private Whisper: The City Of Darkness

[Chaton 3,765]

The crewpony reared onto their hind legs, unclipped their and Scarlett's harness and grabbed Scarlett with their forelegs and with a push from their hind legs and a flap from their wings the two of them were propelled up towards the engine mounting. At the top of the arc Scarlett was hefted towards a pair of hoof-holds on the side of the engine mounting, whilst the crewpony grabbed onto another pair of hoof-holds on the underside of the balloon. With the help of some of the rope lines, their own re-attached safety line, well-placed hoof-holds and the occasional beat of their wings they scuttled their way over, almost spider-like, to the engine on the other side of the balloon.

 

Well, this is fun I thought to myself as we made out way across the balloon. I climbed onto the engine and began to inspect the damage. Noticing where the greenish smoke was coming from, I realised there was a leak in the magical converter. Which meant the smoke was pure magic. I'd better not touch that.

[Dust and Memories 557]

 

 

The airship was becoming increasingly difficult to handle - different components with rapidly changing properties, as well as intermittent performance from the engines, meant that simply holding the wheel steady wasn't enough; the helmspony was having to compensate for every unexpected event. None the less, the airship remained under control until a sudden maneuver resulted in a loud crack from the helm, and the wheel suddenly lost all tension.   "The cable's gone!" the helmspony shouted to Wilhelm over the noise, his voice hard to hear despite being almost face to face, "We'll have to steer it manually. You see the rudders?" he gestured to the rear of the balloon, where two rudders could been seen flapping loosely in the wind, one on either side, "I'll take the left one, you take the right. You'll need to peg it in the straight position to keep the ship roughly on course, but if you just try and force it whilst it's flapping loose something will break. You'll need to wait for the right moment, hold it about steady and then insert the peg. Then there's a lever that we can use to move it whilst it's pegged, but don't worry about that now."    The airship was turning off-course again, and the specks in the distance were gaining, but the efforts of the storm spirits were helping to keep it roughly steady. Time was of the essence, however, as the airship was being battered quite badly and replacing broken components in the storm would be nigh impossible.

 

 

Wilhelm nodded quickly, flying over to the rudders, and holding one peg with each hoof, preparing to force it in. Then, he remembered the helmspony's warning, and switched to holding the rudder with one hoof and the peg with another. 

As he did, he kept a careful eye on the small shapes in the distance, which were drawing ever closer. Wilhelm wished he had his bow with him, then remembered that he had left it down in his cabin with a muttered curse. Of course, the verbal hexes and curses were back in his personal library on allowance from the Canterlot Lunar Archives instead of in his cabin, but... wait a minute, the rudder wasn't flapping any more!

Wilhelm held the rudder still and slammed the peg in, pinning it in place, then quickly switched to the other and did the same. With a sigh of relief, he flew back to the helmspony, who had begun wrestling the airship back into place. Over the wind, he yelled "What now?"

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

@@Ethan Sawyer,@@Orion Caelum, @@Unicorncob, @@Chip Circuit, @@Blacklight, @@ForthEorl. 

 

 

 

Over the wind, he yelled "What now?"

 

 

"So long as it's pegged in place, we'll go straight," the crewpony shouted back, "To change course, you need to remove the pegs, crank the bracket round to the new bearing and then peg it in place again. Don't crank it whilst it's pegged or the force will blow it loose and destroy the mechanism. Then we really won't be able to steer." 

 

 

 

"Come at me, chaos!" She challenged the storm, smirking like a madpony, "Gimme all ya got!"

 

Red sparks flew from Lavender as she was repeatedly struck by the storm's chaos energy. Not only her mane (whatever it was made of at this point) but every hair on her body stood on end, but it was her wings which showed the greatest change; what had originally been a stubby, mismatched half-pegasus half-bat pair of wings had grown to over three times her size, the burning wing of a red-gold phoenix on one side and the scaly wing of a scarlet dragon on the other. The storm clouds seemed to disintegrate in front of her, all of their chaotic power pouring into her.

 

Out of the corner of her eye, Lavender saw something large hurtle past her out of a disintegrating cloud bank. The creature, a hideously disfigured pegasus easily three times the size of a normal pony smashed into the deck, splintering the wooden planks beneath its hooves. The two marines nearby reacted immediately, one firing his pistol at it and the other charging it with their cutlass. Batting the cutlass-wielding marine aside with scant regard for the blade that pierced its left foreleg the monster pounced on the marine with the pistol, crushing them beneath both forelegs before spinning on the spot and letting out a bestial roar as its eyes settled on Zayoh.

