Violet Skies

by Fluttersnake31

Chapter 7 - The Everfree Thundercloud

The Everfree Thundercloud

Wearing the suit was quite an experience for Violet, as it never was built to accommodate a unicorn's horn. The bandaged horn stuck out of a hole that had been drilled into the head piece, causing her to easily stick out among the small group of pegasai that accompanied her. The leader of the team was a mare named Cotton Cloudy, but Violet forgot any of the other ponies' names. After her lesson on how to use the suit, she had been sent to the edge of Ponyville so she could easily enter the forest. Now, she and the regular weather team ponies stood at the edge of the forest, meeting there before they search for the cloud.

"Well, I hope you got plenty of sleep last night. These clouds are pretty tough, and we don't normally take one on." Cotton said to Violet.

Violet nodded. The inn she stayed at was nice, but she did end up staying late reading any notes she could find about these clouds. She really didn't find anything useful though, unfortunately. "Yeah, I'm as ready as I can be. But, what do you mean that you don't normally go after the everfree clouds? I thought you team ponies were always out fighting them so that Equestria can expand or something like that."

Cotton chuckled through her suit's faceshield, "Are you kidding? Not every weather team is tasked to that crazy stuff. My team was pulled back to help with the regular weather schedules. Ponyville is bigger now than it was when I was a filly, so we need more ponies clearing normal clouds and such. You know, basic stuff. This week's supposed to be sunny, so we haven't been busy. I suppose that's why we were picked for this."

Shrugging, Violet started off towards the forest. "Well, I guess we should get started. So, am I just going to try and follow you three from the ground?"

"Yup. You have to be ready once we pull the cloud to the ground, cause your suit is fitted with the net that can catch it. Just don't miss and we'll be golden. My team has the hard part, really. Oh, but if something crazy happens, don't forget to activate the stun-hoof mechanisms to slow the cloud down. Just press that button on your shoulder panel." Cotton pointed, smiling.

"Of course. I'll be ready."

Watching the three pegasai take to the sky, Violet followed them the best she could from the ground. The area they started in still had most of the forest intact, just with less clouds over it. She had to be careful still though, as the Everfree still can be dangerous even without it's perpetual darkness. Tree roots, vines, and many other tripping hazards slowed her down as she tried hard to follow the pegasai in the sky. Soon enough, they entered the edge of the cloud cover and she couldn't see them anymore. She sighed, turning to look for an opening that was still in the light. Soon enough, she found a small clearing where she could see one of the pegasai for a moment before dissappearing back behind a cloud. Violet laid down in the grass, watching the sky, waiting for the pegasai to do their thing.

Up in the sky, the three suited pegasai flew in a 'V' formation with Cotton in the rear, and the other two ahead. They were high above the dark cloud layer. The fluffy dark floor seemed to be in constant motion, rolling over itself and jolting with the occasional spark.

"Alright, we need to find one that's isolated themself. Hopefully, when we find it, it's not angry or sad. Remember we have to hit it with enough to stun, but we aren't actually destroying it." Cotton reminded the other two, another mare and a stallion.

The two nodded, but then the stallion pointed towards one off to the left, floating away from the mass. "We got one, Cotton. Looks like they don't want to be a part of the mosh. Can I head over there and rough it up a bit?" he chuckled.

Cotton glanced at the lone cloud. It did seem to be in a hurry to leave the rest of the clouds. She smiled, "Go ahead Rumble, we'll break off and try and flank it."

Rumble smirked and took off, diving straight for the cloud with his stun-hooves actively sparking around the front legs of his suit with little blue bolts. He hit the cloud hard, pushing it further from the mass to keep the team from becoming overwhelmed. The cloud was jolted with the blue static, not having any chance of escape. Once the dark puff was pushed a good ways away from the larger mass, Rumble backed off, looping up wards. The cloud shook and started off after him, but at a much slower pace. Rumble turned around and stuck his tongue out at the cloud when suddenly it was engulfed in more blue static as Cotton and the other pegasus struck it from both sides. The cloud was effectively paralyzed for now, not chasing anymore.

Cotton yelled out, holding her hooves tight to the cloud to maintain contact. "Quit watching it and start pushing it towards the ground Rumble!"

