//------------------------------// // Part 5: What We Brought // Story: Adventures in the TARDIS // by Scroll //------------------------------// I am having an unbelievable time on this ship. Doctor Caballeron, a pony I secretly (or perhaps not so secretly) look up to is showing me around this ship as if I'm somepony special. Why? I feel like I am a last minute addition for a job that admittedly is important where we are going and I do happen to have a knack for it, but it seems to me a thousand other ponies could have been chosen in my place. Why I was picked specifically for this mission is already beyond me, so it blows my mind even further that somepony I look up to is treating me as if I'm the celebrity here. I'm not complaining, but it is difficult to accept. Getting a better tour of this ship is useful knowledge to me since it has come to my understanding that we'll be here for at least twelve whole days, but very likely quite a bit longer. When I see the shores of our beloved home of Equestria sink below the horizon, it steadily dawns on me that we are now standing on the closest thing to visible landmass in every direction across every horizon, and it just happens to be artificial and moving. As a result, it is useful to get a lay of the “land”, as it were. To know what resources it has and what it doesn't have. To know which rooms are important and which are frivolous. To know what personnel we carry with us because, out here, we essentially have become our very own country. The only one we can rely upon potentially for the rest of our lives out here, however long or short that will happen to be. As we continue the tour, Doctor Cabbelleron regales me with many stories of his past adventurers in exploring old ruins. These are stories I would have paid good bits to hear and I have in the past. Some biographies have been written about him before and I proudly own most of them. He seemed rather flattered when I told him that which made him even more determined to almost arrogantly brag about his past exploits. I don't mind this in the slightest. When a stallion, or any pony for that matter, has made as many discoveries as he has, they deserve to be cocky about it. I'm actually very glad he's so willing to speak to his publishers, ghost writers, and me about his exploits because otherwise it would have remained hidden. “What do you think will actually be out there?” I ask Cabbelleron beside me as we roam the starboard side of the lower deck of the ship. To our right is doors leading to various rooms, mostly bedrooms, and to the left is white wooden columns which support the deck and roof above us. Beyond that is the vast ocean which is now illuminated with a pinkish hue due to the Celestia sun sinking on the horizon to the west. “You mean tha new conten-ent we are abow to discovor?” Cabbelleron asks me with his ever enchanting accent. Then he shrugs. “Well . . . part of the point of being a legendary archaeologist is the willingness to go out there and discovor what is ow there.” He chuckles for some reason. “It makes it tha much more fuhn fo me az well az po-tentially prafa-tahble.” My smile at him fades a bit as I ask, “But there is the thrill of knowing that we'll share this discovery to the rest of Equestria too, right?” My excitement picks back up as I say, “Think of all of the contributions we'll make to museums!” “What?” Cabbelleron blinks at me questioningly then waves me off as he says dismissively, “Oh. Yes, yes. Of coreworse. All of that as well.” I gaze out to the ocean to my right as I savor the ocean breeze that passes us before declaring, “Someday some other colt and filly will behold those pieces we'll bring back and be inspired by it as well, just as some of the things you have discovered has done for my own life.” “You're really into this,” Cabbelleron notes with surprise mixed with delight beside me. “Are you sure you havon't chosen the wrong profession before? Perhaps you might be destined to be an archaeologist yo'self.” “No,” I say a bit despondently as I turn my head forward then lower it as I close my eyes. “I wouldn't know the first thing about being a professional adventurer myself, and my parents would probably have a heart attack at the mere thought. Even now, I didn't tell them that I would be going on this venture.” “Baht tha way you stood up to old Tanon Burrows clearly deh-mon-straights at least some interest and talent in this field,” Cabbelleron tells me encouragingly. “Perhaps you're more into this than you thought.” “Interest?” I reflect as I lift my face forward again and open my eyes. “Sure. Talent? I doubt it but we'll see. If it turns out I do have a knack for this as well then that should be useful at least for the duration of this voyage. The only thing I might care to see more than making this grand discovery is to one day return from this voyage and go back home safe and sound.” “Bah!” Cabbelleron gives me another dismissive wave. “Safety is overrated. It tis tha adventor-is, tha