//------------------------------// // 08. Magenta McGorgamaforg // Story: Synchronicity // by Sev //------------------------------// “You alright in there, Twilight?” Applejack asked, her brow raised in concern. “Huh? Oh, yeah,” Twilight nodded, and shook her head clear of her conversation with Rarity. By now, her companions had come to notice when the unicorn was engaged in internal debate, having traveled with Twilight down the river to its outlet to the sea. Mustang Marina served as Canterlot's major port for everything from the massive airships and recreational balloons of the city's elite, to the shipping barges and cruisers that bore the heraldry of Equestria's capital proudly on their bows. The sheer size and picture-perfect lines of the mighty white and purple clad ships had brought all but Pinkie to an awed silence when they'd first loomed into view. Pinkie had been restrained forcibly by Applejack when it became obvious that the prospect of a trip out on the ocean aboard such a vessel might provoke some sort of song. Even now, hiding from view amidst the unclaimed containers situated on the damp wooden dock pathways, she continually stuck her head out and vibrated with glee at the sight of them, tethered by ropes as thick as her chest to the dock and looming high above their heads like titans in the cold night mist. “How're they holdin' up?” Applejack asked, when she was sure Twilight had returned to the here and now. All things considered, the workhorse found the whole magic mess to be a might bit unnatural and bizarre, but it had certainly proven useful to have a quick means of communication between both halves of the divided party. Especially considering the currently mixed company, and the potential it caused for problems. Applejack cast a wary glance toward Windswept while she listened to Twilight's report of Rarity and Rainbow's circumstances. The kelpie had been following along with them via the river while they stuck to the shoreline, weaving their way steadily toward the ocean. The steep walls of the deep canal had allowed her to maintain close proximity, but there were times when she had to drift outward to avoid the shallows, and Applejack was forced to wonder if she may be chatting quietly to some waiting ambush by means of some underwater familiar none of them were as yet aware of. Applejack was not an inherently distrusting pony, which was, in part, the problem. It made suspicion hard to let go of once it actually set in. As far as she was concerned, Windswept was a self-admitted spy, and a kidnapper, even if Twilight's 'kidnapping' had only been a short lived event. Somehow the fact that her story had been confirmed as true by Rarity's discovery of the Lords of the Sea's list of demands had only made her that much more untrustworthy. A liar that tells the truth, Applejack figured, was only buying themselves leeway for some larger lie later. Deep in her heart, however, there was a gnawing worry that she was only doubting the sea pony's integrity because she was a rather limited, rather immediate foe, and it would be so much easier to solve everything if all they had to defeat was one little mare with a clouded moon on her flank and flippers for legs. Because if it turned out she was telling the truth, about all of it, about everything, it would mean rewriting just about everything Applejack knew to be good, true, and real. And to be honest, she was getting tired of having to do that. It was a damn near weekly occurrence these days. “As well as can be expected, considering the circumstances,” Twilight replied, having filled in the gaps since her last update. Her voice was hushed so as to avoid detection. She, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Windswept and Applejack were all huddled behind a large, damp shipping crate on the pier, some hundred feet from the docks themselves. So far as they knew, there was no blanket alert out for their detainment, but the fact that Rainbow and Fluttershy had only hours ago escaped custody had provided enough of a worry that discretion on the part of the guardians of the Elements of Harmony was prudent. Windswept was eying one of the ships with a look that seemed a mix of incredulity and offense. “Its got cannons all along its sides,” the kelpie muttered. “Why does it have cannons? Did no pony question why it has cannons? What would it shoot at?” “It’s a ship!” Pinkie exclaimed in a hushed but excited voice, as though that was explanation enough. “They all have cannons! It’s what ships have! You know, to stop piiiirates and stuff.” “They weren't put there to shoot at kelpies, if that's what yer gettin’ at,” Applejack said defensively, and Windswept gave her a curious glance. “No,” she replied, looking back at the ship, “I imagine not.” “Windswept,” Twilight said, bringing the kelpie's attention back to the mission at hand. “We have less than fourteen hours to get princess Celestia out of your city, which, I assume, is somewhere in the middle of the ocean miiiiles from Equestria, before your crazy nutso splinter group kills