Faithful and Strong

by Golden Scribe

Chapter 10: It's Over...Or Is It?

“Here they come!” Midshipman Clay called out from the topmast, “Five carts, each bearing a cannon!”

“Very good, Mr. Clay!” Bush answered, before turning his attention to the men gathered on the deck. “Now, the ponies may be doing the heavy lifting, but that doesn’t give you permission to be slack! Be quick and efficient at guiding each cannon to its proper place, and don’t make the poor ponies strain themselves unnecessarily. Am I clear?”

“Aye, sir!” the men responded as one. Bush nodded. “Then take your positions and be ready to move as soon as the cannons have arrived.”

As the men moved to their places, Bush looked over the side of the ship. Hornblower was standing on shore with Miss Sparkle and her dragon assistant, ready to receive and sign for the shipment. Miss Sparkle’s friends were there, too, mostly to watch the unloading. For now, they were chatting amongst themselves, while Applejack looked after the young fillies, whose excited chattering could be heard from the deck. Rarity, meanwhile, was fiddling with a large bundle, no doubt the completed sails. It would be good to have sails on the Lydia again; then it would really feel like it was ready for action again.

The carts bearing the cannons appeared over the hill, and the men gave a cheer. It was matched by excited squeals from four of the ponies down below, which caused Bush to smile. He admired the ponies enthusiasm and sense of adventure, something that sometimes got lost in the midst of war. It was nice to get a reminder of that, sometimes. He had a feeling the men felt the same way. Once they returned to the open sea, he suspected they would remain in a jaunty mood for a good few weeks, no matter what storms or enemy ships they encountered.

Now Hornblower was talking to the pony pulling the lead cart, and Miss Sparkle was dictating a letter to Spike. Bush lifted his hand, waiting for just the right moment. The second Hornblower stepped away and the unicorns started to maneuver their way out of their harnesses, Bush gestured to the men. “Ready the block and tackle!” he roared, “Let’s see if we can get these cannons in place before the sun is directly overhead!”
***

In the end, it took them just under three hours to get the cannons situated. The ponies knew their role as well as the Lydia’s men, and worked efficiently, maintaining a steady pace so as not to jolt the cannons. Pinkie came on deck and conducted (literally; she’d produced a baton) everyone in the Sea Horse Shanty so they could keep an even pace, and it seemed to work. Bush even joined in a little himself as they maneuvered the cannons down the stairs. While there was the occasional grumble about back pains and heavy weights, it seemed more good-natured than anything, and there was far more laughter from man and pony alike to balance it out. Bush couldn’t see how the operation could have gone any smoother.

“Well done, all of you,” Hornblower said, once the last cannon was in place and everyone had refreshed themselves and returned to the deck, “I am pleased at how quickly you worked. I am also immensely pleased at how well you were able to work together, despite certain…differences. And of course, I am very grateful to the help all of you ponies have provided us during this time. I’m not sure how to thank you.”

“Ooh, ooh, I know!” Pinkie piped up from the back of the crowd, and Hornblower made the slightest of grimaces, “We can have a party! A ‘Yay, the ship’s been completed’ party! Have your cook make some specialty dishes from England, and we’ll make some from Equestria, and we’ll all mingle!”

There seemed to be a general murmur of approval at this, which Hornblower silenced with a particularly loud throat clear. “I would rather we wait on that until after I’ve put the Lydia through her paces. We need to run a set of drills to make sure the cannons are in working order.”

“And what will that entail?” Miss Sparkle asked.

“Setting up a target and firing at it, to make sure the guns all go off at the appropriate times, primarily. It’s a test of the men’s abilities as well as that of the guns. Rest assured, we will move a few miles out to sea to make sure we don’t hit the island.”

Miss Sparkle nodded, looking pensive. “You’re welcome to watch, if you wish,” Hornblower said, clearly having noticed her expression, “I understand the desire to learn more about human customs.”

“Maybe…” Miss Sparkle said vaguely. Hornblower glanced upward, smiled faintly, and changed the subject. “Now, there’s one last item that needs to be put in place. While most of the men were occupied with the cannons, Miss Rarity commandeered a few of the powder monkeys to help install the new sails she sewed for us. I promised her she would be allowed a grand revealing. Are you ready, Miss Rarity?”

“All I needed was your signal, Captain!” came Rarity’s voice from the crow’s nest. “All right, gentlemen, untie them, if you would!”

As one, the new sails slid down the masts, unfurling in a soft billow before coming to rest. Bush only caught the vaguest glimpse of this, though, because he had to throw his hand up over his eyes to protect them from the blinding flash that came as the sails caught the light. Squinting up at them, he realized the sails were covered in gemstones, brilliants or diamonds by the looks of it. It was brilliantly done, all things considered, with just enough spacing between the gems to give them room to shine, while giving an overall effect that the sail was made entirely out of diamond. But while it might have been magnificent as a dress, it wouldn’t do at all for the Lydia.

Glancing around the deck, Bush could see that Hornblower felt the same way. His shoulders were pinned so far back that he must have been clenching his fists well below his waist in order to maintain composure, and the narrowness of his eyes had nothing to do with the glint from the sails. “What…exactly is this, Miss Rarity?” he called up.

“Well, the scraps of sail you gave me to repair were frightfully tattered and drab, and I thought you needed something a little more durable. So I tracked down enough diamonds to cover the cloth—no mean feat, may I add—and sewed them in place. I’m quite impressed with the results. You’ll never need to get the sails repaired again, and now they’re both tough and chic!”

