I am my own OC

by KittyrinnAiko

Chapter 51: The Drumlin Hay

“What’s Ex-winging?” Rumble asked. He’d let go at the last moment but wasn’t too far from where I’d ended up. And that was deep inside one of the clouds following our crash landing. Hey, when you can walk away it’s a landing.

“When a boy pegasus likes a girl pegasus a whole lot and she likes him back… go ask your brother.” To be honest I had no way of knowing if pegasi really did do it while flying. And no, I wasn’t going to try to explain something to a colt a filly of my apparent age should not even know about.

“You two alright?” Scootaloo asked with her head stuck into the clouds.

“OK, but stuck,” I replied.

“Just activate your earth pony magic, just be careful…”

I should have known.

Down I went through the clouds and out the bottom with Rumble and Scootaloo right behind me.

“Be careful not to use too much!” Scootaloo shouted.

“Oh now you tell me,” I offered as all three of us spread our wings to arrest our fall.

“You didn’t wait for me to finish. I’d tunneled my way down to you.”

“We’re under the clouds, what are we supposed to do?” Rumble called.

“Find a break in the clouds,” I shouted back.

“I see rain,” Scootaloo announced.

“Then we go in the opposite direction,” I shouted as I looked around to find where the rain was. “The wind will push us down if we get too close or worse yet, caught in the rain. Come on, this way…”

“I’d guide you back through the hole you made but it’s already closed up,” little Moonie offered moments after appearing at my side.

“Moonie!” Scootaloo called.

“Can you find us a way back up?” I asked. “If we have to go all the way to the edge of the city; I’m not sure we can make it.”

“This way,” Moonie offered and then turned towards the rain.

“Moonie?!” I was just a little apprehensive. “Come on, we should follow her,” I called to the others.

“You said we’d need to fly away from the rain?” Rumble asked.

“There must be a way up,” I offered.

☁☁🌧

I will have to admit that I did not expect to find an airship lurking in the lower portion of the clouds. Moonie opened a side door a short distance behind the bridge and in we went.

“Should this even be here?” Rumble asked.

“Probably not. Be quiet,” I cautioned. “I can just imagine what sort hides out in an airship right under a Wonderbolt compound.”

“It’s looking kind of beat up, maybe it’s a derelict?” Scootaloo said softly as she tried a door to our right. “Looks like a kitchen. No one there though.”

A short way past there is a door to the left with a hallway opposite. I am the first to venture into the hallway. It’s short, having one door to my left, make that starboard, and a door at the other end of the hall. I decide to listen for anyone beyond the aft door first but hear nothing. From there I quietly pad my way to the port side door. I hear radio chatter and wonder if I dare look? Slowly, quietly I turn the knob and begin to open the door only to have a hinge sing me the song of its people.

I cringe. I hazard a look to find an empty radio room. I venture in and have a quick look around. “Letterhead says we are on the Drumlin Hay.”

“Oh wow, it’s a ghost ship,” Rumble proclaimed. “The Drumlin Hay went missing over the Everfree, or at least that’s what every pony thought.”

“No pony upfront,” Scootaloo offered.

“Moonie, anyone on board besides us?” I asked.

Moonie thought about it for a moment, took off for the door aft, and ghosted right through it.

I had to let out the breath I was holding. “I keep forgetting that she’s made out of pure magical energy.”

“Ya, I thought she was going to go splat too,” Rumble admitted.

“I doubt there’s anyone on board,” Scootaloo offered. “If there was any danger wouldn't she go nightmare?”

“Not necessarily,” I countered. “She never remarked on the pony trying to sneak onto the Firefly.” I left the radio room and opened the aft door to discover a very nice lounge. From there I went forward to the bridge.

I climb up into the pilot’s chair and have a look around. I reach out with my magic and turn the radio on. Sure I can reach the wheel, but pretty much everything else was going to require magic due to my small size. At least the control configuration was set to allow full control of the rudder and elevators. Behind me was a larger wheel on the Port side that was marked engine trim. Well, if I had to I could manipulate it with my magic and hope I didn’t overcharge and break anything.

“Wonder what this does…” Scootaloo began.

“Don’t touch,” I scolded.

“And what about you?” Rumble asks.

“I was a pilot in a previous life,” I offered as I started flipping switches. “Scootaloo,” I point to a large switch. “That’s the mooring line release, get ready to pull it.” I flip some more switches and watch the gauges come to life. A smile creeps across my face at the realization that it lives. Next came the four slide leavers to power up the engines, and power them I did. Granted that had the ship truly been derelict, the engines more than likely would not have started. No, some pony was up to no good, and I was about to ruin their whole day. I looked back at the engine trim and turned it to face the engines downward.

I could feel the ship shudder as it strained against its moorings.

“Scootaloo, pull the leaver.”

A hatch in the floor opened.

“Wrong lever.”

“Is this even a good idea?” Rumble asked as he looked at the open hatch. Scootaloo pulled the correct lever, and a moment later we were dropping out of the clouds. I pushed forward on the steering column, and leveled the engines, as we pitched down. I pulled back on the steering column a few moments later and returned to level flight.

“You said yourself that it’s a ghost ship, that the Drumlin Hay went missing over the Everfree,” I offered as my excuse. I was technically stealing it, but I had my reasons.

