Convicted and Lost
Sweetie Belle awoke with a start. She was shaken off her cot by the lurching of the ship coming to a sudden halt, dumping her from the cot to the hard metal ground. Not that the cot was any more comfortable anyway.
Sighing, she rose up and took in her surroundings. She was stuck in a small cell that smelt strongly of sweat and dirtiness, it was dimly illuminated by the small gas-burning lamps on the far wall; the light just barely reached up to the fourteen hash-marks scratched into the metal walls.
Sweetie Belle was actually glad for the small source of light; had it been any bigger or brighter, she would be able to see herself in the sorry state she was in.
The only other objects occupying her cell were her cot and a bucket in the corner. She had been quite distraught at first when she had learned just what it was for, but now it was just another part of her life. Her clothes had been stripped away when they found her outside her cell trying to pick the lock with a screwdriver and a hairpin. It made her feel oddly naked and vulnerable.
Trotting over the few steps that lead to the entrance of her cell she sat down and waited, eyes closed. There was no sun or moon to indicate the passing of time, so she had learnt to listen to the ship’s vibrations. The ship’s large Sparkle Generator wasn’t too far from the brig. The engine practically spoke to her as it went about its timed cycles, keeping the ship afloat.
A moan from deeper within the prison stole her attention. The pony who had tried to assault her, corporal Green Lance, was still in his cell. He looked horrible. His mane was disheveled and he badly needed a shower. Hopefully she didn’t look as bad as he did.
“What’re you lookin at?” he snapped at her.
She actually felt a pang of pity for him, none of his two companions had bothered to visit him after being freed., leaving him alone in the cell spending his free time either swearing at her or doing obscene things.
Ironically, she had been getting more visitors. Captain Darius came to see her to discuss various things, such as her trial and how they managed to sneak Zap Apple fuel in and out of the borders.
Sweetie Belle listened attentively to the former and spewed nonsense at the latter. The captain seemed to know, but didn’t press her for more. Actually he was getting nicer and nicer to her. Once in a while, the pony who brought her food would talk; sometimes, she would even sneak her a little extra.
A sliver of light appeared and quickly grew as the jail’s door opened. A pony trotted in, his steps calculated and precise, despite the slight rumbling of the ship. “Hello, Miss Sweetie Belle,” greeted Captain Darius as he came to a stop in front of her cell. As usual he wore his gleaming naval officer’s uniform this time with twice as many medals as she was used to seeing on him. Smiling gently at her he began to talk, “we have arrived at port. Unfortunately, that means you must prepare for a trial.”
With a motion of his head, two more ponies trotted in, wrinkling their noses at the smell. One ventured forward and unlocked her cell door. “Come; we must make you presentable,” Darius said as he led.
Sweetie Belle timidly walked out of the cell and began following the captain. From the far cell Green Lance screamed and hollered. The other two ponies followed after Sweetie Belle, ignoring the pitiful pony as they shoved her along. She felt pity for him, but knew that she might be in an even worse scenario than he.
Sweetie Belle trotted behind the captain as he made his way through the ship. He moved about the many twists and turns of the maze-like structure of the corridors. They crossed several other crewponies who would smile and salute the captain respectfully, then glare at her as she passed.
“Please don’t be distraught. I am positive that they would grow to like you, given time.” He smiled at her.
“Why don’t they like me?” she asked. She knew that answer. At least partially. But the loathing she saw in their eyes coupled by what Green Lance wanted to do to her left her stunned. She couldn’t imagine doing something that would make everypony hate her so much.
“Why, they see you as responsible for the death of fellow crew members. After so long together in the air we become a... family of sorts.”
“If the crew were a family, would that mean that you're their father?” she asked. He looked around and rose an eyebrow at her.
“That is an apt analogy, I would believe. Yes, I have become the father of the crew.” While glancing behind at her the captain failed to notice a little brown unicorn trotting down the tight corridor while floating a thick manual in front of himself.
Just as Sweetie Belle was going to call out a warning the two ponies ran into each other and tumbled on the metallic walkway in a pile of legs and hooves. The captain rose up first, sweeping dust off of his uniform, then levitated the nervous earth pony onto his hooves. Dropping him with a light clang on the walkway before fetching his book and handing it to him.
“Wilson, was it?” he asked. The pony nodded. “You really should watch where you’re going,” he paused, “then again I should do the same.... You were too excited thinking of that marefriend of yours, weren’t you?” The brown pony became red. “Haha, it’s alright lad, keep working; you’ll see her soon.” Darius patted the crewmember on the back and indicated to Sweetie Belle with a quick jerk of his head to keep moving.
