The Abundance
Peacefully Floating over the forests outside of Santa Ponica
The explosion rocked the ship, tossing its crew about violently. Cries that were a mix of panic, frustration, and anger filled the air as the mighty airship trembled and bucked, listing to one side. Great Storm Chaser, one of the several buffalo that had been imprisoned during the war and later joined up with the prison escapees, grabbed onto a swinging rope with his teeth and pulled with all his might, trying to get the sails righted so the ship wouldn’t go into a barrel roll. Twitch the Diamond Dog was at the wheel, complaining that Steadyhoof was supposed to have relieved him 10 minutes ago and it wasn’t fair this happened on his watch. Shrewd Deal had up from below deck wondering what was going on only to toss away his charts and maps and begin helping the others get things settled and The Abundance back on an even keel.
The Abundance
Not Quite Peacefully Floating over the forests outside of Santa Ponica
“Does anyone want to tell Iron Will just what happened?” the massive minotaur and first mate of The Abundance shouted as he climbed down from the crow’s nest, annoyance written on his features. “I thought I heard an explosion.”
“You did! You did! I heard it!” Twitch called out, rubbing his paws nervously before realizing he needed to keep steering. “Stupid Steadyhoof…” the Diamond Dog complained.
“Were we fired upon?” Shrewd Deal asked, finally getting a line secured.
“Appears not!” Drizzle Drop, a pegasus mare declared, zooming around the ship. “I see some damage on the right side-“
Chaser sighed. “We don’t say right side on a ship, we say-“
“-but it looks like it came from the inside.”
“…of course it did,” Iron Will grunted, “Deal, find Steadyhoof and get him to relieve Twitch. Chaser, finish up here. I’ll deal with this.” The former motivational speaker went below deck once he’d issued his commands, rubbing his hand over his face in frustration, waving off concerned crew members who asked what was going on. Even after three years of peace they were all still jumpy about an attack, fearing that something big and powerful had finally come to blow them out of the sky. Dr. Wolf, the psychologist Twilight had hired early on to assist them in aiding the displaced ponies of Equestria, had spent nearly half his time helping the former prisoners who still suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Will knew the shrink be getting knocks on his door for the next few hours with members of their large and strange family needing to talk over what had just happened and settle their nerves. “I’ll probably need a session myself,” Will muttered. He was good at motivating people but that was all he knew when it came to the mind and he preferred to defer to the Doc.
The Abundance had been lucky in that, while being the base of operations for Equestria’s rebuilding efforts, it hadn’t been truly targeted for any major attack. The worst trouble always seemed to happen when the senior crew members were down on the ground. That was both good and bad as Iron Will would have liked to have all hooves and hands and paws available… but he also feared just what could truly challenge the mighty airship. No, better than the worst came when himself or the abstracts or Spike and Twilight were dealing with some troublesome ponies than for them to be caught in an attack.
The minotaur paused, shoulders slumping. “Damn it, Sparkle, you had to leave now?” he said to himself. This should have been something for Twilight to handle; she was better at talking to the two culprits, understanding all their fancy talk. He’d have much preferred asking Spike to grow to his height so they could arm wrestle to blow off steam than to deal with the interpersonal stuff. But Twilight and Spike were off for a few weeks to take care of a side project and if he got Faith involved the Lord of the Gray would probably monologue everyone’s ears off. That left Iron Will to deal with the mess.
Pushing open the cabin door her stepped into the large work lab and glared at the two culprits of the explosion who were neck deep in a mess. Their faces would have been comical, the way they were covered in black soot, if Will was in a laughing mood, and their clothing had been torn by the blast of the explosion. They were at least uninjured from appearances, which meant he didn’t need to get Dr. House Call to come down and grump at them.
“-been fine if you had twisted it as I said.”
“I did twist it that way, brother.”
“Well I meant the other way! You should have known that.”
“How? By reading your mind?”
“You’d be able to if the helmet worked-“
“What in Tartarus’ name did you idiots do?!?” Iron roared, startling the two out of their argument. The two lean unicorns blinked and looked up at him, finally realizing they had company. “Flim… Flam… I’m waiting.”
Flam smiled weakly. “I’m guessing you felt that?”
“We all felt it. We also felt the ship nearly capsize… in the air. You know how hard that is?!?” Will demanded.
Flim tapped his chin. “I could run some numbers-“
“Don’t,” Will said, rubbing his temples. “Just… don’t. Just… tell me what happened.”
