Answering the Call

by Sigil Flare

Chapter 7

　　"Wha.. What is it?" asked Fluttershy looking up at the massive ship in front of her. It was a little scary to see a ship this massive resting on land and not water. It was easily 100 pony lengths across and 150 pony lengths tall. It was made of what looked like a bolted chrome plated metal. It had normal sails and no ballons of any kind.
　　
　　"This is my air ship" replied Gear with a smile the level of which can only be achieved by pride in your work "The Albatross" He looked the ship over with his sightless gaze.
　　
　　"Wow an Air ship" mouthed Rainbow Dash "That is so cool!" She clapped her hooves together in excitement and anticipation.
　　
　　"Rusty this is great!" said Spitfire punching the stallion affectionately on the shoulder
　　
　　"Everybody get on board" said Gear pointing at a ladder on the side of the hull "I've already made preparations for our departure and gathered the supplies we need for a week of travel." Fang looked at him curiously for a second "Yes Fang even meat" With that the wolf was satisfied and followed Twilight up the ladder.
　　
　　Once Gear had scaled the ladder and joined the rest of the group on the deck of the Albatross he addressed them once more.
　　
　　"Alright everypony here's how this works" Gear started by pointing to a door which looked to lead to a stairwell going below decks "There are only 3 beds on this ship. Two below decks and one in my quarters."
　　
　　"Which means that some of us are going to have to share a bed" sighed Spitfire
　　
　　"Well me and Twi can share a bed" said Rainbow Dash wrapping a wing over her marefriend "Ain't that right Twi"
　　
　　"I suppose so" said Twilight bopping Rainbow's nose with a hoof "If you can keep your snoring to a minimum" Rainbow Dash blushed a bit at being told she snored, which only added to the lavender unicorn's laughter.
　　
　　"Well I guess me and Fluttershy could share a bed" proposed Spitfire hoping that Fluttershy would say no
　　
　　"Sorry Spitfire but I think I'd like my own bed" said Fluttershy looking to Fang
　　
　　"Well I guess I could share a bed with Rusty" said Spitfire a spark of flame igniting in her chest in triumph
　　
　　"You won't be" said Gear pointing to the rudder. "I'm needed here on deck. Somepony has to keep us on course, and it's going to have to be me" Spitfire's ears dropped in defeated acceptance
　　
　　"Your giving me your bed?" asked Spitfire confused and a little let down "But why?"
　　
　　"Call it an attempt to repay an old debt" replied Gear with a chuckle "A silly one at best, but an attempt non the less."
　　
　　"Well then it's settled" said Rainbow Dash interrupting before Spitfire could respond "Let's get ourselves settled into our rooms and then we'll get this thing flying"
　　
　　"Sounds like a plan" nodded Gear walking over to the rudder checking his charts he set up on a nearby table The other five went to there rooms to get their things in order.
　　
　　Spitfire entered the captain's quarters carefully. She had no idea what it was going to look like. Having known Rusty for so long it could be nearly anything on the other side of the door. At first she was taken aback by what she saw. It was spotless! There wasn't a piece of trash anywhere and the bed was made nicely and evenly. She took a step further in and closed the door.
　　
　　As it closed behind her she saw a head table with photos on it to the left of the bed. She trotted over to examine them noticing there were only three. The first was of Rusty and Princess Celestia. It said "To Gear Love Tia" the second one was of herself as a filly. It read "To the best Uncle ever Love Spits"
　　
　　Spitfire remembered giving that to him all those years ago. She was rather surprised he had kept it all these years. The third picture was strange it was a hoof-painted portrait of a mare. She had a red coat with golden mane and a small twinkle in her eye. There was a watermark in the bottom right corner of a Phoenix. She picked it up in her hoof and a note fell out.
　　
　　Curious Spitfire unfolded it. It seemed to be hoof written, from the ink on the page it looked as if written by a quill. The writing was fancy and fading, obviously very old. It read as follows...
　　
　　"Dear Rising,
　　
　　 If you are reading this letter than Princess Celestia has kept her promise and I am dead. I figured out a long time ago I would die long before you. I have accepted that because I know I will see you again. It is this one belief that lets me carry on. I have loved spending my life with you, and only wish you the best. I painted this self portrait many years ago, so that you would have something to remember me by. Death is easy, that is what makes living so hard. We are memories Rising, all of us, they shape us and make us who we are. We are only ever truly dead when we are no longer remembered. So, I need you to promise to keep me in your heart and remember me always. You gave me my adventure. Go out and find another.
　　
　　Love, Sunishia"
　　
　　"Spits..." said Gear standing in the now open doorway mouth agape
　　
　　"Rusty..." replied Spitfire trying desperately to think of something to say
　　
　　He simply looked down at the floor turned tail and walked back out on deck. The door closed with a slam which made Spitfire cringe, leaving her alone. A burning guilt wedged itself deep into her chest. She wanted to rush to find him and apologize, but she knew deep down that wouldn't work. From the look on Rusty's face, this letter was one no one but him was ever supposed to read.
　　
　　Spitfire set the letter on the head table and threw herself on the bed. She cast a questioning glance back at the letter. For getting her into so much trouble, it opened up so many questions. She jarred a little as the ship took off into the sky. Spitfire could hear gasps of amazement from her friends. Grabbing the covers and wrapping herself in them she decided she'd had enough for one day. Closing her eyes she wished the pain in her chest would just disappear.
　　
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　　"Gear this is awesome!" cried Rainbow Dash half over the side of the ship starring down at the ground "How can this thing even fly?"