her to paint a target on Canterlot's head.” She puffed out a breath, and lifted a brow expectantly. “Tell me this can be done.” Windswept chewed her lip a little and wiped her flipper across the ground in a subconscious attempt to busy it. “Um,” she began, “well… yeah, I mean, it can be done. Of course it can be done! All we need to do is get to Equestria's oceanic border. From there we can take a Well to Kelopolis and get Princess Aurora's help.” She nodded vehemently, her previous hesitation tucked carefully away. “A… Well?” Fluttershy asked. “Like with a capital 'W'?” Windswept made a swirling motion with her rear flipper and nodded. “It’s like a hole in the water,” she explained, “we use them to get around. Ocean's a big place, you know. We can't just swim everywhere.” “We land ponies call those 'whirlpools',” Applejack commented, suspicion evident in her voice, “they have a nasty habit of sinkin’ ships that get too near them.” “They weren't put there to drown ponies,” Windswept replied in a level tone, “if that's what you're getting at.” Applejack startled slightly, and found herself unable to meet the kelpie's gaze. Up until that point, she'd thought her distrust for Windswept had been kept rather tightly buttoned down. She'd just been made abruptly aware that she hadn't been fooling anypony. Even Twilight was trying to avoid the awkward situation by conducting an impromptu but very detailed examination of her own hoof. Pinkie, however, was undeterred, and put her hoof to her chin in contemplation. “Hmmmmm!” she mused aloud. “So all we have to do is get one of those ships to take us to the Equestria border, right?” she asked the group as a whole. Twilight nodded slowly, but opened her mouth to elaborate on just how unlikely that event was. She didn't get the chance. Pinkie was on her feet within seconds. “Alright everypony, follow my lead!” the party pony declared, “I've got a PLAN!” “Ooooh no,” Twilight answered, her pupils constricting in growing fear. “Pinkie, now hang… hang on a second. We really need this to go well, we're extremely short on time and-” It was Applejack who cut her off with a hoof draped reassuringly on her shoulder. “Twi,” the earth pony said quietly, “right now, there is only one pony in all of Equestria I'd place my bets on to get us into the middle of the ocean on a Royal Navy vessel we've got no right business bein' aboard,” she turned her head and pointed, “and that pony is Pinkie Pie. Let the mare work.” Twilight took a deep, shuddering breath, and looked at Fluttershy for argument. The pink haired pegasus looked just as worried, but said nothing. Even Windswept looked at a loss for alternate ideas, and it was testament to Twilight's desperation that she bothered consulting the kelpie at all. Finally she sighed, and slumped. “Alright Pinkie,” she said, a hint of hesitation in her voice, “lay it on us.” Pinkie Pie grinned big and her eyes narrowed. From space unknown and by means best left unexplored, she produced a large tri-corner hat with a rather exaggerated feather sticking out of it, and sat it firmly upon her head. If she possessed knuckles, she would have cracked them. “Alright girls,” she said, “Try and keep up.” The bridge of the Sunrise was quiet, manned by a skeleton crew during the night shift as it sat idle and tethered, awaiting its next command. First mate Shipshape skimmed the recent reports on her desk and sipped at her coffee. News of the princess' capture had made it to the Navy, and everypony was on high alert, but the Sunrise was a small ship with minimal complement, and a search by sea when the princess had been abducted in Canterlot was exceedingly unlikely. The majority of her crew had been recalled to land to assist in efforts there, or were already in Canterlot or its neighboring towns on leave. Just as well, Shipshape had figured. As much as she wanted to help, most of her crew were as green as fresh cut grass, and the last thing she wanted in a full on crisis situation were a bunch of panicking fillies who didn't yet know their port from their starboard. Still, she thought with a sigh as she gazed out at the fog, it would be nice to feel useful. And that, of course, was when the door to the bridge was nearly kicked clean off its hinges, and a vibrant pink pony dressed in a gleaming admiral's uniform of blue and brass stormed inside, a pipe in her mouth and one eye clamped shut in a perpetual scowl. Shipshape nearly fell completely out of her chair and snapped an abrupt, panicked salute out of reflex, before the sheer peculiarity of the situation made her squint. “What the-” “EVERYPONY GET IN HERE!” the pink sailor roared into the ship's interdeck funnels, “ON THE DOUBLE! PRONTO! QUICK! RAPIDLY! RIGHT NOW!” “Er.. .excuse me, sir-” Shipshape raised a hoof forward, but before she could finish her statement the pink pony was inches away, staring her into the floor with her one good eye. “You'll be excusing NOTHING, sailor!” she exclaimed, and spat her pipe out at the shocked pony. No sooner had it bounced off her head and off the window than