Fortunately, Pinkie was merciful enough to let the trio continue with their assignment, but only after they had at least a slice of cake to celebrate the first mass cute-ceañera that Irongrey Aerie ever had. Unfortunately, all four higher-ups of the chain of command were stuck in the festivities, as were Sarah and Lazarus by virtue of being the guests of honor, leaving only Katie and a hoofful of soldiers to retrieve the notepads and pencils to start off another few hours of information hunting.
Though, fortunately for them, Blue Crow was among those allowed to chaperone them. He and three female, wingless gryphons lead the four down a series of winding halls and elevator shafts. Nobody complained; they needed to work off the calories from the party and breakfast, and this was as good an excuse as any they could come up with that would satisfy Pinkie Pie. One of the wingless females, a rust red gryphon with brown headfeathers done up in twin braided pigtails, tried to strike up a conversation.
"So… not to sound like an insensitive idiot, but cute-ceañeras are a big deal in Mythos, aren't they?" she asked.
"Really, really big deal, especially if Pinkie's the one throwing the party," Sweetie Belle answered. "For a pony to not have a cute-ceañera is practically unheard of in Equestria."
"Must've thrown Pinkie Pie for a loop the size of Canterlot when she heard that the higher-ups hadn't had one yet," Scootaloo added. "In her mind, everypony has a reason to celebrate their cutie marks, no matter what."
Blue Crow halted. He looked at the trio unsurely. "Everypony?" he parroted.
Scootaloo nodded. "Everypony," she said.
Blue Crow sighed and continued trotting. "Even if she knows that those cutie marks came from mass destruction, murder, property damage, and various other things I'm not listing to shield your innocence?"
Scootaloo shook her head. "Only because she doesn't know cutie marks can come from horrible things yet," she replied. "It just… hasn't happened in Equestria, at least that I know of."
"And if it has, well, Celestia probably has it under tight lock and key for Equestria's safety…" Katie muttered. She got a weird look from the Crusaders and sighed. "Come on, when have you heard about ponies getting cutie marks for murdering, or stealing, or committing arson?" Their silence was all the answer she needed.
"That sounds a bit far-fetched, doesn't it?" Blue Crow asked, frowning.
"Uh… giant swords of death and despair?" Sweetie Belle replied.
Blue Crow nodded. "Touché," he agreed. He turned to the rust red gryphon. "Have you seen any cutie marks like that which did not belong to our superiors, Red Barrel?"
Red Barrel shook her head. "Not one bit," she said. She turned to the maroon gryphon among them, who wore her headfeathers in a low ponytail and asked, "Did you see anything like that, Rose Windmill?"
Rose Windmill wore an easygoing smile even as she replied with, "Nothing displaying so much as a spark of flame." She took a moment to adjust the goggles on her head and added, "Then again, I might have to tour Equestria to get back to you on that one."
The last wingless female, her body varying shades of gold and with twin braids matching those of Red Barrel, answered even as Blue Crow turned to her to open his mouth, "Nothing that would be particularly fancy or innocuous." She pondered for a moment, her blue eyes alight with wonder, and then she shook her head. "Then again, I haven't seen much in the way of any cutie marks outside of this area…"
"At least, until the Mythonians came. But they're the exception as far as we're concerned," Red Barrel pointed out, smiling as the Crusaders bounded up to walk between her and her companions.
"Yes, yes," the golden gryphon agreed, her expression still thoughtful. "That being said, I cannot help but wonder how they got their cutie marks."
Blue Crow stopped at a seemingly innocuous door, and moved to open it. He went inside, and the others followed him. The Crusaders gaped in awe; before them stretched a hangar as big as the mess hall, with a hole leading to the ring surrounding the mountain outside and a support post anchored to the hangar's exit. Inside were the goods; a few airships, and what seemed to be varying models of planes that had been stamped with Lance's cutie mark. "Well, it's time to get the maintenance checks underway," he said, turning to the trio. "But we'll give you the nickel tour while we're at it."
With that, he lead them into the hangar proper, stopping to wave a claw at the first airship to the left. It had a triple-headed bust boasting equine, gryphon, and changeling traits, with two pairs of wings reminiscent of the latter two races. She favored reds, yellows, oranges, and greens along with silver and black, and while she was smaller than a lot of her fellows, she was still big enough to hold an adequate number of passersby and crew hooves. "Right there is the Scylla, a scouting vessel mostly used to scope the land before anything diplomatic happens," Blue Crow said, smiling broadly. "Though recently, I heard she managed to get into Equestria days after the barrier between the worlds broke."
