The first clone couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
When she looked up at the cabins, she noticed blinds being opened. Before she could turn away, she realized the other clone was staring straight down at her. Time imperceptibly ground to a halt as the gravity of the situation began to dawn on them. No words were exchanged, if only for the fact that the situation spoke for itself. After a few tense moments, the first clone shook her head and hesitantly glanced up at the window again, only to find that the blinds were closed. Her actions didn’t go unnoticed, however. “Ms. Pie? Pray tell, is something the matter?” Pinkie snapped from her stupor when she realized that Princess Luna was still with her.
“Uh… n-nope! Nothing’s wrong! Everything’s totally fine, yep yep!” Before Luna could respond, Pinkie started leading her into the building which housed the cabins. “Y… you must be really tired from teleporting us both onto the ship! We should… f-find you a place to sit! Yep yep! Don’t want you fainting during the meeting!” Pinkie quickly ushered a rather addled Luna inside.
“Okie dokie! You just sit right here. I’ll go find someone to check us in!” Before Luna could protest, Pinkie already disappeared from sight. When she entered the hallway, Pinkie wiped some sweat from her brow. “Phew! That was another close call! I think I need to find a certain someone and have a little chat with her…”
As the first clone left the foyer to search for the second, the second clone came down the hallway from the opposite direction of the first. “Where are you…?” Pinkie muttered to herself as she turned a corner and saw something pink out of the corner of her eye. “Aha! Found you!” she exclaimed as she hurried along to catch up.
Luna could hear frantic hoofsteps right outside of the foyer. She stood up and moved into the hall to see what all the commotion was about.
Pinkie wasn’t watching where she was going. “Oof!” she grunted as she rubbed her head. When she looked up, she saw the pony she bumped into was none other than Princess Luna.
“Ah, Ms. Pie! Thou must have found someone rather swiftly. Tell us, what is our room number? We also noticed that your luggage is missing. We are left to assume that you already finished unpacking?” Pinkie froze in place, staring up at Luna with a vacant expression. A look of confusion darted across the clone’s features. It was quickly replaced with widened eyes, furrowed eyebrows, and a forced smile as she quickly drummed up a response. She chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of her head.
“Ah! U-uh, no... I haven’t found anyone yet, Princess. I’m looking for a certain someone though, so I think I’ll ju--”
“Mayhap we can provide our assistance,” Luna interjected. “Provide us with a description, and we shall assist you forthrightly!” Luna announced in the Royal Canterlot Voice as she extended a hoof towards Pinkie.
Upon hearing this, Pinkie frantically waved her forelegs in front of herself. “O-oh no, that’s okay, Ireallydon’tneed--” Luna pressed a hoof to Pinkie’s mouth.
“No, we insist that we lend thee our aid. Thou look much troubled, and our conscience would not rest if we denied the aid that is sorely required.”
“Butbutbut!” Pinkie tried to protest, however Luna was already ushering her out of the room.
“I do not like boondoggling, Ms. Pie. Onward, let us solve this problem we are having!” Pinkie nervously began leading Luna along the hallway, her mind racing a mile a minute to come up with a suitable explanation as to who she was searching for. Oh Celestia. I just hope that the other me isn’t roaming about right now. I don’t know how long I can keep this up.
Meanwhile, the second clone made her way down the hall, checking every few doors for the first clone. "Nope, nopony in this one. Or this one, this one…" Eventually, Pinkie found herself back at the foyer, having gone a full circle and not locating the other one.
"There you are!" Pinkie's head snapped to the right to see a stallion heading over to her. She recognized him nearly immediately. "What's gotten into you? First I hear you running across our room, then I come out to see you about ready to bust down the cabin door. I know something's up, nobody acts like that when things are going well. So, care to explain why you were acting so weird?" Sunburst stopped a short distance away from Pinkie, who stared back at him with a glazed look in her eyes as she tried to process what he was talking about.
“Um, what are you talking about? I wasn’t acting strange…” Pinkie tried to protest, but the expression on Sunburst’s face allowed for no arguments on the matter. The words wilted and died on her tongue as he took a few steps closer. He cleared his throat before beginning to recount the events of a few minutes prior.
“First, I heard you open the blinds as I was going into the restroom. That was all well and good until I heard the stomping of hooves outside of the door.'' By now, Pinkie was scratching her cheek and trying to get a word in edgewise, however Sunburst simply ignored her in favor of continuing his rant, “Normally I wouldn’t pay it any mind, but I heard them coming closer. I figured you were going to try and burst into the bathroom in a panic, so I came out to see what was going on. That was when I saw you at the door, looking ready to run straight through it.” When Pinkie opened her mouth, Sunburst shoved a hoof onto it to silence her. “I know what you’re going to say, ‘Butbutbut, I don’t remember doing that!’, right? You aren’t getting out of this one so easily, Pinkie. Come back to the room and explain yourself.”
