The Anthropologist

by Weavers of Dreams

-75- To Reveal What's Been Hidden

"Oh, boy, did mama go all out or what?" Lyra sighed with a roll of her eyes as she stood in the middle of the airship's deck.

It was gigantic. More of frigate or a cruise liner. The consequence being that the envelope provided incredible shade and protection from the sun and weather, while also prohibiting watching the sky above. Check that, she found a map. How convenient. Apparently there was an observatory on the top of the envelope with an elevator and staircase up to it. Neat.

Examining the map further, she found there was also a small hanger right next to the cargo bay for aircraft to efficiently transport supplies back and forth. Hardly seemed like the sort of thing that would stop over in Fillydelphia. Their main source of revenue was maple syrup, wool, and cheap onions. And nothing in this big a quantity. Maybe the festival they were throwing was a real doozy.

"There's a pool too," Henry pointed out from atop his mother's head, one hoof holding onto her horn for balance.

"I doubt we'll have time for swimming," Lyra chuckled absently as she noted the recreational areas. There were quite a few. Including an entire electronic arcade. That sounded like fun. "I'm sure there's something else you might enjoy though."

"Can't swim anyway," Henry resigned with a sigh and a shrug

"What?" Lyra asked, quirking eyes up at him. "You can't?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Well, come spring, we're just going to have to rectify that," she stated with a nod that almost dislodged the poor colt. "The lake is one of Ponyville's popular places for foals to play. Especially in the summer when that nice seapony family swims upriver for vacation. You'll like them. They even have a filly about your age."

"Eeew," Henry said, making a face that encouraged Lyra to laugh. He had learned that "filly" meant "girl" in this world.

"Hehe. Give it a few years, kid." Lyra grinned broadly as he grunted in a disavowing fashion. "Com'on Mister Grumpy, I'll just leave note with a sailor, telling everyone that we're having some fun at the arcade. How's that sound?"

"Oh? You can do that?" the colt asked, the thought of his mother playing matchmaker now slipping away.

"Of course," Lyra stated, reaching into a saddlebag with a hoof and pulling out a purse. She then proceeded to pull out a couple rubies from the purse. "One now, one later, and the sailor be won't move until he spots them coming up the gangplank."

"A bribe?"

Lyra chuckled. "Well, I was gonna call financial persuasion. But, y'know. Let's just be honest and call it what it is. Yes, I am bribing a sailor, kiddo."

* * *

"Where's my baby?" Mercury demanded to no one in particular, stomping her hooves and flapping her wings erratically in agitation.

Noteworthy and Bon Bon watched the small airship they had just departed leave the docks. They were still in Canterlot, after discovering Lyra and Henry were not on board they had decided to go searching for them, leaving the earth pony mare and Twist behind, just in case they arrived in their absence. But they never showed up, nor were they found.

Baritone was trying to calm his wife, but she was having none of it.

"Don't try to tell me that this is no time to panic," she snapped angrily, baring her fangs. "This is the perfect time to panic. The ship is gone, my baby and grandson are probably lost, and it's cutting into my snuggle time. Do you hear me?"

The winged stallion sighed. "Yes, dear. Now, please continue your tirade, whilst I consult with my level-headed compatriot over here."

He turned to Noteworthy, who was still balancing a bag full of treats on his head. "Has she developed a habit of wandering off while living in Ponyville?"

Noteworthy thought a minute. "Well, she does tend to get sidetracked a lot, finding adventures in almost every little nook and cranny about town... but she always, repeat, always gets where she's supposed to be, on time. So, no. This is not normal."

The thestral nodded. "Okay. That's a clue. Not a very good one. But, a start, at least." He turned to look up the mountain. "She used to play in this city. There is no way she could get lost."

Bon Bon heard this and stepped up quickly. "Do think that...?"

"That she could have gotten nabbed?" Baritone finished for her. "It's... unlikely. They should have all the aligned that they need. Why else would they shut down the portals? And they've never risked trying to take known aligned before."

"Unless they needed only two more and were too impatient to wait any longer," Noteworthy suggested.

While everyone was digesting this theory, Mercury included, Twist was staring after the departed airship. She may have been a little filly, but she was by no means stupid. Auntie Lyra was one of the smartest ponies she knew, next to Twilight Sparkle, and she was powerful too. Even in her weakened state, she would still be powerful enough to smash a small army with her mind. Kidnapping was out of the question. First of all, whoever "they" were, were obviously not stupid either, despite being dumb enough to be evil, and they would never risk it.

Especially now that she had a son. Parents were much stronger when their children were involved. She knew this was true, having witnessed first hoof her own mother once laying the beatdown on the bugbear that rampaged through town some time ago. Yeah, it had made a grab for her, apparently her mother had done something to make it angry a long time ago. Anyway, when her mother had seen that, she became an enraged beast, almost like in those anime Auntie Lyra loved so much.

So, no, that wasn't a possibility. And neither was drugging them. It was far too public a place. That could mean only one thing in the filly's mind.

"They got on the wrong boat," she piped up. All eyes turned on her.

"How?" her mother asked, coming over and stroking her mane. "How did you figure that out?"

Twist rolled her eyes. "Well, duh. It'th obviouth. Thomeone thwitched their ticketth. That way they could get them on a boat heading thomeplace where they would have the... the... the home field advantage. Or thomething. Probably thomething thtupid, too. Probably had thomeone run into them, and make it look like an acthident before making the thwitch. Like in thothe cheethy movieth you and daddy alwayth watch."

The filly suddenly found herself staring into the draconic eyes of her grandmother, who promptly showered her face with kisses.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Twist," the mare cried happily. "That means that they're alright. All we need to do is find the ship they boarded and then hijack... er, that is, commandeer a faster one and beat them to the punch. While at the same time dispensing some long-awaited justice. You are getting a special commendation from the princesses for this."

"From the princeththeth," Twist gasped, throwing her hooves on her cheeks. "Do you mean that, grandma?"

"Naturally," Mercury nodded, before turning to the others. "Come on, let's find out what ship they took?"

"How?" Bon Bon asked despairingly. "There are hundred's of ships. It could take us hours, if not days just to narrow it down to a few. We'd almost have better luck just choosing one at random."

"Not quite, dear," Mercury said, suddenly becoming rather nervous. Her ears drooped guiltily as she backed up a few steps from the rest of the family. "I... I can find out which dock they boarded at. From there, we can ask which ship they took, and where it's headed."

The tension of understanding was heavy enough to float an anvil.

Comments

[pahnazd]

I don't care what anyone says, Twist is the true hero in this chapter. Simple logic. Works a lot of the times.

So... Mercury, are you hiding something? That nervousness is not suspicious at all. No ma'am.
What, will we find out that she was behind it all?

Oh well, at least rescue will happen sooner rather than later.

[Stainless Steel Fox]

7779599 No, I'm guessing she bit Lyra, so she can track her.

[pahnazd]

7780304 Or that. Sneaky sneaky.

[Geminii]

Com'on

It may be a little late in the fic to mention, but on the rare occasions "come on" is abbreviated, it's generally written as "c'mon".

[Geminii]

Considering all the things Mercury is utterly unashamed about, I'm surprised she's somewhat reticent about her ability to obtain semi-public information.