Chapter Twenty Four - Digressing Delays
Jolting awake from the sudden stop of the train, my eyelids flung open. Looking around the cabin I could see everyone else doing the same. Since I and Sapphire were up most of the ride we were the most tired out of the bunch. In fact, the only reason we slept at all was that we both passed out trying to get me to recite the alphabet without messing up every fourth letter. Which -in case anyone was wondering- did not go well.
On the other hand of things, we have Celestia. Well rested from events prior she finally lifted her head off of my shoulder as she let out a quiet little yawn. Gently moving her magenta iris towards me, she gave me a warm smile.
“Good morning,” She claimed in a chipper tone.
I looked down at her with bags under my eyes and grunted, “Morning.”
“Somepony isn’t a morning pony,” She giggled.
I didn’t answer her, I just looked over to Sapphire. As expected she looked just as beat as me. Her mane was all messed up, eyes bloodshot, and head lulling. The only light at the end of this metaphorical tunnel was that we would be able to take a nap on the ship once we got there. Thing is, that was another three hours of trying not to collapse before we could even get on the boat.
“Come on guys! Let's go!” Popped in Ruby seemingly from nowhere. This, in turn, caused me and Sapphire to flinch away from her. How she managed to get out of her bunk and sneak up to the table without me noticing was a mystery I would probably never figure out.
Chuckling Celestia shook her head, “It looks like the two of you were up for the entire ride. We’ll keep this short and see if the captain will let us on board early so you two can get some shuteye.”
“That would be most welcome,” Sapphire pitched in as she got up and wobbly walked over to her bags. Placing her belongings in their place, she heaved the bag over her hunches and walked back over to the table, “The sooner we get there the better.”
Nodding my head in agreement, I replied, “I couldn’t agree more. Now if Celestia would be so kind as to get off of me we can go.”
Arching her head back she gave me an upside down pout, “but I like it here, it’s so warm and comfortable.”
Alright, that was pretty cute, but we had a ship and sleep to catch. So, for the sake of Sapphire and me, I said the one thing that would get us their the fastest, “Yeah, but if you get up now you might still be able to finish all that work you were planning to do during the train ride on the ship.”
I was almost flung off the seat as Celestia shot up in her spot, “I forgot to finish my reports! This isn’t good!”
“Chill, you have plenty of time to finish them once we get aboard the boat.” I attempted to calm her down. Sadly, it didn’t work as she picked up her own saddlebag before tossing her sun hat haphazardly onto her head. It was kinda funny to see Celestia in such a rush, it almost reminded me of Eddie a bit when his lab was overdue.
Just saying his name was enough to feel the pain of guilt grow in the pit of my stomach once more. Thankfully, I was getting better coping with all of it. I come to accept that in the end, I got back to Earth as fast as I could, and even then I was too late. Time here in Equestria just passed by way too fast for me to have actually done anything. Yet even though I knew that I wasn’t the one responsible, it still hurt.
I must have been spacing out pretty hard there; for when I came back to the land of the living I found myself being dragged off the seat by Ruby. Shaking the rest of my thoughts out of my head I looked down to Ruby with a small smirk.
“What are you doing?” I questioned.
“Moving your big sorry flank, common you can rest on the boat!” She yelled the last part as she put her back into moving me.
Letting a small chuckle escape my lips, I stood up causing Ruby to yelp as she pushes herself off the seat and onto the floor. Taking a minute to realize what happened she looked back towards me with a scowl.
“What? I was just moving my big ‘flank’ out of the way?” I started with an innocent smile.
Ruby huffed as she stood back up, “Well it sure took you long enough.”
“Enough with your playing around! We must get to the ship as soon as possible! I don’t even think I can finish my reports within three hours!” Once again Celestia was freaking out. If she could freak out anymore she would be wearing a groove into the floor.
Patting Ruby on the head I got off from my seat, “Yeah we’re right behind you Sunbeam.”
This got Celestia, Ruby, and Sapphire to look at me.
“Yeah, I know that was a bad one. Give me a break, I’m running out of names here, none of which sound good enough to stick. Add in my fatigue and there you have my excuse.” I explained.
Even though she was stressed out, I could see Celestia smirk as she replied, “Whatever you say sunshine.”
