“AHHHHHHHhhhhhhhh!”
The engineer’s voice faded away as Ahuizotl threw him off the train. His hat fluttered in the wind before it too was lost in the distance. Ahuizotl smiled, he was content now that the train was his alone. It was carrying a coal shipment headed north and there had been a few worker ponies onboard when he hopped off of the platform from one train to the next, startling several would-be passengers. The laborers wasted no time in evacuating when they saw his companions, they all jumped off the train before it could pick up speed.
Unfortunately for the engineer, he was oblivious to his new guest until Ahuizotl calmly entered the engine car at the front of the train. His companions gave the engineer one look and froze him in place. He nearly fainted on the spot, but Ahuizotl simply lifted him roughly by his mane and smiled as he tossed him out like a bag of mail.
He spent a bit of time shoveling coal into the furnace, using up half the pile before he stopped. The extra coal forced the train to accelerate dangerously. Sparks shot off the rails as the train barreled north at a terrific pace.
Ahuizotl walked past the cats lounging in the second car. They were dozing in the beds the workers would normally use when the train spent too much time on the road, the snoring of the panther sounded like rocks being broken in a tumbler. He left them to sleep while he watched out the window, the world flashing past in a blur of leafy green and earthy brown. The train was heading in the direction of the setting sun making the interior of the train car lost in soft shadows. He spied the track switch and opened the car door.
The wind howled past as the train chugged down the tracks. He held out his paw and slapped the lever as it sped past. It stung his paw and left a welt making him wince, but it was a price he was willing to pay. The train switched tracks and headed north.
=====*****=====
GASP
Daring Do awoke in a bed and bolted upright. Her gasp startled a sleepy mare with a pure white coat and an ice blue cross for a cutie mark. She stood up and marched out of the room briskly, her hoof falls dying down the hallway. Daring Do looked around, it might have been a hospital room but something was off. The entire room lurched slightly from side to side. The walls were metal and the window was a small circular thing with heavy rivets around the rim. She could hear a hum from somewhere else, muffled by who knew how many walls. The bed she was in was not a bed at all, but a hammock. It still served well, the padding was very soft and it did have a faint smell of antiseptic.
Her head swam and she fell back into a prone position. She clenched her eyes shut and willed the world to stop moving. She stood up carefully on shaky legs. Her mouth was dry and still she felt dizzy. She saw a sink in a small alcove and stumbled towards it. Reaching it was much harder than she felt it should have been. She turned on the sink and put her mouth under the faucet, gulping water with gusto. Much better. The shaking stopped and she looked up into the mirror hung above the sink.
She almost fell onto her haunches at the sight of the image that stared back at her. Gauze was plastered over her right cheek, and she brushed it with a hoof. She felt a searing fire beneath it and decided to leave it alone. Her mane was disheveled, no that’s not quite right. Her mane had a chunk torn out and another thick patch of gauze had been placed over the missing hair. She felt another much more powerful ache beneath that bandage. She gulped and slowly, carefully, removed the gauze on her neck. She sucked in a breath and quickly replaced it when she saw what was beneath. A tuft of hair had been torn out of her mane and by the looks of things, a little more than just hair was missing.
“Please don’t make the injuries worse.” Daring Do turned around, causing the room to spin again. She screwed her eyes shut and opened them again, letting the room stop moving. The nurse stood there, another set of bandages and other medical implements were in a small cart. “Back in bed with you, I can’t have you getting dizzy and falling down. You lost quite a bit of blood.” Daring Do tried to resist the pushy mare, but found her muscles wouldn’t listen. She ended up back in bed and despite the scowl etched on her face she did feel better lying down.
“What happened? Who are you? When can I leave? I need to make a journey north and I can’t delay.”
The nurse looked at her and tilted her head to the side. She spoke without inflection, like antiseptic had been used to sterilize her voice. “As to what happened I am told you fainted in Chief Executive Officer Gold Bar’s office. I am nurse Snow Heart, the practicing medical officer onboard this vessel. As for you leaving, that would be…unwise. And as for a journey north, we are traveling north now, although I don’t know where to. I have already informed Gold Bar of your status, I imagine he will want to see you. He’s taken a keen interest in you.”
