The Road to Ornithia

by The FraudulentBrit

An Average Day in the Skies

The Road to Ornithia

Part 6; an Average Day in the Skies

Angel Wings had never been to the beach, or even remotely close to the coast in her life. But here she was, on a trade ship high above the ocean, and she found the salty wind absolutely invigorating. Just taking a deep breath gave her almost as much strength as a hearty breakfast made by Silver or the new chef, an earth pony by the name of Bully Beef. Still, Angel Wings couldn’t help but take a deep breath and take everything in.

Angel Wings then noticed a few thick clouds in a distance. Before she could react, she heard Silver’s voice call out from behind her. “Miss Wings.” “What is it sir?” Angel Wings asked. Silver replied, “Those clouds might be a wee problem.” He then shot her a mischievous look and added, “You would’ne mind giving ‘em a good thrashing, would ya?” Angel Wings stretched her wings and replied, “Aye aye cap’n.” she then gave him a quick peck on his muzzle and turned around to face the clouds and ship’s railing. “Time to shine.” She reassured herself as she shot into the air.

Ever since she was a filly, Angel Wings loved the sensation of flying. It gave her what was sometimes the only real freedom she had. After all, her mother was always trying to control her… “Damnit!” Angel Wings scolded herself, only to realize what she had just said. “Oops. I Hope no-pony heard that.” Refocusing her efforts on the clouds ahead of her, she prepared her legs for some intensive cloud busting.

“Alright, time for a little fun.” Angel Wings said to herself as she began to dive towards the first cloud. She then rotated and gave the cloud an incredibly forceful buck, shattering the cloud into puffy, watery dust. “One down…” she said to herself as she noticed there were three other clouds, each about as thick as the first. “… three to go.” She finished. Stretching her limbs, she shot towards the next cloud. Once again, she turned and bucked the cloud, this one also poofing away into nothingness. She then noticed that she was in a position where both remaining clouds were lined up in single file.

“Hm…” Angel Wings pondered for a few seconds as she had an idea. Backing up until she was a safe distance away, she took a deep breath and steeled herself for what she had in mind. “Here goes nothing.” She said to herself. Angel Wings then charged forward, both front hooves stretched out in front of her. As the distance closed, she just hoped she wasn’t making a horrible mistake.

The first cloud poofed without any trouble. However, as she continued towards the final cloud, she Angel Wings realized that she was starting to lose control. “Uh oh!” She exclaimed as she slammed into the cloud, breaking it into several chunks. After a few hectic seconds, she managed to reorient herself. Inspecting her work, she congratulated herself. “Three out of four. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.” Angel Wings then realized that she was pretty far from the Hawkins, and it was slowly but steadily chugging away. “Oh my goodness!” She shouted as she started to panic. She then proceeded to try and dash her way back towards the Hawkins

The Hawkins

Silver couldn’t help but admire how skilled Angel Wings was in the air. He had witnessed her skill not only during his visit to the Wonderbolts’ base, but also seeing her during the rehearsals for the Family Day show, and he was blown away by how graceful she was. He knew that, if she wanted to, she could have easily made the team if she wanted to. However, Silver knew all too well that life didn’t always go the way one would always think. Still, he had to admit that Angel Wings was the most graceful, skilled, and certainly most beautiful flier he’d ever seen.

Of course, he was so distracted by her talent that he had almost failed to notice that she was shrinking in the distance, or rather was until she began to shoot straight towards the ship. “Oh, this can’nae end well.” Silver said to himself as he realized Angel Wings was approaching too quickly. The lookout then shouted, “She’s commin’ right at us!” Silver could only watch helplessly as Angel Wings found herself crashing into the rope ladders. Though she hadn’t broken them, she found herself now helplessly tangled in them, and unable to loosen herself.

“Hold tight Angel Wings! I’ll get you out of there!” Silver shouted as he made his way to the ladder she was trapped in. Angel Wings tried moving her limbs and wings, only to find they were stuck. She sighed and said to herself, “Well, that could have gone better.” After a few more seconds of fruitless struggling, she began to feel the rope ladder start to wobble. This was odd, as Angel Wings had pretty much given up trying to wrestle her way out. She looked down and was pleasantly surprised to see Silver climbing up towards her.

“If it isn’t my knight in shining armor.” Angel Wings quipped as Silver made his way to her. “I did’ne know they used silver in armor.” Silver replied as he began to use his wings to delicately undo the ropes around her hooves and wings. Angel Wings playfully rolled her eyes and said, “Thanks Silver.” Silver then replied, “Don’t thank me just yet.” He continued to work with the ropes, hoping he could get Angel Wings out of her unfortunate predicament.