bold, that even-tually return home with a tale or two worth telling.” “It's easy for you to say that,” I remark as I look back at him. “You're good at this job, but think about all those other ponies out there who didn't return from a trip like this and they are never going to.” Doctor Cabbelleron winces in apparent disgust as he says, “Halfwits, all of them. They nev'ah had tha true passion to be a real adventurer. Glory and riches await for dose who make dat leap o' faith and return boldly.” He half shrugs. “Perhaps with a trinket or two tah prove his adventures 'nd his worth. Wit'out that, there'd nev'ah be those museum pieces which so inspired you.” “That's true,” I agree thoughtfully. “If it 'as to be somepony, it might az well be us,” Doctor Cabbelleron concludes with another simple shrug. “Boss,” speaks a tan colored stallion with brown tail and presumably same color mane but it is concealed under a hat with a white stripe across it. His face sports a five o'clock shadow similar to Tanon's. He also wears a red scarf. When he gains our attention, this stallion nods elsewhere as if to silently convey that they have business to discuss in private. “Somepony you know?” I ask Cabbelleron beside me while nodding to indicate the stallion that just addressed us. “Biff,” Cabbelleron introduces with a bit of a tired sigh. “This venture should be worth it but there sure are heavy expenses. One of tha investors, tha highest in fact, sent some of 'is ponies wit me to . . . well, officially to guard me but also to make sure everything runs smoothly. To that end,” Cabbelleron faces me and gives me a graceful bow. “I must, unfortunately, deprive you of my compony for tha moment. Pardon me while we have business to discuss.” “Oh!” I blink. “Um . . . of course. Take your time and thank you for the tour,” I express to Cabbelleron gratefully. “Baht of course, Mademoiselle,” Cabbelleron replies dashingly. “Until we meet again, adieu.” Once again, he scoops up one of my hooves, my left in this case since he's standing to my left side, and kisses it charmingly before he departs. As he leaves, I detect the slightest trace of annoyance to his mood as if he resents this interruption to our tour. If that is true, then it might be noteworthy that he is departing from my side reluctantly for some reason. Either because he doesn't wish to leave me, doesn't wish to attend to whatever business this other pony has in mind, or both. As I watch them leave, I privately note that while Doctor Cabbelleron is dripping with debonair charm, I'm getting less comfortable vibes from this Biff stallion. I don't know what it is. Maybe his poise. Maybe his mannerism. Just something which indicates to me that he might not be the safest or wisest pony to encounter in a dark alley. Then I dwell on what Cabbelleron said earlier. He said Biff is here to be a representative of an investor for this trip. That raises some questions which, for some reason, makes me a bit uneasy. “Be careful of the compony you keep,” warns another unfamiliar stallion from somewhere nearby. I end up looking over my left shoulder to locate this one. There I see an aging white unicorn stallion who has a bit of bulk to him but clearly not as much as he would have had in his youth. I get the impression he used to have a golden mane and tail, both of which is now heavily bleached into silver for the most part. Only hints of it's once glorious golden hue remain. After a moment of examination, I also note something else about him that was initially subtle, and that is the very firm stance and expression in his face. He stands with confidence and vigilance that both suggest formal training sometime in his past. “What do you mean?” I ask this new stallion curiously with just the hint of alarm. Then it suddenly occurs to me that I haven't encountered many other mares on this ship. “That stallion who nodded to indicate for Cabbelleron to follow him,” this white stallion says as he nods to indicate where they took off. “Officially he's one of three henchponies to be Doctor Cabbelleron's bodyguards, but secretly they are actually hired to oversee to the will of the largest investor of this ship, one Colonel Panders.” This stallion narrows his eyes in the direction the other stallions went off to. “And the Colonel is noteworthy because of some shady history behind him.” “What?!” I cry out in alarm mixed with horrified disbelief. I turn to face this new stallion fully. “That's impossible! Doctor Cabbelleron would never stoop to work with a pony like that.” “Not everything is included in a pony's own biographies,” this stallion warns as his sharp gaze returns to me firmly. “Often what becomes public knowledge is an edited version of their own personal story. It's not always to their benefit to be completely honest with the public.” I wince at this pony as I say, “That's a rather cynical view of reality. And just who are you to claim such expertise in these matters?” “Forgive me, my lady, for not introducing