Roarke trotted through the jungle until she had a break in the forest's ceiling. She tilted her head up, her eye-lenses focusing on a cluster of clouds above. Several winged figures were congregating around the wisps of moisture, and one prismatic pony in particular was zipping speedily through the mess, causing the clouds to cluster tighter and thicker together.
With flaring nostrils, Roarke muttered something to herself, turned her back to the scene, and marched to where her experimental weapons lay in wait.
"Yah! Haah! Zaat! And loop the loop around and—" Rainbow came down from one last spiraling glide and kicked a final cluster of mists into the main cloud gathered before her. "—yeah!" Panting, she nestled down atop one cloud, sitting with a smug face. "What'd I tell you?"
"I dunno..." Kitsune folded her forelimbs from where she hovered alongside Sivrem. "Felt like more than ten seconds to me."
"Pffft. That's not the point." Rainbow rolled her eyes, then pointed at the large cloud again. "Do you see this or don't ya?"
"Indeed we do." Sivrem smiled. "It's a cloud."
"Not just any cloud... but one that I've compacted using pegasus weather flying skills!" Rainbow smirked at the First-Borns. "You do know how to weather fly, don't you?"
"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."
"Didn't think so." Rainbow reclined on her side, pressing her hoof into a plushy cloud. "You ever sit on a cloud before, dude?"
"Absolutely." Sivrem nodded. "Plenty of times."
"Yes, all Durandanans can," Kitsune remarked. "Even from a sparrow's age. We've always considered it a gift from the Valkyrie."
"But we can't sit on a cloud for too long," Sivrem said. "Eventually, the mists dissipate, carried off beyond the greens."
"Is that so?" Rainbow gestured at the cloud. "Try flying through it now."
Sivrem simply squinted at her.
"Come on!" Rainbow grinned brightly. "Do it!"
"Hrmmm..." Sivrem cracked his neck joints as he flapped his wings harder. "Hate to mess up your hard work."
"Don't worry." Rainbow yawned. "You won't."
"Hrnnnnngh...!" Sivrem backflipped, picked up speed, and hurled himself at the cloud.
"Errrr..." Rainbow was already wincing. "Maybe not quite so fast—!"
WHAM! Sivrem's body pinballed off the cloud like it was a solid brick wall.
"Sivrem!" Kitsune gasped. In a blink, her body had darted down below in time to catch his dizzied figure. "Are you alright?!"
"Guhhhhh..." Sivrem's eyes rolled until he shook the cobwebs clear. "Feather my insides!" He rubbed his head as he glanced up at the cloud. "Been a long time since I've been whalloped that hard."
"Heh..." Kitsune smirked. "Like that last fight you had with Drenner before he became a Gray-Feather."
"Rainbow, care to explain?" Sivrem hovered upright, squinting at the cloud. "I've never seen a cloud stay put like that before."
"Because you've never compacted it with weather flying skills before!" Rainbow said with a proud smirk. "And—for your information—it doesn't have to 'stay put.'"
"Huh?"
"This is the kind of stuff that cities like Cloudsdale and Las Pegasus are made out of!" Rainbow Dash said. "Pegasopolis was the same thing. You see..." Rainbow trotted briskly across the cloud top. "...Harmony empowers the pegasus body to walk on clouds—as well as manipulate the weather. If I wanted, I could turn this into a thunderstorm, make it produce lightning, and even generate hail!" She turned about and winked. "And, no, it's not because I'm related to the Valkyrie or some noise. Every pegasus can do this. All it takes is knowing how nature works and learning how to bend the rules... just a teeeeeeeny bit."
"Then how come we've never been able to do it before?" Kitsune said.
"Probably because you were never taught the tools of the trade," Rainbow explained. "All you've known or cared about these past few millennia is looking after the scrolls of Duranda. That's all good n'all, but—at the same time—the ability to fly your sexy flanks out of here has been hiding right under your muzzles!" Rainbow blinked. "Or, y'know, above them." She giggled.
"So... what you're saying..." Sivrem pointed, fumbling for words. "...is that this cloud can take us out of the basin?"
"You wanna find out for yourself?"
"Uhhhh... when?"
Rainbow's ruby eyes lit up. "Now."
"Color wheel boomer is certain Floydien shouldn't follow her mist glimmer?" the elk asked from the starboard side of the hovering Jury. "To protect from gravity's spit?"
"If you wanna have Eagle keep his snazzy eye on us, that's fine, Floydien," Rainbow said as she stood on the cloud drifting slowly past West D's tower. "But, if I'm gonna prove that this thing can work, it's gotta work on its own ya feel me?"
"Hrmmf..." Floydien's nostrils flared. "If the boomer insists." He turned and trotted inside the Jury's cockpit. "Floydien will think up a touching eulogy."