 

 

 

Well, this is fun I thought to myself as we made out way across the balloon. I climbed onto the engine and began to inspect the damage. Noticing where the greenish smoke was coming from, I realised there was a leak in the magical converter. Which meant the smoke was pure magic. I'd better not touch that.

 

"Keep working on that engine!" Cloud Chaser roared, sparing a quick glance for the rapidly-approaching specks behind the airship that had resolved into similar pegasus-monsters "If we slow down they'll swamp us!" A further glance around revealed something to her, and the flicker of uncertainty in her expression vanished, "Rudders to port! Far as they'll go!" she shouted up to Wilhelm and the crewpony.

Edited March 19, 2016 by Once In A Blue Moon

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

Zayoh suddenly felt the deck of the ship shake violently nearby and felt his body being pelted with splinters. He broke his focus on his meditation and turn to see a very large Pegasus who killed one of the marines by landed on top of him.

 

The zebra quickly got onto his hooves and saw this Pegasus turn to face him which appeared to be radiating hatred for Zayoh.

 

He took a step back unsure how to approach this Pegasus and in response the creature charged him. Zayoh managed to avoid the Pegasus by rolling to the side. As he got back onto his hooves he saw the Pegasus rushing him once more with its head lowered. The Pegasus impacted zayoh with its head and lifted zayoh quickly only to toss him into the air.

 

The zebra flipped through the air and thanks to the spirits that were still with him, he was assisted in correcting himself in midair and landed back on the deck of the ship on his hooves.

[Unicorncob 5,679]

Red sparks flew from Lavender as she was repeatedly struck by the storm's chaos energy. Not only her mane (whatever it was made of at this point) but every hair on her body stood on end, but it was her wings which showed the greatest change; what had originally been a stubby, mismatched half-pegasus half-bat pair of wings had grown to over three times her size, the burning wing of a red-gold phoenix on one side and the scaly wing of a scarlet dragon on the other. The storm clouds seemed to disintegrate in front of her, all of their chaotic power pouring into her.

 

Out of the corner of her eye, Lavender saw something large hurtle past her out of a disintegrating cloud bank. The creature, a hideously disfigured pegasus easily three times the size of a normal pony smashed into the deck, splintering the wooden planks beneath its hooves. The two marines nearby reacted immediately, one firing his pistol at it and the other charging it with their cutlass. Batting the cutlass-wielding marine aside with scant regard for the blade that pierced its left foreleg the monster pounced on the marine with the pistol, crushing them beneath both forelegs before spinning on the spot and letting out a bestial roar as its eyes settled on Zayoh.

 

Lavender grunted as she tried to store the chaos energy being sucked into her by the storm. Her mane had poofed into a small field of daisies, which were threatening to catch fire from her enormous blazing phoenix wing.

 

She noticed the huge disfigured pegasus monster crashing onto the deck and making short work of some of the marines. She couldn't dare take it on herself, lest she threatened turning the airship into a giant vase of tulips.

 

Instead, she attempted to channel some of her power into her mutant companions. "Hey girls, do mommy a favour and help out with that big guy upstairs, would ya?"

[nolongerabout 403]

Out of the corner of her eye, Lavender saw something large hurtle past her out of a disintegrating cloud bank. The creature, a hideously disfigured pegasus easily three times the size of a normal pony smashed into the deck, splintering the wooden planks beneath its hooves. The two marines nearby reacted immediately, one firing his pistol at it and the other charging it with their cutlass. Batting the cutlass-wielding marine aside with scant regard for the blade that pierced its left foreleg the monster pounced on the marine with the pistol, crushing them beneath both forelegs before spinning on the spot and letting out a bestial roar as its eyes settled on Zayoh.

 

Sharp cursed as the thing killed the two marines, and leveled his carbine. Like trying to kill a manticore with a peashooter, he thought. The rocking of the ship made it hard to aim, and he fired. Without checking to see if he had hit it, he dropped the gun and drew the heavy boarding axe in his hoof, shouting to the remaining marines. "Concentrate your fire on its legs, try and cripple the thing!" He darted to an emptier part of the deck, and shouted at the monster.

"Come on you big bugger, I've killed larger'n you! Come taste some Equestrian steel!"

