The Captain and the Crusaders

by AlfieTrotter

The Crusaders Take to the Waves

The Red Mistress gleamed under the bright rays of the easterly morning sun as it glided between skies and the azure vaults of the ocean below. Strong gusts shook her as she glided, beckoning the crew to grapple for the railings and firm seats. Scootaloo was engrossed in the art of guiding her vessel, keeping her eyes on the world ahead and hooves at the controls. The winds had changed, the eastward air currents were gone, replaced by a distracting northerly wind that buffeted the Mistress as she flew. Sweetie Belle levitated her telescope, stretching her neck almost comically to survey all around her, a little too much weight out of the window and it would take one of her friends to pull her back up. Now that Apple Bloom had an opportunity to look about the Mistress interior, light flowed in from the many wide windows of the airship, and she could see the dust particles drifting under their glow. The wooden panelled floor and walls had an almost rustic quality, reflecting something of Ponyville in their design, with elaborate, friendly motifs, wood carvings and pictures of Wonderbolts and early airship schematics. Above the control panel an old fashioned clock from Ponyville hung from the wall, striking eight o’clock. Cabinets and dressers were stacked against the left wall, with labels for the items contained within. The brightly seats and sofas had extra cushioning, and were fastened to the floor. Apple Bloom opened the windows to let the free breezes, and leaned out to let the wind fill her mane, grinning under the bright sunshine. Spike whistled as he tightened the rigging and checked the pressure gages to ensure the Mistress was in top form. Scootaloo checked the compass; they managed to keep on a straight course south east despite the difficulty with the wind.

“Just think, in a few more hours we’ll soon see the Jolly Crook and give those pirates a real buckin’ in the backside!” exclaimed Apple Bloom all too audaciously.

“Now hold up, Apple Bloom, Storm Sword said to follow them. What can we do against armed pirates?” posited Spike, wiping of beads of sweat from his brow as he entered the bridge.

“Well, we’ve still got all this sea to cover, and worrying isn’t gonna make it go away.” remarked Scootaloo, as she scanned the world around them for any sign of life, “Luckily, we’ve got enough food stored to last us a month.”

“Have you ever seen so much water before you?” asked Sweetie Belle in wonder, “It makes Ponyville feel so small and us even smaller!”

“You’ve lived in the big city, Sweetie Belle, doesn’t the sea strike you as a bit boring?” wondered Scootaloo.

“Not at all, Canterlot is nice and all, but the freedom, the size natural beauty of it is just incredible.” replied Sweetie Belle dreamily.

“The sky is kinda like the sea,” said Scootaloo, “if you go up too high, you won’t be able to breathe. But the secrets of the seas, well, they’re pretty well kept aren’t they? Personally, I prefer the sky.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Scoots, just look at how the waves glisten under the sun! Like every flash of light is a diamond in an enormous sapphire! Or a blue topaz glistening under light!” murmured Sweetie Belle dreamily, hugging herself much like Rarity would when wrapped in silk pyjamas.

“Stop it! You’re making me hungry!” moaned Spike as he clutched his stomach, remembering that he missed breakfast, “Wait, Apple Bloom, did you tell someone in your family about leaving?”

“Well, no…” said Apple Bloom slowly, seemingly unfazed by the development of having not told her family the full story of Babs’ disappearance and her sudden jaunt into the open seas. Her pupils shrunk, she had been so caught up in worrying about Babs and trying to assuage the shock of the earlier attack that she forgot about the others.

“Apple Bloom, what gave you the nerve to say nothing to your family?!” yelled Spike, gesturing wildly, “This is your family; they might not ever see you again and they deserve more than that!”

“Spike, it’s not as though Storm Sword won’t tell them where she’s gone.” defended Scootaloo tersely, “No need to snap.”

“Don’t mind Spike, dear, he’s just jittery because our departure was very sudden.” said Sweetie Belle, patting Apple Bloom on the back, while Spike looked away sourly.

“Well, you’ll have to forgive me if Ah’m a tad anxious as well, being the first Apple to set to sea in a long while, after all.” said Apple Bloom, suddenly feeling the accumulating effects of motion sickness, clasping her stomach with her hooves, as she kept her eye trained on the horizon to lessen the effect as the Mistress buffeted in the wind. Spike snapped out of his earlier ill mood and helped Apple Bloom onto a chair.

