Chapter Five
Captain Skyla and Ms. Nightshade
That night, when everypony else except Ao was asleep, I flew down to the top of a mesa near the arch gateway with a couple of items from my personal supplies. One was a delicate necklace of rubies and barred silver chains.
When worn, the necklace loosely looped asymmetrically three times around my neck. When unlooped and set out on the ground, it circumscribed an area large enough for a pony to stand in. The bars of the chain were inscribed with runes and flow matrices, and the rubies were superb specimens, each charged with as much mana as they could hold.
It was a parachute of sorts. The inscribed spell and alicorn sigils were designed with one purpose; to punch a dimensional gate through to Equestria from wherever it was located. It would work without any magical input. All that needed to be done was to twist and push the clasp in a certain way, and whatever was within the loop of chain would be transported back home. To account for unforeseen situations, it was deliberately overpowered, so I thought it might be strong enough to briefly overcome the "thickened" nature of the interdimensional substrate we had caused.
The second item I carried was a sealed letter to Luna with a note promising five thousand bits to whoever delivered it to her. I hoped that my explanation would lessen Luna's concern. After all we'd been through together, I assumed she'd trust in my ability to look after myself, but I couldn't help feeling guilty for giving her cause to worry.
I put down the necklace on a spot that I figured would be congruent with the central square back in Twilight Town and placed the envelope inside the chain. I left it in three loops to magnify the effect; it didn't need to transport something pony-sized. Then I twisted and pushed the catch in the correct way and hurriedly stepped back.
The rubies flashed into life and the tiny markings on the chain glowed with a silvery light. The air above the metal began to distort and waver with the heat the chain was throwing off. That was not a good sign. I backed further away.
Just when I thought the necklace was going to melt itself, there was a muffled hiss, and the letter disappeared into a shimmering little patch of ground about the size of a small saddle. The light from the necklace died away, and when I tried picking it up, the rubies shattered, some crumbling to glittering sand.
That may have been the most expensive letter ever sent, but it was worth every bit if it eased the minds of Flurry's parents and Luna even a little.
I sat on the mesa for a while, letting the silver chain cool down and playing at making constellations out of the alien stars. When I got to the point where they didn't remind me of anything but the specks in the mane of a certain alicorn, I gave up and flew back to the ship.
The next day, the first thing I did was make some castings of the crystal sockets in the arch. There wasn't any plaster aboard, but paper-mâché worked fairly well. I hated to lose the paper, and Cream Puff protested at the loss of the flour, but I wanted to make sure that we knew the exact size and shape of the gems we were hunting for.
Flurry was delighted that we weren't going to simply float around waiting for rescue, and she immediately agreed with my plan to search out and "acquire" the power crystals. She would have gone along with the scheme anyway—it was very similar to what she had intended when she made off with my Nebula, except for the intended larceny—but she was positively ecstatic that my plan necessitated making her captain of the airship.
It was just barely possible that Ao could have served as the commander of Nebula's crew, but she had a strong preference for avoiding any sort of command position, we had no evidence that there were any kirin in the world, and ponies would be most comfortable communicating and negotiating with someone familiar anyway… which emphatically excluded me. Captain Skyla was the obvious choice. With a greatcoat to hide her wings, she would appear to be an exceptionally statuesque unicorn mare.
I wished we hadn't wasted energy from the engine crystals practicing, but there was no help for it. I tried charging one of them myself, and calculated that it would take many working days for Flurry, Ao, and I, along with the single unicorn in the crew, to bring the gems all back up to full charge—and we'd only manage that if we weren't using them in the meantime.
It was time for the crew to learn how to sail.
Of the five ponies that had accompanied Flurry, only two had any aeronautical training at all, and they only had experience with the most modern craft. They were used to having big engines and automatic systems that could power them out of any adverse conditions with brute force alone. I was beyond dismayed to find that they had hardly any innate feel for an airship's character.
I took on the role of Nebula's sailing master.[1] I moved my things into the first mate's berth, even though Flurry generously offered to let me retain the use of the captain's cabin.
