//------------------------------// // Everything Sucks // Story: Flagship // by TroyValice //------------------------------// FLAGSHIP- Chapter 1: Everything Sucks Rainbow Dash was devastated. Her whole world had just come crashing down around her. The two letters she held in front of her cemented every fear she had. She was too deep in shock to even cry. To her left was a letter from the Wonder Bolts academy saying that her scholarship was being pulled due to recent stunts she had pulled resulting in the damage of two airships. It was the kind way of expelling her without damaging her record. To her right was a letter from her sister, saying that their mom had died a week ago and she wouldn't even be allowed to attend the funeral. After just staring off into space for almost ten minutes she finally brought herself to cry. She put her head down on the table and sobbed. Her whole life had come crashing down around her. Her mom was dead, her sister was still as heartless as ever, her dream of being a Wonder Bolt had been ruined forever, and as the cherry on this cake of misery, the dorm she was living in had been taken away from her, so she was homeless as well. Things could not have gotten worse if someone tried to make them. She cried through the night. Rainbow woke up with her eyes still watery. She must have fallen asleep late last night. Out the window, she could see the sun just beginning to peak over the eastern mountains. Normally she would be leaving for morning drills right about now. Rainbow sighed to herself. Most of her tears had passed and she was left with a crushing emptiness inside of her. She flew up to her room to start packing her stuff. The majority of her belongings were technically owned by the school but she still had a few things that she could call her own. A pair of flight goggles that her dad had given her, and the Griffish leather jacket her old friend Gilda had sent her as a farewell gift were at the top of the list, followed by some flight charts and airship models. She stopped as she picked up her Hurricane Class model. She had had it since she was a little filly when she first had wanted to be a part of of the Wonder Bolts. It was the ship she had been training to fly until yesterday. She started to tear up again and quickly locked it into the case she was using and shoved it in her duffel bag. Grabbing what little cash she had,  she headed out, still not sure what she was going to do. It was mid-morning by the time she finally flew into the main city. Normally, Rainbow loved San Fillycisco, with it's pristine sky line, clean air, and, most importantly, international airship dock. However, in light of recent events, she wasn't seeing the city in it's usual bright light. She contemplated going to a bar and drinking her sorrows away, but decided against it, based solely on the fact that she couldn't afford the amount of alcohol it would take to make her not feel the pain she felt. She instead resigned herself to wandering around the city, not knowing or caring where she might end up. An hour later, Rainbow found herself flying up to the docks. She vaguely had a plan to get on a ship headed east, where she knew her dad was working on a trade ship. She was still as lost as she was that morning, not having anywhere near enough cash for such a long voyage or any inkling as to her dads whereabouts other than east. What happened next was merely by chance. THUD! Rainbow found herself knocked to the ground after having turned a corner on the dock "Oh goddesses, I'm so sorry about that, I didn't see you there.” The stranger who had bumped into her said. Rainbow looked up to see the stallion speaking to her. He had a white coat and very dark, almost black, rust colored mane that was slicked back, making it look like it had frozen while the wind was blowing though it. He was just slightly bigger than she was, so still small for an earth pony, but had very toned muscles, suggesting he did a lot of physical labor. He had a compass for a cutie mark, with the W highlighted. Resting on his forehead were a pair of red tinted flight goggles that were scratched up a little around the edges. He wore a beige jacket and black vest, both with polished  brass buttons. He stared blankly at her for a few seconds, as if unsure what to do next. "Hey, you're a Pegasus right?" he finally came up with. "Did the wings give it away?" Rainbow responded flatly. "Hehe, you've got an attitude, I like that. You want a job?" He looked at her intently, awaiting an answer. "Um, what?" was the best Rainbow could do. "Ah, yes, I can see how that might be a little sudden. Allow me to explain, I work on an airship and we're due to leave port in..." He stopped for a second to pull a pocket watch out his vest pocket and glance at it. "Thirteen minutes. Oh boy, I am cutting this close. Anyway, we're a pony short so my captain told me to find any able-bodied Pegasus and offer them a job. Here, I'll show you." Before Rainbow could object he grabbed her hoof and dragged her around another corner and down to the end of the pier. In front of Rainbow Dash stood the most impressive airship she had ever seen. It wasn't the biggest or the most flashy ship she'd ever seen, but it certainly packed the most firepower, and having spent her last two years at a military academy, Rainbow was no stranger to firepower. The ship itself was about the size of a Scorpion Class, which was a mid-sized battleship, with two large gas balloons suspended over it. Both the balloons and sidings were armored with gold-trimmed steel plates that looked like they were either just polished, or, more likely, just replaced. Along both sides of the deck were six artillery cannons, with four more jutting out of the bow. Still, the most stunning component of the arsenal was the giant mortar at the stern. It was huge. Like, one shot from this thing and you'd be lucky to remember your ship ever existed huge. The stallion turned to her and