After marking off the suspected location of our target on my map of Canter Basin Lake, I changed course and steered the Wandering Blossom back toward the town. I took it slow, worried that the unexpected wind might have damaged the fin even more, but we weren’t in any special hurry anymore.
Truth be told, I hadn’t expected to find anything anyway. To have found even a hint… well, even I had to admit it was a little exciting.
We arrived over the town proper about an hour after sundown. To my complete lack of surprise, the enormous To Dream in Colour was moored at the tall Skydock at the edge of town, though I didn’t see any activity on the ship itself. Maybe those three ponies had gone into town for a change of pace from their crazy life of luxury?
Either way, it didn’t matter. I quickly walked Minuette through the process of mooring the Blossom from the bow of the ship, since there wasn’t anypony stationed on the Skydock after dark. I wasn’t really surprised, either. Aside from the behemoth, there were only three other airships here, all half the size of the Blossom. The Colour took up an entire side of the Skydock by itself.
As I gently moved the Blossom into position, Minuette rushed out into the chilly air and worked some magic with the lines to the mooring points. As soon as the three lines were in place, I felt the Skydock’s mechanical locks slide out to secure the Blossom into her slip for the night. Convenient that one acted as a gangplank.
Only then did I finally power down the crystal core to minimum and complete my post-flight checklist. Minuette joined me back in the wheelhouse just as I had finished up. I closed both slatted curtains, then smiled at Minuette as we stepped out into the cold, together this time.
Both of us could see our breaths fogging in the chilly mountain air. I hadn’t realized how cold it would be up here and cursed myself again for not having something for Minuette, who was already shivering slightly. My dark ‘flight suit’ kept me well-insulated. Instead of beating myself up about it, I rushed us over the gangplank and into the elevator in the center of the Skydock. Thankfully, the elevator was heated. She rubbed her hooves together next to a vent and looked at me curiously.
“So, what’s the plan, Captain?”
I smirked at her a little. “You know, I could get used to you calling me that.”
“Only if I get a turn someday,” she said sweetly.
“Noted,” I replied, even though I was never going to call Minuette ‘captain.’ “But you realize that makes you my first mate, right?”
“I can think of worse things,” she quipped.
We both laughed, though I was happy the cold hid my blush.
The ground floor of the Skydock for Canter Basin had a nice rustic feel, made to look like an old log cabin from the frontier days. There were two closed food stands, a lot of sofas and chairs, and a single information kiosk with a bored-looking pegasus leaning against the counter, reading a book.
She looked up when the elevator rattled to a stop, then raised an eyebrow at us as we approached.
“You’d better be more polite than the last airship that docked, or you’re getting charged extra for your maintenance fees,” she said flatly.
I blinked, then realized she had to be talking about the ponies who’d come off the Colour. I checked the lanyard around her neck for her name and tried to laugh off the comment. I probably sounded like a donkey with a sore throat.
“We’re not here to start any trouble, Miss High Wind,” I said with a weak smile. “Just want to pay our fees for an overnight stay and see if you have an airship mechanic on hoof.”
“We’d be really appreciative if you could help us out,” Minuette added, directing her nearly-lethal smile onto the mare.
The mare was probably five years younger than either of us, but she still blushed profusely under Minuette’s smile. I couldn’t say I was surprised when High Wind straightened up a little and slipped her book away, giving us—or more accurately, Minuette—her full attention.
“Well, you’re already doing better than those three,” she said, her apathetic expression gaining some actual warmth. “Let’s see, what class is your airship?”
“Modified Bright Bow 7S,” I rattled off. “Beam’s the same.”
“Core type?” she asked as she pulled out a clipboard.
“Albatross.”
Her eyes snapped up to mine and she raised an eyebrow. “This isn’t one of Even Keel’s, is it?”
It was my turn to blush. I looked away and just nodded.
“Well, that’s a different story!” High Wind proclaimed, her face suddenly breaking out into a grin that rivaled Minuette’s. “Torque Wrench’s been aching to see an Even Keel design. I’m sure I can get her up for this, especially since she’s only here for a couple more days.”
“You’re losing your mechanic?” Minuette asked with a frown. “Isn’t that bad?”
High Wind shook her head. “No, no. Torque Wrench is from a little town west of Manehattan. She’s friends with old Vector Angle, our normal mechanic. The cranky old stallion just asked for a favor so he could see his great-grandfilly in Fillydelphia. Anyway, you don’t care about that. You care about that ship of yours!”
I was a little taken aback. Her attitude had changed a lot when Minuette had smiled at her, then a whole lot more when I’d mentioned the Blossom was an Even Keel ship. I had a sneaking suspicion this mare might want to be the next airship mechanic for this little town.
“Docking fee is 50 bits,” High Wind announced with a smile. “All of Even Keel’s ships get a discount. Ponies who don’t yell at me also get an additional discount.”
I wasn’t about to question it, so I quickly hoofed over the bits. They disappeared into a register and High Wind wrote out a receipt for me, then leaned forward on the counter.
“Now, what do you need help with on your ship?”
“Starboard stabilizer fin’s cracked. In four places,” I said it all in a rush, wanting to get it over with as fast as possible. “We got caught in an evening wind coming off west Canter Basin Lake ridge and it damn near blew us half a mile out of position.”
