Inspections
It was well past noon when I finished my survey of the lower hull of the Wandering Blossom. I trudged up the gangplank leading from the grassy knoll to the deck, wearing only a light parka. It had warmed up enough to be just chilly, which was nice especially in the foothills of the Unicorn Range. We were still a few thousand feet above sea level and cold winds had a tendency to sweep over the impromptu landing site.
Minuette had spent half the morning at my side, quietly inspecting the hull until a particularly cold wind had driven her back into the warmth of the Blossom. Now, she was back on deck, dressed in my spare parka, a soft pink that would have worked with my coat, but didn’t exactly work with Minuette’s blue. She still wore it well. Too well.
“So, how does it look?” she asked as she floated a mug of coffee—bless her—to me.
I took a long sip and let the liquid wash away the lingering cold. Then, I turned to look out over the ship. I still needed to do a survey of the main deck, the wheelhouse, and probably the engineering compartment. Especially after…
Well, there wasn’t any good in delaying the truth.
“I ground the keel of the ship against that cliffside pretty good,” I muttered as I stepped over to the railing and looked down at the Blossom’s curves. I couldn’t see the keel from here, since that was the very bottom of the hull, but I could still see it in my mind’s eye. “It’s pitted from bow to stern. There are gouges in the wood in a few dozen places. Not enough to break through, but there are two spots that are pretty deep.”
“Does that mean…” Minuette swallowed. “Does that mean she can’t fly?”
I rubbed my eyes with a hoof. Obviously, I had gotten some grit in them. “No, no. The Blossom can still fly just fine. None of the gouges got close to any of the levitation crystal housings. But those are now weak spots in the hull. Under strain, like a water landing or really bad weather, those spots could potentially give and we’d have a hull breach.”
“That sounds really bad, Moony.” Minuette took a gulp of her own coffee as she looked out over the treeline.
Despite her nonchalant attitude, I could tell she was worried. Maybe it was because I was too. Just a little.
“It’s not as big of a deal for airships as it would be for something that sails on the water,” I admitted. “It’ll restrict our operational ceiling—we won’t be able to fly more than say, eight-thousand feet above sea level—and I’ll have to keep the engines at half-power until I’m sure she can handle more. But that’s not the worst of it.”
“What, there’s more? Didn’t you just have this ship built?” she asked, shock seeping into her voice.
“Yes,” I spat, then knocked back a good chunk of the wonderfully-bitter coffee. It suited my mood. “No, the worst part is that the starboard stabilizing fin is cracked in four places. Between my little roll stunt and me cracking it against a cliff wall on the final run, it’s a minor miracle the whole thing didn’t break off.”
“And…” Minuette licked her lips and glanced my way. She obviously got that it was a big deal, but it was equally obvious she didn’t know why. “What’s that do?”
I tried not to yell at her. She hadn’t spent years studying airship mechanics, after all. She’d just hitched a ride. I was the one who got reckless for no reason. Well, I had a reason—if I was going to be perfectly honest with myself—but it wasn’t a good one.
Instead of admitting any of that, I took a slow, deep breath of the alpine air and let it out again.
“The stabilizer fins do a few different things on an airship this size. The Blossom is more easily affected by storms and wild winds, even ones made by Even Keel. If you had an airship that was built to operate around Canterlot or other areas well-controlled by pegasi weather teams, they’ll usually only have small sheets attached to the envelope—the ‘blimp’ part.” I added, watching Minuette’s face. “The Blossom stays aloft through her enchanted mainsail, levitation crystals set into the bottom of her hull and the stabilization fins. The fins even all those pieces out to make sure the ship stays flying.” I pushed up my glasses and fiddled aimlessly with my mane. “They also keep the ship level during bad weather and even act as part of the rudder assembly for quick navigation.”
Minuette was silent, though when I glanced at her, it wasn’t a silence of not understanding. She was the best clockmaker in Equestria. She understood mechanical engineering in a way I never would. I just knew a whole lot about a whole lot. Most of it was useless to the current situation.
