Idris

Measure twice, cut once! Or three times. You can't over-check things.

Chapter 1. Grundel Because my mind is out of of step with reality and the thoughts from tomorrow haunt my dreams as sharply as those from yesterday, I shall start this tale part way through it's journey..... _____________ . ______________ Falling forward she landed hard flat on her belly. Winded she stood up, pirouetted on her front hooves and clocked him in the side of the head with a rear. He snorted briefly, rolled his eyes and went down like a sack of potatoes. Then came the icy tones of Colonel Raven. Oh hell, she was in for it now! Even if he had seen everything that led to that kick she would likely be up on a charge. "Tigger, you and Delta move to forward defence. You, what crew are you?" Before anypony could reply, "Pick that up, put him in your ship and follow them," he balled, pointing at Grundel. "We'll talk about consequences 'if' you come back!" Delta, Hatty and Tigger ran for their tank before anything else could happen. Hatty hung up the charge cable on it's post and closed the door before jumping into the engineers seat. "Main Batt is full, aux is full, main gun shows green," she called out. Everything appeared to be working fine, which was of some concern? They had called the old tank 'grundel', because of it's lack of interest in doing anything properly. It was just grumpy and reluctant to trundle and should have been destroyed ten times over! The previous crew of Unicorns had done things to it and no one was quite sure what? If nothing else it could take one hell of a beating. And 'hell' was where it was happy. Tigger watched as Hatty threw the main breakers and smiled as the machine began to hum and tick. Sounding the siren she steered the giant tracked gun out of the parking area and onto the road. Forward defence wasn't a big task, so she decided to burn some power on a fast run. It would be interesting to see if Rotors crew could keep up? All was going well until they came to a fallen tree. Tigger slowed down to climb over the obstacle, which passed with nothing more exciting than the sound of splintering wood. Hatty was just getting up to check something as tigger put her hoof down. There was huge bang and the tank stopped dead. Hatty hit the panel in front of her hard and slumped back in her seat. Delta sprang to her aid and pulled the silver mare to the floor. "Oh hell she's out cold," he said. "We need to get her back". Tigger looked around her for signs of ambush and attempted to reverse up. Checking behind she could see Rotors tank coming up fast behind them. Giving the tank full drive power she felt it dig in. "Tank trap!" she called out. "I thought ours were supposed to be marked on the map?" "Must be a new one?" called out Delta. "How many fingers am i holding up?" he asked Hatty. "Pony's don't have fingers," she half grinned back, "But when did you get eight legs?" Then she passed out again. Tigger looked down at her friend and scowled. "Get Rotors crew to take her back. At least they are moving. I'll call for recovery when she's safe." Delta dragged the incapacitated mare to the rear door, kicked it open and pulled her through. It wasn't safe outside, but the obstacle they were stuck in might be dialled into an enemy firing position. Right now it was a juicy stationary target. Ten minutes later she heard the other machine move off, followed by Delta shutting the door. If it was a trap laid by their ponies then forward was probably the only way out. It would have been dug to slam fast moving machines into the vertical wall of earth she had just driven over. Self recovery was worth a shot before she called for help. This time she was gentle with the controls as they moved forward. At first Grundel wouldn't climb the exit slope, but with a turn this way and that they began to climb out. It was all looking feasible until; "You rust bucket!" she shouted as the track just exiting the ditch began to smoke. It must have been holding them back because a sharp jab on the stirrups had the huge machine leaping from the trap. The exit wasn't quite as graceful as it needed to be and another track motor took the harsh landing badly. Tigger jumped from her station and made for the door carrying something. "You lousy rotten..." Delta couldn't make out the really bad words because she was holding some heavy object in her teeth, but he could hear the ringing blows as Tigger struck the free wheeling links with a hammer. It was more 'tiger' than sweet little mare today! A metallic twang suggested both front drive motors were now disconnected. Delta stepped up to the command panel and set them both to 'Isolate' as Tigger was shutting the door. This was all turning out badly and he was glad they would be going back despite the repercussions. "It'll be an easy run to the front," she said. Then seeing Delta's surprised face; "It's a steady downhill road. We'll take it it turns to nap tonight, then grab a tow in the morning." Chapter 2. Time to Leave Tigger opened the rear door and sprang out into the roar of gun fire. There wasn't time to be messing about removing covers and seeing which power relay was sticking. Instead she span around and bucked the general vicinity of the power cell as hard as she could before diving back into the relative safety of the tank. Jabbing her hooves back into the shifter stirrups she punched the auxiliary power button again and waited for the indicator bar to creep up. It hadn't been the quiet evening she had hoped for. Her arrival seemed to motivate the enemy and they were pretty keen to get rid of them before she could report their positions. They were in luck, because the initial firing of the