"There's still time to turn back you two." Daring prodded in a vain attempt to rid herself of her entourage. She knew why Aaron was coming along. On top of the recovery operation, he'd been saying something along the lines of seeing if the world was ready for a new breed of Diamond Dogs, but even Daring could see that there was something else, some other reason for the Canis's leader to leave the den he'd so tediously built.
"We told you, Daring, this mission is too important to leave to a lone pegasus. Even as one as talented as you claim to be." And then there was Sunny. At least her motivations were easy to pinpoint. There was no way in Tartarus that she was going to let Aaron leave the den without her, and not just because she thought the pack needed him. Too bad for her, that Aaron seemed to be completely ignorant of her affections.
“Yeah, okay. just try to leave the talking to me. As you can imagine, Diamond Dogs aren't really known for their, um, talking, I guess..." Daring finished, resigning herself to her fate.
"Oh, yes. that reminds me." Aaron chimed in as the Airship came into view over the horizon. "Come here for a minute, Sunny."
Daring had to stifle a snicker. After only a few days, she even had the Master calling the poor Canis by the pet name. Looking toward the approaching aircraft, the pegasus thought back to the events over the last few days. Two of the Stars were already in the hands of someone, they still weren't sure who, but if they could keep at least one of the Stars away from these mystery actors, then it was probable that the incomplete set would be essentially useless.
According to Blissa, the stars seemed to contain the same properties as another set of artifacts that were used almost immediately after the stars were used, making the set an all or nothing deal, just like the other artifacts. Daring, of course, knew that these other artifacts were none other than the Elements of Harmony, but even with the other topics that were discussed over the last few days, information regarding the Elements and their bearers was not something Daring was willing to divulge just yet.
It was likely that the canines already knew what the elements had become. And they definitely wouldn't need any help finding those ponies were they to start searching for them. But even with how she's been treated thus far, initial contact notwithstanding, Daring just didn't trust the dogs enough to tell them everything.
"Um, Lord Aaron, sir? What are you doing?" Sunny questioned with a hint of embarrassment in her voice.
Suddenly losing interest in the slowly approaching airship, Daring looked over to the duo just in time to see Aaron finish messing up Sunny's fur.
"There we go." Aaron declared with a satisfied nod before disheveling his own coat. "Oh, and no titles, Sunny. we want to maintain our cover don't we?"
"What cover?" Daring asked incredulously as she approached the two.
Sunny nodded in agreement, having not been briefed on such a cover identity before.
"Just follow my lead." was all Aaron could say before the boarding lines were dropped and some of the deckhoof ponies repelled down them, ready to secure mooring lines if needed.
"Hey Daring," The airship captain greeted as he swung down one of the hanging ropes. "Find what you were looking for?"
"I guess you could say that..."
"Woah, get a load of these two." Captain Mac Stirrup started as he caught sight of the two Canis. "I didn't know you were one for picking up strays, Daring."
"Umm they’re not exactly-"
"We help pony dig! Much help!" Aaron excitedly interrupted with the largest of grins plastering his face.
Both Daring Do and Sunny fixed the grinning Aaron with a withering glare. Daring, because she now had to pretend like she was toting around a couple of dumb tag-alongs, and Sunny because she had to act like one of those dumb tag-alongs. Aaron would pay for that. Eventually.
"Well," Stirrup said as they eyed the would-be passengers, "I suppose if they've got Daring Do watchin’ over em, then they can come aboard. Just don't be scratching the paint, you understand? You start causing a raucous on my ship and ya’d best be learnin to fly!" He let out with a chuckle. "Now do we have an understanding?"
"Both Canis quickly nodded in agreement.
"Great! Then help the lads tie up Daring's cargo and we'll be off!"
Aaron and Sunny did as they were instructed, the deckhooves all too happy to have a pair of claws or two to help tie lines with, if only temporarily.
"So Daring, got any new tales about fending off a horde of ancient curses or sumsuch feat? I'll say you're bringing up quite a bit more than normal this time."
"Yeah, about that..." Daring started as she explained to the Captain her intentions.
~~~~~
"Sorry about the accommodations, big guy." Daring said, keeping her voice low while she eyed the open-air deck that Aaron would be using as a bedroom for the next few days.
"Well, what with our supplies and Sunny taking up your cabin, I can afford to camp out a little."
"Yeah, well I don't know which upsets Sunny more, leaving you out in the cold or the fact that, with her bad case of aviophobia, that she can't do anything about it. Although, speaking of supplies, what is all of that stuff? I don't really care if I'm not going to be carrying any of it, just curious."
Aaron did a quick mental inventory. "Gems mostly. Can't adventure on an empty stomach. And a few tools. I'm sure you've seen the steelstone staff that Sunny's toting about."
"Yep, it was kind of hard to miss. That stuff creeps me out."
"Yes, well, it has its uses. Anyway, what did the captain say about our detour? The sooner we stop whoever it is from collecting these stars, the better."
