The Noble Jury hung in the air at a great distance, floating listlessly above the trees. Meanwhile, the Lounge sphere hovered east, descending gracefully until it lowered past the thick moist branches of the crater's forest canopy. It landed not far from where Rainbow Dash was eagerly zipping about, bucking one apple tree after another and collecting the fallen fruit in her outstretched wings.
With a hiss, the doors to the transport opened. Eagle Eye and Bellesmith immediately hopped out. Roarke trotted gingerly after them, her lenses glistening with humid condensation as she peered across the misty jungle.
"Well, it certainly is... green," she murmured.
"I for one really like it!" Belle said. She took a long, deep breath, her fuzzy muzzle smiling. "Mmmmmmm... it's like Blue Shelf on a warm summer day!"
"Girl, I'm sure this place blows Blue Shelf off the mountains!" Eagle Eye giggled as he trotted over and batted a hanging tree branch with his hoof, watching as the water-slick leaves flounced. "The plants here are practically bursting with moisture! And you hear that wildlife?"
"Memories of Foxtaur, EE?"
"Pfffft. That forest felt like a threadbare fossil compared to this place." He gasped, his nostrils flaring. "Do you smell that?"
"Smells like... like..."
"Pears!" Eagle Eye galloped to a smattering of trees with low-hanging branches. He grinned into his reflection on the golden globules of fruit. "Oh wow—I bet Ebon would be beside himself once he hears about this bounty!"
"Over there..." Bellesmith pointed. "Are those orange blossoms?"
"This crater has everything!" Eagle exclaimed. "See those flowers in that bed by the brook?"
"Oh, Spark, yes! What are those, marigolds?"
"Bellesmith, I think we've just stumbled into paradise..."
"Unnngh..." Roarke shuddered all over.
Belle stifled a giggle. "Not a fan of beautiful tranquility, Roarke?"
"I've lived long enough to never trust anything labeled as 'paradise,'" the metal mare said.
"Awwwwwww... don't ruin the moment!" Eagle said with a smile. "Instead, why don't you help us pluck some of these pears?"
"You don't seriously plan on eating those...?"
"Well, it's not like we're going to let them eat us."
"Heeheehee!" Belle called across the grove. "Hey! Rainbow! Did you see? We've found pears and oranges!"
"Buck your pears and buck your oranges!" Rainbow Dash hollered back, ever smirking. "I've got nature's candy right here!" She spun and kicked another tree. "Hnnngh!"
The branches shook. Two crimson delights fell earthward.
She caught one with the stem of her tail and another with her left wing. With one thrust of her rump, she flipped one apple upwards, turned, and caught it in an open pocket of her saddlebag. Chuckling to herself, she rolled the other apple across her wing, over her shoulder, and bounced it off her head. Catching it in two hooves, she turned it over, observing her smiling expression in the red skin.
She gave it a sniff, turned it over, rubbed its edge against her forelimb, then opened her jaw wide. Her mouth was instantly flooded with an explosion of sweetness. Juice ran through her tonsils and trickled down her throat.
"Hrmmmm-mmmmffff..."
She slumped back, closing her eyes as she relished in the frest, juicy taste overwhelming her body. After two more bites, she smiled to herself, her wings outstretching. She glanced at the half-eaten fruit, then leaned forward to inhale its pulpy center. The edges of her face tingled, and she felt her heartbeat quickening.
"Hmmmm... yeah... can't believe I've almost forgotten..."
She sighed warmly, glancing at the forest ahead. More apple trees lingered beyond a swath of springy, waving high grass. Clamping the apple in her mouth, Rainbow Dash galloped forward, practically frolicking. She leapt over a cluster of bushes, using her wings to glide forward. Landing, she made her way for the thick of the fruit trees. The other three ponies were far behind her now, their pleasant voices like dull echoes against the dense forest. The Noble Jury was practically unseen through the lush canopy.
When Rainbow approached the trees, she saw that a bunch of apples were already lying on the grass besides the trunk. Despite having been plucked from their branches, the fruit was still noticeably fresh.
"Hrmmmmfff..." Rainbow pulled the half-eaten apple out of her mouth. "That's weird." She glanced up at the branches and their fruit. They were shaking to a stop. The mare's brow furrowed. "Uhm..."
Something emerged from the bushes ahead with a loud rustling.
Rainbow Dash glanced over. The apple fell out of her grasp.
