My mane was damp from the spray, but I didn’t care. We had spent the last hour settled in the sea to avoid the dangerous updrafts that prowled this stretch of the ocean. The sails had been put to and the envelope had been drained and battened down. I found myself once again a few steps out on the bowsprit, hoof on a line for safety and my eyes stinging from the salty mist.
“Sunset!” Twilight called. “We have to get outfitted.”
I glanced back, seeing my friend partially wrapped in a loose-fitting robe, soft white in color. A bundle of cloth floated in her magic next to her. I recognized it as standard desert garb, my mind automatically searching for the name.
“That’s a good look on you, Twilight,” I said, hopping down and moving towards her. “Thobe are a hard thing to look regal in.”
The Unicorn blushed slightly. “They have a lot of components,” she said, dropping her bundle on the deck. “Kaffiyeh are difficult to wrap, even with this agal to hold them in place, despite them not being traditional for mares.”
“Don’t mares usually veil their faces?”
“True. I guess that makes this simpler.” She shook out a blue thobe and passed it to me. “We’ll get a few waterskins and some currency before we disembark. I don’t think it will take us more than a few days to find this Moonrose and consult with her.”
I pulled the robe around me and fumbled with the headdress. It was a pain, and when I finally got it wrapped around my horn and secured, I felt a surge of relief. I gazed back towards the bow, where the faint haze of land was growing larger through the spray flying up over the gunwales.
A particularly large wave made the ship lurch, and Twilight stumbled, caught off guard.
“First time going overseas?” I asked.
She shook her head, after she got her bearings. “I’ve been on airship trips and cruises. I thought it wouldn’t be too different when we set down on the water.”
“It’s different enough.” I adjusted the robe around my shoulders. “First time I went on a sea trip was back in high school, the cruise for our senior year. All I had to compare it to was a few trip on Celestia’s yacht. Sailing on the water is not as smooth as air. The spells and envelopes that help airships stay afloat also smooth over any turbulence they might face.”
We watched the sun glitter over the sea for a moment. The land grew increasingly larger with every second.
“Do you think we’ll find anything?” I asked.
“I’m sure that if nothing else, we’ll find another lead on the answers we need.” Twilight smiled. “So far, we keep getting closer to an answer. Now that we might have a possible culprit, and with that we can find a way back.”
I could tell she was just trying to cheer me up. Ever since I saw my wife in the mirror, I felt a restless need to surge forward to find the next step as well as fear. Twilight may not have picked up on it, but Sunshine had said something about forgetting something. I knew that if she had known what had happened to me, she’d have at least gone with our Tempest and the girls to find out something from the Princesses. Thea at least would have told her where we were and what had happened, but I saw no sign of the bird in the limited view I had through Sombra’s mirror.
I wonder what happened to her.
“All right, you lazy sots!” Tempest yelled, striding across the quarterdeck. “Get those sails trimmed, we’re about to come into harbor! Belay those lines, hoist the port flag!”
Sailors rushed to and fro, obeying the captain’s orders with startling swiftness. I hadn’t thought that Earth Ponies could swarm up ladders and ropes as swiftly as Pegasi, but I was wrong. If I had blinked, I might have assumed some had simply vanished.
The feel of the boat shifted, slowing and rocking a little more. A series of pilings hove into view and as we came abreast of one, an Abyssian and a Unicorn on a small platform tossed a pair of lines upwards to the bow. The lines were tied around a handful of cleats and Tempest called for the anchor to be weighed.
Twilight looked across the quays filled with small boats and ships, bobbing gently.
“Uh,” she drawled. “How do we get from here to there?”
I tapped her on the shoulder, and when she looked, I pointed to the longboats the crew were unshipping from below decks.
“I think they have us covered, Twi.”
I was surprised as I moved into the city proper. One might think that desert towns would be dead in the heat of day, but canopies and awnings mitigated the sun’s relentless presence and a relatively cool breeze blew through the open ways.
And the smells! They almost assaulted the senses as we walked: spices, herbs, open eateries, teahouses, smithies, and bathhouses all lent their share to the aroma of the bustling port town.
