//------------------------------//
// Arrival 
// Story: Expedition to the Cloudbreak Islands 
// by Starglider 
//------------------------------//

It was a quiet day in the Cloudbreak Islands. It was a quiet day far too often, these days. It was a day like any other, in a lasting peace that no one wanted, like that sweater your grandmother knitted for you, and you have to pretend to like it, even though it's ugly as sin. In the distance, a sheep could be heard among the ever-present birdsong, as its sheepy brethren danced through the verdant meadows of the sky islands. The soft puffy clouds enveloping the islands were a dense, swirling bowl far below and all around, ending the boundary of the world, ever shifting in mysterious patterns.

If only we'd heeded the warnings we were given. A lone balloon drifted through the clear air, its colourful fabric shining in the bright sunlight from overhead. They were not the only witness, for everycreature within a dozen leagues would look up and stare at the crackling boom and streamers of light. The wall of cloud forming the boundary of the known world erupted into a swirling tunnel, punching a gaping hole in the insubstantial barrier that no one could ever remember anyone penetrating.

Seconds later, a monstrously huge airship roared out of the disruption, the strange passage collapsing swiftly in its wake. Lightning played along the metallic surfaces of the creaking vessel. The size of a small island itself, the soaring hulk emerged into paradise, coughing black smoke the entire way. The ship's crew were fighting to keep the old bird aloft, but every creature among them paused as one to stare in amazement. Amidst the clear blue sky floated a throng of beautiful and mysterious islands, of all sizes from a modest field up to a respectable mountain, wreathed in tendrils of cloud and levitating far above where land has any right to be. In the distance, crumbling ruins and hints of strange fallen structures could just be seen, hidden under a carpet of verdant greenery; the newcomers could only wonder, what else might be hidden by the mist and foliage?

At the centre of the open deck, a large grey-feathered creature still gripped the wheel with avian talons. In truth Reef Skimmer was desperate to relinquish the helm and get back to the sick bay, where no doubt a score of ponies needed his medical attention. None of the crew had appeared and offered to take over, which left him no choice but to keep steering the vessel until it could find some kind of berth, anchor or failing that a survivable crash landing.

With calm air now filling the sky in every direction, instead of just a narrow artificial tunnel, it should have been safe to just let the ship drift. However a combination of inexperience and fear that some new atmospheric anomaly could strike at any moment left the hippogriff unwilling to abandon his post. Desperately, his eagle eyes scanned the sky for the closest place that looked like it could offer the ship safe harbour. Seeing Azure on the deck ahead, he shouted "Pony! Sorry, I mean... didn't catch your name before. Good work with the cargo, saved the ship no doubt! Now, can you see anywhere safe looking, where we could dock... or at least moor the bow for a while?"

With her mind still on the lost cargo, not to mention the lost crew, Azure Feather was slowly pacing the deck, gazing at the shrouded islands below. The hippogriff's call ripped her out of her train of thought; turning to Reef Skimmer, she nodded and then turned and picked up her pace towards the bow. Reaching the platform in front of the Storm Piercer controls, she got a good look... and turned back a back moment later, shouting back "That island dead ahead looks about as safe as it gets from up here!"

A nearby groan ripped her attention to another point though: it was Summer Scribe, her small equine form sprawled on the deck and barely moving. Wings tensing, Azure rapidly turned her attention to her friend. The light blue unicorn was indeed collapsed on her side near the Storm Piercer controls, eyes lidded and lungs taking deep breaths. Her horn still felt tingly and uncomfortably hot, with the occasional flare up of static that made her wince, toss and turn, or just spasm and shiver for a bit.

As the sound of the howling wind and raging storm at their backs slowly faded away, she cracked open an eyelid and hazarded a glimpse. What Summer could see from her awkward position looked promising: clear skies filled with puffy clouds, and what looked like... yes, floating islands! She couldn't make out any particular details without getting up, but a little groan of restrained excitement escaped her lips, as she let her mind imagine the details and fill in the blanks for now.

The mechanical bulk of the Storm Piercer continued to hum next to the two unicorns, still trying to pierce a storm that was no longer there. Summer's ersatz mentor remained firmly unconscious: the pegasus known as Clashing Gale was still slumped over the console. His four companions in the control cage were even less responsive; troublingly unconscious even.

Looking back down the upper deck from her position near the bow, Azure saw ponies and other creatures rushing to and fro, carrying boards and nails, tying off ropes, flying around the balloon to check for damage, and a few struggling to pull free their companions hanging there tangled up in the rigging.  Seeing the small unicorn's eyes flicker open, she asked "Summer? Still with us there?"

Realising she'd just been addressed, Summer perked an ear and managed to get both eyes open. Seeing Azure's familiar colours and shape in front of her, she leaned forward a little and nodded her head. "Yeah, just... Taking a nice nap here. What's up? Is the landing going OK?"

