The rest of the day was a chance for the crew to take a break, reflect on recent events, and prepare for tomorrow's expedition - or for those not going to Fellis, the looming showdown with the dark elves. Reef Skimmer escaped the crew meeting with only a mild reprimand and a promise to practice flying somewhere other than the meadow. Enjoyable as that would be, for now he concentrated on the frustrating business of trying to shape his altered body into something resembling its original form.
After hours of effort and a few accidental roc transformations, he finally managed to get his claws to look like, well, claws. His initial elation at the achievement dissipated when he found it impossible to make his talons sharp or rigid, resembling lumps of hardened rubber more than anything else. Worse, it seemed any kind of distraction was enough to make them revert to the wriggling blue tentacles.
Frustrated and angry once more, the hippogriff's thoughts turned to the instigator of his misery: the reckless unicorn mage. After her advice with the captain he'd foolishly believed they were starting to become friends, but clearly that was a misunderstanding as she'd made no attempt to visit him since the incident - just a cursory glance and 'glad to have you back' when they were both called to meet with the Captain. Well. Perhaps it was time to address that.
Squeezing himself back into the most normal aspect he could, the mutated griff stalked through the ship, heading for a certain space in the tween deck. There he found a long table piled with notes, artefacts and analytical instruments, with more on the surrounding shelves and crates. Of his quarry though, there was no sign, only the earth pony assistant researcher.
"Ah, Blue Gripe, there you are." Reef began, in an overbearing tone. "Do tell me where Senior Distinguished Unicorn Summer Scribe has got to."
Blue Type stared at the enormous, slightly gooey eagle-horse, blinking like a deer caught in headlights. "Ah, yes, I'm Blue Type, erm... the senior researcher... I think Summer's... in our cabin?" she answered nervously.
"Indeed. At ease, researcher." Reef barked before spinning about smartly and marching off down the corridor, leaving a stunned Blue Type staring after him.
The cabin Summer Scribe shared with Blue Type was covered in the products of her rampant, unstoppable fountain of speculation. The little unicorn had managed to 'borrow' a map of Fellis from the dirt sharks, and had lost no time in outlining areas of interest.
The pyramid to the north was the objective of course, but another on the southern arm was a source of speculation: it might be cat-made, from the same era, possibly holding knowledge of how the laser works, so it was circled. Also a pair of villages - the cats, presumably? Who knows what knowledge they might have passed down orally or in writing? Perhaps the ponies just needed to not have the stench of land-shark, and they could figure out avenues towards co-operation, given their existing interests in the area...
And then there was the white pyramid itself. The obelisk. With its glowing crystal cap promising instant death like a malevolent eye keeping close watch on the surrounding mineral riches. She in the process of scrawling out some ballistic diagrams: eyeballing the layout of pillars and imagining ways one might sneak up on the structure, should they need to enter or plant some kind of demolition charge.
Maybe a vertical drop from above, leaning left and right to dodge lasers as they shoot by? A misdirected shot into the air that got its attention, so somepony else can fly in closer? But what to use - would it fire at sheep? Burrow and approach.. but wouldn't a land-shark have tried that? Find a path through the pillars that hid them from the laser... but once they get close, then what? She was holding the map up to her face, furrowing her brow and narrowing her eyes.
There had to be a super-easy approach she was missing. Think Summer, think! Her thoughts were interrupted by a slightly muffled rap on the door, followed by the precise, clipped tone of the ship's doctor: "Summer Scribe! Are you in there?"
Oh! A jolt of shock, papers thrown about as her horn involuntarily released them; Summer quickly shook herself out. She wasn't expecting a visitor - and from the voice, it sounded like Reef Skimmer... 'Err, hope he's not mad about the whole, you know... ok, just act natural' she thought.
"Coming!" Summer called out, trotting forward and tele-tugging the door open to let him in. You know, for how much of a struggle it was when he was first transformed, it looked like he was doing a remarkably good job of taking back control over his body, huh? There was an appreciative smile on her face at that.
Reef Skimmer paced into the room, ignoring her smile, instead glancing about at the scattered papers and dense hornwriting. "So. Already on to your next discovery, I see. Is one to believe that you are still in command of unknown artefacts and expeditions to retrieve and/or activate same?" he said accusingly, staring fiercely at the unicorn.
Summer had been mentally preparing herself to gush - to decompress all the thoughts swirling around her head, as Reef's preamble falsely presumes an air of interest. After a moment of disorientation as reality failed to match her expectations, she realised what he was here for. Risks of field work were one thing, but Reef didn't consent to the risks he undertook. A brief wave of defensiveness rolled over the unicorn's face: her features hardening, her legs stiffening as she contemplated her next move - but the moment passed and she forced herself to be apologetic, thinking it's what he's after.
