• Published 17th Mar 2019
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Daring Do: the Legend of the Algae Photis (A Ranger side-story) - Wanderer D



To save Sunset Shimmer from herself, Twilight, her team, and Daring Do must find an ancient magical artifact. A Ranger sidestory.

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Chapter 16: Final Preparations

Daring Do: the Legend of the Algae Photis

by Wanderer D

Chapter 16: Final Preparations

Rainbow Dash had to admit: there was a unique type of energy in the anticipation of setting out on a voyage to a completely new place. The whole of the docks were ablaze with movement and focused, organized, chaos. She hovered just above everypony's heads, keeping clear of the many creatures moving about.

The Arpia was currently undergoing a final, careful checkup, and therefore had most of its crew running all over it, inside, while several hippogriff engineers flew around the outside, checking the hull, cleaning it and notating any possible needed fixes before it set out.

Mullet, the first mate of the ship stood off to the side, surveying the effort with an engineer by him, who was listing their observations so far. "The hull seems to be intact and well taken care of, we have removed some barnacles from it and polished the wood," the hippogriff was saying, flipping the page in his claws. "The keel has some chipping on it, maybe some sort of narrowly-avoided collision? I have my team sanding that down and should be insulated soon enough. My main concern is the gaff for the mainsail, as you can see, it's beginning to show its age. And, if you're flying to Fleece…"

Rainbow Dash moved along, ignoring the rest of the conversation. Most of that information was not something she could help with, and if she went around trying to find problems with the ship itself, chances were she'd get in the way more often than not. She next spotted the cook, Lix Spittle, at the dock that went around The Arpia, next to the crane that would load all the supplies into the ship, checking the list of items that Capper had procured. "These are all the things I asked for, right?"

"Yes, yes," Capper growled. "I told you, I went over the list three times. I got everything."

"Good. Since we're pressed for time, I don't think the captain is going to try and go around the Gate of Aeolus, so that means we're not stopping until we get there."

Capper's eyes went wide. "Damn. In any case, Spittle—"

"Lix!"

"Everything you, the Captain, and the Princess asked for is here." He motioned with his paw to the crates, clearly labeled as: Food; Supplies; Princess. "The vendors assured me of the quality of the produce, and considering what we're going after, I don't think they would back-stab us and their own country on account of a few legumes."

"So you say, and you'd better not be lying, Capper, or I'll cook you!" Lix Spittle gave him a hard look, then turned and nodded to the crew, who started lifting the crates and moving them over to The Arpia. "Make sure you goofs organize the crates properly! I want everything marked with this symbol—" She pointed to a nearby crate "—closest to the kitchen!"

"Gate of A of Lus?" Rainbow Dash muttered, flying up and looking around. She immediately saw her objective: Celaeno sat on a large table that had been placed behind the wheel, a large map spread open next to her logs as she calculated their route.

Rainbow Dash flew down to land next to her, and Celaeno—upon seeing her—flashed her a smile that made her cheeks warm up under her fur, motioning with her claw for her to get closer. "How can I help you, Rainbow Dash?"

"H-hey," she responded, playing it cool. "So, I heard that we're going to cross something called "the Gate of Ay-Olus", and I was wondering what that is?"

"Aeolus," Celaeno corrected, and pointed at something on the map. "A legendary spirit of air and water. Supposed protector of the lands of Fleece. The story goes that as she beheld the bountiful lands of Fleece, she knew enemies would attempt to take what belonged only to them, so she raised an eternal storm that crackles through the sky and churns the sea, so only those worthy—or possessing her blessing—could ever reach the coast of Fleece safely."

Rainbow Dash flew up, glancing down at the drawings. She could easily spot Equestria, although the rest of the world map was unknown to her, she followed the map south to Mt. Aris. The place Celaeno was pointing at was a few nautical miles away, and it looked like some sort of outline that expanded several more north and south.

"It really can be counted as a wall of sorts, made of storm clouds and mist and strong wind currents," the captain explained. "It stretches across the ocean, and is usually best avoided if it's an option. It's by no means sentient as the legends claim, but it is a barrier that affects the whole region. A lot of towns and trade posts were created along the different routes to circumvent it, in ways that have shaped their economy for centuries... but we are very pressed for time, so we'll have to push through the Gate itself."

Rainbow Dash nodded.

Celaeno took a deep breath. "It's not an easy flight. It's very dangerous and more than one ship has lost its way or been brought down in there. The thermals and pressure are all over the place…" She shrugged. "But we don't have much of a choice if we want to make it on time to save Twilight's friend."

"Right." Rainbow Dash sighed. "So why all the food?"

"It's still going to take a couple of days to fly through, since we have to be careful, and a couple more to reach our destination once we're out of it, even at top speed." Celaeno explained. "And that is assuming we come out at the intended location. Once in there... it's complicated. Without being able to stop at any location to resupply, or worse, if we lose our way and are stuck there longer than anticipated, we'll have one thing less to worry about if we're prepared with enough food for all."

"Gotcha." Rainbow Dash said. "So, what are you doing here? Planning our route even if you won't be able to use any landmark or even the stars?"

"Basically," Celaeno said, moving to the side so that Rainbow Dash could take a look. "We're betting a lot of things here, so I'm trying to be as efficient as possible. Ace is already trying to sleep so that he can take over piloting at night, so the route has to be laid out very clearly for him to use."