“If you’re having a tough time of it already, imagine how Babs is probably feeling now!” said Spike worriedly, earning a sharp look from Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle suddenly bounced and squealed in delight, as happy as Pinkie Pie at a party.

“How about a sea shanty?” she asked excitedly. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo gave her quizzical looks.

“A sea what-now?” asked Apple Bloom, unfamiliar with the word.

“You know: a song that sailors sing at sea?”

“Try saying that ten times fast.” murmured Spike, aside.

“Okay, sounds fun!” accepted Scootalo, Sweetie Belle bounded on the spot and cleared her throat and began to whistle a familiar tune that even the landlocked Earth Pony had heard once, and soon all four friends were singing this merry tune;

The song left a smile on each and every one of them; Sweetie Belle continued to whistle until something crossed her mind, bringing a confused look to her face.

“So, what is that song really about?” pondered Sweetie Belle, much to the quizzical looks of her compatriots.

“Knowing sailors, it’s probably not something you can bring up in pleasant company.” suspected Spike, earning a quick smile from Sweetie Belle, taking a shine to the ‘pleasant company’ part.

Scootaloo checked the clock it was only ten minutes to nine, their gambit to make time fly whilst singing had not paid off as well as they had hoped, and there was still no sign of the Jolly Crook.

“Um, can’t you make this thing go any faster?” inquired Sweetie Belle.

“The Crook was reported to have been going at around fifteen knots, and we’re managing fifty knots, or fifty-seven miles per hour, with this wind rocking us a bit. So, catching up to the Crook could take three to four hours, assuming she hasn’t changed course.” explained Scootaloo evenly.

“Maybe we could ask a passing ship if they’ve seen it!” said Sweetie Belle hopefully.

“That would be a cheerful visit; I mean, what exactly would we say? ‘Top of the mornin’, sailors, we were just wondering if you’ve been pillaged by any pirates.’ ” said Scootaloo sarcastically, taking on an over the top sailor’s accent.

“I think our pirate foes are keener to avoid being spotted than we give them credit for.” said Spike. A silent recognition followed, the longer the four friends kept quiet the more they realized the truth. As time slowly ticked on, and the passengers reclined in their chairs, nibbling on cereal and fruit for breakfast, their enthusiasm died down somewhat. Though they were mostly safe at their present altitude, the constant droning of the machinery and the noise of the wind against the Mistress drove them into boredom. Finally, Scootaloo broke the silence.

“Spike, would you be so cool as to take the telescope and look outside?” she requested.

“What? Outside? It’s not safe! What if I fall?” panicked Spike, rapidly rising from his seat.

“Calm down! Just keep your claws on the railing as you go out the back and check to see if we haven’t passed any ships.” explained Scootaloo sharply. Spike winced; months of rigid pilot training had not been wasted on her. He mumbled in compliance, picked up the telescope and passed through the back door. The wind was fierce as the Mistress streamed through the sky, flapping Spike’s loose ears about like a pair of scaly kites. He stretched out the brass telescope and peered through it; no sign of any ships anywhere. An unexpected school of dolphins caught his eye, breaching the waves not too far away from them, and Spike happily trained his eye on their sleek movements, their playful leaps and perky whistling, savouring the illusion of proximity.

“They sure as sugar look happy, don’t they?” came a voice right next to him. Spike spun round to find Apple Bloom smiling, but her eyes divulged no happiness.

“Apple Bloom? What are you doing out here?” inquired Spike.

“If there’s a chance that you’ve spied the pirates’ ship, Ah’ll know you’ve found Babs.” said Apple Bloom a little distantly, letting her eyes gaze out over the waves and sky.

“Did you get a good view of their ship?” asked Spike, now properly using the telescope to scan the horizon, but his efforts were proving fruitless.

“Ah didn’t, it was too smoky, that darn dragon must’ve had somethin’ to do with it!” admitted Apple Bloom, Spike’s spines stood on end, he remembered the scorch marks from earlier.

“Dragon? Oh, gosh, that reminds me! I saw the scorch marks, I first thought they were from cannon blasts, but then I realized, I recognize the scent of this dragon. Was he red with gold scales, a kinda grown-up dragon? If so, I think I met him before” babbled Spike in rushed, worried speech, his pupils shrinking with worry, hoping his suspicion would not prove correct.

“Yeah he was, he was a lanky teenage flyin’ dragon, a nasty look in his eye! Ah think his name was Red-Scale Bones.” Spike sighed in relief.