Azure nodded to herself as Summer replied without much of a delay: no signs of concussion. "Landing's..." She dared a look back to Reef. "...going okay, I guess? Speaking of which, I gotta get back..." Relieved that her new friend seemed to have nothing more serious than exhaustion, she started trotting back to the hippogriff's side.

Back at the helm, the ship's doctor, whose experience with sailing clippers was poor preparation for piloting a giant airship, hoped mightily that holding the wheel motionless was a good idea. He held the ship steady as the soft breeze ruffled his pink crest; the calm skies were so eerily peaceful given what they were in just minutes before. His valiant efforts to maintain professional calm were then destroyed, as he was startled out of his wits by a bodiless voice calling out into his ear, "Captain! Have you got the Storm Piercer back online? Please say you have. This boiler can't take any more stresses. We're still leaking like a sieve back here, trying to track down all the pipe fractures. The backup generator is holding for now, but if that gives out, we'll be at the mercy of the storm again. How long until you think we're out of it?"

Reef spun around and found himself looking at an array of brass voice tubes: the very familiar mare's voice was emanating from a tube labelled 'engine room'. "What's that?! The storm... I would say we're well clear, yes well clear now." the griff replied, trying to regain his composure as it suddenly hit him that he had only a vague idea what he was doing up here. "We're, erm, we're looking for a place to heave to. What was that about the boiler?"

Azure, trotting up to the helm, hadn't heard Nutmeg's voice yet. "Introductions later..." she muttered swiftly, as she looked at the 'griff apparently talking to himself. "Need me for anything else?"

"Doctor Skimmer?" came Nutmeg's puzzled reply, causing Reef and Azure to both glance at the tube's flared mouth, "You're not the captain. What's going on out there? We're clear of what? Are there more boulders inbound? Where's the captain?"

"The captain..." Reef glanced at Azure, as if for confirmation, before continuing: "I believe the poor fellow was lost overboard. Right in the middle of the storm wall, after we hit that... phenomenon. Don't worry though Nutmeg, it's all clear out here now, smooth sailing, couldn't ask for nicer skies if I do say so. So... if anything back there looks like it, oh I don't know, blow up or anything, well do feel free to shut it down."

Reef gulped, hoping that sounded professional and reassuring. Noticing the winged unicorn still looking at him, he stage-whispered "Why yes, if you could find somecreature who knows how to fly this thing, I'd be much obliged."

Getting a first-row seat to the state of the ship... ugh. Azure didn't look the least bit reassured, but standing at attention meant being ready for anything... and finding a new creature to command the ship was her next task? Nodding swiftly, she started her hunt for a fitting soul. Unfortunately... the deck didn't seem to have one pony that didn't have a critical task themselves. From repairs to security to rescue to flat-out wounded; Azure quickly exhausted the possibilities on the upper deck, and headed into the lower levels to try and complete this latest task.

"Oh... oh for the love of-" At the bow, Summer Scribe was roused from her barely-consciousness by the sound of a stallion's voice trailing off with a curse, followed by the distinctive sound of electric arcing. She might have ignored this in favour of continuing to drift into blissful sleep, except that a claw gripped her shoulder, shaking her awake. She opened her eyes to see a griffon's upside down head, or maybe that was just because he was standing over her. "Hey, you know how to work this thing, don't ya?" the newcomer asked the fallen unicorn curtly, "How do you turn it off? We gotta get those ponies outta there."

Summer Scribe blink blinked her eyes and groaned a bit, looking up at the griffon's head. 'Oh, hello.' she thought 'I... think I remember a pair of griffons, in the square, back in Canterlot...'. Realising she needed to respond, Summer blurted out "Uhh, KIND of? I was being instructed by..." she looked over as Clashing, "...him, and now he's out cold. I know how to turn it ON, maybe you can just do it in reverse to power it down?" she sheepishly suggested, her brain puzzling over the notion. Not a great time for tech support, but when is it ever? "You have to push those levers there and there to pressurise it, and keep those gauges in the middle green, and monitor the electrostatic charge so it doesn't overflow, and..."

Meanwhile Reef was... fine. Everything was fine. Ponies were dying, and he can't do anything about it because if he did the ship might crash, and there was nothing coming from the engine room now but the sound of hammering and steam. Just then Nutmeg bounded out of the engine room in a total panic. On the plus side, the engine did not explode. The kirin mare screeched to a halt at the railing, her russet mane framed by the serene islands floating in the distance, and her alarm faded before giving way to an expression of wonder and relief. Forgetting the chaos around her, she sank to her haunches, lost in the beauty of the view from here.

She didn't notice a certain grey griff staring at her. She knew machines, Reef thought. The ship was a machine. Of course she could fly it. She must have magically sensed his desperation and come to his rescue. 'Mental note: Kirin apparently telepathic, or at least empathic, needs further study...' shaking his head, he released the wheel from the death grip he'd had on it for the last hour. His talons had left deep scratches on the wood, and now that they were free, he realised his claws were shaking.

