he felt an unwanted force on the faceplate of his guitar, not even having to look to know the bossy unicorn was adjusting his output gain even lower.

The show continued in this fashion for another hour or so, both pegasi forcing themselves to hold back as much as they could. However, when Keyes went into a song with a ridiculously long coda, Riffraff assuming his solo had finished and that he was playing the simple progression of chords to allow him to play his own solo. The guitarist began a barely-audible riff, smiling a bit to himself and closing his eyes as he felt the flanges quickly push out as if eager to have the chance to be put to good use. The notes began to stream from the speakers, steadily picking up speed as he kept up perfectly with the increasing key changes from the piano. What he failed to realize, however, was the glare Keyes had fixed upon him, teeth bared as he stood on his rear hooves behind the keyboard and all but pounding on the keys with both hooves and horn, trying to throw off the guitarist. Even Graceful looked almost fearfully back at the smiling pegasus, swallowing and wishing suddenly he could communicate mentally with his companion. The fury in Keyes’s features became all the more evident when his cheeks flushed and he began to misplace notes, playing non-existent chords that made Riff’s ears twitch each time.

It wasn’t until he finally opened his eyes to frown at the pianist that he realized the audience had frozen in place, staring up at him as Keyes all but frothed at the maw. The crimson stallion immediately tied off his solo neatly and not two seconds later, the unicorn pounded a firm outro before snarling as the crowd began to awkwardly applaud, “You’re DONE, asshole!”

The audience began to cheer more enthusiastically when Keyes quickly gained their attention again, facing the floor and bowing several times before grabbing his mike from the top of the piano and speaking loudly into it. “Thank you, thank you very much! Don’t worry, they must have let the special needs foals have a drink or two before coming on stage as my back-up! I promise that won’t be on the album version!” He bowed once again before slamming the microphone stand down again and stomping across the stage, pausing only briefly in front of the embarrassed guitarist. “Not a peep during the second set, not a single strum, got it?” he hissed, eyes burning behind the gleaming sunglasses. “If you’re a good little street rat, I won’t make Buck fire you at the end of tonight.” Riffraff frowned but nodded silently, looking down and quietly cutting off his guitar. The unicorn snorted derisively before glancing up at the cowering Graceful. “And you. You’re fine to keep singing tonight, but keep your goddamn voice down, you’re my back-up, this is not a damn duet.” The slender male nodded mutely and Keyes grunted, apparently satisfied with this response. He glared at them both once more before hopping off the stage and approaching the bar to begin chatting up a group of mares that immediately giggled childishly at his presence, leaving the two pegasi to glance at each other before looking glumly out at the once again ignorant audience.

The second set lasted nearly two hours, though Graceful Melody estimated that there was barely an hour’s worth of actual music, most of the “show” consisting of filler material such as the unicorn idly rolling a few consecutive keys while telling another story about meeting some important group of politicians and producers at some important charity event. But the audience ate it up, laughing and cheering obnoxiously at simple musical techniques and uncreative lyrics.

When Keyes finished his fifth encore song (two of which had been songs he’d played earlier in the night) and finally pleaded with the audience to let him go for the night, receiving the all-too-familiar burst of laughter from the captive patrons, he took the last of his bows and then reached over to flick off the power for the electric piano. The unicorn looked exhausted and Riffraff figured he’d expended a great deal of his energy to telekinetically play the instrument for most of the night. No wonder he spends so much damn time just babbling like an idiot...I guess regardless of what I think, he must at the least have an impressive reserve of energy... The unicorn gestured impatiently at the nearest server – it happened to be Delilah – and yanked away the outstretched towel she awkwardly held out. She offered some soft compliment but the unicorn snorted and tossed the towel back toward her absently before hopping off the stage and making directly for the nearest group of fawning audience members. The pegasus stuck her tongue out at him before rolling her eyes and instead approaching the other side of the stage to smile approvingly up at the two companions.

Riffraff immediately felt better, though his legs were beginning to tremble from not indulging in his contractual obligation for the last few hours. He smiled back briefly before gently clapping Graceful on the shoulder. “You gonna be okay for a minute? I...I gotta...”

But Graceful had already taken the guitar gently from his forelimbs, smiling back with a hint of worry in his eyes, his gaze flicking momentarily to the small trickle of blood he noticed running down Riffraff’s hind leg. The black crossroads seemed to almost pulse on his flank and the smaller male urged him softly, “Go, go...I’ll start packing up and stuff, Riffy.”

The muscular pegasus smiled gratefully and bolted for the rear entrance, a hoof already pulling a cigarette from the crumpled pack. Graceful Melody turned his eyes back to the frowning server at the front of the stage and forced another smile. “It’s okay, bad habit is all.” He nodded reassuringly and Delilah looked somewhat less concerned as she nodded back slowly, then quickly approached a couple signaling impatiently for her a few tables over. Graceful sighed in relief, then quickly packed away his companion’s guitar with the same care as Riff himself would have used. The pedal followed shortly after and once he’d neatly arranged their small bundle of gear near the front of the stage, he’d hopped down as well and made a beeline for the bar.

He’d half-hoped that at least one pony would comment on the skill of the accompanying musicians, but he didn’t hear any conversations except the droning tales these strangely self-obsessed ponies felt compelled to relate to one another. The slender stallion sighed quietly again, then pulled himself onto an empty bar stool to survey the crowd once more. I know, I know. We need the money. But this is just...well. Maybe he’ll warm up to us or something...

“Ain’t supposed to offer you back-up folks anything but ice water, but it looked like you two were more than a little harried by Keyes tonight...” Jet intoned in a murmur. Graceful twisted around on his seat before smiling a bit at the sight of the powerful unicorn behind him, absently rinsing out several used tumblers. “So if you want something...just name it.”

The feminine male smiled again, crossing his forelegs on the scarred surface of the bar and leaning forward. “As a rule, I try not to drink. Makes other stuff...less enjoyable. You know. Loss of senses, bad smell...”

Fixing him with a quizzical look, the muscular stallion tilted his head slightly. But he seemed to process the insinuation rather swiftly once Graceful wiggled his eyebrows a bit, dropping his muzzle onto his upper limbs and licking his lips, his silver eyes sparkling with mischief. Jet rolled his head briefly on his shoulders, then hid a small smile behind a glass he held up to the light. “So I presume you prefer to drink straight from the tap?”

Graceful blinked and then gave a loud laugh, sitting up and losing his sinuous expression despite himself. “I sure do!” He giggled again, lifting one leg and dropping his muzzle into his hoof as he studied the unicorn thoughtfully. Jet had a coat of pure ebony, his emblem of a drink mixer barely visible against the black hide. A dark blue horn stood proudly out just below a shaggy mane of the same deep azure hue. He hadn’t taken the time to appreciate the details of the unicorn’s appearance before and he smiled slightly into Jet’s calm but amused navy irises. “You’re strange, Jet. But...if it’d be okay, then I’ll have a ginger ale.”

The bulky stallion queried Graceful with another curious look even as his hooves automatically began to fill a freshly polished glass with ice and ginger ale from a soda gun a few feet away. “And why do you say that?”

Graceful continued to smile, his cheek resting comfortably on his hoof as the other traced slow circles atop the bar. His eyes flicked to the sweating barback that hurriedly slipped past Jet, calling out, “Clydesdale Lite is out, gonna go replace the keg!”

