King of Diamonds

by Midnightshadow

Ad Astra Per Aspera

        ♠♣♥♦King of
Diamonds
The Ambassador's Son - Book 2
════════════════════════════

"Are you—!" Carmine began, her squawk echoing from the rafters. She was swiftly silenced by a black griffon's claw being placed around her beak. "Beth?" Carmine whispered through the talons, as her eyes widened.
Beth nodded sharply, ruffling her feathers and lashing her tail as she placed her claw back on the ground. "I want to see this up close, Car," the griffon said, her golden eyes fixing Carmine with a piercing gaze.
Carmine kneaded her claws on the dusty concrete anxiously, her pink-hued head-feathers rising and falling as she contemplated this new turn of events. She worked her beak silently for a few moments before hissing, "Are you both crazy!?" She turned from the black-and-brown speckled griffon to the armoured, pony-shaped dragon and back, her beak hanging open incredulously. "You can't even fly this thing! I bet you've never been within a thousand paces of something like this!"
Chip just grinned, looking past Carmine, somewhere over her shoulder.
"What?" Carmine turned to watch where Chip's gaze had fallen. She saw nothing, just Bella, Ruff... and Hairpin. Carmine turned back to Chip. "Her?"
"Hairpin's been onboard airships before, haven't you, my pet?" Chip's grin was smug enough that Carmine just rolled her eyes at his choice of words, her indignant snort, the lashing tail and raised neck-feathers the only other outward signs of displeasure.
Hairpin stepped forwards, wary of the tone and content in Chip's words. Her expression was cloudy, difficult to read. "Ye-es, kind of... they were commercial craft, not military—"
"But they were airships?" clarified Chip, ears perked.
"Of course, but..." Chip's widening grin cut her off. She sighed. "You're really going to do this, aren't you?"
"If you say 'no way', if it looks like we're just going to crash it, then I'll turn right around and we'll go home, okay?" Chip said, rustling his wings as he placed a hoof against Hairpin's chest.
"You mean it?" Hairpin asked hopefully.
Chip's grin, if anything, grew. "Not a chance." He trotted cheekily past Carmine's open beak, tail held high.
"First day," muttered Carmine, staring after the prancing partly-pony,  "I could tell he was trouble, but did I leave well enough alone? No, no I didn't."
Chip flicked his mane out of his eyes and rolled his shoulders as he turned to look up at the ship, causing his almost ever-present armoured wings to flutter. The Bevelmiter tubes flickered briefly into life, lightning playing across the device, reflecting their owner's thoughts. He'd taken them off on the initial trip underground, but had replaced them for the subsequent trip to his mystery destination. He had been keeping them 'quiet', but the excitement was making that impossible. "Come on, let's get aboard! Carmine, Beth, see if you can find an entrance!"
"Sure thing, boss," said Beth, rolling her eyes and clicking her beak sarcastically. Carmine punched her friend playfully on the shoulders, and the two took off. They came back a few minutes later, landed, and grinned at Bella.
"What?" asked the unicorn filly, arching an eyebrow and backing away warily.
Beth and Carmine shared a glance, and the latter swished her supple leonine tail as she replied, "We found a way in, but it's for unicorns only, seeing as this is a pony ship."
"Ordinarily I think there'd be a gangplank or some sort of platform to get up there," added Bethany, "but just this once, we're going to have to give you a lift." Before the startled lavender unicorn could utter a single cry, she was whisked up into the air by two sets of careful claws and griffon-handled to a cramped indented ledge on the side of the gondola. Penny half-spread her wings to go take a look, but a touch from Hairpin's hoof said give them room. Ruff stood up on Penny's withers, holding tightly onto her mane as he strained to see what was going on, stubby tail wagging expectantly.
Bella opened her eyes as the jostling eased and her hooves touched wood. She had screwed them tightly shut at being hoisted into the air, and she almost shut them again at the view that was just behind her. Getting a hold of herself, Bella locked her eyes on the ship and ignored the drop. Almost immediately, she spotted something which looked strongly like an entrance. "I... think I see something."
"Think you can do it?" called Chip, trotting underneath the two griffons as they hovered protectively near their ill-at-ease cargo, squinting up in the gloom as he tried to peer at what they'd found.
"Do I have a choice?" grumbled Bella, kicking her legs futilely. "Let me see..." The unicorn peered at the vertical side of the ship. It was a definite archway, rimmed in gleaming metal. She could see a clear, door-like shape made out in filigree and carved patterns, but no obvious way to open it, except for a smooth, circular hole inset in the middle... a magical lock. Shadows danced as her horn turned towards it, and she played faint light across her goal. "Okay, I'm taking a closer look, this is a basic horn-lock. If it's actually locked we might have to do something drastic—"
"I'll bite the lock off if you want!" Chip called up, eager to help.
"No more snacking, you'll get fat," retorted Carmine idly, turning her head slightly as she called over her shoulder. "I heard you sneaking gems from the walls all the way here."
Chip stomped a hoof and pouted. "I was hungry!" he called up.
"Yeah but—"
"Hold still!" hissed Bella, "I need to concentrate!" She swept her head about in frustration to flick her mane out of her eyes, before delicately slipping her horn into the circular lock in the side of the ship.
For a few seconds nothing happened. There were no sounds but Bella's soft and steady breathing as, with eyes closed, she mentally examined the device. Suddenly her eyes snapped open and her muzzle split in a wide grin. Magic flowed along the doorframe, lighting up a delicate filigree pattern which spidered and swept across the panels like frost on a windowpane. Warm amber light bathed Bella and the two astonished griffons as the mechanisms engaged. There was a quiet hum and a split appeared in the center of the door, the hair-thin crack widening steadily as the two halves began to roll back on silent, well-oiled hinges. With an almost imperceptible hiss, the doors' panels suddenly broke into a grid of rectangular pieces, each rimmed in golden light. With a faint hum and a whoosh of air, the panels broke free of the retreating door-frame, swarming like a flock of birds around the speechless intruders. They floated gracefully around the three before settling into a vaguely stair-like pattern that easily reached the ground.
The arcane steps were ornately decorated, dark-stained wooden blocks, covered in richly detailed carvings. Chip tested one with a hoof suspiciously, but it held fast as he put his weight on it. Grinning to himself, he pranced up the first few steps. His grin faded as he realised Penny and Hairpin had already entered, the former carrying Ruff on her back, before Chip had made it up the first step.
"Come on slowpoke!" called Penny, over her shoulder.
"I'd fly up there too if I had a little more room!" complained Chip as loudly as he dared, scowling.
Carmine poked her head out the door at that and rolled her eyes, crest lifting playfully. "You mean you'd flutter around like an injured fledgeling and we'd have to come pull you in!" The griffoness punctuated every syllable of the last three hissed words with a claw-jab, before pointing one clawed thumb over her shoulders impatiently. "Get up here! It was your idea after all!"
Grumbling, Chip maneuvered his bulk up the steps. Heights were something he no longer had a problem with, but perversely enough, now that he could see the floor it worried him a lot more. Eventually, he gratefully stepped off the last floating platform and through the wide doorway.
The archway led to a short tunnel, which swiftly opened up into some sort of hold. As the awestruck trespassers spread out, enchanted gem-lights filled the room with a soft, blue-white glow to reveal the full grandeur of the ship. The meticulous attention to detail the shipmakers had paid during construction was visible over every square inch. There was a definite military feel to everything, but still the Equestrian flair for artistry shone through. There were sturdy yet beautiful brass fittings for tie-downs and handles, offset by elaborate joinery in all the wooden surfaces, all of which had been waxed and polished until they shone. Supplies were dotted about, stored carefully under hefty cargo netting, giving the whole ship an air of poised readiness... and yet it was totally silent, as if something was missing.
"Anything looking familiar?" Penny asked Hairpin. The younger pegasus trotted nervously around the open space, tail flicking and wings half-spread.
"I recognize most of the arcane tech," replied Hairpin slowly, turning around on the spot as she gazed at the eclectic collection of machinery. "This is a loading bay, just a bit more spartan than the ones I'm used to. Vormardra's ships were all cruiseliners, but they still handled freight. He employed unicorns extensively, but grunt work demanded earth ponies. They have a lot more stamina, but—" Hairpin trotted over to a large boom built of metal struts and pointed to it with a wing. "—earth ponies or not, you still need cranes like this thing here."
Chip trotted over to a mechanical claw which hung from some heavy-duty steel cables threaded through the crane. He peered at it for a few incredulous seconds before warily poking at it with an iron-shod hoof. Unicorns could lift most objects with their magic, and pegasi could fly the rest, but this ship was designed to be operated by any race of pony. Conversation sprung up as curiosity began to overcome the natural cautiousness of the ponies in the group and the instinctive stealth of the predatory troll and griffons. Turning and clearing his throat, he stomped a hoof for silence before addressing the group. "Power's out. This is all running on basic charms and cantrips."
"What?" asked Bella. "What do you mean 'power's out'?"
Ruff cocked his head to one side, and impulsively reached out to push an alluringly big, red button that read 'Danger' in warning tape around it. His paw was soundly smacked by Penny's wing. He yelped and drew it back, pouting.
Hairpin opened her mouth, but Chip trotted in front of her. "Allow me," he said. For an answer, Chip spread his wings, the Bevelmiter tubes on his back flaring into life. "This is what I mean." He flapped his wings a few times to illustrate the point, surges of arcane energies flowing through the device, before flipping them closed and continuing. "A unicorn, even an average unicorn, wouldn't need this... thing, most of the time." Chip said, tapping the grappling claw machine with an armoured hoof. "This is made so anypony can operate it, just like, I imagine, almost everything else on this ship. And it works the same way my wings do."
"How in Equestria did you get such a hare-brained idea as that?" asked Carmin.
Grinning smugly, Chip dug into his saddlebags expertly with his muzzle and pulled out a crumpled flyer for the Neighvada Airshow. He unfolded it and placed it on the ground, pointing with a hoof as his friends crowded around to take a look. "See these pictures? I don't know if the photographer knew what he was taking a picture of, but I do."
Beth snatched the picture from Chip, and gasped. Staring at what slowly became clear was some sort of arcane-powered engines, the griffoness exclaimed, "Those are motive runes! Almost exactly the same as the ones on your wings!"
Chip just nodded. "With a bit of help, I can get this ship running in no time."
"But I thought you said it wasn't working?" asked Bella shrewdly, tapping Chip in his armoured chest.
Chip swelled with pride. "I'll deal with that," he said haughtily. Then he deflated slightly. "...I'm going to need a pencil, and some paper to write a letter on. I hope Spike's still up."
"Well before you write your Hearthswarming gift list," said Carmine, rolling her eyes, "we need to go find the bridge. Wherever these engines of yours are, we'll have to get to the bridge first."