The Crusaders jotted the information down, grinning widely. Katie nodded when the trio looked at her. "I was there with them during that wild ride," she confirmed, her smile evident in her voice. "Good thing they had seatbelts when gravity kicked in."
"Can we look at the inside?" Scootaloo asked.
Blue Crow chuckled. "Well, the Scylla is barebones, only carrying the essentials I'm afraid," he answered. He shepherded the trio along when they were done notetaking, and went on to the next airship in line. She was a fair margin larger than the Scylla, with hatches on the underside of her hull that were closed, save for three that let thick posts hold the vessel up like something to be displayed at a museum. Her gangplank had been lowered for now, allowing easy access.
"Is that ship working properly?" Sweetie asked.
"Nope, which is why she's strung up like that. Good thing the gangplank works; otherwise I'd have to hitch myself to a rope and climb over the hull," Blue Crow answered. "You can look, but do not touch; we don't want anything nasty to happen." With that, he trotted up the gangplank, and the Crusaders followed him with Katie and the other gryphons flanking them. Inside were a few changelings running diagnostics on lifts within the vessel as well as the barebones rooms themselves, many wearing party hats strung up on top of construction hats, some still possessing icing smears on their lips as they worked.
"Any more sweets, and I'm liable to be in a sugar rush, Major Rhinoc," one worker said as he talked with another. The second had a smaller horn growing on the tip of his nose, with purple eyes, wings, and carapace. "Yeesh, that Pinkie knows how to throw a party, though."
Rhinoc bobbed his head. "I'm surprised she didn't coax the wraithling into eating more sweets. Though I'm pretty sure our superiors are gonna have a baaaaaaaaaad sugar coma tonight," he said, frowning slightly.
"You think they'll need to be taken to bed, sir?" the worker asked. Rhinoc nodded.
"Yeah, and one of us on standby to explain last night away. They'll probably think they got drunk tomorrow," Rhinoc added, frown deepening. His ears twitched when he heard scritch-scratching, and turned to find Blue Crow looking at him. "Ah, there you are. Been wondering when you'd show up." He turned to the children and wraithling behind Blue Crow, and smiled warmly. "Oh, looks like you're taking up babysitting duty."
Blue Crow waved a claw and snorted. "Nah, they know not to get into things they're not supposed to. Besides, I hear they need the information for a school project anyway," he replied.
Rhinoc nodded in understanding. "Ah, yeah, that thing." He turned back to Blue Crow. "Anyway, we managed to fix the lifts, but now we gotta fix the engine and the charging station. I wouldn't suggest heading to the engine though; we've had more than a few gears falling out of place lately."
"So, it's accident central. And the charging station?" Blue Crow asked, frowning slightly.
"Well, some of the crystals cracked and they need to be changed…" Rhinoc lit his larger horn and summoned a closed leather pouch, which he put in Blue Crow's claw. "Fortunately, none of them require flight to access, and the cracked crystals are duds." He nodded his head to the right, indicating a lift in that direction. He also gestured to a few radios hanging nearby on a wall, primed and ready for use. "Take a radio if you need to; I'll be here overseeing the shooting match if you need anything."
Blue Crow nodded, plucked a radio from its hold, and trotted to the lift with the bag in claw. He boarded, punched the button, and waited for the device to take him down. The Crusaders approached Rhinoc, grinning. He had to admit, the grins were adorable.
"So, you've got an extra horn?" Scootaloo asked.
Rhinoc nodded. "It was a staple of my old hive, before the Trials of Attrition." He frowned a little, however. "But mine is… still regrowing."
"Regrowing? Were you hurt?" Sweetie asked.
Rhinoc nodded. "Oh yeah. Two separate accidents, too," he said, lifting a hoof to rub the smaller stub on his nose. He lowered his hoof and smiled warmly at the children. "But the good news is I'm getting better. I'll be fully fit before long."
"So could you tell us about the airships?" Sweetie Belle asked, prancing in place. "We already know about the Scylla, but these other ones are equally as cool!"