Using his magic, he levitated one of the grenades from his saddlebag. He'd have to time this right, or the grenade might roll out onto the unsteady deck and injure his fellows. He figured that if he could lodge it in the creature's mouth or perhaps trap it beneath a hoof then the blast might be enough to kill it, but could not risk it while the thing was focused on the others.

Edited March 19, 2016 by ForthEorl

[Chaton 3,765]

Out of the corner of her eye, Lavender saw something large hurtle past her out of a disintegrating cloud bank. The creature, a hideously disfigured pegasus easily three times the size of a normal pony smashed into the deck, splintering the wooden planks beneath its hooves. The two marines nearby reacted immediately, one firing his pistol at it and the other charging it with their cutlass. Batting the cutlass-wielding marine aside with scant regard for the blade that pierced its left foreleg the monster pounced on the marine with the pistol, crushing them beneath both forelegs before spinning on the spot and letting out a bestial roar as its eyes settled on Zayoh.

 

I looked up for a moment, and within that moment a giant monster had crashed into the side of the ship, sending wood and crew members flying everywhere. The monster proceeded to stomp on and kill one of the marines. Suddenly, I felt my senses heighten. I felt stronger, faster, and more alert.

 

"Keep working on that engine!" Cloud Chaser roared, sparing a quick glance for the rapidly-approaching specks behind the airship that had resolved into similar pegasus-monsters "If we slow down they'll swamp us!" A further glance around revealed something to her, and the flicker of uncertainty in her expression vanished, "Rudders to port! Far as they'll go!" she shouted up to Wilhelm and the crewpony.

 

"All right!" I shouted, before my eyes darted back to the engine. Hundreds of problems and solutions ran through my head within seconds as I tried to figure out what the problem was and how I could fix it. Green smoke meant leaking partially converted magic. If the flow stopped, the ambient magic would flow in and could potentially detonate the entire engine. ​First order of business, cut the connection.

[Dust and Memories 557]

 

"Keep working on that engine!" Cloud Chaser roared, sparing a quick glance for the rapidly-approaching specks behind the airship that had resolved into similar pegasus-monsters "If we slow down they'll swamp us!" A further glance around revealed something to her, and the flicker of uncertainty in her expression vanished, "Rudders to port! Far as they'll go!" she shouted up to Wilhelm and the crewpony.

 

Wilhelm nodded, one eye on the mutated pegasus and the other on the tilt of the ship. He stuck his tongue out between his lips, then yanked the rudder lever as far as possible. The ship began to slide over back to its proper tilt, and as the mutated pegasus's hooves started to slide out from under it, it bellowed in rage and charged the helm. 

Wilhelm instinctively went to the bow which should have been strapped across his back, but remembered that he left it in his cabin. However, he had his sabre, and he drew it a second before the pegasus jumped on him.

 

Wilhelm let it jump, then held his sword out straight in his mouth, with no time to lock on the hoof bracer. The pegasus rammed straight into the blade, sinking nearly to the hilt before its insane muscle development stopped the blade cold. It jerked to the side, and Wilhelm saw the move just in time to pull the sword out from inside its chest before the mutated creature could yank the sword out from between his teeth.

 

Quickly flapping his wings backwards to keep a safe distance from the mutant, Wilhelm kept steadily backing up, moving towards the big group, and especially towards Sharp. The closer he could get to the carbine-wielding unicorn, the more accurate the shot would be - and the more time Wilhelm would have to get his bow while the mutated pony was distracted.

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

Zayoh watched as the Pegasus attacked Wilhelm, he didn't want to see any other ponies fall to this beast so he decided he should assist Wilhelm. He untied himself from the line and then removed his equipment quickly. Once it was removed he secured it to the ship with the line he had been using, it had certainly been awhile since Zayoh had been in Equestrian without his cloak on and it felt good to not be limited by all his gear.

 

His coat was an ash white color with dark brown stripes and along his side he had a blade that appeared to be a slender scimitar secured in a harness made specifically for holding such a weapon. Around d his neck was a golden amulet with a clouded gem in the center along with a small vial filled with a gold white fluid.

 

The zebra drew his sword in his mouth and charged the creature, with good work that appeared rather nimble. As he passed Wilhelm and sharp he muttered past the hilt of his weapon. "I will distract it for you. Do whatever you can do."

 

Zayoh reached the Pegasus who was already focused on him with seething hatred. The mutated Pegasus attempting to stomp on the zebra and zayoh easily dodged the attacked and swung his sword cutting at the creature's ankle. The Pegasus roared out and with a strong beat of its wings jumped back a dozen feet to get some distance.