“Could you…could you come down here for a minute, Miss Rarity?” Hornblower said, a heavy note of strain in his voice.

“Of course!” she answered cheerfully, waving over a pegasus to fly her down. As she did so, Hornblower turned to the men, who had been peering up at the sails with a mixture of amazement and bewilderment. “You are dismissed, gentlemen. Return to your duties, and make sure to secure your cabins for the drills tomorrow.”

The men dispersed and the ponies headed for the gangplank, but Bush lingered, suspecting Hornblower would appreciate some assistance, even if it came in the form of silent support. Rarity’s hooves gracefully touched the deck, and she smiled her thanks at the pegasus before approaching Hornblower. “What is it, Captain? Do the sails not meet your specifications?”

“To be blunt, Miss Rarity, they do not. It was a very thoughtful gesture on your part, and I cannot fathom how you found so many diamonds for the purpose. But it is completely inappropriate for a ship of war. For us to have diamonds in our sails while everyone else has simple cloth will be seen as extravagant at best. And the light from them risks blinding my men, not to mention alerting the enemy to our position from a fair distance away. I do apologize for all the time and effort you spent creating these, but I must ask that you remove them. I believe we have some spare cloth that will serve for now.”

“They’re in need of a patching, but they should get us through till we next encounter a supply ship,” Bush chimed in, “They might even get us to England as long as we don’t run into too many French ships.”

Rarity looked up at the sails, squinting at them critically. Then she sighed. “You’re quite right about the brightness. Perhaps I overdid it on the sheen. My apologies, Captain Hornblower. Sometimes I get an idea, and it can carry me away. I’ll have these taken down at once.”

“Thank you,” Hornblower inclined his head to her and turned to Bush. “Mr. Bush, can you round up a few of the men to help replace the sails? I’d like the ship to be mostly cleared for action by nightfall, so we can waste no time in getting started on the drills.”

“Aye, sir.” Bush said with a salute. Hornblower retreated to his cabin, no doubt to write up reports. Rarity was still looking up at the sails, murmuring to herself. “Well, I certainly don’t want them to go to waste. Maybe I can make something of them back in my boutique. But it’s going to be hard to cut around the stones…”

As Bush walked past her, she snapped out of her reverie. “May I offer what assistance I can, Mr. Bush? It seems only appropriate that I help undo the mess I seem to have made.”

Bush gave her a sympathetic smile. “We’d be delighted, Miss Rarity.”
***

As the sun sank over the horizon, Bush took one last look over the ship, nodding his approval. Despite their week of idleness, the men hadn’t allowed their abilities to slacken. The ship was fully cleared for action, and though the sails hadn’t been fully patched, they would serve for the purposes of the drills. The ship was fighting fit once more, and Bush had no doubt that the men would be as well. Perhaps a successful drill would be enough to lighten Hornblower’s mood. He was doing his best to hide his irritation, but it was bleeding through the longer he stayed here. Well, he only needed to hold out for another day or two.

After giving his report to the captain, Bush retired to his quarters, wanting to get a good sleep; he’d need his voice in top condition in order to be heard over the cannons. He changed into his nightshirt, chuckling slightly when he caught sight of his cutie mark, and blew out the candle, slipping off to sleep quickly and easily.

Perhaps the satisfaction of having the repairs complete had allowed him to have a peaceful night, because he awoke a good two hours before he was due to come up on deck. Bush shrugged and got out of his hammock, figuring he might as well start the day and make absolutely sure everything was ready for the drills.

He dressed perfunctorily, waiting until he had closed the cabin door behind him before fiddling with his cuffs and neckerchief, figuring there wouldn’t be many people around to see him in a state of semi-dishevelledness. It was only when he glanced up that he realized that someone was watching him, and it wasn’t any of the men.

A large, dark blue pony, bearing the wings and horn of royalty, was standing on the deck, gazing at him surprisingly placidly, given the circumstances. Her blue mane glittered in a way that reminded Bush of the night sky, which might have put him at his ease were it not for the fact that he was standing in the presence of yet another princess. It seemed likely that this was the sister Celestia had spoken of during their luncheon. He lowered his hands at once and straightened up. He tried to come up with an appropriate form of greeting, but they all seemed to have vanished out of his head. “May I help you?” he finally said.

“Are you the captain of this fine vessel?” she said, her voice regal and clipped, but not dismissive.

“I’m afraid not, your majesty,” Bush said, “Would you like me to fetch him for you?”

“Please do. I would very much like to speak with him.”

Bush nodded and moved past her, towards Hornblower’s cabin. Lord only knew what the captain would make of this…

Comments

[Updown2]

5 chapters in so far. this is an interesting read. i'm loving this weird mix up. tbh, when searching for hornblower i fully expected to find nothing, i am glad i was wrong.

i have read quite a lot of Hornblower (and watched the films/ TV series) and i have to say that you're doing a good job representing him and Bush.

sadly, tis 3 in the morning so i will have to continue reading later, but i look forward to the next chapters.

[Golden Scribe]

5513854

Thank you so much! I hope you keep enjoying it!

I'm also relieved to hear that I'm getting Bush's voice right; I've written quite a lot of Hornblower fic, but never from his perspective.

And it's always wonderful to meet a fellow Hornblower fan!