I turned around and sat on the deck, eyeing the dented railing on the bow. “So, we’ve got two options.”
“And those are?”
“Head back to Vanhoover for a proper refit and damage assessment,” I sighed, slipping my glasses to rest on my horn and rubbing my eyes again. “Or continue on to Canter Basin and hope they have an airship mechanic with the necessary parts. Hull patches shouldn’t be a problem. It’s the fin I’m worried about. Without that fin working right, I won’t be able to safely navigate the trip to Whinnyapolis. Most of the Equestrian Northwest is only loosely controlled by pegasi weather teams and usually only that’s done near towns or other settlements that actually have teams. A lot of what’s out here is at least partially wild.”
Minuette flopped down beside me and rubbed her chin with a hoof. We sat there for a long time, just thinking and pondering the situation.
To my total lack of surprise, it was Minuette who smiled first. “Well, seems simple to me.”
“What does?” I asked.
“You said Canter Basin is… what? Four hours northeast?”
I nodded. “Something like that.”
“Then we head for Canter Basin and find a mechanic there. If there isn’t one, we do a little sightseeing, then head back to Vanhoover to get her all fixed up.”
“You realize a proper repair job might take days or weeks, right?” I pointed out. She probably had no way of knowing, really. But she had to know what she was saying.
“And what would you do during all of that?” Minuette asked, her smile not even dimming.
“Honestly?” I thought about it again. “Probably rent a place in Vanhoover. I spent a lot of time and money on the Blossom. I’m not leaving until she’s done.”
“Then I either harass you or…” Now her smile did dim slightly. “Or go back to Canterlot.”
“Well,” I said quickly as I picked myself up off the deck. “We don’t need to face that yet, right?”
Minuette nodded, looking up at me. “Right!”
“So, if you’d be willing to make us lunch, I’ll finish the survey of the main deck and the wheelhouse. Then it’ll just be a check of the engineering section. Assuming it all checks out and we get a good tailwind, I might be able to get us into Canter Basin before sundown.”
I reached down and picked her up off the deck.
“Now that’s acting like an airship captain!” she said with a wink. “I’ll be right back with some sandwiches!”
With that, she scampered to the hatch and headed below decks, not even looking back. However, I stared after her, even after the hatchway had closed. Had she really just turned what should have been a devastating moment—one caused by my own stupidity—into something with a silver lining?
Not to mention… she wanted to go sightseeing? With me?
I mean, I didn’t have a reason not to go. I wasn’t in any particular hurry. I was in even less hurry than Minuette to head back to Canterlot—though I still didn’t have a clue why she was avoiding the place. I mean, it was Minuette, right? Everypony loved her, and I mean everypony.
Why would she want to go sightseeing with me?
I shook my head and summoned my survey checklist in a flash of magic. It was time to focus on questions I could answer. Like if the Blossom would shake herself apart the moment I tried to get her airborne.
Three hours and two sandwiches later, I was happy to acknowledge that the answer to that question was a definite no. While one of the railings on the bow was dented, there had been no other notable structural damage save for a few scrapes and gouges along the main deck from falling debris. The wheelhouse had turned out completely unscathed and the engineering compartment almost as pristine as my first walkthrough six months ago. I’d even done an inspection of the sub-deck, crawling around down there after pulling up the hatches that made up most of the hallway of the main deck. Everything was still strapped down and the hull was entirely intact on the interior.
Minuette had been beside herself with glee when I announced that the Wandering Blossom was fully air-worthy. While I wouldn’t be pulling any more daredevil stunts anytime in the future with a cracked stabilizing fin, that was fine by me. The more time that passed between that moment and now, the more stupid I realized I’d been.
So, it was with no small amount of trepidation that I personally invited Minuette to join me in the wheelhouse for takeoff. And it was with no small amount of relief that she reacted with another dazzling smile as she climbed up the deck.
