//------------------------------// // XXII. Sturm und Drang // Story: The Flight of the Alicorn // by Ponydora Prancypants //------------------------------// XXII. Sturm und Drang Rarity stepped away from Khufu’s body. She wanted to give his makeshift family a measure of privacy to grieve, but mainly she could not bear to look at him any longer. “Hero,” he had called her. The word hung ponderously in the air, mocking her for being nothing of the sort. She had failed to get the Heavenstone, and worse, her foolishness had prompted the others to risk their lives on her behalf. Khufu had died. They all could have died. She was burdened with regret, and only the ever more fleeting hope that she might reach Gallopoli in time to save its ponies from the worst of Karroc’s wrath buoyed her spirits. At least the Alicorn’s buoyancy was less in question. The ship was soaring again. Her wild dream of going home was being realized, and it gave her hope enough to avoid feeling completely crushed. Still, she was not completely right. She felt a wobble in her step as she walked the airship’s deck, and knew that it was not merely part and parcel of the reacquisition of her air legs. The steely resolve and mental sharpness that fear and adrenaline had granted her were ebbing, and tiredness was rapidly filling the vacuum they left behind. She was drained, and she could not pull her thoughts out of the moribund place where they had become mired. She had escaped death a half dozen times that day, only for it to claim a friend. At least she could try to keep herself occupied, and haranguing Blueblood was a good place to start. “Did you hear me?” Rarity called out. “I said we must fly faster if we are to have any chance of catching up to the griffons.” She carefully placed one hoof in front of the other, mindful of keeping her balance, as she approached the helm where Blueblood stood, piloting the airship through the cloudless sky. The Alicorn flew east, into the rising sun, and as Rarity looked ahead she had to squeeze her eyes tightly against the light. “I heard you,” the stallion confirmed, almost shouting to be heard over the rush of air. “And I am very glad to see you too.” “O-ho, well, fair enough. Let me rephrase: Prince Blueblood, I am simply delighted to be in your company once again. Now then, you need to coax as much speed out of this ship as you can. I believe it can fly faster.” “The engine has not run at anything close to maximum in nearly a week, and I cannot tell you how many components have been disconnected and reconnected in the process of repairing the ship. I do not want to risk any more power until I am certain she can take it.” “If there was ever a time to take a risk, this would be it.” “What?” Blueblood turned toward her, and Rarity saw for the first time that he had retrieved his silly aviator’s goggles from wherever they had been stashed. The lenses had apparently been enchanted to darken in direct sunlight, and they rendered his expression inscrutable. “We must get to Gallopoli before Karroc. Damaging the engine, if that is what it takes in order to reach the town first, is a risk worth taking.” “But …” “I will hold the throttle down myself if I have to,” Rarity threatened, and meant it. Really, not only was she determined to beat the griffons to the coast, at that particular moment she could have used just about anything to lean against, and the throttle lever would do. She was feeling positively woozy. “Oh, fine, but it is on your hooves if the boiler explodes or the crankshaft snaps.” Blueblood held up a forehoof in surrender. He pushed against the throttle with one hoof, slowly moving the indicator forward to the final detent. There was a noticeable vibration in the deck beneath her hooves as the steam engine surged with power, and Rarity could feel an intensification of the force of the wind blowing against her face and whipping her mane. “One can hope for the best, I suppose,” Blueblood concluded. “Hope is all we have until we reach Canterlot and the Princesses,” Rarity murmured. She squinted and gazed into the bright sunlight ahead, scanning the horizon for any sign of Karroc’s airship. There was none. “In the meantime, it appears that we have some catching up to do.” “Oh? It was only six hours we saw each other last,” Blueblood quipped. “But I suppose it was a rather eventful span of time.” The jest was amusing enough, but Rarity could not quite manage a laugh. “We must catch up to Karroc, I meant. Still, I suppose you and I will have some stories to share if we ever have a quiet moment.” “One would like to think that we shall.” Rarity was silent. The idea of relaying the day’s experiences only made her feel worse. Sounds and visions swam through her mind: strange voices, snapping jaws filled with teeth, lightning burning the air around her, sharp claws reaching out for her, and Khufu’s final breath. “Are you feeling alright?” Blueblood asked. “You’re trembling.” “Oh, it is just the adrenaline leaving my system. I assure you, I am fine.” Blueblood spared a bit of magic to lift his goggles. He looked at her with an odd expression that was just as difficult to read as if his eyes had still been covered. Suspicion? Concern? “What? I really am quite alright.” “You can be honest with me. Someone died …” “I am aware!” Rarity snapped. “Do you think this is the first time somepony close to me has passed away? I’m quite well, thank you.”Her already wobbly legs chose that moment to give out completely, and she gave a little yelp as she fell. Before she could crash to the hard deck, however, she felt the tingling, enveloping embrace of Blueblood’s magic catching hold of her. He gently set her down so that she was resting on her backside, and then knelt down so as not to loom over her. “Perhaps I am crashing a bit harder than I thought.” “Maybe a bit,” Blueblood agreed. “Please rest. We are still more than a hundred leagues out of Gallopoli, and the griffons are not yet in sight.” “No, there’s no need for that.” She could not be weak now. Whatever she had left of herself, she had to dredge it out and give it up in the name of saving all those ponies. She had to prove that she could do something - that she had been worth dying for. Rarity struggled to her hooves, pushing off the leg that Blueblood extended once he saw that she would not be persuaded to stay down. “You do not have anything to prove, to me or anypony else,” Blueblood said, seemingly reading her mind as he stood up to match her. “Without all the mayhem you caused at the base, I am certain we would not have escaped with the lifting gas. I can scarcely imagine the bold actions you must have undertaken.” That was too much. Rarity fell back onto her haunches, tears welling in her eyes. “No! That’s just it. I didn’t do anything. I failed to guess that Karroc would still be present, I failed to cause a real distraction, and I failed to get the Heavenstone. I was close enough to touch it, Blueblood! A more capable pony could have snatched it right up and stopped all of this madness then and there, but I failed!” “What do you mean?” Blueblood asked, surprised. “I don’t know! I found the stone in Karroc’s ship, but something stopped me from taking it, and then I was someplace else. I cannot explain it, but Windlass was there. She was in Canterlot, and I was inside Karroc’s ship, but we were together in this other place.” Blueblood looked at her askance. “Windlass is behind everything - your brother, the griffons, everything! And I could do nothing to stop her, just like I could do nothing to get the Heavenstone away from her and Karroc. All I could do was run straight into the griffons’ claws, and get a friend killed on my account.” Blueblood regarded her questioningly. “I cannot pretend to understand all of that, but if some unexplained force prevented you from getting the Heavenstone, what could you have done differently?” “It is not about what I did! Don’t you see? You should not have come back for me! You should have flown on ahead without me. It was my responsibility to return to the ship, and I didn’t! Rescuing me was the stupidest thing you could have done.” She half-whispered this last, leaning in close to the unicorn stallion in order to be heard over the wind sweeping across the Alicorn’s open deck. “It wasn’t stupid,” Blueblood replied, shaking his head once, and speaking with even certainty. “How can you say that? One is already dead, and the lives of thousands are more at risk than ever. By