Chapter 13: Step One
Twilight woke to the feeling of something poking her in the back. She groaned, attempting to roll over to get away from whatever it was. It felt like she’d just gotten to sleep. Judging by the lack of light getting through her eyelids, it was somewhere between really early, and ridiculously early.
Unfortunately, her attempt to roll over was hampered by something that was curled up against her chest. Whatever it was, was warm and scaly. She couldn’t roll away from the poking, which was getting more insistent.
“Wake up,” somepony said. Distantly, she recognized the voice, but her sleepy mind couldn’t put a name to it.
Assaulted on two fronts, Twilight forced open her eyes with a groan. Maybe she could tell her assailant to go away. At least give her another hour.
What greeted her sight first was Spike, curled up against her chest. She remembered that he had slept in her bed last night, the last night they’d have to see each other for some time. There was no way she was going to say anything to him.
That left whoever was poking her back. She lifted her head, turning to face the mystery poker.
Midnight stared back at her. The thestral had a small smile on her face. “Finally!” she chirped. “I was beginning to think I’d have to drag you out of bed.”
“Ugh,” Twilight groaned. “What time is it?”
“Half past five. Also known as time to get up. We’re meeting outside on the steps in an hour and a half. You do want to get breakfast before we leave, right?”
How was it possible the thestral was this chipper so early in the morning? Twilight didn’t think she’d ever even shown a sign of being tired the entire month of training. This being despite the fact that the thestral was up before them each day, worked alongside them, and was still awake when they went to sleep. Either Midnight was some sort of superpony, or she was just really good at hiding her fatigue.
Twilight mumbled something that not even she could fathom. However, the answer seemed to satisfy Midnight and she backed away. “I’ll see you downstairs.” With that said, she left the room.
Twilight let her head flop back down onto the pillow. She was not a morning pony, not in the least. At five-thirty in the morning, the only thing that should be moving was her drool.
Of course, if she continued to lay there, she had no doubt that Midnight would make good on her threat to drag her out of bed. So she really had two options: get up now and be sleepy, or sleep a little more and have everypony be mad at her.
It was a tough choice. It really was.
She lay down for another couple of minutes. Spike shifted against her, letting out a small sigh. She gently stroked the spines on his head. She was going to miss him while away.
Releasing her own sigh, she slipped out of the bed. Spike clutched at where she had been for a moment, before his claws found her pillow. The dragon drew it in close, holding it.
She stared longingly at her bed for another moment. It was practically singing her name. Instead, she turned and headed into the bathroom. Some airships were equipped like an actual hotel, with guest suites, bathrooms, all of it. Considering they were about to hitch a ride on a cargo hauler, she figured this would be her last chance to get an actual shower, so she was going to enjoy it.
It was almost half an hour later that she emerged from the bathroom, mane and coat still wet while steam billowed out the open door. Despite the still early hour, she felt awake. Though she was certain her shriek at stepping under bitingly cold water had woken up anypony still asleep on this floor.
Spike was awake as well, sitting on the edge of the bed. When she came into the room, he hopped up and went over to the desk. Opening a drawer, he took out a folded piece of paper.
“I want you to have this, Twilight,” he said.
She took the paper in her magic, unfolding it. It was a drawing Spike had done, of the two of them. She was running forward with him on her back. A sword floated in front of her while he had one clutched in his claws.
“It’s for luck,” he said in answer to her small smile. “Even if I can’t be there with you, I’ll be here, helping out Cadance.”
Twilight set the paper down on the bed, grabbing Spike in a hug. “Ack!” he protested. “You’re all wet!”
She ignored him. “Thank you, Spike. I’ll keep it safe.”
Giving in to the hug, he wrapped his arms around Twilight. They shared what both of them knew would be their last moment together for some time. If ever.
When she finally pulled back, Twilight dried them both off with a quick spell. Looking around the room, she chuckled. “Well, at least packing for this trip will be easy. We have no stuff left.”
Spike shared her laugh. “Yeah. Rarity must be panicking.” The dragon elbowed her in the ribs. “So, you gonna go raid the library?”
She gave him a conspiratorial smile. “Raid? A library?. Twilight gasped. “I’d never do such a thing. I’m merely liberating them from the oppression of dark shelves.” A pair of saddlebags floated out of the closet in her magic grip. When they were safely strapped on, she turned to the only other object in the room that was hers: the sword given to her by Midnight.
It still felt odd, owning a weapon. She had knives for her kitchen, but that was different than a blade whose sole purpose was to inflict harm upon another living being. Slowly, she strapped the sword in place across her back. It felt heavy, pressing down on her.
“I suppose we’d best get some breakfast. And I need to visit the library. I should at least get some texts on the Gryphon Empire, brush up on their society and customs.” She hesitated a moment. “But before that, I want to ask a favor of you, Spike.”
He looked up at her. “Of course, anything.”
“Keep an eye on Berry. The little filly has been through a lot. She’s going to need a friend.”
The dragon nodded. “She’s been getting along okay with the Crusaders lately. But I’ll keep an eye on her, sure.”
“Thank you, Spike.” She rubbed his head spines with a hoof. “I know you’ll do well.” She opened the door. “Now come on, I need to stop by the library before getting breakfast.”
The two of the left the room. The sword on her back jostled around slightly. It felt like it was rubbing the hairs on her coat off.
The hallways were deserted at this early hour. It was still too early for most of the servants to be here, and the few ponies on the night staff would be getting ready to head home and sleep. The only sounds were the clopping of her hooves, and the tick of Spike’s claws on the crystal floor.
In no time at all, they were inside the library. Twilight made a beeline for the reference section. She needed a few books on the Gryphons. While she felt confident enough to interact with a gryphon without breaking some sort of social taboo, it paid to be prepared. Besides, what else was she going to do on the airship?
Browsing the titles, she selected a few books. None of them were particularly thick, but combined they should be enough. She slipped them into her saddlebags. Nopony would notice them missing, and she was fairly confident that Cadance wouldn’t mind.
With the weight evenly distributed around her saddlebags, she was about to leave the library when a thought occurred to her. “Come on, Spike. I’ve got one last place to visit.”
Dutifully, the dragon followed her as she went deeper into the library. Before their training, she had found some books on fighting. She wanted to bring some of those with her as well. With luck, they’d still be sitting on the table where she left them.
She found the appropriate section, but the books had been reshelved by somepony. She grumbled in annoyance. Now she would have that many less minutes for breakfast. However, she remembered their titles so it was easy to find them again.
A book on troop tactics, a tome of warfare, a compendium of fighting styles, and finally a book on gruphon combat tactics, all went into her saddlebags. She squeezed the last one in, barely getting the top flap latched, so she had enough reading material to keep her occupied for quite some time.
“Okay, let’s go eat,” she said.
Spike nodded. “I hope they have more of those gemstone pancakes. They were so good.” The dragon’s mouth started watering.
Twilight chuckled. “I’m sure they can make you some.”
Together they left the library. It was a short trip down to the dining room, where Cadance, Midnight, and most of her friends and their families already were.Obviously, Rainbow was still absent. This didn't surprise Twilight though, the pegasus had probably opted for the 'make everyone angry' choice.
Twilight took a seat next to a sleepy looking Rarity. “Morning,” she greeted everypony.
A chorus of mornings and mumbles cascaded back at her. Some, like the entire Apple family, were wide awake. Others, like Rarity, were still mostly asleep.
“Is it morning?” Rarity groused. “The sun is not even up yet.”
“Oh the sun will come up soon enough, Rares,” Applejack responded. The farmpony gestured to the steaming mug in front of Rarity. “Just drink your coffee and you’ll wake up.”
“It should be a crime to be that chipper so early,” Rarity muttered as she sipped her drink.
“What was that?”
“Nothing, darling.”
Applejack smirked. “Uh huh.”
Breakfast passed quickly. Everypony was engaged in idle chatter with those around them, especially the ones that were being left behind. Rainbow showed up with ten minutes to spare and wolfed down whatever she could find on everypony’s plates.
All too soon, Midnight stood up. “It’s time we head out,” she said. “Captain Swashbuckle is waiting for us on the outskirts of town.”
It was a silent group that left the castle, following the thestral. For once, they didn’t have a legion of bags following them, courtesy of Rarity. Instead, their families were joining them. Even Cadance had joined the procession.
As they headed through the town, ponies caught sight of them. Twilight knew Cadance had told everypony she was going on a mission with her friends to stop the dragon, but their curious looks still unnerved the purple unicorn.
