//------------------------------// // Chapter 21 // Story: Spellbooks, Dating and Why Humans don't like the Arcane // by Emerald Oracle //------------------------------// Flash stepped out of the Canterlot train station, saddlebags safely strapped to his back and head held high. His vacation had gone well, and Edith had been returned home safely without the fear of reprimand from her father. It had all been great, but it was nice to finally be back home after a week away. He breathed in the familiar air of his home and released it in a long sigh. He took his first step forward onto the paved street. Then Holly seemingly pounced out of nowhere in front of him, startling the poor pegasus into the air as a result. From his new elevated position he could see that Kenny was with her, dressed in the same simple, short, bland, pale brown and over-all neutral robes he had upon his return. Several travel bags had been strapped to Holly's saddle, including the bag that Flash kept his armor in. Kenny himself carried his enchanted messenger bag over his shoulder. "Get on, I'll explain on the way." Flash just rolled his eyes. He hadn't been back for more than a minute and already Kenny was dragging him along some crazy endeavor. Knowing that he couldn't refuse, and that if he had his armor then it was something big, Flash settled in front of Kenny on the saddle where he could sit with the least risk of falling off. "Let's move!" Holly instantly began to sprint forward. Flash held on for dear life as she sped through Canterlot, scaring several residents as they passed. Flash swore he saw a camera flash. Great, He thought, This is gonna be all over the place tomorrow... Holly bobbed and weaved through Canterlot's streets, dodging carts and leaping over stands. Soon Flash saw where she was heading. The airship docks. It appeared just as he finished the thought. The various, multicolored, balloons and shining hulls were mesmerizing. One new ship caught his attention though. It was a smaller luxury liner, a rich red balloon labeling it as an ambassadorial vessel. It's hull was sparkling and no doubt new. What really caught his attention was its turbine, or rather turbines. Four metallic cylinders poked out of the back of the ship, placed in a delta pattern. He could see the fan blades in the housing, far more than on your average airship. This was really advanced stuff. Then Flash noticed they were closing in on it. They were actually going to ride it. Holly ran down the dock and skidded to a halt in front of the gangplank. "Permission to come aboard?!" Kenny yelled. A sea-foam green head with a white, fluffy mane poked out over the railing. "Finally!" The stallion's voice was gruff and scratchy, "Sure took yer' bloody time! Get on up here ya' wankers, we're due to leave in twenty minutes'er so." Kenny and Flash removed themselves from Holly's back, Kenny affectionately petting her behind her ears. Kenny guided Holly up the narrow gangplank whilst Flash simply flew on board. Once he landed on the deck, he received a hard slap to the back from the white-maned stallion. "Welcome aboard lad!" The stallion said. "My name's Stormfront, and I'm captain of this here vessel. I imagine yer's is Flash Sentry, the Royal Guard of our dear Ambassador Kenneth Lee?" "Ambassador?!" Flash almost yelled whipping his head around at Kenny, who was removing the bags from Holly's saddle. Kenny heard this and mouthed 'Later.' "Well of course! But you still haven't answered my question." "Yes, I am Warrant Officer Flash Sentry." Flash peeled away from the captain and inspected the deck of the ship. He could see the controls past the windows of the elevated bridge. The vessel was small, the deck itself probably coming out around 50 square meters in all. "You two should head below deck, we'll be leaving soon enough." Captain Stormfront opened a door in the back of the ship, just below the bridge, revealing a landing with stairs leading both up and down. "Where do you plan on keeping Holly?" Kenny asked, various bags now hanging off him. Stormfront walked to and opened a hatch in the center of the deck as he talked. "We've made room for 'er in the cargo hold. It'll be a little cramped, but we've made sure all the necessary creature comforts are available. Now I know I've asked a bunch already, but ar' ya sure she won't be a danger to my crew?" "Absolutely, just don't get in between her and her food. She gets nasty when she's eating. I've already got her eating kibble so we should be covered, assuming you received the crates." "They're packed safely out of reach of yer wolf in the cargo hold as well." Kenny led