Faithful and Strong

by Golden Scribe

Chapter 12: Talking To

Bush pressed his ear to the door of the captain’s cabin, wincing in sympathy. This had been going on for a solid hour, and Hornblower showed no signs of stopping. He had left his friend be initially, assuming he just needed a few minutes to compose himself, but it was clear that the past few weeks had taken more of a toll on Hornblower than he’d been letting on.

Through the door, he could hear Hornblower slam his fist into the desk. It was followed by a wail of “I’m so pathetic!!!” and Bush stepped away, his mind made up. It was the duty of a first officer to make sure things ran smoothly for his captain, particularly in trying times. Hornblower had most certainly fallen upon trying times, and it was up to Bush to smooth things over, even if it was in a roundabout way.

Happily, Miss Sparkle and her friends were gathered on the deck, talking amongst themselves. No doubt it was related to the incident the young fillies had caused. When they saw him, Applejack stepped forward, hat pressed to her chest. “Mr. Bush, is the captain available? I’d like to apologize on behalf of my sister and her friends.”

“He’s busy at the moment,” Bush said honestly, “But I wished to speak to you, for his sake.”

The six ponies looked up at him expectantly. Bush paused for a moment, choosing his words, and then began “Captain Hornblower is…an incredibly driven man. He hates being idle, and hates the thought of his ship falling into chaos. To him, a poorly run ship reflects badly on both the service, his crew, and himself. This latest incident has caused him a great deal of stress, especially since it will delay his returning to sea for at least another few days. I wanted to speak to you about ways to help mitigate that stress.”

“I know what would cheer him up!” Pinkie said, springing to her feet, “A pa…”

“No, Pinkie,” Bush interrupted firmly, “While that might raise the morale of the men, the captain isn’t particularly fond of parties.”

Pinkie’s eyes widened until they appeared to take up her whole head. “Doesn’t like…is he loco in the coco?!”

“I’m…not even going to try to parse that sentence,” Bush said, returning to the matter at hand, “What he would really like is stability, calm, and a well-run ship. Is there any way you could assist me in giving him that?”

Miss Sparkle nodded. “You know, I think we could. Listen, here’s what we’ll do…”

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[SWEETOLEBOB18]

Mark my words. This will not end well.