//------------------------------//
// High Tide 
// Story: Tugs of Seaquestria 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

Hippogriffia Port never ceased working, no matter what time of day it was. Operations begun late at night continued into the small hours of the morning. Goods stacked high on the quayside was transferred from road and rail to shipping vessels, and the trains and trucks were then reloaded with cargo from the ships to be taken to places far away. Practically everything that could move helped to keep the harbour moving, and the tugboat was the beating heart of the operation.

The most valuable commodity in the harbour was coal, and this dirty stuff not only kept my tugs going, it was the power behind the docks and industries that made up Hippogriffia Port. This, is-

Sorry, I've already done that bit. I'm getting confused, aren't I? Anyway, Big Mac steamed into port one day looking a right mess. His paint was dirty and smeared in coal dust.

"I say!" Blueblood exclaimed. "This port is a marvellous place. It never ceases to amaze me. Today I saw a floating sack of coal, no less!"

Big Mac fumed as the other tugs started to laugh. "If you'd been shiftin' coal all the night then you'd be dirty!" he snapped.

"At least you don't smell," Blueblood replied.

"Of course he doesn't smell!" Sky Beak pointed out. "Coal produces no scent or smell, which is why it's so popular as a fuel. It also burns exceptionally well, which is very handy as it makes raking out our boilers a lot easier."

"I know that!" Blueblood exclaimed. "Garbage is smelly, and at least you clean up before coming on parade. Big Mac could have done the same, as we have a rrreputation to uphold."

"You keep that mouth o' yers shut!" Big Mac replied. "Or else that piece o' glass in yer eye will end up in the water!"

"That's quite enough, you lot," I said, walking out of the administration building with a new set of orders. "Big Mac, thank you for your work. You've been working hard, I see."

"As can we all," Blueblood guffawed, and the entire fleet erupted into laughter- except Big Mac.

"I said, that's enough," I repeated, my voice deadly calm and yet authoritative. "Hard work is what gets us our reputation, not shiny paint. Now then, duties. As you probably know, construction work on the new skyscraper in Inferno Bay has just begun. Blueblood, I need you to get to work with Thorax and Pharynx, then switch to garbage detail with Chrysalis."

Blueblood looked positively offended. "Garbage? I thought that was Sky Beak's work!"

"Why do I always end up arguing with you, Blueblood?" I asked, partially metaphorically as well as it being an actual question. "If you want to uphold our reputation, you'll do it through hard work and doing as instructed. If you get this work done, I'll put you on the car factory ferry duty for the next month. Sound good?"

"Deal." Blueblood had made his mind up very quickly, and set off into the water. "Ah well, there's light at the end of the tunnel."

"Just get a move on!" Big Mac shouted, exasperated.

"To be fair to him," Silverstream said, "Blueblood puts in the same work as the rest of us, which is to say a lot, and he was certainly a great help in ensuring Thunderhooves didn't block the channel a few weeks ago."

"We know," Mistmane replied. "Blueblood is a well meaning tug, but his aristocratic ways and his attitude can get rather grating after a while. He can be difficult to work with, if you know what I mean."

"Mistmane, go and collect the propellor from the engineering shops and take it to the Princess Celestia! She's currently moored off the coast and needs a new one!"

"Aye, ma'am," Mistmane replied, as she began to set off. I don't know why, but I thought I saw her paddle wheel jam for a moment, before correcting.

"Silverstream, you need to go and assist Skystar at the factory. Once you're done, go and help Mistmane!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Silverstream said excitedly, and set off for the factory.

"Be as quick as you can!" Mistmane called. "I'm not as young as I used to be, and I'll need all the help I can get!"

Once those two were out of sight (and therefore out of mind), I turned my attention to Sky Beak and Big Mac. "You two, we're competing for the steel contract for that new skyscraper they're building in Inferno Bay. Show them what we can do. Sky Beak, get your load across the harbour with no mishaps."

"Yes ma'am," Sky Beak replied.

"Remember you two, the tide is unusually high today," I warned them. "Don't do anything stupid. If it's a choice between safe or fast, choose safe."

"Understood, ma'am," Big Mac said. "Hey, Sky Beak, could ya hose me down a little?"

"No problem, Big Mac!" Sky Beak replied. "I'll be done in a jiffy!"





It was a high tide indeed, the highest I had ever seen in a decade of working in the harbour. All over the place, things had fallen of the quayside and were floating in the water. Skystar and Silverstream found the factory was flooded, and everything was floating. It took them hours to recover the lost barge.

Elsewhere, the steel company was preparing to move to its new premises across the bay. Braeburn, fully repaired, refitted, and reassembled since his accident, had just finished loading a tall foundation pylon for the skyscraper onto the barge. Hippogriffia port is prone to earthquakes, and as such every building has earthquake proofing of some description. In the case of this building, four giant pistons would help the structure stay level during the vibrations. This pylon would contain one of the pistons.

Unfortunately, the load was being moved by the Storm Fleet. Grubber and Adagio were attached to the first load, and sneered as Sky Beak and Big Mac arrived.

"Well, if it isn't the barnacle boys!" Grubber laughed. "Had fun playing mucky ducks! You'd never see one of us get that dirty, we have a reputation to uphold after all."

"We have just as much right to go fer this contract as you," Big Mac reminded them. "May Ah remind ya not ta be silly and not ta go through places you cannot fit?"

"I would go some routes, but I have a very big hull, so that's a bad idea," Grubber said.

"Besides, you can't compete against three tugs, so there," Adagio smiled.

"Three? There's two of you!" Sky Beak said, confused.

"You're a liability, so we could you on our side," Adagio laughed. And the duo set off, smoke pouring from their engines as they sailed away.

