Spike wandered through the halls following the two luggage ponies. The ship was luxury. The carpeted halls were lined with photos of important ponies who had sailed on it. Some were captains, others were wealthy. He noted Luna’s portrait between one of the Rich’s and some other wealthy looking pony family. It made Spike wonder if Twilight’s and her friends would be on here somewhere.
They led him around a bend in the hall where it cut off in a large steel door. They were on the tenth floor of the liner, giving every porthole a grandeur view of the ocean and land below. The line of creatures boarding looked tiny from up here. The luggage pony in front cleared his throat to draw Spike from the small window.
“Your card, sir.” He gestured to the small keypad in front of the door. Spike fumbled for the keycard and drew it out. He pressed it against the top part as a click sounded from within. The door swung inward to reveal the largest room Spike had ever stayed in. He could swear it rivaled the Canterlot throne room.
To his left was a marble-top bar with three stools and both a wine and mini fridge fully stocked behind. It had a fake menu on the top with commemorative mugs laying on the counterspace ready to be filled with foam. On the right of the room was a door that presumably led to the bathroom. Spike had never had a bathroom in his room before. Directly ahead were three room-wide steps that took him down to the master bedframe. It was king sized for a pony, so perfectly sized for his own form. The foot of the bed shot out to a glass wall that overlooked the deck and ocean. For just a moment, Spike worried about his own privacy. Something must have given his concern away as the luggage ponies sat his two items on the floor.
“Your view is blocked from the outside, ambassador. You are quite private in here.” The one who had been in front clarified. Spike felt his nerves calming.
“Ah, thanks. Sweet. This is huge.” He said with a low breath. One of the luggage ponies kicked a panel on the left wall. The lights dimmed and a massive screen dropped in front of the window.
“For any non-deck viewing pleasure, sir.” The two ponies straightened their uniforms and left the dumbfounded dragon to gawk at his temporary quarters.
Spike started laughing. He had never had this much space to himself for luxury! It was all his to enjoy! It was a direct contrast to the tiny foxholes and lean-tos he had spent the last few years in.
Then Spike remembered the tiny foxholes and lean-tos he had spent the last few years in.
His smile faded completely as he thought about all that time spent in the dirt, watching creatures he barely knew crawl off to face…
He shook his head. Stop. You did what you could. It’s over, and it’s peaceful. I’m going home. He reassured himself. The tension in his jawline sent aches across his face. He realized there was no way he could enjoy the cruise if he worked himself up constantly. His eyes wandered to the mini bar, and he grinned again. Perfect.
He figured having a light pregame before meeting Sandbar would not hurt his chance at relaxing. He did not dare sit in the bed as he feared there was no way to get up from its comfortable-looking quilt once he felt it against his rough scales.
Spike walked over to pop open the mini fridge. Inside were tiny rum shots in clear coconut shaped glasses. The tags hanging off them told Spike they had boarded with whatever goods were exchanged in SugarCuba. He swindled three of them and grabbed a dark cola from the door side. Spike grabbed a mug and poured each shot quickly in, but he saved the last one to see how the pure stuff tasted. He threw it back and let the sweet kick slide down his throat. Everywhere the bitter fire touched was washed immediately with a cacophony of coconut and island fruit hints. The traces of burn shot up his nose as he breathed out. A small spark lit off from his nose as the flammable gas shot from his stomach. Better keep that to a minimal.