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[1] And éminence grise. Flurry was only captain on my sufferance, after all.
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Ao made a little nest in the cupola on the forward dorsal line and served as a general lookout while I got things shipshape and trained the crew. I told her to keep an eye out for any more pack trains. Travelling ponies or burros would be able to provide us with a lot of local geographical information. I had enough money on board to pay for such if necessary. The coins were Equestrian bits, but gold is gold and it has at least some value on any world.[2]
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[2] Except on the Planet of Gold, of course.
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The two pegasi, Swift Wing and Sirocco, were assigned to do the work of setting out the fore and aft studding sail booms, the bowsprit yard, and their attendant sails. The keel mast and yard could be lowered from on board by winch, and the staysails were so simple even a foal could set them. I stationed Stalwart Lance, the big earth pony, where he could easily reach the winches and capstan. Cream Puff, our other earth pony, and Filigree, our sole unicorn, would handle whatever braces and sheets I directed them to. That left the top yards and sails and the keel top mast, yard, and sail, but those would only be used when there was almost no wind, and needed more crew than we had to use safely.
They were smart and competent ponies despite their inexperience and took to the work readily enough. The most difficult part of the training was to get them to learn the individual names of all the sails and the lines required to operate everything.
The spell that provided a magical keel that would enable us to sail into the wind, was just as enfeebled by the lack of flow as every other active spell. That didn't mean it was useless, but we couldn't make more than three points to windward and so our upwind maneuvering would be severely restricted at the best of times, and non-existent in heavy weather.
When everything was set to my satisfaction, I went aft to the quarterdeck and positioned myself next to Flurry… no, Captain Skyla, as I would get used to calling her thereafter.
"Nebula is ready to sail, Captain," I said.
"Oh… uhm… good?" she said uncertainly.
Oh. Right. "Skyla" also needed a little schooling.
"Just tell me to set sail," I told her in a near whisper from the corner of my mouth. "Say, 'Very good Ms. Spa...' Oh stars, you shouldn't call me Sparkle."
"I shouldn't call you Ms. either! You're a princess!"
"It's aeronautical tradition. You call any mate or midshippony Ms. and use their last name if they have more than one." I frowned. "I'll have to come up with a pseudonym."
"Nightshade fits you pretty well right now," Skyla said, only smiling a tiny bit.
We needed to get going, and I couldn't come up with anything better on the spur of the moment. "Fine. Say it loud enough for the crew to hear it."
Her grin grew wider. "Can I say 'avast there'?"
"No! Avast means stop," I told her. "You can say 'if you please' which—counterintuitively—means it's an order, not a request."
"Sailors are weird," she said. Then she turned forward and said in a much louder voice, "Ms. Nightshade, set sail if you please!"
"Aye-aye, Captain!" I replied. Then to the crew standing by the sheets and halyards, "Loose stu'n'sls! Haul out and sheet home! Tighten up there, Sirocco! Cream Puff, make fast the starboard fore stu'n'sl outhaul!"
Well, they tried. And after a bit, when they had gotten Cream Puff untangled, they actually got Nebula moving. Slowly.
I turned to Skyla and saluted. "Nebula is under way, Captain."
She nodded imperiously. "Very good, Ms. Nightshade." Then she leaned over slightly and whispered, "That was kind of fun!"
"The comedy isn't over yet," I whispered back. "Tell me to increase sail."
"Increase sail, Ms. Nightshade!"
"Increase sail, aye, Captain!" It really was fun. I hadn't sailed in ages. "Loose sprit'sl! Take up on the starboard sheet! Loose the kee'sl and sheet home. Look lively there, you lubbers!"
Eventually, with more than a few telekinetic nudges from me, all the sails were set and drawing well, and Nebula began to move along at a decent speed.
We had no idea where we were going, but at least we were going.
= = =
We followed the trail the burros had taken, assuming they would be heading for some sort of settlement, if not a town or city.
