private Whisper: The City Of Darkness

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

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

 

 

Finally, after what felt like an hour and with his frustration building, Cura entered yet another empty hallway. Well it's official. I'm lost...Now what?

 

"You!" a voice called out, "You're the pony from the planning room, aren't you?" An orange unicorn with a medical legband trotted up to Cura, "I was with Dr Quick Stitch, and I didn't get to thank you at the time. Corporal Roughshod is in surgery at the moment, and he should make it - thanks to your quick intervention. Sorry, I didn't introduce myself - I'm Red Apple. Nurse Red Apple. Please, let me show you to the medical centre - the least we can offer you is a hot drink and some cake..."

 

 

 

"Ah, a chauffeur," she chirped, making sure her things were ready and the station was turned off before trotting up to him, "By your lead, good sir!"

 

 

 

"I am ready to follow your lead." He said as he walked up beside Lavender. "I believe I have everything I should need."

 

 

 

At one o'clock in the afternoon, the group assembled on the airdock.

 

Canterlot's original airdock had been a fairly small affair for such a large city. Balloons and dirigibles had been the preserve of only the wealthy elite and a handful of military vessels, but the king's reforms had been wide-reaching. Wooden scaffolding extended out like a spider's web from the stone structure, with four quays for and loading and unloading and  temporary moorings for a dozen more vessels.

 

Over twenty airships of varying sizes were moored or floating nearby, with hundreds of uniformed ponies loading weapons, supplies and munitions into the largest three that were moored at the quays. The fourth quay had a much smaller airship moored to it, this one a mere eighty meters in length to the two hundred meters of the other three, but it had a more streamlined design and six magi-tech propeller engines fitted to it compared to the standard four fitted to the other airships. The king's coat of arms, the black tower on a red field that featured so prominently around the castle, was emblazoned on the side, along with the ship's name, Scion Tempestatis.

 

"Welcome aboard, welcome aboard!" The captain bellowed as the group was show aboard. She was an elderly lilac pegasus, who was wearing the most extravagant captain's hat that any of them had ever seen. Whilst it may originally have been a white-trimmed tricorn commonly affected by airfleet captains, it had embroidered with its owner's cutie mark in golden thread. Apparently liking the effect, or possibly not wishing to waste the remaining thread, a wavy line of thread had been stitched around the brim of the hat, bracketed by two lines in silver and one in copper for good measure. This was then augmented with gold brocade joining the three tips, and a chinstrap made of entwined red and silver bands held the whole edifice on her head.

 

"I am Cloud Chaser, captain of Equestria's finest airship, its longest serving and most decorated airfleet officer and your humble servant from this moment onwards, until his majesty decides otherwise. Our provisions have been loaded, and we are ready to depart as soon as you give the word."

 

It was at this moment that Cura and Red Apple staggered aboard, carrying several bags worth of medical supplies all piled on a folding stretcher and escorted by a bemused looking guard, who was also carrying a couple of bags for them.

 

"... have family in Ponyville," Red Apple was saying, "Well, had family, I suppose," a downcast look crossed his face, "Not close family, but our family originally came from Ponyville, and I knew one of my cousins who still worked there. I don't suppose... I could come with you?" He looked pleadingly at Cura and Captain Cloud Chaser, who simply shrugged and gestured to Cura before turning away to deal with another matter.

 

 

The the graceful airship rose above the lumbering military behemoths that surrounded it and set a course South. A dark cloud was visible on the horizon, above the distant smoking smudge of Ponyville. 

 

"No weather teams over there, and the meteorological report was clear so that can't be a natural storm blown in from the Everfree, so that is probably the wok of our unwanted guests," Cloud Chaser said, eyeing the cloud with the faintest hint of apprehension, "We can go around it, but at the rate it's expanding we will be delayed by several hours and won't reach Ponyville until past midnight. Alternatively we can risk going through it - I reckon we can make it, although it will be a rough ride. Your call." 

[nolongerabout 403]

Sharp felt the airship judder and shake as it took off, leaving the ground far behind. By the princesses themselves, he hated airships. Why ponies couldn't just walk everywhere, he didn't know. Needs must, though, and the ship was a necessity. He had the flintlock carbine and short boarding axe, that the armourer had been happy to spare, in respective holsters on a belt around his middle, but the single saddlebag he wore on his right held his most potent weapon. Cast iron ball grenades, three of them. They would upset anyone or anything on their receiving end, no doubt about it.

