//------------------------------// // A Little Nuts // Story: Innavedr // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// “OoOoOoOoOoh...” Props cooed as she trotted across the widely-stretched upper deck of the airship, directly beneath the red crystal shard encased in metal rings. She brought her hoof up to stroke one of the vertical metal support struts built into the center of the craft. “I love the Noble Jury! And I think it's just because the Noble Jury loves me!” “Don't be silly, Propsy,” Ebon Mane murmured as he looked at a stairwell leading down towards the lower decks about halfway towards the ship's stern. “You're a pretty pony, but an inanimate airship isn't capable of feeling anything. You can have my word on that.” “Sailboat pony's word is the spittiest of spit!” Floydien grunted from up ahead. Pilate and Rainbow Dash observed as he trotted towards a structure on the edge of the deck, closest to the bow. A series of double doors awaited him. “Nancy Jane loves all boomers who can respect her and the air that serves as the arena of her respect!” With one zap, he opened the wide doors, revealing an elaborate cockpit facing east towards the doors of the immense hangar. A window wrapped majestically around the control console. Two vertical shafts led up from the lower decks, but they looked too small for the elk in question. The others watched as Floydien marched straight up to the console and gave his antlers a flick. A bolt of energy flew into the consoles, and they instantly lit up, responding to his magical touch. With a whurring sound, a compartment opened in the deck and a broad seat lifted up, shaped perfectly for Floydien's haunches. He reclined, letting out a heavy breath, as if relaxing for the first time in months. “Ahhhhh, blessed Nancy Jane. Your hug is like being swallowed by the heaven glimmers, yes yes.” With careful pulses of energy emitting from his horn, he activated the ship's systems one by one. The ponies turned—flinching slightly—as the rings above them started to rotate around the red crystal. The long crimson shard fluctuated from within, swirling with effluent energy sparked by Floydien's controls. As Simon scurried down into one of the crawlspaces, Props trotted briskly towards the uppermost cockpit, speaking from behind the elk's shoulder. “You can directly control the enchanted skystone with pure psionic thought?!” Props fanned herself. “Yeesh, elk guy! You just get handsomer all the time!” “Skystone is but a piece of Nancy Jane's magnificent glimmer,” Floydien said. “Yes yes, true essence of her power stems from beloved's womb.” “Yeesh, this is either too good to be true or too wacky to be real,” Rainbow Dash muttered. “I would imagine a zeppelin of this sort of manufacturing would be a swift vessel indeed,” Pilate remarked. “But could it last the shelling outside to outfly the Ledomaritan armada?” “I'm gonna go check out Nancy Jane's womb!” Props sang as she shimmied down one of the chutes. “Propsy!” Ebon Mane groaned. He galloped after her, crawling nervously down the opposite shaft. “Propsy, wait! For crying out loud...” “I need to figure out what we're dealing with,” Rainbow Dash said over the sound of rolling thunder. The entire hangar shook around them as she approached one of the chutes. “Make sure Mr. Moosealot doesn't take off at random or something.” “I will... stick by his side,” Pilate said with an awkward smile. “Hmmph...” Floydien glanced over his many instruments while muttering out the side of his muzzle. “Striped boomer's painterly friend thinks Floydien is full of spit.” “She... is fiercely defensive when it comes to her friends, and a great deal is riding on what happens next,” Pilate said. “You and your airship could be of a great deal of help to us, Mr. Floydien.” “Perhaps for too long has she been assaulted by the stabby stabby,” the elk grunted. He barely had room to tilt his head left or right, on account of the antlers sandwiched within the cockpit. “Is hard to trust somepony beyond the glare in their eye.” “I think she's managed well, all things considered,” Pilate said. “Same goes for most of us in our merry little party.” His lips curved. “Yourself included. If we weren't cut from the same cloth, I'd have a great deal less hope about this situation.” “Nnngh... Your tongue sparks for the heavens with far too much eager-eager,” Floydien said. “But it sparkles, yes yes. Nancy Jane is happy to have you in her embrace.” “And the others...?” “One boomer at a time.” Pilate chuckled. Meanwhile, down below, Rainbow Dash was slowly climbing down the thin vertical chute, a difficult task in all of her rattling armor. Her ears twitched, listening for the other two ponies who had descended before her. As she descended the first level, she looked towards the bow to see an enclosed chamber about the same cramped size as the cockpit, covered all over with even more densely packed instrument panels. She looked over her shoulder to see a long, thin hallway piercing through several bulkheads. Several doors on both the starboard and port side of the vessel opened to tiny rooms, and several trots down the corridors opened up to larger compartments, but it was too dim to make out any details at that distance. Crawling down, Rainbow Dash came upon the lower decks as the chute ended. A swath of light ran across her face. She squinted towards the bow, seeing a small and cozy observation room, with hammocks hung from the bulkheads, swaying before a bulbous bubble of a window that looked out upon the depths of the hangar outside the Noble Jury. In one of these netted