//------------------------------//
// Where My Wonderful Boats Live 
// Story: Shining Armor Saves Everyone 
// by 42Zombies 
//------------------------------//

Seaweedattle: The Windy City. The Big Apple. The only city in Equestria with a name so dumb that it was embarrassing to say out loud. The coastal town was famous for its sports teams, iconic architecture, and for having been named by a pony who had just given up on everything.

Shining Armor had been to Seaweedattle once before. It had been years ago, after he had completed his basic training. He had dropped a piece of a model he had been working on, and while looking for it he wound up accidentally walking all the way to Seaweedattle. Once he was in the city, he had a cup of coffee, used the bathroom, and left. It had been a magical experience.

This upcoming trip to Seaweedattle promised to be less pleasant, however. Shining wasn't going to get any coffee or use the bathroom. He was going to find his wife, his sister, and those other ones who had gotten abducted. He was going to save everyone.

Before he could do any of that, though, Shining Armor needed to figure out a way to leave Canterlot without everypony freaking out. Everypony was so paranoid about their rulers disappearing lately. If they knew that Shining was planning on leaving Canterlot to go on a dangerous mission, they'd try to stop him.

And sure, he could use his authority to send a team of specialists to Seaweedattle, but Shining felt like he needed to do this personally. He needed to at least try to save Cadance and Twilight himself. After the embarrassing situation in the sewer, Shining felt like he needed to prove that he could actually save the day for once.

Deep down, of course, Shining Armor knew he didn't need to prove anything to anyone. He was aware of the fact that he was trying to make up for a perceived lack of importance in the face of the strange world he lived in. Shining Armor was only doing this because he felt like he came up short compared to his sister and his wife, and that wasn't healthy.

But brains are stupid. Even though Shining knew that this was a bad idea based entirely on his own insecurities, he was still going to do it. He wasn't proud of that fact, but, you know, whatever.

That brought Shining back to the problem of leaving Canterlot, however. Thankfully, after a long time thinking about it, Shining had come up with a simple solution. Using his skills, he could create something that would let him leave without anypony being the wiser. To do this, Shining Armor would need to use the talent he was most famous for:

Whittling.

In the span of a single afternoon, Shining Armor whittled a life-sized replica of himself using nothing but a knife and a chunk of flotsam he'd found floating in a bathtub. The result was a perfect, wooden replica of the pony who'd sculpted it. When no one was looking, Shining took his creation and set it up in the throne room, where anypony looking for him would find it. So long as nopony noticed that he was made of wood and didn't move, they'd never realize he was gone.

It was utterly foolproof.

Now that he was free to leave the palace, there was one last thing Shining needed to do before he left for Seaweedattle. And unfortunately, this wasn't something he could solve with his incredible whittling tricks. This task was slightly more difficult than creating a perfect replica of himself our of a small plank of wood.

Shining sneaked out of Canterlot Castle under the cover of  midafternoon. Flurry Heart was strapped into the Cool Dad Baby Harness that hung from Shining's chest and made him impossible to take seriously. She cooed noisily as she and Shining traveled through Canterlot's streets. Despite that, Shining doubted anypony would notice them.

Canterlot was quiet. Shining Armor had noticed it on his way back from Dusty Draft's tomb, but hadn't really payed it much attention. Now, though, it was starting to sink in to him just how empty the city was. The streets, which were normally full of both hustle and bustle, were practically deserted.

Even though he was in a bit of a rush, Shining Armor found himself slowing down as he trotted through the empty roads. The shoppers and tourists who normally gave Canterlot its life were nowhere to be seen. The only ponies around were couriers and merchants going about their day.

Where was everypony? Did this have anything to do with the disease outbreak in Seaweedattle? And, more importantly, who cared?

Shining wasn't going to let something like the mysterious absence of most of the city's population slow him down. He continued galloping through the mostly empty streets, making his way past all the shops and into the residential district of Canterlot. The residential district was where most of Canterlot's citizens had to live, whether they liked it or not.

