//------------------------------// // Eve of the Exit // Story: Ofolrodi // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// "I'm tellin' ya, Baldy!" Logan growled as he heaved another load of armor onto the edge of the metal platform. "It's too much!" "It's not too much," Flynn retorted, levitating another cluster of metal tools into place. As if to prove his point, Logan gave the edge of the flat cart a kick or two. "See? Not budging! We gotta rethink this... drop a few supplies..." Flynn's nostrils flared. He looked across the loading chamber beneath the closed hatch to the exterior of the mesa. "It's anchored, ya fat tub of ass. Observe..." A flicker of telekinesis, and Flynn swiftly undid the chains latching the cart to the wall. He gave the platform the tiniest of pats with his fetlock. The enchanted stones along the bottom of the cart rippled with a purple aura. Immediately, the platform shoved so hard into Logan's chest that it nearly barreled the large stallion over. "Wh-whoah!" Logan winced. His hooves scuffled for friction and finally he was able to stable himself by pushing back and holding the loosely-gliding cart in place. He shuddered, marveling at the ease of control the simplest touch had on the flat platform. "Okay. I stand corrected... and maybe something else that rhymes with that." He tilted his neck down to gaze at the glowing arrangement of rocks and lunar dust. "Dayum sexy shiet..." "Hold it in, dude." Flynn arranged more bundles of supplies in the air and levitated it onto the bed of the cart. "Did you study the schematics I hoofed ya?" "Kinda sorta." "Well, stick to it. It is carefully prepared to accomodate for the leyline drift. Too much variation from the plan might cause this thing to flip over once we go down a sharp incline." "The hell?! Maybe we would be better off with wheels!" "Dude, I'm telling you!" Flynn slapped a crate in place and smirked. "Don't you dare doubt the Hover Plank 5000!" "Now I just know we're gonna die," Logan grumbled. "Cuz you're actually sticking to that." "You're doubtiiiiiiiing...!" "Mrmmmfff..." Logan huffed, hauling more bits of armor. "Sniff it." "Is that the last of 'em?" Rainbow Dash asked. Four bags full of glowing mushrooms hung over her flanks. Ariel flew ahead of her, cradling two bags to her chest. "Yup! At least..." She turned to look over her shoulder. "All that we're choosing to take!" "Gonna leave some to cultivate down below?" "Believe me." Ariel gulped. "It's hoping for the best... even if it might seem like we're hoping for the worst." "Nah. I get it." Rainbow nodded. "Good job, girl. I know it mustn't have been easy in between all of the recon trips you made with me." "Hey! Easy peasy!" Ariel smiled pleasantly. "I knew from the very moment Wildcard taste-tested the stuff that we were onto something super awesome!" Rainbow squinted ahead at her. "Has... any pony tried digesting the stuff, though?" "Oh. Uh..." Ariel bit the bottom of her lip. "I nibbled on a few of them about a week ago." "Arielllll..." "Don't worry! It didn't poison me!" Ariel smiled ahead. "I mean... I only had the runs the first two times. But the third and fourth? No big deal!" She shrugged. "Anypony can deal with some indigestion." Rainbow sighed. "You'll be okaaaaaay..." Ariel waited for her before scaling a stairwell. "Although—quite frankly—I dunno why you won't consider the alternative." "You know how most carnivores state that everything 'tastes like chicken?'" "Uhhhhhhh... sure...?" "Well, I can't even bring myself to eat a chicken," Rainbow droned. "So buck everything else." "Oh Rainbow..." "I can deal with the runs if I have to," Rainbow droned. Her wings flexed. "I could use the exercise." "I'll try and sit upwind of you." "You certainly know how to charm a mare." "Heeheehee..." "Aaaaaaaaaaaaand... close yourr fingerrs!" Kepler said. Wildcard clenched his beak shut. He concentrated... focused... ...and finally was able to clasp the edge of the auditory emitter and take it from Kepler. The Desperado now cradled Ranort's "briefcase," holding it safely