//------------------------------//
// On Your Merry Way 
// Story: Odrsjot 
// by Imploding Colon 
//------------------------------//

	"There's no point in denying it," Pilate muttered out the side of his mouth while Belle and Ebon positioned him so that he stood less than two feet directly in front of Josho.  "This is bound to get our leylines caught in an entanglement."  He gulped.  "Again."

"Well, that's good for us, right?"  Josho fumbled with the straps of a saddlebag being tied around his obese figure by Eagle Eye.  "I mean, it'll be like long range sound stones, huh?  I'll know what you're up to and you'll know how close I am to Seclorum..."

"In theory, it would function like a two-way guidance system, yes.  But I've no clue when or if it would wear off."

"Well, don't sweat it none, stripes."  Josho smirked tiredly and gestured aside to Eagle Eye.  "That's what you've got lavender licks here for.  He can unthread that yarn straightaway.  Can't ya, beautiful?"

"Yes."  Eagle Eye's jaw clenched as he pulled a satchel strap so tight it nearly choked the fat stallion beside him.  "At least I know what I'm capable of doing," he spat.  "It keeps me from going in over my horn."

"Awwww... you're cute as a button when you're bitchy."

"Knock it off, Josho!" Eagle stamped his hoof.  "This is really, really dangerous—what you're doing!"

"You think I don't know that?"

"No!  I don't!"

Josho sighed.  Leaning back, he spoke over the sound of Props and Floydien rigging mana crystals to the base of the skystone shards above.  "I'm being teleported hundreds of miles east-southeast in order to get a head up on warning Seclorum about the Lighting Bearer having fallen into enemy hooves."

"And Lasairfion and the floating mountain of doom?"

"Yes, Eagle Eye, I'll tell him about that too—"

"And Nightshade's codewords!  You've memorized them, haven't you—?"

"Yes!  I even wrote them down for prostate's sake!"  Josho wagged his eyebrows.  "Eh?  Ehhh?  Bit a joke there, ya see—"

"What if you materialize in midair?!"  Eagle's voice cracked.  "What if you find yourself suddenly falling for hundreds of feet?!"

"I'll have enough juice in me to teleport into an ascending motion at sea level.  Eagle Eye, I'm going to befine," Josho sighed with a weary smirk.  "I'm a big boy.  I was murdering monsters far uglier than you when you were still in your mother's womb."

Eagle Eye sighed, kicking at a few flecks of dust along the Noble Jury's top deck.  "It's so weird seeing you think things through.  All you're ever good at is rushing into stuff, and this feels no different!"

Josho leaned forward, his eyes thin.  "Good thing I had a helpful hoof to sober me up."

Eagle Eye bit his lip, starting to tremble slightly.

"Hey, kiddo..."  Josho waved his hoof in front of the petite stallion's face.  "What's eating ya?  I think we both know I'm not the one here who's constipated with fear."

"It's just..."  Eagle Eye shuddered as he murmured, "I decided not to go home to Franzington.  I decided to head east and discover a new home for myself.  And as much as I try to tell myself that it was a brave and courageous decision, I'm only lying.  It's been hard... so very, very hard.  And sometimes I think... th-that the only reason I've been okay with n-not seeing my dad ever again..."  He sniffled, his eyes watering.  "Was because I had a pony like you b-by my side..."

"We'll bump hooves again, ya little perfume bag.  Don't bawl your eyes out."

"But how?"  Eagle looked up through misty eyes.  "You're going to be dead-center in Ledomaritan territory and even if they don't shoot you on sight for desertion—"

"After all that Seclorum and I have been through, if he tries shooting me, I'm totally kicking his flank first!" Josho growled.  "Don't worry, pal.  This little ship of ours is too much of a Spark-send for me to ditch it permanently.  After all..."  He smirked as he gave his saddlebag a little shake.  There wasn't a single sound of clinking bottles.  "...it did get me sober."