The ship, as it turned out, was separated into three main decks, and each deck was split into two or three compartments. Hatches and staircases led between levels, and bulkhead doors could seal off sections incase of trouble. There were lifts for larger goods, but these were non-responsive. The hold was on the middle gundeck near the back, and the main bridge was on the forward upper deck. It had a breathtaking view of the hangar through extremely thick window-panes that appeared to be made out of solid diamond, and a straight run through to the aft observation deck, which was lined with a second set of bridge systems and fire controls.
What wasn't in the secondary bridge, were four large, ornate glass-and-brass tubes. Their design was tantalizingly familiar to the two Bevelmiter tubes on Chip's back, though far more utilitarian, and a lot bigger. They were also dark and lifeless.
Ruff scampered in, tail wagging furiously. He leaped onto various control panels and started flicking switches, turning knobs and pushing buttons. Leaping down again, he scampered right up to the window, planting his muzzle as hard against it as he could, fogging the pane with his breath. His tail wagged even more furiously as he turned to the group. "Wow, this place look just like episode ninety two of Daring Do, where the evil Count Chaos tried to steal the Golden Falcon of Arkronos! Evil Count has airship, and threatens to drop Daring into volcano, and—" Ruff bounded from panel to panel and back, before scampering into the middle of the room, muzzle still going. Chip chuckled, but tuned him out as he continued to examine the setup.
The Bridge was a large, semicircular space set on two levels. The lower level held the four pillars, which contained the ship's Bevelmiter tubes, and several other consoles for controlling the ship's systems. One major station held microphones, headphones and a large selection of dials – presumably this was communications. Another had what looked like an orrery and a neatly-rolled selection of maps, and the tools to make sense of them – obviously navigation and attitude control. The curious thing was a raised, rune-covered block featuring a neat hole, and four hoof-marks on the deck near the console, but set slightly apart from it.
"How's it feel, Pin?" asked Chip, ears pricking up, tail high in anticipation.
"I think... I think I can make it go where you want, if you can make it go at all," replied Hairpin thoughtfully, ears likewise pricking up as she poked and prodded at the semi-familiar controls. The pegasus pointed, "Those are engines, that's communications, somewhere around here will be the inter-ship systems, internal power regulators... and that," Hairpin pointed to the orrery-and-map station, "is celestial navigation."
Bella looked at Hairpin wordlessly for a second, then approached the arcane device, cautiously. She lipped at it experimentally, shy of engaging her horn with the magical artifact, noting how it moved and clicked as the gears moved smoothly on their tracks, before walking past it. She dropped her nose to the floor and sniffed gingerly at the hoof-shaped indentations before lifting her muzzle to pear at the horn-lock on the console. Gently inserting her horn into the aperture and placing her hooves into the indented metal-lined markings in the otherwise polished wooden floor, she gasped. "Guys, this is... this is unicorn-centric arcane technology!"
"I thought so," said Chip, almost to himself. "Most of the work can be done by any pony, but it figures there'd be things only unicorns can do. Be careful, but you're our mage, Bella."
"I th-think I can work this. How hard can it be?" Bella gulped, and her horn lit up as she explored the station for anything resembling a manual. Locating it in a cupboard and pulling it out onto the floor, she flipped it open. With a heavy sigh full of worry, she slumped to the floor in a comfortable heap and started to read.
Carmine and Hairpin shared an amused look with each other as they stared at the ecstatic Ruff as he energetically pushed buttons and twisted nobs. Carmine rolled her eyes and puffed her neck-feathers out in mirth. The elder pegasus winked, then gestured to the upper deck. Nodding in reply, Carmine headed up one of the large spiral ramps. Hairpin trotted eagerly up the other.
"I think I found defence and weaponry, if I'm reading the signs for cannons and shields right," said Carmine. She whistled appreciatively as she flicked a few switches. "This is one wicked bird, Chip. You know we're in so much trouble for being here, right?"
"In for a penny, in for the whole bit, right?" Chip answered, grinning hopefully up at Carmine as she leaned over the rails.
"I'd say what could possibly go wrong," chirped Carmine wryly, thumping the wooden banister twice with a foreclaw for luck, "but I really don't want to jinx it."
"I've definitely got the engines, and... some sort of auxilliary power systems," called Hairpin from the back of the bridge's upper deck. "I think I know what this all does."
"Good," replied Chip, his voice echoing, "you're in charge of teaching the rest of us then." He nodded his head thoughtfully as he paced around the cabin, "This is just perfect. I'll have to modify the runic structure to account for the four tubes, and we'll need a large amount of paint or ink for all the scrying, some fine brushes for the more delicate sigils..."
Bella shivered slightly as the pony-shaped dragon muttered to himself. She was no grand mage, but she was a magic-user. The tubes were quiescent, but they still exuded a latent force which tiptoed up and down her spine and whispered in her ears. Chip had to ask twice to snap her out of it.
"—what?" she asked, shaking her head as the dragon's voice bounced again through her head.
"I said 'which way's North'?"
"That way," said Hairpin from on high, pointing to the starboard side of the bridge. "They'll want to launch this thing at dawn, when the sun's behind it, so—"
"Thanks." Chip turned curtly away and dug into his saddle bags for a notebook as he summarily ignored the pegasus. She scowled, but he didn't see it. He pulled it out and flipped the pages, nodding to himself. Scribbling furiously, he tore off a leaf and incinerated it. Looking up, his eyes gleamed with mischief. "Now we wait."
Bethany peered darkly at the strange, pony-shaped dragon, and clacked her beak together thoughtfully.

