//------------------------------// // Chapter One // Story: Flight of the Eclipse or PM's Adventure Soup (Serves 7) // by Mr Merritt //------------------------------// “Come on Peppermill! You absolutely have to see it to believe it!” “I wish you…wouldn’t rush ahead like that…Pip.” panted the grey colt with the pepper grinder cutie mark. As much as Peppermill, the youngest of the Apple clan (Ponyville division) adored the little pinto pony, he hated the fact that youngest of his circle of friends could be a hoofful when he was excited. The chef had learned quite quickly that, as a city colt, he was not used to the more…physical demands of having a bunch of colts his age to hang around with. It meant that he had to settle for bringing up the rear more often than not. While it didn’t bother him as much as it had at first, there were still times when he wished he could borrow a bit of strength from his elder siblings in order not to feel like he was a burden rather than an equal. Still, the unadulterated excitement radiating off of Pipsqueak proved to be plenty of motivation to pick up his pace. Peppermill had been surprised when Pipsqueak had raced up to him about a half an hour earlier, gushing about a ‘discovery’. Usually the pinto pirate tended to go to ponies like Rumble or Featherweight when he had something important to share. But apparently Pipsqueak wanted Peppermill to be the first to see this amazing thing. It had led the two Earth colts down a path leading out of Ponyville and to, at least for Peppermill, a part of the neighbouring countryside he wasn’t familiar with. “Over here! Quick!” Without waiting for acknowledgment, Pip suddenly veered off of the dirt road towards a wooded area nearby. Before Peppermill could say anything, the little colt had dived head first through some thick bushes. “Oh…bother…” Peppermill approached the spot in the dark foliage where his friend had vanished with trepidation. While certainly not a coward, the chef was cautious with situations he had little experience in. Following an adventurous, fearless if not to the point of foolish colt into the unknown was definitely new. But he also trusted the youngster, and decided that he really had only one direction to go. With a silent prayer, the grey pony pushed through the leaves and branches… …and found himself in a small yet rather open space surrounded by trees and bushes. While the secret space was surprising enough, it was nothing compared to what the colt with the splotchy coat sat before with a massive grin of pride and triumph. “Isn’t it the most brilliant thing you’ve ever seen?” “It’s…something all right.” While Pipsqueak was notorious for exaggeration and the occasional tall tale, even Peppermill had to admit the sight before him was worth the sweat he had built on his brow. It appeared, for all purposes, to be a large abandoned carriage. It only had three wheels still attached to its body, the fourth laying broken a few yards away. The canvas cover was ripped in places, faded by the dappled sunlight filtering through the trees but still solid. The wood was weathered and there was no way of telling what the original color the transport was, but it too seemed to still be in one piece. “I found her when I was exploring the other day. I thought maybe me eyes were playing tricks on me, but she is solid as any worthy vessel. Can you imagine just how much fun you, me and our mates could have with this?” gushed the colt, his eyes shining. “It’s…very impressive Pip.” admitted Peppermill. “But I have…to ask about…the whole ‘her’ and…’she’ stuff…” “Everypony knows that ships are like ladies that have to be respected. Any pirate captain with salt water in his blood knows that!” explained Pip emphatically. “You…and your pirate fetish…” remarked Peppermill shaking his head in amusement. “What’s a fetish?” “I’ll…explain later.” said the grey colt quickly. “What exactly did…you have in mind…with this…ahem…ship and the gang?” “Well think about it: if we could get her rolling and ship-shape, it would be like having our very own moving clubhouse. We could go anywhere in Ponyville, maybe even anywhere in Equestria!” “Anywhere?” The grey colt was understandably skeptical at this claim, despite Pip’s enthusiasm. Peppermill approached the carriage cautiously, reaching out and giving the side of the transport a poke. Despite paint flaking off onto his hoof, the wood seemed still solid. As he examined the durability of the abandoned vehicle, Pip dove underneath it. He appeared a moment later, startling Peppermill in the process. “There’s a trap door in the floor…well, a