Edited March 24, 2016 by Chip Circuit

[Dust and Memories 557]

Wilhelm nodded his thanks to Zayoh, then dashed down to the underdecks, tripping over assorted detritus and debris scattered around the halls from the explosion and the subsequent engine and steering messes. Finally, Wilhelm found his cabin, and searched through the pile of items in the corner for the case containing his bow.

 

Finally lifting out the polished wooden case with his teeth, Wilhelm spit it out onto the floor and opened the latch, all the while worrying about the situation abovedecks. Flipping open the case, he lifted the bow, testing its draw weight before slinging it over his back and sprinting full-force for the deck. 

 

When he arrived, he saw that Zayoh had engaged the pegasus, who had jumped backwards to avoid Zayoh's strange scimitar-ish blade. With a muted grunt, Wilhelm nocked an arrow in the bow with his teeth, holding the compound bow itself with one wing. With the other wing, he drew back the bowstring, and after a split-second trajectory calculation, he loosed three arrows in quick succession.

 

Only two hit, but the beast howled in pain. The sharp arrowheads were designed to punch through armor and thick muscle, and Wilhelm was a pegasus - he knew where to aim on one of his own species. One of the mutated beast's wings was now hanging limp at its side, unresponsive.

 

Wilhelm backpedaled away before the dimwitted mutant could figure out where the arrows came from, hiding behind the closest bit of cover, a fallen spar from the airbag.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

@@Ethan Sawyer,@@Orion Caelum, @@Unicorncob, @@Chip Circuit, @@Blacklight, @@ForthEorl. 

 

 

 

 

Instead, she attempted to channel some of her power into her mutant companions. "Hey girls, do mommy a favour and help out with that big guy upstairs, would ya?"

 

 

The two mutants let out guttural roars at the pegasus-mutant as mismatched wings sprouted from their backs, smaller imitation of their mistress but impressive none the less. 

 

 

 

"Concentrate your fire on its legs, try and cripple the thing!"

 

 

 

Zayoh reached the Pegasus who was already focused on him with seething hatred. The mutated Pegasus attempting to stomp on the zebra and zayoh easily dodged the attacked and swung his sword cutting at the creature's ankle. The Pegasus roared out and with a strong beat of its wings jumped back a dozen feet to get some distance.

 

 

 

Wilhelm backpedaled away before the dimwitted mutant could figure out where the arrows came from, hiding behind the closest bit of cover, a fallen spar from the airbag.

 

The pegasus-mutant roared in pain from the numerous wounds that had been inflicted on it. Slowly driven backwards by the arrows and bullets of its opponents, when it reached the airship's bow it let out a bellow and charged the ponies that had been corralling it.

 

"Un-peg the rudders! Hold tight!" Cloud Chaser bellowed, and as one of the crewponies obliged the airship was swatted back onto the course of least resistance by the force of the wind, sending everypony on the deck not holding onto something flying to port as the ship veered to starboard. Whilst the crew and marines were wearing their harnesses, the pegasus-mutant had no such luck. Caught off-balance, with multiple wounds on its forelegs and a badly injured wing it went hurtling over the side of the deck with an inequine screech.

 

The pursuing pegasus-mutants, all sizable specimens although none as large as the one that had managed to land on the airship, had managed to close with the airship during the fight, but when the mutant had gone over the side they had backed off quickly. They were still there, tailing the airship, but apparently none had the courage or drive to try to attack it. 

 

"Get the rudders pegged amidships! And quickly, before they break," Cloud Chaser called out to the crewpony on the rudders, which were being battered from side to side with every change of wind direction, "What progress on the engine?" she called up to Scarlett, "If we can't get it going we'll have to run on just four, and there's no way we'll lose those blighters at that speed."

 

On the deck, the crew and marines were starting to clear the debris from the fight and tend to the wounded. The helmspony who'd been hit by the wheel had died during the fight, along with the marine who had been crushed by the pegasus-mutant. The other wounded marine was hurried below on a stretcher, unconscious and with several limbs at odd angles. 

 

Ahead, the clouds were starting to thin and the tiny wisps of air darting around the airship seemed to do so in a more jubilant manner than before.

[Unicorncob 5,679]

Lavender's wincing eyes loosened a bit as she felt less power being sucked into her from the storm. Was it passing, or had it found another host?

