//------------------------------// // 103 The Explorer // Story: Continuity Disrupted // by Doug Graves //------------------------------// October 10th, 1000 Domina Solaria The days pass with building anticipation as Cloudsdale gets closer and closer, much like that of an especially slow acting pepper that steadily gets hotter and hotter with every passing moment. The cloud city completes one circuit of Equestria approximately every ten years at the sedate pace, and continues steadily creeping closer and closer to Canterlot. Originally, they would have been celebrating the one thousandth anniversary of Princess Celestia raising the sun, but their pace has picked up to make it in time for the start of the first Year of the Diarchs. For some, the arrival of the cruising city is a blessing. Applejack and Rarity are certainly enjoying the increased business from tourists flying in. Trixie has taken to the streets, entertaining and enthralling crowds of Ponyvillians and visitors alike. Twilight can’t help but throw open the doors of the library every morning, happily greeting the sightseers interested in Ponyville history, or scenic treks through the surrounding areas such as Whitetail Woods (never the Everfree), or just looking for a quiet spot to rest their wings and catch a bit of light reading from Spike’s comic book collection before they make the mile high voyage back to Cloudsdale. For others, this is a scenario out of their nightmares. Fluttershy has practically boarded up her windows, desperately trying to avoid the gawking stares of ponies interested in catching a glimpse of the Element of Kindness. Pinkie Pie is going crazy(-ier) trying to keep track of which ponies need parties thrown for them, or who has gotten an invite and who hasn’t, and is on the verge of just throwing convention out the window and partying continuously for whomever decides to show up, consequences thrown to the proverbial (and sometimes literal) wind. For Rainbow Dash, every day brings Cloudsdale - not only the site of the Best Young Flier competition but also her and Fluttershy’s parent’s residence - one mile closer. It’s not that she can’t fly up there and see them again, or invite them down to spend the day with her or Doug or Scootaloo. But, what would they think of her? What had she accomplished? They had always praised her ability to fly, even (or possibly especially) when she got the dreaded participation ribbon. They had always pushed her to be a Wonderbolt, even going so far as to not attend any Wonderbolt races since she came of age because ‘if she isn’t a Wonderbolt, then what’s the point?’ However, that’s a problem for another day. Hopefully. At least her parents are giving her the courtesy of staying of out of her mane until she invites them over. Some days she sees them flying around, or at least imagines she does. And maybe they watch her practice, working on getting her max speed close to what it was at her prime. But Rainbow hopes they haven’t, since she wants them to see her at her best! While Cloudsdale might take up an inordinate amount of her thoughts during the week, today brings a different behemoth into the picture. Rainbow, Doug, and Twilight sit on the south side of Sweet Apple Acres, close to the train tracks that run next to the Everfree Forest. Next to them are dozens of crates of provisions, timber, ropes and other climbing equipment. They watch, Doug through a set of binoculars, as a zeppelin crests over the town of Ponyville, heading towards the large orange tarps they spread out on the ground. The airship’s giant envelope, the canvas material surrounding the balloon, reflects a combination of white and blue, seemingly at random, evoking images of clouds drifting through the sky. A gold and cobalt compass rose on the nose cone and on each side of the rudder mimics the Lunar peytral. The gondola underneath is more utilitarian, built for cargo, but no less ostentatious, a sharp midnight blue with, if one counted, ten thousand pinpricks of gold. The name, displayed in a bright, almost garish golden scrawl, reads The Lunaris Priestess. Relaxing at the helm is a white stallion, his long, amber mane spilling out behind him, blowing in the breeze. His carefree smile never fades as he slows the engines, and only when the great beast comes to a relative halt fifty feet above the ground does he leave his post, walking to the edge to peer down. “Hello, there!” Prince Lunaris Blueblood yells as three stallions scurry around him, preparing the airship for landing. Four mooring lines drop down that Rainbow and Twilight swiftly take, tying down to nearby trees. Lunaris’ horn lights a brilliant gold as he watches the ground slowly get closer, their descent grinding to a near halt as they get within ten feet of their landing. A green mane with two red streaks pokes up above the railing, quickly joined by two brown hooves. Applebaum peeks up, squealing, “Daddy!” as she spots Doug. He waves back, grinning, as the young mare impatiently paces back and forth, bemoaning the prolonged delay. Doug stands, staying a healthy distance