The two great airships continued on to Vanhoover, the last major town on their flightpath before leaving the boundaries of Equestria. Here they would pick up final supplies and give the crew one last change for shore leave, before beginning the mission proper: piercing the storm wall around the Cloudbreak Islands. The ships were carefully maneuvered into the largest berths the air docks had to offer.
After the captain concluded a few formalities with the dockmaster, the deck crews began to load the remaining provisions: pre-ordered and stacked in crates on the sky pier or in an adjacent warehouse. Many of the other ponies aboard departed into the town, enjoying a chance to stretch their legs. It wasn't just cargo to be collected here; one final addition would be made to the crew...
The expedition had arrived two nights ago; this was their last day in port, so she'd arrived just in time. The newest expedition member kept to herself as she approached the ships. Goodness, she'd seen airships before, but only for short trips; these two were huge, and one of them would be her home for the next three months.
She was a deep blue unicorn mare, wearing a cloak with a lavender-coloured hood, which blending with the brighter purple and pink of her mane and tail. Despite the fact that she was still affiliated with the Royal Guard, no armour was to be found... but first things first: getting on the ship.
The EAS Harmony looked like a fine vessel; Azure Feather had reviewed the blueprints and the crew manifest, among the documents sent to her when she agreed to join. Other than the expedition leaders, most of the crew didn't stand out, but the kirin she'd heard of. Well, there was a first time for everything, and working with a kirin would be a first for her; although she wasn't sure how much she'd see of this Nutmeg Inferno, as she would no doubt spend most of her time in the engine room.
Azure approached the most obvious entrance: a wide hatch into the lowest part of the hull. The boarding ramp was lowered, and a few final crates and barrels were being hauled up into the cargo bay. Unicorns were making good use of their telekinesis while earth ponies shifted things with brute strength. One unicorn in particular, with a cyan coat and a mane of blue and white stripes, huffed and panted as she sat down on her rear near the base of the ramp, a bit out of the way. "Whew... That's... quota done. What... now..." Summer muttered to herself.
Azure didn't usually seek out conversation for its own sake, but after several days of keeping to herself on her solitary journey to Vanhoover, she felt a little socialising wouldn't hurt. Besides, she might as well start getting to know the ponies she would be protecting. The deck crew were still busy with their crates, so she gave the loading operation a quick glance over before turning to the small unicorn taking a break.
"The Harmony, hmm? Good name for what a ship that can still the wildest storms..." she mused out loud, her tone neutral, but her stiff posture showing that she wasn't exactly at ease.
Summer Scribe's ears perked up at the new voice. She rose to her hooves and regard the fellow unicorn for a moment: 'Oh, we're making small talk?' she thought, 'That solves that. I don't recognise you, but I don't recognise EVERYONE on this ship (that's a lot of faces!) so I don't think anything of it, yet.'
"Well, I suppose so!" she remarked in an amused tone. "Beats being a war machine like it used to be!" Summer chuckled before continuing: "...but I'm thinking of this as more of a research expedition, right now." Her sudden rush of enthusiasm resulted in her tapping a forehoof to her horn in a rough approximation of a salute. "To brave the wild frontiers and seek the unknown! And learn all we can about it! That's our mission!" She nodded for emphasis.
Azure Feather nodded back politely; her fellow species member had quite a different perception to her own... but hey, she had her own opinion, this was fine. In truth Azure was not entirely happy about the ship's complete conversion from warship to this... glorified cargo hauler. She knew, if things turned bad, they would likely sorely miss the stripped out weaponry.
The light blue unicorn seemed confident there wouldn't be any pitched battles though, so Azure would go along with that for now. Perhaps the worst threat would be strange new wildlife; not that wild animals were a matter to be taken lightly, as Azure knew well that many strange and ferocious beasts lurked beyond the borders of Equestria.
After a beat, Summer realised the new unicorn still hadn't replied, and decided to introduce herself: "Name's Summer Scribe, Distinguished Junior Researcher. And you are?" she smiled.