A pony with a fuzzy gold coat was calmly foraging through the grassy forest floor, picking one apple after another and slipping them into a satchel at her side. With each movement she made, she tossed an ivory swath of mane hair to one side or the other. A matching tail flicked thoughtfully as she stopped to inspect a bundle of apples, sniffing them, then choosing two or three out of the bunch to toss in her bag.
Rainbow blinked... then blinked again. "Uhhhhhh..." She raised a blue hoof and waved nervously. "Greetings?"
"Hey." The mare didn't even look at her, instead scraping at the roots of a tree and squinting at its bark. "Hrmmmf... Not as thick as last month. Better keep a mental note for Jerrio..."
"Uhm..." Rainbow leaned her head to the side, feathers twitching. "You... it... I mean... how?"
"Any luck on your end?" the mare asked.
"Excuse me?"
"What, Jerrio's not got your flank on sample collecting?" The mare sighed. "Lucky goose." She looked straight up at the dangling apples overhead. "Hmmm. Those should do."
Rainbow glanced up at them, then smirked at the mare. "You want me to grab a few for you?"
"Nah, I got 'em." The mare spread her golden wings and soared up with a burst of air.
Rainbow did a double-take, her jaw dropping.
In swift fashion, the mared plucked several apples and tossed them into her satchel with a flick of her feathers. She twirled around the trunk, glided upside down, and cruised upside down in a casual hover. "Hrmmmmm..." She sniff-sniff-sniffed one apple, took a bite, and smirked lightly to herself. "Hrmmf... screw it. These samples are mine." She took another bite, relishing in the taste.
Rainbow simply stared, dumbfounded.
At last, a pair of pink eyes darted down. The mare descended until she was drifting in a lazy circle around Rainbow Dash. "Hrmmmf... I like those colors." She took a few more bites, gulped, and muttered, "Where're you from? West D or East D?"
"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."
"You certainly sound like East D," the mare said, flipping so that she glided upright. She gulped the remainder of the apple, crunching the core in her mouth before swallowing. "What? You felt like stretching your wings a bit? Y'know, I used to fly the length of the green too. That was before I found other ways to 'stretch.'" She giggled mischievously. "I'm just kidding, first born."
"I... uhm..." Rainbow fidgeted, her eyes locked on the mare's shiny, shiny feathers. "I-I like your wings," she blurted.
"Hmmmf..." The mare flipped with ease and landed on the other side of Rainbow. "You're not half bad yourself, girl." She reached down and unabashedly grasped Rainbow's tail. "I like this. Most first-borns don't bother giving their tails the Valkyrie treatment. Now I know you're East D."
"Oh... y-you bet!" Rainbow smiled awkwardly, feeling the tug of her tail as the mare hoofed through each colored layer. "Uhm... east side represent!"
"Rayvinnnnne?" a voice echoed from above. "Where in Valkyrie's name did you fly off too?! Jerrio will be pissed!"
"Unngh..." The mare rolled her eyes, then shouted towards the forest canopy. "Why don't you be a big pony and home for once, Kitsune, ya stupid pigeon?!"
FWOOSH! A mare with a midnight black coat landed heavily beside her. Rainbow reeled—gasping—as a cyclone of air settled around the pegasus' outstretched, onyx feathers. Coiling her wings, the mare turned about, her bright amber eyes like spotlights against her dark face. A mane hung off her head in three-toned braids: red, green, and blue. "Rayvinne, who's this?"
"East feathers," Rayvinne said, casually picking up apples, inspecting them, and slipping them into her bag. "Out for a gust, it seems." She tilted her muzzle up, smirking. "Certainly puts your head to shame, Kitsune."
"Yeahhhhh..." The other mare squinted. "Your folks get a little carried away there?"
"Yeah, well, I-I guess I couldn't stop 'em!" Rainbow said with a nervous titter. She shook her mane in a sliver of sunlight and smirked. "But hey, nopony's perfect, right?"
"Kitsune..." Rayvinne leaned in and murmured in the mare's ear. Both looked at Rainbow's tail, then giggled collectively.
Rainbow raised an eyebrow.
"Ahem..." Kitsune tilted her head aside. "What's your name, sparrow?"
"Rainbow Dash."
"Pffffft!" Kitsune nearly wretched. "The buck kind of name is that?"
"An awesome one," Rainbow smirked. "At least when I say mine out loud, I don't sound like I've got mosquitoes caught on my tongue!"
"Ohhhhhhh!" Rayvinne danced sideways, giggling. "She plucked you something awful, Kit!"
"Well, at least we know she's not Central." Kitsune smirked and panther-trotted Rainbow's way. "What's a matter, fartspeed? Did you break your homing on the same thing that broke your voice?"
