//------------------------------// // There's a Dark Cloud Overhead // Story: Utaan // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// "Yes, Rainbow!" Rarity exclaimed, grinning wide. "Just like that, darling! Oh... you're practically a sculpture artist!" "Will ya knock it off, Rarity?" Applejack grunted, phasing through several streams of moisture and vapor hovering high in the air. "Just be quiet and let her concentrate! Besides... ain't like you've never seen her cloud kick before!" "Oh, certainly, I have!" Rarity nevertheless cooed, eyes glittering. "But never this close! Such a wonderful work of pegasus artistry, isn't it? I had no idea!" "Yeah!" Pinkie grinned wide. "Dashie's a regular cumulonymphomaniac!" She blinked, cross-eyed. "Wait... lemme try that one again." "Please don't," Applejack grumbled. In the meantime, Fluttershy giggled breathily at the ghostly fashionista beside her. "I never knew you were so mesmerized by cloud-shaping, Rarity. If I had realized this before, I would have made fluffy cloud animals for you back in Ponyville." Rarity gave an elegant wink before nuzzilng her. "Something to look forward to once we're all restored, darling." "Oh!" Fluttershy beamed, cheeks rosy. "What a lovely thought!" "Shhhhh!" Twilight Sparkle insisted, turning to look at Rainbow. "She's about to speak to Enix's group." Sure enough—just as the ghostly mares silenced—Rainbow Dash finished collecting several clusters of dark thunderclouds. She "herded" the cloudy mists into close proximity of the hovering flock of batponies. Not far away, Bard hovered along with Ariel and Wildcard. "Oki-doki-loki," Rainbow said. She smirked at a ghostly bevy of candied laughter behind her shoulder and continued. "I'm gonna take a wild stab and say that you guys have never done much weather flying before." Enix and several of her nightblooded peers exchanged glances. The leafy-eared leader cleared her throat. "We have... been able to successfully avert waterspouts from approaching Bleak's Plummet, but we always kept a safe and respectable distance." "Yes." Another warrior nodded. "And we have runes that can redirect lightning." "But our expertise has long remained relegated to the sea." "Well, today that's gonna change." Rainbow Dash smirked. "And once you're back on board Bleak's Plummet, you can share the secrets with Xarchellus and the rest of the velvety-furred gang!" She 'ripped' off a chunk of cloud like cotton candy and kicked it towards the group. "Here. Knock it around. Pretend it's—I dunno—a wayward seapony's head." "Rainbow!" Ariel gasped. "What?! I want them to relate!" Bard and Wildcard chuckled. Enix and her warriors nervously batted around the chunk of cloud like confused cats with a leprotic mouse. "Hehehe..." Rainbow had to suppress a giggle. "It's okay. The Durandanans were just as confused. Feel the cloud. Become... uhhh... one with the 'mists' or something." "It's easy once ya get used to it!" Bard said, reaching up to tip his hat—only to remember he wasn't wearing it anymore. "Ahem. The point of this here demonstration Rainbow's givin' y'all is that we're fixin' to have a bunch of cloud cover for when the Rohbreddenites arrive." "It can act as cover for an ambush!" Rainbow said. "The moment the baddies see me, I'm betting they'll take wing and chase me anywhere I go! This is good for Bleak's Plummet, because it means that they'll be forgotten." "But it's bad for Rainbow because it means her goose is cooked!" Ariel exclaimed. "But... if we all work together, manipulate the clouds, and create an airborne path for the enemy to take in her pursuit of the Austraeoh..." Bard finished for her. "...we just might be able to get the sort of control over the air that will give us an edge!" He smirked. "And send them varmints packin'!" "Hmmmm..." Applejack smiled. "Gotta love how Rainbow and her crew work'n'think together like a well-oiled wagon." "I know, right?" Twilight said through a bright grin. "Alright..." Enix fluffed the cloud in her grasp and gingerly passed it back to Rainbow. "I think I'm starting to get it. We construct a cloudy labyrinth and collectively use our numbers to confuse the land dwellers, thereby delaying their eastward approach to the alicorn gondola." Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. "Well..." "But as amazing as this lesson promises to be..." Enix's slitted eyes narrowed. "I fail to see how clouds can be a true equalizer in the long run. I still maintain that our best tactic is to fire upon the enemy from afar." "Right, but with them chasing my butt, the only things exposed will be the boats in their armada," Rainbow Dash said. "And to properly remove them from the equation, we gotta utilize the explosives we've placed among the wreckage." "There's still the matter of the airborn warriors who'll doubtlessly be chasing Rainbow all across the skies!" Ariel added. "Then... we are talking about a battle on two fronts," Enix said. "In the air and at sea level." "Righto," Bard said with a nod. Wildcard gestured briskly. Bard interpreted: "'While Rainbow draws the attention of the Frostknifers, the Stardust can draw the attention of the ships.'" "So the Herald's vessel will draw the armada through the strait while Rainbow occupies those who are airborne," Enix thought out loud. "But if you guys lend me a wing—or several—then we could make this an absolutely embarrassing nightmare for the floozies coming after us!" Rainbow said. "With clouds," Enix droned. She exchanged lethargic glances with the other warriors. "Forgive us, Blood of Luna, if we do not share your confidence... or enthusiasm." "Hey." Rainbow shrugged. "That's okay." Then, with a devilish smirk, she spun about and reared her hooves in the direction of the thickest thundercloud she had gathered. "You just haven't been shown the flashy part yet!" With that grunted, she