"Excellent, good show everyone..." the hippogriff began, then his voice cracked and he quickly blurted "...oh hi Nutmeg great to see you you can take it from here good luck bye", before turning tail and dashing below. Saving dying ponies seemed like the lesser challenge compared to setting down the ship without breaking it in half.

The kirin's ear twitched at the doctor's words; unfortunately, Nutmeg herself didn't seem to notice: she was too captivated by the incredible view. Behind her, the ship's wheel started to turn on its own.

Meanwhile, Azure had been galloping through the lower decks, all ready to save the day. Unfortunately her search went poorly: if anything they were even busier than the top deck, with everypony she saw either hammering pipes, tossing boulders out of the holes they'd made in the hull, boarding up said holes in the hull, or clearing the corridors of fallen items and other debris.

Everywhere down below was smoky and unpleasant, as engine exhaust had apparently leaked out at some point. Making her way back through the tween deck, she spotted two ponies carrying a third pony on a stretcher made from improvised canvas and poles. They seemed to be headed for the sick bay, but unfortunately the ship's doctor was still up on deck, steering the ship.

The winged unicorn sighed: the stallion on the stretcher looked seriously injured, and his best hope was... "Oh, Luna's stars..." she facehooved before racing back towards the upper deck... and passing more injured creatures on the way. Yeah. There was no one else, so she had to do this herself. Resolving to tell Reef just that as she set a hoof on the final ramp, it suddenly became unnecessary as the grey-feathered form of the surgeon darted straight past her.

Blinking in surprise, Azure continued up to the deck, and paused for a moment before realising... the ship no longer had anyone in control. Frantic, she looked around... there was an odd unicorn, with a forked horn and scales on her... no that was the kirin, wasn't it. She'd known the ship's engineer was one of the rare creatures; aside from reading the crew listing, Summer had mentioned an encounter; but this was their first time face to face. Approaching Nutmeg, Azure asked bluntly "Uh... hey, you got any experience driving this thing?" Whether she said yes or no would mean they'd either have an easy way to the islands... or they'd have Azure driving.

The blue unicorn surprised the red and brown curvy horned creature, who turned to look at Azure. Instead of answering her question though, Nutmeg asked Azure in total wide-eyed bewilderment, "Are you a princess?!"

Azure paused for a moment. The princess question: hadn't had that for a while, and it usually came from fillies or small-town earth ponies who'd never seen the wings spell. Not an answer... and she couldn't help but spot the wheel turning on its own, no hippogriff or other creature left to handle the thing... Only one thing left to do! The unicorn ran right past the kirin and to the steering wheel... both forehooves gripping the thing tightly as she tried to stabilise the thing. Flying was second nature to her, almost... flying a thousand-tonne ship with a steam engine... just as easy, right? ...Right?!

Below deck, Reef Skimmer dashed down the second ramp, dodging around ponies carrying things, ponies banging hammers, ponies limping... "No, don't try to walk! Your hindleg is clearly broken!" The hippogriff looked around for something to splint the earth pony's leg with. Seeing nothing obvious, he hunkered down and put a wing around the pony to steady him.

"Now lean on me, good, good, that's it. The sick bay is just a few paces down the corridor..." His voice trailed off as he caught sight of his workplace; cots full of unconscious pony forms, floor full of groaning, twitching pegasi, even more ponies on makeshift stretchers in the hallway outside... Reef closed his eyes. He could do this. He was these ponies' best hope. He opened his eyes again, brow furrowed with determination, and set to work.

Meanwhile near the Storm Piercer controls, the brown-feathered, white-tufted griffon was looking down at Summer like she was an idiot, saying in aggravation, "I don't want to operate it, chit! Creatures are dying here! Isn't there an off switch? Some kinda brake lever or something?"

To Summer it looked like he was just one of the deck crew, with that little hat they all wore, and no fancy medals on his uniform. It certainly didn't look like he could keep up a scholastic conversation with her. The chief engineer sitting by the railing over there would probably be a much more intelligent conversation partner, Summer thought. The one who figured out how to restore electrical power to the ship and the Storm Piercer? "Well?" insisted the griffon crewmate.

The unicorn hmmmed quietly to herself. 'Yeah, this conversation isn't going to go anywhere.' she thought. She legitimately didn't know the answer, and fidgeting with things to learn it was out of the question in her current condition. "Sorry, I don't know how to turn it off. Maybe..." she gaves a shrug of her head over in the kirin's direction. "...Nutmeg Inferno does, or knows someone?"

"The creature?" the griffon replied sceptically, "They're supposed to be some sorta mechanical wizards ain't they? It's likely as any. You, eh, you stay there and take care." He then galumphed towards the helm, where the butterfly-bewinged blue unicorn had just fled from the confused kirin.

A stiff conversation passed between the two, and then Nutmeg was dancing up to Summer Scribe, chanting, "Oh shoot oh shoot oh shoot..." Looking with dismay at the unconscious pegasi effectively trapped in an electrified cage, the kirin declared, "Why did they not let me even look at the manual for this thing?" Whether she noticed that she'd just planted a yellow-gold two-toed hoof right beside Summer's face was a matter of debate.

