Almost a week had passed since Twilight and her friends had been rushed to a waiting ship by Sunshine Blaze in the wake of Ulysses sudden attack on Equestria. She sat on deck, a box before her on top of which sat paper, ink and a quill. Around her, the crew went about their duties, while the Captain stood at the helm.
Twilight glanced over the note she had written the previous day, having decided that, for the Princess, it would be best to keep track of current events. She read over the note she had made.
Day five,
I’ve begun to wonder, what Irvest is like. I’ve read not so nice things about it before, like how ponies there remove limbs and replace them with metal, steam powered ones. Some of the crew have these, and I took it on myself to find out why. What I learned goes against what I read. Rather than do this because they are “ashamed” of their natural bodies, they only replace parts that have become too broken to be repaired by a simple splint.
It doesn’t work for everything, but if an accident destroyed one of their legs beyond natural repair, they can choose to continue without said limb, or replace it with one of these “prosthetic” limbs. It makes sense when I think of it, but how the pegasus with a prosthetic wing is still able to fly is beyond me.
I apologise now Princess, if you're reading this, the writing may be less neater than it usually is from me. Rainbow Dash has gone stir crazy, since she can’t fly far from the ship. She threw me out of the room we were given below deck. However, the crew was kind enough to give me a box to use, and said I could use this from now on rather than write in that room.
We are all on edge about what is taking place as I write. Equestria is apparently a few hundred miles behind us, with Ulysses seemingly in control. Meanwhile, there is nothing around except for the sea. I’ve taken to writing these notes so you can read later to pass the time and not go crazy. Pinkie Pie at first tried to throw a party to cheer us all up, but it didn’t manage to cheer any of us up. She currently talks to Fluttershy, they both seem to be helping each other stay sane. Rainbow Dash remains in her bed, while Rarity and Applejack now and then walk about the ship to pass time. I hope we arrive to Irvest soon, I don’t think we can handle being on this ship for too long.
Putting the paper down, Twilight laid flat with her magic a fresh piece of paper, and begun to write a new note for the day.
Day six,
What I assume was last night, I studied the sun and moon. I assume you can’t see them Princess, but ever since I begun writing, they’ve been near each other in the sky, and the sky isn’t blue or black, but red.
How they appear and changed the sky wasn’t why I studied them, or attempted to at least… rather, I have tried to understand how Ulysses had enough strength magically to pull this off. He isn’t like you or Princess Luna, who have a connection to them. I can't help but think this is the side effect of whatever he did with you both when he took over Equestria.
Fluttershy was sick last night. She’s still in shock over seeing Cloudsdale being pulled into a sphere. I’m glad she didn’t see it actually disappear. Who knows what she’d be like if she had. I asked if she had eaten anything she was allergic to, but it was pretty clear quickly, when the boat begun to rock violently, and she emptied her stomach further, that she gets seasick. Rarity and Pinkie Pie helped her back to sleep.
Rainbow Dash meanwhile hasn’t woken up yet. She’s still alive, but simply refuses to do anything other than doze and eat when Applejack doesn’t give her a choice. Maybe she gets seasick too? She’s too proud of her image like Applejack, so if she is, she wouldn’t hurry to show it.
Spike was in trouble as well last night. The captain keeps treasure he and his crew have found to take back to Irvest in the hold, and Spike discovered there were gems in this treasure. A lot of gems. Its amazing how fast he can run, especially when the captain was giving chase, promising to skin him alive. I calmed the captain down, and Applejack said there’s two of the crew in front of the hold now to prevent further incidents.
I’ll finish this by writing what Sunshine Blaze told me. He said with a bit of luck, we may even arrive at Irvest a day early, which would be this… today. I can’t really tell what the time is, how the crew are keeping track of when the nights are when the sun and moon are both in the sky is something I’ll have to ask about.
Smiling, Twilight placed the new note on top of the pile of papers, lifting them, the ink and quill above the box, which she opened and stored them in. Nearby, the waves gently lapped the boat as it sailed on. With a sigh, Twilight walked towards the helm.