Stalls lined the streets, various goods piled upon them, as Ponies and various other races hawked their products, each trying to out-shout the rest. Those without stalls had tarps and sheets spread out upon the ground but were just as vocal about their prices. Fine blades, clothing, charms, bundles of exotic spices, and things I couldn’t even name were within a hoof’s reach as we walked. I pulled Twilight into a teahouse just to get away from the shouting rabble.
We took our seats and placed an order.
“I can’t believe how long it took us just to get this far into the city,” I sighed.
Twilight agreed. As a waiter set out a pot and pair of cups at our table, she poured the tea. “The streets here are certainly packed tighter than some in Manehattan, but I suppose that makes sense when water is a scarce commodity.”
I stirred a little sugar into my cup, the spoon swishing back and forth in my red aura. Twilight also doctored her tea with cream and sugar. She didn’t bother with a spoon, however, distractedly making a tiny whirlpool in her cup, the cream slowly blending into the liquid.
“So, how are we to find this archivist?” I mused aloud. “We weren’t exactly given much of a description.”
“There can't be that many Unicorns tending records buildings,” Twilight said. “Most of them are in the center of town. We’ll rest for a moment and then continue on.”
“And a guide would be useful,” a voice said from the side, somber and measured. If not for the hint of humor in it I would have mistaken it for Maud. Looking, I saw a pony walking over, a dark hood drawn high over her head. The point of a horn poked against the inner height and several dark dreadlocks slipped forward. Though the face was shrouded, two points shown within, eyes the color of a full moon.
“Of course, knowing which branch to take you to would make my job much easier.” She glanced at each of us. “Which of you is Sunset Shimmer?”
I raised my hoof. “And you are?”
“Moonrose,” she replied, seating herself at our table, waving off the waiter that approached. “I understand you’re in need of some documents?”
“Yes,” I said. “King Sombra said you were in possession of texts regarding the Umbrum?”
The glow of the pony’s eyes flared for a moment.
“Yes,” she said. “I was called to help seal a gate from their prison not long ago. I was copying the text and translating it so that if anything ever occurred again, I wouldn’t have to wait for a ship to arrive with help.”
She stiffened, then sighed. I frowned when suddenly a cloven-hooved limb was tossed over her shoulder, and a grinning goat gave her a rough shake.
“Moonie, you never come to this part of town!” the Ibex chirped. “Too much negativity for you.”
“I can mitigate it long enough to meet somepony,” Moonrose said in an ever-suffering tone. “What are you doing here?”
“Delivering some barrels to the taphouse around the corner. I saw your hooded head as I walked out to grab something to eat from one of the stalls. Had me curious.”
I glanced at Twilight. Ibexians were rare in Equestria, and I had only ever met one.
“So, meeting someone?” the Ibex continued, a grin stretching wider. “Hot date?”
“You know me better than that, Bernice.”
“And you know I hate that name.”
“I agreed to help these two search the archives.” She turned her hood towards the goat with a slight frown. “If I’m not too distracted. I do not need another fracas in my workplace.”
The Ibex held up her hooves in defeat. “Fine. I won’t distract you while you’re in the archives.”
She looped the limb around the Unicorn’s withers again.
“Bernie,” the archivist growled.
“You’re not in the archives, Moonie.”
“I’m sorry,” Twilight said.
“Apology accepted,” Bernie quipped, smirking.
As Twilight sputtered, Moonrose shook the limb from her side and looked down.
“I will meet you at the festhall, Bernie.” Her tone became a little more strained. “As we agreed this morning.”
“Ah, I see.” Bernie stood, her horns flashing a bit as a shaft of sunlight hit them. “Well, if any of you need a good mug, I’ll be sure to provide.”
“You run a taphouse?” I asked.
“Goddesses, no!” the Ibex laughed. “You don’t want me in customer service, I get stabby. I brew the stuff myself, when I’m not too busy bothering her, or off on a contract.”
“Contract?” Twilight asked.
“It’s… best not to ask,” Moonrose murmured.
“It’s complicated.” Bernie supplied.
“What isn’t, these days?” I asked rhetorically.
“Not much.” Replied the unicorn and goat with sly grins.
I glowered a little and took a deep breath, “Let me tell you a story:”