"Engineer's assessment: After multiple applications of mana leylines to the rocks retrieved from Curveside by the expedition of he who would be Lieutenant Warhold, I who would be Chief Engineer Ranort have determined that a triply-entwined leyline at maximum mana application is capable of recreating the hovering properties of the Darkside materials that have been scavenged.
"Modest proposal: Once a constant levitation has been achieved, affixing the stones to a wagon might allow for ease of transportation. With the permission of she who would be Commander Gwen, I who would be Chief Engineer Ranort shall set about on constructing such a vehicle as soon as possible."
"Wagon?" Flynn's muzzle scrunched as he followed Rainbow Dash up a stairwell. "I'm afraid I haven't seen such a thing."
Rainbow flew ahead of him. "You've spent all this time maintaining the colony's energy core—"
"And working on Wildcard's new arm," Flynn added. "Which is almost done, by the way."
"Right." Rainbow emerged onto the large loading chamber of Darkreach. The hatch to the mesa's top was still open, and programmed Darkstinian spheres flitted in and out, returning/embarking upon their automated patrols. "So, you haven't had time to explore every room of this place."
"I... uh... figured that was Ariel's and Big Show's job," Flynn said. He gulped. "Maybe yours too."
"Well, I need your help with this one particular thing."
Flynn came to a stop, shrugging. "What one particular thing?"
Rainbow rummaged about the room, squinting in the twilight pouring in from the great Dark outside. "According to Kepler, the latest log of Chief Engineer Ranort talks about a 'hovercraft' that they were working on."
"A hovercraft?" Flynn made a face, his metal lens retracting. "We're talking about stuff built hundreds of years ago!"
"Dude. The ancient Cylindrimanians built programmable robot spheres, talking briefcases, and a real kickin' a/c unit."
Flynn sighed, nodding. "You make a good point." He brushed back invisible bangs, looking across the chamber. "I guess I've found it all a bit overwhelming ever since we arrived on the Dark Side."
"Really?" Rainbow overturned metal crates and dusty toolboxes. "I figured you would be overjoyed."
"I'd be much happier if all this junk was still working perfectly."
"Seems working well enough to me." Rainbow threw him a brief smile. "Thanks to you."
"Right. All work. No observation."
"Well, I'm really sorry, Flynn," Rainbow said. "Maybe once we get a breather, I'll let you have a squat with the Crystalline Audio... uh... Internet Butler... thingy."
"Hmmmm..." Flynn smiled to himself. "I must admit, I've envied Kepler's calm journey of Cylindrimanian education as of late. Not that I don't mind tinkering on the Desperado's new limb, but still." A breath. "This 'Chief Engineer' Ranort fellow seems pretty dedicated to his craft. Still..." His good eye narrowed. "The Hell is this 'hovercraft' shit all about?"
"According to Kepler, he explained it without so much as snickering or hiccuping," Rainbow said, continuing to rummage. "So far, Ranort's logs have proven pretty straight-forward and to the point. I don't think a Darkstinian forefather would be capable of exagerrating."
"Did he give any sort of visual description at all?" Flynn asked, shrugging. "Anything that could help us in our search?"
"He just... described it as a simple pre-built vehicle. Y'know... like a normal wagon that the Emeraldinians would have taken with them to cart stuff from the edge to the mesa." She paused for a breath, peering around. "Something wide... flat... plain..." She scratched her chin—just above her Element. "Probably covered with a huge tarp."
"You mean... like this?"
"...???" Rainbow turned around.
Flynn gestured at a massive blue sheet covering what looked to be a table in the corner. With a savage tug of telekinesis, the stallion lifted the tarp off. In a flurry of dust, a wide metal wagon was revealed, resting on a series of metal crossbeams. Its wheels were replaced with clusters of dull blue rocks all bound together in rusted chains.
"Huh..." Rainbow blinked. "Looks like it hasn't got a lot of mileage lately."
"There's a problem, Rainbow," Flynn said.
"Yeah?"
"It... uh... doesn't have any wheels."
"Ohhhhhh..." Rainbow's eyes crossed. "...you don't say."
"What..." Flynn leaned down, peering closely at the chained rocks. "...are these stones?"
"That's another thing Kepler mentioned." Rainbow strolled closer. "Chief Engineer Ranort talks about some rocks 'scavenged from Curveside.'"
"Around the area you and Ariel visited the other day?"
"I'd venture to say further," Rainbow said. "Maybe those crazy killer kelp things weren't there hundreds of years ago." Rainbow gulped. "Anyways... these rocks that were found were apparently capable of 'levitating.'"