“So...” began Sweetie Belle after a few more minutes of trotting through the ship. “Where are we going?”
“To my bedchambers, dear.”
Sweetie Belle stopped on the spot, the two guards coming to a halt before prodding her forward. He wanted to go where? Her eyes widened in fear.
Darius turned around and looked at her quizzically. Suddenly, his eyes lit up in understanding and he blushed. “Oh my, please do not misunderstand me! In no way did I-” he facehoofed. “Please trust me, I have absolutely no bad intentions.”
The guards pushed her forward once more and she stumbled forward a few feet. “Right,” she said, still uncertain.
Despite the absurdity of the situation, something told her that she could trust the odd captain. She followed his lead until he stopped in front of a carved wooden door that looked partially out of place in the otherwise bland ship. Darius opened the door then backed away, showing that she should enter. Cautiously, she stepped into the room.
The room was just large enough for what it held: a dresser and a large cot, as well as a few commodities. It was coloured in the plain grey that the navy adored. What immediately grabbed her attention though was the open door leading to a bathroom where a light cloud of steam was forming.
“There,” he said pointing to the washroom. “Clothes were prepared for you in there; cleaned and pressed. I believe you know how to take care of yourself?” he nodded at her dismissively. “Good then, knock on the door when you are done- oh, and please don’t waste any time...”
Sweetie Belle nodded and watched as the captain trotted out of the room. Once he closed the door, she wrapped the handle in her magic and locked it. Satisfied, she inspected the room.
A lonesome picture frame sat upon a drawer, the only piece of decoration in the room. She trotted over to frame and gazed at the image.
Sweetie Belle grabbed the image with her magic and levitated it near her, a slightly younger Captain Darius stood to the side of a mare that was about her age. The mare was smiling to the camera. She carefully replaced it; it was obviously important to him.
She trotted over to the small bathroom and giggled in ecstasy when she saw the small tub full of steaming water. Without a thought she hopped into the warm liquid and sank to the bottom of its pool with a sigh.
She sank deeper and deeper into the bath, letting her hooves slide against the smooth surface. Soon, she was completely submerged, except for her pink muzzle poking out from the water's surface like a snorkels tube. Steaming hot water surrounded her body, the heat working away the aches and pains built over days of confinement.
A contented sigh escaped her lips. For a moment, it felt as though she was back home, sitting in her own bathroom and soaking in the tub. She didn't even get to enjoy such baths in her own airship, as water was quite the commodity on board. Waving her hooves in the water, she wondered why she was given the luxury of a bath in the first place. Perhaps they had more water tanks here or something, enough for the captain to have one every day.
Captain Darius. She didn't know much about him yet, but he did make an effort to visit her now and then in her cell, sometimes even sharing a few laughs. Definitely more civilized than that green pony that assaulted her. Corporal Green Fern was it? She hadn't even bothered to take note of his name. Thank Celestia not all of the Imperials were like him...
A knock at the door snapped her back to reality. Quickly looking around she found a bar of soap was conveniently placed near the tub; she picked it up and began cleaning the grime of the last few days off of her coat as quickly as possible before sliding out, dripping with soapy water.
Looking around she found a towel stacked above a neatly folded pile of clothes. The outfit was very similar to her own; a basic mechanic’s outfit with many pockets and small hidden pouches. She twisted it around and noticed the small crest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders over the left breast pocket. The hoof that had done the sewing was far from good, but she smiled at the effort all the same.
She glanced at herself in the small mirror and smiled. At least she looked presentable. Nice even. Trotting over to the entrance she knocked on the door and was greeted by the two guards; one of them did a double take on her, which she found curious.
She followed the guards with her head held high; somehow the bath and time alone rejuvenated her confidence. “Um... Would you, um... where are we going?” The guard ahead of her jumped in surprise, he evidently didn’t expect her to speak.
“To the captain,” he said, trying to sound casual.
“Where is that?” she asked, but he kept silent, pointedly looking the other way.. She shrugged and followed him through the enormous ship.
On occasion she would slow down to inspect some of the inner workings of the ship, especially anything having to do with the huge Sparkle Generator and its panoply of wires.
Eventually the trio reached the massive reinforced door of the main cargo hold. Upon opening it bright sunlight streamed into the room blinding her momentarily before she placed her hoof ahead of her eyes.
