Chapters Cobalt Masquerade And Star Struck's Tour Of Chaos
Cobalt Masquerade And Star Struck's Tour Of Chaos
Chapter Two
Catching Up
By Cobalt Masquerade
The Tour Of Chaos, Chapter 2
Catching Up
The next morning, Star Struck placed her things outside her home and shut and locked her door. Her life had been so boring lately, she was sure that going on tour with Cobalt Masquerade and his band would be just about the coolest thing ever.
Moments later, at precisely 9 am, 2 guards that looked like miniature Discords arrived in front of Star Struck’s home. One stepped forward and said, "Please, Miss Star Struck, let me take those bags. Please board the chariot, and we will be on our way."
She smiled excitedly at the creatures before her. “Oh thank you," she said and walked to the chariot and climbed aboard, sitting on the pedestal in the middle of the vehicle.
They took off immediately, flying at speeds that Star Struck could have only dreamed of, and moments later were outside the tour bus.
Cobalt, upon clearing his daze from the flash, realized that Discord had taken a picture of him in his achromatic state. Not only that, but Star Struck had not only seen him, but was laughing at him with along with the god of chaos. He immediately turned from orange to red from embarrassment and anger.
“Change. Me. Back. NOW!” he bellowed at Discord. “Before I lock you in stone for all of eternity.”
“Fine, fine,” the draconequis replied through fits of laughter, “But it serves you right for punching me in the side last night.” With a snap of his magical claws, Cobalt was back to his normal dark blue self. By now, Star Struck had stopped laughing.
“That’s... Better...” Cobalt said taking deep breaths, slowly regaining his composure. “I’m going to have some breakfast. I swear, Discord, if my cereal is purple or anything, you’re going back in the rock for the rest of the day. And I’ll let Dumb Bell drive the bus.”
This prospect seemed to greatly scare the draconequis, and he stopped laughing and immediately nodded his head, seemingly at a loss for words. Cobalt then went back into the bus, closing the door behind him.
Star Struck was seemingly confused by the god of chaos’s apparent fear. Discord saw this and explained, “I really wish Cobalt would get a new drummer. Dumb Bell always wrecks the bus with this stupid antics and his hard head. Even the thought of him in control of this bus has me seriously concerned for the safety of everyone in Equestria.” The draconequis shivered a little. “But everyone's probably up by now, so why don’t you go on in and say hi? I can handle the rest of the work out here on my own." And with a snap of his fingers, the chariot and small draconequii that powered it were gone. He then reviewed his take off checklist and got back to work preparing the bus.
Star then walked into the bus and was immediately greeted by Cobalt, who was over at the table on the opposite side of the bus, enjoying a bowl of cornflakes and some fresh apples. "How was your trip?" he asked, still a little flushed and his voice hoarse from yelling so much just a few moments ago.
She smiled at him, and replied “It was fun. And I’m sorry for laughing a few minutes ago,” she said sheepishly.
“It’s fine,” Cobalt replied through a mouthful of apple. He swallowed and said, “I’m sure I looked funny enough to laugh at because of Discord’s little prank.” He gave a small chuckle.
Star let out a little laugh, and said “Alright. Thanks again for letting me tag along. I’m really looking forward to this trip.”
"It's totally fine. Anything for an old friend. Plus, this will give us a lot of time to catch up.” Cobalt said with a smile. “By the way, I think Dumb Bell has something to say to you, isn't that right?" he said, looking over at Dumb Bell.
"Yeah," He said as he looked over at Star Struck. "I'm sorry I knocked those groceries out of your hooves yesterday. I was just so excited for the concert. It was my first with this band, and what's more amazing is that it was in Canterlot, in the Grand Hall no less! Anyway, I'm really sorry."
She smiled and extended a friendly hoof, "It’s perfectly alright. Past is in the past. It’s nice to meet you. Or at least, formally meet you.”
"Thanks. It's nice to meet you too. I'm pretty sure there's no need for more greetings, since you've already met everyone else here. Anyway, I'm gonna go check on Discord and the takeoff plans, see you later!" And with that, Dumb Bell was off and out the door of the bus.
"Sorry about him Star," Six String said from across the bus, still half asleep from his rude awakening. "He's a little scatterbrained, but he has a good heart."
"And he definitely has a hard head," Octavia said, pointing to a hole in a nearby wall. "He did that getting out of bed this morning. This is why I don’t sleep on the bus. It's too dangerous."
She looked at the dent and blinked twice in a mix of shock and fear. “Whoa. That’s um.. Kinda scary actually. Remind me to avoid bumping into him again" she said jokingly.
"Noted." Cobalt said, finishing his breakfast. "Anyway, let's get this show on the road. DISCORD!!!!!"
"What?" came Discords voice from outside.
"Are we ready to go?"
"One second!" There was a magical flash, and then Discord was in the bus. "Now we're ready to go."
"What about Dumb Bell?" Six asked.
"I was hoping you had forgotten about him," Discord said with a growl. With a snap of his fingers and a bit of magic, Dumb Bell was dropped onto the floor of the the bus on his back.
“Alright, now we're ready to go,” said Cobalt. “Lets get this show on the road! The Tour Of Chaos continues!"
Discord started the buses engine, and with that, they were off to Ponyville.
Star Struck used all of her self control to keep her from jumping for joy when she heard Cobalt say that. The thought of traveling with a band on tour was just so exciting!
"Ever been on a cross country trip before?" Cobalt asked.
She shook her head, "I’ve never left Canterlot before!"
“Well this is gonna be fun for you then. We’re going on a pretty much Equestria wide tour. This was only our 1st stop. Discord planned the route. Expect chaos at every turn."
"Hey, came Discord's voice from the drivers seat, "Not every turn. I have to give you guys a break every now and then. Plus, with your threats of turning me into stone and letting Dumb Bell drive the bus, I can’t keep you ponies perpetually pissed off at me."
Star could do nothing but laugh at his comment regardless of how unfunny it was. Her excitement was really beginning to show itself. “Well, sounds like fun either way. A little chaos never hurt anypony," she said nodding at them, her laughter dying out as she started to regain her composure.
"True, but too much chaos can make somepony a little crazy, isn't that right Discord? Or have you forgotten that the last time you vented to much of your chaotic energy at once, you were almost trapped in stone for another 5000 years?"
