Chapter 13: In Medias Res
Chapter 13: In Medias Res
A pastel, orange glow covered Ponyville’s streets, lending the town a pleasant atmosphere of warmth despite the temperature. A light breeze whispered across the rooftops from the far away mountains, bringing with it the chill of winter’s breath. The last errands of the day were being completed and the town was readying itself for the night. Ponies of all kinds and colors were beginning to return to their homes with the setting of the sun.
On the wooden deck beneath the circular town hall, an elder unicorn dozed with the wind tousling his steadily graying mane and relived the adventure he had experienced through the words of his companion - a white coated pegasus seated on the steps below him. Three fillies listened from the ground, listening intently as the pegasus’ story wound down and ended the spellbinding effect of the tale.
“And then we ran into you three,” Novell finished with a fond smile at his audience. They had been patient throughout his tale, though a few times he’d seen them look away or yawn in boredom as he described a particularly dry part of his journey. The small pegasus in particular seemed to almost vibrate with the urge to move. The irritated rustle of her wings had amused him, reminded of Whisper’s own impatience.
With a buzz of her tiny wings, Scootaloo jumped a few feet into the air. “That’s it? The story’s not done, though!”
“Well-,” he began before being cut off by the unicorn filly.
“Yeah, she’s right. What about Havoc? And the Warden? And Whisper!”
Applebloom chose that moment to weigh in, rubbing a hoof under her chin. “Ah wanna know what the twins are gonna do with you up an’ disappearin’ like you did.”
Novell closed his eyes for a moment and allowed himself another grin. “You’re right. The story isn’t done. But that’s partly why I’m here in Ponyville. Aside from telling you three about cutie marks,” he added hurriedly as the orange one eyed him suspiciously.
“Speaking of, you never told us about yours! Why don’t you have one?” Scootaloo paused, with a look that said she’d just thought of something terrible. “Wait, do you steal pony’s cutie marks? Is that why you don’t have one, so you have to find somepony else’s?”
He winced and opened his mouth to correct her when Sweetie Belle spoke up. “Scootaloo! Didn’t you even listen? You’re no better than those bullies he met at the inn!” The unicorn looked up at him. “I’m sorry about what she said.”
The white pegasus waved it away with a hoof. “I’ve heard worse. Though a cutie mark snatching pony would make for a good story. Maybe I’ll work on it and tell you when I come back to Ponyville someday.”
The pegasus filly was already onto another thought, standing on her hindlegs and punching forward with both forehooves. “I could have taken that Yeti all by myself and that Minotaur, too!” She jumped into the air and performed a flying kick, grunting with the exertion. “Bam, wham, lights out for both of ‘em!”
“I wonder if I’ll ever get to make a shield like you did, Professor,” Sweetie Belle sighed and kicked at the ground. “All I ever do it make things catch fire.”
The grey unicorn laughed softly, his eyes crinkling with amusement. “You’re a youngling yet, Miss Belle. It’ll come, in time. Just keep practicing.”
“So did you ever find anythin’ about your cutie mark, Mister Light?” Applebloom asked in her cute Apple family drawl.
“You can call me Novell,” he offered. He stared off into the sunset, piecing together how to answer that particular question. It was one he had asked himself several times during his journey, with no success - until now. “And I think I did figure something out about my cutie mark. It just took me repeating the story a second time to really get it. I-.”
Professor Search interrupted him from his right with a polite cough, standing up from his relaxed position and pointing a hoof toward the road leading into the city. “I do believe I spy one of our little troupe trotting in as we speak. Perhaps they should hear what you’ve discovered, too, lad?”
The three fillies turned at the unicorn’s motion, each squinting down the road at the approaching figure. Novell opened his wings in subdued surprise, following their gazes and spotting the silhouette of a figure walking down the road toward them. Looking closer, he realized that the pony was wearing some kind of cloth over its head that fanned out behind it with the wind. A flash of white pierced his thoughts, a half remembered image from several days ago, and then he understood.
Pensive? he hesitantly asked in his mind, watching the shade pause and look their way. Novell beamed, sure it was his friend. With a flap of his wings, he jumped down to the ground and walked over to meet the unicorn, a puff of dust rising in his wake.
It is good to see you, Novell, the familiar voice echoed in his mind, like ice water bubbling into his head. His grin grew wider as the unicorn raised a hoof to throw off the hood it was wearing, flourishing the white cloth into nonexistence with a flick of a wrist. He heard gasps of astonishment from the three fillies behind him.
“I’m glad you’re back,” Novell said. He reached out a hoof of his own and the unicorn stared at it for a moment before taking it. Something clicked inside his mind, like a sigh of satisfaction, and the pegasus knew things were as they were supposed to be once more. When they finished their greeting, his friend flicked an in recognition and bowed.
“Elder Search. I see you are still well.”
The older unicorn strode up with a smile and a wink, nodding in return. “Of course, lad, of course. A hardy and handsome adventurer like myself will ever be young on the trail. You seem to be just fine as well, if a little overwhelmed.”
Pensive glanced around uneasily before sighing. “I admit, I have never been in a city before. It is unsettling. So many... things.” He stared at a couple of ponies walking across the plaza and then looked away when they waved at him.
“Well, don’t be nervous! Ponyville is one of the nicer towns to visit,” the Professor chuckled and gestured toward their audience. “Speaking of which, why don’t you introduce our friend to these fillies, Novell? I’m sure they’re bursting with questions.”
The white pegasus started and looked guiltily up at the grey unicorn. “Oh, yeah,” he said lamely, turning his attention to the Crusaders. “Applebloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, meet my friend Pensive Coalescence. Pensive, these are the ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’, a group of fillies dedicated to finding their cutie marks.”
“I see,” the teal pony replied seriously. “It is a pleasure to meet all of you.”
“Can you do that thing you did with the cloak again? It was so cool.” Scootaloo hopped toward him on her wings, catching Pensive off guard. Novell met his uneasy gaze and grinned, letting the unicorn know he was on his own for this one.
“I, ah, yes. I can. It is a simple magic-,” Pensive started.
“So you just got your cutie mark, right?” Sweetie Belle asked.
The teal pony frowned slightly and nodded. “Yes, I did, though I am not sure of its meaning.”
“What did it feel like when you got it?” Applebloom edged closer, forcing the unicorn to take a step back.
A soft look came over the unicorn’s face as he gazed into the mid-distance. “It was a warm feeling, similar to the sensation of the sun on one’s coat. A blissful moment of togetherness with something special, a peek into a greater purpose, and a freedom....” Pensive trailed off and blushed suddenly, looking to the side. “But still, I do not understand its full meaning.”
Everypony was silent for a moment, until Scootaloo’s wings buzzed in annoyance. “Well that was useless.”
“Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle scolded.
“What? It was!” the pegasus filly replied with a scowl.
The small unicorn sniffed and looked imperiously at her friend. “Well, I thought it was a romantic way of describing it.”
Scootaloo mock gagged, but Applebloom just nodded and looked thoughtful. “A moon behind a cloud, huh? Maybe you control the weather or somethin’?”