Jet watched him nearly trip over a crate of cheap red wine, wincing slightly. “Take your time, Race. Not worth breaking a leg for a beer that we replace maybe once a week,” he reprimanded gently. He shook his head slowly as the earth pony paused and nodded fervently over a shoulder before disappearing into a massive walk-in cooler behind the bar. The well-muscled unicorn turned his gaze back to Graceful and handed him the soda before pausing and then holding up a hoof. Grace tilted his head slightly, still smiling but now somewhat curious as the bartender ducked down, his head disappearing into a recessed cooler beneath the well. A moment later, he reappeared with something in his hoof, promptly dropping two cherries into the fizzing ginger ale. “Did I call it?” he asked teasingly as Graceful blinked and then grinned broadly.

“You called it, handsome.” The slender pegasus winked and then took a long draw of the soda through the provided straw before once more leaning on his hoof and gazing across at Jet. “But why are you strange? Because. Most ponies like you, I’d be convincing you of all the twenty-six reasons for you to follow me back into that fridge your adorable little helper just disappeared into. But...” He paused as he easily speared one of the cherries with his straw, pulling it free of the soda and then carefully extracting it from the straw with his front teeth before chewing it slowly and almost subconsciously producing the knotted stem between his teeth. “For some reason...I’m just as content to talk to you.”

Jet repressed a smile, his horn taking on a gentle sapphire glow as the tied stem was plucked lightly from between Graceful’s jaws to be guided into the nearest trash can. “Twenty-six reasons, you say?”

The periwinkle male laughed again, nodding seriously and stirring his ginger ale slowly even as the other pegasus sitting a few stools away gave the two a disgusted glare and slid away from the bar with a drunken mumble. “Twenty-six. And that’s just to follow me. You should see how many reasons I can come up with to let me --”

“Grace...” warned Riff, the larger pegasus looking sourly at his companion as he approached the bar and hopped onto the next stool before slapping his pack of cigarettes onto the countertop and dropping his muzzle down onto crossed forelimbs. “Don’t scare the poor guy. And we still owe you for our room. When do we find out what we made?”

Jet only regarded Riffraff with an entertained smile. The crimson stallion likely wasn’t aware he was all but mirroring Graceful’s own pose from a few minutes ago. “Don’t worry. He wasn’t scaring me. But Buck won’t even start counting until the crowd’s gone. He’s paranoid about that, so you got thirty minutes or so to kill.”

Riffraff grunted, reaching up and absently ruffling his own mane as he looked gloomily across the bar at the variety of expensive bottles on display. “Awesome. Grace giving you the twenty-six reasons yet?”

Graceful giggled softly once more while Jet snorted quietly. “He hadn’t actually started listing them yet. I’m afraid you rescued me from that.” He paused, then sized up the slumped pegasus for a moment. “I’m guessing you’re a bourbon on the rocks kinda guy?”

Riffraff poked his head up from beneath his foreleg, then snickered quietly. “Nice guess, but nope. While I was a lawyer, I was the weird pony who drank Cosmos. I know, I know. I liked a lot of liquor in my drinks. But...got enough vices now.” He smiled slightly and sat up somewhat, giving a soft glance to Graceful. “Don’t really touch the stuff anymore now. But.” Riffraff suddenly grabbed Graceful’s ginger ale to the consternation of the smaller pegasus. He held out his other hoof against his companion’s face as he slurped loudly at the bubbling soda. Graceful whined loudly and flailed his slender legs uselessly at him before sulking when the three-quarters-empty glass slammed down onto the bar again, Riffraff smacking his lips loudly. “I’ll have one of those.” The blood-red stallion paused. “He do the stem thing?”

A twice-knotted stem bounced off of the larger pegasus’s features a moment later, Graceful glaring at him resentfully while swallowing the second cherry and then sticking out his studded tongue. Riffraff looked unruffled, clearing his throat and then thanking Jet when a similar glass of the light amber soda slid down the bar and into an open hoof. The black-coated unicorn continued to smile amusedly between the two pegasi, shaking his head and automatically sliding forward slightly when his nervy barback shuffled past him, smelling distinctly of beer. “You twisted the tap before you released the pressure valve, didn’t you?”

The young earth pony froze in place, looking slowly and awkwardly over his shoulder. “Um. I twisted the tap before I released the pressure valve. I swear I didn’t get any in my mouth.”

Jet grunted and waved a hoof dismissively. “No sensible pony would want that watered-down minotaur piss in their mouth, anyway.” He glanced up when one of the servers slapped a hand-written order on the bar surface, pausing to read over it briefly and then saying easily, “Race, grab me two bottles of Lodecker and then get me a Black Label on the rocks.” The muscular bartender flicked the slip toward his trainee, then glanced up at the two pegasi again who seemed content to watch the two work. “Colts. You sure you don’t want anything else? You may not like this first bag of loot that’s gonna get tossed your way tonight.”

Graceful and Riff both nodded simultaneously and the smaller pegasus swirled the remaining cubes of ice around the bit of soda left in his glass as he said softly, “Don’t worry, we’ve played some pretty cheap venues before. This ain’t our first, luckily.”

“Yeah, but it did seem like one of the first times you had to compromise your talents for the sake of making a few bits, if I may be so bold as to assume,” Jet responded with a small smile. “Gotta take care of these fine customers, though. Feel free to hang out down here ‘til closing. As far as Buck’s concerned, you’ve been off the clock since Keyes sang his last heap of garbage.”

Graceful giggled softly behind a hoof and Riffraff smiled at the larger male as he sauntered over to a small group of gabbing ponies. The two pegasi glanced at each other before a slow smile crept across the smaller stallion’s maw. “He said we have about thirty minutes, Riffriff.”

“Yes. Yes he did. And we’ll spend them right here, like normal ponies,” Riffraff replied drolly. “I refuse to not be hired back because we get caught 'trying to unclog the toilet' in the last stall.” His companion pouted but nodded resolutely as they sipped from their drinks and both turned to idly survey the crowd, both ponies mildly disappointed that not a single patron came up to give any opinions, positive or negative. Ugh. At least we have a job for now, though...

After the audience had all been ushered out and told to find their way home safely, Buck had indeed promptly emerged to take everything but the servers’ cash tips to diligently count up behind the bar. Keyes had disappeared with a stumbling, giggling unicorn and Riff figured he probably had his oversized cut deposited directly into an account somewhere. The two musicians only stuck around long enough to be briefly lectured by Buck once again about the dire importance of ensuring that all of Buck’s demands were met, but that no one had complained enough to refuse them playing the next night. Graceful had attempted to explain that they had only tried to fit their talents into the pianist’s performance, but was swiftly cut off by Buck reiterating that they were only there to provide background accompaniment.

The two companions had grumbled but were otherwise careful not to argue with the temperamental earth pony. Their pay for the evening was almost embarrassing, made even thinner after Riff had insistently pressed several bits into Jet’s hoof, thanking him several times. Nevertheless, it would at least pay for a small supply of food and the next night at their cramped motel room, and they had left after giving Delilah and Jet brief farewells.

Back at the motel, the two stallions had barely gotten the door open before being greeted by a scowling Amdusias, standing at the foot of the bed and glaring down at them furiously. Riffraff grimaced and set his guitar case against the wall as Graceful awkwardly leaned back against the door. “Dusey, please...it’s been a...long night,” he began slowly, almost pleadingly.

