IV. Storm
IV.
It takes one day to travel by train from the Crystal Empire to Haliflanks. As a result, night had fallen once again when the Royal Express rolled into the coastal city. This was not a coincidence, however; Haliflanks was among the ten largest cities in all of Equestria. Bordering the Atlantrot Ocean, it was one of Equestria’s gateways to Zebrafrica and the Griffon Empire. Countless ships sailed through Haliflanks every year to and from those foreign nations.
A ship was also why the group was here.
Haliflanks was the best city for sneaking onto a ship and sailing away to the humans. Manehattan and Baltimare, the other two cities on Equestria’s east coast, had sprung up and grown around their docks and industrial areas. The residents of these cities paid the price; many ponies living near the industrial areas complained about the noise coming from trains and ships. When the ponies of Haliflanks saw this, they began extensive planning to avoid a similar situation in their city. The solution was a simple one: build and develop the city to the north of the docks. By doing this, the docks of Haliflanks were exclusively located on one end of the city. There were fewer disturbances to residents compared to Manehattan and Baltimare, and Haliflanks revelled in this fact.
It was convenient for the Elements and the Guards as well. All the rail lines leading to the docks were away from residential areas, which greatly minimized their chances of being sighted.
In the passenger car were Twilight, Spike, and the other Elements. Aris, who was on VIP duty that night, was with them as well. They were waiting for the other Guards outside to signal that it was safe for the Elements to exit.
“What’s taking them so long?” complained Rainbow.
Applejack quit fidgeting with her camouflage amulet and looked up. “They’re probably just bein’ thorough. Right, Mister Aris?”
Aris nodded. “Golden’s a meticulous pony, that’s for sure.”
A click drew their attention to the door that led outside. It opened, and the senior Guard in question stood there, holding a lantern between his teeth. He moved it to his hoof.
“The captain still hasn’t arrived,” he informed them. “But the area’s clear; you can come on out.”
They filed out the door, the gravel lining the train tracks crunching beneath their hooves when they hopped down onto it. Around them were the warehouses of the docks, meant to store goods and items until they could be transported out. It seemed fitting that one car down, the other Guards were busy unloading crates from the Royal Express’ storage car.
Twilight continued scanning the scene, but there was little else other than the warehouses. A few more minutes later, however, a small pinprick of light appeared near one of the warehouses. Twilight looked over at Golden who had noticed the glowing dot as well. He waved his lantern at the other light, which paused for a moment before moving towards them.
Once the other light drew close enough, Twilight found that it belonged to a mixed group of unicorns and earth ponies. They all wore white hats with black brims except for the lead unicorn. The brown mare, who was telekinetically holding a flashlight, sported a saddlebag as well as a blue hat with yellow lettering on it. Twilight couldn’t read the words in the half-darkness, but she had an idea of who these ponies were.
Golden deactivated his camouflage amulet, and the others followed suit. The newly-arrived cluster of ponies stepped back a bit, no doubt surprised by their transformation. The senior Guard set his lantern on the ground and stepped forward, extending a hoof in greeting. The unicorn with the blue hat shook it.
“Captain Autumn,” Golden said. “Glad to see you’ve made it.”
“Likewise,” the captain replied. “Sorry about the delay; the inspection process took us longer than we thought.”
Golden gave a look at the ponies behind Autumn. Twilight guessed that they were her crew members. “I take it these ponies healthy?”
“Of course they are. After all, they wouldn't have been let through if they weren't.” Autumn took out a scroll from her saddle bag. “Here’s the verification document.”
Golden took the manuscript and unfurled it. He read it silently, his mouth forming the words as he did so.
“‘These eight ponies have been deemed free of infection’?” Golden glanced up and did a quick count. “But there are only six of you here.”
“I sent a stallion over to our ship to keep watch,” Autumn explained.
Golden frowned. “That still leaves one pony unaccounted for.”