beds, Simon had found a cushion of rags to lie down in. He curled into the fabric, his tail twitching against the tesla-coils fitted into his skull. The rodent's eyes shut to the crazy world as more waves of thunder echoed from the shelling outside. The hammocks swayed, and Rainbow Dash felt herself teetering backwards towards the ship's stern. Turning around completely, Rainbow Dash trotted nervously down the long thin corridor of the bottom deck. The walls felt immensely cramped and claustrophobic, and it made the pegasus feel anxious in a way she hadn't experienced in a long time. She couldn't fathom how an elk with such immense antlers could navigate his own vessel with the corridors being this small. Nevertheless, the voices of ponies drove her forward, and she followed the sound with eager swiftness. The corridor didn't go on for too long, as it turned out. Just beyond the observation room was a slightly larger chamber furnished with desks and lined with shelves fitted with dozens upon dozens of books. Maps hung along the few spare walls that weren't obstructed by tool-racks or cartography equipment. “Yeah, I think I know where Pilate's gonna feel at home,” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself, quickening her pace. The chamber in front of her was sealed off by a door with a valve, but that door was hanging loosely open. She swung it the rest of the way with a squeaking noise. A bright room lingered beyond, this one brighter than the rest of the chambers that she had seen throughout the ship, not to mention larger. “—but that's where you're wrong, Ebony! This room is almost entirely intact, as well as most of the instruments! Heeheee! Oooooh, it's so beautiful!” Props was spinning around the room, her blonde mane flouncing as she cooed at an elaborate engine stretching from floor to ceiling in the middle of the chamber. A metal ring had been constructed just to the side of the engine, closer to the stern, but there was nothing within the incomplete cylinder. Nevertheless, several cables swam from the ring and into the body of the engine, as if the cylinder was acting as a sort of auxiliary energy source, though there was nothing there. “Don't you love it?! Don't you love Nancy Jane's womb?!” “Yeesh, stop calling it that, Propsy!” Ebon Mane groaned, face-hoofing as he stood besides a steaming instrument panel along the port side. “I mean—isn't it obvious to you that Nightshade's goons went all over this place, butchering things left and right? I mean, look! This is the beta version of the energy core that you and Clark were designing! What if they messed with... I dunno... the wires or something? This thing could explode as soon as Floydien launches it, for all we know!” “Impossibruuuu!” Props hopped around, her blue eyes sparkling at the many consoles. “They gave us detailed schematics of this room and this room alone! It's just like they described it! Nothing vital has been exposed! They wanted to fly this thing back to the front, after all! Why would they want to make it inoperable?” “I... I don't know...” Ebon folded his forelimbs with a sigh. “It's just that the entirety of Nightshade Industries hasn't struck me as very... mmm... confident.” “You could say that again...” Rainbow Dash trotted up and gingerly patted the engine with an armored hoof. “I've come across several bad guys during my travels, and most of them were—well—a great deal more organized than this whole 'Nightshade' business.” She glanced at the others with a bitter smirk. “Just goes to show that you can't toss your bits at just anything and expect it to work.” “Oh, this ship works alright!” Props sang. “And I caaaaaaaan't waaaaaaaaait to flyyyyyyyy itttttt!” “Pffft. Ohhhhh Propsy...” Ebon Mane smiled, his teeth showing. “Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself? What makes you think Floydien would even share his 'beloved Nancy Jane' with you? He doesn't seem to be all that trusting of strangers.” “He seems to cherish everypony whom Mr. Pilate has come into contact with?” “Yeah, well, I just think you've fallen head over heels with this zeppelin.” “But... it's... so... sparkly!” Props leaned over and nuzzled the engine until it burned her cheek red with a puff of steam. “Mmmm... skystone energy amplifiers are practically humming with ethereal combustion! I could just soak in it! Heeheehee!” “Ahem...” Rainbow Dash pivoted until Props was completely out of her line of sight. “I think we need to... uh...” She adjusted the collar of her armor as the redness left her muzzle. “Go... round up the others n'stuff?” Ebon gritted his teeth as the ship rocked from intense shelling beyond the hangar. “It'd also be pretty swell if we thought ourselves a way out of here.” “Look, I'm working on it, sailboater.” “Ugh... not you too...” “Cheer up, Ebony!” Props chirped as she trotted around the engine some more. “We've got ourselves some smexxy wings here! That's a good thing, right?” “You're just delirious...” “To each their own, dolt colt! You'd be delirious too if you found the engine room of your dreams!” “Thankfully, I'm not wooed by skystone... auxiliary... spark wires... or whatever...” “Well, I did pass by a pretty nifty kitchen on the upper level before coming here.” Ebony's pupils shrunk as his ears flattened. “A kitchen...?” “Yup!” “This... this airship has a kitchen?” “Yup yup! And a mess hall—” Ebon was charging the open door to the ship's stern in a burgundy blur. “Oh jeez oh jeez oh jeez! I gotta see this!” “H-hey!” Rainbow Dash gawked at him, stretching a hoof out. “Don't run off! Now's not a time for us to split