"Look, Reef... You know and I know that I'd never have messed with the magical factory's workings if knew it'd lead to your..." looking him up and down, "...changes. I'm really, truly, sorry. No one should have to suffer a fate like you." She bowed her head low... then pulled herself back up, trying to look a bit more resolute, trying to not tremble in front of a predator twice her size.
"I've already had the talk with Set Sail," Summer continued, "and she made it abundantly clear that the safety of our team is of highest priority. I agree with that! If she thinks I should be benched, so be it. But right now, we don't have time to wait - the Drow are breathing down our neck, and we don't know when they'll decide they're fed up with us and blow is to smithereens. I need to figure this out, one way or another. And I'll take all of the risk if that's what it takes."
"You think this is about who bears the consequences?" Reef snarled. "Everygriff on this ship is a volunteer! Just as when one enlists in the Queen's Navy; all are told and accept the risks! That does not grant license to take unnecessary risks, or place one's crewmates in pointless danger!" He snorted derisively.
"Nutmeg told me all about the factory. She said you found documents explaining the whole situation, that very evening! Had you merely waited a day for your assistant to translate them, we would not have risked contaminating a whole island chain with voracious unnatural worms!" As if to emphasis the point, Reef's eagle claws had reverted into splayed blue tentacles, which were beginning to sink into the deck planks. "Perhaps Blue Type should be in charge of archaeological expeditions from here on!"
Summer Scribe felt a bulge of guilt travelling down her throat. The unicorn visibly shied away as she swallowed, fur standing on end. After all, Reef Skimmer was totally right: she took an action that she could have, with proper planning and precautions, avoided. This was meant to be her job. This was meant to be her job! If she's to take that fact seriously, and not dissolve in the acid of ego death... she had only one option available to her. "... I understand, and I accept full responsibility for my misstep."
Summer reassembled herself, visibly trembling, and gave a shallow little nod. "I... did not appreciate that such an archaeological undertaking could be so catastrophically dangerous. I assumed - wrongly - any consequences would be local, and it would fully be in my power to protect myself and them. I know better now. If I do anything less than take the Cloudbreak Islands with the full seriousness it deserves, then I don't deserve my position."
A weak turn of her head, and a nod to the papers surrounding her. "...And I plan to do just that from now on. I don't want to make an assault on the White Pyramid until I've thought out every other possibility - every contingency." Deep breath. In and out. "... I don't want anyone to be hurt again." Summer closed her eyes and lowered her head. "Err, since you mention Blue Type... How do I put this? She doesn't have the taste for adrenaline I do. She's happy where she is, doing the lab work, and I hope she can stay happy."
"I see." Reef Skimmer said curtly. He stepped back, leaving a visible imprint of giant anisodactyl feet, where he'd dissolved away a layer of wood. The hippogriff turned away, showing Summer his half-feathered, half-tentacle tail for a minute as he peered around the room. "You do appear to be taking this latest endeavour more seriously." he said flatly. "I can't say I'm qualified to judge pony sincerity." Turning back to the unicorn, it was if he was looking straight through her. "After all, not long ago I convinced myself a unicorn was my friend. Clearly one is prone to mistakes in that domain."
Summer Scribe finally looked down and saw the clawprints etched into the wooden floor. Well, looked like this conversation would be leaving a trophy behind, huh? Not exactly what she'd expected, but she had to deal with it. The immediate danger seemed to have passed, so she took a quick breather and assessed the situation: Reef wasn't exactly happy, but he'd dropped back from actively aggressive to... passive aggressive. Still though... another good point, and it had been causing a guilty pit in her as well. The kind where you felt like you'd dug yourself a hole too deep to get out of... and now it was time to confess her feelings.
She lowered her head once more, saying "...I was too afraid to come talk to you. I thought you'd hate my guts. I mean, I am solely responsible for what happened to you. You'd be right to not want to talk to me ever again." Another gulp. "I... So, umm... I'm sorry. I wasn't brave enough to come say hi. I'm a coward. If you still hate me, that's fine. I guess I deserve that one."
The big grey bird-creature cocked his head, thinking this over. "I must admit, I did hate you, Summer. Cursed your name and your line, for hours on end. Other times... I was convinced you would be my salvation, any minute now and you would sweep through the door to set things right with a wave of your horn." He looked away, frowning. "It was a... bizarre experience. Not just the physicality of it, the stuff affects one's mind as well. Darkness took me and for a while I strayed away through thought and time..." He shuddered, then stared at his tentacle-feet. "Not that the matter is resolved by any means, but... well. A measure of control, a modicum of... hope, has returned."
Reef sighed. "I suppose I can't blame you. Scared the hell out of Winter, though I must say he did his duty regardless, poor fellow. Even the Captain wouldn't visit, sent that Tartarus-touched purple pegasus in her steed - and she came primed for a duel to the death, before she thought better of it." He clicked his beak, then regarded Summer coolly. "So. That is where things stand." A pause. "How do you feel now?"