It wasn't long before the first spurts of green fire began shooting from Chip's muzzle and lighting the cabin; Spike's Delivery Service was going into overdrive. Chip swiftly wrapped his wings around his head to mask the light, only parting them between breaths to bark out orders. Between deep flaming breaths, Chip had the rest of the team divvying up the supplies and placing them at strategic points throughout the cabin. First came pots and pots of ink; they soon dotted the room like metallic mushrooms. Then came paintbrushes. In next to no time, a wide selection of brushes were all neatly stacked according to size and specification.
When the delivery was finally over, Chip was panting with the strain. He knew he had no time to rest, though. "Guys," he said, chest still heaving, "we could be discovered at any moment. Let's get to work. Anybody with good brush-control, put your wings, hooves or paws up. I've got diagrams in my notebook, we'll take it steady." Seven pairs of eyes turned suspiciously towards him, and he couldn't help grinning excitedly.
Surprisingly, Bella proved to be a deft hoof – or rather horn – at the required inkwork, along with the fascinated Bethany. Soon, two huge, rune-covered magic circles took up most of the floorspace. The ink they were painted in was black, or appeared so in the grey half-light of the emergency illumination crystals, but as more arcane sigils and runes began to populate the floorspace, they began to glow with a silvery sheen. The sigil collection soon grew to cover most of the floor, stretching out past the four darkened pillars. Each device was circumscribed by a triangle, filled with yet more runes, though care was taken not to interfere with the existing arcane circuitry.
 Chip shooed the rest of the team out as floorspace became critical, and the spectators began to get in the way. The room was swiftly cleared of everyone but himself, Bella, and Beth. Ruff bounded away happily on all fours, all too happy to go exploring. Penny went with Hairpin and Carmine to the secondary bridge. There, the older pegasus mare gave an impromptu lesson on the basic, still-dormant systems of the airship.