and securely. He took a deep breath, then smirked proudly at the wyvern. "Glorrious!" Kepler shouldered a bag of things and walked with Wildcard out of the HQ room and down the winding stairwell. "Until you arre back into prrime fighting condition, I grreatly suspect we shall rrely on you as a bag boy!" Wildcard exhaled with a limp nod as they scaled the stairs. "But all jocularrity aside, my frriend..." Kepler winked through his spectacles. "I cannot think of a betterr brrotherr to have by ourr side forr the perrils to come." The two entered the common room—which was growing more and more sparse. Most of the supplies had been moved out, and the pair spotted Flynn and Logan marching up the stairs in the distance with even more belongings. "Think of it this way!" Kepler smiled through his tusks at the griffon. "Even Barrd—rrest his soul—couldn't have convinced you to enjoy the sorrt of vacation you werre forrced to have just now! I cerrtainly cannot think of something morre timely!" "... ... ..." Wildcard was staring across the common room. Kepler followed his goggled vision. Seraphimus sat against the pipework, looking more than a little bit bored. She squinted back at Wildcard. "So... I guess this is where we part ways, Jordan." The former Talon Commander took a breath. "I won't pretend to have any meaningful words to give you. All that should have been seen has been." Wildcard kept staring. Seraphimus blinked. "I don't understand. Why are you just looking at me like that?" She blinked again, then looked at Kepler. "This is the opportunity you've always waited for. I can be buried here for good. For ever." "Sometimes, Serraphimus..." Kepler stood back, folding his forelimbs. "I wonderr who you intend to insult morre? Yourrself? Orr ourr intelligence?" Seraphimus' charcoal eyes narrowed. "I actually... honestly do not understand." "I am quite awarre of that." Kepler nodded. "Currrently, I am having a most invigorrating exerrcise in my head—attempting to balance my pity with my amusement." He smiled aside at Wildcard. "Brrotherr? Perrhaps you would know best how to proceed with this...?" Wildcard nodded. He handed Kepler the "briefcase," then walked straight for Seraphimus. Cl-Clackk! Seraphimus' bound talons were handcuffed to the outer lip of the hovering cart. She scowled at the corners of the loading chamber. "This is stupid." She looked up at Wildcard and the other Heraldites. "You are stupid." "Whew!" Flynn brushed back the bangs he didn't have, smirking down at her. "She got us there, folks! Primary School levels of dissing!" He telekinetically checked her bindings, licking his lips. "Give it another month and the High and Mighty Commander of the Right Talon of Verlaxion will be calling us all poopy-heads!" "Current excrement notwithstanding," Seraphimus droned. "I rest my case." Seraphimus snorted. "This makes no tactical sense." She craned her feathery neck and scowled at Logan in particular. "On an expedition as dangerous as this long-distance undertaking, I am only a liability to the entire team you have assembled! It is only logical to leave me behind." Logan merely shrugged his shoulders. "Hey! Dumbass!" Flynn scowled once again. "We leave you here and you'll die!" "I go with you and I'll die even faster. We all will." "So...!" Flynn tossed his forelimbs, chuckling. "Why are you bitching?" "Let her be, baldy..." Logan droned. "What for?" Logan flashed him a frown. "Cuz I said so!" "Sor-rryy!" Flynn stepped backwards, holding up a hoof. "Yeesh. Didn't know the two of you were pitching a tent together." "We're not." Logan's teeth gritted. "I just don't wanna be listening to this adolescent bullshit the entire damn ride!" "Ahem..." Kepler adjusted his spectacles from where he stood beside the cart. "I sharre in ourr good frriend's statement... albeit with less vulgar hyperrbole." "Are we ready to set out or aren't we?!" Logan grunted. "I think we're just waiting on Rainbow and Ariel." "Pffft. Mares." Logan looked at Wildcard. "Where are they?" The Desperado merely pointed down with a metal finger.