He mixed the rest and downed it, taking only a moment to enjoy the mix tastes. Spike wiped his lips and felt some tension disappear along with the fiery drink. Spike rolled the sleeves up on his white shirt to just below the elbows. His room was hotter than the air outside as the sun touched the water line. Spike would have preferred being in other clothes, or without them at all, but all his clothes were horribly torn, dirty, or gone and the years with Norfandians had taught him a new appreciation for the coverings. Maybe he finally understood Rarity’s obsessions with the things. That drew Spike to smile again. He moved to the window to look down on the deck as some of the passengers were already mingling on the main floor. Ponies were in the pools and hot tubs, no doubt missing the warm oceans of their tropical islands, while trolls started talking with crewponies and passengers alike. This would be many of their first times meeting the creatures Spike had relayed so much about. He noticed that the wolfmen were absent along with the centaur fellows. The wolfmen made sense, but he hoped the centaur would not be treated poorly by the ponies. Many of the ponies who were adults now had grown up to witness the former magic-stealer wreak havoc on their homes. It had taken Spike months to get over his prejudice. He hoped it would go quicker for the ponies.
Spike pushed away from the windows and made his way out of the room, taking note of his room number. He aimlessly strode about, viewing the ship for all it was. He knew that the ship would shove off in about twenty-odd minutes, so he had no plans for a bit. He passed some trolls following a ship pony to their room. Spike found himself hoping it would be the family he met on the dock. Far… Fro! Fro was his name. He remembered the young boy with his parents. He was disappointed to see it was just a group of four trolls all relatively the same age. They waved at him as he passed, and he politely bowed back.
As Spike wandered, he found himself back in the portrait section of the halls. Curiosity got the better of him as he quizzed himself on the portraits before glancing on the name plaques. He recognized a few ponies; he mostly knew the ones from Canterlot’s galas. His heart jumped a bit when he saw Sassy Saddle’s portrait with the title of Head of International Product for Canterlot Carousel. Sassy had been Rarity’s friend and trusted manager of her product line since it had boomed into a fashion empire almost a decade ago. The two had a rough start, he remembered Rarity telling him, but Sassy had pulled through to be a great friend. Spike chuckled as he remembered her high and mighty accent declaring everything around her ‘posh’ and a ‘crude interpretation of fashion.’
Spike moved on to see some Wonderbolts, all of them before Rainbow’s time as one. He kept walking and froze as he saw a very familiar and crazy-looking creature grinning goofily from a frame.
Discord’s portrait entailed exactly who he was. He was laughing hysterically as pool water sailed over his head, drenching some poor ship pony on the side. Spike smiled at his old friend’s face and put a claw up to the picture.
“You there, Discord? Come to see your old pal safely home?” Spike asked aloud. The frame held its pose as Spike took his claw off and closed his lips into a thin line, but still retentive of his smile. “No, I wouldn’t guess so. Maybe we can do some O&O again. Just like old times.”
Spike remembered his sessions as a younger dragon with Big Mac and Discord, wildly fighting their own imaginations. They sometimes could convince the girls to play, but it was mostly just the three of them. Spike had missed the simple fantasies of creative geniuses who had nothing better to do on a Friday night. Big Mac was married now with a son of his own and a farm to run. Discord spent most of his time with Fluttershy or teaching at Twilight—er, Starlight’s school. Spike had left Ponyville relatively soon after the school opened, almost closed, did close, and then reopened again. His role of friendship ambassador had whisked him away from his friends ironically.
Spike drew himself away from the funny Draconiquis and kept tracing the walls of pictures. Captains, sailors, merchants, nobles, anypony who was somepony had seemed to stay on this cruise liner at some point. But for all the searching he did, Spike could not find a single one of his friends on the walls. He sighed in disappointment.
Just then, a crackle hissed overhead and a nasally voice came through a speaker.
“Crew and passenger; we are shoving off in two minutes! Please make sure all items are stowed that need stowing below and all rooms are found. Crew, make final boarding check. Our destination will be Equestria in eight days! Thank you for choosing Canterlot Luxury Liners! This is your captain; Shallow Anchor and you are aboard the Cosmic Sister! Any and all questions may be directed to your ship pony or guide. Again, crew make final boarding check.”
The message crackled into the silence that had been there before. Spike shrugged and made his way to the stairs that would lead him to the lower decks. If they were shoving off, Sandbar would be meeting him soon. At least there’s one pony I know.