Vesper hadn't been there for most of the inspection. It wasn't that she didn't want to be around whenever the ship was doing interesting things—every chance to meet ponies in person was interesting!
But after everyone had recovered, she needed time to rest. Even her interest in Blake needed to take a brief backseat. For once, she slept without trying to dream, sprawled awkwardly over the edge of her bed.
But when she did finally wake from her dreamless sleep, it was to his voice, and a quiet rapping of hooves on wood. "Jordan? Or... Vesper? I guess you wanted me to call you that instead.
She stirred, rolling onto her back and looking up at him. She could remember nothing about her time resting, and this time she didn't even mind. Maybe there was nothing to remember. "What?"
She recovered quickly, focusing on him. But she didn't sit up. Maybe she didn't want to.
"We need to talk."
"Oh?" She grinned. "Come in."
Blake didn't move. For a few seconds he just stared, mouth hanging open. Then he recovered, looking awkwardly away. "We're coming up on the next Worldgate. But the pony navy thinks we shouldn't stop. The griffons might come back."
She flopped sideways, defeated. How much longer could Blake keep ignoring her like that? "What do you think we should do?"
"Try anyway," he said, without a second's hesitation. "Even if the evil pirates do try to attack us, they're not close enough to see from right here. They might be hours away, or maybe days. I'm not sure how long the Guardian will chase them before they give up. I think we should try it, and just stay as short as possible."
She rolled onto her belly, stretching both wings. "I agree. If we vote to stay, just get me when we land. I'll be... here."
She closed her eyes, yawning exaggeratedly. It had been some time since she felt sleepy with the sun already down.
Blake stepped through her doorway, lowering his voice. "That magic you did with the oxygen... that was incredible stuff. But you shouldn't strain yourself so much. You know what Janet says about magic."
She groaned, covering her head with a pillow. "I don't care. She was here for almost a year, Blake. I'm not going to just stand there when people are in trouble. I don't even know if we would've survived without a little dream-stuff."
He was silent then, long enough that she wasn't sure if he had gone. But then he spoke, from a little closer this time. Right beside the bed. "Just be careful, Vesper. I don't want Jordan to be stuck here when the rest of us get out. We might be going home in a few minutes."
She laughed, loud enough that the pillow didn't muffle it. "Yeah, sure. Run the odds past the other Worldgates we found and tell me how likely that is."
This time she did hear Blake walk away, vanishing down the hallway and out of sight.
She dozed then, though she couldn't say if it was for a few minutes or a few hours. Eventually she felt the ship settle under her, and then they stopped moving. A few minutes later, and another rap came at the door. It was Kaelynn this time. "Hey! Jordan?"
She sat up, and didn't play games this time. Even so, she froze for a second, staring into the open doorway. "Uh... Kaelynn?"
She slipped down off the side of the bed. "You're walking? That's cool." The seapony looked a little different than the last time, but the differences were subtle. She would've thought she was dreaming it, if she could make that mistake.
But knowing she was dreaming was something Jordan had never needed to learn. She could no more mistake it than not know it was daylight when looking up at the sun.
Kaelynn grinned proudly at her, twisting slightly to one side to show off her tail. "Yeah, it's pretty great. Did it myself this time, no help." She straightened, glancing to one side. "Oh, right! Blake said you wanted to go down and scout this time? I hope so... you're probably the best for the job, since you're the closest thing to normal we have."
"Yep." She kicked the door shut behind her, though there was nothing secret within. Nothing that wouldn't also affect her scent. "Blake's already waiting outside?"
Kaelynn shook her head. "Blake wanted me to go out on this mission instead. Him and Galena are the only ones who know how to fly the ship, so they want to be ready if we need to get out in a hurry."
"Oh." She deflated, tail falling flat. For a few seconds Jordan considered turning and going right back to bed. Let Janet go out on this mission, or maybe Ryan. But that was silly—she wanted to see more of this world, didn't she? "I guess that makes sense. So it's just us?"
Kaelynn nodded. "Ryan is still recovering. He could probably come, but there's no reason to risk it. We're not going down into some ancient ruins this time. Either the Worldgate is here, or it isn't. These are just ponies—the last ones we met were apparently nice."
She didn't sound completely confident, but of course Jordan knew why. She had spent most of the rescue in her tank, so she hadn't actually got the chance to meet them.
"Well if that's what we're doing, you should know something else. I have a pony name now—Vesper. You should call me that when we're down there."
"Oh, really? That's why they were calling you that. I thought it might be Blake's nickname or something."
They walked together through the ship, down to the mostly-empty cargo hold. The ramp was already lowered, and a few ponies were visible outside, watching them.
It was daytime. How long had she been asleep?
"Alright, Vesper," Kaelynn said. "You might end up doing most of the talking down there. I'm not sure how much they'll want to talk to a fish."
It would've been more fun to go with Blake.
Vesper wasn't sure what she was expecting from a town called Canter Creek. All and all, what she was seemed like a decent match. Old style wooden buildings ran down a single central street, with a train station on the near end and an old water tower on the far side.
The pony waiting a few steps from the ramp was an old-timey sheriff, gold badge and leather chaps and all. He even had the accent, though that might just have been the translation magic of the Worldgate.
