Airship Mauled

by Darkonshadows

Chapter Seven, Shrew-d Operators: Vacation plans.

-Sekhet-

“Quick question, what if I get one right and one wrong?” This Daring asked looking at me with suspicion.

“Good question, you’ll have to at least get my friends a ride to where they need to be if you get only one right.” I received a surprised stare from Priest Jade, mostly because I admitted that we were friends. “Yes, we are friends. Don’t take advantage of it.”

“Fine throw your first one at me, I’m ready for it sphinx.” You are so certain of yourself, I might just prove you wrong.

“Hey, wait a minute, I’m the captain of this vessel.” The griffon that said this dropped down next to Daring. “I should answer one of the riddles!”

“Will you let him answer one?” I just might get one by them.

“If he gets it wrong, then that’s on him.” That means Daring accepted only having to be responsible for one question.

“Once one of you answers, only the other may answer the next. Now for my first riddle.” I was a creature of riddles and I had quite a good one. “I can bring tears to your eyes. I resurrect the dead, Make you smile and reverse time. I form in an instant, but I last a lifetime. What am I?”

“Do you want to answer it Captain Grit?” Daring asked of the griffon. “I got nothing.”

“I know the answer to this one… it’s a memory.” The griffon got it right, now I turned to the one called Daring.

“He’s right. Now for the riddle you and you alone have to answer.” I had a devious one for her and I wondered she would get this one. “What is at the beginning of the end, the start of eternity, at the end of time and space, was in the middle of yesterday, but is nowhere in tomorrow?”

“Wow, that’s… that is a rather tough one.” Daring sat down to think. “Is there even an answer for this one?”

“If you know anything, then you know that I can’t ask a riddle that is completely impossible to answer.” There were even some dangerous emergency riddles for some people who really deserved it, I’ve never had to speak one of those. The answers were open invitations for a sphinx to attack if the person got the riddle right.

The real answer to one of those riddles, was to know that they were trick questions and to call the Sphinx out on them.

“Fine, is the answer a moment?” I thank you Daring Do, there goes my losing streak.

“You… are wrong.” I turned to Jade and addressed her with a toothy smile. “Okay Priest Jade, plan for your trip to help the love hungry bug with the grating depression problem.”

“So do we just drop them off? We can do that easily enough.” Yes, the penalty would be significantly easier on you griffon. I should have asked for more.

I wondered how they were going to get back from their trip. They were quite resourceful and I’m sure they’ll figure it out. I really didn’t want to be without Kuril’s cooking for too long after all.

-Jade-

“First we’re going to need a lot of water, we’re heading for a rather arid place.” I turned away from Sekhet and headed towards The Witch’s Fare to begin preparing. “We need someone here to look after our home and Sekhet, we’re also going to need some cloaks and to gather the magical alchemy ingredients.”

“So who’s going with us?” Jacky looked quite determined to go with me.

“I am for one, you are not going to Klugetown without my supervision my little tom cat.” It appears mom will be joining the trip.

“Then that means Fresh Start has to stay, we need someone around here that can cook. Cheerilee doesn’t need to go and I assume you’re staying here Sekhet.” I looked back at the goddess who nodded, following along beside her were Fluttershy and Pinkie.

“What’s Klugetown like?” You’ll eventually end up there if history somehow repeats itself Pinkie.

“It's a pretty bad place where everything has a price, you don’t want to go there unless you have an absolutely good reason to.” My mom knew about the place given it was to the southwest of Abyssinia. While the people of Abyssinia did trade with the people that lived there, they weren’t exactly big fans of what went on in the town.

“Yeah, but it won’t be a problem for us to get in and out in less than a week.” I received a hoof to my chest.

“I’m going with you to make sure you don’t get hurt.” It seems Fizzle was definitely on board with us.

“You already know I’m coming Captain, you can’t go on an adventure without me!” Jacky threw me a smile and a chipper salute.

“Do you want to come Maries?” If all my friends were coming, then it would definitely become a thing.