The deep blue mare removed her hood before answering: "Azure Feather, from the Lavender Blades. Nice to meet you." Azure bowed her head formally: her clear blue eyes along with lined streaks of two-toned purple in her mane were clearly visible now. For some reason the unicorn couldn't help glancing back over her shoulder as the hood came off.
Summer gave the new arrival another look over, now that the hood was down, and nodded approvingly. "A pleasure to meet you, Azure!" she said, returning the bow respectfully. She followed the other mare's gaze, tilting her head and trying to peer behind her. Azure covered with a nervous giggle, even though there clearly wasn't nything odd where she was looking. Seeing nothing unusual, Summer continued "Is there something you're thinking about? Did you wanna go out and wander around town? I'd be down for that, I mean."
The prospect did sound appealing to Azure, after spending a couple of days mostly cooped up on trains. After a quick moment of thinking she replied "I've been deployed to Vanhoover in a hurry, but if you say there's extra time before we depart, enough to actually feel the ground under our hooves for even a little bit, then sure. It'll be the last time we're in Equestria for months, won't it?"
Summer nodded in agreement: "Yeah, I was hoping to get a little time on the ground before we continue. I kinda did as much prep as I can and I'm a little overstimulated from just being holed up and thinking and thinking and thinking." She tapped a hoof and took a few steps down the pier, heading away from the ship. "So, what do you want to check out? The local cuisine? The scenic views? The local library?"
Holed up and thinking... Azure gave a quiet nod at that, as she'd been there quite a few times herself. The new unicorn seemed somewhat interested when Summer's mentioned getting some food, but it was the last notion that got her attention, an intrigued look crossing her face. "Y'know, I haven't actually been to the Vanhoover library. Would be nice to check out their collection... How about we head there first?" she asked.
Summer Scribe smiled and clopped her hooves "Oh, awesome! After shifting all those crates, I'm down for something nice and relaxing right now." The two ponies set off from the sky docks in an easy trot, heading across town.
As one of the more remote towns in Equestria, Vanhoover's library was much quainter and smaller than Canterlot's; but every librarian is proud of the books they entrust. There were sections for local lore, mythological fiction, history and cuisine cookbooks to peruse; as soon as she'd entered, Summer Scribe glanced at her companion to see if anything had caught her eye.
In fact, Azure Feather barely gotten out of the lobby before making a beeline for the section speaking of... flight? What use would that be to a unicorn? Without even saying a word, either... the dark blue unicorn looked a little stressed, or possibly embarrassed.
Summer trotted after her, eyeing up the shelves as she passed. "So, what did you want to start with... Azure?" Where had the other pony gone? She peered around, and caught a glimpse of a purple and pink tail turning a corner. Curious what had caught the other unicorn's interest, she followed her into... the Pegasi Flight section, huh? Well, they were going to be in close quarters with a half-pegasus crew and quite reliant on them for a while, so that made sense... right?
If only Azure hadn't already cracked open three books about pegasus wing physiology, that would have made perfect sense. Yet there she was, flank against the back wall between bookshelves, speed-reading through each book... now realising she'd been spotted, she looked up to Summer, halfway through a book. "...Sorry. Couldn't help myself... I haven't, erm, seen these books before!"
Summer paused for a moment... then released a cute giggle as she held a hoof to her face. "Oh, that's really cool! Are pegasi your speciality, then? Do you know everything there is to know about them?" She sidled over to Azure, to try and catch a glimpse at the covers. "Maybe you should bring me up to speed!"
Azure's stress level seemed to jump up a tad as Summer leaned in to read "Principles & Mechanics of Pegasus Flight, Volume 11" on one of the covers. "Pegasi... n-no, they're not my specialty, but... I know quite a bit! I know wing power calculations, Pegasus speed records, Wonderbolts through the years... just need to further my studies!" If this was the case, why did she have Volumes 13 and 14 off the shelf as well?
Summer Scribe's eyebrows inched up. 'This must be some really advanced work! ...and it's still not her speciality?' she thought. "This is just like, a side hobby for you? Wow! That's super cool! Are you going to put this knowledge to work someday? Maybe build some model pegasi and fly them through the skies? Personal trainer in Cloudsdale?" She tapped a hoof to her chin; so many possibilities!