She caught sight of some ponies looking at her with near reverence. She’d seen that look on ponies before, but it was always aimed at Princess Celestia, never at her. Even when she and her friends had done something with the Elements of Harmony, their success was met with at most jubilation.
She slowed down slightly, letting Cadance catch up. “Cadance, why are ponies looking at us like that? We haven’t even done anything yet,” she whispered.
The alicorn glanced around her, taking in the faces of the ponies nearby. “It’s because of what you represent to them,” she answered.
“But we’re about to head out on some mission that they don’t know what it is, and we don’t even know if this will work.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Cadance said with a smile. “To them, you are hope. Do you remember what Auntie told me, that night we spoke to her?”
Twilight scrunched her face up as she concentrated. “She told you to lead the ponies in her stead.”
“Close. She told me to be the shining light in the darkness, to be a guiding light for ponies. I’ve been working hard to be that light. Ponies are still coming in from other towns, from Equestria. It’s thanks to the efforts of ponies like Captain Swashbuckle, who go to other towns and spread the word of what is going on here, how this is a safe haven, that everyday more ponies arrive here. Feeding them, housing them, making the change in their lives as comfortable as possible, that’s my job.”
She set a wing on Twilight’s shoulder. “You have another job. While I’m the beacon in the darkness, you are the burning flame. You carry with you the hope of all ponies. Of all of Equus.” She paused for a moment. “Think of it this way. A star is bright, but immobile. But a flame can be carried, it can be used to push back the darkness wherever it goes. You’re leaving the safety of the light to bring illumination to all.”
Cadance’s analogy made sense, somewhat. Twilight still didn’t believe that she was all that important. She didn’t want to believe it. She just wanted to be a normal pony.
Word of their imminent departure must have spread like wildfire, because by the time they left the town, a large crowd of ponies was following them, and even more were waiting. A channel formed in the crowd through which they walked. Just beyond the tents, Twilight caught a glimpse of the airship that would be ferrying them around.
When she finally moved past the last tent, she stopped and stared. “This is the airship?” she asked.
Midnight nodded. “It is.”
“That thing can actually fly, right?”
The airship was a mess. True to Swashbuckle’s words, it was certainly large. But it looked like somepony had taken two halves of an airship and crammed them together. The ship itself was tethered to a large crystal and floating just above the ground. The large rudder hanging below brushed the grass as it waved in the early morning breeze.
Airships were a relatively new technology, yet somehow this one looked like it had been flying around for a hundred years. The wood was worn and weather beaten, and as it shifted gently, Twilight could hear it creaking. There were cracks in some places. The large turbines at the rear looked like they could fall off if they started turning. If the thing weren’t floating already, Twilight would swear that it would never even get off the ground.
The ropes holding the large envelope that contained the gas looked like they could snap at any moment. The envelope itself seemed tattered, like a scrap of fabric that Rarity would have leftover from making a dress. There had to be holes in it, there just had to be.
Shaking her head, she continued forward. Her friends were all looking at the airship as well, looks of awe and suspicion mixed through their expressions. A long gangplank went from the top deck down to the ground. Waiting for them at the bottom of the gangplank was Swashbuckle and another pony, a pegasus mare.
“Welcome to The Gryphon’s Folly,” Swashbuckle said proudly. He pointed to the pegasus. “This is me first mate, Sky Fire.” The mare inclined her head. “As soon as you’re ready to leave, step aboard.” The two of them walked up the gangplank.
Twilight turned to face Cadance and Spike. “Well, this is it.” Butterflies flitted about in her stomach. The reality of what she was about to do, hit her like a brick.
Cadance drew her into a hug. “I know that you’ll do well, sister.”
Twilight hugged back. “Thank you.” She reached out and drew Spike into the hug as well. “I’ll miss you both.”
“We’ll miss you, too,” Spike said.
They held the embrace for several long moments, heedless of all the ponies watching. Right now, they didn’t exist to Twilight. Instead, it was just the three of them, in their own little world.
When they broke apart, each had a smile upon their features. Yet, as Twilight glanced at them, she couldn't help but feel the sadness and concern emanating from their faces. Cadance gave Twilight a nudge towards the ship. “Go on. Go and do what I know you can do.”
Giving the two of them, her family, one last look, she turned and headed up the gangplank. She could feel the eyes of the crowd watching her ascend. Nopony said anything, though.
When she reached the top deck, she looked around. Swashbuckle was at the rear of the ship, standing behind the large wheel that controlled their movement. The wheel was set on a raised portion of the deck, two doors set into the facade below the area where the wheel was. There was another, smaller, raised portion at the front of the deck, another door set there.
Sky Fire was next to him. Several more ponies trotted around the deck, securing lines, moving boxes, tightening ropes, and organizing passengers. The dichotomy between the ponies moving around on the ship, and those unmoving on the ground, was unusual.
Twilight stood at the rail, overlooking the crowd. Hundreds of ponies were gathered, even at this early hour, to see them off. Already, Fluttershy and Rainbow were on the deck. One by one, the rest of her friends finished their goodbyes and headed onto the ship.
Midnight was the last to arrive, landing with a flutter of her wings. She headed over to Swashbuckle, pulling a large bag out of one of her saddlebags and giving it to him. Twilight suspected that it was the bits he had been promised.
The earth pony nodded, giving the bag to Sky Fire. “Alright, everything’s in order. Status update!” he called out.
“All hooves stand’n by Cap’n!” called out a unicorn from the front of the ship.
“Boiler’s lit and ready. The turbines have been cleaned and greased,” a pegasus shouted.
Swashbuckle nodded. “Then we’re ready to go. Just say the word.”
Twilight looked to Midnight, who had joined them at the rail. The thestral nodded her head. “Go on,” she said. “This is your mission, so you give the order.”
The unicorn started. “What?”
“Go on, Twi,” Applejack said. She set a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.
Her gaze returned to all of the ponies gathered below. They all seemed like they expected her to say something. The enormity of what was about to happen sank in. Twilight remembered how Cadance had mentioned that ponies saw her and her friends as their saviors.
Taking a deep breath, while frantically trying to figure out what to say, she opened her mouth and spoke. “We leave today to defeat the dragon. I know that you all are looking to us for your salvation, and we will not fail you. But each and every one of us must play a part in this, as well.”
Twilight gestured to the crowd with a hoof. “Look around you, at your fellow ponies. It is in times like this that you must rely not only on yourselves, but on those around you as well. Unless we work together, there is very little chance we’ll survive the year. You Crystal Ponies find yourselves the host to displaced Equestrians. Take care of them. To the Equestrians, help out your neighbors to the north. We’re all in this together, and together, we will overcome.”
Twilight looked over at Swashbuckle. “Let’s go,” she said.
The captain spoke into a tube. “Give me all power to engines, we’re leaving.”
A voice came out of the tube in response. “Aye, aye, Captain.”
There was a rumble and the ship shook as its systems awoke. Two earth ponies quickly untied the ropes keeping the ship secured, pulling them up and making two piles on the deck. A sort of thwhupping sound was heard as the propellers at the back started turning. The gangplank was hauled up as they rose into the air.
From below, a cheer started amongst the ponies. Quickly it gained momentum, until the entire crowd was cheering and stomping their hooves. Ponies waved their forehooves in the air.
Smiling sheepishly, Twilight waved back. She had imagined that their departure would be a quiet affair. Instead, hundreds of ponies were cheering and sending them off. The mood was infectiously exuberant. Everypony in the crowd was wearing a smile and cheering, even if that mood didn’t quote extend to the ship itself.
The airship rose higher and higher, slowly at first, but as the engines began to thrum with power their ascent speed increased. Twilight could still see Cadance and the rest of the ponies. The princess was waving right alongside everypony else.
With a lurch, they moved forwards once they were above the height of the surrounding crystals. This was it, they were now underway on the most important mission Twilight had ever undertaken.
As the crowd faded away, Twilight turned to her friends. “Here we go,” she said.
They all nodded. “Next stop, the Gryphon Empire,” Rainbow said with a hoofpump.
Twilight moved away from the railing as the ground below them continued to get farther and farther away. Curiously, she had expected there to be a strong wind as they moved, but it was calm on the deck.
Sky Fire came over to them. “I’ll show you to where you’ll be staying while on board. You can feel free to leave your things there. I’ll also give you a quick tour of the ship.”
“That would be most helpful, thank you,” Rarity said.
