//------------------------------// // Chapter Eight // Story: Codex Ponera - Cliffside Eyrie // by Pepperbrony //------------------------------// Big Mac hauled his wagon along the road, propelled to high speed by his earthcrafting. His orange mane and tail rippled with the speed of his progress. Looking back to the passengers riding the wagon, he spoke. “We’ll get there just before nightfall.” “Thanks, Big Mac!” called back Scootaloo from her perch atop an apple barrel. She turned to Rainbow Dash, who was eating an apple while laying on top of the crates of lanterns Scootaloo had created that morning. “Big Mac says we’ll get to Cliffside by nightfall.” “Yeah, I heard him,” replied Rainbow. “That’s pretty good time, considering how far we have to go.” “That’s Big Mac for you,” said Scootaloo. “He’s the best earthcrafter there is!” Rainbow smiled indulgently. “He certainly seems to be.” After a moment's thought, Rainbow rolled over to face Scootaloo. “Hey, squirt? Mind if I ask you something?” “Sure Rainbow Dash, what is it?” Scootaloo said. “Well, at first I thought you’d live with your family,” said Rainbow, “but you don’t call either Applejack or Big Mac mum or dad. So I was wondering, what’s the deal? Is either of them one of your parents?” “Oh, is that all?” said Scootaloo, waving a dismissive hoof. “No, but they look after me like they were!” “Eeyup,” agreed Big Mac. “So… since you won’t be getting back home until at least tomorrow, won’t your parents be wondering where you are?” Rainbow asked. “No, they won’t,” said Scootaloo, head down and ears low. “My parents used to live at the carrot farm next to Sweet Apple Acres. We passed it before, actually. Anyway, one day there was an accident, and they both died. That’s when AJ and Big Mac took me in; they’ve been looking after me ever since.” “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” said Rainbow, mortified at the tale. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” replied Scootaloo. “It was years ago. I do miss them, but I’ve got AJ and Big Mac and Apple Bloom now.” “Well, I’m sorry about your parents, but at least you seem to have some pretty cool ponies filling in for them,” Rainbow said. “Yeah I do!” agreed Scootaloo. “So how about your story? How did you become a spy?” “Oh, wow. Heh, I haven’t thought back on that for a while,” chuckled Rainbow. “It started… what, almost fourteen years ago, when I was about your age…” Almost Fourteen Years Ago The young blank-flanked blue pegasus filly with the rainbow-coloured mane quivered with excitement. Rainbow Dash stood with a crowd of similarly aged colts and fillies gathered outside Cloudreach Skyport, waiting more or less patiently for the arrival of the prince. Crown Prince Clean Leaf, heir to the throne of Ponera, furycrafter extraordinaire, and airship fancolt, had come to the mountainside town of Cloudreach to take possession of his brand new personal sky yacht, Pax Ponera. Before he took it back to the capital of Equinopolis, he had decided to open its hatchways to the foals of the town, and have them join him on a quick test flight. Rainbow had been looking forward to this forever, for two whole weeks, ever since the opportunity had been announced. The airship had been constructed behind a metaphorical veil of secrecy and the literal wall of a private shipyard, so little was known about the details of the prince’s ship. This did nothing to prevent the foals from wildly specualting about the ship, each theory more impressive, if less likely, than the last. Rainbow listened to one of the nearby discussions. “I heard that it doesn’t even have an envelope!” exclaimed one red-coated earth pony colt to his fellows. “It flies with magic!” “That’s impossible,” scoffed a dark yellow unicorn filly with a two-toned red and yellow mane and tail. “Even all the unicorns in Cloudreach working together couldn’t lift something as big as an airship. Not even all the unicorns in all of Ponera could do it!” “It is too possible,” shot back the colt, “just because your magic is pathetic doesn’t mean everypony else's is!” Rainbow saw the filly’s eyes take on a dangerous gleam and her horn glowed with teal magic. “Do you want to see just how pathetic my magic is?” she growled, narrowing her eyes at the colt. Before the unicorn could do anything more, Rainbow threw herself between the two. “Hey, cut it out, you two!” she cried. “Before we all get sent home!” “She started it,” said the colt. “He’s an idiot if he thinks magic can make an airship fly,” snapped the unicorn. Rainbow looked at the unicorn, her cerise eyes meeting the unicorn’s teal. “Then let him be an idiot.” “Hey!” protested the colt. “If you get into a fight, then you won’t be allowed to see the prince,” finished Rainbow. The unicorn glared at Rainbow before rolling her eyes, releasing her magic with a sigh. “Fine. But he’s still wrong.” “Duh,” replied Rainbow, ignoring the colt when he protested. “Everypony knows that it takes wind furies to really fly.” She emphasised her point by briefly hovering on a gust of furycrafted wind. “Yeah. And tamed wind furies aren’t as focused as normal ones, so it takes three of them working together to lift two ponies