Rhinoc chuckled. "Oh, I got to hear Lance's misadventures in Equestria from Armin…" His grin widened. "Ah, most of it was good…" He shook his head to get out of the reminiscence, and lifted a hoof to gesture to the current ship they stood in. "Well, this ship is a cargo vessel… or she was, before she had her own accidents, used to transport goods to the Aerie. We would take that cargo to other provinces, but…" He sighed. "I'm sure you've heard about the rest of Fantasia not liking us too much, right?"
The Crusaders nodded. Katie and Lazarus's spieling was still somewhat fresh in their minds. "Yeah, we heard about the victim shaming and the heads in the sand," Scootaloo answered, frowning. "Was Fantasia always like that?"
Rhinoc shook his head. "I dunno when the worrying tendencies started, though. I'm not exactly a time traveler," he replied. "But I do know they've been around since I was a grub."
"In fact, that was what got everygryph geased to begin with—" Here, Red Barrel held up her claws and pantomimed two gryphons having a chat as she spoke, "—the old leaders went 'it's just one pony, what could he possibly do?' 'Oh I don't know, but we should take him on easily!'" Her claws went up in the air and waved rather dramatically, "Next thing we know, we're embroiled in war, our old leaders are dead, and every week turned into hell."
At this point, Red Barrel grasped the air as though it offended her, and she gesticulated wildly as she continued, "Then they turned into wraiths the instant the Trials of Attrition were done with, and demanded that we go back to the way things were before they got canned in temporary cells until the Iron Hold got built, where we promptly hurled them with their beaks muzzled shut. And the bastards are staying there until we can figure out what to do with them." When she finished ranting with both claws sliding down her face and clutching her braids along their descent, she sighed. If she had wings to droop, they'd have touched the floor as the Crusaders turned to her. "Needless to say, head-in-the-sand management is strictly outlawed here."
The Crusaders jotted that tidbit down, seeing the logic of that law. It would make sense that the Aerie wouldn't want a repeat of that fiasco, especially so early in its relatively short life. "And the punishments for that kind of 'management' are harsh, I assume?" Katie asked.
Red Barrel nodded, letting go of her braids and setting her claws back on the ground. "About as harsh as foal neglect, abuse, and the forbidden magic that contributed a lot to the Trials of Attrition," she said. She gave Rhinoc a look that screamed 'some idiot shot their mouth off already, and we've yet to find him' when he glanced at her with a withering stare. Rhinoc sighed, nodded, and backed off.
The golden gryphon piped up, "That reminds me, are the children allowed to see the charging machines?"
Rhinoc pondered for a moment, his frown going a wee bit lopsided as he weighed the question. "Considering they're out of commission, not on this vessel unless they want to stick close to Blue Crow. Lance would murderize us if they had any accidents that gave these three so much as a gash on the hoof," he said carefully, gesturing to the Crusaders. "But I think they'd do wonders seeing your particular ship, Golden Chalice."
Golden Chalice nodded. "Alright. Let Blue Crow know we're aboard the Deluxe Magnum whenever he finishes with the repairs here." With that, she moved to shepherd the foals and wraith outside the ship, with Rose Windmill and Red Barrel flanking her.
"Deluxe Magnum?" Sweetie Belle asked. "That sounds like a personal ship."
"It is, but she's also a war machine," Golden Chalice said, smiling faintly as they trooped down the gangplank. "Though she doesn't see much use in war these days."
"Are there any wars happening in Fantasia?" Apple Bloom asked as the group began trotting past airships and planes galore. Goodness, the Aerie had a lot of magitek on its plate; no wonder they had changelings and gryphons managing it. It was probably its own division at this rate.
Golden Chalice shook her head. "Not at the moment, no. We might be expecting some in the future, but mostly Fantasia's been quiet," she replied, her smile falling as she lead the trio past a few more airships.
"Besides, if war was happening, we'd probably be in the thick of it," Red Barrel pointed out. "Y'know, standard war stuff, blasting the enemy to smithereens and all that 'fun' stuff." She winced as 'fun' rolled off her tongue, and lifted a claw to rub the back of her head awkwardly. "Comes part and parcel with being one of the best magitek pilots my generation has seen yet."
It was at that moment, as they passed another airship, that the ghost with a cutie mark showed her head, phasing out of the airship they were coming towards and plopping her ghostly hooves on the floor with a friendly smile on her face. The gryphons raised their brows, Katie groaned, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked towards Apple Bloom, who nodded and smiled back at the ghost. "Okay, Ruby, what the hell are you doing?" Katie asked, her voice flat and her eyes slightly narrowed.