“Wait…traveling north now?” Daring Do looked out the window, all she could see were clouds floating past. “Where am I?”
“You would be on board my prized airship, the Sky Master.” Gold Bar entered the room with a slow stride as if he had all the time in the world. “You gave us a bit of a scare back at headquarters Ms. Do. You were bleeding so much you fainted. While I do enjoy it when mares faint in my presence, I usually prefer it to be because of my charming good looks.” Gold Bar flashed a grin while Daring Do just rolled her eyes since Gold Bar was old enough to be her father.
“Wait…we’re on an airship!?” Daring Do sat up again causing Snow Heart to narrow her eyes at her and march over to her bedside.
“You’re going to be a difficult patient aren’t you?” She glared at Daring Do and pushed her back down. Daring Do glared back, it was all she could manage in her current state.
“You don’t understand-“
“We understand quite well Ms. Do.” Gold Bar cut her off but smiled. “We are currently headed north towards a mountain range that is literally off the map, at least most maps. But I’m sure you’re used to that. You can rest and still we may yet have a chance to beat this Ahuizotl character to the treasure.”
Daring Do sighed with relief, it’s so nice to have so much support. Normally it was just her on a dig, having a small team to assist was a gift from Celestia. To have an entire airship…she wasn’t used to this kind of care. “When will we arrive?”
“Why don’t you join me up on the bridge when you are feeling better, then I can give you a grand tour and we can discuss logistics. Nurse, I’ll leave her in your care.” Daring Do pouted, she wasn’t used to being treated like a filly. Snow Heart gave her a meal as Gold Bar trotted out. The food was some of the worst tasting Daring Do ever had, and she had eaten insects and mushrooms for nourishment in the wild when she was desperate. Bland hay and pre-packaged grass, with not a grain of salt to be had. Topped off with sterile water and the hospital meal was complete. A complete disaster, Daring thought to herself. She choked the meal down anyway, hunger is the best spice after all.
She was tired but wide awake when Daring Do watched Snow Heart return with a plastic bag hanging on a metal stand, a long thin plastic tube dangled from it. Snow Heart prepared a syringe, Daring Do swallowed and said with a quaver in her voice, “what’s that for?” Daring Do was not a big fan of needles.
This is blood plasma, and this…” Snow Heart said as she cheerfully jabbed Daring Do just above the fetlock with the needle and pushed the plunger down, “is a sedative to keep you out of my mane.”
Daring Do’s eyes went wide. “Why you-“ then everything went black and dreamless.
=====*****=====
Ahuizotl had fired off the flare as soon as he saw the landmark. It wasn’t terribly impressive, just a grassy hill hardly big enough to qualify as a mountain. However he was in the right area to signal the mercenary. A red flare was supposed to call her in this area. She was known to rescue travelers...for a price. And if they couldn’t pay that price, well, whatever they had was easy to take after they died from whatever trouble they had gotten themselves into. Ahuizotl hoped she would come to him because he didn’t want to waste any time stopping the train. He would have to travel on foot soon enough and he preferred the comfort of the train’s cabin.
It didn’t take long before a fiery red streak could be seen against the morning sky. She flew alongside the train and raised an eyebrow when she saw Ahuizotl inside the train car. He opened the car door and welcomed her inside with a bow. She touched down and folded her wings without a sound. She had a blazing red mane, a purple coat, and the mark on her flank was a trio of bits. She had all of the qualities of a beauty, but it was marred by the scar running over her left eye. The eye still worked buy it was obvious she was a hairs breath away from being a cyclops at some point. “Good morning Ms. Fortune.” Ahuizotl’s accent made his words a bit awkward but she gave a polite smile anyway.
“Good morning Ahuizotl, I didn’t expect to find you here. I figured there were train robbers or something. I guess that isn’t totally wrong, but I was expecting the passengers to call for me, not the hijacker.” She grinned, “so what’ll it be this time? You got a job?”
Ahuizotl smiled and opened the strong box that had been onboard the train. It wasn’t a huge number of bits but with some persuasion it might be enough to convince Ms. Fortune to do as he asked. “One of my rivals is traveling north, probably on an airship called the Sky Master.”
Ms. Fortune laughed, “and you want me to take care of em’? You know I only take payment upfront.”
