{Las Pegasus} A Late Night Stroll[Attn: Blue]

[Blueblood]

Sky was alright for the wear, just needing a little assistance to stay on his hooves.  It had been a while since he last ate, and his stomach was now waking up and reminding him of that.  "Um, not that I'm not interested, but could I please have some cereal?  My attention is being demanded by my hunger, and it's hard to listen as much as I should."  A grimace crossed his face at his awkward phrasing; that hit must have discombobulated him.  Or something.  He did manage to offer a reply on the way to the kitchen, though, so his attention had at least not been totally monopolized by his hunger.  "That's quite the talent, you know.  I can't generate anything, but I can use whatever is present, even if there's not much at all of it.  You'll have to make sure I'm tied down when you really go for it, or else I'll be blown halfway to Long Guo!"

[IceStorm]

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

 

 

 

When Wind started to help Sky up, she could hear his stomach growling loudly. When he asked for a bowl of cereal, starting that it was hard for him to listen to much of anything while his attention was demanded by hunger, she nodded. On the way into the kitchen, he then commented on her talent. That he couldn't generate anything, but he could use what was present. He said that he would have to be tied down when she really went for it or he'd be blown half way to Long Guo. "Well, I don't know if the winds I make after that strong, but I have done structural damage with them before," she smiled reaching into a cabinet with a wing and pulling out a large box of marshmallows oats and then two bowls. "Hopefully this will be okay, this is the only cereal I got."

[Blueblood]

Sky's sleepy eyes lit up at the sight of the cereal.  "Oh, that's my favorite!"  He smiled, taking a seat.  "I tried seeing how well it worked as a hot cereal once; making oatmeal from Lucky Stars Oats.  It was, um, sweet.  Kind of like S'mores, if you add chocolate?  I, uh, didn't have a lot left in the pantry that day."  Being a creative type attempting to make a living off of that, there were many days for the pegasus in which not much was in the pantry.  

"So, you've got a venue for you now that fits?"  He asked, after taking his first spoonful, crunching as he held the spoon balanced in his pinfeathers.  He took his cereal dry, a taste acquired from not being able to afford milk many days.  "When's your next show?"

[IceStorm]

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

 

 

 

Wind smiled as she poured herself some of the cereal with the milk, noticing that Sky didn't use and milk at all. She was starting to piece a few things together about him. Mainly that he either grew up in, or was experiencing a time where bits were few and far in between. She had heard that this kind of stuff happens to those in the music field now and then. She experienced it herself a few years ago before ponies heard about what she could do with wind. Then everypony wanted to see her and experience the jolting gusts of winds that she could create. Well, if everything went the way she was hoping, Sky wouldn't be short on bits for long. Then he could start experiencing the better parts of life again 

 

She also made a mental note to try her cereal at some point as a hot cereal. A smores cereal sounded amazing and she loved chocolate anyway. It was definitely something worth trying once. 

 

When he asked about her finding a venue that fits and then about hey next performance date, she nodded. "I perform a lot at the Mareage here in town. Their auditorium is amount one of the largest here and they also have me doing a lot of outdoor shows. My next one coming up coincides with the eruption of their volcano display. One big climax points of my routine is an upburst when the volcano blows its top and shoots the water into the air. From there I'll be using my dancing and winds to shape the water into various shapes before letting it rain back down onto the crowd. They even recommend bringing an umbrella!!" she said with a giggle. "This particular show will be tomorrow night," she added afterward.

[Blueblood]

Fortified by the cereal, and energized by the gratuitous sugar therein, Sky was able to treat Wind Dancer's description of her planned show with the look of excitement it deserved.  "Wow, that sounds incredible!  A still shot from that would probably make a good album cover, too.  I'd love to see it..."  He face fell a little bit.  "Um, if the tickets aren't too expensive, that is.  I'm... not hurting for bits, but I don't have a large margin right now."

[IceStorm]

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

 

 

Wind was happy to hear the excitement from him when she told him about the routine. He added that a still shot from that would probably make an amazing album cover. Not being one for writing the music herself she'd have to take his word on that, thought it could work for a good advertising brochure as well... When he asked how much the tickets were going to be, she smiled. "Usually the outside displays for the volcano and the like after free because their primary motive is to attract ponies to come and spend bits in the casino. For this particular show, because they have me performing in it and they have to pay me, they are charging ten bits a head with six bits going directly to me from the price," she smiled, stretching out her wings a bit with a light pop coming from her left wing making her shiver a bit.