Summer Scribe was still staring at the floor, as she took inventory. Well... she felt awful, but she hadn't cried, shouted, fled or had an unreconcilable existential crisis. Neither had Reef, it seemed. So far, so good. The unicorn was cleary still anxious: her movements twitchy, throat congested, hooffalls antsy. Hearing about Reef Skimmer's time in the cargo hold certainly hadn't made her feel good about her actions, but it framed things almost like a fever dream: a horrible nightmare from which no no good can arise. As selfish as it was to think... it was nice, in a way, that Set Sail reacted the same way she did. If Summer was a monster, at least she was in good company.
"...Fine. Better for having talked it through, I think." she responded at last. "I... Do you still want to talk to me, then?" she asked sheepishly, as though broaching the topic might be taboo, after all she's said and done. "If you want to be friends, I want to be friends, too." Leaning forward and making eye contact took all the courage she had just then. "I don't want to see you as a monster. I want to be by your side as you learn everything about how your body works now... only if you'll let me, of course," she demurred. "I don't know. I'm like... so relieved that you made it through, but every time I think about it, it stings; like I don't know if I deserve forgiveness for this after I abandoned you."
"In this place... we all need to stand together. Animosity is a luxury we can ill-afford..." Reef said distantly. "Friends... I confess, one does miss one's old crew. Here, among ponies, I'm only on friendly terms with Sails, Nutmeg and... perhaps yourself. And none of those relationships are exactly... smooth. Oh Azure and Grenelda are happy enough to converse, but Azure is so aloof, and Grenelda, well..." He gave Summer an unreadable look. "...griffons pair-bond even stronger than we do, you understand?"
"Aha, yeah... Grenelda and Gustus care about the team and the mission as much as any of us, but they're socially a group of two." Summer released a little chuckle, trying to slowly ease the tension and relax her wearied, fried nerves. "I like Azure too, but she hasn't learned how to... well, talk, yet." It was true enough - as much as they didn't have the luxury of time, they didn't have the luxury of hatred, either. Not until the day comes when we find our way home again...
Reef stared for a moment, then cocked his head again. "If I may ask, is your position any better? You do seem like an... atypical pony, and your fellows are rather less keen on dangerous adventures." Reef didn't seem inclined to talk about his transformation just then.
"Hmm, yeah, I get what you mean. I kind of clash with other ponies... even internally. It's like, weird that I'm high octane but only about weird, specific interests, right? Haha. Like..." She sat down and looked sadly at her scattered notes. "...There comes a time in most conversations where I dunno what to talk about. A lot of ponies just pretend to listen and smile politely, you know? And then I realise I've been rambling at a wall for minutes and they don't really care. That's if they don't make it clear and blow me off right away. Not everyone's down to learn about the lost technology of the Tiger Clan when they have their own things they really want to worry about, after all. Err, oops, rambling again aren't I..." Now she was really sweating: calming an angry griff was one thing, but talking about herself...
Reef considered this for a moment. "Hmm. Your choice of bunk-mate was fortuitous at least; Glue Type seems happy to converse about lost clans and such for hours, even if she lacks your passion for high-risk away missions." His gaze fell to the floor, beak firm but eyes sad. "Don't have one myself... not that I wanted any special treatment, of course! Just that, well, the hippogriff frame is a touch large for the standard bunks, and... one imagines not many ponies want to wake up next to a giant eagle." He stared into space again. "Possibly one, but... oh, that was hardly practical even before I became a monster, one can't imagine she would be interested now."
"Blue Type," she quickly corrects, "And I'm happy to have her as a colleague indeed!" Summer Scribe tilted her head... Oh? If she's hearing right, Reef was in need of advice again. Pony advice. "...Set Sail, right? Hey, look..." The little unicorn rubbed behind her head with a hoof. "If you're willing to give me a second chance, why not Set Sail too? I mean, she even wished for the book that... I mean, it wasn't a magic book or anything, but it gave you the inspiration you needed, right? I'd bet you anything she thinks about you more than you can imagine."
"Ah yes Set Sail, she did indeed use up her wish to my benefit, but..." Reef sighed. "Firstly, she's the captain. Chain of command and all that; even if we're beyond the reach of the regulations out here, one would hardly want to add further stress to her already fraught command decisions. Secondly... well, I suppose pony stallions are thin on the ground, and pegasi are close enough to hippogriffs, that one might have elicited a degree of interest, but..." He raised a foot, or rather the group of blue tentacles standing in for a foot, and wiggled it. "...one can't imagine that's still true under these circumstances."
Summer Scribe lets out a gentle chuckle... which she had to hold back before it turned into a giddy and silly giggle. "Oh, Reef, no, no - Just because you've changed on the outside? You know how this always goes, right? When it's about real love, it doesn't matter what your physical appearances are, or if the species are totally different - whatever! It's all about how your hearts, entwined, yearn with desire for each other! What YOU need..."
