Chapter 1: Pre-Trip Planning and Events
BEEP BEEP BEEP
Grand, the sound of my alarm always has to wake me up from the great dreams while I'm asleep. I turned off my alarm and got myself slowly out of bed, not ready for what the rest of the day has in store for me. Oh, sorry for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Sound Board, and I'm part of one of the greatest musicians in all of Equestria, Vinyl Scratch; or known as DJ Pon-3. Sure it's an honor to be traveling Equestria with someone like that, but it's not all fun and games though.
I'm the head of her road crew and it's my job to make sure everything goes smoothly. And when I say everything, I mean everything. From sound effects, lights, animations, you name it. Everything has to come together to create the best show we can make. Although, my time off of the job does have some good things. Even though I'm sort of a tech support type of guy, I work on my own music remixes and also play smooth jazz on the piano with Octavia. It's nice to come home to play my piano or work on a music remix.
As I got towards my living room, my phone started ringing. Thinking it was most likely going to be Nova wanting to check up on where we are going for the next upcoming trip. I grabbed my phone and answered, "Sound Board here, what do you need?"
"Hey Sound Board, it's me Vinyl." she replied. I was caught off guard when she was the one on the other end of the line.
"Hi Vinyl, what were you calling about?" I asked.
"I just wanted to tell you I found some of your music CD's," she replied, "And since you were working on getting all of the equipment loaded onto the set, I decided to listen to some of it." So that's where my CD's went. I must have forgotten them last week backstage. Go figure.
"So, what do you think?" I asked, "Are they any good in your opinion?"
"Good? They're amazing!" she exclaimed. It felt amazing to get such a great review from one of the greatest music artists in Equestria.
"Wow, thanks for the compliment," I said, "I really appreciate it."
"The way the music flows and how the bass sets the tone to everything makes it sound incredible," she went on, "Do you have any more?"
"Yeah I do," I replied, "I'll bring you some more for you to listen to on the tour."
"Great! I'll see you until then," she hung up. I did the same. I felt fantastic knowing that the famous Vinyl Scratch thought my music was awesome. I decided to use this to motivate me to finish up the travel plans for the concert.
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After an annoying four hours of setting everything up for the concert, I finished up everything that needed to be done before the concert started. That motivation from Vinyl about my music really kept pushing me to finish the preparations, so I had nothing else to do but work on new remixes for something I've been wanting to do; be a DJ for my own concert. I know it sounds odd to hear from a road crew member, but it's what I wanted to do ever since I was little. My dad was proud that I found an interest in techno style music, that he got me a chance to try out being a road crew member for Vinyl; which is how I got started with this job.
What I do with Octavia is something that I do to relieve the stress from the concerts and backstage. Octavia says it's good for the mind and spirit to do something like that; which in my opinion, I can totally agree with her there.
My phone started ringing again, and this time I knew it was Nova calling me. I answered the phone, "What do you need Nova?"
"Hey Sound Board," she replied, "do you know where we are going for this weeks tour?"
"We're heading to Ponyville," I answered, "A popular spot for Vinyl."
"Alright, I have a friend that runs a motel there," she replied, "We can stay there for the week."
"Thanks for the help," I replied, "I was thinking of asking you anyways on a place we can stay at."
"No problem," she laughed, "Look, I got to get started on the backstage crew's wardrobe, see you later." She then hung up. Nova is the girl that I can rely on for when we travel across Equestria. Her family is so wide-spread nowadays due to the fact that they're doing their own thing. It's nice to have her family to help us out; plus not to mention that they get free backstage passes.
I went back to working on my CD that I might send to Vinyl to see if she might find me some one that could help with what I want to do. I know it might be a long shot, but it's worth it in my mind.
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About three and a half hours went by and I managed to finish the CD I wanted to send. It comprised of remixes and some of my own songs as well. I was just about to head out the door when my phone rang. I didn't know who would call me at this hour, so I answered, "This is Sound Board, what can I help you with?"
"Hey buddy, how are things with the road crew?" It was my dad who was calling.
"Hey dad, things are going smoothly here," I replied, "What about things with the studio store?"
"Business as usual here," he answered, "All I wanted to do was call and check up on you. I'll see you later." He hung up. It's odd that he called. He never calls me due to the fact that I'm always on the road with concerts. But rarely, it's nice to know he still keep in touch with me.
"Big brother, who was that on the phone?" my little sister, Boom Box, asked.
"It was dad," I replied.
"Did he say anything?" she asked.
"Not really," I answered, "All he did was asked how things were doing here."
"Why doesn't he ever visit us?" she asked, "It's not that hard to do."
"To us it's easy, but to him it's a challenge for him," I replied, "But I'm sure that he'll figure something out."
"Any word from mom?" Boom asked.
"She's still in Prance, but she did send a postcard," I replied, "Here, take a look." I handed her the postcard. I was glad to see her smile for once. Our mom is a travel agent, so she's never around to see us all the time. But we can't blame her; that's what her job is. As my little sister was reading the postcard, for the fourth time today, my phone went off. I honestly need to get an answering machine for this type of reason.
My sister got to the phone before me and put it on speaker phone and answered it in the polite manner I taught her. "This is the residence of Sound Board, Boom Box speaking. How may I help you?"
"You sound so adorable sweetie," came the voice I knew and always loved.
"Mom, it's so good to hear from you," I said, trying my best to hold back the tears that were starting to form.
"Sound, how are you and Boom Box doing?" she asked.
"We're doing fine," I replied, "But what about you? How's Prance been?"
"Well, the sights were nice to see, but everything else just doesn't fit for me," she answered, "So, I've decided to take my two month vacation and spend it with you two."
"Really?" Boom Box exclaimed, "Are you actually going to come and visit us?"
"Not just that, but I'll be with you two for at least two months," mom replied.
"Yay! I'm so excited!" Boom Box cheered, hopping around the room.
"It's great that you're coming to spend some time with us," I stated, "Now if only someone else could try and make time to be with us." Boom Box suddenly stopped, looking right at me when I said those words.
"Sound, your father is trying his best to do what he can and recover from last time," mom started, "remember what happened last time that he got stressed out while at work?" My mind recalled the incident that had happened; dad was put in the hospital for three weeks due to a miscommunication between the guy he was working with. Dad got mad and sued him for not even helping him out, and won. His boss gave him a promotion and a small pay raise and wanted him to recover as quickly, but as safely, as physically possible.
"How could I forget?" I replied, "Isn't that the reason why he's in the situation he's in right now?"
"Don't blame it on him, he's only trying to do his best and recover while supporting you from afar," mom answered.
"Kind of what you are you are doing mom," Boom Box added.
"Yeah, exactly that," mom stated, "All I'm saying is that you need to keep going and know that both your father and I will always support you."
"Thanks mom," I replied."
"You're welcome," she said, "Now, I got to get back to work before I start losing clients. Bye you two!"
"Bye mom!" both Boom Box and I said together. As we hung up the phone, I felt guilty for why I've excluded dad like this. Before the incident, he would always come and watch the shows with Boom Box, and keep tabs on me while I'm backstage. Now, he can't leave the house because of that stupid incident. What I want to do now is find a way to bring him to Ponyville to see the show and be here with mom, Boom Box, and I. There has to be a way.