off like foals at a playground!” “Oh, relax, girrrrl!” Props winked at her. “Take a seat! We can relax with the engine and the steam and the sweat!” “Uhh... yeah, no.” Rainbow Dash glided towards the door. “Ebon! Dude, wait up!” She found herself in a stairwell, judging that it must have led up to where she saw the entrance at the ship's top deck earlier. Climbing up a level, she looked towards the bow, and immediately saw a small, metal-laced chamber where Ebon Mane stood in the center of many shelves, freezers, sinks, cutting boards, and basins. “Look, I'm glad you guys have found your dream come true, but we gotta work together on this and—” “It's... so... organized...” Ebon murmured ecstatically as he opened a cabinet and nearly squealed. “There's even a shelf full of seasoning! Oh jeez, I could make banquets in here!” “Hey!” Rainbow frowned. “Eggshell!” “Ebony.” “Whatever. Can we get our head in the game, please?! I'd try and convince Props, but...” “Right...” Ebon snapped out of it, nodding furiously. “We're in a bit of a pickle, and we have to...” His voice trailed off as his head drifted about. “Relish. I could make relish and garnish for a salad...” “Grrrrr...” “Sorry! Sorry sorry sorry... Let's, uh...” Ebon galloped past Rainbow Dash and trotted up the stairwell. “Let's get back into action... or something...” Exhaling, the pegasus followed him, pausing as she stared through a slitted door into what looked to be a two-story cargo hold at the very rear of the ship. Several platforms held numerous crates full of unseen materials. Climbing up the rest of the way, Rainbow Dash emerged with Ebon upon the top deck. By that time, the rest of the group had arrived. “Whew...” Tweak wiped his crystalline brow as he leaned back on a rifle. “Certainly pretty fancy, even if the idiot who built it put up a giant shard of red crap instead of a dirigible.” “Actually... uhm... I think this ship is powered by the thing,” Rainbow Dash said, pointing to the large horizontal chunk of ruby that shadowed them all. “According to Props, it means that this is a really fast vessel.” “Just where is Miss Props anyways?” Clark asked. “She's dancing around in Nancy Jane's womb,” Ebon droned. “Huh?!” Eagle Eye made a face. Ebon sighed. “Long story...” “Nancy Jane's the ship,” Rainbow Dash explained. “'The Noble Jury.'” “How original,” Imre droned. “By the way, the ponies who are stuck here are still totally flipping out.” “They have every reason to,” Tweak said. Another shell landed outside, jostling everypony on their hooves. “Ya hear that? Whatever shell is protecting this place, it ain't lastin' for long. I'd say it's just a matter of time before the doors blow open and hellfire rains down on us.” “Do not forget the forces rushing in from behind,” Clark spoke up. “I seriously doubt the enforcers have finished their pursuit through the old sewers.” “Maybe we could seal the entrance to this place behind us?!” Eagle Eye stammered. “That could hold them back!” “And then what?” Tweak glared across the way. “We just sit our flanks here and hold out for eternity? Ya know that ain't happening. Besides...” He folded his forelimbs. “I came here to rescue ponies, not do a last stand. Don't forget that some of us have a family to return home to.” “We haven't forgotten...” Imre droned. “Relax.” “Well, don't act like you've forgotten either!” “I haven't. I'm just saying—” “What are you saying?! Give us one positive thing that you've contributed since we fell down here, girl!” “Guys... Come on!” Rainbow Dash's voice cracked. “The last thing that'll help right now is us chewing each other's heads off. Don't forget, that Belle's out there somewhere, and she needs us. Same with Roarke and Crimson. Same with all these ponies stuck down here...” “What exactly do these folks deserve?” Tweak frowned. “They were in cahoots with the ponies who held Clark, Props, and Ebon against their wishes!” “They have families to return home to as well, Tweak,” Imre said in a growling tone. “You're not the only one with something to protect.” “She has a point,” Clark spoke up before Tweak could retort. “While I have not been altogether pleased with the way things have gone, I do not wish these ponies personal harm. They are as much victims of circumstance as we are.” “Then what do we plan to do?!” Tweak shrugged. “It's not like we can fit them all on this here ship and take off!” “Most certainly not,” Floydien grumbled, suddenly trotting forward from the cockpit with Pilate in tow. “Boomers surround us who are still the stabby stabby, and not in a spit's chance will they fly off on Nancy Jane's majestic wings.” “We have to do something for them, at least!” Eagle Eye said. He smiled gently while uttering, “Besides, maybe they could help us in the process!” “Help us?!” Tweak's brow furrowed. “Help us, how?” “Hey... uhm...” Rainbow Dash hovered up on puttering thrusters. She stared around at the many, many zeppelins. “Have any of you... uh... ever witnessed a Great Dragon Migration?” “A what?” Ebon asked. Clark shrugged. “I can't say that I have...” Pilate smiled. “I think I know where Rainbow Dash is going with this.” “Care to share it with us, then?” Tweak remarked. Rainbow Dash smiled. “Heheh... oh, this is gonna be good.” Rocketing towards the far end of the hangar, she shouted back. “I'm gonna round up the rest of the ponies! I have a plan, and it's really stupid!” “Why so stupid?!” Ebon called back. “Because that's how I know it'll work!” Ebon spun back towards the group with a frazzled expression. “She's awesome... but a little nuts.” Pilate nodded. “Welcome to the club.”