As in Sharptooth's cave, the main focus of Chip's work were two circles, one inside the other, surrounding a central design containing the grounding runes where Chip was to stand. Between the two circles were a plethora of simple geometric shapes and other more esoteric, yet fiendishly detailed, designs which were almost too complex to follow. They seemed to move, to squirm as if alive, as if wrought in living flesh. As the last few brush-strokes neared completion, the air became thick with the taste of copper, and more than once the three found themselves shaking their heads to clear sudden bouts of vertigo.
Bella sighed with relief as she finished. Backing carefully away, she was almost fearful to break eye contact with the spidery scrawls. "What is all this, Chip?" she asked, voice quivering.
"It's a summoning and channelling circle," said Bethany, quickly, before Chip could utter a word. Stalking around the edges, the griffon pointed with a wing to the middle. "Chip's going to stand there when he starts the ritual."
Chip's muzzle dropped open, then closed again. "How did you—?"
"I told you when I first saw those new wings of yours, Chip. This isn't all pony magic. It isn't all dragon magic, either. Not entirely. This is griffon magic." Beth stalked through the cabin, picking her way between the outskirts of the sigils and runes, and poked Chip in the chest. "You're calling upon Gamigin, the ancient lord of horses, to oversee the transfer. You might have an easier time with Forneus, since you're more of a dragon these days. So tell me, where did you learn it?"
"My dad, Sharptooth I mean—"
"A dragon came up with this?" Bethany's dark, mottled head-feathers rose in surprise.
Chip shook his head, "Nuh-uh, this is from a unicorn pony called Bevelmiter. These are Bevelmiter tubes," Chip added, pointing to the four devices, each on a pillar. "I thought his work was lost, or at least a well-kept secret, but Hairpin—"
Beth shook her head and interrupted. "You don't understand. My dad, my hatch-dad, was a Magus.... well, a thaumatologist. My mom's a Sentinel, that's why we're only Clan affiliated, unlike Carmine who was born into it. Dad though, he took the Mystic Arts seriously. Mom wants me to be a Sentinel like her, or even a Kingdom Knight, but Dad kept hoping I'd be a Magus like he was."
"And?" Chip swallowed. Now, if ever before, he was walking on eggshells.
Beth turned away, surreptitiously wiping at her eye with a claw so Chip wouldn't notice. She sniffed to clear her nostrils, then turned back, gaze searching Chip's muzzle. "Before he died, he used to teach me about scrying and rune-crafting. And if my dad saw what you'd made here, he'd tell you to run. Chip, this is dangerous. Are you sure—?"
Chip spread his wings and stomped a hoof impatiently, but his expression was pleading, almost hurt. "Beth. I know what I'm doing."
Beth's visage darkened. "You can't, Chip. You just can't." Beth's eyes were wide as she backed away to gesture with a wing at the plethora of designs. "These aren't just pictures, Chip. You're touching another world!"
"I've done it before, Beth!" shouted Chip. Wincing as his voice echoed through the ship, he added more quietly, "I can't stop now."
Beth set her beak. "I wish you would reconsider. We can take a look at this spell, and—"
"And what? This work is hundreds of years old, and you... you want to fix it? It's beyond you!" Chip stomped a hoof in frustration, spreading his wings, curling them around in a predatory display of anger.
Bethany's claws rent the wooden panelling on the floor as she subconsciously answered his challenge. "If it's beyond me, it's certainly beyond you, Chip!" she cried, voice echoing through the ship. Startled, she was suddenly reminded that they were supposedly depending on stealth. She crouched back, but still glared fiercely.
"I can't let Akhekhu get away with killing my parents!" Chip hissed. "You don't know—!" Immediately, he broke off.
Bethany screeched back angrily, claws and tail lashing, and Chip turned away. Swallowing heavily, he turned back to look at her. "I'm sorry. I forgot..."
"You don't forget something like that." Bethany turned away, almost hiding her head with a wing. Her voice was flat, emotionless.
"No, you don't, do you? Not really." Chip looked away too, but when he turned back, his gaze met hers, and found understanding.
Bethany sheathed her wings again. "It's okay. I... I know why you're doing this. We went out and... and the Protectorate Knights, they... they killed the hydra that took Dad. And I watched."
"My hydra is still out there, Beth," growled Chip, spreading his own wings reflexively. "That's why I've got to do this."
"I... understand you, you... you doofus." Bethany grinned suddenly, the corners of her beak turning up. "I just want you safe. Car'd never forgive me otherwise."
"The only way I can be safe, ever, is if I do this."
For a long moment, the two friends locked gazes. Finally, Beth nodded. "We each have our hydra, huh?"
"Chip, are you really sure you want to do this?" Bella blurted, startling Beth and Carmine. She shied back as the other two turned to face her. "I mean... the king's jewels, the staff... who says we'll find them? We didn't even know for sure they existed until last night! How are we going to find them? How is anyone going to find them?"
Chip looked down at his hooves for a long moment, then looked up. He took a deep breath, and then levelled his gaze at the unicorn. "I know they exist, Bella. That means she knows they exist. All of this, everything, has been leading us here. At every turn, Akhekhu has been one step ahead. Until now. If we do this, we have one chance to not only take the lead on this wild goose chase, but to end it. To beat her. And we can't trust anyone else with it."
"But—" Bella said, ears back, one hoof raised.
Chip stomped a hoof, causing Bella to flinch. "More than that, Bella, we have to do it, because whether or not we carry on, Akhekhu will, and whether she finds the jewels or not, you can bet she'll use even the promise of them to raise Tartarus itself for everyone else in Equestria. The only way anyone, anywhere, is safe, is if we find those jewels first. This is all a game to her, and until now, she held all the pieces."
Slowly, reluctantly, Bella put her hoof down. "I... hate it, but you're right. I hate it because... you're my friend, but since you came, there's been nothing but trouble. And you're right, it'll just get worse. If Celestia can't keep us safe, who can? If this is a game—"
"Then it is one we can't not play." Beth raised one claw in a fist, holding it out in front of her. "I'm with you, Chip, until the end."
"Me too," said Bella, placing her hoof on the pile.
Chip added his own. "Thank you," he said, shaking the proffered limbs.
"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Beth, looking from one friend to another. "Let's get a move on!" She nudged the unicorn with her beak, then gestured out of the room with a wing.
Bella gave Chip a look that said stay safe, then she turned and trotted out.
Beth followed her, but at the doorway she turned and held one fist-clenched claw aloft in what Chip recognized as a hunter's salute. "Good luck!"
A few minutes later, Chip stood in the archway that led to the secondary bridge. He shivered and tried to ignore how the glowing runes on the floor made his eyes itch. Breathing deeply, he stepped forwards. Almost immediately, he felt pressure pushing him back. He grit his teeth and strode onwards, ignoring the whispers and chittering voices. Picking his way carefully through the sigils, he placed his hooves on the four grounding runes, closed his eyes, and opened his mind. The power, when it found him, was white-hot and burning. It was familiar, but it was no less painful. As it flowed through him, it felt like his veins were on fire. He stretched his wings out, all muscles tense, as his heart spasmed. It felt like he'd been punched in the gut. For a brief eternity, the weight on his shoulders threatened to crush him out of existence, and then the dam broke. Ethereal flames roared down every brushstroke, boiling in the grooves of every carved rune on both Chip's flight-saddle, as well as the four pillars. With a painful thump-thump, his heart started beating again. With every palpitation, the four new Bevelmiter tubes answered, the star-metal buried within their structures twitching, glowing... and finally rising into the air, spinning about their central axis.
Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump went his heart, and the devices glowed and hummed in concert as they burst into life. With a great in-rushing of air, Chip began to breathe again, muzzle open in a soundless scream as the four new thaumic engines bonded with him. The ink on the floor burned brighter than ever, but rather than easing up, Chip felt another surge of agony slam into him. He fell to his knees as the very superstructure of the ship itself buckled and groaned. In horror, he looked down at his hooves, eyes unseeing. Two decks below, two more Bevemiter tubes began to buck and twitch, sending a torrent of power exploding through his body.
Thump-thump, thump-THUMP, THUMP-THUMP!
The blood hammered in his ears, stars splaying chaotically through his peripheral vision as his body fought against his spirit to remain as one. Chip gasped for breath, keeling over and twitching, as he struggled to attune the two unexpected and humongous engines. Rolling onto his belly, sweat falling off his body in sheets, he grit his teeth and stood slowly up. Tasting blood, he spat. He'd bit his tongue. He closed his eyes and growled, and forced his will down and into the devices... and suddenly the pain was gone. The airship lurched as Chip spread his wings anew, and the ship answered. Opening new eyes, the young pony-shaped dragon felt something entirely unique: the embrace of an aerial battleship that answered to his every whim. It felt like he was fifty foot tall, and over a hundred foot long...
Revelling in his new power, Chip let loose. Drive chambers came online, crystal arrays began to spark and glow, arcane energy flowed through the ship in a tsunami of mystical might. Somewhere, deep inside the ship, great engines came on line, roaring into life like unchained beasts, and the airship began to rise.