[Blueblood]

"Ten bits...."  Sky crunched through the cereal as he crunched his numbers.  "Well, I think I'll be able to manage that, actually.  I will have to fly back to my house to get the money, though." He nodded, before pausing in thought.  "I... hope it's still over the reservoir.  That's where I left it.  Where I remember leaving it.   I think I put the windcatchers away...."  Realizing this might not have made much sense to Wind Dancer, he clarified.  "My house has sails, too, of a sort.  It's a special type of cloud I can form, has the same effect as my wings.  That's how I'm able to move my studio from place to place.  But, um, sometimes I forget to put those clouds away, so I get blown way off course while I'm sleeping."

[IceStorm]

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

 

 

 

Wind smiled when he said that he would be able to attend the event. Even if he hadn't been able to she probably would have covered him. In fact, "Don't worry about that. I can get you in as one of my VIPs. So you won't be charged anything. Though it would probably be a good idea to go to your place to as you said, make sure it's still there. Surely it couldn't have gone too far overnight. If it did, I'm sure I could get it back on course," Wind smiled. "It's definitely interesting that a cloud house could be made from those clouds. I would have never thought of that myself. I'm interesting in seeing the design," she added.

[Blueblood]

Sky laughed softly.  "Yeah, I suppose you could do that pretty easily."  The pegasus began to speed up his cereal consumption, not showing outside signs of anxiety, but it was clear to the perceptive that he was slightly worried about the state of his home.  "It'll be nice to to show you around; I don't get a lot of visitors.  And if you know anypony that wants to cut an album, you'll know what I'll be able to do for them."

 

Once breakfast was finished, he got up to lead Wind to where he'd parked his house.  The reservoir was a bit of a walk, or flight, from where they were.  Still, it was a bright day as usual, the heat only beginning to start to cook the ground.  The updrafts were enough to keep Sky's hooves off the surface as the pair made their way north of the city.  "You won't be able to miss it; it's shaped like a boat, with a mast that I use to hand the sail clouds off of.  A picture of it is actually the logo of my recording studio; it fits with my name, you know."

[IceStorm]

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

 

 

 

The dark teal colored pegasi smiled when Sky said that he could show her his house, and added that he supposed that she could put it back on track fairly easily. She smiled and nodded both to the primary statement and to the following one about should her around and so she'd know where to send ponies that wanted an album cut. 

 

When they finished breakfast, Wind put the bowls in the sink and ran some water in them. She'd take care of those when they got back. The reservoir was a decent ways off and Sky seemed to be riding the gentle breeze on the way there. She nodded and smiled again as he described the house. "I'm even more thankful to get to see it then. It sounds quite impressive and taking you wherever the winds blow you. I used to be like that then I made a few friends here in Las Pegasus that helped me fix my wing," she said extending her left wing. "Since they were nice enough to do that for me I decided to settle down hey and show them that they were right to put their faith in me, and made quite the name for myself in the process," she finished with a smile. 

[Blueblood]

Sky looked over at Wind as he banked through a street crossing, the green signal sending a flurry of pedestrians across the pavements, buoying the stallion along.  "Your wing....?  Oh."  It was here that he finally noticed the scar Wind bore.  He wasn't quite sure how to respond to it, a lot of pegasi could be reticent about wing injuries, particularly where he grew up in Cloudsdale.  Still, it in no way seemed permanently debilitating, which was an improvement of the fates of some of his schoolmates.  "I wonder why you had to come all the way here to see that doctor; the demand would be wherever wings must fly dangerous skies.  It's a hard thing to be grounded, money is a cheap price for the freedom of the blue."

 

He didn't quite make it all the way to the reservoir without touching the ground; he found himself let down as the buildings thinned out, and he slipped back to follow in Wind's wake.  That was enough to get him airborne again by the time the streets opened up to the green ring surrounding the blue water reserve.  Above which was a maintained set of clouds, to shield it from evaporation in the desert sun.  Among them was a cloud that was, on inspection, more than a cloud.  A kind of ship made of cumulus, with rigging but no sail; a simple design, but a livable one.  "Oh, good, I remembered to anchor it!"

[IceStorm]

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

 

 

"I can understand the sentiment of that though, but at the same time, those surgeries are expensive, and usually outside the price range of a traveling show mare," Wind Dancer said before retracting her wing back in. "From the accident as a filly, my wing bent in a way that tore every ligament in the knee joint of the wing. They did a lot to get the wing functional again as a filly, but functional and usable are two completely different things. It wasn't until a couple from the Mareage saw the potential that I had and fronted the bill for the proper repairs. As you can see, It's not any worse for ware now, aside from some mild pain and discomfort from over exertion or when it gets bitterly cold," Wind finished as they made their way out of the city and up to the reservoir.

