//------------------------------//
// Shore Leave 
// Story: On the Rocks 
// by iisaw 
//------------------------------//


Chapter One
Shore Leave

In which it is seen that a strange place
can become familiar and comforting
even in the midst of a larger adventure.

July 7th, 1013
Onboard the airship Nebula
Stone Town, Zanzebra
off the coast of Zebrica


We slowly worked our way up the bay to the old mooring field east of the main docks, flying two sets of signal flags—one requesting pratique, and the other announcing that we had limited ability to maneuver.

The crew of the tower we were headed for signaled back, and Fluttershy changed course, making a slight adjustment to Nebula's stuttering number three engine. I blew into the speaking tube to the mooring gear station and Applejack answered.

"I'm here, Twilight. Ready to go!"

"Good. Look sharp, AJ. Number three might cut out on us at any time, and if it does and we miss the first attempt, we're going to have to try again with only one engine."

"If'n I don't lasso that post on the first throw, I'll buy the whole crew a round of cider... and that includes the prisoners!"

I couldn't help smiling. 

AJ was as good as her word (of course) and we were securely moored to the tower within minutes. It wasn't much later that a little customs craft came along side and hailed us.

"Ahoy, Nebula!" came a familiar voice. "Permission to come aboard?"

"Zenobia, is that you?" I called out in the Zwahinny patois that was the common language of most of the trading ports of East Zebrica. "Get your beautiful striped butt over here!"

The crew ran out a gang plank to the approaching balloon's basket, and Zenobia, wearing the golden collar that marked her as a senior customs officer, trotted across to Nebula's deck and gave me a warm, welcoming hug.

"Captain Blackmane,[1] what in the name of the Blistering Wind have you done to your ship?" she asked as we broke off the hug and stepped back.

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[1] As I couldn't travel the world in a beat-up old merchant airship, fighting off pirates and "securing" dangerous magical items as Her Serene Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria without causing… trouble, I and my friends had acquired aliases and disguises under which we were fairly well-known in… certain circles.
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"We had a little run-in with some griffin corsairs crossing the Roan Sea," I explained, and waved a hoof at the patchwork repairs made to our envelope, hull, engines, and… well, everything, really. "She'll be as good as new after a decent refit."

I couldn't help glancing back at the quarterdeck where Fluttershy was giving me a death-glare and stroking the forward rail in exactly the same way she would to comfort a sick animal in her care. I cleared my throat nervously and turned back to Zenobia. "Speaking of which, we managed to recover some cargo chests from the wreckage of the corsair ships that have the Grand Council's seal on them. Shall I have them delivered to the Guild Hall?"

Zenobia had known me long enough to be unsurprised by almost anything having to do with Nebula and her crew. How a single old-style merchant ship had fought off multiple corsairs was something she pretended disinterest in. Trade goods, however, were the lifeblood of the island and taken very seriously indeed.

"Ah! The Council will be pleased, I am certain," she said. "I will have wagons sent to collect the cargo; no need to trouble your crew further, I think." She turned and looked out over the larboard rail, as if in thought, then casually touched her collar of office with a forehoof. "And would there be any other cargo I should know of? Officially—" she dropped her hoof from her collar "—or otherwise?"

I lit my horn and lifted off the main hatch cover and set it aside, revealing several heaps of neatly stacked sacks on the crew deck. "Officially, we're importing two tons of Anubian millet and a half ton of Tanzebrian coffee beans. Unofficially…" I then moved the deck grating that separated the crew quarters from the cargo hold propper. "There are a few passengers."

Zenobia struggled heroically to retain her calm and professional demeanor. "And these—passengers. They are bound claw, paw, wing, and beak, because…?"

"Turbulence," I replied. "Lotta turbulence coming in." I pointed to the mirror-flat waters of Hihwini Bay to the south. "Didn't want them to get hurt trying to move around with Nebula's deck bucking like a tse-tse bit gnu."

"Ah." Zen rolled her eyes at me. "A sensible precaution. It is mere coincidence that they are all griffins, many having corsair markings on their beaks, of course."

"Oh? I didn't notice that."

Zenobia sighed and played along. She knew very well the arrangement I had with the Grand Council of Zanzebra, even though she couldn't fathom the mindset behind it. "Wagon rides can be rough, not so? For their safety, we should leave them securely protected until they reach their destination, yes?"

"A wise precaution," I agreed, and passed over Nebula's papers.