Azure was practically blushing now as Summer continued to excitedly comment on her studies, but the mention of becoming a personal trainer prompted a thoughtful smile to cross her muzzle. "As interesting as a career as personal trainer for Pegasi sounds... I'll leave that to the actual Wonderbolts, past or present; there's bound to be pegasi way better at it than I would be. Yet... those aren't bad ideas, Summer. Got to consider them after this mission. But for now, I should be done looking through these books in a little bit..."
Summer Scribe chuckled again: there was nothing like unbridled passion to get her excited, honestly! Her tail began to swish back and forth as she nodded eagerly along with Azure. "Whatever interests you, interests me too! Feel free to tell me all about what you're working on: it'll get your thoughts in a row. It works for me at least!"
Azure quickly finished skimming Volume 11 before telekinetically placing the book back on the shelf. "Tell you what, Summer..." she replied "how long do we have on the ship, setting off from here to reaching the Cloudbreak Islands? Starting to get an idea here, but I don't want to just... openly test things out of nowhere, either."
Summer thought for a moment before replying "Oh, three, maybe four days, depending on how the winds are. We're heading north up the coast, then west towards the storm." She tilted her head, trying to guess what the other unicorn's idea entailed. "Well, what is it? Don't forget that you'll need to be preparing for the mission ahead, too!"
"Three days?" Azure replied, "Goodness... plenty of time to meet the other crew members then, I guess I can spare, um... a few hours for this little idea. Just, um... not here? And I'd rather finish these-" She cuts herself off, looking at the bookshelves again. "...ah, by the... they have Volume 15?!" She couldn't contain her amazement. "That one was a limited run, last one I haven't read... I gotta read this before we go!" And with that Azure's muzzle was quickly buried in the books again.
Once again, Summer Scribe was left chuckling and rubbing a hoof bashfully behind her head. "Wow, you're a FAST reader. I'm out of my league all of a sudden...!" Was that sweat on her brow? "Okay, if you're on a time limit, lemme find some history books to read while you do that!" she said: the unicorn researcher was always happy to find and absorb some local archaeological reports.
Azure looked apologetic for a few moments as she realised the smaller unicorn was stressing out. "Apologies. I mean, this is the last chance we have to stop at a library... and it's the last chance I have to finish this encyclopedia! Don't wanna miss my chance and don't wanna hold up the crew."
With a cute tilt of her head, Summer agreed "Ok... but... when you have a free moment I wanna hear all about that idea, yeah?"
"I promise, just let me know when you're free, once we're on the ship." Azure reassured her.
"Yeah, exactly, haha! So I won't interrupt; lemme just bury myself into something myself!" Summer nodded, and then she excused herself to head off to the History section. 'Whew!' she thought, 'that was... surprisingly intense!'
Watching the other mare disappear behind the shelves, Azure nodded quietly to herself... and resumed her speed-reading. And so, the ideal outing began: two ponies reading quietly and only minimally interacting.
Fast as she was, it took a few hours for Azure to digest the thick volume and cross-reference the new findings against the previous works in the series. She was looking quite pleased with herself as she rose to her feet and began trotting through the stacks, looking for her squad mate. After all, time was ticking until they both would have to report to the Harmony, and the crew wouldn't be happy if they were late...
The sun was starting to set: on the other side of the library, the warm, rich evening light streamed through the window onto Summer Scribe's third book of the visit. The evening light... she jolted alert, snapping her tome about ancient bullfolk shut! "Azure! Umm.. the ship! Lost track of time!" she blurted out, while hastily... but extremely carefully... shuffling the book back onto the shelf. With sudden nervous energy she trotted back through the aisles, searching for her companion.
The two ponies almost collided as Azure was already looking for Summer... and it looked like her worst fears were about to come true. Late. On Day One. Lovely. "Lead... now! Talk later!" she near-shouted at Summer. Before the librarian could scold them for making such a racket, the two unicorns had rushed out the door and were making a mad dash for the airship docks. 'What a way to join this team!' Azure thought.
