Party in Zephyr Heights
Zipp was still behaving oddly. I know, that seems like a strange observation given I was hardly in my native element, but I had to keep some form of low profile to avoid going to the nuthouse. As a result, I knew I had to disguise my concerns as well as possible. Breakfast the next day was the first chance to observe what was going on.
In order to ensure I had a valid excuse for taking notes, I decided to try a new style of shampoo for the day. After a shower in my personal bathroom (seriously, it had golden fixtures and white marble! How much money do we have?), I went and dried myself off before heading into the unknown alongside my sister.
Breakfast went pretty much as normal for our household, and I noticed almost immediately that something wasn't quite right with Zipp. She seemed to be largely lost in thought, seemingly soaking up all the ponies and members of household staff who were trotting about and going about their day. We certainly had a huge army of staff in this place! There were also a lot of ponies outside. I also spotted mom looking out of the window and glancing at the garden. Most do a stream in there someday.
I headed to my notes and observed what I had seen with Zipp. Her plate was fairly untouched, whereas she would often work her way through it. Yeah, she thinks I eat too much, which is a bit rich coming from her. I believe the human expression was 'they could eat a horse', but I'm not really in the mood to promote cannibalism.
It was rather awkward. The band were still playing behind us, accompanying the meal with jaunty tunes. Queen Haven later looked over her shoulder. "Could we hold the music for a moment please?" she said. The band stopped playing at that moment as I jotted down the fact that Zipp was still staring off into space.
Mom then spoke. "Is everything OK, Zephyrina? You've barely touched your food."
I dived into mine to avoid any suspicion whilst Zipp looked around in surprise.
"Sorry. I was thinking, that's all."
Mom nodded, seemingly in approval. "Well, that's always a healthy mindset to encourage. Anything in particular?"
What Zipp said next was both surprising and not surprising at the same time. "The past, mainly. I was thinking of going to the museum to do some research, if that's OK."
I quickly jotted that down. Sudden desire to learn about the place. Suggests lack of familiarity with customs.
Mom speaking jolted me out of my thoughts. "Of course. I'll go with you."
"Really?" Zipp asked.
"It just so happens there's an exhibit on our music industry I'm interested in seeing, and the current paperwork can easily be handled by the staff. Today's a Parliamentary recess, and the few bills coming through can be easily dealt with later."
Of course mom would be interested in music. With a pair of pipes like hers it was only natural. I guess I know where I inherited my singing skills from. As that was being worked out I took a few more notes.
"Anything you're noting down in particular, Pipp?" mom asked suddenly.
I glanced up. "I'm trying a new brand of shampoo that was sent by a sponsor, and I'm taking notes on how it sits in my mane. I can hardly endorse a product I haven't tried, can I?"
Mom smiled, and nodded. "Of course. I haven't endorsed anything in a very long time. Rather comes with the job, I'm afraid." She paused. "Have fun with the filming later today."
My eyes widened. What filming?
Well, turns out I had two bits of filming to do today. The first of these two things was a movie cameo, and the second was for an advert.
On my way, I passed through the same square as yesterday, and noticed my fans were there. I glanced back to my entourage. I'd decided to bring the backup dancers and singers with me in case we were needed for another show here.
And it seemed that the conditions were perfect. We marked out a space to let us perform, and I called out to the crowd. "Hello, Pippsqueaks!" I called, as I checked my microphone to ensure it was configured properly.
The crowd cheered back, clearly delighted to see me.
"WE LOVE YOU PIPP!" a fan screamed from the back.
"Aww, thanks," I replied. "You guys are two kind. Anyway, are you ready to rock?"
The crowd cheered, indicating they were ready to go. I glanced back. "HIT IT!"
The backing track blazed in, and the performers launched off into their established routine. The melody was one I knew well from the old days.
"I may run and hide/
When you're screamin' my name, alright?
But let me tell you now/
There are prices to fame, alright?
All of our time spent in flashes of light!"
"All you ponies, can't you see, can't you see?
