The Mixer Chronicles

by Mixer

Shadows of the Past

Life went back to normal for quite some time. Twilight and her friends went to the Crystal Empire to help them get the honor of hosting the Equestria games and we congratulated them for helping and Cadence and Shining for having the honor.
Then one day Celestia got a letter from Twilight.
Dear Princess Celestia
It has come to my attention that an event of great significance will occur sometime in the near future. I don’t know what the nature of the event will be but I do know that it will be important to all of Equestria. I will inform you should any new information arise.
You faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle.

“What do you make of this?” Celestia asked Luna.
“I don’t know sister, this is unusual news,” Luna replied.
“Would you like us to put the guards on watch?” the captain of the guard asked.
“Not yet,” Celestia said.
“What about Twilight and her friends? Would you like some of the Lunar guard to protect them?” I asked.
“No, we shall bring them here,” Luna said.
“So what about this ‘event’?” I asked.
“We shall find out more from Twilight when she arrives,” Celestia said.
“For now, continue about your business,” Luna said.
“Would you like me to ready the airship just in case?” I asked.
“Yes, prepare it for operation, but do not leave the hangar,” Luna said.
“As you wish,” I said and turned to leave.
I wondered what could be so important to all of Equestria that Twilight could know about as I went to the hangar and told told Brick and Phalanx to prepare it for take off.

The next morning Twilight and the rest of her friends arrived, but Pinkie was in low spirits.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“It’s my Pinkie sense, it going wild,” Pinkie said.
“Pinkie sense?” I asked.
“Don’t ask,” Twilight said.
“So what is it?” I asked.
“Something big is gonna happen, and soon!” Pinkie said, giving a slight convulsion.
“Looks like a real doozy,” Applejack said.
“Oh, oh, it’s happening now,” Pinkie said as she collapsed holding her stomach.
“Pinkie!” I said, worried for her health.
She lay there for a few second, convulsing a few times then jumped back up.
“Pinkie are you ok?” I asked.
“Yeah, there are some ponies here to see you,” she said.
“What?” I asked.
“You’ll see,” she said and hopped into the castle.
“What was that all about?” I asked, looking around at the other ponies concerned faces.
“Whatever it is that gonna happen just did,” Applejack said.
“And we better get ready for something big,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Quickly, let’s get you to the princesses,” I said.
We proceeded inside where Pinkie was waiting with Luna and Celestia.
“Princess, we have to prepare, whatever it is, the event is going to happen soon,” Twilight said.
“Yes, Pinkie already told me about the doozy,” Celestia said.
“Mixer, go and prepare the airship,” Luna said.
“I’ll take care of it,” Trottson said, walking in. “A messenger just got here from Las Pegasus, she said she flew here as fast as she could with news for the princesses.”
“Send her in,” Celestia said.
Trottson left and a pinkish pegasus mare walked in, still breathing heavily.
“Your Highnesses,” she said in between breaths.
“What is is?” Celestia asked.
“It-it’s, some kind of gigantic metal ship. It just showed up this morning and parked in the bay. It has three sets of huge cannons,” she said, her eyes growing wide as she relayed the last bit of information.
“We need to do something!” Luna said.
“Mixer, take Twilight and her friends to the airship, Luna, you go with them, I will gather the Wonderbolts to fly with us,” Celestia said giving out orders.
I replied with a “Yes Princess,” and took Twilight and her friends to the airship, rallying the rest of the Lunar guard and Sombra.
“Wow, this thing is amazing,” Twilight said as we boarded the airship.
“Clockworks, cut the tethers!” I called down once all of us were on board.
“Aye aye,” he said, releasing the lines letting the airship float freely.
“Sombra, help me open the doors,” I said.
“Right,” he said and moved to the bow to help me push the massive doors aside, an act made easier by the mechanisms inside each slab of metal and rock.
There was a sound of metal scraping on metal as they slid open.
I moved to the wheelhouse where Ivy was checking on various gauges and Phalanx was checking weather conditions.
I manned the wheel and used the audio crystal embedded in the console to call Brick who was in the engine room with Thunderlane.
“How are the engines?” I asked.
“All fired up and ready to go,” Thunderlane said.
“Ivy, are we goo on helium?” I asked.
“Yep, and the heating and cooling systems are all green,” she said.
“Then lets get this show on the road!” I said, gently giving the virgin airship’s throttle a nudge to kick in the engines.
There was a low growling sound as the engines kicked in and the airship started to move forward.