Sky Fire pointed over to where Swashbuckle was still at the wheel. “Underneath there, through the doors, is the Captain’s Cabin. That’s the only place on the ship that you must ask permission before entering.” She paused for a moment, glancing at Twilight. “Or be invited in, which will most likely happen,” she added with a roll of her eyes.
The mare turned towards the front of the ship and the door there. “Through here, if you’ll follow me, is the rest of the ship.” She trotted over to the doors.
“Ms. Fire?” Twilight said.
The mare’s brows furrowed. “Are you for real? Just Sky Fire’s fine.”
“Okay, Sky Fire. I have a question.”
The pegasus reached the door, stopping in front of it. “Sure.”
Twilight looked around her. “Why is it not windy here on the deck? At the rate we’re moving, we should be having trouble hearing each other.”
Sky Fire smiled smugly. “Ah yes. There’s an enchantment on the deck. Keeps the wind out, and no matter our altitude, it will always be just the right temperature.”
“Huh. That’s smart,” Twilight said.
The pegasus chuckled. “You’ll find that this ship has a lot of little surprises like that. There’s far more to her than meets the eye,” she said while slowly rubbing a hoof along the door frame.
“Come on, follow me inside.” She opened the door, revealing a steep set of stairs, almost a ladder. With sure steps, she descended. A light clinging to the ceiling provided illumination. Twilight followed just behind, taking a moment to be sure of each step.
The stairs deposited them into a room, though they were facing the wall, which was really the front end of the ship. Stepping around the stairs showed a large room, with several long tables and chairs. Against the far wall there was a kitchen setup. The whole room was as wide as the ship, stretching from one side of the ship to the other, the walls curving slightly. There was about fifty feet of room in width.
When they were all in the room, Sky Fire spoke again. “This is our kitchen and dining room. Meals are eaten here and the whole crew gathers together for dinner. You can also use this room as a lounge of sorts. Feel free to relax here.”
She set off again, heading down a hallway at the rear of the room. There were several doors leading off the hallway. “These will be your rooms while you are onboard.”
She opened one door, revealing a modest room with two beds. There was a hooflocker at the bottom of each bed. “There are four rooms, two on each side of the hallway. Each one has two beds, so you’ll have to double up.”
At the end of the hallways was another steep staircase. Cautiously, they descended this one as well. It opened up into another large room. This one had hammocks strung between large, vertical support beams. There were about two dozen hammocks in all, with enough hooflockers to go around.
“This is where the crew sleeps,” Sky Fire said. She headed across the room and down another hallway. This one had only two doors, one on either side. “The door to the left is the bathroom, the door on the right is the showers. Water is limited, so keep your showers short. If we run out, then either we have to land at a lake to get more, or we all suffer until we get to our stop.”
She pointed to another stair. “There are two more levels below this one, though there’s not much point in going down there. Both of them are storage, though at the stern of the ship on the bottom level, there’s the engine room.”
She fixed them all with a hard look. “I’m not gonna say you can’t go down there, but don’t touch anything in either the cargo rooms, or the engine room, unless directed to by a member of the crew. If you’re curious about the engine, feel free to head down there, ask questions. But again, don’t touch. We may be on a mission to save the world, but those crates and sacks are still private property, and they will remain as such.”
The hard look vanished, replaced with a smile. “That concludes the tour. You’re free to do what you wish. Meals are prepared by our cook. Our old cook left us back at the Crystal Empire, but we got a new one who arrived just this morning, before you did. So we’ll see how good she is.”
Sky Fire trotted passed them, leaving heading through the crew quarters and up the stairs. Twilight looked around at her friends. “So. What now?”
Rainbow shrugged. “Do we even know how long it’ll take us to get to the Gryphon Empire?”
“It’s a three day journey by train, so maybe two days?” Twilight said, unsure. She’d have to ask Swashbuckle or Sky Fire.
“Why don’t we go ahead and get situated in our rooms,” Midnight suggested. “Then we should meet on deck. I’ve got some things for you all to work on.”
“Things?” Rarity asked. “What things?”
The thestral smiled. The smile looked almost evil to Twilight. “I have a few ideas on what we can do to pass the time.” She eyed Twilight’s bulging saddlebags. “And no, it doesn’t involve books or a study session.”
“These are mostly for me to brush up on Gryphon customs. Wouldn’t do well to offend them,” Twilight said. “And I might have packed a few other books as well.”
“Somehow, none of us are surprised,” Applejack said with an exaggerated roll of her eyes.
Twilight huffed, but she couldn’t keep the smile off her muzzle. Turning around, she headed back through the crew quarters, where a few ponies were taking a rest. She climbed the stairs, ending up in the hallway with their bedrooms. Somepony was in the kitchen, she could hear things being moved around, but couldn’t see the pony because the kitchen was back up against the wall of one of the bedrooms.
“So, who’s sleeping where?” she asked.
Rainbow pointed to the room on the right side of the hallway near the stairs. “Flutters, wanna take this room?” Fluttershy nodded, and the two of them opened the door, heading inside.
Pinkie grabbed Rarity, pulling the startled mare into the room across from Rainbow’s. “We’ll take this one. Come on, Rarity!”
“Wait, what?” Rarity’s cries were cut off by the door closing.
Twilight blinked, wondering what had just happened. “Okay then.” She turned to Applejack. “What about you, AJ? Wanna take one of the rooms?”
The farmer shrugged. “I dunno. I do get up a lot earlier than you. I don’t want to wake you up in the mornings.”
“Midnight?”
“I’m fine with whatever. One of us is going to have a room to herself.”
Twilight thought for a moment. “Well, how about Midnight and I share a room, and you can have one to yourself, AJ. That way, when you do get up early, you won’t disturb anypony.”
“Sounds fair to me,” Applejack said. She headed into the room on the right. That just left the room on the left, with the kitchen right behind it, for Twilight and the thestral.
“I suppose I should drop off my stuff,” Twilight said. “Do you have a preference on which bed you want?”
“Nope. You pick one, and I’ll take the other. Come on out onto the deck when you’re ready.” She headed out into the kitchen, giving a nod to whoever was working there.
Twilight opened the door into the room. Really, all she had to do was take off her saddlebags, and the sword. Arbitrarily taking the bed on the left, she opened the hooflocker, dumping her saddlebags inside.
The sword was too large to fit, so she laid that on the bed. Surely she wasn’t going to need it on deck. Twilight hesitated. Then again, she never knew what Midnight could be planning. With a sigh, Twilight picked the sword back up and strapped it on, she should probably get used to wearing it anyhow.
Lacking anything else to do, Twilight opted to head upstairs and outside. Hopefully she’d be able to speak to Swashbuckle or Sky Fire about their estimated travel time.
When she got to the kitchen, a surprise was waiting for her in the form of a familiar mare with a shock of red and orange hair. “You!”
The mare’s magic cut out, dropping the frying pan she was in the middle of sticking into a cabinet. It landed with a clang as she turned about. “Me!”
“Don’t you work at the castle? What are you doing here?”
Dark smiled. “I heard that this ship needed a cook. So I asked Candy if I could sign on and she said yes.”
“Candy?”
“Ya know, Cadance?”
Twilight frowned. “Since when does anypony call her Candy?”
Dark shrugged. “Since I started doing it. Candy’s guards get a kick out of it. It makes her embarrassed when I do it in public. So I keep doing it.”
“And she just let you quit and leave?”
“It’s not like she can keep me from leaving. I’m a private citizen who happens to work at the castle; I can quit anytime I want. I’ve always wanted to see the world, and this seemed like the once in a lifetime chance I’d have to accomplish that. So I pounced on it.” She turned back to the kitchen. It looked like she had emptied everything out of the cabinets.
“Whoever they had here last was a mess. Pots mixed with pans intermingling with a neighponese wok! How could anypony find anything in this mess? I have to reorganize this whole armament and still get lunch on the table.”
She whirled, jabbing a hoof at Twilight. “And don’t even get me started on the sorry state of the spices.” A large wooden box floated over, Dark caressing it with a hoof. “You all are lucky I decided to bring my personal stash with me, else all you’d be getting is flavorless swill.” The box moved away. “At least now you’ll be getting flavorful swill.” Her ever present smile turned into a frown. “I’m good, but I can only do so much with the ingredients provided to me. I swear, as soon as we land in the Gryphon Empire, I’m hitting the market and buying real ingredients.”
As the mare set about her work, continuing to rant about shoddy ingredients, Twilight left her to it. That was one strange pony.