“You look much better, Miss Belle.” Captain Darius said as he appeared at her side carrying a full checklist. A pen flew by and crossed the last item on the list off before he pocketed both. Sweetie Belle blushed involuntarily. “I have arranged for transportation over to the judicial building. Please, follow me.” He led her over to a small six passenger sky-cart with a single massive engine took up half the skycart's size.
The pilot, a mare in navy uniform, saluted the captain, welcoming him aboard. She waited patiently for Sweetie Belle and the two guards to sit down and buckle themselves into their seats. The pilot leaned towards the ship’s dashboard and flicked a few switches, with a loud bang, the engine rumbled to life, sending clouds of dust scattering through the hold. Then she turned around and addressed her passengers with a smile. “Where to, sir?”
“The High Judicial Court please.” The mare looked at him wide eyed, then glanced at Sweetie Belle, connecting the dots.
“Alrighty then.” The mare turned back to her controls and tapped on a comm unit, a sharp crackle met her from the built-in speakers. “This is light transport unit two, nine, three, seven, four, requesting clearance to Judicial route.” Sweetie Belle paid no heed to the string of numbers and codes that followed. Instead she glanced out of the large entrance. Once her eyes began adjusting she could make out the shapes of tall spires that rose out of sight.
She decided that they must have descended to a lower part of the city before docking. She had never seen Canterlot, of course she knew that it was large. In her mind it was a slightly bigger version of New Appleloosa, only with more Imperials and less poverty.
All her mental images of a slightly larger New Appleloosa were shattered as the small airship forced itself into the air and out of the cargo hold doors in a puff of smoke and exhaust. They were not, in fact, close to the ground; they were thousands of feet up.
Above her, the tall gleaming white spires of Canterlot rose endlessly, piercing both clouds and sky as they reflected the light of the dawning sun.
Her jaw dropped, causing Darius laughed. “First time in Canterlot?” he asked. “Just don’t look down,” he advised.
Seconds later, Sweetie Belle felt her stomach rise to her throat as her head dangled out of the ship. The ground was far below them, so far that she had a hard time seeing it through the maze of airships that tangled and flew at speeds that made them appear as coloured blurs.
Hundreds of walkways connected the building together as thousands of pastel colored dots walked, trotted, and went about their daily business. Puffs of smoke rose from the vehicles and mingled into the air, giving it the stench of burning fuel and boiling grease.
Sweetie Belle forced herself back into the ship with the aid of the captain. “Breathe in through your nose, it helps. Also, don’t look down,” he admonished.
Sweetie Belle followed his advice and tried to calm herself down. She closed her eyes and breathed in gently, listening to the blaring sounds of the city around her. “There is so much.” she declared, unable to string together a coherent sentence.
The captain laughed and was soon joined by the two guards. “Indeed, they say ‘he who controls Canterlot controls Equestria’. It’s a good saying.”
Sweetie Belle tried to look at the sky above to distract herself. After so long in the skies the fluffy clouds and warm blue skies had become a second home to her. But, rather than seeing the usual peaceful white ocean of clouds being carried away by a gentle wind, she saw a black pool of fog dotted with the huge forms of airships too large to fit within the city. One in particular caught her attention.
The humongous grey airship was easily ten times longer than the Interdiction-class airships that surrounded it. Its forward cannon alone could have engulfed The Crusader. She stared at it wide-eyed and slack-jawed, not even glancing at the hundreds of other large military ships dotting the Canterlot skies.
“The Sol Scorcher. Best not look at it too much.” she felt a hoof pull her head back down and into the ship.
“We’re almost there,” said the pilot.
Sweetie Belle gulped, in her elation at seeing the city she had forgotten why she was there. She felt a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. Your sister is responsible for clothing half the city’s population. If the Imperials were to anger her...”
She smiled at him a little. “Thank you very much Mr. Darius. You’ve been very helpful.” He looked at her surprised and moved his jaw as if to speak, but no words came out.
“You’re welcome?” he finally said. They remained silent for the rest of the trip as the small shuttle raced towards its destination.
The pilot mare turned around and looked at the captain gravely. "Captain, we have reached our destination" The judicial building loomed ahead of them. Tall, black, and ominous within the sea of white towers, its main spire poking into the grey clouds above it, no airship other then the imperial warships were near it, almost as if the citizens of Canterlot were afraid of approaching the eery building. Sweetie Belle gulped.