“I’ll say,” the demon replied icily, muscular arms crossed. “Refer to me by that ridiculous pet name again and I will rend your useless limbs from your useless mortal husk.” He regarded the guitarist with a scowl as Riffraff sighed and flopped onto the bed, then making a face when Graceful fluttered across the room and landed gently on the other pony’s back as his hooves started to slowly massage his shoulders. “Disgusting creatures. But this is a paltry drop in the proverbial bucket compared to the maelstrom of absolute sewage I witnessed tonight.”

Riffraff blinked stupidly and looked up at the displeased reptile. “You...were there?”

“Consider me your overly-generous and omniscient god, little worm,” he replied dryly, uncrossing his arms and then shoving a finger rudely in the larger stallion’s face as Graceful winced. “I give you these...gifts, the unbridled talent to pour your heart and soul into the finest of the arts and...THIS is how you repay me?” The demon’s nostrils flared, a dim glow visible through them as his yellow eyes burned dangerously. Riffraff felt a chill run down his spine despite his best efforts to remain fearless in appearance. “I expected as much from your little transvestite, he’ll do anything to please another vile mortal, so long as it possesses male anatomy. But YOU?” The demon pursed his lips and ground his teeth slowly together, his body actually trembling a bit with the barely-withheld fury. “I didn’t give you those unholy abilities to sit there on a fool’s stage and strum along like some lobotomized idiot on invisible puppet strings!” Amdusias snarled and threw his arms in the air as he began to stomp around the front of the bed, gesturing angrily. “That...that charlatan, he couldn’t compose a single creative melody even if given a century! Sitting up there like a king of senseless asses, pounding away like an unevolved beast, as if the keyboard was some back-alley slag with his ill-deserved coins in hand! And he dares to think of himself as a great musician of his time, as an ARTIST?” The demon growled, smoke pouring from his nostrils before he rounded on the staring pegasi once more. “And YOU! You, allowing him to not only criticize, but then refuse you permission to play? You sit there, a drooling pet for this cheap mountebank, just to earn a few shiny pennies?!”

Riffraff dropped his eyes, blushing and feeling suddenly guilty. Amdusias snorted and then glared up at Graceful as the slender pegasus shivered and half-cowered upon his companion. “You are guilty of the same crimes against my domain, you little parasite! I’ve seen you perform, you are capable of that rare feat, the ability to actually produce something worthwhile from your useless mortal muzzle, otherwise housing only poorly-disguised lies and the girth of other males!”

The periwinkle stallion began to tremble violently, tears rolling down his cheeks as he stared in fear, unable to form even a simple denial. Below him, Riff felt a twist of anger and the larger male pushed himself up to his hooves as Graceful's body slumped to the side. “Leave him alone, goddammit!” he yelled, dark grey eyes burning with a slight corona of crimson. “I made him do it, it’s my goddamn fault, okay? We need the money, and we didn’t have another choice, got it? We aren’t some free-floating demon lord like you are, oh Great Amdusias! We can’t just...just drift through life, playing a shiny magical saxophone and mocking every single mortal we come across!” The blood-red stallion breathed hard, staring fiercely into Amdusias’s eyes from upon the bed as Graceful cowered next to him. “Just...leave him alone,” he repeated quietly, voice dropping but eyes still burning. “I get it. I do. And I’m...I’m sorry.”

Amdusias seemed taken aback for a moment, regarding the masculine pegasus with a mix of fury, frustration and perhaps a hint of surprise. But he quickly regained his own irate expression, fangs glinting as he leaned forward and hissed, “It is not an excuse, pony. You’ve insulted me tonight, and I am not even speaking in the sense that you’ve created...musical slop. I gave you power, I gifted you with an ability. Yes, at a cost, but it was nonetheless done of my own will, my own decision to grant you this skill.” He paused and then reached down to grab the back of the stallion’s skull, pulling him forward firmly as he leaned down. Graceful Melody stared up nervously while Riffraff only bared his teeth slightly, his muzzle almost pressing against the demon’s. “You and your fair maiden are capable of great prowess, at least by mortal standards. Do not let the pitiful desire for material objects sate the hunger I know you both feel, the need to create something...”

The reptilian male hesitated, amber irises glowing into Riffraff’s own half-red, half-grey eyes. A sudden jumble of mental images smashed into the pegasus’s thoughts and he grimaced as he twisted his head forcefully away. He saw flashes of Amdusias, sitting alone in a desolate, frozen wasteland but lost in a warm composition on his saxophone...and glimpses of his own past, playing with Graceful for the first time, memorable shows the two had performed, long nights spent penning their own creations to be practiced and tweaked a thousand times over. An embarrassed flush rose to his cheeks again and he felt his smaller companion silently grasp one of his hooves reassuringly. He glanced back into the demon’s eyes, who looked almost embarrassed himself as he suddenly leaned back and shoved the pony back forcefully. Riffraff grunted and landed on his back, then winced as Graceful immediately leaped onto him and clung to his neck tightly, the smaller male closing his eyes and burying his muzzle into his chest. Riffraff sighed but held him quietly as he looked back at the demon somewhat awkwardly.

Amdusias wrinkled his muzzle and looked away pointedly. “You realize that...you nasty little mortals are basically always naked, correct? I do not appreciate constantly being reminded of this fact.”

“You shoved me back,” Riffraff replied lamely, then adding mildly, “And you’re naked all the time, too.”

Amdusias looked slightly ruffled at this. “Yes, but I have the decency to have the ability to mask my genitalia.”

“Yeah, well. Not all of us are super-demon-awesome-lords with magical crotch-hiding-powers,” Riffraff mumbled, nonetheless crossing his hind legs as he sighed and rolled his head back on the pillow, Graceful still curled up halfway upon his broad chest. “Anyway. I get...what you’re saying, Amdusias. But...unless you’re going to fork over some cash...”

“I have no need for such material trifles,” the demon simpered. “And again, that is no excuse. You and your little flower both recognized almost immediately that the worthless meatsack had absolutely no ability or even an appreciation for the art. I find it absolutely reprehensible that either of you would let him behave the way he did, let alone even allowing him to share the stage with you two. That falsity, that disgusting excuse for a cheap showman...his very presence is a mockery to my sacred domain!” Amdusias ranted, throwing his arms up and no longer directing his anger so much toward the two stallions as opposed to the very thought of Keyes. “I watched him as he...mutilated that poor instrument, using his horn to play those barbaric processions of notes he might have considered ‘songs’, when I can assure you that they were no more than poor imitations of a thousand other thoughtless melodies that pervade the modern air with their repetitive, uninspiring insipidity.”

“And he's mean, too,” Graceful piped up from against Riffraff's chest. “And he smells bad.” Amdusias glared at the small pegasus before grunting in agreement.

“Yes, yes, the little cretin judges well. This...Keyes, he does not deserve my wrath. He deserves the pain of a thousand of my finest minions, converging on him to feast upon his talentless soul while I watch with glee and compose a terrific symphony for the purest of ironies.” The demon nodded fervently before glaring as the masculine pegasus spoke up dryly.

“You've only got like. Twelve minions. And most of them suck.”

“Thirteen,” he snapped, the spines along his back flaring up slightly. “And they do not all...'suck', as you horrid mortals are so fond of doing, yourselves.” Amdusias grumbled and rubbed irritably at one of the four thick horns curling back from his skull.

Riffraff lifted his head just enough to give the demon an amused look, then dropping back against the pillow again. “Have you actually learned how to make bad sexual puns?”

