To Encourage The Captain, Crew, And All
The city was bustling as the train finally slowed to a halt at the station, hundreds of ponies climbing aboard and departing to their destination. For ponies like Applejack, it was strange not to hear the constant crow of birds calling to one another, and to ponies like Fluttershy, it was overwhelming to hear so many ponies talking to each other at once.
But Yona, who had never even imagined such sights before, was enthralled. Her head was craned to look upward, staring at the skyscrapers, buildings she had never even dreamed possible.
“How did pony make building so big?!” Yona pointed at one of the larger buildings, mouth open in awe.
Rainbow Dash snickered, smiling at the yak, “Well, you can do a lot when you can fly.”
“And when you have magic,” Twilight chuckled, levitating her bags beside her.
“Could yak have a building like that?” Yona wondered aloud, tapping a hoof to her chin, “Can Yona go up on building?”
“Er... maybe some other time, Yona; I’m really sorry,” Twilight’s ears went down, “We need to catch that boat.”
Starlight huffed as she strained herself, levitating Trixie and her bags, “Why do you have so much crap, and where are the volunteers!?”
“Well, excuuuuse me for being prepared.” Trixie rolled her eyes.
Twilight turned to the unicorn, “Well, our wagons should already be on the boat. I had them flown in. Otherwise… we’re carrying our luggage.” She rubbed the back of her head bashfully, “Sorry….”
Thorax trotted out from the train car, “What’s all the hubbub?”
“C-C-CHA-CHANGELING!” shrieked a pegasus, quickly alerting the other ponies around the area. Causing… a stir to say the least, with ponies fleeing the scene and screaming in terror.
Thorax rubbed his temple, “Was it something I said?”
“Great work, Thorax; you probably cleared the streets for the first time in a century,” smirked Starlight.
“Well, I guess we don't have to worry about the traffic.” chuckled Applejack.
“Oh my…” Fluttershy whispered, watching the ponies flee, “Should we do something?”
Twilight sighed, “I’m not sure what we can do short of having Thorax shapeshift into a pony.”
“I’m sure they’re all just super excited to see a Changeling, that’s all! They’re just running to go tell their friends!” Pinkie grinned, clearly not reading what actually occurred.
“Well, regardless, we should keep moving. Thorax… maybe you should stay in the middle of the group,” Twilight gave the changeling a sympathetic look.
Thorax sighed as Starlight patted his back, “Don’t feel bad; we can use it to our advantage; as Applejack said, the traffic is cleared, and so are the sidewalks. All and all, this is a positive.”
Applejack sighed, “Don’t rope me into your schemes, Glimmer.”
“Oh, bite me, let’s go.” huffed Starlight.
Twilight led the way as they trotted down the street. If they happened to walk towards a group of ponies, a wide berth was given to them if the ponies themselves didn’t just run away. A few even recognized the six of them, waving at Twilight, some even hoping to get her autograph.
She politely declined, even stepping aside for them to see the changeling. All in all, Thorax was quite useful here.
“Just a bit further,” Twilight piped up as they trotted towards the pier. “It should be a large red ship, and the owner is named Salty Sardine. He’s quite a nice stallion, from what I’ve heard.”
“Does he know he’s going to have a changeling aboard?” Fluttershy asked politely.
“Uh… maybe…?” Twilight grinned awkwardly.
Thorax sighed, slowly transforming into his pony disguise from his time in the Crystal Empire. “This is going to be exhausting; I hope you know I’ll need a steady stream of love to keep this form.”
Starlight glanced at Pinkie Pie, slowly levitating her with her magic as she placed her next to Thorax, “Pinkie Pie, you have a travel buddy now. Congrats.”
“Ooooh, I can tell you some stories when you’re on the boat! It’ll be like a sleepover, but… on a boat!” Pinkie squealed, wrapping a hoof around the changeling, “Don’t worry, it’ll be fun!”
“I’m sure it will be.” Twilight sighed.
Stepping onto the dock, the group made their way to a large vessel, where Trixie could clearly see her wagon. She rejoiced, jumping for joy as she ran up onto the ship’s deck.
“Oh, I missed this!” Trixie hugged the wagon as if it were an old friend, “Let’s hope this ship has comfortable lodgings. I don’t want to sleep on some raggedy sack.”
Twilight rolled her eyes, “This is a boat, Trixie. It’s not going to be like a yacht.”
“Whatever.” The unicorn huffed.
“Well, I think it’s lovely.” Fluttershy smiled sweetly.
