On a Riverboat to the Sea

by Jarvy Jared

Chapter One: If on a riverboat a passenger

There were two unconscious ponies on the floor of the engine room. As such, they did not hear what Twilight Velvet could: the eerie whine of a steam release valve—like a pup retreating after a hit from its owner. Far above, the pistons and cylinders rattled and chugged, and the massive paddlewheel steadily churned and spun.

Though she had no experience with valves and gauges, she remembered the engineer’s brief explanation from earlier. She could tell that the steam was beginning to build. Perspiration gathered along the valve’s brass metal face. In a short while, if not properly maintained by a trained crew, the steam levels could become critical, and that, no doubt, would lead to the boiler itself exploding. On a wooden riverboat like this, that could only mean disaster, not just for itself, but also for the hundreds of passengers on board.

Instinctively she took a step forward, meaning to wake one of the unconscious ponies.

“Don’t!”

Her eyes fastened on the speaker. He shuddered in front of the safety valve and squeezed a wrench a third of his size between his talons. Bloodshot amethyst eyes stared shakily at her through the dark. “Not another step,” he squawked. “Or else I’ll break it. I-I mean it!”

Velvet swallowed. Hot droplets clung to her fur. “All right,” she said, eyes darting from him to the valve. “I’ll just sit here. But, listen, you really should—”

He raised the wrench and tapped the valve. Somehow, despite the high-pitched keening, that sound echoed throughout the entire chamber. Velvet paused. Please. I just want to help you.

She sat down.

He lowered the wrench. His breaths were ragged and deep. For a moment, Velvet worried he might collapse. If he did, then she supposed she could drag him out before he did anything dangerous.

“Is it true?” he nearly whispered—it was hard to hear above the hissing, but somehow his voice cut through.

“Is what true?” Velvet replied.

“That you’re the mother of the princess?”

It was a question asked so many times that she’d grown a little tired of it. In other cases she would have bitten that topic in the butt rather than give any kind of answer. But this time, she nodded; then, thinking perhaps the griffin could not see her, she said, “Yes, it’s true.”

“So shouldn’t you be on a royal fleet or something? Why are you on this boat?”

Velvet blinked. She felt laughter bubbling up in her. Trying to stifle it, she failed, and ultimately let it consume her. “A-a royal fleet!” she gasped out after her laughter subsided. “Now, that would really be something. Of course, it’d preferably have to be something a whole lot faster than this steamboat…”

He cocked his head, the wrench loosening ever so slightly.

“I could be,” she continued, “but, well, I’m not.”

“Then why?”

The air around Velvet’s horn warped and swirled, a faint blue glow fading in from above her vision. Before she could fully commit to her spell, though, Velvet glanced downward, then back at the griffon. His voice had softened, and he lowered his wrench. This was no saboteur. This was a kid in need of answers to questions he barely could even ask. Hopefully from here, she could find a way to coax him away from the engine.

“Why are you on this boat?”—that was simple enough to answer.

She cleared her throat. “Well, actually, it wasn’t my idea…”

---

The riverboat was Night Light’s idea, after he’d read about it in the newspaper one morning. “We should do this,” he said after he’d finished. His bright smile almost made Velvet forget that he was seven years her senior, had it not been for the many wrinkles that lined his face like little trenches.

She took the article in her magic and read it over. It was brief in specifics. The riverboat’s name was the Equestrian Regent, a steam-powered vessel that had once seen service in the Equestrian navy before it was decommissioned shortly after Princess Luna’s return. Much of its military paraphernalia had been gutted, and it had sat, hollowed out like a carved pumpkin, in the middle of a dry dock for years. Then, it had come out of its retirement when the Equestrian River Company wanted to refurbish an old, mighty vessel as part of a new steamboat cruise service. In three months, it was expected to conduct its first voyage, traveling all the way from central Equestria to the southern coast, in whose waters it would languish for a bit before heading back home. The paper claimed it was the largest riverboat ever constructed. “It’d be a lot of fun,” Night Light was saying. “And the price for two adult tickets isn’t that bad.”

“True,” Velvet said. The price was beyond reasonable for the two of them. She bit her lip. “But… I don’t know, Night Light.”

“What? Are you afraid of getting a little seasick?”

“No, it’s not that, it’s—how do I explain it?” She set the paper down and placed a hoof under her chin. “It’s just a riverboat. It’s what old fuddies used to ride back when safety procedures were safety suggestions.”

“Surely you can see it’s been modernized? The boiler won’t explode or anything like that, I’m sure.”

“Shame, a little bit of danger could really spice it up.”

“Vel...”