 

Nonetheless, she was a bit of a mess. Her coat had gotten a neon-like pastel sheen, almost like it was made of some kind of plastic, and her grassy mane and tail were beginning to sprout daisies. One of her legs had grown reptilian scales, while another sported griffon-like claws on its hoof.

 

"I hope this new look isn't permanent," she muttered to herself, "I liked the classic style a bit more..."

 

The two mutants let out guttural roars at the pegasus-mutant as mismatched wings sprouted from their backs, smaller imitation of their mistress but impressive none the less. 

 

She smirked as she saw her two mutant friends fly out with rather majestic, and interesting wings, to take on the pursuing ponies.

"You go, girls!" She cheered.

 

 

The pursuing pegasus-mutants, all sizable specimens although none as large as the one that had managed to land on the airship, had managed to close with the airship during the fight, but when the mutant had gone over the side they had backed off quickly. They were still there, tailing the airship, but apparently none had the courage or drive to try to attack it. 

 

She could sense that other mutated pegasi were still tailing the ship, and she had to wonder - what could she do?

"I don't wanna fire any lasers in case I mess with the ship," she murmured, "But I need to get them off our tail. Think, Lavender, think...!"

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

Zayoh held his ground in the presence of the mutated Pegasus, while he didn't show it he was afraid for himself and those he had traveled with.

 

Suddenly the ship lurched under their hooves and Zayoh nearly fell over only to catch himself by driving his sword into the deck of the ship allowing him to prop himself up. However the mutant failed to keep their balance and fell over the side of the ship. The zebra sighed in relief as the threat disappeared and after it so did many of the other mutants that were contemplating on joining the assault.

 

Zayoh resecured his blade in its harness on his side and walked back to where he had his equipment tied up. He looked around seeing the mist from the storm swirling around as it was carried within the breeze of the spirits, he was glad they were still with him.

 

The zebra sat back down and began meditating once again to commune with the spirits around him, still requesting their assistance with calming the conditions that were battering the ship. His amulet that hung loosely around his neck was now visibly glowing now that he no longer had his cloak on.

[Chaton 3,765]

"What progress on the engine?" she called up to Scarlett, "If we can't get it going we'll have to run on just four, and there's no way we'll lose those blighters at that speed."

I was able to hold myself on when the ship lurched, even though it momentarily broke my concerntration.

 

I managed to tell back "Good!" before the magic leaking from the back ignited and began flaming exited magic from the back of the ship. I quickly used my magic to seal the problem, finding it easier now that I had the tarot working with me.

 

I shunted the pipes back into place within the engine and realised there was a small amount of cable missing from inside that was usually used to connect the crystals to the conveyor. "Uhh, we're missing some cable. Is there anything on deck that can conduct pure magic?"

[nolongerabout 403]

Sharp, no longer concerned with the massive mutant pegasus, rushed over to the remaining marines. Sharp doubted that they would be able to repel an attack by more than one of those creatures, and they needed a way to fight them off that wasn't hand to hand combat.

 

"Are the cannons loaded? No, don't answer that. Double-shot them with canister, grapeshot, anything you can get your hooves on. Elevate the barrels and prepare to fire if any of them attempt to board, you understand? We've no hope of hitting them at this range with grape."

 

With that, he moved over to where the captain was shouting orders. His carbine was caught in a hole in the ship's deck, and rattled about as the ship moved. He retrieved the gun, and loaded it.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

@@Ethan Sawyer,@@Orion Caelum, @@Unicorncob, @@Chip Circuit, @@Blacklight, @@ForthEorl. 

 

 

She smirked as she saw her two mutant friends fly out with rather majestic, and interesting wings, to take on the pursuing ponies.

 

The pegasus-mutants scattered when Lavender's mutants flew at them, although none strayed too far from the ship.

 

 

"Uhh, we're missing some cable. Is there anything on deck that can conduct pure magic?"

 

"The cannon tapers!" Bramble called out, "They conduct magical ignition sparks, one of them might last long enough to find a proper replacement. Catch!" Rearing onto his hind legs, Bramble hurled the taper pole like a javelin to Scarlett.

 

 

The zebra sat back down and began meditating once again to commune with the spirits around him, still requesting their assistance with calming the conditions that were battering the ship. His amulet that hung loosely around his neck was now visibly glowing now that he no longer had his cloak on.