“Well, we were working on our latest edition to The Abundance.”
“A brilliant one, if I may say,” Flim said.
Flam nodded. “Quite brilliant. My brother’s idea.”
“But you inspired me.”
“True true, but you are the-“
“Guys!” Will snapped. He was far too used to the brothers getting stuck in a loop like that. “What were you making?”
“Oh just exploding anchors.”
“Well, anchors that explode when you want. Not explode any time… like this one did,” Flim admitted.
“…why do we even need that?” Iron Will asked.
“Why would you not?” the two asked.
The minotaur rolled his eyes. “Guys, you freaked everyone out, the ship will need some repairs… you’re just lucky that-“
The door slammed open and a metallic blue unicorn stormed in, her captain’s hat perched just above her horn. “You know… it isn’t my ship nearly being destroyed that annoys me.”
“-you didn’t bring the captain down,” Will said before turning to look at Trixie, Flim and Flam gulping nervously. “Hey boss.”
“It isn’t that I have half my crew in a panic that annoys me. It isn’t even the fact that I am sure this was an unauthorized experiment that annoys me.” Trixie stepped forward with each point until the brothers had to lean back lest she run them over. “What annoys me… is you woke my baby from NAP TIME!” Her horn glowed and she thrust forward Clockwork, who had been laying on her back, in their faces. The infant blinked, staring at everyone, a blankie that looked suspiciously like Trixe’s old cape clutched in his forelegs.
“…he looks okay,” Flim said weakly. Clockwork did, in fact, look fine. The baby was gumming his hoof, blinking at him without a care in the world. “He isn’t crying.”
“CLOCKWORK CRIES ON THE INSIDE!” Trixie roared. In a gentle voice she said to her son, “Isn’t that right, precious? Yes it is, yes it is!”
“Huh?” the foal said, tilting his head and looking at his mama in confusion.
“We can come back later if you want some time alone with him,” Flam said.
“A brilliant idea, brother.”
“I thought so, brother.” The two moved to escape but Trixie stopped them. “Or not?”
“It… is… nap time!” Trixie screamed. “We do not explode during nap time!”
“…but you told us last week no explosions during dinner time,” Flim said.
“Geez…” Iron Will groaned, facepalming.
“I NEVER WANT EXPLOSIONS!”
“…but what if you really need them?” Flam asked.
Trixie trembled. “Will, hold Clockwork.” The minotaur nodded, taking the baby from her, the infant cooing and trying to climb up his shoulder. The captain of The Abundance slowly removed her jacket before rolling up her shirt sleeves and levitating her hat onto one of the work benches. “You want an explosion? I’ll give you an explosion! I’ll explode all over your faces!” Flim and Flam, having no sense of fear, snickered. “NOT LIKE THAT YOU PERVERTS!!!”
“You don’t want to see this,” Iron Will said, covering Clockwork’s eyes.
“Time for a great and powerful flank kicking-“
“Trixie.”
Everyone frozen as the familiar voice echoed from the doorway. Slowly everyone turned to stare at the newcomer who had interrupted Trixie’s almost-beatdown.
Clockwork squealed and leapt out of Iron Will’s hands, jumping onto Flim and Flam’s heads before leaping onto Trixie’s back, causing her to let out an oomfp, before flinging himself at the new arrival.
“How is my special little colt,” Faith whispered, catching Clockwork with his magic and bringing him over so he could kiss his forehead. The baby squirmed and giggled, reaching up to grasp his father’s horn. “Having fun with mama and the rest of the family?” He looked at Trixie and the brothers. “Because we are family… and we don’t settle problems this way.”
Trixie let out a frustrated sigh. “They almost blew us up.”
“Good. They can build on that to ‘they didn’t get a chance to blow us up’ and then ‘they didn’t even try’.” He looked at the inventors. “Go make sure they don’t need your help up top and then come back down here. Get the lab cleaned up and then begin work repairing what was damaged. Think of it as an excuse to improve upon things.”
“Yes sir!” Flim said.
“We won’t let you down!” Flam added.
“Won’t even come close.”
“Will be far away.”
“The farthest-“
“Just go!” Trixie snarled, the two wisely scurrying off. Iron Will made to move but Trixie waved him off. “No… you might as well say and bear witness to my humiliation.”
“Those are some rather elegant words you’re letting roll of your tongue,” Faith said with a smirk. “I’m rubbing off on you”
“Will, smack me if I begin monologuing,” Trixie snarked, the minotaur giving her a mock salute.