The ship was full of creatures, Griffins, Abyssinians, and colorful Harpies manning the cargo and readying the vessel for departure.
“Avast!” Barked the gruff sailorpony as he appeared from his quarters, “Yer Highness! It be a great honor to sail you and yer party across the Equus-Griffonia sea!”
Starlight sighed as she looked around the ship looking rather unimpressed at the state of the crew, turning to Twilight, “You hired privateers to escort us?”
“Is there something wrong, lass? QUIT YER BELLY-ACHING!” barked the sailor.
“Well, it was either that or the Equestrian navy, and I’d rather keep the attention to a minimum,” Twilight chuckled before turning to the sailor. “It’s great to see you, Captain; I hope we won’t be too much trouble.”
“Oooh, a real sailor!” Pinkie Pie plonked up, “Ooooh, you really do smell like salt! I know, I heard there was another name for sailors, but I can’t think of it right now...” The pink mare rubbed her chin, thinking hard.
“Why didn’t we just take an airship or something?” Rainbow Dash crossed her arms, rolling her eyes.
“Again, Dash, it’s not exactly subtle.” Twilight sighed.
The captain scoffed at Rainbow, “You wanna be at the bottom of the sea!? Be my guest; go get yourself a fuddy-duddy and his airship! YAH, BLOCKHEAD!”
“It FLIES!! And why else would they use them if they can’t go to sea? THEY’RE BOATS!!” Rainbow threw up her hooves; it seemed like she had argued this with somepony else.
Salty rolled his eyes, “EVERYBODY SET SAIL, WEIGH ANCHOR, AND TIE DOWN THE CARGO!”
“I think it will be nice to be at sea; I hardly ever get to talk to sea creatures!” Fluttershy smiled brightly, “It will be fun!”
The group wouldn’t exactly have living quarters, aside from the old wagons that were provided to them back in Yakyakistan. To put it mildly, the ship was packed, with just the usual crew and cargo. But now, with an additional ten creatures, it made things cramped.
Rarity groaned as she was practically clinging to the side of the ship, looking awfully green as she retched and hurled every other minute, “I think I would’ve preferred an airship…” she whined.
Twilight trotted up to Rarity, gently rubbing her on the back. She knew how the poor unicorn must feel. Shining Armor always seemed to get sick whenever he was on a boat. “Take deep breaths, Rarity. Honestly, I don’t think it would have helped; the ship would have rocked back and forth either way.”
“Just eat some peanut butter crackers; that always makes me feel better,” Trixie called out of her wagon, ensuring everything was as she had left it.
Rarity covered her mouth as she retched at the thought of eating food, “N-no thank you….”
“Suit yourself,” Trixie shrugged, ripping open a packet for herself.
“I’m so sorry, Rarity.” Fluttershy went over to comfort the poor unicorn.
Applejack stood unusually stiff as she practically clung to the rocking floor beneath her, appearing uneasy, “Just a few days til land, just a few days til land….”
Rainbow Dash snickered, “You scared of the ocean, AJ? I wouldn’t have expected that from you.”
“W-Well, it is a little... deep. It might be scary if you didn’t know how to swim,” Fluttershy held a hoof to her lips, considering the terrifying thought.
“Oh, hush up, Rainbow. I ain’t scared of the ocean; I’m scared of being lost at sea or drowning!”
“But doesn’t that mean you’re scared of water, then?” Rainbow snickered.
“C’mon, Dash, don’t pick on her.” Pinkie grinned, “It’s okay to be scared. I’d be scared too! Because... I am now...” The pink mare started shaking, although her expression didn’t shift.
“Did Fluttershy and AJ spook you?” Rainbow crossed her arms.
“M-Maybe...” Pinkie replied nervously.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. This ship has great reviews.” Twilight smiled gently.
Thorax peered over the side of the ship as he hummed, “I’ve never been at sea before…” he’d turn toward Trixie, “Have you?”
Trixie looked over with a smirk, “Of course she has! I may not have gone to Zebrica or Saddle, Arabia, but I’ve traveled by boat a few times. It makes it easier to get to the coast if you don’t have to pull your luggage. I usually just work on my act while I wait.”
Trixie twitched in surprise before chuckling. “You’ve certainly got the basics down; perhaps we try a few more advanced tricks! Let me see...” The mare pulled a small journal out of her cloak, flipping through the pages. “Aha, this one looks good! Card tricks look easy, but they’re quite tricky, actually.” She gave him a wink.