“Ready for the maiden voyage?” I asked to no pony in particular as we cleared the hangar doors.
“Wow,” a chorus of voices sounded from outside as the airship became free of the mountain.
“How’s the view?” I asked them.
“How did you even come up with this?” Twilight said as she walked into the wheelhouse.
“Well, it all hit me when I was thinking about how I could use convection to make an airship change altitude quicker. It occurred to me that if there were heating systems in the bottom of the envelope, then it would rise faster, and if it could be cooled from the top, then it would eliminate the need for ballast,” I said.
“What about the under slung design for the envelopes?” she asked.
“When you can make the gondola lighter, then you can put it on top of the envelope, the only problem being balance. The solution is to use two smaller envelopes under a pair of wings to add stability,” I explained as we rose to the level of Canterlot.
“Mixer, I see Celestia and the Wonderbolts,” Sombra said, as we stabilized our altitude.
Celestia landed on the open deck along with a few of the Wonderbolts.
“It looks like the airship was a success,” she said.
“Yes. It might not be as fast as a pegasus, but it will get us there quick,” I said.
“Very good, let us make haste to Las Pegasus,” she said.
“Right away,” I said, giving it full throttle.
There was a slight lurch as the engines spun up to full rpm, but then the airship started moving at a fast clip.
Soon we were flying over the terrain towards Las Pegasus.
“Mixer, do you think?” Ivy asked as we were flying.
“I don’t know what to make of this,” I said.
“What if it is?” she asked.
“I hope that they would be better than attacking a city unprovoked,” I said, concentration on flying.
Out on the deck I could see Luna, Celestia, and Sombra talking with Twilight.
I could pick up what they were saying with the help of an audio crystal.
“We don’t know what this ship holds, so we need to be very delicate with this,” Twilight said.
“We need to consider how to best approach this situation,” Celestia said.
“But what if they are hostile?” Luna asked.
“We can only hope that that is not true,” Celestia said.
“If they are I’m sure we’ll beat em,” Rainbow Dash said.
“If they are hostile, we will have to get all of you to safety as soon as possible,” Trottson said.
“So what do you think is in the ship?” Fluttershy asked.
“I don’t know, but I hope it’s only ponies,” Applejack said.
“I hope they like to party,” Pinkie said.
“Pinkie,” Twilight said, her voice a scolding tone.
“Look, we're getting close to Las Pegasus,” Rarity said, pointing to the approaching city.
“All wings to escort position,” I heard Spitfire call to the rest of the Wonderbolts.
“All hooves, on deck, we’re almost there,” I called into a set of audio crystals linked to the various compartments of the ship.

By the time we were over the outskirts of the city we were surrounded by a small cloud of pegasi, both Wonderbolts and local guardsponies.
“We should hang back out of cannon range,” I called out to Celestia and Luna.
“Make it so,” Luna called.
I settled us with a view of the bay over one of the taller buildings in Las Pegasus.
I left Ivy to handle the wheel while I met with the princesses on deck.
“We need to send a recon party,” I said.
“Agreed, six pegasi should be able to do it,” Luna said.
“Three Wonderbolts and the three pegasi of the Lunar Guard,” celestia said.
Trottson and Phalanx gave salutes out of habit and took of with Thunderlane to tell Spitfire the plan.
--
Meanwhile aboard the flagship HMS Royal the Admiral was giving orders to his flight crews.
“I want all flyers ready to take off at a moment’s notice,” he said into a microphone.
“Aye aye sir,” a voice crackled over the radio.
He turned to two pegasi standing on the bridge, one was in a sliver flight suit and had a blonde mane, the other was in a navy blue flight suit with a black mohawk with a blue streak running through it. “Silverwing, I want you to lead the intercept team, Thunder Blitz, you get your squadron ready for reactive measures. I don’t want any surprises that we don’t need. Find out about Mixer if you can but don’t engage in any diplomatic relations.”
“Yes Sir!” both of them replied with a salute.
Silverwing and Thunder Blitz left the bridge to go to their respective posts.
“If those foreign ponies set one hoof wrong we’ll flatten them,” Thunder Blitz said as they made their way to to flight deck.
“Cool your wings hot shot, I’m sure they’re peaceful, otherwise we would have already pulled out,” Silverwing retorted calmly.
“I bet their shaking in their boots seeing this ship,” he said.
“Is fighting all you ever think about?” Silverwing asked.
“I don't always think about fighting, just about winning,” he bit back.
“Well have fun chilling out on the flight deck while I get to fly with my squad,” Silverwing said and left to form up with her squadron.