“No, we will stay here with the alpha of alphas and train to get stronger, we will consider traveling with you next time… friend.” Maries was still trying to find her place in our humble spot in the world, she quickly came up to me and I was slapped in the face by two different tongues at the same time. At least Marie held back and just nuzzled me a bit. “We will also protect the den.”

“Okay, so that’s mom, Fizzle, Jacky and me that are going on a dangerous adventure. Well let’s go get prepare for it, come on!” I clapped my hands together and stopped to look at the remains of Fizzle’s cuteceanera. “After we’re done cleaning things up.”

“Hey, leave that to me and Fluttershy!” Pinkie wrapped a hoof around Fluttershy, the poor older filly tried to break free from her grasp. “We’ll clean things up here, you go get ready for your adventure and bring back a neat story like you did with Jacky and the pirates!”

“Fizzy, grab what we might need to take aside from water and cloaks, I’m talking things like alchemy ingredients or clothes. Jacky, help them fix the balloon.” Fizzle nodded and was immediately off, Jacky turned around and went for the airship. I finally turned to the six Changelings still with me. “Tarsus has to come, but will the rest of you be staying here?”

“We’re family, of course we’re going!” Despite Clypeus’s strong answer, Kevin took a step away from the group. “Tarsus is not facing this alone.”

“I choose to go my own way, I may visit again some time for more love filled food. I wish you luck.” With that Kevin, the friendliest love taking changeling next to a guy named Thorax, started to leave. It made the other changelings slightly upset. “It is logical that you will come back alive, please don’t prove me wrong. I would be… upset.”

I guess that was his way of saying that while he cared, he wasn’t willing to go that much farther with them. This would explain why he wasn’t already a colorful changeling yet like the other five. He wasn’t willing to be a true friend yet or even share his earned love.

-Fizzle-

Let’s see here, I have the cloak I got from Jade. We need to get three more, unless some of Kuril's robes come with hoods. Starting simple we’ll take the packs with some clothes, Jade will want to take her knife of course.

I was thinking we take ten griffon feathers, eight phoenix feathers and two raven feathers. We really didn’t have much here aside from food and each other. It was a nice and quaint way of living.

I’m sure Kuril and Jade can make up the lack of helpful ingredients by picking up stuff nobody else wants. Why do I suddenly feel like the two most important people in my life are kleptomaniacs?

The feathers will be split evenly between Jade and Kuril, I’ll take Jacky’s sword and practice my imbuing on the way to this Klugetown and Jacky will need something to protect herself with. Kuril and Jade both almost constantly wore their fish scale necklaces, except this morning when Jade was…

Right, where was I and were my cheeks clenching again? I can’t really look at honey, much less eat flowers, without thinking about it thanks to Kuril. Knowing Kuril and Jade could take care of themselves, I worried more about Jacky’s luck popping up and causing problems for her. So we'd be looking for something she can use on arrival.

I was going to actively take part in this adventure and I wasn’t going to let Jade get injured. This whole thing was all for a shaky cause, because who knows what Tarsus’s queen bee was getting up to at this point and if she even still cared for the changeling.

I'll pack a jar of pickles anyway.

-Jacky-

I was going to work on the ship, patching the balloon wouldn’t take too long and we could get going by this late evening.

“Thank you for saving my ship, I don’t expect you to pay extra and I will still get you into Mare-Akesh. That is, if you still want that. What you do from here is up to you.” Mr. Grit was talking to Daring Do and I listened in while carefully patching the balloon. “Like what they do when we drop them off will be entirely up to them. We only have to get them there, nobody said that we have to bring them back.”

“Still, can’t we stick around for a while to find out what they are getting into?” It sounded like Daring might actually want to help us in our endeavors, it was either that or she was curious as to why we were going there. “I’m sure I can find some artifacts in this Klugetown place.”