“The only bad pun here is the fact that the two of you will of course rejoin that pathetic lump of disharmonious fecal matter, despite all my demands and threats,” Amdusias muttered, flicking one of the ivory spikes jutting from his own muzzle. “You two often disappoint me. But this time...” He grumbled and finally sat down on the edge of the bed, leaning back on his elbows. “I am truly...”

His voice trailed off and Riffraff glanced over his curled-up companion, shifting awkwardly at the sight of the demon once again displaying uncharacteristic behavior. Sighing softly, he asked, “Is it really...that upsetting?” He felt Graceful change position slightly upon his torso, the smaller pegasus craning his neck over a shoulder to gaze at the scaled creature curiously.

“Those words were never uttered,” Amdusias replied stiffly, glancing back at the two stallions. “I am not an idiot, pandering for an impossible dream of universal freedom, freedom from the infinite obstacles that safeguard you lousy mortals from experiencing a life without shackles, without boundaries.” He looked down at one of his hands before flopping back on the bed next to the ponies. Riffraff winced, expecting a yelp of pain from the demon, but he only turned his head toward them with a surly expression. “I am more than capable of avoiding harm from my own body,” he muttered. “Don't worry, I'm the last entity who would perforate a bed, even an uncomfortable throne of lumps and broken springs as this one.” He crossed his muscular arms over his checkered chest, looking up at the ceiling as his eyes began to glow. “Do you know what type of demon I am, Riffraff?”

The stallion blinked, a confused expression crossing his features as Graceful Melody turned sideways, curling backward against Riffraff but gazing at Amdusias with a hint of concern in his soft silver eyes. “I...do you mean your...”

“No, not my rank,” came the curt interjection, Amdusias frowning over at the two again. “Use your brain, tiny and insignificant as it may be.”

“I'm...sorry, I'm just...” Riffraff hesitated. “You've. Never used my name before, I don't think.”

Amdusias sighed dramatically and slowly rubbed at his features with one hand. “You truly are a pitiable creature, pony. I would envy the numbness of your minuscule cerebellum, but that would be akin to being jealous of an ant's mindless existence. My domain is music. But my influence stretches beyond that all-powerful realm. I am a demon of creativity, of dreams. I spin tales through the subconscious, delving beyond the curtain of reality, the fabric at which most mortals dully stare at every single day of their miserable lives. My music can inspire a burst of genius, or it may drive one to commit heinous genocide. My abilities can seep into the deepest depths of one's mind, one's soul. I speak of dreams because I weave them. I cherish music because it is the ultimate expression of free thought, of creativity made almost tangible. I understand that my desires, my proclivities, my prerogatives...are impossible for even you, a squirming insect into which I've poured my abilities, to truly achieve, at least in this lifetime.”

Riffraff looked back at the demon, stunned into silence at the unexpected dissertation. Their eyes locked and he hardly even realized that reality around them had faded, that the too-small, barely tolerable motel bed now floated in an endless field of nebulae and stars. Graceful's voice came from below, the smaller pegasus clinging quietly to the powerful foreleg wrapped around his body. “You're not one of the scary sins. I learned about them when I was a foal, my...parents were very religious. You aren't Wrath, or Lust...you aren't even Envy or Pride. You're Sloth, aren't you?”

The demon stiffened up slightly, the false reality about them flickering briefly. He tore his eyes from the larger pony's and fixed them on the feminine male, who only gazed back fearlessly. “Perhaps I underestimate you at times, little one,” he murmured, frowning somewhat but revealing the flash of a tiny smile through his features. “But you have, after all, always valued the power of music. It's why your bumbling paladin was so drawn to you.” He finally closed his eyes and waved a hand slowly, the muted waking-dream slowly dissipating into the hum of bustling Manehattan, still pulsing with life far after the descent of the sun into nighttime, the countless twinkling dots and swirls of extraterrestrial colors fading back into the drab olive walls and cracked ceiling of their motel room.

Riffraff blinked, looking around for a moment. He hadn't even felt the familiar twist of nausea nor the telltale lurch in his stomach – typical signs of the demon casting a spell of hypnosis or altering reality around them. He eventually turned his attention back to Amdusias, gazing over the reptile searchingly. “Why...why are you telling us all this?”

Amdusias studied the eggshell-colored ceiling for a moment, his fingers now laced behind his head in thought. “Perhaps, mortal, because I intend to soften you up with lies and sweet nothings so that your imminent torture for five eternities will be as horrific and terrible as possible. Or perhaps I was just...”

Riffraff watched the scaled creature for several seconds as his mind drifted through various possibilities. The demon had begun with fire and brimstone, all but threatening to disembowel the two stallions for daring to squander their musical talents. But now he seemed almost...wistful. Almost as if he wanted to explain something that he had no intention of revealing. “You just didn't want us to give up on our music because of our dire straits,” he finished quietly.

The demon scoffed and twisted his head to glare at the stallion once more, then looking down at a smiling Graceful. “Do not presume to understand me or my intentions, maggots.” But a fleeting expression of relief escaped the reptilian creature's impenetrable defenses and he turned his head quickly away with a mutter. “Regardless of your vacuous thoughts, I am nonetheless personally insulted by this submission to some crowing charlatan. Do not expect that this is the last you will hear from me on this matter.” The muscular male grumbled and reached behind his head to idly fluff one of the small pillows as he closed his eyes and yawned. “And now it's time to rest. You two are like stupid little puppies. It's wearisome to lecture you.”

The two ponies looked at him awkwardly. “Uh...are you...going to stay here?” Riffraff said slowly as Graceful peered at the demon with a growing interest that would have disgusted the larger pegasus if not for knowing his slender companion so well. “What if...like...me and Grace wanted to share some...affections and stuff tonight?”

“You can do it in your dreams. Seeing as I am a creator of them, I can also avoid them. You know what kind of demon I am, now. I haven't slept in almost a week. So cease your pointless whimpering and allow me a moment of reprieve, for Hel's sake.”

“But I wanna have sex noooow,” Graceful whined loudly, causing Riffraff to stare at him with a deep blush. “Not that we mind an audience,” he added sensuously, grinning at the demon as his larger partner groaned and covered his face with his free foreleg.

Amdusias opened one eye to glare at them before slapping at them tiredly with an arm. “No.” He rolled onto his side away from them and his long tail suddenly twisted up onto the bed, the two split ends rising above both ponies as they stared fearfully up at the gleaming tines adoring each tip. “Sleep.” Graceful yelped and Riffraff winced when the long spikes descended rapidly before delicately poking each of their foreheads. The stallions blinked stupidly as Amdusias curled his tail back against his own legs, both their eyes fluttering before the pair fell almost simultaneously into a deep slumber, holding each other tightly with the large demon grumbling and soon drifting off himself on the other half of the bed.

The two pegasi slept for nearly half a day, groggily rising together at some point past noon the next day. Riffraff immediately groaned and covered his face with a pillow. “God. Dammit. What the hell was that...”

Graceful had slept half-atop his companion as he normally did, and the smaller male mumbled and worked his jaw a few times. “I dunno. I haven’t slept that long or...that good in a long time.” He sniffed quietly, then asked blearily, “Did you dream?”

