Glacies' engine chuffed and huffed as the locomotive flew away from New Canterlot. The train was slowly descending towards the brownish-orange smog down below. Tin did not want to linger; steaming ahead, they soon left the murky skies behind. The rest of the crew seemed to share this desire.
"I think I saw something in that smog," Ocellus said, "Pipes, structures… what is it?"
"No clue," Tin said grimly, "But New Canterlot ponies call it 'The Factory'. Bad place. Very bad place. Wagons of raws come in, finished goods come out..."
"Raws?"
Ocellus immediately felt she should not have asked that question. No, she realized she didn't want to know.
"Minerals, gems, lumber, metals, non-ponies…" Ten' listed with a sigh, "That thing chews up everything and anything. It… It’s not natural"
The changeling looked at the shadowy stallion. He remained an enigma, too. Why did he look kind-of like Sombra, except, well, gray-green eyes and horn instead of red?..
"And I swear it gets bigger every time we visit this thrice-damned city," Mecha spat out, looking in the rear windows of the bridge, "It's like this bloody thing is alive or something…"
"Is everything skyfarers face so… scary?" Ocellus asked quietly. That was meant to be a rhetoric question..
"Welcome to the skies," Tin grumbled, "Come for the sights, stay for the madness."
"True," Ten' said, looking at Ocellus with a neutral expression, "The skies are full of terrible wonders..."
His expression then softened, a smile appeared on his lips, "...But they also are full of wonderful terrors…" he made a pause, looking at Tin, who slightly turned his head towards Ten' with a frown on his face, then at Mecha, who was grinning ear to ear, "But it depends on how you see it… Case in point," he gestured at Tin, whose ear flicked, indicating rising annoyance, "You have journeyed far and wide across the Äther; You've been at every port, from Empire to Klugetown; You've seen all of the known heaven, and even ventured outside a little. Tell me, what does the Äther hold?"
"Horrors," Tin said grimly and turned away, "We were never invited here. This Disaster never was meant to happen. We are intruding in the grand house and we are not welcome here. Thus, we must learn to tread lightly, and carry a big, very big friggin' gun"
"Right," Ten' nodded, "Now you," he gestured at Mecha, "Same question"
"Wonders!" the unicorn answered chipperly, little sparks dancing in his eyes, "The Äther holds so much beauty and miracles waiting to be discovered, by those who are bold and brave to venture where no one dared to go before, and sturdy enough to endure the winds!"
"See?" the shadowy stallion's smile grew, "Two ponies, two opinions, both valid."
"And what is your opinion?" Ocellus asked Ten'.
"Both," he said with a smirk, "The skies are full of horrific wonders and wonderful horrors. Both worth to write about"
"So, um, you're a writer?"
"Yes," Ten' nodded, "And I am writing something that hopefully will be remembered forever, and will inspire others to explore the Äther..." there was a momentary pause, tickling his chin with a quill tip, "...Say. I'd like to hear about some of your experiences sometime. More specifically, how you got here. Come talk to me when we are in port, and bring your friends along. More accounts will never hurt"
"Okay," Ocellus nodded, "I'll keep your suggestion in mind"
It was later that day when Ocellus gathered her friends in the crew quarters.
"I need to tell you something important"
Everycreature looked at Ocellus with varying emotions.
"Hope it's something quick," Gallus huffed, "I'm needed on the bridge soon"
Ocellus made sure that the door to the cabin was closed, and took a deep breath, "There is evidence that Tin may be with the Church of Benevolent Darkness"
"So?" Gallus flicked his tail in annoyance.
"This… organisation had different names in the past, but most prevalent ones are 'Cult of Umbra' and 'Liberators of Darkness'," Ocellus explained, "Their goal over the ages was plunging Equus into utter darkness in the name of their unseen mistress, Umbra…"
"So night eternal, like Nightmare Moon?" Sandbar asked.
Ocellus shook her head, "No, not night eternal. 'Our goal is to make it so that neither Sun, nor Moon, nor any star close or distant, nor lantern nor fire would defile the sanctity of our mistress' shadow', said their manifest. They wanted to plunge the world into utter lightless dark, to eliminate all sources of light!"
There was a momentary pause.
"Sounds grim, but over the top," Sandbar said sceptically, "How did they want to do that?"
"I do not know," Ocellus said, "But I know that over the years, this cult has been destroyed several times by Celestia's finest… And it still came back every time"
"Yona think changeling friend worry too much," Yak said, patting Ocellus' elytra, "Yona no like Tin. But Yona thinks Tin not that bad!"
"Look, let's just keep an eye and ear on him and the crew," Gallus said.
"Dude's right," Sandbar nodded, "Let's not jump to conclusions, but observe and decide then"
Ocellus bit her lip.
"If you say so," she sighed, "But please, be careful-"
"You know, I think we've got nothing to worry about," Silverstream said suddenly. Upon everycreature looking at her questioningly, she elaborated, "Tin constantly says Umbra's name, in case you haven’t noticed! Pretty much like anypony would use Celestia or Luna's name. So, either this cult of darkness isn't all that sinister and evil, or our good captain just does not give a damn about belonging to it, or just being blasphemous!" she then shrugged, "I mean, if they were evil, the followers would at least not mention their goddess’ name out in the open, right?"
Ocellus bit her lip a bit harder. Maybe she was trying to look too deep into it, after all…
"Maybe you are right. But still, please, keep an eye out on Tin," she said.
It was a bright high noon when Glacies came to a screeching halt at Ponyville platform.
"Aight," Tin said, "Silverstream, you have your orders, plus two measures of coal for Ashes. The engine is always hungry… And a rations crate would be nice, too," followed by a sigh, "So, who's coming to Starlight?"
Mecha huffed angrily.
"I'm coming," Sandbar said, "I've got the journal"
"I'm coming too," Ocellus added.
Gallus shrugged, "I'm in."
"Yeah, me too," Smolder nodded.