“Ah, miss Sparkle, how’rya doin’?” Captain shouted as she drew near.
“I’m fine Captain. But could you tell me what the time is?” she asked back.
“Blaze! What time is on yer goggles?” Captain shouted over his back.
Twilight listened as Sunshine Blaze coughed, which was followed by the sounds of the toggle switch on his goggles being used.
“Its five in the afternoon, if I’m right, Irvest should just be coming into sight on the horizon, and be another hour away,” Sunshine Blaze replied, still out of sight.
Twilight turned on the spot, and narrowed her eyes as she looked on the horizon. Sure enough, what appeared to be a very large island was coming into view. It lifted her spirits slightly, after seven days of being stuck on the ship, surrounded by the vast sea, it would be good to step on dry land once more.
“Ye best go get yerself and yer friends ready, miss Sparkle. Arrangements are that ye seven are the first to disembark,” Captain smiled.
“But what happens then? We’re going to be left alone in this strange country?” Twilight asked.
“No, miss Sparkle, Sunshine Blaze will accompany ye to the governor's office. What happens then is down to Blaze. Still, best not be leavin’ anythin’ of value on me ship,” Captain chuckled.
Twilight ran below deck and barged through the door to the room she and her friends had spent the week in. All five had been suddenly startled by her throwing the door open, and now looked at her, waiting for any potential bad news.
“Irvest is on the horizon, we better get ready, girls,” she said.
--
As predicted, Irvest took another hour to arrive at. Twilight with Spike on her back, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity now stood at the bow of the ship, staring at the sight of the city the ship was heading to, the buildings in the harbour had been designed simply to serve a purpose rather than be looked at and admired for the architecture. Some of the buildings were made from stone and these stood further away from the water, while closer to the water and ships were rickshaw wooden buildings, slowly rotting from the corrosive sea air and mould
Past the harbour were simple buildings, serving the function of homes to those with little money to their family name. They looked rougher, the paint being almost non-existent on them. Beyond these again stood the buildings that made up the business and rich families area.
In the middle of the city stood a tall white tower. It clearly was made in layers as the city grew up around it, each new level of the tower taking slightly less space of the former roof of the previous. Every brick was made from a pure white marble, this fact only being clear further up the tower, away from the dirt that had accumulated closer to the ground level. Gold gilding formed patterns and decorations on the tower, though only at the top.
Immediately around this sat other functional buildings, which established the streets leading away from the tower. The first they saw was made from a dark marble, with its roof looking like green marble. On the front of this, high above the street, was a gold figure of a pony, surrounded by various different sized coins. This, with no doubt, meant the building was a bank.
Fluttershy noticed, direct opposite on the street, a building that was not made from marble, but rather polished stone and onyx, which rather impressed her. Brass lined the front of the slate roof, which had the figure of three pegasi in flight, saddlebags on their backs, and letters held in outstretched hooves. While they were hard to see, dozens of ponies walked in and out of this building, those going in taking letters or packages, and those leaving were pegasi, in blue uniform, with fit to burst saddlebags on their backs.
As they continued to look around, Rarity noticed another building, commenting at how it wouldn’t look out of place back in Canterlot. Like most of the other buildings around it, it too had pipes for steam outletting. The construction was of various types of marble, white in non-patterned areas, with black marble to make any decorations stand out. Gold made up the boundaries between the various marble colours, and the steampipes had either been painted gold, or were plated with gold. On a balcony, overlooking the city stood two unicorns, an older dark blue stallion, dressed in red silk and gold stitching stood beside a red unicorn filly.
The other buildings lining the streets were far simpler, indicating they were shops simply by the larger windows at street level. Though every building had pipes standing somewhere, often bigger pipes much higher up than smaller ones, even the bank and post office, which steadily released steam clouds into the sky.
It only took another two minutes for the ship to finally be moored in the docks, the gangplanks were lifted over the side, and clunked as they landed on the cobblestone of the dock itself. The six friends looked at each other, and the crew standing around them, waiting for one of the others to take the first step off the boat.