She headed through the kitchen and up the stairs. When she opened the door leading out to the deck, the first things she saw were clouds. Just beyond the railing, white clouds drifted alongside the ship. Oddly, the deck wasn’t covered in the white mist she was used to when she floated through a cloud in her balloon. She guessed that the same enchantment which kept them warm and out of the wind, also blocked the clouds from getting on the deck.
Swashbuckle was still at the wheel, consulting several instruments around him. Applejack, Rainbow, and Midnight were already on deck as well. She trotted across the deck, nodding at her friends as she passed, amd up the stairs leading to the wheelhouse. A frown crossed her face as she realized she didn’t know what this area was called when it wasn’t enclosed. Was it still a wheelhouse? She’d have to ask Swashbuckle.
The earth pony was staring at a panel of instruments. Dials that Twilight wasn’t entirely sure what they meant. “Whatcha need, lass?” he said without looking up.
Twilight paused a moment. “Er, me?”
Swashbuckle looked up. “Maybe. Well, I don’t see any other cute mares up here, do you?”
She felt her cheeks heat up. Was he flirting with her? But he had called Midnight cute as well the other night in the war room, so maybe it was just some quirk of his.
“Ah, well. I was just curious as to how long it would take us to reach our destination.” She couldn’t help herself, she looked over at the instruments, trying to figure out what each of them were. She recognized one as a measure of how high they were above the ground, another as an indicator of their speed. A compass pointed out that they were travelling southeast. The rest of them she wasn’t familiar with.
Swashbuckle consulted with several dials, tapping one of them with a hoof until it moved. “We should reach the border by evening tomorrow. After that,” he shrugged. “I don’t know for certain, but rumors say the Gryphons have closed their borders. Some say they’re turning away ponies seeking asylum, others that they have allowed a camp of ponies at the border, but aren’t letting them across.”
He eyed her up and down. “Once we get to the border, I have no doubt we’ll be stopped by Gryphon patrols. Unless that tongue of yours is as sweet as that face, this’ll be a short trip.”
She nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.” She hated this. There was a distinct lack of information, only rumors and hearsay. Nothing solid or substantial that she could work with, plan with. She’d have to play everything by ear, and it was frustrating.
“I noticed you eyeing my instruments,” Swashbuckle said, a wide grin on his face. “If you want, I can show you how they work.” He paused, his smirk widening. “A private demonstration.”
His tone, coupled with the too wide smile made Twilight uncomfortable. She shuffled from hoof to hoof, unsure of how to get a demonstration without the privacy. She really did want to know how the airship worked, but couldn't help but feel that he was referring to something else with his suggestion.
“I’d like to know more about this airship, yes.” An awkward smile crossed her muzzle. Hopefully that was a good answer.
“Well then, lass. Why don’t you and I meet here after dinner. I’ll show you how everything works.” He turned back to the wheel, giving it a slight turn. Twilight felt the deck underneath her hooves tilt slightly. The compass moved a few degrees more south, before Swashbuckle straightened the wheel. He nodded, seemingly satisfied with things.
Twilight retreated away from the stallion. Something about him gave her the creeps. She went and joined her friends. While she had been talking to the captain, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie had arrived on the deck. She was the last of the group.
“Well, Swashbuckle says that we’ll arrive at the Gryphon border tomorrow evening.” She paused, disgruntled. “As for whether or not we can cross the border, that remains to be seen.”
Rarity glanced up from watching a deckhoof coil the anchor rope at Twilight's voice. As her eyes passed over the purple unicorn's features, her own grew concerned. "Is there something the matter, darling?" she asked. "You look... unsettled."
Twilight grimaced. “I think Swashbuckle was hitting on me.” At those words, all of her friends turned to regard her. “Well, he offered to show me how the airship worked, but there was something about the way he said it...”
“What did he say?”
Twilight recanted to the other unicorn just what the captain had said. When she finished, Rarity’s face had a half smile on it.
“Darling, he was most certainly hitting on you. All that talk about instruments, meeting up here at night, after dinner? I would hardly be surprised if he invited you back to his cabin.”
“I— Well, he...”Twilight sputtered. “It was creepy okay?”
Rainbow collapsed laughing as Twilight’s face reddened. Fluttershy hid behind her mane, her entire face already a brighter red than Twilight’s. Applejack and Pinkie both had wide smiles, the farmer trying not to laugh. Midnight retained her stoic face, only a slight smile cracking through the veneer.
“I wouldn’t-- How could he--” She was unable to finish a sentence. “It’s not funny!” Twilight finally got out, stamping a hoof indignantly.
Rarity set a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “If it makes you uncomfortable, then you certainly don’t have to go.”
Twilight took a deep breath. “Thank you, Rarity. But I think I can handle myself. I do want to know more about this ship, so I shall meet with him. However, if he tries anything, he’s in for a big surprise.
Midnight spoke up. “I’ve dealt with Swashbuckle on occasion. I can absolutely say that he is a flirt, but I don’t think he means anything by it .I don’t think he’d ever cross any lines. It just seems to be something he does.”
So, Twilight had been correct, she couldn’t help but smirk a little. Flirting was just some quirk that Swashbuckle had. Still, just so long as he only flirted,she could put up with a bit of awkwardness. It was a quirk like any other, no worse than Pinkie’s hyperactivity, or Rainbow’s bragging.
The thestral looked around her, stamping her hoof and drawing their attention. “So, I have a few things planned for us. Just because we’re on an airship doesn’t mean I’m going to let you all slack off on your exercising.”
Rarity let out a groan while Rainbow looked confused. “But... It’s not like this ship is big enough for us to run laps. I guess Fluttershy and I can fly laps around the ship, but what about the others?”
“Rainbow, there is far more to exercise than just running. You should have learned that during our training. There’s push-ups, sit-ups, all kinds of exercises that you can do in one place. I know you all brought the presents I gave you last night, so we will be working with those as well.”
She held up a hoof to forestall any arguments. “I don’t expect you to spend all day training, not like you did. That was about developing skills. This is about maintaining them, so no more than a few hours a day. What you do with the rest of that time is entirely up to you.”
The thestral looked over at Twilight. “If you don’t have any objections, that is.” At the mare’s confused look, she continued. “You are in charge of the mission, so if you object...”
Twilight barely repressed a sigh. Being in charge like this was going to take some getting used to. When it was just her and her friends, even when they were running around on a mission as the Elements, whoever had the best idea, or the most knowledge, took the lead. Now she was just in charge, and on something as monumental as their current task.
“You know more about this kind of thing than I do, Midnight. So I defer to you on this. Whatever you think is best.”
Midnight nodded. “Okay. So for now, you’re not going to need your weapons. Instead, I want all of you to start with a hundred each of push-ups, sit-ups, and lunges.” Twilight joined her friends in heading over to an open space, but an extended leathery wing blocked her path. “One moment.”
As the others had found their own space on the deck, Midnight dropped her wing. “I wanted to speak with you about tomorrow.”
“What about it?”
“The Gryphons. While relations between them and Equestria have generally been, at least, polite, it’s almost a certainty that we’ll be stopped at the border.” Midnight’s eyes searched Twilight’s as she continued. “Do you have any idea how we’re going to get an audience with the current Emperor?”
This time, Twilight did sigh. “Swashbuckle did say that there’s rumors the Gryphons have closed their borders entirely. That refugees are stuck camping on the Equestria side. If that’s the case, then we’ll just have to hope that we can talk to whoever is in charge there and get across the border.
“Or,” Twilight continued after a pause, “if traffic is still flowing, we can just join the queue, possibly jump to the front since we are in an airship, and head on to the capital.” She frowned. “I hope Swashbuckle has a map of the Empire, I didn’t think to bring one.”
“If he doesn’t, I’m sure a gryphon can point us in the correct direction. I’ve never been to the capital myself, but from what I hear, you can’t miss it. It is carved entirely out of a mountain, after all.”
Twilight nodded. “I’ve seen drawings of it, though they were from about two Emperors ago, or about twenty years, so it may have changed in minor ways.”
She shook her head. “I don’t like this,” she admitted. “I don’t have enough valid information to make an informed decision. I’m doing a lot of ‘winging it,’ as the pegasi say.”
Midnight gave a small smile. “That’s almost always what it’s like. Being a Captain, you have to make decisions or plans based on the information you do have, however little it may be. The key is to keep your plans simple and fluid, it’s best to allow room for adaptation as the situation changes.”
She took a seat on the deck. “You don’t have to worry about this, but the other key is trusting your subordinates, from lieutenants down to squad leaders. They might know more about a situation than you. So if your plans are fluid, then they can adapt on the fly and still get the results you want. Trust in them to make the correct decision.
