//------------------------------// // Chapter 47: Field Trip // Story: The Private Scrapbook // by Cadabra //------------------------------// Chapter 47: Field Trip The royal airship fleet took off for Baltimare within a matter of hours. The ship itself was far more luxurious than Smithy was expecting for it to be, or at least what she saw of it was. She was not allowed to enjoy in any of the luxuries since she and Crab Apple were chained up in a pitch-black broom closet. They were still considered convicted felons in spite of the retrial, and the princess had to make sure they were not planning an escape. Smithy spent a cramped night curled up next to Crab Apple, barely able to sleep. She could feel Crab Apple squirming beside her, which only made trying to get comfortable more difficult. “Hey, ya asleep?” she said as she turned on her stomach. She could hear his frustrated sigh as she felt him turn over. “Yeah, sure. Like a baby,” he said sarcastically as he kicked on the closet walls. “Why can’t we just get a bed already! We ain’t animals! I ain’t slept good since dis whole thing started!” Smithy could hear him whimpering as his kicking stopped. She felt bad that he had to go through all the hell that Foalsom could put a pony through, but there was little she could do to comfort him. He did after all do this to himself. “Ya know, ya didn’t have to jump in on the trial like ya did,” she said. Crab Apple cracked a smile as he playfully nudged his fellow inmate. “Fogetta ‘bout it,” he replied. “We’re partners, remember? Besides, you were dyin’ out there! Dat senator woulda ate you alive if I hadn’t stepped in.” Smithy rolled her eyes in the dark. “I dunno,” she sighed. “I just feel bad that both of us are in jail instead of just one. I’ve been losin’ mah mind worried 'bout Kizzy ever since we were found guilty. I wish I knew where she was!” Crab Apple nudged Smithy to quiet her down. “Will you relax already?” he said. “I actually saw Salty Ron at da retrial, hid in da crowd with Lizza and Kizzy. They watched da whole thing and nopony even knew they were there. I saw ‘em get on board da aircraft before we got locked up in here too, so we know where they are.” Smithy began to panic as soon as she heard they were aboard. “They ain’t safe!” she exclaimed, accidentally kicking Crab Apple in her panic. He kicked back to get her to stop wiggling. “Knock it off!” he shouted crossly. “They’re fine. Lizza and Salty Ron painted themselves up like ponies. They kept Kizzy like she is so they’d look like elites with a slave. Lucky son of a buck probably got a bed ta sleep in on dis flyin’ bucket.” Smithy was glad to know how incognito Salty Ron could be, but worrying was still in her nature. “I just don’t know what to think anymore,” she said as he held her head in her hooves. “What if this whole thing backfires? What if Carpet Bag and his fellas get there first and cover up this mess? We almost didn’t make this trip if it weren’t fer the retrial. If Focus wasn’t brave enough to step up we’d both be rottin’ in Foalsom right now.” Crab Apple could hear Smithy crying in the darkness of the broom closet. “Calm down,” he said as he wrapped an arm around what he thought was her shoulders. “We got a lot accomplished with da princess today, more than we bargained for. So chin up, okay?” Smithy squirmed at Crab Apple’s touch. “Uh, what are ya doin’ with mah butt?” she asked as she nudged him off. Crab Apple threw his arm away quickly. “I thought dat was your head!” he said in his defense. “It’s dark and I found a braid. At least I didn’t confuse you for a mop!” In spite of her looming worries, Smithy couldn’t help giggling at the mistake as she turned the other way. “So I’ve been talkin’ to yer butt this whole time?” she said with a small smile. Crab Apple wrapped his arm around what he was now sure was Smithy’s shoulders as he let out a playful sigh. “Well I hope it was pleasant conversation,” he teased. “Dat bein’ my better half and all.” Smithy hadn’t realized just how much she missed Crab Apple’s company. She leaned against her fellow prisoner, glad to finally have pony contact after months of isolation. “I wonder if it’s changed a lot on the outside world,” she said absentmindedly. “I can’t help thinkin' 'bout how rough it's had to have been fer mah kin." Crab Apple shook his head, a gesture Smithy could not see. “Na, everythin’s same old same old last I heard,” he replied. “I read an article in da papers about dat musician brudder a yours. He wrote a song about bein’ a wanted pony for you, but dat’s about all I read dat interested me." Smithy grunted her disapproval