Ahuizotl smiled, he liked mercenaries, they did what they were told and didn’t care who he was. He slid the strongbox over to her and it stopped at her hooves. “The bits are yours, and there’s more if I am successful.” Ms. Fortune scowled but after counting the bits in the strongbox she nodded. “Here’s what I need you to do...”
=====*****=====
Daring Do awoke again and opened her eyes. She felt good, great even. She felt like she was floating. She idly scratched an itch above her right fetlock and smacked her lips. Her mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and her neck had a horrible kink in it, but for some reason she didn’t mind. The room was dark, a pale light source causing a thick beam to bore through the circular window and illuminate little floating motes of dust. The bed rocked back and forth gently, and it was so warm and inviting. Daring Do just laid there for what seemed like hours. Gently rocking back and forth like a foal. She scratched the itch again in her right fetlock and felt wetness.
She lifted her hoof in front of her eyes and gasped when she saw blood. Her senses rapidly came into focus. She looked at her right front leg. A needle attached to a thin red filled tube was on the bed, a bright red drop on the end of it. A little pin prick just above her fetlock was seeping blood onto the sheet.
“And you’re awake again,” it was that same cold voice from before. Daring Do looked up to see Snow Heart trotting over once again.
Daring Do opened her mouth to speak, but only a raspy cough came out. Snow Heart bandaged her leg and pushed a cup of water to her lips. She tried to use both hooves to hold it but using her right front leg sent a needle sharp pain shooting up to her shoulder. She coughed again but managed to keep the water down.
“You’ve been in bed for nearly twenty hours, except for your little trip to the bathroom. Would you like to walk around?”
Daring Do couldn’t help but smile, “I thought you’d never ask.” Daring Do stood without further prompting. She was prepared for the room to spin, and it did but she was able to stay on her hooves. Snow Heart sighed and fell into step behind Daring Do as she walked down the corridor one shaky step at a time.
The halls of the ship were all metal and curved on her right side. Her legs were shaky but she was sure that the ship moved slightly making the task of walking even more difficult. “I want to see the bridge, I’d like that tour now.”
Snow Heart sighed and said, “we’re on the port side, the bridge is all the way forward.”
“Great!” Daring Do started forward.
“That would be the wrong way.” Daring Do froze, face hoofed, then spun around to trot the other way. I’m going to kill this nurse, as soon as I get my strength back.
=====*****=====
They finally arrived at the bridge after walking far longer than Daring Do expected. The ship was huge and all of the halls were metal with pipes and wiring running along them, threading through the ship like the guts of a great beast. The whole ship constantly swayed left to right, gently, almost imperceptibly but any sort of motion threatened to make Daring Do lose her lunch. Smells of engine grease or sweat filled the passageways. Daring Do saw only a few portholes and didn’t stop to look out of any of them. She wanted to see the view from the bridge. She saw a few crew members as well, several of them looking as tired as she felt. They passed the mess line and could see a few crew members getting served chow. It smelled terrible to Snow Heart, but it made Daring Do’s mouth water. Anything was better than the tasteless garbage Snow Heart would serve her.
They trotted into the bridge on either side of the captain’s chair, a huge leather swivel number which contained Gold Bar himself. The bridge was a huge semi-spherical room, most of the forward half was a lattice of metal holding the windows in place. It made Daring Do feel as if she were flying outside.
“Beautiful isn’t it?” Gold Bar continued to look out towards the horizon. The sun peaked above the horizon briefly blinding Daring Do. When her eyes adjusted she gaped. She could see, far more than she ever had flying on her own. They were so much higher than most pegasus cared to fly, they were far above the clouds. She could see vast tracts of white broken by dark mountains. Even the mountains seemed small at this height. A river, a sliver flashing ribbon on the landscape snaked its way south. Wispy clouds floated below, and through them Daring Do could see evergreens, little dots of viridian at this distance.
A few of the mountains broke through the clouds, like frozen whales breaking out of the ocean’s surface. Above the cloud line they were bare save for snow, dark and jagged stone capped in alabaster. Gold Bar pointed to a line of these mountains, the trail disappearing beyond the horizon. “That would be the Dragon’s Spine and at the end of it we should find the Dragon’s Tooth, the largest mountain in the chain.”