Pensive seemed to debate that for a moment before shaking his head. “No, I do not believe that is it.”
“Is Whisper with you?” Novell asked suddenly. He only now realized he hadn’t seen the orange pegasus anywhere and began glancing over Pensive’s shoulder to peer down the road he’d come from.
“She was, though she flew ahead as soon as we came within sight of the town,” the teal unicorn explained. He nodded toward one of the clouds floating near the town hall as innocent as a fluff of whiteness could be. “Right now, she is lounging on the cloud above us. I suspect she is waiting to surprise you.”
An orange head peeked from the top of the cloud at that, a scowl on her face reflected in Swirley’s down turned eyebrows. “You just had to ruin it, didn’t you?”
“I do not see what I could have ruined, other than to worry Novell overmuch,” the unicorn replied mildly.
The pegasus flew down from her perch, gracefully flaring her wings and coming to a smooth landing behind the three fillies. They turned toward her at her approach, Scootaloo whistling appreciatively at the touchdown. Truth be told, I’m a little amazed myself, Novell admitted in his head.
Ever since her wing was healed, she has gained a grace not previously shown, Pensive added at that thought. However, she did run into a tree when she tried it out shortly after awakening from her slumber. It was amusing.
Novell tried to keep a straight face, but failed as a smile broke out. He strode up to the other pegasus and held out a hoof, the worry he had experienced when he hadn’t found her earlier disappearing. The scowl didn’t fall from the mare’s face as she lifted a hoof of her own.
A second later, she slugged him in the shoulder.
“Ow!” Novell exclaimed. He backed up and began rubbing the already swelling bruise. “What was that for?”
Whisper glared at him. “That was for that crack back at the cave. I told you I owed you a pounding.” She walked closer and hit him again.
“Gah!”
“And that was for being dumb and leaving me behind, ya big dummy. You can barely function without me, being all wishy washy when you met the Princess and getting all scared when you said you met that dragon.” She raised a hoof and he shied away, expecting another hit, but she dropped it a moment later and softened her voice. “Don’t do it again.”
Novell scowled. “We were kind of in a hurry an-,”
She got into his face and glared. “Don’t. Do. It. Again.” Her hoof tapped his chest with every word.
He gulped and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good,” the mare said. A smile broke out on her face and she looked to his side, waving a hoof. “Hey, Professor. Swirley’s missed you.”
The unicorn in question chuckled and eyed the mollusk’s color shifting shell. “I gathered from his rather long stream of color combinations. He’s just finished recounting everything you and Pensive have been up to since we, ah, decided to split up.” The unicorn’s horn glowed in the same manner as Swirley’s shell for a moment, the two communing silently for a few moments. Finally, the Professor nodded and spared a fond smile for the mare. “I am overjoyed to see you back in one piece, as it were, Miss Whisper.”
She rolled her eyes and gave a frustrated sigh. “You have no idea how annoying it was not being able to fly. But thanks.”
“I do.” Novell objected softly. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
Whisper glanced at him with an unreadable expression before snorting. “Not your fault. I probably would have done it to myself eventually.”
“It was, though,” he replied regretfully. “Which is why I want you to go ahead and continue to Cloudsdale and see that Wonderbolt show you mentioned. You don’t need to come with us any further.”
The mare looked at him incredulously. “Did you replace your brain with a cloud while you were away? Didn’t I just tell you not to leave me behind again?”
“Well, yes,” Novell floundered, taking a step back. “But I don’t want to waste those tickets and I’m not leaving you behind so much as asking you to do what you were going to do anyway and-”
“I lied about the Wonderbolts, okay?” Whisper admitted with an irritable expression. “I was just bored and saw you leaving town, so I followed. You probably would have gotten yourself eaten by some kind of monster if I hadn’t come along when I did.”
The other pegasus frowned. “But-.”
“Perhaps it would be best if you told us your discovery, lad?” the Professor prodded. Novell glanced up at the unicorn to see a warning expression on his face.
Frowning even further, the pegasus took in the expectant faces of all of the ponies around him. Correction, at least my friends and Applebloom, he thought dryly. Scootaloo was more fascinated with Whisper, a look of adulation on the younger pegasus’ face, and Sweetie Belle was sneaking looks at Pensive. Applebloom was the only one paying any attention to him, though she had a far off look in her eyes.
Novell closed his eyes for a moment, readying himself for what he was going to say. He didn’t imagine that there would be any change by saying the words, but just letting people know his suspicions was... difficult. He hesitated, his mind echoing back and forth, thoughts trailing thoughts like a snake eating its own tail. Was this it? Did he figure at least some of it out?
An icy clarity came to his thoughts, stilling his worries and thrusting back the doubt and guilt always eating away at his mind. Novell opened an eye and nodded appreciatively at Pensive before closing it again. He still didn’t get all of it, but the pegasus was sure he was on the right track. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes just as the sun fell completely below the horizon.
The stars above caught his eye, just beginning to show themselves in preparation for Luna to raise her moon, companions to that lustrous celestial object. Was the Princess watching him now, waiting for his own admission? Or was he just imagining himself being more important than he was?
The pegasus smiled easily and slightly shook his head. It didn’t matter, really, whether or not anypony else heard what he was going to say. But as he stared at each of his friends in turn and even the three Cutie Mark Crusaders, he understood that this was all he needed - just his friends. They had helped him understand himself in their own ways, to understand who he was and what he was meant to do.
“My cutie mark,” Novell began, still staring at the sky and spotting a dark blot against the darkening curtain, “My special talent. I think I finally get a little bit of it. Understanding the possibilities and reaching out to make them happen - realizing potential. Whether I’m seeing the figurine inside of a piece of wood,” he smiled at the memory of the carving he had made with Chipper and then looked into Pensive’s eyes, “or understanding somepony has the chance to be more than they are.”
He paused, feeling a tug in his chest as the blot grew closer, a steady hum beginning on the night winds. “It was thanks to all of you, even you Crusaders. Luna, the twins, everypony we’ve met up until now. Even Havoc gave me a hint back in the mountain.”
“And your cutie mark? You still don’t have one.” Applebloom asked.
Novell chuckled, a feeling of lightness swirling through him. “You’re right, but now I’m on the right path to finding it and it’s thanks to my friends I’ve gotten this far. I’m confident that I’ll earn my cutie mark soon. I just need a few more pieces to the puzzle.”
Just as he said that, the wind picked up profusely around the group of ponies, dust kicking up into the air as the humming Novell had noticed earlier reached a crescendo. The pegasus grinned wider than ever before as he stared straight up, watching a ship drop toward them, a massive balloon holding it aloft with ropes wrapped around it.
Everypony followed his gaze as the massive airship came to a steady halt next to the town hall, the golden words ‘Southern Belle’ written on the side of it. Steel and silver wrapped around the exterior in tasteful decoration, hatches and windows barely able to be seen in the low light of the town’s lampposts. The figurehead of the magnificent behemoth was a unicorn splashing from the waves, holding two bells in its forehooves and glittering beautifully with reflected light.