"Yona go with hippogryph friend!" Yona proclaimed, "Yona help carry things! Yak best at carrying!"
"M-hm," Tin nodded, "Aight, Sandy, lead the way. The rest are free to do as you will. Meeting here in two hours. Dismissed!"
Mecha huffed again and trotted away, without even acknowledging his captain's dismissal. Ocellus looked after the unicorn with a worried expression. His emotions were in a turmoil. Not unlike a storm.
"So why are you coming with us?" Sandbar asked Tin in the meantime. The stallion flicked his ear in mild irritation.
"I don't want any surprises with this operation," he said, "The last thing I'd want to hear before departure is something like 'We need to go to the dragons' lands because lettuce!', you get my point. Forewarned, forearmed."
"Yeah, about that," Sandbar chuckled nervously, "If Starlight can't read the journal, we might need to go there and look for Spike…"
Tin stopped and stared at Sandbar. The yellowish-greenish earth pony grinned sheepishly.
The gray earth pony sucked air through his nostrils, making them flare a little. Then he exhaled in a loud, frustrated snort.
"Just… Let's get done with this," he sighed. Sandbar quickly nodded and the group proceeded onward.
Twilight's (technically now Starlight's) School of Friendship stood proudly still, despite everything. What's more, it still was full. Ponies, gryphons, changelings, kirins, even some dragons, abyssinians and diamond pups were present among the students. Some even recognized them as former students (and national heroes) and greeted them. Ocellus could sense the nostalgic tingle that Gallus and Smolder were feeling as they walked through the halls, towards headmare Starlight's office. Truth to be told, she felt the same. It's been too long since she's been here...
Sandbar knocked on the office door.
"One moment!" came a reply from the other side, "Please, come in!"
The stallion opened the door, "Hello, headmare Starlight," he said with a smile.
"Sandbar!" Starlight smiled warmly. Her face got a few wrinkles from age, and a few gray hairs appeared in her mane, but otherwise, she didn't change much, "What brings you-Gallus?.. Ocellus? Smolder?" she blinked in slight confusion, which turned into joy a moment later, "Oh, it's so good to see you all again!" Starlight smiled warmly, "Where's Yona and Silverstream?"
"They are away on an errand from me," Tin said as he entered the office as well, making Starlight look at him in confusion.
"Ah, I don't believe we've met, sir?.."
"Kapitänleutnant Tin Pest, captain and proprietor of Äther-train Glacies Perfuro. And don't 'sir' me, I'm not from the navy," Tin scoffed, "Get to the point of our visit, Sandbar."
Sandbar glared at Tin, then once again turned towards confused Starlight, "Empress Cadance hired him to help us find Twilight Sparkle, and it seems that the job does not exactly agree with him..."
This time it was Tin who glared at Sandbar.
"...So before this dude pops a hernia or gets a funny aneurysm," Sandbar reached into his saddlebag and pulled out Twilight's journal, "We've got this. However, it's heavily warded and we can't read most of it. We hoped Twilight trusted you enough to allow you to read it…"
Starlight took the journal and examined it.
"Hm," she said and frowned, "Yes, I've seen it before. Twilight never showed it to me, however… well, the contents, that is…"
The unicorn mare opened the journal and flipped through a few pages. Her frown deepened.
"Yes, I do feel the ward on this thing… My, it's a strong one..." she mumbled as her horn lit up a bit brighter. Then her eyes widened, "I think-I got it! I got it!" she plopped the journal on the table.
“What?” Tin said with an annoyed flick of his ear.
“Shh,” Starlight hushed, and flipped through the pages. The gray stallion peeked over her shoulder at the pages.
“You can read this gibberish?” Tin said sceptically.
“It’s warded against prying eyes,” Starlight said, “But it seems to react to my magic signature somehow. So, yes, I can read it…”
“Good,” Tin snapped, “Now tell us where Twilight is so we could go back to the Empire and inform her brother on her whereabouts”
Starlight squinted slightly at Tin. The stallion kept looking at her with a stony expression. She sighed, and flipped through the pages to the end of Twilight’s writing (or so it seemed). Then she frowned.
“...Strange,” she muttered, flipping back a page, then another, “...This… This doesn’t seem like Twilight writing this, yet it’s her penmanship…”
Tin slightly tilted his head and flicked his ear. Gallus rolled his eyes and elbowed the stallion’s side, earning a glare from him.
“What’s wrong?” Sandbar asked.
“She keeps mentioning Elysium,” Starlight replied, “...And… uh… Okay, it’s strange to say it out loud, Her Harmonic Majesty, Empress Celest… Celeste?..”
“And yet nobody finds it strange that princess Cadance changed her title to empress,” Sandbar huffed.
“Empires are led by emperors and empresses,” Tin retorted, “Taking up proper title means they decided to step up in responsibility…” he flicked his ear again, “And seeing how the Empire prospers, they take them seriously… But, without digressing,” the stallion frowned, “I’ve been all over the known Äther, and never have I ever heard of a port, or city, or a place called Elysium. Unless,” he huffed, “We’re talking about that Elysium”
“I highly doubt that this is the case,” Starlight huffed in response, looking at Tin in annoyance, “How would this journal be here if she was dead?”
“I could name at least two…” he paused for a second, “Three explanations for this. All include the current state of the world. Get back to reading,” Gallus once again elbowed Tin’s side, making the stallion glare at the gryphon, “...Second pilot, stop that. I have an authority to reprimand you, and I will not tolerate insubordination.”
“Pilot?” Starlight blinked, and earned another glare from Tin, “Okay, maybe later. Right…” she went back to reading the journal, “Hm… Okay, let’s try earlier entries…”
The pages flipped as Starlight went through the text, her frown deepened.
“I don’t understand,” she muttered, “How did that even?.. Oh… Ohm…”
Tin tapped his hoof on the floor. Impatiently.
“Be quiet,” Starlight grunted. Flipping through several more pages, she sighed and closed the journal.