“Moonie found passenger,” Announced my little guardian moments after popping in. “According to Moonie’s database, she is the presumed deceased Mrs Daisy Bellis Woods. Moonie cast a sleeping spell on her before she could make a fuss and locked her in her cabin. Also, Moonie found troublesome cargo.”

“I knew it, I just knew it. Good work. Lucky and convenient too… shit.” Not sure what she meant by troublesome cargo.

“Nova?” Scootaloo asked.

“Moonie, where were we located in regards to the base?” I asked. “Where the ship was moored.”

“The conning tower on the top was moored in a cloud basement located on the base. No pony was present in the basement though there may have been some ponies higher up.”

“This thing has a conning tower?” Rumble asked sounding bewildered.

“I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find it’s got a periscope as well. Only pegasi get stuck in clouds,” I offered. "Be rather handy for snooping.

"Handy?" Rumble asked.

"More of her old ponish. I think she means convenient," Scootaloo suggested.

I rolled my eyes at my own slip, grabbed the radio headset and mic, and put them on, a moment later I was keying the mic. “Cloudsdale Control,” I took a moment to think about how I wanted to identify myself. Ah heck, why not? “Rogue-One to Cloudsdale tower control.”

“Alright, who is this?!” scolded the voice over the radio moments after I release the mic key.

“Rogue one?” Rumble asked.

“Inside joke,” I replied, and then keyed the mic again. “Tower control please advise Flight Camp that a security breach is in progress.”

“Listen you little brat, get off the radio. This channel is for official use only.”

Figures, I muttered to myself. “Listen you- fine if that’s the way you want to play it, I’m Captain Kitzu Athelas, I have commandeered an airship, and have every intent to raid, pillage, and otherwise plunder my weaselly black guts out.” If I can't get them to declare an alert one way, I'd just have to try another. Not like I hadn't wanted to use that line for many a year.

“What?!” Rumble exclaimed. “We are going to get into so much trouble it isn’t even funny!”

“The king and his men stole the queen from her bed…” I began singing into the mic.

🏴

Back in the tower every pony listens quietly as the words “yo, ho, all hands, hoist the colors high,” are heard being sung by a filly.

“Listen you little snot!” The tower operator all but shouted into his mic the moment I’d stopped singing.

“I am the daughter of the night,” I shouted back. “But if you aren’t happy with the name I gave you I will give you Daisy Bellis Woods returned from the grave says aye. Tell Princess Luna that the foals who crashed into the clouds are alright and we are here but to be on her guard.” This request I followed with more singing and was joined by Moonie. Though to be true it was more of a medley since it was just the bits I could remember. And then just to be extra troublesome for the people listening in, Moonie added a male chorus.

“South Australia I was born, heave away haul away, South Australia round cape horn!”

I knew those voices. The one’s Moonie was adding. Captain Hoofstrong, Lieutenant Ansaldo, Ensign Loki, Petty officer Morane, Gunny Gotha, and Corporal Pfalz.

“While the land sleeps I will stand watch, ever vigilant,” I say into the mic as Moonie provides epic backup music.

I can’t really say how it happened but as I gazed outside I could see those ponies materializing. “Shadowbolts, ever faithful.”

Our escorts peeled off and I turned the ship to follow. Ahead, a gap in the clouds, traffic was flowing along the avenue only to scatter as the ghostly figures lifted through their ranks.

“That’ll get their attention alright!” Scootaloo shouted with excitement as the Drumlin Hay breached upwards through the gap, all four engines heralded our presence, just in case the very presence of an airship that barely fit, passing through the gap wasn’t enough. Up and up we went, and once we were clear of the majority of structures I leveled off and made our way back towards the base and Flight Camp.

“Maybe try taking me seriously!” I shouted into the mic at the latest tirade about little fillies getting themselves into big trouble.

“I’m going to be grounded for life,” Rumble bemoaned.

“Would you have missed it?” I asked as we pass by a large cloud tower which is uncomfortably close.

“Not even if it gets me banished for a thousand years,” Rumble admitted as a smile slowly crept onto his muzzle.

📝

At Tower Control the various radios are jammed with ponies calling in various issues. “We’re getting reports of a rogue airship coming in,” one of the controllers announced to the watch commander. “They are flying right down Zephyrus Boulevard and headed for the base.”

“Celestia damn it! Get me the base commander.”

Author's Note:

Drumlin and Hay are actual names but in this case, it's a play on words meaning they named the airship a pile of hay.

Comments

[RP422]

Are we absolutely sure her domain as an alicorn is hope and not luck?

[Elderlichlord]

HOIST THE COLORS MEN!!! PREPARE FOR BOARDING ACTION!!! READY STARBOARD GUNS! AND all those other piratey things. YARRRR!!!!

[LunaEpona]

I do not beleave it was his guts that he was going to plunder with. ;)

[TherealNightblader]

Scootaloo, pull the leaver.”

A hatch in the floor opened.

“Wrong lever.”

Best reference

[TheraseVoidCaller]

Awesome

[LunaEpona]

https://genius.com/The-muppets-shiver-my-timbers-lyrics

[Da Fennec]

Veyy nice chapter and realistic in terms to how the tower is likely to respond. Don't do it right or sound like a kid they assume you are playing around. First response tell you to get off the line, second response tell you how much trouble you will be in if you don't stop.
10823792 I wonder that too certainly bad luck for some

[hoodini667]

10823851
Indeed

[hades21]

“Scootaloo, pull the leaver.”

A hatch in the floor opened.

“Wrong lever.