Stupid cloud! Stupid ship! Stupid laws of physics!

[elementofloyalty]

Three attempts in and this had not been going well.

Outside the transport tubes in the city hovered one pegasus pony, staring in irritation at said tubes. One hoof rested on what was unmistakably a cloud -- a puffy, friendly-looking white cloud, just the right size to make a comfy napping spot for a pegasus who, well, really liked napping.

"You stupid tube tentacle... things!" she said, expecting that the ship would somehow respond. "Let me take the cloud up to that Hydro-whatsit place!"

Comments

[skyboundmisfit]

< Wind. Air currents. That kind of thing. > He flaps a bit harder. Jeez, hovering is hard work for the ol' wings. < Um, do you mind if I, uh, perch on you for a minute? I can't hover very well. >

[elementofloyalty]

"Sure, go ahead!" Plenty of room on the back. Heck, it just made her look awesome.

"I can't get the cloud all the way up by wing and air, though!" she said, tapping her chin with a hoof as she pondered.

[skyboundmisfit]

< Thanks. > He alighted on Rainbow Dash's back with a content flutter of wings and began preening himself.

< I don't have any experience in cloud moving, unfortunately. I'm Tobias, by the way. >

[elementofloyalty]

"I'm Rainbow Dash! Nice to meet you!" Friendly enough, right? She smiled over her shoulder at him, then resumed her study of the cloud.

"Hmmm. What MAKES clouds, then?"

[skyboundmisfit]

< Nice to meet you, too! And they're condensed water vapor. > That was he'd learned in science class, anyway.

[elementofloyalty]

"But how do they FORM? If ponies don't make them, what makes them happen?"

Rainbow's science classes had been a LOT different... in some respects anyway.

[skyboundmisfit]

< Uh. They just do it naturally, due to atmospheric conditions. Or something. I'm not a cloud expert. > He tilts his head.

< Not to be nosy, but how do you get lift with these wings? they seem a little small compared to the rest of you. >

[elementofloyalty]

"I'm a pegasus. We fly," she said, a little blankly. How did you answer that question? "On your world, clouds just form naturally... on mine, pegasi can fly."

He probably wouldn't like finding out that the speed of sound was more like a speed bump, would he.

[skyboundmisfit]

< No, no. You can fly. I believe it. I mean, you're obviously doing it. S'just weird. I mean check out our wing-to-body ratios. > He flares his wings out to show off his wingspan.

< And that's cool. Flying is probably the best thing there is. >

[elementofloyalty]

"Naw, I can think of two better... going fast, and winning, while flying!" She turned again to admire his wingspan, which she had to admit was pretty awesome.

"Winged unicorns have bigger wings than normal pegasi, but they're just different in general," she added.

[skyboundmisfit]

< I haven't done much racing, so I'll take your word for it. Going fast is a treat though, for sure. > He shuffles along the pegasus' back, head cocking first to one side, than the other.

< Didn't know they had winged unicorns. >

[elementofloyalty]

"Oh yeah, that'd be Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Winged unicorns are really rare."

Hovering like this was remarkably steady; there wasn't even an up-and-down motion from the wingbeats. She might as well have been standing on the ground. Physics and ponies didn't have much of a relationship, it was true.

"Aren't falcons supposed to be able to dive really fast? Or is that eagles? I can't remember."

[skyboundmisfit]

< All birds of prey can dive like there's no tomorrow. But I'm not as fast as, like, a peregrine falcon or something. > This is so weird. She defies all the rules he's used to for flight.

[elementofloyalty]

"Even so, I bet those wings are pretty powerful. So where're you from?" She imagined someplace like Equestria, but where the birds could talk... in one way or another. It was nice to see someone not a human, or close to one, for a change!

[skyboundmisfit]

< Oh, this little place called Earth. Full of humans, birds, delicious mice, that kinda thing. > Oh, Earth. He missed it. Real wind, real trees. Real everything. He pushes off her back for a moment to circle, flapping his wings.

[elementofloyalty]

"That seems pretty common. I wonder why so many people got taken from Earth and so few ponies got taken from Equestria." Ew, mice. Well, animals ate animal food, and that sometimes meant each other, but give her a good hay sandwich any time.

[skyboundmisfit]

< I dunno. But it seems like there are multiple Earths and only one Equestria, so more choice, maybe? > Tobias' tone suggested a mental shrug.

< Nice to find someone else with wings, though. Not many people around here can fly. >

[elementofloyalty]

"There's a fox around here that can fly!" she offered. "Two tails that spin around. And there was a girl who uses machines to fly by wind? I don't even understand that..."

[skyboundmisfit]

< That tail spinning thing doesn't sound like it should work, but okay. > He sounds more amused than anything.

< We had flying machines back home. Helicopters, airplanes, that kind of thing. >

[elementofloyalty]

"Why not?" Of course, in Equestria, a really good loop-de-hooper could fly just by spinning said hoop on her tail really fast, if you want things that shouldn't work at all.

"Pinkie Pie had a machine that could fly like that, once. I wonder what she did with it."