“Well?” Tin asked.
“I do not have a conclusive answer,” Starlight said and turned around, “We need to check something first”
“Oh good, is that some ancient doorstopper?” the sky-captain rolled his eyes.
“No… but…" Starlight said, and bit her lower lip for a moment, "We need to go where… Where the Disaster originated from,” she looked out of the window of her office, at barely visible orb or purple mist in the distance, “We need to go to Canterlot.”
“What.” Tin stared at Starlight.
“It seems that something happened to Twilight and everypony there when they activated the device Twilight worked on,” Starlight said, picking up Twilight’s journal and stuffing it into her saddlebags, “Something happened to them and threw them to someplace she later referred to as Elysium…”
“What was that thing she was working on, headmare?” Ocellus asked.
Starlight frowned once again.
“She called it ‘The Dawn Machine’... And it appears that something went wrong when they activated it…”
“Understatement of the century,” Tin rolled his eyes. This time, it was Smolder who elbowed him, “Crew. Stop. That.”
"I need to make a few arrangements first," Starlight said, "Where is your locomotive right now?"
"Why are you asking this?" Tin squinted.
"Well, you're going to need an arcana expert…" Starlight began but Tin cut her off.
"My first officer is one."
"Can he read the journal?" Smolder quipped, crossing her arms over her chest. Tin huffed, and the orange dragoness smirked, "Thought so"
"And as such, you are going to need me to fully understand how to get to Elysium and find Twilight," Starlight said, "I apologize for any inconveniences this may cause you, captain-"
"Inconveniencing me should be the least of your worries," Tin replied grimly. Starlight tilted her head questioningly.
"I think the crew of Glacies ain't holding you in high regard," Gallus deadpanned.
"Oh-uh-um, why-"
"That, too, should be quite low on her list of things to worry about," Tin made a pause to take his flask and take a swig from it, earning a small glare from the headmare, "No, the main problem with this scenario is that Mecha, my first officer, actually wants her dead."
This left every creature in the office silent.
“Wha-why?!” Sandbar finally squeezed out, dumbfounded.
“Reasons,” Tin said grimly. Gallus immediately remembered both stallions’ reaction to Starlight’s name. ‘Just a name we could live without ever hearing again’, as Tin put it, “But I think I can hold him back for a little while. But be prepared for a lot of hostility from him”
Starlight frowned.
“When will you be ready to board?” the captain continued meanwhile.
“Oh, uhm…” the unicorn mare stuttered for a moment, “Uh, I’m going to need about… Two to three hours?”
Tin let out a hum. Then he grunted and shook his head.
“Is Berry’s Bedazzling Brews still operational?” he asked.
“Yes,” Sandbar answered instead of Starlight, “Though Ruby is stepping in as the runner of the place…”
“Good,” Tin snorted and flicked his ear, “Find me there when you’re done with your whatever”
With that, he turned around and stepped out of the office.
“Hey, wait!” Starlight put on her saddlebags and trotted after him. Tin did not stop, trotting on ahead, “Captain Tin, wait-”
“You have my crew to show you the way,” the stallion said in a slightly annoyed tone, picking up pace, seemingly in a hurry to leave the School of Friendship.
Curiously, everyone seemed to prefer to keep some distance from him.
“It’s not that!” the mare said as the two exited the building, “I’m just trying to-”
“Trying to what?” Tin stopped and turned around, causing Starlight to bump into him, “Understand why we are, so to say, upset about you?”
“Um, yes,” she said, taking a step back.
“Well, to make a long story short, you ponies have hurt us,” Tin said, taking another swig from his flask.
“The rules forbid consumption of alcohol on the school grounds,” Starlight frowned.
“Bite me,” Tin replied, putting the flask back into the pouch of his jacket, “And yes, you ponies have hurt us. Me, less so than Mecha. I managed. He…” the stallion made a pause and his expression darkened, “He, less so”
“But, what happened?” Starlight asked uncomfortably.
“And why do you care?” Tin huffed in response, as Sandbar, Gallus, Smolder and Ocellus caught up with them, “For all you know we’re just some random strangers brought to you by a twist of fate. This whole endeavor will be over soon and you’ll most likely even forget we ever existed. So, again, why do you care?”
He tapped his hoof on the ground as Starlight looked at him in shock.
"B-because that's what-"
“'Because that's what friends do'? Really? Let me be clear, Starlight," Tin let out an irritated grunt, "You are not my friend. Twilight was not my friend. And after what you all did, I am very cautious about whom I call friends. Real friends, not ones who pretend to be one because they fear a tyrant!"
"What?.." Starlight blurted out. A couple of ponies turned to look at the ranting stallion.
"Yes, there were ones who were genuinely happy. But many more were putting on a happy face because of fear. Everyone remembered Twilight's 'little' breakdown with the 'want-it, need-it' spell. Everyone remembered that, but few talk of it nowadays," Tin scoffed in the meantime, "Because everyone was afraid. Sure, all is well right now, but what happens next? What if she snaps? What if she begins to 'reform' everycreature that does not fit her vision of friendship and harmony? She had resources for that," the stallion began to circle around the group, "She had the mare, who, while being a unicorn, was comparable to her - an alicorn! - in magic power and knew mind manipulation..."
"Hey! I put that behind me long ago!" Starlight protested.
Tin ignored that outburst, "She had an omnipresent near-deity that could bend reality over and have his way with it. She had two retired princesses to back her up, and don't get me started on that 'rainbow of friendship' crap. But oh, that's not just it," the stallion's expression turned to a scowl as he began to pace around Starlight like a wolf, "What if she took it a step further? What if she began to turn creatures into stone left and right, just because they didn't fit into that perfect little world of friendship she had imagined?"
"Okay, Twilight would never do that!" Starlight scoffed.
