A combination of birdsong from the forest and patchy sunlight through my porthole woke me up from a fitful sleep. I’d dreamed of nothing but the Pass. I’d dreamed of making it through without a scratch. I’d also dreamed of smashing the Blossom to pieces to send us crashing down into the black storm-torn depths below.
I yanked myself upright, forcing myself not to slip back into another hazy dream. I made it to the edge of the bed before I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and straightened out my pajamas—only now realizing that I hadn’t given Minuette anything similar. I swore to myself. It had gotten cold last night as another chilly autumn storm had washed over the Blossom. Cold enough that I’d decided I was going to wear something a bit better than a simple black turtleneck while working on the ship today.
But it doubted Minuette would have anything like that either. Ugh, I was going to have to find a town nearby and stop for supplies for her and probably double up on our foodstuffs. I had not planned this out well. Which was extremely annoying since I was a fantastic planner!
I dragged myself the rest of the way out of bed. As much as I wanted a hot shower right now, I needed to check on my passenger and make sure she was okay. According to a small weather charm I had running on my nightstand, it had actually gotten slightly below freezing outside in the early hours of the morning.
I would know because I’d been staring at my closed sunlight half the night thinking about what Minuette had said. And done. And… well, everything about Minuette. Plus all the other reasons I had gone on this trip. That she didn’t need to know.
At all.
Ever.
I stumbled across the cold deck, yelping with every touch of my hoof against the chilly wood. I reached out and engaged the heating system that should get the ship comfortable again. The last thing I wanted to do was wear down the core crystal by running it all night, so I’d turned it off. Maybe I should have dealt with the wear and tear.
I opened the door and looked across the short hall, but the other bedroom door was still closed. I glanced down to the lounge and galley, but the lights were still doused and the Spellsinger’s Sight hadn’t been activated. I severely doubted Minuette would have gone outside, which only left her cabin.
I stared at her door for a few moments, but eventually decided that barging in on her was not the way to improve the low-level tension between the two of us. At least, I think there was a low-level tension. Maybe. Maybe not. I was terrible at reading other ponies. Or any other creature for that matter.
With a yawn, I made my decision, and padded down to the galley, flicking on the lights to low as I went. The galley had just enough room for one single pony to work in, but I didn’t mind the cramped confines.
In fact, I only minded one thing: that my coffee pot was empty.
I quickly rectified that and soon had a full eight cups of the anti-morning fluid going. I brought out a pair of mugs from the storage locker and put them on the counter. I had no idea how Minuette liked her coffee, or even if she was one of those heathens who didn’t like coffee. If that was the case, I might have to leave her behind on principle.
Okay, not really, but it would be weird.
I engaged the Spellsinger’s Sight on the forward bulkhead to let in the light of the new day. And that’s about all I saw. Patchy clouds above, an endless field of green conifers directly ahead with a few streaks of brown. Still, I caught sight of at least a dozen squirrels and chipmunks scampering around the trees. More than a few of them cast odd glances my way. I didn’t know how I knew they were odd; it was just a feeling.
Just as I poured the first cup of coffee, I heard some rattling from the other bedroom. I found myself wondering how somepony who could willingly be best friends with Pinkie Pie would handle mornings. There wasn’t much question, really. And while I didn’t consider myself a morning pony, I didn’t outright hate them. I still probably wasn’t ready for Minuette in the morning, though.
I looked up just in time to see Minuette come stumbling out of her room, half wrapped in blankets and sheets, and rubbing the sleep out of her eye with a single hoof. She bumped into the door to the head and blinked a few times. Her hair was a mass of pure chaos. Her tail was even worse. She practically looked hungover.
“Ugh,” she muttered. “Mornin’?”
I gaped at her. I’d been right. I hadn’t been ready for Minuette in the morning.
“Uh, hi?”
“Please…” She stared at the coffee cups and the pot. “Tell me you made enough for the both of us?”
“Uh… yeah?”
“Oh you’re a blessing from Celestia…” she murmured as she stumbled over and bumped into me.
Before she could grab it in her sleepy magic, I poured her a cup, only to be stopped about halfway through my pouring. At first, I couldn’t figure out what she was saying because the words were nothing but a garbled mumble.
“Ugh, do you have cream and sugar?” she spat out, giving me a bit of an evil eye.
“Uh… sure?” I levitated over a sealed container of sugar from the pantry and a small jug of milk from the icebox.
She snatched both before I could react. With speed that should have been impossible, she poured like a quarter of a cup of milk into the mug, then filled the rest of the mug to the brim with sugar alone. Then, she downed half of the steaming mug in less than ten seconds.
When the mug hit the counter, Minuette’s trademark smile was back and brighter than ever. She shivered from horn to tail, looking positively ecstatic. “Ohhhh… you got the good stuff.”
“Uh… it was just milk.”
“I meant the coffee! This is straight from Seaddle!”