 

 

 

"We can go around it, but at the rate it's expanding we will be delayed by several hours and won't reach Ponyville until past midnight. Alternatively we can risk going through it - I reckon we can make it, although it will be a rough ride. Your call."

 

"Aye, captain, we could go through it. But I say sail round. Don't want to risk having to land in the middle of them before we know we can take them on, and we might have to if we got into some trouble in those clouds."

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

Zayoh looked around him and felt severely overwhelmed by the sight of the many airships, to think all these lumbering pieces of machinery could actually fly. He also felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of ponies in the area, loading up a massive quantity of supplies and weaponry.

 

The zebra continued following the group, nervous about being on the airship after the fairly stern warning he received about him staying clear of any machinery and what the ramifications were if he accidentally got to close to the magical machinery.

 

He continued onto the ship with the group and kept a close eye on where any machinery was located so he knew where to step. Zayoh flinched and planted his hooves firmly on the deck of the ship as it begun to ascend into the air, the concept of flying in such a way was a very foreign concept to him.

 

Zayoh listened to the guard address the group about their flight plans while he was still in a rather nervous stance. He then nodded at the mention of a storm which explained the large disturbance he was sensing in the distance. He sat down without a word and begun meditating in an attempt to locate and possibly communicate with a storm spirit for assistance.

 

As Zayoh begun to.meditate he seemed to forget they were flying while his golden amulet began to glow under his cloak.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Chip Circuit

[Unicorncob 5,684]

Lavender's eyes widened and she let out an 'oooh' of intrigue as she boarded the airship, obviously impressed by what she saw. All the extravagant flying machines were a very welcome change from the blank and dreary castle.

 

As Cloud Chaser welcome them aboard, a grin slowly crossed her muzzle. "I... love your hat~"

 

As the airship took off, she was seemingly oblivious to the ominous dark cloud on the horizon, and being amazed at being able to fly in such a machine for the first time in her life.

 

"Do you think there will be inflight food?" She asked nopony in particular.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

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

 

 

 

As Cloud Chaser welcome them aboard, a grin slowly crossed her muzzle. "I... love your hat~"

 

"Don't encourage her!" The Helmspony called from the wheel.

 

Cloud Chaser removed her hat and gave Lavender a mock bow, "You flatter me. And speaking of good taste in tailoring, so sorely lacking in others," she shot the helmspony a look, "I was informed that somepony requested an airfleet uniform. I'm sure that we can rustle something up, and I think I might even have some gold thread left,"

 

"The ship lists slightly from all the gold thread in your cabin, captain," the helmspony called out again, "And that's despite the weight of all of the gold brocade in the opposite bulkhead. If we dumped the lot we'd gain a hundred meters."

 

"I'm going to make you do the stitching again if you don't show some respect for your captain's excellent taste in clothing," Cloud Chaser retorted, clearly in good humour.   

 

 

 

"Aye, captain, we could go through it. But I say sail round. Don't want to risk having to land in the middle of them before we know we can take them on, and we might have to if we got into some trouble in those clouds."

 

"Right you are sir," Cloud Chaser said, "Typical mud lover, no sense of adventure" she added, not quite under her breath, "Helmspony! Put us on bearing," she paused, licking a hoof and holding it up in the air, "One... twenty-five, I reckon that should do it. Best possible speed, and keep us clear of the storm, or your dirty magazines are the first ballast over the side." 

 

"I have a name, you know," the helmspony retorted, face reddening slightly.

 

The airship powered through the clear midday sky, the dozen or so crewponies skittering about with the high-speed shuffles that their anti-fall harnesses necessitated. Even the pegasus ponies wore the harnesses, which were attached to rails running the length and breadth of the airship's deck. Everyone aboard had been issued one, 'just in case' Cloud Kicker had explained cheerfully, 'otherwise the ground can really ruin your day.' About a dozen marines stood ready, watching for anything approaching the airship and not involving themselves in the constant banter between the captain and her crew. 

 

 

 

Zayoh listened to the guard address the group about their flight plans while he was still in a rather nervous stance. He then nodded at the mention of a storm which explained the large disturbance he was sensing in the distance. He sat down without a word and begun meditating in an attempt to locate and possibly communicate with a storm spirit for assistance.