 

"Are the cannons loaded? No, don't answer that. Double-shot them with canister, grapeshot, anything you can get your hooves on. Elevate the barrels and prepare to fire if any of them attempt to board, you understand? We've no hope of hitting them at this range with grape."

 

One of the crewponies, a rather younger one than the rest, stepped the wrong way as the cannons were run into firing position, and as a particularly strong gust of wind hit the airship their cannon was shunted backwards towards them. It ground to a halt just short of pulverising the young crewpony's leg, the ropes meant to absorb the recoil still slack as dozens of wisps of air converged on it, holding it back. The young crewpony started and jumped back whilst the rest of the gun-crew looked on in amazement, until a sharp reprimand from the gun-captain finally focused their attention back on the gun.

 

The remaining pegasus-mutants continued to trail the airship, scattering every time Lavender's mutants flew at them but keeping pace with the damaged airship. Over the next ten minutes, the crew cleared most of the loose debris from the deck whilst the clouds around the airship continued to thin. Quite suddenly, the wisps of air surged forwards, breaking a tunnel through the clouds to reveal the clear sky ahead.

 

"We're coming up on Ponyville," Cloud Chaser said to the group on the deck, "And with those beasties that close landing isn't really an option, so what we're going to do is pair up each of you that can't fly with a pegasus from the crew. When we're over our destination, a plaza just outside the entrance to the laboratory entrance, I'll bring the ship around and give them a broadside to keep them distracted whilst you are all flown to the ground. We will then lead them on a merry chase around Ponyville's outskirts and await your signal," She nodded to Sharp, who had a flare pistol at his side as well as his grenades and carbine, "Picking you all up could get a bit... hairy... if they're still on us, so be sure you are ready to leave when you send up the signal. It has been a pleasure to have you all aboard," she added, with a somewhat tounge in cheek, "Especially since it is so rare to meet ponies with good fashion sense," she continued, shouting a bit louder and looking over the bow at Lavender.

 

Her grin disappeared when no heckle was forthcoming from the helm, and with a scowl she headed to the stern of the ship to speak with one of the marines. Several expletive-laden commands relating to highly specific anatomical targets for the application of grapeshot and bullet could be heard, even at the far end of the ship, as she detailed her plan to deal with the pursuers.

[Unicorncob 5,679]

Lavender watched as the stormclouds began to dissipate, which meant the chaos magic would be slowing its flow into her body. Good, considering she wasn't sure if she could hold much more. Bad, considering she had no idea what would happen next. Would she return to normal, or would she be doomed to never touch the airship again thanks to her phoenix wing.

 

A sweat broke onto her forehead as she kept herself and her mutants aloft. "Nngh, need... to fix this... before... I become a circus attraction..."

 

 

The pegasus-mutants scattered when Lavender's mutants flew at them, although none strayed too far from the ship.

 

She managed a smirk as she saw her mutants driving away the invaders. "Go get 'em, girls!"

 

 

"Especially since it is so rare to meet ponies with good fashion sense," she continued, shouting a bit louder and looking over the bow at Lavender.

 

She looked down at Cloud Chaser, managing a smirk, despite her uniform being scorched. "Well, you know, never hurts to look good saving the world!"

 

How in Equestria would she be able to get back to normal from here?

[Chaton 3,765]

"The cannon tapers!" Bramble called out, "They conduct magical ignition sparks, one of them might last long enough to find a proper replacement. Catch!" Rearing onto his hind legs, Bramble hurled the taper pole like a javelin to Scarlett.

 

I moved my head to the side and as the javelin-like taper flew past my head it was caught in a field of magic. Orbiting me a couple of times to slow it down, I looked at it quickly to see if it would do. And as it was; "This will do fine for now!"

 

I stuck the taper straight in and the heat of the building up magic was enough to fuse it together. With a jolt, the engine came back on-line and I nearly fell off. No wait, I did fall off. Shit.

[Unicorncob 5,679]

I moved my head to the side and as the javelin-like taper flew past my head it was caught in a field of magic. Orbiting me a couple of times to slow it down, I looked at it quickly to see if it would do. And as it was; "This will do fine for now!"

 

I stuck the taper straight in and the heat of the building up magic was enough to fuse it together. With a jolt, the engine came back on-line and I nearly fell off. No wait, I did fall off. Shit.

 

 

Lavender could sense something falling from the airship. It was Scarlett!

 

"I can't let Red down," she grunted, "...at least, not ground level. C'mon, something comfy that can fly..."

