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Post by Anya the Purple on Sept 18, 2012 21:04:56 GMT -8
"I see," said Particula dryly, taking a small bite of her lunch - she still felt rather shaky, and eating large quantities of food was probably not the best idea right now. All things considered, she came on the trip for excitement and fun, as well, but of a much... different sort than Tick Tock spoke of, she thought. For her, it was the excitement of understanding, learning about the world that posed so much mystery. For him, it seemed to be nothing more than the idea of "adventure."
Such self-obsessed thoughts were common for Particula, and would have been most annoying had she not had the good sense to keep them to herself.
~~
Wavesong followed the Princess eagerly. "Of course, Your Majesty," she said, proud that she had been chosen to be Tempest's companion.
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Sept 19, 2012 5:52:37 GMT -8
Zephyr chuckled as he heard Tick Tock's response. "Well, life at sea does provide excitement; a lot of strange phenomena can happen out here and the ocean herself has many moods. Depending on the conditions, you may even see strange structures far out in the distance, only they're really illusions."
Another pause, a bit longer as he seemed interested in his plate. "At least, scientists insist they're illusions. Old sea lore holds that those structures are actually the towering spires of Trotlantis, seen only when certain conditions in the weather are in place."
~~~~~~
"So how has your family been doing? Well, I would hope." The princess inquired, feeling that would serve well enough as a conversation starter.
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Post by Penny Royals on Sept 19, 2012 17:10:23 GMT -8
"Well..." ThunderBright quietly listened to their reasons. "...I mostly came because I love to explore! And this seemed like an adventure I couldn't resist."
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Post by JW% on Sept 21, 2012 13:38:04 GMT -8
Jadewise ate contentedly while PrettySparrow, who had dove right in worked her mouthful and tried to say something about why she joined, what wonderful skills of finding interesting birds and walking on clouds could be used to benefit the team, and why everyone should be the best of friends by the time they were done with this fabulous adventure. It came out like:
"wahl rye roin reraus wah rok..."
"Don't talk with your mouth in your feedbag." Jadewise told her with a sigh. She muttered out a mouthfilled 'fine' and was quiet again.
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Post by Anya the Purple on Sept 22, 2012 6:38:12 GMT -8
Superstitious nonsense, of course. Particula concentrated on her food to avoid saying so, but the idea of "Trotlantis" bordered on idiotic. She supposed that making up ridiculous stories was the only way to pass the time way out at sea.
She decided to change the subject. "So tell me," she said, turning to Zephyr, "What do you know of this ship's mechanics? I read an article about it in a scientific journal, but it didn't go into much detail."
~~
"All right, I suppose," Wavesong said. "Mother and Father are busy, as usual. My sister's musical talents have been improving." Her parents had given both their daughters song-related names for a reason. Wavesong and her sister, DeepMelody, had been practically raised on music, bred to sing professionally since either of them could remember. Wavesong had been good, but not passionate, and sought life at court instead. Melody was quite the opposite - she loved singing, but could hardly do it to save her life. "She's taking lessons nearly every day now. And yourself, if I may inquire?"
~~
Melody, meanwhile, glanced over her shoulder for the thousandth time. "Don't you think we have enough evidence now?" she asked, still afraid to bring her voice above a whisper. "Let's just go tell the Princess and go home!"
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Sept 22, 2012 7:02:35 GMT -8
Zephyr looked up as he finished cleaning his plate. He saw right off she didn't believe any of what he'd just said regarding sea lore but then again, he hadn't been out at sea long enough to claim otherwise. "Hmm...that'd be something to ask the crew...I only know the new technology will enable the ship to dive underwater without problems."
~~~~~~
"Myself?" Where would Tempest begin? She was lonely, preoccupied with running a kingdom, feeling restless and trying to ensure the ocean stayed in one piece. Instead she simply laughted. "I've been fine for the most part...Running my domain...It seems my diplomatic prowess will be needed soon, as there has been some trouble between some clans in the north." There was a pause as she debated telling Wavesong about Kraken then changed her mind. "I've also been thinking of looking into finding a mate."
~~~~~~
"Ships pass through the seas all the time, if we go back now without any evidence that this one is different no one will take us seriously." Foamborn's eyes narrowed. "So we have to keep tailing it." Suddenly she put on a burst of speed, perfectly snatching a pair of fish in her mouth. Feeling them struggle, she quickly pinned their bodies between her hooves and bit off the heads, making sure to chew thoroughly before swallowing. "Have a fish...I get the feeling this will be a long trip." She said, offering the second fish to Deep Melody.
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mekasoundwave
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Post by mekasoundwave on Sept 22, 2012 23:12:29 GMT -8
Upon Zephyr mentioning the ship being submersible, Tick Tock nearly spit out his drink. He hadn't heard about THAT when he signed up for this.
"I beg your pardon," the clock maker said to the sailor. "But did you just say this boat was going to dive underwater? How's it going do that?"