Finally, twin turbines protruded from each side of the ship, the wind caused by its whirring blades sending everypony’s hair in all directions. They hummed with barely constrained power, the vibration resonating in the pegasus’ chest. Ponies were beginning to come outside to find out what all the racket was about, gathering around the town hall and gaping in astonishment at the floating ship.
“Novell? Professor? You all down there?” a familiar voice yelled over the sound of the growing crowd and the gigantic turbines.
“Scrolls?” Whisper asked incredulously, the wind suddenly cutting off around them as she manipulated the air currents with a flick of her wings.
The twins' faces peeked over the side of the ship. A second later, a rope ladder smacked into the ground beside Pensive, who had re-donned his hooded white cloak.
“Get up here already. We’re waking up the whole town!” Quills shouted irritably. Novell glanced around again, noticing even more ponies were beginning to show up. A flash of lavender in the crowd drew his attention and he remembered one of the other reasons he had come to Ponyville. He turned to the Crusaders, who were standing off to the side and watching the airship bob above them.
“Applebloom,” he said. The earth pony drew her gaze away from their transportation and cocked her head. “I need you to tell Twilight Sparkle everything I told you. She might not believe you, but somepony needs to know what’s going on, just in case.”
The filly saluted smartly. “Ah’ll do it, Mr. Light.”
“Good. From what Scrolls told me, she’s the... leader of the Elements of Harmony, right?” Applebloom nodded a bit unsurely. “I want her to know about Havoc in case we fail. The princesses underestimate him, I think, but I don’t want her to. Because if we don’t stop Havoc soon, he’s going to regain all his powers. Only it won’t be illusions and tricks like Discord. It’ll be mayhem and fire.”
The little filly seemed troubled at that prospect, but nodded again, this time more confidently. “Ah’ll let her know. Thank ya for tellin’ your story to us. Ah don’t know what comes next, so ya better come back and finish it, alright?”
Novell beamed at her. “I’ll do that. Say goodbye to the other two for me. I’ll be back as soon as Havoc’s back in his cage.”
With that, the pegasus opened his wings to their fullest extent. He glanced back at them fondly and then with surprise - the pearlescent feathers seemed to shimmer into a larger size, similar to the ones he had flown with in Pensive’s mind. They glowed for a second and then subsided back to their normal white plumage. When he glanced around, nopony seemed to react to it.
Taking that as a sign he was doing the right thing, Novell jumped into the air, buoyed by his confidence. He passed Pensive climbing up the rope ladder with a look of concentration and zipped over the side of the ship to see the twins standing to the left with an unfamiliar pegasus mare. The Professor was talking to the rowdy-looking pony, but Novell couldn’t hear anything over the noise of the engines.
Quills noticed him land on the deck and walked over. “You didn’t get vaporized by that magic envelope, huh? Guess I owe Scrolls a couple of bits.”
“It’s nice to see you, too, Quills.” Novell grinned at the earth pony, watching as Whisper hovered next to the airship with a look of wonder on her face. “But I hardly think you would have bet on us being vaporized, especially with your smarts.”
“You caught me,” she admitted in mock defeat, turning and sending a glare toward the Professor. “Though I kind of wish somepony had been vaporized.”
He frowned. “You don’t mean that. The Professor saved your life several times in the Everfree. Can’t you at least tone down on your-.”
“No. No, I can’t,” she replied with gritted teeth. “Scrolls won’t admit it, but it’s your Professor’s fault that somepony close to us is gone now. It’s his fault she’s gone and I don’t even want to try and forgive him for it.”
A cold sensation came over the pegasus, something clicking in his mind. “What do you mean, somepony close to you? A sister? Aunt?”
“Mom,” Quills whispered wistfully, momentarily allowing her mask of irritation to drop and reveal how hurt she really was inside. “Mom’s gone because of Professor Search, because she just had to follow him everywhere, like a little puppy, dad said. She thought he was so cool and wanted to be just like him. Before she met dad, I think she was even in love with him. She used to tell us stories of the places she’d been with him.”
“What was her name?” Novell asked mechanically, already knowing the answer. Everything was starting to make sense, from the Professor’s melancholy to the protectiveness his friend showed the twins.
Quills looked up at him and gritted her teeth. “Her name was Amber Fossil.”
“Cast off, gents! We’ve a long way to go!” a voice called out, cutting off their conversation with its sheer volume. The pegasus Professor Search had been talking to earlier was standing at the raised platform that held the wheel, shouting orders at her crew. “Rigs, Clank, get those engines moving. Up and away! Make sure you don’t hit the town hall on the way out! Up, up, up!”
“Yes’m, Cap’n Crash!” a chorus of voices answered from various parts of the ship. Novell watched with wonder as pegasi tightened ropes and checked the engines, careful to keep themselves from being sucked into the massive turbines. A unicorn stood by the wheel, keeping a magical hold on the large, wooden steering column.
The whine of the engines increased and the ship began to rise into the air, slowly at first, but then with swifter speed. A rumble started under Novell’s hooves, the deck vibrating so much that he almost wondered if it was going to fall apart. Quills must have noticed his concern, because she spoke up.
“Don’t worry about the vibration. You get used to it. The Belle is a well built airship.”
“Aye, she is,” the pegasus captain boomed with the Professor at her side. “She’ll hold together long after any other airship in the royal fleet will. Built to last, she is. A gift from the griffons, coincidentally. They sure know how to make ‘em.”
Now that he had the opportunity, Novell examined the other pegasus. The captain’s coat was a solid blue with a shocking white mane that was caught under a leather cap. A pair of grey goggles were fastened around her head. She wore an eyepatch the same color as her mane and a sash with the colors of Celestia emblazoned on the shoulder over a brown flak jacket. The most striking feature, though, was the pegasus’ left wing, which was mangled so much that it left little more than a twisted facsimile in its place.
“Like my wing, eh?” The captain grinned at him. Novell looked away, embarrassed at being caught staring. “Another gift from the Kingdoms, only this time from a Hippogryph. Nasty pieces of work, those things. Almost looks like us pegasi, in a way. Body of a horse, head and wings of a bird. Tribal, nasty, and altogether too territorial.” She paused and snorted. “After my injury, I got out of there and returned to Equestria where anypony belongs.”
The Professor coughed politely and inserted himself into the conversation. “Novell, this is-”
“Name’s Skycrasher,” the pegasus interrupted with a challenging grin at the unicorn. “Mates call me Cap’n Crash, on account of me not bein’ able to fly under my own power no more. You’re Novell, eh? Got a last name?”
“Light,” he replied, holding out a hoof.
The captain took it with a wink and nodded with appreciation. “Nice grip, for a city colt. You’d fit in around here with these blokes. Heard you got an eye for things. Care to take a look at our engines, see if you notice anything out of place?”
“I, uh, sure,” Novell agreed. He took a step back, looking uncertainly at the Professor. The unicorn just winked and turned to speak with Whisper, who had just landed as they moved off from Ponyville. Without even a chance to acknowledge his friend, he was whisked away by the overeager captain.