I had taken the time to don my cold-weather gear and stow a sweater, a parka, and some long socks I’d found in the bottom drawer of my dresser. Minuette had just raised an eyebrow at me at the sight of them. I’d unsuccessfully hidden a powerful blush and mumbled something about ‘just in case.’
Still, embarrassment aside, I managed to put on a cool head as I strapped myself into the pilot’s chair. I took a page from Minuette and used the five-point harness design this time, as did she. I engaged the slatted curtain for the aft section and engaged the forward-shield after retracting the forward slats. I checked my gauges, went through my preflight checklist, and finally realized it was time. It was a little before three o’clock, and according to the maps I had stored in a compartment between the two of us, at one-half, it would take us three and a half hours to reach Canter Basin from our current position. We’d arrive shortly after dark, which was too bad. Canter Basin Lake was supposed to be spectacular at sunset.
But one thing at a time.
I shifted the crystal core into its engine configuration, then unfurled the mainsail and the jib. I slowly throttled up the levitation crystals until we finally took to the air. There was a strange sense of freedom to feeling the ship shiver in the light breeze, to being unfettered by such annoying things as gravity.
I found myself smiling.
Using the rear turbines, I began to slowly nudge us forward at one-quarter, keeping the levitation crystals running until I was sure we’d be past the tree line. On a whim, I waved to all the squirrels and chipmunks, much to Minuette’s amusement and my embarrassment.
And then, we were finally off. Using the course I charted earlier, I adjusted our heading and throttled up the engines to one-half. Even at that speed, I could feel the ship begin to shimmy slightly and found myself constantly needing to adjust course to compensate. I sighed at myself. The constant correction was going to be a pain.
Once we were well above five-thousand feet, I evened out the Blossom. I didn’t want to push us any higher. Minuette had spent most of the ascent staring at the instrument panels, myself or the deck. Only after I breathed a long sigh of relief did Minuette do the same.
“Everything okay?”
I nodded, leaning back in my chair. “The captain has turned off the seatbelt signs. You are free to move about the cabin.”
She giggled and I rolled my eyes at her.
“We’ve got a good tailwind, thank Celestia,” I said. “We might be able to arrive there before sundown. Which would be nice. The books I’ve read said it’s pretty around then.”
Minuette was quiet for a long moment after that. I turned toward her and raised an eyebrow. She was just staring down in her lap where she held some bundle she’d brought up. I guessed it was more snacks.
“Hey, Blue?” I asked, prodding her with a hoof.
She blinked, then stared at me with a half-smile. “Did you just call me Blue?”
I blushed and mentally kicked myself a few dozen times.
“Nopony’s called me that since we were third-years at Gifted Unicorns,” she said wistfully, now looking even more lost in thought. “Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine used to call me it all the time.”
Before I could prod her again, she eyed me up and down.
“And now you’re calling me it?” she raised an imperious eyebrow. “Just who do you think you are, Moondancer?”
My ears went flat. “Uh…”
She burst out laughing. “I’m kidding! Lighten up, Moony. I just got lost in my own head. Happens sometimes.”
She said that too quickly and too cheerfully, even for her. But she also didn’t let me get a word in edgewise.
“Anyway, I brought something for us to work on together!”
Minuette unwrapped the thing in her lap, bringing out something I hadn’t been expecting.
The Waystone.
“Minuette…” I sighed. “Are we really going back to this?”
“You promised!” she said with a small pout. “Come on, Moony! What’s the harm? We already know the Waystone itself is real! Why not check the rest?”
“You’re really into this, aren’t you?”
“Well, you aren’t the only one who did some reading last night. You have quite a collection of travel guides!” Minuette beamed at me. “They had some good stuff in there.”
“Those are Even Keel’s!” I cried. “I just shoved them into your bookcase because I didn’t feel like throwing them out!”
“Doesn’t matter!” Minuette informed me, her nose in the air. “One of them talked about how Waystones were super popular in this region hundreds of years ago! And they contained…”
I facehoofed. “You read the one about the Cloudshark, didn’t you?”