"Yeah? You sure?" Tin sneered, "Because I got a trio of creatures who'd disagree with-oh wait, they can't! Because they're DEAD!" the stallion barked in Starlight's face. The mare's eyes opened wide in shock and Tin continued with an eyeroll, "Oh come on, don't look at me that way. No creature and nothing could survive being in the epicentre of whatever magic disaster our friendly princess caused. I'm not sure what you hope to find there. Now where was I-oh, right! Well, your princesses were surely quick to turn the three to stone. Despite them all actually KNOWING how it feels to be petrified! Hay, I know that myself! Anything chicken-shaped is bound to give me nightmares because of this!"
"But they were irredeemable!" Starlight snarled, "They caused the Windigo to return and almost freeze us all!"
"Oh for ffff-" Tin raised his hoof to slam on the ground when he noticed a colt among the ponies overlooking the conversation, "-Ffffaust's sake, Starlight! You just took the easy way out without solving ANYTHING! Tirek, Chrysalis, Cozy, Sombra, Pony of Shadows - they all are SYMPTOMS! Not the CAUSE! Open your bloody eyes already and wake the fff-fowl up! Not every problem has the solution floating on the surface like shhhhh-ship!.. Dig! Deeper! But nope. Petrify them forever, trapping sapient beings in total sensory deprivation, problem gelöst, and leave the one truly guilty free!"
He pawed at the ground angrily.
"I mean, have you ever, ever tried to figure out what Cozy's problem was before you gleefully sent her to Tartarus, and then turned her into a lawn ornament?"
Silence was the answer.
"Figures. See where I'm coming from? We all lived in the shadow of a friendship terror. Now? We're free. Sure, we face new horrors and trials, but they are nothing compared to the return of the dreaded Checklist Princess…" Tin sucked air through his teeth, "And I am driving an expedition to find her. This damn reward better be worth it..."
"You said a bad word!" gasped the colt who was overhearing the conversation.
"You're going to hear a lot more bad words in my line of work, kiddo," Tin deadpanned, "Now scram, before you will hear more bad words from me!"
A mare (presumably the foal's mother) glared at Tin and pushed the colt away, despite his protest.
"Dirty-mouthed sky-mongrels," she muttered angrily.
"Zip it, land-blubber, you won't last a day in the Äther!" Tin sneered loudly, then looked at the other creatures watching the scene, "And you all - scram as well! Don't you have things to do? Get. Lost!"
The creatures around them did their best to actively ignore the sky-captain and proceed on with their lives.
"That was unnecessary," Starlight mumbled, "And, for the record, I was against sending Cozy to Tartarus-"
"And that worked swimmingly," Tin scoffed, speech oozing with sarcasm, "Didn't it? The princesses, like, totally listened to you!"
Starlight averted her gaze and pawed at the ground anxiously. Tin sighed.
"Get doing whatever you need to be done. I'll be at Berry's. This exchange is over," he said and trotted away.
Starlight stood there, looking after the stallion walking away, her expression unreadable, but underneath it, Ocellus could taste sadness. Tin, in the meantime, was carrying away with him the feeling of bitterness, suppressed anger and disappointment, spiced with tones of painful nostalgia.
"The skies are wide and good friends are too few," the changeling said quietly. Suddenly this phrase had a whole new meaning to her.
"So, seeing how our ray of sunshine left to get totalled, what do we do now?" Gallus asked.
That lightly startled Starlight, bringing her out from her thoughts, "I need to make a couple of arrangements and grab a few tools…"
Mecha wandered through the streets of Ponyville in a seemingly aimless stumble, without a goal or purpose, going wherever his hooves would take him. Now and then a passer-by would greet him with a nod, or a wave, but nothing more. Just small, friendly gestures, without any recognition. He was unsure if it was good or bad. Perhaps the former. Eventually, he moved away from the center of the town to the outskirts… where he saw a familiar-looking house.
Mecha stopped and looked at it. It was a simple two-story building, really, and did not stand out at all. Plaster-covered brickwork, with some decorative wooden beams supporting the walls. Square windows, with bright-green frames and shutters. Thatch roofing, gray brick-and-mortar chimney, smoke coming out from it. A smell of apple pie coming from the open window, and the atmosphere of content and love seeped from inside.
Once, he called this place his home.
Mecha sighed. A question popped in his head, the one he asked so many times: when did it all go so wrong? Yet now, there were new ones: Was there anything that could be done? Was everything rigged against them in the first place? Was it wrong of him and the other few to show loyalty?..
Maybe he should try to drink. Like his captain does whenever he has nightmares. Drink and forget. Forget what he saw, forget the secrets that gnaw…
If only, if only it was this easy.
"Excuse me, sir?"
Mecha blinked at the voice drawing him from the trappings of his mind. The house door was open, and a unicorn mare stood in the frame. A filly peeked out cautiously from behind it, and a rather imposing earth stallion watched from behind her.
"Did you want something?" the mare asked cautiously.
Mecha averted his gaze.
"Sorry," he said, "I, uh, a friend of mine used to live here…” the stallion lied through his teeth, “But not anymore it seems… Do you know where he left?.."
The mare's expression softened.
"I'm sorry," she said, "We've been living here for two decades and some years. We bought this house from the town, because its last owner disappeared without a trace..."
"I see," Mecha replied, hiding his bitterness. Nopony recognized him here anymore, and there truly was nothing left for him here, "I'm sorry for, erh, being creepy at your doorstep. I should go. Farewell."
"Wait!" the mare called, before disappearing in the house for a few moments. She returned with a warm slice of an apple pie on a paper plate. Mecha raised an eyebrow as the mare levitated the plate over to him.
"Here," she said, "I'm sorry about your friend, but maybe this will make you feel a bit better. A taste of home, so to say, for a weary skyfarer…"
Mecha accepted the plate and nodded curtly, "Thank you, ma'am. Farewell, and… Please, take care of this house. It… It means a lot to me"
And with that, he turned away and walked back towards the town center.