"Yeah. That may not be such a bad idea." Rainbow gulped. "Generally speaking, I mean." She nevertheless threw on a happy smile and turned towards her winged partners. "We all ready to go?"
"Just about." Sivrem turned about from where he stood atop the bulky cloud. "Smythe! Jagold! Hurry it up!"
"Yeah!" Rayvinne chirped, hovering alongside Kitsune. "Let's gust already!"
"We're c-coming!" Jagold glided down, but stopped just inches from the crowd. "Mmmmmm..." She whimpered to herself, squirming at the sight of the coagulated mists. "Is... is it g-gonna hurt me?"
"Come on, girl!" Smythe swatted her on the back with his wing. "Every gull knows you like it fluffy!"
"Aack!" Jagold landed, sprawled across the cloudbed. She blinked, her ears perking up. "Hey! It is fluffy!"
"Story of my life," Rayvinne droned. She turned towards Rainbow Dash. "So, you 'built' this yourself, huh?"
"Yup!" Rainbow nodded. "And for the return trip, I'm gonna show you how to build you your own!"
"That's assuming we don't get dashed to meaty ribbons across the mountaintops," Rayvinne said.
"Hey. You volunteered to come along."
"Mmmmhmmm..." Rayvinne's eyes went thin above a warm smile. "And I can't think of another pony whose arms I'd rather die in."
"Uhhhhhhhhhhhh huh..." Rainbow pivoted about. "On that note, we ready to go or what?"
Sivrem opened his mouth—
"Not quite yet."
Everypony turned and looked up.
"Jerrio...?" Kitsune blinked akwardly.
The First-Born in question touched down with a canvas bag bulging with items. "There's no telling how long this venture will take," he said, settling down on the cloud. "We're going to need food and water for the trip beyond the greens."
"What do you mean we?" Smythe asked.
Jagold gasped. "You're coming along too?!"
Jerrio glanced calmly aside. "But of course. You're going to need somepony responsible to make sure this goes off without any problems."
Sivrem squinted. "You mean we're going to need somepony to report every damn detail to the Gray Feathers like the pigeon-tailed sissy he is."
"Mmmmm... yes." Jerrio's muzzle curved ever so slightly. "Something to that extent."
"I thought as much." Sivrem turned to Rainbow Dash, sighing with a tired smile. "I believe we're a go."
"Groovy!"
"Erm..." Smythe fidgeted. "Just how is this going to work?"
"The key is not to think that the cloud is an object," Rainbow said. "But—instead—a piece of ourselves. I mean... we built it."
"You built it," Kitsune said.
Rainbow stuck her tongue out. "A maiden voyage is best led by the maiden herself."
"Do you seriously believe that?" Rayvinne asked.
"I do now. Alright, everypony. Spread out."
"In what way...?"
"There's only seven of us, and we need to get this cloud moving against the wind. So... four in the back. two in the center. I'll take point."
"Huh?"
"What I mean is that I'll be up front. Now—for the ponies in the back—we want the outside wingponies to be the strongest."
"Guess that means Sivrem and Kitsune."
"Hrmmm..." Jerrio murmured to himself.
Sivrem smirked. "Would you like to say something, First-Born?"
"I'll take the middle with Smythe."
"Hey!" Jagold frowned. "I'm not that weak!"
Rayvinne glided past her, murmuring in her ear. "Yes you are."
"Ohhhh..." Jagold melodically sighed, following the other mare. "I guess you're right."
"Alright!" Kitsune sounded off from the rear of the cloud. "We're in position!"
"Are we doing what I think we're doing?!" Smythe remarked.
"Yup!" Rainbow took her spot at the very front of the cloud. The group formed a triangular "V" that fanned out towards the rear. "On my mark, you're going to start beating your wings. I'll get our position started, and then when I shout 'left,' I want Smythe and Kitsune to angle us towards the right. When I shout 'right,' I want Jerrio and Sivrem to angle us to the left! Got it?"
"I... th-think so?"
"Once we get enough momentum, the cloud will pretty much carry itself!"
"What about ascending—"
"I'll take care of it! What's more, I'll show you how it's done when the time comes! Just trust me!"
"Uh... sure thing..."
"Alright, everypony!" Rainbow Dash raised her hoof. "Southbound Express for Beyond the Greens! Let's roll!"
Across the deck of the Noble Jury, several ponies stood, watching with baited breath. Before their eyes, the angular cloud picked up speed and started cruising its way south.
"It's moving!" Kera squeaked, hopping up and down across Bellesmith's back. "It's moving!"
"Absolutely remarkable," Belle murmured, a soft grin plastered across her muzzle. She brushed shoulders with Pilate. "Beloved, I wish you could see this."
