XGRA: Ultrasonic Rainbow

by Brotato

Ch.7: Earth

Chapter 7

Earth

Rainbow Dash woke up to her alarm blaring once more, only this time the alarm had somehow set itself to four in the morning. Mars time of course. She grumbled as she rubbed a hoof over her eyes to rid herself of any pesky sleep. While she had plenty of rest, the comfortable bed made it a crime to climb out. Regrettably, she forced her body to move while her dazed mind was still waking up and trudged toward the bathroom; letting out a small yawn along the way.

The automated bathroom lights flicked on and momentarily blinded her when she walked in. Ignoring the protests from her eyes, she squinted them as she opened the glass door and stepped into the small stall. The water controls were simple to handle, even with hooves. A single glass knob, when pushed up, caused the water to start. If she wanted hot she turned it left; cold in the opposite direction.

Settling for a temperature that was comfortably hot, she simply stood under it as thoughts of Sally's letter returned to her. The frantic and segmented writing she had created only confused her and made such thoughts be pushed from her mind. The very thought that Cawley did such things sounded ridiculous.

Sure he's a bit odd in his own way, but he's cool overall. Heck, he's the entire reason I'm here. She sighed when she felt a sense of relaxation fall across her body after lowering her head to let the hot water wash over her neck. Bringing her head back up she eyed the bottles in the corner. She never used any cleaning soaps or shampoos unless going to something as fancy as the Gala.

Then again, Equestria's water had a clean and sweet smell to it, as if somepony added sugar to it. Unlike water from the shower she stood under, which smelled like... nothing. Because of this she settled with a shampoo that smelled faintly of bubble gum, which reminded her of Pinkie Pie.

Maybe I'll bring it up with Cawley. Though I'll leave Sally out of it. No need to throw her under the boss if he flips out over it.

After a quick lather, rinse, and dry, she came out feeling refreshed, although a tad hungry. The thought of calling room service sprang up in her mind, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to eat out. The clock only showed twenty minutes had passed in the shower so she possibly had plenty of time before Cawley called her to prepare for Earth. The idea of waking up four in the morning to travel there sounded ridiculous. The only pony crazy enough to wake up that early, or stay up all night for that matter, was Twilight. The sound of the phone ringing on her desk made her start to think otherwise.

"Hello?" She asked cautiously as she wasn't sure who was calling.

"Good morning, Rainbow," a female voice spoke up. "I hope I didn't wake you."

Rainbow felt relieved that it wasn't Cawley on the other line, but it did bring up the question who it was. "No, I just left the shower. Who's speaking?"

"Andrea Simmons. I work at the front desk with Jane and Edna." She paused for a moment to let Rainbow Dash run the names through her mind. "Anyway. I'm just calling to let you know that Cawley has updated the start of your departure at the landing pad to ten minutes from now."

"Ten minutes?" Rainbow shouted. "Does he realize how early it is? I haven't even eaten breakfast!"

"Which I'm sure Cawley is deeply sorry for, Andrea replied quickly. He's changed the departure due to a major storm approaching and it would be in yours, Cawley's, and the pilot's best interest if you leave now before the storm hits."

A grunt left Rainbow's lips. She wasn't sure what the big deal was over a storm, but they lived on this planet more that she has and knew more about it. To her knowledge they didn't have pegasai to guide the weather, which only meant this storm wasn't controlled at all. "Alright, I'll pack my things and meet him on the landing pad." She spoke like a foal caving in to visit distant family. "Thanks for the heads up."

"Just doing my job ma'am, and don't worry. The trip will take at most half an hour so you'll be able to enjoy breakfast on Earth. Take care and have fun."

"Yeah, see ya." Dash hung up the phone and looked at the saddlebags on the floor, at the foot of her bed. "Well, at least I packed light."

---

It didn't take long for Rainbow Dash to find the way back to the landing pad, considering the elevator had a button specifically labeled "Landing Pad". As she got off the elevator she spotted Cawley at the end of the hallway with a woman with a clipboard.

"-bumpy flight. I need security tight where we will be landing. I don't need a fanatic..." He interrupted himself upon noticing Rainbow at the edge of his vision. "You know what to do. Take care, Lidia." She only nodded her head before scurrying past Rainbow and leaving via the elevator she had just left.

"What was that all about?" Rainbow asked with a raised eyebrow. The mention of needing protection where they were going set her on edge.

Mr. Cawley folded his arms and shook his head a bit. "Ah, just some people trying to ruin your fun, but not to worry. It's all taken care of." He took a moment to eye the saddlebags on her sides. "You all set?"

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah. Is the ship already waiting for us?"

You should know by now that I'm always prepared," he stated with a brow raised. He turned away from Rainbow to work the keypad next to the door leading outside. The door opened with a faint hiss and they were both greeted with the usual red of mars dust. Another human in a matching grey outfit that Doris, the pilot that brought her here, wore, stood beside the door. His eyes widened and a smile crept on his lips when he saw Cawley and Rainbow Dash standing in the doorway.