the pink pony had produced a second one of even more ornate design and replaced it in her mouth. “I'LL be doing the excusing here, got that!? Admiral Magenta McGorgamaforg, and I'm taking over this tub in the name of Celestia!” she pulled out a large stack of papers from within her coat and waved them on high. “My papers,” she said, and held them out for Shipshape to consider. As the befuddled first mate leaned in to take them, however, the door to the outside opened as the remainder of the baffled crew arrived and the wind kicked up hard. The paperwork flew out of the admiral's grip and disappeared out the doorway, sailing out beyond the ship's ledge. “BUFFOONS! IMBECILES! PUDDING HEADS!” Magenta howled at the present company, who shrank back instinctively to the walls and attempted to avoid her gaze. “Those were reassignment orders from Canterlot directly! I've a right mind to throw you all overboard to pick them up! If we weren't in such a hurry, I'd- DO YOU HAVE SOME COMMENTARY YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE CLASS, SAILOR?!” she'd pinned one of the smaller sailors, who already looked liked he was full on terrified of being in a room with an enraged admiral, to the bulkhead with one unblinking eye. “N-n-n-” the sailor stammered. “N-N-N-N is not how you address a superior officer, you sprinkle-licking filly!” Every syllable of 'n' was punctuated by the admiral's pipe whacking the crewman on the forehead like a miniature bludgeon. “N-No sir!” he replied quickly. “Do you want to go fishing for my paperwork, sailor?!” she demanded hotly. He shook his head in vigorous response. Admiral Mcgorgamforg stared the crewman into the floor until he thought to respond with a correctly phrased negative. “GOOD!” the pink pony declared, and produced a second pipe from her coat, placing it in her mouth beside the first. It seemed to take her a moment to realize the first was still there, but it was soon ricocheting off the head of a nearby sailor once she had. “Listen up! This ship is now under my command, and we're moving out yesterday! I want everypony on the boilers! I want full speed ahead! We're heading for open water. There's a princess that needs our help!” Shipshape's ears perked up. “The princess? She’s… wait, she’s in the ocean? “WHY ARE YOU PONIES NOT MAKING MY BOAT GO ZOOM?!” the windows shook with the admiral's thunderous bellows. A dozen panic stricken ponies threw hasty salutes and tripped over themselves in the rush toward the doorway. Shipshape, who had a first officer's rank and enough years on the sea to grant her a smidgen more salt than her inexperienced crew, was less quick to jump. “With all due respect, sir,” she said sternly, “without some sort of confirmation from Canterlot, I-” “Are you questioning my orders, you nautical nanny?” the boisterous admiral demanded. “Frankly?” Shipshape replied, “Yes. Sir.” “What. Is. Your. Name.” she growled low, and Shipshape swallowed. “Ship...shape, sir.” “EXCELLENT!” she replied, draping an arm abruptly over the first mate, “I respect a pony with a disrespect for authority! It shows reliability! You're my new first mate, Carrotcake!” “Shipshape, sir,” she mumbled, “and I was already-” “Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” the other pony cut in, and extended the hushing long past the duration that was necessary. When she was sure she'd gotten quiet, she opened the door to the decking, and gestured outside. “Down to the hold, first mate. Let’s go have a look at our prize.” The hatch to the cargo hold clunked and creaked open as Magenta McGorgamaforg put her weight into it, and Shipshape could feel the Sunrise begin to churn water behind its screws as the crew made haste to get it out of the marina and into open water. She followed the admiral inside, but her gait slowed to a crawl when her eyes fell on what was inside the chamber. Some three ponies, all dressed in officer's garb, were standing in a triangle formation around a creature Shipshape had only heard tales of in song and legend, now bound up in thick nautical rope and held firmly to the deck, with one thick strang strung across her mouth to silence her. “Shipwreck!” the admiral called her to attention, and Shipshape swallowed. “Shipshape, sir...” she muttered, hardly caring in light of the current circumstances. “These are my aids,” Magenta continued, undeterred, “Stars and Bars,” she gestured to one of the ponies, a purple unicorn, who lifted an eyebrow with what seemed to be confusion. “Cinnamon Pun,” she gestured to the earth pony at her right, who also frowned, “and Terminal Velocity,” she pointed toward a yellow pegasus with pink hair, who looked a combination of shocked and nervous. Magenta leaned in close to Shipshape and whispered, “Don't let her fool you. We call her The Ripper.” Magenta gestured finally to the creature on the floor, bound and gagged in sailor's knots. “And this is the prize of the hour. The good ol' boys back up at Canterlot found her snooping around in the rivers. A few hours of tender persuasion,” the pink mare pounded her