“Ain sae thaur Ah was!” Prowse smirked from where he leaned over the middle of the mess hall table. “Surroonded by Xonan mercenaries oan aw sides! Mah trusty boomstick was it ay ammo, an' Ah didne e'en hae a wrench tae flin' at them! Ah kent 'at it was jist a matter ay seconds afair the tattooed jobby takers aw charged at me, horns first!”
Ebon and Eagle Eye stared, wide-eyed. Zaid and Josho stood behind the chairs, brows furrowed.
“What…” Props gulped. “What did you do?”
“Th' only bloody hin' Ah coods hae dain!” Prowse smirked, flexing his metal hoof. “Ah mit them, metal tae muzzle!” He winked. “In less than it takes fur a coo tae fart, th' whole fluir ay th' room was covered wi' teeth! they sure as heel werenae onie ay mine!”
“Wow…” Ebon gasped.
“Er…” Eagle winced. “That’s…”
“Violent?” Elma spoke up from sipping a mug of water.
“Damn straecht! Ah gart them bleed it their tattoos loch they waur faucets! That's whit they gie fur attackin' thes auld stallion jist fur walkin' ben toon oan an archaeological mission!”
“Well, then…” Zaid smirked. “One pony’s psychopath is another’s badflank!” He slapped Josho’s shoulder. “Eh, fatso?”
“Eh.”
“They didn’t send a squadron of ebil ticked off bad bads to skin you alive?” Props asked, eyes sparkling.
“They cooldnae fin' me e'en if they wanted tae, lassie!” Prowse smiled proudly. “Want tae ken hoo Ah tint them?”
“Duaaaaaaaaah!” Props gasped so wide her cheekbone nearly dislodged. “Is there ‘nut me’ in ‘minute?’ Dish it out, Unky Prowsy!”
The group leaned in tighter while Prowse began weaving another tale.
From a distance, Rainbow Dash hovered, watching the group with calm ruby eyes. She breathed lightly, her tail flicking beneath her.
“Floydien swears to Nancy’s internal antlers…” A certain elk shuffled up from the kitchen. “Does paint wheel ever touch the ground?”
“Even when I’m not moving I’m moving,” Rainbow muttered. She turned to look at Floydien. “How’s the weather?”
“Balm balm, but the snow is faint enough for us to burn through. Floydien would have liked it if Floydien had another pony to check on the winds beside himself and Nancy.”
Rainbow’s ears folded. “Err… yeah, sorry about that. Sometimes I take for granted how much you like to be reclusive.”
“Just because Floydien likes to be alone doesn’t mean he likes being alone.”
“Er… right…” Rainbow’s eyebrows twitched. “You see, it’s stuff like that. If you were a book, I’d need the eyes of a dragonfly to read you.”
“And machete for a bookmark, yes yes?”
“Whoah! I wasn’t calling you dense or nothing.”
“Surely color wheel can spit for humor.” Floydien gestured his antlers towards the pale stallion. “What’s with the bearded boomer?”
“Props’ Uncle Prowse. The one we saved earlier today? Oh, and the turtle too.”
“At this rate, Nancy Jane’s going to get fat.”
“Yeah. Sorry about that, dude.” Rainbow glanced at the elk. “I dunno what the future holds for Prowse, but Elma there has a home in some place called Alafreo. It’s on the far side of the Strip of Flurries.”
“So Nancy’s going to drop a turtle, then?”
Rainbow sighed. “Yes, Floydien. Yes, she will.”
“Floydien doesn’t care, so long as shelled boomer cleans after herself in the meantime.”
“I’m pretty sure she’s… erm… sh-shell trained.”
“More boomers look like they could use the thwack thwack.”
“Hmmm?” Rainbow glanced curiously at him.
He pointed a cloven hoof across the room.
Rainbow squinted.
Belle sat with Kera. The mare was far away from the happily chatting group, seated on one of the sofa cushions. She brushed the dormant filly’s mane with loving strokes. Not long after, a frail shadow shuffled in. Pilate strolled into the mess hall from the long narrow hallway beyond. Feeling about, he gradually made his way to the chairs across from the couch.
Belle took a deep breath. Without looking--or even saying a thing--she gently propped Kera on her shoulders, stood up, and walked quietly down the hallway from which Pilate came.