worth of weight,” said the unicorn. “And the wind furies would fly away if they weren’t kept in an envelope, so obviously there has to be one.” “And it has to be a little bit bigger than the hull to carry the hull and the ponies and the cargo and stuff,” grinned Rainbow, determined to beat the unicorn at her own game, “because a tamed wind fury needs about as much space as a pony.” “Well done, my little ponies,” said a grown stallion’s voice. “Many of my advisors wouldn’t have known all that.” Rainbow and the unicorn filly turned to see who was speaking. He was a pegasus stallion, a little shorter than most, with a pale tan coat and smiling blue eyes. His blonde mane was somewhat windswept, and topped with a small crown of gold. The fillies eyes went wide. “Prince Clean Leaf!” they cried. A wave of silence rippled out from them, the fillies and colts hearing the name of the prince and turning to look. When they started to bow, however, the prince apparently decided that was enough ceremony. “Oh, enough of that, cut it out,” he said. “I get enough bowing from the ponies back home. Let’s go and have a look at my new airship!” The gathered youngsters cheered their agreement, and followed the prince into the skyport facility. They went straight past the reception desks and moved toward one of the waiting rooms. Clean Leaf stopped at the door, bringing the procession to a halt. “Now, who wants to see my new airship?” he asked. “Come on, everypony, raise your hoof if you can’t wait to see it for the first time ever!” Everypony raised a forehoof, including the prince himself. He looked around at the excited crowd, performing a comical double take when he saw his own hoof raised. “I guess that’s all of us then. Okay, but first of all, where are those fillies who know all about airships? You two know who you are, come on up here!” Rainbow and the yellow unicorn filly looked at each other in surprise before making their way to the head of the group. “There you are,” said the prince. “What are your names?” The unicorn arrogantly stepped forward. “I’m Sunset Shimmer,” she declared, “the most powerful unicorn in Cloudreach.” While the prince arched an eyebrow at the bold claim, Rainbow stepped up. “And I’m Rainbow Dash,” she proudly stated, “and I’m the awesomest, coolest, and radicalest pegasus in Cloudreach!” She blinked up at Prince Clean Leaf, and grinned sheepishly before amending her claim. “Well, at least I was until you got here, sire.” Clean Leaf grinned back at her. “Well, let’s see here. I’ve got Cloudreach’s awesomest, coolest, radicalest pegasus, I’ve got the most powerful unicorn in town, I’ve got me, I think we’re all here. So let’s go see my new ship!” Flinging open the door, Clean Leaf led the charge into the waiting room, Rainbow and Sunset right behind him. The waiting room held a number of benches, arrayed before wide, sweeping windows offering a breathtaking view of the plains to the west of the town, up to the easternmost limit of the Dark Jungle beyond. On this occasion the glorious vista went ignored, because the windows also served as an excellent vantage point from which to look at the airships berthed at the skyport. The ponies crowded the windows, some of those who could fly taking to the air for a clearer view, all looking at the new airship berthed at the VIP dock. “Ooh,” they murmured, impressed with the design of the vessel. Pax Ponera was a narrow yacht, smaller and sleeker than the typical cargo haulers the foals usually saw coming out of the Cloudreach Airship Yards. Her hull looked to be about eighty ponylengths long by about fifteen wide, and seemed to be a mere two decks deep. There was an aftcastle taking up about a fifth of the length of the ship, with the helm and throttle stack mounted on the poop deck. There was also a midcastle, about fifteen ponylengths long, whose rear wall was at the midway point along the length of the ship. The hull was made of cherrywood stained a reddish brown, with guardrails and porthole fittings made of polished brass. The ship’s weight was supported, despite the earlier claims of one now embarrassed colt, by an envelope. Shaped as a pointed ellipse with orthogonally mounted fins at the back end, the envelope was slightly longer and wider than the hull. It was coloured dark gray, with bright yellow patterns around the circumference at the back and a few blue patches along the sides. The envelope was attached to the hull by a thick mast coming up from the hull along the back wall of the midcastle, and supported in place by several thick ropes anchored to some of the hull’s structural spars. “Look at the engines,” Clean Leaf said. The engines were attached just behind the midcastle, each mounted at the end of a platform holding them about three ponylengths out the sides of the ship, and elevated slightly so that the spinners of the rear-mounted propellers would be at eye level of ponies on the quarterdeck. They were shaped like pointed cylinders laid alongside the ship, with a streamlined box-like structure attached to their underside, itself bolted to the supporting platform. Made of black iron with brass highlights, they looked sleek, powerful, and