The five squad members all had the distinctive silver flight suits, each with the squadron’s emblem on them, two silver wings, the cutie mark of their leader.
Thunder Blitz gathered his squadron, a group of brutish looking pegasi, all with the same navy flight suits and a dark thunderhead emblem.
Silver squadron was a group of mares and stallion all looking sleek in the silver flight suits, some with their grey flight helmets on.
“Ok, lets get ready to roll, we have a mission,” Silverwing said to her squad.
They all got their flight helmets on and got into takeoff position on the short airstrip on the stern of the ship.
“Silverwing, do you copy?” a voice crackled over her helmet radio.
“I hear ya Echo, five by five,” Silverwing replied, confirming the headset was working.
“Alright, you are cleared for takeoff, whenever you are ready,” the communications officer said.
Silverwing flipped down the reflective visor on her helmet and gave a nod to her squad.
The six of them took off and Silver switched her radio to the squad channel.
“Ok everypony, listen up. We’re just on an intercept course with the six ponies that we spotted headed our way. Let me handle the talking, I don't want to start an international incident because of a miscommunication,” she said.
“Roger,” her squad replied, then she switched the radio back to the open channel.
I hope they’re friendly. She thought as they closed the distance to the six ponies.
As they approached the six ponies, Silverwing could see that they were from two different groups. Three of the ponies were wearing flight goggles and cyan flight suits with yellow lightning bolts on them, the other three were wearing what appeared to be knights armor with a crescent moon emblazoned on the front.
The six other ponies stopped in mid air and waited for Silverwing and her squadron to approach.
Two ponies separated from the foreign squad and moved towards a middle ground in between the two groups, one from each squadron.
Silverwing did the same, taking two wingponies with her, leaving the other three behind.
“Greetings,” the brownish stallion in knight armor said.
“Um, hi,” the mare in the flight suit said.
“Greetings,” Silverwing said.
“We would like to extend a welcome on behalf of Equestria to you,” the stallion said, the mare rolling her eyes.
Silverwing was impassive and didn't say anything immediately.
The stallion cleared his throat and continued, “We would like to ask you why you brought such a large ship, with such, armaments,” he said, the last word with an unsavory tone.
“I’ am not authorized to disclose that information at this time,” Silverwing said, trying to be non confrontational.
“Looks like we got a real talker,” the mare said to the stallion.
“Spitfire, we’re trying not to make them mad,” the stallion said, casting an admonishing glance at Spitfire.
She just rolled her eyes at him and said, “We’re also not here to make small talk.”
“You make a wonderful first impression,” Silverwing said sarcastically.
“Why you,” Spitfire started, before the stallion put his hoof over her mouth.
“I apologize for my companion’s, OW!” he shouted as Spitfire bit him.
“That what you get for cutting me off Trottson,” she said.
“You didn’t have to bite me!” he said, nursing his hoof.
“Ahem,” Silverwing said.
“Hold on miss shades,” Spitfire said. “You might be Luna’s personal guard and Mixer’s right hoof pony, but that does not give you the right to stick your hoof in my face,” she yelled at Trottson, giving credence to her name.
“Did you say Mixer?” Silverwing asked.
“Wait you know him?” Spitfire asked.
“Does that mean you are from New Pegisopolis?” Trottson asked.
“Are you getting this?” one of her squad mates asked the Echo.
“Yeah, and so is the Admiral,” he replied.
“Silverwing, I want you to escort them to the ship so we can talk,” the Admiral’s voice came over the radio.
“Um, hello?” Spitfire waved a hoof at Silverwing.
Silverwing took off her helmet, cutting off the orders from the Admiral.
“My name is Silverwing, I’m the leader of Silver Squadron, and I’d like to invite you and your leaders to our ship so we can talk,” Silverwing said.
“Well, Silverwing, if you want to meet the princesses you will have to follow us,” Trottson said.
“Um sir, the Admiral wants to talk to you,” one of her squadmates said.
“Tell him that I’m going to bring some guests home with us,” Silverwing said.
“He doesn’t sound happy,” the other said.
“Well, he can yell all he wants, I have just as much authority over the situation as him,” Silverwing said, her tone harsh.
Silverwing smiled as she thought she could hear the Admiral shouting through her helmet in her hooves.
“Please, take us to your princesses,” Silverwing said to Trottson and Spitfire. “You two get the others and keep a formation behind me,” she said turning to the two squadmates.