Zen stamped them and made an entry into the official log, then had me sign some of her own paperwork. All neatly done, with as close to an approximation of the truth as circumstances allowed. "Will you be in port long?" she asked after stowing away her forms in a pouch slung over one shoulder.

"A week at least," I told her. "More, if we decide to do serious repairs instead of just patching her up for a run across the ocean and full refit at Canterlot."

Fluttershy, who was hugging and patting the mizzenmast by then and still glaring in my direction, said, loud enough to be heard on the main deck, "Don't you worry, Nebby! I don't care what that mean old mare says. I'll take care of you!"

Zenobia's mouth twitched as she tried not to laugh. "Then you must dine with me at my home! The evening after next would be convenient, perhaps?"

"That would be lovely, thank you!"


= = =


The rest of the afternoon passed quickly as everypony worked quickly and efficiently to get our cargo unloaded. I met with a chandlery agent and arranged to get Nebula's provisions and supplies replenished, then granted shore leave to the first watch.

Rainbow Dash returned in less than two hours, trying to act nonchalant while asking if I could modify her disguise spell. 

I didn't sigh. I didn't even ask what she'd done. There was no point, really; Rainbow's little misadventures went by like ripples on the ocean. I simply fixed her with a flat and unamused look, summoned an amulet from my cabin, and floated it over to her. "Take Halter Hitch with you and try to stay out of trouble, okay?"

Even though I was obviously saddling her with an earth pony minder, Dash grinned at me. "Thanks, Twilight! You're a pal!"

"I'm also the captain who is going to be too busy to bail you out until tomorrow if you get thrown into jail, unanielewa?"

She snapped me a sarcastic salute and said, "Understood, Captain Ma'am!"

I didn't even roll my eyes. I just waved a sloppy salute back at her and watched her trot off toward more entertaining trouble. Maybe I'm getting too used to things out here, I thought. I had grand plans for a final strike to break the pirate fleets of the Eastern Seas, but would a month or so for a visit home and full repairs for my ship interfere that much?

I went back to my paperwork until the next, inevitable distraction.


= = =


I don't usually buy food from the hawkers that swarm airship docks, but a little balloon dinghy caught my eye, or rather my nose. One of the young zebra mares aboard was actually using a large palm frond to fan the steam from her cookpot in Nebula's direction.

"Is that mchuzi wa samaki?" I asked, already beginning to salivate.

"Indeed, captain," she replied, grinning. "My sister and I make the best on the island!"

I knew I was lost. I called out to the crew, asking which of them wanted some food, and I ended up ferrying a long line of bowls to and from the little balloon. We all tucked into the savory coconut curry and rice with gusto.

Once the impromptu meal was over, I sat down with Fluttershy and went over the necessary repairs to Nebula. Her definition of "necessary" differed significantly from my own, of course. "Repainting the envelope design after it's repanneled isn't worth the cost," I tried to explain to her. 

Her devastating reply was, "Sometimes it's important that a mare feels pretty, Twilight!' 

There have been times when Fluttershy's insistence on treating Nebula as a living, breathing creature produced unexpected and frankly uncanny results, but an insistence that she—Nebula, I mean—had some emotional investment in her looks was too much for me to swallow. At least until Rarity put her oar in.

"She's right, dear," Rarity said as she came up from below with a half-dozen empty satchels floating behind her. To nopony's surprise, it seemed she was going to spend her evening's liberty shopping at the Grand Market. "Appearance is critically important, you know."

"Oh come on! You don't expect me to believe that Nebula actually cares what—"

Rarity arched an eyebrow at me. "What dear Nebula does or does not care about I will leave up to Fluttershy to determine," she said loftily. "But I can tell you for certain that going back on the hunt with only the mere basics taken care of will advertise to our… shall we say, competitors? Yes, it will positively shout to them and the rest of the world that we can't afford to keep up our adventures. That we are being ground down, and if they can only hold on for a little while longer, we shall be utterly exhausted and ineffectual!"

"Huh. Well, I can understand that, but—"

"Why, we should improve upon Nebula's colors and brightwork!" Rarity continued, caught up in her vision of aeronautical majesty. "I wouldn't be surprised if seeing us adorned with ten thousand bits worth of fabulous new artistry didn't make those ruffians immediately surrender in abject despair!"

Even Fluttershy was looking dubious by then, but I understood, and moreover found myself agreeing with Rarity's basic premise.

"Alright," I said, surprising them both. "Sketch out some designs for me. Start with something that would cost us two thousand and work up from there."

Rarity blinked at me in shock. I waved a hoof in the direction of the city. "You can go shopping first."


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