"Yeah yeah, I get it, take it easy on the chaos blah blah blah. It's just so boooring sometimes."
"We know you get bored easily Discord," the entire band said in unison. "At least go easy on Ink, she's new to the bus," Cobalt said. "Fine," Discord replied..
Ink raised an eyebrow and looked around at everypony before making a nervous smile. “Should i be worried?"
"Maybe a little," said Six, who shivered a little. "Yesterday, he put spiders in the cereal. I don't trust cereal anymore,” he said, eyeing the half empty bowl in front of Cobalt.
"Don't mind Six, he's paranoid by nature." Cobalt said reassuringly, "But you should be careful. He won't hurt you, but his pranks can be a little out there. He turned the floor into Jelly beneath us once. And as Six pointed out, he has a sick sense of humor with food. Always check your food before you eat it, especially if he's the one cooking. Being around him long enough will keep you on your toes."
“Always, check the food, got it.” Star said, making a mental note. “Oh, this is going to be sooo much fun!” she said with an excited squeal.
"Oh don't you worry, it's going to be. As long as Six String doesn't sleep all the time, and Dumb Bell doesn't kill us all doing something stupid."
"Hey!" Dumb Bell yelled, then tripped and fell on his head as the bus hit a bump in the road.
"Exactly," Cobalt said with a laugh.
Star winced and looked at Cobalt. “Ooohh... That looked like it hurt.” she said with a small giggle. “Will he be alright?"
"He'll be fine, he’s had worse." Cobalt said with a chuckle. “I swear his head's made from the same metal we play on stage, and is twice as hard."
She could only laugh at what Cobalt said. "That’s impressive. I hope I never end up in the path of that."
"Don't worry, I'll do my best to keep you out of his path. So far, the only casualties caused by Dumb Bell have been a few holes in the walls, an emptied fridge, and some broken drum sticks. Hopefully, it'll stay that way for the rest of the tour. Then again, this is only the first stop," Cobalt said with a sigh.
“Yeah, we can only hope,” Octavia said, opening the door to the buses built in practice room. “I’m gonna practice my bass. Call me if anything happens, or if I need to evacuate the bus because of something stupid that Dumb Bell does.”
“Alright,” Cobalt said. “Any plans for you Six?” he asked, turning to his friend.
“I think I’m going back to sleep, wake me up when it’s lunch time, alright Coby?” he said with a devious grin.
“Fine, whatever. And don’t call me that,” he yelled after his friend, who only let out a small chuckle as a reply.
Star Struck looked at Cobalt quizzically. “Coby?”
“Yeah,” he said. “When I first got into Stalliongrad, back when I was little, I was pretty much hated by everyone except for Six String. Just because I was different and the new kid. That’s the name they called me. It’s not that Coby is a bad name, it just brings back bad memories. I really don’t care any more, but Six just does it to annoy me. It just gets on my nerves a little.”
“I’m sorry, Cobalt.” Star said.
“It’s fine, Cobalt replied, “Like you said earlier, what’s past is past. Anyway, since there’s nothing better to do, why don’t we do some catching up? We never did yesterday.”
“Alright, fine by me,” Star Struck said. “Why don’t you start? Why did you move to Stalliongrad?”
“That’s a story in itself. When i was little, my dad worked as an assistant manager for a mining company. The jewels his company mined were bought and sold world wide. He had just moved to Canterlot the month before I was born, and since the mine he worked at was close, there was no problem. The reason we had to move out of Canterlot was because the mine was depleted. My dad did a little research, and found out that there was a huge abundance of gems in Stalliongrad that had been untapped. My dad really didn’t want to move, because he knew I was super excited about just getting into Magic Kindergarten. But we had to move, otherwise he would have to find a new job. So we moved.”
“Oh Cobalt, I’m sorry.” Star Struck said.
“It’s fine,” Cobalt said. “If I hadn’t moved to Stalliongrad, I wouldn’t have formed this band, and probably wouldn’t have gotten my Cutie Mark.”
“I never did get a good look at your Cutie Mark,” Star said, looking around Cobalt at his flank. “What is it?”
Cobalt covered his Cutie Mark with his hoof. “Nope, not yet. It’s your turn. What exactly is your Cutie Mark for?” he asked Star Struck.
“Well if you want to know,” she said looking back at her flank, which was adorned by a blue shooting star, “My Cutie Mark represents my profession, and my obsession. When I was little, I was walking through the park one night when a very small meteor hit the ground next to me, and threw me back against a tree. I hit my head and i was knocked unconsious. I’m pretty sure that’s where my poor memory comes from. You can say that I really was ‘star struck’.” Cobalt and Star both shared a good laugh at this. “Once I came to, and realized what happened, I immediately wanted to learn more about this rock that had just fallen from the sky. I did some research, and learned a lot. I realized i wanted to be an astronomer. That’s when my Cutie Mark appeared. Right now, I work for the Canterlot Astronomical Research Foundation.”
“Wow,” Cobalt said, a little stunned. “That’s really cool.”
"Thanks,” she said. “Now, about your mark,” Star said, moving Cobalt’s hoof from his flank. She gasped a little at how cool it was. Cobalt’s Cutie Mark pictured a mahagony Flying V guitar laid over a crescent moon. Within the moon, there were two five-pointed stars. “Wow,” she said to the stallion before her, who was grinning with pride, “That’s really cool.”
“Thanks,” he said. “The story behind my Cutie Mark goes a little like this. I’ve played the guitar for as long as I can remember, and I’d always hoped I was going to get famous by playing it. Once I met Six and we formed the band all those years ago, I knew my dreams were coming true. I got my mark during our first concert at this little place in Stalliongrad. The stars and moon represent how I knew was going to be famous. You know the old saying, ‘Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.’ The guitar of course represents my love of playing guitar.” Cobalt Masquerade smiled as he finished his story, enjoying the look of awe he had inspired on Star Struck’s face.
“That’s so cool!”
“Thanks,” Cobalt said.
“Is there anything else you want to know?” Star asked.
“Oh yeah, tons,” Cobalt said with a smile.
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Thanks again for reading everyone!
