"*cough, cough* Log date: Wednesday, April 21st. I'm surrounded by the insurgents. It doesn't look like I'm going to make it out alive; they have all exits from the temple barricaded and crossbows aimed at their exteriors. I... I think this is going to be goodbye. I-if anybody finds this message *cough*, tell Bonbon... I love herrrrrrrrrrrr." Lyra rasped into a phonograph sitting on the red carpet floor of the blimp's passenger cabin.
Suddenly, Bonbon crashed through the bathroom door, swinging it open with a loud crash as it impacted the wall adjacent to it. She slammed her hoof down in front of the door to prevent it from rebounding and damaging the extravagant, but delicate, the makeshift costume she had put together. Completely masking her creme-colored fur was a suit of intricately folded pieces of parchment made to resemble sheet metal armor. Her helmet only showed her eyes, glimmering with determination. Her overlapped parchment sheets forming the torso seciton of the armor were secured to the most glamorous piece of her suit using folded lips of parchment: the chest plate. On it sat an emblem of Bonbon's cutie mark, drawn upon it in black ink. She acquired a wide stance and puffed out her chest as she swung her head upward, effectively raising her helmet's visor with its momentum.
"Not to worry, m'lady! Your knight in wooden armor is here!" Bonbon shouted. She accented the last word with a stomp of her right forehoof. At this point, Lyra had transitioned from her initial fetal position whispering into the phonograph to gazing up at the towering figure of her marefirend who was intent on saving her.
"Bucking finally!" exclaimed Lyra, completely obliterating whatever epic mood was present n the cabin moments before.
"Welp, there goes that..." mumbled Bonbon as she began to strip her "armor" in defeat. For the past several hours, the couple had been playing pretend to satiate their boredom from the flight that had now gone on for over three days. Being the only passengers in the entire cabin, they were free to act out such scenarios as medieval damsel in distress, escaping from the ancient temple with the tribal deity, and a combination of the two... somehow. They both broke out into a bit of a giggle fit as they comprehended the situation they had just created. They had managed to convert a commercial airliner into a children's improv theatre for the past three hours. As the two recovered from their laughter, Bonbon was the first to speak up.
"Oh, Lyra. I haven't laughed like that in a while."
"Haha, neither have I. It felt great!" Lyra replied, wiping the tears from her eyes.
They made their way back to their seats which were now littered with various empty flasks and paper nags which had contained fried hay chips. This entire trip had already proved to be more than what either of them thought it could be in the time allotted. The soft hum of the blimp's engines could still be heard through the thin wood-insulated iron walls of the cabin. The couple, upon plopping back down into their seats, took a deep breath as they relaxed again.
"Whoo! That was fun and all but I think I need to touch down on earth." Lyra complained as she used her hoof to paw at the red carpet.
"I agree. As fun as it's been to be up here with you all alone, honey, three days of sitting in the same room can drive a mare insane." Bonbon replied with reason.
"I'll tell you what, though. I am super psyched to get down there." Lyra stated as she levitated a map of the region in front of her and scooched over next to Bonbon so that they could both see it. "So, we are going to be landing here," Lyra pointed at a red X on the parchment, "and it should be about a 45-minute carriage ride from the airport into the nearest jungle village. I think it's called something like Zebwono... Zebrononk?" As Lyra searched for the name of the village she had found in her memory, she attempted to spell what she could recall in the air with her right forehoof. "Anyway, my point is: it won't be long until we can fix this whole vanilla problem of yours and it seems like the only planning you have done it pack your bags. Are you sure there won't be any more... complications?" Lyra finally asked with a bit of concern. During the flight, what time wasn't spent with Bonbon was spent looking and planning with maps as to their entire trip both to and from the closest vanilla source.
Bonbon had spent the previous 45 seconds staring off into space, pretending to listen to her marefrend's longwinded recap of their itinerary. "Sheesh, relax, honey. There are two things that Zebrica is comprised of: desert and jungle. I don't think it will be too hard to find a plant in a place completely filled with them."
