1: The Troublesome Twosome
A group of stallions in suits trotted through a white corridor and made their way into a kitchen area. Cooks and chefs trotted around and as the group passed some of the cooks called out “good luck!” at the green stallion in the center of the group. He nodded at the ponies and said a short thank you as the others in the group ushered him on. Within a minute of them entering the kitchen, they were trotting out and down another hallway. At the end of the hall was a blue/green curtain and the stallions parted to let the green one in the middle trot up to it. From the other side of the curtain came the voice of a stallion on a speaker system.
“Fillies and gentlecolts, celebrating his tenth year in show business, the Tropicana is proud to present -“
Hold it, hold it, hold it; we’re going to confuse them if we start here! You’re probably wondering what’s going on. Well first of all, my name is Sabre Rattle; and this is the story of how I became one of the biggest stars in Equestria. But it seems the writer was getting a bit ahead of himself. I suppose we should maybe back up a little bit for you folks to understand what’s going on. It all begins on the street I grew up on in Bronclyn.
~~~~~
“But mama!” A green unicorn colt wailed. “I don’t want to go to school! Can’t I go to work with you today?” He asked as an olive colored mare collected up his school supplies.
“No, sweetie. You have to go to school. I get that you were sick for the last few weeks but that’s no excuse now that you’re better.” The Pegasus mare replied as she buttoned up his school bag and resituated her nurse’s hat atop her head, the early morning sunlight glinting off the Lieutenant's bars on her shoulders. The young colt groaned and flopped onto the floor, his face buried in the tan carpet of their apartment. At this, the mare rolled her eyes before grabbing the colt around his midsection and lifting him up to stand on his own.
“Mama, most of the other kids probably think I’m dead!” The colt shouted. “Can’t we just act like I am and I can stay home?” He pleaded as his mother placed his school bag on him.
“Sure. And I can just tell my C/O that I can’t come to the base because my son wants to fake his death.” She replied, her voice overflowing with sarcasm. “Now, we’ve got to hurry up if we’re going to catch our train into town.” She said while trotting to the door with the small unicorn in tow. They entered the hallway and the colt stood behind her as she pulled a key out of her pocket.
“Good morning, Thunderstreak.” A mare’s voice said and they both turned to see an elderly mare smiling to them in a robe and curlers.
“Good morning, Miss Mandarin.” The olive mare replied as she locked the door to the apartment.
“Good morning, Sabre.” Miss Mandarin said as she looked to the colt with a smile, her sagging cheeks barely lifting when she did so.
“Good morning, Miss Mandarin.” Sabre replied with a smile as he hurried over to her and gave her a hug.
“Are you ready for your piano lessons today?” The old mare asked and the colt nodded happily. “Good. You’re getting very good at it too. You might be better than me soon.” She said with a smile as she patted Sabre on the head. He smiled at the affectionate pats but felt a hoof on his shoulder and looked up to see Thunderstreak standing by him.
"Come on, sweetie. We need to get going if we're going to catch our train." Thunderstreak said with a small smile to the colt and his shoulders immediately slumped down.
"Yes, Mama." He replied as his head drooped down so low that his snout almost dragged the floor of the hallway. As they walked towards the elevator, Sabre glanced back over his shoulder at the older mare. Miss Mandarin gave a small wave and her cheeks lifted a bit as she smiled to the downtrodden colt. He waved back and his mouth turned up into a weak smile as they stepped into the elevator at the end of the hallway. The silver doors slid shut and Sabre looked back to the floor with a sigh.
~~~~~
“Now, Sabre, you can’t over think this.” Miss Mandarin said as she slowly walked over to him. It had been three years since that morning and those years had not been kind to the elderly mare who now needed a walker most of the time. “I told you already, just feel the music and let your body and hooves do the rest.” He jerked his head to the side in a quick motion to get his long mane out of his eyes. Sabre was now twelve going on thirteen and he was beginning to get into a somewhat rebellious stage. Miss Mandarin slowly made her way back to the piano where she sat on the bench and put her hooves up on the keys. “Now, let’s try again. And try to sing as best you can. I know it’s difficult at your age and your voice changing but just try your best, alright dearie?” Sabre nodded and Miss Mandarin began to play a tune on the piano for Sabre to sing to. But just as he took in a breath to begin, another voice roared through the floor of the building.