Breaking out of the crowded traffic their little ship veered off and into one of the cavernous parking areas within the building. Sweetie Belle said a quick goodbye to the pilot mare before hopping out of the vehicle and onto the intricately carved marble walkway that lead to the entrance. Sweetie Belle looked around her just as the two guards positioned themselves on either side of her, leading her into the building’s reception room. With a screech Sweetie Belle heard the little transport that had brought them there zip away. Sighing, she looked up at the colossal wooden doors that they were approaching and prayed to Luna that everything would be alright.
They entered a room easily capable of fitting a few hundred ponies but was eerily empty except for a secretary. Their small party walked into the room, their hoofsteps echoing off of the the richly decorated walls of the desolate room.
“Captain Darius?” asked the secretary from behind a thick, wooden desk.
“Indeed,” he bowed to her, his face adorned with a concerned frown. “I see that nopony else is here... I will assume that the place is closed? Please forgive me, I should have sent more than one announcement of our arrival, I shall return once you are open.” He turned to leave.
“No, no, Captain. Quite the opposite; you are expected.” She ushered them towards the great double doors at the back of the room. Darius frowned but followed her lead. His hoof struck the marble ground as he positioned himself defensively in front of Sweetie Belle.
Sweetie Belle started to feel worry build up in her once more. Something was wrong here. The secretary opened the door and moved aside, letting them enter the brightly lit courtroom.
The main courtroom was an enormous room, filled with uncomfortable wooden chairs facing the main podium where an old bearded pony sat with a gavel in one hoof and reading glasses in the other. Every wall was covered with alcoves filled with dimly lit lanterns and marble statues depicting justice and valor. Sweetie Belle caught the irony of the stones that depicted justice in a system that was so corrupt.
The secretary guided the group over to some benches at the front where some ponies wearing clothes that Sweetie recognized as some of her sister’s more expensive sets sat. All of them turned and stared at her, slowly looking her up and down like vultures inspecting their next meal.
At the front of the room was an imposing stand where a judge sat, his head nodding up and down as she tried to fight off sleep. To his left was a large mahogany box filled with nobles that stared at her, sizing her up. She was separated from the guards and the captain by the insistent hoof of the secretary and placed in a box marked ‘accused’. Sweetie Belle gulped again. Something was really wrong here.
The judge sat up straighter in his seat then sighed with mock boredom. “This is just a triviality, really.” he said. “Will the accused state her name?” He stared at her.
“Sweetie, Belle?” she responded uncertain. A small murmur spread from the nobles but was shut by a pointed look from the judge.
“You are hereby accused of three counts of smuggling, eight counts of theft, fifteen counts of murder in the first degree... Oh bloody hay, you get the idea,” he sighed then turned to the jury. “Everypony that believes her to be guilty, raise your hoof.” All the hooves rose unanimously.
When they saw the shock that ran across Sweetie Belle’s face many stifled some light tinkering giggles in the cuffs of their expensive coats. They were here for entertainment she realized.
“You can’t do this!” protested Darius loudly as he rose from his seat.
“Captain Darius, do you really want to ruin your reputation all over again?” asked a white and red unicorn seated in the crowd wearing a grim smile.
“Bunnyhelm,” whispered Darius vehemently as he slowly sank back into his bench.
The judge continued unperturbed. “Well then, by the power given to me by his Emperor Blueblood the First, you are hereby sentenced to life in jail at the Tartarus penitentiary facility.” His gavel fell with a resounding crash.
“Wait? What is going on?” asked Sweetie Belle as new guards rushed into the room from behind the judges stand and began to drag her out. As they passed near Darius’ seat he reached out and grabbed her shoulder. She felt a weight hit the bottom of her coats pocket.
“Be careful, and patient, I’ll get to the bottom of this. Trust me.” Sweetie Belle nodded her tear streaked face as the guards kept pulling her out of the room. The last thing she saw before they closed the door was the shame-filled face of Captain Darius.
“How far is it?” he panted.
“Stop whining; the sun will be up in a few hours, and you'll be able to rest then.”
“Whining? I am not whining. I`d like to see you carry this heavy junk. Wait, why is it that I am the one carrying it?” Pipsqueak turned to Apple Bloom and glared at her.
She simply huffed and kept trotting up the sandy dune. “Because Ah need to guide our sorry flanks outta here.”
Pipsqueak mumbled as he followed her tracks through the sand. “Bet you ten bits we’re lost...” he grumbled.
