Nimbusgait Lakes The Tour of Peace (Closed; riverhippo/Mojo/Rabukurafuto/zoebel12)

[Rabukurafuto]

Nurse Starflower? Whoa; what a groovy name! An image entered Wheat's imagination, one of a sparkling blue flower opening in slow motion across a starry night sky.

That would make a great logo for our band...

"Pleased to meet all of you."

Wheat nodded, her eyes glittering. "A pleasure to meet you too. Oh! Your name is just the grooviest!"

She glanced over at Presteza, wondering if she would be interested in doing some promotional art for them. Well, they needed a name first and a time to advertise first, but it was nice to know they had somepony who could help them come up with something good.

[Mojo]

"Thank you very much, Wheat," Starflower answered her with a smile.

"We play folk music, groovy, marvy folk music there Presteza!" Mojo happily neighed as the Paint stallion turned toward the rest of the group. "Ya wanna see our stage? Comin' right up! This is why I parked me peddler's wagon the way I did. Jubilee, Starflower, let's show'm what we got!"

"Way ahead of ya, Mojo!" Jubilee replied as the petite Pegasus mare flew upward towards a pulley driven crank on one side of the back of the wagon. "Ready when you are, Star!"

"Alright then, on three," the lanky unicorn mare said as her horn began to glow, causing the pulley driven crank on the opposite side of the wagon to glow. "One... two... THREE!"

In unison, both cranks were rolled forward, causing wooden gears to mesh and a back panel of the wagon to move downward until it was a flat, level makeshift stage. Several short wooden pole attached to it also moved into place, making sure the stage had a secure, solid foundation. Mojo emerged from the other side, dragging a set of wide wooden stairs until it was squarely in front of the stage.

"There ya are, one portable, solid outdoor stage! WIngs helped me with the engineerin' involved and me family helped construct it. Been hopin' for a chance ta use it. and it'll be so cool for our little band ta play our music! Cause it's attached to me wagon, it can be moved from town ta town durin' our tour! Whatcha think of it, folks?"

"I must admit, this portable stage is sheer genius! Quite easy to set up and retract when we're finished using it." added Starflower.

[Hippo]

Flax crept to Presteza and leaned on her emotionally. "We play music for the soul." Flax heart his hooves to his chest, and then looked at Presteza. "Because nothing is more important than the aura that surrounds your life. We're looking to spread harmony in the spirit world as well as the physical!"

Flax watched in amazement as the wagon turned itself into a makeshift wooden stage complete with attachable staircase. "Woah, dude! That's like, really futuristic!" Of course, Flax was distant from modern pony technology, which really put him back a ways in terms of civilized convenience. But he immediately had the assumption that something so compact turning into something so useful and large would have to include some sort of magic within its operation. "How did you do it Mojo? You're not even a unicorn! And I don't even see any magical auras around. You like, hid them really well!"

​

[Pretzelparty]

Flax crept to Presteza and leaned on her emotionally. "We play music for the soul." Flax heart his hooves to his chest, and then looked at Presteza. "Because nothing is more important than the aura that surrounds your life. We're looking to spread harmony in the spirit world as well as the physical!"

​

"We play folk music, groovy, marvy folk music there Presteza!" Mojo happily neighed as the Paint stallion turned toward the rest of the group. "Ya wanna see our stage? Comin' right up! This is why I parked me peddler's wagon the way I did. Jubilee, Starflower, let's show'm what we got!"

The mare blinked in surprise as the stallion suddenly started leaning against her. She grimaced slightly as she noticed Flax's unwashed smell... he smelled sort of like old fish. Not wanting to appear rude she put on a smile and listened to what the hippie stallion said, "I-I see... that does sound pretty interestin'... I could get inta doin' that... do ya guys 'ave a drum set fer me ta try playin' on?"

Mojo's contraption was pretty fascinating, waving to the stallion she poke up,"Oi, did ya make that yerself? By the way, are ya from Trottingham?"

[Rabukurafuto]

The creaking, clanking of the wagon caught Wheat 's attention. She watched in amazement as it unfolded into a usable stage. She gave a laugh and stamped her hooves. "That's amazing!" she told Mojo and Starflower.

She approached the stage, testing the surface and nodding at how solid it felt. "It really works," she breathed. "This is a remarkable contraption. It will be perfect to do our tour with."

"How did you do it Mojo? You're not even a unicorn!" Flax exclaimed. Wheat rolled her eyes and moved next to him, pulling Flax away from Presteza a bit to give the mare some room.

