When Hornblower heard that a princess was visiting the ship, he sprang up immediately from his desk and rushed to his seachest to dig out his dress coat. Talking horses or not, if royalty was visiting his ship, he needed to look his best.
As he arrived up on deck, he saw Bush by the railing, looking out through the spyglass. “What news, Mr. Bush?”
Bush turned, caught sight of Hornblower’s dress coat, and tried to restrain a smile. When Hornblower glared at him, he gave his report. “A chariot pulled up right to the very edge of the water. I believe they may be waiting for us to come to them.”
Hornblower exhaled slowly. “Then let’s go down to greet them, Mr. Bush.”
The two of them carefully climbed down the ladder and waded over to the chariot. Despite himself, Hornblower was astounded at the craftsmanship on display. It appeared to have been made entirely out of glass, with careful metalwork around the edges. He’d never seen that sort of technique among humans. How on earth could a species without thumbs even manage this?
He turned his gaze upwards to take in the princess, only to find his jaw dropping open for the second time in as many days. Unlike the other horses, this one appeared to be the size of a regular horse. But that wasn’t what had caught Hornblower’s eye. The princess, in addition to being bright pink and sporting a tri-colored mane, had a pair of wings and a unicorn horn. Pegasus and unicorns, he’d heard of. But a combination of the two? It meant that this was no doubt a very powerful creature. Who knew what it could do to his ship?
The princess alighted gracefully from the chariot and inclined her head at Hornblower and Bush. “Hello, Captain. I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, ruler of the Crystal Empire. Please, forgive my intrusion.”
Hornblower, despite feeling utterly ridiculous, bowed to her. “I believe I should be saying that of you. My ship is the one trespassing in your empire, after all.”
Cadenza laughed. “Oh, no, no, Captain, you misunderstand. The Crystal Empire is a separate kingdom from Equestria. I’m merely here on behalf of Princess Celestia. She wished to see you herself, but she has matters of state to attend to.”
“I understand that.” Hornblower said faintly. Empires, multiple princesses…just how large was this island? Straightening up, he asked, “What brings you here, Princess Cadenza?”
She laughed again. “Oh, please, Captain, I don’t want to stand on too much formality. Princess Cadance will be fine. And to answer your question, I’m afraid it all hinges on a misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding?”
“Princess Celestia received a letter yesterday from Mayor Wedge, saying that a human ship had entered their port and was refusing assistance. No ship has ever done this before, so she came to the conclusion that there was something on board that the humans didn’t want them to see. Both Celestia and I highly doubt that this is the case, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. As such, Captain, would you be willing to allow my husband and I to take a tour of your ship, just to assuage any nervousness?”
Hornblower felt the old familiar pang of embarrassment. He’d thought keeping the horses and his ship separate would be better for all in the long run, but as usual, he’d miscalculated and was now staring down the face of an international incident. With talking horses, no less.
There was nothing for it. Putting on a polite smile, he nodded and stepped aside, gesturing to his ship. “Of course, Princess. I deeply apologize for causing any nervousness. Please, feel free to look around for as long as it takes to quell any fears.”
Cadenza (after all this, Hornblower felt it was safer to stand on ceremony) flashed him a warm smile. “Thank you, Captain. I assure you, this should take no more than an hour, if all is well.” She gestured to a unicorn that had appeared beside her, wearing armor that resembled that of Roman legionaries and was looking at him with an expression that was simultaneously friendly and wary. “My husband, Shining Armor.”
Hornblower bowed to him as well. “Welcome to the Lydia, both of you. Will you be able to get on board on your own, or should I bring the ship closer to lay out a gangplank?”
“I think we can manage.” Cadenza said with a smile, nodding to her husband. At that, Shining Armor’s horn glowed, producing a reddish-pink bubble around him that lifted him into the air, while Cadenza spread her wings and flapped alongside him, both of them floating over to where the Lydia was waiting. Even from this distance, Hornblower could hear the men’s excited voices, and did his level best to maintain his composure. “Come along, Mr. Bush,” he said, “Best not to keep our…distinguished guests waiting.”
By the time he and Bush had climbed back up on deck, Cadenza and her husband had already landed, and were looking around with interest, while Hornblower’s men had stopped all pretext of work and were openly staring at the new arrivals. “Resume your repairs!” Bush barked next to Hornblower, and Hornblower breathed a prayer of thanks that Bush’s tone always had such a no-nonsense air. Bush continued, “We don’t want to make our guests uncomfortable!”
The men jumped and guiltily resumed their duties. Hornblower approached the two horses again. “Forgive my men, Princess. They’ve never seen anything like…well, all of this before.”
“I understand. It’s natural to be curious. And they aren’t the only ones; I’ve never seen a ship like this before. I look forward to exploring it.”
Hornblower cleared his throat. “Yes, well…allow me to give you a tour. Mr. Bush, make sure the men continue their duties.”
And so he led the two horses through the ship, briefly explaining the purpose of each room and allowing them a few minutes to look around to make sure there was nothing suspicious. Both of them asked questions; Cadenza was curious about living conditions on board, Shining Armor about their weaponry and defensive capabilities. It seemed that he was a military ma…horse himself, and Hornblower warmed to him slightly, especially when Shining Armor seemed to find no fault with the layout of the guns.
True to Cadenza’s word, they emerged onto the deck an hour later. She smiled and inclined her head to Hornblower. “Thank you for your graciousness, Captain. I will be able to report to Princess Celestia and to the inhabitants of Baltimare that they have nothing to fear from your ship.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Hornblower said, giving a genuine smile back. Perhaps now they would be able to complete their repairs in peace.
Shining Armor gave him a salute and conjured up his bubble again, floating back to the beach. Cadenza was about to follow him when her eyes widened. “Oh, I almost forgot! Princess Celestia asked me to give this to you.”
She opened a small satchel that had been hanging by her side and withdrew a rolled up scroll of paper. “Good luck with your repairs, Captain.” she said, placing it into his hand before rising up into the air.
Hornblower waited until she had safely landed on the beach before breaking the seal and reading the contents. It was written in an elegant, swooping script, exactly what one might expect from royalty. The contents read as follows;
My Dear Captain Hornblower,
I do apologize for any inconvenience Princess Cadance’s visit may have caused among your crew, but I am sure you understand my need to protect Equestria. I have no doubt that this is all a simple misunderstanding that can be cleared up by a tour of your ship, and you will be just as gracious as the other humans who have arrived here.
However, as a gesture of goodwill, I would very much appreciate it if you, and perhaps your first officer, could come to Canterlot tomorrow to have a meal with me. I am sure you’re anxious to get underway, but this will reassure the populace that you mean us no harm.
A chariot will arrive for you at eleven in the morning. I look forward to meeting with you.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia
Hornblower sighed. It was very prettily worded, but he knew an order when he saw one. But he supposed he could see the logic behind it; it was a diplomatic negotiation, of sorts, one that would cement the positive impression he’d just given Princess Cadenza. Besides, it was no doubt considered a great honor to dine with their Princess, and refusing would just be one more black mark on his reputation.
He approached Bush, who was still supervising the repairs to the mast—other than the cannons, this was the one area giving the men the most difficulty. “Mr. Bush, may I have a word?”
Bush nodded and followed Hornblower out of earshot of the men. “What is it, Captain?”
Hornblower handed him the letter. Bush read it over quickly, then looked back at him with an inquisitive, almost excited glint in his eye. Hornblower nodded. “Make sure your dress uniform is clean, Mr. Bush. It’s not every day that one is allowed to dine with royalty.”