Shining carried Flurry past the cottages and duplex igloos that Canterlot's elite lived in. He ignored the mansions and apartments, the windmills and the big gingerbread houses. None of those were the place he was looking for.

In no time at all, however, Shining reached his destination: his parents' house.

The Sparkle Family household was much like the other houses in its neighborhood: it had walls, a door, and was not on fire. The front lawn was meticulously kept, the grass freshly cut. It was the kind of lawn that made it clear that whoever kept it didn't have a lot going on in their lives.

Seeing his childhood home always filled Shining Armor with a sense of nostalgia. This was the building he'd eaten breakfast cereal in when he was just a little colt. It was the building that he had nightmares about being trapped in.

But now wasn't the time to get stuck going down memory lane like a jogger who could only move forward because of a bomb strapped to them. Shining needed to talk to his parents, and they were both inside of their house for some reason.

Shining walked up to the door and rang the doorbell eighteen times. Then, he waited. He didn't need to wait very long, however.

After only a moment, the front door of the Sparkle Family was opened by Twilight Velvet and Nightlight.

“Hello!” They said. “We are your parents!”

“Hello,” Shining Armor said. “I'm your son. May I be inside of your house?”

Without waiting for an answer, he walked inside. His memory knew where the living room was, and his legs made his body go there. Once he arrived, he found his usual spot on the usual sofa. He sat down and held Flurry Heart into his lap as he waited for his parents.

While Shining was there, he looked around. The room looked almost the same as the last time Shining had seen it. Some of the furniture had been switched out, but it mostly had gone unchanged. There was the same old chair; the same pictures of him, Twilight, and Spike all on the walls; the same froggy statue in the corner.

There was something poignant about coming back home after a long time spent away. It was a little bittersweet.

Flurry Heart still was completely apathetic to her father's emotional state.

Nightlight and Twilight Velvet soon joined Shining in the living room. They sat across from him and Flurry Heart, who cooed when she recognized the two old ponies who were her grandparents.

“Shining, it's so nice to see you!” Twilight Velvet said. “I wish you'd told us you were coming. I would have made lemon bars!”

“We're glad you stopped by, though!” Nightlight said cheerily. “We needed a distraction from the intense feeling of dread we've had ever since your sister went missing!”

Shining's parents both laughed.

“So what brings you around?” Twilight Velvet asked. “Not that you need a reason. We're always happy to see you and Flurry Heart. Especially Flurry Heart. Doting on her and spoiling her lets us relive when you were a baby, before you learned to talk and be independent.”

Shining's polite smile became even smaller. His face was trying to broach a sensitive subject before his mouth could.

“Well, the thing is...” Shining sighed. “Mom, dad... I need you to look after Flurry Heart, who is my daughter, for a little while. I need to go somewhere dangerous, and I... I can't bring her with me.”

Now it was Shining's parents' turn to stop smiling. The seriousness of what Shining was requesting sunk in quickly.

“Shining, what are you planning on doing?” Velvet asked. “Do you need clean underwear? I'm your mom.”

Shining gave his parents a small smile. Then he winked at them. This did not make them feel better, so Shining decided to just start talking.

“I'm on the trail of Twily's kidnapper,” he explained. “I'm going to confront them, but I can't bring Flurry Heart with me. That would be like handing over a fifth princess for them to kidnap. Flurry's powerful, but she's still just a baby, and babies are notoriously easy to abduct. Any idiot could do it.”

Shining's parents both nodded. They knew how easy it was to steal a baby. Everyone did; it was common knowledge. Shining was stating the obvious, which was annoying.

“Also...” Shining hesitated. “If... if something happens to me, you'll need to look after Flurry Heart. She'll need someone to take care of her and make sure she doesn't melt too many ponies. You two have always been good at that.”

“Shining, please,” Nightlight chided. “Don't talk about this. Your sister and Spike are already missing. If something happened to you, your mother and I would be very annoyed. It would be a real hassle for all of our children to disappear.”