“Well… yeah,” I shrugged again, feeling a little embarrassed. “I mean, it’s just the brand I like.”
She grabbed my face with her hooves before I could take another sip, looked me deep in the eyes, and smiled. “You have wonderful taste, Moony.”
I flushed despite myself. “Thanks?”
She beamed even brighter at me before letting me go to down another quarter of the mug. “Celestia, something to burn out that chill. Did the heater go out last night? I was freezing!”
I winced. “Yeah, I turned off the heating and cooling systems last night to conserve fuel and prevent the crystal core from getting more wear than necessary…”
“Is that why you have those cute pajamas on?” she giggled.
My eyes went wide and I only now realized what I was wearing. The front of my fuzzy shirt read in bright pink text ‘Even Discord couldn’t get me away from my books.’ According to my sources, it had been signed off by the Lord of Chaos himself. I didn’t really believe those sources though. My pajama pants were themed appropriately, namely being chibi book characters from one of my favorite bookstores in Vanhoover.
“I… uh… that is…”
“I think they’re adorable, for the record,” Minuette said with a toast of her mug.
I could feel myself going scarlet and could see Minuette’s eyes dancing in mirth.
“Is this revenge for turning off the heat?”
“Yup!” Minuette said, her ears wiggling. “And I’m going to be doing it every morning until you either keep the heat on at night or find me a pair of pajamas with cute clocks or something.”
“Would something that read ‘Mornings are only good for books and coffee’ work?” I offered helplessly.
She booped my nose with a hoof. “We’ll see tomorrow morning, won’t we?”
I groaned and knocked back some of my own coffee.
“Tell me you didn’t just drink that black?” Minuette said, cringing back from me as if I had just revealed myself to be a Chrysalis Changeling.
“It’s an acquired taste,” I informed her airily.
“Why would you want to acquire something like that?” she demanded as she refilled her mug and once more infused it with enough sugar to run Pinkie Pie for ten minutes. “That’s disgusting! It’s like drinking ash!”
“I like the bitterness,” I replied.
“Uh-huh,” Minuette said, still looking at me as if I was a spacepony. “Whatever you say.”
“Okay, enough teasing!” I cried, waving a hoof in the air. “Or I’m putting you on kitchen duty!”
“Gee, I knew you were willing to take risks, but I didn’t know you wanted to outright gamble with your life,” Minuette replied with a cocked eyebrow.
“Don’t tell me you can’t cook.”
“Oh, of course I can cook,” Minuette grinned. “The question is, am I willing to make anything you’d actually enjoy?”
“Let me put it this way,” I shot back with a huff. “Unless you were serious about walking back to Vanhoover, I still need to do a thorough survey of the Blossom. And it’s going to be much better for both of us if I’m well-fed and well-caffeinated so I don’t miss anything important during the survey.”
Minuette glared daggers at me. I glared daggers at her.
Then somewhere along the line, we both found ourselves laughing. And in an instant, the tension lingering in the air that had been haunting us since my idiotic little stunt last night finally faded.
“I’ll get something going. Why don’t you take a shower?” she replied, her smile honest and genuine.
“You’re sure?” I said, hesitant. “I mean, if you haven’t cooked in a galley before—”
“I spent a year riding the rails on the Friendship Express as a short-order cook after I got out of Gifted Unicorns. Seemed like a fun—and safe—way to see the country. Granted, I never ended up seeing most of it because I was too busy working, but it was a good idea in concept.”
“You were a short-order cook?” I stared at her as if she had grown a second horn. “Seriously?”
“Yes, I was!” Minuette huffed. “And I was a darn good one! Now, shoo or you’ll never get to see just how good!”
I turned and took a few steps, only to turn back. “There’s—”
“I can find my way around a galley!” She unwrapped one of the sheets from herself and chucked it at me. I snatched it out of the air with my magic. “Shoo!”
“Okay, okay!” I said, laughing a little nervously. “I’m going!”
I still glanced back once before closing my bedroom door. Minuette was humming away happily, spinning ingredients in the air above her head as she worked. She’d already thrown all of her extra blankets onto one of the sofas.
Seeing her there, the light of dawn starting to filter through the trees beyond, I couldn’t help but sense that maybe, just maybe… she looked like she belonged here.
Then, I pushed the silly thought out of my head and got my shower going.
As I washed my mane and tail, I did a little bit of mental cartography. The closest town would probably be near the base of Canter Basin Lake. It was a popular tourist destination in the area and I think it even had a small Skydock. And since the Friendship Express didn’t go this far north, Minuette had probably never seen the place. I’d seen plenty of pictures in my studies of Equestrian geography, but it would be nice to see Canter Basin Lake with my own eyes.
Depending on how fast I got my survey done, we might even get to spend the night there. But more importantly, it would have cold-weather gear which we could both use. I had a cold-weather rig I’d purchased for working on the ship up near the Frozen North. I hadn’t expected it to get as cold as it had on deck. It would only get colder as we went north. I wasn’t sure how I missed that, but it seemed that I would be wearing that for most of the rest of the trip. I needed to get my passenger something similar.