Eagle Eye smiled.  Sooner than later, his lavender face scrunched up, and he dove forward, giving Josho a fierce hug.

The elder stallion wheezed, his chins shaking.  "Yeah, okay.  I got it, kiddo."  He hissed and patted the stallion's back assertively.  "I got it.  I got it!"  As Eagle Eye backtrotted, he caught his breath and muttered, "When I get back, we'll—I dunno... play ball or something."

"Or I-I could give you the shave I've always wanted!"  Eagle Eye smiled.

"Yeah, uh.  No."  Josho pivoted towards the others.  "We doing this crap or what?"

"Crap for spit, both is ready for the doing," Floydien said as he shuffled away from the array of crystal shards that had been planted against the underside of the skystone above.  "Just as soon as Bloomdie gets done with the tweak-tweak."

"Unf!"  Props landed and looked up through golden bangs and copper goggles.  "'Bloomdie?'"

"Yes yes."  Floydien blinked.  "Boomer blondie."

Props' jaw dropped.  "Oh... my... goddess!"  She jumped up and down.  "You gave me a nickname!  That's so awesome!"  She spun towards the horizon.  "Hey World!  Handsomeness just called me 'Bloomdie!'"

"Ahem..."  Belle trotted forward.  "Wrenches front, Props, darling."

"Ahem.  Right-o-rooter."  Props motioned Simon forward. The rodent scampered up to her head and was lifted onto Floydien's broad body.  "Basically, it'll go like this.  Mr. Handsome—fheehee—here will zap the crystals.  The way in which they're arranged should transfer the energy to the targeted location, which—according to where Pilate is situated—is the runic plate along everypony's favorite zebra's skull.  Then the energy will squirt its way through his manasphere and into Josho who's seated before him.  This will act as a filter that will charge Josho's leylines without overriding his neural systems.  Once Josho's got the power up, he can perform his rudimentary teleportation spell—only this time it will take him waaaaay way farther."

"Is there a risk of sending him too far?" Belle asked.

"I've calibrated for that," Props said, pointing at the skystone above.  "So long as we make the charging process last no more than fifteen seconds, he should be good for the coordinates Roarke and Pilate estimated for us."

"And what about a leyline entanglement?" Pilate asked.

"Inevitable."

Pilate nodded.  "I thought so."

"Sorry, stripes," Josho smirked.  "Looks like you're stuck with me."

"Just don't eat any of the military bean rations while you're visiting your old friend," the zebra said.

Belle leaned forward.  "Ew, really?  Did it work like that?"

Pilate leaned back.  "You really think it was Ledo that set fire to Foxtaur?"

"Uhhhh..."

"I'm not making any promises."  Josho pivoted about.  "While we're on the topic, east is thattaways, right?"

Floydien and Props exchanged glances.  "Uhhhhh..."

Simon barked several times.

Ebon cleared his voice and pointed towards the bow.  "The sun's setting and it's behind us.  East is that way."

"Heh.  Good thing I checked, huh?" Josho stifled a yawn.  "Eyup.  Let's do this.  I'm not getting any younger here."

"You can say that again," Eagle Eye said.

"Look, you wanna give me a shave or not?"

"Okiedoodaloo!"  Props rubbed her hooves together.  "As soon as we start zapping the skystone, things are gonna get kind of bright.  Simon?"

The rodent turned towards her, nose wriggling.

"We're counting on you, little buddy!  You gotta maintain an equally distributed force field around the entire procedure so that both Floydien and Simon don't bust their heads while trying to force feed Josho's horn.  You think you can do that?"

With a chirping noise, Simon tilted back and forward, waving his bushy tail multiple times.

Belle looked over, smiling.  "I'm going to presume that's squirrel for 'affirmative.'"

"You certain?" Pilate muttered.  "Sounded like he just wanted some nuts."

"Do not worry, beloved."  Belle leaned in to nuzzle him.  "I'll be right here beside you."