He thought back, to the times before everything. The times when he was younger, the times when he lived here and made small mechanical contraptions that didn't do anything per se, but had such intricate workings that just watching them was pleasing on its own. Then… one ill-fated happening, a movement born of desperation…
'And can you keep your head, your backbone, or your heart…'
They all found out the answer on the day it fell apart.
Things only went downhill from there, and in a brief moment when all seemed well… there was an insidious backstab. Loyalty. Ponies preached loyalty, and yet… and yet…
He remembered the feeling. Betrayed. Surrounded. Outnumbered. Nowhere to hide. Nowhere to run. No acceptance. Alone. No place to call his own. Alone. Cold white stone. Alone. Screams of anguish. Alone. Searing pain. Alone. Losing yourself. Alone. Alone. Alonealonealonealone...
There was a rumble of thunder above Mecha's head, distracting him from the ravenous thoughts gnawing on his consciousness. Ponies around him gazed up in confusion, murmuring something about no storm being planned for today. Mecha shook his head.
"No," he muttered, gazing up at the skies, "None of that."
He got no response, but felt the pain of the stirring memories and gnawing doubts subside, his worries put to rest, at least for the moment.
All seemed well.
Mecha looked at the pie he still had on the plate. A moment later, his ears perked up. Tea. Yes, tea will go nicely with it. Tea is always a good idea.
In a universe of horrors, tea is never wrong.
"Hey Applebloom!" Silverstream waved at the bright yellow mare at the market stand, "Long time no see!"
"Silvehst’eam! Yona!" Applebloom smiled wide, "Welcome back! I's been too lon'!"
Too long, indeed. Time turned the filly into a strong, good-looking mare… that still kept that adorable bow on her head, though now it looked smaller, since its bearer grew.
"Yak happy see Apple friend!" Yona said as the three hugged.
"Sorry, we can't stay and chat!" the hippogryph said apologetically, "We have things to do - oh! Take a look at these," she pulled out two sheets with requests that Tin gave her, "Could you help with it?"
Applebloom grabbed the requests and glanced over them.
"Five bush'ls of apples and six barrels of cider?" she asked, "Sure… but, say, why are you-" her voice cut off when she noticed the crew token on Silverstream's neck, "-well ah'll be, since when didja become a sky-farer?"
"Just a few days ago!" the hippogryph replied cheerfully.
"...Never thought of you being a quartermaster," Applebloom mused, "Alright, so where should I deliver the required goods?"
"Neither did I!" Silversream replied, "But the grumpy old captain told me so, and here I am!" she made a pause and gestured at Yona, "And she is our mascot!"
"Yak no like captain," Yona grumbled.
"As for where…" the hippogryph continued, "Wait, aren't we going to carry it?"
"Not an order this big," Applebloom said, once again looking over the requests, "That Cathedral place is sure interested in our apples, them keep sendin’ requests ‘t least twice a month fer the last couple of years…" her expression became thoughtful as she mumbled, "Maybe I should ask Sweetie if one of ours can investigate…"
Silverstream looked at the mare questioningly, but got a glare in response.
"Nothing," Bloom said with only her lips. Somehow, it was less than reassuring.
"Ponyville station, platform eight, locomotive Glacies Perfuro," Silver said. Something told her she did not want to know what this was about.
"Glacies Perfuro? Soun’s familiar," Applebloom rubbed the back of her head, then grunted, "Say, is she run by a stallion who goes by th’ name of Tin 'Totalled' Pest?"
The hippogryph's ears perked up, "Yup! He's a bit of a grumpy fellow however…"
"Ah see," Applebloom sighed, "What happen' ta Bitter Bread? Their ol' quartermaster… you know, never mind, not my place to ask or to know. What happens in the sky stays in the sky," she sighed and flicked beads on an abacus, "...Tha'll be three hundred bits. Ah'm giving you a 'school of friendship' discount, ya 'know, fer ol' times' sake"
"Why thank you kindly!" Silverstream smiled and hugged Applebloom again, "Okay, here-" she opened the coin pouch and began counting golden rounds, putting them on the stall one by one. Three stacks of ten large golden coins, "-we go! Recount, if you'd like?"
Applebloom, did, and, satisfied, hid the bits into the metal box inside her stall. Then she pulled out two slips of paper - some sort of consignment notes - signed them, placed a stamp on them, and hoofed them over to Silverstream, "Sign those.”
Silverstream did. Applebloom nodded, took one, and left the other one for the hippogryph.
“There ya go. Thank you for yer patronage!"
"Thank you!" the hippogryph replied.
"And if y'all ever need somethin', anythin', come to our ol' clubhouse," Applebloom continued, "We'll see if we can get it for ya!"
"Thanks, we'll be sure to drop by if we need anything!" Silverstream nodded, "Well, we'll be on our way! Bye Applebloom!"
With that, she walked away. Yona remained behind for a few more moments.
"Yona has suspicion," she said, "Apple friend not honest fully."
"Some thin's are not discussed in the open, Yona," was the response. The yak shrugged, turned around and left as well.
Silverstream wandered around the market, wondering where she could get rations for the crew and the coal for Ashes - though on the former she was more concerned on what to get. Buckwheat was nice and all, but it was quite bland. Lost in her thoughts she realized that she must have wandered into a more multi-species part of the market, as her nose caught a sweet, familiar scent of fresh fish.
That, and Yona complained about not liking the smell and sights.
"Little Stream!"
Silverstream's ears perked up at the voice. She looked around, and saw an aging hippogryph waving at her. His fur and feathers of soft aquamarine color with few streaks of silvery gray here and there.
"Murex!" she cheered and rushed over at him and hugged him, "It's been ages!"
"Little Stream," Murex chuckled, hugging her back, "Good to see you again! Finally decided to move out, too?"
Silverstream shuddered. The pain those words caused was not physical, but nevertheless, they hurt.
"No, I'm just looking for somepony!" she replied as the two broke the hug.