Tick recalled that Zephyr didn't even know and that the crew would be the ones to ask. Particula said she read a little about it, but she was asking the question in the first place. So she apparently didn't know much. Perhaps Tick and her should join up and go ask for some explanations later.
The idea of a boat traveling UNDER water sounded impossible to Tick Tock...which is why he needed to know exactly how it worked.
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Post by Penny Royals on Sept 23, 2012 8:39:11 GMT -8
Thunderbright nodded as Tick Tock asked his question.
"How exactly is that going to work?"
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Post by JW% on Sept 23, 2012 10:00:15 GMT -8
"We're going to sin... er... dive! The ships gonna dive, by pumping water into it until it's heavy an'..." PrettySparrow caught Jadewise's look. "An' Iknownothingaboutthatsortofthing honest." She finished talking and took another big mouthful.
The principles were simple enough from what Jadewise understood. Like Particula he'd done some reading on the subject. But this was not his first exploration underwater. He and PrettySparrow had made controlled dives in lakes, and then later in the bay. Admitted, never on this boat, or for that matter any boat of this scale, but the principles should remain basically the same as a one pony submersible, or even that of the Self Contained Underwater Breathing Arcane Magic.
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Sept 23, 2012 14:42:55 GMT -8
Saltpans heard them and walked over to their table. "I could take ya all to see the machinery later, if you like. O'course, we won't be diving now. Still a long ways off, that."
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mekasoundwave
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Post by mekasoundwave on Sept 23, 2012 17:11:11 GMT -8
"I'd be delighted to, sir," Tick Tock replied to Saltpans. "I just have to know what means of machinery allow this ship go underwater safely."
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Sept 26, 2012 7:49:20 GMT -8
Saltpans nodded as he adjusted the collar on his captain's jacket. "Right, when you're all done here, meet me at my cabin and we can start the tour from there."
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Post by JW% on Sept 26, 2012 15:18:12 GMT -8
Jadewise had remained mostly silent through the meal, and while eating heartily, was ready quite quickly to see what Saltpans had to show.
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Post by mekasoundwave on Sept 27, 2012 13:24:25 GMT -8
"Aye Aye, Captian," Tick Tock said before returning his focus back to his meal. The watch maker was very excited to see how the boat worked, so he finished off his food quickly before excusing himself from the table to go to the Captain's quarters.
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Oct 3, 2012 9:33:16 GMT -8
((Anya, Penny...Your posts?))
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Post by Anya the Purple on Oct 4, 2012 17:21:01 GMT -8
((Bluhhh, sorry. Curse you, school. XP))
"I'd love to get a look at the machinery," Particula said. She was hardly an expert in mechanics, but she'd taken a semester course on engineering in college. It had been interesting enough, and she wanted to get more of a feel for the way the submerging would work.
~~
Melody nibbled at the fish, worried eyes trailing her friend. "But... We can't find anything strange unless we get really close," she reasoned, "And if we do that, they might see us! Y-you don't want that, do you?"
~~
Wavesong tilted her head curiously. "A mate?" she asked. The idea of the Princess having a mate had never crossed her mind, but now that she thought of it, it probably wasn't so strange. "If I may ask, who's the lucky stallion?"
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Oct 4, 2012 18:45:27 GMT -8
((Do you guys think there should be a trial dive right now or should we save that for when they arrive at the shipwreck site? Just wondering since it could affect how things proceed on the seapony end of the story.))
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Post by JW% on Oct 4, 2012 19:48:13 GMT -8
((I would say yes, there should be a trial dive.))
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mekasoundwave
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Post by mekasoundwave on Oct 9, 2012 12:12:56 GMT -8
(( Yeah, I say go for it, too. It'll help get the real plot moving.))
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Post by Anya the Purple on Oct 14, 2012 18:58:04 GMT -8
((I'm all for it))
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Nov 29, 2012 4:31:00 GMT -8
Saltpans was thoughtful, stroking his closely-cropped goatee as he pondered the situation. "Say, are you all up for a demonstration? We could have the Mares dive right now." Zephyrus demonstrated his excitement by rearing a little. "Sure, I'd love to see what she's capable of, Captain!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "We'll just take care not to get too close to the ship, Melody." Foamborn replied as she glanced towards their target again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Oh, I haven't approached anyone yet, it's just been on my mind." Pause. "Although...What would be your opinion on Commodore Lyons, Wavesong? Granted, he'd likely never do that but...he is rather dashing, no?"
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Post by JW% on Nov 29, 2012 18:14:57 GMT -8
JadeWise nodded at the offer. "Best to test while we're still near enough to land." He agreed.