Autumn shifted her hooves. “Well…Sea Breeze changed his mind at the last minute; said that he wanted to stay in Equestria for as long as he could. We tried talking him out of it, but…his decision was final.”
Golden gave the scroll back to Autumn. “That’s okay, as long as we can still get to the humans.”
“We can do that,” Autumn said as she put the scroll back into her saddlebag. “It shouldn’t be too hard for my crew to make up for one pony.”
The captain looked at her crew and motioned at the Royal Express’ storage car with her head, a silent order for them to help the Guards with the crates. With the exception of the unicorns, they had to balance the crates on their backs – a tricky task, but not one that was new to them. Once every crate, as well as the all-too-important chest, was out of the car, everypony began the trek towards their ship.
The vessel was back where Autumn and her crew had come from. The captain lit the way with her flashlight, illuminating a long stone road that led to the waterfront. The reflective surface of the ocean was overlaid by dark rectangular shapes: the wharfs of the docks. In normal times, countless ships would be tied up at these concrete structures. Now, there was only one vessel present.
Autumn headed towards the ship, raising a hoof in greeting towards the crew member stationed on the wharf. A wooden gangway led up to the vessel, creaking as everypony followed Autumn up it.
Twilight reached the top of the gangway, but her hoof slipped and she began to fall forward. At the last second, a hoof reached out and steadied her. Twilight looked up; it was Autumn who had helped her.
“Thanks,” she said with a sheepish grin.
“No problem,” Autumn smiled back. She pulled Twilight up and onto the ship.
“Welcome aboard the Bluenose.”
“Finally, some open space!” Rainbow shouted with glee.
She and Twilight were standing on the Bluenose’s forward deck, the wind slapping at their manes. Rainbow flexed her wings and prepared for takeoff, but Twilight stopped her.
“Rainbow, I know you’re excited to do some flying, but don’t forget what Golden said. Stay in sight of the ship, okay?”
“Don’t you worry, egghead,” Rainbow said with a wink. “I am the best flier in Equestria, after all.” With that, she shot up into the sky.
The Bluenose was two days into its voyage, and Twilight was surprised at how well everypony was settling in. Applejack and Pinkie had become unofficial cooks aboard the ship, and Fluttershy had taken a liking to a gull that had landed on the Bluenose during their first day at sea. Even Rarity had found something to do – to her, and everypony else’s, surprise, one of the roles on the ship consisted of mending uniforms and clothes. The seamstress had immediately volunteered for the job. Spike had signed up as well, but Twilight suspected that it was an excuse to spend more time with Rarity.
The only pony that had had a rough time was Rainbow. Two days in a ship’s narrow corridors were eternity for somepony used to vast open skies. In fact, that was why Twilight was standing on the Bluenose’s deck – only today had Rainbow been allowed to fly, but not without somepony else accompanying her.
As for her, Twilight Sparkle, she had spent the time exploring the ship and absorbing the fresh information about it. According to Autumn, the Bluenose was meant to carry coal and iron from Zebrafica and the Griffon Empire. Though it carried the substance, the blue-and-white ship did not run on coal. Instead, magic supplied by crew members powered the ship. The unicorns with this job had shown Twilight the generator that converted magic to electricity.
Twilight frowned. That’s odd, she thought. Rainbow had stopped flying and was hovering in the air. Surely she wasn’t tired already?
Then she streaked downwards, heading directly for Twilight. The unicorn jumped back a bit despite this being a familiar sight. Rainbow slowed and stopped, hovering in front of Twilight.
“We need to get to the captain,” the pegasus blurted out.
“The captain? Why?”
“I saw some storm clouds,” Rainbow said. “Huge ones. They’re coming straight at us!”
Twilight’s eyes widened, and she nodded. The two mares ran and flew their way to the Bluenose’s bridge where Autumn was. The captain, who was studying some papers on a table, glanced up when they burst in.
“Oh, hello,” she greeted them. “What brings you two here?”
“Rainbow saw –” Twilight began, at the same time Rainbow uttered “There’s a huge –”. The two stopped and looked at each other.
