June awoke to the sensation of dull pain on the right side of her face. Something was gagging her mouth. Groggily, the girl tried to remove it. Her arms felt heavy as she tried to move them. The air was hot and muggy. Her world was jostling, and she could hear a mechanical throb rumbling through everything. The sounds of clinking chains reached her ears every time she tried to move. Fluttering her eyes open, she was greeted with darkness. Her nose caught several smells; oil, metal, sweat, and other things that were not pleasant.
Sitting up, she found she was in a cage and there were manacles on her wrists. As her eyes adjusted to the gloom, they fell upon the chains bound to her wrists. She pulled at them, finding they were wrapped around an iron bar. Taking stock of her surroundings, June realized she was in a cage. Her bedding was little more than a pile of blankets, though they seemed clean.
Her hazy mind tried to piece itself together. She was afraid and had no idea where she was. What happened?
There had been the restaurant…
Rarity.
Rainbow Dash.
Danger and Daring Dash.
“...Father!” she croaked through her gag. It was easy to untie it. The rags fell to the floor of her cage and June began to cry.
Misty…
What happened? June asked herself again, drawing her knees to her chin. The cold grip of terror grasped her heart. Father will be insane with worry! He will come for me. Nothing would stop him. But why? Where am I?
“Ah, so you’re awake,” a voice called out.
June turned her head towards the sound, hugging her knees tightly. She said nothing and sniffled.
“Yes, you are afraid. Unfortunately, a side effect of this little adventure, and not something I really relish. Comes with the job. I do apologize for the rough handling you received. So very hard to find good help these days. How are you feeling?” The owner of the voice chose to remain in the shadows.
“I want to go home,” June managed. “I want my father.” She hiccuped and rubbed her eyes.
“Not surprising,” commented the voice with a chuckle. It was female, or so June believed. “I do plan on getting the two of you reacquainted, but at a proper time and place.”
There was a long pause. June could feel eyes staring at her. Wiping her nose with a sleeve, she then asked, “Why are you doing this?”
“Bits. Lots of bits. It’s what makes the world go ‘round, after all,” came the reply. “Now, I am going to have my personal physician have a look at you. There is a nasty bruise on your cheek. I’d like that looked at as well as anything else on you that might have been knocked around. After that, you will have clean food and water brought to you. If you have to use the toilet, you will be escorted. Of course, you will have to be blindfolded and a guard will be assigned to you at all times. If you are a good girl, I’ll remove you from the cage, have those nasty chains removed, and place you in a proper cabin. It will still be a prison, I’m afraid, as you are my prisoner. But at least I can make sure your stay with us is as comfortable as can be managed.”
“Please let me go home.”
“I’m afraid we are already beyond the point of no return, my dear. Chin up. Think of this as some grand adventure.” There was the sound of a body standing. “I’ll leave you to your thoughts until my physician can get a look at you. It won’t be long.” Footsteps clicked along the wooden floorboards. A door squeaked open, and the speaker left. The door shut to the sound of a lock clicking into place.
June cried some more, rocking where she sat. Her back thumped against the bars of her cage. She tried to picture Father’s face. The girl also imagined Cassandra. What would they do? Would they come for her? They would! They had to! June knew how much she meant to her father. In all her years, she had never seen him angry. His dour demeanor she had grown up with led her to think he had to be absolutely furious now. The changeling queen would be as upset, every bit as terrifying.
Though Father told June little of his life before she was born, Cassandra had offered snippets of what the man was like in his younger years. A newfound fear crawled into her heart. Father was going to show a side of himself he had never shown before.
“I’ve seen your father angry before, June,” Cassandra had once told the girl. “If you have heard anything about monsters, know your father could best them on the worst of days.”
Father would come and he would not stop until he had found her. June was certain. She found herself terrified of what he might do and what she might see. The stories of her father’s exploits were beginning to feel all too real and her imagination began to wander. How much of those tales were true?
Shaking her head of those thoughts, June again wiped her nose with a sleeve. Where am I? Why would they take me? Who were they? What did they want?
For how long she sat in the gloomy room, June did not know. Every once in a while, the room jostled and shook. The humming sound never abated. A few times June caught the sound of footfalls a floor above her. The girl’s mind cleared somewhat, and she focused herself with determination. Father had always told her a clear mind was the most important asset anyone could have. The first thing she needed to do was master her own fears. This was very hard for June to do. She could only imagine what Father was going through right now.