myself earlier before I spoke on such matters,” the white stallion expresses as he gives me a formal bow. Once again, he seems to have a lot of practice in this as if he's had formal training. “My name is Straight Arrow and I am a former retired Royal Canterlot Guard. I used to serve under the glorious wings of Princes Celestia for a whopping twenty-eight years before I retired.” “Oh wow!” I gasp as it clicks in me why his poise and mannerism seems so regal and disciplined. “I, ah . . . I didn't know.” “Well now you do,” Straight Arrow announces as he rises from his bow. “I hope I have made my position a bit more clear to you.” “Are you sure about Colonel Panders and the fact he's the main financial backer of this voyage?” I ask in a slightly spooked tone. “We, of the former royal guards, are often in communion with local law enforcement officers in order to safeguard the Princess and to know who to watch out for,” Straight Arrow explains. “One of them was and is Colonel Panders. He's made quite the mark among crime syndicates for a very long time. Now he's risen to be influential enough to be his own crime boss. In fact,” he taps the deck we're standing on, “The Intrepid is secretly owned by him, or rather one of his subsidiary componies. They try to hide it, but there are enough clues to follow for the vigilant and determined. “Now, mind you, crime syndicate families like the one the Colonel leads are not always into shady business. They have legitimate business too like a canning compony or two hotels and casino's in Los Pegasus. It's noteworthy, however, how mysterious some of their financial endeavors are. Some of the things the Colonel owns could not possibly be affordable entirely by legit means. Shady dealings must have been made in the shadows as such ventures are often done. “Now, I heard that if you were to actually meet Colonel Panders in person, he'd be oozing with strong Southern charm which makes him seem like a jolly and civilized gentlepony, but he's also the kind of pony who maintains that delightful charm while ordering his henchponies to shatter kneecaps right before his very eyes. Do not be taken by his disarming smile for it hides a very dangerous and cunning wit.” I get the chills as I stare at Straight Arrow wide eyed. Eventually I recover my own wits enough to ask, “Then why are you aboard this ship? If the one who provided the main financial backing for this venture has such a shady history, how and why are you involved?” “Some of that information is classified,” Straight Arrow informs me very seriously. “But what I can tell you is what me and two other former royal guards aboard this ship are hired to provide is security during the voyage. Colonel Panders hired thugs, Biff, Withers, and Rouge, are essentially hired for the same thing, but what my former team and I provide is more formal training. We're also the only three unicorns aboard this ship with formalized training in combat magic such as hornbeams, barrier magic, and the like.” “Ooo. That could come in hoofy,” I note with interest. He nods as he says, “Indeed. I also patrolled this ship and took a census of those aboard this ship. To my surprise, I discovered that most of the ponies aboard this ship are earth ponies. Only twelve of us are unicorns, and of those, only three have formal training in combat magic. Tanon Burrows, for all of his skills with adventuring, is only capable of basic unicorn magic but he takes that quite far. “I was far more surprised, and alarmed, to discover that you, Miss, are the only resident pegasus aboard this ship at this time.” My eyes explode wide with shock and I exclaim, “What?!” Straight Arrow narrows one eye at me as he says to me, “That seems like a massive oversight to me considering the journey we are undertaking, but it is what it is. Your role in this affair just might be far more important than you realized earlier.” I gaze down with shock. If what Straight Arrow just told me is true, then I'm the only one that can provide an aerial reconnaissance of any area we explore. I'm the only one who has a chance to remove inconvenient weather. I'm the only one who can trot and rest on clouds. Perhaps most importantly, I'm the only one who has a chance to save somepony else's life if they fall down a cliff unless a unicorn is trained in the right spell or really strong with their telekenetic magic. Personally, I consider myself an above average flier but nothing to brag about. Nothing really amazing. I just happen to push myself a little harder with wing training than most ponies. That's all. Before now, I never considered myself as somepony special specifically because of my flying abilities. One-third of the rest of pony kind can do that as well. That's not even counting other races that can do it too. Now, however, I may be shouldering the responsibility of the only pony aboard who is capable of doing this. That is, assuming, whenever my wings are not injured. I feel pressure growing on my heart when I