Shining shook his head.

“Mom, dad, I can't just... do nothing,” he said. “I'm Twilight's older brother; I'm supposed to look out for her! But whenever something bad happens, I'm always powerless to help. I just need to do something this time. I need to know that the ponies I care about can depend on me.”

Twilight Velvet frowned. “Shining, we understand how you feel. But you're our son. We need to know that you'll come back from this safe.”

Both of Shining's parents looked at him expectantly. Flurry Heart babbled as Shining faltered a bit under their pleading gazes.

“I... I'll try,” he said. “But just in case something does happen... I need you to look after Flurry Heart. Raise her to be filled with hate and a powerful thirst for vengeance, just like grandpa did with you, dad.”

Shining's parents exchanged a look. After a few wordless moments, they both finally nodded.

“Okay,” Nightlight said. “I'll do my best to fill her heart with hate, but... Please come back. And bring your family with you.”

Shining nodded. He did his best to look confident for his parents, but he messed up and wound up looking flirty instead. With a wink and a smile, he lifted Flurry Heart off of his lap and  passed her to his parents. The little weapon of mass destruction cooed as she entered her grandmother's hooves.

There was a twinge of sadness in Shining's heart as he got up off the couch. He knew this was dangerous, and he dreaded the thought of Flurry Heart never seeing him again. But somepony needed to do something.

It was time to go to Seaweedattle.





“Sorry. No trains are going to Seaweedattle,” said the ticket-pony at the Canterlot train station.

Not much time had passed. Shining, Thorax, and Flash Sentry had all met up at the train station shortly after Shining left his parents' house. Shining had come up with an incredible plan where the three of them would buy tickets and then ride a train to Seaweedattle. Flash and Thorax had both been very impressed by this plan.

And even though Shining had mixed feelings about dragging the two of them into danger along with him, he knew he couldn't do this alone. He needed their help.

But with or without their help, Shining hadn't been prepared for this obstacle.

“What?!” He asked, shocked. “What to you mean, Ticket-Lord?! Why are you keeping your trains from us?!”

The pony behind the desk at the ticket stand, who had the incredible power to decide who was or was not on a train, shrugged.

“Sorry,” the master of tickets said. “Seaweedattle is under quarantine. No trains or airships can get in or out of the city. Apparently some sort of epidemic broke out over there, and Dynamite Dangerous ordered the place to be shut down.”

Dynamite Dangerous? The High Chancellor of the Department of Health and Cleanliness? Shining didn't remember him mentioning anything about Seaweedattle being under quarantine, but, to be fair, he kind of zoned out whenever that guy said anything. He was incredibly boring, and Shining Armor didn't regret not listening to him.

Regardless, this was a huge hurdle to overcome. Shining's plan of taking a train to Seaweedattle hinged entirely on being able to ride a train. Without a train, Shining didn't think his great plan could work.

“This is insane!” Shining exclaimed. “Can't you make an exception? I'm royalty!”

An angry, offended look appeared on the ticket-man's face. It was the fury of a righteous destroyer.

“I don't care who you are! I'm the Boss of the Tickets!” He snapped back. “Nopony gets to be inside of the very long train unless I say so! You have no power here!”

Severely reprimanded, Shining Armor flinched back. As the impassibility of this obstacle began to truly sink in, Shining felt a great weight in his heart, like a whale or a really heavy book. He hung his head, completely at a loss for what to do next. Despair and hopelessness both played jump-rope with his brain.

Thorax looked at Shining sympathetically before turning to face the unforgiving ticket-despot.

“Is there any other way we can get there?” He asked. “It's really important.”

The pony who was all about tickets opened his mouth, already looking like he was ready to tear into Thorax the same way he'd done to Shining. Soon, though, his expression turned thoughtful. The priest of the temple of tickets looked off to the side contemplatively, gears turning inside of his empty head.