*****
Captain Crash had left him in the care of the two mechanics as soon as she found them, claiming she had to write an apology to the mayor of Ponyville for all the noise. It took his eyes a few minutes to adjust to the dimly lit hallways, but by then a grumpy old unicorn with a mechanical foreleg had begun to explain the intricacies of the airship’s engines. Eventually they had moved on further into the ship, the other unicorn taking the reins, droning on about the ship’s capabilities.
It was strange feeling, the pegasus decided, flying without being under his own power. Even with his interest in what the engineer unicorns were saying wasn’t enough to keep him from noticing the subtle shifts in the air currents as the airship soared through the skies. Such was his distraction that he didn’t realize the pony in front of him had finished speaking until he felt a sharp jab in his chest.
“Yoohoo, Equestria to pegasus. You awake in there?”
Clank snorted and clicked his mechanical arm in amusement, the contraption issuing a batch of steam as it moved. “Bah, you know well as I do featherfolk get all strange when they first board the Belle, Rigs. Let him alone awhile and stop boring him with your riveting discussion on this bucket of nuts and bolts.”
The other pony managed to look wounded. “He listened to you rattle on about the engine. I get my turn, don’t I?” As he said that, the unicorn levitated out a wrench from his apron and absently tightened a bolt as they continued through the ship. When it finished it’s job, the metal device trailed along behind them like an obedient pet before falling gently back into its assigned place.
Another loud clack and a hiss of steam. “What d’ya think, boy? You feelin’ all featherbrained sittin’ here with us old unicorns?”
“A little bit,” Novell admitted, wistfully staring outside through a portal in the side of the hull. “But I do enjoy listening to the two of you talk. Sorry I’m so out of it.”
“S’fine, boy, s’fine,” Clank waved the trouble away with his steam-belching foreleg. A steady clicking was beginning to form in the background - pistons, the peagsus guessed. Along with the rumble of the engine, their hoofbeats, and the noises coming from the unicorn behind Novell, it all blended together into a resonant beat. A moment later, he found himself humming along with the strange melody.
Rigs stopped in front of the pegasus, ramrod straight and one ear flicking like a metronome. The unicorn turned around with a wicked grin. “Clank, what say you an’ I make this trip a bit more fun for the pegasus?”
“Oh, no, I know that grin,” the other mechanic said warningly. Clank snapped his mechanical appendage at his friend and shook his head. “An’ I ain’t doin’ it.”
“Doing what?” Novell asked, confused. He glanced between the two ponies as they began to beat their hooves against the wooden deck. Rigs winked at the pegasus before opening his mouth and began to sing.
“Pistons ‘re pumpin’, and the engine’s a thumpin’,
Steam is a belchin’, and the oil’s a squelchin’.
Two unicorns find themselves all alone,
but two, is more, than e-nough for this zone!”
Clank just glared back at Rigs, his grease-spotted brown coat shining dully with sweat and oil. “I ain’t doin it.”
The other pony shrugged and turned back around, whistling a tune that was perfectly in rhythm with the clicks, clacks, and hisses going on around them. Novell followed the slender unicorn around a corner and stopped in his tracks, his jaw dropping at what he saw.
The room in front of him was as wide as the airship, six large pistons on each side of a slender walkway hissing and pumping with the effort of keeping the balloon’s twin turbines running. The smaller unicorn paused in his whistling long enough to glance back at the stunned pegasus with a manic grin. Clank just snorted behind him.
“Impressive, ain’t it, boy?” the large unicorn asked, momentarily stopping and eyeing a particular piston before his horn lit up. Novell tore himself away from the spectacle of the room long enough to examine the piston as Clank maneuvered a pin out of the machine and smoothly inserted a new one from a slot on his mechanical arm. The old pin swiftly made it’s way to the old unicorn’s mouth, where he began to chew on it and nod with satisfaction. “Gotta make sure this baby runs all nice and tight. Sometimes gets a little dicey when you don’t treat her proper.”
“Is that safe?” Novell wondered aloud.
The burly unicorn furrowed his brows for a moment and switched the pin over to the other side of his mouth before understanding dawned on his face. “Och, ya mean replacin’ the hardware while it’s movin’? Yeah, perfectly safe.”
Rigs chuckled at that. “Sure is, long as one of us are the ones changing it. Otherwise, the whole thing’d fall apart. Beauty of being a unicorn, ya know.”
“Oh, don’t you start that either,” the other unicorn grumped. “Rigs here is all sorts o’ superior ‘bout bein’ able to use magic. I say anypony, and especially a griffon, is just as good as any fancy magic. Just about bein’ quick and knowin’ your machine.”
“True that,” Rigs admitted with a self-deprecating nod. “I bow to yer superior intellect, Clanks.”
The other unicorn half growled in assent. “Better. I took care o’ plenty o’ buckets ‘fore you were even born.”
Novell found himself grinning with Rigs at that. They continued their journey through the bowels of the machine and with a hissing stomp, Clank followed. The old unicorn was grumbling something under his breath that sounded suspiciously melodic. As they turned another corner, Rigs’ compatriot stopped with a stomp that jolted the immediate area. Both Rigs and Novell turned around, knowing grins on their faces.
“Fine, I’ll do it,” he said grudgingly.
Novell noticed the Rigs’ sudden expression of innocence and grinned even wider. “You sure? Wouldn’t want to strain yourself trying to keep up with me.”
With a glare, the unicorn stomped again. “Bah, I’m the one who taught ya the song!” Clank cleared his throat with a sound similar to the grumbling engine he watched over and sang in a deep baritone.
“Throughout the night, the Belle does rock,
but with our unicorn might we work ‘round the clock,”
Rigs lifted a hoof to his chest and added his marginally higher voice to the cacophony of sound.
“We hardly get paid to do it and that’s all there is to it,
but even if we weren’t, we’d still work!”
Novell stepped aside as the two unicorns barged passed him, back into the room with the pistons. The pegasus followed along, humming with the mechanic’s song. Both of their horns lit up and a dozen tools came flying out of their pockets, twirling around before being sent out among the pistons.
“As we tighten this bolt, we thread in this nut,
We follow through with even more,
one step ahead of disaster, this chore is never a bore!
Even as those pistons keep their rhythm,
One trot ahead from total schism!”
Clank, hiss, bang. Clank, hiss, bang. The sound of their tools thundered through the space, the engine seeming to roar with delight at their work. The pistons moved faster as their parts were replaced, fixed, hammered, and repaired all with the swift flick of a horn and the end of a verse.
“Those pistons are a pumpin’, and the engine is a thumpin’,
Steam is still belchin’, and that oil’s still squelchin’!
Without us two, the Belle would never fly true!”
Rigs jumped on the side of the railing and raised a hoof to the ceiling.
“We hardly get paid to do it!”
Clank stomped the walkway with enough force to startle Novell into flaring his wings open.
“And that’s all there is to it!”
With a final burst of magic, both unicorns turned toward the pegasus and finished together.
“But even if we weren’t, ‘specially if we weren’t, sp’ifically if we weren’t!