The zebra froze, his ears flicking to the sounds of dainty hoofsteps. After a while, he sighed, then continued shuffling forward, making his way towards the kitchen.
Rainbow Dash bit her lip as her eyes tensed.
The elk leaned his muzzle towards her ear. “And color wheel boomer thought Floydien was reclusive.” With a snort, he shuffled off to the far end of the room, leaving her alone with her flapping wings.
Rubbing her muzzle in thought, Rainbow Dash stared out the nearby porthole, noticing the sunset glistening off the frozen waters.
Hours later, Belle lay in the darkness, wide awake. She cradled Kera’s sleeping figure in her forelimbs, stroking the filly’s shoulders every now and then. Her moist chestnut eyes gazed into the bulkhead on the edge of the cot.
Somewhere in the midst of this perpetual malaise, the intercom inside the room crackled.
”Scrkkkk! Chestnut boomer. Floydien needs her ears to rise rise.”
Belle’s jaws clenched tight. She remained where she was.
”Crkkkkk! Chestnut boomer… It will spit on and on into the night with greater volume.”
“Nnnnnnngh…” With a low growl, Belle rose out of bed and slapped her hoof over the intercom. “Mr. Floydien, you caught me at a bad time--”
“The boomerette’s time is always bad. If only Nancy Jane’s spirit could infect all estrogenicon, yes yes?”
“Uhhhh…”
”Floydien assures chestnut boomer that this is a matter of extreme importport. Nancy Jane’s guide will freeze out here if she waits any longer.”
Belle blinked. “Rainbow Dash…?”
”Don’t make Floydien come down there. These antlers aren’t filly-proof, no no. Scrkkk!”
Belle fidgeted, shook, then sighed. Hanging her head, she stood in a slump besides the bed, then relented with a defeated groan. She leaned towards the bed, drew a blanket over Kera’s slumbering figure, and gave the filly a gentle nuzzle. Fighting back the urge to sniffle, Belle slipped on her leather coat and trotted out of the tiny compartment, shutting the door quietly behind her.
Belle climbed up the vertical crawlspace and emerged inside the cockpit. A dim amber light lit the top deck under the black fabric of night.
“Alright, Mr. Floydien,” the mare grumbled, teeth chattering in the brisk wind as she hugged herself. “What is it? Where’s Rainbow Dash?”
“Hmmmff…” The elk turned and pointed out onto the open deck. “Follow the shimmer glimmer.”
“Mmm?” Belle turned, blinking. Her brow furrowed.
Rainbow Dash hovered just a few feet above Pilate. The zebra sat on folded limbs, a thick blanket stretched over his figure. A pale spotlight hung magically over the two, twinkling with lunar energy.
“Bonjour!” Rainbow Dash said with a wave. “And all that fancy crap. How kind of you to join us, Ding Dong.”
“Join… you…?” Belle heard a clanking sound. She spun and looked down.
Floydien was climbing down the crawlspace. Not only that, but he was cranking a valve on the inside, thus shutting a metal lid at the top of the vertical chamber.
“Mr--” Belle did a double-take. “Are… are you shutting me outside?”
“Bite your spittaker! This is to keep out the cold!” Floydien frowned. “Chestnut boomerette shouldn’t be so ridiculous!” A beat. Floydien nod. “But yes yes yes, mostly just you.” Clank! The hatch to the Jury’s interior shut behind him.
Belle blinked, her lips pursed.
”Bellesmith, I presume…” a voice carried elegantly along the wind.
The mare shuddered. Spinning about, she gulped and murmured, “Princess Luna, Your Highness?”
A light chuckle lit the cold air. “Close, but not quite. My beloved sister has been gracious enough to allow me an evening to speak to Rainbow Dash and her friends.”
Belle’s pupils shrank. “Pr-Princess Celestia…?” she stammered.
”In the spirit, at least. It pleases me to speak with such close friends to my royal subject. Rainbow Dash tells me that we have a lot to talk about tonight…”
Belle squinted. She looked at Pilate, whose head was bowed towards the deck, then at Rainbow Dash, who was smirking proudly.
With a gulp, the mare muttered, “Did she, now…?”