They had been in the desert for almost three days now, walking by night and sleeping during the blisteringly hot afternoons. They had yet to see a single sign of civilisation other then some scrap metal and bits and pieces of garbage dumped from the airships that flew high above them. They had contemplated making some sort of distress signal, but were afraid of who would come to help. There was no way of identifying the silhouettes of ships against the star-filled sky, if they made a signal chances were the help would be Imperial or some other outlandish rouges. Trading ships rarely bothered to save other ponies in distress.
They kept walking in silence for a while. Apple Bloom fiddling around with the flashlight-like device she had rigged together using parts she ripped out of their radio. The flashlight lit up the path they walked on for a stretch, on occasion she would twist it around and point in a random direction. They never saw anything more then sand, rocks and the rare cactus.
“How far is it?” asked Pipsqueak once more.
Apple Bloom had had enough. “For Celestia’s sake, stop asking that! Ah don’t know, alright. Ah can only point us in the right direction and hope we make it there before we run out of food.” she humphed and kept walking.
“I’m sorry,” he started, “I’m just a little anxious... and hungry.”
“So am I.”
“We’re going to die, aren’t we?”
She turned to him and shoved the light into his face. “Pipsqueak, will you shut up with your negative attitude?! Ah am tired of hearing you whine constantly.”
He looked away from the light and flattened his ears. “I’m sorry.”
She facehoofed. “No you are not! You need to pony up a little, Pipsqueak! If ya always act so timid you’ll never get any mares to like you.”
Pipsqueak blinked taking in the information. “You knew?” he asked a mixture of panic and embarrassment. His entire body flushed red and his eyes grew out of proportion.
Apple Bloom sighed. “Yes Pipsqueak I know, the whole the crew knew, hay, I’d go as far as to say that most of Ponyville knows. Your, ‘infatuation’ with Sweetie Belle is just about one of the worst kept secrets in Equestria...”
“Huh?” he exclaimed. “Sweetie Belle?” Upon seeing her quizzical face he stammered. “It’s not that I don’t like her, well, maybe, but I mean...” his voice trailed off into silence.
Apple Bloom facehoofed again and wondered what she had gotten herself into. The sun was going to rise in a few hours and they were just standing there chatting their time away. “Okay then, yer infatuation with Scootaloo then.” His ears dropped further. “Really, ah don’t see what you like in her. Ah mean she’s my friend and all, and ah love her. But really Pip’s she ain’t your type.”
She thought about the situation a little then smiled slyly. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had both told her that Pipsqueak liked one of the mares on board the ship. She had always thought it was Sweetie and not Scootaloo... Maybe she could use this to her advantage.
She moved forward and patted him on the back. “Cheer up, I, Apple Bloom, promise that I’ll turn you into the perfect stallion for Scootaloo.” she declared aloud. Pipsqueak blushed furiously.
“Um, well... you see. It’s no-” he muttered while rubbing his bandaged hooves together.
“Aw, don’t worry. Ah’m sure I can make any mare fall head over hooves for ya, Just wait and see. I’ll show you how to be a real stallion! Now come on Pip, you can start by being gallant and leading the way, oh, and carry my bags.” She gave him a wide grin while he passed by her. She could almost feel the heat coming off of his face.
The two resumed their walk in a slightly better mood. After a while Pipsqueak turned and asked, “do you mean it?”
“Mean what?”
“Will you help me, um, ‘improve’?” he said with a slight wince.
Apple Bloom thought about it while they walked. “I can try to help you. But it the end it’s up to you Pip.” Suddenly a thought came to her. Stifling a giggle she leaned forward and whispered. “Ah’ll teach you how to please the ladies...” With a cough, Pipsqueak turned beet red and began trudging through the sand at a much faster rhythm, his cloth covered hooves barely making a sound as they scrapped along.
They kept walking, the only sound the rustling of the sand and the crunching of their hooves. Apple Bloom was oddly content despite their misfortune and Pipsqueak trotted with his head low in thought and embarrassment.
Suddenly, he lifted his head and looked over a sand dune they were about to crest. Apple Bloom ran into him in her absent mindedness. “Ow.” she quipped.
Pipsqueak twisted around and grabbed her with his forehooves. Flipping her onto her back he sat on her haunches, spreading his legs in between hers and pinning her down to the sandy ground.
“Pipsqueak, ah know ah told you that ah’d help you with the ladies, but if you’re trying to do what I think you are, yer gonna regret it.” she said with plenty of venom in her voice.