grinned. “She’s a beauty, isn’t she” he said proudly. Rainbow realized her mouth was hanging open from the sight in front of her. There was no way this thing was remotely legal. She turned to ask him about it but was cut off before she could say anything. “Anyway we just need a deck hand to man the scout’s post. You have any experience working on an airship?” He asked, oblivious to her obvious shock. Rainbow dash quickly composed herself and said, “Well I’ve been training to fly airships at the Wonder Bolts Academy for the past two years…” The stallion actually looked really dejected after hearing that “Oh, then you must have other obligations, to the academy and whatnot, probably have your own ship and crew. Oh well, sorry for bothering you, I’ll let you be on your way then” he said, with a tone of sadness in his voice. “But I kinda got kicked out yesterday, so-” before she could finish, the stallion instantly perked up and grabbed her by the shoulders. “So you're free then! Free to take the job, that is. Not saying you weren’t free before, though from what I’ve heard about military academies… I'm getting ahead of myself here, let me introduce you to the captain!" He said excitedly, with the biggest smile on his face. He began leading Rainbow up the gangplank to the deck. “Hey, wait, I never said I’d take the job!” Rainbow protested, but it fell on deaf ears “Ah, details, details, we’ll sort those out later.” He responded. Rainbow thought about just flying away from this crazy pony, but in all honesty, she was seriously considering the job. Sure it was sudden, but it’s not like she had anywhere else to go, and she needed any cash she could get. She would at least entertain the idea of meeting the captain. The deck of the ship was cleanly polished, suggesting it had been recently swabbed. Majority of the deck was empty, save the artillery cannons and and large open hatch in the middle that lead to the hold. She only saw two ponies on deck, an orange one with a blond mane wearing a stetson, and white one with a spiky purple mane. The orange one glanced at her and smiled before turning back to the riggings she was working on. Rainbow quickly realized something. “Hey, I still don’t know your name. What is it?” She asked while being lead up some steps to a room behind the wheel. “Oh, did I forget to tell you. Sorry, I have a bit of a one track mind.” He said “You don’t say.” Rainbow deadpanned “Anyway, it’s Westward Movement, But that’s a bit of a mouthful so everyone calls me west” He grinned and continued to lead her the the door. “Um, aren’t you going to ask what my name it?” Rainbow inquired “No, I’m terrible with names, So I’ll just call you Rainbow. You know, because your mane looks like a rainbow” he said as he open the door to the room. “Um, okay, I guess...” Rainbow was not one to argue a technical truth. The room itself was magnificent. The walls were lined with charts from all over the world. There were small bookshelves on either side of the room. On the back wall was a large map of the world, covered in lines and notes around certain points. In the center was a desk with all sorts of trinkets littering it. Behind it, slouched over a letter of some kind, was a purple unicorn mare with a deep violet mane that had a pink stripe going through it. She was wearing a tricorn hat with a red feather in it that glowed radiantly. “Reporting for duty captain!” West exclaimed “GAH” the captain yelped as she jumped up. She looked over at West, clearly startled by their sudden entry. She calmed down at the sight of him and smiled. “Oh, thank Celestia, it’s just you West. Don’t startle me like that.” She sighed and looked over to Rainbow Dash. “And you must be the poor soul who had the misfortune of running into him at the docks. He can be a bit scatterbrained but he has a good heart, trust me. So, anyway, you must be here about the job. You couldn’t be joining at a better time! Starting salary is 8% of the total haul, after taxes of course, and the royal fee, but with it being the beginning of trade season that should be around anywhere between one to two hundred thousand bits.” Rainbow’s jaw dropped at that. The captain continued on as if she had said it might get cloudy later. “Anyways I’m just going to need your most recent physical, insurance information, place of residence. You know the usual job stuff.” The captain smiled but before Rainbow could say anything, West cut in. “Um, captain, you do realize that we’re due to leave in...” He glanced down at his pocket watch “Two minutes.” “WHAT! That can’t be right, I only just sent you out!” the captain yelled “You sent me out two hours ago captain” West replied “Oh shoot, I must have gotten so caught up in this letter from the princess time slipped away from me. Have second mate Applejack untie us, and tell Parish to fire up the gas pumps. Our heading should be east by southeast. Move! Miss… I’m sorry I don’t think I heard your name” The captain asked as west ran out the door. “Um, it’s Rainbow Dash” Rainbow responded, vaguely aware that the ship was taking off and she was going with it. “Right, Miss Rainbow Dash, I’m afraid we’ll have to skip the formalities. As of right now I’m inditing you into the crew of royal airship Sun Flair. Report to first mate Westward Movement for your duties. You are dismissed.” The captain finished and went back to her letter. Rainbow Dash blinked. It looked like she would be taking the job after all. She had no problem with this of course, she’d be okay with any kind of job for 100,000 bits. still there was one thing that irked her “Miss captain?” Rainbow inquired “Please, call me captain Twilight. What’s the matter?” Twilight responded “I was just wondering, why do you need so much artillery on the ship?” Rainbow asked “Oh didn’t West tell you? This is a privateering ship, we need those to subdue any trade ship defences. Anything else?” Ok, maybe Rainbow was in a little over her head for 100,000 bits.