Holly down the hatch in to the cargo hold whilst the Captain led Flash deeper into the deck. A short walk down the stairs and Flash found himself in a room with eight bunks bolted to the walls. "Seeing as yer a pegasus, I've given you the top bunk right 'ere," The Captain said, pointing out the bunk closest to them on Flash's right. "You can put all your things in this locker." The Captain pointed out one of eight lockers at the far end of the room. "Any questions?" "No, sir." Flash began to empty his saddlebags into the roomy locker. "Well all right then! If'n you need anything just find me or Lead Engineer Clockwork." Flash nodded in affirmative and the captain left to go up to the bridge. Once he had finished putting away his things, Flash flew over to his bed and landed with a flop on the surprisingly nice mattress. "I know you don't like it Holly, but it was this or leaving you back at Canterlot. It will only be for a couple days, then you'll have a whole knew set of trees and bushes to sniff and pee on." Kenny comforted the anxious timber-wolf the best he could, she eventually stopped worriedly pacing around the room. A steel-bar door separated her from the rest of the hold. "I'm gonna go now, okay honey? Be good and I'll get you a treat." Kenny left the cargo hold and went up the stairs at the far end. He walked into the crew's quarter's and found Flash lazily hanging from his bunk bed. "Care to explain why Captain Stormfront called you 'Ambassador' Kenneth Lee?" Flash asked as he hanged upside down from the bed. "Princess Celestia has given me the position. In fact, we are heading out to a meeting with the Zebrican Council." "A human representing Equestria? That must have stirred up some trouble." "Twenty-three hundred letters of complaint and a protest demonstration in fact." "What'd you do?" "Celestia just told them that her decision was final and if they had a problem with it to send her a proper replacement. Did you know that not a single pony has ever kept the job for more than a couple years? I wonder why..." "I've heard rumors that the Zebrican's make you eat caterpillars." "That's not too bad. I've eaten candied cockroaches before." Flash flipped upright, "What?" "They're a delicacy. Several countries eat them." "Dude, humans are weird." "If eating cockroaches is weird than this voyage is exactly what you need." A new voice entered the fray. Kenny and Flash turned to find a gray coated griffon with white, black speckled feathers at the stairwell. The newcomer didn't hesitate to approach them as he continued. "My name is Frederick Goldbeak, and I will be your cook. As I was saying, Zebrican dishes are perhaps some of the most creative and tasteful I have ever had the pleasure of making. Not only are they delicious, they provide ample levels of nutrition for the body." Frederick crossed them and opened his locker at the far side of the room, removing a chef's hat and apron. "Mr. Lee, I am to understand that you have brought your own food for the timber-wolf?" He never looked their way as he checked himself in the mirror. "Yes, a couple hundred pounds of kibble. It should hold over for the whole trip." "Unacceptable." Flash and Kenny shared a look of confusion, eyebrows raised, as Frederick closed the locker. "No living thing will be subjected to eat such bland and tasteless fodder. I am glad I had prepared to feed the beast. While your kibble," He spat the word like it was poison. "Will provide the base, I will doctor it so as to ease the creature's suffering." "Oh, well, thank you," Kenny awkwardly offered. "I'm sure she'll love it." "You can never be sure of anything with food, everyone has different tastes." Frederick headed back to the stairwell. "I will see you all when it is dinnertime." With a bow and a flourish of his wings, Frederick left the room. "Well that was interesting," Flash muttered, giving voice to both of their thoughts. "Howdy!" Flash and Kenny turned to the back of the room to find a thin, mocha unicorn stallion with a wiry, grey mane and tail standing at the far end of the room. His voice had a clear southern inflection and his coat had several dark stains. "Have y'all seen the engine room yet? She sure is a beaut! I can' wait to get 'er moving! I reckon she 'as a top speed of at least- Hold it! Where are my manners? My name's Engine Block, Engie fer short. I'd take a gander that you two are the ambassador and his guard?" "That would be correct." Kenny answered, sitting on a bed. "Well, it's nice ta' meet'cha! I'm the lead engineer for this here wonder of technology!" He grabbed Kenny's hand and shook it fervently. "I can' thank ya