any measure it was the wrong decision.” “No. There was never any question or alternative, so there was no decision to make. We knew we had to find you, or at least find out what happened. You are - and do not bother to try to deny it - the important one among us. You embody an Element of Harmony.” “I am just a mare, Blueblood, no more important than anypony.” Rarity frowned. “You should have convinced them to leave me.” Blueblood laughed. “They would have thrown me overboard if I had tried.” He paused, his expression softening. “And you know I would not have tried.” “Yes … I know,” Rarity replied. Her subsequent sigh was rendered inaudible by the wind. “It was still stupid.” It really had been. She should be back in that cave right now, and the others all safe and far away. She should be enduring unspeakable torment beneath the merciless claws of Gilara and her soldiers, or she should be dead. Unable to suppress the raw emotion welling up in her chest, the dam burst again. Rarity began to sob, her cries soon turning into body-wracking spasms. Blueblood cautiously draped a foreleg over her shoulder, and she did not push it away. To her own surprise, and no doubt his, she leaned into his shoulder. Only after a long moment did she regain enough control to speak. “I just feel like an awful pony. How can I represent the Element of Generosity when all I can think about is how glad I am that you rescued me, despite that Khufu is dead, despite that thousands may die because of this delay? When it comes right down to it, I am nothing but selfish, and I feel so guilty because of that.” “No.” “No? What do you mean 'no?' How can you say that?” “No, you are not selfish. There is nothing wrong with feeling glad to be alive.” “But not at others’ expense! It is only that … I cannot even bear to tell you the things they would have done to me. The things I saw ...” Horrifying images of the griffon pantry flashed in her mind, sharp knives and flayed carcasses hanging from hooks; the point of a talon, reaching toward her eye; and Karroc’s collection of gilded daggers. Before she could stop herself, Rarity moved forward and pressed her cheek against Blueblood’s chest. “Listen to me, Rarity,” Blueblood said, and she felt his hot breath in her ear. “I have in my life heard many absurd and ridiculous things, the vast majority words I myself spoke, but I have never heard anything so absurd as you denying that you are anything but a generous pony. The fact that you put your life at risk for a self-obsessed ninny like me is proof of that. You chose to fight, and to survive, when it would have been so easy to give up, and there is nothing wrong with that. When we get home you will have a lifetime ahead of you to share your heart and your gifts with ponies who have done nothing to deserve them, and you will make them into something better than themselves. As you have with me.” Blueblood paused to take a breath. “We are going to make it back home, and then everything will be right again.” She absorbed his words, so strange to hear coming from a pony like Blueblood. Slowly, after a lingering few seconds, Rarity disentangled herself and pushed away from him. She lifted a foreleg and did her best to wipe her face clean, glad for the first time since leaving Canterlot to be wearing no makeup. “Yes, maybe so. Maybe it will be alright,” she said, mustering with difficulty the faintest of smiles. Blueblood looked down at her and matched her expression, the corners of his mouth rising tentatively upward. For a moment, she just gazed up at him, marveling at the appearance of genuine warmth in his expression and fighting the urge to lose herself in his clear blue eyes. Finally, Rarity gave her head a vigorous shake and steered her mind away from the dangerous path it had been heading toward. “You know, Blueblood, everything was far simpler back when you were purely loathsome.” The stallion nodded. “For both of us.” “Well, you are not permitted to change back for the sake of convenience,” Rarity warned, prodding the stallion’s shoulder with a hoof and prompting a small chuckle. Buckaroo chose that moment to interpose his oversized frame between the unicorns, and he shot a hostile glare at Blueblood. “If y’all two are finished canoodlin’, you might recollect that we’re supposed to be chasin’ down those griffons. That’s why my boss’ body is lyin’ on the deck back there, ain’t it? Seems to me that we could be goin’ about this a mite more effectively.” Rarity took a step backward, chagrined, as Blueblood harshly addressed the other stallion. “If you have a specific concern with how I am flying the ship, then out with it. You can clearly see that the throttle has been moved past full steam, all the way to flank speed. That is to say, I am already running the engine harder than its designed tolerance for sustained power. There is no faster speed. What would you have me do that I am not already doing?” “Maybe y’all should be giving the ship your full attention, instead of Miss Rarity here,” Buckaroo groused. “Perhaps you should mind your own business and get back to tying knots, or whatever your alleged talent is, and leave me to fly my ship how I choose!” “Boys!” Rarity broke in. “Please, Celestia knows that this is a stressful situation, but there will be plenty of time for the two of you to compare the size of your egos after we evacuate Gallopoli. In any case, Buckaroo is right.” “What?” Blueblood exclaimed, wearing a look of shocked betrayal. “We should be focused on the task at hoof,” Rarity went on. “If I had been thinking clearly, it would have been obvious that there is more than can be done to help speed us along. Blueblood, you may correct me if I am mistaken, but I believe you provisioned this airship with the expectation that you would fly alone. Now that there are so many of us onboard, as well as a cannon and a heavy anchor, it would seem to me that the added weight must be slowing us down.” “Yes, of course, but I was not planning to ask anypony to jump overboard in the hopes of gaining an additional league or two per hour. Moreover, Khufu and I off-loaded what we could while we were waiting for the balloon to inflate.” “And I sure as hay ain’t gonna let you get rid of poor Daisy May, not after all we’ve been through together!” “First,” Rarity began, “I am going to try very hard to forget the fact that you have apparently given that cannon a proper name, Buckaroo. Second, I am certain there are still weight savings to be had, even if we do keep a few of our new additions. Supplies, furniture, fixtures - anything that is not structurally important can be left behind.” “I admit that we did not have time to break down some of the larger pieces - the bed, for instance. You are welcome to have at it,” Blueblood said with a shrug. “It can all go.” “Then for starters, I’ll go below and see what all’s left to pitch,” Buckaroo volunteered. He proceeded to trundle down the hatch into the airship’s cabin, pausing briefly to call back a warning not to dare touch Daisy May. “I should help him,” Rarity said. “Yes, go ahead.” Blueblood did not look at her. “Please, Blueblood - what you said to me a moment ago - those were wonderful words. The words I needed to hear. I did not mean to diminish them or you in any way by noting that there are other things on which we should focus now. Do not sully them yourself by sulking.” “I am not sulking! I am brooding,” Blueblood huffed, still looking away. “You said that we were not thinking clearly, but I was quite lucid, and I meant what I said.” “I believe I said that I was not thinking clearly, and I wasn’t. I feel quite a lot better now, and I thank you for that. Now, however, we must concern ourselves with flying, and catching Karroc. Everything else will wait.” Rarity turned to walk away, and heard Blueblood heave a sigh behind her. “No sulking!” “Brooding,” Blueblood corrected. “Stallions brood.” “Perhaps, but you sulk.” Rarity went belowdecks and set to work looking for odds and ends they could live without, which was at this point anything not responsible for keeping the ship aloft and moving forward. The desk and chairs were already gone, as were the stove, pots and pans, and dishware. The floor was littered with debris: bits of wood, fragments of glass, apple cores, papers, and other unrecognizable bits that had been ignored in the haste to remove the heaviest things in the cabin. Two barrels marked with red lettering in the griffon language rested in