Pipsqueak looked down and at the position they were in and blushed fiercely, but he did not remove himself. Bending down lower he whispered into her ear. “There is somepony on the other side.”
“Fine,” she whispered back. “Now get off me before I make it so you never do anything with the ladies.” She glared at him as he hopped off of her and landed on her side.
“Sorry.” he said.
Creeping silently to the top of the hill, the two looked over the edge of the dune. In the middle of a clearing formed out of a wall of sand and a jutting ligament of sand covered rock, was a small fire. Beside the fire were camping materials, a rolled up sleeping bag, some pots and pans and a hiking bag, but no pony.
“Where are they?” she whispered.
“I am right here,” whispered a voice to their left.
Pipsqueak screamed like a filly and jumped, throwing the light high into the air as he dug himself into the sand. Apple Bloom whisked out the small knife that she had in her saddlebags, gripping it firmly in her muzzle while frantically searching for the threat.
“Calm, silly ponies!” screamed the voice. For a few tense seconds neither side moved, they simply tried to stare at each other through the darkness. Slowly, Apple Bloom moved her hoof over to the light Pipsqueak had dropped and pointed it towards the newcomer.
The young buffalo female put her hoof in front of her face to blot out the light. “You’re not an Imperial?” Pipsqueak stated the obvious.
“You’re not a filly?” the buffalo responded with heavy sarcasm. Pipsqueak gave her a look of indignation.
“Ah’m awfully sorry we intruded on your camp like that.” said Apple Bloom spitting out the knife into her hooves but keeping it close. “We’re just going to keep on our way if you don’t mind.” She poked Pipsqueak who once more began to move. He placed himself between Apple Bloom and the stranger as if guarding her. She rolled her eyes at his misplaced chivalry.
“You are more then welcome to share my camp,” smiled the buffalo as she waved a hoof towards the welcoming fire. “The sun is about to dawn, you won’t make it far before you need rest once more.”
The two travellers looked at each-other and confirmed their suspicions. “How can we trust you?” asked Apple Bloom blatantly.
“Any enemy of the Empire is a friend of mine, come.” She started down the hill and beckoned the two ponies. “My name is Keen Eyes.” She pushed out her hoof and waited for Apple Bloom to shake it. Slowly and cautiously she brought her own hoof in contact with the buffalo’s.
“Ah’m Apple Bloom, This is Pip.” She pointed to herself and her companion in turn.
“Well both of you are welcome to share my fire.” When she saw that they were not convinced she added. “I’ve got warm food...”
Both of their stomachs grumbled in response. “Well, maybe just a short pause.” said Apple Bloom reluctantly.
Keen Eye smiled. “Alrighty then.” The trio trotted down the hill and into the half crater where they were shielded from the weak wind and the moon’s light. The campfire splashed yellow forms contrasted against their deformed shadows on the cold sand walls. Pipsqueak and Apple Bloom both trudged closer to the inviting heat.
Keen Eyes rummaged through her bags and quickly found two bowls turning to a pot on the edge of the campfire she filled them then hoofed them over to her guests. Without a thought the two ponies dug into the meal. Apple Bloom took one sip and sputtered in disgust. “What the hay is this?”
“Rattlesnake soup,” Keen eyes said with a deadly serious face.
Apple Bloom’s eye grew large. “You cooked a snake! Are you trying to poison us?!” Keen Eyes’ lips quivered until a single tear appeared out of the corner of her eye. Apple Bloom huffed angrily at the bowl then slapped it onto the ground. With a squeak Keen Eye lost it, grabbing her ribs as she laughed on the sandy ground.
“Haha, what’s wrong? Your little pony bellies can’t handle some real food?” she asked sarcastically in between fits of laughter.
“Actually, it’s rather good!” Pipsqueak said. The two females had not paid him any heed as he ate his bowlful then stole Apple Bloom’s.
“You ate that?!” Apple Bloom gasped.
He looked at them quizzically. “Well yeah, tastes kinda good. Real spicy.” Apple Bloom batted the bowl out of his hoof.
“That’s disgusting.. I mean, it’s sorta, meaty, and alive-ish.” She wrinkled her muzzle in distaste.
His ears dropped and his eyes watered up as the sandy ground eagerly soaked up the remains for the warm soup. “But it tasted real good...”
“Oh, for Celestia’s sake, Pipsqueak!” Apple Bloom sighed.
The three sat around the slowly dying fire in quiet. Keen Eyes poked at the flames with a stick then began rearranging her bag.
“You said Celestia...?”