“You can tell her,” Twilight offered.
Rainbow turned back to Autumn. “What we were trying to say is that I spotted a storm while I was flying. It’s pretty large, and right where the ship is headed.”
Autumn’s eyes widened. “A storm? Oh no…” She frantically looked back down at the papers. “Rainbow, in which direction exactly did you see the storm?”
“Um…about twenty degrees south of east,” she said.
“And how far away do you think it was?”
Rainbow shrugged. “Three hundred kilometers? I’m not sure; it’s hard to judge with no landmarks.”
“Three hundred…” Autumn mused. Meanwhile, Twilight looked at Rainbow with disbelief. “How did you know all that?”
Rainbow gave her a funny look. “I’m a pegasus. We’re supposed to know direction and distance like the back of our hoof. How do you think we can fly around the country without getting lost?”
“And seventeen degrees…” Autumn mumbled. She shook her head, evidently stressed.
“Is it really that bad?” Twilight asked.
“It’s worse,” Autumn replied. “Come over here. I want to show you something.”
Rainbow and Twilight walked over to the table where Autumn was. Laid out on it was a large map of the Atlantrot.
“Right now, our position is here.” Autumn placed her hoof down between Equestria and the Griffon Empire. “This is the route we’re supposed to go on.” She slid her hoof diagonally until it came to a spot southwest of Zebrafrica. “Now, while it may seem straightforward on here, in reality it’s not.”
“This area here –” Autumn moved her hoof in a circle “– is the area we’re about to enter. It’s known by us sailors as an iceberg zone.”
“An iceberg zone? Why are we even supposed to go through it?” Twilight said.
“It’s the quickest route from Equestria to where the humans are. And from what I’ve been told, the quicker you can complete your mission, the better.”
That was certainly true. Autumn continued on. “If what Rainbow says is true, this iceberg zone is also where the storm is. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that those two are a potent mix.” She continued studying the map. “We can try to go around the storm,” she said. “I doubt we’ll completely avoid it, but at least we won’t be in the center.”
Twilight had a brainwave. “Wait! Rainbow, you can control weather. Can’t you just fly to the storm and get rid of it?”
Rainbow shook her head. “It’s way too big. The storms in Equestria are nothing to compared to what we’re about to go through. Plus, I don’t have my lightning-proof suit, and I don’t feel like getting zapped by some lightning.”
Twilight deflated, but Autumn patted her on the back. “Don’t worry about it; it’s good that you two came to me. Now we’ll have plenty of time to prepare.”
Another crack of thunder split the air, an accompanist to the persistent pelting of rain.
Except for Autumn, her crew, and a few of the Guards, everypony was in their cabins. Unfortunately for them, they hadn’t managed to completely avoid the storm. Autumn had estimated that they would have to endure the weather for three to five hours.
From the cabin’s bathroom came the sound of retching and coughing. The Bluenose was being tossed around by storm-driven waves, and some of Twilight’s friends hadn’t taken it too well.
Twilight heard the sound of running water, and Rarity stumbled out of the bathroom. She had been hit the hardest out of the seven of them. The other two victims were Fluttershy and Applejack, who were lying miserably in their bunks.
“Feel a bit better, Rarity?” Spike asked.
“A bit, but certainly not a lot,” Rarity groaned. She slowly made her way to her bunk and collapsed into it – hardly “ladylike” behaviour, but the unicorn was too sick to care.
“How long’s it been, Twi?” Applejack called out.
Twilight pulled out a watch, courtesy of Pinkie. “Almost two hours. We’ve still got a ways to go.”
“Figures,” Applejack grimaced.
The ship suddenly shook, and with startled cries, everypony was thrown off-balance. At the same time, the cabin went dark, and they heard a loud bang coming from the deck below them.
“Somepony turned off the lights!” Pinkie’s voice cried.
“Hold on,” Twilight said. A magenta glow slowly grew in the cabin as Twilight lit her horn.