We’d!” Their horns flashed. “Still!” Rigs jumped into the air and landed beside Clank. “Work!”
The two ponies were breathing hard, their chests puffing in and out in time with the hiss of the machinery around them. Both of them were smiling at the pegasus, one hoof around each other’s shoulders. Novell was just about to tell them how much he enjoyed the display when a voice came from behind him.
“Well, well. I’ll keep that in mind next port o’ call.”
Clank fell forward in surprise, bringing Rigs down with him. The two unicorns collapsed in a pile and looked wild eyed up at the speaker, who was grinning widely at them with her eyepatch switched over to the other side. She winked at Novell as she noticed him staring at her unblemished, blue eye.
“Cap’n!” the burly unicorn shouted. “Uh, we was just showin’ the lad around and, well, ya know how Rigs gets all carried away sometimes. Gotta keep him in line by singin’ with him or he’ll just be mopin’ all over the place and makin’ ponies all depressed an’-”
“Hey! You’re the one-,” Rigs objected.
Captain Crash held up a hoof and smirked. “Stow it, both of ya. Y’all did your duty well, seein’ as how the kid here’s brightened up considerably since I last saw him.” The maimed pegasus turned her attention to Novell. “The Professor asked for you, colt. I don’t suppose you’ve had enough of these two horn-heads’ singin’, eh?”
Novell glanced back at the two mechanics, both of whom wore guilty expressions. “I had fun. More fun than I thought I’d have.”
The mare arched an eyebrow and then nodded. “I’ll let ‘em off the hook, then, this time.” She made a shoo-ing gesture with her hoof at the other two ponies. “Off you two go. Belle’s left turbine’s a little faster than ‘er right. Steerin’s a mite hard without having to worry about that.”
“Aye, cap’n, we’ll see what we can do,” Clank nodded.
Rigs gave a flourishing bow. “Back to work.”
The two moved off without a look back, the larger unicorn grumbling under his breath as his mechanical leg hissed and clunked against the wooden walkway. Novell and the other pegasus sat in silence for a few moments before Captain Crash looked his way.
“Ready to go then?”
Novell nodded. “Yeah. I am.”
******
The deck of the airship was lit by lanterns hanging from the ropes that crisscrossed the outer edges, tied in sturdy knots to keep them in place. A few pegasi were flitting about, checking each rope individually and examining the state of the balloon that held the entire thing aloft. A soft wind was blowing, causing the lanterns to flicker and dance with the shadows. Aside from the creaking of the ropes and the steady hum of the engines and turbines, which Captain Crash told him were magically shielded so as to avoid busting somepony’s eardrums, the deck was peacefully quiet.
Novell walked out of the portal leading further into the ship, his hoof-beats muted against the wood. He nodded to the helmspony at the wheel above him on the raised platform, the captain excusing herself to talk with her crewmate.
Somewhat bemused, Novell walked toward a grey form sitting near the edge of the ship. When he was close enough to the unicorn, he noticed another shape was sitting beside the Professor, almost intangible yet vaguely luminescent and reminiscent of a pony.
It whispered something just out of the pegasus’ hearing, causing the unicorn to sigh and nod as if in response. Novell took another step forward, his curiosity piqued. The shade shifted what he thought was its head toward him before drifting away in the breeze, leaving nothing but empty space beside the old unicorn. He blinked, wondering if he’d imagined it.
Chalking it up to his weary mind, the pegasus walked to his friend’s side. Professor Search looked up at his approach and smiled wanly behind his bushy mustache. The unicorn’s hair waved with the wind, for once unshielded from the elements.
“Chilly night, isn’t it?” the unicorn observed, shivering slightly and staring out into the night.
The pegasus nodded wordlessly, allowing himself to sense the temperature with a quick flick of his wings. It was cold so far up in the air, sailing above the earth like a leaf on the wind. Novell glanced down at a passing cloud, its fluffy shape distended as the Belle cleaved it in two. A thought occurred to the pegasus, something he’d been meaning to talk with the unicorn about.
“Are you alright, Professor?”
Novell felt his friend’s gaze on him, but he continued to stare out over the side of the airship. A sigh reached his ears, causing them to flick slightly toward the other pony. “I am troubled, to be honest. But it’s not something I should trouble you with, my boy.”
Now the pegasus did turn toward his friend. “My friends’ problems are mine, too. I know enough about friendship to know that.”
The Professor nodded reluctantly. “I suppose that is true, but letting you know these things... it’s difficult to share.” The unicorn sighed. “Study Mark was one of the few friends I’ve ever had, you know. Ah, you seem surprised, but you shouldn’t. I’ve met many ponies in my travels, most who know nothing more of me than a bumbling scientist. Only two ponies ever really could be classified as more than an acquaintance. As I said, Study Mark was one, but the other...”
“Amber Fossil?” Novell asked, his gaze focused up at the sky again, marveling at the stars.
“You’ve put the pieces together well, lad,” Professor Search congratulated him. “Yes, Amber Fossil was one of my confidants. Bit of a firebrand, that one, but fiercely dedicated to finding out more about the past and its mysteries. Loved studying bones and ancient ruins. She accompanied me on quite a few of my adventures, though truth be told it wasn’t always for the sake of learning, I’ve come to find out. If I had been younger, perhaps...” The grey coated pony snorted. “Ah, but I’ve always said my work is my only love.”
The pegasus hummed the mechanics’ song under his breath for a moment, thinking. “You said she was ‘in a better place’, back at the inn. What did you mean by that?”
“She’s moved on to better places,” Professor Search corrected. “Or so I thought, though the meaning is the same. I lost contact with her. She left me after one trip where I got so caught up in my work that I didn’t even notice she hadn’t followed me down a particular stairwell inside an abandoned castle. I found her much later in the throne room, furiously pacing back and forth. Said I’d worried her, that I didn’t care about anything but my work.”
“I received a letter six years ago with her writing - a note telling me she was going to explore one of the places we found together. It never said which one and I never investigated, because she made perfectly clear she didn’t want me around when she left. I was angry, too.” The Professor sighed and with a creak of wood, stood up. “A few months later, Study Mark came to tell me she’d disappeared, not a trace or clue left behind. Mark had been friends with her, too, you see. He also told me she had married and given birth to two foals, whom he had taken on as apprentices in the Royal Library in order to lighten the load her husband was left with.”
“Quills and Scrolls,” Novell supplied.
The unicorn nodded and sniffled against the cold. “Indeed.”
“So what changed when we left Havoc’s prison?”
“I found a clue,” the Professor whispered just loud enough for Novell to hear.
The pegasus backed up in surprise and looked incredulously at his friend. His agitation must have reached Pensive, because he felt the questioning probe from the other unicorn in the back of his mind. Nothing, I’m fine. Tell you later, Novell thought dismissively.
Out loud he said, “What do you mean, you found a clue? You know where she is?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, lad,” Professor Search replied hesitantly. The unicorn looked to the side and awkwardly scratched an ear. “She’s in the Griffon Kingdoms. I don’t know where or how long she’s been there or even if she’s okay. But I do know she’s still alive and I owe it to the twins to find her.”