“I can’t be afraid,” she whispered to herself. “I can’t be afraid!”
The door clicked. June froze and stared in its direction. It was too dark to see anything other than vague shapes, but light streamed through the door as it opened. A four legged figure, equine, stepped through. The sound of unshod hooves clip-clopped and the sound of the shutting door felt loud to the girl.
“There is no light,” hissed a voice. “Why is there no light? Only a fool leaves a child in the dark, ja? I will have words with the captain. Child, can you hear me? I am Fräulein Lila Blüte. I am the ship’s doctor. The captain asked me to give you a look.” A pale mare’s face appeared at the bars, her ruby eyes roving over June. Her mane was a dark blonde, with a single blood red lock dangling over her left eye. The rest of it was done up in a single braid that was wrapped in a single loop around her neck. A battered black tricorne hat rested upon her head, tilting to one side. It sported a red plumed ostrich feather. The toothless smile she had been wearing faded when she saw June.
“Nein!” she whispered, rambling. “What has that dummkopf done? Does she not realize? Does she not understand?” The mare refocused herself, inhaling deeply, then setting her lips to a firm, straight line. “I know your name. You are June Gray, daughter of Jäger Jakob and Kaga Gray, ja?”
June nodded mutely, staring at the mare. “I want to go home,” she blurted, “Please let me go home?”
Lila pursed her lips, drawing back from the cage. There was the sound of a jingling keychain. A key was found and placed into the lock. “I am going to let you out. You will do as you are told and not resist. I have a job to do, that means having a look at you. I must warn you, there is no escape. You are on an airship and we are very high in the air. Your cooperation would be most appreciated. Please understand I am very aware of who you are and what you are. I am sorry, but you will have to see this journey through to the end.”
There was a click and the cage door opened.
“Come, June, you will not be harmed. I am to have a look at you, kleines. Your bruise looks nasty.” Lila wore a coaxing smile. The girl noted the mare was wearing a pocketed brown vest. Each pouch seemed to have something in it. Under the braid around the mare’s neck was a stethoscope. “I take my duties, my die aufgabe, seriously and right now, it is my duty to see to your well-being.” A horn June hadn’t noticed before lit and the manacles fell away from her wrists. Lila repeated, “Come, kleines. You will not be harmed.”
Reluctant, June emerged from the cage. Everything was sore and she hiccuped with emotion. She stumbled and felt woozy. Her cheek throbbed. The magical pull of the unicorn helped coax her out.
“I can never understand how you can stand on two legs and not fall over,” remarked Lila as she eyed June carefully. “Don’t do anything silly. If you misbehave, there will be punishment. Do you understand?”
“Please, let me go home,” June begged as she teared up “I don’t want to be here.”.
“None of us want to be here, Fräulein,” chuckled the mare. A leather collar floated before her. June suddenly felt magic holding her in place. The unwanted accessory was clamped around her throat. Lila smirked and gave it a telekinetic tug, “but here we are. This is the path we will follow, through its folly and to be seen to its end.” She considered June, the girl weeping. “To be fair, only a few will see this. He will come, the Jäger, the Berserker, will destroy, and he will not stop until that which was taken from him is returned. The good captain’s contractors have doomed us all, but greed overcomes common sense, ja? What know you of your father’s exploits, child? Not much, I would guess. You are too kind-hearted. You still cling to innocence.”
The collar had a chain attached to it. Lila gave it a tug. “This is more to protect you than anything else, young June. I need to get you to some fresh air and sunlight so I can see what I am working with. Ignore the crew. Do not look upon them.”
June resisted, shaking her head violently.
“Child, this will happen, either the easy way which I prefer, or the hard way which you seem to want. I prefer my way and soon, you will too. I will allow one warning for how things are done around here. Punishment will happen past that and at my discretion, understand?” Lila wore a patient smile, but there was a gleam in her eye which bore no humor.
The girl’s tear stained cheeks glinted in the pale light brought by Lila. Reluctantly, she stepped forward, head bowed.
“Good girl. Things will get easier for you so long as you obey. This is what the crew knows. You are not a part of them and are therefore little more than property in their eyes. Stay close to me, keep your eyes down, and do not speak unless spoken to. Verstehen? Understand?”
June gave a mute nod.
“I must hear you say you understand me, June,” Lila said, giving a meaningful tug of the chain.