“Well, then it’s probably not who I thought it was, if this dragon you saw was just a teen. The one I met is probably a lot bigger now.”

“I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier. I was thinking about Twilight, and how I shouldn’t have let things get out of hand.” said Spike sombrely, “And, I miss her.”

Apple Bloom’s breath hitched, she now understood what must have been going through Spike’s head.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, its forgotten.” reassured Apple Bloom, placing her hoof on his claw, and speaking as tenderly as possible. “Ah heard about what happened in Ponyville, Spike, Ah’m so sorry about all that. But I have to ask, why did you volunteer to join us?”

Spike took his time to answer, as though he himself was unsure. He had chosen to follow them on a whim, but what bound him to carry on was something he had almost forgotten.

“Have you ever lost something you thought you’d never loose, only to realize you treasured it more than you knew?” pondered Spike knowingly, as both pony and dragon shared a look of mutual grief.

“Ah suppose it was about the time I heard about Granny Smith’s health, and later she passed on.” mumbled Apple Bloom, unhappy to be reminded of that day, filled with rain and sparse beams of light illuminating the final resting place of the ancient matriarch of the Apple Family.

“I realized it when Twilight and I… went our separate ways.” Spike was unwilling to say ‘sent away’ even though that was the truth, he held onto the memory of her as though it would break in his claws. “Then, just before I joined Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, I received a pair of letters, sent by Celestia’s magic. The magical link is still there, and I could still contact her if we need to. One was from Princess Celestia, the other from Twilight.”

“What did they say?” asked Apple Bloom, a little too eagerly, “Sorry, Ah didn’t mean to pry.”

“That’s all right.” began Spike, his quiet voice beginning to break as he recounted his story, “Anyway, in the first one, Princess Celestia encouraged me to go out into the world to do some good, make a change, so that I could feel better about the way things are. The second one was from Twilight, asking me to talk about things. But I was so caught up in how angry I was towards her; I chose not to write back. I thought she was just going to lecture me. So I ran off, I turned my back on her, and I didn’t realise what a stupid, selfish thing it was until now.”

Tears began to fall down Spike’s cheeks as he contained bitter sobs in his chest, Apple Bloom leaned her head into Spike’s cheek, wiping away his tears with her hoof.

“It’s okay, Spike,” she cooed soothingly, “Just think; now you’ve got a chance to prove yourself!”

“I hope you’re right, Apple Bloom, I really do. I admit, I’m scared, but you saw the pirates and look at you, willing the chase after them around the world and back! Now that is awesome!” praised Spike, excitement rising in his voice, Apple Bloom blushed bashfully at the young dragon’s earnest words.

“Ah just want Babs back safe and sound, but if this helps you get back into Twilight’s good graces, Ah’m glad you’ve come with us, Spike.”

**************

After a long hour surveying the surrounding ocean, Apple Bloom and Spike eventually retired indoors as it became too hot. Another hour passed. Scootaloo was on edge, she was certain they should have seen some sign of the pirates, and now she manned the controls like a mad pony, keeping her widened eyes trained towards the relentless, sunlit sky and ocean, tiring herself out to the point of desperation. The heat of the day had driven the ponies indoors, and the lazily drifting airship only added to their isolation. Their appetite was gone with their earlier enthusiasm.

“You know, this may not be as fun as you three think it might be.” said Spike lowly, as he, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom reclined on separate sofas, bored and dispirited.

“Maybe we’re on the wrong track.” Mumbled Sweetie Belle through her pillow, too bored to raise her head, “Maybe we’ve lost them, only to get ourselves lost!”

“Nah, that can’t be.” snapped Scootaloo, “we haven’t strayed from our bearings, if we haven’t caught up to her by now, she must have changed course.”

A dread silence fell on them, Sweetie Belle hoped Scootaloo was wrong, pawing at the floor in anxiety, while Apple Bloom cast her eyes down in despair, the prospect of getting lost so far from land and hearth and home chilled her to the bone. Tiredness fell over them, the price for remaining active for much of the preceding night and the earlier lack of sleep was coming back to haunt them. Scootaloo herself would simply nod off for hours without anypony to watch or wake her. As the hours dragged on and the late afternoon sun began to soar further west, humidity and pressure started to build up; Scootaloo recognised the signs of a gathering storm.

“We should keep away from those clouds.” she warned, her eyes fixed on the darkening mass ahead of them, “We could double back west and land until the bad weather blows over.”