Summer's horn lit up as she dragged a well-worn novel out from under her bed, where it lay in waiting - her guilty pleasure, The Outcast Prince, a (trashy, she'd be the first to admit!) teen mare romance novel about a strapping and burly stud of an alicorn, tossed out of his very own kingdom due to his forbidden love with - gasp! - a lowly commoner mare!
"...Is an instructional manual." She held it up with pride for Reef to see. "If you can say the right words - really show that you can seduce Set Sail - she won't be able to do anything but fall for you!" She winked. "All the signs were there, right? You just need to show her your true feelings - that's it! You can giggle be her Outcast Prince too."
Reef Skimmer reached out with his tentacles and grabbed the worn book, floating in front of him in Summer's cyan magic. He stared at the striking illustration of a well-muscled, slightly scruffy winged unicorn on its cover. The unicorn's platitude about appearances was surely just politeness, or perhaps trying to minimise the unpleasantness of his condition... but, if he could turn completely into an eagle now, perhaps he could turn completely into an equine? Hopefully not a giant one, and then there was the horn, the ideal pony apparently had to have wings and muscles and a horn... this would take some practice, at the very least. "Truly, this is what pony mares like?" he asked.
Of course Summer had no idea of the miscommunication that had just taken place - after all, that beak was just as tricky for her to read as ever. So she just nodded enthusiastically: "Oh, they do! We, I mean uh, they love the idea of a hunky stallion sweeping them off their feet and whispering sweet love letters into their ear. But don't forget, it's just as important to be loving as it is to be lovely! You need to show Set Sail that you care about her if you want her to be yours!" She gave the self-satisfied nod of somepony who is dispensing nothing but solid advice.
"I suppose if the Princesses are the female ideal, then it follows... hmm, can't say I've heard of any alicorn stallions though?" Reef frowned; he knew the diarchy of the alicorn sisters had reigned for over a millennium, perhaps they'd preferred that any knowledge of their predecessors die out.
"Ah, well, yeah, I think the book just made that up..." Summer admitted. "To be honest, I studied it for a while and there really are none. Dunno why! So, the book's a liiittle unrealistic," she chuckled, blushing. "But it's still suuuch a page turner!"
"No matter... one is most grateful for the assistance, Summer Scribe!" His beak hung open in a grin. "Bluebell informed me that the time of gift-giving, where ponies attempt to lure each other back to their nests, is just next week!" He sidled over and nudged Summer playfully with his shoulder. "Trust you little horses to make a full-blown festival of it, with songs and everything!"
Summer smirked at the griff's playful prodding and teasing. "Well, of course we would! Err, I mean, I should probably think about who I'm going to, umm... M-maybe Blue Type...?" Just like that the unicorn was a bashful blushing pile. She always found this day tricky for some reason!
"Off their feet, you say? Hmmm." Reef made a mental note. "Indeed one must find a truly worthy token of affection, given that without Sails' efforts I'd likely still be moping in the cargo hold. I suppose a nice door knocker or even an ornate armchair won't do... not that there's a branch of Quills and Sofas in the neighbourhood..." he mused, apparently completely serious. "Blue Type, you say?" Reef exclaimed, train of thought finally catching up with Summer's last sentence. "To be your special, erm, some-pony? Ha, well, erm, one wishes you the best of luck, old filly!"
"Err-hem, I mean, some kind of special, yes..." she blushed. Latching onto her roommate was a lot less mentally taxing than trying to figure out who else she could try to go out with! Not the worst idea all things considered. "B-but, thanks! And good luck with Set Sail, yourself!" Summer smiled. "Don't forget the basics: flowers, candy and romantic affection never go wrong!" The unicorn gave a satisfied nod, waving to Reef as he departed, door closing behind him.
Suddenly left with her own thoughts, Summer looks down at her notes and... oh, the giant claw mark burned into the floor. "Who do I talk to to get this fixed again...?"
For a soldier, the downtime between missions would be the best of times, or the worst of times - depending on which soldier you asked. Azure Feather firmly believed this particular break was the absolute worst. All the time she'd spent researching the Skyborn spell, getting comfortable with the butterfly wings it produced and then suddenly: unicorn horn shattered, alien feathery appendages attached to her sides. Oh certainly she'd dreamed of real wings since she was a foal, but never losing her horn, and the reality of learning to fly all over again was... frustrating, to say the least. Perhaps if she could take it slowly, but the drow were hunting for them and she needed to be in the air for the inevitable confrontation.
Cloud Cutter's encouragement was the driving force behind this latest attempt, but all the book smarts in the world didn't seem to help when her wings just wouldn't do what she wanted. The new pegasus was making progress, even getting airborne, but it was unsteady at best. She'd retreated to the edge of the forest, hoping to avoid the other ponies seeing her practice. Azure didn't need to embarrass herself any more than she had to and besides - it would only demoralise them, seeing their guard in this condition.