hoof roughly into the floor to illustrate her point, “and she admitted to being part of the crew that kidnapped the princess!” Shipshape blinked, still not entirely sure she believed what she saw. But there it was, trussed up right in front of her. The sea pony was casting murderous looks at Magenta, who beamed with pride. “No pony is to go in here, you got that?” the admiral declared, to which Shipshape snapped a hasty salute. “This here sea nanny is our ticket to a safe return of the princess!” Magenta sent her pipe rocketing from her mouth, which bounced hard off the tied up kelpie's head and ricocheted with flawless trajectory off the heads of all three of the admiral's aids, to land securely back in her mouth. Realization washed over the first officer's face. “It’s a prisoner exchange,” she said, looking over at the admiral, who nodded firmly. “Correctomundo,” the admiral confirmed, “this ocean freak for our princess. Ain't much, but its what we've got! So she's got to stay in good condition, got it? The only ponies allowed in this room are the ones you're looking at right now.” The ship lurched a bit as the moorings were shrugged off and it churned out toward the ocean, and Shipshape saluted firmly. “You can count on us, sir!” she said. Lost papers or not, a mythical pony tied up in the cargo hold and a mission to the open sea to trade her for the princess seemed excuse enough to avoid the usual bureaucracy of command exchange, especially considering the current situation. The pink pony clapped her on the back and grinned. “Atta girl! We make way for the Equestria sea border!” she turned back toward her aids, “Girls, watch that thing, got it? And NO NAPS. Buncha lazy landlubbers...” Both she and Shipshape departed the room by means of the hatch they had entered through, and all three ponies waited for the hatch to seal shut before speaking. “I am goin’ to kill her, Twilight Sparkle,” Applejack growled. “You just watch me.” “It was your idea to go with her idea,” Twilight responded, pulling her hat off her head and shaking her mane free, “I don't know how she did it, or how it worked, or WHERE she got the uniforms from, but we're moving! Honestly it couldn't have gone better.” “She called me The Ripper,” Fluttershy whimpered. Muffled muttering at their hoofs brought everyponies attention to the floor, where Windswept remained bound and gagged. Twilight gave a nervous, apologetic laugh and pulled the rope from the Kelpie's mouth, who spat to rid herself of its taste. “Delightful, success all around!” Windswept said with a roll of her eyes, “Now can you get me out of these?” “Er,” Applejack replied, and gave the kelpie a sympathetic look, “I hate to be the one to bring this up, but it’s entirely possible some member of the crew here isn't going to pay any mind to the ‘Do Not Enter’ sign. As far as keepin’ our cover intact is concerned, probably best if you stay trussed up nice and convincing-like.” Windswept shot her a glare, and looked to Twilight for support, but the unicorn's expression mirrored Applejack’s. When it was obvious that the unicorn agreed, Windswept tried pity eyes on Fluttershy, but found her too worried about turning on her friends for support. Finally she sighed and slumped. “You're really going to keep me in ropes the entire trip?” “Well uh,” Twilight responded, “not the end of the trip.” “Just the parts leadin’ up to it,” Applejack confirmed. Windswept pouted and slumped her head on the floor. “VELOCITY! PUN! GET UP HERE!” came Pinkie's voice in a roar over the ship's communication tubes. Twilight could actually hear Applejack grind her teeth. “Murder on deck, I swear to it,” the earth pony muttered. Fluttershy looked as worried as somepony who had actually been summoned by a real general could be, which somewhat served to reinforce her character. “Twi,” Applejack turned back toward Twilight, “you gonna be okay down here while we go tend to our 'master and commander'?” Twilight nodded, and watched as the two ponies departed through the hatch. Windswept puffed a sigh when the door had closed. “Don't think she's very fond of me,” she muttered, and did her best to roll onto her other side. The attempted terminated in a bit of a flop, and Twilight winced in sympathy. A moment later, Windswept was floating, suspended by Twilight's magic a few inches above the ground, to take pressure off the thick ropes. “Thank you,” the kelpie said appreciatively, and Twilight nodded. “Applejack is one of the most amiable ponies I know,” Twilight insisted. “She'll lighten up, Windswept, you just have to… consider the circumstances of your appearance, that's all. You did kinda ponynap me, right after the princess went missing, and then admitted to be at least vaguely associated with the culprits. It just kinda… you know.” “Looks bad.” Windswept finished. “Yeah, I know.” “If you want to improve your image a bit,” Twilight suggested, with one quirked eyebrow, “you can start by telling me what has you so worried about this trip.” Windswept looked at her curiously, and Twilight frowned. “You hesitated