“...Maybe it should have been bigger,” I said as I stopped at the gantry overlooking the airship hangar constructed at the edge of the Canterlot plateau, down around the ship and on platforms around her, ponies were still working hard on getting it ready.
The large airship floated in the hangar. She didn’t have her original colours, instead she had been painted in the traditional Equestrian colours of… sadly white and pink. At the front where the Storm King’s symbol used to be was now the royal Equestria sigil.
Across the side of the hull of the airship was the name written in big golden letters.
‘HMS Storm King’s Mistake’
Tempest made a small choking sound next to me as she stared at her former flagship and I turned to look at her,
“...Too much?” I asked with a smile.
Tempest looked at it for a long moment and then shook her head like chasing off a fly before she shook her head and sighed, “No.”
I leaned in a bit, “I’m not a big fan of the paint scheme either,” I admitted, “But it’s traditional… and I think it might even be law when it comes to navy vessels.”
Tempest scraped her hoof against the gantry, nodding but declining further comment.
Sunset walked up next to me, “‘Storm King’s Mistake?’” she asked with a frown, “Your idea?”
“Yes.”
Sunset sighed, raising an eyebrow at me, “That’s going to cause some friction.”
“Eh, buck him,” I said and shrugged my wings, “She’s not a diplomatic ship, she’s a warship and a troop transport. Besides, Luna blocked my other suggestions.”
Sunset eyed me and then shrugged, “...Well, if Luna thought it was okay.”
“Oh, she was all for it”
Well, after some… convincing anyway.
“Now, let’s have a look inside, shall we?” I said and turned towards the gangway.
With that, we made our way down and around to the ramp to the ship and into the main entry/hold. It was actually kind of spacy.
Tempest looked around and frowned, “It looks… the same.”
“It is mostly the same,” I said, “Some systems have been replaced, there has been a lot of repainting and as I understand it, all the furniture has been replaced to suit ponies. And a million other smaller changes. But the ship itself? Almost the same. Or so I’m told.”
Tempest slowly nodded, flicking her tail as she frowned slightly. She then shook her head again and started to make her way through the ship, leaving Sunset and myself to bring up the rear.
“So this is what you’ll send the expedition with?” Sunset asked softly as she walked next to me.
“...Yes,” I said and shifted my wings as we climbed up a set of stairs onto the bridge, “Except I’m not sending anypony.”
Sunset looked to me, “You’re not? But wh-” she started to ask before her eyes widened in surprise before she glared at me, “No!”
“Yes,” I said with a smile, “I’m going too.”
“Page, that-” Sunset started to say before she took a deep breath, her ears flicking as she scraped one hoof against the metal floor before she sighed, “... It’s a good idea.”
I blinked at her, “It is?”
I had really expected more push back about it from her and Luna. There was still Luna of course, but if I had Sunset backing me up, it would help a lot.
Sunset nodded, “I think so,” she said and frowned, “I...I was against it, but on second thought… I think it’s a good idea.”
“That was a quick change of mind.”
She sighed softly and moved up to touch her horn against mine, “Okay, yeah. I’m a bit old fashioned sometimes.”
“More than Luna which is impressive.”
That got me a small glare and Sunset then sighed and shook her head, “But it’s not really going to be anymore dangerous than Canterlot, is it? You’ll have a full Warship with you, filled with the rest of the expedition and a full load of the Legion.”
I knew better than to argue that point so I just nodded, “Yeah,” and then nuzzled softly, “You’re not coming?”
Sunset looked unhappy but shook her head, “I can’t leave Twi right now with everything that’s going on.”
“...Yeah, I can see that,” I agreed, “I thought about inviting Twi or Midnight, but they have enough to deal with right now.”
“Actually,” Sunset said, looking thoughtful, “I think inviting Midnight might not be a bad idea. Right now, she’s… she’s not doing well.”
“She looked normal yesterday during Hearth’s Warming.”
Sunset sighed, “And when we got back to Twi’s parents place, she locked herself in the guestroom. I could hear her crying but she wouldn’t want any company.”
“It was Hearth’s Warming, Sunny,” I told her quietly, “The worst possible day for her I think.”
“And how many nightmares have you handled for her?” Sunset asked with a raised eyebrow.
Almost every night since it happened. Not all intense enough to even be remembered in the morning, but they were always there.
“I think something that could distract her, even a little, would be good,“ Sunset told me, clearly reading my expression.
“Well, you know Sparks better than anypony, and I guess that applies to Midnight too,” I admitted, “If you really think it will make her feel better…”
Sunset shook her head and leaned against me, “I’m not sure anything can. But maybe it can distract her a bit.”
“I’ll ask.”
You really should not be suprised by now
...you realize of course that he is most likely going to encounter a hidden colony of thestrals who will start worshipping him like a god or something right?
"Let's go Midnight, in and out, twenty day adventure."
There's no way she could say no to exploring old ruins!
HMMMMMMMM, I just don't know what went wrong!
I'm sure anyone who remembers primary school can catch this. If not, I've just slightly lost hope in humanity for not remembering something so simple(Then again, as soon as test are over, we all just toss away what we've learned and forget it the next day). Unless your education hasn't reached that point. But then again, I doubt you'd be reading on this website nor this story or comment if that were the case.
10407358
Had the same thought way ahead of you XD
10403961
10407397
To be fair, you have to have a really high IQ to understand the complexity of thestral society.
10407457
I'm Russian, what am I looking at? What is exactly wrong, it seems ok...