away as the gondola gently settles against the earth. He walks up to the railing, arms coming up to grab Applebaum as she leaps off the railing. “Welcome home!” he shouts as he wraps her in a firm embrace, a warm smile breaking out across his face. His hands briefly feel the small pack she has around her back, a bright red cord coming off the front. Applebaum grins back, her forelegs doing their best to wrap as far as they can. “How’s the farm?” she asks, though her smile fades a little. “And, um, how’s dam?” She looks around, her gaze pausing on Rainbow Dash and Twilight. “Ah though she’d be here.” “Everything's going well, same with Applejack. We didn’t actually know you were coming,” Doug says, raising a fist to bump Lunaris’ hoof as he opens the gate on the wall. The white stallion, a similar pack strapped around his barrel, steps out. “Same with you, Lunaris. Somehow by your letter I didn't think the designer of the parachute himself would be coming along. This all to test them out?” “Well, much like our trip to Vanhoover, I saw fit to combine business with pleasure.” Lunaris tips his head towards Twilight, “Ah, and the most recent addition to your little herd. Twilight Sparkle. I shall be sure to tell your brother you are doing well. Being a married mare suits you, I dare say; I would hardly have imagined you of all ponies would be outside, even on a beautiful day like today!” Lunaris winks at Twilight, “For how often does a Prince of Equestria grace your path?” “Well, back when I was studying with Princess Celestia, it seemed like every other day you would be in her office mewling about something or other,” Twilight remarks with a sly smirk. Lunaris snorts, flicking his head to the side, his mane swishing against his neck. “I do not mewl. And Auntie merely needed more time to consider my proposals. I will not apologize for singlehoofedly getting Equestria’s airship program off the ground. Literally.” “Right.” Twilight glances back at the Lunaris Priestess. “And how many pony’s tax bits went into this little venture?” “The Priestess?” Lunaris pronounces it ‘pre-stress’ with more than a little disdain. “What Equestria provides for enterprising businesses is a decision for the Noble Council. And if she is occasionally rented to private individuals then that merely defrays the cost for when she is used for official business.” Twilight stares at Lunaris for a few seconds. “So, the business side of this is…” Lunaris motions first to the crates, then to the three stallions as they cinch the moorings. “Deliver for Sweet Apple Acres to Cloudsdale, then ferrying these fine individuals to a location of their choosing, and then using the extensive cargo hold to return objects of interest to Canterlot. Some of which the Princess herself has asked for, personally.” Twilight sighs. “And the pleasure?” Lunaris says with a straight face, “I was going to throw Doug off the side once we are off.” He glances over at Rainbow and Doug. “You two ready?” “What.” Twilight turns to Doug as he stands. He doesn’t seem particularly worried. “Oh. Right. The parachute.” She glances to the pack on Lunaris’ back. “You have one built for him?” Lunaris rolls his eyes. “What do you take me for, a bumbling buffoon? Of course I do.” His horn lights, a backpack with loops for leg straps levitating over. “Not very stylish, unlike my own dashing setup, but you asked for practicality.” Doug grabs the plain canvas backpack, slipping his legs through and cinching the straps down. “And, you’re sure it works?” “Every pegasus we’ve tested it with survived.” Lunaris manages to keep his smirk off his face for a whole two seconds. “That’s… not very reassuring.” Doug glances at the three earth pony stallions similarly equipped, a short nod to Withers. Each returns a curt nod, nothing more, as they load the crates onto the gondola. “I guess they trust it enough.” Lunaris nods. “Normally we have a two hour safety class, full of all sorts of useless trivia and explaining exactly how everything works, but it’s simple to use. Pull this cord if you find yourself falling. It will pop off this small parachute, which will rip out the rest in short order. If you do it too low, it doesn’t work. If you do it too high, you get to drift for a while. I’ll let you figure out which of those is preferable.” Doug smirks. “Got it.” He glances to Rainbow, “You good, too?” Rainbow rolls her neck around, stretching her lithe frame. “Yup! I’ll be underneath you. If it doesn’t work, just don’t panic and flail around. I really don’t want to get knocked silly by you. Just hold your arms and legs out, try to maximize your surface area, and stay still.” Rainbow smiles, “If we’re dropping from a mile up, it’ll take about twenty seconds to hit the ground. Pull the cord after about five. I’ll have plenty of time to get my legs around you if the ‘chute doesn’t work.” “That’s all? Twenty seconds?” Doug squints up at Cloudsdale. “They’re about a mile up, right?” “Yup. Give or take two hundred feet, depending on the winds.” Rainbow looks up and down the parachute backpack, inspecting the straps