There are few experiences more overwhelming than that of a fully operational machine the mass and dimensions of a medium-sized, four-story country house bursting into life, especially when your brain is telling you that you are that medium-sized, four-story country house. The floor, walls and ceiling thrummed and shook, doors and hatches slammed as the deck tilted, and all the instrumentation and lighting flickered into life.
Whum-whum-whum-whum... the main drive shifted into gear and motive crystals ignited as the Great Harmony rose on gossamer wings skywards. There came the deafening screech of metal sheeting being torn asunder as the fuselage of the airship forced its way defiantly through the roof of the hangar, the puny structure tearing like paper before the onslaught of the mighty war machine.
At the sudden motion and distressingly violent sounds from outside, all of Chip's friends bundled onto the bridge, eager to help, or at least to discover just what in the nine realms was going on.
"CHIP!" yelled Carmine, shouldering her way past her friends and galloping down the corridor to the upper deck of the primary bridge. "What in Tartarus' name was that racket!?"
Chip stood as resplendent as he could in the centre of the room, lit by four ethereal furnaces. Sweat steamed off his flanks and blood dripped freely from his lips. Privately, Carmine fought against the urge to swoon. Wings spread, his eyes seemed to glow as flames splayed around his muzzle. "We're moving!" he yelled triumphantly, as with a distant rumbling crash, the last of the hangar was destroyed.
"You're going to have the entire Equestrian air force and military all over us! Couldn't you move quietly!?"
"I don't think airships like this do 'quiet'!" shouted Chip, raising his voice over the sounds of destruction from outside, grinning like a maniac.
"Well you won't be doing much else but counting the bars on your cell window at this rate! Do you even know where we're going?"
"I know where, I'm not sure how. That's where you lot come in." Chip closed his eyes, muzzle lifted skywards as the morning sun suddenly streamed in through the windows. "Bella, Beth! You two are navigation and flight control."
Beth twitched at the sound of her name. She furrowed her brow and flattened her ears against her head. "I'm not sure I know how to fly this thing, Chip."
"Don't worry, I'll be doing most of the flying. You just keep her steady until I'm ready for the next phase."
"You're flying the ship, Master? All by yourself?" Hairpin blinked, gaze roving around the control room, unable to believe either her ears or her eyes even as she watched and felt how he was manipulating the massive craft.
"It's hard to explain," replied Chip, "but I kind of am the ship. Ruff, take a look at the intercom, we're going to need it, especially if the Wonderbolts come gunning for us. Hairpin, you work out the rest of the ship's thaumic systems. That leaves Penny and Carmine on engines and defense."
"On it," replied Carmine. Leaping up to the second deck again, she disappeared from view as she inspected the weapons console. Peering back over the railings, she shook her head. "No can do, it's like it's not turned on or something."
"I'll take a look at the power systems, see if I can do something about it," shouted Hairpin, leaping into the air and joining Carmine. Pointing to the upper deck's consoles, she added, "Both those systems are primarily controlled from the engine room on the lower deck. Get down there, get on the intercom, and see what you can do so we can get this thing in high gear."
Carmine opened her beak to complain, looked out the window, and shut it again. "Aye, aye, Cap'n," she squawked, saluting with a wing, unable to hide the grin. Hairpin grinned back, flicking her tail.
"Hey, no fair! I'm the captain!" yelled Chip, stomping a hoof.
Hairpin stuck her head over the railings, and stuck her tongue out at Chip. "You're the ship's pilot, I'm the captain!"
Appearing next to the pegasus, the griffoness squawked loudly and spread her wings as she took a full stance held up by the railings. "Avast ye scurvy landlubbers! Look lively! T'is a pirates life we lead!" Carmine leaped over the railing and swooped down the corridor, heading for the lower decks.
Giggling helplessly, Penny scrambled for the hatch to the engine room as she followed her. "Arrr!" she said in a mock-growl, covering one eye with a wing.

Whistler shifted in his nest. Out of habit, he pulled at the collar, but by now it was more to settle it comfortably than to remove it. She had rewarded him for playing with it, since arranging it neatly was more or less all he could do. She rewarded him for defiance, since she said it made him look impressive. She rewarded him for obedience, since that pleased her directly. She rewarded him for escape attempts, and called it 'exercise'. And with every wave of love, he tasted the energy she could give him... it was more than he could ever hope to consume. And he wanted more. And more. And more. And the only way to get more... was to please her. It had been subtle, at first; more reward for distinctly pleasurable actions, less reward for the less desirable actions. Gratuitous rewards for merely 'not behaving badly'. Then it had become more... direct. He hated it. He hated her. He loved her.
To a changeling, love was heady stuff. He could still remember 'before', and it was like... fresh zap apple cider, or... or mother's fresh-baked carrot-bread. Mother... he shook his head, but he could not deny it. Akhekhu had become his queen, supplanting Emerald, and it was all down to his changeling nature. Love was so much more than merely food, and the love of a dragon... that had been the most incredible part. She loved him. It didn't matter to him that she saw him as a pet or a plaything – at once both more and less than a slave – because the raw adoration that her owning him, body and soul, sent his way was... incomparable. He was as much a slave to his own nature as he was to the fearsome blue dragon.
He hated it, he despised it, but when she was proud of him – albeit pride in her own might and majesty at being able to subdue such a creature as he – the delirium-inducing nectar of her feelings buoyed him far beyond the meagre morsels portioned out by Emerald. He couldn't even properly hate himself, because he was what he was, the dragon's whore.
"Attend me, my pet. I have need of you."
The dragon's inner voice was smooth in his mind. She did not order him, she requested. An involuntary shiver of delight ran up and down his spine. It was good to be needed.
He struggled fully awake and stood up, stretching and preening himself. He chewed at his hide-like carapace, snipping off minute pieces and polishing rough spots. His wing demanded a lot of careful attention so it would properly shine, and his tongue and lips buffed his legs and hooves to a mirror-like sheen as he rubbed them against his muzzle. He would look good for his mistress; it was, after all, time for breakfast. "I come, my lady," he said to thin air. She would hear him. She could always hear him, just like Emerald once had. He loped through the cave system, the short journey just enough time to freshen himself up. On the first day, back when he had still foolishly been attempting to escape, she had presented him with his own sleeping cave. It was low, close, and dark. The diamond dogs had carved it out for him. It had been at once far enough away that he could skulk around and be rebellious, but close enough to be at hoof when Akhekhu called. The pride she had felt at presenting him with such a gift had been one of the first tastes of her brand of 'love'. It had been an easy pill to take that night, as he had wallowed in her approval.
Entering her chambers, he bowed low, spreading his wings and falling to one knee.
"Rise, my pet." Her true voice echoed and rumbled through the cavern. "I have another gift for you, should you be willing to take it."
He raised his gaze and looked at the blue dragoness intently, confusion writhing in his bones. "What is it?"
"Your freedom, of a sort." The dragoness smiled widely as he started in shock. In answer to his silent gasp of surprise, she waved a claw, idly, as if swatting a fly. Before her, hanging just above his eye level, appeared a sphere of green light. It pulsated and spun chaotically, before calming and becoming opaque. Then an image appeared in the centre of it.
Gasping again, his wings buzzing frantically, Whistler gazed at a sight both foreign and utterly familiar. Walls of dark chitin, softly green glowing lanterns, and sleek shapes crawling, leaping and flittering from place to place. And in the centre of it, a changeling. Not just any changeling though, this was one he knew very well.
"Queen Emerald of the Firelands hive, I, Lady Akhekhu, greet you." The dragoness was smug and self-satisfied, yet regal and refined. Emerald, however, hissed and spat.
"What is the meaning of this!? Remove yourself from my presence, lizard!"
"Come, come, such animosity does not befit your station. I mean you nothing but well. I intend to make you an offer you would do well to consider."
"Speak then, carrion-eater." Emerald glowered from her throne, her agitation sending drones buzzing angrily around her, futilely attempting to protect their queen from the intangible threat.
Gesturing again, Whistler felt the eye of the orb fall upon him, and the immediate touch of the hive queen. Rather than filling him with instant adoration and longing, the touch was... beguiling, but without the sense of urgency and propriety it had once had. Emerald was, he realized, not like him in the same way she was not like her drones. The realization was staggering; Akhekhu owned him in more than just mind and spirit, she had manipulated his body too.
"Whistler?" croaked Emerald, eyes going wide. The queen sat up straighter in her throne. "What have you... where is my book? Where are the rest of my minions?"
"All your minions are dead, my dear, or—" Akhekhu placed a paw on Whistler's neck, running her claws possessively along it, smoothing down his frill-like mane with her talons, "—mine. As is the book. I offer you, though, something you lack." She almost purred with satisfaction as the changeling shivered ecstatically at her touch.
"And what would that be?" The hive queen narrowed her eyes, baring her fangs. Her wild, flame-like mane whipped to and fro, mirroring her inner anger, though externally she remained cool and aloof.
"I offer you... direction. I offer you knowledge. And I offer you a mate."