Faith, with Clockwork now climbing up his head and sliding down his neck (all under the glow of a protection spell Faith was casting; he had wings made of mirror glass, after all), motioned for Trixie to join him at the one table that hadn’t been turned to kindling by the explosion. “You’re frustrated.” Trixie gave him a sour look and the Mirror Alicorn held up a front hoof. “I mean in general… not about the explosion. You’re frustrated and using Flim and Flam as your personal punching bags to deal with your emotional issues because facing the problem that is causing your frustrations is too daunting for you to handle at this point.”
“…no it isn’t.” Faith and Iron Will just stared at her with even gazes and Trixie threw up her forelegs in exasperation. “It’s the stupid training you are making me do!” she exclaimed. “It’s stupid and I hate it and you and Will for clearly agreeing with you and-“ Will snatched up Clockwork and thrust him in Trixie’s fast, halting her rant. “-I don’t hate you. Never could hate mommy's little Top Hat.” Clockwork giggled and wiggled his legs before Will returned the foal to his perch on his father’s back. “But I hate everything else that isn’t named Clockwork and with my last breath curse you all!”
Faith merely smiled. “And yet I love you all the same. Especially your melodramatics.”
“I don’t,” Will said, crossing his arms over his chest. When the two abstracts stared at him (Clockwork busy making faces at his reflection in his father’s wings) the minotaur gestured at them. “Hey, you’re the ones that forced Iron Will to be a part of your conversation! Weird enough with Twilight, you don’t need a minotaur involved in this relationship!”
“You’re here for moral support,” Faith said while Trixie stated, “Here to witness my failure.” Faith stared at her and let out a sigh. “What is wrong?”
“…I can’t do the exercises right.”
“Pardon?”
“The exercises!” Trixie screamed in frustration. “Those stupid mental tasks and assignments you gave me to help me control my Abstracty power thingies.”
“Those are magics that are as old as the world itself… they aren’t ‘power thingies’.
Iron Will elbowed him. “Not the point.”
“Right, of course it isn’t,” he said, shaking his head before focusing once more on Trixie. “Is that what has you upset? That you are having problems? It doesn’t matter to me and it shouldn’t to you.”
Iron Will facepalmed. “You really know nothing about females.”
Trixie glared at him. “I don’t care about you! I care about me! And I care that I CAN’T DO IT!” In a softer voice she whispered, “I can’t do it.” She scuffed her hoof against the wood floor, her eyes lowering so she didn’t have to look at any of them. “None of it works. It’s like trying to ask an Earth Pony to fly or a Pegasus to cast spells. They can try and try with all their might, do all the tests and exercises but it doesn’t matter. It will never matter. It just doesn’t happen. I just can't do this. I can't be the Abstract of Doubt."
"There is no 'can't' with us," Faith said. "You are the Abstract of Doubt... it is now your nature to make ponies question the world around them. Whether you mean to or not it will be something that comes as naturally as breathing."
"If you are trying to showcase such power by instilling faith in me then you're wasting your time," Trixie sulked. "Abstracts can't affect other abstracts anymore... remember? The first Doubt had her screwed up plan with the Gate saw to that."
Faith let out a sad sigh, magically sending Clockwork over to Iron Will. He shot the minotaur a look and the first mate quietly slipped away, the foal secure in his large strong hands. "I wish I could, I truly do. I wish I could drive your fears away and make you feel at peace with the world."
The blue mare chuckled weakly. "If you are trying to distract me with that silver tongue of yours you're failing that as well."
"Why is this so important to you? It's only been two years."
That was clearly the wrong thing to say and Trixie's face told Faith that loud and clear. "Two years... during which bucking Pinkie Pie has mastered the art of Generosity to a tee. Scootaloo, a teenager yes but one who is barely past being a filly, can sense the bonds of loyalty and see where they have fractured and how to repair them. Discord... DISCORD... has become the patron saint of Laughter and now ponies look forward to his jokes rather than fear his name." Faith shuddered at that and Trixie broke out of her pity party to grimace. "Sorry... I forget you were alive when he was spreading chaos."
"It's fine," Faith said, forcing himself to smile. "I don't even remember when I was a pony, let alone Discord."