"At least I'm not so slow that I became my own shadow like you," Rainbow said.
Once again, Rayvinne squealed. "Oh, she's great! Really great! Heehee! I gotta head to the east greens more often!"
"You're not half bad, Rainbow," Kitsune said with an approving smirk. She trotted really close and gave the mare's mane a heavy sniff. "Mmmmm... not bad at all."
"Uhhhh..." Rainbow fidgeted, her cheeks slightly red. "You're welcome...?"
"Hmmm..." Kitsune fanned herself with her own wingfeathers. "That remains to be seen."
"Rainbow! Where'd you go, girl? You won't believe what I found!" Eagle Eye galloped over a mound of grass and held up a cluster of fruit with a victorious grin. "Peaches!"
Rainbow winced. Her eyes darted between him and the two mares.
Both pegasi had frozen, their gazes locked on the unicorn stallion.
Eagle Eye blinked, his smile slowly melting into a confounded expression. Not long after, Bellesmith trotted up. "EE? What is it? Did you find—?" She froze, covering her muzzle with a pair of golden hooves. The mare's eyes were instantly locked on the ponies' wings.
"Ermmmm..." Rainbow Dash gulped.
"K-K-Kitsune...?" Rayvinne bit her lip as she trotted nervously beside her friend. "Who... what are those...?"
Kitsune's amber eyes darted between the one-and-a-half growths coming out of the Jurists' skulls. "Uhhhhh..." She stared at their wingless sides. "By Valkyrie's shouts..."
Rainbow flew into the air. "I'll tell you who these are!" She shot down and landed in a nimble slide, standing between the two pairs of equines. "These are my friends! And—since they hang out with me—they're totally awesome!" She smirked. "I'll prove it!" Grasping two apples from her saddlebags, she spun and threw them hard at Eagle Eye. "Think fast, lavender!"
"Gaaaaiiie!" Eagle Eye leaned back, wincing with curled forelimbs. The apples stopped just inches from his muzzle, expertly hovering in a magic field that matched his glowing horn.
"See?" Rainbow turned back, smirking. "Cooler than a blizzard with lightning!"
"Whoahhhhhhhh..." Rayvinne cooed, eyes sparkling.
"That's..." Kitsune slowly smirked. "...pretty cool."
"Will you look at that?" Rayvine hissed aside, eyes staring at Eagle Eye. "He's got the gold lights!"
"Don't be a gull," Kitsune grunted, nevertheless staring. "Nopony can make the gold lights..."
"Then how do you explain this?" Rainbow grasped Eagle's petite body and flung him skyward.
"Rainbowwwwww—?!" Eagle clenched his muscles, catching his whole body in a glowing field and hovering just a few inches above the ground instead of hitting it. "Nnnnngh... must you...?"
"Heeheehee!" Rainbow Dash smiled proudly and pointed his way. "See?"
"That's amazing!" Rayvinne said.
"Wrong a-word, but everypony misses on their first try."
"Heehee!"
Kitsune squinted at Bellesmith. "What's wrong with yours?"
Belle smiled. "I'm afraid my gold lights are broken." She turned towards Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow, this... this is incredible. Where are these ponies from?"
"Pffft. Where all ponies are from," Kitsune said, raising a hoof towards the treen canopy above. "Durandana."
"Nnngh..." Eagle Eye fumbled, then plopped himself down on even legs. He panted for breath. "D-Durandana?"
"She's and east bird, for sure," Kitsune said, pointing at Rainbow Dash. She trotted forward and shamelessly tapped Belle's horn-stub, forcing the mare to flinch slightly. "But you guys? I couldn't be feathered to know."
"Bet with homing like that you could scale beyond the greens," Rayvinne said, trotting up to Eagle Eye. She squinted, leaned in, and sniff-sniffed his mane. She leaned back with a gasp. "A stallion!"
"Er... yeah..." Eagle sighed, glancing aside with folded ears. "I get that a lot..."
"So... uhm..." Rainbow Dash stepped in the center of the group. "About this Durandana..."
"Heh..." Rayvinne smirked at her. "Why talk so funny about it?" She gestured towards the unicorns. "How about telling us where you met these friends of yours?"
"Well, we flew in here on a skystone sh—Mmmmmmf!" Eagle went cross-eyed.
Rainbow leaned over from where she had her hoof planted over his muzzle. "I found them... wh-while on a hike!"
"Rainbow..." Belle droned.
Rainbow grimaced at her, then turned to smile at the ponies once more. "But we're an awful long way from... uh... East Durandana!" She smiled nervously. "Been so long since we hung out with our Western and... Central sisters."