kicked the cloud with savage might. KRAKOWWW! A brilliant bolt of lightning shredded through the air above the sarosians. The sky filled with shrieks and gasps. Fangs flickered in the ensuing groan of thunder. Enix blinked. Her mane was sticking out at every end. Ariel giggled while Bard and Wildcard exchanged glances. "Now..." Rainbow folded her forelimbs and smirked. "Imagine just what the right kind of runic punch could do on top of that!" Twilight and Applejack leaned forward, lips pursed. Enix took a shuddering breath. "Teach us more." Her fellow warriors nodded fervently. "Calling the plan 'simple' would be a falsehood, Matriarch, but it is sound. I am confident that it will work to get the Blood of Luna safely to the Dark Side. And—more importantly—it will protect Bleak's Plummet from Rohbredden interference." Enix stood before Xarchellus on the balcony of Bleak's Plummet. All around them, submersibles drifted in—joining themselves to the hull of the massive bleakweed structure in preparation for the grand exodus. Sarosians worked around the clock to haul in fish, resources, and all manner of plundered ocean resources. Xarchellus stood proudly with her fellow advisors, keeping a sage eye on the prime Nightblood warrior before them. "Once the signal is given," Enix said, "You shall submerge Bleak's Plummet and put all runic power into cruising west. At this point, you will be passing underneath the land dwellers' armada. But fear not; they shall not detect you. This is because the Austraeoh will have timed her entrance, exposing her presence before the zealots from Frostknife." She gestured east. "Once the soldiers on board the armada have taken flight, Rainbow will ascend—leading the group into the clouds. Little will they know that we will have purposefully sculpted the clouds to be a trap utilizing ancient Equestrian weather flying techniques. Once we have the enemy corralled where we want them, we will fire runic charges into the clouds, overwhelming them with elemental explosions." She trotted closer, slitted eyes set firmly on her wise monarch. "At this time, the Herald's ship—the Stardust—will begin its runic artillery barrage. While shelling the armada, the Stardust will make a swift path through the shallows near the edge. If all goes according to plan, the Armada will give chase, passing through a narrow strait where even more explosives have been primed. Once the enemy's ships are in the shallows, we shall detonate the enchanted runes. The enemies at sea level will be trapped and disoriented. Meanwhile, between our warriors and the Herald's fliers, the enemies in the air will be thrown in every direction. It is our intent that—with the runes we have equipped and the cloud cover we will have sculpted—this strategy will be just enough to distract the enemy long enough for Rainbow's Gondola to arrive. Once it does, the signal will be given. The Herald will retreat to the Dark Side... and we will return to Bleak's Plummet." Xarchellus nodded. Her wrinkly lips moved. "It is a risky plan." "I understand the risk, Matriarch," Enix said. "And so do my brothers and sisters. We expect death as much as life... as do the Herald, we trust." "What you do... you do not just for the safety of Bleak's Plummet... but you do it for the future salvation of this world." Xarchellus managed a gentle smile. "And worlds beyond." Enix took a deep breath. "I serve the Mother of Nightmares first and foremost... but I have always been proud to serve you, my surrogate." "You speak of pride. But there is something stronger than that. Something that we will all return to." Xarchellus leaned away from her advisors. On shaking limbs, she shuffled forward, taking her sweet time. At last, when she reached Enix, she leaned forward and kissed her scarred forehead. Enix bowed, her leafy ears drooping. "Our dreams will be your shields," Xarchellus murmured. She gave the Nightblood sarosian a motherly caress. "And the darkness in our hearts your blade. But now—more than ever—fight for the sunrise that we have so long forsaken. It will cleanse us, child... here and in the Harmonic Plains that the Maiden of the Moon has promised." Enix nodded, her fangs showing. Her voice was shaky. "I will fight until every last speck of the nightmarish shadow is gone. Then we can face the sunrise together, Matriarch." "As will all things. So says the Book of Saros." Xarchellus tilted Enix's chin upwards. "Blessings. Blessings I give to you and your noble warriors. Come back to us so that we may share in the harmonic joy together." "And I shall, Matriarch." Enix stood tall. "You have my word." From a distance, Rainbow watched silently. Rarity sighed, drifting beside her. "Such noble chivalry... and to think that they hid it so long beneath such barbarism." "In a place like this, Rarity..." Applejack shrugged. "I'm sure barbarism was 'chivalry.'" "I'm just glad that they're on board with this," Rainbow Dash murmured, trying to keep respectfully quiet. "Princess Luna really came to bat when we needed her to, huh?" "I'll say!" Pinkie Pie phased through strips of bleakweed as she bounced. "Could you imagine Spike having to negotiate the whole batpony hoof-holding convention? Nuh uh! I mean..." She glanced over, smiling cheekishly. "No offense, Twi." Twilight Sparkle was staring towards the opposite end of the balcony. "Twilight?" Rarity tilted her head to the side. "Is something wrong?" "No... just..." Twilight swallowed a lump down her throat. "...a bit distracted by something at the moment." "What is it, darling?" "Oh goodness..." Fluttershy sniffled, her ghostly eyes reflecting two figures: siblings, and one cowboy hat between them. "Maybe... m-maybe we should give them some distance." "Ah jeez..." Rainbow's ears drooped as she flapped her wings, hovering away from the bleakweed balcony. "Yeah. Not a bad idea..."