//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Cross World Explorers // by Ximer //------------------------------// “Something troubling you?” Daring Do asked, looking up at her human companion as they walked through the streets of Las Pegasus. The human had been acting odd ever since they disembarked from the train; she had warned her about getting enough rest. “I just hate being stared at.” Isabella sighed. She could feel their eyes on her, no matter how hard she tried to ignore the hushed questions or remarks about her appearance. “We’re almost to the airship port; you do have citizen’s id right?” Daring Do asked, picking up her pace a bit, which in turn gave Isabella a reason to move faster as well. “Um…not exactly.” Isabella replied sheepishly, causing Daring Do to come to a sudden halt. This caused her partner to nearly trip over the smaller pegasus. “Just so I’m perfectly clear on our current predicament, you have no citizen’s id with which to board the airship to reach our destination?” Daring Do asked, cocking an eye brow at Isabella. The explorer knew this was a mistake. “I was studying to take the test, it’s not like I was expecting to get involved in something this big. It’s too late now for me to get out, who knows what they’d do.” Isabella said, drawing even more unwanted attention to herself. “Well, what do you propose we do? Security won’t hesitate to stop you; this city is notorious for prejudice towards other species.” Daring Do said, stomping her hoof on the ground. “We’ll just have to sit down, put our heads together, and think of a way to get in.” Isabella said trying to remain calm in the face of rather unfavorable odds. --- “I like this idea, we should put our heads together more often.” Daring Do said resting a hoof on a rather large crate by pony standards. It was a classic trick, one might even label it cartoonish, but it was the only one that ‘held water’ as the saying went. “I’m glad you’re amused…” Isabella mumbled from within the cramped container. She had just enough room to stretch her legs out slightly, but any more than that and she would press against the sides. Stealth came before comfort right now. Daring Do had disguised herself in what her human companion called granny clothes. While they were admittedly the attire of a well-aged pony, the pegasus knew the appearance of A.K. Yearling with a crate of books, or some other purchase she could make up on the fly, wouldn’t be as out of place as Daring Do. “It smells like ass in here.” Isabella said, silently cursing as Daring Do hit a bump with the luggage dolly provided by the airship port. “Shush, crates don’t talk, you’re going to have to stay still…no matter what.” Daring Do said quietly as they approached the check point. The guards did little to ease the pegasus’ mind, for the time being they were just another adversary she had to outwit to continue. “Miss Yearling, it’s been a while since you’ve visited our ports.” an older guard said as two earth ponies hefted the crate onto a scale. This would be the variable that would make or break them. “Yes, well, the last time I brought luggage with me, it mysteriously vanished for a week. Forgive my hesitance in utilizing this particular airship’s services.” Daring Do said. “One hundred and sixty seven pounds, move it on.” one of the earth ponies said. Daring Do had to stop herself from sighing in relief when the crate fell just under the weight limit inspection. A few pounds heavier and they would have opened it up. “So, Saddle Arabia…any particular reason?” the guard asked. “I’m thinking about using the area as the setting for my next book. I would be spending quite some time there, hence the crate.” Daring Do replied, hoping the guard would buy her perfectly reasonable excuse. “Well, guess I’ll have something to look forward to.” the guard said, granting her access to the airship. --- Isabella’s trip through the sorting area was less than pleasant. The crate she was in was treated quite roughly, though there was a bright side to the treatment, it meant that she hadn’t been discovered yet. The scale had bugged her immensely, however; there was no possible way she weighed one sixty seven, it had to be the crate’s weight added in. She could hardly believe this trick was actually working. There were times she had been forced to cover her mouth with her hands, or bite back a cry of pain after hitting her head or some other part of her body, but it had still worked. Eventually the crate came to a stop, only for other crates and boxes to be stacked on top of Isabella’s. Panic started to set in, as a box slid beside her, cutting off another exit, leaving only two available to her now. That number was reduced once more as another box to the right was packed against her crate tightly. I have to control my breathing, stay calm…stay calm… Isabella thought to herself. She had something to occupy her thoughts, namely how she was going to cover this up upon breaking out, if she could break out. She kept her mind centered around the finer details of the plan while she waited. Eventually the area around her grew quiet, save for the steady hum of what she assumed was the engine. It was now or never, if there was a pony on the other side then this entire trip was about to get much more interesting. Isabella drew her leg back as far as she could in such a tight space before thrusting her foot against the wood. There was no sign that any damage had been done to her wooden prison. She delivered two kicks back to back, smiling as a satisfying crack was heard from within the crate. Isabella drew back once more and slammed her foot against the wooden container. Shards of what had once been her ticket into the airship now lay strewn about the cargo