Then, both pegasi heard the sound of a rope snapping. “What was that?” Angel Wings nervously asked. Silver didn’t immediately answer, waiting for a few seconds before another snap caught his attention. “Oh bugger.” He glumly replied. He then faced Angel Wings and said, “Brace yourself.” “Huh?” she asked, not quite certain as to what Silver was referring to. Sure enough, the rope ladder snapped again, this time sending both Silver and Angel Wings crashing into the deck.

“Cap’n!” Wyvern and Ishmael shouted as they and several others darted towards the two pegasi. “Cap’n Silver! Miss Wings! You two alright?” Ishmael said as he stepped up to the two, only to realize the rather odd situation they were in. It appeared that Silver had landed back first on the deck, and Angel Wings was laying on him, front side down. “Ugh.” Angel Wings groaned as she started to recover from the shock of the fall. She tried to rise, only to find that while her wings had been freed, her hooves were still stuck in the rope ladder. Worse still, as Silver started to come to, both pegasi realized exactly what kind of position they appeared to be in. “OH MY GOODNESS!” Both Angel Wings and Silver shouted as they tried to move out of their embarrassing predicament. Though Silver was able to escape relatively easily, Angel Wings was still encumbered by the broken ladder.

Both pegasi then began to nervously deny the awkward situation they had appeared to be in. “It… It’s not what it looks like!” Angel Wings nervously denied. Silver then nervously added, “Yeah, we…. The fall…. I must have…” Wyvern raised a hoof and interrupted the two. “It’s ok lovebirds. We know you weren’t gettin’ intimate up there.” Then, to everyone’s surprise, Angel Wings started to giggle. “I have to admit, it was kinda funny.” Silver and the others were a pleasantly surprised to see that she was taking the embarrassing situation in stride. Silver then reached in his jacket and pulled out a small knife. “It kinda was” He replied. “Now, let’s get you out of there.”

As Silver began to cut at the rope ladder around her hooves, Angel Wings apologized, “Sorry about the ladder.” Silver replied, “Don’t worry about it. I don’t exactly think we’ll be putting it back up anytime soon.” As he finished slicing through the ruined ladder, he added, “Still, shame we’ll have to put another one up.” Angel Wings, stretching her newly freed limbs, replied, “Nothing we can’t handle.” She received a playful nudge from Wyvern as he complimented, “That’s the sort of attitude we like up here.” Angel Wings couldn’t help but feel her heart soar at the accepting compliment. Silver then let out a gentle laugh and ordered, “Alright everyone! Let’s get a new rope ladder installed on the double!” The small group around him all replied, “Aye aye Cap’n!”

A Few Hours Later

“Alright. I think that just about does it.” Silver said out loud as used his metal wing to wipe the sweat off his brow. He, Angel Wings, Wyvern, Ishmael, and several others had spent the last few hours attaching a spare rope ladder. Angel Wings flew down from higher on the ship and landed on the main deck as she replied, “That was pretty complicated.” As she held out her right wing, she added, “I think my wing got a rope burn.” Wyvern stepped up to her and inspected her wing. “It’s not entirely pretty, but it’s not too bad either.” He said to the young mare. Silver himself added, “Besides, you don’t work with rope without the chance of gettin’ burnt.”

At that moment, they heard a loud crashing sound come from one of the decks below. “What was that?” Ishmael asked. Silver paused for a moment before he answered, “judging by the sound of the crash and how muffled it was, it had to come from the…” He was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of Perry shouting, “SKIBBY!” “…The gun deck.” Silver finished. Sure enough, Perry and Skibby, both covered in black powder, emerged from the lower decks.

“Cap’n Silver, we need to have a talk.” Perry said to Silver. Though his voice didn’t come off as angry, it was abundantly clear that he was anything but happy. Silver then asked, “Let me guess, your bad luck?” Skibby simply meekly nodded yes. “It’s alright lad.” Silver said as he took Skibby and wrapped him into a brief hug. As he finished the quick embrace, Silver then ordered, “Now then, I want you two to go wash off, and for safety concerns, Mr. Skibby, you are not to enter the gun deck without my personal supervision, am I clear?” Skibby simply sighed and said, “Aye aye Cap’n.”

“Good, now go get cleaned up you two.” Silver finished. Both Skibby and Perry departed the main deck to go clean themselves. However, Angel Wings noticed that Skibby was still visually depressed. His head was held low and right before he disappeared from sight, he let out a defeated sigh. She turned to Silver and said, “Hey Silver, I think something has Skibby feeling down.” Silver replied, “I could tell. I think his unlucky streak is getting to him.” Angel Wings remembered that Skibby had told her about his unfortunate habit of attracting bad luck, but she just thought he was only trying to help her feel better. However, she was starting to think that he might have been trying to tell the truth.

