Maiden Voyage

by Reviewfilly

T-00:45:00

Despite the crew’s best attempts, the general emergency call still caused panic on board. The magic lamps on the deck blinked in and out as the ship gently began to sway from the gathering storm outside. Nobles of all ranks flooded into the corridor, almost trampling each other as they tried to make their way into the main hall. The sound of the thunder outside was muffled by the anxious demands and threats made by the crowd, expecting to be guided and consoled. More and more were asking for the princess, who was still in the gondola.

“Windigos?” Sky baulked at the notion. “Aren’t they a foals’ tale?”

Celestia shook her head grimly. “I’m afraid not. They are all too real. The magic of our unity kept them far from our borders, yet out here they still occasionally linger and attack other species. But I cannot imagine why they targeted this ship, when until now they knew to keep a fair distance from all ponies of Equestria.” She wracked her brain for an answer. Her eyes suddenly snapped open. “All this time we wanted to intimidate the griffons, but we missed our mark,” she hissed. “This ship was created through the cooperation of earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns equally.” She slammed her hoof against the floorboard, slightly cracking it. “It’s the one thing that terrifies these monsters, they must think we’re hunting them!”

“What can we do?” Sky nervously took off his hat, fiddling with it as he spoke. “I have about forty pegasi on board as crew. Shall I send them out to deal with the storm? Or maybe you could raise the Sun and dispel it?” His eyes desperately begged Celestia, but she just shook her head.

Outside the shadows and dark clouds began to shift, receding first, then coming closer with each pulse. Celestia’s stomach sank as she noticed the figures slowly emerging from the darkness. “Captain,” she muttered with a wavering voice. “This storm is nothing you’ve seen in your life before. It’s not natural and it cannot be controlled. Not by pegasi, not even by my magic. We must turn this ship around this instant. Nevermind the mission, survival is now our first priority.”

“B-but Princess, we cannot do that,” Sky stammered, crumpling his hat in his hooves. “With this much inertia and these weather conditions, even slight changes in course could severely stress the frame. A full turn would tear us apart!” He glanced outside, watching a bolt of lightning surge across the sky. ”Can’t we parley with them? Surely there is something we could offer for our safe return.”

“They’re monsters beyond reason,” Celestia stated grimly. “There is nothing they want or need. Their need to hunt and kill us is as it is for rain to fall, or my Sun to shine.” She hugged her wings close to her chest as she tried to regain her composure, taking a ragged breath. “If we cannot turn back, then we must take our chances and rush through the storm.”

The very moment the words left her lips, the ship’s inertia threw them forwards as the engine suddenly disconnected. Celestia jumped to her hooves and helped Sky up. Seconds turned into an uneasy, tense minute as nothing else immediately happened.

“What are they waiting for?” Sky hissed, slamming his hoof against the floor. “Why is the engine not restarted yet?”

Celestia glanced towards the ship’s stern. “Stay here, Captain, and be ready to steer the ship the moment you’re able to. I’ll go and check.”

“Don’t bother, Princess,” he shook his head. “You should rather go to the cabin deck and talk to the ponies there.”

Celestia stopped in her tracks and looked back. She could not make sense of Sky’s words. “I don’t think that’s...”

“Princess,” he shut her down coldly. His voice suddenly became hoarse and raspy. “I know better. You wouldn’t be able to do anything up there.”

---

The Lux Aeterna glided through the night sky, beaten by rain as lightning surged all around the ship. The nobles, forgetting their rank and prestige, huddled together in the main hall, not understanding why the ship was suddenly moving so erratically.

Following Sky’s suggestion, Celestia galloped down to the deck as fast as she could and burst inside, taking the podium and bringing light into the half-gloom. “My ponies, please remain calm. We’re just experiencing turbulence and you have been gathered here as a precaution. Rest assured the crew is working hard to get us out of this storm.” She winced inside as she delivered the words. She didn’t want to withhold so much of the situation, but she couldn’t risk telling them the whole truth. Windigos thrived on conflict and negative emotions. A panic would likely drive them rabid.

The crowd, however, was less than convinced.

“Turbulence? I’ve been aboard plenty of airships in my life, none of them threw me against a wall!” a fearful yet indignant voice rang out from the crowd. “Is the captain drunk?”

“Your Highness, we demand an explanation!” another called out. “This is not what you promised us! What are you doing?” More and more voices joined in, all demanding some explanation or what to do. The yelling mixed into an incoherent gibberish that grated on her mind. Celestia remained still, grinding her teeth behind her lips, trying to figure out what to say.

“Are we going to crash?” a young voice cut through the growing pandemonium. The question plunged the room into silence. All eyes first turned towards the littlest Blueblood and then, slowly, towards Celestia. This time no admonishment came from the count, who sat next to him, his already white-coat turning deathly pale.

Celestia forced her body to remain still, almost crumbling under the gaze of those tiny blue eyes. “No,” she replied a bit too quickly and forcefully. She could see the colt’s face darken with fear and doubt, which washed over the rest of the crowd. “No,” she said again in a voice a little calmer and softer. “The crew has everything under control. Please just stay here and wait for further instructions.”

Uneasy silence filled the room, disturbed only by the lashing of rain and the thunderclap of not so distant lightning from outside. “This is unacceptable,” a voice called out. Emboldened by it, another joined, “We expected a luxury cruise, not emergency drills!”

“Unbelievable! I hope the captain will be sacked for this.”

“They threw out the expensive parachuting gear I packed for this very reason!”