"I think it's just engineering, Flax," she told him. "Not magic."

[Mojo]

Mojo seemed genuinely surprised at all the reaction he was getting for the portable stage apparatus that was just demonstrated. First, the Paint stallion turned to Flax Seed.

"It's cool, pal," the hippie brony said with a smile, "ya gotta know that unicorns are not the only ponies who can build groovy stuff. It was me dad that had the idea that a foldin' stage could come in handy on the road. All of this was made and functions on good ol' hoof power, not magic, not that I have anythin' against unicorns! All ponies are brothers and sisters livin' together in this groovy world of ours!

Next, Mojo turned towards Presteza, "Me parents and I had it built en' workin' before I left on me first peddlin' run! It was me mum who suggested that a foldin' stage could come in handy on the road. Me parents did live in Trottingham when they were younger, but when they decided to seek a more natural, serine kinda life, they bought a farm in the Nimbusgait Lakes area and we've lived there ever since!"

Lastly, the Paint Earth stallion turned towards Wheat Grass. "Quite right, Miss Wheat! Took a while ta get all the plans for the mechanics of the thing drawn up, but me good friend Jubilee helped with that, right Wings?"

"That's right, Mojo!" the still hovering blonde Pegasus mare neighed. "I studied a little engineering at school, so I was glad to help draw up the plans!"

"I never knew that part of the story," added Starflower. "Very good work by all who created this. So everypony, now that we have a stage and instruments, perhaps now would be a good time to plan the rest of our Tour of Peace."

"Spot on, babe! We could even rehearse some of the funky music we plan ta lay on the crowds! We got the makin's of a real top notch band here!"

[Hippo]

Flax was pretty excited. This was more than he could hope for. But as things started to really play out well for him, he lost more sight on what is realistic in terms of their performance. All of the ponies were talented in the arts, right? Then what could possibly go wrong? "Alright guys, let's try and play our first song then. We can all write the lyrics together and it can means something from the inside of our souls that explains to the outside of our being exactly what we are and what we want. Is everyone, like, ready?" Flax stood on stage and took a deep breathe.

​

[Pretzelparty]

Before she went back to adressing Flax seed, she made sure to approach the mare who was dressed in a similar garb and express her appreciation for getting the slightly smelly stallion off of her. nonchalantly walking beside Wheat grass she spoke up,"Thanks fer yer help. Does yer ... friend wash at all? 'e sorta smells like cheese." While she waited for the mare to respond she noticed that Flax was actually ready to start.

"Alright guys, let's try and play our first song then. We can all write the lyrics together and it can means something from the inside of our souls that explains to the outside of our being exactly what we are and what we want. Is everyone, like, ready?" Flax stood on stage and took a deep breathe.

​

This was going way too fast. Flax's ideas were all fine and good about having presteza play the drums but there was one notable problem; she didn't know how to play the drums!. She'd assumed that they'd wait to practice at first before doing a live show. Raising her hoof somewhat hesitant she spoke aloud in Flax's Direction,"Um... Mister Seed. Don't ya think that we should practice that song first? I mean I don't even know wot the song is. Do we even have any sheet music ta memorize?"

[Rabukurafuto]

"Thanks fer yer help. Does yer ... friend wash at all? 'e sorta smells like cheese." asked Presteza.

Wheat chuckled. "Well, we like being natural and all, working hard with nature, and we end up smelling a bit ripe after that. But...I think sometimes Flax just forgets to wash rather than making a conscience choice."

She wrinkled her nose but smiled. "You're welcome. Any time!"

Looking at Flax make his proclamation she shook her head, moving to the stage. "Flax?" she asked. "I know you're fired up, but it's awfully premature."

[Mojo]

Mojo listened to Flax Seed, Wheat Grass and Presteza with great interest. So did Starflower and Julibee Flyer. The petite blonde Pegasus mare was very experienced in arranging music, being a graduate of the Equestria School of Performing Arts. However, she was also a team player, and realized she needed to be helpful and not domineering. The Paint stallion with the peace sign cutie mark spoke first.

"Yur life partner's gotta point there, Flax. We do need ta get our songs organized first. I have a suggestion ta get us all started. Flax, you remember that song we sang together when I first met ya called 'Blowin' in the Wind?' Why don't we start with that song first? It has a simple tune and lyrics. To get this groovy band off to a flyin' start, we need ta decide who will be playin' what instruments and among the vocalists, which parts each of us will sing. Me gal pal Jubilee here can help us with assigning vocal parts. She graduated from a music school, ain't that right Wings?"