Minuette nodded like a bobblehead.
“Minuette, that is like the biggest tourist attraction of the gullible in the entire Equestrian Northwest!” I cried, waving my hooves in the air, then adjusting our heading a little to keep us on course. “The Cloudshark didn’t even exist. It’s a myth! And the chances of us happening to find a Waystone from that ship—which didn’t exist—is next to impossible. The odds are astronomical!”
“Then who better to find her than a pony with a couple stars on her butt?” Minuette quipped.
I groaned again as the ship rocked slightly. We were heading beneath another Northwestern rainstorm, but this one was nothing more than some drizzle and light wind.
“Moony, what do you have to lose by trying?” Minuette said, bringing out her ‘wounded puppy dog eyes.’ “Please?”
“Okay, that?” I pointed at her face. “That is just not fair!”
She grinned at me, then went back to the eyes. Those damn unfair eyes.
“Fine!” I snapped, yanking the Waystone from her lap. “Yes, I did at least figure out how to unlock most Waystones last night. Doesn’t mean that the technique will work for this one though, so don’t get your hopes up!”
Minuette didn’t reply. Instead, she just watched me like a hawk, grinning all the while. I found myself blushing for no good reason as I studied the inscriptions on the sides of the casing. Now that I knew what to look for, I could see the breaks in the metal.
With a careful application of magic, I applied pressure to five points at the same time. Instantly, several pieces of the outer shell flew an inch or two outward. I blinked in surprise while Minuette let out a little squeak of excitement. I hadn’t actually expected that to work.
But now that it had…
“Minuette, can I get that magnifying glass again?” I asked. At this point, even I was curious.
In less than a second, a golden disc of magic glass floated before me. I peered through it and spun the entire orb in my magic. Part of the security system of all Waystones were the outer markings, which often had clues as to what the thing actually was. But they had to be matched up in the proper order.
However, I had spent most of my life in libraries. I was good at making order out of chaos.
I juggled pieces in my magic, aligning them to the correct spots as needed, until I only had a single piece—the cap—left. It was a circular piece of golden metal that fit on the far side from the window to the six-pointed crystal. There was a small notch in it, too.
“Okay… let’s… see if this actually is something,” I muttered to myself as I slammed the cap home.
The entire orb began to crackle with blue magic. The crystals inside flashed on and off in a rapid pattern.
“Oh not again…” Minuette cried.
I shielded my eyes, only to have the entire Waystone jerk out of my magic and fly to the center of the wheelhouse, a few inches in front of the forward screen.
Then, the last thing I expected happened.
A griffon appeared before us.
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who could this mysertious griffon be, gilda? Gabby, Gallus?
I’m going to assume the Cloudshark is the story’s version of the treasure, but now it’s even more exciting to find given they’d basically be searching for treasure in a shipwreck.
perhaps the old prospector of this story?
Also, the gryphon.
And I feel I might now know what, or perhaps who, Minuette is avoiding. Won’t say here since it’s too early and I have a habit of getting these kind of guesses wrong, but we’ll see.
I feel like they're talking about different "that"s.
As for that end bit... Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope? I suppose we'll find out soon enough.
A damaged Blossom in need of care
Two travelers chart a new course
Possibility stands before them
A new mystery within the puzzlebox
Hearing the damage to the Blossom was kinda heartbreaking. TBH, I've already gotten kinda attached to the ship.
10680945
Tune in next week! Same pony time, same pony channel!
I would be in years if I did that to a brand new vehicle I just got. Tears would fall I tell ya. Magical griffon... Could be good could be bad, definitely going to be interesting.
10681676
Oh, we're going to have so much more fun with this than just some snob of a jerk who wrote about how amazing they are the entire book!
You should totally guess! It's fun for me at least!
10681887
They might have their own things they're avoiding. Maybe. Possibly.
10681970
Blame Moony.
I feel the pain for that poor ship.