//------------------------------// // Filly Dreams // Story: Thorned Rose // by Salty Alty //------------------------------// Rose sat in her chair, her hind leg tapping impatiently against the metal of the telescope. It had been about a week since the incident with Captain Cutter, and from what Chessur had told her they were due to arrive at Fillydelphia today. Indeed, she could see it easily through through the many lens of the articulated spyglass. A few skyscrapers dotted the cityscape, piercing the lower altitude clouds. Bricked buildings collided with more rustic architecture to create a veritable sea of color, the sun reflecting off of the occasional roof and almost directly into her telescope. The day was calm and pleasant. The winds were tepid and restful, the breeze blowing through her hair and cooling her coat from the heat of the summer sun. Clouds were few and far between, and from what she knew it was going to stay that way for a long while, what with Summer having just officially begun. She felt a feather tickle her ear, jerking her head away from it and looking at the blue feather's owner. "Th' fuck, 'Quila?" Aquila giggled at Rose's reaction, wiping the sweat off her brow. "We're about an hour out from the harbor. I was thinking that maybe after we get situated that I could take you on something of a tour of Filly'. I was stationed here for my first enlistment, and I happen to know some of the best pubs in the city. One of which caters to meat-eaters!" She said, grinning happily. Rose snorted, shaking her head at her friend. During the remainder of the trip, the two had gotten somewhat closer, spending their shifts talking on stories and memories from the past. "Sounds to me like you're asking me on a date... So yea', I'll bite." The pegasus nodded giddily, ruffling her feathers. "Not quite a date, but it's been ages since I've had a good Filly Catbano, and I'm sure you'd love the Cheesesteak!" Rose raised an eyebrow at her, cracking her neck. "I have no idea what in Tartarus either of those are." Aquila paused, looking at Rose like she was a madmare. "What do you mean?! You said you were in the navy! Didn't you ever dock at Filly?!" Rose shook her head. "Nnnnope. The Morri' was always deployed on pirate duty or sent to the middle-east to help the Saddles with their revolution. So most of what I've had is curry..." She got a far off look in her eyes, remembering every night after she had ate the dish. "Lots and lots of curry. Oh! And don't forget the halloumi. That stuff was delicious." Rose nearly burst into laughter as she watched Aquila's brain slowly reboot itself. "W-what? You mean to tell me you never docked in an Equestrian port?!" Rose thought to herself for a moment before nodding. "Yup. Left the navy before the Morrighan ever had a chance to hit one of the coastal cities over here. The most Equestrian place I have been in my life was probably at the embassy in Saddle Arabia. One of th' first actual interactions I had with you Grazers. Not a good one either." She rolled her eyes and snorted, kicking her chair roughly. "Yer diplomats were a bunch o' pompous cunts who couldn't see the big picture. I get that y'all want peace, but telling those refugees to sod off put a bad taste in my mouth." Aquila snorted and stomped her hoof. "And then Abyssinia would have been breathing down our necks, and we aren't about to break a thousand years of peace just to help ponies who had rights in the first place!" Rose put her head in her hooves, sighing. "Quuuuuuila'! They were second class citizens, at best, who wanted a better life!" She lifted her head up and looked her friend in the eye. "Trust me, I was there. Besides, if they were able to smack the cats around like a buckball, then the pussies gettin' mad at Sunbutt would have meant nothin' anyway!" Aquila huffed and rolled her eyes. "And if we had gotten involved then we'd have Tauran Army coming down to join the party!" Rose raised an eyebrow at her, holding back a chuckle. "You seriously tryin' to tell me that the bullheads would tangle with the G.C.N and the Equestrian mage corp? Last time they tangoed with us, we sent a single cutter to the DMZ and they came to us cryin' for peace!" She laughed, slapping the arm of her chair. She stopped as she noticed her friend frowning. "What?" "You don't have to solve all your problems with violence. You can't just... Bully your way through every problem!" The Gryphic mare frowned, biting her cheek. "I know that. But diplomacy doesn't always work. We learned that lesson way back during the first Yak raids." She spun around in her chair, blowing a lock of mane out of her eyes. "The situation with Minos was sketchy at best, and the only reason that dispute got settled is because we showed that we weren't afraid to back down. They came in, tried to claim one of the islands in th' cradle as theirs, and we told em, right and proper, to fuck off." This continued for quite a while, the two bickering back and forth. Eventually however, it tapered off, Aquila huffing and stomping her