 

Out of nowhere, a bed materialised beneath Scarlett to catch her. It sported small jet thrusters on the legs and plane wings on the sides to fly her back up to the airship.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

@@Ethan Sawyer,@@Orion Caelum, @@Unicorncob, @@Chip Circuit, @@Blacklight, @@ForthEorl. 

 

Out of nowhere, a bed materialised beneath Scarlett to catch her. It sported small jet thrusters on the legs and plane wings on the sides to fly her back up to the airship.

 

The bed seemed ever so slightly insubstantial, and flickered out of existence moments after it deposited Scarlett back on the airship. At around the same time, Lavender and her mutants' wings started shrinking. Lavender made it back onto the airship with plenty of time to spare, although the two mutants had to flap furiously with ever-stubbier wings to make it onto the deck.

 

With the engine fixed and running again, Scion Tempestatis surged forwards, leaving the pursuing pegasus-mutants some behind. They were still following, but they were clearly unable to keep up. Below, Ponyville was fast approaching, and Cloud Chaser Chaser lined the group up on the deck, each flightless pony (or zebra) accompanied by a pegasus marine.

 

"You'll want to hold on tight," Cloud Chaser said, a faint grin playing around the corner of her mouth.

 

Attaching their safety harnesses to their charge's, on Cloud Chaser's command the pegasus marines hurled themselves off the side of the airship with their charges held tight, and plummeted towards the ground. 

 

One hectic descent later, the group was standing in a small plaza ("Arcanists' square" a damaged sign read) in front of the laboratory / archive building. There were several bodies, apparently pony, in the corner of the square, and the main entrance was wide open. There was a huge hole in the side of the building, easily five times the size of a pony, and the ruined buildings nearby suggested that something very large had either left or entered the facility through the hole.

 

Apparently unperturbed by the destruction around them, one of Lavender's mutants, the one with the saddlebags, trotted briskly towards the main entrance.

Edited April 3, 2016 by Once In A Blue Moon

[Chaton 3,765]

Lavender could sense something falling from the airship. It was Scarlett!

 

"I can't let Red down," she grunted, "...at least, not ground level. C'mon, something comfy that can fly..."

 

Out of nowhere, a bed materialised beneath Scarlett to catch her. It sported small jet thrusters on the legs and plane wings on the sides to fly her back up to the airship.

 

I glanced down at the bed as I was caught by it and brought up to the airship. Well, at least I can safely say this isn't the weirdest thing I've experienced.

 

@@Ethan Sawyer,@@Orion Caelum, @@Unicorncob, @@Chip Circuit, @@Blacklight, @@ForthEorl. 

 

 

The bed seemed ever so slightly insubstantial, and flickered out of existence moments after it deposited Scarlett back on the airship. At around the same time, Lavender and her mutants' wings started shrinking. Lavender made it back onto the airship with plenty of time to spare, although the two mutants had to flap furiously with ever-stubbier wings to make it onto the deck.

 

With the engine fixed and running again, Scion Tempestatis surged forwards, leaving the pursuing pegasus-mutants some behind. They were still following, but they were clearly unable to keep up. Below, Ponyville was fast approaching, and Cloud Chaser Chaser lined the group up on the deck, each flightless pony (or zebra) accompanied by a pegasus marine.

 

"You'll want to hold on tight," Cloud Chaser said, a faint grin playing around the corner of her mouth.

 

Attaching their safety harnesses to their charge's, on Cloud Chaser's command the pegasus marines hurled themselves off the side of the airship and plummeted towards the ground. 

 

One hectic descent later, the group was standing in a small plaza ("Arcanists' square" a damaged sign read) in front of the laboratory / archive building. There were several bodies, apparently pony, in the corner of the square, and the main entrance was wide open. There was a huge hole in the side of the building, easily five times the size of a pony, and the ruined buildings nearby suggested that something very large had either left or entered the facility through the hole.

 

Apparently unperturbed by the destruction around them, one of Lavender's mutants, the one with the saddlebags, trotted briskly towards the main entrance.

 

Once the group and I had survived our plummet to the ground, we began walking into a plaza. Fancy, but broken. Just like this world.

Edited April 4, 2016 by Ethan Sawyer

[Unicorncob 5,679]

The bed seemed ever so slightly insubstantial, and flickered out of existence moments after it deposited Scarlett back on the airship. At around the same time, Lavender and her mutants' wings started shrinking. Lavender made it back onto the airship with plenty of time to spare, although the two mutants had to flap furiously with ever-stubbier wings to make it onto the deck.