when you said getting to Kelopolis would be easy. There's something you're not telling us.” Windswept sighed reluctantly. “It’s not the getting there that's the problem really,” she explained after a moment. “Alright,” Twilight conceded, though the idea of falling down a whirlpool to get in the gates certainly sounded problematic in and of itself, “then what is the problem?” “Finding the Lords of the Sea once we're there,” Windswept replied. She turned and glanced upward toward the ceiling, and the stars that lay beyond it. The idle gaze reminded Twilight of just how much ground they'd covered that night. “I get the feeling,” the kelpie said with a gesture toward the capital, “you ponies are thinking of my city like your city. Canterlot is big, certainly, but its big in a manageable sort of way, you know? There are only so many places for an organization like, say, the Parliament, to hide. Get a few ponies together, looking in the right spots, and you'll track them down, right?” She looked back at twilight, her gold hued eyes catching the dim lighting of the ship in glints. “Kelopolis is...enormous,” she said, and the hesitation in her voice suggested that enormous was an understatement. “The ocean is very, very big, and it’s none too forgiving of ponies who wander off on their own. Kelopolis isn't just a city, it’s the city. It’s not Canterlot, it’s Equestria. We're all there, it spreads for thousands of miles in every direction, Twilight. Living in isolated towns at the bottom of the sea is asking for trouble. We live in a hive,” she sighed and gave Twilight a sympathetic look of her own. “I believe in Princess Aurora, but unless she's already been working on the problem, even with her network of informants...” she trailed off, and Twilight swallowed. “You don't think we can find her,” the unicorn finished. Windswept shook her head slowly. “Unless she's already been found, you're talking about tracking down one group of ponies out of… millions,” she said softly. “We'll try, of course. I mean if she's been found, if we know where she is, then we can do something about it, but...” Twilight could feel her heart sink in her chest. Windswept wanted to reach out and lend support to the unicorn, but her bindings prevented it. Still, Twilight noticed the struggle, and cracked a small smile. “Sometimes,” Twilight said quietly, with a mirthful laugh in her voice, “I think the only reason our crazy plans pan out is because we don't bother to think about all the reasons they could go wrong, or what will happen if we fail.” “There's a certain brilliance in never thinking too far ahead,” Windswept replied, grinning wide. “We're going as fast as we can, Twilight. All we can do is keep going. At least you don't have to go it alone.” she looked toward the door wistfully, “You've got some pretty incredible partners.” Turning her head had caused Windswept's damaged ear to stray into Twilight's view, and the unicorn frowned a bit. “Windswept,” she said tentatively, eager to find a way to take her mind off the impending dilemma of finding the princess in what amounted to an underwater country. “Tell me about yourself.” The kelpie turned back and blinked at her. “Ummm...” “I mean,” Twilight continued, “you said you've watched me for months. I've worked real hard to get over the 'creepy' that is inherent in that statement because professionally, I can understand the reasoning behind it. You wanted to do your research before tackling a situation. I can relate. But it still comes down to you knowing a whole lot more about me than I know about you.” Windswept coughed nervously. “C'mon, Twilight, have you ever tried to talk about yourself before? What am I supposed to say?” “Anything!” Twilight insisted. “How hard could it be? You have to talk about me all the time in your letters to your princess, don't you?” “You try,” Windswept said, and Twilight blinked. “Go on, give me an example.” “Well uh...” she began, and tapped at the deck a bit, “I guess I… I like books. I read a lot.” she nodded, “and… um...” Windswept raised a brow and smiled. “And you're a beautiful singer, a generous and considerate friend, and a startlingly fierce magician. You've saved your homeland from more catastrophes in a year than most so called 'heroes' do in a lifetime. You help take care of a baby dragon, you work your hooves into the floor to please a princess you know will far outlive you, in the hopes that you'll remain special in her memory,” her smile widened a little as Twilight listened, mouth slightly agape. “You bounce when you're happy. You sulk when you're sad. You find a certain peace in yourself when there's a problem that needs solving, because it’s something you can put your all into doing. You keep lists for everything,” she winked, “including one or two you'd feel pretty uncomfortable about showing to anypony. You can't stand to let a minute of your life escape you without accomplishing something with it. It keeps you awake at night, sometimes. Bad dreams.” Her voice tinged a little in compassion. She was silent for a bit after