“Which brings me to my final point.” She pointed at herself with a hoof. “You are correct.”
“About what?”
“About the fact that I most likely know more than you on the subject of physical fitness and how to maintain it. As a leader, you have to understand that you don’t know everything. There might be somepony under you who is more knowledgeable about a topic than you. Listen to them, glean from their knowledge. Use it to support your own. You did the right thing in deferring to me.”
Twilight maintained her confused look. “Why wouldn’t I defer to you? I’d be stupid not to.”
Midnight set her hoof back on the deck. She tapped it quietly as she spoke. "You are the leader of this mission. It is important that you show that leadership and that's why I deferred to you about the training. I am glad you saw fit to let me take the lead on it, many leaders lose sight of when others might have more knowledge about certain things.It’s a trap that some leaders can fall into. They think that they know everything, and everypony under them will suffer for it. Others think it may make them look weak, if they let another take over.”
Twilight nodded. “Of course! I don’t really know the first thing about leading in situations like this.”
The tapping hoof ceased, instead finding its way to Twilight’s shoulder. “I don’t think you’ll ever fall into the trap, but since you are the leader of this mission, I want to impart some of my wisdom that I’ve gained being a Guard Captain.” She smiled. “If you want, that is.You’re doing a fine job so far. Though, your speeches could use a little work.”
The unicorn blushed. “I... Well... I’ve never really had to give a speech like that before. I’ve listened to countless speeches given by Celestia, Cadance, Luna, you, Shining. You make it look easy, but when I was up there, the words just didn’t come.”
Midnight laughed. “Giving orders, leading troops, forming battle plans, that’s the easy part. Giving a rousing speech before a battle? Or an uplifting one if morale is sagging? That’s the hardest part of being a leader. The only reason we make it look easy, is practice, and conviction. When you’re put on the spot, when those ponies are depending on you... It’s not about saying something eloquent; it’s about speaking from the heart on a topic that you and all those ponies watching you believe in. Also practice. Lots of practice. And a lot of failed speeches.”
Twilight groaned. “I really hope I don’t have to give another one of those.”
The thestral shrugged. “Who can say.” She pushed Twilight forward with her wing.” Now go on, you’ve got some catching up to do with your exercises.”
With a nod, Twilight stood up, heading to a clear section of deck. She was proficient enough in the exercises assigned that she knew it wouldn’t be a challenge. While she was tired already from the early morning, she knew that with some focus she could easily make it through a mere three hundred exercises. Arrange them out in sets of twenty, rotate through the exercises, easy.
She laid herself on the deck, hooves in position to start with push-ups. Those were the hardest of the exercises, so she should start with them, allowing herself to rest in between by working on the others. The different exercises worked different muscle groups, so while she may feel tired overall, she could continue at a steady pace.
As she worked her muscles, feeling everything move, she tuned her senses in to her friends around her. Distantly she could hear both Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
“That is not a push up!” Applejack cried.
“It is too!” Rainbow countered. “And that makes two hundred. What are you at, lazy flank? A hundred and twenty?”
“You cheated! You can’t use both your wings and hooves. It’s one or the other.” The farmmare glared at the pegasus. “I don’t rightly care if you use your wings or your hooves, I’ll beat you either way.”
Applejack smirked at Rainbow. “In fact, since you’ve been using both, let’s cut your score in half. That makes it a hundred and twenty of my hoof-only push ups, to your one hundred push ups.” Applejack lay on the deck, rubbing her chest with a hoof. “I win.”
Rainbow sputtered. “No, that’s cheating! You can’t just cut my score in half!”
“I can, and I did. Whatcha gonna do about it?”
As the pegasus and earth pony argued, Rarity was over striding across the deck. With each step, she bent down into a near bow. “Honestly, doing these lunges is most unbecoming of a mare. It’s one thing to do them in an empty field with nopony watching. Another to perform them in front of an audience.” She glanced aside at the deckhooves watching her.
“Honestly, you’d think they’d never seen a mare working out before!”
Twilight ignored the complaining mare, instead focusing on Fluttershy. The pegasus was straining to lift herself off the deck with her wings. When she reached the apex, she grunted out a number. “One hundred eighty five!”
Slowly, she lowered herself back down to the deck, her belly not quite touching it. Giving another grunt, she pushed herself back up, adding one more to the count.
It was very odd, seeing the demure pegasus engaging in something like a physical workout. Caring for all of her animals was a very physically demanding task, and Fluttershy had reserves of strength that most ponies didn’t know about, but it was still unusual.
Twilight finished her first set of twenty. Her breathing and heartbeat hadn’t even increased yet. Energy expenditure was minimal. Flipping over onto her back, she placed her forehooves behind her head, sitting up and falling back to the deck.
Rotating through the different exercises, doing them in sets, was the most efficient way to do it. This kept her energy high, her breathing easy, and her heart rate low.
Twenty minutes later, and she was done, as were the others. Midnight, having kept a close eye on each of them, called them together when they were all finished. “Good. Now go get your weapons and run through a few drills that your trainers taught you.”
As the sun rose and the miles disappeared behind them, they practiced. Snow turned to tundra, tundra to hills, hills to forest. Equestria was a large country with wide swaths of untamed land between cities. Some said it was because of ponykind's ancient tendencies to roam. It took many miles before the ponies of bygone would feel satisfied with their travels and settle down.
While one could no longer find herds or tribes like in the old days, ponies finally all having converged to populated areas, one could not deny the truth of these equine instincts. Even now in the present day when cities were connected by iron rail, one could find more than one pony travelling by hoof. If asked, they could no better give you a reason for their choice of travel than you could for breathing. It's just what they do. It could be said that the natural beauty of Equestria still calls ponies to experience it at least once in their lifetime. But unless you were a pony, that drive, or need for movement, would be lost.
Whatever the case, Twilight felt a sense of peace as she observed the hills and trees below them growing into mountains. It wouldn't be long before Swashbuckle would have to order an increase in altitude.
She had already observed that he liked to maintain their height a few hundred hooves above the ground. Not as high as the clouds, but high enough to avoid any troublesome outcroppings jutting up.
Their practice drew more than a few curious looks from the airship crew. Pinkie and Applejack had decided to spar, the two of them designating an area and using every inch of it. The two of them moved around, taking shots at each other and using every bit of their arena to their advantage.
Rarity had, with some help from Skyfire, found a thick piece of canvas down in the cargo hold and had it strung up as a target, tossing knives at it without damaging the ship. She was alternating between concentrating on each shot, precisely aiming it, and unleashing all of her knives in a flurry. The crew were being sure to give her a wide berth.
Fluttershy had a medical textbook open in front of her, her hooves miming motions in the air as her lips moved, silently mouthing what was on the page. Rainbow, after having been informed that flying more than a few hooflengths from the ship was a bad idea as she’d be caught in the strong winds not blocked by the enchantment, was alternating between running through drills on the deck, or hovering just in the air.
For her part, Twilight had an small area to herself, her sword whistling as it sliced through the air. Jab, jab, parry, block, riposte, she fought an invisible opponent. She was not as good as Spellweaver, her sword still visible as it moved, but quick all the same.
Her breathing was deep and even. She took a step to the left, dodging an overhead strike. Her sword lanced out, cutting down the opponent. Another took its place. It opened up with a jab at her chest. She backed up, her sword deflecting the other one. A quick reversal and her own blade was aimed it its barrel. Her opponent blocked the strike.
The dance continued, Twilight so consumed with her practice that she stopped paying attention to the world around her. Mentally, she made sure that nopony was around her or within range, and that she stuck to her small little area of movement. So when her blade was blocked by another blade, a loud clang sounding out, she was startled.
Looking up, she saw Midnight crouched before her, a sword clutched in her mouth. “Figured you could use an actual opponent,” she said with a smirk.
“Where’d you get the sword from?” Twilight asked.
“It’s mine.”
Twilight blinked. “But you weren’t even wearing a saddlebag this morning.”
“I sent all of my stuff along last night. It was down in the cargo hold.” Midnight retook her fighting stance. “Now, let’s spar.”
“Should I enchant the blades to make them temporarily dull?”
“No,” Midnight replied with a grin..“First to draw blood wins, that’s usual guard rules. Also, unlike when I was testing you before the training began, I won’t be holding back here.” Midnight lowered her stance, Twilight recognized it as the same one from the training sessions.