"Hmmm..." The zebra smiled. "I can hear it just fine."
Belle squinted at him. "But... it's not making any noise."
"I know, and that's the beauty of it." He chuckled. "Imagine, a vehicle built by clouds... powered by ponies alone."
"Winged ponies, you mean," Propsy said.
"Well, true."
"I wonder why we've never seen Rainbow do something like this before," Eagle murmured from where he stood with Ebon.
"Maybe you haven't, EE," Belle said with a smile. "But Pilate and I have witnessed Rainbow do some cloudplay in our day."
"I've seen her do it," Zaid said with a proud smirk.
Props blinked up at him. "You have?"
"Heck yeah!" He hung a forelimb around her shoulder. "It's how the Terrific Trio snuck aboard the Lightning Bearer! Pegasus Cloud Power! Yeah!"
Josho raised an eyebrow. "'Terrific Trio?'"
"Yup! Me, Rainbow Kickass, and Roarke Most Rawwwwr."
"Hmmm..." Josho smirked. "'More like Damnable Duo Plus One Jackass.'"
"Hey!" Zaid frowned at the fat stallion. "I provided charisma!"
"I bet you provided plenty of urine too, from how much you flew."
"Meh. At that height, it would have frozen as it came out. I know. This one time, I tried taking a leak off the side of Khao's skystone ship." He shivered. "Last time I drank applejuice over a mile high."
Props giggled.
"Say..." Ebon spoke up. "Just where is Roarke, anyway?"
Belle sighed. "I wish I could say. Just a day or two ago, she was opening up. We actually got the chance to talk about things like normal friends."
"Then what happened?" Ebon asked.
"I... I'm not certain."
"I'm sure it had nothing to do with Blondie commandeering Roarke's only piece of moving property!" Zaid said with a grin.
"Errrm..." Props squirmed. "I think I'll b-be sleeping with my wrench close beside me this month."
"Would I make a good substitute?"
"I dunno. Can you twist a pipe loose with your teeth?"
"Heeheehee!" Ebon giggled.
Eagle turned to smirk at him. "Having fun?"
"Hmmm..." Ebon smiled calmly, leaning his neck against Eagle's mane. "Something like that..."
Eagle reciprocated, nuzzling him gently.
Kera smiled at the two, then tilted her head up to gaze proudly at the cloud floating slowly away.
"There they go!" a pegasus shouted.
Several Durandanans along the upper platforms of West D chirped and shrieked in an avian melody.
Ice paused in mid-air, gathering the colts and fillies around them as they all whooped and cheered from the lower skies.
Standing along a platform, several Gray Feathers watched in dead silence. The younger ones with less-bleached manes stood on the very wooden edge, chewing on their lips as they struggled with mute anticipation.
Fawful hovered slightly above them. She glanced down at her fellow elders, then looked up at the cloud as it began to pass over the mountains of the southern crater. She closed her eyes and murmured a whispery prayer.
"Righteous Valkyrie, may your Light shine favorably on your First-Borns." She took a shuddering breath, a tear or two clinging to her lashes. "...as well as Rainbow Dash."
So... how does a cloud help them fly through a storm? Like... ugh, physics in this world...
Thirty pushups, ):(. Knock 'em out!
4877092
RD does admit that Harmony lets one bend physics slightly.
Ergo, the Pink one has a fuck ton of Harmony.
Interesting idea Rainbow has here. Time for them to make a bunch of Cloud tanks.
4877136 That...makes a lot of sense.
Alrighty there Roarke Most Rawwwr, just what are you up to?
4877092
From the way it's described,it's compacted enough to be strong enough to withstand the wind currents at the tips of the mountains and it's angular design would allow it to cut through the air.
It seems like a pegasi rowboat to me. Strong enough to withstand the 'waves' of wind,an angled hull to cut through the air,all powered by the wings of the pegasi crewing it.
Ah, cloud tech. Didn't think about that.
4877092
I imagine making compact cloud is a basic pegasus task, so it lets them clear the storm without having to learn "advanced weather flying."
Or something.
Whatever.
Anyone else think roarke is just being a jealous jelly bean?
I approve of this.
Hopefully Rainbow Dash doesn't have a dizzy spell.
Onwards, to glory!
Here's hoping none of Chrysalis's prood will ambush Dash. They will be without close-jury support, after all.
Something's gonna go wrong. And I don't think that's just me being paranoid. Between Roarke going to get her weapons stash and this niggling feeling I have that one of the pegasi (Jerrio?) is there to sabotage their voyage... I dunno, but something seems fishy.