The little unicorn certainly did notice and took the opportunity to explain the situation to Nutmeg Inferno. "Thanks for the help." she said, still breathing heavily. "When I got here, there was only one pegasus awake, and I barely got enough instructions on how to turn it ON, so I don't have a clue how to turn it off. Good luck, yeah?"

Glancing down at Summer, Nutmeg squeaked and jumped away. "I did NOT see you there!" she declared in a shaken voice, but she listened at any rate, and her ears quickly went down at Summer's explanation. Looking at the console from the left side this time, she griped, "Come on. There has to be an off switch somewhere, or..." then she leaned closer and remarked, "Oh hey look, a brake lever."

The marks on her horn brightened with a green glow, the sound of a lever being pulled, then the whole machine powered down. The glowing arcane and the sparking electrical energies faded, and that ever-present hum went silent. Even the light breeze across the deck stopped as all around the ship air rushed back to its natural motion.

"Right, let's get 'em out of there!" the griffon declared, following Nutmeg into the machine. Heeding his command, two other crewmates, ponies this time, climbed into the cage. Between the four of them they began to carefully unbuckle and haul out the unconscious pegasi still strapped in there.

Clashing Gale moaned when they put him on a stretcher, but it didn't even seem like the other four were even breathing, as more of the crew came with improvised stretchers, to take them to the sick bay. "S-sorry again, Summer" Nutmeg said, after the rest had left with their fallen comrades in tow, "You look... pretty tired, huh?"

Summer Scribe can't help but give an amused smirk at that. 'Oh, there we go' she thought. Probably could have figured out that brake lever on her own, if not for, you know, the whole not being able to stand or use her horn thing. She grinned and said breezily "Yeah, taking a bit of a break. Don't forget about me once we've landed, right?"

In the sick bay, two decks below, Reef Skimmer was checking each patient in turn in a frantic round of triage. Fortunately he had help; Winter Hope and Bluebell, both cross-trained as nurses, had made it to the sickbay with only gashes and bruises. The expedition's leaders had allowed for the possibility of an accident or attack leaving a whole scouting party in need of medical attention; they hadn't planned for the entire crew being shocked, shaken and battered with boulders.

Looking up from an unconscious pegasus mare, the hippogriff gave his verdict "Fluid in the abdomen, severe bruising, almost certainly internal bleeding from blunt trauma. Prognosis, pressure on diaphragm, increasing breathing trouble, survival unlikely without surgery." Turning to Winter and forcing his voice to stay level and cool, he told the unicorn "Get her on the table and give her a sedative. I'll prep as soon as I've checked the others." He glanced at Bluebell, who was splinting a fellow peagsus's wing. "Once you're done, check her blood type, she'll need IV afterwards to recover."

At the helm, Azure had put her hooves on the wheel, but it hauled back against her with surprising force. Although perhaps surprisingly low, she thought, considering what she's piloting. Regardless, she struggled against it, but the wheel did turn, slowly. The only question was, how far to turn the wheel, before the rudder is straight? Or however these balloon ships worked? Otherwise, there she stood, reared up onto a ship's wheel, the whole airship moving at her command.

Strength wasn't Azure's forte, and this was really taxing her, judging by the grunt as she pushed herself... before she went straight to Plan B: magically handling the thing. Telekinesis was a wonderful thing... if she was good enough to keep it in her grip. How did that bird creature even handle this wheel, much less dump the ballast at the same time? To be fair, he was nearly twice her size. But if she didn't do it, the unicorn thought, there was a real chance they wouldn't make it to the islands at all. She pushed away every other distraction in her head, as she had to focus on keeping the ship straight and level.

Her view ahead was limited by the bulk of the ship, but beyond the bows she could see a plethora of islands, many choked with trees, too small to hold the ship, or covered in jagged peaks... but there was a big one not far off the port bow that looked promising. It must have been at least a league across, mostly covered in trees... but the nearest part was flat and grassy, like a big open meadow; right up to the sheer edge where the land fell away. Something was moving about down there, maybe some pony-sized creatures, but it was certainly the largest area of flat open land she could see.

"We're here..." Azure muttered, as her telekinetic grasp held true. "Landing spot located... every creature, please buckle up." she declared firmly into the voice tube Reef had been using, as she steered the ship maybe a little too roughly towards the meadow. "Alright, Azure... you know how landing works..." she muttered again, nodding. Of course, she knew how pegasi landed. This was the same thing, right? Just... a lot larger... and no hooves. Uh oh.

There was a significant delay between the wheel turning and the ship turning. Long enough for a stallion to sound out from the engine room, "Landing? What? You want us power down the engine?"

Near the bow, Nutmeg was smiling at Summer, saying "I haven't forgot you the first time. Say have you seen-" and then the ship lurched, staggering everypony aboard, and knocking things that were just righted back over again.