“No, we need to around it, or above it, for all we know the pirates are in that storm, we could catch them!” urged Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Spike gasped.

“Apple Bloom, we don’t even know if the pirates are even in this stretch of the ocean!” said an exasperated Scootaloo, as her firm grip on the controls started to wane, “The winds are picking up, we’re going to have to turn around! The weather at sea isn’t controlled by Pegasi, like in Equestria.”

“NO! We sail around this storm or through it!” insisted Apple Bloom forcefully, “Ah haven’t crossed a hundred miles of ocean to just turn around now! Please, Scoots!”

Scootaloo looked up at Apple Bloom, her eyes dead serious and overwhelmed by Apple Blooms steely resolve. But it was not enough to change her mind. She took hold of the wheel and swayed the Red Mistress to the right, intent on avoiding the growing storm. Gritting her teeth, Apple Bloom lunged upon Scootaloo, forcing the airship to keep true, forcing Scootaloo away from the wheel. The two mares struggled and shoved to keep each other away from the wheel, grunting and squealing in effort to force the other to surrender. Sweetie Belle squeaked in shock and galloped over to pry Apple Bloom off Scootaloo, while Spike dashed over to the cockpit to stabilise the airship. He opened the back door to release the sacks of ballast to gain altitude. However, for all their efforts, it was too little too late, the moment’s hesitation was enough for the winds of the storm to sweep the Mistress in. The thick sheen of rain met the windows of the airship, covering her in a thick pall of water flowing over her. The world around them darkened as Mistress was sent through a vortex of dark cloud and swirling rain. Apple Bloom was subdued, as Scootaloo took control of the wheel once again, trying to keep her stable as the storm forced the Mistress up and down and side to side, swirling her beating her to the rough rhythm of the winds. Worse still were the searing flashes of lightning followed by deafening clamour of thunder, so close they could almost feel it vibrate through them. Sweetie Belle shrieked in panic, holding her hooves over her ears, terrified running down her cheek, Apple Bloom only looked on with a dead expression, understanding that they were reaping what she had sewn. She glanced around, there was no sign of Spike. Rainwater seeped through the windows and filled the gondola with the thick airborne mist.

“I’ll try and get her above cloud level!! Hang onto something!!” bellowed Scootaloo as she struggled to keep a steady course through the overpowering air currents.

The taut rigging began to snap as the Mistress was forced up and down through the cloud. Scootaloo kept the wheel firmly locked, determined not to let the ship fly out of control, but she was fighting against the mighty air-currents. She spied a thin ray of light that seemed to be a break in the cloud, a place where the winds were at the weakest, and a chance to get out. Keeping the wheel tightly locked on course, and with the gale bearing down on them, the Mistress was caught between the indomitable will of Scootaloo the pilot and nature’s fury. Scootaloo summoned every inch of her strength, the heroic image of her idol, Rainbow Dash, urging her on in her head, she was almost there. This time, nature triumphed. The pressure was too much, a rope snapped, and the rigging binding the gondola to the gas envelope snapped and whipped undone from position as the Red Mistress rocketed downwards through the column of cloud and rain, parting with its means of keeping afloat. A lightning strike tore through the sky, and another blinding flash followed as the gas envelope burst into a plume of red flames. Gravity and the shockwaves of the blast sent the lower half on a piercing course downwards. The three mares screamed and held on together for dear life as the black vaults of the sea rose to claim the broken half of their airship as it descended nose first into the dark, frothing waves.

**************

Midnight lay over the endless sea, the waves had calmed and low lapped at the wrecked gondola of the former Red Mistress. The storm was not very big, and she could have made the distance had the rigging remained intact. Aboard its ruined, waterlogged deck, four friends lay together, too tired to shed a tear or defy their fate and attempt to sail home. Their supplies were ruined and the pithy remains of the rigging and gas envelope floated helplessly around them. All they could remember was the fierce blur of trying to stay together through the gale winds and the roaring waves. It was the combined might of Spike and Scootaloo’s determined flapping that kept the nose-diving Mistress from sinking to the bottom. The four friends were utterly spent after having fought the wind and rains to escape. Now an hour had passed, no one said anything, no one had the strength to raise their voice. But all the while, Apple Bloom cursed herself for letting her rash desire blind her to the danger of the storm. As the darkness of sleep closed in on her once again, she spied a ship ahead, against the lunar beams, she feebly raised a hoof to raise its attention, but relented when she saw the black flag flying above the mast. She saw nothing more that night.