Pinkie sighed and subduedly nodded her head as Sunburst lowered his hoof. Turning sharply on his hooves, he began leading her back up the hallway from whence she came. At the same time, Luna and the first clone were coming around the corner as they continued their search. As the two clones passed by each other, they seamlessly swapped positions and continued on like nothing had happened.
“Do we know who we are looking for, Ms. Pie?” Luna questioned as she glanced down to Pinkie beside her. It was at this time she noticed the luggage on Pinkie’s back. “Ms. Pie? Why are you still carrying around thy luggage? Didn’t thou place it in our room? We are confused, did thou find a room beforehand or not?”
“Um…” Pinkie tapped the tips of her hooves together momentarily. “I may have set it down in an empty room figuring it was ours?” Luna stared blankly at Pinkie, who chuckled nervously and rubbed her forelegs together before relenting with a soft sigh.
“We suppose it cannot be helped. Let us return to the foyer to see if we cannot garner some assistance.” Luna slowly shook her head as she followed the hallway back to the foyer area.
Meanwhile, Sunburst glanced behind him and could have sworn he was seeing double. Two Pinkies in the same space? He rubbed his eyes, figuring he was seeing things. When he was finished, the first clone had already left the hallway. "But, uh, huh? Pinkie? Did you just see that?" he asked, waving a foreleg in the general direction the other one left. Pinkie glanced up at Sunburst with one eyebrow raised.
"See what, Sunny? I only saw Princess Luna leaving. What did you see?" she replied nonchalantly.
Sunburst stared at Pinkie with wide eyes and a frantic expression. "S-so, you didn't see that other version of you just walk away with the princess?" he asked as Pinkie pronked over and rested a hoof on his back.
"Don't you worry, Sunny! There's only one me, and that's all there ever will be!" she exclaimed, which seemed to placate him. Satisfied with the fact that there was only one Pinkie after all, he went on his way with her in tow.
The sun sat low in the sky as Luna and Pinkie finally returned to the foyer. As they arrived, they came across someone who could finally settle them in. The attendant was very apologetic for not being present when the two first arrived and took the pair’s names. She was a little confused when she saw Pinkie’s name written in the book already, but chalked it up to an oversight and wrote her name down again. After taking Luna’s name and realizing that the lunar diarch was on board the airship, she excused herself briefly to notify the staff and quickly made arrangements for a bed that was more accommodating for her.
After they settled into their cabin, and Luna allowed herself to flop onto her bed and make herself comfortable, Pinkie started to unpack her saddlebags and gave the room a cursory glance. A pair of beds sat against the western wall, with a single nightstand and lamp set between them. Another door sat off to the right of the main door, presumably for the bathroom. Beige curtains were drawn across the wall directly across from her. “Now, Ms. Pie. I am sure that thou wish to know more about our meeting, yes?”
“Didn’t you already explain this to me before we got on the airship, Princess?” Pinkie quipped as she hopped onto the second bed, which creaked as she sat upon it. “I thought you made it perfectly clear I was supposed to keep things on track.” Pinkie paused and brought a hoof to her chin. ”Are you trying to tell me that isn’t the only job I have?” She tilted her head.
Luckily for Pinkie, she didn’t have to think about it for too long. “Verily, thou are correct in assuming this, Ms. Pie. However, I need us both to be on the same page when we walk in. Now, from what our sister had informed us, Maretonia’s Duke has been neglecting to pay his tariffs for many moons.”
“Surely it can’t be that much, right Princess?” Pinkie interjected with an air of uncertainty. “He seemed trustworthy from what I could gather, so what could he possibly owe? A thousand, maybe two?”
“From last year’s tariff report, he owes…” Luna paused and ignited her horn. A scroll embedded with the royal seal conjured itself into existence and rose to her face. After a few moments of scrutiny, Luna lowered the scroll slightly. “According to this official statement from the Crown, a hundred thousand bits.”
Pinkie’s jaw immediately opened so wide it impacted the floor with a soft thud. A few moments later, it was enveloped in the soft glow of Luna’s magic and promptly closed. “Before you say anything, yes, this is a serious matter we have been sent out to resolve. Our sister also mentioned making an attempt to open trading with him. She stated, and I quote, ‘mainly for their silk along with a few other things they are known for’.”
"Gee, I wonder what those other things might be?" Pinkie mused as she rubbed her chin with a hoof and made exaggerated humming sounds.
"Our sister is very enigmatic indeed." Luna slipped from the bed and rose to her hooves. "We will be heading outside for some fresh air, Ms. Pie. You are free to remain here if it pleases." Without waiting for a reply, Luna opened the door with her magic and stepped out of the room.
Pinkie was about to stand up and follow her out when a harsh whine pierced the silence. Her eyes were immediately drawn to a crudely constructed megaphone made of what Pinkie decided was warped plastic. Inside of the rounded end, a stopper could be seen plugged into a raised portion of the interior. Squinting, she could barely make out a wire mesh wrapped around the tip of it. A few moments later, a crackling sound came from it, and a voice, clearly male in origin, projected itself into the room.