The stance was a very good one. Midnight’s weight was perfectly balanced on all four hooves, allowing her to block a strike from any angle, as well as launch herself on the offensive.
Twilight gripped her own blade, bringing it up and into the ready position. “Fine,” she said. The rules made sense. They’d each be trying to hit the other, but no strikes at vital spots, and they would hold back on their hits, not aiming to cause maximum damage, but instead just graze the other.
“Go!” Pinkie shouted, throwing her hooves in the air. One of her weighted shoes flew off, striking the wall underneath the wheelhouse. “Oops.”
The loud thunk as the shoe hit the deck was the signal. Midnight feinted to the left before heading right. Twilight saw through the feint and was ready to block. She jumped to her right, her sword coming down and deflecting the thestral’s strike.
She countered, twisting the blade and aiming at Midnight’s shoulder. Midnight dropped her front legs, the strike passing through the air over her. Her own sword jabbed at Twilight’s legs.
The unicorn stepped backwards, dodging and sending her sword at Midnight’s back. The thestral was already rolling away, Twilight’s blade just hit the deck, carving a scratch in it. In the time it took her to recover, Midnight had already gotten back to her hooves.
They came together again, blades clashing. Midnight knew that Twilight could use her magic to apply more force to the blade than she could hope to match, so each time their blades met, it was brief, the thestral pulling back and swinging again. For her part, Twilight concentrated on being offensive. Midnight far outclassed her in terms of ability, so if she allowed the thestral to take control of the battle, she’d lose quickly. She had to keep her dodging and blocking.
Twilight took several steps forward, swinging her blade in a pattern taught to her by Spellweaver designed to force an opponent backwards. Midnight backed up, getting closer and closer to the railing of the deck. When her flank hit the wood and she was forced to stop, she flourished her sword, pushing Twilight back a step.
The thestral pulsed her wings, jumping over Twilight and aiming at her back. The unicorn dropped and rolled away, their blades meeting briefly. Now she had her back to the railing, something she corrected by turning and taking several steps to the side.
A crowd had started to gather, consisting of their friends and a number of the deckhooves. As the two of them moved around, the crowd had to move as well, staying out of their way. Any semblance of sticking to a small area was gone in the first few seconds. Their fighting was swift and all over the place, drawing lots off attention.
They fought for over ten minutes, blades clashing and stabbing. Neither gaining an advantage over the other. They circled and moved, trying to get advantage in positioning, but either Midnight would counter with a flap of her wings, or Twilight would do a short-range teleport.
Twilight utilized a series of rapid fire jabs to move Midnight back a step, before swinging the blade in an arc over her head right at the thestral’s barrel. As soon as she passed once, knocking the other’s blade aside, she quickly reversed the movement, cutting back across. She felt a slight resistance on the second strike and Midnight winced.
They both paused, seeing if Midnight had been hit. She looked down, waited a few seconds, then looked back up. “Grazing strike, no blood though. So we continue.”
The unicorn nodded, readying her sword. She thought she’d had it with that move, but she must have pulled back the strike just a little too much, the mark wasn’t deep enough to bleed.
She lunged at Midnight, batting her sword aside and tackling the thestral. Getting into prolonged close combat with her was not a good idea, but she was working under the theory that a surprise attack like this would be good. Foregoing the sword, she punched Midnight twice in the stomach before being thrown off.
As she was tossed off of the thestral, she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her, yanking her back down to the deck. She slammed into the unyielding wood hard, a weight on her back, weighing her down.
Several brutal strikes into her back and one at the base of her horn disoriented her. A stinging pain along her left wither followed that. A second later, and the weight was removed from her.
With shaking legs, she got to her hooves, looking over and seeing a thin trail of blood staining her coat. She frowned. “I lost.”
“You did,” Midnight said. “Hoof to hoof combat is not your strong suit, choosing to enter into it was a mistake.”
They both sheathed their swords as there was a smattering of applause and several bags of bits changed hooves. Twilight blushed. She wasn’t used to having an audience outside of her friends and their trainers.
"Celestia above!" Swashbuckle exclaimed. "I would hate to be the poor fellow who actually does have to fight either of you. But by my unshaven stubble, if this is how you spar I'm going to have to claim royal insurance on my deck."
Twilight looked down, seeing gouges and scrapes in the wood where their swords had struck. “Oh, oops.” She lit up her horn, a red glow covering the deck for a moment before sinking into the wood and disappearing. “There we go, resistant to scratches and minor damage.”
Everypony was looking at her with open jaws and wide eyes. “What?” she asked.
“You know the enchantment just like that?” a deckhoof asked incredulously.
“Well it’s not like it’s that hard. I lived in a wooden treehouse with a dragon. I’ve been doing these enchantments for ages. I also know fire-resistance enchantments, in case of accidents.”
“Sounds like ya got your bases covered,” Swashbuckle said. “Now that my deck is protected, I feel a bit better about you practicing up here.”
“So what now?” Rainbow asked.
“Now, you are free to do what you want for the rest of the day,” Midnight said.
“We’re stuck on an airship, what all is there for us to do?”
“I’m sure you’ll think of something, darling.” Rarity was already heading towards the door leading belowdecks. “As for me, I quite desire a shower right now.”
Fluttershy was trying to fuss over the cut on Twilight, but the mare shooed her away gently. “That sounds like a good idea,” Twilight said. “I worked up quite the sweat.”
Rainbow stretched her wings, having just taken her wingblades off. “I’m gonna fly a few laps around the ship.”
Applejack opted to go explore the lower levels of the ship, while Fluttershy moved to the bow, sitting and watching the landscape pass underneath them. Twilight and Rarity headed down the steps.
Dark was hard at work in the kitchen, preparing lunch. “It’s not ready yet,” she called without turning around. “And no tasting.”
“We’re just heading for the showers,” Rarity said. “Though it does smell quite delectable.”
“It’ll be ready soon.” The cook looked over Rarity. “Probably around the time you’re done fixing your mane.”
Twilight wasn’t sure if that was some sort of thinly veiled insult or simply a comment. Either way, she pushed Rarity on before the fashionista could also make up her mind. They headed down the second ladder. There were a few crew members down there, relaxing or even sleeping. It made sense for at least some of the crew to be active during the night, so they would sleep during the day.
Rarity opened the door to the showers with her magic, then promptly shut it. “Unacceptable,” she said.
“What is?” Twilight asked.
“Those are not showers,” Rarity sniffed. “Showers are something refined. Those are just-- just barbaric!”
Rolling her eyes, Twilight used her magic to open the door, peeking inside. Immediately, she could see where Rarity’s objection came from. There were no shower stalls or anything. Instead, half a dozen nozzles stuck out of the wall into a large room with a drain in the center.
“There’s no privacy! How can a mare expect to shower in this?” Rarity demanded.
“The same way you always shower, by standing under the water,” came Sky Fire’s voice. Twilight turned around to see the pegasus standing there.
“But, privacy,” Rarity stated again.
“You’re on a cargo airship,” Sky Fire deadpanned. “We do occasionally take the odd pony or two from town to town, but mostly it’s just stuff. We of the crew are a family. We eat dinner together every night we’re sailing. We respect each other. For us, private shower stalls isn’t something we think about. The crew won’t stare at your mare bits while you shower, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
The mare walked passed them, heading into the crew area. “If you’re still bothered, then feel free to not shower until we hit port.”
Rarity sputtered for a moment before finding her words. “Well, that was rude.”
“She has a point, Rarity,” Twilight said.
“Surely you’re not comfortable with such a showering arrangement.”
“No, not really. But it’s only slightly worse than the showers back at the barracks. Those had no stalls either, just little bits of curtain separating things.”
Rarity fumed. “Yes well those were also segregated between mares and stallions. We didn’t have to worry about some greasy stallion barging in on us.”
“We aren’t greasy,” came a male voice. A few crew members had gathered at the mouth of the hallway, having been drawn by the fashionista’s ranting. “Unless you’re on the engine crew. Then you get engine grease all over ya.” Several other ponies rumbled their agreement.
“Ah, gentlestallions,” Rarity backpedaled.
“Save it,” the stallion, a large earth pony rivaling Big Mac in size, cut her off. “What the First Mate said is right. We’ll respect you, so long as you respect us. You’re entitled to your privacy. None of the mares on the crew complain about not having private showers. It is what it is here on the Folly. If you’re so worried we’re gonna stare at you, then obviously you don’t trust us, or respect us. So why should we reciprocate?”
They stood there, waiting for a response. “I...” Rarity started. “I... Fine. I apologize. That was rude of me.”