10407562
10407457
There's no period. It's not really a big deal, though. Or, at the very least, it didn't warrant his comment. He's kind of being a butt and cringie about it. He could have easily just pointed out the accident.
I mean seriously. This is just begging for attention.
Don't dislocate your shoulder, patting yourself on the back, my dude. He forgot 1 character, out of 4155.
Oh no! This comment has at least one flaw in it. You must not remember kindergarten if you can't find where >et< is.
Extra points if you find additional flaws.
Page's to do list:
Find thestrals.
Add Midnight to harem
Add Celestia to harem
Add Twilight to harem
Add kitchen sink to harem
Ok, this name is PRICELESS! Also a tactical adventage if they ever fight him again. Storm bitch would have a focus on see this ship destroyed, hes ego is huge after all.
Funny that a expedition provided him with better security than a normal stay in Canterlot
If Page inform the Elements about his plans ( Twilight hears it and RD would probably use it to spend time along side Daring Do ), A.K. Yerling would be informed via RD and bingo we have two capable pegasus on Bord. RD learn to act professional and Daring Do has a new adventure.
10407358
He is technicaly one Its time Page get his own followers. Hes teaching? Write awesome storys, cooperation with non ponys to everyones benefit & snu-snu is best past time
10407397
Twenty days? This will take months at least! You have to arrive, search a wide area without spreading your units to thin, have to find clues that lead you to your target. Eta 3- 12 months i guess...
10407601
OBJECTION! You forget Princess Skitter, Queen Chrysalis & Fluffelpuff! ... ... Wait... Why is Fluffelpuff on my list
10407616
Because she has already claimed chryssi.
*wormhole appears and Discord comes out*
Discord: Con permiso, Capitan Page. The hall is rented, the orchestra engaged. It's now time to see if you can dan--*looks at the name of the ship* ...DAMMIT PAGE!! Most wasted opportunity EVER!
*grumbling Discord returns back into wormhole*
10407397
Mangos, upside down houses, and a nocturnal society. that's about it.
oh and a gold idol in the middle of a temple that may or may not release a big boulder when you pick it up
"You should bring midnight with you!"
"Okay!"
MEANWHILE AT THE PALACE OF SHIPPING
"Yes, yesssssss excelent. the pieces are moving into place! twenty days in a cramped airship on an expedition, the shipping will be finally complete!"
"Honey, flury heart just woke up and i need some help feeding her, you mind coming out of the Closet of Shipping for 5 minutes?"
"Be right there Shiny!"
I have to admit that I was not expecting ‘HMS Storm King’s Mistake’ to be the ships name. However I had a very good laugh at the name when I saw it. 10/10.
10407457
What an attention whore way of saying that he missed a period.
10407457
First off, the show's actual target audience is in the age bracket where some of the younger ones haven't learned that yet, so it's not unreasonable for one of them to stumble across this site. I don't have a problem with directing insults towards the American education system, but when you're already being a pedant you open yourself up to the pedantry of others.
There was going to be a second bit, but then I realized that I don't need to repeat what others already commented on and downvoted you for. (And there's still one downvote unaccounted for; the third wasn't me). I'm leaving the "first off" in to annoy people like you.
10407589
I see, thanks for clarification. Everyone makes mistakes, and people do tend to forget a thing or two. God knows I would struggle to remember rules for Russian language, and I am a native. I agree that you tend to forget irrelevant information to make room for important stuff.
10407731
Let see the crew shall be...
Page as Commander
Tempest as Captain
Midnight and Moondancer as Science Officer
Daring Do as the Archeologist
Maud as the Geologist
Gotta get some other guys in here...
Blueblood as Navigater
His guard buddies coming to as recompense for being buttholes.
Not a very appropriate name for any ship. I can honestly see members of the Equestrian Navy looking on it as though it is a cursed ship. When giving a ship a new role and name it is customary to wipe clean the ship's past as though it is a brand new ship.
That made be laugh hard
OH MY FUCKING SIDES FUCK I LOST IT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Though, to keep with tradition, it probably should've been "Folly".
10407908
Angry much?
Airship or not, shoulda been boaty mcboatface.
11064526
I mean the implication, if I read it right, was that there were several other possibilities. I refuse to accept the idea that it wasn’t floated.
10965850
yeah 'folly' sounds more poetic too, thats why its ususaly used in names instead 'of 'mistake'
What does the HMS stand for. is it still Her/His majesties ship or is it something else
11474961
Her Majesty's ship is what is stands for. Or His. It's the term for a navy vessel when it's belongs to a monarchy
10407653
What did he expect? XD
The sigil need a work over with all the Alicorns.
Epic name!
The comment section has me almost rolling in tears.
Beautiful 👍
I know for a way to make big money for Blank Page.
Produce 10.000 replica of his stallionhood, every year that he grows in body statue it gets a update.
Since it's only 10.000 it's a limited edition.
Since it's Page, his fan mares will be fighting over it.
So joker will glue one to Page hero statue in the plaza and I just know Celestia will make it a declared national art piece! ✌
She??
11789129
Boats/ships are often called she when they aren't being referred to by their names. There's only been one instance in recent history where it was the other way, The KMS Bismark, but that was mainly because the captain told the crew to.
What a missed opportunity! It should've been HMS Boaty McBoatface, if not Enterprise or Serenity. I was honestly expecting Millennium Falcon.
Personally, I would've gone with HMS Arganon's Folly, but... eh. I'm just some dumbass truck driver. I ain't know shit about naming ships lol