hold floor. She kicked a few more times, clearing out the rest of the barrier trapping her within the box. It took Isabella a few seconds to wiggle free of the now ruined crate. She had taken care to kick away all of the jagged remnants of the side she had destroyed. Kicking ones way out of a crate was not as easy as it was made out to be in the movies, there was always the chance of getting cut on the way out if done incorrectly, not to mention the damage it did to your foot if unprepared for the task. Isabella was an athletic woman, and was more than durable enough to follow through with the act of freeing herself. She attributed it to her former vocation, and travel born muscles. She had always made jokes about Laura Croft and how she could get herself out of tight situations just as easily, if required to do so. “Oh come on…shit.” Isabella mumbled, observing the mess she had made. She couldn’t help but grimace at how obvious it appeared that she had broken out. This was something she hadn’t accounted for. She needed a plan to take care of this, but with hardly any resources at her disposal there was little she could do. A worker would no doubt come in to check on the cargo and find that there was a stowaway. Isabella’s problem solved itself when the top of the crate she had been inside caved in. She shrieked from being startled by the sudden crash, embarrassed by her reaction seconds later. She was thankful that no one else, pony or otherwise, had been around to hear her surprised shriek. The noise that the crash produced was much louder this time, making Isabella cringe. She realized the full extent of her blunder when the sound of hooves falling against a metal surface started to grow closer from the other side of a heavy looking door, similar in appearance to what one would expect to see on an actual, seafaring ship, which made sense given the name of the craft she now found herself in did in fact have the word “ship” in it. Isabella ducked behind a cluster of large nearby boxes just as the door opened. She could hear two sets of hooves, a heavier set accompanied by a much lighter set. She mentally cursed her misfortune, now presented with the difficulty of maneuvering her way around the two ponies. “I told those workers they shouldn’t have stacked them so close together, now look what happened.” one of the ponies said, followed by a hoof slamming sharply against the cold metal floor. “Was there anything inside?” the other pony asked. Isabella didn’t plan on hanging around long enough for them to try and find out if she had been inside the crate, she needed to flee. If there had been only one pony then it would have been a matter of getting them to investigate some sort of noise. With two in the same room at once it would be difficult to distract them both. “Check to see if any of the others are broken. Those two morons back at the port are going to get it.” the sterner of the two voices said. A room wide sweep was the last thing Isabella needed; she had to think of something fast if she wanted to avoid being caught. The sound of hooves rounding either side of her cover left her with only one risky option, which if timed wrong would bring an end to this little adventure. Isabella listened closely to the fall of the hooves against the metal floor, waiting for the right opportunity. She started a mental countdown, scaling one of the boxes in preparation for her plan. She couldn’t move too fast, otherwise the ponies would see her. In one fluid motion, Isabella propelled herself over the crate she was behind. Thankfully the ponies were still on the move, their loud hoof steps masking the noise her shoes made upon hitting the wooden box on the other side. There was no time to cherish this small triumph, however. Isabella was still faced with another obstacle, opening the metal door which was sure to draw their attention back to her. The clacking of hooves echoed around the room, gave her an idea. Isabella crept towards the door, noting that it might take a bit of force to get open. The clacking noise the ponies’ hooves produced came to a stop, making her look over her shoulder nervously. Thankfully, there was not a pony behind her. Eventually the ponies started to move again, giving Isabella the opportunity to pull the lever in order to open the door. An experimental tug confirmed her previous suspicions about the door, it would take a bit more effort than a casual pull to open. With that in mind she decided to give a single, forceful tug, before moving quickly behind the door. One…two…three! Isabella thought to herself. --- Daring Do was enjoying the view from one of the large lobby windows. Airships had always captivated her; their structure alone was impressive enough before even bringing the inner workings of the construct into consideration. The sea below the aircraft stretched for miles on end, any ordinary pony would have more than likely become bored with the view after the pilots had cleared any land formations. For Daring Do however, it gave her time to collect her thoughts. “Did you miss me?” a voice from behind her asked. The writer nearly jumped through the window, having been so engrossed in her own thoughts to notice Isabella approaching her. “Don’t sneak up on me like that! I can’t tell you how many times that ended poorly for other ponies!” Daring Do scolded, still wearing her A.K. Yearling attire. “I’m fine, thanks for asking. I’ve probably cost a pony or two their job.” Isabella said. “Of course you’re fine, you’re here aren’t you? Follow me, we can’t have you just standing around willy nilly, somepony might start to ask too many questions…although I am curious, how did you get out in the first place?” Daring Do asked, ushering the human along.