"We're going underwater? With the fishies and the seaweed and the merponies and the hydra and the dragons and the other stuff that I don't know what it is because I messed up two creatures back since I think dragons actually live mostly in mountains and I've never heard of a hydra before living either in the sea or in the mountains which makes me wonder where hydra actually live and if we might meet one in the sea or maybe they don't like salt water since salt water is icky and makes my tummy feel all funny if I drink it and it's got a nasty taste in my mouth like that time I tried to eat rocks only it wasn't all rock and there was some metal ore in the rocks and it was really hard to chew and... we're going underwater?"
There was a reason PrettySparrow was often ignored when she chattered.
"Hydras often live in swamps." Jadewise imparted casually.
"Oh." *blink blink*
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Post by Anya the Purple on Dec 1, 2012 9:59:54 GMT -8
"I agree," Particula said, stepping forward. "A test dive would be wonderful. I'd love to get a glimpse of what's going on down there, and get a feel for how the ship dives." She'd never been able to get a terribly up-close glimpse of much marine life before - the university had a few pony-made tide pools, but it was difficult to round up deep-sea creatures for study. That was noe of the reasons the new technology on the Mares was so exciting.
~~
"Fine," Melody sighed. "But if anyone sees us, we're in big trouble..."
~~
Wavesong blushed. "Oh. Er... I suppose so," she said. She was surprised, to say the least, that the princess was asking her about this type of thing.
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Post by mekasoundwave on Dec 2, 2012 18:02:08 GMT -8
Tick Tock was about to chime in and give his thoughts on the test dive when PrettySparrow interjected. He watched the young foal chatter on for a while with a sort of disturbed interest in her high speed ramblings. As she finished, he turned back to Saltpans.
"I'm also up for a test drive. Should prove most interesting and exciting!"
The watchmaker pony was eager to get this little adventure properly underway, and this test dive would be the best way to start it.
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Dec 8, 2012 7:40:53 GMT -8
Saltpans nodded. "In that case, each of you must proceed down to the hold--it'll be the most 'grounded' area in the ship. As I understand there was unexplicable loss of gravity in other parts of the ship during testing but likely that has been fixed now. Still, no taking chances. Zephyr, be a good colt and fetch the measuring instruments in my cabin---we'll need them."
As Zephyr left for the captain's cabin, Saltpans trotted out of the galley and out onto the deck. "We're making a test dive! Prepare the ship! Lower to half-sail!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Foamborn looked around as she finished eating her fish, soon spotting a forest of kelp not far from the ship. "WE can hide there." She told Deep Melody, already swimming towards it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Come now, don't be shy! I promise that it will be our secret."
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Post by JW% on Dec 8, 2012 21:50:42 GMT -8
"Loss... of gravity?" JadeWise frowned. "That... shouldn't have happened. I don't know any reason there would be a loss of gravity during the procedure."
PrettySparrow also had something to day, but she was already being herded towards the hold, just in case.
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Post by Anya the Purple on Dec 9, 2012 16:52:24 GMT -8
"Probably a pressure spell gone wrong," Particula mused. "My dissertation was on the magical connection between pressure and gravity." She turned to Saltpans. "If you'll let me, I can probably be of assistance."
~~
Melody followed her friend into the forest, always keeping an eye behind her.
Wavesong sort of shrugged. "I haven't spoken with him much, but he seems like a fine stallion, I suppose?"
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Post by JW% on Dec 25, 2012 17:40:57 GMT -8
"I believe that is a mistaken premise based on the fallacy of correlation and causality, and that a better understanding of the spells which generate or harness each would..."
"Heheheheh, you said Phall..." PrettySparrow was interrupted by JadeWise swatting her with his tail.
"Just try not to drown us all." JadeWise finished, going back to herding his hyperactive heir.
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Post by Anya the Purple on Dec 27, 2012 21:33:24 GMT -8
Particula's eyes narrowed. She had spent months on that paper; Jadewise was not going to discredit it with a few sentences. "If you look beyond the subjective standpoint of a pony standing on the ground, which assumes that there's equal gravity everywhere, you'll find the two are actually very much connected," she said, following him closely. "In the absence of a constant for gravitational acceleration, gravity is defined by G(m1m2/r^2). And any scientist worth their salt knows that pressure is directly reliant upon mass. Since nearly all decent pressure spells deal not with pressure, but with the mass itself, it easily can become a gravity issue."
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Feb 2, 2013 6:42:33 GMT -8
Saltpans nodded for Particula to take her position, too distracted with the diving procedure to try and break up the potential confrontation between her and Jadewise. "Make ready...Dive! Dive now!" At first, nothing seemed to happen but then they all felt it: Illuminating Mares was beginning to descend into the ocean, the air bubbles it was stirring up all quickly joining together to form a tight pocket of air around the vessel as it sank into the sea. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At first, Foamborn couldn't believe what she was seeing, certain it was a dream. So just to make sure, she nipped Deep Melody in the side, her voice shaken. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "He is. We can certainly count on him to do all in his power to keep Atlantis safe." There was a hint of pride in her voice as she said this.
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