“Well...” he mused, “all commercial travel to Seaweedattle has been shut down. But technically, I guess a private citizen with their own airship could fly into the city. They'd probably get in trouble for it, but they could do it. There's some bad weather over there, though, so they'd have to be a decent pilot. Or captain. Whichever.”

“I see,” Thorax said. “Thank you, ticket-father.”

The ticket pony nodded obligingly. Then Flash Sentry locked him in a cupboard.

Shining Armor lifted his head, feeling slightly hopeful. But he was still confused about where to go next.

“So... we need somepony with their own airship?” Shining asked. “There are probably plenty of ponies in Canterlot who qualify. But who would be a good enough pilot to fly through weather that's bad?”

“Maybe I could fly us,” Flash Sentry suggested. “Doesn't your sister have a hot-air balloon? I could use that.”

Shining shook his head.

“We don't talk about that balloon anymore,” he said. “It's a touchy subject. So we're going to have to find somepony else.”

Thorax, Flash, and Shining Armor all took a moment to think things over. Their brains grunted and groaned at the exertion of it. Sweat formed on their brows as they gritted their teeth, muscles in their faces tensing. Finally, after only fifty minutes of thinking, Flash Sentry's eyes lit up.

“I think I know who can help us,” he said.

Shining and Thorax both looked at Flash, startled by his claim.

“What?” Shining Armor asked. “Help us with with what? The airship thing? I lost track of things for a second.”

Flash Sentry nodded.

“As a pegasus guard, I run into airship owners a lot on the job,” he explained. “I constantly have to pull them over because they keep trying to use their airships to do sick tricks at the local skate park, which is illegal. I've pulled over pretty much every pony who owns an airship in this city for trying to take their flying boats out onto the half-pipe. That means I get a pretty good idea of who the best pilots are, and one stallion in particular stands out.”

Shining Armor hadn't really been listening. He'd been busy thinking about how cool skate parks are. He managed to tune back in towards the end of Flash Sentry's little story, though.

“Who is he?” Shining asked.

“Who is he?” Thorax asked as well for some reason.

Flash opened his mouth to speak, but the optimistic look on his face quickly changed. Something was occurring to him. It was as if he'd just realized a problem he hadn't taken into account when he started offering his help. The pegasus bit his bottom lip before looking up at Shining cautiously.

“Uh... You're not going to like it, sir,” he warned.

Shining raised his eyebrow, but his confusion didn't last long. Even though Flash hadn't said who the stallion was yet, Shining immediately realized who he was talking about. There was only one pony he could think of who Flash would warn him about like this.

“Oh, no...” Shining grumbled. “It's Prince Blueblood, isn't it?”

Flash nodded sheepishly.

Shining Armor covered his eyes with a hoof and groaned. He dragged his hoof down his face, a headache already starting to party it up inside of his head.

Of course it was Blueblood. Of course. Who else would it be?

While Shining had reluctantly accepted that terrible fact, Thorax looked more skeptical.

“You're joking, right?” Thorax asked. “Blueblood? Prince Blueblood is the best airship pilot in Canterlot?”

“Yup,” Flash said with a sigh. “Or at least the best non-professional.”

Thorax blinked. He was clearly struggling to wrap his head around the idea of Prince Blueblood being competent at anything. Shining Armor couldn't really blame him.

“But he's a complete buffoon!” Thorax exclaimed. “I barely know him, but even I can tell what a twit that guy is! Isn't piloting an airship really complicated or something? Aren't there a bunch of... levers and ropes and stuff?”

“Flash is right,” Shining said sadly. “Piloting ships is Blueblood's special talent. He wins the Annual Canterlot Airship Race for the Needlessly Wealthy pretty much every year. Heck, the guy owns, like, eight or nine different airships. That's not even counting his normal water-ships.”

“I think those are just called ships,” Flash gently interjected.

Shining ignored him. “As much as I hate to admit it, he's probably the best pony to fly us to Seaweedattle. He's got a ship, he can pilot it through a storm, and he's so rich that none of us will get in trouble for breaking the quarantine. We're going to need to ask Blueblood for help.”