Daring Do stood taking in the sights for another moment before she responded. Sights like this one made exploring worthwhile. “This is great we should be able to beat Ahuizotl at this rate.”
Gold Bar leaned towards her with a smirk. “I’d say so, slow and steady wins the race right?” Gold Bar continued, “I think it’s time I gave you a little tour.” Gold Bar stood and glanced towards a stallion seated to his right. Daring Do recognized Hard Hoof with a start. “Number one, you have the bridge.” Hard Hoof only nodded.
Gold Bar lead Daring Do followed by Snow Heart back the way they had come. “This ship was built years ago when my empire grew too large for me to manage by myself. It’s important to me to give a personal touch to my assets, but the travel costs were getting prohibitive. Thus my solution was the Sky Master.” He gestured all around him. Gold Bar enjoyed showing off his prized ship to Daring Do. The ship’s crew all stopped to move out of the way and salute Gold Bar when they passed. He showed her the engines that propelled the ship forward, the massive hydrogen cells the kept the airship afloat, and the galley which Daring Do planned to visit at her first opportunity. He also showed her the cargo bay far in the aft portion of the ship, and her very own stateroom before he ended the tour.
“We can discuss logistics another time. Right now I have to take care of some business.” Daring Do nodded and watched as he trotted away. Nurse Snow Heart had said nothing during the entire tour and seemed to be doing her best to blend in with the cold metal walls.
Daring Do turned towards Snow Heart and said, “Well, am I discharged from the med bay? Can I sleep and eat like a normal pony?” Snow Heart looked at Daring Do with a pair of ice chips for eyes. She seemed to be staring right through Daring Do. She didn’t want to spend any more time in Snow Heart’s care so she turned to open her stateroom door, hoping that if the nurse didn’t object then she would be home free. She found herself face to face with Hard Hoof, their noses almost touching. She froze, not sure what to do.
Hard Hoof was still wearing security barding but the smell that came out of his saddlebags made Daring Do’s mouth water. It smelled even better than what was coming out of the galley. “Um, did you bring me dinner?” Daring Do said with hope. Snow Heart trotted next to Hard Hoof and gently brushed his mane with a hoof. Hard Hoof didn’t flinch or even react as far as Daring could tell.
“No he brought me dinner, didn’t you Hard Hoof?” Snow Heart said still gazing at Hard Hoof with...softness? They trotted off together while Daring Do’s mouth hung open. I guess there’s a special pony for everyone out there.
=====*****=====
She arrived in the dead of the night wearing a tight black body suit. It hid her hair and coat. The moon was full so she approached from underneath. The ship was huge making it easy to spot and tail during the day. It had a trio of powerful running lights, one in the front and two in the back. They were far brighter than any star making the approach even easier. She landed on the weather deck just behind a massive propeller, the wind drowning out any sound she might have made. It didn’t matter she wouldn’t have been heard even if it was dead quiet. The door blocking her way was a heavy metal thing with a porthole at eye level. A heavy lever set into the door secured the interior of the ship from everything, even air. She pulled the lever up with a grunt, the screech of metal on metal making her nerves feel like nails on a chalkboard. The last thing she needed was an alarm. She slipped inside and slammed the hatch closed with a boom. She struggled to pull the lever down returning the inside of the ship to some semblance of quiet.
cough
She whirled around her ears perking up like antennas to pick up any sound. A mare in a set of dingy orange overalls was on her haunches, her wide eyes staring right at the new arrival. She was covered in grease stains and tools. Gears, cogs, and bits of wire were scattered around her next to a red toolbox. Ms. Fortune was in a long metal room, the wall on her left was curved inward and she could hear the rumble of the turbine engine behind it. The mare was sitting on a maintenance panel in front of a square hole in the wall. The sound of the turbine growled out of the missing panel and would cover the sound of any screams. lucky me!
Before the poor mare could do more than cry out she was upon her. She bucked her right in the temple, knocking her head painfully into the bulkhead. She was out cold before she hit the floor. I’ve got to move fast. Ms. Fortune swapped her clothes for those of the mare. The name patch above the breast pocket read Star Spanner. She packed up the tools as quickly and as quietly as she could. There was a tall set of lockers at the far end of the room, she opened one and smiled. It had only a few rusty bolts and an old wrench inside of it. She stuffed Spanner’s unconscious form into the locker, closed it, and bucked the handle. It bent into an unhealthy shape making any attempt to open it from either side a real chore.