Cobalt Masquerade And Star Struck's Tour Of Chaos
Cobalt Masquerade And Star Struck’s Tour Of Chaos
Chapter 3
Freaking Out
By Cobalt Masquerade
It had been about 3 hours since the bus had left Canterlot, and so far, nothing much had changed since takeoff. Cobalt Masquerade and Star Struck had been chatting at the table, discussing all of the things that had happened to them during their time apart. Six String had been sleeping the entire ride, so far. Octavia was furiously practicing her bass in the isolation room. And finally, Dumb Bell had just been snacking around, trying his best not to break anything.
Cobalt had just began to talk about the crazy stuff Discord had done on last year’s tour when Star Struck felt something furry brush up against her leg.
“Did you just rub your leg against mine or something?” she asked Cobalt.
Cobalt looked at Star Struck with genuine confusion and replied, “No. Why?”
“Because I just felt something furry rub against my leg.”
Cobalt just stared at her confusedly, then looked under the table. “Oh, that’s just Knuckles,” he said with a laugh. “I like to bring him on tour with us so he doesn’t get lonely at home. Come on out sleepy head!”
“Knuckles?” Star asked.
“Yeah, he’s my pet boxer,” Cobalt said as a sizable dog made its way out from under the table. It had a very large head, a light brown coat, and a large white patch of fur on its chest. It also had white fur color on its feet. “You like dogs?”
“Oh my Celestia, yes!” Star cried, “I love dogs! Does he bite?” she asked, realizing just how big the dog was. He was just barely smaller than the average stallion.
“Oh Tartarus no!” Cobalt exclaimed. “He’s a hundred pound teddy bear. He might lick you though.”
“Oh, that’s fine,” she replied, her worry dissipating. She reached down and patted the large dog on the head. “Hey Knuckles, good to meet you.” The dog simply laid down next to Cobalt on the bench next to him.
“Sorry, he’s kinda lazy,” Cobalt said with a chuckle.
“It’s fine,” Star replied. “What do you want to do now?”
Cobalt was about to say something, but his stomach interrupted him. “I guess that kinda answers your question,” he said sheepishly, a small blush forming on his face.
“I guess it is about lunchtime,” Star Struck said. “How about I make us all some lunch?”
Cobalt was taken aback by this proposition. “Are you sure? As long as you're no Sweetie Belle, you're welcome to help, I guess. Usually, we just have Discord snap us something up, but no offense to him, it's. It quite the same as a home cooked meal."
"Hey," Discord yelled from the drivers seat, "My food is always hot and ready, don't you complain. Plus, I haven't seen you guys trying to cook anything."
"That's because we're pretty much terrible cooks, Discord. Think of this as just a little bit off your workload."
Star looked at Cobalt, a little confused. “Who’s Sweetie Belle?”
“Oh I forgot, you don’t know her yet,” Cobalt said with a chuckle. “A friend of mine has a younger sister named Sweetie Belle. One time, I had the displeasure to have a meal with her, all cooked by Sweetie Belle. Literally everything was burnt! She even managed somehow to burn juice!” Cobalt, Discord, and Star Struck all had a good laugh, all at the same time trying to figure out how somepony could burn juice. "Just don’t tell her I said anything. She’s still a filly, and I don’t want her feelings hurt.”
“Alright, I won’t.” Star Struck said. “And if that’s your definition of a ‘Sweetie Belle’, I am definitely not one. I’m a really good cook. Since my research isn’t really a well paying job, I’ve had to find other work, and I’ve worked in quite a few fine dining restaurants in Canterlot.”
“That’s cool.” Cobalt replied.
“So anyway,” Star said, “What does everypony around here eat? I’m mostly worried about what HE eats,” she remarked, pointing her hoof slightly at the draconequis in the driver’s seat.
“His diet is a little different than ours,” Cobalt said, “Considering he's.... How many animals are you, Discord?"
"I represent 9 animals,” Discord replied, “But I somehow got stuck with all of their appetites and taste preferences."
"Yeah, what he said," Cobalt said.
"And I also have all of their taste preferences, so I will be cooking for myself. Thank you for offering. Though I will great the ingredients you need."
“That sounds good, thank you Discord. Now then, what do the rest of you guys eat?” Star asked, now looking back at Cobalt.
"Well, we all have favorites,” Cobalt replied. “I prefer spicy Neighponese and Neighsian food. Noodles and stuff like that, sometimes sushi. Octavia over there likes more classical food, the simple elegant stuff like your find at a four or five star restaurant. Dandelion Steak, stuff like that. Six likes cafe and bar food. Hayburgers, grass fries, not all that fancy stuff like Tavi. Dumb Bell eats everything. You don't really need to make anything special for him, just make extra of everything else. He'll eat the leftovers.”
“Alright,” Star Struck said, internally memorizing everything Cobalt had just said. “That’ll be easy.”
“If you say so. Just tell me if you don’t want to cook any more. It can be a tough job, cooking for all of us.”
“It’s fine, and I want to help you guys out. Like I said, I don’t want to be a freeloader.”
“You’re not a freeloader, I invited you to come along. If anything, I should be cooking for you.”
“It’s fine. Discord, can you summon me up some ingredients?”
“Sure, what do you need?”
“Well,” Star said, raising a hoof thoughtfully to her chin. “I’m gonna need some daisies, some hay, noodles and some spices, some apples and other fruits, and oooh!" she clapped her hooves togehter, “Lots of whip cream and sugar!”
"Whipped cream and sugar? If you say so, you're the chef. You get all that, Dissy?"
"Don't call me that! But yeah, I heard her. Here ya go, Star," he said with a snap of his claw, and all the ingredients Star Struck could have asked for and more appeared on the counter near the stove and refrigerator, opposite the table the two were sitting at.
“Thanks, Discord,” Star said, setting to work. She first chopped up the fruits and put them in cups. She then turned on the stove and fried the noodles, all the while adding some spices to the mix, along with a bit of the daisies. She then took what remianed of the daisies and mixed them with some of the leftover fruit. She continued to cook like this for a while. In no less than half an hour, the food was done, and she began to set plates. She looked over at Cobalt with an accomplished look on her face. “I hope everypony’s hungry."
“I know I am,” called Six String from the back of the bus as he made his way to the table, obviously just having got out of bed.
“It's afternoon, Six," Octavia replied, closing the door to the practice room.
"Figures food would be the only thing able to get you out of bed," Dumb Bell said with a snicker, at which everypony but Six String broke out laughing.