As soon as Shining said that last sentence, everycreature in a two-mile radius felt an involuntary shiver of disgust. The idea of actually needing Prince Blueblood's assistance on a problem was so unnatural that even nature itself seemed to shudder. Or at least some bushes did. Also, one bird nearby was fairly surprised, but it didn't really care because it was a bird.

“Let's go find Blueblood,” Shining grumbled. “It shouldn't be too hard; I keep running into him lately.”

“He's probably at his house,” Flash Sentry suggested, clearly using all of his brain power to reach that conclusion. “Let's go to the Fancy Mansion District and talk to him about his wonderful sky boats.”

And so they did. Fortunately, the Fancy Mansion District was only a few blocks away.





Unfortunately, once Shining's company reached Blueblood's house, it was clear that the unicorn wasn't home. They wound up having to wait nine entire minutes for him to show up, and everyone hated it. The only bright side was that it gave them an opportunity to look at Blueblood's totally sweet house.

Blueblood's mansion was probably the most opulent in all of Canterlot. It was practically a mini-castle in its own right. It was four stories tall, and made out of only the finest ivory; the ivory came from sophisticated elephants who had all graduated from Ivy-league schools. A huge, neon sign on the front of the house spelled out 'BLUEBLOOD LIVES HERE' in flashing, red lights. The roof had been tiled with solid gold bars. And, to top it all off, there was a dead butler in the driveway.

“Jeez,” Shining muttered. “How do you get a place like this?”

“I know,” Flash said enviously. “I wish I had a dead butler.”

Thorax didn't say anything. He was busy trying to fly into the lights on the neon sign out front.

The sound of fancy hooves on cobblestones interrupted all the nothing that Shining's group was doing. Shining and Flash turned around to see Blueblood walking towards them. There was a surprised look on his face, and Shining really hated him.

“What are you all doing here?” Blueblood asked, an eyebrow raised.

“What are you doing here?” Shining snapped back reflexively.

Blueblood shrugged. “I'm Prince Blueblood. This is my house.”

Darn. He was right. Shining grimaced unhappily while Flash took over the conversation.

“We need your help, Prince Lou Blood,” Flash said. “The fate of Equestria might be at stake.”

“Did you just call me 'Lou Blood?'” Prince Lou Blood asked, looking at Flash Sentry strangely.

“No,” Flash said.

Shining shook his head. He didn't want to beat around the bush with Blueblood. He didn't want to do anything with Blueblood. But he needed the prince's help, and he didn't want to waste a lot of time with pointless chitchat. Mostly because he knew that, with Blueblood, the pointlessness would never stop.

“Look, Blueblood, we need someone to fly us to Seaweedattle,” he explained. “The city's under quarantine, and a storm's keeping airships from reaching the city. But I heard you're a good enough pilot to navigate that kind of weather.”

“I'm a good enough pilot to do a lot of things,” Blueblood said cryptically. “Why do you need to go to Seaweedattle? What's so important that you need help from Wonderful Blueblood?”

Shining almost told Wonderful Blueblood that it was none of his business, but he stopped himself. This wasn't the time for secrets. If they were going to have Prince Blueblood fly them into Seaweedattle, then the prince needed to be in the know. And even though nothing that Blueblood had done in the last few weeks had given Shining Armor any confidence in him at all, he needed to have some faith in his fellow prince.

“... We have a significant lead on what happened to the Princesses,” he said. “Do you remember the story that Draft told us?”

“No,” Blueblood said.

“In that case, I'll summarize,” Shining said. “Dusty Draft used to be young, and also, it was disco. A big monster with two heads wanted to use Celestia as a magical battery for some sort of super-disease. He tried to steal Celestia, but he didn't and so he left. The moral of the story is that a big monster lives off the coast of Seaweedattle. This concludes my book report. Thank you.”