Ruby maintained her chipper smile even as she turned to the wraith. A shade of worry passed over her ethereal face, Apple Bloom noted. "Just exploring, why?" she replied.
"Have you tinkered with anything you're not supposed to?" Katie continued, seeming somewhat annoyed. She relaxed when Ruby shook her head.
"No, no, that green-maned weirdo pulled me aside and told me not to touch anything I wasn't familiar with. She also said something about being one of the first ghosts to be here, so…" Ruby rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. "She also told the others to not touch anything until she gets our… living situation sorted out."
"So, what happened to Sunnytown?" Apple Bloom asked.
Ruby shrugged. "I was told to steer clear of it last night, because things would get… messy," she said. "For who, I don't really know…" She frowned. "Next thing I know, this… goat-faced thing shows up, tells me not to worry about Sunnytown anymore, and asks me if I'd like to live somewhere else. That's how I got here."
The Crusaders looked at Katie. "How bad did it get?" Scootaloo asked.
Katie wilted a bit. "Some… re-deaths, I guess you'd call them, but then Anna remembered she had a mouth and decided to use it," she replied. "And she used it before she needed to use the full brunt of her power anyway, which… I consider it a win."
"So, somewhat bad?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Katie nodded. "Somewhat bad," she replied. She turned to Golden Chalice. "So, about the Deluxe Magnum…"
Golden Chalice smiled, and indicated the ship that Ruby ghosted her way out of. "Just right there, actually," she said. She trotted ahead, seeing the gangplank had been lowered, and strode inside, waving the others over with a claw. They followed, taking a moment to behold the airship. Outside, she was built of sturdy wood and metal, painted with some golds and silvers but not enough to indicate its namesake from an external view. The underside was lined with hatches galore, more than most of the other airships present in fact.
The first indicator of the namesake came from the gangplank itself. Its interior was lined with a plush rug, seemingly scratch-resistant as there was nary a hole to be seen. It was an inch or so away from the gangplank's edges, but favored coppers and golds and silvers in its coloration, with a motif that centered around clouds and the sun and moon sharing the skies. It was soft to the touch, molding around claws and hooves without imprinting them onto its surface, the fibers tickling frogs and talons alike.
"Goodness, Rarity would love to have one of these for the Boutique," Sweetie Belle said, even as she trotted up the gangplank with the others.
"I think it might be making it easier on my bones," Katie chirped, wings buzzing. The Crusaders looked at her.
"Have you been hurting just walking this whole time?" Sweetie asked.
Katie wilted, and sheepishly nodded. "Have been, since I somehow got unsealed, in fact," she muttered. "Kinda comes part and parcel with… well, being like this."
"So how have you been walking, if you're in aches and pains on the daily?" Red Barrel asked, turning to look at the wraithling somewhat incredulously.
"Just been forcing myself to, really," Katie answered with a shrug. "How else would I get around?"
Rose Windmill leaned in to whisper to Red Barrel. "That autopsy can't come fast enough," she muttered. Red Barrel nodded in agreement as she and the others entered the ship proper.
Exclamations of awe rose from the children; the inside was as fancy as anything they had seen in Canterlot, with walls painted in marble white with fancy ottomans, cushion-lined chairs and silk-dressed tables and even a china cabinet fitted with some of the fanciest dishes and silverware they had laid eyes on. All furnishings were firmly bolted down, and reinforced with yet more steel and runes whose meaning eluded the Crusaders.
It had a set of stairs stationed opposite of the gangplank, going both up and down, and the floor and stairs were lined with a fancy carpet boasting navy blues and silver stars as its motif. The windows were sturdy and thick, and each glass pane was reinforced with steel and runic writing etched on its surface. To one side sat a simple kitchen, walled off with clear and reinforced glass that showed off its crystal-studded kitchen apparel. The ceiling was lined with more crystals acting as lights, protected by domes of glass arranged into the shape of the moon complete with craters, providing a gentle glow over the whole interior of the living quarters.
Inside, seated at a table with a cup of brewed tea already prepared, was Golden Chalice. She smiled as she rose from the seat after sipping the rest of the tea in the cup and setting it down. "Now then, are we prepared?" she asked. The trio nodded, and followed her as she moved to the stairs and trotted on the ones heading downward. Katie went with them, leaving Ruby, Red Barrel, and Rose Windmill to sit at the table and have themselves a nice chat.