"Good afternoon, passengers, and welcome aboard Canterlot Air. I am your captain, Clear Skies. In just a few moments, we'll be leaving Equestria and heading over the Neiponeise strait to our first stop, Mount Aris. We should arrive, if all goes well, in a little under an hour. All passengers looking to disembark should begin to pack their luggage and await further instructions. Once again, we should arrive at our first stop, Mount Aris, in a little under an hour. All passengers looking to disembark should begin packing their bags and await further instructions. Thank you for your anticipated cooperation, and thank you for flying Canterlot Air." The crackling sound cut off, leaving Pinkie in silence once more.
"...and that's why I was in such a hurry, Sunny. I'm sorry that I worried you so badly."
Pinkie scuffed the carpeted floor of their cabin with a hoof. Sunburst, for his part, had the decency to rub the back of his head and sigh. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that, Pinkie. I overreacted for no good reason. I should have known that Princess Luna was on the airship as well, seeing how much commotion was going on earlier. I--"
Before Sunburst could comment further, a sharp whine pierced the awkward silence of the room. Their ears snapped to the sound and listened intently. After the announcement ended, the duo looked at each other for a moment. "So soon?" they both asked nearly in unison as they stared up at the cone in stunned silence.
Sunburst was already collecting their luggage by the time Pinkie snapped from her stupor. "Well, guess we should head to the deck. If our stop is coming up soon, we should probably make the most of it, huh?" With a nod from Sunburst, the duo left their room.
On the deck, Princess Luna was resting against a portion of the guardrail and looked out to the ocean ahead of them. After a few minutes, the low peal of thunder caused her to snap her head from the water and out to the expanse of sea ahead. Eventually, she noticed a particularly dark patch of clouds a few miles out to sea. Lightning arced from the dark edges of the cloud, heating the air around it and causing her to avert her eyes from the bright flashes of light. "That does not bode well for us," she mumbled to nopony in particular as the cloud seemed to ripple slightly from the intense pressure released by the bolts.
"What doesn't bode well for us, Princess?" Luna jumped a few inches in the air, spinning around with her horn lit.
“You shall rue the moment that you attempted to sneak upon Princess Luna, Lunara Invictus, Priestess of the Moon! I shall give you a few moments to pray to whichever god you follow before you shall be sent to meet with them personally!” Luna roared in the Royal Canterlot Voice as she lowered her horn. When she saw the shocked face of Sunburst staring back at her, she expelled a breath she wasn't aware she was holding and dimmed her horn.
"We would like to apologize, Sunburst. Your outburst merely startled us. Why are you on the deck?" Luna tilted her head slightly, one hoof scratching at her cheek as she glanced over her shoulder.
"Well, you see, my st--"
Sunburst was cut off by the sharp squeal of the intercom turning on again. "Attention, passengers, this is your captain speaking." Several pairs of ears pricked as heads turned to give the announcement their full attention. "I have just received word that the Cloudsdale Weather Team had neglected to inform us of a storm they were creating over the Neiponeise strait yesterday. If you look off of the port side of the ship, you'll see the weather team heading out to move the storm inland."
Off to the side of the ship, several flocks of pegasi flew by. A few of them landed on the deck of the airship and attempted to calm the passengers. "We were informed by the weather team captain that we should alter our course, unless we want to fly straight into the storm. Due to this, the next stop will be delayed by a few hours. We apologize for the inconvenience, and we recommend that all passengers return to their cabins. Once again, thank you for flying Canterlot Air."
As the trio stood there, the airship lurched to the left, heading towards the Everfree Forest as the storm slowly began to move inland. From where they were, they noticed that the cloud appeared to be unstable, and the team was having a difficult time controlling it. The surface of the cloud appeared to be rather spongy due to the amount of water it was allowed to collect. Several members were trying to kick the cloud into a more condensed shape, however the only thing they seemed to accomplish was making their rear hooves rather damp. To an untrained observer, the storm appeared to be casually fighting back against the efforts of the team to manipulate its structure.
Even as the pegasi tried to get the cloud under control, several bolts of lightning arced from the black frills of the cloud’s edge, catching several of them off guard. They were electrocuted by one of the stray lightning bolts and started plummeting to the ground below. Several wingponies broke off of the cloud formation to bring them to safety.
The cloud lazily drifted off course. Even though they were turning away, the cloud seemed determined to collide with the airship as the weather team ineffectively tried to corral the unruly storm. As lightning crackled in the sky, nearly everyone on board quickly darted for the safety of the main building as rain pelted the ones that remained; either frozen in abject fear or fascination at seeing such a storm up close.
A few crew members barely had time to react as lightning arced over the airship, narrowly missing its target. The remaining passengers fled for the main building in sheer terror. Meanwhile, Princess Luna ignited her horn and teleported herself, Sunburst, and Pinkie to safety.