Breakfast was once again brought to her cabin, though in addition to the coffee-or-tea and bread with butter on the tray was a small lump of ginger, which Stewaway had assured her was absolutely not being rationed to her and if anyone asked about ginger stores to say not a Celestia-damned thing about it. With tired, appreciative eyes she agreed, deciding to start with it anyways to let her keep a meal down for once.
Thankfully she found that the ginger did help settle her stomach, and even though the internal tilting had continued just as much as before, it didn’t seem to bother her nearly as much. Satisfied that she was finally keeping a meal down, she stood up and stretched her legs and then took a minute to brush her mane. She glanced up at the window while brushing, recognizing once again a clear, sunny day, and smiled. She considered going up on deck and seeing if she could look out at the sea once again, before deciding to wait and make sure the ginger was really going to work.
Applejack pulled out the kitchen knife and another block of wood and started whittling, letting her mind wander. That intensely nagging pressure had seemed to subside a little bit, and she thought about it. Perhaps now she was on course, following the Source’s directions, it was satisfied? It felt reassuring, if anything—like she was being given divine recognition that what she was doing was right.
She had not gotten very far with her carving before she was interrupted by a knocking. It was one of the sailors she had not met yet, and when she said, “Come in,” the door opened sharply.
“Miss?”
“Uh huh?”
“You’re wanted above deck, on the quarterdeck. Something’s come up.”
“Oh. Okay.”
The door closed and Applejack was left musing. The sailor had sounded nervous, almost afraid to tell her the order. She hadn’t felt like she had been any sort of imposing presence. Perhaps something was wrong? But then why was her anxiety lessened?
She shrugged the thoughts off and turned towards the door before pausing, grabbing her saddlebag, and departing. If something was wrong, it was best to be prepared.
Ponies were rushing all about the ship, checking lines and knots, glancing at each other, and in general muttering hushed, sharp words between each other that Applejack couldn’t make out. Curious, she climbed up the stairs to the main deck, and took a moment to check out the outside world.
True to her expectations, it was bright and beautiful outside. A constant, steady breeze was blowing, coming from directly behind the sails even. The ship was clearly speeding along, cutting into the short waves as if sliding on grease. Surprisingly, as she watched the great progress that seemed to be made, a selection of unicorns were quickly pulling all the sails up and bundling them close to the spars.
Quickly climbing the steps at the stern she knocked on the door to the navigation room, which opened fast to reveal a very wide eyed and shaking Due North, behind which was standing Captain Square Sails.
“Oh, good, you’re here, that’s great, feeling better? We’re lost.”
Applejack blanched. “Uh, good morning? We’re lost?”
“Well, uh, not lost. I know where we are. It’s not where we should be, though. Being your mission and all we wanted to make sure you knew as soon as possible. Didn’t want you to be surprised to find out a week later we’re not going the right way!” She laughed nervously and then clamped her hooves to her mouth, cringing.
“At attention, Due North,” Square Sails said, his command sharp but neutral. The unicorn responded by clicking her hooves together and facing forward, trying to stay still so hard she was vibrating a little bit. The captain turned around, gave a half smile, and then motioned for Applejack to sit down at the table in the center of the room.
She moved and sat, and then glanced behind her at Due North who was still shaking.
“At ease,” he said again, and she exhaled, failing to hold back a sigh of relief. “And come here as well. Sorry, I needed you to calm yourself.”
“Aye, Captain.”
“So, er,” Applejack started, glancing over the table. It was covered with a huge map that was mostly unfamiliar to her. “What’s wrong?”
“As our navigational officer just informed you, we are off course.” He pointed down at the map, where a small model figure of the Croupiere was sitting close to the east side. There Applejack recognized the western coast of Equestria, but not much more. The north edge of the map was filled about halfway before fading into nothing, just beyond what she knew of the Undiscovered West. Along the south was the Storm King’s lair, and then nothing but ice, also fading halfway across the map like the north. In the center, just before the western edge of the map lost its detail, was a large island that—if you squinted—looked like a dove.
“We are here,” he said, tapping the ship. “Or we were, heading north-northwest to Dove Island, as of our two-thousand reading last night. It was determined just a short moment ago that at some point last night our rudder was disabled, and we are now…”
He turned his attention to Due North, who took over, sliding the ship far more north than it previously was.
“We’re here now. Luckily it appears the rudder is seized upon the centerline, so we’re not stuck doing loops, but we’ve been blown way off course.”
“That’s why the sails are being bundled up?” Applejack asked, sneaking a peek out the windows behind her.
“Indeed. I have ordered sails down until we come to a stop and can assess what has gone wrong. A small crew should be assessing the damage as we speak. If we are lucky, a joint has been broken and can easily be replaced. If it is more serious, however, we will not be travelling as fast as previously hoped. There are ample stores aboard ship, so a delay is not dangerous to us, but I wanted you to know that your mission will not be finished as soon as you had hoped.”
As the captain spoke, Applejack found herself frowning. Square Sails had sounded slightly off, like he was holding something back or perhaps covering up some other emotion. His voice had come off with somehow less inflection than he normally used.
“Well, alright, Captain,” Applejack said, watching him carefully. “Is that all you needed to tell me, or is something else going on?”
“What—”
“Captain Square Sails!” a voice came from the door, pounding on it urgently. “Captain!”
“Enter.”
An earth pony, dripping wet from mane to frog, stepped in to the quarterdeck. He saluted and snapped his hooves together, sending a small spray of water off to one side. “I have results from the investigation into the rudder, sir.”
“Speak.”
“Sabotaged, Captain. Right at the bearings, they’ve been deliberately melted with magic.”
At this, Captain Square Sails stood fully tall, a serious shade taking over his face. “Are you positive, sailor?”
“Absolutely, sir. There isn’t any sort of fish that can do that type of damage. It’s locked in place for good.”
Applejack felt panic start to set in, but held her place. She could see Due North starting to shake again, and reached a hoof out to rest on her back, calming her. It wasn’t news she was ready to hear, but there was no sense giving up all hope at the first sign of trouble.
“Thank you, sailor. Back to your station, but send First Mate to me please.”
“Aye aye, Captain.”
As the stallion left, Square Sails started to pace around the navigation table, fuming. After a couple laps, he sat back down and faced Applejack.
“It appears this mission of yours is not so secret as you would have liked. I suspect an enemy of the Crown has done this to sabotage your efforts. To make matters worse,” he muttered, catching eyes with the devastated Due North before staring out towards the sea, “There is no easy escape from a ship at sea. I’m afraid we have a traitor in our midst.