Twelve
Scootaloo
Just about everyone I knew was in the square when we arrived. Luna had brought Pinkie and her boyfriend/roommate Kyle as requested, and had received a clothing upgrade as well. Xekora's old garment, the pitch-black hoodie emblazoned with a golden triad, the trophy of his godhood, hung loosely on her shoulders. Luna had one like it once, but lost it upon being sealed away by her demented sister. The excessively long hood dragged on the ground behind her, and Xekora's dark sword and dagger both hung at her belt.
Sweetie Belle had returned with her eldest sister Opal, and her father Fafnir. She had been set up with most of her dad's old stuff- his Goldoan vest and headband- and with them on Sweetie Belle had started to look rather pirate-y. She also still carried her bow and arrows, as well as the Icarus Charm around her arm.
Also in the clearing were Spike and Fluttershy, who must have heard about what happened from someone. Fluttershy was a few month's pregnant as well, so we probably couldn't count on much help from her or Spike. Still, they had come to see us off all the same. The Scrabbit, Angel, had come as well, in most ways Fluttershy's adoptive first child. He hung out with the Crusaders on occasion, since he was only a year younger than most of us. Oddly enough, he had brought his weapon- a scythe still twice as tall as he was- probably just for a personal sense of security.
Rainbow Dash approached Pinkie and Kyle quickly. "Is it ready to go? Did you need any extra energy to power the thing?"
She shook her head. "It's ready to go. We've got more than enough fuel to get where we're going and back again. If everyone's ready, it's parked just on the fringe of the forest."
Parked? What are they talking about? I wondered, as the group moved through the streets in the opposite direction to reach the borders of the EverFree forest. When we emerged through the eastern gate, at least half of us stopped short. Before us was some kind of gigantic balloon, with a solid wooden basket at the base keeping it tethered to the ground. It looked like there was enough room in the basket for several people to stand, and as it turned out, that was exactly what we would be doing.
"Took us quite a long time to figure out exactly how to do it," Kyle explained, "but after studying the technology down in Cloudsdale for a while, we were able to draw up the schematics for this balloon-transport. This may only be the prototype, but we've successfully tested it dozens of times, so don't worry, it's safe."
"Woah, so we're going to fly out?" I asked. "Won't that be a little conspicuous?"
"Not while we still have the cover of night." Pinkie answered proudly. "And by the time morning comes, we'll be too high up and far from here for anyone to care about us too much."
"Where were you planning on going?" Angel inquired. "Though I think I have a guess."
"You're probably right, too." Dash answered. "All of Equestria is going to be looking for these four before long, so we're simply going to have to remove them from Equestria, at least for a while. Ivoire is closest to us, and we can get you there within a day by use of this balloon. We wouldn't want to leave you sweating on one of those desert islands, so we've arranged for enough energy to get you all the way to Windmill Promontory."
Angel cast a glance back at Fluttershy, who, after a moment's hesitation, nodded in sadness and resignation. "Then, I'd like to go with them. If they're going to be hiding out in another country, they need someone who knows how things work there, plus someone who isn't wanted to act as a messenger. The way I see it, I'm the best one for the job."
"It won't be too dangerous, right?" Fluttershy asked. "I mean, they'll just be staying in a quiet town while we sort things out, then come right back?"
It was Opal's turn to smile and nod. "That's the plan, yep. It was too risky to try and take any amount of money from the Eclipse treasury, so we took some gold directly from Icarus instead. You've got plenty enough to rent out a couple of rooms at the local inn for a week or two while we clear your names, and enough left over to live fairly comfortably too. I can't really see this mess lasting too much longer than that."
"We'll come back for you as soon as the coast is clear, then we can get back at these Order bastards." Dash promised. "Until then, just try and sit tight at the Promontory. It should go without saying that you should try not to draw attention to yourselves."
We all nodded, and Pinkie scrambled into the basket of the balloon, followed shortly by Kyle. They began preparing the thing for flight, affixing an energy core to a pedestal in the center and tossing what looked like bags of sand overboard. After enough of them had been removed, the two invited the five younger members of the gathered group to come aboard. Sweetie Belle climbed in first, followed shortly by Luna and Applebloom. I allowed Angel to jump in next, and I swung in last.
The interior of the basket wasn't anything fancy, but there were plenty of storage compartments on the walls and underfoot, and we were told that some food supplies for the trip and for a few days in our hideout had been loaded up already. Once everyone was ready, Pinkie instructed us to hold onto something, grabbed hold of a set of controls near the pedestal, and activated the energy core. Small amounts of fire energy were displaced into the actual balloon overhead, and soon the craft began to rise. I moved over to the edge to wave the rest of the people down below goodbye.