“Maybe I can talk to him.” Angel Wings offered. “That might not exactly help.” Ishmael added. “Skibby’s had this sort of problem for years.” Silver then added, “Well, I’ve been the only one there for him for years, so maybe a new voice might brighten his mood.” Angel Wings then straightened her hat (an action she totally didn’t steal from Silver) and replied, “Well, it’s worth a shot.”

The Crew’s Quarters

Angel Wings decided not to go and talk with Skibby immediately, as he would have been washing himself off and barging in would have been both rude and rather creepy. Instead, she had waited about half an hour, hoping that he would be able to clean the black stuff (most likely gun powder) off of him. Once the thirty minutes passed, she decided to check up on him. She knocked on the door, hoping to catch his attention.

“Skibby?” Angel Wings asked when she didn’t hear anything. There was no response. “Look, Silver said I should check up on you.” Yet again, there was no answer. Angel Wings then sighed and said to herself, “Something’s wrong.” She knew that even when he had been depressed otherwise, Skibby was always willing to be friendly and upbeat. True, she had only really known him for a week (give or take a few days), but she felt that she had enough to know that she had a decent understanding of his personality, and this wasn’t the Skibby she knew. Realizing she wasn’t going to get anywhere by just knocking the door, Angel Wings slowly opened the door to the crew’s quarters.

She had to admit that the quarters almost reminded her of the stallion’s quarters at the Wonderbolt’s Acadamy. Every hammock or simple bunk had evidence of who slept there out in the open. One was a simple bunk with an incredibly comfy looking mattress was most likely Wyvern’s, one hammock Clearly had Nelson’s prosthetic limb underneath with some spare parts, another hammock had a photo of Ishmael and his family, and one even had a book titled Funny and Filthy stories, the kind of book she figured Perry was fond of.

However, she wasn’t particularly focused on these personal effects. Instead, Angel Wings found her eyes drawn to the sight of Skibby lying on his hammock, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling above him. “Uh…” Angel Wings nervously began. “How’s it going Skibby?” “’Bout same as ever.” Skibby glumly replied. “You here to try an’ convince me I’m just a daft idiot and not hexed?” Angel Wings hesitated for a moment before she continued, “I just wanted to talk.” Skibby simply sighed and rotated his body to face away from her.

“Skibby, please don’t be so difficult.” Angel Wings pleaded to her friend. Skibby groaned and tried to cover his ears, but on par for his luck, his hammock simply crashed to the deck. “Grrraaaahhh!” Skibby shouted at the top of his lungs as he got up and began to kick the column, only to scream in pain as he kicked it too hard. “Stupid, bloody, buggering…” he began before he stumbled into another hammock. Though Angel Wings would normally find shenanigans like this humerous, she found this particular instance was simply sad.

“Let me help get you out of there.” Angel Wings said as she began to walk up to Skibby. Unfortunately, the Pegasus, tied up in the hammock, shot back, “No, I have to get meself out of here on my own!” He struggled to get out of the situation, only to sling himself straight into the wall. As he managed to weakly rise to his hooves, Skibby tried to put on a confident front. “See? I could get out of that on me own.” He then stepped forward, only to step on a single, upturned nail. He once again screamed in pain, stumbling backwards and bonking his head on the wall.

Angel Wings couldn’t bear to witness Skibby hurting himself for the sake of his pride any longer. “Oh, for Celestia’s sake!” she said as she walked over to Skibby and picked him up. “Oi, put me down!” Skibby angrily protested. Angel Wings ignored him as she proceeded to carry the protesting stallion on her back as she took him to get his now bleeding hoof looked at.

The Medical Room

Angel Wings set the now furious Skibby down on the bed, much to the latter’s displeasure. “I did’ne need your help, ya know.” Skibby angrily growled. Angel Wings ignored his insult as she began to pour disinfectant on his bleeding wound. “You’re welcome.” She said to him. As she took a bandage and began to apply it to his hoof, Skibby began to lament, “No point botherin’. I’ll get it hurt again, that or break somethin’ or get some-pony else hurt.” “Let’s not think about that now.” Angel Wings tried to change the subject. Skibby simply sighed and continued, “Trust me, I’ve tried. It doesn’t work.”

After a few more minutes, Angel Wings managed to finish wrapping the bandage around Skibby’s hoof. “There, that should do it.” She said with a simple smile. Skibby replied, “Of course you could do it. You can do anythin’.” This sudden change of subject caught Angel Wings’s attention. “What do you mean by that?” Skibby then began to explain, “It’s ‘cause you anythin’. You can fly perfectly, you can work the sails almost perfectly, you can find a task you’ve never done before and be better than any-pony. You’re just the perfect example of the urban space-mare!” As Skibby began to rise, Angel Wings noticed that not only was his voice getting louder, but he was starting to tear up. “You’re just so perfect that….” He paused for a moment as his nose started to run. “I can’nae do anythin’ right! It don’t matter if it’s behind the sails or on a farm, or even in a weather factory! This bad luck just follows me everywhere, and I CAN’NAE TAKE IT ANYMORE!”