Everyone clapped politely.

Once the applause died down, Shining looked at Blueblood as seriously as he could.

“Look, Blueblood. I wouldn't be asking if this wasn't serious,” he said quietly. “But piloting airships is literally the only thing you excel at. You have a chance to actually contribute to something positive for once in your life. And I know you want to save your aunt, because she's one of the only ponies who actually enjoys your company.”

Blueblood narrowed his wealthy eyes suspiciously. 

“Hey, you know what?” He asked. “I'm starting to think that you might not like me very much.”

Shining Armor had no idea why Blueblood was only just now realizing that. He had never in his life made any effort to give Blueblood the impression that he respected him. Nevertheless, he ignored this moment and moved on.

“The point is that we need your help,” Shining sighed. “Will you do it? Will you fly us to Seaweedattle?”

Shining and Flash watched anxiously as Blueblood took in Shining Armor's words. Thorax continued to fly into the lit sign on Blueblood's house. It was all very tense and important.

Thankfully, Blueblood didn't keep Shining and Flash in suspense for long. After the briefest of moments, a look of resolve appeared on the prince's face. He looked up at Shining Armor, a steely look in his eyes and also his teeth.

“Follow me,” he said. “Let me show you where my wonderful boats live.





As it turned out, Blueblood kept all of his airships inside of a building that was named 'a hangar'. The hangar was just outside of Canterlot's city limits, on a spot of farmland that had once belonged to a farmer named Colonel Corn. Colonel Corn had willingly sold all of his property so that Blueblood could build his hangar because the old farmer thought that airships were really cool.

He was correct, of course. Also, he was now homeless. But that didn't matter.

Blueblood drove Shining's group out to the hangar in an ambulance carriage he had stolen. It took them only about fifteen minutes to reach the hangar, but once they arrived Blueblood insisted that they all watch him do sick donuts in the driveway for half an hour. Then he threw up and fell asleep.

Over an hour later, Blueblood woke up and led them inside.

“Well,” he said as the doors swung open. “Welcome to my hangar... Or, as I like to call it, 'Cool Boat Central'.”

Shining Armor, Flash, and Thorax followed Blueblood into the hangar. They were all surprised by how much it looked like they'd thought it would. There was nothing unusual or funny about the airship hangar. It would be pointless to dwell on it. Really, it looked pretty much like any other airship hangar, except maybe a little larger. The walls were exactly like any other hangar's walls. So was the ceiling and the roof. It smelled like a completely ordinary hangar, and was painted Hangar Colors. Everything was exceptionally normal, and there was no reason to give it more than a passing glance. Taking more than a few seconds to process what the hangar looked like would be a complete waste of time. It was a boring, ordinary airship hangar. Also, there was a bathroom.

In contrast or how unexceptional the hangar was, the airships inside of it were definitely impressive. There were at least a dozen of them in total, floating in the air like majestic sky-whales. Each ship had been painted in the colors of Blueblood's cutie mark, but this did little to hide how varied their shapes and sizes were. Some were opulently decorated, some sleek and stark. Each and every one of them shined and sparkled like new.

Blueblood smiled proudly as he watched Shining's group stare at his airships in awe.

“These are just the ships I use most often,” Blueblood said. “The rest are all in my duplex hangar I've got in Manehattan.”

This claim snapped Shining Armor out of his gawking. He looked at Blueblood in confusion.

“Hang on,” he said. “Earlier, you said you owned three buildings. You didn't mention having any hangars.”

Blueblood shrugged. “I don't really count hangars as buildings. They're like doghouses for ships.”

Everycreature agreed that this was a sensible opinion, and that Blueblood was completely correct. Once they'd all got done nodding, Blueblood began to smile once again.

“Come on,” he said. “Let me give you a tour.”

Without waiting for any sore of consent, Blueblood began walking into the hangar at a brisk pace. Shining, Flash, and Thorax all galloped after him, a little surprised by the prince's enthusiasm. It was clear that Blueblood was in his element, and that element was boats.