and making sure everything is secure. “You want to do more than one test? Or you trust me, and Twilight?” Doug rubs Twilight’s head; she leans into his hand, eyes rolling up as she smiles. “I guess I have to, if I want to see you win this competition.” He shudders briefly as Twilight’s horn lights. “So, that’s the cloud walking spell?” “Yup! I found another one that gives wings, temporarily, but given the inherent instability even when working with ponies I thought it best to try an easier one.” Twilight chuckles, “You probably don’t want all the specifics-” she cuts herself off as she grins. “Actually, you probably would be interested in them. Basically, the spell relies on a pony’s inherent magical aura, adhering and drawing from that pool. Without it, the spell would likely last until I stopped channeling. And it’s a tough spell, from the looks of it.” “Can we get on with this?” Rainbow sharply asks, her hoof tapping against her foreleg. “Oh! Sorry. The cloudwalking spell is much easier! Anyway, stay safe! -ish!” Twilight waves as Doug and Rainbow board the gondola, the stallions following just after with the mooring lines. Lunaris nods to Twilight as he steps onboard, everypony else ready to depart. Doug looks out as the airship begins a gentle spiral climb, thirty minutes to get to their drop altitude. One hand idly scratches Rainbow, the other Applebaum, as he watches Ponyville get further and further away. The second time he’s been in the air, in Equestria, though the first was at night and under considerably more strained circumstances. “So,” Doug remarks to Applebaum, “what exactly are you doing on this venture?” “Mostly inventory.” Applebaum motions to the various crates, “Once we unload these apples and ciders and whatnot, we’ll be heading out over the Everfree. Hiring a couple pegasi from Cloudsdale to run interference on the storms out there. And then they’ll be searching through the ruins of one of the temples hidden down there, and trying to find anything of value.” “And if they just happen to come across a wall in their way,” Doug says with a smirk. Applebaum grins, her hooves grinding against the floor. “Then it’ll be my chance to shine.” The rest of the climb passes uneventfully, merely small talk about how life is in Canterlot, her classes, and what it’s like being with Wither’s herd. How everypony at school treats her nice, almost deferentially, and how nopony makes fun of her accent, which had been one of her big worries. Essen Drai - she and Conta are Withers' fillies around her age, no cutie marks yet - have been a big help, showing her around the school and getting her into a couple of the clubs they are in, even if she isn’t that big a fan of hoofball. Eventually, they come to the top of their ascent, on the same level as Cloudsdale. Doug peers over the edge, barely able to make out individual buildings. He gives Applebaum a final hug, setting her back down on the railing. Lunaris walks up behind Doug, not quite sneering at Ponyville. “Well, I hope you had a nice trip.” “Pleasant enough,” Doug remarks as Rainbow takes off. She quickly returns, pushing a fluffy white cloud. He shudders as he looks down, not quite able to make the step. “Well. Um. I suppose this is goodbye.” "Come on, Doug!" Rainbow shakes the cloud back and forth. "See? Nice and solid cloud over here!" Doug shakes as he takes a trembling step forwards, his eyes remaining fixed on the cloud. His foot pushes into the cloud, settling down like a spring with just a little bounce up and down. He stares blankly as his second foot joins the first. "Wow. It worked." "Of course it worked," Rainbow said with a roll of her eyes. "It's Twilight. Anyway, ready for the fun part?" "No," Doug says, trying to stay as small as he can on the cloud. Lunaris rolls his eyes, his horn lighting and giving Doug the slightest of pushes. “See you next fall!” Lunaris shouts as Doug tumbles off the edge. “That’s terrible!” Doug yells, spinning around and spreading his arms and legs as far away from his body as he can. The wind rushes against him, buffeting him this way and that as he plummets down. Rainbow Dash flits just underneath him, her hind legs spread as she winks at him. “Now, this is living!” she shouts, basking in the air flowing over her wings. “Why haven’t we done this before!?” “It’s, uh,” Doug grimaces at the ground approaching faster than it has any right to. “Oh, yeah, you should probably pull that cord now,” Rainbow casually remarks, her body drifting closer to Doug. “Just saying.” Doug wastes no time in grabbing the bright red cord, wrenching it away from him. A small golden parachute billows out of the backpack, rapidly expanding. Doug grunts as a large cobalt parachute follows, ripping him away from Rainbow and settling into a much more leisurely descent towards Twilight. Rainbow Dash zips back up, careful to not get entangled in the lines as she nuzzles Doug. Soon he is trying, and failing, to keep her from planting kiss after kiss on him, all the way until they crumple to the ground and the parachute hides whatever happens afterwards.