the corner, but the largest object remaining in the space was Blueblood’s elegant wooden bed. Buckaroo had tossed the mattress aside and was now furiously stomping and kicking the wooden frame, smashing it to pieces. He looked half mad, and she was almost afraid to approach him. “May I help?” she asked sedately. “Perhaps I can stack the broken pieces and carry them away.” Buckaroo wheeled around to face her, nostrils flaring. “No thanks. If you don’t mind, I could use a little time alone.” He grunted and gave the heavy bed frame another sharp kick from his rear hooves, causing a corner to splinter and break apart. “‘Sides, you probably want to be up there with your fancy friend? Y’all two looked cozy.” The words stung a bit, the more so because there was an uncomfortable kernel of truth to them. She, however, would not be so easily deterred. “I should be here, helping you to lighten the ship’s load. If you want to address the pain of losing a friend by kicking furniture into splinters, that is well and good, but please do not begrudge me for receiving consolation after my own fashion.” Buckaroo stopped mid-buck, set all four hooves on the deck, and looked her in the eyes. “Khufu was a good sort,” he said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. He lifted a foreleg and touched his chest. “In here, at least. He deserves a little respect.” “I know he was. I also know that he wanted to prevent this war from happening. For his sake, we must continue to stand by one another. Please, let me help you.” Buckaroo did not reply, and Rarity began to wonder whether he was simply ignoring her until she decided to leave. Then she looked at his face, and saw that the ire and bitterness was slowly and steadily draining from his features. Finally, he spoke. “Alright. I reckon I could use another good quad of hooves down here. All this mess can go over the side, except those two barrels of firepowder we stole along with the gas. I’ll keep breakin’ down what’s left of the furniture if you wanna start tossin’ stuff.” Rarity nodded, and they proceeded to work in companionable silence. He bucked furniture and fixtures into smithereens, while she gathered the broken wood and other detritus from the cabin, then floated the debris up and overboard. The mattress went, and the light fixtures too. Eventually even the bathroom sink was smashed and the copper pipes torn from the bulkhead. Everything went over the rail. She could only hope that smashing things was cathartic for Buckaroo; she privately had to admit that she rather enjoyed the spectacle. When there was nothing left to remove that did not appear integral to flying, she walked with Buckaroo up to the deck and into the streaming sunlight. Blueblood still stood at the ship’s wheel, while Zips kept watch at the bow, scanning for any sign of the griffon warship. After a moment of searching, Rarity spotted Zinzi kneeling beside Khufu’s body, mouthing words which Rarity could not hear. She followed Buckaroo as he walked over to the zebra mare. “What was that, Zee?” Buckaroo asked. “An old zebra poem for those who die. It is part of our way of saying goodbye.” “Well, I’m glad you said your piece. Everything that ain’t nailed down has gotta go for the sake of speed, and that means the boss too.” Zinzi looked Buckaroo in the eyes, and then nodded once. The big earth pony proceeded to heft Khufu’s body onto his broad shoulders. It took precious seconds for Rarity to comprehend what she was witnessing. When she finally did, she was appalled. “Just what do you think you are doing? Put him down at once!” “Khufu’s dead,” Buckaroo replied. “Deader than a horseshoe nail, and that’s a fact. There ain’t no reason to save an empty sack of flesh that’s just weighin’ us down. It ain’t like they’re gonna need the body for a mausoleum back in Camelon. His only family is right here, and as far as I’m concerned, the funeral’s over. Y’all got any last words for him?” “Come on now, Mister Buckaroo,” Rarity pleaded. “Be reasonable. Surely we cannot … I mean, he deserves a proper interment. He was your friend.” “He was as true a friend as I ever had,” Buckaroo confirmed. “Even when he was bein’ a no-good liar, he was lookin’ out for me and mine. But it’s like you said - the rest of us have gotta stick by each other, and that means castin’ off the dead weight.” Intellectually, Rarity knew he was right. Emotionally, she was not prepared for such unceremonious finality. Had it even been an hour since he died? What should she say, if anything? Khufu had lied to her and nearly gotten her killed, but he had also forced herself to see just how capable she really was, and in the end he had died saving her life. She tried to put her thoughts into words, but it was over before she could even finish gathering her thoughts. Buckaroo shifted, and Khufu’s gangly-limbed body spilled over the deck rail and away. With a gasp, Rarity raced to the rail and watched as he disappeared into the thick forest a thousand lengths below. She continued to stare, long after Zinzi and Buckaroo walked away, and was still shaken when she rejoined the others. “There you are,” Blueblood said. “Here I am,” Rarity confirmed, positioning herself close by his right. It felt good to cling to familiarity at the moment, in whatever form. “We have not seen any sign of the griffons, but I can see wisps of engine smoke in the far distance. I imagine they are steaming along ahead, flying the same direct course toward the coast that we are, but I cannot guess how far in front they may be. Your work paid off, though. We are flying nearly as fast I ever managed during the race, and that was with only one pony aboard.” “Say, why don’t you use your horn to figure out how ahead they are?” Zips piped up, directing his proposal to Rarity. “They have that thing you’ve been tracking, don’t they?” Rarity blinked in surprise at the unexpected suggestion, which seemed so obvious in retrospect. Her gem-finding spell had been unconsciously locking on to the Heavenstone for days, even at great distances. Surely she could intentionally direct her spell to pinpoint the stone’s location, and thus determine where and how far ahead Karroc’s warship flew. At the same time, she could not shake a certain reticence to have anything to do with the mystical gem. How could she be certain she would not lose herself in the Heavenstone’s strange magical nexus again, or be forced into another encounter with Windlass? Neither prospect was remotely appealing. “Seems like a good idea to me,” Buckaroo added. “We’ll be right here to help you out if anything funny happens.” “Yes, thank you,” Rarity said, sighing. “I suppose that it cannot hurt to try.” She grimaced and braced herself as she cast the spell, and was immediately relieved when nothing out of the ordinary occurred. Instead, she felt the familiar gentle tug that indicated the presence of a gemstone, and turned her head until the pulling sensation was straight away. There was only one gem that she could possibly detect in an airship high above the earth. “It’s there. I cannot say how far, but I am certain that we are closing the distance. The feeling is getting stronger each second.” Blueblood made a modest course correction to align the Alicorn perfectly where the spell indicated, and the chase was on. Long minutes passed, the silence only broken by Rarity’s periodic reporting that the ship was most definitely getting closer, and everypony gazed into the rising sun, searching for their quarry. “There’s something,” Zips finally murmured, shielding his eyes with a foreleg. “What is it?” Blueblood shouted from behind. “Hold on.” “I for one do not understand how anypony could see anything with the sun like that,” Rarity complained. “I certainly cannot.” “My son’s young eyes are sharp and keen. If he claims to see something, then something has been seen,” Zinzi said. “Though if ahead something flies, it eludes my humble eyes.” Buckaroo spoke next. “All I know is if the kid says there’s somethin' out there, then I better make sure Daisy May is primed and loaded.” “Good,” said Zips, lowering his hoof to the ground. “Because that’s Karroc, and if I can see his ship, then the griffons saw us five minutes ago.” Rarity could feel her stomach attempting a backflip, and she swallowed involuntarily. “You are certain?” “Enormous flying warship - yeah, that’s Karroc,” Zips replied, as he trotted over to the starboard rail. “Six or seven leagues distant.” “If we are that close we