"That engine don't sound too happy," Big Mac noted. "Hey, Braeburn! Can ya load the barge up real fast?"

"Sure thing!" Braeburn replied. "Good luck beating those two idiots across the bay!"

"We will!" Sky Beak said. "But remember, safety must come before speed- especially in these conditions."

A few minutes later, the tugs were hooked up to their barges, and set off on their way. As they set off slowly into the water, towing their loads deliberately and gently, they saw the two Storm tugs over to one side. Smoke was pouring from Adagio's exhaust ports.

"There's no way I can move this on my own," Grubber said. "Look, how about we go get some cake and take it to the Storm King?"

"How will that help with delivering steel?" Adagio asked. "Besides, look. There's a shortcut. If we take the canal, we can beat them to it. The route's shorter."

"Brilliant! The Storm King will like this!" Grubber grinned, and they steamed into the canal.

"Wait a second, what are they doing?" Sky Beak asked.

"If they really think they can get that down the canal, then they're about ta have a rude awakenin'," Big Mac replied. "That canal's only wide enough for two ships. No way anythin' can pass with them clankin' that load about."

"So, it'll get clogged," Sky Beak said.

"Yes. And remember, it's high tide."





The harbour was criscrossed by many bridges, the lowest of which carried the railroad. Grubber and Adagio hadn't made the connection between the high tide and their high load, and not only that Blueblood was approaching from the other direction, moving Thorax, Pharynx, and Chrysalis. There was no chance of both groups fitting through that canal. They met at the railroad bridge. Blueblood sat there with his three barges, and the Storm Tugs moved forward.

"Go into reverse, if you please!" Blueblood exclaimed. "The rules state that whichever tug was here first has priority. I was here first, so I have priority. Reverse back to the entrance."

As a reminder of the bridge's prescence, Scootaloo the goods engine, a small machine painted orange with purple lining, puffed over with a coach. "Hey!" she called. "There's no way that pylon will fit. Go back!"

"Our load is heavier, and therefore has priority," Grubber said.

"I said, go back!" Blueblood called. "We cannot fit! You won't get away with this!"

"What? Because you didn't?" Adagio sneered. "Right, full power!"

Both Grubber and Adagio went to full throttle, their engines roaring with the strain, and charged for the bridge. Blueblood, in a panic, went into full reverse. "You're going to hit the bridge, you blithering idiots!" he shouted. YOU. ARE. GOING. TO. HIT. THE. BRIDGE!"

Grubber laughed. "Ha ha, coward!" he shouted.

He soon realised his mistake when there was a loud bang overhead. The pylon had hit the bridge. Part of the decking gave way in the process.

"That's some really clever thinking, you dummies," Blueblood said.

"I'll go get help!" Grubber shouted, and steamed off, leaving her load in place. But suddenly, both of them heard a whistle.

Apple Bloom was approaching on the mail.

"If the train attempts to cross that, then..." Blueblood suddenly noticed something. The pylon was now wedged underneath the bridge decking. "Wait. I can attach to it and pull it under the bridge. It might just take the weight long enough for the train to get across!"

"Take me with you as a backup," Chrysalis said. "It's only rubbish I'm carrying, after all."

Blueblood stormed forward and attached a line to the barge holding the pylon. He pulled back with all his might as the bridge shuddered and groaned. It had been badly damaged in the accident, and the railroad line was signal free. Nobody could get a warning to the train.

Blueblood continued to pull, not caring that his engine was about to overheat. The pylon finally came to a stop underneath the bridge proper, and the train rolled over the bridge safely.

The pylon was not so lucky. The barge it was attached to suddenly began to sink, and the pylon itself tipped over into the water.

"This is not good!" Blueblood exclaimed. The bridge continued to fall apart and part of the deck fell clean into the water.

And then another whistle was heard.

"Oh no!" Blueblood cried. "I know that whistle!"

"It's Scootaloo, coming back the other way!" Thorax realised. "What are we going to do?"

For some reason I can't fathom, part of the bridge then exploded. "How are we going to save this one?" Blueblood asked.

"Quickly! Push me under the damaged section of bridge!" Chrysalis said. "I'll take the weight of the train!"

"What if you sink?" Blueblood asked.

"The alternative is letting the train sink!" Chrysalis replied. "This way, we have a chance of saving it!"

Blueblood sounded his whistle, and with his engine roaring once more began to propel the barge under the collapsed bridge. He got it into place just in time. Scootaloo thundered out of the darkness of the preceding tunnel, saw the collapsed bridge, and slammed on her brakes in a desperate effort to stop.

She skidded onto the damaged section, down a very steep gradient, and then safely into the barge. "Yuck!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "Smelly! But better smelly than sunk."

"Tell me about it," Chrysalis replied.

"Chrysalis, you're a genius!" Blueblood cried. "You saved the train! I'll see to it you get a medal for this! I'll never complain about your smell again!"

"Rubbish can be valuable stuff."





Meanwhile, Skystar and Silverstream had only just finished cleaning the dock. They were now ready to start their proper work. "That took a while," Skystar commented.

"What's the bet Blueblood had an easy day, eh?" Silverstream laughed. "I bet he dropped off Chrysalis, Thorax, and Pharynx at their destinations, and then moored up somewhere quiet until the tide went down."





The next day, work began on repairing the bridge. Scootaloo and her wagons were undamaged, but the steel company was not happy with the Storm fleet for damaging their pylon (which was also recovered). However, it all worked out well in the end. The steel company got the contract to repair the bridge as well as build the skyscaper (which was eventually finished), and I had no trouble at all convincing them that my tugs were the best crew to deliver the steel.