"Sandbar, I presume?" Murex asked, waving at Yona, who approached as well.
"Nope!" Silverstream smiled, and tapped her crew token, "We are on expedition to find Twilight Sparkle!"
Murex looked at the token, and even pulled it to take a closer look.
"My," he said with a sad smile, "Little Stream, how you have grown… I still remember you being that fidgety fry, always coming for a fresh catch, always so energetic and cheerful…" he made a pause and averted his gaze for a moment. Silverstream clicked her beak softly, making him return his attention to her, "Say, how… How are things back?.."
This time it was Silverstream who looked away. An awkward pause hung in the air.
"Empty," she finally said, "Most hippogryphs have left to seek a better place to live. I can't really imagine how queen Novo feels with so many of her subjects… not being her subjects anymore," once again she averted her gaze for a moment, but then looked straight into Murex's eyes, "Murex, why? Why did everyone just… pack up and leave?.. Why did you leave our home?.."
Silverstream barely held back tears.
Murex let out a bitter sigh.
"We were afraid," he said, "We were afraid that once again we will end up in complete isolation"
Yona tilted her head, "Isolation?"
"Silver… you were born underwater," Murex said as his expression became sadder, and he seemed to have aged a decade more, "You never experienced what we, the older generation, did. The sheer despair of being driven away from your homes by a power that you cannot resist. To be forced into hiding, only now and then sending out scouting parties only for them to report the same old thing: we can not go back," he sobbed. Silverstream once again clicked her beak, as Murex continued, "Until eventually, we stopped sending scouts all along and just… isolated ourselves, safe inside our bubble…"
"Why didn't you ask ponies for help?" Silverstream asked. Murex's sadness suddenly was replaced by bitter anger.
"We never expected them to help us in the first place," he almost hissed, "For you see, several generations ago they have dropped all forms of contact with us. Withdrew diplomats, stopped sending correspondence, stopped trades and visits. As if we ceased to exist for them," he clicked his beak angrily, "Chased away our contact parties…" he made another angry click, and continued with a venomous tone, "And yet after all that, they had the gall, the nerve to come and demand our aid in bringing down the Storm King! I'm surprised Her Majesty did not throw them out the moment they've shown up…"
Silversream's beak opened as she wanted to say something, but… she had no words.
Did… did ponies really do something like this? Why would they do this?..
"In fact, they were lucky the Windigo were posing a threat for all of us," Murex continued bitterly, "Otherwise we'd happily leave them to rot, like they did us"
"That's not right!" Silverstream shouted. She didn't want to shout, but it somehow went this way.
"And was it right to abandon us as if we were nothing, and come beg for help years and years later?"
The young hippogryph's head lowered and her general posture sagged.
"No," she answered quietly.
Murex’ anger seemed to subdue after that. His expression softened and his gaze lowered to the ground.
"No, it was not," he sighed, "But after that… when the world blew up… we could not stand the thought of being isolated once again," he lowered his head as his wings drooped down, "We just could not. We barely returned to the world at large, and the world, well… Did this,” he gestured around him. Silverstream’s and Yona’s gaze followed the gesture. Honestly, Ponyville looked almost the same as it was when they left it last time… Minus the islands and locomotives in the sky. And the sky itself looked like it wanted to be something else.
“And thus, the first chance we got, we fled, fled from this isolation… fled our fear of being alone again," Murex finished with a sad chirr. Then, he raised his gaze at Silverstream, and asked, “Why did you stay, Little Stream?”
The younger hippogryph’s ears perked up.
“Because that’s our home!” Silverstream almost shouted, “I’ve lived there just for a few years, but I liked the place! Besides!” she pushed Murex’ chest, “Think of our poor queen Novo! She just barely got her queendom back, and, and…” her voice quivered as she felt like crying, “And then her subjects bolted! Abandoned her realm! At this point, she is a queen of nothing!”
She had to sit down for a moment. Truth to be told, she just wanted to collapse and cry. She never really realized how much she held inside. Yet, the moment her forepaws gave in, she was held by a hooved foreleg on one side, and a taloned paw on the other.
“Yak hold friend! Yak help!” Yona said.
“Easy, Little Stream,” Murex said calmly, “Easy…”
Silverstream sobbed.
“I understand your feelings,” he continued as he gently patted her back, “Trust me, I often dream about going back there. But I can’t…” he looked around, “Every time I think about it, I’m afraid. That if I leave, I’ll never come back here…” his gaze moved up, to the sky above the marketplace, “I’ve made a good life here, Little Stream...”
"I understand," Silverstream sobbed, "But… it still… hurts… to feel abandoned…"
At that moment, she felt a chill on her back. Not the usual chills down the spine, no, the literal feeling of an ice cold touch on her back. Just for a moment, and then it was gone.
"I…" she shuddered, "I should go. I still need to find coal and supplies for the crew-"
Truth to be told, she just wanted to get away from here.
The older hippogryph sighed and let her go, stepping back to his stand.
"You know what, Little Stream?" Murex said, "Have this, on the house"
He grabbed a small net-bag and tossed several large fishes into it, and handed it over to Silverstream.
"For old times' sake," Murex said with a half-sad smile.
Silverstream nodded and accepted the gift. Yona grumbled about the smell.
"Thank you, Murex," the young hippogryph said, "Thank you and goodbye"
"Goodbye, Silverstream," Murex replied, "Do come by sometime"
She wasn't quite sure if she would.
After buying another crate of supplies for the crew (sure it was the same old gruel, but she really did not want to wander around anymore), Silverstream and Yona returned to the main part of Ponyville. Her thoughts were in a bit of a mess after the encounter.
Thus she was caught completely off-guard when a hoof gently touched her beak.
“Why the long face, quartermaster?” she blinked and looked at the source of a sudden boop. Mecha stood before her, holding a carton plate with a half-eaten slice of apple pie and a cup of steaming green tea in his telekinetic field.
