Don't Drop the Ball
Twilight Sparkle's eyes twitched. "Rainbow."
Rainbow Dash looked over her shoulder. She and Ariel were gliding along the outer edge of the promontory overlooking the ravine. "What's up?"
"Magic.' Twilight gulped. "I sense... magic."
"Well, of course you do, silly!" Pinkie Pie pointed at the sphere puttering up ahead, climbing the final ascent. "That thing's been shimmer-glimmering away for the last hour!"
"No... no..." Twilight rubbed her horn, grimacing slightly. "This is a different magic. A deeper one."
"'Deeper' how, darling?" Rarity asked.
"I-I'm not sensing any living thing out here," Fluttershy said. "Wherever this magic is... it's just magic."
"Still..." Rainbow took a breath, looking forward. "Sensing magic where—all this time—there's been a whole lot of nothing... is something."
Ariel threw Rainbow a double-take. "What? Are the girls sensing Darkreach?"
Rainbow narrowed her eyes. All ahead of them was impenetrable darkness. "I'm not sure..."
"Can you... pinpoint the location, Rainbow?" Twilight asked.
Twilight raised a hoof... pointed it... pivoted slightly... and pointed again. "In that direction. Slightly... down a bit."
"You mean back into the ravine?" Applejack asked.
"No." Rarity shook her head. "I do believe that Twilight is pointing into the heart of the mesa across the way."
"Sounds like the ticket!" Pinkie exclaimed.
Rainbow cleared her throat. She turned around to shout at the other herald. "Guys! I think Twilight's found—!"
"Harrk!" Kepler's voice cracked in a panic. He gestured with a shaky claw. "The sphere!"
"Huh?" Ariel looked.
"Aw sh-shit!" Flynn gnashed his teeth—nearly tripping over himself while drawing the sled of supplies. "It's heading for the edge!"
Sure enough, the Cylindrimanian object in question was swiftly barreling for the edge of the promontory... and into plummeting darkness.
"Quick!" Kepler sputtered through his tusks. "Someone catch it!"
"Awww Hell..." Logan grunted from afar.
"I got it!" Ariel began a swift dive. Her ears folded back in mid-plummet. "Crud! It's too far—"
The sphere fell over the edge like a crimson flare.
"...!!!" Wildcard briskly unhitched himself from the sled, abandoned Flynn's side, and rocketed towards the cliff's edge in a black streak. Swooooooosh! He shot beneath Ariel, vanished... and rose back up with the fluctuating sphere tucked under his good arm.
"Whew..." Logan exhaled. He slumped to a stop, then frowned at the griffin tethered behind him. "You shut up."
Seraphimus' eyes narrowed. "I did not say a thing."
"You were thinkin' it!"
Ariel, Rainbow Dash, and Kepler joined up with Wildcard at the cliff's edge.
"So... what the buck?" Ariel stammered, still catching her breath.
"Why did it up and toss itself over the edge like that?" Rainbow asked. "Can ancient machines get existentially depressed?"
"It is simply a matterr of prrogrraming," Kepler remarked. "Let us not be drrawn into errroneously assigning this machine a perrsonality!"
"Well, Kepler, if you ask me it looks like the thing's having a temper tantrum!" Ariel remarked, pointing at the thing.
The device shook and gyrated and whirred in Wildcard's grasp. The three-limbed griffin struggled to keep the thing from flying off into the darkness again.
"Herre..." Kepler reached in and shut the device off. "Allow me..."
The glowing red sphere went dormant. Wildcard lifted his goggles and looked curiously at the others.
"Your guess is as good as mine, Wildcard," Rainbow said. She looked towards the darkness, scratching her head. "Rarity? Twilight? Any idea on where the thing was headed?"
"Straight for the mesa, darling," Rarity said.
"That's exactly where the magic I'm sensing is located," Twilight added. "Rainbow—I'm quite certain the sphere was only trying to return to Darkreach."