 

When they got there, Wind spotted a cloudship up... well... in the clouds! It looked to be made of cumulus clouds, though some Cumulonimbus clouds might have worked a bit better for energy storage. Still, it was a unique design that for the most part didn't look like it required sails, and much to her parteners delight, he had remembered to anchor it so they didn't have to try to chase it down after trying to figure out what direction the winds were blowing last night. "That is good. From out here, that would have been difficult to track. The winds like to change directions here on the lake a lot, so it can wreak havoc on a ship like this that's not tied down," she said before waiting for him to lead her up. It wouldn't be proper for her to be the first to step hoof back in his house.

[Blueblood]

"Oh."  Sky Sailing murmured at the explanation, subdued but not quite satisfied.  "I've always said it isn't having enough bits that makes the good life, but the point where the bits don't matter is where it begins.  But to be grounded by the ballast of an empty bank..."  His thoughts trailed off, clearly troubled.  It would take him a while to work through it, but there was a song waiting for him at the end of it, he was certain.

 

Once the anchor's security was confirmed, Sky finally took off into the air in earnest, taking a few strong flaps to ride a slipstream to his front door.  Well, more like a top door, as the entrance was on top of the "ship's deck", as it were; a trapdoor that opened onto a cushy cloud below, which he flopped down on top of, gesturing Wind Dancer to follow.  Once she did, she'd see a decidedly non-nautical interior; from here, it looked like a studio apartment crammed into the corner of the space, with a bed adjacent to the kitchen, with most of the available room colonized by musical instruments and recording equipment.  The whole of said equipment had a decidedly scavenged feel to it, with it pieced together from repaired bits of old tech.  Not to mention, half of it doubled as instruments in their own right, which produced the electronic sounds he incorporated into his songs.

"Welcome to Sky Sailing Studio."

[IceStorm]

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

 

 

 

The pegasi nodded when Sky said that it wasn't having enough bits that made the good life, but it was when bits didn't matter that it truly began. He added that he couldn't believe that a pony could be grounded because of an empty back account. Not in so many words, but she understood the meaning behind them all to well. It was easy for the rich to forget about the poor, and that sometimes the basic essentials of life aren't always available to those who can't afford it. Still, in the end everything had turned out okay for her and she was thankful for that. She knew that it could have always been worse.

 

Then Sky took her inside. It was a stark contrast from the outside. There wasn't a terrible amount of space, but the space that was there was well used for what he did. Several musical instruments and recording equipment next to a bed and kitchen. Wasn't too terribly different from hers, except she had a few extra walls. The open floor made everyone more accessible though, and is she had that... She could do more indoors without cause issues in her practice room. "Nice little set up you have here. Lots of open space. Makes it easy to transition and keep working. I actually wish my place was set up a more like that. But that would weaken it too much and then I'd risk causing major damage, both to me and my house," she said with a smile. 

[Blueblood]

There was enough room for both pegasi to stretch their wings, but not near enough for Wind Dancer to dance, and that was leaving aside what would happen to the equipment, or the cloud structure in general.  Sky, for his part, gave a soft smile, going over to a small seat and pulling over a guitar.  He had a pick that could attach to a pinfeather, which he used to strum.  Pegasi who practiced could almost use their feathers as fingers, and Sky had clearly practiced a lot.  "I can do acoustic music, as well as what you heard. Guitar, and piano.  I just can't fit a piano up here, so I have to use a keyboard with a crystal soundboard.  From there, going electronic just makes sense."

[IceStorm]

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

 

Wind Dancer nodded when she heard Sky tell her that he could do accoustic music as well. He could also do guitar and piano in addition to what she had already heard. She couldn't help but a small laugh when he said that he couldn't fit a piano in here so he had to make do with a keyboard with a crystal soundboard. "Indeed, electric would make a lot of sense. There's a lot that can be done with electric music though. A lot of it can be very fast, upbeat, and dramatic, but it can also be soft and romantic, or slow, dredgy, and menacing. That's really true for any genre of music though. The key and the progressions go a long way into determining the feel of the music that's being written and whether or not they would provide for a good dancing music, or if it was something that is more for a background of a story or a play," she smiled as she heard him begin to strum at the guitar. She took the moment to sit and relax a bit from their little walk.

[Blueblood]

Sky nodded at Wind's assessment as he continued strumming along, remarking, "That's true, though I tend to make songs that are soft and dreamy in both forms; I've only recently moved on to try out faster tempo or higher percussive music.  Not much a fan of anything... nightmarish, to be honest.  I get so little sleep as it is that to have those few precious hours be plunged in horror is just..."  He shook his head, obviously not wanting to dwell on the subject.