The rugged terrain below us flattened out into a rocky desert cut with arroyos and dotted with strange spiky trees. We had a fair wind to follow the beaten dirt path and only wavered from our course a little bit, now and then.
An hour or so after noon, the whistle plug in the speaking tube from the cupola blew a shrill note, making Swift Wing jump a bit. He was at the wheel and Skyla was standing beside him. I was lying further back on the quarter deck, near the stern rail, with some notebooks and instruments spread out on the deck around me. I looked up to see Skyla glancing back at me. I nodded toward the speaking tube.
She pulled out the plug and spoke into the tube. "Yes?" Then she put her ear to the tube and listened for a moment before replacing the plug.
"Hold your course," she said to the helmspony and turned toward me. "Twi… uh… Ms. Nightshade? Ms. Ao has sighted the burro pack train."
"Ah," I said, rising to my hooves. "Then you'll no doubt want the crew to slow Nebula when we're above them so that we can hail them."
"Yes," she said. "That is exactly what I want." She paused a second and then added, "See to it, Ms. Nightshade."
"Very good, Captain," I replied. And then to Swift Wing, "I will take the wheel. Go forward and prepare to shorten sail."
The sail working went much more smoothly than it had in the morning, and we shed speed in a nicely controlled fashion. But the burros didn't stick with the plan. The tube from the cupola whistled again and Skyla relayed Ao's report that the burros had scattered when it became obvious we were headed toward them, and had taken cover behind the largest nearby outcroppings of rock.
It didn't matter all that much except as an indication that a friendly airship was not what burros in the vicinity expected as a matter of course. I made a mental note that they had run off the trail in the upwind direction.
Skyla took a big megaphone out of the deck locker and went to the windward rail. "Greetings!" She spoke through the cone, not needing to magically amplify her voice. "We mean you no harm! I am Captain Skyla Windsong and I would like to—"
The megaphone went spinning across the deck and she let out loud yelp of surprise as I tackled her. There were several dull thumps as a half-dozen crossbow bolts hit the hull, mast, and underside of the envelope, but, thankfully, no cries of pain.
"Why can't it ever be easy?" I muttered to myself. Then, at full volume, to the crew, "Everypony stay down! Let go the sheets and let her drift. Sirocco, steer downwind. Don't worry about a specific course."
I have no idea what was going through the minds of the burros below, but they didn't shoot at us again. I hated to be driven off like a lowly highway pony, and the odds of running into anypony else anytime soon in this wasteland were pretty low. I thought it over for a moment, then went to the speaking tubes. "Ao? You okay up there?"
"This one is disappointed in the character of certain caravaneers, but otherwise fine, Majesty."
"I think brute force isn't going to work in this situation," I replied. "Do you remember the minotaur reivers?"
There was a pause and then she replied, "Ah! Yes, the taijitu trick! That may serve well, this one thinks."
"Good! Come down to the quarterdeck and keep the envelope between you and the burros. We don't want them to see you before our grand entrance."
"On the instant, Majesty!"
Ao slithered down on the far side of the envelope, then used the mizzen mast as cover to reach the quarterdeck. She crouched beside me, and we went over the plan, quickly and quietly. I told Skyla to have the crew turn Nebula when she was out of crossbow range and hold station until we got back.
The burros hadn't taken anything for granted. After Nebula turned away from them, they had gathered up their loads and galloped upwind, across the rough terrain away from the trail.
Glancing back, one of them saw Ao and I swooping down on them and cried out a warning. His companions dropped their packs again and took what cover they could. The click and snap of crossbows being cocked and loaded was clear in the still desert air.
That was our cue.
"We forgive you…" I began in a sibilant growl.
"...little ones," Ao completed the sentence in her softest, bell-like voice.
"You did not know…" I said.
"...that it was us," Ao finished.
We landed on a high point where the burros could get a good look at us. That was the critical moment. They'd either fire in blind panic, or listen for a few seconds more. Fortunately, those burros were just as curious as their cousins back home. With griffons, it would have been a very different story.