 

 

It was barely perceptible, but a gust of air went against the airship's movement, blowing loose fabric and ponies' manes the wrong way as it circled the airship's deck.

[Dust and Memories 557]

"Hmmm." Wilhelm paced the deck, absorbed in his own thoughts. He had completely failed to comment on any of the salient features of the airship, which was completely unlike him; usually, he'd be all over it. The massive storm might have had something to do with that, too. Wilhelm eyed it carefully, wary not to turn too close lest he experience the extremely odd feelings of dark magic mixed with chaos magic. 

 

"Wait a moment... Lavender!" Wilhelm said. "Can you do anything with this storm? It's chaos magic, so I thought..." He trailed off. "It'd save us time, and we need as much as we can get."

@@Unicorncob, 

Edited March 7, 2016 by Orion Caelum

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

Zayoh continued to meditate even with the constant banter between the captain and her helmspony. A decent gust begun swirling around the deck of the air ship from a spirit Zayoh managed to communicate with with the region, in response the glow within his cloak at the base of his neck was glowing even brighter.

 

He remained in his meditative trance as he continued to communicate with the spirit in attempts to earn its assistance with the air travel so they wouldn't have to avoid the storm.

 

Soon Zayoh opened his eyes and stood up on all four hooves, the gust still centered on him as he managed to spot Cloud Chaser and made his way to her. "Excuse me Cloud Chaser I know I may sound out of place, but perhaps you can lead the ship through the storm which I have a way to calm the air space." He said glancing to the side slightly not wanting to make eye contact with somepony that may yell at him for such an idea.

[Chaton 3,765]

The airship took off, and Scarlett stood still on the deck. What was she supposed to do. She looked around and as she did she saw a pony with a very nice hat. I wonder where they got that from she thought, before looking around again. Where was that Lavender pony, she seemed interesting.

[Unicorncob 5,684]

"Don't encourage her!" The Helmspony called from the wheel.

 

Cloud Chaser removed her hat and gave Lavender a mock bow, "You flatter me. And speaking of good taste in tailoring, so sorely lacking in others," she shot the helmspony a look, "I was informed that somepony requested an airfleet uniform. I'm sure that we can rustle something up, and I think I might even have some gold thread left,"

 

"The ship lists slightly from all the gold thread in your cabin, captain," the helmspony called out again, "And that's despite the weight of all of the gold brocade in the opposite bulkhead. If we dumped the lot we'd gain a hundred meters."

 

"I'm going to make you do the stitching again if you don't show some respect for your captain's excellent taste in clothing," Cloud Chaser retorted, clearly in good humour.

 

Lavender's response could only be summed up in a sort of ecstatic squeaking noise and a clapping of her hooves. The idea of a gold-lined uniform was nothing short of exciting for her.

 

"Do I get a nice hat too?!" She chirped, pattering her hooves on the floor, "Well, not as nice as yours of course, being the captain and all, but still!"

[Blacklight 118]

@@Once In A Blue Moon, 

Standing in the middle of the hall, Cura was honestly surprised to hear a voice call out to him. Expecting it to be one of the many guards in the castle, he certainly wasn't expecting to see the orange unicorn nurse from earlier trotting towards him. Normally, if you weren't a unicorn studying a unicorn dominated field such as medicine, most ponies tended to ignore you at best or look down on you at worst. It was far from fair but Cura had grown accustomed to it. Apparently, this nurse, who swiftly introduced herself as Red Apple, seemed to be an exception to the rule as she not thanked him again for his part in saving the Corporal Roughshod's life, who Cura was happy to hear would pull though, but also offered to show him the castle's medical center. Stuck speechless by the unexpected praise, he could only nod dumbly as he followed Red Apple to the castle's medical center. The medical center, in short, was incredible, full to the brim with some of the best medical supplies and doctors that Equestria had to offer. As that wasn't good enough, it seemed that having the personal blessing of the king had it advantages and Cura, after indulging himself with fore-promised cake and hot coffee, had in no time at all acquired more than enough medical supplies for the journey ahead with Red Apple's help. 