Downstairs boasted some strange-looking magitek, configured into towers that rose from floor to ceiling, studded with glowing crystals that favored reds, golds, greens and blues that made the room glow in a dazzling rainbow. The floor and ceiling were fitted with bulky wires crossing between them every which-way they could, in a manner that kept one end of the room to the other unobstructed. At the end stood a collection of satellite dishes stacked atop one another, connected to a firm tower framework with an antenna poking out of the top. Every ounce of this room was decorated in runes, all seeming to connect to each other and the crystals as well as the tower of satellites.
Apple Bloom's eyes twinkled as she studied the magitek. "So this is the charging room?" she asked. "How does it work?"
Golden Chalice indicated to the crystals with a claw. "These crystals power the machinery; naturally magical on their own, but volatile if mishandled. They do not require a constant charge, only needing a full-scale recharge every year and a half or so," she said, smiling as she indicated to the pile of satellite dishes at the far end of the room. "When the charging occurs, that tower acts as a conduit to guide the charging magic towards the crystals, enabling them to power the machinery to begin with."
Scootaloo poked at one of the wires. "And these things?"
"Those lead further down into the airship's underside through a series of holes in the floor. Those redirect power from the crystals and are used to fuel the various cannons whenever the need to fight arises and the General wishes for the poor bastards to become tiny chunks on the battlefield," Golden Chalice explained, her claw lifting up to indicate the wires on the ceiling. "The ones overhead, meanwhile, head further up into the airship, to power the balloon, the kitchen, the bathroom, and to help make steering the rudder easier."
"So what do the cannons do?" Apple Bloom asked, turning to Golden Chalice with a frown. "And how many are there?"
"Fifty or so cannons, arranged in a formation that spares room and keeps them from clustering too tightly together. They are connected with a myriad of crystals and wire, and can do various things—fire beams, if you want to burn something, electrical beams for when you want to imitate lightning strikes, ice beams for if you want to freeze something, and earth beams for if you want to do some light terraforming," Golden Chalice answered, her smile falling. "It can also fire off light and darkness, but I have rarely seen the need to use those particular elements."
Golden Chalice turned around, and shepherded the trio and wraith upstairs, and further up towards a higher floor of the airship. This floor boasted a bedroom, with everything bolted firmly down and the carpet motif favoring dawn-based colors. The bed was plush, the room fitted with more windows, and the few wires present were anchored to the sides of some columns that held them ramrod straight even as they snaked their way to the next floor up. At the other end of the room boasted a lift, but besides that the bedroom held standard furnishings for a fancy ship. In one corner, walled with opaque glass stood a bathroom with standard equipment, albeit with fuzzy rugs and towels for drying off.
The group of five went to the lift, boarded it, and punched the button to be taken up. When they reached the next room, they were met with more strange magitek: a control panel with several screens, hooked to a steering wheel and fitted with radios. Levers dotted the area, though they kept themselves somewhat centered on the control panel. "What are the screens for?" Scootaloo asked.
"They display everything happening around the airship. Above, below, side to side… it doesn't matter—there's a camera everywhere where there needs to be one. It makes for parking the airship a far easier task than it would normally be," Golden Chalice said, grinning. "Makes aiming towards any enemies far easier than simply firing blind and hoping for the best, as well." She trotted over and typed on some keys, and at once the screens came to life and displayed the surrounding hangar. She waved the four over, and they trotted right to her to get a better view of the screens.
"Cool!" Apple Bloom squealed, the twinkle in her eyes growing as she beheld the magitek. "This is a lot fancier than anything I've seen! Who built this stuff anyway?"
Golden Chalice giggled as she patted Apple Bloom on the head. "Believe it or not, the ancient cats were the first technologically-advanced race to emerge on Fantasia," she said, smiling. "This magitek… in fact, all the magitek here derives itself from ancient feline-based blueprints and designs; the only reason we have this technology on this scale is because of NoLegs."
The Crusaders looked at her, eyes widening and jaws threatening to unhinge. "NoLegs? As in the blue fuzzy cat?" Sweetie Belle asked, somewhat disbelieving what her ears had caught.