Apple Bloom looked at the buffalo. She had been transfixed in though as she looked at the hypnotic flames dance. “Yeah, what about her?”
“Do you believe that she really existed?” Keen Eye frowned at the unicorn.
“Of course I do! She fought and died in the great war,” she exclaimed. “Mah sister was in that war,” she added.
“Huh, I always thought she was an old wives tale.” began Keen Eyes. “The buffalo rarely mention her... what happened?”
“Ah don’t know. Mah sister does, but she won’t tell me. Maybe when ah see her next ah’ll ask.” Apple Bloom glanced at the saddlebag she had discarded nearby. Within one of those pockets was a very disturbing letter from Rarity. She sighed and looked away.
“So... What is a young couple like you doing out in the middle of nowhere?”
Both of them blushed furiously. “We are not a couple! We are simply... companions heading for the same destination,” stated Apple Bloom firmly with a stomp of her hoof.
“Oh, I am sorry, I just assumed... Well, I saw you two over the hill, very... kinky....” Their blushes increased exponentially.
Keen Eyes looked at Pipsqueak in a very sultry way. “So the little one is free?” She winked at him. “I wonder if he really does squeak?”
The pony in question worked his jaw and his brows furrowed until he deciphered the message. His entire white coat became a brilliant red.
Keen Eyes left him in his despair and turned her head back to Apple Bloom, a small smile planted on her muzzle. “Where are you two headed?”
“Why do you want to know?’ asked Apple Bloom suspiciously. Keen Eyes just stared at her with an arched eyebrow. “Ugh, fine. We are heading for Ponyville,” said Apple Bloom.
“Good, I am heading over that way as well, maybe we could travel together for a ways.” Apple Bloom was about to argue but Keen Eyes pressed on regardless. “After all, I know the land, and the locals won’t bother me. Oh and I am great at catching rattles. They always sneak up on you,” she made gestures with her hoof, mimicking the advance of a snake. “Then pounce!” She lashed forward with a hoof, stopping half a hoof length away from Apple Bloom’s snout.
They both gulped. “Maybe we could let you accompany us?” she smiled nervously.
Keen Eyes smiled brightly and dropped onto her blankets. “Sure, maybe I’ll find out if he really squeaks... Hey, anyone of you know how to fix an old airship?”
Apple Bloom blinked at the sudden change of subject. “Huh, um, yeah... why?” They were in the middle of the desert, what did she want her to fix?
Keen Eyes smiled, suddenly energetic. “Perfect, come here and tell me what you think.”
The buffalo got up and trotted past the pair, Apple Bloom grunted unto her hooves and followed her around the sand dune, Pipsqueak grumbled as he too followed the two girls.
“So, didn’t either of you think it weird that this dune is shaped so oddly?” asked Keen Eyes. Both of them shook their heads. “Well, I’m about to show you why.” she said as she reached the top of the small hill. Suddenly she reared up on her hind legs and thumped the hill. Instead of a soft thump that would usually be accompanied by a hoofsteps on sand, the ground sounded hollow.
“There’s a wreck under here.” Keen Eyes wore a large grin on her face. “Been digging around it all night. The insides are real nice, figured if we could open it up and get it started... beats walking.” She trotted over to one side and, reaching down with her head, opened a light blue hatch that led down.
Apple Bloom was the first to look into the hole, the insides were damp and badly lit, but they were fairly clean besides the odd stain of rust and pile of sand. “What is it?” she asked.
“A Griffon Chaser, I think. From the Great War. Probably crashed here a long time ago.”
“Hmm- Pip, go fetch the flashlight.” After a few minutes of mumbling about bossy mares the colt was back with the lit light in his muzzle.
Apple Bloom grabbed it and, without further ado, hopped into the ship. After a few minutes of binging and banging around, the mare’s head popped out of the hole. “Not the best of conditions, but it can be made to work.” Apple Bloom smiled gravely. “The Sparkle Generator is a goner... too bad Sweetie isn’t here,” she added, “Sweetie’s great with this sorta thing.”
“Who's that?” Keen Eyes asked.
Apple Bloom squirmed around a little before answering. “Nopony you need to know... anyway, I think I might be able to get this thing running even without the Sparkle Generator. The engine is really old but these old ones rarely fell apart. Might need something to light the steam boiler.”
“Steam?” said Pipsqueak.
“I told you it was old!”
“Uh-huh, now we just need somepony to unbury the prop while I get it in working order...”