“I know we have to stop Havoc or nopony will be safe, which is why I was considering not telling you.” The unicorn stared into the pegasus’ eyes with conflicting emotions on his face. “But this is something I need to do, Novell. And I wanted to ask you to help me, as one of my few real friends.”
******
Novell woke up early the next morning, clear headed for once. The rocking of the ship had been comforting - it reminded him of his midnight naps on a cloud beneath the moonlight. As a result, the pegasus was in a moderately cheerful mood. His friends were all safe, he had found his place, and he was about to explore the world. What could be better than that?
He walked out onto the deck, pausing a moment to let his eyes adjust to the blinding sunlight. The wind was stiff, brushing past him and whipping his mane to and fro. The pegasus let his wings flare out, enjoying the sensation of air sliding through his feathers - it was a feeling he’d had too little of the last few days.
“Oi, you’re up early, boy!” Captain Crash’s voice called out from behind him. Novell craned his neck around to see the maimed pegasus at the wheel, hooves holding steady the course. “Fancy a fly around? We were leakin’ a bit from the balloon early this morning. Could do to have your eyes on the prowl, as it were.”
The white pegasus yawned and stretched his hooves in front of him. A early morning flight sounded perfect to him. “Sure thing! Any particular place?”
“Nawp. Had one of me mates check it over and they found one of the leaks on the left side, but I’d like to make sure there’s nothin’ more. Wouldn’t do to land anywhere but the Aeries once we reach the Kingdoms,” the mare responded over the wind, slightly turning the large wooden wheel. The airship shifted in response, skirting the edge of a particularly large cloud. “Your mare’s been up for awhile flyin’ around like a caged bird set free. Gotta say, her way with the air currents sure makes Belle slice through the sky like I’ve never seen.”
“I’m surprised she hasn’t crashed into a mountain,” Novell muttered, stretching his wings out to full length and jumping off the side of the ship. The wind filled them, his light body falling back behind the boat with the slipstream. He flapped once and shot up further into the air, coasting on the thermals rising from the ground far below.
He kept pace with the balloon for a few minutes, taking in the sights all around him. The land beneath him was filled with forests and fields, glittering blue lakes gaps in the greenness. Mountains out in the distance were topped with snow and clouds huddling around them, a particular chain in front of the airship seeming to clutch toward the sky like light lavender claws.
The Southern Belle matched the beauty she sailed through, the twin turbines on either side gleaming dully in the sunlight. Her wooden finish was sturdy and endowed with bells here and there that wouldn’t look out of place on the dress of a southern noble. The great purple balloon holding it up was stitched with designs that reminded Novell of a fish swimming through the sea. He grinned at thought, remembering the last time his parents had brought him to the ocean when he was just a foal.
Dismissing the memory away with another yawn, the alabaster pegasus dove under the airship and performed a small barrel roll. The thrill of flying was still there and he laughed with the bubbly sensation it always evoked in him. He passed the ship up, flapping hard and then darting up once more, spotting a familiar orange form relaxing on the top of the balloon itself.
“Hey, Whisper!” Novell shouted as he flew by her. The mare opened an eye, her wings dipping and flaring like she was directing a symphony. Swirley mirrored her ocular action and flashed quickly through a red, orange, and yellow pattern that Novell imagined was mild annoyance.
Whisper yawned at him before stretching her forehooves forward and shaking her wispy mane. “Hey, yourself. Finally wake up, huh?”
The white pegasus nodded distractedly, perusing the balloon with a critical eye. “Just a few minutes ago. Not that you can talk, nappy.” He maneuvered himself so that he flipped over to the other side of the balloon, the mare’s gaze lazily following his movements. “Working as hard here as you did back in Hoofington, huh?”
“Yeah, yeah,” she waved her hoof in dismissal. “For your information, I’m speeding up our journey. Takes long enough to get to where we’re going without having to deal with the wind the whole way.”
Finding nothing wrong with the other side, Novell glanced into the mare’s eyes. “You know, I’m glad you’re here. You remind me of home.”
Whisper flicked her eyes away, flustered for some reason. “Even after you tried to leave me back in Cloudsdale? Incidentally, the city was pretty cool to see in the moonlight last night.” She looked back at him with a disapproving gaze. “Not that you would know, cooped up with those foul-smelling things down there.”
“Rigs and Clank don’t smell that bad,” Novell objected, flapping over and landing next to the cream-soda colored pegasus. She chuckled at his joke and lay back down, the snail turning on her mane to keep Novell in sight.
“I was talking about the engines, but they work, too.”
The white pegasus chuckled, too, and lay next to her a respectable distance away. “How’s your wing?”
Whisper close her eyes and smiled. “I dunno, you be the judge.” Her renewed wing flicked, sending a burst of air in his direction enough to roll him completely over once. Novell flared his wings to keep his balance as he began sliding off, returning to his spot a moment later.
“Just as annoying as before,” he decided aloud, closing his eyes and tilting his head to the side to let the wind caress his cheek.
The two lay there for awhile, relaxing and enjoying the sun on their backs. They talked about Hoofington, about her parents telling her she needed to go out and see more than just her home city. Novell was surprised to hear that, knowing the mare’s parents were a bit protective of their daughter.
Whisper rolled her eyes. “And I was like, ‘Mom, what am I supposed to do, join a circus or something?’ and she said ‘Well, that is where I met your dad’.”
He laughed at her imitation, talking with her a bit about his own parents. His voice caught as he described what his dad had said the day he left, but he kept smiling regardless. Looking out over the world with a friend at his side was definitely worth the bouts of homesickness he suffered now and again.
Eventually, they stopped talking, sitting in companionable silence. Novell watched the clouds drift by the airship, his muzzle on his forehooves and his wings splayed out to catch the warmth of the sun. Gradually, the landscape changed, leaving behind the fields and forests in favor of mountains and narrow valleys. The cloud cover began to thicken as they went, hiding the sun behind its gray curtain.
By unspoken agreement, the two pegasi rolled off the sides of the balloon and rendezvoused on the deck of the Belle. The captain was nowhere to be seen, though Quills, Scrolls, and the helmspony from last night were out and about. He waved to the twins, trotting over with Whisper at his side.
“We’re entering the mountains now,” Novell said by way of greeting. The twins shared a look between themselves before smirking at him.
“Gee, you think? I thought-,” Quills began.
“-we were heading toward the ocean,” her brother finished with a wink.
Whisper chuckled at their antics and stuck her tongue out. “You two are pretty sarcastic for ponies who can’t fly. What do you think would happen if I accidentally bumped you toward the railing?”
Quills snorted at the playful threat. “One of the crew will catch us, no doubt about it. I’ve known all of them for years and I know for a fact they wouldn’t let a single hair on my head come to harm.” She lifted a hoof and glanced at it from multiple angles, seemingly disinterested. “It’s nice when you have everyone wrapped around your hoof.”