 

However, a problem itself when a guard arrived stating that the airship was readying to depart immediately and that his presence was required in the air-dock. Turning from the guard back to the supplies that had been mostly piled onto a stretcher, one question entered his mind. How exactly am I going to move all that? Thankfully, after a small amount asking, both the guard and Red Apple agreed to help him move the supplies; the guard taking any supplies that couldn't fit on the stretcher Cura and Red Apple were taking. Despite the heavy weight of the stretcher, the trip from the medical center to the air-dock wasn't all that bad, Red Apple and Cura engaging in small talk to pass the time. However, Red Apple eventually ended up carrying the conversation as Cura focused more and more on ignoring the growing burning sensation of his wings as he carried one end of the stretcher. Finally, after navigating the seemingly endless hallways in the castle, they reached their destination, staggering on board the airship. Placing the supplies to the side for the moment; Cura heaved a sigh of relief that the horrible experience was finally over with as he stretched his wings, trying to rid himself of the burning sensation within them. It was then that Red Apple dropped a bombshell.

 

 

 

"... have family in Ponyville," Red Apple was saying, "Well, had family, I suppose," a downcast look crossed his face, "Not close family, but our family originally came from Ponyville, and I knew one of my cousins who still worked there. I don't suppose... I could come with you?"

 

Stopping mid-stretch, Cura turned to face the pleading face of Red Apple. Glancing to who he assumed was the captain, he watched her only shrug and trot away, apparently content to leave the decision up to him. Looking back to the unicorn, Cura expression morphed into one of consideration. Wellll...he mentally debated...I'm sure we could always another medically trained unicorn and she's been nothing if not friendly up to this point...I don't see much of a reason not to have her along. Scratching the back of his head, Cura replied, " Sure, if you're that personally invested then I don't see much reason not to." With that matter settled, Cura began the long task of sorting away the supplies, only pausing when the captain called him to the deck.

 

Gazing at the rather ominous clouds, Cura found himself in agreement with the rest of the group when they decided to go around the clouds. With that put to rest, Cura had just started heading back to sort though the last of the medical supplies when the zebra came up to the captain and overheard him claiming that he could lead the ship though though the clouds unharmed. Interested and just a bit skeptical , Cura trotted up to him and asked, " Just how exactly do you plan to do that?"@@Chip Circuit,

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

@@Blacklight, @@Once In A Blue Moon,

 

Zayoh's ears perked up in surprise when he heard a familiar voice from behind him. He turned his head to see Cura who previously hadn't talked to him before that, he then looked back to Cloud Chaser with his gaze slowly shifting between the two nervously. "I doubt you will believe me when I admit by what means." He said vaguely but then looked back to some of the loud humming engines on the ship. "Spirits will assist us which is something I know well unlike these machines." 

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

 

 

"Spirits will assist us which is something I know well unlike these machines." 

 

There was no lack of wind on the airship's deck, but a gust of wind blew around Zayoh seemed to be going in the wrong direction, tiny wisps of cloud dancing through the air around him, although his cloak and mane were unaffected.

 

"Sídhe," Cloud Chaser said in a low voice, a tone of awe creeping past her usual bravado, "I could never hoof-on-heart swear that they existed before now, but I've spent fifty years amidst the clouds, and I've always suspected that there is much more up here than meets the eye. If you say that they will help us, I'll believe you."

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

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

 

 

" Sure, if you're that personally invested then I don't see much reason not to."

 

 

"Thank you so much," Red enthused, smiling, "I really couldn't bear the idea of just sitting around safely in Canterlot whilst other ponies suffer, and when they broke the news about Ponyville I felt I just had to do something."

 

 

 

Most Equestrian airships, Scion Tempestatis included, consisted of a large, rigid eighty meter long helium-filled balloon to provide lift to the twenty meter hull, which was attached to the underside of the balloon by numerous steel cables. The engines were attached to the balloon about two-thirds of the way down, and could be accessed by rope-ladders, although since most crew were pegasus ponies these were rarely used. Four of the engines were pivoting push-propellers, that could be oriented horizontally for maximum speed or near-vertically for maximum lift, and the two additional engines that set Scion Tempestatis apart from most airships were fixed in the horizontal position.

 

"... now, those big military transports also have magical levitation engines in the cargo bay for when they need to lift some really heavy stuff - a cannon battery, for example, but those are far too hungry to keep on all of the time, and too heavy for a speedster like this girl the rest of the time," the helmspony was explaining to anypony that would listen, "And Tempy here is fairly inefficient as it is, running six engines at almost full whack most of the time, but so long as the load isn't too heavy she'll go like the clappers..."