“I understand.”
Satisfied, Lila smiled, “Gut.”
June was led out the door. There was a corridor that was low and narrow. Lila tugged and June followed. Everything was made of wood. Joints and connection points were held together with some sort of metal. The sounds of an engine hummed through the whole of the ship. It felt cramped and claustrophobic in the corridor. The unicorn said little, making sure there was physical contact between the pair and was patient. There was a steep flight of stairs. Lila motioned for June to go first. The girl did, needing to use her hands to help pull herself up the steps. The unicorn followed behind, the clinking links of chain accompanying the girl’s efforts as the pair went up.
At the top of the stairs was an opening leading to the deck of the airship. June caught a glimpse of the nacelle of one of the engines. It was attached to metal frames overlapped by a massive white envelope. The gondola of the ship itself hung from several cables. There was enough space between the envelope and the gondola for Celestia to walk beneath unimpeded. There was a cut shape into the bottom of the envelope. June noticed pulleys and wheels on all the cables.
Maybe the gondola can be retracted into the frame of the envelope, she guessed, trying to distract her mind from her terror. Her inquisitive mind followed her eyes. The airship was a complex machine.
June caught sight of what she imagined were the ship’s crew. They were a motley bunch, an assortment of creatures. Some were bipedal, others went about on all fours. One appeared to be a naga, a humanoid upper half with a snake’s lower body. It was watching her with hungry, reptilian eyes. Its massive arms were crossed over its chest as it waited next to what appeared to be a pony wearing a naval officer’s jacket. The pony had its back to June and Lila and was looking through a spyglass. The naga leaned slightly and mentioned something to the pony. The spyglass was put away as the pony turned and regarded June with a roguish smile.
It appeared to be an earth pony mare. Her eyes, like Lila’s were ruby red, but carried an intensity that was unnerving. Her coat was like sea foam, her braided mane reminiscent of seaweed and dotted with carefully woven flowers. Both ears were pierced with golden loops. The left nostril was also pierced. A wicked grin graced her muzzle. June could have sworn there were fangs in the pony’s mouth. A breeze swept over the deck of the gondola, ruffling the girl’s hair as if to apologize.
Captain Calypso gave June a contemplative look, “Well, then. So much for the blindfold. Lila, my orders were for her to be blindfolded.”
The doctor shrugged, “She can’t walk without bumping into something if she can’t see. I don’t have the power in my telekinesis to pick her up and haul her around like a sack of wet kittens.”
“Well, I suppose there is that bit of truth.” The pony introduced herself, “Welcome aboard the Temperance. I am Captain Calypso. We spoke earlier. What I told you earlier before still stands: behave and you will have a cabin for yourself. Become a headache, and back into the cage you go. Savvy?”
June did not answer right away. The smile faded away from Captain Calypso. Lila gave the girl a hard nudge. “When the captain speaks, you answer.”
The girl quickly mumbled, “Yes.”
The smile returned. “Excellent! Now, Lila, I imagine you decided to bring her up for fresh air?”
“It stinks in the hold, captain,” Lila noted with a sour look. “I can’t be expected to do my job if my nostrils are filled with the stench of the business.”
“Fair enough. Go behind the wheel aft. Mr. Cheers, keep the crew away from the doctor and our prize. That child is worth more bits than all of our jobs combined,” she told the naga with cheerful command. “When we finish this job, we’ll be able to live like royalty!”
“Of course, my captain,” hissed the snake man. His voice sent shivers down June’s spine.
“I would recommend next time we go to port, we scrub out the holds,” Lila added with a shudder. “It is truly vile down there.”
The captain gave an unconcerned shrug, “Nature of the business. Now, so far, we’ve got no tails. The diversion appears to have worked, but I’d like to keep us on silent running until nightfall. We’ll keep going west until then.”
“Practical, however,” Lila cast a sidelong glance at the crew members on deck, “I would like to have a word in private with you concerning the nature of our cargo.”
Captain Calypso tilted her head to one side, “Something bothering you about the risks? Save it for the dinner table. There are some things that do not need to be discussed in front of our meal ticket, hmm?”
“As you wish, captain.”
The pony was all smiles again. “Good! Now, go make sure the merchandise isn’t bruised. If it is, I’ll make sure the idiot suffers for it. I’ll be in my cabin. Mr. Cheers, the ship is yours.”