"Why are we turning?" the mysterious stallion in engineering shouted through the voice tube, "We can't land! We're still going at seventeen knots!" The land before the ship approached far too quickly, the EAS Harmony bearing down on it like a charging bull, sending the placid fluffy creatures scattering at the sight of the approaching behemoth.

"...This is why you don't let a rookie drive a giant airship..." Azure muttered. She had a feeling she was about to receive the biggest stack of complaints she'd ever have in her life. It was becoming clear she's set this airship on a landing approach that was far too fast, and the body language of the winged unicorn was anything but positive.

What seemed like half the crew immediately had plenty of free time to pilot the ship, converging on Azure even as her magic wrestled the steering wheel the other way. Again, with... a long delay before the ship even began to change direction.

"Hold it steady, chit!" shouted a stallion's voice. Azure glanced at the speaker: it was that griffon who'd been talking to Summer, who Azure had only seem in passing before the crossing. With brown fur and a white tuft of feathers on his head, he dived towards Azure... or as it turned out, for that second wheel down there to the right of Azure.

He started turning it like mad, as another crewmate who seemed to know what they were doing cautioned: "Easy, Gustus. We can't go past 25 degrees, not if the keel's going to strike."

"Every creature hold onto something," the griffon declared defiantly, "We're not gonna turn this ship into an accordion today!"

The change was smooth, but soon very noticeable as the ship tilted up, and then further upward, until the deck was a steep hill, with the bow a distant peak overhead. A half-dozen creatures were now crowded around the wheel watching a single dial creep upwards. "We're gonna clip the propellers!" one mare declared in horror.

"23 degrees is fine!" Gustus protested, "We'll clear the land, don't worry!"

The ship did indeed avoid ploughing a furrow in the meadow, although a sheep or two may have gotten a free shearing by the rudders dropping dangerously low. It didn't clear the edge of the forest on the far side though. The battered vessel shook once again, the air filled with screams of wrenching metal finding itself bested by the sacrifice of thick woods. The lower propeller assemblies had been turned into unrecognisable shrapnel littering the unlucky treeline the ship had clipped.

"Maybe 23 degrees was... a little too much," Gustus said in the quiet aftermath. Robbed of half its thrust, the damaged airship slowly climbed as it headed towards the centre of the island; a small lake could be seen nestled in the foliage ahead. The griffon turned the elevator wheel until everything slowly, gently levelled out.

Standing up beside Azure, the griffon said to her in dry disapproval, "We don't steer the ship. We don't land. We steer the ship away from land, storms, and other ships. Other than that... just leave it afloat. We've got the leaks in the envelope patched; we're not gonna fall out of the sky." As if on cue, the remaining propellers ground to a stop, the ship slowing to gentle drift as the engine settled down from a constant whine to a low thrum. As promised, they didn't fall out of the sky.

Azure looked right to the griffon as the engine died down. The tone was clear, and she was in no mood to have any creature worsen her already-poor mood. "Next time, don't let an airship rookie pilot the thing. I'll be on the ground." She didn't give the griffon a chance to reply, instead taking flight and doing exactly what she'd said. Flapping hard, she headed clear of the ship.





By the time dawn came the next morning, the Equestrians had managed to manoeuvre their ship to the edge of the meadow, casting mooring lines to the top of the rocky cliff where grass gave way to sky. The worst tears in the envelope were patched, and the lift holding steady, but the EAS Harmony was in no shape to travel much less brave another storm. The atmosphere on the deck of was peaceful, but sombre. Most of the crew was there, standing in a rough circle, but there wasn't a pony or otherwise among them who didn't notice the conspicuous absence of someone lost in the storm.

"Okay I'll set things off," said a brown furred pegasus mare. Her blue hair, striped with lavender, was tied back in a green bandana. "I'm Set Sail: third mate, technically. We didn't expect to lose both the captain and the first mate. So, uhm, sorry if I'm doing this wrong. Ponies have been asking me about uh... the rest of the ship, so I asked you here so we could all talk about... what's got damaged and what we're gonna do now. So let's take turns and not like, shout at each other... please? How about we start with the whole... ramming into an island thing."

She folded her ears down at that and didn't exactly make leadership-material-level eye contact when she admitted, "I got uh... tangled up in the rigging, but I still should have made it to the helm somehow. Saw someone at it, and just uh... hung on and hoped for the best, so... my bad. Didn't know the captain had... well anyway. I think Doctor Skimmer sailed great; kept us in the tunnel, didn't let us invert. But uh... I should've told him to stop steering after we got to calm air. So, sorry about that. Things were kind of crazy. So Doctor Skimmer, did you really tell Azure we needed to land this thing?"

The grey hippogriff was easily the tallest creature present; he looked like he hadn't slept since the crossing, with bloodshot eyes and pink crest feathers sticking out at odd angles. "Land? Can't recall anything about landing. We'd just made it out of that storm, I was needed below, but somecreature needed to keep us from flying into any more of those bloody rocks. I asked Azure here to find someone else to steer, she went and got Nutmeg, it was all fine. Or so I thought." Reef paused and fixed Set Sail with a piercing glare. "Now see here, none of us would be here if that unicorn hadn't dropped the cargo and gotten us out of the debris zone. I see no point in recriminations over a little bump afterwards."