--
I watched as Trottson and Spitfire escorted a single pony back to the airship, five others following some distance behind.
When they got closer the guards stopped the five tagalongs and Spitfire and Trottson landed with the pegasus.
“Silverwing?” I asked when she landed.
“Mixer?” she asked back, making sure she wasn’t seeing things.
“Do you two know each other?” Celestia asked.
“Well, no. I do know of her,” I said to Celestia. “Where is Goldstar?” I asked.
“Never mind about that,” she said dodging the question, “What have you been doing here? You've been gone for over a year.”
“That is a story for another time, I believe you have more important things to attend to, like establishing a diplomatic relationship with Equestria,” I said.
“Oh yes,” she said, noticing the two alicorns that were standing off to her right.
“Greetings Silverwing, I am Princess Celestia, and this is my sister Luna. We are the rulers of Equestria,” she said.
“Your highnesses,” Silverwing said with a bow.
“We are pleased to meet with ponies from your nation,” Celestia said, both to me and Silverwing.
“If I may ask, would you allow us to escort you to our ship so you can speak with the captain of the ship and fleet admiral?” Silverwing asked.
“Yes,” Celestia said.
“Right away,” I said, going back to the wheelhouse to put the airship in gear.
I got an idea and used an audio crystal to tap into the radio signal from the helmets.
“Silverwing! What in blazes were you thinking? Disobeying a direct order like that? I should have your rank stripped from you and send you back to kitchen duty for the rest of your life!” I heard a rather angry voice over the radio waves.
“You know just as well as I do that we need Mixer back. He’s our only hope of curing the king,” Silverwing replied.
“And that is why you are still in the air and Thunder Blitz isn't taking your place,” the Admiral said.
What could be wrong with the king? I thought as I cut the crystal’s signal.
“Make sure to keep her at low speed, we don’t want to come off as threatening,” Ivy said.
“Right” I said, throttling it down a little.
“I know this must be kind of hard for you,” she said.
“It’s just strange, seeing other ponies form New Pegisopolis,” I said.
“Well, I’m here if you need to talk,” she said comfortingly.
“Thanks,” I said.

We drew closer to the ship and when we landed a crew of earth ponies tethered the airship and guided us in.
As we got off the airship we were greeted by a pony in a white uniform flanked by Thunder Blitz.
“Greetings Princesses,” he said in an authoritative voice.
“Greetings Admiral,” Celestia said.
“We have heard good things about you from Mixer,” Luna said.
“That is good to hear. Come, let us discuss matters on the bridge,” he said.
“But I don’t see any bridges on this ship,” Luna said.
“He means the command center for the ship,” I said.
“Oh, well then, to this bridge,” she said.
“I really need to acquaint you with some of the technological terms,” I said.

Silverwing fell into step on the other side of the Admiral and we followed him to the bridge.
The guards would only let the princesses and I through, and finally after some convincing, Trottson and Sombra.
The Admiral moved to the other side of a table with a map of the New Pegisopolis seaboard.
“You might not be aware of our government structure so I’ll fill you in quickly,” The Admiral said. “We are ruled by a hereditary monarch. With a majority vote by a council of advisors, the air to the throne can be changed, or chosen. Our current king, has come down with a mysterious illness, one that our best doctors have not been able to cure. We came here looking for Mixer because some of our best unicorns sensed a large magic signature from across the ocean, and it matched Mixer’s. Luckily this ship was already under construction at the time and so it was reinforced to cross through the storm belt, a magical storm the spans the entire ocean from pole to pole, as far as we can tell. We need to return with him as soon as possible, the king’s condition was getting worse when we left,” he explained.
“That’s a lot to take in for first contact,” Luna said.
“I had no idea,” I said.
“As you can see it is important that we make haste in this matter,” the Admiral said.
“I understand and heed your plight, we can make official relations once your king has recovered,” Celestia said.
“So you’re just going to send him away, alone?” Luna asked.
“No, you and the Elements will go with him. You can do just as well as I can in establishing diplomatic relations,” Celestia said.
“What about me?” Sombra said.
“I would like to keep you here,” Celestia said.
“And the Lunar guard?” Trottson asked.
“They will be accompanying you,” Celestia said.
“So we will leave immediately,” the Admiral said.
“Sir, the Dawn Treader and the Exodus won’t be able to make the trip with the current supplies, and the Majestic might not survive the return trip,” a bridge officer said.
“Tell them to stay here, their crews are all officially our first diplomatic envoys in Equestria,” the Admiral said.