"Hold on everypony, I'll be right back," Cobalt said as he went up to Discord and whispered something in his ear. The draconequis visibly held back a snicker. When he returned, he was greeted by a few curious glances, but nopony thought anything of it.
“Oh crap,” Cobalt said, “I forgot to feed Knuckles. Discord, would you mind snapping up a bowl of food for him?”
“Sure,” replied the god of chaos. And with a snap of his fingers, a very large bowl of food appeared beside the half asleep dog, who quickly jumped up and started to eat.
“Cool,” said Cobalt. “Alright, Star, what have we got to eat today?”
“Let’s see... The hay noodles with the daisy stir fry for Cobalt. For Octavia I made apple, orange, and daisy sampler drizzled with my famous sugar sauce. I made a delicious fruit salad with a bit of sugar added as well, just for fun. And finally, for dessert, my special fruit cups!" she said pointing at the cups of fruit, topped with whip cream and the same sugar sauce. "I hope everypony enjoys,” she said with a bright smile.
“Which ones Six's?" Cobalt asked, as Discords ears perked up a little bit.
She blinked and hit her head with a hoof "Oops, I knew I forgot something... Well, the salad and the fruit cups are enough for everpony... I’m sorry Six."
Six was actually visibly aggitated, and was grinding his teeth together.
"Six, stop. Hold your temper. You know how you get when you're angry," Cobalt pleaded.
Cobalts pleas fell on ears of stone, however, and despite his best efforts to hold his temper, Six snapped and stomped his hoof on the floor multiple time, each harder than the last. However, he immediately stopped when he saw he was actually really scaring Star Struck's. She had already backed away a good distance, and was on the verge of tears.
Seeing that Six really scared Star, Cobalt walked over to Discord again, this time a visibly angry, and whispered something else into his ear. Discord simply nodded his head in reply.
After returning to the table, and after a moment of awkward silence, Six String finally spoke. "I'm sorry I scared you Star, and it’s ok about the food," he said, with genuine caring in his voice. He then looked over at the draconequis in the driver’s seat and said, "Discord, would you mind snapping up the usual for me?" The god of chaos merely snapped his claw, and a plate of grass fries with a hayburger popped onto the table.
"Sorry for Six," Cobalt said to the still sniffing Star Struck, pulling her into a gentle hug. "He can be kinda hot-headed at times. And he's a real plothole when it comes to food." He then walked her back over to the table and sat her down in the seat right next to him.
Everyone then started eat, and for some reason Cobalt kept glancing at Six every few moments. After about ten minutes of eating, a deafening cry was heard from across the table from Six, who had about ten spiders crawling all over him that had come from his plate. He immediately jumped from his seat, screaming, "GET THEM OFF OF ME!" over and over again as he ran around the bus in an attempt to rid himself of the spiders. Everypony else was just doubled over laughing.
"Serves you right for not getting up when everypony else does, and doubly so for hurting Star’s feelings. Originally, I just asked Discord to put one spider in your food for not waking up. But when you hurt Star, I told him to make it ten to teach you a lesson."
"Whatever! I'm sorry, just make them go away, PLEASE!!!!!"
"Fine, you heard him Discord, make the little spiders go away." Discord snapped his claw, making all of the little spiders vanish, only to be replaced by a pony sized spider that instantly made Six's entire body go pale. Even his mane. The huge spider then proceeded to chase Six around the bus, while the rest of the ponies and even Discord erupted with laughter that never seemed to end.
"Alright, Discord,” Cobalt said, gasping for air, “We've had our little revenge, now make the spider go away please." And with a snap of his claw, the spider was gone, leaving Six clutching his chest from the near heart attack he just had, the color slowly returning to his face. He then shot a look at Cobalt that would have made a lesser ponies blood turn to ice.
"I promise Six, no spiders for the rest of the week," he said, his laughter only just beginning to die down.
"A WEEK?!?!? You had better make it the rest of the tour!" Six wheezed back.
"Don't make me put one in your precious bed, Six." That shut him up. "Now then," Cobalt said as he clapped his hooves together, "Let's get back to eating!"
"I'm not hungry anymore," Six said, "I'm tired, so I'm gonna go back to bed. There better not be any spiders in there, or I'm quitting the band!" he screamed at nopony in particular.
"That's Six for you," Cobalt said to Star.
Star looked up at Cobalt, away from the food she was playing with on her plate. “I feel bad for forgetting. But thanks for standing up for me," she said looking down at her food, a blush spreading across her face. "I’ll make it up to him next time I cook. How is everpony enjoying the food?”
"Anything for a friend, plus, Six is a hot headed idiot all the time, so don't worry about making it up to him. I'm not going to let anypony treat my friends like that. And the food's great! What do you guys think?" Cobalt asked his remaining bandmates.
"The food's great, Star!" Dumb Bell said, mouth full of fruit from the salad.
"It's marvelous, Star Struck," Octavia said, looking up from the dish Star had prepared for her. "Do you cook for a living?"
“Thanks. And yes and no. My main profession is an astronomer, but since that job doesn’t pay quite enough, I have another job at any given time. I’ve just worked in a few restaurants is all.”
“I see,” Octavia replied.
Star Struck smiled. “So, our next stop is Ponyville?”
“Yeah, our next stop on the tour is in Ponyville,” Cobalt said. “I might have a few friends for you to meet as well, two especially that I think you might already know.”
She looked at Cobalt confusedly. “I don’t know anyone from Ponyville...”
"They went to school with us way back in the day too. Well, I’m sure at least one of them did. But that's all I'm saying until we get there and you meet them again for yourself. Anyway, why don't we all take a nap while we wait to get to Ponyville? I need to show Star Struck where the beds are anyway." All heads at the table nodded in agreement. "Discord, can you wake us up about half an hour before we get to Ponyville?”
“Sure,” the draconequis said.
“Alright Star, follow me." Cobalt then led Star to the very back of the bus, where there were 3 very large sets of full sized bunk beds, each containing 2 beds. "Here, Ink," he said, pointing to the bunk on top against the back wall of the bus, " You can have the bed above mine. That way, you'll be the farthest away from Dumb Bell, who's bunk is under Six's." he said, pointing to the right wall of the bus, where Six was sound asleep on the top bunk and Dumb Bell climbing onto the bottom bunk, sleepy and ready to take his nap.
“Thanks, Cobalt.”
“Just another way to keep you out of the path of his hard head,” Cobalt said with a smile as he climbed into his bed.