“That may be true, but there are criminals and scum all over that town. If you get caught, don’t expect me to come rescue you from being auctioned off to the highest bidder.” Grit didn’t seem like he wanted to stick around and wait for Daring if she decided to follow us into town. “You either get dropped off at Mare-Akesh or you stay in Klugetown, choose one as we’re not sticking around for you to go search the black market there for stuff. I’m not about to endanger my crew again so soon, even if I am part of the EAA.”

“I’ll… think on it.” Daring turned away spreading her wings and shot off towards The Witch’s Fare as Mr. Grit came over to me.

“You seem to know you’re way around patching a balloon.” Giving the adult griffon a smile, I answered him in a friendly manner.

“I was raised by pirates for most of my life, so I know a thing or two about sailing in the air or sea.” Adventure was in my blood and my Captain was going on one. I was quite excited to be going as well, since this would be really fun. “I just haven’t gone far from home, until I came to live here in Airship Mauled.”

“Why not?” Grit gave me a concerned look. “Also, I would have expected a grimmer looking parrot from someone who was raised by pirates.”

“The reason why I haven’t gone far is because I was trapped there for a while. I simply prefer to be a more romanticized version of pirate, that being those who are free to go where they will. I’m not a bad person at all despite the way I was raised on Turtle Toga.” Continuing to stitch up holes in the balloon, I chirped cheerily at finishing another patch. I knew there was one thing tying me down and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I might eventually wander to look for some handsome male companionship, but I’ll always come back to my Captain’s side. “I’m not entirely free though, I’m tied to my Captain who got me out into the world. So don’t go expecting me to call you anything other than Mr. Grit.”

“So you’re a loyalty almost beyond all reason kind of girl eh?” Mr. Grit chuckled at me. “You do realize that Turtle Toga is a myth and completely unplottable?”

“Yes and I don’t really need to go back to my place of birth for any reason, but anyone who’s been there at least once can eventually find it again.” I didn’t care if he knew this information, it wasn’t like he could use it. “It’s just quite difficult to do, even if you have been there.”

“Huh… I should probably tell EAA that.” You know, one would think Mr. Grit would have been a little less friendly for a griffon. He must be a more sociable from spending so much time in the presence of ponies. “They've been looking into it for a while now, are you certain it exists?”

“I’m breathing proof and my Captain will back me on that, because here she comes now.” I waved over the side at Jade and she looked up at me, she and Fizzle were carrying a large barrel of water for the trip. “Hey, Captain! Does Turtle Toga exist?”

“Of course it does, but we don’t have a reason to go back yet. Can somebody help us haul this heavy barrel of water up?” Since I was free for the moment, I went to grab some rope to help Captain La Perm out.

-Jade-

“You’re a captain?” The griffon asked looking a little confused.

“No, she just calls me that since I’m the one that got her off of Turtle Toga.” I and Fizzle waited for Jacky to do whatever it was she was going to. “I’m a rogue and sun priest, which together makes me a rogue sun priest.”

“A sun priest?! Does Celestia know you’re here?” Giving Grit a lazy stare, I just rolled my eyes.

“She knows I’m here, I’ve been here for quite a while at least.” For once, I decided to ask about the subject. “Is there anything important I should know about being a sun priest?”

“Only that you should have a moon priest for your protection.” What he said was news to me, I had no such protection detail. “I’m guessing there’s a thestral somewhere around here?”

“Nope.” Popping the P as I said that, I just gave him a lazy look as Jacky dropped some rope for us to tie around the barrel.

“What is Celestia thinking!? Do you know how many beings out there would want to get their hands, claws, hooves, talons or even tentacles on you?” The griffon was staring at me with worry, I just gave him a shrug. “Of course you don’t, there’s also those who would just outright kill you! How have you lived for this long?”

“I’m thinking it’s the obscurity of living here, that no one has said much about my status as a sun priest and I’m also friends with a war goddess. I’m clearly still being called a priest by said goddess, so it must mean something at least.” Though there wasn’t exactly much happening just because I’m a sun priest and it hasn’t been a real issue yet. “We’re not exactly on any maps and I don’t think Celestia has loose lips about when I visited her in Canterlot.”