Lyra was going to retort but, as she began to open her mouth, a voice rang throughout the cabin, "Mares and gentlecolts, we will be beginning our initial descent into the National Zebrican Airport. Please return-" The captain of the blimp was interrupted by who one could only assume to be his co-"pilot", "-to partyin' yer flanks off! That's right, I saw yew two totally wrecked! Ha! Whooohooooo-"
"Gimme that, Swisher!" the captain swiftly stated. He could be heard clearing his throat and the microphone could be heard being wrestled from the copilot's magic. Adopting a central-Equestrian accent once again, he continued, "I apologize for the interruption. As I was saying, please return to your seats and buckle your seatbelts. Thanks for your time."
As Lyra and Bonbon stared and blinked blankly at each other and recovered from the audio whiplash they had just experienced, the creaking of the blimp's hull resisting the downward acceleration echoed. The two snapped out of their trance and looked down through the window at the quickly-approaching ground beneath them. Figures like trails and bodies of trees and water that had been the size of Lyra's hoof for the past three days were now returning to their actual size and a few other objects came into view with them. The various trails leading through the forests all led to a desert expanse in the center of Lyra's vision. Contrasting with the light-yellow sand was a large cluster of red and white ringed targets. As the ground became even closer, this structure began to define itself as a wooden structure not too different from the one this blimp had departed from. The only difference between this one and the couple's initial airport was that this one had a bit more traffic. Scratch that; this one had a lot more traffic. Dust could be seen drifting through the air along the margins of the airport's paths as the dozens of wagons and carriages bustling into the airport's vicinity formed networks of traffic lines that seemed to span miles. Fittingly, at the center of each fo the targets sat a blimp. Tiny blimps, but blimps nonetheless. Now, Lyra and Bonbon's blimp approached one of the few empty terminals and the faces of the zebra technicians hard at work to make sure that each of the smaller blimps was ready for flight could be seen displaying expressions to relief.
"That... is a lot of zebras..." muttered Bonbon.
"Yeah..." Lyra barely replied.
They both stared out the window, completely hypnotized by what was happening before them. With wide eyes, they peered into the airport's third floor which supported the terminal platform they had just landed on. On the other side of the building's glass, there stood upwards of 100 zebras clad in what seemed to be rather high-class clothing. Many were wearing capes of gold and royal blue while others were adorned with jewels from their ears to their flank. Bonbon shivered at the sight of the buttocks piercings. "W-well, this is quite the sight, eh?" consoled Lyra. Bonbon simply stood still, her left eye twitching.
"Why are all of these ponies so eager to leave?" finally asked Bonbon. Lyra had assumed a calm expression once again, perhaps delusional form the 3-day trip.
"Whatever... we're here for some vanilla and maybe a bit of-" Lyra caught herself in the middle of slipping word of her ulterior motives for coming on this trip. "-bit of nothing else, I mean! Hehe..." Wow, nice save, Lyra.she scolded. Bonbon still stood wide-eyed.
"What do you mean "whatever?!" Never have I ever seen this many ponies trying to leave all at once. Aren't you the least bit curious as to why?" Bonbon retorted, evidently having overcome her shock.
"It's none of our business, Bonny. Come on, l-let's just get in a carriage so we can finally get to the jungle." Lyra reasoned, an urgency easily detectable in her voice.
"Lyra! What has gotten into you? There is a huge mob of ponies eager to leave because of something and it is our responsibility as morally conscious mares to do something about it." Bonbon always seemed to be the authoritative, motherly type. Regardless, Lyra needed to get her act together. If she let anything about her technological motives skip out, not only would her relationship with Bonbon be slightly compromised but this whole shindig with a spacefaring civilization would get exposed to the masses, taking away her chances at being a pioneer.