How your love's affecting our reality?
Every time we're down/
You can make it right!
And that makes you larger than life!"
I imagine you don't want your article filled full of song lyrics, so I'll leave it at that and move on to the filming. I had a cameo to film in the new Mission Impossible film! Basically, it's the newest film, Pegasus Protocol, though someponies may find its depictions of the other races a bit insensitive. The plot concerns Ethan Trott, the protagonist, having to defeat the latest threat to Zephyr Heights- an Earth Pony who has built war machines to overrun the city.
Seems almost ripped from the headlines, doesn't it? I know. I had a cameo near the start of the film, in which I appeared in full secret agent attire as an IMF agent in training. That's Impossible Missions Force, by the way.
What? The movie's a sponsor on my social media! I had to fit the plug in somewhere!
The filming went really smoothly, I'd say, and afterwards I got to spend some time backstage, including a showcase of some of the special effects. I was particularly impressed with how they pulled off the effect of Trott climbing the ZBS building, as they wouldn't let the actor climb the real thing.
I even got to interview Tom Hooves! I know they say his persona is faked, but he really is just a super chill guy when you get to know him. I've never known a guy who just loves doing what he does. Well, I suppose that I love doing what I do, but then again I'm not a guy, am I?
After all that was done, I was to report to another soundstage for some more filming. It seemed that the manufacturers of Perfum la Pipp wanted a new commercial to replace the one currently in circulation as someponies had complained about 'anti Royal family content'. Well, yeah! Of course it should have been pulled! The narrator said I smelled!
Well, OK, I did, but the smell was from the perfume. Not from any other source! I wash properly, every day!
Anyway, enough of that. The director just wanted some shots of me cantering down a beach set with some nice background lighting. Easy enough. I was then directed to head the other way, as he wasn't completely happy with the lighting in the shot.
Thankfully, he was happy with the second take. Thanks for that. I then had another shot to film, and this required a bit of lying on my part. The shot he was looking for was me flying past a huge bottle of the stuff before landing on it. Simple enough- provided you can fly. Which I couldn't at the time.
I explained my wings were a bit tired, and so the solution was to use guide cables to haul me between the relevant locations. The cable system was nowhere near as secure as the one used at the Palace. It only had two sets of guide supports instead of three, but at least the shoot was over relatively fast.
Once out of the studio, my very busy day was still going strong. I went outdoors and stood in the sun, overlooking the cloud layer below. A train rattled past below, with the horn blaring. The city has its own rail network, apparently.
I then checked my phone for notifications, and smiled when I saw what had arrived. Several of the fans had clubbed together to help another get surgery for a health problem (I'd done a charity stream to help raise money for one of the city nurseries- being the daughter of a working mom I knew what it felt like). Nice to see them living up to the standards I was promoting in my streams.
I then got another notification, and noticed that Hoofington's were doing something special. Looks like that was where I was headed next!
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Another well done job on the characterizations, recall, added details and future chapter set-up in this chapter. Definitely appreciated "Pipp" reflecting on the clues that "Zipp" is another human-turned-pony before that added peek at the work going into
"Pipp's" commercial AND movie cameo. REALLY liked that reflection on her charity work as well.
Definitely looking forward to more of this.
11581957
Obviously. ^^
Tom Cruise, actually. Cruise portrays Ethan Hunt in the Mission Impossible film series.
11582019
Ah frick.
I swear... when I saw the Hooves part, I thought it was like say Hanks because they both start with an H and end with a S. ^^'
Anywho... gotten it fixed. :)
11582028
Right.
11582125
11582139
Smile.
Of course there was the one embarrassing time awhile back when Tom Hooves got himself trapped in Zipp's closet and
wouldn'tcouldn't get out. Remember that? . . . It's ok, I don't remember much of it either.. . . Does Zipp even have a closet? . . . Um, it's about Zipp not seeming like much of a clotheshorse, not because um. . . 0_0'
Hey, in which case there WOULD be a closet, dummy! =P
11582973
Heh. :)