must quickly prepare, doubtless marauders are already in the air!” Zinzi exclaimed, racing toward the bow of the ship and gazing all around, as if anticipating an attack from any direction. Rarity gasped. “What can we do?” She had not been expecting to come under attack so far from Gallopoli. Of course, she now realized, Karroc would have no reason to politely wait for the Alicorn to catch up, and he could not afford to let them escape to warn the Princesses. “We cannot outmaneuver or outrace a griffon on the wing,” Blueblood stated glumly. “We have no choice but to confront them.” “Well, I ain’t got the ammunition to waste tryin’ to peg a couple of scouts doin’ loop-the-loops and barrel rolls all around the ship,” Buckaroo said. “And I can’t do a thing if they get wise and swoop down from up top.” That is exactly what the griffons would do, Rarity realized. The Alicorn’s balloon was nothing but a fat, inviting target. It obscured their vision, making it impossible to defend, and it could easily be raked to shreds by sharp claws or blades, sending the ship crashing back to earth. She felt sick at the thought. At that moment, Zips trotted back to the helm, opened his mouth, and dropped the Alicorn’s rope ladder at Rarity’s hooves. “Tie me up,” the young stallion demanded. “Quick.” “What? Why?” Rarity asked. Everypony else looked on with the same look of bewilderment that she knew she also wore. This was certainly not the time for some kind of awkward fantasy. “Because you’re the one who can magic this ladder into a length of rope, and then turn that length of rope into a safety harness,” Zips hurriedly explained. “Now do it! They’ll be here any minute!” “You are going to go to the top of the balloon,” Rarity stated, finally grasping the young stallion’s intent. Without waiting for confirmation, she set to work at once, magically deconstructing the twists and knots of the ladder and twining the rope strands back together in a new arrangement. “Well, yeah,” Zips replied. “This is going to be a short trip if somepony doesn’t keep them off our backs.” Rarity used her telekinesis to loop the long rope she had created around Zips’ torso, across his chest, and between his legs, cinching it tightly as she worked. “That is extremely brave of you.” “Yes it is,” Blueblood added. Zinzi and Buckaroo watched silently as Rarity worked. “I don’t want Khufu to have died for nothing,” Zips stated, looking Rarity squarely in the eyes. Rarity blinked. Was Zips’ look accusatory? Was it simply searching? The young half-zebra’s expressions were always difficult to decipher. Now he was offering to shoulder all the responsibility for keeping the rest of them alive, and in doing so become the target of an unknown number of trained soldiers. Whatever he might be thinking, she was certain that his countenance did not bespeak confidence, but rather foolhardy determination. Well, he was not the only one who could make rash, foolish decisions. “I shall accompany you,” Rarity said, already guiding the rope around her own body and tying it tightly. “You cannot!” Blueblood shouted, whipping around to look at her. The entire ship lurched and listed as he momentarily lost control of the wheel. “It is far too dangerous!” “It is no safer down here than it is up there if the griffons puncture the balloon,” Rarity rejoined. “Even if I cannot fight, I can try to shore up any tears in the envelope as they happen. Besides, I am already harnessed.” Rarity cast the end of the rope out over the edge of the ship and magically sent it snaking upward. She had become intimately familiar with the construction of the balloon while repairing it, and knew exactly where to find the line of metal rings that secured the suspension cables to the the external catenary curtain that comprised the outer envelope. The rope end shot through one of the rings and then made a beeline directly back to Rarity. “You don’t need to go up there with me,” Zips said, in his customary toneless manner of speaking. It was impossible to tell whether he wanted her to stay behind, or whether he was actually glad that she had volunteered. Regardless, Rarity was going. “Yes, I do. You will need a unicorn to mend the fabric of the balloon if it is torn, and having a second pair of eyes will not hurt either.” This was her chance to make up for all of the failings that had led to Khufu’s death. She had to go. Rarity turned to Buckaroo. “Now, if you don’t mind, we could use a lift.” The big stallion looked unsure, and did not take the end of the rope in his mouth. “This is ridiculous,” Blueblood grumbled. “Not only is what you propose insanely, needlessly risky, that hoist you’ve rigged will only take you halfway to the top of the balloon. How in the world are you going to get all the way up?” “I know very well how the balloon is secured,” Rarity replied hotly. “Now, Buckaroo, a lift please!” There was no time to argue further. Buckaroo did not hesitate this time. He clamped his teeth down on the end of the rope and began to pull, walking toward the airship’s stern until all the slack was taken out of the line. Blueblood, having abandoned his protestations, put a hoof down on the rope until Buckaroo could walk back and take the taut line in his teeth. Now, once he pulled, Zips and Rarity would ascend. “Both of you, please take care, I do not need another scare,” Zinzi offered. She gave her son a quick kiss on the forehead. Zips had gathered a large number of his short, dartlike spears in his mouth, and could only mumble a response. Three of his bolas, constructed of rocks and strong vines, were draped around his neck. Buckaroo began pulling, and before Rarity could prepare herself, Zips’ hooves were a half length above the deck and she was quickly being pulled after him. She scarcely had time to question the wisdom of volunteering before she found herself dangling over open space. They ascended quickly, until Zips reached the cable attachment ring and they could go no further. She now had to address the tricky business of getting the rest of the way up to the top of the balloon. Rarity was working out the required maneuvers in her head when, without warning, the Alicorn fell into a steep, sharply turning dive. She let out a scream of terror as the balloon rotated and she fell away from the fabric envelope. Only Buckaroo’s grip on the rope, somewhere below, prevented her and Zips both from falling. The proximate cause of the sudden and extreme maneuver was not hard to ascertain, as the wind carried the shrill predatory shrieks of griffons on the hunt. The timing could not have been worse; if the griffons saw her and Zips dangling helplessly, they would be on top of them in a flash. Again without warning, the Alicorn tilted sharply in the other direction and began ascending, the balloon rolling hard to the left. Now instead of dangling beneath the envelope, the fabric rose up beneath Rarity’s hooves. At this angle, in fact, they could simply run up to the top of the balloon without having to climb. Rarity used her magic to tug hard on the rope, and she felt it slacken as Buckaroo let go. She had to hurry now; if the Alicorn turned again before she and Zips reached the top, they would fall. Thankfully, Zips had immediately understood what was happening, and the two of them, bound together, raced up the side of the balloon, reaching the top just as the airship rolled upright and out of the steep maneuver. Rarity wasted no time in tying the rope to a metal anchor ring that protruded directly in front of the balloon’s finlike dorsal stabilizer. “Where are they?” she shouted, frantically searching the skies for the still-unseen griffons. Too late, she realized she had forgotten to look directly above her. Zips tackled her to the springy surface an instant before talons and claws raked the air where her head had been. The young stallion stood and dropped the bundle of spears he carried, holding them against the balloon’s surface with a hoof. “What was that? I can’t do anything about them if you are going to be completely oblivious!” Heart racing, Rarity blurted out an apology while she looked up to see her assailant. Flying a tight circle forty lengths above were four griffons, each gripping a serrated knife in a taloned forelimb. As she had feared and expected, the attackers aimed to destroy the Alicorn’s balloon. “Just stay close and don’t trip me,” Zips yelled. Without hesitating, he fit a spear into the carved groove of his throwing implement and