Doing as he was told, he dived back down, pushing the cloud down. His wings flapped rapidly as he pushed with his eyes closed, the ground coming closer and closer. About half the distance left now, he opened his eyes, seeing that he was aiming them straight at a pond. He wasn't the only one to notice that, as Cotton let out another yell.

"Pull up and go left, featherbrain! Violet's at that opening!" she called out.

Rumble turned the best he could, but now the cloud seemed to be resisting the stun, adding more drag than he'd expected as it tried to free itself from it's captors. Suddenly, Cotton vanished, causing them to pull off to the right from the lack of pressure she had applied. Rumble realized that she must've hit a tree and tried to pull them higher up to clear the trees but the cloud still pulled them down, but now in a wide right turn. Then, they came to a rapid halt as the cloud hit the trunk of a tree, causing the two pegasai still holding on to roll several feet ahead. The mare rolled into another clearing while Rumble tumbled into a bush. The cloud only hovered in place, its fluff looking frazzled and it pulsed with little purple lightning bolts of it's own. Rumble hastily stood, stumbling out of the bush. If his visor allowed for peripheral vision, he'd see Violet running in their direction, but he didn't. He charged forward at the cloud, aiming to try and stun it before it took out it's anger on him.

In a matter of moments, the cloud shot out a bolt at the stallion causing him to fall to the ground but it was quickly wrapped in a sort of enchanted netting, shot from Violet. It fell to the ground, landing softly and it stopped pulsing and became much more calm looking. Violet carefully trotted over, making sure the cloud was pacified before hurrying over to where Rumble lay. She turned him onto his back and could see a blackened mark on the chest of the armor.

"Hey, are you okay!? Wake up!" Violet pleaded, worried.

The suit made a little beeping noise and the gem glowed bright. Violet backed away as the suit was engulfed in a quick shock of blue static. The gem then went dull, out of power.

Violet carefully leaned down again. "A- are you okay?" she asked quietly.

Rumble's eyelids flickered and opened slowly as he groaned. "Ow... Never doing that again.."

Out of the woods, Cotton stumbled into the little clearing with her visor shattered and a little blood trickling down her cheek. "Stupid trees. I had a feeling I'd crash into a tree today, it's like I'm a tree magnet sometimes."

Violet smiled at Rumble. "Well, at least everypony is okay. Wait, where's that third one?"

Cotton looked up at Violet, laying down beside Rumble. "Make sure she's alright. I'll stay with Rumble and the cloud. I'm still a bit dizzy."

With a nod, Violet hurried over to the mare. She was unconscious, but Violet couldn't see anything life threatening. Violet tried to lift her up, but the weight of both of them in the suits were too heavy for the unicorn. Quickly taking off her own suit, she then lifted the mare onto her back and slowly made her way back to the others. Cotton was taking off Rumble's suit as he was leaned against a tree and the cloud still lie on the ground where it had been captured. Violet set the mare against another tree as she went over to look at the cloud.

"You know, they look like a normal storm cloud when they're asleep like this."

Cotton glanced at the unicorn. "What? You talk like they're almost alive. It's just a cloud. You should focus on sending a message back to Ponyville for a team to pick us up. I really don't want to stay in the Everfree Forest all day."

Violet frowned, "As a matter of fact, I think that they might actually have a low-level intelligence, from what I've read. I never thought a cloud could be capable of any sort of thinking like this. I'll have to study it more to find out what it's actually capable of though. And who would I send it to? I don't actually know anypony from Ponyville that I can message." She shrugged, figuring that Rarity and that party pony would be busy. They were from Ponyville, weren't they? Violet couldn't remember for sure.

"I have an address, and she'll be here fast." Rumble spoke up, pulling out a pad from a compartment in his suit that lie on the ground.

Violet took it with her magic and quickly wrote a letter and sent it out to the address. A few moments passed before they received a return note. She quickly read it to herself and smiled. "So, they said they'll be here in about twenty minutes. So, do you know this Scootaloo mare? It said to tell you she's on her way."

Rumble chuckled, smiling. "Yeah, I figured. Now we just wait."