“They will be welcomed in Las Pegasus until you return,” Celestia said.
“Alright, I thank you for your hospitality on their behalf, now we must depart,” the Admiral said.

We went to tell everypony the news and then Celestia departed to the shore while the other ships moved to dock.
The Royal weighed anchor and made its way out to the open ocean.
We were shown to our quarters, which were next to each other, four to a room. I was with Trottson, Phalanx, and Brick. Luna had a room to herself, Ivy and Brick bunked with Star Shine and Rose, and the Mane Six took two rooms, three each.
The others went on a tour of the ship, but I went up to the deck and watched as the mainland disappeared on the horizon.
“Isn’t it nice?” Silverwing asked, walking up to me, now in her standard fatigues.
I sighed, “I didn’t know how watching your home just sail away felt, but I guess it has less of an effect on me.”
“But you’re coming home now. I know I didn’t really know you before, but we need you now,” she said.
“It feels like something is wrong, Like there is something going on that we don’t know about,” I said.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“It seems strange that there would be a power surge in my lab while I was doing an experiment, which is what I hypothesize caused me to be teleported to Equestria in the first place. On top of that, now that things have settled down, you suddenly arrive saying that the king has fallen ill and that I am the only one who could cure him, something that would not be an issue if I never left. Finally, all the personnel on board this vessel seem, distant, or irritable,” I said.
“You sound like a conspiracy theorist,” she said.
I sighed again, “Maybe you’re right. You would not believe how hard it is to stop considering what could go wrong after all I’ve been through,” I said.
“Well things haven’t been all sunshine in New Pegisopolis either. Even before the king fell ill there was fighting amongst the nobles. There was even a small revolt,” she said.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Some noble thought he could get freedom by rising up against the king. He hired some mercenaries and locked himself away in his mansion,” she hesitated. “The king sent Goldstar and her squadron to capture him so his troops would cease hostility.”
“I’m sorry I asked,” I said.
“No, you need to know,” she said, holding back a shaky voice. “As you know, Thunder Blitz and I were on her squadron. We ended up being ambushed when we were reconing the mansion. Thunder Blitz escaped, but the rest of us were taken into the mansion to be tortured. They saved Goldstar and me for last,” she paused, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. “Thunder Blitz broke in and told us that he would clear a path for us. When we got the the exit point we found a group of mercenaries waiting, and him retreating.” She broke down and started crying on my shoulder, “Goldstar told me to go, that she would cover my escape. She didn’t make it. After the military stormed the mansion, we found her dead, tortured by the noble.”
I comforted her while she cried.
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
“I was never able to prove it, but I still think Blitz left us there to die, hoping he would take the position of squad leader,” she said, her tone changing to one of pure hatred.
“He always was ambitious, but to kill the rest of the squad, thats far even for him,” I said.
“After the raid, they gave both of us our own squadrons. I recruited some of the best ponies in the air force for my squad, Blitz just brought in a bunch of thugs that got in through brute force,” she said.
“Hey! what are they doing to my airship?!” I asked, seeing that the air bladders were being deflated.
“Oh,” she said, the word dripping with disgust, “The Admiral ordered your airship be locked down, so that it wouldn't get ‘damaged’ in the storm,” she said.
“What’s with the sudden disdain for authority?” I asked.
“The Admiral is a bully, and Blitz is his lapdog,” she said.
“Suddenly I don’t seem like such a conspiracy theorist,” I said.
“That’s not just it, ponies all over have been reporting strange mood swings. They say that the affected ponies are easily agitated, and prone to anger,” she said.
“So now we have a series of inexplicable misfortunes and nothing to connect it to,” I said.
“Hey, you two, were approaching the storm belt, get below decks,” Blitz said walking up to us.
“On whose orders?” Silverwing challenged.
“The Admirals. Wouldn’t want you to get hurt on deck,” he said in a mocking tone.
“Get stuffed,” Silverwing said, batting him in the face with her wing as we passed.
“Watch it, or I’ll have you confined to quarters,” he snapped.
“Pick your battles,” I whispered in her ear, trying to keep an all out brawl from happening.
She flared her wings and we went below decks.
“You know he’s trying to get you in trouble,” I said.
“I know, he just gets under my skin,” she said.
“Well, I’m going to get some rest, I’m not used to being on a swaying ship,” I said.
“Alright,” she said.
“Just try and keep your distance from Blitz, and keep an eye on my friends,” I said.
“Ok,” she said, and left with a wave of her wing.