"Captain says he can take us as far as Dodge city. Any farther and they'd never be able to catch the tradewinds back to Canterlot." Daring reported.
"Fair enough. If what you say is true, and that is the sole transit lane in that direction, we should be able to head off our artifact abductees before they can slip back to their lair. And if worse comes to worse, we can follow them and look for an opportunity to abscond with the rest of the stars."
"Well, until then, you've got the deck. Got any plans for the rest of the day?" Daring asked. She was supposed to be keeping tabs on them, after all.
"I suppose I should check in on Sunny. After that, I think I'll try sneaking into the crew study for a bit. I'm a little out of date and could use some study material."
"Yeah, well, just don't get caught. Not if you want to keep that ploy of yours anyway."
"Don't worry about me. If there's one thing you'll learn on this trip, it's that I always have a trick up my sleeve." Aaron declared with a sly smirk.
"You're wearing a vest..."
"Sorry, old human figure of speech."
"And I think you'll have to tell me about that sometime. But I think I'll get out of your fur for a bit. All of that time underground has my wings feeling cramped, so I'd like to get some flying in before dinner." Daring stated as she stretched her wings out for emphasis.
"Alright then, see you later then."
~~~~~
Aaron knocked on the door to the cabin that Sunny and Daring shared. "Are you still in there Sunny?"
"Aaron S-?" Sunny cut herself off, suddenly remembering the request to drop all titles.
Pushing the door open, Aaron could at least see that Sunny was no longer bed ridden. "How are you feeling?"
Sunny held her Steelstone weapon, still in its basic ‘staff’ configuration, in both claws, evidently in an attempt to focus on connecting to it rather than the ship around her. "I- I am not- Do you require my assistance, Aaron?"
"It's alright Sunny, just relax."
"I don't see how you can be so calm in the air. I'm not sure I-" She said before the airship lurched, ever so slightly beneath her, forcing her to redouble her focus upon the earthen elements of her weapon.
"See, you're too focused on where we are. You're forcing yourself to acknowledge that we are no longer on the ground."
"What would you have me do instead?"
"You must learn to forget that we are in airship at all. Instead, it would probably be better if you think about the situation differently. Realize, that this craft is perfectly safe, like a building set in stone. The floor moving is only a trick that you must ignore, like a trick of the light. Now come on, take a deep breath, and try it.
Taking Aaron's advice, she did as instructed. Deep down she doubted that she'd ever be able to fully ignore being suspended hundreds, if not thousands of meters above the ground, but she would try. Thinking to herself, 'the walls are the same as those of the den,' was not particularly difficult to imagine, she supposed. The wood grain felt drastically different beneath her paws than what she was used to, but it wasn't entirely unknown to her. Everypup had, in their youth, toured Aaron's personal chambers at some point, and her more so than others. Liking this cabin to those spaces was, she thought, sort of calming.
The ship rolled once more, nearly thrashing her thoughts aside, but she managed to hold onto that tiny sliver of calm that she'd worked so hard for. Taking another deep breath, she focused on ignoring the movement of the ship around her. 'The room is not moving. I'm just a little dizzy maybe? Yes, that is it. The floor is not moving, I just think it is.' Sunny suddenly noticed that she no longer grasped her steelstone quite so tightly. Cautiously opening her eyes, she saw Aaron standing near the door with a smile on his face.
"There we go, feeling better?" he asked.
"For now, Aaron. Thank you." she admitted.
"Good. now how about you walk around a bit, hmm? Can't have you trapping yourself in her for the whole trip."
"But-"
"No excuses, Sunny. You wanted to come with me on this trip, and I'll not have you wasting away on the first leg."
"As you wish, Aaron." Sunny said as she stood up shakily. She had been crouched for quite some time. Maybe a walk was not out of the question.
"Easy does it. You don't need to visit the deck or anything, just walk around for a bit. Making a mental map of the rest of the ship should be exercise enough for the day, don't you think?"
"If you believe so, Aaron." Sunny answered, somewhat unsure that leaving the safety of the cabin was a good idea. Comparing it to Aaron's chambers in the den had done wonders for her constitution, after all.
"It's settled then. I'd go with you, but I need to peruse the crew's study for a bit. They might have something useful to us."
"I can help wi-"
"Not unless you can read Equish as well as speak it, Sunny. Besides, it will be harder to explain ourselves if we are both caught in the study."
Sunny understood that Aaron was right, of course. Speaking the pony language was one thing, but the den only had a few Equish words to relate the spoken language to. It was that reason alone that the dogs had been forced to develop their own written language to communicate with. Unlike the pack, however, their Master was not bound by such limitations.
So, tucking the weapon under her pack, Sunny resigned herself to exploring the ship on her own.
"That's the spirit!" Aaron exclaimed as he led her into the hallway. "Don't come back to the room for at least an hour, okay? Oh, and you might want to avoid looking out the portholes, just in case."
"I understand, sir."
"That's a good girl. I shall check on you later, then." Aaron said as he walked in the opposite direction.