lifted the device with his teeth. With an athletic spin and a whip of his head, he loosed a deadly missile toward the circling griffons. Rarity watched in dismay as the spear failed to connect, passing harmlessly between one griffon’s long primary feathers. Reacting to the attack, the quartet formed a line abreast, then folded their wings in tight and dove straight toward the Alicorn and its defenders. “You missed! What have you done?” Rarity screamed. She and Zips were tied to the ship, and each other, and could not even run. The griffons were already nearly upon them. Zips was unable to reply on account of the stone stone sphere he held in his mouth, and he was already twirling the bolas around his head at a dizzying speed. The griffons were not more than fifteen lengths away when he finally let go, and this time, his aim was true. The bolas spun through the air before striking the left wing of the center-right griffon. Upon contact, the strong vine wrapped around the attacker’s wing and the twin stone spheres battered the delicate bone beneath the feathers. Instinctively, the griffon pulled the injured limb in even closer, and the abrupt change in flight configuration sent him banking sharply, straight into a wingmate. The griffons’ skulls collided with a loud report, and a tangle of feathers and fur proceeded to fall silently out of sight. That left two griffons still diving toward the ship, clenching murderous blades and screeching terrifying battle cries. “Jump back!” Zips yelled. Rarity took her cue from the young stallion, and sprang backwards alongside him just as the griffons dove in for the kill. The rope kept Rarity and Zips from tumbling off the side of the balloon, and the attackers struck only air before impacting and bouncing off the balloon's surface. The technical odds were now even, but effectively tilted sharply in the griffons’ favor. Both equines were tied in place and unable to run, and Zips had been forced away from his remaining arsenal. Worse, the griffons did not even need to attack in order to win the confrontation, they merely needed to keep Rarity and Zips at bay while they slashed and rent the Alicorn’s balloon. Confirming her fears, the closest griffon leered at Rarity as he slowly lowered his jagged knife and drew it across the outer envelope, and the taut fabric split apart eagerly under the sharp blade. After cutting a long gash and exposing the inner balloon, he drew back his knife and prepared to plunge it through the thick synthetic material. If nopony stopped him, the hard-won and irreplaceable lifting gas would bleed out and the Alicorn would plunge to the ground. The other griffon had focused his attention squarely on Zips, and the two were at a stalemate. The responsibility to act fell to Rarity. In the split second she was afforded, her mind raced. She had magic at her disposal, but there was nothing to throw, and the only rope present was otherwise occupied. The direct approach would not work either; her telekinesis was not nearly strong enough to hold back a large and determined opponent. She could try to use spells to repair the damage he would inflict, but that was a losing proposition; precious gas would leak even as she worked. In desperation, she prepared for a nigh-suicidal rush to protect the vulnerable balloon fabric. Fabric. Fabric! What was the airship’s outer fabric envelope if not an enormous dress draped over a gigantic bulbous dressform? Fabric was her artistic medium, and she practically had an ocean of it beneath her hooves. Rarity’s horn flared to life even as the griffon brought his knife down, and he did not get far. The torn cloth of the outer envelope rose up around him, splitting apart into grasping, limb-like extensions that held the griffon’s legs and quickly wound around him, binding him and then wrapping him tightly in the strong material. The griffon only had time to screech once in surprise before being completely covered and bound. The other griffon, seeing his partner incapacitated and perhaps sensing that the odds were shifting against him, backed away from Zips, who did not hesitate to take advantage of the retreat. The young stallion immediately dashed ahead, only slowing to take up a spear in his teeth before turning toward Rarity. She watched him leap into the air and land hard on the back of the griffon she had pinned, and when Zips extricated himself, the spear remained embedded in his helpless target. Nothing moved within the tangle of cloth. Rarity had seen too many horrible things recently to feel truly upset at the sight before her, but the crimson stain spreading across the material left her queasy. She abandoned her enchantment, and gravity took over, allowing the dead griffon’s body to roll out of the wrapping and over the far side of the balloon. Mustering her resolve, she magically knit the torn fabric back together, and turned alongside Zips to face the remaining griffon. “Come on!” Zips taunted him. “Have a go at us, why don’t you? Your friends gave it their best shot. What are you waiting for?” The griffon hesitated only a moment, then shot skyward, beating his wings furiously in his rush to get away. He was soon out of sight, leaving the two equines alone. Though difficult for Rarity to believe, it was impossible to deny: she and Zips had bested four armed griffons without suffering a scratch, and the Alicorn was none the worse for the encounter. “We did it!” she exclaimed in jubilation, and proceeded to throw her forelegs around Zips’ neck. “You were marvelous, my dear!” “Thanks,” Zips replied, shaking off the unexpected gesture. “Your magic is what saved us, so I guess you were, um, marvelous too.” “Hmm, I’ll grant you fantastic, at least,” Rarity replied, grinning. She felt triumphant, and free of a weight that had been crushing her. She had proved her worth to herself. “Now that we have beaten them once, we shall be ready if they come back.” “I doubt they will. They’ve seen we have bite, and they’ve probably realized we’re following them and aren't headed north toward Canterlot.” “So Karroc will think he can destroy us with his airship and the Heavenstone once we both reach Gallopoli, rather than risk any more of his fliers,” Rarity reasoned. “Yeah.” “Well, if you are confident they will not return, we should rejoin the others. Standing up here is not going to do any good against magical weather.” Zips nodded in agreement, and the two ponies cautiously proceeded to walk backwards down the side of the balloon, still tethered by the safety rope. Getting the rest of the way down was as easy as calling out and allowing Blueblood to gently levitate them, but Rarity did not dare breathe a sigh of relief until all four of her hooves were back on the solid wooden planks of the Alicorn’s deck. “Y’all sure took care of them, didn’t you?” Buckaroo exclaimed, punching the air with a hoof. “It looked like it was rainin’ griffons from down here.” As he cheered them on, Zinzi hurried to embrace her son. Rarity, meanwhile, worked her magic to unwind the rope harnesses she had so meticulously tied in place. “I cannot believe you did that!” Blueblood exclaimed, stepping away from the airship’s wheel and examining her with a critical eye. “Are you hurt?” “I am fine, thank you, and so is your ship, oh ye of little faith.” Feeling rather pleased with herself, she flashed him a cocksure smile. “They never touched us, thanks to Mister Zips here.” “Thanks to you, you mean,” Zips said. “Well, I do know my way around a bolt of cloth,” Rarity replied with a wink. “In any case, I hope we do not have to go through anything like that again.” “Karroc ain’t got that many soldiers,” Buckaroo noted. “He ain’t gonna risk any more of ‘em when he’s got a ship with so many cannons it looks like a flyin’ porcupine.” “I hope not,” Rarity agreed, and addressed Blueblood next. “How close are we to Gallopoli?” “We cannot be more than thirty leagues distant, which means we must have already crossed the border.” Rarity gasped. “Are you saying that we are in Equestria, right now?” she asked, unbridled excitement pitching her voice nearly into a far higher register than it normally occupied. “I am certain of it,” Blueblood confirmed. Rarity let out a girlish squeal, and could not suppress the urge to launch into a joyful little dance, bouncing up and down on the deck. “Home, Blueblood! Everypony, we’re home!” “Home, perhaps for you, but not home free,” Zinzi said, obviously not sharing Rarity’s enthusiasm. “We