“The west ridge?” High Wind eyed us both again. She seemed to be revising her opinion of us every few seconds. “Tell me you’re not one of them.”
“‘Them’ who?” Minuette asked, mirroring my thoughts.
High Wind blew a red bang out of her face. “Treasure hunters. Every few years, we get a freaking mob of them scrambling all around the lake trying to find the supposed hidden treasure that was buried there by pirates or something equally as absurd. The group that came in before you? They were definitely part of that lot.”
“Wait, there are more?” I cried. I had to push my glasses up before they fell off my face.
“Yeah, some idiot in the Canterlot Times did another article. A part-time reporter called Still Waters. There are airships from here to Whinnyapolis hunting for the wreck of the mythical Cloudshark. Most of them came through here about two days ago. Be happy you missed them. Canterlot ponies can be such a pain.”
I coughed, but I wasn’t about to enlighten her as to the official home port of the Wandering Blossom.
“Anyway,” High Winds chuckled. “Sorry, get me going and I’ll never shut up. You two don’t seem like the type for that anyway. Anything else to report on your airship?”
I was happy to move away from the topic of treasure hunters and frustrated to go back to the topic of the Blossom’s damage.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Scoring on the underside of the hull. Port and starboard of the keel, pretty much from stem to stern, with gouges near the port quarter and amidships on the starboard side.”
High Winds slapped her hoof to her face. “You didn’t.”
I winced. I had a feeling somepony who knew airships would know how that damage occurred, especially with a cracked fin. “Yeah.”
“First run?”
“Yeah.”
“You tried to capsize her, didn’t you?”
I just nodded.
High Winds let out an explosive breath and just clucked her tongue. “You aren’t the first to think they’re good enough to do the pass on her first run. Be happy you got out of it with just that. Last three ships who tried that run with a greenhorn at the helm ended up being towed back to Vanhoover. The one before them? They actually crashed to the bottom of the pass. No casualties, but the ship was a total loss.”
“I get it!” I snapped, my eyes snapping open as I glared at High Winds. “I was dumb, okay? That’s already been made abunda—”
Then Minuette’s hoof was on my shoulder. I glanced at her and her small smile, and all the fire in me just snuffed out. I hung my head.
“She knows,” Minuette said for me.
High Winds was silent for a time before making a noncommittal noise. “I can see that. Well, I guess I pushed you a little, so we’ll call that even. No yelling tax. This time.”
I chuckled despite myself as I looked up. High Winds smiled a little at me while she finished writing out the work order for the Blossom.
“Any idea how long the repairs will take?” I asked, cringing.
“Torque ain’t gonna work on her at night, but we’re open all night, so you’ll be able to stay in your ship if you don’t want to get a room in town,” High Winds shrugged. “She’ll probably get started first thing in the morning. That pony’s usually up hours before dawn. She’s crazy. There’s no other outstanding repair orders—I think—and unless The Ascension of Harmony arrives, you should be first on the docket.”
I twitched at the name of the airship she mentioned but managed to keep any other reaction to myself. At least, that’s what I told myself.
“As for the length of time for the repair, I’m no good with stabilizing fins, so I couldn’t begin to guess. Torque should tell you before she gets to work though.”
“Thanks,” I said with a sigh. It had been about what I expected.
“I don’t suppose you have a good diner in town you’d like to recommend?” Minuette asked sweetly.
“And an outfitter that might still be open?” I added quickly. “My friend here was a last-minute addition to the crew and we need some gear.”
“There’s only one diner in town now that Super Daisy shut down,” she replied as she pointed toward the front doors with a wing. “That’s gonna be Caesar Salad’s place. It’s right out the front door and a block down the street. You can’t miss it. As for outfitters, a fair amount of them are closed for the off-season. But I think Tulip Tool’s still keeps pretty late hours. Try to be in there before ten though, because she has plans after that. Specific plans.”
High Wind blushed and coughed into a hoof.
Minuette giggled, but I just rolled my eyes.
“Don’t worry, lover girl, we won’t mess up your date,” I said with a laugh.
“You’d better not! That’s my fiancée!” she snapped, though she was still blushing.
I couldn’t help but smirk. “I promise not to flirt too much with her.”
High Winds’ eyes lit up. “Oh, no, go ahead and flirt with her, but I wanna be there to watch. I’ve seen her suplex an earth pony twice her size with just her wings!”
She let out a smitten little sigh and stared off into some special place lovers get to see.
I shook my head. “Well, thank you. I appreciate the help, High Wind.”
High Wind came back to herself. “Right, thank you! I’ll make sure Torque gets your work order as soon as possible! Have a great night!”
Minuette giggled and waved at the pegasus mare as we headed for the door.
“Okay, that?” Minuette squealed softly under her breath. “That was adorable.”
I couldn’t help but nod in agreement, even if romantic ideas were exactly what I was trying to avoid right now. That had been adorable.
“Yeah, it was pretty cute. Now I really want to meet this Tulip Tool,” I replied.
Minuette’s stomach made a rumbling protest. She looked up at me and blushed faintly. “After dinner?”
“Sure, after dinner,” I agreed as we stepped out into Canter Basin itself.