　　"It has very powerful engines Rainbow Dash" yelled Gear in reply "This isn't a quarter of what this ship is really capable of"
　　
　　"Umm.. Steam are you sure this is really safe?" asked Fluttershy tapping his shoulder with a hoof
　　
　　"Safe as can be Fluttershy" replied Gear with a winning smile "This ship has never had a problem getting into the air, and it's not about to start now"
　　
　　"Rainbow! Get off the railing before you fall over board" yelled Twilight at her marefriend
　　
　　"Ah stop worrying Twi" replied Rainbow Dash trotting over to join the lavender unicorn "Nothing bads gonna happen if I fall over board. I'm a pegasus remember?"
　　
　　"Twilight is right to be cautious Rainbow Dash." called Gear over the now ear beating sound of the engines as they gained speed "Right now you'll be fine but soon the engines will be burning full speed. If you fall over then they'd burn you to a crisp before you could even spread your wings"
　　
　　"I thought you said it was safe" cried Fluttershy hiding under Fang's upraised paw
　　
　　"It is up here on deck" replied Gear yelling in a voice conditioned over the years to go over the roar of the engines "You never asked what happened if you fell off the ship"
　　
　　As the engines hit full burn the ship gave a little jerk and then settled into a smooth pace. The noise drowned down and they seemed to slow a little.
　　
　　"What did you do?" asked Twilight rubbing her ears with a hoof, checking for any permanent damage
　　
　　"I put on the dampeners" answered Gear checking their course again "They soften the noise of the engines adding a few minutes to our time but give us a few hours to savor our ears."
　　
　　"I agree with you on that" said Rainbow Dash running a hoof through her mane quickly before Twilight saw it was messed up from the take off "Where are we headed to exactly?"
　　
　　"We are headed south" said Gear scratching the goatee on his muzzle "Towards the direction of Las Pegasus"
　　
　　"I've always wanted to go to Las Pegasus" said Fluttershy in a dreamy voice
　　
　　"Speaking of Pegasus" said Twilight looking around for their missing party member "Has anyone seen Spitfire lately?"
　　
　　"Not me" answered Fluttershy looking around for their flame colored companion
　　
　　"Hey your right Twi" said Rainbow Dash scratching her head with a hoof "Any clue where she is Gear?"
　　
　　"Probably still in my cabin" said Gear in a very curious tone It sounded hurt, which was odd considering he had given her his cabin in the first place. "She's probably just sleeping"
　　
　　"I'm pretty tired too" said Fluttershy yawning, Rainbow couldn't help but admire the cute sound Fluttershy made when she yawned. At a sideways glance from her marefriend however she faked a yawn herself and added "I'm feeling kinda tired to Twi. What do you say we take our leave as well?"
　　
　　"You go on ahead Rainbow" said Twilight giving her marefriend an affectionate kiss on the cheek "I want to ask Gear a few questions"
　　
　　"Alright" said Rainbow Dash with a look of mock disappointment "Just don't keep me waiting to long" With that she flicked Twilight's nose with her tail and trotted off below deck.
　　
　　Twilight turned her attention to the light brown stallion with his head buried in charts. She walked up the stairs towards him and asked
　　
　　"Steam Gear?"
　　
　　"What?" He asked cocking his head to the side, not looking up from his charts "As you can see, I'm a little busy at the moment" He was moving his hooves in graceful arcs across the charts.
　　
　　"How are you reading those if your blind?" asked Twilight curiously observing him
　　
　　"Take a look for yourself" replied Gear stepping back and nudging the chart he was messing with, over to Twilight. The comment about his "condition" made him twitch a little bit. "It's quite ingenious if I do say so myself!"
　　
　　Twilight looked at it with a perceptive eye, scanning the thing in whole before breaking it down section by section. It looked like a normal map to her, but she could feel a strong scent of magic coming from it. Putting her hoof on it she could feel a light wind touch her and a snowy mountain peak.
　　
　　"But this is flat paper" said Twilight looking at it again "How...."
　　
　　"I made these charts for my own personal use" said Gear dragging the chart back over to him "They are enchanted to display wind currents and elevation on touch not sight."
　　
　　"That's brilliant" said Twilight "But how did you make them? Your not a unicorn how did you enchant them"
　　
　　"I've been around a long time Twilight" Gear replied "Stick around long enough and maybe you'll find out"
　　
　　"That reminds me I was meaning to ask you?" said Twilight gathering her courage "What exactly are you?"
　　
　　"That seems like a pretty obvious question don't you think?" replied Gear with a laugh, obviously trying to evade the subject "I'm a pony of course just like you and your friends"
　　
　　"I know that but what kind?" asked Twilight "You seem to know a lot about magic, but I don't see a horn. You understand the flight mechanics behind Pegasi but I see no wings on you. Besides that neither of those could ever dream to live as long as you seem to have managed to."
　　
　　"So what are you asking exactly?" asked Gear turning his sightless gaze on Twilight
A little warning in his voice.