Ms. Fortune adjusted the workhorse’s cap covering her head and stepped out into the passageway. She held the tool box in her mouth and her wings were pressed into her sides. Spanner was an earth pony, her overalls had no slots for wings. She dared not move them anyway as it would break her disguise if she did. She trotted around like she belonged there, like the professional she was. There were few crew members awake at this hour, making her job that much easier. Now I just need to find the cargo hold...
=====*****=====
“Is it just me or are we flying lower than we were yesterday? And when are we going to discuss logistics?” Daring Do nagged at Gold Bar for the third time today. She felt foalish having to whine like a filly just to get some answers but Gold Bar had promised and he was acting a bit strange. They had been underway for three days and Daring Do had nothing else to do until they reached the Dragon’s Spine.
Gold Bar sighed and swiveled the captain’s chair towards Daring Do. “Ms. Do, I’m afraid we have a problem.”
“Sir?” a light blue mare with a nearly black mane raised an eyebrow as she looked at her captain. “We can handle-“
“No you cannot.” Gold Bar cut her off making her ears fall and her face showed a flicker of fear. Gold Bar didn’t seem to be angry however as he continued, “Ms. Do, I’m afraid we have a stowaway and I think that stowaway is a saboteur.”
Daring Do’s eyes grew wide but she quickly regained her composure, “how do you know?”
“An engineer was found unconscious in the starboard engine room two nights ago with her hat, overalls, and tools missing. And starting on that same night we’ve had a leak in our hydrogen cells that my maintenance workers just can’t seem to fix. I suspect our stowaway has been the one causing the trouble.” Daring Do nodded in agreement.
“How is this pony able to cause a leak we can’t fix?” Daring Do’s mind began to work on this more modern mystery.
“That’s an excellent question, we’ve checked everywhere we can and there are no leaks in any of the cells that we can see, but hydrogen pressure has been steadily dropping. I suspect there might not be a leak in the pipes but in the main hydrogen cells themselves. At this rate we’ll have to land tomorrow in order to check them on the ground and make repairs.”
Daring Do spread her wings, “why don’t you let me check for you? That way we won’t have to stop.”
Gold Bar chuckled softly, “I apologize, I almost forgot we had a pegasus onboard. But I cannot put you in danger Ms. Do, we can simply-“
“No way buster, I’m going out there and that’s final.” A grin spread across her face as soon as Gold Bar said the word ‘danger.’ Gold Bar shrugged with defeat and motioned to the light blue mare at the helm.
“Lieutenant, get Ms. Do into a work harness and let’s see if she can fix our problem.” The mare saluted before she lead Daring Do into the bowels of the ship.
=====*****=====
Daring Do stood on the weather deck that had held Ms. Fortune two nights ago. She wore a harness with several tools clipped onto it. Lieutenant Compass Rose (named after the arrow and large N she bore as a cutie mark) explained to her how to use a needle and thread to patch any holes she found in the hydrogen cells. Daring Do wasn’t much of a tailor, but she had repaired canvas with needle and thread before. This wasn’t much different.
With a final hoof bump, she took off into the air. She strained to keep up with the moving ship, her muscles having spent a bit too much time in the medical bay’s bed. She was winded by the time she reached the top. She landed, making the thick rubber of the hydrogen cells undulate like gelatin. She began walking around looking for any signs of damage. Each step she took was like playing on a trampoline, it wasn’t long before she was sweating with the effort to keep herself upright.
It took the better part of an hour but she finally found it. A small hole had been punched in one of the cells. It was too perfect to be caused by accident. Somepony had used a sharp tool to pop a hole in the cell wall and let the hydrogen leak out. It made a faint hiss which Daring Do could still hear over the wind. She began to sew a patch over the hole making precise jabs with a large needle. It was difficult work, the wind and the constantly moving ground played havoc with her balance. After a few minutes she got the hang of it. It was easier when she realized there was a regular rhythm to the way the rubber under her hooves moved. Instead of fighting it she moved with it and in short order had the patch halfway sew on.