“Apology accepted,” the stallion said. Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. “After you shower,” he finished.
“What?”
He motioned towards the showers with a forehoof. “Show that you trust us. Go take a shower.”
Twilight stepped into the shower room, leaving Rarity to her decision. Honestly, this wasn’t bad at all. Yes she felt uncomfortable, but she also figured that she could deal with it if somepony got too close to her. Rarity just needed to learn that they couldn’t expect things to be like their old lives, not anymore. Adapting to new things was just going to have to be done.
To her, it was like taking off a bandage. Best to do it all at once and quickly. Yes it’ll hurt and take a chunk of coat with it, but it’ll also be over quickly. To that end, she set her sword against the wall and turned on one of the faucet heads.
The water that came out was powerful and cold. She felt like she’d just jumped into one of the lakes out in the Ice Wastes. If she’d been able to, she would have shrieked, but her instantly chattering teeth prevented that.
After a minute, the water didn’t even begin to get warmer. It was safe to assume that it would always be this cold and that she should finish as soon as possible.
Fortunately, there were basic soaps and shampoos along the walls. It made sense to keep some here, rather than take up valuable space in each crew’s hooflocker. Hopefully, she was using community supplies instead of somepony’s personal stash.
As she was in the middle of the fastest scrubbing she’d ever done, Rarity came into the room. She faltered for a moment at seeing Twilight, but then headed to her own nozzle and turned it on.
Twilight was in such a hurry to finish that she didn’t pay any attention to her friend. As soon as she was done, she quickly dried herself off with a spell, though the chattering teeth remained.
Grabbing her sword, she left the showers. Rarity was also probably taking her quickest shower ever. She wondered briefly if there was no hot water as a ploy by Swashbuckle to keep his crew from wasting water.
The crew had gone back to doing whatever it was they were doing before Rarity picked an argument with them. The large earth pony was reclining in a hammock. “Sorry about my friend,” she said.
He cracked open one eye, looking at her. “It’s fine. She’s not the first passenger to complain about life on this ship, and she won’t be the last.” The stallion sighed. “We don’t take it personally, just like to scare them a little. We find that it cuts down on complaints after that and we can have a peaceful trip.”
Twilight laughed. “Sounds like an interesting plan. What if they never complain?”
He smiled. “Then we have a peaceful trip.”
The unicorn held out a hoof. “I’m Twilight Sparkle.”
“Stout Hoof, lead deckhoof.” He shook her hoof, his grip surprisingly gentle. “And I know who you all are. The Cap’n briefed us all last night.”
“What did he say?” she asked, curious.
“That we’re about to play host to the Elements of Harmony, that we’re going on a mission around the world, there may be danger involved. So only a little different from the usual pre-flight speech.”
He closed his eye again, a clear sign that he was done talking. Twilight left him alone, heading up the stairs and stopping in her room. Midnight’s collection of weapons spread across half the room made her pause for a moment. It looked like she had brought the entire royal armory with her. She set her sword on her bed and grabbed her saddlebags, digging through them until she pulled out a couple of the books she had brought.
A minute later and she was sitting on the deck, one of the books floating in front of her as she read. If they were going to greet the gryphons in a day or so, she needed to brush up on their society and culture. If they needed access to the Empire, it was probably best to not offend the first gryphons they met.
She spent the rest of the day enjoying the sun on deck and reading, stopping only to go eat lunch. The cook might be crazy, but Twilight had to admit that she knew her stuff. The small plate of stuff Dark gave her before shooing her out of the galley didn’t look all that appetizing, but it at least tasted pretty good.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, she set aside one book and picked up another. This book was about Gryphon society and how to interact with one as an outsider. One of the deckhooves began lighting lanterns around the ship, allowing Twilight to remain on deck to read in the cool night air.
Twilight looked up as a bell rang out across the ship. She blinked as there was a sudden rush of activity even before the chimes died. Ponies were tying lines and battening down projects before filing towards the stair-ladder of the galley.
She glanced up at Sky Fire, who was currently steering, in confusion. As she watched, the pegasus lashed a section of rope from the rail to the wheel, effectively locking it in place. After a few more adjustments to the controls, the ship's first mate appeared satisfied and turned to Twilight.
“Come on,” she said. “It’s dinnertime. We eat together in the evenings.”
Twilight followed the mare down the stairs, several deckhooves behind them. Most of the crew, including Swashbuckle were already there. Several large platters sat in the middle of the table, each piled high with something different. Plates were being passed around and filled with food before finding their way back to their owners.
The unicorn took an empty seat next to Stout, the large deckhoof who had called out Rarity about the showers, who nodded a greeting. “We eat dinner as a family, every night. Just pass your plate around, you’ll get food.”
She gripped her plate in her magic, passing it to Stout, who put some stir-fried vegetables on it and passed it down the line. Another plate was passed to her, so she placed some bread from the platter in front of her onto it.
This continued for several minutes until everypony had a full plate in front of them. The rest of her friends had shown up while they were passing around pates. Applejack had come up the stairs from below, sporting some grease spots on her coat. She explained that she had been down in the engine room, learning how it worked and even helping out.
The meal was loud and boisterous, the crew laughed at bawdy jokes that made Fluttershy blush and hide behind her mane. Conversations popped up all across the table, the crew discussing various things they had experienced in the past few days. Twilight observed them. Even to somepony as socially awkward as her, she could tell that most of them were bonded deeply.
“Hey Stout?” she asked.
He turned to look at her. “Yes?”
“How long have most of you been on this crew? You all seem really friendly with each other.”
“Well, the Cap’n and First Mate have been here since the ship was first built. Most of us are part of the original crew, though we’ve lost some and gained some over the years. But for the most part, this ship has been active for just over five years now. So about that long.”
“Why do you stick around? Five years seems like a long time to be on a ship like this. Not that there’s anything wrong with the ship,” she hastily added.
Stout chuckled at her. “Just don’t insult the ship in front of the Cap’n and you’ll be fine. As for why we’re here, it’s all for different reasons. Some wanted to get out of their hometowns. Others wanted to travel and see new places. Some ponies just feel the call of the open sky. Some wanted to escape. We’re all here for our own reasons. As for why we stay? The adventure, the fun, the sense of family. Again, we all have different reasons.”
She continued to converse with Stout for awhile. The stallion was surprisingly knowledgeable and easy to get along with. He was happy to answer her questions about life on an airship. At one point, Swashbuckle sent a crew member down to the cargo hold to get a cask of rum, saying that tonight was a night for celebration. Although why he thought that was beyond anypony else. The world was about to end and they were approaching dangerous territory.
The crew member came back empty hooved. “Captain,” he said. “We’ve got something down in cargo.”
Swashbuckle looked over at the stallion. “Son, if it’s rats, just kill them and toss ‘em overboard.”
“It ain’t rats. Bigger than that. Stowaway I imagine.”
The captain sighed. “Ugh, some refugee looking for a free ride most likely. Stout, take your brother and Dazzle and go round him up. Be gentle. I wanna know who it is before tossing ‘em overboard. And take a weapon, in case it’s one of those dominated ponies.”
Stout nodded, standing up along with a pegasus stallion and a unicorn mare. They headed down the stairs.
“Isn’t that a little harsh, tossing the poor pony overboard?” Fluttershy asked.
“Only if he fights back. Nopony gets a free ride on my ship. You either pay, or you work. And don’t worry cutie, we’ll land first, then toss ‘em overboard. They can make their own way to the nearest town.”
Fluttershy blushed at the cutie remark and hid behind her mane. If she said anything else, nopony heard it.
The meal continued until several minutes later, when the sound of heavy hoofsteps came up the stairs. Twilight heard Stout call out from the hallway. “We got her, Cap’n.”
“It’s a mare is it? Bring her on in here,” Swashbuckle replied.
Stout entered the room. “It’s not a mare, Cap’n. It’s a filly.”
The pegasus, who had to be Stout’s brother came in first, the unicorn, Dazzle, last, holding a rather familiar cream coated pegasus filly in her magical grasp.
At the sight of the filly, Twilight and her friends all had the same reaction of gasping. “Berry!?” Twilight exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
The filly, mustering up her courage, turned to look at Twilight. “What you told me to do.”
At that, all heads turned to Twilight. “What?” she questioned, confused. “I never told you to sneak aboard this ship. In fact, I remember asking you to look after Cadance while I was gone.”
“You know this little filly?” Swashbuckle asked.
Twilight sighed. “Yes, I do.”