 

Lavender panted as she flapped onto the deck, slowly returning back to normal. The wings shrunk down until they had completely disappeared, the scales vanished, her mane and tail returned to looking like hair, and her colours went back to how they were before.

 

She flopped onto the deck, faceplanting onto it.

 

"You would like that look, and I like to call it retro," she huffed, almost to herself, and sat up with her goofy grin on her face, "Let's do that again! ...y'know, when we're not at risk of dying."

 

 

"You'll want to hold on tight," Cloud Chaser said, a faint grin playing around the corner of her mouth.

 

Attaching their safety harnesses to their charge's, on Cloud Chaser's command the pegasus marines hurled themselves off the side of the airship and plummeted towards the ground. 

 

One hectic descent later, the group was standing in a small plaza ("Arcanists' square" a damaged sign read) in front of the laboratory / archive building. There were several bodies, apparently pony, in the corner of the square, and the main entrance was wide open. There was a huge hole in the side of the building, easily five times the size of a pony, and the ruined buildings nearby suggested that something very large had either left or entered the facility through the hole.

 

Apparently unperturbed by the destruction around them, one of Lavender's mutants, the one with the saddlebags, trotted briskly towards the main entrance.

 

She nearly flopped over again when the airship landed. "Nailed it!"

 

She got out of the ship and had a look around at the square, eyes widened with intrigue. "Interesting place, not my choice for decor though."

 

She blinked as one of her mutants trotted for the entrance. "Huh, maybe she needs the bathroom?"

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

Zayoh grabbed his gear and put it all back on and was soon gathered with the rest of the group near the edge of the ship each with a marine accompanying them, he looked down to the ground only to notice the almost dizzying height. As he stood there wisps of air continued to circle around him as the spirits he had communed with were still at his side in a manner of speaking.

 

Suddenly one by one the members of the group were being pulled off by the marines and plummeting toward the ground, Zayoh wasn't sure how he felt about doing something like that. As the marine beisde him made a grab for him Zayoh held out a hoof with a small smile. "No need, I will follow my own lead." He riddled with a small chuckle before jumping off the side of the ship.

 

As he fell through the air he quickly passed up the other members of the group seeing how he was truly free falling. As the ground was rapidly approaching the wind around him begun circling him faster and more forceful, so much so mist was being caught in the wind and beginning to create a visible yet small cyclone around the zebra. He begun to slow in his descent until he was gently place on the ground by the spirits, after he was safe the wind begun to slowly dissipate from around him until it was no longer present.

[nolongerabout 403]

Sharp did not like the feeling of falling, hated it, and the trip to the ground left him feeling distinctly unwell. He checked all his belongings were intact, and waited for the rest of the party to arrive.

 

Sharp looked at the destruction around him. It had been a long time since he had seen such chaos, such utter ruin. The damage to the surrounding buildings was comparable to a large scale artillery bombardment. He saw the bodies, but there was no way he could see that any of them could still be alive, so he ignored them. The research lab was clearly marked, and not one to dilly-dally, he trotted towards the door, talking loudly so the others could hear him.

 

"Well, let's be about it then. Simplest way in would be the front door, eh?"

[Dust and Memories 557]

Wilhelm didn't like flying. Sure, he was a pegasus, and he supposed it was only "right and proper" for him to fly... but that was no reason for him to like it. And he especially didn't like falling. As he hurtled towards the ground, tight in the (hopefully platonic) embrace of a marine, Wilhelm kept one hoof on his glasses and another on his bow.

 

As he finally hit the ground, Wilhelm quickly stood back up on his four hooves, thankful the experience was over quickly. He muttered a quick and etiquette-less thanks to the marine, then perked up when he heard what Sharp had to say. "I wouldn't advise that if I was you. You weren't here last time." Then again...

 

"I've been here before," Wilhelm said thoughtfully. "Most ponies got around the facility by using key cards, and I need to check the archives. Sadly, I forgot mine." He cracked a smile, then paused for a moment.

 

"There was also a Guard armory on-site, I believe, though I never had occasion to visit it. Does anypony mind... ah..." He gestured with one hoof towards the pile of bodies. "Checking the corpses, as it were? Look for key cards about yay large."

 

Wilhelm moved toward the door, intending to examine it before the team went inside.