Blueblood led his three passengers along the aisles of the hangar, giving them a closer look at each and every one of his airships. He had all kinds of ships. He had sky-yachts, cloud-subs, and one airship which was very clearly just a Jeep with some balloons tied to it.

Along the way, Blueblood would list off facts and statistics about each airship. He talked about their construction and speed, about how much money each one cost. He'd also say things like, “This is the ship that's run into the most flocks of birds”, or “This airship is the one I have nightmares about it coming to life and eating me.”

Finally, Blueblood led them to the last ship in the hangar; a small, sophisticated-looking sky-yacht with a single balloon and rear propellers. Even to a layman like Shining Armor, it was clear that this boat was something special. It smelled like fresh pine, and it hurt to look directly at it. Those were probably both good things.

“This,” Blueblood said as he looked at the ship, “is my pride and joy. Ship-Shape's Express Cruiser Sky-Yacht 99. I had it specially commissioned by the finest shipwright in Equestria. There's no other airship like it. If you want me to fly you through a bad storm, this is the ship I'd use.”

Blueblood gave the ship's hull a few gentle pats. It made wet squishing sounds.

Shining didn't bother second-guessing Blueblood. He didn't have time to doubt the prince's claims; it was too late for that. He would take Blueblood's word that this airship wasn't a complete piece of garbage like its owner. But still, he needed to know more.

“How fast can she get us there?” Shining asked seriously.

“Who?” Blueblood asked.

“The airship.” Shining was too focused to be annoyed. He just pointed at the airship, his face betraying no anger.

Blueblood looked up at the airship, then back at Shining Armor. It took him a second to remember what they were talking about.

“It might take a day? A day-and-a-half?” Blueblood shrugged. “It depends on the wind and how many birds we run into. But even if everything goes our way, it could still be quite a trip.”

Shining Armor nodded.

“That's fine,” he said. He wished they could get there sooner, but it wasn't like they had a lot of options. Plus, airships weren't exactly built for speed. They were built for rich ponies who felt like they were too good for normal boats.

“How soon can we depart?” Shining asked.

“Give me at least an hour.” Blueblood began to lead Shining Armor's group back to the hangar's entrance. “I need time to fill up the tanks, patch the balloons, and prepare the onboard minibar.”

“Those are all very important,” Shining said with a nod.

Blueblood led Shining, Thorax, and Flash out of the hangar so he could get to work doing all the cool flight prep stuff that they weren't allowed to see. The door closed behind them as they stepped back outside. A cold breeze was starting to pick up. The air smelled like dramatic tension.

“I hope Blueblood knows what he's doing,” Thorax said as the group began to wait.

“I'm sure he does,” Shining Armor lied. “Either way, we're going to have to put our faith in him. Or not. I guess we could not put our faith in him and he'd still fly us to Seaweedattle. We'd probably be anxious about crashing the whole time. Then again, even if you have faith in your pilot, you might still get anxious about crashing. Anxiety's funny like that. Well, not funny. But you know what I mean. You know?”

Thorax and Flash Sentry had both walked away to get away from Shining Armor. He was alone now, with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company. Unfortunately, all of his thoughts sucked.

Despite how resolute he was trying to be, Shining Armor found himself overcome with doubts. He really had no idea what he was doing. He barely had any sort of plan for what to do when they found this nuckelavee. As much as he wanted to prove that his loved ones could depend on him, Shining Armor was kind of out of his depth with all of this.

Maybe the nuckelavee would just give up? Dusty Draft's story had made it sound kind of pathetic. It had clearly gotten powerful enough to abduct four princesses at once using a spell cast in a sewer, though. That probably wasn't a good sign. Even if it was still pathetic, that was a lot of power.

Shining sighed. He could think about all of this on the trip to Seaweedattle. For now, all they could do was wait for Blueblood to get his flying airship ready.

Once they took off, there would be no turning back.

Unless they turned back.