There was a muffled response from beneath the pillow. Graceful slapped at his companion’s head tiredly and eventually knocked the pillow away, earning a scowl. “Ugh. Yes, yes, I did. Weird stuff, though. Mostly just colors and swirling shapes and stuff. But it was real peaceful. I guess that was his way of making sure we slept through the night while he invaded our brains to steal all our secrets and go through our stuff and probably put my guitar out of tune,” he mumbled, reaching up self-consciously to poke at his forehead. “Did he. Stab us in the face? Or inject us with something?”

Graceful shrugged, leaning up and rubbing at his eyes before peering at his partner’s forehead. “I don’t see a mark or nothin’. And he’s a Sloth demon, remember? He probably slept ‘til just before we woke up, then did his disappearing act. Also...” The smaller pegasus looked amused as he kissed Riffraff’s cheek gently. “I figure for him...detuning your guitar would be like. An act of sacrilege or something. You know what a big music junkie he is.”

Riffraff grunted, then pulled Grace in for a more passionate kiss on the lips. Their muzzles moved softly together for several seconds until the larger male finally pulled back with a small smile. “Guess you’re right. I was...more worried for you than anything else. And how the hell did you figure out what kind of demon he was before me, the guy who actually...spent like...months researching demons?”

The slender male smiled back quietly, patting his companion’s cheek lightly with a hoof before sliding off of his muscular body to drop neatly onto the floor. “I toldja my parents were kinda religious nuts. I knew about that stuff from growing up with tales about how all ponies were guilty of at least one type of those sins.” He smiled a bit more as he ambled over to the tiny coffeemaker – the one improvement from their motel room in Canterlot – and began to brew a pot of the included grind. “We all know what sins I got goin’ on. They didn’t help in keeping me in the closet, either...”

Riffraff laughed a bit, studying the feminine stallion with a newfound interest. “I...well, I guess I never asked much, but I’ve never really heard much about your past. But I suppose you and I are both...guilty of Lust, right?”

Graceful paused as he filled the carafe with water to dump into the coffeemaker, smiling faintly at his hoof for a moment. “Yeah. But...for me, Pride, too.” He nodded once and quickly filled the back of the device before slapping the metal pot into place and hitting the switch to start the brew. He could feel his companion’s soft gaze on his back and he turned around to face Riffraff. “I think...hope...that I’ve gotten better about it. But I used to be a real big show-off. I liked to sing just to make other ponies look bad. And of course, once Pride mixed with Lust...I...got myself in a lot of...uncomfortable situations...” His eyes flicked away shamefully before he pushed open the bathroom door and lifted the lid of the toilet while calling out softly. “And Riff...you...you didn’t used to, but...now you have Wrath, too.”

The crimson pegasus blinked and felt an uncomfortable wave of realization roll through his form. “What...what do you mean I didn’t...used to?” he asked softly, looking down at his own chest before sitting up and throwing his lower legs over the side of the bed, dropping his head into his hooves and silently rubbing into his mane. And why have you never talked about this sort of thing before?

Graceful reappeared as he briefly washed his hooves in the sink, gazing into the mirror at his slumped partner. “Because, Riff. Because you weren’t even guilty of...Envy before you met Amdusias. Sure, you pined to play like those famous ponies you listened to, but...you’ve told me about how you used to feel. You just wished for the ability, yourself. You didn’t resent them. You appreciated their talents...but now...” The slender pegasus dropped back down to all four hooves before approaching his companion and reaching up to softly grasp one of his shoulders. “You’re angry inside at stuff. I’ve seen you blow up and stuff. But it isn’t a bad thing.” He smiled a bit and Riff looked up again, meeting his eyes. “I’m not scared or worried about you, hon. But...the subject came up and...I dunno.” He laughed softly and sat next to the miserable-looking stallion, wrapping a slim forelimb around his waist. “I’m obviously no religious crazy-pony, but...certain things you remember, you know? I hope I didn’t upset you...”

Laughing a bit after a few seconds, Riffraff shook his head slowly. “Nah, nah...it’s alright, Grace. Hell, I shoulda known that, myself. It’s just...weird talking about it, about this stuff, out of the blue. What does that mean, though?”

Graceful Melody shrugged and leaned up to nuzzle his companion’s neck gently. “I dunno, baby. It doesn’t have to mean a damn thing if we don’t want it to. I’m just talkin’, Riffy.” He paused, then smiled up at the larger male playfully, leaning over closer and rubbing a hoof slowly over Riffraff’s masculine chest. “Though we could do something to shut me up, if you want...” He winked and half-lidded his eyes as Riff laughed quietly and pushed him gingerly away.

“Thank you, Gracie, but...not right now. We gotta run out to grab some food -- we haven’t eaten since...the last of our dried snacks yesterday.” His stomach rumbled as if to emphasize his point and he smiled slightly down at the pouting stallion. “Oh, come on – we gotta eat. You can’t survive on...that.”

“Watch me!” the slender male insisted, huffing and dropping back down to the ratty carpet to go prepare the two cups of coffee they’d just barely be able to pour from the tiny carafe. “It’s been foreeeeever, Riff! And I can’t even have any fun with ponies at work, ‘cause like...they don’t even know we exist!” He continued to mumble as he poured the coffee out into the two foam cups tucked neatly behind the coffeemaker. Riffraff only smiled and slipped off the bed to go use the restroom as well.

He emerged a moment later and Graceful handed him his coffee as he approached the dresser upon which he’d left the small cloth bag holding their entire, meager savings, which did include the small sum they’d brought home last night. “Thanks, hon.” He paused, then smiled slightly. “Hey, since you got cheated last night, why don’t you wear that scarf while we’re out today. That way you can catch plenty of stallions’ attentions, and you can start that whole...horrible little process where you string them along until they’re all but begging for you, ready to break down our damn door.”

Graceful immediately lit up. “Really?!? You mean it, Riff?!”

“You are...far too easily excitable,” Riffraff replied dryly, smiling nonetheless. “But yes, I do. I know how you like herding guys together like some deranged sheepdog, then leading them to slaughter.”

The slender male pouted and sipped quietly from his coffee. “Hey, I’ve never killed anyone like that!”

“Yeah, well. You’ve left plenty unconscious, at the least.” The masculine pony smiled amusedly once again before draining the rest of his coffee and smacking his lips quietly. “Crappy as hell, but you make it tolerable, Grace. You are some kind of secret unicorn, I think, doing magic behind my back.” He approached the slender pegasus, kissing his forehead tenderly as Graceful all but beamed brightly. “But go ahead and finish your coffee up and we’ll hit the town. Well, I guess the city, considering where we are.” He turned around to glance out the grimy window, peering over the multiple massive buildings crowding the horizon. “We’ll bring one of the knapsacks so we don’t hafta get tied down with the wagon, too.” Graceful nodded with a smile, stifling a yawn and continuing to drink down his mediocre coffee as Riffraff gathered up their money and then pulled out a backpack modified for a pegasus to be able to wear between its wings. It was rare they could do much traveling without their wagon and any excuse to fly about, unhindered, for even a few hours was a small pleasure for them both.

The two stallions set out for a brief tour of the metropolis soon after, Graceful especially glad to be able to spread his wings and take to the skies, free of worries for at least a few hours. They’d glided between the tallest buildings, marveling at their design and the fact that many of them were home not to one business, but several Equestrian companies that had offices throughout the nation. The smaller pegasus had completely embarrassed Riffraff by flitting up close and grabbing him into a passionate kiss directly in front of a window full of ponies attempting to enjoy a lunch break. Yet Grace still got his way afterward and excitedly pulled Riffraff into the enormous mall near the center of the city. Scarf draped sinuously across his slender shoulders, the feminine male caught many eyes as he strutted through the massive shopping center, Riffraff unable to stop from smiling at his side. But they didn’t have the bits to afford anything in the overpriced outlet shops and so after a quick peek into a hoof-full of the nearest stores, the cheered companions leaving the mall with brightened expressions on both their features.

