The sun had fully risen, and with its light came a mesmerizing array of canyons, ravines, and chasms. They stretched infinitely beneath the floating prow of the Midnight Oil and—subsequently—beneath Flash Sentry. He gazed in wonder at the elaborate topography of the region, never staying particularly uniform in shape or configuration—but a constant chaotic shift of rock, granite, and limestone. How the ponies piloting Fancy Pants' prized vessel could manage to navigate that area of Equestria—much less tell east from west—was a mystery to the young teenager.
As the morning waxed on, Flash took note of the vessel's propulsion. A series of large metal fans positioned at the stern helped guide the ship forward, maintaining its remarkably swift velocity. Even though he couldn't figure out precisely what was steering the craft, he was pretty certain it was mechanical. It was of strange relief to him that not everything in that universe was bound by magic.
Despite the casual attitude of the ship's owner, the crew operated with utmost efficiency, minding their posts and keeping the vessel's operations in order. Gone was the awkward incompetence he briefly witnessed when he first landed on board. Then again, there wasn't a wayward young prince falling overboard every other second.
Flash wasn't certain who or what these "Diamond Dogs" were that Fancy Pants and Prince Blueblood were attempting to negotiate with. Neither did he know who they were rendezvousing with. All in all, the teenager was a confused observer of this business affair—which wasn't entirely a strange experience to be having in the land of Equestria. Only this time—it would seem—he was being carried along for the ride. The Midnight Oil was simply doing the job of "being carried away by the breeze" for him, which made the whole prospect simpler.
In the end, Flash decided not to stress it. All that mattered was that he stay out of everypony's way and plan—someway, somehow—to return back to Ponyville once he was done observing everything. He still had Vinyl Scratch's headphones to give back, after all.
The sun rose higher. It was approaching noon, and the cool breeze warmed slightly. Flash spent most of the trip near the bow, drinking in the scenery unfolding beneath him. The pony crewmembers all around him didn't possess any noticeable electronic machinery. Nor did he detect any wireless communicators or advanced forms of navigation. What's more, the landscape beneath him seemed... curiously bereft of civilized culture. Sure, "Diamond Dogs" lived out there—but he only knew that because he was told. Plus... these canine beasts sounded fantastical at best.
It was Flash's guess that Equestria as a nation was—by and large—mostly uninhabited... or else just sparsely populated. When he used to hear brief descriptions of the place beyond the mirror-portal back home, he envisioned sprawling cityscapes and royal metropolises. Instead, everything seemed... barren. Majestic. Expansive. It was as though he was flying over a grand frontier of spectacle and amazement. It was far different from what he expected, and it was a pleasant surprise.
The land of ponies was a simple place, Flash realized. And that was fine by him. He liked simple. Or—at least—he could get used to it.
That was as equally frightening a prospect as it was hypnotizing. He lessened his anxieties by listening to the rambling words of those around him, most chiefly Fancy Pants...
I can't wait to see what will come next
The ponies have sprawling cities and a fancy capital, but aren't as wide spread as humans. Also I have a feeling parts of Equestrian like the badlands and everfree, places unsuited for ponies to colonize, are more frequent. Does explain how the "Post Apocalypse Earth" AUs seem pretty plauseable, with mass swaths of the world yet to recover enviormentaly.Or maybe Equis(fannon name of the planet) has a history of enviormentaly disaterious wars, the balance of nature so out of wack that ponies NEED to be present to control everything to make a place liveable.
When someone who has written millions of words implies 'this is filler' one can't but wonder if that's the actual case. Why can't things be simple?
In fact, I can't even tell what kind of this is this, but I'm enjoying the ride nonethelss. I admit the story is not 'omg this is pure awesomeness' for me but rather I think, 'oh look, this is the kind of HiE I'd have liked to read some time ago.'
I have a bad feeling. Let's just say, 'Burning the Midnight Oil' is the turn of phrase that comes to mind...
I wouldn't call it filler. Imagine if it was a series of paragraphs in the middle of a chapter. It just feels like filler cause it's thrown out on its own.
This is sum good shit my dude. Man, can't wait for the next chapter!
The larger the Megafauna, the greater the area they need to graze over so they dont strip it bare. The larger the energies thrown around in Megaspells, the larger areas of geography get total makeover.
In Equestria the question has to be, just how much of the enviroment is only a couple thousand years old.
Can't wait to see his reaction to meeting the Diamond Dogs for the first time
At this point, even I can't wait for this meeting with the Dimond Dogs. It should be interesting to see how the negotiations go and if Flash does anything in them.
Good call on Vinyl's part with those phones. She may have suspected Flash would wander aimlessly. By giving him a reason to return, she anchored him, gave him a concrete landmark in his future that he could focus on. This way, at least in theory, he won't lose himself to the vast wonder of magic horse land.
The "filler" chapters are often some of the best ones.
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I was thinking the exact same thing. (Also good for plot reasons.)