Walking passed Celestia I kicked her hoof from under her. This, of course, caused her to fall to the ground. As expected Sapphire and Ruby gasped as Celestia glared daggers at me. Looking down I put on a fake surprised expression as I said, “Oh I’m so sorry, my leg just kind of moved on its own there.”
Reaching out my hand to help her up, she grabbed it and pulled me down. Within a seconds I was pinned under her. Looking into her eyes, I saw a devious smile etched its way across her face. It was the first time I’ve seen her put on this face and to be honest it kinda scared me.
“Uh, do you need us to leave and come back?” Came Ruby’s voice.
Hearing her words, Celestia’s muzzle tinted red as she scrambled off of me. Being freed from the pony princess I got up from my spot and dusted myself off. If things continued like this, we would never reach the boat on time.
Thankfully, Sapphire was on top of it as she reminded us that we had a ship to catch. What was even more surprising was that with all the action that had been going on, I didn’t feel half as tired as before. It looked like the play fight between me and Celestia got my blood pumping.
“Alright, no more shenanigans from this point on. We NEED to reach the boat at some time today,” Celestia commented as the four of us walked out of the train car and into another bustling terminal.
What made this terminal different from the one in Canterlot was that this one had a huge vista window spanning the entire front of the building. From here I could see the ships dancing on the stormy waters and the candlelight fire of the many houses bordering the docks. Even though it was raining the entire scene looked beautiful.
However, like Celestia said, we had no time for sightseeing. Instead, without a second glance, we ran out of the terminal and into the busy streets. Ponies everywhere where selling their wears underneath awnings of nearby buildings. Some even sold in the open, not caring for the rain that poured down on them.
Since Celestia was in such a rush, all the merchant stalls were ignored as we all but bolted down the streets. It was actually quite entertaining to watch the reactions of the ponies as a six-foot tall human biped and their pony princess quadruped ran down the streets of their beloved town. I think I even saw a couple of ponies faint from the shock.
By the time we arrived at the docks, we were all beat. I mean even more so then when I and Sapphire started the day. Catching our breaths, Celestia trotted over to one of the gangplanks while the rest of us reveled at the size of these ships.
All around us bobbed large medieval ships, most of which still had their crew mucking about the deck. Some were just standing there idle, while others helped load on or off cargo. The docks themselves were just as busy as the streets. Carts traverse the wooden docks with luxury goods within, while ponies from different ships mingled with each other. Looking up towards the overcast skies, pegasi floated around like seagulls as they did their own thing.
“You three coming?” Celestia called from aboard the closest ship.
Snapping out of our stupor, we walked over to the gangplank and headed onto the ship. As we reached the edge and stepped foot onto the ship, I was greeted with a hoof to the face. Falling onto my back I looked up to see a rather miffed stallion once again charging me.
Trying to ignore the immense pain that followed I figured out that if I stayed in the same spot any longer I would be out like a lamp. So, instead I rolled out of his path and got back up. Turning around he yelled something in their native tongue before charging again. This time, however, he was stopped by two more stallions holding him back. Clearly, he wasn't having any of it as he continued to thrash in their grips as he continued to yell god knows what at me.
Looking over to Ruby and Sapphire I wiped my nose clear of blood. In response, they both just shrugged before offering me their help. Thankfully Sapphire had a spare cloth that I used to cover my nose.
“What the hell was that for? You girls speak the language, what did I do?” I questioned as we walked over to the back of the ship. My nose held high, not for any noble reason mind you, but for the simple act of keeping my blood from going everywhere. The whole way there, the ponies gave me dirty looks. Almost to the point where I thought I was gonna be lugged at again.
Ruby shrugged again, “I honestly have no idea, he was just yelling nonsense. The only thing I understood was human and scum.”
“I guess they don't really like humans here do they?” I asked rolling my eyes.
Reaching the back of the ship, Celestia immediately noticed my condition and trotted over. “What happened?” She questioned as she levitated the cloth out of the way to see the injury herself. Thankfully it looked worse than it actually was, just a lot of blood.
Quickly placing the rag back to my nose I replied, “To be honest, I have no idea.”
Celestia gave me a confused look as she looked over to Ruby and Sapphire. “Some stallion on deck sucker punched him right as he got on. He was yelling something about Humans being the scum of Equestria,” Sapphire relayed.