tank's rail gun showed the main battery was indeed lying about its condition. "One, two, three, come on! I'm not going out like this! Not with a flat battery!" she shouted at the info panel as another projectile clanged off the front armour. If this carried on she would be lucky to back up let alone fire the rail gun again. It might have been the kick or the impact of the incoming fire that shook the whole machine, but either way the indicator shot into the green and the cooling fans started up. Delta looked up from the communication station. "Incoming!" he shouted, adding; "Right now, while we were down, they got on top of us." Setting the auto-target system to 'metallic' Tigger scanned the battle field ahead for Robot Horses and found no shortage of targets. There was even a command tank coming into view far off in the distance. The combination of both types of weaponry was bad news. If she used the main gun on the heavy target she would run the risk of a power outage that would leave her unable to fight the hoof soldiers. But if she didn't fire she risked its main weaponry hitting her. There was no option really but to remove the immediate threat a mere stone's throw in front of her. "Missile, set dead ahead, shrapnel, 300 steps!" she barked. Delta looked up with surprise at the very short fuse delay, but seeing her face he immediately cranked it in and slid the explosive rocket into its launcher. Tigger put the cross hairs onto a mech in the middle of the group ahead, selected 'missile' on the ordinance panel and pressed send. Everypony held their breath as the launch tube showed green and then orange before the whole tank shook to Tigger's touch of the fire button. Almost instantly the second explosion hit them. The leading mech soldiers' disintegration was followed by a rain of debris on the roof. "That should hide us for a second or two," She said out loud to herself. "Ready the rail gun. I want those capacitors charged and ready to go as soon as their heavy shows through the dust." Hopefully the opposing force believed that it was her blowing up? "Yes Sir," shouted back Delta as he threw the auxiliary power switch to the main gun. This wasn't exactly in the training manual, but nor was fighting with half the travel motors out. He held his breath as the power hummed into the rapid release storage batteries. "Come on, come on," he said as the indicator on his panel rose. Tigger looked down and smiled. "This is going to work. We should raise a full shot just before we see them." Turning back to the viewer she added, "Or at least, just before they can see us?" Ideally she would use technology to scan the horizon for the large metal threat coming toward her, but this would have to be done by sight. Hopefully the metal of battle machine parts strewn around them would hide their radar profile. Right now the debris was the only thing hiding her and she needed to keep it that way by not emitting energy waves. Delta's eyes were upon her as she stared into the periscope. The only noise came from the circulation fans and the super-coolant running through the gun coils. He held his breath and waited. There was no doubting she had found her quarry when her ears went back. With a grin she took the distance. "Ten thousand steps, ten steps compensation, full charge rail gun!" "Rail gun at ninety eight percent," replied Delta. As the front of the tank lifted slightly to aim the main weapon Tigger turned the trigger selector to 'automatic' and set it to trip at full charge. "Brace!" she shouted. Their whole world shook as the entire battery load was dumped into the coils surrounding the gem tipped projectile. Even at this range the effect was virtually instantaneous, a red trace lighting the ground ahead. A flash indicated it had found something solid in the distance and as the bright light receded the opposing tank could be seen split in two. Tigger hadn't time to be pleased though. Spinning the commander seat around she kicked both stirrups forward and felt the machine lurch under her. The remaining tracks scrabbled for grip on the dirt road before eventually finding their way. "Time to get out out of here," she called out. "Eye's wide open for ambush! They know where we are and they know we're off home." Chapter 3. Home Time Getting home wasn't going to be an easy feat. It wasn't a large distance to the forward operations centre, but the two dragging tracks weren't helping and nor had that last railgun charge. They were very pleased to see a recovery track ahead and radioed its number. "Heavy to 23, require recovery," called Delta. "Recovery 23 to Heavy, taking fire, set your auto tow, ready for syncro." Tigger tapped the recovery icon on the auto pilot and felt the feedback pressure drop on the stirrups. Her tank approached the other machine slowly with the ominous sound of heavy machine gun fire tinkling on the outer armour. There was a stout metallic clack as the tow hitches locked. "I have you Heavy, returning to Base A3." Supply Base A3 would do nicely as she didn't have to face any flack from the earlier incident at Park 6. Alpha Three would be a bit too close to the action to have a comfy lay about and a rest though. A night in her tank was a safe bet. She hoped they had parts? "Is there a fresh battle plan in yet, are we in for a good haul?" she asked Delta. "Long enough for munchies if we are to make a start on the drive motors on arrival," He rummaged around in a side locker before jumping and dropping the entire contents on the floor. "Nuts, what the hell was that one? I thought it was coming through the hull!" Tigger studied the back end and then spun to view the front. "Meh, front light only ever lit up the top