“Bahahaha! Well said, Quilly,” Captain Crash laughed boisterously, appearing from the doorway leading to the lower decks and gently smacking the filly on the back with a hoof. “I hear we’ve left Equestria behind, eh?” She sniffed the air and glanced around. “Yup, smells like the Kingdoms. Feathers and avian scents all around, I can tell!”
Novell looked at the captain curiously. “You can tell all that from a sniff?”
The blue pegasus looked at him like he was crazy before laughing again. “Course not, lad, I was just makin’ jokes against the griffons is all. You’ll see when you meet ‘em in their Aeries. Might smell nice to a meat eater like them, but to a pony like you an’ me, it ain’t the best aroma in the world, if you catch my drift.”
Professor Search and Pensive chose that moment to exit the lower decks, talking with one another in low voices. Novell glanced over at them curiously, sending the teal unicorn a questioning thought. His telepathic companion started and looked up.
Ah, Novell. I was just conversing with the Elder about these things you call griffons, Pensive’s voice echoed in his mind. This seems a likely place for Havoc to inhabit. There are many unused caves throughout the Kingdoms and from what the information I have gathered, there appears to be some unrest amongst the populace. I feel the edginess that comes before chaos and our enemy would have, too.
The white pegasus winced as the unicorn finished, a headache forming between his eyes. He had forgotten how much telepathy vibrated his head. No wonder Quills doesn’t like it when the Professor goes into his monologues.
“I apologize,” Pensive said aloud. The two unicorns joined their little group on the deck, huddling against the sudden chill.
Novell shook his head. “It’s fine. Did you notice anything else?”
The Professor nodded, lifted a hoof and twirled it in the air for effect. “Yes, indeed. Apparently the gossip is that a treasured object of the Matriarch has been stolen, a scepter with a glowing jewel at its peak. It’s said that the staff has strange powers and has been used since the days before the Princesses came to choose the new Matriarch.”
“A staff, huh?” Captain Crash asked rhetorically. “I remember hearin’ about it when I was last in the Kingdoms. Big hubbub about the coronation of the current leader. Bit of an upset, from what I could tell.” The mare snorted and flared out her undamaged wing. “But who can tell anything about griffon politics?”
Novell was about to reply when the airship was suddenly kicked out from beneath his hooves. A great, splintering noise overwhelmed his ears, trying to make sense of the world as he rolled across the deck. Before he could even begin to throw out his wings or stop himself, the pegasus slammed into the wooden railing. It knocked the breath out of him, leaving him stunned and disoriented.
Whisper fell next to him, her body bent forward over the railing and Swirley nearly falling overboard as he lost his grip on her mane. Acting quickly, the mare caught the snail and hugged him to her, squeaking slightly with fright. The deck shifted again and leveled out, the two of them regaining their hooves. Novell’s heart went cold as he looked around and didn’t see Pensive or the twins.
“Status report!” the Captain barked out, pulling the Professor up and glancing around with an angry expression. “What hit us?”
A couple of the pegasi crew began to flit about, checking for damage and searching for any signs of danger. Novell frantically cast about for his friends, even looking over the side of the ship. Don’t tell me they fell! Just the thought of them falling with no wings to catch themselves was enough to send ice through his veins.
They are fine, Pensive’s voice echoed in his mind. The white pegasus whipped his head toward the source of the mental voice. He spied the unicorn with the two fillies in the shadow of the threshold leading down into the lower decks. Novell let out a shaky breath and traded glances with Whisper. She was several shades whiter and still held her pet to her chest with one hoof, but she nodded and waved away his concern.
“I don’t see anythin’, Cap’n!” one of the pegasi crewmembers shouted from the right side. “Not a mountain in sight.”
“And the damage?” The mare scowled and flapped her one good wing uselessly.
“Not too bad, Cap’n,” the same pegasus responded. “Just a hole in the side of the ship. Lucky we aren’t sailing on the sea.”
“Alright, keep a look out! Confounded wing,” she muttered the last and twisted around to gallop up to the highest point of the ship’s deck - the wheel’s platform. The unicorn there nodded his head in front of him at her approach.
“Lot of cloud ahead, captain. Want me to go lower?”
She shook her head and continued past the pony, to the side of the ship. “No, hold the course. Better not to be seen if we’re damaged. Makes us a target, it does.”
Novell followed her, peeking over the side that had initially been hit. He blanched at what he saw, a large hole in the side of the ship, wood splintered and broken. As he watched, a piece of timber fell away to spiral toward the harsh grey mountains. It disappeared, the air becoming moist and unclear - the airship had entered the cloud bank.
A growl from behind him drew his attention. The captain was pacing across the deck and glancing out at their surroundings. “Can’t see a blasted thing. Pack it in, pegasi! Don’t want to lose anypony out here!” When nopony answered, Novell traded a glance with the mare. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Cloudy? Kicker?”
“I’m here ma’am,” somepony called out from the mist. A moment later, the pony landed near them with a thump of hooves against wood.
Captain Crash sighed with relief. “You see Cloudy anywhere?”
The maroon colored pegasus ruffled his wings nervously and shook his head. “No, ma’am.”
Novell watched as she pursed her lips and looked over at him. “Get you and your friends inside. Could be dangerous out on deck.”
He nodded at her suggestion and turned to leave when he noticed the misty air move oddly. Furrowing his brows, he opened his wings halfway and checked the breezes. Nothing. It was dead air around them. So what was causing the distortion? Novell stared harder into cloudbank and caught the faintest hint of a shadow.
A screeching cry came from the disturbance, sending the pegasus backward toward the other three ponies behind him. His heart sped up and his pulse pounded in his ears, Captain Crash cursing behind him. The sound of a struggle came, two pairs wings frantically beating at the air. A second later, silence reigned again.
“That was a hip-,” the unicorn’s voice started to say.
“Quiet,” the captain hissed. They sat there, completely still, nothing but the creak of ropes and the turbines’ muted whirring. The minutes passed by, Novell frozen with fear and his thoughts whirling through his head. What was that? What had happened? Were his friends okay? He didn’t dare even move his eyes to glance over at the deck itself where he had left Whisper and the Professor.
After another minute, the mare behind him let out a pent-up breath. “Stand easy, lads. We seem to have lost whatever it was.”
“What about Cloudy?” the pegasus crew member whispered. Novell let himself look away from the spot he’d been staring at, finding little solace in the captain’s face.
“Nothing we can do except keep goin’ to the Aerie. Get us out of the cloud bank so we can check our cour-.”
A thump sounded behind them along with the click of claws on wood. The four ponies whirled around, fearing the worst. What they saw caused Captain Crash to sigh with strained relief, a nervous chuckle following it.
“You had me worried, griffon,” Novell heard the captain say, but he was too busy staring at the thing in front of him to really listen to the rest.
The griffon towered over him, eyes flicking from one pony to the next and beak clicking slightly. Her, for he realized it was female, feathers were pristine white with three black spots just beneath her left eye. In one clawed hand, she held an unconscious pegasus, while the other was stained with something dark and slightly purple. Blood, he thought, strangely disconnected from his mind - normally he would be fainting at the sight of it.