must beat Karroc to Gallopoli.” “We are steadily closing the distance,” Blueblood said. “I think we shall pull ahead no less than fifteen leagues out. But even if we do, we shall have at best only a few minutes to warn the town.” The sun had climbed high enough that Rarity could look to the horizon without being blinded, and she could see Karroc’s warship hanging like a fat black ponyfly in the blue sky ahead. For the first time, she was able to fully appreciate it monstrous scale. Of course, she had been aboard the ship, and seen it depart its cavernous berth, but then she had only glimpsed parts of it in passing. She had also seen it obscured by storm clouds, and at night, but the full picture, unhidden, was something else entirely. The warship’s balloon was dark and bulbous, easily large enough to fit the Alicorn inside it a half dozen times or more. The hull hanging below had some of the traditional lines of an airgoing vessel, but thick armor plating and numerous cannon platforms protruding like metal blisters from the hull ended the resemblance. The sterncastle had all the charm of an industrial factory, complete with smokestacks and clad entirely in steel, and was the source of the trail of sooty smoke the ship left in its wake. Rarity could only presuppose that the ship was equally as foreboding from other angles as it was from behind, but in any case she would find out soon enough - they were getting closer with each passing minute. “Stay outta range of those cannons,” Buckaroo warned Blueblood. “I am out of range! If I were in range, they would be firing on us, would they not?” “Maybe they’re just waitin’ for a clear shot!” “Maybe you have no idea what you are talking about, as usual!” Rarity kept staring at the griffon’s warship and counted three small puffs of smoke that erupted from its deck. “Ah, pardon me, gentlecolts, but I believe we may indeed want to keep a bit more distance between us.” “Fine, take his side again!” Blueblood said, clearly exasperated. At that moment, a shrill whistle cut through the air, and the crew of the Alicorn watched three projectiles zip past, all low but uncomfortably close. “Oh,” Blueblood muttered, already rotating the ship’s wheel and banking the airship away. The Alicorn raced on, maintaining a safe separation from Karroc’s ship as both craft steamed toward the coast. No more griffons sortied out to harass, nor did Karroc attempt any more potshots at the smaller craft. An impartial observer would not have known that the crews of both vessels were mortal enemies. Rarity now felt Heavenstone’s pull even without consciously casting her gem-finding spell. It was getting stronger, and not merely from proximity; the concentration of magical power in the gem was intensifying. “Look there, the sea!” Blueblood cried out. As the Alicorn climbed over a final ridge of coastal peaks, the endless expanse of the southern ocean spread out before them, merging with the sky into a fathomless field of blue. Closer in, pristine white beaches formed a string of pearls decorating the shoreline, and the perfect semicircle of Gallopoli Bay was visible, looking as though it was punched from the coast with a cookie cutter. “And there is the town!” Rarity chimed in. Gallopoli was apparent only as numerous dark specks littering the beach, but it was there. Her heart ached for those poor ponies, living their lives innocent of the impending horror they faced. She glanced to her right, and saw that the Alicorn was pulling ahead of the griffons, just as Blueblood had predicted. They now had fifteen leagues and precious few minutes to put space between them, and get word to the populace to flee for their lives. Zips went below to ensure that the ship’s boiler was fully fueled, and Rarity and the others directed their focus straight ahead, staring fixedly at their destination as if doing so would make it arrive sooner. There were no more obstructions to clear, and thus no longer any reason to fly so high above the earth. The Alicorn descended, accelerating as it traded altitude for airspeed. Then, at ten leagues from the town, a blue, gold, and orange blur suddenly appeared in the periphery of Rarity’s vision. Before she could even shout a warning, a uniformed pegasus mare had flown under the Alicorn’s balloon and dropped lightly to her hooves, directly in front of the airship’s helm. Rarity instantly recognized the fiery orange mane and tail of Spitfire, the renowned captain of the Wonderbolts. “Sky spirits! Not only Duke Polaris, but Miss Rarity too, alive and well!” the newcomer exclaimed. “We ID'd you through the scope as soon as your ship crested the ridge, but I could barely believe what I was seeing.” She turned to Rarity. “Of course, I don’t doubt it now; I could never forget the face of the mare who knocked me out with a solid forehoof to the jaw, even without all the crazy makeup on.” Rarity blushed, and for a moment was rendered speechless. She remembered all too well her last encounter with Spitfire, when she had fallen from the Cloudsdale Cloudiseum and Spitfire attempted to save her. Rarity had managed to unintentionally incapacitate the Wonderbolt captain and two of her best fliers with her terrified flailing, before Rainbow Dash had finally saved them all. Spitfire took in the other individuals crowding the deck, and whistled. “Looks like it’s not only you two, but the crew of the Everfree too! Our search teams have been at it for days with nothing to show for it, and then 'poof,' here you all are! It’s like some kind of miracle!” “Pardon my abruptness, Captain, but please listen,” Rarity began, pulling herself together. “The large airship trailing us is crewed by a faction of griffons that intends to make war with Equestria. They are the ones who attacked the regatta and left us stranded, and now they are going to attack Gallopoli. You must race back to town at once and evacuate everypony.” “What?” Spitfire’s entire demeanor changed in an instant, and the abrupt shift sent a chill down Rarity’s spine. This was no longer the friendly pony out to welcome the returnees, but a grave-faced soldier. “I need more information. Quickly. I dispatched two of my ponies to check that thing out, and now you’re telling me it’s a hostile, here in Equestria?” “Yes!” Rarity exclaimed. Blueblood stood next to her, nodding. “You need to get your pegasi away from there, and get everypony out of Gallopoli!” “Even if they are planning to attack, it’s just one ship,” Spitfire protested, “and I have my entire A squadron here for search and rescue, plus capable volunteers from the Guard, regional fliers’ clubs, and the local Weather and Rescue patrols. We can handle a few griffons, surely.” “You do not understand!” Blueblood broke in. “That ship is covered in weapons, and it is not only claws and cannons with which you must contend. They have a magical artifact, stolen from Canterlot, and they are going to use its magic to summon a storm of colossal force, more powerful than anything you have ever dealt with before. You are not going to be able to just flap your wings and make this thing go away.” “They are going to destroy Gallopoli!” Rarity continued urgently. “Please, you must get everypony as far away from the town and the water as you can.” At that moment, the thundering rumble of cannon fire reached them, and all aboard the Alicorn looked back to see smoke pouring from the numerous batteries on the deck of the griffon warship. The ship was too far away to be firing on the Alicorn, and Rarity momentarily wondered what Karroc was intending before realizing that he must be firing on the Wonderbolts sent to investigate. Spitfire uttered a curse and launched herself into the air. “Hurry!” Rarity shouted. Spitfire, however, was already long gone, leaving only a fiery contrail in her wake, her passage seeming to ignite the sky. “That was fortuitous,” Blueblood remarked. “Everypony in Equestria knows the Wonderbolts. Not only can she provide the townsfolk an early warning, but they will actually listen to her.” “I just hope none of them are hurt in all of this. Celestia knows they will not want to run,” Rarity said, frowning. “Shoot, iffin they wanna fight, I say let ‘em,” Buckaroo spoke up. “Sounded to me like she has a whole passel of pegasi back there who can probably give as good as they get. Ol’ Karroc does just have the one ship, even if he’s got a magic rock.” “Buck, you know not what you say,” Zinzi sharply rebuked her companion. “Think of