indestructible. Sunset frowned down at the ship. “Are those…” she breathed, horn glittering with blue-green light as she charged it in an attempt to improve her magical senses. Clean Leaf looked over at her and grinned. “Yep. Magical modifications on the engines. They’re a gift from Duke Night Light over in Mount Argent; apparently his daughter has a real knack for magic.” He glanced up at her glowing horn. “Maybe you are as powerful as you say; can you really feel the spells from all the way up here?” “Well, I am pretty strong, but no, I can’t feel them from here,” said Sunset, dimming her horn. “I just spotted the gemstones on the engines, and thought I’d give it a try.” Rainbow looked at one of the engines, wishing she knew how to get her wind fury to perform a farseeing crafting. Her sharp pegasus eyes nevertheless easily resolved two rubies, an emerald, and a sapphire, all mounted on a small wooden panel on the side of the engine where they could easily be reached by a pony standing out along the wide spar. “I don’t get it,” she said. “What are those gems for?” The fillies and colts murmured with shared confusion. Clean Leaf gestured to Sunset. “You know how engines use fire furies to heat water into steam, and then they use the steam to turn the shaft?” Sunset said, before glancing back at the engines. “Or propellers, I guess, in this case.” When the assembled youngsters mumbled their understanding, she continued. “And there’s water furies to keep the steam moving around properly, and metal furies to keep the engines all strong so they don’t blow up from all the steam pressure and heat and stuff. Well, these engines use magic spells to make the furies jobs easier. The gemstones hold the spells, so they don’t need a bunch of unicorns casting a whole lot of powerful spells all the time.” “That’s right, Sunset,” said Clean Leaf. “Some magic-enhanced engines are built for more power, but these ones are designed to last longer between check-ups. Keeps the maintenance costs down, saves the taxpayer’s money.” Seeing the blank looks on the children’s faces, he shrugged. “And they’re cooler and more awesome,” he said, nudging Rainbow Dash who grinned at the laconic explanation. “Who wants a closer look?” “I do!” the foals cheered together, and Clean Leaf led them to another waiting room, this one with an exit to Pax Ponera’s berth. Already waiting in the room were a number of ponies, quietly chatting with one another before falling silent upon the arrival of the prince and his charges. “Fillies and colts, this is my crew,” said Clean Leaf. “They’ll help me run Pax whenever I take her out. Crew, these are our guests for today. Keep an eye on Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash over there.” He pointed out and winked at Rainbow and Sunset. “They’re powerful and awesome, and between them they seem to know as much about airships as any of you.” The foals chuckled while Sunset and Rainbow puffed out their chests, and the crew began to introduce themselves. “Name’s Bad Royal,” declared a brown-coated earth pony stallion. “Do you wanna run this ship?” Blinking in surprise at the enthusiastic sounds of agreement from the assembled fillies and colts, he stammered out, “Well, you can’t.” Clearing his throat, he continued. “I’m the captain here.” “I’m Mercy,” said a musclebound, goateed earth pony wearing a sheathed sword across his back, “but don’t think that means I’ll be merciful. I’m the prince’s bodyguard. I once defended him against a group of minotaur mercenaries.” He drew his sword, grinning as he gazed at it lovingly. “The best of ‘em carried this. Folded steel blade, gold-wrapped sharkskin grip with a solid steel pommel. It is my very favourite sword. I call it Faith.” While the rest of the crew rolled their eyes at Mercy’s aichmophilic antics, a wiry green-coated unicorn stallion with a few geometric designs tattooed on his body spoke up. “You can call me Beast. I’m the genius mechanic.” Clean Leaf grimaced at that claim, causing Rainbow to giggle to herself. A shapely golden-coated unicorn mare with a dark wavy mane and wearing a flattering gown was the next to introduce herself. “I am Artemis. Think of me as Prince Clean Leaf’s secretary, his agent. It’s my job to organise his schedule, ensure that his engagements go smoothly, and otherwise open doors that would normally be closed even to him.” It took some of the older colts in the crowd a few moments to tear their eyes from her to look to the next crew member to speak. “I’m Doctor Listen,” said a slender unicorn stallion. “I’m a doctor, obviously. If anypony hurts themselves, come and see me and I can patch you up.” “And this lovely mare is Vida,” said Clean Leaf, his wing draped over the back of the last crewmember, a tall, toned earth pony mare with a curly dark mane, a slightly swollen belly, and a shortened halberd. “She’s my personal bodyguard when Mercy is off duty. And especially when he’s on duty.” “Hey,” said Mercy, only to be swatted in the head by a swipe from the prince’s free wing. Seeing the wide eyes of their audience, Vida guessed at their their thoughts. “Yes, I am Princess Vida, his wife.” She glared at Clean Leaf, who grinned nervously in