'But you remember he killed your parents,' Trixie wanted to say. She forced the words back down her throat, refusing to let them be spoken. She, Faith, Twilight, and the eldest Apple Siblings had only learned that terrible truth a few months back, when Honesty had gotten completely hammered on hard apple cider and let spill that little detail, along with such facts as Faith's original pony name (That still made Trixie snicker; Honesty being known as Oatmeal was funny and Kindness being known as Sugar was fitting but knowing that Faith had once been called Fudge was hysterical). But the humor over Faith's name had died with the knowledge that his parents had been victims of Discord's rule. They had never spoken of it again after that night but the fact that by Discord's magic Faith would never remember his parents was a bitter pill for the Mirror Alicorn.
"But look at me. I can't do anything an Abstract is supposed to do. I can't 'see' anything like the rest of you can, I can barely inspire somepony to feel an ounce of doubt, can't whisper in ears... I can't do any of it."
"You'll get there," Faith said gently. "I've had a thousand years and I still screw up. I was the second Doubt, remember?"
Trixie though wasn't convinced. "I need to learn though. I need to get better."
"Why?"
"I need to show Clockwork!" Trixie snapped. "I need to be able to teach him this."
Faith just stared at her. "I don't follow. I can explain-"
"But I want to explain it!" Trixie cried out, fighting tears. "You can teach him how to be a good stallion and he'll learn magic from Twilight... what will I teach him? What will he learn from me? It has to be this!"
"You are more than an abstract," Faith said. "You'll teach him so many other things."
"Like what? How to do fake magic tricks? How to get captured by Twilight's brainwashed friends? How to fake your way into being captain of an airship- and don't give me that look, we both know that I shouldn't be in charge of the Abundance. The only reason I was declared captain was I found the hat first and you were injured."
"And yet you've kept us all alive," Faith reminded her. "You helped stop Doubt. You have helped lead the charge to repair Equestria. You've kept our family together and seen it grow." He shook his head and chuckled. "And you are a really good abstract, because-"
"If you say I make me doubt myself I'll buck you in the groin," Trixie warned him, though she did hiccup a bit as she laughed.
"You're smiling."
"With anger and frustration," Trixie said, trying to sound stern.
"I made you laugh."
"You said something so cheesy and clichéd it was hard not to."
"If it works it works," Faith said, giving her a hug. "You are your own worst critic, you know that? I remember how you used to talk about your show, how it was never good enough, how you could do better. You let things eat away at you, preventing you from seeing just how great you are at some many things." He grinned and pressed his forehead against her's. "I wish sometimes you could see yourself through my eyes."
"...if you keep saying overly dramatic tripe like that I'm going to throw up on you," Trixie said with a half laugh. While her fears weren't gone and Faith wasn't foolish enough to think a few kind words would get her to put aside her worries he knew that he'd at least eased her away from spiraling depression for a while. He'd need to keep a close eye on her and, perhaps, dedicate more time to helping her master her abilities. She was right about one thing: she needed to master them.
The world needed doubt just as much as it needed faith.
There was a knock on the door and the two turned to see Will once more standing there, trying to look powerful and dignified even as Clockwork sat on his head, giggling up a storm as he played with his ears. "Captain, we've arrived."
"Perfect!" Trixie said, happily slipping into her royal of commander of The Abundance and leader of the wild array of Equestrian protectors. "Have everyone ready at their stations. Get the senior crew ready to lower down... I want to try siccing Faith on them first before we resort to violence." Iron Will nodded and hurried off, Clockwork's laughter echoing behind him. Trixie grinned and rushed out of the room and towards the captain's cabin, wanting to get dressed before going onto the bridge... and make sure Faith put on his own ceremonial uniform. For a stallion who ended up always in the spotlight he had a bad habit of wanting to avoid the pomp and circumstance that went with their job. "I've been itching to get down on the ground for a week!" Trixie said as she tossed away the jacket she'd been wearing and found her more formal captain's jacket, complete with medals of valor for her part of the 5 Months War. This was what she needed, something to focus on and keep her from considering all her failures.
"What are we facing this time?" Faith asked. "More cultists, I'm assuming?"
"Yup!" Trixie said. "Or, at least, one cult leader who's apparently tricked aimless and emotionally frazzled ponies into following her. Claims she's about equality and that soon they will make all in Equestria equal. Really screwed up mare... the village she's taken over doesn't even have a name."
"And our mystery mare?" Faith asked. "She nameless too?"
"She's missing a cutie mark, as are all the ponies in that town. Apparently she can remove them along with their special talent." Faith grimaced at that; they'd been running into more and more wild and strange magic recently. "As for a name she has one."
"And that is?"
"Starlight," Trixie said. "Starlight Glimmer."