They’d eventually flown to a small supermarket located only a few blocks from their motel, having spotted the sign from the skies above on a fluke more than anything. Riff was pleased to find it was owned by a family of ponies – he’d lways preferred small businesses to the corporate stores he’d lived near while practicing law. He struck up a warm conversation with the aging father that sat in an old rocking chair near the back of the store while Graceful happily pranced about to pick up a few choice fruits and crunchy snacks that would last them at least two more days. Riffraff learned that the elder earth pony remembered of an old jazz club from his hey-day and the masculine stallion promised to try and locate it, if it still stood, lost somewhere in the sprawling urban jungle. The smiling mare at the cash register convinced Riffraff to fill out a “valued customer” card -- basically a generic piece of plastic that would give them small benefits and discounts for shopping at the low-key market. Graceful promised that they’d buy all the food only from their store for however long the two musicians stayed in Manehattan (and of course to come by and buy more food whenever they came through town again).

All things considered, the companions returned to their motel with a lighter purse...but still enough to pay for the next two nights in advance. Riffraff felt relieved at this; even if they had hardly any funds left, he had the feeling that with the weekend over, their cut for the next couple nights would be even tinier unless the bar had some strange weekday rushes. The two ponies had retired to their room for the hour or so they had before wanting to show up at 88 Pleasures – it wasn’t so bad to show up early, considering that the staff – minus the owner, of course – were all fairly amiable. And since Keyes didn’t show up on stage until the moment he was expected to...Hey, it’s a free stage and a few audience members who may not be into Keyes’s...retarded poo-brain style of revamping old nursery rhymes. Can’t complain about that, right? We’ll need to keep practicing, anyway, with the crap we’ve having to play right now... The last thing either pegasus wanted was to become a droning automaton playing the same simple back-up roles for flashy lead ponies every night.

Graceful grudgingly took off his scarf, wanting to avoid even the chance of being insulted so cruelly again. Riffraff himself plugged his pedal into the wall and began to tweak the settings so that the compression of the guitar would be lowered, packing less of a punch but also hopefully meaning that the stage-hogging pianist wouldn’t demand that he cut off his entire feed again tonight. The stallions glanced at each other, already reading the other’s thoughts on the fact they were letting who they were be threatened by the purple unicorn, more a bully than a musician. But they shook their heads briefly before meeting each other in a quiet but lengthy kiss. Graceful once more attempted to offer a bit of stress relief to the larger stallion, but Riff hastily promised them that they could mess around after the show – the last thing he wanted, after all, was to be late because of an overeager stallion draining him of energy and just about everything else.

The two pegasi left their motel room with the same gear as the night before, Graceful deciding that since he was barely going to be audible anyway, there was no point in bringing one of his customized microphones. They chose to avoid the cart as well, Graceful Melody slipping the small satchel holding his companion’s guitar equipment over a shoulder as Riffraff simply cradled his guitar case, allowing them to make the short trip by air. As they glided over rooftops, Riffraff gazed over at the smaller male, then said softly: “Hey, Grace...you gonna be alright? I...I am sorry, I really still can’t believe it was...as bad as it was last night.”

The pale-coated stallion smiled submissively and looked back at his partner with a nod. “Yeah, I’ll...I’ll be okay, Riffy. I know what to expect this time. And besides, we...we need...”

“We need the money, I know,” Riffraff murmured, hearing the words from his own muzzle again and yet feeling worse about them than ever before. “Hey, we’ll take a look tomorrow for that old bar the shop owner was talking about. It might still be out there in this city somewhere.”

Graceful nodded quietly. “Yeah, alright – that would be cool if it still was, though I dunno if we should put too much hope into that, I don’t want either of us bein’ disappointed or anything...besides, we’re...at least making money now.”

It was strange to hear those things from his partner’s muzzle, and Riff was more than aware that it was his fault that Grace now parroted his own insistent words every time the uncomfortable situation of their current employer came up in conversation. The blood-red pegasus grimaced and then absently produced a cigarette from within the small pouch he’d remembered this time to secure beneath his wing. It wouldn’t help during the performance, since he and Graceful were apparently not allowed to leave the stage once the show began...but it at least kept them close at hoof. He twisted around in the air, flapping his wings in a trained motion to fly backward, allowing himself to light the thin cylinder despite the wind created from their movement.

Once he faced forward again, puffing contemplatively, Graceful drifted a bit closer and gazed at him quietly. “I know that you feel guilty, Riff. I don’t...blame you for us havin’ to work with a real butthead like Keyes. You couldn’t have known.”

Riffraff smiled faintly, holding the cigarette in the opposite end of his jaw as they began to descend toward the bar together. “Yeah...I know, I know. But still...it won’t hurt to do some looking around while we’re out tomorrow. I know this is at least...guaranteed, but we ain’t exactly making bank.”

“Yeah, but maybe Buck will realize that we’re the actual talent, and will fire Keyes and let US be the headliner, eh? Eh? Worth stickin’ around for that at least, right?” The smaller male wiggled his eyebrows across at the larger stallion, who couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head with entertainment.

“Sure, sure. Now I can see where that Pride went, though. You dirty pony, you thought you could hide your sin from me.” Riffraff pulled his cigarette out to breathe out quickly, then steal a brief kiss from his companion before the two touched down in front of the bar, Graceful smiling up at the masculine pegasus with eyes once more warm with hope. “Now let’s see who’s hiding out in there.”

The two musicians poked their heads into the unlocked front door, smiling at the sight of Jet behind the bar. But otherwise, the floor was empty. “Hey, Jet!” Graceful sang out as he pushed through the door, sliding smoothly against Riffraff and prancing up to the bar. “How are you doing today?”

The larger pegasus smiled to himself and let the door swing shut behind him, approaching the stage and quickly removing his guitar from the case to hook it and his effects pedal up to the speaker system.

“I’m doing well, Graceful Melody. And how are you two?” The bartender glanced between the companions, adding softly, “To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure if you two would even want to come back after the way things went down last night.”

Graceful smiled warmly, waving a front hoof a few times. “Oh pleaaaase. First of all, that’s not the worst we’ve ever been treated on stage, trust me. An’ second...how could I resist comin’ back when I got YOU to look at all night?”

Jet paused and looked up at Riffraff on the stage, but saw the pegasus only giving an entertained smile as his hooves began to run across simple melodic scales on the guitar. The chiseled unicorn snorted softly. “You know...as close as I can tell you two are – and I can tell you’re real damn close – you sure do act pretty weird.”

But the slender pegasus hardly missed a beat, grinning and leaning his head on one hoof as the other reached across the top of the bar and lightly poked the enormous stallion’s shoulder. “I can act a lotta things, some of which aren’t pretty. An’ besides...you still haven’t heard the twenty-six reasons.”

The ebony male smiled despite himself, leaning forward as well and gazing into Graceful’s deep silver eyes. “Well, I can probably guess two of them right now.”