response, before she turned back to the foals. “So, are you all ready to go aboard the ship?” When the crowd cheered back, she declared, “Then let’s go.” While the other foals all charged outside toward the gangplank, Rainbow and Sunset decided to hang back with the crew to avoid being jostled about by the rambunctious crowd. They were close enough to Princess Vida to hear her speaking quietly with Bad Royal. “Where did you say you found Beast, again?” she asked. “Jewelport,” replied Royal. “He came highly recommended; I even heard Black Strap has been trying to get him for months. What’s the problem? He is a genius mechanic.” “So he says. I don’t know, captain,” said Vida, with a suspicious glance toward Beast. “He just bothers me is all.” Sunset looked at Rainbow, who shrugged. They followed the crew outside and joined the line of foals waiting their turn to make their way up the gangplank being laid in place by a team of dockworkers. When an argument that broke out at the start of the line over which of the foals would be first to board, Rainbow rolled her eyes. Flaring her wings, she said to Sunset, “Aw ponyfeathers. Alright, Sunset, hold on. I got this.” She focused on her wind fury. “What do you- HEY!” Sunset suddenly found herself lifted into the air by a precisely controlled gust of wind, which carried her over the gunwale before dropping her gently onto the foredeck of Pax Ponera. She turned to glare at the smirking Rainbow Dash, who flapped her wings and flew to Sunset’s side. “Now who’s getting us into trouble?” demanded Sunset. “If I get thrown off because of you then I’ll-” “Relax, Sunset,” grinned Clean Leaf, flying over from the dock to join them. “She probably will get you in trouble at some point. But not today; I couldn’t wait either.” He leaned out over the gunwale. “Come on everypony, all aboard!” The flight-capable colts and fillies immediately took to the air, while the flightless crewponies simply leaped the yawning gap between wharf and airship. While a few foals ran along the gangplank, Rainbow went to the gunwale and called to one of the smaller colts to hold still. She flared her wings and focused on her fury, lifting the colt as she had lifted Sunset, bringing him aboard. Clean Leaf followed her example, lifting several of the waiting foals who squealed with delight. Once everypony was on board, Captain Bad Royal called everypony to stations. He made his way toward the steps leading up to the poop deck, while Mercy and Vida led several foals behind him through the midcastle to the quarterdeck. Artemis and Doctor Listen remained on the foredeck with the remaining foals, who promptly ran to the gunwales to get a better look at the scenery. Beast, meanwhile, waved off the foals who tried to follow him and instead went to do something to one of the engines, horn aglow. Sunset and Rainbow looked around, unable to decide where to go, when Clean Leaf whispered to them. “Why don’t you two come with me?” He led them aft and followed the captain up to the poop deck, where he took up position at the helm. He spun the main wheel back and forth a few times, then repeated the procedure with the smaller pitch wheel mounted sideways on the opposite side to the throttle stack, while checking the control fins mounted behind the two engines to ensure they moved properly. He then looked to the throttle stack, throwing a lever from OFF to TEST, before moving each of the two throttle levers one notch at a time, each movement rewarded with the cheery “Ding!” of a ringing bell. Satisfied, he moved the first lever across to FLIGHT before turning to the captain. “Controls free, clear and correct.” “Glad to hear it,” came the dry reply from Bad Royal, who then called out to the rest of the crew. “Cast off!” The crew untied the mooring lines, throwing them to the dockworkers who safely coiled them for future use. Once the lines were released the captain looked at Clean Leaf. “Okay, highness. Take us out.” “Yessir, right away sir,” grinned Clean Leaf while pushing both throttle levers to the QUARTER SPEED position and spinning the wheel starboard. The propellers spun, pushing air through the deflected control fins and so turning the ship to the right and moving it away from the skydock. The foals all cheered as they got underway. They spent some time flying about around and over Cloudreach, testing Pax Ponera’s maneuvering abilities while the young passengers gleefully pointed out to each other various points of interest. After several minutes of flight Clean Leaf winked at Bad Royal before calling to Rainbow and Sunset. “How would you two like to have a go at flying the ship?” “Thanks, but I can already fly,” Rainbow grinned with a flap of her wings. She looked at Sunset and raised an eyebrow. The unicorn filly was standing there with her jaw hanging open and eyes wide. “But I think maybe Sunset might like a go.” “Well, Sunset? Come on, step up here,” encouraged the prince. When Sunset finally snapped out of her shock and stepped forward, Clean Leaf asked if she had ever flown an airship before. When she shook her head he told her, “Don’t worry, it’s easy. Put your hooves on the main wheel…” After giving a brief piloting