Then the ground shifted, something was wrong. It was off time. And then Daring Do’s eyes when wide when she saw a shadow on the rubber next to her.
She burst into the air as fast as she could and whipped around.
POP HIIISSSSsssss
An awl had been driven into the rubber making a brand new hole. Had Daring Do not moved, her head would now be pierced and nailed into the rubber. She looked at her attacker and found herself facing a mare with a fire in her mane that didn’t match her cool expression.
“Ah such a shame, that would have been painless and then I could leave this stinking ship.”
“What’s this about? Why are you trying to sink the ship?”
The other pony just laughed, a high pitched girlish laugh that sent a shiver down Daring Do’s spine. “The ship? Who cares about some dumb airship? I just wanted to get you alone so I could do my job in peace.”
Daring Do quickly put the pieces into place. I’m the only other pegasus on the ship, of course I would be the only other one out here. She’s been sent to assassinate me! She had no more time to think as the pegasus launched herself at Daring Do with the awl. It was not a bladed weapon, but the point was more than enough to kill Daring Do if she was caught by it.
Daring Do pulled her wings in and fell to the rubber as her assassin sailed over her head. She landed on her hooves and turned around flying at Daring Do again. She’s fast! Daring Do rolled out of the way and barely managed to miss the point as it shot past her. Daring Do ended up on her back and tried to get up before she was stabbed.
A winged shadow hovered for the briefest moment before it slammed into her, two hooves in her chest. The rubber took much of the impact sending a wave outward from Daring Do. She nearly lost her breath and silently thanked the ship itself for saving her. Had she been on a hard surface she likely would have lost more than just her breath she would be looking at broken ribs. The assassin held the awl in her mouth and darted down to pierce Daring Do in the neck.
Daring got her hooves up just in the nick of time to catch her attacker around the head. Holding the assassin’s head back with the point of the awl looming above Daring Do’s neck, her assailant began to push. She’s strong too! The point began to sink down even with Daring Do fighting back with all her strength. Closer and closer the point came making Daring Do’s heart race. She fought back with every fiber of strength she could find. The point stopped at her coat, a bead of blood was drawn from the razor sharp point. Her muscles screamed for her to stop and she could feel them about to snap.
She used her hind legs and bucked upward in a last desperate bid for life. The eyes behind the metal point went wide and her would-be assassin coughed after being kicked in the gut. The tool dropped and began to roll away. The assassin was lifted into the air before tumbling onto her back a short distance away. Both mares glanced up from their prone position to look each other in the eye. The assassin was still coughing when Daring Do rolled over clutching her chest in pain. I might have a fractured rib after all.
Both mares took to the air at the same time, diving after the impromptu weapon. The assassin was still faster and reached the awl first. “Oh no you don’t!” Daring Do landed on Ms. Fortune’s back with all of her weight crushing the wings beneath her. Ms. Fortune cried out but still held the awl in her mouth. Daring Do leapt off of her and hovered in the air. Every beat of her wings sent a painful jolt through her chest but right now she just wanted to get some distance. She waited, tense, ready for the next attack.
Her attacker simply slipped further down the side of the air filled rubber, tumbling off of the side. Her wing was bent in a painful looking angle and it didn’t fold correctly. The other wing beat the air doing nothing more than make her tumble end over end. Ms. Fortune slammed the awl into the rubber again using it to hang onto the side of the ship. Her hind limbs and broken wing dangled uselessly into space.
Daring Do hovered just out of her reach, “hang on I’ll catch you.” She didn’t feel particularly generous right now with what felt like a broken rib. But she needed to know who hired this pony. Besides, murder wasn’t Daring Do’s style.
Ms. Fortune simply smiled and opened her mouth. Before Daring Do could react she had fallen and was a vanishing dot far below. There were clouds hovering over the ground but they were far away. At this height it still might hurt if she hit them, especially if she landed on her broken wing.
Daring Do looked at the awl still embedded in the side of the ship. Another twinge of pain lanced through her chest. She had to land, her chest hurt, she was tired, the air was thin. Daring Do knew if she didn’t repair the holes in the ship now it might be too late. And she doubted she had the strength left to deal with that strange pegasus anyway. Danger was one thing but that mare was trying to murder her! She pulled the awl out making a fresh wound in the ship and sighed, it was going to be a long day.