Blushing immediately, it was difficult to tell if the periwinkle stallion had trained himself to fake the flushed cheeks and soft giggles, but Graceful nevertheless looked overcome with delight at the compliment. “Well aren’t you just the kindest gentlecolt! You know, I think that maybe...you should let that cute little barback run the show after we’re done tonight, and...you ‘n me can go to the cooler and...take inventory?”

Despite having gotten a rather good idea of the slender male’s preferences and proclivities the night before, Jet still seemed taken aback, clearing his throat and looking almost awkward. “Uh...uh...Race isn’t...quite ready to run the bar by himself, and of course, if Buck were to...” He was cut off as the pegasus impulsively shoved himself across the bar and wrapped a leg firmly around the bartender’s neck to kiss his lips firmly. Jet’s eyes widened in shock, instinctively shoving away but finding himself only dragging the surprisingly strong Graceful across the bar. He felt the definitive bump of a tongue stud pressing into his jaws, exploring teasingly along his teeth and across the top of his muzzle before, as suddenly as it began, Graceful pulled back and hopped easily down from the bar with a satisfied grin on his muzzle, winking over his shoulder as he trotted up to the stage with his hips swaying wide. Jet flushed as much as he possibly could beneath his black hide, awkwardly positioning himself directly behind the bar to hide his less-than-negative response to the unexpected burst of physical passion.

Riffraff looked somewhere between exasperated and jealous when his companion hopped onto the stage next to him. “You know, how many times have I told you that one of these days...someone’s gonna take a swing at you and break your pretty little face and then even I would think twice about giving you a kiss.”

Graceful gasped and stared up at the larger pegasus, who only hid his smile and twisted the output gain of his guitar up to about halfway on the dial. The slender male pouted and then stuck out his tongue childishly. “Well, so far no one has ever managed to actually connect a punch. And...” He peered back across the bar to find Jet still staring at him awkwardly. “I don’t think Jet minds too bad.”

“Yeah, well...what if I mind?”

The effeminate male immediately softened and looked up at Riffraff with visible concern. “Honey, you know I’ll stop if you ever do. Do...do you?”

Riffraff suddenly turned to face him with a grin, balancing on his hind legs for a moment with the guitar held firmly against his chest. “Nope. I just like to scare the crap out of you now and then.” He laughed and let himself fall back onto his haunches before bending over his guitar and licking his lips as his hooves almost immediately pushed out the slender flanges to start picking and strumming away at a complex intro to a song that made Graceful’s worried expression quickly turn into a broad smile.

The slim pegasus quickly ran to the microphone and flipped the switch upward before smoothly starting the first verse. “You get a shiver in the dark, it’s a-rainin’ in the park but meantime...” A abrupt but intentional loud strum from the acoustic guitar. “South of the river you stop and you hold everything...” Another brief burst of notes from Riffraff before he returned to the quick strumming that defined the song Jet seemed to know well, the unicorn watching them with something like fascination. “A band is blowin’ Vixie...double four time.” Graceful pulled the microphone closer, winking at Jet. “You feel alright...when you hear that music ring.”

The black pegasus leaned forward on the bar, drawn into the two-piece rendition of the classic song despite the missing drum beat, though the firm stomping of Riffraff’s hoof acted as a fair enough substitution, and the rest of the missing instrumentation felt insignificant with the skilled guitar part and Graceful’s own seemingly transformed voice, nearly a baritone for this soulful rock song. The back door into the offices opened slowly as Buck emerged with a slight frown on his muzzle, eyes fixed on Grace as he dove into the next stanza.

“Well you step inside, but you don’t see too many faces,” he sang quickly, swaying his body to the perfectly timed in-between riffs of the other pegasus’s instrument. “Comin’ in outta the rain to hear the jazz...go down.” Riffraff snuck a glance back at the door from which Keyes had emerged the other night. “Competition...in other places. But the horns...they blowin’ that sound.” Graceful smiled almost shyly as two servers slowly entered through the front door, Delilah’s face lighting up at the sound of the two pegasi on stage. “Way on down south...way on down south, Hosston town...” Riffraff strummed the familiar rhythm for the guitar, occasionally picking out a quick series of notes for the lead part, but otherwise letting his hooves keep the steady beat with the repeating secondary role.

The two companions continued the smooth, rollicking song, Graceful becoming more and more comfortable as the entire waitstaff eventually showed up, ignoring Buck’s half-glare to sit down and watch the pegasi perform. When it came time for the solo, Riffraff hopped up to his hind legs once again and smiled as he closed his eyes and led his hooves move rapidly across the strings in an extended version of his personal variation on the original music. The guitar sang as powerfully as Graceful’s own voice, strings trembling and twanging obediently to every quick pluck and strum of the flexible appendages beneath his hoof. He threw his head back and laughed despite himself as he dropped down to his knees and picked one string while rapidly sliding his other hoof down the neck for an easy effect that nonetheless wowed his captive audience, feeling that momentary glimmer of a performance appreciated.

As soon as he ended the artful solo, Graceful quickly pulled the microphone close again for the final verse. “And then the pony, he steps right up to the microphone,” he belted out, Riffraff backing him with warm harmonics between every breath. “And says at last just as the time bell rings...” He grinned out at the gathered staff, winking once more at the awed bartender. “‘Goodnight, now it’s time...to go home...’ Then he makes it fast, with one more thing.” And then the slender male yanked the microphone up between himself and Riff as the leaned together to sing the last line together, “We are the Sultans...we are the Sultans of Swing...” Graceful smiled brightly and began to clap and stomp his hooves firmly, giving his companion a firm beat against which to frame the typically improvised outro, many of the stuff members joining in with their mostly-synchronized stomping as Riffraff swelled with pride and gave his hooves free rein, the tiny finger-like growths ripping across the strings in a rapid staccato of notes that began with the basic melody of the song but continued to evolve and spin out into various creations until, finally, the pegasus gave a final, powerful chord and let the sound reverberate through the bar.

Their audience remained silent for a moment, all eyes staring up at the stage before Jet slammed the top of the bar and gave a loud whoop. “Great warm-up, colts! Now THAT was a breath of fresh air!”

Riffraff glanced up with a shy smile, rubbing sheepishly at his forehead before setting the guitar aside and glancing up at his companion, still beaming in the attention of the small staff. “Bah. Just felt like...getting that out, I think.”

Graceful laughed warmly, sitting next to the larger pegasus and wrapping a slender foreleg around his shoulders. “It’s one of our favorites! I hope you guys liked it!”

Many of the servers nodded, still looking somewhat surprised that the hired back-up for the pianist could actually play music on their own. But before anyone could continue to laud the two, Buck cleared his throat loudly, stomping in front of the stage with a grumpy expression. “Alright, alright, get to work, everypony! I don’t pay you to sit around watching...a warm-up set.” He waved a hoof at them irritably, and the servers quickly scattered to start setting up the dining room. The auburn pony grumbled and then glared over his shoulder at the two pegasi. “And you two. That...performance was...not bad,” he said carefully, glancing between the two musicians. “In fact it was quite good, since there’s no point not being honest. But...tonight...”

“We know, we know...tone it down, do what Keyes says or we’re fired,” Riffraff droned, unplugging his guitar from the effects pedal and leaning back against the piano to start flicking his hooves quietly along the strings. “I promise we’ll be good, sir.” He paused and then lifted his head to meet Buck’s stony glare, asking hesitantly, “Are...we in trouble? I guess I’ve been somewhat nervous asking if...Keyes said anything to you about last night.”