lesson, Clean Leaf stepped back and nodded to the captain, who nodded in return. Bad Royal then opened his mouth to speak, before his brow furrowed. Lowering his head to Rainbow, he whispered, “Hey, Rainbow Mane-” “Rainbow Dash,” corrected Rainbow. “Rainbow Dash, whatever.” The captain rolled his eyes. “What’s her name again?” “Sunset Shimmer,” replied Rainbow. She shared a mischievous grin with Clean Leaf when she guessed what was about to happen, and was proved correct a moment later. “Miss Shimmer, engines to half speed,” ordered the captain. Sunset’s head whirled around, her eyes wide as she processed what Bad Royal had just said, before she grinned. Turning back to the wheel, she lit her horn and used her magic to push the two throttle levers to the position marked HALF SPEED. She was rewarded with the sound of the engines increasing in pitch, accelerating the airship to a higher velocity. “Half speed, captain!” “Very good, Miss Shimmer,” complimented the captain. “Take us two points to starboard.” With glances at the compass, Sunset spun the wheel to the right, taking the ship into a gentle turn, before straightening out. “Two points to starboard, captain.” “And now, take us up to, say, two thousand ponylengths,” said Bad Royal. Sunset spun the pitch wheel back, lifting the prow of Pax Ponera into a slow climb. Partway through the climb Royal called for Sunset to bring the ship about. She did so, being careful to keep the turn gentle while also keeping the prow up so that they continued to climb. When the instrument cluster indicated an altitude of just below two thousand ponylengths, Sunset returned the pitch wheel to its neutral position, leveling the ship off with the altitude gauge showing precisely the desired altitude. “Two thousand ponylengths, captain,” she reported. “Nicely done, helmsmare,” said the captain, reading the instruments. His eyebrows bobbed up and down in surprise. “Very nicely done, in fact. You’re off by less than ten lengths. More than a hundred either side is normal for a newbie, and less than fifty is good for experienced pilots.” “I think that’s enough helming for now, Sunset. You’re gonna make me look bad,” teased Clean Leaf, stepping up to the guardrail and calling for the attention of the youngsters on the quarterdeck. “I hear he used to overshoot by more than three hundred ponylengths,” whispered Bad Royal to the fillies, who giggled in response. Clean Leaf looked down to the crowd gathered on the quarterdeck. “Okay, who wants to have a go at steering?” he called to the foals. Being met with sounds of agreement, he pointed to one of them at random and invited her up to the poop deck, then promised the next turn to whoever carried the invitation to the foals on the foredeck. Sunset surrendered her position to the chosen filly, who then received a lesson on piloting from Bad Royal. Sunset stepped back to join Rainbow, before Clean Leaf beckoned them to join him on his way to the quarterdeck. They followed Clean Leaf to the quarterdeck, being careful to stay out of the way of all the foals coming aft to the quarterdeck to wait for their turn at the helm. “So, how was it?” he asked. “Eh, it was alright,” replied Sunset, trying to hide her excitement. Clean Leaf wasn’t fooled at her attempted nonchalance. “You are a natural, young lady. I take it you’re planning on flying an airship of your own one day?” “That’s what’s gonna happen, yeah,” Sunset said. Clean Leaf smiled at her. “Well, keep at it. With skills like yours, maybe you could even work for me one day. What about you, Rainbow? Where will your awesomeness take you?” “Somewhere awesome, of course,” replied Rainbow. “Somewhere I can help ponies be almost as awesome as me!” “Like the way you helped Sunset and that colt board the Pax? A pony as helpful as you should go far,” said Clean Leaf. Rainbow grinned and the prince turned back to Sunset. “Anyway, Sunset, how would you like a closer look at the engines?” After receiving an enthusiastic nod from Sunset, he led them to the starboard engine. Beast’s horn glowed scarlet while he rested a hoof on the engine, communing with its furies and simultaneously casting some sort of spell at one or another of the gemstones. When he heard Clean Leaf and the fillies approaching, he looked up at them in surprise before putting on a grin. His horn flared brightly for a moment before dimming, then he nodded farewell and stepped away to enter the midcastle. “Here we are,” said the prince. “It’s a Muffin 42-M engine, from BubbleWorks in Mount Argent.” Sunset stepped up to the engine, horn glowing before she stopped and looked up at Clean Leaf. “Can I check out the spells?” she asked. When he nodded to her, she looked at one of the rubies. It dimly glowed with teal light. “The spell in this ruby is for redirecting heat, I think,” she said, before shifting her focus onto the next gems in turn, each glowing as she touched them with her magic. “This one looks like… it cools the steam down? This sapphire holds a water flow spell of some kind, and the emerald… I think it’s helping hold the metal together. They’re all really powerful, too.” “How powerful, do you think?” asked Clean Leaf. “Hmm,” pondered