“What? It’s a riverboat, Night Light. It’s not exactly a fast-paced cruiser cutting through the ocean. It’s just going to reach the bay and then turn back. It’s perfect for old ponies who like to take things slow.”

“But we’re getting there, Vel.”

“Don’t remind me. I like to think I still have a few years of my prime left in me!” She tossed her mane and huffed.

Night Light giggled. “All right, so it probably won’t be as exciting as, say, barrel riding or wingsuit flying.” She snorted at that. “But you don’t have to experience high-stakes just to have a little fun, right? Fresh air, open waters. Maybe even a little on-deck dawn-watching.”

“You’re not exactly selling it, mister.” Velvet jabbed Night Light’s chest. But she had to smile. “But that dawn-watching does sound a little romantic, I must admit.”

“I know ‘em when I see ‘em. Come on, Vel, please?” He wasn’t exactly giving her puppy eyes—he was not quite capable of that feat—but the imploring in his voice more than made up for it. “We did your safari expedition with your author friend last summer for our vacation. Surely a little riverboat isn’t so much to ask?”

“Well…”

She looked out the dining room window at the rest of Canterlot. Her mind flickered to the castle in the center, where no doubt her daughter was hard at work. To the north was her son, also working just as hard. For a moment she reflected on their present occupations, and a little proud smile crept across her face. She’d never thought she’d be the mother to both a prince and princess.

But lately it seemed that was all that ponies knew her for. Ponies at work or on the street wouldn’t greet her as Twilight Velvet, professional author and editor; not as Twilight Velvet, the most daring and adventurous unicorn this side of Canterlot Mountain; not even as Twilight Velvet, her own name; but rather, as “the mother to Prince Shining Armor and Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Velvet’s gaze drifted downward, and she twiddled her hooves. She wasn’t sure how she fully felt about that, if she should consider it a kind of gravestone epithet or a living accolade, a badge of honor or of difference. She supposed she was no stranger to such a celebrity life. It had been that way when Shining Armor became Captain of the Royal Guard, and when Twilight Sparkle had become Princess Celestia’s personal protege. But something else happened the moment that Shining became one-half of the ruling family of the restored Crystal Empire. Something had also happened when Twilight Sparkle became the newest alicorn, rounding out a quartet of alicorns when the world had, for a millenium, only known one.

Had that been all, Velvet believed she would not be feeling this disconcerted. She'd rather enjoyed some of the attention she'd gotten on the airship, after all. But something had changed between then and now. Was it her? Or was it the fact that Twilight Sparkle became the ruler of all of Equestria with nary a word of caution or counsel from Velvet herself?

These were different experiences of the same swinging extreme that had become her life. And the fact that such momentous occasions had happened roughly within the same year was just as unbalancing.

Velvet rested her head on a hoof. When she took account of her life, that kind of surprise alarmed her. She may have been prone to reckless endeavors, but that didn’t mean she didn’t know how to plan—not to the same extent as her daughter or husband, but still to an admirable degree. Velvet had known what she wanted in life: some adventure, a good, loyal husband, and children and grandchildren (one so far) to love and cherish. She’d gotten all that and was content to let things take their course. But she couldn’t have imagined that particular course being as bumpy as it had been. The extent to which her life had followed her planned path could be measured in coffee spoons, but nothing larger—the rest required tools of greater proportion.

Had she wanted this kind of life? Want, she figured, had very little to do with it. It was what it was—but was she supposed to take comfort in that?

“Vel?” she heard Night call.

Her gaze, however, did not snap to him, but instead back to the paper. She’d been so busy skimming the article that she hadn’t looked at the photo that accompanied it. It was of the Equestrian Regent, with a spokespony raising a hoof and smiling broadly at the camera. To the side was the caption: Ride with us and leave all your worries and doubts behind! It was terribly cliché, the editor in her was saying, but something about it struck a chord.

“Velvet?” Night Light called again.

She looked at him, finding his head tilted. In the morning’s glow, she could see a trace of silver lining his mane. His eyes had small bags under them. He could use a break—they both could.

“I’d have to set aside some time from work,” she began slowly, “but… well, how soon do you think you can get tickets?”

Comments

[ThePinkedWonder]

Aww, I felt bad for Velvet. Being annoyed by not being recognized as Twilight Velvet by ponies, but as "The mother of a prince and princess" is quite understandable, even if she really is proud of them.

[TheAncientPolitzanian]

“We did your safari expedition with your author friend last summer for our vacation. Surely a little riverboat isn’t so much to ask?”

I don't know why, but I get the feeling this "author friend" of Velvet's is quite the daring sort.
;)

Good start. Looking forward to seeing where you go with this!