"Actualllllly..."  Props smiled nervously as she waved her forelimbs.  "You might wanna keep a distance or else your head might go 'kersplodey.'"

Wide-eyed, Belle cleared her throat and shuffled.  "Don't worry, beloved, I'll be... right over here by about five paces."

"Nuts," Pilate said with a nod.

"We gonna glimmer glimmer or not?" Floydien grunted.

"Seems like we have everything together," Ebon remarked.

"I agree!"  Props stood over besides Floydien.  "Simon, ready?"

Shrill barking.

"Josho, ready?"

Belching.

"Righto!  Handsome!"  Props raised a stopwatch and nudged the elk at her side.  "All on you!"

"Is it ever not on Floydien?"  With stamping hooves, he thrusted his weight forward.  "Nnnngh!"  Sparkles of light shimmered through his antlers.  A bright golden pulse materialized before his muzzle, shook a bit, then propelled itself like an otherworldly tennis ball into the skystone supporting the Noble Jury.

Almost immediately, the entire collection of crystal shards lit up like crimson fire.  Even in broad daylight, the top deck of the ship fluctuated with the ethereal strobing.  One by one, the crystal shards fixated around the base of the skystone illuminated.  Then, with the brilliant noise of localized thunder, they shot a single bolt of red energy straight down into Pilate's skull.

The zebra only jolted slightly, his eyelids fluttering over a glazed expression.  "Hello, there..."  His muzzle twitched.  "So that's what 'red' looks like.  It's certainly been a while."

"Stay still, stripesy!  Stay still!" Props sang.  Her tongue rolled off her teeth as she watched her stopwatch with interest.  "Aaaaaaaaaand—shazam!"

Right on cue, O.A.S.I.S. lit up and fired a scarlet lighting bolt into Josho's horn.

"Gaaah!"  Josho hissed through his teeth, twitching slightly in place.  "Hooooo boy!  Ha!  Forget the color red!  I'm drinking friggin' scotch through my ear-throats!"

"Just fifteen seconds!"  Props chanted, glancing up at Simon atop Floydien's back.  "Keep the force field up!"

The squirrel clicked its tongue, dual tesla-coils brimming on either side of its skull.  The air above shook and wavered with telekinetic energy.

"O.A.S.I.S..."  Pilate seethed, shivering slightly.  "So much energy.  Remembering words.  Faces.  Years ago."

"Just sit tight, darling!"  Belle cried, breathless.  "You're strong!  You can do this!"

"Ten seconds!" Props shouted.

"You can do it, Josho!"  Eagle Eye hollered, smiling bravely.  "The power's yours, old stallion!"

"Reaaaaaaaaaaaaaally not helping my friggin' headache, ya milksop!" Josho droned, his gritting teeth brimming with lightning.

The skystone fluctuated brighter and brighter.

"Uh... guys?" Ebon murmured uneasily.

"Nancy Jane's hat is about to fly off!" Floydien shouted.

Props' eyes were glued to the stop watch.  "Five... four... three..."

Sparks of red lightning flickered above the floating shield Simon was maintaining.  The entire vessel began to wobble.

"Two... one...Now!"

Floydien ended his charge and Simon cut the bolts off at the base of the skystone.

"Ooof!"  Pilate fell back as Belle rushed to his side.

As for Josho...

"Sweet... sweet kittens..."  He lisped as he stood up.  His horn glowed brighter than the sun, illuminating every single piece of stubble on his muzzle and chins.  "Hoooo yeah.  This is gonna be fun..."  He turned around, stumbled towards the bow, and thrusted forward.  "A real rip-roarin' good friggin' time—"

His voice ended as his throat ended, followed by his neck and torso, ribboning outward in dusty strands of twinkling crimson light, until nothing was left but his tail.  Soon that too vanished.  A pocket of air formed, expanded, contracted, and then—

Kapow!

