Rainfeather opened her eyes, springing to her hooves with no hint of exhaustion.
"How high did I go?"
"Troposphere" A midnight black filly with magenta wings nickered.
Rainfeather's eyes rested on Moonheart and Starfrost, not responding. For what seemed like forever, everyone was silent. Even Flameflight. Every legend's eye was glued to the smallest, most useless filly in the group. Rainfeather stomped her hoof, breaking the silence with a bit of a spook.
"Ugh, this is useless! None of us, even Lightray didn't come close to the thermosphere. If the black foals can't do it, who can? Were following a mere myth. Even if all of this was true, none of us know what will happen if we touch the hundred year star. None of us know how to use Elmwing invention either! Or- or even how it works!"
"We do,"
"We don't!" Rainfeather quickly snapped back.
"We can all try to burst our lungs, but this;" the agitated leopard appaloosa filly pawed the Mavelyn sand.
"This is impossible." Normally, at times like this she would trot off, but something rooted her to the ground. Her anxiety with her parents dying, Lightray getting captured, being on landwalker territory, and the fact that she was a dud kept her mind busy. The only reason why she didn't break down there and now was because of Lightray's comfort. His icy blue eyes looked straight into her's. It wasn't a warning, or a threatening gaze. It was a soothing one. His expression showed no tension, no intent. Just the fact that a pegasus around her was calm relaxed her.
"Sorry." She whispered.
Morningleaf took a deep breath.
"It's fine."
"Rainfeather has a point though. We don't have a solid plan, and there is no telling whether this will really work or not, but we have to try. We have to accept all the things we cannot change. Even if Anok's fate is on our wings. Win or lose, we tried. We have to look clearly into the future, even if their isn't one. None of this is our faults. Even if this works or not, we have to try. If I were to die, I would be glad to die knowing I tried. Knowing I died with honor." Redwind turned towards Rainfeather, even though he couldn't see her.
"Young filly, you are a runt and a dud, but that doesn't mean you aren't a huge asset to our team. Nothing is impossible." His words floated around the coast. Lightray, Hazelblaze, Flameflight, Moonheart, Star, Morningleaf, Brackentail, Morningleaf, Starfrost, and Rainfeather herself bowed their heads, her perspective changing quickly. Rainfeather, along with everyone else will die for Anok's peace and safety. She can't change that she was born a runt and a dud. She can't rewind time, not ride the jetstreams and save her parents. She can't make her wings as big as Star's. Now, Rainfeather silently vowed to herself to accept things she can't change, but she try to work on things she can. Starting with making it to the thermosphere.
Awesome story as always, and I’m glad you got this going again. One small detail, though, that I feel necessary to point out....
I would be ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE for anyone or anything, mythical pegasus or not, to fly to the thermosphere. Airplanes fly in the bottom of the stratosphere, where the jet streams are. Remember how in TGH, Desert Herd steeds fly on jet streams? And Star tried to do it and noticed how far off the ground he was and his friends needed to stop so far below him that they were barely visible? That’s only the STRATOsphere, the second layer of the atmosphere. The THERMOsphere is two layers above THAT, separated by the Mesosphere. There is not NEARLY enough oxygen to have any life sustained and breathing, unless I guess they were in one of the black foal’s air and temperature-controlled shields.
And even if flying to the Thermosphere was POSSIBLE, there are no stars—especially one as big and bright as the Hundred Year Star— to be that close to any planet, Earth or otherwise. The planet would be singed to a crisp.
I hate to burst your bubble, but you can’t argue with science.