hooves in frustration. "Buck this, I'm gonna go grab a drink and let Chyrp take over for the," She squinted her eyes, looking towards the harbor. "10 or so minutes we've got left to go." Rose shrugged, leaning back with her hooves behind her head. "Awright then. You do you I s'pose." Her ear twitched as Aquila stomped off, the deck creaking loudly. Rose talked with Chyrp for the final moments of their descent towards the harbor, the two discussing their plans for the evening after they had docked and gone through customs. Rose didn't feel like Aquila was too terribly keen on taking her on a tour after their little debate. Rose was jerked out of her conversation with Chyrp as the Chamomile lurched, halting as it was magically pulled in to the harbor. She felt her hair stand on end, igniting her horn and clamping on to her chair. "Chyrp! This normal?!" He chuckled at her antics, giving her a nod. "Yup! They installed these a year or so back at most of the busy port cities. More secure than regular rope. Needs less maintenance as well, from what I've heard anyway." She relaxed slightly, the previously glaring light on her horn cooling to a dim glow. "O-Okay then. I'll trust ya on that. So we just... What? Let the fancy towing matrix do its thing?" He gave her another nod and a shrug, walking over to the railing and pointing out the now glowing bulbs that sat at the end of each dock. "Yeah pretty much. Worked on a shrimp trawler a 'til about three months ago, and these new towers are amazin.' 'Least for watercraft anyway." Rose blinked a few times. "Huh. Didn't know you worked on a fishin' boat," She said, hopping out of her and slinging her saddlebags, which she had brought up earlier, on to her back. "Why'd ya quit?" He clicked his tongue a few times, ruffling his feathers. "Would you believe me if I said I had a err... Disagreement with the captain on the 'availability' of his daughter?" She wheezed, nearly falling over as Chyrp's words set in. "You... HUH... YOU WHAT?!" She cackled loudly, leaning on the railing. "Oh you are one dumb, slimy dog!" He glared at her, pointing an accusatory talon her way. "Don't you judge me! She was cute and was single at the time!" She gave him a glance as she sauntered off of the Chamomile, handing a small stack of papers to the customs agent that was awaiting them. "What do we do with a drunken sailor, Chyrp?!" The last thing she heard from him was some obscure swear, before she began to trot off towards the hotel Chessur had booked for them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3 hours later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rose sat in the hotel's restaurant, staring at the glass in front of her with a puzzled look on her face. "Why's there water in my cup?" Chessur, Aquila, and Gavin raised an eyebrow. Chyrp had refused their invitation, saying that he had a few buddies he wanted to meet up with while he was still in the city. Chessur coughed into his hoof, giving her an amused grin. "What? Is the big bad soldier scared of a little water?" She snorted, her horn softly glowing as she picked up the tall glass and swirled it around. "Nope. Just... Haven't drank water in nearly a decade. And even then, that was at a ceremony for The Beast after we had dusted the Squall. Real high society sort of gig." Aquila tilted her head, a look of visible confusion crossing her countenance. "What? Why?!" Rose shrugged. "Clean water doesn't make it's way into the inner cities that often, Gott forbid the G.C.N! I was drinkin' ale since the age of 5, and they give us grog when we're on deployment." She sipped at her glass, her nose scrunching as the tasteless liquid filled her mouth. Chessur laughed softly and nodded, patting Aquila on the back. "Indeed, water is something of a luxury in Aurighast. It's part of why I enjoy visiting the country so often," he said, giving her a suave grin. "Their alcohol is stronger because of it. You wouldn't believe the cognacs or wines that come out of their breweries and vineyards!" Rose nodded in agreement. "In comparison to the Equestrian stuff, then yeah you'd be right. Sounds to me like you haven't tried some of the good stuff from Minos though." She leaned across the table and spoke softly, as if the information she was about to convey was some great secret. "Last time I grabbed a good vodka from a Minotaur, I was out within a few shots. That stuff'll kill ya!" Gavin smiled, slapping Aquila's shoulder. He was about to speak, until he was interrupted by the waitress arriving with their food. "Apologies for the wait, dearies. A V.I.P came in with quite a large group, and we only finished their orders a short while ago," she said, handing the plates of food to Gavin, who in turn gave everyone their food. The party sat in silence as they ate, occasionally making small talk as they enjoyed their meal. Soon after, they went off to bed, the moon now hanging high in the sky. And as Rose tossed and turned in her bed, she couldn't help but feel anxious. After all, she signs her citizenship papers tomorrow.