Star Struck smiled as she climbed into her bunk, and quickly fell asleep.
Alright everypony, here’s chapter 3.
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Cobalt Masquerade And Star Struck's Tour Of Chaos
The Grand Tour: Part One Tempers, Fillies On Scooters, And High Fashion
The Grand Tour: Part One Tempers, Fillies On Scooters, And High Fashion
Cobalt Masquerade And Star Struck’s Tour Of Chaos
Chapter 4
The Grand Tour: Part One
By Dalton McQuay, AKA Cobalt Masquerade
It was finally happening. Cobalt was on stage, with his idol since foal hood, Dave Mustang, about to play a set with him. This, Cobalt knew, would be the greatest moment of his life.
“Are, you ready, Cobalt?” Dave asked him, the crowd cheering, ready and waiting for the performance.
“Y-yeah,” Cobalt choked out, the excitement overtaking him.
“Alright,” Dave said, “Let’s start off with Symphony Of Destruction.”
“Okay,” Cobalt managed to say, readying his hooves on the frets of his guitar. Dumb Bell clicked his drumsticks together four times, to count off the beat, and then all three guitarists played the power chords to start the song.
*HOOOONK!!!!*
Cobalt was startled awake, along with the rest of his band and Star Struck, by Discord.
“Damnit Discord! Couldn’t you have driven a little slower for once? I was having, like, the best dream ever!” Cobalt yelled at the snickering draconequis.
“Nope. Besides, we’re here, and even though the setup’s almost done because of the forward crew, there’s still some stuff that needs doing. Come on guys, get up, and let’s get the setup done so you can have a little break before the show starts!” Discord said.
After a few grumbles and some mane, tail, and coat brushing, everyone was out of the van and helping with the setup. Everyone except for Star Struck however.
She slowly wandered the stage, looking for something to do, but not knowing how to do anything.
“You okay Star?” Six String asked. “You look a little lost.”
“You can say that again, Six,” Star said. “I have no idea what I should be doing. I have no idea what the town is like, so I don’t want to wander into town and get lost, and I have no idea how to set up any of this electronic stuff.”
“Well, since you can’t work with the electronics, there’s no much that you can do around here...”
“Could you maybe make us something to eat, Star? It’s been a few hours since dinner...” Dumbbell said as he worked on setting up his drum set.
“Sure, it’s really the best I can do right now, isn’t it?” Star replied halfheartedly as she trotted into the bus.
Cobalt felt bad about her not feeling like she could be of direct help, but he needed to talk with the band about something more pressing first. “Hey guys,” he called out to the band members, “Could you gather around for a second? I need to talk to you guys about something.”
As the band members gathered around, he began the talk he had been planning in this head since earlier that day, when Six String yelled at Star Struck. “Guys, listen, we really need to get our act together.”
“What do you mean?” Octavia questioned.
“I think you all know what I mean,” Cobalt said, gesturing to the group. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you guys about this for a while, but Six’s freak-out earlier today made this much more urgent.”
“What are you talking about?” Six String asked cockily. “Our first concert went off without a hitch.”
“Yeah Six, it did,” Cobalt replied, irritation in his voice. “The concert was great. The music was amazing! But that’s not my point. We, as a band, are the problem. Six, your anger today scared all of us, not just Star. You can’t just flip out and yell like that all the time, and you need to get control of your temper.”
Six was the first to interject. “You have no right to lecture me on MY temper.”
“Six, you know as well as any of us that I have a temper. And I’m trying to gain control of it. And it’s not just you, Six. It’s everyone,” he said, turning to Octavia. “Octavia, I’m sorry, but please lighten up. When we talk about music, all you ever say is that you hate it. If you didn’t like it at least a little, you would have left already. So please, try to go with the flow.” Octavia just looked at the ground and kicked at it with a hoof. Finally, Cobalt turned to Dumbbell, an understanding look in his eye. “And Dumbbell, your only problem is your klutziness. And I know you can’t help that much. But please, at least try to be more careful?” Dumbbell just nodded slowly, because he knew nodding his head quickly would most likely throw him off balance.
When Cobalt had finished, the whole band hung their heads a little, for they knew every word Cobalt had said was true.
“Alright dude, whatever you say,” Six String said as he and the others began to disperse.
Star Struck came out of the bus hovering a plate of snacks with her magic just in time to see the group dissipate as they went back to setting up their equipment. “Is something the matter?” she asked, placing the plate onto a nearby table, which Dumbbell and Six ate half-heartedly from.
“No,” Cobalt replied. “We just had a little talk is all. Anyway, thanks for the snacks and stuff. I wish there was a way I could repay you...”
“It’s ok. In fact, I should still be repaying you for taking me with you on this tour.”
“Still, I wish there was something I could do for you...” Cobalt said meditatively, scratching his chin with a hoof.
“Why don’t you take her on a tour of the town?” Six yelled from behind his speaker stack as he tweaked his tone through his amp head.
"What?" Cobalt shouted back at Six.
"Why don't you show Star Struck around Ponyville? It’s a new place for her to discover. Plus, between me, Tavi, Dumb Bell and Discord, we can get this done in time." Six String said.
"You sure Six?" Cobalt asked.
"Yeah, just make sure you two get back in time for the concert. It’s at eight, so get back here at about seven thirty. That still gives about an hour and a half."
"Alright. What do you say, Star? Wanna take the Ponyville Grand Tour?"
“That sounds amazing Cobalt,” Star Struck said excitedly.
"Alright then,” Cobalt said, grabbing his saddlebags and making his way off of the stage and out of the concert hall with Star Struck. “Let’s go to the town square first there’s bound to be a ton of ponies there. By the way, watch out for fillies on scooters in this town. They can be dangerous. And definitely be on the lookout for fast moving pink blurs. Those can be even worse. Especially if the blur smells like cupcakes."
“Um... What?” Star asked, confusion littering her face. “What you just said makes no sense.”
“I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. You'd be surprised how much crazy stuff happens in Ponyville. Remember all those hydra and manticore attacks from a few months ago? Ponyville was the center of all of them."
“Oh wow. I heard that those were some of the worst attacks of the century. Now that you mention it, I remember seeing a lot of crazy stuff about Ponyville in the papers. Is this town like a magnet for craziness or something?”