Realising that none of the others were about to move, Rainbow Dash flew off the ship and landed on the harbour beside the ship. She stood on the cobblestones, and watched as Applejack begun the walk down them as well, closely followed by Twilight and Spike, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and finally, Rarity.
Next off the ship was Sunshine Blaze. He too flew off rather than walked, and landed near to them. A loud whistle from the deck stirred the crew into action.
“We’d best go to the Council building, Captain will want us out of the way. Follow me closely.” Sunshine Blaze said with a smile.
--
If the sight of Port Equis from the harbour had been impressive, the walk through the streets gave a feeling of claustrophobia to the seven friends, as Sunshine Blaze led them swiftly through the streets that were familiar to him, but unfamiliar to them. All around, ponies were dressed up as if they were all going to dinner parties or a royal event. One in five had prosthetic limbs, here and there. To the ponies of Port Equis, they seemed as normal as the pipes and machines that vented steam as they worked, but Twilight couldn’t help but shiver in disgust at what had led to the accidents, that had forced the ponies to get them. She had spent the whole trip to Irvest trying not to recall the story of how the Captain had lost his eye. It had involved a seagull, a barrel of rum and the rather silly idea of juggling swords with olives on the tips of the blades.
Sunshine Blaze was leading them up a street which was filled with restaurants, clothing stores, and even a small family run food store or two. Every so often, he led them out of the direct path of ponies that were sitting on machines that had four wheels and propelled themselves along. These machines fascinated Twilight, in Equestria, they only had carriages, and those had to be pulled along, but the ponies of Irvest had actually decided they would work better having an open top and moving by steam power. In a way, it made sense, it got you where you needed to be, and all who rode it wouldn’t be tired out.
Before them, the white tower loomed, and from the street, Twilight could see the entrance that Sunshine Blaze was heading to. Much like the rest of the building, the entrance was kept simple, tall, black painted doors, with silver dots lining where the wood had been nailed together. Two, large silver door handles looked purely decorative, at either side of the door sat two unicorns. These unicorns wore red coats and sat behind wooden podiums. As Sunshine Blaze and the seven friends drew near, a fat earth pony was talking to both unicorns.
“Would it be possible to enter and make an appointment with the governor today?” he asked.
“Would you rather us send a message for an appointment to be made?” one unicorn asked back.
“It would be more efficient for all involved if I went and made the appointment directly. I shan’t be long, five minutes at the most.” the fat earth pony answered.
Both unicorns gave a sideways glance at the other, before nodding their heads in silent agreement. Their horns glowed white, and the doors swung open, giving a hint at the marble interior to all ponies but Pinkie Pie, who had one hoof on her mouth and was thoughtfully looking down. The fat earth pony slowly hobbled inside, and the doors closed.
“Now, listen to me you six, don’t say a word, ok? I know how to handle these two, and if you say anything wrong, you won’t get in with me.” Sunshine Blaze turned around.
His face was immediately full of worry, as he ran over the ponies present before him a second time. Twilight, check. Applejack, check. Fluttershy, check. Pinkie Pie, not checked. Rainbow Dash, checked. It dawned on him suddenly, the spot Pinkie Pie had been standing was now empty.
“You two look too gloomy. You know what will cheer you up? A PARTY!” Pinkie Pie yelled behind him. Sunshine Blaze’s left eye twitched, and he almost didn’t dare to turn around.
“How did she…” he begun.
“Move over there? Don’t ask, we never worked it out ourselves.” Twilight finished and answered for him.
“But…”
“She broke all laws of physics by moving from standing beside Fluttershy, to being up there, annoying those unicorns, in the space of a second. Yes, we know, it’s just something she does. Quite regularly.” Twilight finished Sunshine Blaze’s sentence for him.
Sunshine Blaze wasn’t quite sure if he was supposed to just accept this, or be annoyed. The seven friends hadn’t even been in Irvest for half an hour, and already one of them was causing problems. Turning around, his jaw dropped in horror at the sight of Pinkie Pie draping streamers across the two unicorns, a clown nose on her own.