of the gun anyway," she shrugged at the wisp of smoke coming from it's mount. "It should be showing a line-short on the third bus. Yes, nice one, lemon hay-bar! Hoof that over over here before it rattles under the floor board." They were soon in a line up of other battered hardware, a power line running into the back of their tank. A heated debate was soon underway; "Just because I only have one drive motor doesn't mean I'm out for good!" shouted a blue stallion. Tigger laughed. "That main gun is done for. Look at the sedate gentle curve along its length. You couldn't hit us with that and we're right in front you! Give it up, you know you want to. Help a filly out. Its half off anyway?" "What the buck? Get the hell away from my tank ya jack ass!" Delta looked a little ashamed. "Well, it sounded like we almost had a deal?" Tigger re-gained the stallions attention. "Hay bar? It's a lemon one," she suggested, waving the bright wrapper in front of the stallion. He eyed it cautiously. "Yeh, go on then. If it had been strawberry you would have been walking home!" Tigger grinned, kissed him on the nose and ripped the power coupling out of Grundle's side with a bright blue flash. "Baby's getting a new track motor," she sang. Half an hour later they were synchronising the drive speeds as tinkling noises came from above. Tigger looked up at the inside of the hull. "Shrap' rains early tonight, how are we doing on charge? Mine says fifty percent?" "Mine says one battery is in the main stores in Neighville and the other says two hundred percent, so i guess we should have took his comms panel as well," replied Delta as he got up to throw the charge cable out of the back door." Soon they were underway in the darkness which was much easier without the gun-light reflecting back at them. Three motors put the odds in their favour and they were making cruising speed. Nopony needed to be loitering around this close to the front and speed was better than armour. Delta kept an ear out for 'chitt chat' on the radio and the secure scribe-net. He could see that some R&R wasn't going to be in his stars this week. Their forces were taking a hammering in the north, while in the south progress was slow. "We are directed to Air 19. I guess it's an emergency air supply depot? Left at the next turn." Tigger made the next turn a little wider than she wished and took out a fair length of roadside fence. Glancing sideways to the rear-view portion of the periscope she saw a post come up over a rear track and snap like a toothpick as the metal belt took a second bite. Her eye lids felt heavy as they pulled onto the side of the air strip next to some other beaten up Heavies. Delta flipped the breakers as they made for the door. Just outside was a young stallion in flying garb. "We're all leaving. They've got ahead of our forces and we're cut off. That's your way out," he said pointing to a plane. "I'll see you onboard." Tigger walked to the plane chatting to Delta, but then suddenly looked confused. She hadn't been more than a thousand steps away from that machine in six moons? "Come on Captain, Hatty left hours ago, Grundels going to be fine!" But Tigger didn't look so sure? "We can catch a plane back with spare parts in an hour or two," he added. As she put a hoof on the first step she heard the hit and felt the betrayal. She knew in that instant what the noise was. The whole of existence slowed as she thought back to the first time she saw that cursed machine. Ever since she had fallen through the roof of that shed and landed on 'her tank' it was obvious to her that they had a journey to make. Only Hatty and Delta would go near it. That's why it was in a shed on it's own. Until it's true Captain sat at it's command station it just crackled and spat at anypony who dared to look at it. She didn't even know why it liked them? They had tried to paint it, but the paint just slid off onto the floor as though it simply rejected it. Enchanted or cursed, Tigger was the only officer who gained a tank command just by being able to drive one about. "She doesn't need to sit an exam if she can drive that thing. If she can get near it without being burned alive then who are you to deny her anything?" had been one overheard argument. As a sound like imploding glass rang out across the airstrip she looked up to see the utter horror across Delta's face. Standing wide mouthed his eyes were huge as he watched Grundel turn a brilliant purple and then begin to crack all over its surface. "That's not right," he mumbled, "That was only a small shell." The cracks thickened and then for a split second he could see every impact it had ever taken. One large round had gone right through his radio station, a tank on the other side easily visible through the hull. But until that moment it hadn't shown as much as a scratch? And then, as though it had simply just had enough of the fight it imploded. All that remained was one rear track set that had somehow been left behind as a memento. "GO!" screamed Tigger as she ran up the steps hurling Delta into the plane. "GO!" she shouted at the pilot, who was thinking the same thing as more missiles rained down. This was going to be another close one and the ground was traveling past them quite quickly as they slammed the door shut. At least they were gaining distance as they crept into the sky. Then it just sort of hit her. Her home was gone? Where would she go now and what would she do next? As she sat on the floor with the other ponies she was strangely all alone. It was like Tigger had died inside Grundel. Now it was just her. She was back to being Tammy, a young mare with a hint of stripes in her soft brown coat. The End Team Idris .