 

"Much like your mouth," Cloud Chaser interjected, before raising her voice to address the crew "Now listen up, all of you. Our plan is to skirt the edge of the storm, following the winds and using them to slingshot around whilst also hiding us from unfriendly eyes. We should be able to avoid the worst of the storm," Cloud Chaser glanced over at Zayoh at that, "But I will need you all to be at your best - we are flying into the unknown on a mission vital to the survival of Equestria, so we cannot afford any mistakes. We must rise through whatever adversity we face, and I have confidence that each and every one of you will do your duty to Equestria and your comrades. Now, check your lines and secure for rough weather," Concluding her speech, Cloud Chaser turned back to the group.

 

"Now, I reckon we could cut a much closer path through the storm, but in deference to the concerns raised," She gave Sharp a pointed look, "I've plotted a more conservative route. We should be able to pass the army by without them being any the wiser, and avoid the rougher turbulence. My best guess puts our arrival time in Ponyville at around 1700 hours. Once we're there, we can assess the situation and you can decide where you want us to put you down."

 

The storm clouds were looming over the ship now, towering far higher than most conventional formations. A sentry called out, pointing to a flock of small flying creatures some distance away.

 

"Let's not find out what those are," Cloud Chaser called out, "Full speed ahead!"

[Unicorncob 5,684]

 

"Wait a moment... Lavender!" Wilhelm said. "Can you do anything with this storm? It's chaos magic, so I thought..." He trailed off. "It'd save us time, and we need as much as we can get."

 

Lavender perked up and looked over at Wilhelm, who had mentioned chaos magic.

 

The storm's made of it?

 

"Chaos magic, you say?" She asked, almost like this was a common occurrence, "One second, professor, gotta go have a look!"

 

She trotted to a window to have a look at the storm, and tilted her head. Something about the chaos magic-powered thunder and lightning was... soothing. Like a warm bath and a hot meal at the same time.

 

"So we just need a nice big chaos umbrella or something for the ship, right?" She grinned, lighting up her horn, "Lemme see what I can do..."

 

Meanwhile, her mutant companions were eager to strap on some harnesses. Albeit ungraceful, they managed to get them on.

The one with the affinity for books had begun fixing Cura with a thoughtful look...

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

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

 

The airship powered forwards into the storm. The cables creaked, and the already not insignificant wind picked up markedly, but nothing broke or came loose as the airship slipped into the faster air stream. Barely visible through the strangely thick and murky air, tiny wisps of light danced around the airship, parting the clouds ahead of it.

 

 

"So we just need a nice big chaos umbrella or something for the ship, right?" She grinned, lighting up her horn, "Lemme see what I can do..."

 

A red aura surrounded her horn, quickly expanding to envelop her entire body. The murky air seemed to clear, the clouds outside the window losing some of their colour and the storm seeming to lessen. It was at this point that the red aura flared white, fire coursing from Lavender's horn, blasting a hole in the side of the airship and sending her tumbling through it.

 

 

On deck, two ponies were at the helm whilst Captain Cloud Chaser called out instructions to the crew. As a particularly strong gust of wind hit the airship, and the two ponies at the wheel were straining to keep the wheel steady, an explosion rocked the airship and sent the wheel spinning from the ponies' grasp. One of them stumbled into the now out of control wheel, a handle cracking them on the head with bone-shattering force. The now limp body rolled down the deck away from the helm as the airship was blown off course, only coming to a stop when their safety lines went taut, whilst the remaining crewpony tried desperately to regain control of the helm.

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

@@Once In A Blue Moon, 

 

Zayoh begun his meditation as the ship entered the storm, attempting to bring every spirit he could in the area to their aid. The wind was blowing against him but he continued to meditate drawing more and more spirits to him. 

 

Suddenly there was a loud explosion and the entire ship lurched to the side causing the zebra to lose his balance and fall over onto the deck and beginning sliding on the now sloped floor. He managed to grabbed a hold of a stray line that was smacking against the deck of the ship in the wind. 

 

Quickly he tied himself to the line and managed to sit back on the deck now sitting at an angle with the line holding in place against the gravity hat was pulling down on him. He returned to meditating and widened his aura slightly so he was easier to locate for any spirits, he was confident he wasn't near any machinery though under the deck was uncertain.