"Levitating rocks???" Flynn made a face.
Rainbow shrugged. "Dark Side, remember?"
"Yeah..." Flynn scratched his scuffy chin. "I guess." He gave the pebbly mass a meager zap of magic. Nothing happened. "Still... do you have any idea what it takes to rev up half-a-thousand-year-old floating rocks? Cuz I sure don't."
Rainbow's muzzle scrunched. "Kepler quoted Ranort as saying... 'triply-entwined leyline at maximum mana application.'"
"Oye."
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Is that a good or a bad 'oye'?"
"Just a costly one," Flynn said. "The Cylindrimanians certainly didn't mind using a lot of juice."
"Do... we have the proper enchantment materials to do something like that?" Rainbow asked. "I don't want us to accidentally end up in the dark here... literally."
"Nah. We're overflowing," Flynn said. "I mean... it'd royally sucked if we had any intention of bunking here in Darkreach permanently. But we should be gone long before we've fully eaten into the mana reserves here."
"Well, good. You've got a new project, Flynn! Bet you're jazzed."
"And that is...?"
Rainbow pointed. "Do... uh... a 'rock analysis' on those... erm... rocks." She cleared her throat. "Then try and find more of them. There's gotta be a spare cluster somewhere in one of the chambers below."
"You want me to tune up this... floaty-wagon?"
"That's the idea."
"To what end?"
"We're going to need tools and resources for the journey ahead," Rainbow Dash said. "It'd be really nice if we had something to ease our passage. If the Emeraldinian Expedition discovered something... it'd be outright criminal for us to not utilize it."
"Right."
"Cool. Good to know we're on the same page."
"Oh, same page for sure!" Flynn bit his lip, staring at the dull rocks beneath the wagon. "Just a big-ass novel, is all."
"Lemme know if you need a bookmark." Rainbow Dash trotted back towards the stairwell. "I got more Dark Siding to do."
"Any idea where Ranort got these freaky-ass rocks?"
"That's something I'm hoping to learn myself."
"Theoretical statement: The levitating rocks are just a small product of an even greater phenomenon that is yet to be discovered. It is more than evident from the reports given by he who would be Lieutenant Warhol that magic operates differently on this edge of the plane. From an observational statement, one can take a survey of the rest of the Curve and note several anomalous occurrences at a distance. It is the hypothesis of I who would be Chief Engineer Ranort that there is an otherworldly form of seismic activity that bridges the ancient foundations of the earth with the chaotic elements of the realms beyond the firmaments. If this is even remotely close to the truth, then it will present an immeasurable challenge to that which would be called the Verdestonian Expedition once she who would be Commander Gwen finally issues the command to venture forth towards the Midnight Armory."
"So..." Ariel slapped a button on the map-table of the HQ room.
The pins rose and fell, illustrating a dense "forest" between the mesa and curveside.
"Right between us and the Midnight Armory is this big 'forest' of horribad tentacle thingies." Ariel weathered a shudder, sighed, and continued. "Towards Omega—where Rainbow and I have flown—are the abandoned lumberyards... presumably left by the Bloodwings before they retreated Curveside."
"That's also where you found the shrooms," Logan said, standing beside Rainbow.
"Right... and those are growing nicely downstairs, by the way!" Ariel said with a proud grin.
"And the Desperado hasn't keeled over yet," Logan added. "Soooo—"
Rainbow waved a hoof. "Let's stay on point, everypony."
"Right." Ariel tapped the button again. The pins on the table shifted to exposed a wide swath of undiscovered topography. "Alpha side. We've yet to explore that area."
"Considering where we left the Light Side," Logan remarked. "So far north... parallel to Rohbredden..."
"I see where you're going," Ariel said with a nod. "There should be waaaaay more Alpha than Omega to explore."
"And just how much of it are you going to explore?" Logan remarked. "If this killer grass flows all the way from horizon to horizon, we're pretty screwed."
"Well, we obviously don't have the time or resources to do a lateral scaling of the Plane and make it to and from the Midnight Armory," Ariel said. "But... I do suggest we fly a little further than normal." She exhaled, glancing at Rainbow. "Just to see if there's a break—any break—in the dense forest."
"And once you find a break..."
"...we find our path to Curveside, the Armory, and beyond."
Logan glanced over. "Guess you know what your next field trip's gonna be about, Rainbow."
Rainbow sighed. "Wish I brought some gum with me." A tail flick, and she casually exited the room. "Pack your saddlebags, Ariel. We're flying high for the weekend."