enough for all the schematics you delivered. Ya single-'andedly pushed Equestria a decade forward!" "Wait," Flash asked. "Are you saying that this ship was just built?!" "Eeyup!" Engie responded. "This will be 'er maiden flight! I'm supposed to oversee this here ship's voyage ta ensure nothing goes wrong, what with me being the only one who understands how it works. Anyway, I'll see ya'll at dinner! I 'ave work to do!" Engie disappeared back through the door in the back of the room, presumably the engine room. "...You wanna see if they have any alcohol in my room?" Kenny asked. "Totally." Luna carefully removed and place her regalia into her travel case, careful not to drop them. Once they were all safe in the velvet plush of the case she closed it and locked it with a combination of advanced Greifland puzzle locks and several protective enchantments. Once her prized possessions were safe, she finally reclined on the plush bed she and Kenny would be sharing during their voyage on the newly christened Harbinger, named so because the scientists involved in the development of the powerful engines believed it to be the first sign of a technological golden age. Engineers had been working for hours designing and developing this schooner, and had cranked out the Harbinger in a little over a week's time. It was really a government issue ship fresh out the shipyards fitted with the far more advanced turbines and engine block, which had been thoroughly tested beforehand. Luna didn't particularly care. It fell behind all the other major advancements that had happened in her absence Airships in general still fascinated her, and she was excited to finally riding one. The idea of a faster airship was trumped by the very idea of getting a mass of metal and wood to float without the aid of magic. They had departed an hour ago, and Luna was hunkering down for the duration of the flight. She had been told these flights would often be long, seeing as they were going to fly over the vast Antrotic Ocean to the east to reach Zebrica. Though, they were also on a brand new, theoretically fast ship. No one knows how the time would be affected. For the first time since she had come aboard, Luna looked outside to find the sea staring back at her through the porthole. "What in the Goddess's name...?" It would take days of hard flying to reach this point for a pegasus. She had been told these ships are only a little faster than pegasi when fully loaded as they were. How was this possible? To add to her confusion she saw a dark shape fly downward right across her window and out of her sight. She rushed to it, fearing someone had fallen of the boat, and was met with her boyfriend and colleague, Kenny, hitting the water and disappearing under the small waves. "No!" Luna quickly opened the porthole and squeezed through. Flying straight for the frothing water where Kenny had landed. She hovered over, waiting for Kenny to rise, and grew more worried as time wore on. She began to steel herself for entering the water when a water spout erupted from the ocean waves, engulfing her. She was thrown around in the cyclone of salty water, twisting and turning, the combination of raw shock and the disorienting movement preventing the use of magic as an escape. Before she could even think about breath, suddenly she was sprawled out on the deck. Her head was still swimming and she was to disoriented to even attempt to get up. She felt a hoof poke her side. "Did anyone get the number on that carriage?" She asked in a loopy voice. The crew on deck gave a collective sigh of relief, Kenny and Flash included. Luna was now laying on deck within a school of tuna that Kenny had dragged out of the water. The crew had tried to warn her what would happen, but she had been too far and too distracted to hear. Kenny rushed to her side and helped her to her hooves. "Wha' happen?" Luna slurred out, her still spinning. "Don't worry about it." Kenny soothed as he carried her bridal style. Motioning to the others to carry on without him. "Let's just get you to your room and I'll get Frederick to make you some hot cocoa." Whilst Kenny attended to his marefriend, the rest of the crew of assorted species and genders went about collecting the tuna into sacks to be brought to the galley where they would be preserved and stored during the trip. The bulk of it would be put into Holly's meals, the rest was for Frederick, Kenny and one other griffon called Charlie. Once Kenny had navigated his way back to into the Diplomat's Cabin, the room that as government officials belonged to he and Luna, he laid her recovering form on the bed. Luna had