I went back to my quarters and I lie there trying to get some sleep when I heard the bolt on the bulkhead shut.
“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked.
“You’re under confinement,” I head Blitz say from the other side of the door.
“Under what justification?” I asked.
“Under the justification that you and your ‘friends’ are potentially dangerous to the crew and their ability to perform their duty,” he said, in a smug tone.
“If you hurt them!” I shouted, slamming a hoof against the bulkhead.
“Oh, don’t worry, they’ll be in good hooves,” he said, his hoofsteps and laughter fading down the hallway.
“Oh, I’m gonna get that slimeball,” I said to myself and prepared a crystal to drill out the lock.
--
Twilight and her friends went to the mess hall to get something to eat after touring the ship.
They came in near the end of meal time and so the mess was mostly empty, allowing them to get a table to themselves.
“This ship is huge!” Rainbow Dash said.
“Yes, it almost as big as Ponyville,” Twilight said.
“I just wish that they wore something other than gray and blue,” Rarity said.
“They’re all so serious too,” Pinkie said.
“I think that most of em are just concentration on the job,” Applejack said.
“Well, whatever it is, at least they are being hospitable,” Twilight said.
“At least the food’s good,” Pinkie said, digging into the semi-homecooked meal.
The other’s started to eat as well and almost didn't notice the unicorn that walked up and took a seat by them.
“Are you all enjoying the ship?” he asked.
“Oh, yes, and you are?” Twilight asked.
“Most ponies on the ship just call me Echo, I’m a communications officer,” he said.
“Nice to meet you Echo,” Twilight said.
“Nice to meet you, uh,” he started.
“Twilight,” she said.
“Nice to meet you Twilight, and these are?” he asked.
“My friends, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy,” she said.
“Nice to met you all,” he said.
“Nice to meet you too,” Applejack said.
“Echo!” an angry voice yelled from across the hall.
“Yes sir,” Echo said, standing up and giving a salute to Thunder Blitz.
“You are dismissed, get back to work,” Blitz said.
“Yes sir,” Echo said, casting a glance back as he left.
Blitz turned to Twilight, his gaze passing over each of the others, “You all have to return to your quarters now,” he said.
“Why?” Applejack asked.
“We are approaching the storm belt,” he said.
“I think we’ll be fine,” Rainbow Dash said, a tinge of challenge to her voice.
“That wasn’t a suggestion,” he said darkly.
“And I wasn't asking,” she bit back, coming eye to eye with him.
“You’d do well to remember where you stand,” he said, holding Rainbow’s unwavering stare.
“You know, going back for some rest doesn’t sound so bad,” Rarity said, trying to break up the standoff.
“Yeah, it is gettin late,” Applejack said.
“You should listen to your friends,” Blitz said, daring Rainbow Dash to argue.
She held his gaze for a few seconds longer before turning back to her friends.
“Let’s go,” she said, leading the way away from Blitz.
“I don’t like that guy,” Pinkie said, “He’s scary.”
“Yeah,” Fluttershy squeaked.
--
Silverwing went to check on me and my friends after taking a walk around the side of the ship farthest from Thunder Blitz.
She was walking by a bulkhead when she heard a tiny whirring noise. She stopped and listened, and heard that it was coming from the other side of the bulkhead. She leaned in and put her ear to the door to hear better.
She jumped back as a crystal burst through just a few inches from her face. She was glad that she did jump back, because the door was promptly bucked open, slamming and straining on the hinges.
“When I find that dirty rat!” I said.
“Mixer! What’s going on?” she asked.
“Thunder Blitz locked me in,” I snorted.
“Are you ok?” she asked.
“Make sure the others are ok, I’m going to have a word with the good Admiral,” I said, as I stormed away.
“Wait!” she called, but I was already gone.
I ran through the ship until I came to the hatch to the deck.
I covered my eyes from the driving rain and made my way to the bridge.
“Mixer what are you doing here, you should be below decks,” the Admiral said.
“I came to talk about your lapdog Thunder Blitz,” I growled.
“He may be under my command but that does not make him my lapdog,” the Admiral shot back.
“Then why is he roaming around the ship, giving orders like he runs this tub?” I asked.
“Listen here, this is MY ship, and Thunder Blitz is out of line, but so are you,” the Admiral shouted.
“Out of line?” I shouted back. “He locked me in my quarters and made a veiled threat to my friends, I have every right to want him kicked overboard!”
“Must I remind you that they are just guests on our ship, and that you are the only one who we need,” he said coldly.