that, and Twilight swallowed, wetting her throat a bit. “Um… wow,” she said quietly, and blushed, “I uh… well yeah, I guess. Why can't you do that to yourself, huh? What kind of pony are you?” “I guess I like books,” Windswept replied quietly, “I read a lot.” Twilight felt the need to press the issue further, but courtesy made her hesitate. Somehow insisting on information from a tied up pony suspended in the air via magic with no means of defense struck her as a tad… unsporting. It was enough of a pause for Windswept to speak up. “You need to prepare yourself,” she cautioned, “things in Kelopolis are… different, than they are in Equestria.” Twilight narrowed her eyes a little and leaned in. “Different how?” she asked, “Is it more dangerous?” Windswept made a contemplative face. “No, actually,” she admitted. “Well, I mean, it is in some areas, but no more than Equestria. It’s just… it’s old, Twilly. Equestria has been around for thousands of years, sure, but by and large everything in it came there at about the same time. Big things, small things, dangerous things, ponies, you all immigrated. There's no shortage of terrible danger in your homeland, but all of you, innately, have a sense of… I don't know how to put it. Harmony, maybe? You're all Equestrians, all of you. You know your place. The monsters, the pegasi, the unicorns, everypony.” She took a breath and rotated on the frictionless blanket of magical energy Twilight held her in. “The ocean isn't like that,” she continued. “Kelpies have always been there since kelpies began. Our threats, our dangers, our fears, they stem back for millions of years. Our grudges are old, our beliefs are rooted, and our passions are tidal. Our world holds us and caresses us and supports us, and it crushes and smothers and hurts us, and we've all existed in this enormously powerful, heartrendingly fickle environment since long before Equestria ever played host to a hoof. Sometimes I think that's why Princess Aurora actually has so much trouble. She's reigned as long as Celestia has, but compared to our racial history, she’s a newcomer. Before her, we didn't have princesses at all. There are lot of old, powerful families that would prefer it had stayed that way. “You mentioned you were innately suspicious ponies,” Twilight mentioned. “Trust, at least our definition of it, isn't something you have in abundance.” Windswept winced, as though the words stung. “I didn't mean to make us out like a bunch of backstabbing crooks, it’s just… it’s a cultural thing, you know? We assume less safety when we go outside our homes than you do. Doesn't mean we don't do it, just means… we look over our shoulders a lot.” Twilight nodded, and clenched her jaw a bit as she felt the sting of personal failure in the back of her head. “A kelpie would've noticed you tailing her for months, wouldn't she?” she asked. Windswept smiled, and her eyes softened. “I think it’s a credit to the success of your society that you didn't, Twilly.” she insisted. Twilight didn't correct the nickname. Truth be told, it was beginning to grow on her. “What happened to your ear?” Twilight asked, and the kelpie reflexively twitched the injured ear backward, and smirked. “Just life,” she explained, “I trusted a pony I shouldn't have to watch out for me in a place I shouldn't have been.” “Who?” Twilight pressed, and Windswept chucked. “Myself,” she answered. Twilight laughed a little, and Windswept shared in it, before elaborating. “I mean it. I was exploring someplace I shouldn't have been, alone, which is never a good idea. It just happens to me a lot, I'm kinda… solitary. Not that I don't like ponies or anything, I mean, I'd love to have more friends, I just… my mouth gets me into a trouble a lot.” “You do have a rather sarcastic wit for such a small pony,” Twilight agreed, smirking, “Not that I can blame you, mine's gotten me into more than few problems.” “Mine got me into a fight with a sea serpent,” Windswept said. “I didn't so much 'win' as 'get away alive'. At least it was my ear and not a flipper, that would've been miserable.” “You can't get something like that fixed?” Twilight asked, and Windswept winked at her. “Sure I could,” she replied, “but what would I learn from that?” The door clunked open and Twilight startled, dropping the kelpie the few inches to the floor. “Oops!” the unicorn winced, “Sorry!” Windswept was giving her a disparaging look before nosing the rope gag back into her own mouth for appearance, before it became obvious who was at the door. Fluttershy stumbled through, doing her best to avoid tripping on the riser between the deck and the hatch as she shut it behind her and breathed in relief. “Everything ok up there?” Twilight asked, and Fluttershy nodded. “You can um… tell Rarity we're on our way. Shipshape says it'll be another two hours to the Equestria border at full speed.” She yawned toward the end of her statement, and Twilight worried her lip. “Doesn't leave us much time...” the unicorn muttered to herself, and in the back of her mind, she could hear Rarity agreeing with her.