Also, has it been completely, one-hundred-percent confirmed that these pegasi are descended from Hurricane's expedition? Because it seems strange to me that they would have no knowledge of weather-crafting, or of Equestria and its rulers for that matter, if they were. It almost makes me wonder if they're actually descended from the Stratopolitan pegasi, and have been in the crater for much, much longer than we've assumed. Of course, this theory has it problems, too, such as the matter of their language and the fact that they had no knowledge of Austraeoh (unless 'Valkyrie' is the term they've come to use in its place, and simply failed to make the connection). Again, I dunno.
Yup, I missed one of the most spectacular and possible metodss, even more annoying to me given Ive been wondering if its possible to knit spun asteroid melt fibres into bulk structures, and that Ive been reading Flash Fog.
Its recently been found out with geese that they synch their wing movements to the turbulence rolls from those in front. That is, for a given set of flyers, according to the Flight Speed Of A Swallow equation, there is a given optimum spacing, so the wing beats can be in teh correct wave pattern to get maximum overall, greater than unity power gain. It also creates an air buffer that makes the interior of the overall motion more structural.
Someone better still follow them, just in case Rourke missfires.
4877933 To be fair, they haven't had much need for weather manipulation in the basin, and it could be something that they simply forgot over the years.
4878058
That's very true. I'm just being over-speculative. I guess I'm just expecting some kind of twist, because this all seems too easy, somehow.
Rayvinne brings up the single most important question of this entire arc: Is Rainbow Dash still a maiden?
I wonder what that would sound like.
Owwwwwwwwwww. I can't even begin to image how painful that would be. Like kidney stone level of pain?
Which pony has baited breath? Is it Kera? Is she cutting out the middlepony and luring grasshoppers right into her mouth, now?
Heehee I think what you mean is 'bated', which means suspenseful excitement.
Ultimate cloud-power-mobile-thing activate!
So Rainbow's helping the Durandanans make contact with the outside world? I wonder how that'll end. Probably with some unintended terrible side effects.
24
Two more and we'd have a full team. "We must push little cloud!"
For some reason this chapter feels like the first few did. I like it.
Makes me think of this tribe here in South America that is contacting our civilization for the first time, and are already contracting our illnesses.
Ah Floydien, never change you sexy elk.
So off goes the intrepid explorers, i'm sort of hoping they enccounter some vicious monsters, or crash or something because we are reaching the end of this arc and nothing incredibly depressing/violent has happened yet. Makes me wonder if ):( is going soft on us.
Ooo squishy fluffy cloudmobile.
Something goes wrong. The noble Jury comes to rescue gets destroyed. The all pegasus cast becomes the new Noble Jury with Jerrio the new Austraeoh.
Cough.
I bet there's another airship waiting for them on the other side.
4878187 The single most important question asked throughout the whole history of Austraeoh.
Perhaps you mean "I wish you could see this"?
4878187 I like her head
"Alright, everypony!" Rainbow Dash raised her hoof. "Southbound Express for Beyond the Greens! Let's roll!"
s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/1354760457_tumblr_kw5gdnYwxD1qa9armo1_r1_500.jpg
4877136
Pinkamena Diane Pie: Equestria's most harmonious pony.
Though maybe not in this setting
this mustve been what it felt like for the first apollo team...or Doctor Zephyron Cockran....to go where nopony has gone before...pioneers are the bravest type of explorers...second are frontiersmen...
good luck my little ponies...
youre about to enter a whole new world...the likes of which you have never even dreamed of....
...valkyrie speed.
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Welcome to the new world, Durandanans. There's a whole lot to explore.
-Spirit
It's one small flight for Rainbow Dash, and one air marathon for Durandanans.
Whenever it's mentioned that the pegasi 'chirped', I cant help but chuckle at how bird-like they are.
The SS Cloudball flies!
And so, another great adventure begins, this one containing the next six winged ponies that this part of the world has yet tos ee.
4878906
Rainbow Dash is like "I'm not even winded."
Set sail for beyond the unknown
06/11/2017
17:20 UTC
"Complacency is the blackest sin"
My favorite line that's not some comedic scene. Anyways, this story is just under a week's read and been loving everything about it. So much more upbeat and less choatic, no pun intended, than the last book. Free love with no parents and faith? I wonder how the Darandians' way of life will change, if any, over time and if it'll ever feel forced, or bare those PC types that feel others should conform, to becoming more like Equestrian's and their more rigid, by comparison, way of living over time. Probably not, maybe, but I can possibly maybe see sects of them breaking off and adopting other lifestyles.
Anywho off to do more mundane irl stuff. I miss this place but thankfully I have downloaded all the completed stuff I could. XD
Hope to be able to catch up to the latest story before it completes, but no rush here. We all gotta find a place to rest at the end of our journey,best of luck.
Oh Zaid, never change.
It's nice that Fawful is so kind to Dash. She needs it.