those will die if the ponies stay. The outcome is certain to be tragic, if they pit wings and hooves against cannons and magic.” “I have to agree with Zinzi,” Rarity said. “We need to concentrate on making sure that everypony gets away from the town, and then we must reach Canterlot as quickly as possible. The Princesses can deal with Karroc, and after this madness is ended Gallopoli can be rebuilt.” By now, the Alicorn was less than five leagues from the edge of town, and the thatched roof architecture of Gallopoli was clearly visible. The simple wood and straw construction, so perfectly befitting the gentle tropical weather the area enjoyed year round, would provide no protection from the coming storm. Blueblood guided the ship even lower, following the contour of the earth as it dipped and gradually flattened toward the shore. There were roads and planted fields below, and modest houses tucked away between the palm trees. Not far ahead, it was easy to see a demarcation between the outlying farmlands and the more tightly packed construction of the town proper. Leaning over the rail, Rarity could see farmhooves in a flooded taro field staring up at the speeding craft. “You must get away from here!” she shouted. “Take your families and run!” Then she had passed, and was left watching as the farmworkers continue to stand and stare, seeming as rooted to the field as their crop was. This was not going to go well at all if nopony heeded her warnings. She only hoped that Spitfire had hastened back to warn the town, and not stayed to engage Karroc in what would surely be a futile effort. As the Alicorn flew over collections of modest houses at the edge of town, a piercing wail suddenly filled the air. It was obviously some sort of siren, slowly rising and falling in pitch and volume, but the sound seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. Below, she watched as ponies began to emerge from buildings and fields, and they quickly filled the dirt roads in droves. “It appears she forwarded our warning,” Blueblood observed. Rarity nodded in agreement. “Thank Celestia! But I am surprised that there are emergency sirens here. What possible disasters could they have to worry about in a paradise like this? I mean, aside from today’s, of course.” “I imagine it is a tidal wave alarm,” Blueblood replied. “Have you noticed that all of the buildings here are built on stilts?” Of course, destructive waves would not be something the local weather patrol could prevent, and they could pose a serious risk to a seaside community like Gallopoli. It only made sense there would be a mechanism in place for evacuating in the face of such threats, and the ponies here would be conditioned to obey the warning. Rarity had to commend Spitfire for her brilliance so quickly. Gallopoli’s town square was not far ahead, easily identifiable by the large pavilions and tall rotunda that dominated the space. The emergency sirens were still blaring, and throngs of ponies were everywhere, galloping away from the center of town. Most of them were, at least. Rarity was surprised to see one large group who were all standing stock still. She was about to ask Blueblood to fly the ship closer, so she could warn them away, when the entire group took to the air en masse. Only then did Rarity notice that Spitfire herself, and nearly a dozen other Wonderbolts in their colorful blue and gold uniforms, were leading the gathering of fliers. “Look!” Rarity called out to the rest of the crew. “What are they doing? Blueblood, slow us down!” The pegasi maintained an easy hover as the Alicorn slowed and began to circle the town square, and Spitfire raced over to land on the airship’s deck once again. “We’ve sounded the alarm,” she said. “The townsponies are heading for the hills, and there are storm shelters there that should keep them safe. These pegasi have volunteered to stay with me and fight. They all have plenty of flying experience, whether in the Guard or in the various civil air services, and I think we stand a good chance. There is no permanent Guard presence this far south, so if we can’t bring those griffons down now, a lot more ponies than just the citizens of Gallopoli will be in danger.” “But you cannot hope to stop them!” Rarity protested. “You have seen their airship, have you not?” “Yeah, and Soarin and Gusty nearly got blown out of the air without so much as a warning. The Wonderbolts may be a demonstration team, Miss Rarity, but we are all still active duty Air Guards, and the best fliers in Equestria besides. We don’t run from cowards like these.” “If you absolutely must be foolishly stalwart, then at least send the rest of those poor ponies away!” “They can leave if they want to,” Spitfire replied grimly. “Now then, you all should fly back to Canterlot and warn Princess Celestia. But first, I think you'll be pleased to know that there are some ponies in town who you’ll … wait, what is that?” Rarity turned around to look, and saw the griffon warship barreling toward them. Rather, she saw a roiling mass of black storm clouds that the airship seemed to be pushing along ahead of it. Now that she looked, the entire sky seemed to be changing, the sunny sky turning gray as clouds coalesced from the moist air. Rarity felt a strange breeze too, blowing in from the wrong direction. Her coat stood on end, as if the air was filled with a static charge. In seconds, the wind began to howl, and rain came pouring down. “That is what I’ve been warning you about!” Rarity yelled. “The storm is being summoned!” Windlass was summoning it, in truth. At Karroc's call she was working her magic through the Heavenstone from wherever she was presently located. Rarity could not help but imagine the deranged mare resting on a sofa, popping bonbons in her mouth while she orchestrated the destruction of a town whose ponies had done her no conceivable wrong. A sudden stabbing pain in the base on her horn caused Rarity to stumble, and she barely managed to wrap her forelegs around the rail before falling to the deck. She could see a brilliant light shining from within the dark cloud that obscured Karroc’s airship - the Heavenstone. Lightning flashed, and the wall of impenetrable clouds flew away from the griffon warship, merging with the developing storm which already encompassed the whole of Gallopoli. The winds over the center of town were fierce, but not strong enough to endanger the Alicorn. Further out, however, towering opaque walls of dark clouds rose formed, stretching for leagues from the surface high into the sky. The entire storm system was rotating around the center, its swirling winds gusting with terrible force. “It’s a full fledged hurricane!” Spitfire exclaimed. “What kind of magic can create something like that?” “It would take far too long to explain,” Blueblood said. “You should listen to Rarity and get your ponies away from here. You cannot fight this.” “You obviously don’t know the Wonderbolts very well,” Spitfire replied determinedly. “Uh, I hate to be the one to ask,” Buckaroo spoke up, “but how are we gonna get out of here? I sure as hay hope we ain’t gonna try to fly through that.” He had a point, Rarity realized, her heart sinking. The storm covered every possible avenue of escape. They could not fly under it, nor over it, and passing through was likely to tear the ship to pieces. No wonder Karroc had not sent any more of his griffons after them. He knew that Gallopoli would become an inescapable trap. “I …” Blueblood spoke, then paused. “I have no idea.” “Listen, you just keep out of range of that ship, and leave those griffons to us,” Spitfire said. “This is what we train for.” “And all of those other pegasi?” Rarity could not help but ask. “Their training starts now,” Spitfire replied, and took off to rejoin her makeshift command. “They’re all going to die, and so are we,” Zips stated flatly. Rarity had not even noticed that he had rejoined the group, but now she considered his assertion. There was no escape route, and no means of getting a message out through the storm. If they did perish here, then every effort that had been expended escaping the jungle would have been for naught. Khufu would have died, for naught. “No,” she said firmly. “If Karroc is going to force us to remain, then he must deal with the consequences. We are going to stop him, here and now.” “Oh really?” Blueblood asked. “And how, pray tell, are we going to do that?” “We have a cannon, we have two barrels of firepowder, and