I have to quote Richard Hammonds accident the other year. He was really going some but the deceleration caused the brain damage. He had no external injuries at all. Plus there is the general kinetic energy involved. I hit a tree at 15mph and I bent the scaffold tube bull bar, broke the winch in two and bent up the 12" edge on the quarter plate winch mount. You need a hydraulic press just to bend the tube into the bull bar shape! I cut the tube half way through and we still struggled to get it back in shape with a Cherokee jeep and a strap! So a canopy would help with track debris, but anything else is still going to be bad in my opinion.

So many things! Might as well start with most recent Two years ago I slid down a bank out of control and managed to miss all the trees before coming to a stop. This year I did exactly the same, but I didn't miss all the trees! I smashed the front all in on my race truck. Going back in time; Do you like swinging on a rope? A 25 ton crane is way better. With the right mixture of gasses a cardboard tube will explode with such force all you can hear is a whistle noise for an hour. Worse still if your work mate was holding onto it at the time. Big black trash bags and stripey site bunting make great helium balloons. Loading a digger without the slew lock engaged. I only just missed that lamp post! Going to compete at an off road event on the wrong weekend.

To be honest I don't see why they ever had an open top? It would have to one hell of a lid to make hitting a large object survivable?

Looks the right place. You could make it a much easier read for folk like me, if you started each new charector's speach with a new paragraph. I learnt it from fimfictions advice page and it makes it waay easier to read and doesn't take long to implement. I did the first bit and it looks good