Yet though Azure Feather kept a cautious eye on the ship, alert to anypony who might make the trek across the meadow and catch sight of her, she was still not used to thinking like a pegasus. As such she just about leapt out of her skin when from total silence a familiar voice suddenly intoned, "Azure." It had come the one place that Azure had forgotten to look: up. The strange purple pegasus, Cloud Cutter was flying, or... perhaps floating there just above Azure, her wings moving more out of habit than necessity. "...Hello." the empty-eyed mare called down to her, with a stiff little wave.
Azure sighed and grumbled quietly to herself. Even with her best efforts, there was no hiding from everypony... least of all Cloud Cutter. Her wings dipped low as she looked up to the real pegasus and nodded. "Hey. Sorry... was just trying to practice, and uh... not doing too well," she admitted, shaking her head. The mare's voice was laden with her frustration and near despair.
"Oh no you were doing great," Cloud Cutter said. Thinking for a moment, she continued: "It's just what you were doing wasn't quite right. Not your fault. Sorry if I... haven't been around to show you better. But I think I know what you need to do." She landed, looking above herself thoughtfully as her purple feathers folded by her sides.
"It's... it's alright. Damn it, you'd think I'd know better." Azure muttered miserably, before trying to take off once again. There definitely was something wrong - her concentration or her technique, possibly both - and the attempt barely got off the ground. Azure dropped back to her hooves with a sad shake of her head.
Tilting her head a moment, Cloud Cutter strode forward at the flustered flapping pegasus saying, "Nonsense. You were doing what every pegasus foal does when they try to figure it out. I'd have to be an idiot to think you'd know better. Anyway, I have an idea for what your next step should be, but... it requires a cloud. Do you mind if I... ask one of our crewmates to help us out?" She gazed off into the distance, swimming in the psuedo-frustration of not even being able to feel actual frustration, even with something like that.
It had seemed so easy, when you'd spent years studying every little detail, but true flight really wasn't as easy as pegasi made it look. That much was now clear. A cloud though... Azure hadn't even considered that she could now cloudwalk without the aid of a spell. Cloud Cutter must have a plan. "Go right ahead. I mean... I've got to get back in the air, somehow. A grounded Pegasus is about as useful as a parasprite." She shrugged. "Or a broken sword. You get the drift, I'm sure."
"You of all ponies should know that broken swords can still kill," Cloud Cutter replied calmly. An uncomfortable pause, then without another word she just leapt in the air, circling higher and higher until she turned westwards, making a beeline for the airship.
Azure shrugged lightly. "You tell me if a broken sword's better than an intact one." she said quietly to herself as she watched Cloud Cutter fly off. She continued to practice while her mentor was gone, but her next attempt at flight... wasn't any better, skidding through the air into an unintended side-slip, and landing hard with another grunt of frustration.
When Cloud Cutter returned she was accompanied by a pegasus stallion Azure hadn't yet met: a blue-furred fellow with a striking red mane and tail. An average build, but quite agile from what she'd seen of him up on the rigging. In front of him was a puffy white shape: a small cloud. Azure's trained eye told her it had been loosely packed to make it easier to handle. The stallion called out as the pair descended: "Hey there! Azure, right?"
Oh goodness. That speedster of a pegasus. Maybe not on the level of the Wonderbolts, but certainly no slouch, Azure thought. Either get it right this time, or embarrass yourself in a big way, she thought as she looked skyward and called back: "Correct. And you are...? Apologies, I should have studied the crew roster a little harder."
"Well don't apologize, I don't even know all our names yet," he said agreeably. "You're famous so everypony knows of you of course! Cee-cee says I might be able to help with your flight training?"
"Yes," Cloud Cutter said, with a longing look towards the stallion, "Just... hop onto the cloud, Azure. We need a little bit of height for this exercise."
"Famous? Me? Bah, wouldn't go that far. Just a member of the Lavender Blades, that's all." Azure admitted, as she wasn't giving much credit to the whole 'Champion of the Winds' deal yet. She might have the wings and title, but hadn't used them to accomplish anything, she thought. At 'Cee-cee's' invitation to hop onto the cloud, Azure wasted little time: "I hear you and..." As she stepped on, she almost stumbled. "One thing the Skyborn spell didn't allow... and goodness, I've got to get used to this..."
"What're the Lavender Blades?" the stallion asked, "I'm Crimson Sky by the way." He picked up the cloud, Azure and all, and beat his wings, rising smoothly up while Cloud Cutter rose along with him. "Everypony's talking about how you were a unicorn, and then got turned into a pegasus," he said as they rose, "Like a princess! Well not like a princess, but close like. Sorry, did I ask about the Lavender Blades? Was that when you were a royal guard?"