Looking over at what looked to be the captain of the ship, Celestia scowled “What is the meaning of this? I hoof picked you all for being the best Equestria has to offer for this mission and you have the audacity to assault one of my guests?”
“I’m a guest now?” I questioned.
“Hush you,” Celestia said as both Ruby and Sapphires hoof lodged itself in my mouth. “I would like an explanation for the colt's behavior!”
The captain sighed as he shaked his head. To be honest, I was half expecting him to speak in the language of the horses, but I was surprisingly wrong as he spoke English. I guess it makes sense since Celestia was also speaking English to him before.
Hobbling over to me, the captain asked, “Tell me, what did this stallion look like?”
Overcoming my initial shock of his ability to speak my language, I spoke, “grey mane, blue eyes, and white coat.” of course my voice came out all muffled from the rag over my nose.
“As I thought, that was Ivory Spear. He was in Canterlot the time River escaped with you. He was the last line of defense. River killed his best friend in the dungeons that day and I don’t think he’ll ever be the same. I apologize for his outburst, however, I don’t think this could have been avoided. He was one of Canterlots greatest spear ponies.” The captain explained.
I felt my heart sink, I remembered seeing River kill the stallion right in front of my eyes. The pool of blood slowly getting bigger as River dragged me with her. It felt like I was gonna be sick just remembering the image. I would need to talk to this Ivory Spear during our trip, even if he doesn't want to see me, I have to tell him that his friend died a true soldier.
“I see, all is forgiven then,” I say much to the surprise of everyone around me.
“I get that he had a hard past, but that's no excuse for his actions!” Celestia commented as she continued, “I made sure to let everypony know that you had no hand in the matter and that River was the pony to blame.”
“Does it matter who’s to blame? A man’s friend is dead, you know what that is like? That can drive a man to insanity!” I retorted.
“That does not give him the right to lash out at you!” Celestia yelled back.
“He lashed out at me, so I will be the one that decides what to do!” I yelled back walking right up to Celestia. I don’t know if it was the lack of sleep that made me hold my ground or my morals but it seemed to work as Celestia backed down.
Raising an eyebrow the captain budded in, “Before you two start ripping each others heads off, I would like to inform you that the trip will be postponed until tomorrow.”
“What?!” Celestia reacted turning her anger towards the captain.
“As it stands the weather isn’t safe to head out in. We will set sail first thing tomorrow morning. And by the looks of it, you two could use the time off. Your quarters are on the top floor at the back. I wasn’t aware you were bringing two more mares along so you only have two rooms.” He said.
I looked over at Celestia and she to me. We both knew we were going to have to share a room and as it stood we were not on the best of terms with our little quarrel. It was quite fascinating how little has to happen for two people to get angry with one and another.
Nevertheless, I was exhausted and nothing was going to get better with my current frame of mind. So, in order to remedy this the rest of us found our way to the lower decks.
Now, I’ve never been in a medieval era style ship before, but I expected it to be quite cramped and gloomy. While my first assumption was correct the seconds was not. The place instead of holding a dark and gloomy appearance actually held a nice cozy one. Which, thankfully, did wonders for my mood as I opened the door to mine and Celestia's chambers.
Inside was a nice one window room with a small desk, bookshelf, and bed just big enough for one of us to sleep in. Without a second thought, I found myself jumping into the covers and closing my eyes. I waited for sleep to come, but my mind was still a chaotic mess from the little argument I had with Celestia. What made it even worse was the constant quill scratching coming from said mare only a couple feet away.
Usually, when I and my friends had fights like these we would forget about it two seconds later and makeup. Yet, for some reason here with Celestia it was different. I knew I was right, but a part of me wanted to side with Celestia. Which in turn caused my other side to yell at it saying no that's wrong. Thus the reason I was now no longer trying to sleep but gazing up at the roof of the room. Its oaken planks creaking as ponies above walked over it.
It was so stupid that I was having so much trouble getting over this little spat that I audibly groaned. What made this different than all the other arguments I had with my friends? Was it the fact that I and Celestia were now in a romantic relationship or was it the fact that I was overthinking it?