realize that I'm now the only one capable of even having a chance to face aerial combatants on their level. Since I have no formal fighter training to speak of, it seems gravely unwise of me to face such a thing totally alone. We're about to encounter an entire unexplored continent. It's hard to fully imagine what we might encounter there, but it seems safe to assume we could encounter aerial threats at least a few times. I'd feel so much more secure about that if there was at least one other pegasus for the team to rely upon, especially if that pony had some formal training to hoofle it. But nope! It's just me. That's so much pressure. It's not like we have any other backup either. All we have aboard this ship is all we're ever going to have on this voyage aside from what we might encounter later, but there is no telling what that will be at this time. Right now, we can't count on anything beyond what we've brought with us, and apparently I am just learning that at least three other ponies aboard this ship was hired by a mob boss. “Um, those three that are hired by Colonel Panders,” I say as I look back at Straight Arrow with a minor look of desperation in my eyes, “they can fight, right?” “I'd say it's pretty safe to assume that,” Straight Arrow agrees with a nod. “In that case, if we encounter something dangerous where we're going, we can at least trust them to defend their own lives and to do it reasonably well. At least, better than any average civilian, right?” “Right,” Straight Arrow agrees with another nod. “That said, that doesn't mean they'll necessarily be driven to defend you. I suggest you bear that in mind.” “Right, but if they are busy defending themselves, then whatever is attacking them is busy too and therefore too busy to attack anypony else. If we're lucky, they'll also defeat the threat. If that happens, then that former threat can't threaten anypony else.” “That's one way to look at it,” Straight Arrow agrees somewhat wistfully. “Regardless of their past, we may be thrust into a very unusual situation going forward,” I reason. “Under the right circumstances, they may actually be trustworthy.” Straight Arrow shrugs as he says, “That's always possible, but it's important to remain prepared for any situation. That's why I'm warning you right now. I'll do my best to protect you and I'd do it with all sincerity, but there are limits to what I can do, especially at my more senior age and we can't count upon what else we might encounter in the future. As an innocent civilian, I felt it was my duty to inform you of that. “One should also consider exactly what those henchponies secretly hired for? A financial backer from a crime syndicate has an interest in the discovery of a previously uncharted lost continent. I don't think it is wise to dismiss what his true motives are.” “But you are here too and can report your discoveries as well,” I remind him. “In a nutshell, that's basically why I am here,” he informs me. “But there is no guarantees that I, or anypony I previously worked with, will survive this trip.” “On the off chance that you don't and I do, is there anypony you want me to inform of something?” I offer kindly. Straight Arrow lifts a hoof and wipes it back and forth as he also gives me a shake of his head before saying, “No. I shan't involve an innocent civilian in military matters beyond warning you of the potential danger aboard this ship and my intention to do my best to protect you. Beyond that, I can offer no guarantees. As for my official mission that I can't talk about, I'll hoofle it myself if I can.” “Shouldn't we warn Doctor Cabbelleron of this as well?” I ask in concern. “Because he's obviously not aware of whom he's dealing with.” “One can never be too certain of what a pony's knowledge and intentions are,” Straight Arrow warns. “It's best to withhold that kind of information for now. If the doctor is innocent, warning him now might also tip the Colonel's henchponies. After all, Cabbelleron works with them more closely and they, in turn, watch him just as closely. If it turns out the doctor is guilty, then warning him tips him off about our knowledge and suspicions. There's no advantage to us for doing so at this time. I still plan to protect the doctor regardless, but I think it is otherwise best to keep our cards close to our chest for now.” I frown. I don't like that answer but I also understand what he means by it. Part of me hates to agree with his reasoning. I don't want anything bad to happen to the good Doctor Cabbelleron. “What if I encounter any useful intel? Should I offer it to you?” I offer since that option has a chance to enhance his mission. If that happens, maybe it will be easier to protect everypony else who is innocent somehow. “Discreetly,” Straight Arrow replies cautiously. “And only if doing so does not put you in any further danger.” I nod in understanding. I'm not completely comfortable with the news I just received, but at least this is a start towards a noble plan.