Rainbow Dash followed the line that Celaeno traced with her claw. "I guess that makes sense; we also do similar things with the Everfree Weather Patterns during the late Summer, when it gets pretty crazy."

"Then you understand," Celaeno said, looking town at the map. "We have very few options, and if Tempest's ship captain is somewhat competent, their headstart will count for something even if they have to play it a bit safe." She frowned. "I want to make sure we make it there before them. I can't let them abuse the history and artifacts of my country for their benefit."

"Hey," Rainbow Dash said, placing her hoof gently on top of Celaeno's claw, "don't worry. I know good flying when I see it, and I know good weather prediction… and you're great at both."

She glanced at Celaeno—who didn't move her claw away—and shared a confident smirk with her.

"Yeah," the captain said, clearing her throat, but still smiling. "That is true."

Alejandra lept forth, claw-extensions glistening. Galahad, however dodged just in time and she only managed to heavily scratch the stone wall behind him. Above them, the Hippogriff soldiers watching cheered and hooted.

She didn't let that distract her, however, completing the motion and planting her claws on the floor to use as a pivot. Her wings didn't open fully, but allowed her to keep her balance as she turned on the spot and her rear legs rested on the damaged wall for barely a second before uncoiling, adding the additional speed boost to her follow up. Claw, claw, and peck!

Despite the violence and speed of her attack, Galahad not only avoided it with a smirk on his beak, but the moment her claws were on the floor again and she was regaining her balance again, he had already lept forward and used her back as a springboard to hover above her.

Not allowing herself to think, she forced her body to push to the side, pressing her wings tight against her body as she rolled, avoiding the three knives that embedded themselves on the floor in her wake with dull thuds.

She knew he was coming in for the kill so she rolled once more to lay on her back, her own knife flashing up and stopping just as it was about to plunge into his neck.

She smirked, then frowned, realizing his foreleg was already positioned to stop her attack from getting closer, and that had his own claw extensions pressing against her exposed belly. "Dammit."

"Still a bit green to do that, Alejandra," he said, chuckling.

She let out a big sigh and dropped her knife. Resting her back on the cool stone floor, she sighed again and grudgingly admitted her defeat. "Fine. You win."

The cheers died down as the guards that had gathered to watch slowly dispersed, conversing among themselves. To Alejandra's surprise, however, from what little she could hear, the whole discussion was admiration—for her.

Galahad stepped back and offered her a claw, which she took, allowing him to pull her to all fours. All fours. Sometimes she forgot this wasn't her real—or at least original—species. She had gotten so used it to it that the days where she would fly sideways were an unpleasant memory.

Thinking back on who she was when she had arrived, she understood just how much she had changed. If the plants that had captured her in the Everfree Forest had come across the Alejandra of today, she would have never been trapped, she was sure of it. She was a completely different being. Reactions, instincts, flight perception, her brain worked in a completely different way than it had before.

"You've grown a lot since I got you out of the hospital in Canterlot," Galahad said, as if he had been reading her mind.

"Yeah… I just sort of realized that," Alejandra replied, opening and closing her claws as she looked down on them. The feathers and fur still sent the myriad sensations they had before but now, somehow, she understood what they meant. Could she ever be human again after this?

She thought of Earth, of her brother, parents, her uncles and aunts, her friends. Then her thoughts went to Twilight and to Gabby. To Gilda and Galahad. Rainbow Dash and the others.

She had a duty to Earth, but…

"You'll have a home here too, whatever you do."

"Alright," Alejandra growled, glancing at Galahad. "How the hell do you know what I was thinking?"

He chuckled. "I can't read your mind, if that's what you're wondering," he said, motioning for her to go sit down with him at the edge of the training grounds. Once they were seated and had removed their weapons, he continued, "I just have seen that look before in other apprentices. It was the dawning comprehension of change. More so for you than any of them, I'd imagine."

"Right." Alejandra glanced at the sky.

"After that familiar expression, followed the one that I've seen happen the most to my apprentices, and even soldiers. The slow realization that their family has grown. That their world is wider." He grinned. "In the end, what you choose is up to you, you're my apprentice, but you're a special case. You won't be an assassin, you can choose to go. You can choose to stay. But soldiers and heroes have a right to be happy too."

"Heh," Alejandra leaned back, glancing at the exotic houses of the hippogriffs. "That'd be amazing. I could bring Gabby here and visit places I've never seen." Her smile faded a little. "Maybe even bring my friend Twilight with me whenever she's free."

Galahad patted her back. "These things take time," he said, "especially for ponies like her. She has a ton of responsibility, and she's dedicated to a fault." He smiled at her. "I think you have a chance, but you can't hurry it. Some things in life have a natural cycle to grow and flourish."

"Listen to you, now you sound like you're about to start reading poems."

"Poems are powerful," Galahad countered. "Maybe you should try reading a few, I think you would like them."

They remained in silence for a few minutes, allowing the adrenaline from their fight to dissipate, their breath to slow down, and their comfortable silence to stretch... then he stood up. "Alright, I should go. I must deliver that missive to Canterlot."

"Galahad," Alejandra said, touching his shoulder. "Thank you."

"No." He shook his head, patting her claw with his. "Thank you for listening to this old bird. Now go catch up with your princess, and tell me all about the adventure when we meet again."

End Chapter 16