“Everypony okay?” she asked as she levitated a fallen lantern off the floor. She set it back on its table and flicked it on, letting the device take over the job of illuminating the room.
“What…what happened?” Spike rubbed his head. The baby dragon had fallen onto the floor.
“It felt like we hit something,” Rainbow commented as she helped Fluttershy back up.
Twilight thought of something. “Rainbow, remember what Autumn told us earlier today? How we’re in an area with icebergs? Maybe we hit one!” She headed towards the door.
“Where’re you going?” Pinkie asked.
“To find out what happened,” Twilight responded. “Anypony else want to come, too?”
“I’ll go with you.” Rainbow joined Twilight. The others stayed where they were, either because they didn’t feel well enough to get up or because they wanted to stay behind.
The two mares opened the door, only to find that the lights in the corridor were off as well. Twilight fired up her horn again as she lit the way. As they walked through the Bluenose, they found that the entire vessel had been plunged into darkness. Not a single light was working aboard the ship, and coupled with the narrow corridors, the feeling was a spooky one.
“The captain should be up at the bridge,” Twilight said as she glanced around. “She’ll know what happened.” She looked behind her only to find that Rainbow had stopped.
“What’s wrong?”
Rainbow cocked her head. “Listen. You hear that?”
Twilight strained her ears, trying to pick up what was bothering the pegasus. After a minute, however, she shook her head.
“I don’t hear anything.”
“Exactly. You know how the ship’s supposed to have a rumbling noise? Well, that noise is gone.”
Rainbow had a point. The rumbling noise, which came from the engines, had been audible twenty-four seven for the past two days.
“Let’s just keep going,” Twilight said, not liking what the absence of noise was hinting at.
They reached the stairwell that led to the upper decks, among them the bridge. However, they were surprised to see Autumn descending the stairs, a flashlight in front of her.
“Captain! We were just about to see you,” Twilight said.
Autumn continued her descent, the other two mares following her. “Want to know what happened, don’t you?”
“Twilight thinks we hit an iceberg,” Rainbow said.
“It wasn’t an iceberg – it was a wave,” Autumn replied. “A freakishly large one, too. It managed to tilt the whole ship. In fact, I bet you two felt it.”
So that was the shaking, Twilight thought. “But we also heard a bang when the wave hit,” she said. “Do you know what that was?”
“Yeah, and why are all the lights off?” Rainbow added.
Autumn shook her head. “I’m in the dark too, literally. That’s why I came down here.”
They reached the lower deck. It was dark down here as well, except for the faint glow of a lantern spilling out of a doorway. Twilight recalled that the door led to the engine room. The three mares went in, and were greeted by a unicorn crew member stamping his hooves and cursing in front of the generator.
“Drifter!” Autumn barked. “What in Celestia’s name is going on in here?”
Drifter stiffened upon hearing the captain. He turned around, and upon seeing the mares, he went red.
“Ah…pardon me, captain, and madams.”
“What happened?” Autumn repeated. “What’s with the tantrum?”
“Well, I was about to give the generator more juice,” Drifter said, motioning at the machine. “Then the ship rolled, and it completely messed me up. I accidentally overloaded the generator – it’s fried now!”
“It’s…you what?!” Rainbow cried.
“Calm down, Rainbow,” Autumn ordered.
“He…he fried the generator? But then that means…”
“I’ll talk about it with him,” Autumn said briskly. “But until this gets sorted out, you two should get back to your cabin.” She returned her attention to Drifter. “As for you, go activate our backup. We need the lights back on.”
The crew member meekly nodded. Twilight took the opportunity to leave, dragging the fuming Rainbow out of the engine room with her.
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Bluenose...
Funny, I was just reading about seagoing traditions
I hope they'll get saved by a human vessel. That'd be extremely cool. A giant oil freighter, or perhaps a military vessel, they see when the storm clears.
2385080 A little reference, it is
2385320 Unfortunately, the humans in this story can't do anything like that. That's all I will say for now.
2385080
I know where that came from.