Sunset, focusing the gemstones. “Each spell is probably strong enough to lift…” She gulped and took half a step back. “Wow. I think each one could lift me if the magic was being used that way.” Rainbow’s jaw dropped. “I didn’t know it was possible to put so much magic in one place all at once!” Sunset smirked at her. “Goes to show what you know. Lots of magic can be put into gemstones like these,” she said, gesturing at the gems of the furyengine. “But because unicorns can only cast so little magic at a time, the gems are prepared over hours. Or even days.” “You certainly know your way around magic very well,” observed Clean Leaf. “That’s pretty rare; most unicorns don’t really bother with magic. They usually find furycraft easier.” “My crafting isn’t all that good,” said Sunset, focusing back on the gemstones. “But I’ve always been good with magic.” “Sounds like you’re really good with it,” said Rainbow. “As I understand it, the unicorn who prepared these engine spells likes doing magic too,” said Clean Leaf. “She’s a filly about your age, perhaps a bit younger. Maybe I could arrange a meeting sometime.” “I’d like that,” replied Sunset, frowning at the engine. “I could ask her why she shaped these spells so badly.” “More likely it was our so-called ‘genius’ mechanic who did that,” said Clean Leaf. “The spells can’t be outright changed, but they can be adjusted. You know, so that you can adapt the engines to changing conditions. Anyway, I get the impression that Beast is all talk and no walk, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he did something he shouldn’t have. Why? What’s wrong with them?” “Well, the heat redirection spell looks fine, maybe a bit too strong perhaps,” began Sunset, “but that cooling spell is really weak. The sapphire looks like it’s barely letting any steam reach the turbine, and as for the emerald… I think the metal spell is all focused on the other side of the engine block, I’m not feeling anything on this side.” Rainbow thought about that for a moment, and her eyes bulged with fear. But before she could say anything, she heard the captain call for more speed. As the engine sounds increased in pitch, Rainbow felt a warning from her wind fury, a reaction to a sudden massive increase in pressure from the engine. She drew in as much of the essence of her fury as she could, and time seemed to slow to a halt. In her fury-accelerated state, Rainbow watched the side of the engine break apart, exploding with seeming glacial slowness into a cloud of red-hot metal shrapnel and superheated steam. She willed her fury into three gusts of wind, two to push Sunset and the prince back and away from the exploding engine, and one to push herself between them and the danger. Her fury returned to the air and the world accelerated back up to normal speed, leaving Rainbow just enough time to will her fury into a barrier of wind, blowing the hot steam and shrapnel away from herself and the other ponies on deck. Clean Leaf and Sunset suddenly found themselves flung down to the deck, behind a rainbow-coloured blur that resolved itself into Rainbow Dash. The pegasus stood defensively before them, wings flared and head low, shielding them from the exploding engine. BANG! The ghostly image of a wind fury in the form of a tortoise suddenly coalesced around Rainbow Dash, embellished by wisps of steam, pieces of shrapnel ricocheting off of its shell. Everypony on deck looked at the exploded engine, the prone prince, and the translucent tortoise in stunned shock. Captain Bad Royal was the first to snap out of it, stepping to the helm and slapping the throttle levers down to the OFF position as he bellowed for Doctor Listen to report to the quarterdeck. “Are you okay, Sunset?” asked Clean Leaf, climbing to his hooves. When she nodded, eyes slightly glazed over before she blinked her way back to full clarity, he turned to the protectively-positioned pegasus. “How about you, Rainbow? Are you hurt?” Rainbow twitched her head to clear her thoughts, staggering a little after the strain of such extreme furycrafting. The image of the tortoise dissipated as she dropped the windcrafted barrier. “I’m fine. How about everypony else?” A few ponies complained about the ringing in their ears, but other than one filly who was unlucky enough to have been cut on the foreleg by a piece of shrapnel that had been knocked aside by Rainbow’s furycraft, none seemed seriously wounded. Doctor Listen arrived and quickly went to work, pouring water over the filly’s injury while he willed his water fury to disinfect, clean, and ultimately heal the wound. Bad Royal came up to the wreckage that until recently had been a perfectly functioning furyengine. “What happened?” he asked. “The engine exploded,” said Clean Leaf, helping Sunset to her hooves. “Sunset here was saying something about the magic spells being wrong, then, boom.” “Boom?” replied the captain. “Boom,” agreed Clean Leaf. Rolling his eyes, the captain continued. “Boom was easy. I figured that out all on my own. My keenly developed captain’s senses told me that. What I meant was why did it go boom.” Turning to Sunset, he began interrogating her. “Why were you tampering with the