"Heehee... we can tell."
"Jerrio's gonna pop all his feathers once he sees you."
"Think we can have a chat with him sometime?" Rainbow asked.
"Depends on when Sivrem's flock is done sky herding."
"Uhhh..." Belle leaned her head aside. "Excuse me—who?"
Kitsune gawked at her, then at Rainbow Dash. "You seriously haven't told your friends about Sivrem?"
"Why?" Rainbow fidgeted. "Does he smell?"
"Mmmmmm..." Rayvinne tossed her mane, blushing pleasantly. "And how..."
Several shadows rushed overhead, briefly breaking the sunlight through the trees.
Eagle gasped, glancing straight up. "Rainbow... d-did you see that just now?"
"Ah! That must be Sivrem's flock!" Kitsune said, smirking. "Bet the leatherbacks are extra stubborn this morning."
"Leather... backs...?"
"Can't blame him for slacking off. We all know Sivrem's a great stallion, but he can't be feathered to milk a calf for Valkyrie silver."
"Hahahahah... I know, right?"
Just then, Roarke galloped up, breathless. "Rainbow! Something large flew over us just now! We have to warn the..." Her face twisted in confusion as her lenses retracted. "...Jury."
"Gaaah!" Rayvinne flinched. "Speaking of Valkyrie silver...!"
"Hoo boy..." Eagle Eye shuddered.
"Oh... uh..." Rainbow turned to grin nervously at the alarmed pegasi. "This here's my friend Roarke. She's also got a horn." She winked. "It's just stuck someplace hidden."
"Is that so...?"
Just then, more shadows darted overhead. The tree canopy shook as several bodies swiftly drifted down, coming to a low hover over the forest floor. Pegasi of every coat color imaginable gathered in the dimly-lit air, shaking the nearby leaves with their collective wings. About a third of them had noticeably colorful manes, with dyes of red, yellow, green, blue, and violet.
"Kitsune! Rayvinne!" A stallion with a four-toned mane sighed, adjusting a pair of goggles over his brown face. "You broke your homing or what? We need to carry the fruit back to the West Tower before First Light!" He flinched, tilting his head down to glance at the four strangers. He raised his goggles, exposing a pair of green eyes. "Who're these gulls?"
"Uhhmmm... Jerrio?" A pegasus beside him leaned in, eyes wide. "I don't think they're gulls... or ponies."
"Of course they're ponies!" a stallion spat. "Look at them!"
"I am. And I'm about to puke my eggshells."
Several pegasi laughed while Belle and Eagle squirmed awkwardly.
"Roarke!" Rainbow hissed, squinting at her. "Quick! Do something cool!"
Roarke turned and droned, "What is that going to accomplish?"
"These are pegasi," Rainbow said. "It'll accomplish everything!"
"Nnnnngh..." Roarke groaned, ears drooping. "Eagle Eye...?"
"Why me?"
"Relax, breeder. Just toss up a bunch of fruit."
"Uhhhh... sure." Eagle Eye grasped as many pears and peaches from his saddlebag that he could, then tossed them up high.
Roarke flicked her neck to the left. A panel opened up along a metal brace across her shoulder. Three tiny barbed missiles flew through the air, impacted the fruit in mid-air, and sent juicy bits of mush flying across the flinching faces of every pegasus in attendance.
"Roarkkkke!" Bellesmith squealed, frowning. "That wasn't very smart!"
"You say that as if it was my idea," Roarke said.
"Uhhhh..." Rayvinne flinched, trying in vain to shake fruit pulp off her limbs.
"That... that..." Kistune stammered.
"That was so awesome!" One stallion overhead hollered.
The air filled with cheers and whoops and hollers as the winged ponies all voiced their approval. The wind kicked up by their combined feathers made it difficult for the three grounded ponies to stand upright. At last, several pegasi touched down and crowded around the group, leaning in and murmuring a cascade of awestruck words and exclamations.
"Hmmm..." Jerrio smirked slightly, folding his forelimbs from where he observed the ceiling. "Well, if this hasn't been an interesting morning."
"Yes... uhm... v-very..." Eagle Eye said, squirming as several ponies reached in to poke his mane and horn. "Uhm... Rainbow?"
"You enjoying yourself yet?" Roarke grunted, shaking slightly as pegasi tapped her metal braces and leaned in to see their reflections in her lenses.
"Heeheehee..." Rainbow hugged herself in mid-air, wiping her eyes dry as she smirked. "Ohhhhhh this is too rich..."