 

In order to shift the topic at hoof, his strumming turned intentional, going from noodling to starting an actual song, which he crooned softly over the plucked chord progressions:

 

"Slow mail, and Travel Stations,

Set sail towards new relations,

And say hello, to all your friends for me.

Several notes I sent to Whitsecar,

Wound up wherever you are,

Because your face, is what I want to see.

 

I served, and scratched a rainbow,

So curved, I felt the pain go,

Through my joints, and now I don't want to play.

Swinging down, I sent the birdie,

Downtown, at 7:30,

And I'm convinced that I've got Tennis Elbow.

 

We are lost, in the sound.

Close your eyes, and I will twirl you around.

We are lost, in the sound,

Close your eyes, and I will spin your around."

 

Spoiler

 

 

[IceStorm]

 

 

 

Wind Dancer nodded in agreement with Sky Sailing when he commented on the nightmarish stuff. Everything else would come with experience, but anything like that, unless you were writing a horror play or something like that or a scene of which the music is needed for, there wasn't a point for morbid music.

 

Whatever she was going to say though, she held as his strumming became more rhythmic and began with some lyrics. It was a song that she was familiar with, even danced to in a park a few times in her earlier days. She could probably spice up that routine a bit now that she had almost full use of her wing again. As it was, she found herself nodding along to the beat and doing her best to resist doing... What she did best, and that was dance to the music. 

 

"I served, and scratched a rainbow,

So curved, I felt the pain go,

Through my joints, and now I don't want to play.

Swinging down, I sent the birdie,

Downtown, at 7:30,

And I'm convinced that I've got Tennis Elbow.

 

We are lost, in the sound.

Close your eyes, and I will twirl you around.

We are lost, in the sound,

Close your eyes, and I will spin your around."

 

Her voice rang as she joined in on the singing. If she were better at tonal shifts and pitch hearing herself she'd try to harmonize the lyrics, but that was not her forte. She didn't make music. She just danced.

[Blueblood]

Sky kept playing a few more bars than usual to the outro, entranced as he was by the dancing.  It may well have transitioned directly into the next song in the session, if it wasn't for the breeze kicked up by Wind Dancer's wings.  Having a wind kick up inside a cloud house isn't the best of ideas, and the whole structure listed, knocking a few loose objects off of shelves.  Sheets of music and half finished compositions swirled around the air, slapping the stallion in the face and stopping the music short.

 

"Ptui!"  Ridding his muzzle of paper, he put away the guitar.  "Sorry, but we're probably gonna have to do it outside if we keep up the duet."  He gave a sheepish, apologetic look to Windy.  "You were really beautiful, though; both the singing and the dancing."

[IceStorm]

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

 

 

Wind Dancer couldn't help but smile sheepishly when some of the papers started to flow around when she opened up her wings. It was purely reflexive at this point and it wasn't intentional at all!! Her dancing in here even she knew could cause serious damage to the house. "Hehe,,, sorry.... Sometimes I start doing things like that out of reflex and I'm not really paying attention to anything but the music that's being played. If you'd like to go outside though, I might be able to put on a bit more of a show, provided you have good anchors for your ship," Wind Dancer smiled. She was only half joking about the anchors...

[Blueblood]

Sky chuckled softly, defusing any potential hard feelings as he re-stacked the papers.  "No worries.  And I do have a couple more sky anchors I could use, just give me a minute."  Slinging the guitar over his back, he strolled his way into the back studio, kicking a lockstand by a winch to let down a second weight on a rope.  Stepping out the window, he guided the anchor down to a tree, where he secured it before flying back up to the deck, gesturing for Wind Dancer to follow him out the window up to the top of the house.

 

It was wide, flat, perfect for dancing.  Or at least it would be, once Sky was finished securing the sails and furling them tight.  Didn't want them catching the wind until he was ready to leave the city, and given the quality of the ponies he was meeting in Los Pegasus?  That day was not going to be for a long time.  Once he was finally sure his house was secure, he alighted on the deck, wiping a bit of perspiration from his brow.  "Phew, just wanted to make sure... now, what sort of song would you like to hear?  I've got a couple I've been working on; it would be nice to give somepony else a chance to hear them."

[IceStorm]

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

 

Wind Dancer did indeed follow him outside of the window to the outdoors. the spacious outdoors where she didn't have to worry too much about blowing something away. She also watched as he made sure that all the sails were tightly wound. that was a good idea that she hadn't thought off. Didn't matter how good the anchors were if she made a hurricane!! Once he was finished, Wind smiled as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "Making sure is good. Any extra precautions are good for in case I get lost in the music, which... is likelier to happen than you'd think... As far as what I would like to hear, I'm okay with anything you wanna play! So if you got new stuff that you're working on I'll be glad to take a listen," she said with a smile.