Before Celestia could answer anypony else, the door to the hall opened once more and Steady stuck her head inside. The crowd, entirely focused on themselves and their woes, ignored her, so the mare quickly snaked through the hall and made her way to the podium.

“Your Highness, you’re needed in the gondola,” she whispered. “Right now.” The tremble in her voice immediately told Celestia that something was very wrong.

She nodded and stepped off the podium to follow Steady. The crowd, which until now booed and jeered at her, suddenly began to shift in mood. As she passed them, ponies began to beg and plead for her to stay, the reality of losing her again quickly reevaluating their feelings and breaking their flippancy and bravado. Celestia’s heart throbbed as she had to ignore them. Even if they were flawed, they were her little ponies and she wished she could personally console each of them. Her eyes, however, were firmly focused on the door.

As they made their way towards the staircase, Steady turned her head towards Celestia. “There is something wrong with the captain,” she whispered. “I’ve only just returned from the engineering deck to ask for further orders, but no matter how much I called out to him, he didn’t react. I apologise for calling you away, Highness, but I think your expertise is needed here.”

The duo quickly descended back into the gondola, where they found Sky standing next to the window, still staring catatonically out into the rainstorm beyond. “Since you’ve left, he’s been like this,” Steady whispered. “I’ve been flying with him for years and he’s never once acted like this.” She looked at Celestia pleadingly. “Please, Highness, I tried everything, but he’s just not budging.”

Seeing the telltale shiver in her body and the quiver in her lips she tried so hard to hide, Celestia flashed the mare a reassuring smile despite feeling more than worried herself. “Thank you, Steady. You’ve made the right call. Please just stay here and take a moment for yourself.”

With that, she stepped closer to Sky, leaving Steady behind to calm herself. “Captain? Are you feeling alright?” He didn’t react, continuing to stand frozen like a statue. “Sky?” she said a little louder, noticing that her exhaled breaths were visible.

“It’s... it’s no use,” he slurred, staring vacantly at something outside nopony else could see. His eyes were pale and colourless, as if foggy lenses were placed in front of them. “There’s just too many of them and too few of us.” Celestia’s eyes slowly followed where he was looking.

Dark shapes were circling the ship. Within them were small orbs—like glowing empty eyes—glaring into the gondola with ancient malice. The shapes chased each other, looping and twisting in a wild and unbridled dance. The room itself was rapidly dropping in temperature, the droplets of rain hitting the window slowly freezing onto the glass.

“Sky!” Celestia called out again. “What they’re showing you is not real! Snap out of it!”

“It’s over, don’t you see? I should have never agreed to this. This was a suicide mission from the get go.” Sky let out a deranged cackle that made Celestia shrink back a little. “We will never fight off so many griffons.”

“Sky. We’re not fighting anything,” Celestia’s voice turned stern, as she stepped back to him. “Snap out of it. We can get through this storm. The ship is still flying, we’ll be fine.”

His reply was just another cackle. “You know, Princess,” he slowly said, wobbling on his hooves as he slowly raised his eyes from the beings outside towards Celestia, staring past her. “You’re almost right. We can’t fix it. But I can.” He chuckled and took an unsteady step towards the controls. “I’m Blue Sky after all. Best airship captain in Equestria. Not like those feather-brained pegasi. They’re born with flight and don’t even think about it. Must be so easy for them. But me? Haha! I’ve learned it. I’ve learned it well! It’s in my cutie mark! It’s in my blood!” With each word his voice grew louder and raspier. “I am Blue Sky! I will land this ship! I will save everypony! Those hornheaded freaks can’t do this! Nor those winged imitators!” He jabbed a hoof towards Celestia, the sudden movement knocking his hat off. “Hah, even you can’t do this! But I can! I’ll drop the ballast and land now!”

“Land?” Celestia asked in horror. “We’re over the sea!”

Sky, however, did not relent. “Lies and nonsense,” he muttered. “You’re just trying to confuse me so you can take this achievement from me. I know you’ve never once appreciated my work.” He reached for the quickly-freezing controls, only to suddenly stop in place.

His body began to shine in faint-golden light. “I’m sorry,” Celestia said, her horn alight with magic. “You’re out of your mind and I cannot let you touch the controls. Steady,” she called out behind herself. “Please bring some rope. We must restrain him and somehow navigate the ship ourselv—” She stopped abruptly, a great pain throbbing through her head as a loud crack rang out, making her wobble to one side. Stars danced in her eyes as her nerves began to scream from the pain. “Wha—” she slurred, whilst sluggishly trying to turn around, only for another blow to arrive and knock her from her hooves.

“I’m sorry, Princess, but you’re the one out of your mind,” Steady droned, as her magic threw a metal pipe yanked from a wall to the side. Her eyes stared out of her head vacant and unfocused. “You have controlled ponies for far too long. You cannot subjugate the unicorns any longer. We’re a proud race, we do not wish to live under your hoof.”

The world was spinning with Celestia. The whites and greys of the outside mixed with the brown of the room and the blue and orange of the two ponies present into a colourful splotchy canvas that continued to circle inside her vision before fading away. She slowly felt herself sink lower and lower into the floor as her senses shut down. The darkness draped over her like a cool and comfortable blanket. All the noise of the thunder slowly faded out. She was alone. She was safe. She could just let go and rest, she deserved it after all... The tribes can deal with their own issues, I’m really not that necessary, she thought.

Her consciousness slowly faded away.