regained her senses by then and was now moaning in pain, her battered body crying out against all forms of movement. Kenny retrieved his bag and brought it to the bed. He opened the top of the large bag and peered into its depths, eyes searching. When he found the particular item he spoke, "Meds." A smaller case, about a foot across and half as much tall, flew out of the bag and into his arms. It was made of worn, plain cardboard and carried a unique variety of smells. Luna caught a whiff of the pungent odors, ranging from sweet to spicy to even what she was sure was heat. She turned to find him pulling out many small bottles and flasks, peering at their labels before throwing them back into the box. "What are you doing?" Luna asked weakly. Kenny, too focused on what he was doing, didn't hear her faint words. He found the little green bottle he was looking for and closed up the medicine box. He threw it back into his bag, closed the flap, and lowered it to the ground. He opened the bottle as he hopped on the bed facing Luna's prone form. "Kenny?" "Shh, Luna, I need you to stay perfectly still." Kenny uncorked the bottle and ran a couple drops out on his hands. He rubbed them together to spread the oil and went to work, starting with Luna's neck. Luna moaned as he worked his fingers into her neck, the oil working its magic and causing the pain to vanish. He migrated from massaging her neck to kneading her withers. She began to curl up from the sensation, but Kenny put a hand to her neck, wordlessly telling her to keep still. She straightened out again and he continued working out the soreness from her limbs and body. He moved from her withers to her forelegs, paying special attention to her joints. When he began to run out of oil he simply reapplied and continued. She shivered when he massaged her barrel and stomach. Luna began to remember how she had reached this point, but quickly decided that this far outweighed being hit by a watery cyclone. Before she knew it, Kenny was done and cleaning up his hands. "That's it?" Luna whimpered. "Not even a hug?" "What?" "You hit me with a water spout, give me the best massage I've ever had, and now you're just going to leave?" Kenny just sat there with a look of bewilderment. Luna rolled her eyes and locked the cabin door with her magic. "Males..." Flash backed away from the door. "Are you sure Luna won't kill him?" Asked a worried and nervous Engie. "Oh, I'm more than sure. Thousand's of miles away, Morgan and Sterling were sitting in the Canterlot Royal Library. Sterling was retrieving books for her to study. Morgan had recently found the old folktale of the Mare in the Moon, and she didn't like what she found. From what she has been able to put together, Luna had fallen to jealous rage and despair. She had turned on her sister and become a demonic entity called Nightmare Moon. It had taken a thousand years banished to the moon and a second encounter with the Elements of Harmony to purge her of the hate that had transformed her. Replace the terms, 'hate,' 'jealous,' and 'despair' with 'malevolent spirit' and suddenly a very unsettling scenario played out in front of her. Luna, a powerful demigod who the very heavens obeyed, had fallen to this unnamed force, who's to say that they won't attack Kenny? As a shaman, he is a perfect vessel to enact the will of any spirit that can get their hands on him. His proximity to Luna has probably only increased the chances that this force will attack Kenny. Assuming, of course, that it was a spirit that had plagued Princess Luna. "Sterling!" Sterling rushed to her side from within the stacks of books. "Yes, Ma'm?" He said, currently stuck in his stony persona. "I want you to find and ask Princess Celestia if and when we can meet. I have some questions for her." "Of course." Sterling ran off to do as he was asked. Meanwhile Morgan continued to search for more answers in the dusty, old tomes. She prayed she was wrong. Flash and Kenny stood on the deck of the Harbinger, slowly circling one another. It has been two days since they first left Canterlot, the ocean still seeming to expand endlessly on all sides as they flew onward. Regardless, Engie and Captain Stormfront had both spent the last two suppers in awe over the ground they were covering thanks to the new turbines and engines. Now the crew and passengers had collected on deck to watch Flash and Kenny engage in a sparring match. Flash was dressed in his full, golden, Guard's Armor, a spear held in his front hooves. He hovered over the air, planning to use his maneuverability as a pegasus to his advantage. Kenny was wearing his cloak, which