Everypony shrieked as the ship rocked from side to side.  As they fell back, they looked up to see a solid beam of red energy shooting eastward, parting the clouds and mists of the breezy afternoon sky.  As soon as the thunder began, it settled, and soon everything was as calm as a placid lake's surface.

"He..."  Eagle Eye gulped.  "He's gone..."

"Honey?"  Belle gently shook Pilate.  "Do... do you feel him?"

"I feel..."  Pilate sat up, rubbing his head as he leaned into the mare's embrace.  "I feel..."  After a few whaps to his runic plate, he stared blankly into space.  "...I feel that he hasn't stopped yet."

Ebon bit his lip and turned towards Props.  "You don't suppose we sent him too far, did you?"

"He's going fast," the mechanic replied with a nod.  "But super fast is still slow compared to light."

Ebon leaned forward with a glare.  "Meaning...?"

"Give it a few minutes, and he'll materialize!"  Props smiled wide.  "Wherever it is, he'll have reached there way faster than the rest of us ever could!"

"Then maybe there's still hope of him giving aid to Rainbow Dash and the others," Eagle Eye said.

"I'd say!"  Props spun about.  "Well done, everypony!  We totally done did it!  Especially you, handsome!"

Simon barked angrily.

"Whoops!  My badskies!"  Props leaned in and nuzzled Simon, muzzle-to-whiskers.  "You too, handsome jr."

Simon chirped in a warm tone.

"Well, I guess that's one thing out of the way."  Ebon Mane said.  He turned around and trotted towards the stairwell towards the stern.  "How about an early supper?  I'll throw some asparagus into a boil and—"

A chunk of the ship's hull exploded from underneath them, sending shrapnel and chunks of wood flying in every direction.  The air filled with shrieks as the Noble Jurists fell to their haunches, the breath thrown clear out of their lungs.

All except for Floydien's.  "Thunderturds!" He hollered into the air as the entire vessel spun.  "What in the spit was that?!"

"Sounded like cannonfire!"  Eagle Eye shouted, only for his voice to be cut off by patches of flak exploding off the starboard side.  "Gaaaugh!"

"Belle!" Pilate shrieked as his beloved fell away from him.

"Ooof!"  Belle slid to a stop against a piece of railing near the stern.  As the world spun around her, she looked up weakly.  Her vision came into focus in time for her to spot a massive ship along the western horizon.  As the broadside cannons flickerered, it illuminated the rest of the Steel Wing.

"Blessed Spark..."  Mouth agape, she stared up at the skystone.  The enchanted shards were still glowing with residual energy release.  "Oh blessed Spark, he found us!"  She turned and screamed.  "Everypony run for—!"

Wood and flame erupted into Belle's body, sending her flying.





Far, far away.

In a broad, gray valley pockmarked with craters and covered in thick clouds...

The distant thunder of impacting shells could be heard.  The northeast sky lit up with patches of blood red and fiery amber.  The distant buzzings of damaged zeppelins could be heard screaming against the horizon.  Out of nowhere, a cyclonic wind picked up, kicking loose piles of gravel and petrified strips of equine bones across the earth.

Krakow!

In a burst of red light, Josho materialized.  He landed chest-first against the ash and rolled limply down the hillside.  "Ooomf! Ungh!  Gah!  Dang it!  Mmmf!"

At last, he slid to a stop, his nose inhaling smoke and the tainted air of war.

"Nnnnngh..."  He slowly, achingly sat up.  "Yeahhhhh..."  Rubbing his smoking horn, he winced and glanced northeast.  "Could have gone worse, I guess."

After a few minutes, he composed himself.  The stallion stood up, tightened his satchel, and began trotting towards the burning horizon.

He had barely made five steps when he paused.  Quietly, Josho pivoted around and squinted west.  A pale expression washed over his face and muzzle.  His lips pursed, and for a moment there he seemed starved of something to say.  Wincing again, he rubbed his horn, shook the sensation off, and continued trotting towards his distant destination.