“WHERE DID SHE GET THOSE FROM?” he yelled, catching the attention of some of the crowd.
“That’s another Pinkie Pie thing, don’t ask,” Rarity responded, “she once managed to bake all the foods for a party in five minutes, sent out the invites in person, and yet still somehow found time to not just fill in the annual income tax forms for Sugarcube Corner, but filled those same forms in for me and our friends, all in an hour.”
“The ovens weren’t preheated, so baking took longer,” Pinkie chirped as she put party hats on her friends.
“But where did she get them from? She didn’t have them back at the ship!” Sunshine Blaze shouted, his face right up to Twilight’s.
“Just don’t ask. It hurts the brain to even attempt, who knows what will happen if you find the logic behind what she does.” Twilight groaned.
With an annoyed groan, Sunshine Blaze flew to the unicorns either side of the entrance, and removed the streamers and the fully inflated balloons Pinkie Pie had somehow obtained and inflated while he was looking at Twilight. With them cleared up, he grabbed Pinkie, who was bouncing between the guards, blowing into a kazoo, Sunshine Blaze daring not to question the logic of how she had obtained this item as well.
He angrily set her down on the ground where she had originally stood, breathing rapidly in anger.
“I’ll say again, let ME do the talking. At this rate, you’ll be lucky to get inside,” He hissed at Pinkie Pie, and proceeded up to the unicorns again, “sorry about that sirs. Very urgent matter I need to discuss with the governor. Is he free?”
To his surprise, the unicorns were smiling at him, not minding their own party hats.
“Well its not often we see you drop by Blaze, but it seems you're having a mare problem.” one said, as the other burst into roaring laughter.
“Six of ‘em to be exact Colt! Haha, teenager, always adventurous, even in…”
“SHUT IT,” Blaze coughed, realising he had let his anger get the best of them, “ah, I mean, its not a mare problem.” he finished, blushing.
“Oh? Then Blaze, do tell, what kind of problem involves you coming here, with six young mares in tow?” Colt asked.
“A Ulysses sized problem.” he replied flatly.
Colt and the other guard stared at each other, eyes wide upon hearing the name.
--
The main lobby of the Council building did indeed have a lot of marble. The floors were white marble, with black inlaid in the pattern of a star. The bases of the white marble pillars had been coloured green, same for their tops, and swirls of gold ran around each one.
In the middle of the main lobby, contrary to all the functional brass pipes, Twilight noticed two things. The first was the fountain. It had fish in it, and lily pads floated on the top, while a single jet of water reached high into the air, the water dropping back down, making a rather calming splashing sound. Just behind this was a circular desk, behind which a silvery coloured earth pony with striking crimson eyes sat.
All around, ponies in various official uniforms busied themselves with their tasks, some even leaving papers in the various trays set around the desk. There was only one spot which didn’t have these trays, which faced towards the fountain. Beside her was a single brass pipe with a funnel on the top.
This pony watched as Sunshine Blaze led the seven friends towards her, and she smiled.
“Welcome back to Irvest, Sunshine Blaze. How may I help you today?” she asked.
“It’s just a quick visit to let the governor know of what’s going on. Is he busy? This is really urgent,” he asked back, leaning as far over the desk as possible,
“Yes,” she said, “he’s seeing the prime minister right now.”
“Well, that’s convenient,” he mused. “Who else?”
“Only him,” she replied, chuckling a bit nervously at his apparently sarcastic reaction. “But this will take a while. It’s scheduled for the next three hours.”
“Well, there’s been a change of plans,” Sunshine Blaze said as he walked to the corridor leading to the meeting room.
The receptionist pony was at a loss of words, finally sinking in that he truly found it convenient that the prime minister was there. Before she could react, Rainbow Dash spoke up.
“Doesn’t that make you want to go to the bathroom?” she pointed at the fountain.