"I think so," Cobalt said with a deep chuckle, "Either that, or it's the people living here that cause the prob-"
Before Cobalt could even finish his sentence, there was a sole "WATCH OUT!" followed by two high-pitched screams. There was a crash, and Cobalt and Star Struck woke up in a pile of 3 fillies and a wrecked wagon attached to a scooter.
"What did I tell you Star Struck? Fillies on scooters are dangerous in this town."
Star just blinked and rubbed her head as she sat up. “Oh wow. You weren’t kidding at all." She said with a laugh. “Are you girls ok?”
“Yeah, we’re fine,” said a small yellow filly with golden eyes, a red mane and tail, and a large bow in her mane.
“Yup,” said an orange pegasus with a purple mane and eyes. “We’ve survived worse.”
“And I’m not too proud to say so,” said the third unicorn filly with green eyes, who was brushing dirt out of her white coat and two-tone white and purple mane.
“Not even going to ask if I’m ok, Star?” Cobalt asked jokingly. “That’s a little cold. Anyway, how are you girls?” he asked, looking at the three fillies. “It’s been a while.”
“MISTER MASQUERADE!” the girls shouted, immediately enveloping Cobalt in a big hug.
“It’s been too long!” the orange pegasus shouted.
“Yeah!” the other two shouted.
“Girls, I’m so happy to see you, even if it’s at the cost of a few bruises.”
All three of the Crusaders blushed and scratched the backs of their heads.
Star Struck just looked on confusedly at the scene before her.
“Oh, Star, I’m sorry. I haven’t introduced you guys yet! Star Struck, these three girls are the Cutie Mark Crusaders. This is Applebloom,” Cobalt said, pointing to the yellow filly. “This is Scootaloo,” he said, pointing to the orange pegasus. “And finally, this is Sweetie Belle,” he said with a smile, pointing to the small white unicorn. “Girls, this is an old friend of mine, Star Struck.”
“HI MISS STAR STRUCK!” the three fillies cheered in unison.
“Hello girls. I’m glad to meet you.”
“Sweetie,” Cobalt’s said turning to the small white unicorn, “Is Rarity at the Boutique?”
“Yeah,” replied Sweetie Belle, with a hint of disappointment in her voice. “Just like she always is.”
“Thanks. I’m sorry girls, but Star Struck and I have to go now.” Cobalt said, pulling the girls into a big hug. “We don’t have a lot of time, and I’m giving her the Ponyville Grand Tour. Here,” he said reaching into his saddlebag and pulling out three tickets. “I want to see you girls singing along in the front rows tonight, okay girls?”
“YAY,” the girls shouted as they took the tickets. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS CONCERT GOERS!”
“We’ll be there Mister Masquerade!” Scootaloo said excitedly.
“I expect you to be,” Cobalt said with a smile. “Now get along with your crusading girls. I’ll see you at the show at eight.”
“Alright,” the girls said as they picked up their wagon and scooter. “Bye Mister Masquerade,” they yelled as they sped off into the distance.
“I told you, fillies on scooters are dangerous in this town,” Cobalt said as he turned back to Star Struck.
“You can say that again.” she replied with a laugh. “By the, who’s Rarity?”
“Oh, Rarity is one of the people I think you might know in this town. She was in our class back in kindergarten too. For a little while anyway. She switched to a different school after she found her special talent and got her Cutie Mark. Come on, follow me. It’s not that far to the Carousel Boutique. It’s her fashion shop.”
Cobalt was right, the shop wasn’t that far away, and it took the duo not five minutes to reach it. Cobalt walked through the door, to find Rarity working on a new dress, facing away from the door. Once she heard the doorbell ring, she began her usual drawl;
“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where everything is sleek, chic, and magnifique! How may I-” as she turned around and noticed just who she was talking to, her eyes widened, and she immediately sped over and gave Cobalt a hug. “Oh my Celestia! Cobalt Masquerade, it’s been far too long since I’ve seen you! How have you been?” she asked, finally releasing Cobalt from the embrace.
“I’ve been fine Rarity. And you’re right, it has been too long.”
“Ahem,” Star Struck coughed.
“Oh right,” Cobalt blushed. “Rarity, this is Star Struck. She was with us when we were in Magic Kindergarten.”
“Hello dear,” Rarity replied, once again putting on her prim and proper façade. Her face then turned into a puzzled look, and she turned back to Cobalt. “Is she your marefr-”
“No, she’s not my marefriend,” Cobalt interrupted. “Everypony keeps asking that!”
“Okay, okay dear, calm down. It was just a question,” Rarity replied. “Anyway, Cobalt said that you were in Kindergarten with us. Were you by any chance in our little play?”
“Actually,” Star replied, visibly happy to finally be part of the conversation, “I was. I remember being dressed up as a giant, jewel encrusted apple. Definitely one of the highlights of my childhood.” Star said with a light chuckle.
“Ah yes,” Rarity reminisced, “It was actually I who made those costumes.”
“And your talent has only improved,” Star stated as she looked around the room and the multitude of dresses around the shop.
“Well Rarity, it’s been so nice to see you, but I’m afraid Star and I will have to take our leave. I’m giving her the Ponyville Grand Tour before my bands’ concert at eight tonight. Would you like to attend?” Cobalt asked, whisking a ticket magically out of his bag to give to Rarity.
“Oh Cobalt I’d love to attend. Thank you so much,” she said as Cobalt’s magical aura around the ticket was replaced by her own.
“Cool,” Cobalt said, turning to leave to shop as Star Struck followed him. “See you then.”
After they had left the shop, Star turned to Cobalt as they trotted along the streets of Ponyville. “Well, that was definitely interesting.”
“And the Grand Tour has only just begun...” Cobalt said mischievously.
Author's Note
Oh boy, new chapter! Sorry it took so long, school and writer's block has been taking its toll. More chapters to come eventually, sorry again for the long wait!
Cobalt Masquerade And Star Struck's Tour Of Chaos
A Chance Encounter And The Tour Kickoff
Cobalt Masquerade And Star Struck's Tour of Chaos
Chapter 1: A Chance Encounter And The Tour Kickoff
By Cobalt Masquerade
It was a normal day in Canterlot. Well, not so normal. Cobalt Masquerade, a dark blue unicorn pony with red eyes and a red and black streaked mane, and his band, the Equestrian Metal Alliance, were on their way to their first big gig of their tour this year. But in their excitement, they had accidentally ran a little late. They raced through the streets of Canterlot, instruments in tow. On Cobalt’s right, he heard a small “oomph”, and noticed one of his friends knocked down a mare about his age. He quickly trotted over to the mare, put down his guitar and started to help her pick up her things.