The audio book for this story is on my channel read by Neighrator Pony; https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SkIYreKuD0w A little filly finds a whole new perspective on her world on the back of a pegasus. http://www.fimfiction.net/story/276653/fish-in-the-clouds https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SkIYreKuD0w 1.Air Show The little filly had two hobbies if you will. But the first was more of birthright than a controllable pastime. Nobody was in any doubt that her connection with water was deep and so very often smelly. If it could be fallen or dived into, she was the pony for the task. It was lucky that she could swim! It could be said that her second hobby was adventure and it certainly invaded her life like few others. And I guess with a name like Cloud she was bound to look upward and wonder at the pegasi drifting past. Ordinarily earth ponies understood that what went up must come down, but for little Fish it was just another exciting 'thing' to explore. Maybe it was no coincidence that one afternoon she found herself sitting in front of a billboard, watching a mare with a step ladder stick up a brightly coloured poster which read; "Air Show!" Sam looked some what alarmed as Fish excitedly displayed the flyer held in her teeth. Many things came out of that school saddle bag and some of the really bad ones did indeed come on paper. Those usually involved a trip to the school house which was awkward, but not distressing. Glyn looked up from his seed catalogue with a smirk. "I wonder if there is a balloon big enough to carry me?" the large black earth pony pondered. Sam now looked even more horrified. "What!" she said, spinning to look at Glyn so fast her tail nearly took the mixing bowl off the edge of the table. "How are you helping here? I've heard so many tales about how my errant daughter only just managed to escape some watery tomb by flailing legs and branch in mouth, but at least she floats! Now you both want to defy gravity?" Glyn looked a little taken aback. "Well I can't do magic," he protested "And who wouldn't want to see the land as the birds do?" Sam could tell by the looks on their faces that logic wasn't going to play a big part in any following argument. It seemed hypocritical anyway. She had pretended to be scornful as a young filly watching Glyn swing on a rope as hard as he could, before soaring a few feet into the village pond. It was these antics that had drawn her to the young colt and to wonder at their future. Sam remembered how it was at school and that silly play ground song. "Sam and Glyn, Sam and Glyn, she's got wedding bells for him!" She had got really mad at the time, but it was so obvious looking back. "I guess you can't escape destiny," she said to her now smiling husband as a chicken made best efforts to fly past the kitchen window. The sudden commotion in the yard was undoubtedly Fish playing at pegasi. The few days passed quickly as Fish tried to stay out of trouble everywhere. She couldn't risk doing something silly for fear of punishment. Being grounded this week would mean literally being grounded. Now though it was really happening! She was standing in line with some of her school friends behind a thick rope as they chattered about how high they would go and how they wouldn't be scared at all! Eventually it was time for the little filly to take her turn in the sky. She danced on the spot as Sam anxiously handed over some bit's before Fish was directed to a pegasus of suitable size. Fish wasn't tall for her age, but she was no lightweight either. The stallion got down on his knees so she could climb on. "Legs go there, head there and don't wiggle about," he said. "I presume you will want to go as far as the moon?" he winked. "Erm," said Fish, but hadn't chance to think about it as they shot into the air gaining height with every powerful wing beat. Fish wanted to hang on and snuggle into the stallions mane for safety, but she couldn't miss the view below. Opening her eyes and looking down she was hit by the rest of the sensation of flying. The wind rushed through her mane as the pony body rose and fell as its feathers caught the air and pulled them upward. "I'm Stratus," he called back, "Where do you live?" Fish pointed a hoof in the general direction she thought she might live. Everything looked so different from above, but after a minute it started to look familiar. It wasn't enough to say that their farm below looked like a toy. She could see the animals and the pond and even her favourite scarf on the washing line. It was more that it looked disconnected from her life right now. Different from what she was experiencing high in the sky. She wasn't frightened now and knew she wanted more. "Loop the loop!" she screamed with delight. Stratus turned his head to look at her, "No can do little filly, this is just a cruise around the village sort of thing." He could see the disappointment in her face though and decided that it was worth a spin. This job was getting old anyway. Banking further away from the farm he noticed a tree topped ridge that would hide them nicely. "Didn't you want to go over