"Been a mighty long time since we've seen a ship like yours passed this way," the earth pony said, as they neared the bottom of the ramp. "Welcome to Canter Creek."
He extended a hoof towards Jordan, and she took it. "Thank you, uh... Sheriff?"
The pony nodded. "We saw you on your way down. Folks are curious about what your arrival means. Ship as big as yours, in a town small as this. Got ponies nervous."
She nodded. "We're not here to, uh... to cause any trouble, Sheriff. The Bright Hawk is here because of an old map we found." She lowered her voice to a knowing whisper. Playing along wouldn't be that different from anything she'd done with Pale Light in the dreaming. She could have fun with it.
She barely even noticed as the weight of an old brown hat settled onto her head, perfect for the setting. "We're looking for a Worldgate. Somewhere strange. Somewhere ponies go but don't come back. Or maybe somewhere strange creatures come sometimes, and you don't know how they got there."
The pony pulled away from her, eyes widening in recognition. "I know the place." He glanced sidelong at Kaelynn, so briefly that it looked like he was trying to avoid making a scene. "You're looking to take creatures through? Brought guests to Equestria from strange lands?"
Jordan nodded, adjusting her cap with a little unnecessary dramatic flare. "Maybe I am. Like I said, we mean no trouble to your town. Just looking for the way through."
Kaelynn wasn't quite so good at the acting thing. She stared, but not at the pony. Her eyes were fixed on Jordan's hat. "The sooner we find it, the sooner we're gone."
The pony looked away, out into the distance. Away from town, there was very little to see. Red rock desert, bone dry and interrupted only with scraggly underbrush. Great rock formations rose in the far distance, breaking what might otherwise be many miles of sight-lines.
"It isn't my permission you need," he eventually said. "I can tell you where to go, but it's the buffalo who have to let you through. Maybe they let you, maybe they don't."
He leaned in close, expression harsh. "If you go, I want to make something very clear. Canter Creek has worked hard to keep things peaceable with the Burning Sun tribe. We'll not be backing you up to muscle your way somewhere you don't belong. If you get them riled up after you, we'll stand aside and let them stomp all over you. They're our friends, you're just passing through."
Jordan nodded. "We understand. We'll just ask, Sheriff. And if they say no, we'll go elsewhere." We don't have the time to linger for long negotiations and get attacked by pirates. "Where do we find the tribe?"
He pointed off in the direction he'd been staring. "There's a butte maybe three hours trot from here. By airship, no telling how long it is. Look for the banded white and red rock. Start a fire with lots of smoke, and wait for them to come to you. What you negotiate is your business."
He stepped back, grin returning. "Now if you fine ponies need supplies before you go, Canter Creek is the last town in Equestria before the badlands. Finest apple pies south of Ponyville, so they say."
"That sounds g—" Vesper began, but Kaelynn shoved her, and she stopped abruptly.
"We'd like to sheriff. But we should be moving on. If we stay too long, we might bring more trouble without meaning to."
The pony nodded, backing away from the ramp. "Safe travels then, pony and, uh... fish pony." He turned away, and Jordan could still hear him muttering as he walked away. "Strange times with this new princess... strange times."
Jordan glared all the way back up the ramp. "Do you have something against dessert, Kaelynn? He said apple pie. I've been traveling for a week and I'm already sick of canned food."
"Me too. But we've got limited time, remember? We can't be tourists when pirates might be just behind us."
Kaelynn started cranking, raising the ramp. Jordan didn't help this time—she didn't want real food, so let the fish do the work for a bit. She was probably right.
"Tell Blake what we found out," Kaelynn grunted. "Get us back into the air."
Vesper nodded, spreading both wings. She practically glided back across the cargo bay, then back up the stairs. She passed Janet in the hallway, watching her with narrowed eyes.
"No luck?" the hippogriff asked. "Another bad portal?"
Vesper shook her head. "It's a little north of town. Ponies said we need to ask the buffalo about it. Have you heard about them?"
Janet hesitated. "I know there are... if they have four hooves, they're probably intelligent. I never figured out cows, but buffalo are different enough that they're probably just their own civilization."
She nodded, and resumed her trek through the ship. She found Blake and Galena on deck, near the helm. Blake might have refused to help with negotiation, but at least he kept his word about being ready to fly them to safety.
"Didn't expect to see you back so soon, Vesper." Blake glanced over the side, at the town visible close by. "Are they chasing us off?"
She explained the brief exchange, before pointing off in the indicated direction. Even at this distance, she thought she could make out the pillar of red rock. "Over there. They'll sell us stuff too—sounded like good food. But Kaelynn thinks we should get moving."
"Smart fish," Galena said. "We fly, then. Dragon pony, let me see you take off. I will watch and not help, even if you are about to crash."
Jordan glanced between them, eyes narrowing. Had Blake not wanted to come with her so he could spend time with the griffon? She couldn't smell anything, but... it would make sense. The bird hadn't been a guy before, or one of Blake's own friends.
"You're coming with me next time," Vesper said, nudging Blake with a wing. "Kaelynn's nice, but I don't want to negotiate with buffalo without someone who looks big and intimidating."