//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: Cogs and Steam and Halcyon Skies 
// by Alacardkane 
//------------------------------//

	The glow of the first rays of the sun had begun to crest the mountains outside of Fillydelphia, bringing with it a gentle breeze and the smell of smoke to the senses of the aging earth pony. Setting high above the city this time of morning reminded her of days past, days before her mane had begun to gray from the rich crimson and maroon of her younger years. She sighed and gazed out on the clouds that were being set aflame by the rising sun. Sometimes she wondered if Celestia had some issue with clouds,  maybe some silent vanity against things that blocked the light of her sun from the ponies of her lands. Though such thoughts she knew were simply the conjecture of the whimsical waking dreams of her rather creative mind.  She had been blessed with the cutie mark of an artist, bearing the pencil and brush crossed over a unfurled scroll. 
Her ears perked slightly as she heard hoof falls on the deck  behind her.
“uh...Captain Brink, um...ma'am, er sir...uh..” a young adult unicorn buck hesitantly uttered as he approached. 
She smiled and chuckled a little before replying as she pressed her glasses back into their proper place, 	“It's just Captain, or Capt for that matter if ya don't particularly feel like saying all of it.”
“um...ok...Captain,” he answered with continued hesitation but subtle acceptance of the level of informality, “everything is loaded, we are ready to cast off at your order.”
She took one last look at the sky as the colors became the norm of day, and with a smile she placed and adjusted the worn and battered captains hat on her head before turning to the buck, giving his smaller form the once over and noting the cutie mark of a pen and book.
“Paper Scraps, right?” she asked as she stepped towards him.
“Yes, uh..Captain.”
“You're new on the Princess's Revenge? The log keeper right?”
“Yes, Captain,” he seemed to be growing a little more comfortable and perhaps even a little bolder.
“Relax kid,” she said as she took a look over the deck of the Princess's Revenge, which for her age and the scars that were so deep and old that there wasn't enough paint in Equestria to cover them, was still one of the finest airships ever built. There was a sense of pride in her heart every time she looked over the ship, from fine woodwork and the half cobbled together steam assemblies, the freshly patched balloon above them that kept them in the air and the crew that worked on the deck with final preparations. Sure she was only doing merchant runs these days, but that didn't make the ship anything less. 
“So what made you join up?” she asked as she began to feel he might be taking the silence uncomfortably.
“I...uh...don't really know,” he replied as he diverted his gaze to side and rubbed the back of his head with a hoof.
“Fair enough answer as any, but knowing what I know about ponies, I doubt your passion is keeping records,” she smirked coyly.
“I...uh...I'm a writer...I guess I took the job to get some inspiration or something....” he seemed uncomfortable with his answer.
Brink smiled and stepped closer, placing a hoof on his shoulder and looking him in the eye, “now that is a much better reason and believe it or not, that is sort of how I ended up here on the Princess's Revenge as well, I'm an artist and my art just sort of lead me here.”
His brows raised in interest.
“Every author I ever met that was any good at writing stories, always seemed to appreciate reading or hearing a good story just as much as they loved writing them.”
Paper Scrap nodded.
“It's a long flight from here to the Crystal Empire, if you are interested, I am feeling all nostalgic and in one of those story telling moods if you're interested in hearing the ramblings of an old mare,” she smiled and began walking towards the helm.
He nodded, “yes Captain!” he said eagerly. 
She stepped behind the wheel and lever controls and popped the cap to the communication pipe, “all hands, prepare for cast off.” 
There were a series of replies from the com pipes confirming her orders as she pressed a few levers into positions, giving the balloon more heat and lift while starting the propeller arrays on the sides to slowly build up speed.
She turned to Paper Scrap while taking the wheel, “alright kid, a long time ago, there was an earth pony that dreamed of being a Pegasus and a unicorn that wished she could have wings too, so they could fly high above the clouds and forget about their lives on the ground...”