Both Keen Eyes and Apple Bloom turned and looked at Pipsqueak with small mischievous smiles.
“Mares,” he swore.
Authors note:
Sorry for being so late, and also big sorry for the slight drop in quality on this chapter. Been having trouble here and there. In other news I wrote three stories in one week, and these aren’t counting my usual pile of side=-projects that will never see the light of day! (Why do you think it’s so late?)
Usual thanks yous to the fellows that helped me, add Bearycool and Chaosmeddler who did a fine job of telling me what they thought on this chapter. SALT and TheWattsman... I need a nap...
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Definitely interested to see what happens to Sweetie Belle....
Also, Pipsqueak is best pony.
Great work. Keep it coming!
Awesome chapter. Wonder what's happening to Scootaloo though.
Yay, it ups! to another update! "Huzzah!"
There were a couple of grammar/spelling mishaps around this chapter, but other than that, I really enjoyed it.
I was thinking that maybe you should have expanded upon the trial scene, so that you could have expanded on Sweetie's horror even more, which would have hit us harder.
The Pipsqueak/Apple Bloom/Keen Eyes bit was really fun, though. Apple Bloom is clueless (process of elimination, motherbucker, do you know it?), and Pip is adorable.
i dont know to me it was good
Oooo... Rarity is going to be sooooo mad. Brings on the Rebellion!
Steampunk is what got me started
, but it's the fantastic writing that keeps me coming back.
Hm, I didn't wanna read this at first, mainly cause I try to avoid reading anything dark where ponies are concerned, but now that I've started I've gotta keep reading, mainly to answer the question: How in the $#@%ing hell, did Blueblood, take over Equestria? I wouldn't trust that prick to take over a Wendy's!
Celestia died?
fc01.deviantart.net/fs46/i/2009/191/d/6/Spock_Finds_You_Illogical_by_densethemoose.jpg
I mean I guess she could get captured, but its believed she's immortal
"If they made a signal chances were the help would be Imperial or some other outlandish rouges." ...That should be "rogues." Celestia forbid we would want the attention of any criminally outrageous shades of blush!
Off to the next chapter!
425962 She may never age, but she can most certainly be killed.
Drop in quality, my flank!
This is buckin' awesome. Ponies, dieselpunk, and quality writing? I'm not a big fanfiction person, but I'll be eagerly watching this one.
Dear Mister Ravens Dagger,
I have made it this far into the story and regret to inform you that the story is failing to click with me. It is not that it isn't enjoyable, it is more of a personal matter. The story is failing to give me that element that pulls me into it. So, I am sorry to say that I will not continue reading this story.
With Regrets,
Toolkit.
395401 Nai! Rakdarian is best pony
lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hz-lvk1-VKc/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAABo/aMc8cCP2cIA/s250-c-k/photo.jpg
Great story. wait celestias dead?
images.wikia.com/funny-junk/images/e/e4/RageFace.jpg
anyways get more runescape ill be happier
405956
I would rather have him take a County than a Wendys
but knew that she might be in an even worse scenario than he.
afraid of approaching the eery building
the only sound the rustling of the sand and the crunching of their hooves
1. Him.
2. Eerie.
3. The only sound was the...
Hmm... might need to cut out of my habit
Oh Pip... What else did you expect when you were the only 'stallion' around?
I really enjoyed the interaction between Captain Darius and Sweetie Belle. Captain Darius has a pretty neat character, oddly polite.
I don't remember Sweetie Belle murdering anyone. What were the murder charges for?
Anyways, be careful about mixing 'then' and 'than'
"They had yet to see a single sign of civilisation other then some scrap metal and bits and pieces of garbage..."
“You are more then welcome to share my camp,...”
The description of the Sol Scorcher reminds me of the death star, the description of Canterlot reminds me of Corusont.
Please tell me this story won't end with Scootaloo flying her fighter through some narrow trench in the Sol Scorcher to blow up it's Sparkle generator, or something like that.
Tell me Celestia is not going to be Yoda
I see that the inevitable will happen... -sigh- nonetheless, it's an amazing story so far, even if...
So, what do we have so far? Sweetie Belle is going to some sort of prison (Nova Prospect?) and i think the Sol Scorcher wouldn’t stand a chance against a Mammoth MK.II or Yuriko Omega.
cybergooch.com/images/tibsunarchive/heavy.jpg
images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090429023411/cnc/images/7/7f/Yuriko_Omega.jpg
In this chapter, Keen Eyes had a few lines that didn't flow very well.