Chapter II: The Journey West
We followed Princess Celestia from the throne room inside the Canterlot Castle to a section of balcony hanging off the side of the city. Although Luna’s brilliant moon was in its full stage, a perfectly white disc in the starry sky, all around us was so dim that it was hard to see where we were going. When the light reflecting from the moon touched Celestia’s coat and mane, she began to glow. Her mane waved constantly and so gently that it felt as though there were an actual breeze, when the reality was that there was little wind that night.
The small airship that Celestia mentioned was waiting for me on the balcony, tied to a personal docking station, though I saw no other ships besides that one. It was suspended over the rocky chasms below by its lone balloon, filled with a lighter-than-air gas, which was secured to the large gondola below with heavy bolts. It was hard to tell clearly, but the gondola was painted a light shade of pink with markings indicating the Equestrian flag all over the side. The balloon was painted a solid purple. I could hear the steam engine inside humming lightly. Brief puffs of silvery smoke rushed out from an exhaust pipe and quickly dispersed into the air.
Before Ruby and I made our way on board, we were stopped by Princess Luna, who came to join us.
“Wait,” she said calmly. We both turned to see the darkly colored Princess draw closer to us. Her hooves patted softly against the stone surface of the balcony, and her mane and coat shimmered against the pale moonlight just as beautifully as Celestia’s. When she finally stood with us beside the airship, she said, “I’m glad I was able to meet you before you left.”
I bowed and replied, “Yes, Princess.”
Luna waved her right hoof and proclaimed, “Rise, Dawn, for it is you who is doing us a great favor.”
I did as she requested and stood tall, well, as tall as I could for being vastly shorter than they are.
Luna continued, “Our fears of some worse trouble than a missing pony are hopefully nothing more than worry and negative thinking.”
“However,” Celestia interjected, “neither of us can keep a calm mind. I can just feel that something will happen.”
“Yes, I can feel it, too,” Luna added. She turned from us for a few brief moments to watch, with fixed eyes, the moon. “I do not know why, but I cannot put my mind at ease.”
“I’ll do my best,” I told the both of them. Ruby remained at my side, listening in silence.
“What say you, Ruby? Are you prepared to embark on this mission?” Princess Luna asked her with a smile.
“O-of course!”
“Excellent! Then let you be off, now! There is nary a moment to lose!” Luna then shouted in a half-Canterlot voice.
After that, Ruby and I turned to make our way onto the airship, when we were halted once again by another interjection, this time by Princess Celestia.
“Oh, one last thing. The leader of the Islands is named Cosmic Destruction, or the Hooverian rendition of that name.”
“Cosmic Dest… is that her…,” I began. I was going to ask if that was her real name.
“No, it’s not. I’ve met her before. Her real name is Hehkyvalaina Ayriinko, Glowing Sun, in Hooverian.”
Little more was said after that. Ruby and I stepped into the airship and the side door was closed behind us by Princess Celestia. I know this because I saw the yellow glow of her magic from beyond a small window beside the door. The ship was detached from the balcony, and we began to drift away from solid land, hovering independently over the Equestrian center. The rocks and turns of the ship made the pit of my stomach twist and churn violently. Oh, how I loathe heights!
Ruby and I retreated into an aft cabin set aside for us, with a small bed for Ruby and a larger one attached to the wall for me. We shoved our possessions in the space under my bed, and tried to get some sleep. It was late, so there was no talking apart from, “Good night!” The racket from the engines and the constant fear of a sudden descent plagued my mind all throughout the night, as I stayed awake, unable to doze off. All the time, Ruby snored louder than my brother did as she found herself at complete ease.
Early, very early, into the morning I actually found myself asleep. I was abruptly awakened by shouting from beyond our cabin door. With heavy bags under my eyes, I stepped out from under my warm covers and stumbled on all four hooves to the door. I used my magic to turn the handle. I approached the window and stared out onto the desert south of the Equestrian countryside. I could feel the heat through the window and the thought of sunbathing there did not sound like fun. It was very pretty, however. I loved watching the mesas and plateaus, surrounded by thin white clouds, as we moved quickly in the sky. I even spotted a tiny desert town.
A cleared throat of a stallion much older than I startled me. I backed away from the window to find a grayish stallion dressed in a blackened uniform standing near my cabin door in the hall leading to the control room. He had a thick and curly moustache, which, not to be rude, was highly distracting.
“We’ll be landing in about an hour,” said he, with no clear signs of emotion.
“Okay,” I responded, equally as unenthusiastic. What can I say? I did not get much sleep.
I returned to my cabin and closed the door. I pulled out my Hooverian grammar book that I packed along with some of my other things and began to read. I needed to learn some of the native language. I could tell it would be helpful.
The airship landed south of Las Pegasus in a small coastal town. I saw little of the town because the airship landed right at the docks where our next mode of transportation was waiting. A small water ship was waiting for us. It looked old, but I could tell that it used to be a kind of ferry for passengers. A fresh coat of Equestrian blue, the color of our flag, had been applied to the sides of ship above the waterline. Ruby and I wasted no time and scurried up the gangplank and onto the ship. I was eager to get off the flying death trap.
The second portion of the journey was the longest. Like before, we had our own cabin where we collected our belongings. However, the ship travelled much slower than the airship, so our ventures into the western ocean took two full days. Nothing of great interest happened during this trip. On the first day, we ate breakfast in the ship’s dining room, had lunch in the dining room, and dinner in the dining room. That night, I actually got some sleep. The second day was exactly the same. While I greatly enjoyed being out at sea, I was anxious to get out and stretch my legs on this Island, though the thought of it frightened me.
During my free time, I studied my book of Hooverian. I went through it quickly. Languages were always a strong suit of mine. I practiced my new language on an unsuspecting Ruby.
“Rubi, noole metaa hovaan!” This translates to, “Ruby, smell my hooves!” Whereby I would extend out a hoof or two at Ruby. Was it immature? Definitely. It was also fun.
When the second day ended, I climbed into bed after saying, “Good night,” to Ruby. The tropical sun spread a humid heat throughout the ship, and some of the food did not sit well in my stomach. I had a terrible nightmare, filled with twisted demon-like creatures and unsympathetic laughter. There was screaming, shouting, laughing, and groaning within this dream so vividly that I could remember most of it even long after awakening. I awoke, shouting loudly and gasping for fresh air. My coat was covered in sweat, my lungs felt pressured, and my head was pounding. Quivering violently, I stumbled out of bed and forced the window of our cabin open. The cooler nighttime breeze rushed in and pasted my face with a salty mist. I inhaled, filling my lungs with this untouched sky. I felt better, but only marginally.
My shouts of anguish awoke my companion. With a fright, she gasped, “Who, what, where?”
When she saw me reaching for breath at the window, she rose to her feet and patted her claw against my shoulder. “Are you all right?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I told her, “I just had a bad dream. That’s all.”
“You’re sweating so much!”
“It’s really hot in here. I’m fine, really. I just need to catch my breath.”
“Are you worried?” She asked me.
I nodded my head. Portions of my bedhead kept dangling over my face. With her right claw, she dragged the blue strands of my mane back behind my ears. I reached my hoof around her neck and shoulders and pulled her in close for a hug.
“We’re in this together,” she said.
“Kynäkääntasti,” or, together.