"Sorry about that," Cobalt said in a kind, caring voice, " Dumb Bell over there can be a real idiot sometimes.’ he said, pointing a hoof towards a orangish brown Pegasus with a brown mane and a weight for a cutie mark. The pony Dumb Bell had knocked over was a unicorn, with a yellow coat, a two tone light and dark blue mane and tail, freckles under her eyes, and icy blue eyes. “Hey," he said, "Do I know you from somewhere?"
She looked up at him with a confused look on her face, “Oh me? You have probably just seen me around," she said shrugging lightly taking her things in the bag. “Thank you very much."
"No, wait" Cobalt said as she started to walk away, "I'm absolutely sure I know you from somewhere, I haven’t been back to Canterlot in a long time." He then looked the confused mare in the face. You could almost see the lightbulb go off over his head. "Now I remember!" the Cobalt shouted out, "You're Star Struck! We were in Magic Kindergarten all those years ago, but I was pulled out to live with my family in Stalliongrad for a while, and never finished school. It's been years!”
Star Struck smiled at him and replied, “We were? I’m sorry, I have a terrible memory,” she said with a small blush. “What was your name?" she asked tilting her head.
“Cobalt Masquerade. Don’t you recognise me? It must be the hair," he said, pointing to his long black and blue streaked mane, "I started growing it out right after I left. How have you been?"
“Yeah, that must be it,” Star replied with a chuckle and a smile.
“You look great. The years have been good to you," he said, smiling back. "It has been a long time since then, hasn't it? Why don't we catch up soon?” Cobalt asked.
“That sound great, Cobalt,” Star Struck replied. “Where do you want to go? I just have to put these groceries at home, and then we can go.”
“I actually have to catch up with my friends,” Cobalt replied, “We were on our way to a concert. Those guys were actually my band mates, and we're on our way to a gig at the Canterlot Grand Hall. The reason we were in such a rush is because we’re running a little late for setup and sound check.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Star Struck said, now a little worried for Cobalt, “I hope I’m not making you late!”
“Oh no, it’s fine, anything for an old friend. And about catching up, I have an idea. Here, wait a sec," he said as he reached into his saddlebags, "This is a backstage pass. Just show it to the bouncers at the hall and they'll let you in," he said, holding out a colorful card attached to a black string that said ‘Equestrian Metal Alliance’ with some other illegible words and numbers. "That is, if you want to come."
She took the card and smiled “Oh I’d love to. I love music, especially metal and rock and stuff! You can expect me to be there Cobalt," she said and slid the pass over her neck. She smiled brightly at him and said “It’s good to see you again."
"It's good to see you too. Well, I had better get going. The show starts at 7 tonight. Just show that pass to the guards, and they'll let to right in. I'll see you there," he said as he picked up his guitar and started to gallop away. "See ya later!"
She smiled and waved after him, “ See you there" she said happily. It was nice to see some pony from so long ago. She couldn’t wait for the concert.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later that night at the Canterlot Grand Hall:
The concert had gone off pretty much without a hitch. The opening act, Princesses Celestia and Luna’s band called ‘By The Rising Sun And Falling Moon’ was actually really good. Cobalt’s band had done really well as well. They left the whole crowd cheering and wanting more. Cobalt, along with his bandmates, had just come backstage as their concert ended late at night, around 10. With his magic he levitated his guitar, an old school mahogany Flying V. Behind him walked his lead guitarist, Six String, a dark brown unicorn colt with a long black mane with red streaks and had a guitar for a cutie mark. Behind him, Octavia walked in, carrying an old worn Coltenbacher electric bass. Finally, Dumb Bell walked backstage, carrying his drumsticks. And waiting for him backstage was the smiling face of Star Struck. "So," he asked, sweat still rolling down his face as he looked at her and put his guitar away in its case, "Did you enjoy the show?"
She clapped her hooves together excitedly, and said, “Oh yeah! That was bucking awesome! I think you just picked up a new fan tonight, if not a few hundred new fans." she said, setting herself back on all four hooves. “Thank you so much for inviting me!"
"It's totally fine," Cobalt said happily, as Six String came up behind him and slapped him on the back. "Tonight went pretty good, old pal," he said in a dry voice, still a little raspy, even though he had only done a little singing. "You were a little off when we played The Last Fight, but other than that, you were great," he said as he playfully shoved Cobalt a little. "Who's this, by the way," he asked with a sick grin on his face, "You're new marefriend or somepony?"
Star blushed and shook her head, “Me? Oh nonononono we’re just old friends catching up," she said quickly taking a step back.
Cobalt immediately punched his friend in the arm. "Oh will you shut up. You joke around too much. And like she said, we're just friends. We went to Magic Kindergarten together when I was little, before I moved to Stalliongrad where I met you." Six String winced a little at the pain in his foreleg, but shook it off and replied with a pained grin, "Oh come on, I was just joking. Lighten up, Cobalt." As he walked away, Six String had a small but noticeable limp. Cobalt took a little pride in that. "Sorry about him," Cobalt said as he looked back at Star Struck, wiping his forehead with his right hoof. "I swear, this band is full of idiots," he said, with extra emphasis on the last few words. "HEY!" Octavia yelled. "Except for you Octavia," he replied, heavy with sarcasm and a sly grin.
She smiled giggling lightly, “Well you all seem pretty close . It’s really cool to see you guys get along so well. "
"You'd be surprised. I'm lucky Tavi over there agreed to do this. My friend Vinyl Scratch helped me talk her into it. It was hard, but I got her to join when I said it would help her with her technique and playing speed, which it truly does. Though we do get a gripe and grumble every now and then about how 'all we play is noise' blah blah blah," he said with a deep chuckle.
She laughed lightly “Oh well. I’m sure on some level she likes it or else she wouldn’t do it at all."
"That's true," Cobalt replied. "Hear that Tavi? Even Star over here knows you like the music, and she barely even knows you!" he shouted at Octavia. "Whatever Cobalt," she said, picking up her bass and its case, "I'm going to the hotel. I'll see you on the bus in the morning."