“Aye, captain.”
The chain was tugged and June was led by the collar to the rear of the ship’s gondola. She shied away from the looming naga. Mr. Cheers glared down at her and sneered, revealing rows of long, sharp teeth. He raised his head and stared daggers at the curious crew who were too close for his tastes. They were quick to find something else to occupy their interest.
There was an odd hairy bipedal creature with horns manning the ship’s wheel. Other than its long, hairy arms, whatever it was appeared like a haystack of brown hair gurgling to itself. A bowler rested at the peak of the living stack. The only indication of where its eyes might have been were a pair of rounded sunglasses stuck into the mass just below the hat, facing the ship’s wheel.
“What is it?” she could not help but ask Lila.
“That’s just Bert. He steers the ship and nothing else.”
“But what is he?”
Lila gave the helmsthing a curious stare. “I have no idea. He’s good at the wheel and nothing can uproot him from that spot. Mr. Cheers tried once. Bert is glued to that spot.”
“Is that his real name?”
“It’s what we call him,” Lila grunted with a shrug. “Let’s have a look at you.” She gave the chain a pull and used a hoof to turn June’s face towards her from the chin. “Are you feeling any pain? Be honest. This is for your health. My knowledge of human anatomy is limited, but I know enough.”
“It’s sore and it throbs. Can I please go home? Father is upset, I know it.”
The unicorn had fished out a small bottle from one pocket and some cotton balls from another. Using her magic, she popped the cork from the bottle and soaked the cotton. Lila began to apply the liquid to the bruise on June’s cheek. As she did this, she replied, “I have no doubt your father is not in a good mood. I am familiar with what he is capable of. I have seen him... work.”
June winced as the cotton touched her skin. There was a warming sensation that dulled away to a burning tingle. It was weird and she flinched as Lila applied her soaked cotton liberally over the bruised area.
“This will stimulate your cells to accelerate the healing. I do not think the bone was bruised, much less broken.” She dabbed at the cheekbone with a bit more pressure. “No, not broken. If it is bruised, this will help it to heal faster. The skin is not broken, either. This is gut,” Lila Blüte smiled, quite pleased. “I will give you a few more minutes and then take you to your cabin. You have been a gut little girl and you will be rewarded, as promised.”
June knew she was being ignored in her pleas to go home. Her fingers found the chain attached to her collar.
“Do not touch that,” the unicorn commanded sternly.
June let it go. “I’m sorry.”
“I will take it off when you are in your room. As I told you, this is for your safety. This tells the crew that you are not to be approached without asking your handler permission, ja?”
“Am I a slave?” June asked in a weak voice.
Lila shook her head and rolled her eyes, “No, you are far too valuable for that. You are precious cargo, as the captain sees. She has decided your status on this ship and her word is absolute. You do not question her, you do not talk back to her. Consider yourself lucky indeed to be valuable enough to be worth more unharmed and untouched.” The doctor stoppered her bottle and put it back into her vest. She tossed the used cotton over the side of the ship. “Come. It is time to put you in your cabin.”
In Canterlot, there was rage. It was not the explosive sort, not an anger unguided. This was not the mind of one who felt those around him were somehow responsible. The anger was quiet, simmering. Friends were hastened away with much confusion. The hurt in his eyes hid his rage. Jakob could not bear to let them see the beast inside.
Someone had taken his child.
Trust had been broken. Perhaps, irreparably so.
The guards had failed, their bodies frozen where they had taken up their positions of overwatch. Poison, it was quickly discovered, but nothing fatal. It froze them in place, the drug used found in their waters they had ordered from the restaurant. Security had been breached and already the investigation was underway.
The Jäger was spirited away. Or, perhaps, he was biding his time, stewing at the edge of an open cage, waiting for his time to show why he was put there in the first place.He stalked forward, as it was his only true direction. Forward. His mind raged, he maintained an outward calm. He was both at ease, and a brewing storm. He knew he was not in a true position of helplessness, but he was not yet in need for external wrath. No, that would come. His hunt had begun, and it would end the same way it always had. Rage brewed, barely contained. It was not time. He asked for a cell and was given one.
As June was spirited away, Jakob vented his frustration with primal screams in the darkness, pounding the stone with his fists until the skin tore and the walls cracked. Those who could hear his voice trembled and fear filled the halls of the castle.
When the Night Princess came, she wept for him as his rage simmered.