"Good to meet you Crimson Sky." Azure said warmly, still trying to get used to the feeling of clouds under her hooves as she was carried up. Hearing her newfound fame from what had happened at the temple... it was nice at first, now it was like poking a raw wound. "Yeah... becoming a pegasus was quite a thing, I'll admit," was all she'd say on the subject. Finally, somepony had asked about the Lavender Blades, and that she was more than happy to discuss. "Less 'were a royal guard' and more 'still am'. I'm just the newest recruit, the lowest on the ladder, so they sent me to guard the expedition's support ship. Or... actually I volunteered for it... but yes, the Lavender Blades are a wing of the Royal Guard, just as the Solar and Night Guard are."
"Oh, I don't know how they're organised, but wings makes sense," Crimson said as they rose higher, "Nice of you to come help us then, though the way things were going we probably shoulda brought every one of the Lavender Blades along. Do they do anything different than the other wings?"
Azure's explanation was practiced, as this was a common question (at least, in Canterlot). "The Lavender Blades were established shortly after Princess Twilight's coronation, and have the duty of protecting the Princess herself, as well as be her blade in the more... dire circumstances. The Princess does not enjoy using us as such, however, as one can imagine with her time as the Princess of Friendship. But one cannot just guard, and wait. Sometimes action is required. As for more troops - I understand there was a full squad on the Friendship." She shook her head. "I hope they made it."
"Yeah, uh me too." Crimson said sadly. A short pause, then: "We haven't had a shakeup in quite a while," he said thoughtfully, "Princess Twilight's a regular Princess Celestia. No offense to either I mean, but I wonder if all that trouble around when Luna returned was because the princesses were retiring. Not saying they broke Tirek loose or anything, but maybe things were just coming loose without y'know, only one princess, to keep things stable. Guess you were glad to see some action out here."
Azure chuckled roughly, as Crimson Sky spoke of action. "I wasn't even thinking of becoming a guard, back when the terrible trio were around. I was the furthest thing, actually: I had my magic studies, and my own friends, and... goodness, you wouldn't believe the things I saw with them. Unfortunately, and as much as the Princess will say otherwise, not all friendships are eternal. A few years after the coronation, those friendships had grown distant - too distant, even." She sighed wistfully, thinking of days past and gone.
"The little unicorn that tried to learn everything she could about flight had to find another calling - and that calling opened up as the Lavender Blades were forming. Heck of a life change, but one I'm happy I made, because... let's face it. Friendship? It's powerful... but it's not everything." Azure seemed... a little tense as she finished her explanation, looking over the side of the cloud for a moment to the side to try and figure out where they were headed.
Crimson Sky didn't seem to have much to say about that, looking off thoughtfully at the horizon as they rise ever higher into the sky. Cloud Cutter managed to pull up the slack, staying close by Azure's cloud. As she flapped silently upward, she said: "We all die alone, in the end, though saying goodbye isn't always a bad thing. I think those friendships just weren't... right for you, anymore. But friendship isn't the only thing you lost. The Lavender Blades didn't... teach you about flight at all, did they?"
That drew another sigh from Azure. She joined Crimson in staring into the distance for a second before, shaking her head dismissively and returning to the subject at hoof. "Why would they teach me about flight? I'm a... well, I used to be a unicorn, we don't fly. Not with wings at least. The Princess understood; my Lieutenant, a pegasus herself, found it funny, but neither stopped my research. But neither really helped me, either," she admitted.
"Changing your calling isn't easy to do though," Crimson Sky pointed out, "I wanted to do some schooling when I was a colt. There never was the money for it though. Working on an airship pays the bills at least, and I'm pretty good at it. We can't all be Daring Do after all. But it's hard when you have to... y'know, give it up."
Cloud Cutter looked at Crimson thoughtfully, or blankly, it was hard to tell. At last, she said, "I think this is high enough," and Crimson Sky stopped pushing the cloud upward, flapping away from it. They had gone so high, that even the two huge islands below looked tiny: far too high to even make out the airship moored to one of them. Just two green blobs, somewhere down below. The semi-packed cloud she stood on shivered and tried to twist in the breeze, still restrained by Crimson's magic.
If she'd still been a unicorn, this wouldn't have made a dent in Azure Feather's composure. Can't save yourself from falling? Use magic, stop it that way - Skyborn, or failing that a burst of emergency levitation just before impact. Now she was a pegasus, and that meant no more safety net. Fail? That would be it: broken neck, no second chance. Falling from this height, she'd be a pile of purple slime on the ground somewhere. Azure struggled to keep her composure, but there was a part of her that silently yelling "You ponies are crazy..."
"Okay, now I need you to spread your wings, Azure," Cloud Cutter said, oblivious to Azure's internal monologue. "Just feel the wind up here. Listen to what it... has to say. With your wings."