hole at any rate. Come on!” The pinto colt motioned with a hoof to his friend to come inside. Peppermill bit his lip, and then managed to pull himself up and into the interior of the carriage. Thanks to a tear in the canvas above, the Apple colt was able to see the dirty seats, the hole in the floor and a beaming Pipsqueak in the middle of it all. “You see, there plenty of room. I bet all six of us could fit in here with a bunch of supplies and all sorts of stuff!” “You sure seem…to have thought of…everything.” admitted Peppermill. “Oh absolutely! This is the greatest discovery ever!” “Just…one question: how…do you plan to…get this fixed up? I mean…we certainly can’t…leave it here. We would…have to get this…back to town. How would we…manage that?” “Back…home?” It became clear that the little colt had not completely thought of everything. His little brow furrowed and he began to look less and less confident as the seconds passed. “Don’t get me wrong…Pip, this is…quite a discovery. And…your idea does…sound fun. But we can’t…just try and drag…this thing around as is. And…for that matter…how do you know…that the rest…of our friends will…even agree…to your idea? Repairing this…thing will…be a lot of work…for a bunch…of colts.” While he hated disappointing his young friend, Peppermill felt he had to be the voice of reason to Pip’s foalish behavior. “It’s just…I wanted to give you a chance to be able to play along with the rest of us for once.” “You…what?” The pinto pony gave a sigh and continued, looking Peppermill square in the eye. “I know you ain’t exactly the kind of pony that can run around and jump and play and stuff like that all the time. I see you trying your best but always getting tired and breathing so hard and…well, kind of sad. I mean, even I can beat you in a foot race.” “Hmm…” While Peppermill couldn’t deny that he did find himself always last, if able to finish a race at all, he was genuinely surprised (and perhaps touched) that the little colt seemed to be genuinely concerned and sympathetic towards him. “But if we had something like this to ride in, you wouldn’t have to be left behind. We can all be together like a proper crew should be. Until I came to Ponyville I…well, I was pretty much treated like a runt. Everypony, like me mum and dad, wanted me to play with the ponies my own age. But I wanted so much to be around the older ones because…well, they were so brilliant and cool!” “I didn’t…really have any friends…my age. You don’t tend…to see many colts in…high-class restaurants…in Canterlot. Most of…the ponies I…was around were…adults.” Peppermill could genuinely understand where Pipsqueak was coming from. “But here you blokes actually let me hang around you. Trust me; there are days when even I wonder sometimes how you can stand me. My aunt and uncle tell me I’m…what did they call it? Oh right, hyperactive!” “Well…maybe you are…a little too energetic…at times.” “But you all accepted me. You and Snips and Snails and Rumble and Featherweight, you are all my best friends. I want nothing more than for us to be able to do everything together, no matter how different we all are. I just thought…maybe something like this would help.” Pipsqueak lifted his head and jutted out his chin, almost defying Peppermill to counter his argument. But Peppermill was unable to do so, if only because he was trying hard not to tear up. Instead, he reached over and scooped up the smaller pony in a tight hug. “You are…an amazing little…colt, did you know…that?” “Heh, I hear that lot.” giggled the youngster, returning the hug just as tightly. Eventually the colts broke away, and Peppermill looked around the fallen wagon. A thoughtful look crossed his face, followed by a smile. “I know a certain big, strong…workhorse that…might be convinced…to help us haul this thing…somewhere we…can all try and fix…it up.” “Would Big Macintosh really do that?” asked Pip in awe. While the little colt may have been a full-fledged worshipper of Princess Luna, he was also a huge fan of Peppermill’s huge older brother. “Well…maybe if you…came and explained…your idea to him. And I might…have some Waldorf salad waiting…at home…that needs to be…eaten before…it goes bad.” “A chance to see Big Mac and have some of your Waldorf salad! Brilliant!!!” The splotched colt began to bounce around excitedly around the carriage. But when his exuberance brought him a little too close to the gaping hole in the floor, Peppermill lunged at him in alarm to try and catch him… …only to have the two of them tumble through and land in a heap under the carriage. “Bloody heck…” “Oh…bother…”