Buck grimaced and looked at both pegasi for a moment before favoring the larger male with a frown. “He...mentioned that the...guitarist was somewhat rebellious. However, he said no one complained, and that the singer was okay, as long as he kept his pipes down as well.” The earth pony nodded once, glancing between them again. “I’m here to run a business. And my business is based around Keyes. Don’t take it as a personal offense, but I will be as firm as I need to be in order to keep this bar in the green, is that understood?”

Riffraff nodded silently after a few seconds. “Yeah. We got it. We’ll behave, we need the money.” Graceful looked down at Buck, then nodded as well. The pudgy earth pony grunted and gave them both one last glance before returning to the back offices, kicking the door shut behind himself. Exhaling loudly in relief, Riffraff threw his head back against the leg of the piano. “Merciful Celestia, I thought we were done for...”

His partner smiled softly, flicking his microphone off and then dropping down next to the masculine stallion. “I don’t know if that saying makes sense after what we saw back in Canterlot. But I’m glad we still have this job, much as it sucks...” Graceful nodded a few times, then glanced down at his hooves as he flicked his messy tail a few times. “What...did Amdusias say to you when he knocked me out back at Canterlot?”

“Huh? Oh...when he sat down with me,” Riffraff mused, slowly picking a quiet melody out on his guitar. He glanced up, curious. “Why do you ask?”

“I guess I’m just trying to figure him out better, myself. He’s been acting strange, you know...strange for...a scary demon who’s always trying to get you to die faster so he can reap your soul or whatever it is they do with souls.” Graceful shrugged and rubbed a hoof through the jumble of soft spikes and curls atop his head. “But the whole thing with Celestia and Nightmare Moon...did he talk to you about that? Does he know what really happened?” He smiled a bit and dropped his hoof before hugging his lower legs to his chest. “I guess it’s just kinda...weird to have all the ponies in this city not be talking about it. I’m sure it was watered down and stuff by the news but...you know. We haven’t really heard about it, and I know neither of us are real big into like...politics or nothin’, but...it’s weird, right?”

Riffraff nodded slowly. “Yeah, I can’t argue with you there. It is weird. But...yeah, that was how the conversation started anyway.” Graceful tilted his head inquisitively and the larger male laughed softly. “Okay, well...get this. For starters...that wasn’t Nightmare Moon. That was Princess Luna herself. And...while Amdusias didn’t exactly spell the truth out for me, I had the distinct feeling that Luna wasn’t attacking Celestia. I dunno, didn’t say nothin’ at first because...that’s crazy, right? Princess Celestia, who has been ruling over Equestria for...ever. I mean, she might as well be a goddess or whatever, it’s already clear she lives for way longer than your average pony. So to think of her, the Bringer of Light and Harmony, causing an issue? You’d call me nuts.”

“I’d never call you insane or crazy or anything,” Graceful interrupted softly, rubbing quietly down Riff’s spine. “Don’t worry about that.”

The masculine pegasus gave a slightly amused smile. “Well...alright, fair enough. But regardless, you get what I’m saying. So what I saw, what I felt...apparently I wasn’t that far off. Again, Dusey wasn’t exactly forthcoming with the truth, but it sounded like Celestia was the one going a little...I dunno, insane? And Luna had stopped her, not attacked her. That’s why she didn’t make some great big scary speech to the town from the top of that stage. She had no plans of taking over or anything.” Riffraff made a face at his own words but could tell by Graceful’s thoughtful expression that the slender male didn’t think he was gone off the deep end.

“So...that was what he talked about? That stuff with the Princesses, or...you?” The feminine stallion gazed into Riffraff’s eyes quietly but almost fearfully. “Is he...is he doing more to you?”

Riffraff blinked before he registered the nature of his companion’s fears, smiling quietly and reaching up to stroke his cheek softly. “Nah, nah, nothing like that. It’s...apparently something I picked up from him because of the way I summoned him and all that. He said I’ll be able to sense stuff that other ponies might not pick up on.” He leaned to the side and nuzzled Graceful’s neck reassuringly, kissing softly just next to his throat. “Don’t worry, I ain’t shootin’ lasers out of my eyes or nothin’.”

The slender pegasus smiled softly, visibly reassured as he pressed gently into the other pony’s side. “Alright. I just...sometimes worry, ‘cause of Amdusias and...him being...you know.”

“A dick?” supplied Riffraff easily. Graceful giggled quietly and the blood-red male smiled himself before looking up with a slight blush as Jet approached the front of the stage and looked up at the two cuddling musicians with entertainment. “Uh...”

“Tell you two what. How about you DON’T pull out one of those right now and instead give us a hoof.” The enormous unicorn smiled amusedly and jerked his head toward the bar. “Since otherwise you two are just sitting here drooling over each other and distracting everyone here with music and pheromones. Race is gonna be late tonight, if he can come by at all.” He paused and leaned in close to the stage with a conspiratorial whisper, “His mom and dad grounded him since they didn’t believe that he spilled beer all over himself last night. Thought the poor kid got wasted.” He snickered quietly and leaned back slightly as Graceful and Riff both tilted their heads. “So, unless he can sneak out real late, he won’t be in tonight. I can use a hoof setting up the bar, the servers can always use a bit of extra help so they aren’t rushing around last-minute, too. I can give part of his wages tonight to you both, and the wait-staff is all real good about tipping out ponies who help 'em.” The musicians glanced at each other, Riffraff feeling a quiet thrum of absolute gratitude toward the ebony unicorn. He had no doubt in his mind that Jet was only trying to help the two pocket a bit more change, and the gesture was deeply moving.

He nodded and quickly leaned the guitar against the piano...before thinking twice, then clearing his throat and storing it back in its case as Graceful gave him a quizzical look. “Last thing I need is some. Butthead. Accidentally kicking it. On purpose.”

“Ooooh. He’s a douche,” Graceful announced, causing Jet to snort and clear his throat loudly. The slender pegasus huffed and hip-checked Riff lightly. “Well it’s true!”

Riffraff smiled and shook his head. “I ain’t arguing, I ain’t arguing.” He turned around, then tilted his head slightly. “So. What can we do?”

“Well, I can use some help stocking the liquor and getting it displayed like you saw last night, and...the servers have to roll silverware and fold extra napkins.”

The muscular pegasus winked at Graceful. “Well, why don’t you go help Mr. Tall, Dark and Mysterious, and I’ll go do the mare’s work for once.” He then paused. “Wait, do you guys even have a kitchen? I didn’t pay attention last night and...never even noticed if there food service.”

“Yeah, we do. Though Skillet hardly shows his face up front. Real small menu, though, short order bar-type food.” Jet jerked his head over a brawny shoulder. “The door’s across from Buck’s little hide-out. I didn’t even ask last night if you fellas wanted something, but grab me after the show...I’ll get him to whip together somethin’ for you guys for dinner.”

“I wouldn’t mind grabbing you now,” Graceful said teasingly, grinning brightly at Riff and then Jet. The bartender gave an awkward smile in return, shaking his head amusedly and then motioning toward the bar.

“I’ll think about it, Two-Six,” the unicorn replied, snickering quietly and leading the slim pegasus back toward the bar. Riffraff only smiled, glad at least that his companion’s current “prey” didn’t seem to be overly dismayed by the attention of another stallion...especially one as effeminate as Graceful. The crimson male chuckled softly and then hopped off the stage to find Delilah and ask how he could help out.