With a loud whoop, Chip poured on the power. In response, the ship surged upwards and broke through the clouds like a dolphin leaping above the waves. The deck lurched, throwing Bella into Beth. The griffon squawked in irritation, and hissed at Chip. "Get a hold of yourself, dragon-boy!"
"Sorry," he said, wincing apologetically. "She's a bit bigger than I'm used to. It doesn't help I can't really see where I'm going, I just kind of... feel it."
The deck lurched again, this time throwing both Bella and Beth into Hairpin and Ruff. Grumbling under her breath, the griffon extracted herself from the pile of hooves and fur. She lashed her tail in irritation as she shook herself off. "You have flown before, right? Or did Sharptooth just drop you on your head?"
Chip's muzzle formed a thin, hard line. "That wasn't me, that was them." He pointed out the huge bay window, where three multi-coloured streaks had strafed past and were coming around for another run. "Taking us down again, the low cloud cover today might give us some cover."
One of the pegasi pulled up short, slamming her wings together. The airship bucked the other way, dropping like a stone through the clouds. Moments later, the grey expanse of nothing parted to reveal the same airforce base they'd only recently escaped from.
"Pull up you dodo!" screamed Beth, holding onto her station with both hind hind paws, her wings and foreclaws.
"Careful Chip, you can't fly these things like they're just big pegasi!" cried Hairpin in warning, face appearing once more over the balcony.
"I'm trying!" replied Chip, eyes wide and frantic.
For his part, Ruff had a powerful grip on a railing that let him stay with his muzzle planted up against the windows. "They coming back!" the pup shouted, pointing excitedly.
 "How are those defenses coming?" yelled Chip, voice echoing oddly. After a moment's searching, Beth realized it was also coming from the speakers arranged around the room..
There was an answering crackle, and then Penny's voice emanated from one of the same speakers. "Still looking! There's a lot to look at!"
"We've got no time for sight-seeing!" argued Chip, stomping a hoof, his amplified strike against the deck reverberating like a gunshot.
"Then by all means," snarked Carmine, "you can bring your hide-bound backside down here and fix it yourself!"
"Can't! Too busy flying the ship!" shouted Chip, leaning to one side. The airship dipped with him. "Just start pushing buttons!"
"Push buttons, he says, do something, he says. Like I've been in an airship before..!" Carmine's voice dwindled away as she moved away from the intercom.
"Ruff has something!" squeaked the diamond dog excitedly. He had abandoned his window-seat and was clambering bodily over the controls. Pointing and wagging his tail, he looked up at Chip and flipped a switch. The clanking of hatches and other reinforced portals slamming shut was audible. Almost immediately, the intercom crackled into life again.
"What in the nine realms did you morons just do!?" hissed Carmine. Her voice was loud and scratchy. Chip winced, he could almost see her pecking at the delicate machinery in anger.
"Ruff bought us some time, that's what, by keeping them out if they were stupid enough to try to get in." Chip spread his wings, and the ship's rapid descent ceased. There was a momentary feeling of weight and vertigo as it stabilized. "How's the search coming on?"
"It'd go smoother if you kept her steady," grumbled Carmine over the radio. "Penny fell down a flight of stairs during that dive of yours a minute ago, when you apparently forgot the rest of us are still bound by gravity. She's behind a door. It's... a big door. It's very thick, and it's very locked. Thanks for that by the way, Ruff." Carmine's sarcastic reply made the pup whine, his ears going flat.
"Ruff sorry!" he said, tail between his legs.
"Don't worry, I'm okay," echoed Penny's voice on the same intercom. "Just bruised is all. I... I don't know where I am though."
"Can you describe it?" Chip said, stepping forwards. "Hairpin might know what it's for, and how to get out."
"It's a largish, spherical room with some sort of... big funnel all along one wall, the door's off to one side. I'm standing on some sort of raised platform... Can you get me out?"
"Working on it!" said Chip, calling out to thin air. "Hairpin? You got any ideas?"
"...I think I might have something, actually." Carmine's voice crackled hesitantly over the airwaves. "There's a button with the same picture on it as is on the door that Penny fell through. What do you think I should do?"
"Push it?" asked Chip.
"Don't push it!" yelled Penny. "Wait, do push it! if it doesn't open the door, it might open a hatch or something. I think I can get out of here by... yeah, I think there's a light or—"
"—Okay, pushing the—" began Carmine.
"—No! I changed my mind! Don't push the—!"
Chip felt the system power up, like an extra heart beating faster and faster. "Pen?" he called. "Penny, what's going on?"
"I d-don't know... I f-feel funny, like—"
"Pen get out of there!"
"How!?" yelled the distraught pegasus.
Hairpin leaped for the nearest microphone. "Flap your wings! Can you get up and out of there?!"
"O-okay, I-I'm gonna take a look-see..." Penny lifted her wings once, looked towards the ceiling and brought them down in one mighty swoop.
Almost apologetically, a siren and an alarm bell both began to wail, and a red strobing light filled the bridge.