over the song. "Funny it turned into an anthem fer them thistle flanked fuss buckets," she retorted, her sneer going unseen in the dark of the closet. “Thanks to their bickerin, booze is illegal." Crab Apple sighed at Smithy’s complaints, having missed how she would let little things get under her skin. "If dat's da worst thing dat happened while we got locked up, then I'm not dat worried," he said, resting his head on Smithy’s shoulder. “Besides, it’ll be good knowin' you can't get trashed so easy anymore. You were gettin' bad there for a while, and if I gotta be honest, it got scary." Smithy hadn’t realized just how bad her habits had become until she was forced to dry out in Foalsom Prison. “Time in the drunk tank took care of that," she said, putting her hooves over her eyes as she remembered suffering from withdrawal. “I never thought I'd see the day that I would be past all that gettin' outta mah body, but I beat it. Hearin' mah brother’s song comin' through the guard pony's portable radio didn't make it any better though." Crab Apple heard the song that way too, but remembered feeling far differently whenever he heard it. “I kinda liked it when it came on da radio," he explained. “It kinda gave me some hope we'd all see each other again." Smithy was surprised to hear this reaction from Crab Apple over a song that made her heart suffer. “Ya mean that?" she asked, wishing she could see Crab Apple’s reaction in the pitch black closet. Crab Apple nodded before realizing that she wouldn't be able to see him. “Yeah, I do," he admitted, feeling himself blushing and glad it couldn’t be seen. "You know, I actually got a chance ta meet your brudda while we were on da run before your first trial. He's a nice fella. Wife’s just as nice too, and so’s his kids. They agreed ta keep an eye on Sweet Apple Acres for us after me and da Brudderhood took off.” It was a relief to know that somepony was keeping an eye on her property. She’d been worried that it would get broken into with nopony there. “Thanks fer takin' such good care of everythin,,” she said, nuzzling into his chest as she tried to relax on the hard floor. "I know it's been a bumpy few years, and I ain’t always been the easiest gal to get along with, but I can't tell ya how much it means that yer still so good to me. Crab Apple breathed a heavy sigh as he rested his head on top of hers. “Yeah, you ain’t always been easy ta care about, but you know what? It’s da least I can do,” he teased gently, running his hoof over the top of Smithy’s hair. “Besides, you've been awful good ta me over da years, you know. Just ‘cause you slipped up once doesn’t mean I gotta abandon you ta rot. We’re da good guys, remember? We’re a team.” Smithy breathed a tired sigh as she closed her eyes. “A team,” she said in a breathy tone. “I kinda like the sound of that. I don’t think I’ve told ya this before, but yer one of the best friends I ever had.” Crab Apple was touched to hear that. “Well, I’d say da same thing, but Salty Ron beat you ta dat,” he teased. “’Course ya got heavy competition here in da closet. Just look at dis fella here, ol’ Moldy da Mop. He’s good people. How you gonna compete?” The two ponies shared a laugh together as the mop fell upon them. Smithy laughed so hard that she snorted, which just made the fun double. “I think I made him jealous!” she teased as she lifted the mop back up. “He’s tryin’ to come between us!” A loud knock was heard at the broom closet door. “Quiet in there!” a guard hollered. “Ponies are trying to sleep!” The two prisoner ponies snickered at the knocking, Crab Apple finding it particularly hard to stop laughing. “We would if you didn’t keep pony eatin' mops in here!” he joked, which only prompted another round of giggles. He about lost it when the guard smacked the door particularly hard. “Don’t make me separate you two!” the guard threatened. Crab Apple took a deep breath to calm his hysterics. “Alright already!” he said, which seemed to please the guard. Crab Apple once again rested his arm over Smithy’s shoulder. “We better do what da warden says,” he smiled as she rested her head against his chest again. “Who knows where he’d put us next. I don’t wanna get strung up outside da ship. I’d miss Moldy too much!” Smithy chuckled one last time before closing her eyes. “What am I ever gonna do with y’all?” she teased. Crab Apple smiled as he lay his head back on top of hers. “What you’re doing now is pretty nice,” he said as he kissed her on the forehead. “We’ll just let da rest play out as it does. Now get some sleep, alright? We got a lotta evidence ta find in da mornin’.”