"But why take the plunge?" Rainbow slurred. "Was this sphere supposed to fly?"
"Did the old spheres in Danksteen fly when you first saw them on the Light Side?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"'Darkstine', and that was modern day tech, Pinkie. Who knows if the Cylindrimanians could build stuff that advanced centuries ago."
"Hrmmmmm..." Pinkie looked into the shadows. "Maybe it was expecting a piggyback."
"Ain't no pigs on this side of the plane, darlin'," Applejack said.
"Not that kind of a 'piggyback,' Applejack," Rainbow said, trotting up to the very edge.
"Rainbow?" Ariel hovered close. "What are your friends saying?"
"The little space marble thingy was definitely heading towards the mesa situated on the other side..." Rainbow murmured, squinting.
"But... how? Why?" Ariel gestured. "This isn't where one of the two bridges is located."
"Not now, it isn't..." Rainbow tilted her neck down. She stared at the dark stone edge of the promontory... at the obsidian crags lining the edges of the ravine below. It was hard to make out in the dim twilight, but she thought she saw some peppery bits of paler stone... like shattered concrete. "... ... ...Rare-Rare?"
The ghostly fashionista hovered closer. "You raaaaaaaang?"
"Anything... uh... weird about the rocks below us?"
"Not a single thing whatsoever!" Rarity exclaimed.
Rainbow sighed. "Okay."
"Wait..." Rarity struck a melodramatic pose, her horn glowing with intense scrutiny.
Twilight and Applejack rolled their eyes.
"... ... ...now that I think of it..." Rarity fluffed her mane, scanning the heavens with her eyes while her horn strobed. "Yes... yes! I do sense something different about this part of the ravine!" She pointed suddenly towards the cliff's edge. "Look! Examine that portion of the rock, if you would!"
Rainbow flapped her wings and hovered ahead. Ariel nervously followed her.
Soon both pegasi were levitating right above the precipice. Following Rarity's directions, Rainbow approached a swath of rock that stood out from the rest of the stone material. It was pale, smooth in multiple places, and fused tightly to the preexisting cliffside.
"A foundation..." Ariel murmured.
"Your adorable fuzzy friend is right!" Rarity beamed. "That is very... very unnatural stone! Mixed and poured several lifetimes ago!"
"So... that means..." Rainbow pivoted about.
"The bridge fell ages ago," Twilight remarked. "The metal sphere wasn't programmed to take that into acount."
"Darkreach must be on the other side!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Is... is it safe for us to cross?" Fluttershy stammered.
Rainbow inhaled. "Only one way for us to find out." She turned to look at the rest of the Herald. "We found our place of entrance, guys."
"Entrance?" Logan craned his thick neck. "I don't see a damn thing!"
"Because the bridge fell out years ago, dumbass," Flynn said. "That's what she's trying to say!"
"Oh. Great. Perfect." Logan shrugged his shoulders, causing the sled behind him to shake. "How are we gonna get this shit over?"
"One thing at a time..." Rainbow paced through the group. "We need to scout ahead."
Ariel and Wildcard immediately shot a hand up.
Rainbow smirked slightly. "Yeah. I could have predicted that." She stood up straight. "But I'm going with you dudes."
"But... Rrainbow One..." Kepler adjusted his spectacles. "What if the entrrance to Darrkrreach holds unknown perrils?"
"I'll be safe so long as I'm with you guys," Rainbow Dash said. "Besides..." She slapped a hoof over Kepler's hairy shoulder. "You're coming with?"
Kepler blinked. "I am?"
"Yup!" Rainbow gripped him and kicked off the cliff's edge. "Come on, everypony! Be there or be square!"
"Guhhhhhhhh!" Kepler writhed in her grasp, unaccustomed to flying at the pegasus' speed. Wildcard and Ariel swiftly followed behind.
"We'll... uh... we'll be in touch!" Ariel called back to the two stallions guarding the bound Seraphimus. "Just stick around for a bit!"