　　"What is your secret to having lived this long and what kind of pony are you?" asked Twilight
　　
　　"There is no secret as to why I've lived this long" sighed Gear sitting down putting his hooves neatly in front of him in a way she clearly recognized from years of watching Princess Celestia. "It is and always will be my curse. It is one given to me by my mother, but one given to me out of love."
　　
　　"I don't quite understand" said Twilight confused "What do you mean it's a curse?"
　　
　　"You think I like living this long?" asked Gear anger and pain flashing through his voice "You think I want to never age while I watch everyone who has ever called themselves my friend grow old and die and not be able to do anything about it?!" He took a step towards Twilight causing her to take a step back "Never being able to spend my life with any pony?!"
　　
　　"I never thought of it like that..." started Twilight trying to defend herself
　　
　　"Steam!" yelled Spitfire from the deck below She was glaring at him determination fueling her voice. "Leave Twilight alone! She didn't know anything about this."
　　
　　Steam Gear shook his head and took a step back. He turned his gaze to Twilight and to her astonishment, Twilight saw tears shimmering down his cheeks. He lifted a hoof to his bandage and tore it off, it fell to the ground with a sodden thud. He turned quickly shielding his face from view.
　　
　　"Twilight I would like to continue this conversation another time. I am not feeling well at the moment" said Gear in a shaky, yer apologetic tone "My scar is acting up again"
　　
　　"Al- alright" said Twilight turning to leave As she trotted past Spitfire she couldn't help but wonder what the real connection was between her and Steam Gear.
　　
　　Spitfire slowly climbed the stairs to up to where Steam Gear was. She could hear his tears as they fell to the deck. In all the years she had known him, Spitfire had never seen him like this.
　　
　　"Rusty?" she asked softly
　　
　　"Spitfire" Gear said wiping a hoof across his eyes trying to hide his tears "Why are you here? Haven't you hurt me enough already?"
　　
　　"I never meant to hurt you, you know that" said Spitfire putting a hoof on Steam Gear's shoulder "I'm sorry for reading the letter, but you can't hate me for wanting to know more about you."
　　
　　"I don't hate you Spits..." said Gear turning his head towards her so she could see his face. Spitfire's jaw dropped in horror. In the space where his eyes should be there was nothing. It was a giant blackened scar. It looked unreal, something that you would find lurking in your worst nightmares. His eyes were entirely gone, the only thing that was left were empty sockets. "I envy you"
　　
　　"What are you talking about?" argued Spitfire deliberately staring into where his eyes used to be, refusing to look away "You seem fine to me"
　　
　　"Sometimes it scares me?" said Gear with a weak laugh "You two could be sisters, you know. You and Suni"
　　
　　"Really?" said Spitfire surprised as a blush came to her cheeks
　　
　　"Indeed. You remind me of her so much" said Gear with a sigh "I always wished to be like her you know? She was so full of life and carefree. Always getting into things she shouldn't and stirring up trouble"
　　
　　"Sounds just like you" chuckled Spitfire giving Steam Gear a playful slug in the shoulder trying to cheer him up
　　
　　"It's said that time heals all wounds" said Steam Gear looking into the sky "But it seems the more time passes the deeper the wound gets"
　　
　　"Sometimes it's harder to live than die" said Spitfire in reply. Steam Gear let out a laugh. He turned and looked at Spitfire, a weak smile on his face.
　　
　　"After all these years" said Gear with a chuckle "Suni you still put a smile on my face"
　　
　　"Glad to see your getting back to your old self again" smiled Spitfire shooting him a questioning glance "Does that mean we're cool now?"
　　
　　"We're good Spits" said Gear giving Spitfire a hoof bump "Now go get some sleep. I'll wake you up once we reach Las Pegasus"
　　
　　"One question?" asked Spitfire over her shoulder as she was walking away a knowing glint in her eyes "How do you fly this thing alone if there isn't an auto pilot?"
　　
　　"I'm afraid I don't have an answer for that" said Gear putting a hoof back on the rudder
　　
　　"I thought as much" giggled Spitfire