Ebon Mane’s hooves carried him softly through the middle level of the Noble Jury. He hummed lightly to himself, his voice muffled quietly by a scroll of paper clamped between his teeth. He glanced left and right, eying the solid metal doors to the small crew quarters. The light sounds of snoring breaths could be heard through the bulkheads.
The stallion smiled to himself, trotting until he came upon a door that hung open along the port side. He shuffled through the frame, entering his cramped bunkroom. Quietly—so as not to wake the ponies next to him—he closed the door with barely a sound.
He was cast into darkness for a while, at least until a hoof reached up and twisted a knob along the upper wall. A single bulb of manalight flickered to life, casting a dim amber glow over his features and the bunkbeads lining the wall perpendicular to the door. Exhaling heavily, he dropped the scroll onto the lower bunk’s pillow and reached towards a metal locker pressed tightly to the opposite wall. Pulling two drawers out, he produced an inkwell and a pen.
After cracking the kinks in his neck, Ebon sighed, then climbed onto the lower bed. He folded his limbs beneath him, squirming slightly as his weight settled into the weight of the mattress. With a contented smile, he then stretched the scroll out across the mattress, dipped the pen into the inkwell, and began scribbling across the top of the paper with his mouth.
Dearest Mother,
I talked to a Princess today. According to Rainbow Dash, her name is Princess Luna, and she controls the very stars above us from a magical land named Equestria. Can you believe that? After so much war and craziness, there’s still plenty of surprises that this world has yet to share with me. The nifty thing is, I’m not anxious about it. Not in the least. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I feel safe.
Yes, I feel very… safe with the Noble Jury. It’s almost as if I have friends again. And I don’t mean just Propsy, but such wonderful and interesting characters as Bellesmith and Floydien and Eagle Eye. Nopony’s perfect, of course. Many of us are biting at each other’s muzzles from time to time. But hey, dysfunction is the way of life, at least for most of the world. It almost feels like… a family…
In the morning dawnlight, the Noble Jury coasted over a final line of emerald trees before hovering above a spacious valley that stretched alongside a riverbank. Rainbow Dash flew eagerly along the starboard edge of the ship. She gasped wide at the rolling hills and waved dramatically towards the cockpit from where she flew with a bright grin.
Floydien signaled back with a waving hoof. Bellesmith and Eagle Eye smiled at each other as the ship lowered down to a grassy hill besides a bend in the river. With a flare of rockets, Roarke leapt off the stern of the ship and drifted down until she stood just beneath the vessel’s lowering hood. She gestured with two forelimbs and shouted commands, guiding the ship to a safe stop against the earth. Just seconds after it landed, the hangar in the back slid open, its metal door slats rattling loudly in the morning air.
One by one, ponies stepped out: Josho, Props, Kera, and Ebon Mane. They flexed their legs, enjoying the feel of the soft earth. With a giggling squeal, Kera began running in circles, her horn slicing through the dewy air.
We each have our own individual parts to play on board this remarkable vessel. It’s almost too good to be true. But, with what I keep hearing from the likes of Bellesmith, Pilate, and Rainbow Dash—the originators of this epic pilgrimage—luck is just part of the whole grand adventure. And I certainly am feeling very lucky.
Floydien runs this ship flawlessly and he knows the vessel from the inside out… almost a little too well. Eagle Eye is great at spotting distant things on the horizon, so as to help us hide from Ledomaritan patrols or Xonan raid parties. Propsy, of course, is a natural in the ship’s engine room—or the “womb” as she likes to call it. Roarke is a great thinker and warrior. Can you imagine that? Pilate is a genius; his skills in navigation and history is impeccable. Belle gives us all moral support and Kera knows how to make everypony laugh. Even Josho, for all of his slovenly habits and raunchy attitude, is priceless for his knowledge of the warfront and what areas we’d best avoid in our flight east.
And then, at the head of the entire group, is Simon the Squirrel. No, I’m just kidding, Mother. It’s Rainbow Dash. And she’s a fabulous specimen of a pony, to say the least. Never mind the otherworldly wings she’s sporting or the magical amulet that she carries around her neck or her seemingly ethereal connection to a prehistoric plane of existence—the mare is simply the best there ever was. And she carries it with her wherever she goes, proudly, unabashedly, loudly. I wish I could possess even a fraction of that confidence, much less inspire it so easily in others.
Just what is it that I do, you wonder? Why, I’m the ship’s cook, or at least I am until we reach our elusive destination, Gray Smoke. This has made me both the center of attention as well as the center of contempt on board this ship. The latter can be blamed on a severe lack of resources, but all of that is about to change. Yes, I do believe things are about to get a lot more wholesome around here.
Kera telekinetically carried a basket of thickly bundled edibles: flowers, dandelions, daisies, daffodils, and marigolds. She smiled proudly in the air as Bellesmith trotted after her, chuckling at the filly’s enthusiasm as she herself trucked three thick baskets full of four times as many flowers. Trotting in the opposite direction, Josho and Eagle Eye carried fishing gear as they made for a lake beyond a thick line of trees. With a gust of air, Rainbow Dash floated down from a towering fruit tree and held out three different types of fruit before Ebon Mane’s grasp.
Ebon Mane turned around from a basket full of pears and squinted curiously at the various samples and their respective colors. He rubbed his chin in thought. Unfolding a knife from his saddlebag, he unpeeled a part of one fruit and gave it a tiny lick with his tongue. He tilted his head skyward as he studied the taste. With raised eyebrows, he did the same with the second sample, unpeeling the fruit slightly and touching it with his tongue. He immediately spat into the ground with a wincing expression.