[Unicorncob 5,684]

A red aura surrounded her horn, quickly expanding to envelop her entire body. The murky air seemed to clear, the clouds outside the window losing some of their colour and the storm seeming to lessen. It was at this point that the red aura flared white, fire coursing from Lavender's horn, blasting a hole in the side of the airship and sending her tumbling through it.

 

"Whoa, I'm red now!" Lavender gasped, looking around herself, "Like, I am so red! I think I suit it! Hey, Red, who rocks it better?" She struck a pose, hoping Scarlett was there to see it.

 

Suddenly, she flared white and fired a blast at the airship, creating a hole in the side and being sent flung out of it.

"OH SWEET CELESTIA HERE I GO--"

 

She rolled out into the air and flailed her legs in panic. "Need to fly, need to fly, need to fly right now, NEED TO FLY RIGHT NOW PLEASE!!"

 

Suddenly, the white aura around her began to take form on her back. It moulded out into two wing-like structures, which solidified themselves as, indeed, wings. However, one was that of a normal, albeit yellow, pegasus wing, albeit not the colour of the aura or her coat, the other was totally different - it took the shape of a green bat wing!

 

"Whoa, this is new!" She exclaimed, but she flapped them and began fluttering around the airship like she was born a pegasus, "But I like it!"

 

She flew up to the windows and waved at the ponies inside. "How's the weather in there?!"

[Dust and Memories 557]

@@Once In A Blue Moon,

 

As Lavender glowed a bright red, Wilhelm edged slightly away from her. The magical buildup coming off of her felt... odd. Very, very odd. And then, Wilhelm hit the deck, working off of an instinct he didn't even consciously process. As he looked back on it, he would realize that the backfire came to him almost like a premonition - like he knew it was going to happen - but at the moment, he was rather too busy huddling in a ball of pone as the wave of unconstrained Free Magic rolled over his head.

As soon as it dissipated, Wilhelm leapt to his hooves, just catching the disaster at the helm out of the corner of his eyes. Wilhelm was briefly torn between helping the crewpony and (possibly, whatever happened to Lavender) and, on the other hoof, helping the conscious helmspony get control of the wheel. With a muttered curse, Wilhelm lunged towards the wheel with several strong beats of his wings.

 

He nodded professionally to the helmspony, and took the other side of the wheel. Letting the helmspony take the lead on direction, Wilhelm simply heaved in the general direction the helmspony was. Despite the scholar being scrawny for a pegasus, the two of them together began to make a difference, and the Scion Tempestatus began to lean back to the level.

 

As he worked, however, a string of thoughts spun through Wilhelm's head. Paramount were the aerodynamic equations of the ship's effective speed and drag envelope with the hole in the side, though for some strange reason, Wilhelm had the oddest urge to start humming a soundtrack for the whole epic situation. Epic as in large and awe-inspiring, of course. He wasn't enjoying this at all. Nope. No. Not at all. Wilhelm certainly didn't revel in defying Death on a regular basis, no Celestia. ...Oh, who was he kidding?

 

He loved this.

[nolongerabout 403]

@@Once In A Blue Moon,

 

Sharp's stomach rolled as the ship lurched uncontrollably to the side. Bloody damned airships-

He watched the pony who had caused the explosion, and lunged for them as they slipped away, but was restricted by his safety harness. He unbuckled it, but it was too late. She was sucked out into the open sky, and he lost sight of her. Gripping the rail running along the deck, he watched as a pony slid towards him, but was stopped by their safety lead. Sharp edged his way along the deck, towards the unconscious pony who was utterly motionless. He could see the others trying to take control of the wheel, decided they probably had that under control, and continued his slow progress. Reaching the pony, he examined the wound upon their head. It didn't look great, as far as he could tell.

 

"One of you is a doctor, right? Look at them."

 

He gazed back into the foreboding clouds that were fast approaching, focusing on the little black dots that betrayed the presence of... something. They were still far away, too far for identification, but they were coming closer. Sharp, much like the captain, had no wish to meet with them, for they were unlikely to be friends. Using his magic, he loaded his carbine. Best to be prepared.

[Chaton 3,765]

A red aura surrounded her horn, quickly expanding to envelop her entire body. The murky air seemed to clear, the clouds outside the window losing some of their colour and the storm seeming to lessen. It was at this point that the red aura flared white, fire coursing from Lavender's horn, blasting a hole in the side of the airship and sending her tumbling through it.