we have the best airship crew in Equestria. That will have to be enough.” “Well, Daisy May and I are ready to go out with a bang,” Buckaroo said, patting the cannon with a hoof. “Though not the end that I had planned, I am with you for our last stand,” Zinzi added. “I obviously have nowhere else to be,” Zips said. “You all realize, of course, that as the captain of this ship I decide where she flies,” Blueblood said, then sighed deeply. “And I agree with all of you. We are stuck here until we can stop the spell that is causing this storm, and the best way I can think of to hasten that eventuality is to take down that warship. Celestia knows how we shall do it, but we must try.” Blueblood manipulated the Alicorn’s controls and spun the wheel, and the airship rose, turning to face Karroc’s warship. The griffon vessel loomed large, and was surely close to being in range of the cannons that protruded from its armored bow. Not far away, Spitfire and her pegasi raced toward the gargantuan airship. Rarity could see that while the Wonderbolts carried nothing into battle, other pegasi wielded paddles, nets, and even mesh bags full of coconuts. Almost anything readily available in the town had been pressed into service as a weapon. Rarity then understood why the warship was currently holding its fire. At least two dozen griffon soldiers, wearing mail and helms, and carrying knives and pistols, had taken flight and were en route to intercept the pegasi. “I see y’all out there,” Buckaroo muttered. “Just a little bit closer now.” Rarity flattened her ears as tightly as she could manage as Buckaroo began turning the hoofcrank near the back of the automatic cannon. The weapon responded by erupting with gouts of dark smoke and flashes of fire as it spewed a stream of projectiles at the onrushing flock of griffons. She saw one griffon drop from the sky immediately, and the rest proceeded to break formation and scatter. Buckaroo ceased firing, and seconds later the pegasi arrived. The battle was joined. “We should help them,” Rarity said. “We have to put distance between us and that ship,” Blueblood replied, shaking his head. “Until we have a real plan. If we are captured by their harpoon launchers or shot out of the sky we shall be helping nopony.” The Alicorn climbed higher and turned away from the griffon warship. Fierce winds buffeted the airship, causing the deck to shudder and the thick suspension cables to vibrate like guitar strings, while bolts of lightning flashed all around. The sky was as dark as dusk, and the air was tainted by a mixture of acrid smoke and ozone, and filled with the sounds of battle. Shells burst in the air like holiday fireworks, and dozens of firesticks made for a sound like popcorn on the stove. Everywhere, it seemed, ponies and griffons were locked in deadly combat. Rarity saw a pair of pegasi swoop down on a lone griffon and entangle her in a strong net, then leave her to fall. Another griffon shot a purple coated stallion out of the sky. A Wonderbolt had managed to cling to the back of a brawny griffon, and was pummeling its helmet with a forehoof. Those brave pegasi needed their help, but what could they do, here on an airship that could not even get close without inviting target practice from the griffon cannoneers? Rarity did not turn to look at the white blur in the periphery of her vision until it was too late. Only when Buckaroo grunted in pain and Zinzi shouted a belated warning did she whirl around. To her shock, Buckaroo lay flat on the deck, his left rear leg badly broken, and a wiry white pegasus stood over him, his foreleg gripping a long spear. Tempest wore an expression of boiling rage. Immediately, Zips charged the invader, ignoring Rarity’s shouted warning to stay back. Tempest sidestepped the half-zebra’s kick and dropped him with a single blow to the back of the head, rendering Zips unconscious before he hit the deck. Tempest’s eyes told Rarity everything she needed to know about his intent, and it seemed there would be no thwarting his murderous aims unless somepony acted. Her horn sparked to life and she took hold of Buckaroo’s cannon with her magic, swinging it around on its pedestal to point at Tempest. The pegasus, however, did not keep still, but instead leaped forward with a powerful flap of his wings and tackled a stunned Blueblood to the deck. The Alicorn rolled to the right and began to dive as soon as Blueblood relinquished control of the ship’s wheel, and Zinzi raced forward to right the ship before her unconscious son and the injured Buckaroo could tumble over the rail. A moment later, Tempest rose to his hooves. Blueblood was left kneeling on four legs before him, the sharp point of a spear jabbing into the side of his neck. Tempest stood beside the unicorn, facing Rarity and the others, his back to the Alicorn’s bow. Rarity had managed to maintain her spell, and she kept the deck-mounted cannon centered on Tempest, ready to fire. “Imagine my surprise when I saw your ship flying back to Gallopoli,” Tempest said. “After a week spent leading the search parties away and attempting to give those worthless griffons more time to ensure the duke here was dead, here you are anyway. Of course, I’m hardly shocked that that flock of feckless birdbrains could not even manage to kill a pampered powderpuff like Duke Polaris here.” He gave Blueblood a sharp poke, and the unicorn stallion cringed, though he was doing his best to keep still. “But you!” Tempest continued, indicating Rarity with a slight nod. “How are you alive? I threw you out of an airship. Did you sprout wings or something?” “A lady must have her secrets,” Rarity growled, glaring back at Tempest. “I cannot believe that I did not realize that you might be hiding amongst those pegasi. But then, I would have expected your yellow belly would have revealed your presence straight away. How can a former Guard fall so low that by default he resorts to treachery?” Tempest’s nostrils flared and he snorted in anger. “Impugn my honor again, and watch me kill this false prince.” “You will not. If you harm him you destroy yourself. I assure you that my spellcasting is quite sharp, and you will not be able to fly away before I bring you down. And you want to live, Tempest. I know you do. You are consumed by the need to get revenge on Karroc, and with your imbecilic dream of a war between ponies and griffons. You will never get to avenge your wife if you force me to shoot you.” Tempest was momentarily stunned. “How do you know … nevermind. Anypony who cannot see that there must be war is a fool! Griffons are born to kill ponies, to tear our flesh and eat it. They are monsters, and we must annihilate them while we have the advantage!” “Griffons are civilized beings no different from any others. We may have our differences, but that does not mean we cannot coexist in harmony, as we have done for hundreds of years, despite the misguided ideas of extremists like you and Karroc. Give up, Tempest, and you can help us stop this conspiracy, and stop Karroc.” “Bah!” the pegasus spat. “Nopony so weak and naive as to believe griffons are civilized could ever have it in her to kill. You won’t shoot me.” “I beg you not to try me,” Rarity replied evenly. “You would shortly find you were mistaken.” Tempest prodded Blueblood again, seemingly considering his options. Rarity continued to stare him down, her expression betraying nothing. He could not be allowed to know how her heart was soaring with joy at that very moment. She merely had to hold it together just a bit longer. What Tempest had not observed, and what Rarity saw quite clearly, was the huge orange sphere rising behind him, just off to the left of the Alicorn’s bow. He must have noticed a bright flash of light, but likely assumed it was just another bolt of lightning from the storm raging around them. He certainly did not see the pony who had suddenly appeared behind him, and therefore was not at all prepared when that pony delivered a mighty kick to his haunches. Tempest dropped his spear and awkwardly tumbled end over end, colliding hard with the deck rail before his momentum carried him over, off the ship and out into the storm. Rarity could only hope that was the last she would see of him. Now, all of her attention was focused on the mare who stood opposite her. Rarity finally allowed her grim expression to break, and a wide, disbelieving smile spread across her face. “Howdy, Rarity,” said Applejack, grinning broadly.