Rainbow Dash smiled bashfully. Her ruby lightning bolt reflected his burgundy hoof as he grasped the last fruit and gave it a test as well. After a few seconds, he smiled, then raised the first and third fruits before Rainbow Dash.
The pegasus nodded with a bright grin and rocketed back into the trees to collect more of the selected fruit. As she did so, a loud roaring sound rolled across the valley. Ebon Mane turned to look, as did several other ponies.
Josho and Eagle Eye came galloping out of the line of trees, tossing their fishing gear and screaming at the top of their lungs. On thundering paws, an enraged manticore chased after them, its mane flaring as it sped angrily towards the Noble Jury.
Pilate threw himself before Bellesmith’s and Kera’s trembling figures. He gritted his teeth, facing the direction of the intense vibrations. With bloodlust, the manticore rushed towards the hapless equines.
With a flash of metal, Roarke shot down and landed in front of the beast. Her helmet flickered a menacing red.
The manticore paused briefly, then reared its claws as it flew angrily at the Searonese mare.
All Roarke had to do was twitch her neck, and a manarifle popped out of her shoulder armor. One single shot echoed across the valley.
Everything just fits together so well. We really click well as a group. Oddly enough, though, I find that this happens the best whenever Rainbow Dash is around. Even though she’s a stranger to this part of the world, and even though there’s a lot of things she doesn’t indulge in as much as we do, I can’t help but feel as though she’s the backbone of this entire group. For all of her talk and bravado, all she really needs to do is be around, and everything is just… harmonious.
How odd for a creature who is so obsessed, so guilt-ridden, and so vexxed over the part she has to play in “chaos”...
The next evening, as the Noble Jury floated through the dark clouds, Ebon Mane finished sliding the last plate of smoked meat onto the table inside the mess hall. Josho grinned ravenously before giving the stallion a nod of gratitude. With graceful telekinesis, he levitated a fork and knife and dug into the meal.
Ebon Mane smiled proudly, sitting at the head of the table beside the door to the steaming hot kitchen. He chatted pleasantly with Props and Pilate and others as they enjoyed their portions. In the meantime, Bellesmith trotted out of the kitchen with a tray balanced across her back. She paused to give Pilate a gentle nuzzle, and the zebra paused in his meal to reciprocate. The mare exited the mess hall, trotted down the crew quarters, and climbed up the crawlspace to the top deck of the ship.
There, squatting on her haunches in the open wind, Rainbow Dash squatted with her face in her hooves. She felt a gentle tap of a golden hoof on her shoulder. She looked over just in time to see a wooden bowl full of sliced fruit placed beside her. Rainbow smiled gently.
Belle smiled back, then squatted beside the pony with an identical bowl. Together, the dear friends dug into their fruit slices, talking and laughing over mutual stories as the stars bled through the heavens.
I know that I will be parting with this group soon. So will Propsy, and though I’m sure I’ll have plenty of opportunities to associate with her in the future, I feel as though a great part of me won’t ever be this happy or secure again.
There’s something special about this group of ponies. I can feel it in their laughter, in their gazes, even in their scowls and their sighs. These are genuine souls, Mother. They care for each other, and—furthermore—they know that they can count on each other if push was to come to shove.
No, I truly don’t think I’ve ever been with a group which had such a firm grasp on… loyalty.
Rainbow Dash sat at the far end of the observation room, her body silhouetted by the stars beyond the bubble-shaped windows. The mare was busy with dramatically waving her forelimbs while her mouth moved a mile per minute. Her expression morphed with every word as she flung her story between dramatic highs and suspenseful lows.
Several Noble Jurors watched and listened intently. Props leaned forward so much she felt on her chest repeatedly. Kera and Eagle Eye were already lying side by side on their bellies, their faces plastered with identical, foalish grins. Bellesmith and Pilate sat in the corner, nuzzling as they smiled at the scene.
Rainbow charaded giant butterfly wings, then made a sound as they “went up in flames.” The whole observation room gasped as a certain pony plunged to her death, only for Rainbow Dash to plunge heroically after her.
Roarke sat in the doorframe, polishing her helmet. Her lenses pistoned outward upon hearing the latest leg of the tail, and she let loose a grunt of indifference.
Ebon Mane rolled his eyes at her and lay back on a hammock, engulfing himself with the story, almost falling asleep to the drift of the ship between the punctuations of Rainbow’s words.
Good things never last forever. I, of all ponies, definitely know this. But I’ve adapted to troubles in the past and I should know how to get by in the hard times to come. For the meantime, I’m quite pleased to enjoy the moment while it lasts. I really don’t think the world would frown on me for doing so. I sincerely hope you wouldn’t either.
Someday, I will see you again, Mother. While I hope to make you proud, I hope to also make you feel—as I have come to feel—for there are things left in this world that aren’t quite so hopeless. They’re worth living for… and dying for. I think, right here and right now, I would settle for either.
I suppose that’s the nature of “peace.”
Goodnight, Mother.
Sincerely,
-Ebon Mane
The stallion finished writing. Ebon planted the pen back into the inkwell and gave the scroll a glance over. With a satisfied smile, he placed both the parchment and the writing tool away.
Twisting the the mana-powered knob so that it dimmed to a low glimmer, he pulled the covers over himself and rested his cheek against the pillow. He fell asleep with a contented sigh, his breaths rising and falling with the drifts of the airship.