The unicorn in question clearly wasn't comfortable with having the spotlight directly on her, and even if the doctor spoke favourably, she knew her standing with most of the remaining crew was slightly lower than 'pain in the neck' status. Had she done the right thing trying to find somecreature to steer the ship? Sure. Taking the wheel when no one was available? Maybe. Forcing a landing that necessitated a damage report meeting and Celestia knows what else? The mere reminder of what she had caused was enough to have her lower her head and instead of defending herself...

"He said nothing of the sort about landing, simply steering." she said, flatly. "I wasn't sure how long we'd last in the skies. I don't know the first thing about how to drive one of these. I thought of one thing: getting on the ground before things got worse." Stick to the facts, Azure... even if they're really not in your favour.

Set Sail seemed surprised at their response, saying hastily to Azure, "Oh, no no nopony's blaming you. It's just some ponies were saying they thought he said that to you, and you know how easy that is to get mixed up. Azure, you..." The pegasus mare stopped, the implications of the doctor's words suddenly hitting her. "...Wait, you emptied out the cargo? I haven't been down to look yet. Of course we needed to lose weight fast, but... what did you throw out? You didn't happen to take time to look at it or anything, did you? Because it's kind of important to know what we're missing."

Some way back from the group sat another unicorn mare, groggy and bleary eyed. Summer Scribe's tail swished idly as she listened, as attentively as she could. A combination of not being fit for any other work around the ship (due to yesterday's, well, events) and a desire to absorb any relevant information on their new and rough circumstances lead to her being there on the top deck, much as she'd preferred to be napping in her cabin.

This was the first time she'd heard about the cargo thrown overboard... Hmmh. 'Understandable, but depending on WHAT got thrown out, that could lead to a real rocky start to the expedition...' she thought. 'What if we end up having to scrounge for food? Augh! Please don't let it come to a survival mission, anything but that! So many possibilities to dread! This is why you should fear meetings like these!'

Oh, by Luna's stars... as if having to explain the circumstances of nearly crashing the airship weren't enough to depress her, now having to explain what she's done with the cargo... ugh. Azure was clearly looking for a spot she could shrink down and hide in, but it was her duty to explain the situation... just stick with the facts, right? With a sigh, the winged unicorn began.

"Again... I didn't have much of a choice, I couldn't look through everything... so there's probably some important cargo that was cut. Food, however, was not one of them. Whatever had food inside, I made an effort to keep. I... I can't make any promises on anything else." She couldn't look any creature in the eye after saying that. She'd probably doomed the entire crew because of her stupidity.

"Oh for the love of Celestia," Set Sail groaned, rubbing her forehead with a hoof, "I was gonna drop all the water ballast but of course I had to get tangled up in my own tow rope. I..." she looked up and around then, blushing and saying to Azure, "Sorry, no it's fine. It's good that you saved the food. We're not gonna-"

Just then a certain curvy-horned creature hopped forward into the inner circle, Nutmeg demanding urgently to Azure, "The engine parts. Did you throw out the engine parts? Say you didn't throw out the engine parts!"

Reef Skimmer looked at the cringing winged unicorn, his expression unreadable, before staring at Set Sail again. His claws tensed and his bulky wings unfurled slightly, almost as if to pounce; "It wasn't her fault..." he shouted, before catching himself. Closing his eyes for a second, he drew back and continued in a calmer tone.  "What I mean to say is, that I take full responsibility for the loss of any cargo. When I saw the altimeter falling, I instructed Azure to drop all the ballast, and then when the rocks began to hit, I told her to toss the cargo." His gaze moved between Set Sail and Nutmeg. "You must understand, the engines were out; shedding weight seemed like our only alternative to being battered to splinters."

Inspecting the state of the floor of the room even as she heard Doctor Skimmer defend her, Azure managed to raise her head back to take a look... only to see an angry Kirin staring back at her, seemingly treating the question of the engine parts as if it was life or death. The accusing gaze might as well have hit the unicorn in the jaw with a cinder block, for the impact on her emotional state. "As I'd just mentioned..." she said quietly, struggling to keep her voice neutral, "if it's not food... I can't make any promises."

"Why did you keep the food?!" Nutmeg demanded, now looking not so much mad as hyperventilating with panic, "I... I needed those parts to fix the engine! The boiler has a thousand leaks in it. The firebox is practically melted shut! She's on her last legs, I tell you, and you were saving food??"

Set Sail was the one who shouted back at her, albeit while edging away like everypony else, "Hey! Hey! I said no shouting! Just... just tell me the engine status, okay? No need to get mad here, okay?"

"I'm not mad! I'm...!" Nutmeg responded, trailing off sharply as she focused on the former third mate. "The... the pipes were stressed by the buckling of the ship," she said in anxious frustration. "We can't fix them without replacement segment, or welding plates. The firebox needs new vents, or we can't control how hot it gets. Everything's acting out of whack. And thanks to her steering, two of our main propellers are trashed. You think replacement propellers grow out of the ground??"