He stood up. “Sounds like we need to have a talk with you and the little one here. Dazzle, give the filly to Twilight. Twilight, you follow me to my cabin and you can explain what’s going on. Sky Fire, you’re with me.”
“I’m going as well,” Midnight said, also standing up. Swashbuckle eyed her for a moment, his gaze narrow. After a moment, he shrugged and turned around, walking away from the table.
“The rest of you may keep eating,” Sky Fire finished.
Twilight took Berry from Dazzle and placed the filly on her back. She then followed Swashbuckle and Sky Fire up the steps. They headed outside, across the deck, and into the Captain’s cabin.
Inside it was set up quite nicely, with a large bed, two nightstands, a dresser, armoire, seating area, as well as a large table playing host to a collection of maps. Swashbuckle cleared off the maps, indicating Twilight to place Berry on the table.
Once the filly was in place, Swashbuckle spoke up. “Now then, Berry is it? Why don’t you tell us why you’re here?” His voice was soft, but had an edge of command to it.
Berry pointed a hoof at Twilight. “She told me to do it.”
“I did not. Berry,” Twilight interjected indignantly. “When did I tell you to do this?”
“When Mommy died,” the filly said quietly. “When you talked to me. You told me to not be upset, and instead do something.”
Twilight widened her eyes. “I did say that, but I meant that you should stop staying in your room and scaring everypony who cares about you. Not that you should stowaway aboard an airship when you knew we were going on a dangerous mission.”
“I don’t care,” the filly said defiantly. “I can be useful.”
“Berry, we’re going into situations that we know nothing about. You’re not safe, even with us.”
“I don’t care!” the filly shouted, her eyes beginning to tear. “You told me to do something, so I’m doing something.” She sat on the table, forelegs crossed across her barrel, glaring at Twilight.
The unicorn sighed. “You’re also doing precisely what I told you not to do. I told you that we can’t take you along on this trip.”
“You’re not,” she huffed. “I came on my own.”
Midnight looked over at Swashbuckle. “Is there any way we can take her back to the Crystal Empire?”
He nodded. “Sure, but we’d lose two days of travel, maybe three, since we’ll be going into the wind heading north. Plus we’d have to resupply on fuel and water for the boiler. If you wanna lose that time, then sure, we can turn around.”
The thestral muttered something under her breath that Twilight suspected was a swear. “It’s up to you, Twilight,” she said. “We can turn around and lose the time, or just keep going. We can report in back at the Crystal Empire after we’re done with the gryphons and drop her off then.”
Twilight thought about that. Since they didn’t have any sort of timeframe for this mission, other than as quickly as possible, they needed every day they could get. Losing three days was a big deal. At the same time, she knew nothing about what the atmosphere was like in the Gryphon Empire. She wasn’t sure they would be safe, much less a filly.
“Listen to me, and listen closely, Berry Fields,” Twilight began. “Right now, I am very disappointed in you. You have knowingly put yourself in danger, and twisted my words around. Simply put, we don’t have the time to take you back home right now.”
The filly smiled, but Twilight wasn’t done. She held up a hoof. “However, you will not be getting a free ride. I will ensure that you have something to keep you busy each day. You will be working. Consider this your punishment for not only disobeying me, but for worrying everypony. I would bet you that right now, Cadance is very worried about you disappearing and we have no way of letting her know that you are okay.”
The smile on Berry’s face slowly fell as Twilight spoke. “So long as I’m being useful,” she said.
“You will also be sleeping in one of our rooms, so we can keep an eye on you. You lost my trust, Berry. Your mother would be ashamed, I am sure she did not teach you to circumvent authority. I am very disappointed.
At that, Berry hung her head low, ears drooping. “I’m sorry, Twilight. I- I know that you’re going after the dragon, and I just want to help.” A few tears dripped onto the table, staining the wood a darker color.
“As admirable as your intentions may be, it’s your methods that leave something to be desired.” A faint smile ghosted across Twilight’s features and she dropped her harsh tone as she continued softly. “However, I hope that you’ve learned your lesson, and won’t disappoint anypony, or me, again . For now, you must be hungry.”
A timely growl from the filly’s stomach permeated the room. “I’ve been hiding since last night,” she admitted.
Twilight picked up Berry, setting her on the deck. “Let’s go get some food. Captain, do you need anything else?”
Swashbuckle shook his head. “If you wanna be responsible for the filly, then be my guest.”
Twilight led the filly back across the deck and into the mess hall. Most of the crew was gone by that point, though Twilight’s friends were still there. When they saw Berry, their faces ranged from happy to disappointed.
“Girls, Berry here is going to accompany us to the Gryphon Empire. It will take too much time to go back and drop her off. However, she will be working as punishment for sneaking aboard.”
“Twilight, are you sure that’s the right decision?” Applejack asked, glancing at the filly. “I mean, we don’t know what we’re getting in to.”
“I know that, AJ. As I said, it’ll take us too long to go back. So she comes along. When we report back to Cadance after the gryphons, whether we’re successful or not, we’ll drop her off then. I’m sure Cadance will have a few choice words and punishments for her even then.”
Twilight let the filly take a seat. There were still a few ponies at the table, each of them casting looks towards Berry. Dark came over with another plate, which soon had a selection of foods on it. Berry ate everything within ten minutes, while Twilight and Midnight both finished their meals.
After dinner, they all headed to their rooms. Twilight pointed out to Berry who was sleeping where, as well as where the bathrooms were downstairs.
“Now off to bed with you, Berry,” Twilight said.
Perhaps knowing that arguing wasn’t going to get her anywhere right now, she just nodded and headed into the room shared by the unicorn and the thestral. When the door closed, Twilight looked over at Midnight.
“Did I make the right choice?” she asked with a sigh.
Midnight set a hoof on her shoulder. “I can’t answer that. You know the filly better than I do. And when it comes to the overall situation, you have just as much information as I do.”
“Which is to say not much at all.”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
The unicorn sighed. “I don’t like this, being in charge and making decisions that affect not just me, but other ponies as well..”
“Not quite true. Someponies like being in charge. Just look at Blueblood. That doesn’t make them a good leader.” Midnight sighed. “Often, it’s those ponies who don’t want to be in charge that make the best leaders.” She paused for a moment. “Twilight, I’m a Captain, in charge of an entire branch of the Equestrian military, and I don’t like being in charge. But you deal with what you have, and you do the best that you can with what you’re given.”
“I just need to know that I’m doing the right thing.”
Midnight gave her a grim smile. “The only one who can tell you that, is yourself, Twilight.” She set her hoof back on the deck. “Now, I’m gonna head out on deck for a bit. You should go keep an eye on Berry. You've already told her multiple times that you're disappointed in her, now you need to let her know you've not abandoned her.”
Twilight nodded, watching the thestral walk away. She could hear Dark still cleaning up in the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to her room, heading inside.
Berry was curled up on Twilight’s bed. Her ears perked up and she swiveled her head around as the unicorn entered. “I’m sorry, Twilight,” she said forlornly.
“I know you are, Berry. And I’m sorry if I seemed harsh with you.” Twilight walked over to the edge of the bed, her brow furrowing slightly. “But this isn’t some accident or mistake that can be swept aside with a reprimand and some timeout. This is serious, and I need you to understand that.”
She sat on the bed, hugging the filly. “You’re still my friend, and I care for you. It’s because I care that I got mad. I’m still upset, but I’m also here for you through thick and thin, as that’s what friends do.”
She lay down in the bed, letting Berry curl up next to her. It wasn’t like she could just give Berry to Swashbuckle and have him put her to work on the airship. There really wasn’t anything for a filly to do. Nor really was training the filly. Some light exercise was appropriate, but not working with weapons or anything like that.
As the filly fell asleep, Twilight magiced a book over, studying up on the gryphons and trying to figure out how she was going to follow through on her punishment of making Berry work.
With a sigh, she set aside the book. It was getting tiring to keep her eyes open anyway. Her magic reached out, flicking off the overhead light and plunging the room into darkness.
Unlike a seafaring ship, this one didn’t rock as it moved. There were no waves to do so. Instead, it occasionally shuddered as it hit some pocket of air or wind. Nothing violent, but still noticeable.
As she fell asleep, she heard the sound of Midnight coming back into the room. There was some shuffling as the thestral got into bed, then silence again. Only a slight drone permeated the air as the engines turned, continuing to power their way through the air and towards their destination. Tomorrow, they’d know what things were like in the Gryphon Empire, and whether or not their quest even had a chance at success.