[Blueblood]

"Hm..."  Alighting on the balcony, Sky frowned a little as he re-checked the tuning of his guitar.  "Not a lot of my new stuff is acoustic.  But it shouldn't be too hard to pluck out the notes."  After a bit of thought, he selected one, re-adjusting the neck clamp to get it in the right key.  "I'm still working on the lyrics for this one, I'm kind of proud how I arranged it, actually really proud.  It could be a really good song, but I want to make sure that I'm writing the right sort of words for it.  It came to me in a dream, actually, with the sort of sounds I don't even know how to make in the real world.  So I wanted to get that right first.  But the tune goes a little something like this..."

 

Spoiler

 

 

Wind would hear that the composition was actually pretty far along for a song that didn't have a full set of lyrics.  Truth be told, his dreamy brain probably pieced it together from half-forgotten scraps and bars from late night staying up with a pair of headphones and a pad of sheet music.  It had the same dreamy mood as what he'd played for her previously, not a fast-dancing song by any means.  Sky glanced up when he could to see Wind dance; the stallion wasn't an experienced live performer, still unused to having to engage an audience at the same time as playing music.

 

But he would watch carefully, as if in her movements Sky would be able to find the key to decoding the hidden lyrics that would make this song complete...

[IceStorm]

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

 

 

Wind smiled as he said that a not lot of his new stuff was acoustic, but it shouldn't be too hard to pluck everything out.  When he was still working out the Lyrics for this one, she her smile widened a bit. "Well then, perhaps I can help be an inspiration for you," she smiled as she took up place a little bit away in the air. She listened to the strumming and rhythmic patterns at first. It wouldn't do to start trying to dance without first knowing the beat of the music that was being played, however as the second run of what she presumed would be the verse, a breeze started to pick up in the air as she held her wings steady, seeming to float in the wind. Her feathers rustled gently. The music was gentle enough, but already she could feel some of the accent points in the music. What started off as some simple twirls and a few side steps, causing the wind to start flowing once more, much stronger over by where she was, but she was sure Sky could feel the breeze getting stronger by him as well.

 

As the verse transitioned, going into the chorus, the build was starting to get intense and she hit the note before the transition with a double axial spin so that on the initial down beat of the chorus, she would have 'landed'. Doing so created a powerful down-burst. One that was strong enough it actual made a large wave-like ripples on the surface of the reservoir, traveling a bit further inland as well than they normally would. Not enough to where they would put anypony in danger, but enough that it might have made some ponies wish they brought surf boards to the lake! From there, the down-burst sent her gliding through the air backwards swinging her flank and hips gently with her wings, pushing more wind downwards, although not nearly as strong moving through a few twirling loops, trapping some of the vapor inside of it as it started to rotate. At the main climax of the chorus, her final loop she burst through the small rotating cloud, shimmering as mist sprayed from around before rapidly unfurling her wings, making a strong gust in all directions radiating from her.

 

From that point, she started slowing everything down, flowing through some gentler moves as the song itself started to slow and lighten before holding herself in a pose similar to the one that she was in when Sky had accidentally bumped into her that morning. Slowly, the winds that would make a decent storm slowly returned to that of a gentle breeze. She looked back to Sky with a smile, the look on her face asking how she did without ever opening her mouth to say it.

[Blueblood]

The great winds of the dance had sought to toss Sky Sailing's house like a paper boat upon whitewater rapids, but could find little purchase in furled sails and a well-anchored craft.  Still, the pegasus felt the "deck" pitch and roll beneath him, not an unusual sensation for him.  His house was in many ways a skyboat, and had to pitch with the winds as a sea boat does with the waves.  Sky still perched steadily, missing not one note as he watched Wind Dancer in awe.

 

The mare, now free from indoor restraints, showed her full capacity, and it was amazing to behold.  "Wow..."  He breathed, unable to take his eyes off her.  "That's one of those amazing sights, that I used to think only happened in dreams.  Perhaps I was awake more often than I thought, and always lived in a world of wonders.  Or perhaps this all is but the dream of another."  A thought occurred to him, and he spoke up on it without missing his flow.  "You know what?  A night show like that would be incredible; maybe a cloud of fireflies to show the shape of the winds?  Not everypony can read them like a pegasus can; they're more impressive when you're sensitive to the beautiful shapes that are made in the invisible air."