The pair galloped through the town, scattering ponies left and right: Summer was in the lead, bumping aside anyone who didn't get out of her way in time. "Sorry!" "'Scuse!" "Pardon!" Luckily, the airships were easy to spot from a distance... particularly as the Friendship was already beginning to rise into the sky! She gulped: their ship, the Harmony, was still tied to the dock, but the loading ramp had been retracted and the cargo door was firmly shut!
"Stars above... so late!" Azure muttered as she spotted the closed hatch. "Guess that idea's going into execution right now: we don't make it if I don't do this!" The hood flew back in a hurry as a purplish magic aura quickly formed around her horn. "I'm so due for a nap after this!" she cried out before zapping the still galloping Summer Scribe with her magic. Ribbons of energy formed and curled around the smaller unicorn, gathering on her back, only to flatten out and produce... wings? A pair of butterfly wings? Sure enough, the gossamer wings formed and solidified within seconds.
Taken by surprise, Summer was stunned to see the huge butterfly wings sprout, glimmering with a white and blue pattern that matched her mane. She skidded to a stop and gawked over her shoulder at the new appendages as she flapped them experimentally. 'Wings...! W-Woah! No wonder Azure studies pegasi so much,' Summer thought, 'it's applied magic! Sophisticated magic, because I can feel and move these like they were part of me!'
Panting heavily, Azure pointed a hoof towards the ship and shouted "Go! Fly! I'll catch up!" She was already relighting her horn for a second casting.
"...Got it!" Summer yelled back. She had no time to admire right now. No time to even wonder why they're not feathered wings. She resumed her forward charge, beat her new wings hard, leapt into the air... and started to climb, lifting into the sky!
Less than a minute later, Azure had cast the same spell on herself and was right with beside her squad mate; she flashed a tired grin as the two headed straight for the airship. Ponies in the street below stared upward in surprise; it was rare enough to see a unicorn who could cast this spell once, never mind twice in quick succession. She could see the crew casting off the mooring ropes as the vessel prepared to take off; all she was hoping for at that point was that somepony in charge would notice that there were some members of the crew who weren't on the ship!
Summer Scribe beat her wings even harder, rising higher, quickly getting the hang of basic aerial maneuvering. You had to flap them just right to maximise the lift and maintain that rhythm, it seemed. The ship was starting to lift now, but they weren't far behind; frantically she waved her hooves, trying to catch the attention of one of the crew. "Hey! Wait up, we're almost there!" she shouted at a pair of crew-pegasi hovering near the gas envelope.
The two winged ponies gawked for a moment at the sight of two unicorns flapping desperately towards them, before exchanging words Summer was too far away to hear. Confident she'd caught the crew's attention, she looked over to admire Azure's own beautiful butterfly wings. Wow! There'd be time for thanks and catchups in a moment, she hoped.
'We're going to make it, yeah, things will turn out fine,' Azure thought, trying to reassure herself. After a good night's sleep, at least: in truth she'd pushed her magic enough to almost exhaust herself. She glanced over at Summer; the smaller unicorn's flight was a little erratic but surprisingly good for a beginner; before fixing her gaze on the airship. They were getting closer, but if the engines started to accelerate... well, the butterfly wings she'd made were hardly build for speed. If only she could create real pegasus wings...
Luckily it wasn't a problem, as the pair of pegasus crewponies swooped towards their trailing comrades. They'd all practiced pony overboard drills until the appropriate actions were instinctive: match speed, lock hooves, soon they were gently carrying the two unicorns back to the ship. Azure did the only thing she could to make the Pegasi's work a little easier: angle her wings to negate air resistance... oh, and curse herself for being late. But that was beside the point. They'd be on the ship's upper deck in a moment, exhausted perhaps but otherwise fine.