Golden Chalice nodded. "One and the same. In fact, he's a major part of this army, believe it or not," she said with a smirk. "The only other ones who figured out the tech and could keep pace in the ancient days were the gryphons and hippogryphs, before Faust weakened them and took away the Fantasian cats' legs prior to Her sealing." She patted the steering wheel gently with her free claw. "But it seems the trait resurfaced in me and my wingless fellows, which is what allowed us to help free our brethren when they were being forcibly controlled."
The trio wasted no time jotting the information down. Katie chuckled, seeing the enthusiasm for their project reemerging as the lead scribbled down on the paper with glee. "So, your teacher," she said once the lead halted for more than a full minute. That got the trio to look at her. "You think she'll be awestruck once we're done with this shiding?"
"She might have a few questions, yeah, but…" Scootaloo trailed off, frowning as she mulled it over.
Katie shrugged. "Well, that's par for the course," she pointed out. "You're in foreign lands getting top-notch info from those directly responsible for this city-state's existence. Wouldn't surprise me if she asked how Lance retains his title, all things considered." Her wings buzzed as she added, "That said, this is a rare opportunity; how could you be blamed for taking full advantage of it?"
The Crusaders considered that, idly nodded, and smiled. "Cheerilee's probably going to be kicking her hooves off the ceiling once we turn this in," Sweetie chirped, her smile widening at the thought. One-upping Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon would be a nice cherry on top of the proverbial neapolitan milkshake.
"We're gonna be making copies of it, too," Scootaloo added, her own wings buzzing. "I don't know about you guys, but if the head of the school board finds out about this, she might shred our assignments."
Katie's brow climbed up her forehead. "Why?" she questioned.
Scootaloo's wings halted, and she frowned again. "You haven't met the head of the school board, have you?" she asked. When Katie shook her head, she sighed. "Well… rich, snobbish, all about her… she probably wouldn't tolerate anything to do with Fantasia, either." Her frown deeped as she added, "Especially if we one-up her daughter, Diamond Tiara, with this assignment." That came with too much nodding from the other two.
Katie nodded as well, seeing the logic behind making backups. "And the type to order my head above her fireplace, if word got out that I was at Ponyville," she concluded.
The Crusaders shared looks, then shrugged. "Or just probably banished to the moon," Sweetie said, frowning as well. "With your mug, you might ruin her fine carpets and decor—no offense."
Katie shrugged. "Eh, not the first time I heard that. None taken," she replied. "And how do you know she's rich?"
"She flaunts her wealth, thinking it puts her on par with the Canterlot elite," Sweetie Belle answered. "That is, when she bothers to show her face for Family Appreciation Day at all. Or when she wants to lecture the class on letting her daughter bully us, because she's better than us or something like that. And every time Cheerilee stands up to her, she threatens to fire her for insubordination."
Katie's brow furrowed. "Sounds to me like she's got a punchable face," she muttered. "Unfortunately, I might end up breaking my entire leg on it, so I'll leave the face punching to someone… more healthy and capable than I am."
Golden Chalice clapped her claws together, a wicked gleam in her eye. "That aside… I heard you three wanted to earn your cutie marks?" she asked, causing the three children to look at her.
"Yeah. We wanted to try for magitek pilot cutie marks," Scootaloo said, the first to notice the evil glint in Golden Chalice's blue eyes. "And we got permission from Matt, so…"
Golden Chalice donned an absolutely diabolical smirk. "Excellent," she said.
Katie's ears swiveled bolt upright at this development. "Oh here we go…" she muttered.
Golden Chalice gathered the three in her claws, making sure not to scratch them even slightly. "How do you say you assist Blue Crow and the others once the repairs on the cargo ship are done?" she asked.
The trio, seeing what she was getting at, assumed diabolical smirks in turn. "You're on!" they replied in tandem, causing Katie to roll her orbs and shake her head. With that, they raced to the lift, and waited for Golden Chalice and Katie to follow them. When all were boarded, the button was punched and everyone was taken down to the bedroom.
Trotting right through it and downstairs yielded an interesting sight. It seemed that at some point, Blue Crow joined the party, sighing as he explained something to Ruby while Red Barrel and Rose Windmill's foreheads were pressed into the table. "Well, you see, the last ghost sighting on Fantasia took place only a year after the Royale Catastrophe, though so far nothing has been confirmed," he said.