he had revealed had chain male woven underneath it. He held a long war glaive, similar to a spear in form, but with a curved blade made for cutting rather than stabbing. The rules were simple, Kenny couldn't offensively use his powers, the boundaries were the deck, any blow that would've killed is a win, and flight was restricted to a couple feet above the ground. Luna would be the referee. Luna had already declared battle and now they paced the deck, eyes locked on eachother. The crowd jeered and shouted, an even mixture of supporters for either fighter. They were all waiting for the same thing, someone to make a move. Flash would be the one call first blood. He flew straight at Kenny, spear aimed for his chest. Of course, Kenny easily saw the move coming and stepped out of the way to the right. Flash, in anticipation of the dodge, grinned as he swung his spear to the side and hit Kenny square in the chest with the side of the point. Far from a killing blow, it was enough to make some of the gamblers wish they hadn't put so much money on the big one. But their fears were unfounded. Kenny, unfazed by the hard blow, had thrust the blunt end of his polearm into Flash's side. The smaller pegasus was easily shoved away, and Kenny followed up with a powerful slicing arc downward. The blade would never reach its mark. Flash was quick to recover and launched himself back at Kenny before the dangerous part of the heavy glaive could hit him. He abandoned his spear in favor of his armored hooves, which solidly impacted with Kenny's chest. Even with his significant size advantage, Kenny was launched by the hit and landed painfully back on the deck. The spectators had barely escaped becoming his landing pad and the circle was now broken. Kenny wordlessly flipped back upright, sporting a grimace. Flash had returned to his weapon and now floated in the air, spear held out in front of him, the steel head glinting in the light. This time Kenny wasted no time in attacking. He lunged upward and forward, bringing the war glaive straight down onto Flash. Flash, surprised by the speed in which Kenny had covered ground, could only bring his spear up to block the strike and brace for impact. He watched in horror as the blade sliced straight through the steel coated hard-wood. Before he knew it, Flash was on the ground, a curved piece of razor sharp steel inches from his face. "Flash Sentry wins!" Luna's voice rang. Every head except Kenny's whipped around in confusion. "Kenny has used magic to aid in his final strike and has forfeited the match as a result," Luna said with a stern face. The crowd of spectators let out a decent mix of whoops and groans, the losers passing bits to the winners. "What?" Flash asked. "I cheated you dolt," Kenny said as he removed his weapon from Flash's face. "It was only a little, I had hoped Luna wouldn't notice." "I have existed for far too long to not have access to spells that detect even the slightest bit of magic. You tried, and failed." Luna's eyes twisted into a glare. "And I am sorely disappointed in you." "Rule one of combat: hold nothing back," Kenny said as he swung his glaive over his shoulders. "There is no honor or glory just victory or death." Flash shivered. "That's a grim way of looking at things." "That's reality. My kind have long since known the price of war. Pray you never see its wonders." Flash and Luna shared a look of concern as Kenny left them. "Thank you for seeing me." Morgan and Celestia were enjoying tea in one of the castle's sitting rooms. "I know you have a busy schedule as it is." "Really, it's no trouble. I am to understand that you have some questions for me?" Celestia sweetly asked before sipping at her cup of tea. "Yes, I have found multiple texts referring to your sister's downfall." Celestia took on a decidedly more reserved look, her teacup lowering slowly. "In my experience, people who have such transformations like your sisters did not become so on their own. Was your sister possessed by something?" Celestia refrained from answering, instead looking out a nearby window. "You are right, Luna did not become Nightmare Moon of her own volition," Celestia began. "She was tormented beforehand by the Nightmare Forces, spirits of fear and turmoil. They convinced her that her subjects shunned her night and fed her growing anger. I failed my sister. I was too wrapped up in caring for Equestria to see that my flesh and blood was suffering so." A small tear traced a line down Celestia's face. She felt Morgan place a comforting hand on her withers and smiled. She didn't see the look of utter fear that contorted Morgan's features.