“You know, for wanting me to help, you sure don’t make me want to. You ground my airship, let a two bit bully run your ship, and lock me in a room. I’m starting to get the feeling that you want to keep me from helping anypony!” I shouted. “And if this continues, I might not even help the king,” I said in a cool tone.
The Admiral seemed to deflate after that, turning around and giving a big sigh.
“I’m sorry, I’m just trying to make sure that you get back to help the king,” he said in a much softer tone, very different from his tone just prior. “Things have been terrible since you disappeared, and they just keep getting worse.”
I softened a bit, “I know things have not been good since I left, but being so hostile is not helping.”
“I’m so used to having to demand things to get them done that it’s hard to do anything else, out of habit,” he said.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about me not helping the king, I wouldn’t just let him die,” I said.
“Thank you,” he said.
“What about Thunder Blitz?” I asked.
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t bother you for the rest of the trip. He might be a good soldier, but he’s not good with civilians,” he said.
“Just keep him under a tighter leash, otherwise there will be trouble,” I said.
“Alright. Now head back down below decks, it is safer down there in the storm,” he said.
I nodded and went back below decks to check on everypony.
The Lunar guards were all ok, and Twilight and her friends were a little shaken by Blitz but were otherwise fine, and Luna had been in her quarters the whole time.
“How’d it go?” Silverwing asked.
“We shouldn’t have to worry about Blitz for the rest of the trip,” I said.
“Thank goodness,” she said.
“So how long was the trip to Equestria?” I asked.
“It was three days, one to get to the storm, another to traverse it, and almost a day’s worth of sailing to get to Equestria,” she said.
“So two more days of sailing,” I said.
“Yeah,” she said.
“Well, I am tired after today, so I’ll get some sleep,” I said.
“Um, what about your door...” she asked, pointing to the slightly ajar hunk of metal.
“Oh, about that,” I said.
“It’s ok, we’ll have it fixed, but we do need to find you another room,” she said.
“You can share my room,” Luna called, overhearing our conversation.
“Well, I guess that’s solved, see you in the morning,” Silverwing said.
“Take care of yourself, Blitz might be a little hot headed after my talk with the Admiral,” I said.
“Thanks for the advice,” she said and walked off.
I went into Luna’s room and settled down on a bunk opposite from her.
“You are concerned for her well being,” she said.
“Yes, she’s been through alot, and Blitz doesn’t sit well with me,” I said.
“And you also have concern for the king,” she said.
“Yes, I’ve known him for most of my life before I came to Equestria,” I said.
“You have never told either me or my sister about this,” she said.
“I’ve only told Trottson and Ivy anything detailed about my past and my homeland,” I said.
“You seem different from these other ponies,” she said.
“How?” I asked.
“I can see it inside you, and Silverwing as well, a kindness that most of these other ponies don’t have,” Luna said.
“That’s, strange,” I said.
“Destiny has strange ways of showing itself,” Luna said, and lay her head down to sleep.
“Destiny,” I mimicked, before laying down myself.

I awoke sometime in the night, the ship swaying in the heavy waves.
Luna was still asleep, so I left the room quietly and took a walk, to get used to the rocking.
I didn’t pass many ponies, just the occasional crewmember moving to a different part of the ship.
I turned a corner and I saw Blitz was talking with one of his squad members. I ducked back behind the corner hoping to listen in on his conversation.
“I can’t believe that the Admiral ordered me to stay clear of those Equestrians,” he snorted.
“Sounds like we have a snitch,” the stallion said.
“Maybe, but I doubt it, more than likely it was Silverwing,” he said.
“What do we do boss?” he asked.
“We can’t do anything, the Admiral made that painfully clear,” Blitz said.
“Stupid softies,” the stallion said.
“Mixer is the only one that matters, without him this is all for nothing,” Blitz said.
“What if things go wrong?” the crony asked.
“As long as we can get Mixer back to New Pegisopolis, I couldn’t care less about the others, we need him back,” Blitz said.
“Aw, I didn’t know you was such a softie,” another squad member said walking up.
“Shut it, you know exactly what I mean,” Blitz snapped.
“So what do we do in the meantime?” the first asked.
“We keep our distance from them, just like the Admiral said,” Blitz said.
“Ok boss, keep our distance, got it,” the other said and walked away, presumably to tell the others.
“Keep an eye on them,” Blitz said to the one that remained.
“How close an eye?” he asked.
“Don’t make yourself obvious,” Blitz said. “We don’t want to get in trouble with the Admiral again, at least until we get back ashore.”