Skibby then collapsed to the floor, crying his eyes out. Angel Wings couldn’t help but start to tear up. She may have not been able to do everything perfectly, but she did have to admit that she was pretty skilled for a novice sailor. However, she knew that Skibby had been doing this for years, and it seemed that this incident was the culmination of years of pent up self hatred. It almost reminded her of… “Me.” She said to herself, not realizing what had just escaped past her lips.

“What do you mean you?” Skibby asked as he choked back his sobs. Realizing she probably owed him an explanation, she quickly darted her eyes around, making sure the two of them were the only ones present. She then looked down to Skibby and asked, “Promise you can keep a secret?” Skibby was confused for a moment before he replied, “Why?” Angel Wings replied, “Just answer me, can you keep a secret?” Skibby hesitated for a moment before he made the familiar motion of the pinkie promise.

Angel Wings then sat down next to him and began to explain. “Funny thing about me doing everything perfectly, because for years, I thought I was a bit of a screw up.” “Huh?” Skibby asked. Angel Wings continued, “You see, I was the kind of filly who wanted to try everything. If there was something fun or awesome, I threw myself right into it.” She then couldn’t help but stare off somewhat whistfully. “Every-pony knows I was in the Wonderbolts Academy, but I also used to tap dance, I tried painting, cloud sculpting, and like, a million other things.”

Of course, this brought up a few unpleasant memories. “My dad always encouraged me, but my mom wasn’t too impressed.” As Skibby noticed the sudden tonal shift, Angel Wings continued, “She kept saying that I was just wasting my life by not finding something “important” or whatever. There were even a few times she called me a disappointment.” It was at this point that Angel Wings started to tear up. “However, no matter how nasty she got, my dad always told me to not let her get to me.”

Skibby then asked, “So, how does this fit into my…” Angel Wings then interrupted him. “I bet you’re expecting me to say not to let your luck affect you, but that’s not it.” After taking a deep breath, she continued, “I guess I’m just trying to say, I know what it’s like to think the world has it against you.” When Skibby didn’t really respond, she continued, “If you need some-pony to talk to, I’m always here for.” She started to rise up but something happened, something she didn’t expect.

Skibby wrapped his hooves around her as he began to let sob into her. “Thanks.” Was the only coherent word he could express. Angel Wings simply hugged him back as she let him release his pent up emotions. After a few minutes, Skibby managed to calm down. “Thanks. Guess I needed that.” He meekly replied. Before either could say anything else, they heard a knocking at the door. Silver then entered and said, “I heard a few screams and couldn’t find you two in the crew quarters.” Angel Wings then added, “Seems Skibby here just needed some-pony to listen.”

Silver let out a gentle laugh and replied, “Or at least some-pony new.” Skibby then let out a brief giggle of his own and playfully asked, “I bend your ears one too many times?” Now both Skibby and Angel Wings began to laugh. Silver then added, “I just had a word with Mr. Perry, and he’s managed to calm down. Though he would still prefer I be with you should you be on the gun deck again.” “I figured.” Skibby replied as he began to rub his eyes, ridding himself of the last of the tears. “Mind if I take a wee break sir?” Skibby asked. Silver replied, “Of course Mr. Skibby.”

As Skibby left, he briefly paused next to Silver and playfully quipped, “You’re really lucky to have a mare like her.” “Get movin’.” Silver cheekily replied.” Once Skibby was gone, Silver faced Angel Wings and said, “Thank you. I’d have spoken to him meself, but I think my voice is losing its effect on him.” “No problem.” Angel Wings replied. “Guess sometimes, you just need a little encouragement from an unexpected place.” Silver then added, “It was pretty brave of you to reveal a bit of yourself to him.” Angel Wings hesitated for a moment, but she did remember having told Silver as well. She then replied, “Guess I just wanted to show him that he’s not alone.” Silver then rested one of his metal wings against his Angel Wings and replied, “Well, up here, we’re all in this together.”

As He and Angel Wings shared a quick kiss, the latter replied, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

At that moment, both pegasi heard the sound of Angel Wings’s stomach rumbling. “Let’s get you something to eat.” Silver playfully said. Angel Wings then added, “I wonder what Bully Beef has cooked up tonight.” Silver replied, “Only one way to find out.” With that, both Silver and Angel Wings departed see what culinary concoction Bully Beef had been preparing.

Author's Note:

Next Time, We learn a little more about the mysterious Ecks.

Comments

[The FraudulentBrit]

Hello everyone. As a simple teaser for the next chapter, I will say that it references the events of Spitfire’s first flashback in Spitfire and Old Silver.