Thorax carefully lifted a deck of cards from Trixie’s wagon as he began shuffling the cards, “Should I do the “is this your card” one?”
“Go right ahead; I’d like to see how much you’ve picked up!’ Trixie grinned, taking a seat on the stairs of her wagon.
Using his limited levitation magic, he’d present the cards to his teacher, “Pick a card, any card.”
“Hmmmmm....” Trixie would look at the deck before slowly slipping a single card out. Queen of Hearts. Smirking, she would tuck the card back into the deck. “Alright, I’ve memorized it.”
He’d shuffle the cards, pulling the deck apart as he put all the cards around him before presenting a jack of clubs, “Is this your card?”
Trixie hesitated. With any other pony, she would have told them bluntly to their faces that they were wrong and how bad they were at this. But Trixie didn’t want to hurt his feelings... and that was strange, even for her.
“Y-Yeah, great job, Thorax!” Trixie gave her best, the most genuine smile she could muster, clapping her hooves together. “You’re getting pretty good at this.”
Thorax tilted his head, puzzled by Trixie's premature praise, “Are you sure…? Why don’t you check your cloak pocket.” He smiled expectantly.
“Hmm?” Trixie’s eyes widened as she looked down, rustling inside her pocket until she found her card tucked neatly inside. How did he...?
Thorax playfully nudged Trixie, “I learned from the best, I listened to your advice about misdirection, and I read Hoofdini as you told me to.” he’d smiled brightly at the mare.
Trixie gave Thorax a cheerful smile before letting out a sigh of relief, glad that he hadn’t asked why she had lied about something so simple... she didn’t even know herself at this point.
“O-Oh, well, um...” The showpony rubbed the back of her head bashfully, wondering how she would explain this. Better divert attention, “Look! Uhhh... a dolphin!”
"Where!?" Shouted Thorax as he galloped to the right side of the ship.
“Where?!” Fluttershy trotted over, trying to catch sight of one.
“No way there are dolphins out here!” Rainbow rolled her eyes.
“I wanna see a dolphin!!” Pinkie Pie galloped over beside Fluttershy, eager to see the creature.
The captain would trot by and give Trixie a look, smiling at her with his eyes as he sighed, “There be no dolphins in these waters! Too many boats, everycreature back in line, we don’t need a mare overboard!”
The showpony blushed, giving him a look that asked, ‘what are you staring at?!’ before trotting back to her wagon, trying to busy herself and ignore the awkward interaction just moments ago.
“Captain, if I may,” Twilight trotted up, “Can I ask how long approximately will it take before we arrive at our destination?”
“Did you eat a dictionary this morning?” Rainbow crossed her arms.
“Quiet ye landlubber!” snapped Salty as he turned to Twilight, “It’s a few days at sea before we reach GriffinHafen, then yer on your own!”
“I’m a pegasus; how am I a ‘landlubber’? It makes no sense!” Rainbow threw up her hooves before flying away, grumbling to herself.
Starlight examined her map as she began scrutinizing it with several cartography tools, “Captain, if I may, where is GriffinHafen?”
The captain trotted over as he examined her map, “Impressive map, lass,” he’d fish for his map underneath his hat as the two began comparing for reference.
“It’d be about a day’s walk from GriffinHafen to Griffinstone after that, maybe two with your wagon train…since bandits and pirates may take an interest if you travel between cities.”
“Bandits?” inquired Starlight.
“Opportunists to the core! They see a big wagon train like that and hear of a Princess; they’ll bushwack yah faster than you can say “blimey!”
“But it shouldn’t be a problem. I heard you’re a powerful mage, and Twilight can defend herself!” chuckled the captain.
“We should be fine,” Twilight replied, more in an attempt to soothe fears than anything else. “So long as we make it quick and don’t dally around.”
"Ooh, ooh, what's GriffinHafen like?" Pinkie asked curiously.
“Awful!” replied one of the Griffin crewmates.
“Si, es malo!” lamented a Harpy.
“It ain’t good, to put it bluntly,” chuckled Salty, “It’s full of greedy Griffs and tired drunken sailors from long voyages, so not exactly what you call a cultural center!”
“Sounds a lot like Griffinstone….” Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves, frowning deeply.
“It can’t be that baaad.” Pinkie waved a hoof, “I’m sure we can make some friends there!
“Regardless, it’s only a stop on our way to Griffinstone. We’ll be fine.” Twilight nodded.