“You went to Canterlot… and you're still alive…" Grit slapped his talons against his forehead. "Why am I not surprised?!”

Author's Note:

Magical Alchemy list.

1. Fish Bones (simple).

Cast: Water breathing (Temporary passive water terrain survival buff). Breathing water as if you had gills, permanence can be achieved with repeated casts.

Sustain: Swimming efficiency and deep water survivability increases.

Self-Sustaining: Luminescence. Once used as a sustain effect, bones glow softly on their own.

2. Fish Scales (simple).

Cast: Fish Scale Skin (Temporary defense buff). Possible permanence with multiple casts, more effective underwater. Can be used to water proof objects.

Sustain: Water Projection (Continuous offensive ability). Able to spit or project volatile volumes of water, drains fluids from body with excessive use. You can actively control the volumes of water you project and how focused that projection is.

Sustain 2: Blood Projection (Dangerous offensive ability). Capable of performing a powerful projection, but only from open wounds. As one would imagine blood projection is exceedingly painful, taxing on the body and ultimately dangerous to the user. The intimidation factor might be worth the agony in the right situations, but it will always be a detriment to one’s health.
Self-Sustaining: None.

3. Raven Feather.

Cast: Survive a fall, fall on something safely or possibly target launches and falls on something by user’s choice or at random (One time air terrain survival buff, possible offensive spell). Target tends to end up freezing twenty feet above something living.

Sustain: Projecting thoughts. Not able to receive thoughts, but you can project them to others.

Self-sustaining: none.

4. Sunlight.

Cast: ???.

Sustain: Smoke signaling. Causes smoke to appear as if something was burning.

Self-sustaining: Warms the planet.

5. Knife.

Cast: ???.

Sustain: Rogue Enhancements (Continuous passive buff). Heightened dexterity, agility and environmental awareness. Strengthens all mobility based buffs.

Sustain side effect: Inability to sleep or relax.

Self-sustaining: Trains muscles and exercises body for similar maneuvers used while wielding the sustain effect.

6. Knife Sheath

Cast: Traps one target temporarily (One use support spell). Time limit for stopping a target is the same every time for sheaths of similar design. Sheaths for different or larger weapons ‘probably’ improves time limit.

Sustain: Increased protection against knives, arrows and other small bladed weapons (Continuous passive buff). Warning: Does not protect against anything larger, or anything else for that matter.

Self-sustaining: None.

7. Alicorn Feather (Celestia).

Cast: Wings of sunlight (Limited air terrain mobility buff). Target is given wings of pure sunlight. Darkness, shade or shadows can weaken the flying power the wings generate, at night they'd be far less effective. The power of the wings can be combined with a knife's or similar sustain effects for improved flying ability. The wings might be extinguished by water and could be useless while it’s raining. Does not protect the user from gravitational or high speed stress and lack of oxygen at high altitudes like a pegasus would be by their magic.

Sustain: Redirect sunlight (Defensive support buff). Is only useful during the day and allows for blinding opponents or aggressors with light.

Self-sustaining: Minor protection from darkness (Automatic defensive buff while feather is on person). Needs to be charged with sunlight and to have been used as a magical alchemy sustain at least once to work.

8. Phoenix Feather.

Cast: Cleansing Flames (Support healing spell). Finds and stops negative foreign bodily ailment or ailments that are magical or mundane, does not heal damage. Can possibly stop positive ailments.

Sustain: Protection from the cold (Continuous defensive buff). Immunity to cold, increased defensive ability against ice and relative elemental based magic.

Self-Sustaining: None.

9. Jade’s Cloak.

Cast: ???.

Sustain: ???. (Effect seems to do nothing, need more information.)

Self-Sustain: Makes sneaking easier (Moderate stealth buff).

10. Cupcake (Banned by Kuril).

Cast: You don’t want to know.

Sustain: Likely none.