"Oh, it's nothing, really!" she managed a strained smile, but Mecha gave her an... odd look which was saying 'I know something is up', so she sighed, "No, really, nothing serious! Just… met someone from my past and-"
"Oh!" Mecha's ears perked, "...case of bad nostalgia, I assume?"
"Yes," Silver nodded. Mecha reached out and patted her shoulder.
"There, there," he said, "Look, don't dwell too much on the past, okay? Whatever happened, happened. Trust me, nothing good ever comes out from clinging to the debris of yesterday…"
Then, his nose twitched a little.
"Fish?" he asked and blinked.
"Oh!" Silver's crest perked up, as she felt her mood improve slightly. Mecha… had a point, "I was given those on the house by the fishergriff, since he knew me since I was a small fry!"
"You better remember this," Mecha said, licking his lips in a manner that made Yona take a step back, "This is how you get goods, cheap! You are who you know, not who you are, as Bitter used to say!" he made a short pause to sip some of his tea, "Oh, I know! How about we go and buy some spices for the fish?"
Silverstream's ears perked up as did her interest. That actually sounded like a great idea!
"And once we're back in Glacies we'll bake it!" the unicorn continued with a wide smile, "Tin would love it! And I bet Gallus and Smolder and Ocellus too!"
"Yak not eating this," Yona said with barely hidden disgust.
"Your loss!" Mecha said cheerfully, "So, what do you say, Silver?"
"Sure thing!" the hippogryph beamed, "What would you recommend?"
"No lemongrass," Mecha said, scrunching his snout, "Cray-uh, changelings don't like it very much. Garlic, rosemary, and chives, on the other hoof!.."
Silverstream smiled, while Yona grimaced and stuck her tongue out in disgust.
Time ticked onwards in its weird way. Starlight did quite a lot of things in a short amount of time. Asked Trixie to cover the school for her while she was on a mission. Grabbed a few books from the library, bought some writing supplies. Picked her toothbrush and paste, and some warm clothes - not a sky-suit in the long run, but she didn't exactly have time to order one. Besides, it was meant to be a short expedition. She grabbed a few arcane measuring tools, and some arcana supplies - gems, mainly, with some gold conduits.
All the while Tin's words still somewhat rung in her mind. 'This whole endeavor will be over soon and you’ll most likely even forget we ever existed', ‘You ponies have hurt us’, ’We all lived in a shadow of friendship terror’. She could not understand what caused such hostility from him. And then of course there was this Mecha character who wanted… well, wanted to kill her. This was troubling her. So much so that she walked right into somepony without noticing.
"Hey, watch where-Oh, hello, miss Glimmer"
"Scootaloo," the mare said, smiling, "Told you many times, no need for titles. We're all friends here"
"Yeah, yeah, details!" Scootaloo waved off, then saluted to Sandbar, Gallus, Smolder and Ocellus, "Yo, guys, good to see you!" then turned back to Starlight, and said in a quieter tone, "A bird tweeted that you're going somewhere in the skies?"
Starlight nodded.
"Be careful," the pegasus said, "Our agents report that N-Cants are fielding some new engine…"
"Beholder," Sandbar said, "From what we gathered, it's meant to be a watchdog to detect contraband-"
"Hold up," Scootalo raised her hoof, and turned towards Sandbar, "Detect contraband?.."
Sandbar nodded and explained what he heard at the presentation, and shared some thoughts that Tin and Mecha brought up.
"I see," the orange pegasus frowned, "Thank you for this information, Sandbar. CMC owes you big time," she shook up, "Well then, I need to inform the other crusaders about this development… And tell Turner to push the Vindicator project harder instead of the Time Looms, I guess. Bye!"
She took off in a… strange manner. Not exactly flying, since her hind hooves vere just barely above the ground level. Her flight never properly developed, and was more like that of a changeling flight, with her wings buzzing loudly as she sped away.
"What was this all about?" Smolder asked, looking at the trail of dust the pegasus left behind.
Starlight sighed and rubbed her temples, "To keep it simple, the New Canterlot lords have very strict ideas about what should and should not be in the markets. Some ponies think… different," she sighed, "And the Crusaders… well, they coordinate those ponies, at least those who have Ponyville as their base of operations…"
"Are you saying they became heads of a smuggler ring?" Gallus blinked in confusion. That was unexpected.
"They prefer the term 'Rogue Traders'," Starlight pawed at the ground, "But that's not important. Where is your locomotive, again?.."
“Uh, didn’t Tin tell us to pick him up from Berry’s?” Ocellus said meekly.
Starlight huffed, “Well, he’s a grown-up stallion. He does not need us to come pick him up”
“...I’ll go grab him,” Sandbar said, “Just don’t go into the locomotive yet. If what he said about Mecha is true… I’d really rather not have you be inside the enclosed space with him”
“I’m sure I’ll be alright!” the unicorn said with a smile, “We’ll talk it out-”
“I’m with Sandbar on this one,” Gallus said, crossing his arms over his chest, “Starlight, you’ve heard what Tin said; so excuse me but I have my doubts about you finding a common language with Mecha without our captain’s help...” he made a pause as Sandbar ran off, then added, "Besides, they are skyfarers. They… Are different from us…"
He stopped and frowned as Tin's words rose in his memory. 'Come for the sights, stay for madness'. And in fact, he was kind-of sort-of a skyfarer himself now...
Starlight bit her lip.
"I'm sure we'll figure something out..."
Entering the 'Berry's Bedazzling Brews', Sandbar saw Tin sitting in the booth with Berry Punch and a couple of bottles between them. They were surrounded by a group of ponies, watching the two in excitement. As he approached, he realized what the two were doing.
A drinking game.
And, despite two emptied bottles, neither seemed drunk.
Or even tipsy.
"Captain?" Sandbar said, making everyone turn towards him, "Uh, you're needed at Glacies…"
Tin turned towards Sandbar, ears perked, while Berry looked at him with an annoyed expression.
