//------------------------------// // Descent // Story: Hearthswarming Far Away // by publiq //------------------------------// Gurgling was the first sound Petunia Paleo heard. As her ears adjusted to wakefulness, her hearing was tickled by the faint pitter-patter of rain on metal. From the depths of the ballast, she heard the muted roar of water on water. The implications were obvious: the pegasi had gathered some clouds and were draining them into potable water storage. Just how much longer will this accursed journey last? Did they really need to refill the water tanks yet again? “You’re awake.” Petunia was soon snapped out of her foul mood. That voice could belong to nopony other than her new advisor. “Do you have the time?” Petunia asked her advisor. “I need to recharge my sundial,” answered Maud. Petunia snorted politely. Maud had a way with words. While she had her mentor’s attention, curiosity got the better of her. “What have you been reading?” Maud quickly kicked the manuscript up under her frock and onto her back. Petunia had caught her with sensitive materials. “It’s a dissertation.” “Why are you so secretive about it?” “It’s not finished.” Petunia understood why Maud would not comment with further opinions. Nonetheless, she still was curious about the author of the paper. “I thought I was your first student.” “First full-time student, yes.” Maud, as always, would not divulge her thoughts easily. “Then why do you have a dissertation by Flaming Cherry?” “I’m his rockologist reviewer.” Petunia finally noticed Maud’s ears gradually assuming the pinned position. Never before had she seen such a strong emotional outburst from Maud, even when she was still under Professor Fossil and Maud was merely one of the other faculty. As much as she wanted to know more about her fellow grad student, it was wiser not to press on. Petunia took a risk and asked, “Your ears are pinned. Was I too intrusive?” thwack, thwack was the sound of Maud’s ears as she shook her mane vigorously. She nickered softly before returning her head to a neutral height. At least her ears were no longer holding so much tension. Unusually, Maud answered with a question: “How do you handle being away for Hearthswarming?” Petunia blinked at the unexpected response. She had expected that she had committed some faux pas in educational privacy, not that holiday stress was on Maud’s mind. Petunia wished they were on the deck so she could roll onto her back to let her coat and mane blend into the sea and sky, respectively. She answered honestly, “It’s my first Hearthswarming away from home. My parents and I celebrated early before we left. Hearthswarming and a goodbye party.” “Same here, except my sisters joined as well,” Maud shared. “Landing in three hours. All guests please return to your cabins to pack your belongings.” rang out the captain’s voice over the PA system. Both mares were happy for the distraction from the unexpectedly personal conversation. Petunia took a hoof clipping over two hours to re-pack her bags. The sky had been her new home for the past fortnight and she had a compulsion to use every drawer offered. There were a surprising number of hidden cubbies in such a small room. She followed the further instruction delivered during packing by staying inside until landing. Glancing out of the porthole, she could see land in the distance. A rope of sand stretched between both horizons. The rest of the ship blocked her view of the way forward. Slight turbulence rocked her balance as the horizon was obscured through a cloud. “You may now open your windows to acclimate to the warmer temperature” were the next instructions. Petunia cautiously opened her window and was greeted by a warm breeze. “We must be close by now,” she thought to herself as she took off her blankets. Ever since the passengers had gotten clipped a couple of days prior, double blankets were a common sight among passengers on the deck. Whatever magical machinery kept the ship afloat also generated a bubble of dense oxygen but no heat. The continual breeze made Petunia grateful that everypony had been shorn of their winter coats. The Undercarriage either had summers that only dragons could tolerate or they were 180⁰ seasonally out-of-phase with Equestria. The cloud cover broke and Petunia could once again see the beach. They were now close enough that she could see multicolored specks of a massively diffuse herd of ponies stretching out of sight. At least she assumed they were equine. They were still too far away to see clearly. Petunia flared her nostrils and rolled her eyes. Solid ground was tantalizingly close yet it seemed they still had at least one more hour to go. Was that three-hour estimate optimistic? Petunia re-read the checkout instructions on the back of her door. Her final task before landing and disembarkment was to fold her courtesy blankets and leave them on her bed. “Steady yourselves. Landing may cause a slight bump.” Petunia looked out of her window again. They were still far too high to land. The BUMP! “Please grab your belongings and make your way to the deck for disembarkment”