there and see something you just thought of," he winked. "Do it!" shouted Fish, her mane and tail sticking out horizontally with the new turn of speed. Stratus was careful to keep a very sedate flight plan as he banked around the woodland. As soon as he was out of sight he dived sharply to pick up speed while flapping hard to make that extra bit. As he neared the ground he flexed his wings to their full span and flipped himself upward. The ground dived away below them as Fish flattened against his back. She looked down to all green, then all blue and then back to green, the world turning over with her stomach. "Yes," she shouted, "that was the best thing ever!" Stratus flew lazily to the same height he had started and came back into view as though he had just extended her trip a little. Just as well because Sam would have been furious if she had seen her only offspring hurtling to the ground and then flying upside down before again hurtling to the ground. They landed just in front of Sam and Glyn. "What a lovely filly you have," he said pleasantly as Fish climbed down. "Yes she is sweet isn't she," the salmon coloured mare replied. "Certainly not the sort to encourage folk to high jinx." Fish grinned unaware of just how messed up her mane had become in the aerial antics. The next highlight was Glyn trying to get into a wicker basket along with a mare sporting a leather flying cap and goggles. He was totally over sized for the balloon and there were some gasps from onlookers as he finally managed to front hoof stand his back legs into it, followed by his bottom. Sam tutted at the scene. "Your father has managed to do some deal for winter storage for that thing in return for a ride. They all shook hooves on the deal before anypony had really considered how it was even possible? Now they are looking for pegasi to form an aerial rescue team should it turn out to be as bad an idea as it looks." It took more heat than expected to raise the balloon, which now began to drift slowly upward. Glyn waved a hoof with a huge smile while taking taunts from some of his neighbours. "I'll be sure to crash into your barn," he shouted down to an old friend. As it was a fairly still day the balloon only drifted a short way away before being towed back by the pegasi. After twenty minutes it was safely back on the ground and tied up. There were then another few minutes of fun while they tried to retrieve Glyn from the basket. It should have been an easy task, but with everypony howling with laughter as they failed to lift him free it was a wonder they got it done at all! Once loose he treated his rescuers to an apple juice each from one of the market carts. This was what it was really about. Although the air show folk would leave with some bits in their pockets it was also an excellent time to move some cash around the village. In return the event would be the talk of the area for a good few weeks. It was a welcome break from weeding and all the other tasks a farm needed to keep it working. 2. Sam in the clouds One evening in the autumn the air show team turned into the entrance to Black Brook Farm. The various carts and vans rumbling along the cobbled yard held everything from bunks and bunting, plus the famous balloon with its basket. This was the balloon Glyn said he could store for the winter in exchange for a ride. What he hadn't told Sam that it was actually two rides because it would need a final flight before being packed away. He hoped to persuade Sam to take a spin. By the time Fish galloped into the farm from some far off exploration Glyn had most of the convoy parked in the Paddock. All sorts of ponies were milling about and some had started to dig a fire pit in the middle. The little filly didn't have long to say hi to everyone before it was bed time. As long as she was quiet she could pretend to be asleep. Her bed was right by the window so she was able to wrap up in her bed clothes and watch the ponies outside as their faces flickered in the fire light. Soon enough she was fast asleep and dreaming of flying. The next day she was running around getting into everything and chatting to the flyers. Stratus mostly hung around with a mare called Ozone. With a coat that shone like metal she looked quick standing still. Continuing the speed theme her tail was cut short as was her left ear. Feeling a stare upon her she turned to see Fish's fascinated expression. "Nobody's perfect," the mare informed her. "You're safe in the sky and safe on the ground. The bit in-between can be tricky" she smiled. Fish gave a nod of understanding. "You flew with Stratus in the summer?" "Yes," came the reply. And then with a whisper and a cautionary look sideways to make sure mum wasn't around, "We looped the loop, but don't tell anyone." Ozone laughed! "I'm sure we can do better than that this weekend." Fishes eyes widened accordingly. All eyes then turned to the arguing coming from the farm house. Glyn was making chicken impressions toward Sam. "Just because you two are daft doesn't mean I am," said the salmon mare. The air shows director was trying to intervene. "It's completely safe madam, we have a well trained