"Ah, just on time," the pilot started at a rapid pace with his speech. "Very good. Everything is all set up for launch. We may begin departure, yes?"

"Everything is ready, Turner. Lets get moving before the storm catches us." Cawley walked past the pilot with Rainbow in tow, with Turner fallowing behind the both of them down the catwalk. The wind wasn't as bad when Rainbow had first arrived, so they didn't need to worry about respirators.

The ship they were about to board held a higher quality compared to the one Doris flew. While same in size, it had a polish that resembled comparing a wooden cart Big Mac used to Celestia's personal chariot. The silver structure spoke to rainbow since she studied on such subjects for her own flying; the word "aerodynamic" spoke the loudest.

And Twilight says I don't do my research on such things.

"Hurry up, Rainbow!"

Rainbow blinked several times before noticing Cawley and Turner were already under the ship waiting for her She was too busy admiring the ship she had stopped half-way down the catwalk to do so. She broke out into a gallop to catch up to them. "Wait up!"

---

"So... what's earth like?" Rainbow asked as she watched Turner do his job in the pilot seat. They had already left mars and were already in hyper-drive, but the twitchy behavior Turner gave made the trip uncomfortable. They haven't blown up yet, so the button presses, lever pulls, and switch flips must be doing something right. The light show outside the canopy lit up the room in an array of vibrant colors; as if coming through tinted windows.

Cawley shrugged in a casual fashion for such an easy answer. He had helped himself to a seat behind and to the left of Turners, along with a glass of amber liquid in his palm. "The planet itself is quite beautiful, but we, humanity in general, have been forced to make decisions that scar the land. We do our best to preserve whatever beauty is still there, which happens to be your second racing location: Vostok Peaks." He took a swig of his drink.

"Very cold. Though quite beautiful year-round," Turner added in his usual sporadic way; still keeping his eyes on the console.

"Yes, well, with it being mid-winter we'll be expecting snow storms during our stay. It's not fun when you're lost in a flurry of white with no idea which way is up or down, but I digress." He took another swig of his drink. "What you may find interesting is that Earth and Equestria look almost the same, minus the land masses of course. Blue skies and oceans, white clouds, and a variety of biomes. Truly I thought I was looking at Earth when I first saw your planet." A chuckle left his throat before returning his focus on his drink.

As Cawley took a drink a loud whine came from the pilot's console, which Turner silenced with a deft flick of a finger. "Coming up on Earth now." The outside slipped from view, as if a curtain had been pulled away from the canopy; revealing a small blue planet.

Rainbow studied the planet in awe. Just as Cawley had said, blue was the primary color with streaks of white for clouds. A part of her expected to see Equestria, but instead saw strange landmasses which looked nothing like her home planet. However, something stood out amongst the beauty. Flaws that resembled masses of browns, greys, and oranges located as random spots around the planet.

"What are those spots on the planet?"

Cawley's face fell. "Pollution can do terrible things to a planet. The only reason most of the planet still keeps its color is the expansive air scrubbers that surround those ugly spots. I realize I don't look like much of an environmentalist, but anyone with half a brain can realize the dangers of high pollution."

As he finished, the planet was much closer than before and the hints of entering the atmosphere began to appear. However, thanks to a bracing system built into the ship, the landing went as smooth as one of Rainbow's landings. Not including the many times she's lost control and crashed of course.

Those warm updrafts were out to get her. She's sure of it.

The ship landed with a loud thump, confirming they were safely on the ground. While Turner took the time to shut down the ship, he motioned with a wave of his hand to leave. "It was a pleasure to meet you Rainbow. Off you go. Have fun!" Rainbow gave a brief thanks for the ride and she followed Cawley to the side airlock located to the left and right outside the cockpit.

With a hiss the door opened and they were both greeted with bright unfiltered sunlight, which Cawley pulled out a pair of shades out of nowhere and put them on. Rainbow Dash shielded her eyes with a hoof and slowly stepped outside. The sky looked exactly like Equestria's, except the clouds didn't seem to have a solid "cloud" shape that she was familiar with. When she was fully outside and standing upon the stair catwalk beside the ship, the uproar of a crowd made her wings shoot out.

She forgot entirely about the sun as she stared at the thousands of other humans looked at her in a mix of surprise, awe, and wonder. She even spotted a small child sitting atop a man; in her small hands was a doll which closely resembled a blue pony with rainbow mane and tail. As she stared back at the crowd in her own sense of wonder, she didn't notice Cawley had already reached the bottom and was waiting for her.

A laugh left Cawley's mouth as he spread out his arms as if reaching to touch both sides of the pathway through the crowds; the only thing keeping them at bay being XGRA security.

"Welcome to earth!"