 

 

On deck, two ponies were at the helm whilst Captain Cloud Chaser called out instructions to the crew. As a particularly strong gust of wind hit the airship, and the two ponies at the wheel were straining to keep the wheel steady, an explosion rocked the airship and sent the wheel spinning from the ponies' grasp. One of them stumbled into the now out of control wheel, a handle cracking them on the head with bone-shattering force. The now limp body rolled down the deck away from the helm as the airship was blown off course, only coming to a stop when their safety lines went taut, whilst the remaining crewpony tried desperately to regain control of the helm.

 

 

Suddenly the whole ship shook and began swaying furiously. Scarlett flicker her head around to see the remains of an explosion blowing a whole in the ship as well as seeing a pony get flung from the wheel. She felt him get hurt, which felt good, which was wrong. But they didn't die. Which was also good. Or was it bad? I'll get someone for you later she thought to herself.

 

"Whoa, I'm red now!" Lavender gasped, looking around herself, "Like, I am so red! I think I suit it! Hey, Red, who rocks it better?" She struck a pose, hoping Scarlett was there to see it.

 

Suddenly, she flared white and fired a blast at the airship, creating a hole in the side and being sent flung out of it.

"OH SWEET CELESTIA HERE I GO--"

 

She rolled out into the air and flailed her legs in panic. "Need to fly, need to fly, need to fly right now, NEED TO FLY RIGHT NOW PLEASE!!"

 

Scarlett caught a red thing in her eye and spun around to see the pony she knew as Lavendar glowing red. In the spur of a moment, her former self caught up with her as she responded "Oh I so rock it better, have you seen my mane?!" before straitening up again as she was flung off the side of the ship. She waited for a few moments, and sensing no death figured that her tarot magic must have saved her. Go Lavender.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

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

 

 

 

Quickly he tied himself to the line and managed to sit back on the deck now sitting at an angle with the line holding in place against the gravity hat was pulling down on him. He returned to meditating and widened his aura slightly so he was easier to locate for any spirits, he was confident he wasn't near any machinery though under the deck was uncertain.

 

Although the area around Zayoh remained relatively normal, the rest of the airship was becoming increasingly surreal. One of the propellers started spinning in the opposite direction, and when a crewpony half-flew, half-jumped up to investigate they arced through the air in completely the wrong direction, hitting the balloon and falling back to the deck. Another engine's propellers stopped entirely and started flapping frantically, whilst the wood around the hole Lavender had blown in the hull was tinted yellow and started smelling of cheese.

 

The spirits, though, seemed unaffected, and were keeping the worst of the weather off the deck.

 

Captain Cloud Chaser, however remained composed, if not exactly calm. Gone was the banter as she shouted orders above the din, and she had pulled a stubby blunderbuss from somewhere and slung it around her neck.

 

 

 

Reaching the pony, he examined the wound upon their head. It didn't look great, as far as he could tell.

 

Their skull seemed mostly intact, but there was a lot of blood in their mouth and they were still unconscious.  

 

 

 

"One of you is a doctor, right? Look at them."

 

@@Blacklight 

 

 

 

He gazed back into the foreboding clouds that were fast approaching, focusing on the little black dots that betrayed the presence of... something. They were still far away, too far for identification, but they were coming closer. Sharp, much like the captain, had no wish to meet with them, for they were unlikely to be friends.

 

"Change of plans," Cloud chaser said, making her way over to Sharp "If whatever those are are still after us when we reach Ponyville, we won't have time to stop and set you all down. Ever done a pegasus drop before? No? Well, what we do is we strap one non-pegasus pony to one pegasus marine, preferably a strong flyer, and push them overboard. Within a minute they're on the ground, possibly minus their lunch, and the marines fly back to the airship," she pulled a thick-barreled pistol from a holster, and handed it to Sharpe, "A flare pistol," she explained, "We'll lead them on a merry chase, and when you're ready fire it straight up and we'll swoop down and pick you up. A pegasus pick-up is quite a bit slower than a drop, so it might get a bit hairy if they're too close, but once you're all aboard we'll be able to speed up again. Just don't leave anypony behind if you want to see them again. Got it?"