engine’s spells?” “I- I- I wasn’t,” she stammered. “I was just looking at them, seeing how they helped the engine.” “Royal, she couldn’t have-” began Clean Leaf before being interrupted by Rainbow. “Hey, back off!” she cried, flying right up to the captain’s face. “Sunset didn’t do anything wrong!” The captain and the prince blinked at her in surprise, but she didn’t stop. “She said that the spells were already in all the wrong places. She said that… well, it was all complicated, but I figured it out. It all meant that somepony had turned it into a bomb, and when it blew up, it would be towards the deck.” “That’s right,” said Sunset. “The fire and water spells were making the boiler fill with steam pressure, and the metal reinforcement spell was focused on the far side of the engine. When it blew up, all the pieces got blown this way, towards the ship and everypony on it.” She pointed a hoof at the remains of the engine to support her claim. The far side of the engine remained in place, edges torn and twisted but the bulk of it still recognisable. Clearly, some force had protected that half of the engine from the worst of the explosion, reflecting the blast back towards the ship. “If Rainbow hadn’t figured it out and crafted up that tortoise…” “Then we’d be short at least two fillies and one prince,” finished Clean Leaf. “Tortoise? What tortoise?” muttered Rainbow. “They’re right, captain,” said Clean Leaf. “Besides, as I was saying, Sunset couldn’t have altered the spells because her magic hasn’t been registered as a valid user; the spells would have rejected any attempt she made to change them. Somepony with that authority did this. Deliberately.” “Yeah, and I think I know who,” said Rainbow, blurring into motion and disappearing into the midcastle so fast that her tail literally cracked like a whip. Clean Leaf thought he saw a flash of light on the filly’s flank before she was gone. “Mercy, go after her,” called the prince. “I think I know who she meant, and she’s probably bitten off more than she can chew. I want Beast brought out here immediately.” But before the musclebound pony could so much as draw his sword, there came the sounds of yelling and screaming, followed by a few thumps that shook the entire hull. A moment later, the slightly battered form of Beast floated out of the midcastle, somehow embedded within the spectral tortoise form of Rainbow’s wind fury. Rainbow herself followed, glaring at the captive unicorn before blinking at the shape her fury had assumed. “Huh,” said Rainbow with a glance at Sunset. “So that’s the tortoise you were talking about.” Clean Leaf’s jaw dropped. “Wow. That was fast.” He looked closer at the pegasus filly. “Though I suppose I should expect speed from a pony with a cutie mark like that.” “Cutie mark? Since when does she have a- oh,” Sunset cut herself off, realising that Rainbow did indeed have her cutie mark, consisting of a blue, yellow, and red lightning bolt streaking down from a white cloud. “Nice cutie mark, Rainbow!” she called. As the gathered foals began to congratulate her, Rainbow blinked in surprise and turned to check her flanks. Seeing her cutie mark, she was so surprised she lost concentration on her fury. Beast dropped to the deck when the tortoise-shaped fury dissolved. But before he could seize the opportunity to escape, Mercy clobbered him on the back of the head with the pommel of his sword, knocking the unicorn to the deck. “He was the bad guy, right?” asked Mercy, looking to Clean Leaf and Bad Royal for confirmation. “Yep. He’s the only one who could have sabotaged the engine,” replied Clean Leaf. “Lock him up somewhere, we’ll deal with him later. Captain, I guess this trip is over. Make sure the other engine hasn’t been tampered with, then take us back to port.” He then turned to Rainbow and Sunset. “Would you two come with me, please?” He led them to his cabin in the aftcastle, closing the door for privacy. He spent a moment to collect his thoughts before turning to the fillies. “Do you two know why I invited the foals of Cloudreach to join me on today's flight?” “I just figured you were doing it to be nice,” Rainbow replied. “Partly, yes,” nodded Clean Leaf. “But also because I like to keep my eyes open for foals with promising futures. Your little discussion about the finer points of windcrafting for airships attracted my attention before we even made it through the doors of the skyport. Once we got inside, you both continued to impress me. “Sunset, you knew about magical enhancements to furyengines, and could explain about them in terms that other foals could easily understand. Then you showed yourself to be a natural at the helm, flying Pax beautifully with only a little bit of instruction, and then you were able to understand the nature of the spells in the engine’s gemstones with only a brief look. “As for you, Rainbow Dash, you’ve gone out of your way to help others, helping some of the foals to board the ship. And then you figured out what had happened to the engine fast enough to protect the rest of us when it exploded. I have never seen anypony move that fast, nor did I expect to ever see a filly get her cutie mark by going after a saboteur