Well, that's an easy start at least, Azure thought. She spread wings spread wide and remained quiet... listening... but then she blinked, as if surprised at what was happening. A unicorn's Horn, a pegasus' wings... both channelled magic in ways similar yet at the same time quite different. The rush of new sensations was something no book could teach her and magical butterfly wings could not replicate. It was less 'forcing the wings to do as one asked', more "letting the airflow combine with your own magic and using it to your advantage'. Sure, there were the exceptions: that crazy rainbow pegasus who lead the Wonderbolts, definitely that one that looked at the wind and decided it did what she asked of it. Azure had a long way to go before she'd be pulling rainbooms.
"There's a... bit of rain coming from the south," Crimson Sky said, looking Cloud Cutter's way. The purple pegasus turned away, self-conscious at the loss of her weather sense. "Nice tailwind if you head north though," Crimson continued, "I'm not the best at weather reading, but it's easy out here with no land around to confuse the issue. It's just crazy that the jetstream's below us. That's that fast current that kinda... tickles its way off on our right. You wouldn't think we were that high up from how thick the air is."
"Imagine your wings catching the wind," Cloud Cutter told Azure, "Riding on top of it like a slide. When you flap your wings, you can push the air away from you. When you tilt them into a breeze, you can cut right through it. The warm air you'll feel around, if you catch it under your wings, you'll rise as sure as any airship. So just keep that in mind." She watched Azure's fierce concentration carefully, then nodded to Crimson Sky, saying: "I think we can start." He nodded back, then turned tail and gave a hard buck to the little cloud Azure was standing on, making it all explode into formless vapor right under her hooves.
No momentum, no warning, and especially no safety net! As much as Azure had seemed focused, that went completely out the window as the cloud platform was torn to shreds: the support under her hooves disappeared, and any chance for last-minute preparation went with it! With a stunned look on her face, her focus returned to her wings, thinking desperately over what she'd just been told. Wings wide to try and catch the wind, this was it. Failure here meant she wasn't getting out. There was warm air, definitely, and that breeze just to the north... somehow she could sense that. A quick look around and she was turning towards the north and trying to at least catch the wind... it was that or die trying.
Azure thought she might have caught something with her wings as she began to fall, but the wind must have been a dirty, dirty lie, because as soon as she turned north, her wings buffeted back and she plummeted, flapping in a panic. For every pony length she managed to flutter up, she fell three, losing altitude almost as rapidly as her heart was racing. "You're doing amazing, so far," Cloud Cutter said, gliding alongside the doomed pegasus, "You're not even screaming!"
"I screamed like a lil' filly when my ma did this to me!" Crimson Sky called out in delight, on Azure's other side. Who was on what side became confused as Azure went into an uncontrolled spin, and Cloud Cutter declared, "Spread your wings and just hold them still, and you'll stop rotating!"
Azure just about managed to keep herself from screeching right in Cloud Cutter's face. Something that became harder to see as she started to spiral out on control, spreading her wings wide to try and stabilize before starting to flap her wings wildly, trying anything at this point, her survival instinct kicking in...
"Don't worry," Cloud Cutter called out to her, sensing Azure's distress as Azure continued her angry chicken impression, "You're high enough that you can totally stall out and you'll still have plenty of time to pull out of it!"
"We'll catch you if you get too tuckered out," Crimson called back, "Just play around with your wings, do whatever! You can't get hurt at this height; there's nothing but air up here!"
'This isn't working... this isn't working!' Azure Feather thought. Then for some reason she imagined her Lieutenant, who would probably use her face as a punching bag if she saw Azure panicking like this. Flapping their wings like crazy... did she ever see the legends, or her pegasus friends do that? No! They were calm, collected, often barely moving their wings: a gentle push if anything, not this! Alright. There's warm air rising... over there. Wing spread to stabilize... slip into the thermal, angle upwards... maybe that would work.
Abruptly, Azure found herself soaring smoothly up into the air, at a steeper and steeper angle, until she just began to fall backwards, the sky receding away from her outstretched hoof. "You found an updraft!" Cloud Cutter declared happily beside the falling pegasus, "Aren't those fun?"
"Just drop like a rock!" Crimson Sky suggested, "Then just tilt your wings a teensy bit just until you feel the pull, and you'll swoop right out of a dive!" Azure at least had the first part of his suggestion down pat.
It wasn't working. It wasn't working! Azure continued to plummet nose first to the ground so impossibly far below, even though her wings strained as she tilted them more and the rushing air fought across them, and... then... everything else started to tilt. Her flight path itself started to tilt, from a downward drop angling forward, in a slow arc that progressively flattened out, until she was just... sailing forward on her wings, the air slipping under them like butter. Afraid to move them.
Finally, Azure allowed herself a small smile at not falling helplessly, but the next lesson was met with a harsh nod. Tilting her wings experimentally in little banks to the left, then right, she also started to recall something else: Sunburn's words. Her wings weren't just a way to swim on the air that was offered. She was the Champion of Wind. Surely... surely, if this didn't work... she could tell the wind what to do. If she could call down a tornado, surely, a mere breeze is nothing, right?