 

 

 

the two of them together began to make a difference, and the Scion Tempestatus began to lean back to the level.

 

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.

 

 

 

She waited for a few moments

 

"Do you know anything about engines?" a crewpony asked Scarlett, "We need to shut that down before it goes up in flames - you unicorns are good at that, right?" she gestured up to one of the magi-tech propeller engines, which was emitting green smoke, "We'll need to disable its twin on the other side as well. If I fly you up, can you work on that one whilst I disable the other one?" 

Edited March 14, 2016 by Once In A Blue Moon

[Chaton 3,765]

"Do you know anything about engines?" a crewpony asked Scarlett, "We need to shut that down before it goes up in flames - you unicorns are good at that, rihgt?" she gestured up to one of the magi-tech propeller engines, which was emitting green smoke, "We'll need to disable its twin on the other side as well. If I fly you up, can you work on that one whilst I disable the other one?" 

 

Oh look, a pegasus that thinks that just because I'm a unicorn I know about engines. I mean, she's right. But not for that reason. She looked up at the engines, which were now smoking with green, stuff. Scarlett looked to the pegasus and said "All right. I can use a basic gravity spell to hold me while I'm up there, but we best hurry. That doesn't look good."

[Unicorncob 5,684]

Lavender looked in the window and saw that her mutant friends had started freaking out when she was shot out of the hole, but seeing her alive and well seemed to calm them down a bit.

"Everything's peachy!" She called to them, and furrowed her brow as her snout twitched, "...or cheesy...?"

 

 

Although the area around Zayoh remained relatively normal, the rest of the airship was becoming increasingly surreal. One of the propellers started spinning in the opposite direction, and when a crewpony half-flew, half-jumped up to investigate they arced through the air in completely the wrong direction, hitting the balloon and falling back to the deck. Another engine's propellers stopped entirely and started flapping frantically, whilst the wood around the hole Lavender had blown in the hull was tinted yellow and started smelling of cheese.

 

She could only watch as the airship began to go to pot. It was practically reeking of nonsense, that is if nonsense smells like cheddar.

 

"Chaos smells a lot better than I ever thought it would," she remarked, smelling the whiff of the cheese planks, "But something tells me I better land before we get outta the storm. Somehow."

 

The chaos energy flowing through her body began crackling - quite literally - with power. Different parts of her body began flickering to and from different forms, ranging from - but not limited to - a griffon claw for a hoof, clown make-up on her face, and a black pompadour mane.

 

Memories began to cycle through her head. Ones that she didn't recall, because they weren't her own.

It seemed the little friend in her head was recalling some sort of conflict between Chaos and Order, the latter of which was led by an alicorn known as Astra.

 

And it seemed Luna, or at least who or what was in possession of her, was not fond of Mr Chaos.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

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

 

"All right. I can use a basic gravity spell to hold me while I'm up there, but we best hurry. That doesn't look good."

 

The crewpony reared onto their hind legs, unclipped their and Scarlett's harnesses 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.

 

 

The chaos energy flowing through her body began crackling - quite literally - with power. Different parts of her body began flickering to and from different forms, ranging from - but not limited to - a griffon claw for a hoof, clown make-up on her face, and a black pompadour mane.

 

A bolt of red lightning came from a particularly thick patch of cloud, which then thinned somewhat as its energy was drained, striking Lavender and making her mane go all pink, fuzzy and sort of cobwebby. A quick check revealed that it had, in fact, been turned into candy floss.    

Edited March 18, 2016 by Once In A Blue Moon

[Unicorncob 5,684]

A bolt of red lightning came from a particularly thick patch of cloud, which then thinned somewhat as its energy was drained, striking Lavender and making her mane go all pink, fuzzy and sort of cobwebby. A quick check revealed that it had, in fact, been turned into candy floss.    

 

Lavender stammered and went cross-eyed as she was struck by the red lightning bolt. She blinked and sniffed.

"...what smells like candy floss?"

 

She reached a hoof up and dabbed her mane, pulling back a glob of the sweet substance. "...oh, it's me."

She shrugged and licked it up.

 

Heeeeey, I think I'm some kinda chaos lightning rod! I wonder...

 

She put a hoof to her chin in thought, and smirked as an idea came to her. She sped ahead to the front of the airship, and spread her legs out so she made a star shape in the brink of the storm.

 

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