Ruby looked downcast. Her glowing eyes were slanted, and she had a frown etched on her face. "And how could ponies let the Catastrophe play out as it did?" she asked sincerely.
Blue Crow slumped a bit. "Well… when you're a cutie markless pony, you can't exactly fight off giant swords raining from the sky and massive comets of hellfire so easily, can you?" he retorted. When Ruby shook her head, he said, "Exactly. It may be haunted for all we know, but nobody's had a solid reason to visit the site of the Catastrophe yet. It's probably for the best, since Matt and Natalie would probably reduce it to less than ash if they visited again."
It was at that moment, Red Barrel lifted her head and glanced at the stairs to find Golden Chalice looking at the conversation with a raised brow. She pointed at Ruby. "This ghost foal has as many questions as Lance's adopted kid," she muttered. "Some, we're not sure how to answer." With that, her forehead returned to the table in short order.
Golden Chalice decided to halt the questionnaire before Ruby could shoot her ethereal mouth off. She trotted to the table and whispered her plan in the ears of her wingless compatriots. Two heads rose as she concluded, and Blue Crow's frown turned lopsided as the details were relayed to him. When she finished with that, she looked at Ruby and asked, "Are you able to fly, in a fashion?"
Ruby nodded, her frown fading a little. "I just don't like to fly too high, though. I've never had a reason to," she said with a shrug.
"Hrm… do you have good eyesight?" Golden Chalice pressed.
Ruby nodded. She angled her body to show off her cutie mark. "It's how I got this," she said.
Golden Chalice grinned. "Excellent. We'll need you for something," she said, trotting around to her to whisper the details in her ear. Ruby's ghostly ears twitched as she got fed the details, and she nodded once she was given the gist of things.
Blue Crow stood up, followed by Red Barrel and Rose Windmill. "Is everyone ready?" he asked, turning to the Crusaders. They grinned and nodded. "Alright, time to kick things into gear. Scootaloo, with me. Apple Bloom, with Red Barrel. Sweetie Belle, with Rose Windmill." With that, they broke into formation and marched out of the Deluxe Magnum, with each Crusader pairing up with their assigned pilot. Golden Chalice, Ruby, and Katie stayed behind to oversee the whole thing.
Apple Bloom was prancing as she and the others trotted all the way to the exposed front of the hangar, where three distinct planes sat. A blue one stood to the left, a single pair of wings with turbines on the underside and mounted with odd magitek sticking out the tops of those wings, rune-etched and glimmering faintly. A red one that sat in the middle had two stacked wings with the same magitek affixed between the pairs and, though they couldn't see it from where they stood, a propeller slapped to the front.
The last one, a shade of maroon that was sitting to the right, had a stack of three wings, with two pairs of that same magitek and another propeller slapped on the front. Each plane had enough seating for a pilot and a passenger, fitted with radios and goggles and scarves. In addition, each plane had reinforced glass domes that sat open, framed by steel and further reinforced with runes. Each plane also had a steering wheel and control panels, making them fit for flying in Lance's military.
Blue Crow trotted to his plane, hopped in, and rummaged around for a bit before producing a set of three cameras, all with a single note taped to them and wrapped up in a pretty pink ribbon. "How'd this get here?" he asked, looking at the note with a raised brow.
"Well, what's it say?" Red Barrel asked, tilting her head.
Blue Crow cleared his throat. "'I figured out you might want some pictures to be taken from the skies, so I managed to get the bestest cameras the army had for your school project. You better come back to the party when you're done up there, though. Signed, Pinkie Pie. P.S., yes, I learned that the higher-ups and their frenemies and sisters got their marks from really awful things, but that's still not a cause to avoid celebrating them, as they can use their talents for good,'" he said.
That got a roll of the eyes from Rose Windmill. "I'm starting to think Pinkie has eyes everywhere," she said.
Scootaloo nodded. "You don't know the half of it," she agreed.
Regardless, Blue Crow decided to just roll with it, which the Crusaders regarded as a wise decision since Pinkie's antics were involved. He undid the ribbon, handed each Crusader a camera, and put Scootaloo on his back. Red Barrel and Rose Windmill did the same with their assigned Crusaders, and without delay they boarded the planes to strap in and prepare for another adventure of trying to get their cutie marks.
Fun was bound to be had, regardless of success and failure. Indeed, it would lead to a most unexpected result over the rest of the week.