Flame Spire tilted his wings, went into an inverse immelman and spun on his hooves. It was a move he'd practiced time and time again. He could do it on a haypenny bit. Below him, the Great Harmony rocked and bucked like a bronco with one of them diamond dog mutts on it as the commandeered airship was buffeted with storm-blasts and lightning bolts. Putting his hoof to an ear, he addressed the rest of his wing. "What's the haps, ladies?"
"Lucky Dice here. Thaumic detector's useless, Flammy. Said it would be, those new engines... whoop! They make a lotta noise."
"Lightning?" Flame asked.
"Nada. Boys on the ground says they smell griffon, dog, pony and dragon. There's been too many spectators, no way to tell who or what it really was."
"Luna's dusty crotch!" Flame swore to himself. Aloud, he shouted, "We've got to get in there!" voice blaring over the comm device in his helmet.
"If we can't force her down, we'll—"
There was a crackle over the radio as every door, window and hatch slammed shut.
"—Well I'll be horn-bucked, they hit the lock down. This just got serious, ladies and gentlecolts." Pushing a hoof against his chest, he said aloud, "Get me Shining Armour and Celestia."
"What about Luna?" called Lucky, circling quickly and flapping his wings. "This is surely a National Security issue here."
"The Day Guard's been good with overt threats for the last thousand years. I don't need her batwinged—"
"Can it, Flame, before I rip your wings out," snarled Lightning Dust, swooping past. Pulling up and hovering, the indignant pegasus poked a hoof at Flame. "The Night Guard's solid, and you know it."
"Sorry Lightning, those guys just give me the heebie-jeebies."
"Well I go drinking with a few of 'em. No pegasus that can hold that much drink and still fight that well can be all that bad, batwings or no."
"You thinking of switching sides, huh?"
"Know what they say, once you go bat, you don't go ba—"
"Clear the net! Now, jokers!" Shining Armour's voice suddenly exploded onto the radio. "This is a military operation, not a damn night-club act. Get in gear or you're all on permanent latrine duty. Give me a sitrep, stat!" roared Shining Armour.
"We have a number of unknowns onboard the Great Harmony, sir. They've got her on lockdown," answered Flame Spire, tersely.
There was an astonished silence for several palpable heartbeats, before Shining barked out, "Intentions?"
"Also unknown, but... I don't know. They don't seem particularly hostile."
"Kids out for a joy-ride do not just sneak onto an Equestria Air Force base and steal a high-profile airship like the Great Harmony! Especially not an airship which hasn't been commissioned!"
Lightning Dust almost fell out of the air. "You saying that bird's supposed to be grounded?"
"Aye, Lieutenant. There's no way it can fly." Lightning could feel how hard Shining Armour was staring at the ship as he said that. It rendered her speechless.
"Well then, we can all go home," muttered Flame Spire darkly, "because we've been chasing swamp-gas, I suppose?"
"Uh, guys?" said Lucky Dice, breaking into the conversation. From his hesitation, it was clear he was manipulating his thaumic detector gear. Instinctively, the two other pegasi dove away from the ship. "This may not be what you want to hear," Dice continued, "but I think you need to be getting everyone the heck away from that thing and down to safety, pronto."
"Repeat that, soldier?" asked Shining Armour incredulously.
"I said wing it! They've powered up the—"

Inside the ship, Penny's wings almost connected in a single down-motion.
Flap went her wings.
There was a sound not unlike foompf.
Great machinery sprung into life, and a series of powerful detonations could be heard reverberating around the inside of the armoured chamber, each one getting louder and louder.
Foompf. Ka-thoom. Whomp. Whoooorrrrrnnnnn—
After a few seconds, the ululation began to grow louder, to an almost painful degree. Then two things happened. First, all the lights went out and the ship began to list helplessly. Moments later, there was a huge explosion which rocked the ship from stem to stern.
—BOOM!

Outside of the ship, a titanic blast-wave of air exploded from a curious vent in the front of the vessel. Crackling and singing with energy, the pressure wave spun in every direction, throwing off lightning bolts and thunderclouds. It scattered the meagre cloud-cover, that had until mere moments ago floated serenely over Neighvada, like pins in a bowling alley. It was even less kind to the pegasi, sending them careening and spinning off into space.
As for Groom Lake, the Neighvada Air Force Base, it was substantially unkind there too. The buildings therein all but exploded as the momentous pressure-wave levelled every single structure for several square miles, uprooted trees and, five miles away, toppled a freshly baked apple pie from Old Crusty Crabapple the baker's windowsill.

Silence reigned inside the ship, it was almost ghostly when compared to the raucous, wailing sirens of a few moments ago. The lights were out, the engines were dead, and – most worrying of all – there was no response from either Carmine or Penny.
"Chip?" asked Bella, voice soft and fearful. "What did you just do?"
"Me?" the young dragon protested.
"I think he just made a lot of people really upset," said Bethany, indicating the massive cloud of dust and debris which was still in motion ahead of the bow of the ship.
"But I didn't—" Chip began.
"He only just now made them upset?!" squeaked Hairpin, incredulously.
"When they arrest me," the griffoness stated calmly, "I'm claiming you chick-napped me and held me under duress. I'm turning Princess' Evidence against you."
"Gee, thanks," muttered Chip. Moments later, the lights flickered into life and the ship began to right itself. Chip shrugged his wings experimentally, breathing a sigh of relief as he felt the ship answer his motions once more. "Any idea what just happened?"
A speaker crackled into life. "H-hello?" It was Penny.
"Pen! Speak to me!" Both unwilling and unable to leave his station, Chip leaned frantically towards the sound of the young pegasus' voice.
"Chip!" yelped Penny, exhaling heavily in relief. "I just... I flapped my wings, I was trying to..." Penny sniffled, even through the intercom it was obvious she'd been crying and was wiping her muzzle with a hoof.
With another crackle, Carmine broke into the conversation. "I think we found the big gun," she quipped. "One problem," the griffoness added wryly, "it knocks out the engines when we use it."
"Remember when I said defense?" stated Chip drily.
"Yeah, I also remember when you said 'push buttons'."
"Yeah, well don't ever listen to me again."
"First and last time, dragon-boy," replied Carmine, chuckling. "I think she's coming back online though... how's she feel?"
Chip wriggled himself. "Sluggish," he called out. "Wait... Engine power's back. That's steering and attitude control! Here comes... I think that's communications, my ears just twitched. And that... oh, yes... that is the station we want. Hairpin, Beth, I need you to help Bella."
"Help Bella do what, Master?" asked Hairpin.
"I think I've figured the ship out enough to find what I was looking for."
"Meaning what?" asked Bella skeptically.
"Remember when I said this whole ship is built so that any pony can do anything? Well, certain things are a lot easier for a pony with a natural ability... in fact, certain things require certain abilities."
"Spit it out, scale-butt," demanded Beth.
"There's something hooked up to that orrery, Bella," said Chip. "It kind of feels like an engine, but what it definitely is, is a massive thaumic energy dump. I think I know what it does."
"Not making sense yet," hissed Beth, growling. "Stop trying to sound smart and give it to us straight!"
"Bella," said Chip, grinning hopefully, "how good are you at teleporting?"

