An Abundance of Elements

by cyanblur

A little visit

“If what you’ve said is true, and I’m sure it is, isn’t surviving your top priority?” I asked

“Normally you would be correct, but survival involves a lot more in an everlasting night.” she explained, “Crops don’t grow like they used to, animals are much more intelligent in their patterns, and worst of all, Nightmare’s guards are bat ponies.”

“Bat ponies?” I asked, “Sounds like a rip off of someone from my world.”

“I don’t think so.” she said, “Bat ponies are similar to our Pegasi, like me, but without the horn, but with bat wings. Their night vision is astronomically higher than ours.” “We band together to survive, but the only way to in the long run is to defeat Nightmare.”

“Do you guys have a base of operations or anything?” I asked

“Fortunately enough, yes.” she said, “We were lucky enough to find an abandoned mine just north of my log cabin. We need to go introduce yourself anyways, so it’s a perfect time for you to see it.” she explained,“I’m not sure how we’ll get your machine over there, but I can figure it out.”

“You don’t get it do you?” I said, smirking, but still being respectful, “It can fly.”

Her expression was priceless. It looked like a cartoon really, her jaw was unhinged and lying on the floor.

“Heya Twilight?” I walked over, poking her in the side, “You okay?”

“But.. but…” she stammered. “How…”

“You remember me saying I was a test pilot right?” I asked

“Yeah…” she said

“In my world, pilots fly planes. However, to be good in my career you need a degree in Aerospace Engineering, the study of planes.” I explained, “And I have one. I would be more than happy to explain them to you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If only I knew what I had gotten into. The rest of the day was spent teaching Twilight all about airfoils, air pressure, and materials science. A little fun for a lunatic like myself, but insane nonetheless. By now it was rather late, however, much too late to take a trip to the base.

“Wow, that was amazing.” she said in awe, “I never knew that was possible, it was only a theory before now!”

“I’m glad you had fun, but it’s far too late to go anywhere it looks like.” I said, pointing outside

She started to laugh a little, but in a depressing way.

“Remember? It’s always dark out.” She said sadly.

“Oh, forgot.” I said, “Better get going though”

“Let me gather a couple things, then we’ll be off.” she said, going up the stairs.

It gave me a chance to think about the situation alone. The times their world is going through makes Earth look like the Care Bears. Aids and oil have nothing on a sun that will never rise, no offense. I begin to feel an obligation to help them out of this mess. It wasn’t their fault after all, no, it was the fault of Nightmare Moon. I was all fired up. I wasn’t leaving until I fixed this. I heard Twilight coming down the stairs.

“Ready to go?” I hear her say

“Let’s get going” I say.

We walk outside, Twilight following me to my plane. I look back at her, thinking something.

“I have an idea,” I say, “My plane has a small cargo space behind my seat. If I prop my backpack up against the wall, I’d bet you could sit there.”

“Are you sure?” she said.

“Positive. Besides, I have an extra flight helmet back there too per regulations.”

“Really?” she said excitedly, “I get to ride in it?!”

“You betcha.” I said “One thing though. It gets super loud, so the helmets have radios.” I explain, “Simply push the button on the side of it, and you’ll be speaking clearly to me, and vice versa.”

“That’s amazing!” she said.

We arrived at the jet. I hopped in, crawling to the back to move some things around to make a makeshift seat, and finding the helmet in the process. Coming back out gasping for air, I bend down to put the helmet on Twilight.

“Here we are, fits like a glove.” I say, “Are your ears comfy?”

“They fold back naturally, so it’s fine.” she said.

“Let’s get in then.” I told her.

She entered the jet first, folding her wings back to get in. Once she was situated, I sat down in my seat. The first thing I did was activate the radio.

~~~”Can you hear me Twilight?”~~~ I asked

~~~”Loud and clear Mike, this is really great!”~~~ she said

~~~”Just wait until we get flying, that’s the real treat.”~~~ I said.

I flipped open the switch cover, and press down on it firmly. The sound of the engines lighting up could be heard in the background. Once warmed up, I switched the vtol lever.

~~~”What’s that clang noise?”~~~ she said a little scaredly

~~~”You’ll love it, don’t worry.”~~~ I explained

Easing up on the throttle, I could feel the landing gear as they squeaked from the sudden decrease in weight. Pushing the PTT button on the helmet, I decided to explain to Twilight what was happening.

~~~”Here's what’s going on right now, the main thruster is angling downwards. This allows us to take off vertically rather than horizontally. This is referred to as vtol (vertical takeoff and landing).”~~~ I explain

~~~”I was a little worried, thanks for letting me know.”~~~ she said

Once we get to a hundred feet, I switch back into conventional flight mode. We drift forward until another clang is heard.

~~~~”Switched to normal flight. Prepare for sudden death.”~~~ I say ominously

~~~”Whaa?”~~~ is all I hear before we break the sound barrier

Surprisingly enough, I could hear her screams even though the radio was off. She managed to push the radio button in spite of her fears however.

~~~”We’re almost there.”~~~ she said out of breath

I slowed down the jet to about stall, and switched it to vtol. As I angle down, a large mountain comes into view. I deploy the landing gear, figuring that this was the place.

~~~”Is that it?”~~~ I ask
~~~”Yeah, did I forget to mention that?”~~~ she said
~~~”Kind of, we had a place like this back home, tell you about it later, we’re about to touch down.”~~~
I felt the familiar bump as we touch down on top of the mountain. After turning everything off, the hatch opens. After getting myself and Twilight out, we stand on the mountain admiring the night view.
“The night definitely has its upsides and downsides.” I say, stifling a laugh after looking at her ‘helmet’ hair.
“I suppose,” she says before leading me to the hatch.
Once she opened it up, an old ladder is revealed. I look over to see her staring at me expectantly. Shrugging, I go to start the descent down.
“Wait!” I hear her say, “I haven’t gotten the chance to properly thank you yet.”
She comes over, and wraps her hooves around my waist.
“Anytime.” I say, trying to hide a blush.

Author's Note:

I hope everyone who's checked in is enjoying it so far, I know writing it is a blast. I have tons of ideas, so stick around! I'm finishing it to the end (and maybe a sequel). All of that is to come though, so stay tuned!

Comments

[cyanblur]

6233419 Thanks a lot! I've been keeping your review in mind as I write the next chapter. Looking at a proofreader, I think that will help. Thanks for being specific on the criticism as well, I really appreciate it! Have a good one.