"Hey!" called out a male voice: the griffon who'd taken charge of the elevators and stopped the ship crashing in the meadow. He strutted toward Nutmeg, feline tail lashing and feathers fluffed up, saying, "Don't talk about what you don't know, hiding back in that engine room there. I was the one who broke your propellers. She was just gonna ram the bow into the island, but I thought we could get off scot free. So blame me if you're gonna blame any. We all screwed up here, and it is a screwed up situation. The Friendship is gone. We were almost totalled. It's a miracle we're still alive."

"Not all of us." Reef's tone was grave. "Three pegasi dead, another two in comas. Strange secondary symptoms as well, skin and fur turning purple even after death... presumably an effect of high-powered magical device..." his voice trailed off, as he realised the audience didn't need to hear this. "In any case, we have another four ponies with broken legs, six cases of concussion, internal bleeding, more sprains and cuts than I care to count... My staff and I are doing what we can, but if we don't get help, ideally magical help, we're likely to lose more."

The room was silent for a moment as the news sank in. The surgeon looked at Nutmeg and continued "I assume going back through the barrier is out of the question." His gaze shifted to Summer, and then Azure. "Do we have any way, any magical means, of contacting or locating the EAS Friendship?" he asked, unaware of what had befallen the expedition's lead ship when it contacted the mysterious phenomenon in the storm wall.

Summer Scribe perked up at the mention of magic. "Well, I know that both the Harmony and Friendship were outfitted with magical locator beacons - per protocol, I think?" she offered. "Buuuutt..." she looked uncertain, "...when we flew through the storm wall, it did something that messed with enchanted items: I had to reboot the Storm Piercer's enchantments since they were on the fritz. So it's possible that, sturdy as they are, theirs isn't working right now... but worth a try."

Nutmeg didn't continue to butt in, instead just wilting back and staring downward, murmuring something quietly to herself. Set Sail didn't seem to know what to do about the situation. So it was Gustus who suggested, "Perhaps you could report on the status of the balloon?"

Eyes widening, Set Sail said, "O-oh, yes, right. Um, we're not going to be sinking any time soon, but several of the cells have gotten tears in them. We patched the worst of it, but there are still a few slow leaks. The heat from the engine should be enough to keep us buoyant, at least with the cargo gone... Uhm..." She gave a nervous look at the diminished kirin, before concluding, "We probably should set up some kind of camp o-on an island, just in case the ship... goes down."

"We can repair the engine," Nutmeg said quietly. Set Sail wasn't the only one to give her a sceptical look. "For the worst of it, we can figure out something I'm sure," Nutmeg explained, "I can probably keep us floating forever. But without those parts, we're not going anywhere fast. Going back through that storm... no chance."

Looking right back at the Kirin, Azure couldn't help but reply. "Next time you want to go hungry instead of this situation, let me know." she muttered, before realising that the very griffon that gave her crap previously had taken the blame for the damage. A momentary look of surprise crossed her face, but one thing was for sure. A lot of creatures had screwed up: she was just one of them. And as the conversation shifted to the medical report... Azure couldn't help but frown. They'd barely arrived, and already lost multiple creatures, even more injured... the unicorn just fell quiet and listened as the conversation went forward.

Set Sail sent a smile Azure's way, saying, "You got that right. Things could get bad fast, without any food."

Some of the crew chime in in agreement, including Gustus who said, "I'd rather lose a few ship parts than a few shipmates to starvation!" 

At that, Nutmeg just couldn't resist chiming in as she stared incredulously at absolutely everypony, saying, "Are you all seriously worried about starvation?" Throwing a two-toed golden hoof to point away from the ship, over to the verdant green island they were moored to, she stated in exasperation, "There's food just hopping around on those meadows over there! You realise that, right?"

Summer Scribe blink blinked, and followed Nutmeg's gaze. Sure enough, there were sheep scattered over the island, happily munching away at grass. The unicorn narrowed her eyes: "Nutmeg, you can't be implying that we eat living critters! That's barbaric!"

Nutmeg opened her mouth, but instead of speaking she just blushed horribly, eyes wide. Taking a step back from the critical unicorn, she managed to stammer "Uh, ah, uh, I didn't—I mean—I forgot you u-uh ponies, y' know, y-you don't have to eat them I promise. There's plenty of... of grass, too!"

Summer Scribe stared at the kirin for a moment... then chuckled, looking more enthusiastic and animated than she has all day as she gives a playful nod. "Don't sweat it: I imagine we have plenty more to learn about each other!" She stuck out her tongue. "I don't know how long I want to subside on just grass." Bleh! "We'll have to figure out what other flora's edible."