Doing so filled me with sadness, but also with hope. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Spike, Opal, Fafnir; we all had families waiting for us to return home, who would fight as hard as they could to make it safe for us to come back, and help to strike back against the Order. Until then, we just had to allow them to do what they needed to do and keep ourselves safe so we could see them again. And when we did, our families would be that much bigger.
Pinkie threw a lever forward, and the heat-energy changed trajectory slightly, causing the balloon to move forward. We continued to climb in altitude for a time, floating gently over our town, until she flipped another lever and the pedestal rose further into the balloon. Our altitude remained the same from here on out, and we began to accelerate. I watched for a few moments as our home town passed by beneath us, and we soon passed the western gate and entered the air-space over the southern fields.
At this stage, I broke my gaze from the ground below and slumped against the wall of the basket, exhausted. Applebloom promptly joined me, plopping down next to me with an extremely tired and weary look in her eyes. I gave her a terse smile and draped a comforting arm around her, which she accepted neutrally. We remained like this for a while, my own eyes growing heavy with sleep. The last thing I heard before I passed out was Pinkie saying 'we're getting ready to pass over Manehattan in a few minutes, if anyone wants to see.'
~
"Hey, guys. Applebloom, Scoots. Wake up. We're here."
I vaguely heard Sweetie Belle whispering to us, and my eyes fluttered open. The balloon had stopped, planted firmly on the ground, I could see the sky beginning to lighten with the onset of dawn. I couldn't see anything of the world beyond from where I lay, but I could feel and smell a definite change in the air, slightly salty as though we were near the ocean.
So we're in Ivoire now? I thought, shaking the sleep out of my head. Well, may as well get a look. We'll be out here for a little while anyway. I poked my head over the edge of the basket, and was treated to a view of what seemed like a whole different world. The island was made up of mostly grey stone, and pillars of it snaked lazily into the sky, while the stone underfoot had been worn smooth by weather and travel. A whole medium-sized town was built by the coast, all of simple wooden design, many built partway into the rock face behind it, and most with what looked like less advanced versions of the windmills once used in the ancient city of Cloudsdale. The balmy breeze wafted past and caused them to give a lazy turn, which I guessed must have fed power to something in the buildings.
Strangest about this place was the people inhabiting it. There were a few normal humans like us, but most of the people waking up to go about their business resembled owls more than humans. They still had hands, feet, and walked on two legs, but they were completely covered in grey or brown feathers, as well as having a beak in place of a nose. I didn't see a single one that didn't wear a small pair of spectacles. They all pretty much matched the description given to me of the Order's Number Five, Lucius. The clothing worn by all the people in this place was of a simple, elegant and light design, and often pretty seashells were affixed to the clothing or worn as jewelry. We caught several looks as we departed the balloon, though I figured it was more in awe of the strange flying machine than thinking we were weird looking.
"This does seem like a nice place." commented Luna, who hadn't said a word since the fight, or maybe she had and I was just asleep for it. She seemed to be in much better shape than she was when we left, that was for sure. "We suppose we could have been sent into temporary exile in less pleasant places."
"Huh." Sweetie Belle began, vaulting out of the basket. "I expected the owl-people, but I kind of expected to see more Scrabbits like Angel too."
"You don't see many Scrabbits out this far." Angel agreed. "My people tend to live further west, in the Aquamarine region and the western parts of Wisteria. Too warm around here for most of us, with our fur coats and all."
"I think I see an inn over that'a way." Applebloom stated, as the two of us followed the others out of the flying vehicle. Kyle remained within the balloon, but gestured for me and Angel to come over to him for a moment.
"You know, I may not be as close to you two as I could be, but I still feel like I should give you both some parting words, man to men, even if it's only for a little while." he said, running a hand through his hair. "It's up to you two to take care of the girls, you know. I don't think anything serious will happen in this next week or so, but I still expect you to live up to the manly code of honor and watch out for your team."
" 'Course." I said, nodding. "I pretty much planned to do that anyway. Crusaders gotta look out for each other, right?"
"Heh. Right. Anyway, try not to worry about it too much. Pinkie and I will head back to Equestria once you're all set, and we'll get this mess sorted out, I promise. Until then, just sit tight and try to wait it out. I know you'll be tempted to venture out and try to fight back at the Order yourselves, and you'll get that chance when the time comes, but for now the best thing to do is just to lay low."
"I understand." I answered, and Angel nodded in agreement. Indeed, the urge would surely be great to leap into action ourselves, but I had to believe that we would get our chance soon enough, and that we couldn't risk making ourselves obvious until our names were cleared. The two of us gathered up our limited belongings, and then hurried up to rejoin the girls in town.
END OF PART ONE