Self-Sustain: Delicious.

11. Frog Mucus (Banned by Kuril).
Cast: Magical wide area sticky substance bomb (Hard to get out of clothing).
Sustain: ???.
Self-sustain: ???.

12. Griffon Feather.

Cast: Feather Falling (Limited air terrain support buff). Lowers gravity’s effect on an individual for a minute.

Sustain: Double Jump (Continuous Mobility buff). Can jump off the air one extra time after leaving a solid surface and only one time.

Self-sustain: None.

13. Fish Oil.

Cast: Ignition (Multipurpose offensive and support spell). Ignites itself and anything around it except the user.

Sustain: None.

Self-Sustain: None.

14. Candle Wax.

Cast: Stiffness. Slow down a target, can have a wide area of effect for reduced effectiveness.

Sustain: Heat resistance (Limited continuous defensive buff). Does not stop heat damage entirely and candle takes heat damage in place of the user.

Self-Sustain: None.

15. Pepper.

Cast: Sneezing cloud (Limited continuous Defensive spell). Wide range spell that doesn’t affect the user, causes continuous sneezing on contact and doesn’t necessarily need to be breathed in to take effect.

Sustain: None.

Self-Sustain: None.

16. Tricorne.

Cast: Charisma boost (Limited status buff). Gives one the ability to walk around with confidence.

Side-effect: May instill need for showboating in user.

Sustain: ???.

Self-Sustain: ???.

17. Wood.

Cast: Bark skin (Temporary defensive buff). Make skin and fur tough like tree bark, like most casts can become permanent with multiple consecutive uses. Increases durability of objects when targeted. Causes mildly uncomfortable chafing on a living target.

Sustain: Hair growth in sunlight (Limited utility effect). Only works in direct sunlight.

Self-sustain: Magically enhanced building material.

Combination 1: Candle Wax + Oil (any) + Pepper = Chaos Candle. Candle hollowed out and filled with the other two ingredients mixed together equals devastating results.

Cast: Sneezing flash bomb (Offensive one use spell). Blinding, sinus wrecking and volatile magical cast.

Sustain Cast: Weak jet propulsion device (Limited air terrain support buff), Flamethrower (Limited offensive spell). Doing this will slowly destroy the candle and chemicals used in it. Exhaust fumes has a lesser effect of casting with pepper.

Sustain: None.

Self-Sustain: None.

Combination 2: Feather + stick + arrowhead (material any) = Arrow. Arrow + poison = special status ailment added to casting effect based on poison used. Pukwudgie Poison (Paralysis for a few hours).

Cast: Arcing Arrow Beam (Offensive spell). Fires a beam that is effected by gravity as if it were an arrow, it can only damage one target and that’s the first thing it touches. If it grazes a wall and then hits you, it will do nothing to you.

Sustain Cast: Spray of multiple weaker beam shots.

Sustain: None.

Self-Sustain: None.

Comments

[The Faceless Maker]

Cast with Sunlight, the world burns. Then freezes.

[Majk]

Cue future drama bomb exposition!

[ThatBadGuy]

“You already know I’m coming Captain, you can’t go on an adventure with[without] me!” Jacky threw me a smile and a chipper salute.

The author notes are getting longer and longer. One time it will be longer than the story itself!

[Shadowshame]

9443914
I think I have purrloin-d your pun job

[The Scarlett Mare]

“He’s right. Now for the riddle you and you alone have to answer.” I had a devious one for her and I wondered she would get this one. “What is at the beginning of the end, the start of eternity, at the end of time and space, was in the middle of yesterday, but is nowhere in tomorrow?”

The letter E
If you were wondering

[omegasnowfall]

9783062
You, sir, are brilliant.

[talontitanbane]

“He’s right. Now for the riddle you and you alone have to answer.” I had a devious one for her and I wondered she would get this one. “What is at the beginning of the end, the start of eternity, at the end of time and space, was in the middle of yesterday, but is nowhere in tomorrow?”

The letter E?