“All the time miss, all the time.” the receptionist replied, a cracked smile on her lips.
“Hey!” Sunshine Blaze’s head popped at the edge to the corridor. “Aren’t you coming?”
The receptionist sighed as the Equestrian group followed him. She knew she was going to hear about the intrusion that was about to happen.
--
“Blaze?” the governor half-yelled half-muttered as Blaze walked into the large meeting room. The governor was a brown earth pony with a black mane and tail, his eyes were a deep blue, and there were visible lines and black under them, which suggested he hadn’t been sleeping, either at all, or very little.
“Good day, governor Fountain Pen.” Sunshine Blaze replied with a smile as he and his group entered in a line, without taking a seat. “Good day, prime minister Na—”
“W-what’s going on?” Fountain Pen asked, a bit flustered. “What is so urgent that made you barge into my meeting with the prime minister?”
The prime minister was a white pegasus with a brass-coloured collar with tie, same colour as his mane and tail. He was at least twenty percent more surprised than the governor.
The mares and the dragon looked lost and out of place, but that didn’t seem to bother Sunshine Blaze even a little.
“Ulysses attacked Equestria,” Sunshine Blaze cut to the chase. “The whole place by now, I suspect, and these are Equestrian refugees,” he motioned his head at the group.
Governor Fountain Pen held his breath from shock at this news. The seven friends shuffled a little uncomfortably at the label, Fluttershy, in particular, shrunk as small as Spike, who was beside her.
“Equestria? And he succeeded?” Fountain Pen said quietly, the worry from the news clear in his eyes.
“We may not have communications with them,” the prime minister said, “but they have two alicorns leading the country. He can’t be faring well.”
“He succeeded alright, the sun and moon in the sky at the same time are probably a result of whatever he did to their princesses. Trapped them somewhere I suspect. Equestria has fallen, things aren’t looking good. They have powerful unicorns and very ancient magic,” Sunshine Blaze merely turned his head to look at the governor, “it’s simply a case of when, not if, he breaks through the sage’s barrier, the only thing keeping him from getting his revenge on Irvest.”
“What was he there for?” Fountain Pen asked.
“The Elements of Harmony, six powerful stones that uphold balance in Equestria, once held by the Princesses as they brought an end to the reign of Discord and banished Nightmare Moon. Very powerful artifacts.”
“So his takeover is to find them? Whatever for?”
“We used the elements to stand up to Nightmare Moon on her return,” Twilight Sparkle explained, “and returned Discord to his stone prison. But they’re supposed to be tied to us, or, at least, to our friendship.”
“What if there’s another way to harness their power? He did manage to do this,” Sunshine Blaze pointed at the window where the sun and moon were visible on the red sky.
The ponies exchanged worried glances.
“With such a powerful artifact,” Sunshine Blaze thought aloud, “Ulysses could get through the barrier and be attacking Irvest in as little as a week.”
Twilight nodded silently. She had no idea of how good a barrier Irvest had, but she knew it had to be very powerful to stand a week of attacks from the elements.
Governor Fountain Pen looked down at his meeting notes. Up to ten minutes ago, his biggest worries were how the government buildings located in the northern part of Port Equis were having some infrastructural trouble, and whether his treasurers were going to be able to adapt to the new rules set forth by the prime minister accounting team. He let out a short sigh.
The prime minister only stared at the governor and then back at Sunshine Blaze. He seemed to be letting the governor handle the situation.
Fountain Pen set these notes aside, pulled a blank piece of paper under his pile, and his mouth wrote the words Ulysses, Irvest, Equestria on them. He looked back at Sunshine Blaze and begged, “Please tell me you have a backup plan.”
“I do,” Sunshine Blaze smiled. He pointed at Rainbow Dash. “See the gold choker around her neck?”
“What of it?”
Rainbow Dash was about as shocked as her friends, but not enough to miss an opportunity to be awesome. She flared her wings, smiled confidently, and declared, “I’m Rainbow Dash, and I bear,” she put a hoof on her choker, “the element of loyalty.”