A minute or two of tight pegasus embrace and they had reached the Harmony. Summer Scribe thanked and apologised to the pegasi in roughly that order, and then slumped onto to the teak deck in a fit of nervous, exhausted, adrenalin-fuelled laughter. Wheee. "That book was NOT worth it. Let's never do that again." she said to nopony in particular. Though in truth, flying under her own power had felt pretty awesome; fortunately the burst of adrenalin had gotten her through the initial wrenching vertigo and anxiety about having no clue what she was doing. She'd love the chance to try it again under less urgent circumstances.
Just behind her, Azure managed a somewhat more graceful landing, gave her own apologies and thanks to the pegasus who had brought her in... and then collapsed in an exhausted pile.
Noticing that Azure was resting beside her, Summer recomposed herself enough to talk properly. "Azure, that was so cool. Is that why you read all about Pegasi? To get real good at that flight spell? ... Wait a sec..." Her eyes darted to the other unicorn's cutie mark: a magical wand supported by feathery wings. "You told me that was just a side thing for you! It's like, totally your whole thing, right?"
Groaning in fatigue, Azure looked over at the other mare, only to groan again as Summer asked that question. "I... yeah, I stretched the truth a bit. I read those books... because the spell needs more work. At least... to do what I want it to do. But yes, it's my specialty." Well, now one crew member knew what she'd been trying to keep secret. Surely it was only a matter of time until the entire crew knew, and she'd probably end up the laughing stock of the ship for it.
Summer leaned in closer to huddle with Azure for a bit, beaming proudly. "You totally saved us from being left behind, so I totally owe you for nailing that spell!" She chuckled with appreciation. "...and if you want to make it even better yet... I understand that perfectionism streak all too well, so I'll be here to support you to the end!" She didn't see how anypony could find it weird or silly... admittedly, she was only thinking about it from her own perspective, but it did seem way cool, so who knew? "Anyway, you must be wiped: I don't have room to complain. Want to lean on me and I'll walk you to your room?"
'Well, at least one pony doesn't think I'm a freak', thought Azure. She couldn't help but smile at the outpouring of support, and slowly picked herself up and back onto her hooves. The butterfly-winged unicorn frowned as she looked at the size of the ship: it could take a while to find her quarters, and with the way she felt right then, who was to say she wouldn't end up as a flopped mess in a corridor? Best not to take a chance; even if she'd seen at the blueprints, she doesn't really know this ship. "Yeah... that sounds great right now, Summer. And thanks for everything. Interesting meeting to start this journey, you know?"
Summer Scribe laughed again... and then after reflecting on that, grinned. "Happy to make your life interesting! Wouldn't have it any other way myself. I throw myself into danger on purpose! Well, OK, this time was different, but you know what? It was fun anyway." Hup! Summer Scribe scrambled to her hooves and nudged against Azure until the other mare was leaning against her, guiding her to the ramp leading below-deck.
"Take it from me, Summer," Azure said wearily "sometimes it's a good idea to rush into problems head-on, other times, it'll just lead you to things and places you don't want to go. It sounds like mabye... you should be a bit more careful?" she suggested, concerned for her new ally. Sure, the comment might have been a bit generalised, but still...
Summer lowered her head, but nodded in understanding. "Hey, don't sweat it! I'm careful. I still got a ton left to do, so I'm looking out for myself, okay?" she said, trying to reassure her latest friend with a gentle cheek nuzzle.
Azure Feather gave a soft nod and smile in response. 'Good', she thought. Maybe she'd overreacted; she'll need to apologise later. Right now, though, she was staring at the hallways, trying to match up what she was seeing with the plans she'd studied earlier, memorising the layout as best she could.
After a few long minutes of weary shuffling, the pair reached Azure's tiny cabin, ready for her first night on the ship. Summer wished her a good night's rest and made her way back to her own room, ready to wind down herself.
Meanwhile, deep within the bowels of the engine room, a strange creature could be heard quietly singing. The kirin was laying flat on a metal grill and tapping the toes of her hoof on it in time with the rhythm: "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts..."
Around her, several ponies were in varying poses, some sitting, some laying, some looking at dials, some just reading books, and two shovelling fresh coal into the fireboxes. "Hey Divot!" a stallion called out, "Give me a turn at shovelling already!" As things stood, there really didn't seem to be much going on.