//------------------------------// // Chapter 51: Business Trip 2 // Story: Trash of the Royal Castle // by Netap //------------------------------// The Ship itself was a smaller-sized vessel, big enough to hold comfortably 30 people, designed for Speed of travel. "According to this manual, The magical enchantments placed on this ship will allow it to move with minimal need for crew interference," Time Turner said as he set his suitcase next to his bed, talking to his two roommates for the trip. "Minimal Interference huh," Zephyr Breeze repeated to himself, his chin resting on his knees as he curled up on the comfortable bed he got, "That means your job will be easy, right?" "Quite the opposite actually," Time Turner told the Pegasus with a smile of giddy excitement, "It means I need to make sure the enchantments on the engine are working properly, This job requires maximum concentration on my part," "Huh, Cool." Zephyr turned to look at the other Stallion in the room, who hadn't said anything since he arrived, "And what about you?" Hughbert Jellius blinked slowly before he picked up that he was being talked to, turning his head to look at the turquoise Pegasus with almost blank eyes, tilting his head slightly to the side as if asking the Pony to repeat his question. "What's your job?" And repeat the question he did. Hughbert blinked again before a sickly thin smile appeared on his face. "I'm in charge of the food," that was all he said before he turned back to the room door and exited, leaving his three suitcases behind him on his bed. "...What's his problem?" Zephyr asked as he turned to look at Time Turner, who merely shrugged his shoulders in response. "We have to sleep together?! This is B-" Gilda the Griffon was prepared to yell as she looked at the room the girls would be sharing before a yellow Pegasus quickly covered her beak with a hoof. "There are children here," A K Yearling harshly whispered to her, looking over her shoulder at the small pink filly, who was already making a mess of her bed as she looked at the blue Unicorn giving her a little show. "Don't tell me what I can't say," Gilda growled at Yearling, slapping her leg away from her face, "I can control my mouth myself, thank you very much!" She said loudly before she threw her suitcase in the general direction of her bed as she turned her back on the rest of the girls and left the room, not bothering to clean after the mess her suitcase made as it opened mid-flight, throwing her belongings into her corner. "..." The Girls stopped and looked at the Griffon departing. "...What a bitch," Gasps of shock sounded out ad Trixie and Yearling turned to look at the filly. "What? She was acting like one," Cozy Glow said with a grin before she flew by Yearling as she made her way outside, ready to explore the rest of the ship. Leaving the Magician and the Author alone in the room. "So..." Trixie started, quickly looking around her suitcase for something to do, "Wanna' play cards?" She levitated out a pack. A K Yearling looked at the Unicorn and smirked. She might not look like it as an Author, but Daring Do was an expert at gambling! Some might say that she gambles with life itself during her adventures. A simple game of cards is child's play! "What are you doing?" Starlight asked her boss as she entered the bridge of the ship, watching him write something on paper as his magic piloted the ship. "Writing a letter," Prince Blueblood simply said as he continued writing, not bothering to look up from his work. "Wouldn't writing letters be easier when you're not also controlling a boat?" The Unicorn grabbed a nearby chair and made herself comfortable. "It would, but the Spell for sending messages works better the closer I am to the target, meaning that If I want this message to reach Princess Lanternlight in Caninia, It would be better to send it when we're on the water," Blueblood told her, signing his initials at the bottom of the paper before rolling it up and blasting it with a ray of blue magic, causing it to turn into glittering smoke and fly out a small opening in a nearby window. "There," Blueblood said with a smile as he looked at the glittering blue smoke flying away from the ship, in the direction of Caninia. Starlight, seeing this all happen, asked a question that was on her mind as she watched the prince write the letter. "Why didn't you write the letter before starting the ship, and only then send it Instead of writing it while also moving the ship?" Blueblood turned to look at Starlight, an amused smile on his face. "Starlight," "Yes Blueblood?" "Shut up please," "Sorry Blueblood," Starlight smirked at her boss, leaning back on her chair and placing her legs on the table in front of her, "But as an Equestrian citizen I have the freedom to say my mind, Freedom of Speech, and all that," "You know..." Blueblood's eyebrows curled downward as if in a glare, his smile remaining on his face, "I can just send you to prison whenever I want to, This bodyguard shtick is your probation," "But you won't," Starlight said, not bothering to rise up to the Prince. Blueblood blinked in surprise at her reply before he let out a bark of laughter, "Ha! Yeah I won't, would I?" "Stupid Pegasus, and stupid Rainbow Dash, and stupid pink pony whatshername, I'm an adult!" Gilda was grumbling to herself as she made rounds around the ship before a sound picked up in her head and she silently started tailing after it. It was the sound of someone shuffling around as if trying to hide themselves. Silently making her way after the sound, Gilda spotted the source. "Hey you-" Her shout was once again stopped by the small pink filly, who quickly told her to be quiet and listen. "Shush! Do you hear that?" Cozy Glow whisper-yelled at the Griffon, slowly taking his small leg off her beak. Gilda, deciding to humor the kid, stopped and listened harder, only to continue hearing the sounds of quiet shuffling. Sounds that clearly weren't coming from the filly she found. "It's probably a raccoon or a rat," Gilda said, "Nothing to worry about," "It's not a Rat!" Cozy Glow whispered at her, "It's way louder and heavier!" "So it's a Badger or something, what's your deal?" Gilda rolled her eyes. So a wild animal made its way onto the ship, so what? "Isn't part of your job to protect the ship from intruders?" Cozy asked the Griffon, who merely raised a brow at her in a "What are you getting at?" kind of way. "Doesn't an animal living onboard count as an intruder?" Cozy asked, and Gilda finally understood where she was getting at. "I won't get paid?!" Gilda loudly asked, quickly grabbing the filly and placing her on her back, "Come on! We have a Sea Badger to catch!" "Huh?! Wait!" Cozy cried from on top of the Griffon, but her yells went unheard. In a series of vents situated between the Living Floor of the ship and the deck, a certain Earth Stallion opened a jar filled almost to the brim with a bright pink jelly. He took a deep breath of the overly sweet smell of the jelly before his body was engulfed with green fire, revealing insectoid eyes and a black carapace over most of his body, a pair of thin and ruined wings buzzed ecstatically as the smell of the Pink Jelly filled the creature's nostrils, causing it to open its mouth and roll out its tongue as a euphoric sigh escaped its lips. "This Pony's knowledge and books on Jam were useful for something," The creature masquerading as Hughbert Jellius whispered to itself as it took another smell of the jelly, the ecstasy causing it to kick its back legs in pleasure as it tried to calm down. "If the queen finds out I've been keeping this a secret," It whispered to itself before another euphoria-filled sigh of ecstasy exited it, "It won't matter," It licked its lips and pulled the jar of Pink Jelly closer to it. "With this Pure Love Jam, I'll be strong enough to no longer need to listen to the queen," a sick smile grew on its face as it took a small lick from the glass jar. And its world exploded with pleasure. "Hah... All for me..." It whispered and took another lick from the jelly. "Come on! We have a Sea Badger to catch!" It paused as it heard the Griffon yell, a frown on its face as it looked down at the jar in its grasp. Before with a strong chug, It lifted its head and drank the entirety of the bright pink jelly, quickly wiping it from its face before hiding the now empty jar in a dark corner of the vents. Its body was once more engulfed in green flames, before with a gentle move to a ventilation grill, Hughbert Jellius walked away, a limp in his step as he shook in ecstasy. Not noticing the small, bright pink splash of Love Jelly it left in the Vents, nor the Filly/Griffon duo trying to enter the vents through another grill.