"Starlight has finished her preparations," he continued, "And going to the locomotive-"
"What." Tin asked with a blink. He did not sound drunk at all, "Excuse me, is she going to Glacies?.."
"Yes-"
The stallion stood from the booth, and tossed a small bag of coins on the table.
"I yield," he said, "But I want a rematch next time I'm here"
The gathered ponies let out a disappointed "Aww…"
"Sure thing," Berry said, sounding sober as well. She pushed the coin bag back to Tin, "An' don't. We both know we did not even get to the interesting part..."
But the stallion was already gone. Sandbar barely registered him dashing out… in a surprisingly steady gallop.
He followed.
To Sandbar's surprise, Tin rushed to the rail port, his gallop still steady and sure. It was as if he did not even drink an entire bottle of apple whiskey. If not more...
Two stallions rushed to the platform where Glacies was docked. Tin came to a grinding halt with a neigh as he saw Starlight standing near the main access hatch, along with Gallus, Ocellus and Smolder. He opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. Then closed it again, shook his head and approached the group with a frown on his face.
"What are you doing here?!" he half-hissed, half-growled, pawing at the floor of the platform, “I told you to pick me up at Berry’s first!”
"I managed to get everything done quicker than I expected," Starlight said, "Um, why are you upset?"
"Well, remember what I said about my first officer?" Tin said, "Well, I wanted to-oh, horseapples." he looked somewhere to the side, his expression turning to a frown.
"What?-" Starlight asked, but then looked where Tin was looking, and saw a gray unicorn in a bomber jacket and peaked cap, accompanied by Silverstream and Yona, "-oh. That him?"
"That’s him," Tin grunted. His posture got a lot more tense.
Mecha let out a happy snort as he trotted along with Yona and Silverstream. They got spices they needed to cook the fish, so now he wanted to get said fish into the fridge.
However, all of his good mood evaporated the moment he entered the platform where the Glacies was docked at. For there, he saw her, standing there, talking to the Kapitän.
Starlight Glimmer.
Frowning, he angrily stomped towards Tin, having a very bad feeling in his gut.
"What is she doing here?!" he hissed, ears pressed to his head. Ocellus' ears perked. That was... odd.
"...I had hoped you'd show up earlier," Tin sighed, "She's coming with us. Unfortunately."
Mecha's head slowly turned towards the mare, his expression changing from angry to outright murderous.
"Um, hi," Starlight said sheepishly, "Um, you must be Mecha-"
"It’s Working Mechanism, buck you very much," Mecha almost snarled.
"Oh, r-right!" Starlight managed to produce a stiff smile, "Look, Working Mechanism, I don't know what I did to make you angry, but I'm sorry about it..." she reached her hoof out to him, "Could we perhaps start over?"
Mechanism looked at her outstretched hoof and it seemed like his face was getting darker by a second. Ocellus blinked. She thought she saw small bolts of lightning spark in the unicorn’s eyes.
Then, he angrily slapped Starlight’s hoof away.
"Funny!" he said in a surprisingly cheerful tone, "Funny how you apologise but don't know what for! You think what you did could be helped by a simple 'I'm sorry'? No! No it's not!" his tone shifted to anger, making Ocellus reel away from him as she tasted his negativity, "There is somewhere around six hundred miles of synaptic fiber in my brain. If the word 'hate' was imprinted into every single micrometer of that fiber, it would not cover even a hundred-thousandth of the amount of hate I hold against you, Starlight Glimmer. And I'm pretty sure that if I tried, my hate for you could extinguish a star!"
"But what did I do?" Starlight said, taking a step back, ears flat against her head.
"Why do you care?!" Mecha huffed and turned away, "After all, in the eyes of the masses, you did the right thing! You're the hero! You don't need to think of the consequences of your actions, because that's what heroes do! So go and bask in your heroic glory. No need to worry about silly old me!"
With that, Mecha stormed inside the locomotive and slammed the access hatch behind him, loud enough to make a lot of heads turn. Or, at least those who did not already turn at Mecha’s shouting at Starlight. And the sound of metal slamming against metal made Tin cringe.
A moment later, he slammed it back open and pointed his hoof at Tin and stated in the same angry-accusing tone:
"By the way, Kapitän, the fish that Silversream brought was given to her for free, and I paid for the spices from my own pocket!"
He slammed the hatch close again, making Tin cringe again. Silverstream’s mane fell and her ears drooped slightly. She liked Mecha, he was way more cheerful than Tin, and seeing him so suddenly get so angry made her sad.
“Well that went smooth-ly,” the captain deadpanned, “Like an un-lubed log up your arse…” he then turned towards the hippogryph, and looked at her carrying the bags, “So... fish?”
Silverstream nodded. To her surprise, the stallion actually smiled and… licked his lips.
“Good, good!” he nodded to her, “Stuff it in a stasis chamber in the fridge. That’s the upper one. Will prevent it from spoiling and save it from freezing and destroying the flavor”
“Will do!” Silverstream said, her mane perking up again, “Oh, and I ordered apples and cider from Applebloom, and rations, they should arrive here shortly, but… where can I get coal?..”
“Station master’s office,” Tin said, “They have a fuel requisition section. Two measures-”
“Yes, I remember!” Silverstream nodded, “I’ll just put the fish in the fridge and go get some then!”
“You do that,” Tin nodded. Then he looked at Starlight and sighed, “Now, you. You’ll stay in the crew quarters. It’s best for you both that your path does not cross with Mecha’s much. Preferably - at all. Now, let’s go get you settled…”
He opened the hatch again, and entered the locomotive. Starlight followed him with some hesitation.
About an hour later, Glacies sounded her horn twice and took off the platform, turning towards the great purple nebula in the distance, leaving behind a trail of steam and smoke.
As it took off, another engine moved from its parking spot a couple miles away from it and Ponyville. Its sleek form slipped from behind a large sky-rock behind which it hid, and proceeded after Glacies, while keeping its distance.