" Alright," Cobalt called after her, "Just don't stay up too late. We've got a long way to go to reach Ponyville tomorrow." Cobalt looked at Star, who had a confused look on her face. "She just prefers not to sleep on the bus unless it's necessary, for some reason. I guess it's the beds. Speaking of which, even with Tavi occupying one, there's still a bed or two left on the bus. Say, how would you like to come with us on tour? We really didn’t get to catch up much because the concert carried on so late. There's plenty room for one more."
Star let out a small gasp. Is he really asking me go go with him and his band on tour?!? This is so exciting! "Oh that would be amazing! I’d love to come on tour with you!"
"Great!" Cobalt said. "Here, come with me, I need to introduce you to my bus driver so he'll know it's you and let you on the bus in the morning," he said as he slowly started walking towards a back door entrance, gesturing for Star to follow him.
She smiled and followed him quickly, happy to start a little adventure in such a way.
"Alright, this is our bus," he said, gesturing towards a large bus with the bands name on it. "Be warned, our driver is a little... Chaotic. Let's put it that way”, he said with a grin that Star couldn't place, like he was about to pull a sick joke. Cobalt then walked up to the door and knocked fairly hard, and a cry and a crash was heard from inside. "Who is it? This better be good, you woke me up from my nap."
"It's Cobalt. I’ve got someone for you to meet. She'll be coming on the tour with us."
"SHE?!?," came the voice from inside the bus, along with some banging noises, "Did little Cobalt finally go out and get himself a marefriend?" the voice said teasingly.
"Ugh, here we go," Cobalt said, annoyed, his smile only slightly diminished, "I already explained this to Six. She’s not my marefriend, she’s an old friend of mine I haven’t seen in quite a while and she's coming a lot so we can catch up."
"Fine, fine, so touchy today, Cobalt. Here, let me get the door open and see this friend of yours." There were some sounds of a jiggling handle, and as the door opened, Star Struck stood open-mouthed as her heart stood still.
The God Of Chaos, Discord, stood in the doorframe.
She blinked and stared in disbelief before taking a few steps back and then looking at Cobalt, "Thats discord," She stammered as she pointed at Draconequis. “You’re Discord." She turned back to Cobalt. "Discords your bus driver!?"
"I told you he was chaotic. And it's ok. We're good friends. It's a long story. But the shortened version is I enjoy chaos, so when he tried to take over the world a while back, I kinda enjoyed it. I was actually a little disappointed when he was put back in stone. So I took to the books, studying entrapment and release spells. I also learned power limiting spells. So I released him, limited his power, and made a deal with him. I would release him, and me and him would cause a little chaos wherever we went, but if it got out of hand, I'd shut him back in that stone for another thousand years. I've given him back most of his power now, but he doesn't abuse it. How long has it been since you did something big, Discord?"
Discord shrugged and replied, "It must have been during last year's tour when I switched everypony in the crowds colors to their polar opposites, or when we were in Manehattan 3 years ago and I filled this very concert hall full of spiders in the middle of your concert," he said with a hysterical laugh. Cobalt immediately doubled over in laughter, and said to Star, "You should have seen the look on Six's face! He HATES spiders! But anyway, what you see is the truth, Discord is my bus driver. Surprised?
She nodded quickly. "More than surprised! simply amazed is more like it. You must have one of the most interesting band mates and crew members I have ever seen."
"Why thank you Star," he said with a smile that quickly got bigger as he looked up at Discord. "Hey Discord, why don't we give Star Struck here a little 'getting on board' present?" Discord apparently knew what he meant, and with a small chuckle and a sick smile, he raised his eagle clawed hand.
“Sure, Cobalt, what ever you say.” Star Struck backed up a bit, and slammed her eyes shut as Discord snapped his fingers. After a moment of sheer terror, she slowly opened her eyes, and realized nothing was wrong with her. Then she looked down at her hooves, and there was a glass of chocolate milk.
“What did you think was going to happen?” Cobalt asked. “Its not like we were going to hurt you. Duh. Go ahead and drink up, Discord makes the best chocolate milk in all of Equestria. Its the only milk I ever drink.”
Star just blinked once and then laughed at her own stupid reaction. Of course they weren’t going to hurt me, she thought, Why in Equestria would they want to do that? “Thanks,” she said, picking up the glass at her hooves and taking an experimental sip. After tasting it, her entire face lit up with delight, and she gulped down the rest. “This stuff is amazing! Thanks guys!”
"It's alright," both Cobalt and Discord said at the same time. "Well, its getting late," Cobalt said with a yawn, "And I'm getting tired. I bet you’re tired too. It’s been an exciting day for you. I'll let you get home then. We've got a long trip ahead of us tomorrow. It's like 8 hours to Ponyville in good traffic. The bus leaves at around 10am, so get here around 9:30, that is, if you alright with teasing bandmates and Discord the bus driver over there," he said, nodding his head at the God of Chaos. "I hope you're still game for all of this."
Star could do nothing but smile as she looked between the two and nodded. “I’m more than game. This seems like something I don’t want to miss. I’ll have my stuff ready to go in the morning."
"Sounds good," Cobalt said with a smile.
"Do you want me to send a few of my guards to pick up your things?" Discord asked.
She looked up and said “Guards? Uhhh... Sure I guess that would help. Thanks."
"Anything for a friend of Cobalt. I will send 2 guards and a chariot to pick up you and your belongings at 9 am," Discord said.
She smiled and replied, “Perfect. I’ll be waiting." She then turned to Cobalt. "Goodnight, I’ll cya then. Thanks so much for inviting me," she said trotting away.
"You're welcome, see you then," Cobalt called after her. Discord eyed Cobalt for a moment as Ink disappeared from sight. "You liiiiiiike her," he said in an overly goofy, teasing way.
"Shut up Discord," Cobalt said as he punched Discord in the side and made his way into the bus to go to bed.
“Ouch,” Discord said, holding his side, “That pony can punch. I’ll have to get him back for that,” he said, scratching his chin. “Maybe I’ll turn him orange in the morning,” he said to himself with a chuckle as he walked back into the bus.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A big thanks to my friend InkHeart for giving me this idea and for saving our conversations so i could make this fic! :)
Many more chapters coming, but not as soon as i would hope. Hopefully I’ll have chapter 2 out in the next few weeks.