All of a sudden, several metallic clanks could be heard from the front of the cabin. The wheel that adorned the arch-shaped entrance to said cabin began to spin, creating several "ker-chunk" sounds which echoed throughout the room. After a few seconds, the door swung open to allow light to pierce the dark interior of the blimp and force Lyra and Bonbon to squint and use their forehooves as visors. Through the doorway came a suited zebra. The couple, however, could only make out that some pony had just boarded the vessel. "Hillo ind wailcoom to de Zebrica National Airport! My name is-" it was at this point that the zebra took the time to look around the cabin and see that there were but two passengers aboard. "... my name is Abra ind, on de behalf of de Oonited Tribes of Zebrica, hope yoo enjoy yoor stay in our coontry." the zebra managed to finish, focusing on Lyra and Bonbon whose eyes had now adjusted to the influx of light. The zebra now stood motionless at the cabin entrance with a large grin plastered on his face, apparently waiting for the two passengers to disembark.
The pony travelers began to gather their belongings. They walked throughout the cabin, using their forehooves and magic to gather items strewn across the floor. Lyra came across a parchment mask made to resemble a dragon's face. She levitated it to her face using her magic and turned towards Bonbon. "Raawwwwr! I'm gonna get- ow!" Lyra's playful display was cut short by Bonbon chucking a book at her marefriend's head. Bonbon merely pointed towards the crowd of still-cheering zebras inhabiting the entire third floor of the airport. "Yeah yeah..." was all Lyra could respond with. After re-packing their bags and thanking the pilot on their way out, they walked along the wooden bridge to the entrance to the airport's third floor.
The glass doors were swung open by the doorponies inside. As soon as the couple entered, a cacophony of voices filled their ears. In front of them, there was a yellow carpet that covered the entire floor. Or, at least, it used to cover the entire floor. Now, among the patches of carpet that were stomped up and ripped by the hooves of the 100 zebras shuffling and romping around in excitement. This airport, outside of the said crowd, was just like the Equestrian airport, allowing the couple to maneuver their way around with certainty even though they could not see through the countless zebras in front of them. "It seems a little loud in here, eh?" Bonbon mentioned.
"WHAT?!" Lyra practically shrieked.
"Nevermind, let's get out of here." With that, Bonbon led the way, squeezing along the perimeter of the terminal and down the stairs. What they saw when they got to the bottom was almost impossible to put into words. "Oh, dear Celestia..." they said practically in unison. Just 20 feet in front of them was another crowd of zebras only this one was at least three times as large. Separating this crowd from the smaller one on the floor above it was a line of armed Zebrican guards, using the blunt ends of their spear sticks to push back the crowd. Several statements could be heard from the stairwell as the crowd protested the obstruction. While the crowd on the floor above was loud with cheer, this one was loud with the opposition.
"You most allow us onto one of de blimps up dere! De curse is spreading!"
"Please, sir, the building is simply too unstable to support that many ponies. More blimps will come and once all up there have boarded, you may, too."
Lyra and Bonbon turned to look at each other with faces of concern. They knew that there were no more blimps coming considering how the busiest airport in Equestria was almost completely empty. "We.... we should go. Don't want to disturb the locals any more than they already are..." Bonbon whispered to Lyra.
"Y-yeah, right." she solemnly agreed.
The two faced the yellow carpet beneath them as they followed the perimeter of the crowd to the stairs which led down to an empty first floor.
"Well, this is certainly a relief." Lyra joked -- not to much avail. Bonbon looked as stoic as she did a few seconds ago.
"Please, Lyra. I think the trip schedule has another goal added to it." Bonbon replied. Lyra knew her marefriend was right. Now, not only did Bonbon have to save Ponyville's economy but she also had to, in good conscience, do something about this thing that was driving the locals out of the Zebrican jungles. The couple made their way out of the airport thourgh tits glass entrance. In the pick-up/drop-off area, there was a plethora of carriages dropping off another swarm of zebras ready to protest their way onto a non-existent flight. Lyra scanned the herd of carriages and spotted a white and gold one which a zebra family had just exited. Adorned with various metal curls and ornate lanterns, it looked like something straight out of Celestia's private fleet.
"There! That one!" she exclaimed, prompting Bonbon to turn her attention to the almost grossly regal carriage that sat parked on the opposite side of the lot.
"Wha- bu- is there any chance you could choose... no? Fine." Bonbon attempted to bargain, but to no avail.
