//------------------------------// // Limburgh - Double Trouble / Redante // Story: Operation Westhorse // by PropMaster //------------------------------// Winding dusty road, pierced along the border of forest and farmland. Dash settled down upon the rough, greying asphalt. Her head on a swivel, looking for any end to this strange road in the middle of nowhere. on her left, there was plenty of fence work, for keeping livestock or unwanted guests from a field. A few steps further had her squint at a green sign on the road into the lush overgrowth swaying in the wind. "Th' heck is an staat boss be-here?" Her eyes scanned the alien, foreign language for what it was worth. But all it got here was a strange mix of jumbled equish and..other words, Germane maybe? She snorted and turned down the road again. the forest lining the road on her left. A gentle breeze cut through the empty plot of land to the right. If she squinted down to her right, she could see the outline of a village of sorts but a few minutes away on wing. But for now, she felt like walking. And the road straightened out. coming to an abrupt turn to the right at a lost bench in the middle of nowhere. Complete with a bin depicting some strange glyph. On its left, there was a locked gate. Unmarked and uninteresting, she went back to the road, following it toward the village in the distance, curving along the edge of the forest, as the sun shines it's last rays down through the leaves. It was a nice, spring evening. She took in the sight of the village laying in the distance. It's most prominent landmark has got to be the large tower in the near middle of it all. jutting out proudly, coated in corroded bronze, tiled slants for a needle-like roof. A clock on all its faces, kept the local time. She could hear the distant call of a large bell, denoting another hour passed. Rainbow guessed this was some sort of important temple of time. Another bend curved slightly away from the village. She was in no mood to stop for a chat with the locals. Now that the road ahead would be part of a larger system she figured to turn more westward. Only to turn towards a squat, large building in the middle of nowhere. a large field of fresh grass laid before it. a driveway to two large doors proofed large enough to park a multitude of carts and the such. In front of the building, standing in a uniform line and paced apart: large long poles with a sort of pipe-ish construction on top. An covered one with a much wider base was fenced in, and looked much more advanced. But her attention returned to the Squat building. A large fabric-like billboard covered what little she could see from an large canopy that covered a small terrace. It was in a deep hue of blue, much unlike the grey building itself. It featured a dozen figures marching along to an invisible drum. holding weapons against their shoulder. uniformly with a single left limb forward. "Ess Tee Stepa-What kinda word is that?" Her curiosity and hooves took her to the front of the building, sealed away from the world from the tree-line at the road from whence she came. Tightly grown greenery blocking view now. But her eyes scanned the large metal ports sealing the windows. Thick metal doors seemly locked tight. A short hike along the paved path running along the building, got her to another small paved square, in the back, a thick wooden workstation and a fire barrel overflowing with left-over wood from recent construction she guessed. Here in the shadow of the hedge and the locked building, she sighed contently in the lingering warmth, looking at the dimming skies. She stared at it for a short while, before shaking her head and spreading her wings. Launching to the skies banking slightly to chase the sun going down. Rainbow Dash flew west.