It was then that it hit me. Celestia was important to me, that much was obvious. Much like my friends I cared about their opinions enough to argue with them. What made this different was that I cared so much about Celestia seeing 'my way' that I forgot to see hers.
Like so many times before, I felt the familiar feeling of guilt now settle in. The realization that I took something way out of hand made me feel like a bad person. It’s funny in a very cynical way, how love can make you question your own thoughts. So much so, that you find a way to make yourself look like an idiot, and the one you love to look like a god. Well... she's practically a god, but that's not the point.
Giving into the inner mechanisms of my mind I said, “Sorry” the exact same time Celestia said it. Growing a confused look on my face I sat up to see that yes, we did both, in fact, came to the same conclusion at the same time.
“That was creepy,” I said looking over to Celestia.
“Agreed, let's try not to do that again,” she replied.
“Anyways, I’m sorry for yelling at you. That was not very thoughtful of me, even when I’m this tired that is no excuse to be a dick.” I state my mind. Looking over at her I could see a small smile come to her lips.
Getting up from her spot she wandered over to the side of the bed, “I am also sorry. I’m so used to raising my voice at nobles in court that when we started fighting I found myself doing just that.”
I raised my eyebrow, “are you calling me a noble?”
“No I’m calling you my sunshine,” she stated with a small smirk.
“Oh that's it, you passed the line now,” I exclaimed grabbing Celestia by the barrel and tossing her onto the bed with me. With a devious smirk, I started to tickle around her body. To my surprise, Celestia has quite the funny bone.
“P-p-lease sto-op I can’t!” She was cut off by taking in some air, “Bree-eath!”
“Kenneth please!” Came the shouts from next room.
Sapphire rolled her eyes as she placed a pillow over her head, “I just wanted a couple hours of shuteye. Is that so much to ask for?”
Ruby, on the other hand, was chuckling to herself, as she placed an empty cup against the wall and listened to it. “With the way these two are going at it, I highly doubt you’ll get any.”
“Not so rough! That hurt!” Came another shout.
Groaning again, Sapphire pushed the pillow harder over her ears.
Stats
Page generated in 0.024 seconds
Total duration
990 users online
107,335 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
8784624
As I read this my mind instantly played the sound that comes up when Link acquires an item. Then after reading it my mind pictured Kenneth standing up in his seat and holding the notebook up like Link does. Thank you for not only supporting my work, but implanting that image in my mind.
8784849
8784967
Thank you both for the kind words. With the 100k word goal line coming up I'm eagerly ready to continue writing.
8785160
What can I say, Kenneth is a hugging type of guy.
Giggity.
Ha! Loud out of context noises-LOL
I foresee misunderstandings of a naughty nature in the near future...
I just hope there would be situation where Kenneth could show off his power and earn his trust.
Found a misspelled word. Comment to come on.
Ouch. Yeah, the thing with Ivory... that won't be easy to handle, if it can be handled at all. Proceed with caution, Ken.
Heh, trust Ruby and Sapphire to get the wrong idea about what the two lovebirds were doing. Then again, they are only able to hear stuff, not see what is going on.
Have fun, girls!
Excellent chapter my friend!! I honestly can't wait for the next one.
..., come on, you can rest on the boat!” (note the comma after "come on" The rest of the sentence is a dependent clause and need the comma for clarity.
...my excuse,” I explained. (NOTE: change period to comma. The "I explained" is dependent on the "my excuse” and not an independent sentence.
“Whatever you say, sunshine.” (Your original sentence implies he should say sunshine, whereas what you meant was that she was calling him sunshine. The addition of a comma before sunshine provides that necessary separation in intent.)
...and come back?” came Ruby’s voice. ( "Came Ruby’s voice." is a sentence fragment. While normally you always capitalize after sentence-ending punctuation, because you are adding a qualifier after a bit of dialogue, you use lower case to show it is describing the previous dialogue. It is confusing, I know, but that's the way it is handled.
...selling their wares... (Your original sentence made me laugh as I read they were selling what they were wearing.)
Several things wrong with this sentence. Possessive is left out and plurality ignored. Should be "...both Ruby and Sapphire lodged a hoof..."
...correct the second was not... (plurality problem)
I am so sorry but when I heard that this popped into my instantly.
https://m.