“Got it,” he said and trotted off.
I turned to leave before Blitz noticed me and I bumped into Silverwing.
“Wha,” she started before I covered her mouth and pulled her against the wall.
I made a shh, gesture and motioned for us to move back down the hall.
Once we got to a bulkhead, we ducked inside.
“What was that all about?” she asked.
“I think Blitz is up to something,” I said.
“What kind of something?” she asked.
“I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s good for my friends, or me,” I said.
“We have to do something about it,” she said.
“We need to see what happens, we don’t want to show our hand yet. The best we can do is be prepared for something,” I said.
“What do you propose?” she asked.
“Stick close to me for now, and keep your squad out of the loop. The less they know, the less likely they will get involved,” I said.
“But,” she protested.
“I don’t want anything happening to ponies that don’t have to get involved, now head out by yourself, I’ll go back to our quarters, you take the longer way around and meet me there,” I said.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she said.
“I didn’t know what I was doing when the changelings invaded, but that worked out ok,” I said.
“What?” she looked at me quizzically.
“Long story,” I said. “You had to be there.”
“Ok,” she said and left the room.
I followed a minute or so after and went back to the room and snuck in without waking Luna, placing a detection crystal just inside the door so I could tell when Silverwing was coming.
A few minutes of waiting and the crystal picked up a pony heading down the hall.
I waited by the door until I heard a soft knocking.
I opened the door and stood there with Silverwing.
“So, what now?” she asked.
“Take this,” I said, handing her a crystal.
“What is is?” she asked.
“Audio crystal, so you can talk with me instantly,” I said.
“Like a radio?” she said.
“Yes, but it only works with crystals harmonized with it,” I said.
“So how do I use it?” she asked.
“Just talk into it and I will pick it up with this one,” I said, showing her another small crystal. “When you’re not using it to talk to me keep in in your ear like this,” I said, showing her how to place it in her ear so it wouldn’t be uncomfortable or obvious.
“Ok, so how do I know it’s working?” she asked.
I went inside the room and closed the door.
“Can you hear me?” I whispered into my crystal.
I opened the door back up and saw her face was shocked.
“How did you make these?” she asked.
“Lots of practice and magic,” I said. “Now don’t stray too far from our rooms, but don’t hang around. Wait until everypony’s awake before you start to stick close,” I said.
“Alright,” she said and walked away.
I went back inside and fell back asleep.

The next two days were kind of boring. Most of the second day was spent below decks riding out the storm.
On the third day, we woke up early to see the sunrise.
“Wow, it looks so beautiful reflected on the water,” Rarity said.
“Yeah, sunsets are even better,” I said.
“That’s right, you would know what a sunset on the water looks like,” Ivy said.
“Yeah, I suppose I forgot to tell all of you that I’m from where we’re headed, but I think you could have figured that out by now,” I said, staring out over the water.
“This whole time and you never told us?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah, I didn’t know how you would react to knowing that I was from another country, let alone another continent,” I said.
“But why didn’t you tell us after we were friends?” Applejack asked.
“I didn’t want to concern you, and plus, it never came up,” I said.
“That’s a pretty lame excuse,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Yeah, you’re right, it is,” I said with a laugh.
“What happened to you in Equestria?” Silverwing asked.
I sighed, “So many things, both wondrous and terrible.”
“But aren’t you glad to be going home?” Pinkie asked.
“After all I’ve been through, Equestria seems more like home now,” I said, looking up it the brightening sky.
“I see...” Silverwing said, her voice trailing off.
There was an awkward silence for a few moments before I broke it.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel sad or anything, I was just speaking my mind,” I said.
“It’s ok,” she said.
“No, it’s not. I shouldn’t be feeling so conflicted like this,” I said.
“What do you mean conflicted?” Fluttershy asked.
“Happy, sad, nervous, weary, so many conflicting emotions,” I said.
“It is the burden of having two homes,” Luna said.
“Does that mean you’re staying?” Twilight asked worried.
“No, I couldn’t stay now, but I still feel strange here,” I said.
“Maybe when you go back you could take somepony with you?” Pinkie suggested.
“Maybe, but lets just enjoy the sunrise, we might be in the city by the end of the day,” I said.

So we sat there enjoying the rest of the sunrise before spending the rest of the trip on the deck, enjoying the warm sun and the fresh sea breeze.
I was nervous about what would happen in New Pegisopolis, but I wouldn’t shy away from it, whatever was going to happen here, I was going to see it through to the end.