You have no idea how you got numbed to the beauty of sight of the sprawling land beneath your wings, or in your case a giant bag of hot air.
You are taking a break from walking because it has gotten to the point where you can’t walk too far without having to stop for rest. The clear sunny sky would invite an able-bodied gryphonn to take flight. Still feeling tired you roll back onto your feet and force your drained muscles to lift you to your feet, your dulled talon slips on the floor and you nearly fall back down.
Almost the instant you regain balance a thick metal shudder falls over all the windows, locking you in darkness with a blaring alarm. A red flashing lighting system starts signaling you further into the ship. You have absolutely no idea what’s going on other than your presumed date is being postponed. With what happened last time still burned into your mind you sprint full tilt down the hallway.
As you sprint down the hallway all you mind keeps recalling those creepy training dummys. The only movement in the hallways are the many blinking lights directing you towards presumed safety. The hallways eventually lead you to a sign you couldn’t read but the colors said stop so you stop yourself on a wall.
A burning chest, a loud room and a painfully heavy heartbeat suddenly all make themselves known once you come to a stop. The pain coupled with your already drained body immediately pull you to sleep.
~~~
“Sir are you okay?” you feel a hoof poking at your chest.
“Sir?” poke.
“Hello?” poke.
“Are you alright?” poke.
“Helllo? sir?” the hoof pokes at you some more.
“please be alive! please! please! I don’t wanna be stuck in here with a corpse!” a clearly panicked female voice calls out in a panic.
<Fuck off> you try to push the invader away but you can’t summon the strength.
“Sorry sorry!” she backs away from you.
“Please forgive me sir!” the past few weeks people really like calling you sir.
“I’m sorry I reacted like that! please!” you get up to face the panicked mare.
<Fuck off or calm down> the grey mare recognized one of your hand gestures of choice.
“Please accept my apology!” she doesn’t seem to realize you can’t speak.
~~~
“Onyx I’ll let you deal with this I want to observe my potential Valkyries” Artorias says as he leaves the room before Onyx can react.
“...what?”
Onyx has had already had enough of the crazy old man taking senseless actions and threatening her like a kid but calmly walking away in a combat situation has to be his worst action to date.
“Ma'am The Valkyrie led squadron is on their way”
“Are they going to arrive before they can fire again?”
“no”
“Ma’am we that last barrage destroyed the force field” a panicked gunner comments.
“The armour can take the hit” another gunner responds.
~~~
An apocalyptic shockwave knocks the apologetic mare off her feet and onto your chest.
“I’m sorry..” she was less panicked but more flustered.
<Calm down> you place your talon on her back.
“I... just am not just.... used to situations like this” you reach for your notepad but find the pocket empty.
<are you kidding me?>
“I’m just far away from home on a strange ship, surrounded by strange people, and stuck in an emergency room with a scary looking stallion....”
~~~
The barrage didn’t even scratch the hull and the main cannon fired without her permission. Onyx knew this was Artorias’s doing but she didn’t have time for that because the largest cannon is existence just went off with eyesight of Canterlot while it was aimed at simple pirates. Not only that but she was sure she just obliterated the Valkyrie too.
“Report from Gilda Auditore! Her team has successfully captured every single pirate aboard their little fleet” Artorias renters the room.
“What....” Onyx falls to the ground defeated. She has absolutely no way of beating an old man with no discipline. All her good marks in military school were for nothing.
“Right everyone let’s go find out how pirates got their hoofs on Gryphon military hardware”
“..right” Onyx still can’t comprehend how every single time she is wrong, even with the cripple.
“My ship is invincible boys! She just took a direct barrage from four of the second most powerful guns in existence like nothing!”
~~~
“Please stand by for an announcement from the Admiral” a defeated sounding Onyx says over the speaker system.
<This is going to be good>
“Everyone please calm down, we didn’t even need to put the ship into combat mode.... and the ship jerking was just the world’s most powerful cannon firing so everyone get back to your day”
<Blunt and ineloquent, I love Artorias>
“I want to properly apologize for my behavior today”
<You can do that by leaving me alone>
“My name is Aria Philharmonica and I ask if you can give please find a way to forgive me?”
<How the fuck am I supposed to answer that?>
“hahaha..... Sorry!”
~~~
Artorias meanders down the hallways of the bland command deck, his star operative has just come back with a the batch of captives. Gilda and Surtr have proven to be many times more useful than he had expected them to be, hell even Onyx may have some talent in her. Artorias’s mind begins to wander to how he can have the both work on the same project.
He arrives at an elevator, Artorias doesn’t like this elevator so she waits for the other one to arrive. Once his preferred elevator arrives he steps in and selects his destination.
The elevator reaches its destination and the enchantments pop open the door to reveal the docks. The entire place was a mad house with gryphons flying everywhere working on the captured cannons. There are more crowds watching and escorting the new crews of the small fleet that attacked the ship.
Artorias only wants to know his newly designed armour system worked so he asked one of the many flies buzzing where she can be found. Captain Gilda Auditore can be found in the Valkyrie locker room. With the new information in hand he casually strolls into the room.
“Didn't anyone tell you to knock first?” Gilda greets him in a flat voice.
“I own the ship, this is also my room” Artorias replies mocking Gilda’s tone of voice.
“I’m guessing you want to hear a report...” she trails off and starts digging in her locker.
“Okay now let me hear how well it...” he is interrupted by Gilda shoving a stack of papers in his face before she disappears out the door.
“I said hear it not read it!” Artorias tried to follow her but she was already gone.
~~~
You weren't prepared for the scene that welcomed you when you made it back to your room. Outside the room one of the mountains surrounding canterlot has ceased to exist, along with an entire valley being on fire. Some parts of destroyed ships still float in a haze of black smoke that chokes the entire vally.