rescue crew and I myself have been elevated to the heavens many times." "I'm only concerned with being elevated to the heavens that one final time and that thing looks like a short cut to eternity! Come on Fish, it's breakfast time." By the time Fish had waited patiently and inhaled a bowl of porridge the balloon was half inflated. Glyn came into the kitchen and stood next to Sam. "I promise this will be one of the most amazing things you will ever do," he said softly. "You are about to see the world in a way you can barely imagine in your dreams." She gave him a loving smile. "If you believe in it that much I guess it can't be that bad?" The two earth ponies walked out into the yard with Fish running around them in excited circles. Glyn helped his mare into the basket and kissed her muzzle. "It'll be okay," he said. As they let go of the mooring ropes Sam was amazed to see the ground fall away beneath her as the balloon slowly rose into the air. There was no sense of movement and even the breeze faded as the balloon began to travel across their farm. Turning to look back at the farm house she could see everypony waving to her. Swallowing hard she returned the wave with shaky hoof. It was hard to be scared when so little was happening though. They gently drifted over the last hedges of their farm and then over a neighbours. Then onto a small holding of a friend and over the farm she grew up on. She could easily recognise the pond she had swam in so often as a filly. Passing directly over it she could see the reflection of a much older mare, looking down wistfully over the side of a wicker basket. "Time to head back," said the pilot waving to the pegasi close by. They grabbed a couple of loose ropes in their teeth and began to slowly tow the flying machine back to Black Brooke farm. In no time at all Sam was back in the yard with a cup of tea, reliving all she had seen. "Well, I'm going inside for a rest after all that excitement," said Sam getting up and heading indoors. Glyn turned to look at Fish with a daft grin on his face. "I suppose you will be wanting another trip into the skies?" Fish turned to look at the now deflated balloon. "Arn't I too late for a ride?" Glyns smile got even bigger as Stratus entered the yard with Ozone who was carrying a spare pair of flying goggles in her mouth. Fish now looked like she was made of rubber as she bounced around them in circles! Status wore a stunt saddle, which he did up extra tight. Fish climbed onto it and was tied in so that they moved as one. He wiggled and stretched his wings to make sure he still had full freedom of movement. "Perfect," He said. "If you fall from the clouds we can catch you easily, but if you fall off at ground level, it's not so good." Fish nodded before Ozone put the goggles on her head. "Are they okay," she said gently. "They're fi...." Fish squeaked as Stratus stood up and took off in one swift motion. She heard Ozone laugh behind them and saw the dust of the yard whipped up as she too made for the open air. They were traveling at a steady pace, the fields and trees passing gently below. What they wanted was a good strong thermal to help them gain height quickly. They weaved this way and that, feeling the air with their feathers until a likely hill caught there eye. Making good use of its up draft they began to circle upward to the clouds. Fish had her eyes everywhere as she took in the scale of the land surrounding her village life. "Time to make the ground shake," called Stratus. Ozone grinned and formed up along side him. At this point Fish expected a steep dive, but was quite startled to see them pull their wings tight into their body's . Her stomach felt really weird as gravity became a distant friend and they literally fell from the sky! They hurtled toward the earth like falling rocks. "Now," screamed Stratus as the ground began to get alarming close. Fish bit down on the saddles loop hard to make sure she stayed in place. Both ponies spread their wings and turned a world that was downward into blazing horizontal speed. Keeping up a rapid wing beat they hurtled along a road only a few feet up. The trees flashed past and Fish could see birds behind her breaking cover on either side. As their speed started to fall Ozone led them higher and toward home. Laughing and panting hard they formed up again side by side. "How was that?" She asked Fish. "I didn't know anything could go that fast," came the reply with a massive smile. "I thought my ears would come off!" They travelled back to the farm weaving in and out of the trees to Fish's delight and landed softly in the yard. "Are we happy now?" asked Glyn. But by the look on her face he could tell that she was. Fish just sat there with a daft grin on her face! All too soon it was time for everypony to make their way to their homes for the winter. Wagons were reloaded with the detritus of living on the road and the turf was thrown back into the fire pit. As Glyn shut the gate behind the last wagon he turned to his little filly. "Best not write about that in your memories book incase your mum reads it." said Glyn with a wink. The End Team Idris July 2015