"There, that's a bit easier, isn't it?" Cloud Cutter asked, shooting through the air next to Azure at a slightly steeper angle. Crimson wasn't moving at all, flapping there in the air waiting for Azure to circle around to him. Azure didn't feel like she was circling, but slowly, as if turned by an invisible hand, she found herself facing him and then just racing past him.
Azure's patience had worn thin at first, but now that she'd levelled off... this wasn't so bad. She began a wide circle, seeming to catch another gust of wind, as she nodded gently. "Of course, you know, I've got it easy, sort of, but... I want to learn how to fly the right way first."
Crimson Sky was catching up to her now, saying, "Nice glide! What do you mean you've got it easy?"
"If you tilt your right wing slightly down, you'll veer to the right," Cloud Cutter told Azure, more interested on teaching her than finding out something that could be asked after the lesson, "Same for the left. If you run into an updraft, tilt them both down as you rise, and it won't flip you upside down. Half of flying, really flying, is just learning to hold your wings steady, rather than flap them to try and keep you from falling. As long as your wings are spread, and you have enough speed, little movements are all that you'll need to keep yourself steady."
"Yeah, unless you want height!" Crimson said, and flapped his wings powerfully and... vanished from her side, suddenly a swiftly diminishing figure as he slowly flapped upward increasingly far behind them.
"As Crimson uh... demonstrated, you can flap for height, but you won't be moving forward much until you return to a glide," Cloud Cutter said, a little nonplussed by the stallion's enthusiasm, "With time you can put your magic into the glide and... well it's the antifriction equation, but you don't need the academic details I'm sure. For the most part that's all flying is. Flapping up, updrafts, and gliding."
"How's it feel to be really flying?" Crimson asked, again somehow catching up with them again, though Azure found herself whistling through the air at speeds she couldn't measure without any point of reference to crash into.
"It's... something. Though I've flown before... it wasn't with these wings." Azure's words were a little distant, as if she was trying to put every bit of info that Crimson had told her in a matter of seconds together. "So it's distance, or height, rarely both, period," she stated, gently trying to bank to each side and quickly finding out what that meant. "Updrafts... downwards tilt to save yourself, and... that's pretty much it. Hmm. Actually not hard once you're taught the correct way..." she concluded.
"I'm... teaching it wrong, actually," Cloud Cutter admitted, "This lesson's about... learning to play with the air, and feel it out. You're up this high so that you can afford to make mistakes, experiment with things, just... knock yourself out of the sky for fun. It just seemed like you might... appreciate an explanation. As best as I know it."
Azure soon turned to Cloud Cutter. "Even if it's a course best described as a crash course, I do appreciate it. Especially the height aspect: both of you knew I wouldn't get it right the first time, and you took that into consideration... and I appreciate it more than you know. Textbooks only teach so much: you need to get out there to really know how to do it."
"Oh huh, so you had some unicorn spell to fly with? Sorry, didn't know," Crimson called over, a blush on his cheeks.
"Yeah. Called it the Skyborn spell." Azure called back. "Worked like a charm when I had magic, really... but what do you say we all just go for a flight at a bit lower altitude? Because if we get caught here, well..."
Eyes widening, Crimson looked over to Cloud Cutter saying, "Say that's right. What do we do if we get spotted?"
Cloud Cutter frowned, saying: "Well we're all already... mostly sky coloured, so it's not likely. But that actually hadn't occurred to me. Yes I think we should find a cloud, and... head back to the ship."
"Again, thank you, both of you," Azure said sincerely, "I needed this class... and then some." She grinned, starting to drop back a bit and let the two more experienced fliers lead. At least they'd know where to go, right? Not that she didn't, but then again...
The three continued to glide lazily about, making their way to the nearest cloudbank, where CC taught Azure about how to land on a cloud, head first, at full speed. It didn't require much instruction, though CC may have had to hide a smile after Azure finished pulling her head out from where it got stuck in the cloud. Azure rode a piece of cloud back down then, with CC beside her, promising that the next lesson would be about take-off and landing, without any cloud assistance needed.
Crimson Sky stayed close, just happy to be helping, and to finally meet that heroic and mysterious guardsmare, who was a lot more... calm and soft spoken than he thought she would be. Thankfully without incident, other than a brief panic as a giant avian shadow swept over them just as their hooves kissed solid ground. From the deep, joyful squawks and sudden brief rainfall, it quickly became obvious that it was just Reef up there practicing being a giant bird again.
Getting her face buried in a cloud was another new experience, but Azure Feather just laughed it off... hey, she was still learning. But the first lesson was done, and she didn't even need her new magic. The winged shadow did startle her, but to see Reef flying high... she couldn't help but smile. Finally, things were looking up.