“You’re entering Hippogryph territory, captain,” the leonine animal said, clacking her beak in emphasis. “I spied a scout near your airship just before you entered the cloudbank. It was carrying your friend here,” she tossed the pegasus to the deck and continued, “and was no doubt planning to add more meat to its meal tonight.”
Captain Crash seemed to be slightly put off by that, eyeing the griffon warily. “Thank you for rescuing him, then...”
“Rell,” the griffon replied and clicked across to the side of the ship. “Your ship is damaged, I saw. Magic.”
“I thought Hippogryphs only used their magic for healing?” a voice said from Novell’s left. He glanced over to see Quills at the stairs, one hoof on the deck and the rest on the steps, seeming not at all surprised by their guest. A nervous looking crewmember was standing over her, avoiding the captain's eyes since his job was to protect the filly - not let her move around in a potentially dangerous situation.
Rell clicked her beak and trained her predator’s gaze on the filly. “Used to. Something changed a few days ago. They’re getting violent and even more territorial than before. Some talk of war.”
“Well, we’re here to stop that from happening,” Novell chose that moment to break into the conversation, mustering up all the courage he had. “We think we know the reason why things are happening here.”
The griffon flicked her eyes over to him and pinned him with their sharp, yellow stare. “Ponies always think they know the reason behind everything, teaching friendship can overcome any obstacle.” Her beak clacked together and she looked guiltily at her claw. “I don’t know if that’s true, but if you say you know a reason, then I will see you safely to the Invention Aerie. Anything is better than war."
“But we’re heading for the Matriarch’s Aerie,” the captain objected.
“The Invention Aerie is the only aerie we are allowing to be open to outsiders, Captain,” Rell elaborated sharply, her tone brooking no disagreement. “You will land there, just like your Princess' emissaries did before.”
Captain Crash set her mouth in a frown, but acquiesced. “Fine. We’ll shore up there.” She shifted her gaze to Quills. “Sorry, Quilly, but it doesn’t look like I can bring you where you wanted to go.”
Scrolls came into sight and bumped his sister aside before she could begin to argue. “It’s fine, Captain. My sister and I won’t disagree with the good Rell."
“Good.” The griffon clicked her beak and shook blood from her claw. It impacted the deck with a wet smacking sound, staining the timber a dark purple and causing everypony present to flinch. "Welcome to the Griffon Kingdoms.”
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At the end, "Elcome to the griffon kingdoms" Fixit. Time to to read dis...
Thank you. I had some minor technical difficulties with my iPad, so it messed up in Google Docs. All fixed up!
Great update, and I like the resolution we got about Novell's cutie mark and his conversation with the Crusaders.
An invisible cutie mark? To quote Sweetie Belle: OH COME ON!!
I'm sorry but I feel GYPPED. Considering all the times it was dropped about him observing details, using similes and metaphors and trying to think of turns of phrase for something, and the fact that the story up to this point was essentially him telling a story, and the fact his name ('novella') means "SHORT NOVEL", I expected a storytelling cutie mark of some sort.
But an invisible cutie mark?
"Now come on and tell it right!"--- Fred Savage "The Princess Bride"
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Your disagreement with my idea is heard and understood completely, my friend. In fact, in the original version of this, that's exactly what Novell was supposed to get. But then I thought some more on it and realized that his name can mean two different things. Novell, if said as 'novel', can mean both a book, as well as something 'new and interesting'. An idea, if you will. Potential.
The pieces together quickly fell into place after that. You may have noticed that after Chapter 2, his similes, metaphors, and the like dropped off significantly. Instead, he started noticing things, began to see the potential in everything, became more creative in all aspects - not just storytelling and literary references. That was the purpose of the sculpture, a subtle hint that Novell isn't just all about storytelling and books.
I could go on and on about my reasoning and I admit forthright that there was a bit of deception involved, but if you look back, you'll see I had Novell be a creative pony, someone who can tell a masterful story or sculpt a figurine, however rudimentary, on his first try. To see the possibilities and understand them, see the potential.
I'm sorry you feel the way you do, but as some people say, 'write the story the way you want to write it'. It may not be to your liking and I don't expect everyone to agree with my decisions, but it is the way things are. I do hope you continue to read, because this story isn't over. It may be different than you're expecting, but I'm hoping it's still something new and interesting to you.
Novel, even.
279706
It's STILL a gyp and a cop-out. The point of a cutie mark is to be a VISIBLE representation of a pony's personality. A good writer knows when to stand his ground, but he also knows when to listen to common sense. It's the difference between George Lucas from "Empire Strikes Back" and George Lucas from "The Phantom Menace."
You just spent too long in the story (in fact, right from the START) establishing Novell as a budding storyteller. Changing it to "an ability to see potential" comes out of bloody nowhere. Anyone with any observational abilities is going to read the story, come to this point, go "WTH did this come from?", conclude you're just jerking their chain halfway through the story.... and then be really annoyed. when they get to the end and you're still sticking with the "invisible Cutie mark" angle.
1) I would seriously recommend that you go with him still being off-base about his cutie mark, especially as the story is only at the half-way point. Yes, he's shown aptitudes at things other than storytelling, but a special talent is not a pony's ONLY talent. It's perfectly feasible that Novell had other talents but that they didn't quite sit right with him.
2) If you simply HAVE to persist with his talent being "seeing potential," one might argue that he doesn't have a cutie mark yet because he simply doesn't know or can't think of a symbol yet for Potential. As seen in the show, cutie mark interpretation is highly subjective--- it has to be something that the pony themselves sees as symbolic of their calling. Noone would ever guess that Cheerilee's three-daisy mark was a symbol for schoolteaching, after all.. except her. And "potential" is a pretty abstract concept (I've been googling for half an hour looking for appropriate symbols!) Potential's pretty abstract concept, and he might just not have anything in mind yet as being an appropriate image of it--- like having a concept in mind but not knowing the right word to express it. And if he doesn't know how to express it, his cutie mark magic doesn't either.
I've found exactly two symbols that Novell might use. http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/32/322.html and http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/14/149.html
symbols.com/pics/big/32/3201.gif symbols.com/pics/big/14/1408.gif
They're both old symbols.... The first is called the "seed of life," A japanese symbol for the conceptual starting spark of the universe---- the second is from ancient tibet, again a symbol for "potential."
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But, he really didn't seem quite sure yet to me. And yeah, I had not accepted that the mark is invisible till I read the comments and still have not. Seems to me, as I've said, that his talent is "seeing" possibilities/potential, so his mark should be an eye (or anything to indicate sight, extrasensory ability, or perceptiveness) along with something to represent possibilities or potential. Symbols for potential by themselves only work if his talent is potential itself, but that doesn't quite work for the story thus far. It would be an interesting route to base a story on though.
@ Croswynd
Some of the above is directed at you. Feel free to respond.
I'm really digging your story so far. Keep up the good work!
Also, I like your new avatar. It's awesome!
Hah. Wouldn't it be funny if that was canon?
Oh, wait. Good prediction.