Myristica and Cerasus swooped through the early morning air, whooping for joy as they chased each others' tails. The early morning fog was slowly being burnt off by the dawning sun, and the chill of the night was being replaced with the crisp, dry warmth of the day.
"Tell me brother, why does our princess have us out here?" asked Myristica, swooping around his herd-mate, nipping playfully at the other's ears.
"She said we would know when we saw it. We are to watch, but not to interfere. We're also not supposed to be seen," Cerasus chided, swatting with a wing.
Myristica snorted, alighted on a cloud and folded his legs under himself. "We are naught but simple pegasi, Cherry dearest, and—" Myristica gestured with a hoof, "—it is very dusty out today."
Cerasus, née Cherry, snorted wryly as a wave of dust and detritus blew in from the desert, boiling out of thin air to fall upon the countryside like a silent blanket. "Parlour tricks. We should remain vigilant, not engage in... frivolity, my dear Nutmeg."
Myristica leaned over and chewed on Cerasus' wings playfully. "We should. We really, really—"
Suddenly, there was an awful tearing, wrenching sound. Instantly, both thestrals were alert and in the air.
"'Meg?"
"The air force base! Follow!"
Two dark shapes took to the wing and sped through the air, swift and silent as arrows. Powering through the air, the two thestrals watched in amazement as one of the enormous hangars split like an egg, unfolding like the petals of some great, metallic flower. Emerging from the wreckage in a cloud of dust and debris, rose an airship. Iron girders slid across the envelope to crash against the ground in a tumbling heap. In seconds, the ship was free of the devastation, spreading stubby wings and powering skywards like some humongous bird of prey.
"That, I take it, is our target, Cherry dearest?"
"Nutmeg, I am not sure what else it could be. Stay alert, here comes company. The Blunderdolts are in town for the airshow."
"Oh please tell me I can take them out? Please?" Myristica begged, fluttering his eyelashes, watching as a trio of outliers engaged the airship.
"Negative, 'Meg, just observe... but if you do happen to let loose an accidental whirlwind, I think I'll look the other w—" Cerasus broke off as he felt the power buildup in the air around him. Turning, eyes wide with shock, he was just in time to see the airship explode with light as an earth-shattering blast burst from the nose of the craft, obliterating most of the base.
Nutmeg coughed nervously. "Uh, that wasn't me!"
Cherry just watched as debris rained around the ruined installation, muzzle open in shock. "I think I'm glad nopony knows we're here, 'Meg."
"Shouldn't we... do something?"
"Do what? They just blew up the base! Are you sure we're just supposed to watch? I mean they blew it up! They blew it all up! It's terrible!"
"R-relax, Nutmeg, I can't see how things could get any worse."
There came a meaty thunk as Cherry firmly planted his hoof on his muzzle. "You just had to say it, didn't you? You just had to—" Cherry's fur frizzed up as there was an enormous burst of energy. "I'm not going to look. I'm just... not going to look."

"You want me to what!?" Bella shouted, staring in horror at first Chip and then the faintly glowing hole in the side of the console. "That's impossible! I can't! Sure, I know the spell fundamentals, every filly learns it, every filly wants to be able to do it, but—"
"Bella, please! Hairpin'll help, she'll be able to guide you—" Chip pointed to the pegasus, who flattened her ears again her skull and bared her teeth. Ruff clung tightly to her legs, looking like he'd swallowed a bone.
"—But I can't teleport!"
"Listen to the filly, Master!" begged Hairpin.
"You can! You'll be fine! The ship knows how to do it, you just have to tell it where you want to be, and tell it to go!" Chip pleaded, staring frantically out of the windows. Ducking and weaving with his body, he sent the airship rolling and diving as he sought to evade the attacks.
"Please no, please don't! I can't—" Bella was sweating, backing away from both Chip as well as the Navigation station.
The ship bucked as it was buffeted again by renewed and far more angry attacks from the Wonderbolts. "You have to!" shouted Chip, stomping a hoof.
"But..." Bella stared in horror at the arcane device. "If I do it wrong, we'll... end up spread into a very thin paste across whichever part of Equestria I point us at! Or stuffed inside a mountain! Or worse! And I don't even know where you want to go!"
"Ruff not liking this idea," whined the pup, "maybe should—"
"No! We're past maybe!" growled Chip.
Puffing up her feathers until she looked almost three times her normal size, Beth leaped between Bella and Chip, talons bared. "Chip, that's enough! This is insane! You're scaring her!" Beth turned and pointed a talon at Bella, then looked back at Chip, breathing heavily. "...Tell the truth, you're scaring me."
Chip bared his teeth, for a brief moment, then deflated. "She can do it though, I know she can," he said. "This ship... you have to understand, with this ship, you're more powerful than an archmage! Telekinesis, telepathy... teleportation... it's foal's play! Just... please, try. This ship knows how, it'll work. It has to work."
"If you think—" snarled Beth, balling her claws into a fist and pointing one long, wickedly sharp talon at Chip.
"—I'll try," whispered Bella.
"What..?" asked Beth, blinking as she turned to the unicorn.
"I said I'll try, but only if Chip gives his word, that if I still don't want to do it, then he won't make me."
Beth clicked her beak angrily. "Your word as a dragon?" she asked, coolly.
Chip bowed his head. "I give you my word."
"But," whined Ruff, "what about the making into jam? The squeezing flat and spreading thin?" He stared worried at his paws, held horizontally together in front of his face, then back up at Bella.
"Don't worry about that now," said Chip, waving a hoof at the pup to be silent, "Just give it a go!"
Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Bella squared her hooves, placed them on the designs on the floor and, shaking, gingerly slid her horn into the hole. Instantly her face lit up with amazement. "Oh my... by Celestia's teeth! I can... I can see everything!"
"That's right, you just have to—"
"I think I get it! I can do it! I just have to... yes, I get it! Tell me, where are we headed?"
"There's only one place we can go right now – Leviathania!"
"The dragons'—!" Bethany whistled. "Last chance to bail out, kiddies," croaked the griffon, staring around the group before turning back to Bella. "Sure you know what you're doing?" she asked the unicorn.
"...No," said Bella, thoughtfully, "but when has that ever stopped us? Hold on to whatever you can find. Here... we... go..!"
Bella closed her eyes again and grit her teeth. Her horn flared into life, as did the console. Flames burst forth from the orrery, and it started to spin. Glowing brighter and brighter, it started to hum as the circular motion continued. Suddenly, it stopped with a loud click. There was a groaning note of protest from somewhere deep in the bowels of the ship, and Ruff felt his fur standing on end. Whining and scrabbling at his ears, the pup curled up in a ball. Bethany scooped him up, curling up with him and muttering litanies to whichever invisible being happened to be nearest. "Bella! Concentrate!"  she yelled, eyes wide and her little tufted ear-feathers sticking flat out in fear.
"I'm trying! Hold on! I've almost got it! I've almost—"
For an instant, the ship glowed brighter than the sun, then suddenly vanished, leaving only a clap of thunder rolling across the desert to mark its passage.