This is the third of the Pony Poets. The fourth is just a straight short story titled "Fish in the Clouds" and is being written as I post this. (Maybe I should be doing that instead of lurking here?) This story is also on fimfiction and the two before it are on my YouTube channel. I hope you have fun with this one! Pony Poets - Washing Day The monster waddled up the path to the wash house, squelching with every step. It stalked it's prey, a salmon coloured mare, busying herself in an outhouse. Lowering its slime covered head, the monster approached with caution. "Not the pond again Fish!" Exclaimed Sam, without looking up. The little filly stood in the yard, water dripping from her tail. "It just sort of happened. I was chasing a butterfly and it won by fluttering over the pond." Sam looked around at her aquatic offspring. "It's a good job it's washing day, because that hat will need more than a lick to get it clean." Sticks were already alight under the huge copper kettle that stood in the corner on its own brick plinth. Sam worked the handle of the mechanical pump, filling it near the top before opening a fresh bar of soap. In a wooden tub was stacked white linen and next to it a pile of darker clothing. Sam asked Fish to fetch the tin bath, a hollow scraping noise and a clang indicating its arrival. She half filled it with cold water and topped it up with hot. "In you go," she said, as Fish stepped into the warm water. Fish then spent the next ten minutes grumbling as her mother set to with the bristle brush. "You'll scrub my mane off," she protested, as a final sluice down removed the soap bubbles revealing her cloud grey coat. "No more running around and getting into trouble for a bit," said Sam. "You can help me with the clothes." Fish dragged a hoof on the ground, "But it's so boring!" "Then you had better figure out a way to make it interesting then!" came her mothers reply. "At Black Brook Farm it's washing day." The filly grinned. "Sounds like the start of another poem." "Then you can sing about rinsing out mud and the dust of hay," said Sam as she held up a jacket she had found in the barn. Placing it in the dolly tub she worked the dolly this way and that to bash and twist the dirt from the fibres. "We'll need more hot water in bit," she said wiping sweat from her brow with a hoof. "Put some more wood on the fire would you?" "Fire is stoked with orange flame," Fish thought to herself as she fetched more wood. "Would that work?" she asked Sam as she recited the line out loud. "A third line already," Sam replied. "It'll be an epic of a poem if you keep up this pace," she smiled. Fish built up the hearth carefully and stoked it to bring up a bright orange flame. Then she picked up one of her dad's shirts and began cleaning its sleeves. Glyn's best shirts had to be boiled to get them white, with any marks given a good rub with the soap. "Blocks of soap for stubborn stain," she muttered in her mothers tone as she scrubbed. They worked steadily through the pile, gradually reducing it's size. The fire crackled and the haze of steam grew ever thicker, misting up the outhouse windows and forming trickles down the glass panes. At lunch time Glyn came in from weeding the big field. The three of them sat in the sunshine and finished off a loaf of oat bread before returning to their tasks. He told them of a black bird that had followed him up and down the field all morning grabbing any worms that he dislodged. "It had so many worms in its mouth it looked like Fish on spaghetti night!" he proclaimed. "Ooh gross," said Sam. "You can't un-see that image in a hurry. It's certainly a good excuse to get back to work. Come on Fish, lets have at it." Listening to the dull rhythmic thud of the dolly tub next to her Fish suggested; "Force out the dirt with wooden dolly?" Sam turned to her and grinned. "Remove the grime of Fish's folly!" They both laughed at this and were spurred on to get the job finished. "I like to Sing rhyme and verse, it makes it fun," said Fish. "Yes," Sam agreed. "I suppose all the old songs started out as a way to keep up a smile. A way for folk to make the day pass by." Finally they were down to the last two garments. "Come on little Fish, keep up the pace, we're nearly done," said Sam with a grin. "It won't take long to run it through the mangle." Sam decided Fish should turn the handle and she would pass everything between the large wooden rollers. For the sake of a peaceful day it was worth avoiding anything that Fish could get trapped in. Of all her gadgets this was Sam's favourite. Wringing out washing was an arduous task and so much water was still left in that she had once broken the washing line with the weight. With all lying in the dirt she could do nothing but start all over the next day. The thought made her wince. What had been a heap of dirty clothing was now a neat pile of wet clean clothing in a wicker basket. They finished up and went out into the yard to the washing line. Fish nudged the basket along with her nose as Sam hung up the various garments. Reaching back into her cloth saddle bag Sam grabbed some pegs in her mouth and then, rearing up, placed a large cotton shirt over the line and deftly set two pegs. They continued this along the length of the thin rope until the basket was empty. "Time for a break," Said Sam. Sitting on an upturned trough they watched contentedly, drinking fresh apple juice and adding the final touches to their new poem. As they chatted the washing swung back and forth in the summer breeze, gently drying itself in ready for a new day. The End At Black Brook Farm it's washing day, Rinse out mud and dust of hay, Fire is stoked with orange flame, Blocks of soap for stubborn stain. Force out the dirt with wooden dolly, Remove the grime of Fish's folly, Sing rhyme and verse to make it fun, Keep up the pace until we are done. Team Idris - June 2015 - Cloud is Master.

This has been voice acted by Cut Glass on my channel https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h6wsHeaTUu4

If your art gets 'a lot better' it will be pretty special.

I didn't struggle to read it which is great. It just ran along. (Dyslexic) The plane was a bit of a freeky turn, but why not? I mean, I just put the mane six in a computer server as new life forms so it's all good Plus I'm in the middle of "fish in the clouds" so I'm big on pony flight this week. Looking forward to some more chapters!

Well that's a rare old beast of a work, I enjoyed reading that

I'll need a pony air show at some point with pegasi and a ballon in it. Ideally ballon has black stallion in it as well as pilot. I'm in the middle of writing "fish in the Clouds". Message us if you're interested

Surfing the net on my IPad. Unless I want doing-relaxing? Then it's off to the garage for some tinkering or some writing. Also like stories read out (but I did read Dr Rainbow Dash yesterday)

It looks big mean and green. Proportion looks Bob on. Never been a mega fan of wing claws so I'm happy there arn't any. Spine plates nicely spaced. Grey goes with the green. Tail finishes nicely in a flat mace. A pair of head horns always lean toward a cow for me. I prefer ears. Nice spacing on the wing fingers. Small head always feel right because I personally believe they would have a de-centralised nervous system like a chicken to give better reaction times.