I mantled my wings slightly, letting Ao twist around my body. Up over my rump and around under my belly, then across my shoulders until her head rested right next to mine. I snapped my wings fully open then, the primaries making a sharp pop as they flicked out.
"We come to…"
"...bless you."
"And also to…"
"...enrich you."
Finishing each other's sentences was a simple thing, something that could be seen in a comedy routine in a music hall. But when executed by such an outré pair as Ao and I, it had quite an effect.
There was a hurried, whispered exchange between a couple of the burros and then one said, "Can ya elaborate on that 'enrich' part… uh… ma'am?"
"We don't rightly know who y'are," put in one of the others, who was immediately hissed to silence by the rest of the group.
"We are the spirit…"
"...of balance and harmony."
"We lift up the downtrodden…"
"...and cast down the exalted."
That line always went over well with people scrabbling to make a living no matter what their species. Burros hauling heavy packs through a scorching desert had to fit that demographic. And, sure enough—
"Well, we's jest about as downtrodden as they come, Ms. Spirit, ma'am!"
"'Cept mebby the unicorns," another put in, almost beneath his breath.
That was an interesting comment, but we couldn't let ourselves be sidetracked from the routine. I levitated a few dozen gold bits out of my mane where I had quickly stashed them before leaving Nebula.
"This is but a part..."
"...of what we will give you."
"Come forward and…"
"...claim your gold."
There was a fair exchange of looks between them, but the one that had been doing most of the talking put down his crossbow and slowly stepped forward.
Ao and I moved our heads to either side as he approached. He nearly went walleyed as he walked up to us and tentatively raised a hoof to take the floating coins. Without looking away, he put one coin between his teeth and bit down.
"Well, ain't that something," he muttered, convinced the gold was not only real, but of high quality.
"What is…"
"...your name?"
"I'm called Cuarzo, ma'am," he replied. "I'm right pleased to meetcha. Sorry about the little bit o' shootin' back then. Like ya said, we didn't know it was you. Actually, I'm sorry to say that we hadn't heard tell of ya before now."
Talkative. Good. Also remarkably adaptable. He'd calmed down quickly even in the face of the strange chimeric creature Ao and I appeared to be.
"Thought ya was earth ponies. Mebby imperials, mebby just raiders, but not folks we wanted much truck with."
"That is…"
"...perfectly understandable."
"Thanks a heap for understandin', ma'am." He glanced down at the coins in his hoof. "Uh… are ya fixin' to do any more upliftin' hereabouts?"
"Oh yes…"
"...we are."
"But first we would like…"
"...a little information."
Cuarzo's expression turned wary. "What sorta news are ya interested in?"
"The stone arch…"
"...near where you first saw our ship."
"What happened to the gems…"
"...that were set into its top?"
His expression cleared. "Oh them? The imperials took 'em right after they beat the old king and took over the kingdom. Did they belong to you, ma'am? 'Cuz them imperials could use a bit of gettin' cast down, if'n yer so inclined."
"Do you know exactly…"
"...where they are?"
"'Fraid not, ma'am. Imperial palace or treasury would be my guess. Them rocks were worth a heap, as I reckon you must know. Mebby they've fitted one or two to some device or set them in a war machine, but I can't say for sure. Folks in the capital might know more."
"And which direction is the…"
"...capital from here?"
He frowned in thought for a moment. "I ain't never been there, but it's east of here a fair piece. Take more'n a month to hoof it, as best I can figure."
We had gotten as much information from him as could be hoped for, so I levitated the rest of the coins out of my mane and floated them over to him.
"Take these with our blessings…"
"...and our thanks."
"May you and your companions…"
"...travel safely."
"Thank you kindly, Ms. Spirit. I hope ya get yer gems back."
Ao unwound herself from me and we took to the air.
"And give them imperial stompers a bit of down-castin' for me, will ya?" Cuarzo called after us.
We didn't reply, but I caught one last exclamation from him as we flew back to Nebula.
"Well, don't that beat all!"
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