"That's right, Mojo. In order to get the maximum effect from our songs, we need at least four of us to sing one of the four basic parts of the standard vocal harmony: soprano, alto, tenor and bass! Groups like the Ponytones use such harmony in their tunes and look at how popular they are! So let's see what voices we have so we can assign parts for the vocals."

"Right-o! We also need ta decide what instruments we're gonna play too! I've got me trusty guitar, Jubilee can play most anything."

"And I'm afraid the only instrument I can play is the tamborene," Nurse Starflower offered, "As for part I can sing, I've been told I'm a natural alto."

"And my favorite harmorny part is soprano, but I can also sing in the alto or tenor ranges if I need to. I've heard you sing before, Mojo, and you're more a natural bass. So, what parts can the rest of you sing? If you don't know, we can all audition and I can choose the best parts for each of us."

"And I've got plenty of instruments we can all use, if ya don't have yur own on ya."

[Hippo]

"Oh don't worry. We should all sing our songs from the soul. There's no wrong way to, like, sing from the soul." Flax commented to Presteza as he prepared himself for making what he would call is music.

But then he was interrupted by Wheat Grass. "Premature? Nah, babe, this is like, our opportunity to feel the vibes of freedom in music. Don't you feel it?" Flax resisted clarification on what organization the other mares were inflicting on him. But three strikes, and he would be out, as Mojo would suggest the same.

"Ugh. Fine." Flax dropped himself and sat with his front legs crossed. When he first heard the suggestion of who should sing, Flax butted in. "But I thought we already decided that Wheat was going to sing the songs?"

​

[Pretzelparty]

"Ugh. Fine." Flax dropped himself and sat with his front legs crossed. When he first heard the suggestion of who should sing, Flax butted in. "But I thought we already decided that Wheat was going to sing the songs?"

​

"Um, Mister seed. There's nothin' wrong with 'avin' more than one set o' vocals." Spoke the straw hat bearing artist as she made her way to the stage and inspected the drum set she was expected to play. She still had absolutely no idea how the odd smelling stallion thought she had any idea on how to play this instrument... and the more she looked at it the more she realized she might not be able to at all. "Like I said... I'm no' sure I can play these ta be honest... I'm much better when it comes ta singing..." ,she said with a sigh as she experimentally poked her hoof to one of the drums.

sorry for the shor tpost all >_<

[Rabukurafuto]

"Ah, somepony to practice with," Wheat said to Presteza. "I was thinking of a song, and I want to know what you think of it."

With that, the teashades-wearing pony launched into her first song again.

♪P-p-p-p-p-p-peace! P-p-p-p-p-p-peace! P-p-p-p-p-p-peace!♪

Wheat blushed a little. "It's a first effort, but I rather like it; it just...comes from my heart. How do you feel though?"

[Mojo]

Mojo immediately turned towards Flax Seed.

"Chill out, pal, listen ta Presteza," the Paint stallion said calmly, "yur gal pal IS our lead singer, but by addin' some harmony with back up vocals, our performance will be even more groovy, can ya dig it?"

"Yes Flax Seed," added Jubilee, "strong harmony has big entertainment value! Just look at the success of the Ponytones!"

"Indeed! I do SO love to hear them perform!" Starflower spoke up. Then the three listened to Wheat Grass sing.

"You sound like a natural alto, Miss Wheat Grass," the petite blonde Pegasus mare commented. "So, if I sing soprano, and Mojo sings bass, we'll need at least one tenor to round out the group's harmony. Flax Seed? Presteza, can either of you sing in the tenor range of vocals?"

[Hippo]

Flax sighed. "Fine." He continued to sit annoyed, not really recognizing that it would be for the best if Presteza took on some vocals. His faith in Wheat's ability to sing was overdone, and he wasn't really convinced of anything but what he already knew was true, that he and his partner were fairly familiar with outbursts of the soul. And in his error, he would further underestimate the talents of the other mares within his vicinity. He didn't know them very well, but he would always doubt their personality along the peace of mind he always knew, not to mention question the creative value of an artist! He was wrong, but he wouldn't say it.

As Wheat Grass started producing sounds from her mouth, the eerie sound resonated throughout the town, bouncing off buildings and maybe causing some glass panes to fault. Flax, instead of realizing Wheat's voice was a weapon of mass destruction, beat his bongos in pattern. Every now and then, he would raise the tempo of his beats, but he followed no traditional musical arrangement of percussion.

​