"Wait! Can't you just—" Flynn reached a hoof out.
Too late. The four figures disappeared into shadow and twilight.
Flynn leaned back, nostrils flaring. "Mrmfff... this sucks."
Seraphimus nodded. "I am inclined to agree."
"Shut up!" both Stallions grunted.
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...Isn't Kepler like a huge wyvern? How is Rainbow carrying him?
And I could've expected something like this. RIP little bridge. We didn't even know ye.
At least we've spared the suicidal ball for another day.
Ah, the joy of obsolete technology. Crushing plans in a way that nobody can predict. At least their destination is close.
It seems that Serapimus got a little bit more approachable in the last two chapters. Let's see where this is going.
...well, we've found something!
Also:
Sides have achieved High Earth Orbit and are now heading for the moon
Yes, Dash. Yes they can.
i.imgur.com/yrUwaSu.gif
I think this is reversed. Twilight and Rainbow should be switched.
Alright. Who porked the Gazorpazorp sex sphere?
8282511
Manticores (and, presumably, Wyverns) have bat-wings. He's accustomed to flying, just not as fast as Rainbow is dragging him.
How can they both shoot up one hand? And for that matter, only one of them has hand
or anything close.Hmm...for a second, I was wondering if maybe some illusion magic was at play...
Aww poor sad machine... Somepony give it pets. Everypony loves pets on the head.
Robots have feelings too!
Welp time to finally get into Darkreach and find out what's there if anything.
Hee...Sera is best angst-chicken.
8282575
Due to circumstances arising from multiple cases of time travel, Marvin the Robot is, in fact, several billion years older than the universe.
He once spent over 700,000 years in the parking garage of the Restaurant At the End of the Universe.
He also spent over 2,000,000 years walking in a very tiny circle in a swamp. His peg leg at the time had become stuck in the mud.
I wonder if the bridge fell, or if it was demolished? Guess I will find out next chapter. Seems at least some of what Rainbow is saying and doing is getting through to Seraphimus, hope that works out for the best.
Dammit, everyone is being replaced with changlings!
Isn't that a nice change of pace?
Also, Rainbow brashly flying into a deep, dark abyss/cave? Wherever have we seen that before? :P
I fully expect her to encounter some strange beast within the minute.
What I find interesting is that she, that is to say Rainbow Dash, never finished telling them about the powerful Magical Force inside Dark Reech. I feel that's going to come up very soon.
This may be a tad backwards. Loving the Dark Side so far!
I like how casual Sepha is becoming, that's some character development right there. Also a quick shout out to manic depressive sphere bots
8282511
Kepler is a tiny weyvern. He's an offshoot race if some type.
You stand at the edge of a ravine. You have three companions you must ferry over: Flynn, Logan and Seraphimus. If you leave Logan and Seraphimus alone, he will punch her beak in. If you leave Seraphimus and Flynn alone, she'll annoy him to death. You can only transport one of them over at a time. How do you get all three of them over without losing anybody?
8282678 "YEAH-BA-BY!"
8283930
You mean Logan would punch Sera in, Flynn would gag Sera, and Logan would annoy Flynn.
I also wonder why no one gagged Sera yet
Pinkie is channeling Floydien. Also, what do Sunset and Starlight have to do with it?
Hooves off Dashie's love interest, Rares. :P
I read "kicked him off" for a second there.
The shimmer glimmer of Boomer sphere cannot spit where hooves cannot spit.
8283720
You are correct. Twenty lashes for IC
And now we cue an entrance into remnants of the outpost of Harmony...
And so the banter begins.
Rariel?
Hey, Sera stopped endlessly screaming insults in exchange for actual banter! Progress!
Interesting that they had concrete. Not too strange, as it isn't that hard to make, but interesting that they had the materials in sufficient quantity to make a bridge, or at least the base of one. Locally sourced? Doubt they lugged it from home.
Makes sense. Even on a side with barely any kind of decay we know, shits still gonna break due to time.