The couple waited for the new crowd of zebras to rush the first floor of the airport, clearing the lot. They made their way over to the carriage and climbed the golden steps to the royal purple velvet interior. Sitting down on the lushly cushioned benches, they directed their attention to the driver's window at the front of the cabin. Sitting at the front of the wagon was a zebra dressed in patched, dirty rags of matching shades of gray, rather unbefitting for the carriage. "Uh, hello. My name is-" Lyra started but was cut off when the driver waved his forehooves and pointed to the map he saw sticking out of Lyra's bag. "Oh! Right," she said as she retrieved the map and unfolded it in front of the driver, pointing to the red X marked on it. The driver simply nodded, turned away, and slid into place a wooden plank, effectively closing the window Lyra used to communicate with him. "Oh... okay! Thanks for the ride!" Lyra attempted. There was no response.
Lyra slumped down on the seat next to Bonbon and attempted to start a conversation with her marefriend. "So... it's off of one seat and into another, huh?" joked Lyra. Instead of replying to her marefriend's comment, Bonbon unloaded what she had been thinking about for the past few minutes.
"Okay, so I think I just figured out how to solve both of these problems. If we just take this carriage to the jungle village you specified and retrieve the vanilla, we can head into town and ask the locals if they know anything about the "curse" that is sweeping Zebrica." Bonbon explained n a single breath, catching herself panting afterward. Clearing her throat, she recombed her hair with her hooved to regain composure.
"Oh, well that sounds like a plan," Lyra replied with a hint of disappointment. Her initial goal of finding more remnants of that highly advanced technology seemed to be getting further and further out of reach. Maybe she just had to wait for another time. Besides, this will give her time to spend with her marefirend and possibly help the locals in the process.
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After 40 minutes of riding, the couple still sat in their initial positions from when they first entered the carriage. For the past 40 minutes, they both had been deep in thought. Lyra, concerned about her research mission and how it would be salvaged, and Bonbon, concerned about how they could help the locals with their limited time of four days maximum. The scenery had gradually increased in tree quantity since their departure. What used to be mostly desert with the occasional group fo trees had become almost a constant flow of dense foliage with only intermittent segments covered in weeds amongst damp, fertile soil.
"We must be getting close." Bonbon stated.
"Bonbon, are you alright? It seems like your mood has been on a downhill slope ever since we found out about the 'curse.'" Lyra inquired with concern.
"It-... I'm fine, Lyra. It's just this is all a lot to think about on such short notice. I mean, we just came here for some vanilla and here we are about to attempt to unravel an act of mass terrorism." Bonbon nonchalantly replied.
"Relax, sweetheart. Getting stressed won't solve anything. The best thing we can do now is only what we can." Lyra stated, smiling at Bonbon.
"Wow, look at you being all mentor-y." Bonbon jabbed.
"Shut up!" Lyra laughed in reply.
Suddenly, the plank that covered the window in the front of the cabin was removed to reveal the driver once again. "We are here. No payment necessary." the driver stated stoically. He turned away and gave the ponies pulling the carriage the signal to slow. Lyra and Bonbon lurched forward as the carriage finally came to a halt.
"Thanks, again!" Lyra stated and, again, there was no response. "Not much of a talker, that one," she concluded.
As they opened the door to the chariot, they were greeted by village folk rather... oddly. Standing in front of the couple as they descended the stairs of the carriage was an entire village of zebras bowing towards them. Their village consisted of a single dirt path that was flanked by wooden-stick huts on either side. At the end was a more extravagant and rotund hut, probably denoting the home of the chieftain. On the single street were various smaller shacks, rather stands, that were probably shops of some sort. One of them had a cauldron of boiling... eh... boiling the liquid. They had obviously ditched their daily activities on a whim to come and "worship" us.
"Uh, h-hello! My name-" Bonbon started.
"Greetings! We are Lyra and Bonbon of Ponyville. We hail from the nation of Equestria!" stated Lyra. Maybe a bit too regally.
"Lyra! Has the carriage atmosphere gotten to your head? What are you doing?!" Bonbon frantically whispered.
"Just play along! I have a plan!" replied Lyra.
The villagers in front of them simply looked onward with desperate eyes.