mere seconds after protecting a crowd of ponies from an exploding fury engine.” Rainbow and Sunset exchanged looks of wonder at the prince’s compliments, and Rainbow grinned. “I told you I was awesome.” With a chuckle, Clean Leaf replied, “Yes you did, Rainbow. Well, what I’m getting at is this: you two have impressed me, and I would hate to lose you. How would you two like to go to the Equine Academy, under my patronage?” The fillies stood in mute shock for a moment. The Equine Academy was famous all over Ponera; an institute of advanced learning, the very best of ponykind had been educated there for several centuries. Attending the academy would give them the best possible chance at making a good life for themselves. “Would I get to learn about working on airships?” asked Sunset. “Absolutely,” replied Clean Leaf. “In fact, I was thinking about taking you on as my protégé. What do you say to that?” Sunset squealed with joy. “Yes! I’d love to!” “What about me? Airships are pretty cool, but I’ve got my own wings, I’m not sure I wanna work on one. What else is there that could I do?” asked Rainbow. “Given how fast you are, Rainbow, and how much you want to help other ponies, I think I have a job perfectly suited to your talents,” said Clean Leaf. “What do you know about the Auditors?” Present Day “So, that’s how I got my job, my cutie mark, and a shape for my fury, all in one day,” finished Rainbow. “Afterwards, the Pax limped back to the skyport, where it had to stay until they could install a new engine. I think Sunset helped with that, actually. Anyway, by the time the ship was fixed, Prince Clean Leaf had already sent Artemis to speak to our families and arranged it with them that we would go to the academy. Then Sunset helped fly the Pax to Equinopolis, with me as the ship's first passenger, and we started our training.” “Wow,” murmured Scootaloo. “I remember hearin’ about that trouble with the prince’s airship,” said Big Mac. “Didn’t that pony end up in Tartarus Prison?” “He got like, fifty years or something. Last I heard, he’s still there,” replied Rainbow. “Anyway, it was shortly after that that I started training under Octavia, who became my personal mentor at the Academy. Jewelport was supposed to be my last training mission before I graduated as an Auditor, but instead of passing me she betrayed me.” “When was it that Prince Clean Leaf… you know,” asked Scootaloo. “When did he die? It was... about seven or eight months later, I think,” said Rainbow. “That was a really sad day. Did you know that Princess Vida had just had a foal? I never even got to see the kid. Anyways, they were all out flying one day, with Sunset at the helm, when something went wrong - a lightning strike to the envelope, I think I heard.” “But wasn’t Clean Leaf a prince?” asked Scootaloo. “I thought all the royal family could craft with all six kinds of furies. So why couldn’t he just fly away?” “Sunset told me that Vida was sick, being looked after by Doctor Listen,” replied Rainbow. “He was looking after her in the sick bay, and Clean Leaf wouldn’t leave her side. But by the time they would have realised something was wrong, the ship was going down so fast that they didn’t have enough time to get out. Sunset’s magic and crafting was enough to protect herself, but she was the only survivor - the airship burned so hard and fast that they couldn’t even figure out which burned bits were the bodies and which were parts of the ship. Anyway, the investigation said it wasn’t her fault, but Sunset still felt so bad about it that she dropped out of the Academy.” “Wow,” said Scootaloo, ears low. “That’s so sad. So where is Sunset now?” “She disappeared for a while,” said Rainbow, gazing into the past, “but she came back a couple of years ago, flying her own airship. She’s still a natural on deck, by the way. The things I’ve seen her do with an airship… She’s an amazing pilot.” “Maybe we could meet her one day,” suggested Scootaloo. “I might be able to arrange that, squirt,” said Rainbow, “But, well. She’s still not the friendliest of ponies.” The light green pegasus watched the wagon from his arboreal perch, estimating its speed. He had been seeking the pegasus passengers of the wagon ever since the wildfire had been contained. Black Strap’s orders had been very clear. A Few Hours Ago “Striking Viper, you will track down those pegasi before the Scavenger is flight ready or I will eat your wings for dinner,” said Black Strap. Present Hour Very clear indeed. Striking Viper had followed the road, expecting the fleeing pegasi would be using it to guide them to Cliffside Eyrie. He had been somewhat surprised to find them resting in the back of a wagon, even one moving as swiftly as this one, but considered it a stroke of good fortune. Once the envelope had been repaired, Soaring Scavenger could easily catch up to them, and would have little difficulty spotting a wagon on the open roads. And then they could be silenced, and Cliffside Eyrie would remain unaware of what was coming. Viper was looking forward to the slaughter. He silently leaped from his branch before spreading his wings and calling his wind fury to them, quickly zooming off to the north.