I had just stepped out of the shower, dripping wet, when Minuette knocked on my door. “Five minutes, Moony!”
“I’m coming!” I shouted through the door. “Just hold your horses!”
Minuette giggled on the other side and trotted away. I shook my head and glanced at my wardrobe as I dried myself with a towel and a few spells. It would take me a good fifteen minutes to get fully dressed in my cold-weather outfit. I shrugged. I could do that after breakfast. I threw back on my pajamas and came out of the bedroom adjusting my top. With a grunt, I threw my second set of pajamas at Minuette, who caught them deftly in her magic.
“There, something so you don’t get chilly down here,” I said. “Only thing I got aside from one of my sweaters.”
“I’ll try one on later,” Minuette said with a smirk. “While you’re crawling around your pretty little ship.”
As whatever she was cooking sizzled in a frying pan, she quickly got on my pajama bottoms, then wriggled her way into the shirt.
It was only then when I realized the two of us were definitely not the same size. Close enough to share a little, but definitely not for anything public. Minuette had rather impressive hips and shoulders. Not to mention her barrel and chest were quite a bit wider than mine. I blushed fiercely when I realized I was staring at just how stretched the words ‘Mornings are only good for books and coffee.’ I’d never thought myself to be a small mare, but Minuette definitely had the build of a pony who got a lot more exercise than this little bookworm.
Minuette, on the other hoof, looked over herself and nodded. She somehow ignored the fact that my pajama bottoms ended near her knee when that pair normally went all the way down to my hoof. And… well, everything else.
“Maybe I’ll skip the sweater, but the outfit is cute enough,” Minuette finally said with a shrug. “Now sit your butt down and have breakfast, Miss Fancy Airship Pilot.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said, shooting her my best salute as I plopped down into my chair—only to realize that Minuette had actually set the table as well, complete with knife, spoons, forks, our coffees, and a glass of orange juice for the each of us. “Uh, Minuette, you didn’t need to do this.”
“Least I could do,” she scoffed. “You’re offering me a free ride up to Whinnyapolis and even offered to investigate the Waystone Treasure. The least I could do was cook for you.”
With that, she levitated two omelets over, complete with toast and hay bacon. Mine just had green peppers, onions and mushrooms, exactly how I liked it. Hers was half coated in cheese.
“How’d you know…?” I asked, staring at her in wonder.
Minuette burst out laughing. “Moony, we went to school together for how long? You ordered the same thing three times a week! How could I not know?”
I flushed again, my ears going back. I could have never said how Minuette liked her omelets.
I cut off a bite and went to season it, but Minuette snatched the salt and pepper away before I could use it. “Try it first!”
I glowered at her, but humored the mare by popping the bite into my mouth. I chewed once, twice… and three times. It didn’t need any seasoning at all!
“How’d you do that?”
“Trade secret,” Minuette said with a wink.
I narrowed my eyes at her, but she was too busy working on her own omelet, so I let it drop. About halfway through mine—and I practically devoured the thing—I took a drink of coffee and looked up at my passenger.
“So, as you probably noticed, I didn’t exactly plan to have guests on—” That’s when something occurred to me. “Wait a minute. You said you arrived here for a job for the Guild. Why didn’t you have any luggage?”
Minuette shrugged off the question. “Normally, I’m not a huge fan of airships. Especially after all the stories I’ve heard about lost luggage. So I sent my bags with a friend on the Friendship Express. She’ll deliver it to my house. I hadn’t really been expecting to run into you and…” She waved at the Blossom. “Get involved with all this.”
Well, it seemed plausible enough. Either way, it didn’t change the situation.
“Well, after last night, I realized I’m going to probably need to be in cold-weather gear from here on out. And I think you should get some, too.”
“Sounds fine to me,” she replied. “Being on deck is freezing when we’re in the air!”
“And it’s going to get worse,” I muttered. “So we’re going to take a detour to the town of Canter Basin. If I remember correctly, it’s about four hours north-east from here. We’ll dock, get supplies for two, get you a cold-weather rig and some pajamas that fit.”
“I think they fit just fine.” She shook her shoulders at me and grinned.
I went scarlet before she started laughing. I threw a piece of toast at her and she laughed even harder.
“And you said you never got to see anything when you were out and about before…” I said slowly, fiddling with my fork a little. “Thought you might enjoy seeing Canter Basin Lake.”
Minuette’s eyes lit up like twin bonfires at midnight. “Really?”
“I mean… considering it an apology for freezing you last night.”
“Deal!” she squeaked, her trademark smile now firmly in place. “You’ve definitely got a deal, Moony.”
I laughed a little and enjoyed the rest of my omelet. It was better than it had any right to be. And I didn’t mind one bit.