"Certainly caution is advisable, even if the species look familiar." Reef spoke up. "That said... if the other islands are this verdant, then food is unlikely to be a problem... for our herbivores, omnivores or carnivores." the hippogriff said, glancing at the brown griffon. Was that a smile? Hard to tell with beaks. "Medical supplies on the other hand..." he frowned "We were well stocked, but with half the crew injured and several crates missing,  we're burning through our supplies fast."

"We had no idea what we'd find here... if there would be food or not." Azure concluded, wanting to close the issue of what cargo she'd saved and what she hadn't. Finally able to look at a creature without thinking that creature wanted her in pieces, the blue unicorn had kept her mouth shut... simply listening in to the conversation. Yet she clearly didn't look very happy when the doctor mentioned medical supplies were being quickly used...

At this point, Nutmeg didn't seem inclined to do anything but skulk back to the rear of the gathering, away from any critical eyes. Set Sail herself seems shaken, but doesn't bother the kirin, instead saying nervously, "Uh, ohkay so... what about the expedition? You pon—you creatures know all about medicinal uh, plants and stuff, right? Who's your best uh, who's your chief of staff?" 

"Professor Mare." a pink-haired, squat green stallion spoke up. "The senior distinguished researcher. Of course, she was on the uh, EAS Friendship."

Summer Scribe sweatdropped a bit as she realised something. It was a bit sudden, but... '... Is it possible that I'M the most senior researcher still extant?' Oh, gosh. Was it finally her time? Not like she was COMPLETELY prepared for this, but, uhh, haha, this'll have to do, right??

"Well how about on the Harmony?" Set Sail was asking the young stallion in consternation, oblivious to the unicorn's excitement. "Who's your second-in-command?" 

"He's on the Friendship too," the stallion said unhappily, "I guess... Forest Story, she was our senior botanist, but she uh... went overboard. A huge rock broke a hole in the wall in the cabins. There are only three of us left. And I'm just a grad student."

"Well??" Set Sail asked anxiously, "Which of you three is gonna lead the... uh, scouting expedition?"

Melonwater was sweating nervously, as he glanced worriedly at the excited Summer Scribe, saying uneasily, "Well, uh, technically the technically 'senior' researcher here is... uh... eh..."

Oh goodness. Summer Scribe's brain was lurching, roused into action from its slumber. Alarm! This wasn't how the expedition was categorised! 'You're the most senior researcher now!', she thought. A grin spread across her face as different parts of her brain light up out of order. She looked thoughtful, and then giddy and giggly. "Oh, uhh, my condolences, but, uhh, umm, yes, I guess that DOES make me the senior researcher!" Her hooves clicked at the floor as she did a bit of an uneasy skitter-nervous-dance. Responsibility! Excitement! Adventure! More Responsibility?? But... This is it! Wow!

"...Her," the green stallion concluded, hanging his head in defeat.

Hearing that her friend was now in charge, Azure stepped forward and spoke up. "If you're headed for a gathering expedition, Summer, is it alright if I accompany you? No telling what's out there, and  well... nothing against any creature here, but I could use some air. Besides... there could be something interesting here besides the flowers, you know?" She seemed slightly excited herself, the promise of action moving her past her earlier self-doubt and despair.

Summer Scribe was grinning from ear to ear. 'Oh gosh, at last, a leadership role!' she thought. "I'm gonna have to check out who's up and ready to venture out into the great unknown!" she announced to the group. "I'll need all the ponypower I can get, especially botanistic right now, and... oh" her ears perked up and she nodded to Azure. "Of course, I'd be delighted to have you along, Azure! You're in!" Summer tapped a hoof on the floor, then held it out to shake. "There's no telling what we'll find out here: literally! We'll need to be prepared for anything!"

"Okay, great, that's great," Set Sail said pleasantly, a few strands of her mane going unpleasantly askew. "We might be able to contact the Friendship, so we'll try and get that beacon working again. But first Azure and Summer Scribe's team are going to lead the search through this island for food, shelter, and any sort of medicinal plants for when we run outta medicine. Our ship's gonna stay floating, but it's not going anywhere. As our chief engineer pointed out, worst case, there's plenty of... grass to eat. And no more ponies are gonna... die when we... run outta medicine, and..." A crewmate put his hoof on the mare's shoulder as she falls quiet, but she pushed it off, straightening up and saying in a shaky voice, "And I'm the leader now, and...!" 

But that was as far as she could get. The pegasus's head sank, before tears flooded into her eyes. Staring at the ground, Set Sail took in a shuddering breath before saying, "Sorry. So that's the situation. Does anypony else have anything to report?"

Summer Scribe shook her head. "Think that's everything!" she said brightly, ignoring Set Sail's near-breakdown. "I better get on top of sorting this expedition out! Azure, come with me and we'll round up anyone willing and able-bodied!" The little unicorn gestured vaguely but enthusiastically with a hoof.



"Wait uh," a purple-furred pegasus stallion spoke up, stepping forward into the circle. "I have something to report," he said uncertainly, "I'm feeling, uh, better?" As he contemplated his next words, everycreature on the deck became aware of his most notable feature: an eerie lack of pupils. "I don't think I'm supposed to."