“Unless you want to be in the company of a bunch of lonely drunken sailors who haven’t seen a pretty mare or hen in ages, I’d suggest you steer clear pink one!” warned Salty.
“Heh, they’re liebe krank.” chortled a Griffin.
“And how!” howled the rest of the crew in laborious laughter.
Pinkie cocked a brow, clearly not understanding what the captain meant. Then her eyes widened, and she gasped, “Awwwww, thank you! It’s been a while since somepony called me pretty!” she grinned, “Thank you, Cap’n.”
Twilight grimaced and nodded, “Thanks, we’ll steer clear of… anything like that.”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and sighed, “Pinkie, please… I think one of them just called us a name…”
Salty rolled his eyes at Rainbow Dash, “Weren’t you friend’s with a Griffin? You mean to tell me you were buddy-buddy with a griff, and you don’t know a lick of Griffish!?” the captain howled in laughter.
“Sie kann kein Griffin!” hooted the old sea dog, much to the amusement of the Griffin sailors.
“NO! She didn’t teach me any because she came to Equestria when she was a filly– a hatchling!! She barely knew any to teach me.” Rainbow Dash huffed, crossing her arms.
“It’s okay, Rainbow; I’m sure she would have taught you if she could.” Fluttershy gently patted her on the back.
“Oooh, I’d like to learn too!” Pinkie popped up.
Salty howled, “Lass! What language do you think a Griffin learns when they’re first born? She didn’t teach yah because you’re as sharp as a smooth stone!”
Applejack smirked before chuckling to herself quietly.
Salty sighed as he turned to Pinkie, “Here’s all you need to know, ‘gib mir Bier, gib mir Henne’s und gib mir einen Job’ Give me a beer, give me a hen, and give me a job!”
Thorax slowly muttered to himself, “Gib…mir…bier….gotcha.”
“Please, don’t encourage him,” Trixie stuck her head out of her wagon, having overheard the mention of alcohol.
Rainbow Dash spat and huffed, trying to figure out some way to one-up the sailor, “At least I don’t stay around a ship when I can FLY.” She sniffed, glaring at the griffins who were laughing at her, “Whatever, I’m gonna stretch my wings.”
The Griffins unanimously let out a ‘bah!’ at Rainbow, waving her off with their claws as they returned to work.
The spectral pegasus lifted off, the air pressure causing everycreature’s mane and feathers to ruffle.
“Poor Dashie, she really likes Gilda. It’s not nice to make fun of her like that,” Pinkie stuck out her lip at the captain.
Salty waved off the mare, “Bah! If she’s friends with a Griffin, she should know about their adoration for schadenfreude. Besides, everycreature needs a good scolding!” He chuckled.
“Well, that might be true, but Rainbow takes her friendships pretty seriously. Telling her Gilda thought she was stupid wasn’t exactly the best idea….” Twilight rubbed the back of her head, wincing.
“I’m sure she’ll come around,” Fluttershy’s ear flattened down to her mane, “... Probably.”
Salty scoffed, “She’d better because if she doesn’t, this ship isn’t stopping for creatures who are willing to go overboard.”
“Captain, I must say it’s been a pleasure sailing with you,” smirked Starlight.
Applejack sighed, “Just give it a rest before she does something reckless.”
“Yeaaah, it’s best not to push her buttons too much.” Pinkie scratched the back of her head.
“Applejack’s right; just… go easy on her?” Twilight gave an awkward smile before sighing, “Well, let’s get settled, girls; we’re going to be on this ship for a while.”
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Why don't you like the cover art?
well at least it's not just only Ponyville who overreacted a little bit good to know
Applejack sighed, “Don’t rope me into your schemes, Glimmer.”
“Oh, bite me, let’s go.” huffed Starlight.
That's such an old insult I haven't heard for a long time
Fair enough because I get scared too
Wow thorax really affect you so badly huh Trixie you can't say nothing bad about him
Well it looks like they finally made it to the city and now they're heading for the ship which unfortunately it's pretty cheap which Twilight really don't want to have this kind attraction and now they're heading for the Griffin Island and Something tells me the crew are giving the girls some hard times well hopefully once they get there things will be okay and maybe we'll see Gilda there well we'll find out next time
That was a good story goodluck with the rest of it.
Again with Thorax the boozer. I dread to think of what would happen if he brought alcohol back to the changelings.
I think everyone already knows what a harpy is, but since they seem original to this story, it would help to have a description of what a harpy looks like in this story, Incase they look something different to, say, a human lady with bird wings.