“Sabre! Get your rear end home, now!” Thunderstreak’s voice shouted and his ears quickly folded back against his head at the anger in her voice. Miss Mandarin lowered her hooves and looked over at Sabre, her sagging cheeks giving an impression of disapproval. But she now also looked that way all the time, even when full of joy.
“Report card day?” She asked; a knowing look in her eyes.
“Yeah.” Sabre replied as his head lowered a bit. His hooves dragged across the carpeted floor as he made his way towards the front door. “Guess I’ll try and come over for a lesson tomorrow.” He told her before opening the door and walking out into the hallway. He shut Miss Mandarin’s door with his magic and slowly opened the front door of his home. Inside he was met by Thunderstreak looking down at him with an irate glare.
“You care to explain these grades?” She asked as she held up a report card with her hoof. He looked up at the report card just before she turned it around to read it off. “Math; F. Literature; D minus. Science; F. History; C. The only class you have an A in is music!” Thunderstreak told him with a huff as she set the report card down on the small table by the door. “Sabre, we need to talk about this. What’s going on? You used to be a straight A student.” She sat down in front of him with a tired look replacing the anger in her eyes. “I know you’ve been skipping your fencing lessons too.”
“It’s nothing, mom.” He told her in an aggravated tone as he trotted past her. As soon as he was around the corner into the living room of the apartment, she sighed while raising a hoof up to rub her temple. Sabre entered his bedroom and shut the door as he eyed the window that lead outside. He flung open the window and a warm summer breeze danced across his coat as he carefully climbed out.
“Took you long enough.” A filly’s voice said in joke annoyance as he stepped down onto the fire escape, his hooves making the metal ring with every step. He looked over to the powder blue pegasus as she ran a hoof through her short mane. “I was starting to think your mom already had you sunk in the Hoofson River.” She said with a grin as he sat down next to her.
“Hardy-har, very funny, Cloud Dancer.” He replied as they watched the taxis on the street below them. They both sat and watched the ponies under them in silence as their fore hooves slowly inched across the fire escape towards the other. Their hooves connected and they both held their relaxed expressions as she scooted closer to him.
"Sabre!" A voice shouted and the two jumped and instantly separated as he turned to look at the window next to his. There, a forest green mare with a graying mane had her head sticking out. "Did you see where I hid my whiskey?" She asked with a slight slur in her voice. He rolled his eyes as he sighed before looking back at her.
"No, grandma, I didn't." He replied and she dropped her head in annoyance.
"I'll be back then. I think your mama went to the shop. If she comes back, tell her I went to the liquor store." The mare said before disappearing back inside. Sabre relaxed as he leaned back against the wall and leaned on Cloud Dancer.
"I love your grandma." She said with a grin as they resumed watching the ponies below. They sat in silence until the sun had dropped below the tops of the skyscrapers and the sound of the front door inside shutting drew Sabre's attention to the window. He sighed as he looked back to Cloud Dancer and gave her a soft smile while he stood up.
"Sounds like mom's home so I probably ought to go help her put groceries away." Sabre told her as she stood up too, their hooves still connected. Her face and ears were red as her eyes looked around at anything but Sabre. This was not unnoticed by Sabre though as he took a step closer towards her. "Are you alright? You look like you don't feel too go-" He was suddenly cut off as she leaned forward and her lips pressed against his. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of scenarios that the colt had imagined for his first kiss; but kissing one of his best friends since foal hood on the fire escape outside his bedroom wasn't one. Sure, she was nice, fun to be around, always had the heavenly smell of a rain cloud to her, she made his stomach have butterflies, and sweet Celestia; he was actually in love with Cloud Dancer. As his mind came screaming back to earth, he noticed the softness of her lips and the smell of apples from her mane. Just as he was about to kiss back, she pulled away and her face was glowing red as she looked at him. His face was that of pure shock as she looked for a way out.
“I’ve-I’ve got to go.” She stuttered out before hurrying past him towards the edge of the fire escape. He turned in an attempt to catch her and he called after her, but it was too late. She leapt off and her wings beat the air as she flew off for her home. He stood and watched her fly away and his stomach dropped as he did. In his whole life, he couldn’t think of a moment where he’d felt so happy and then so alone. Cloud Dancer disappeared inside a window several apartments over and a couple floors up and didn’t even glance back at Sabre. The sound of hooves inside grabbed Sabre’s attention and he looked inside as Thunderstreak stepped into his room.
“I got the stuff for fettuccini. It should be ready in a bit.” She told him as he slowly climbed back into room. He gave her a small nod of acknowledgement as he climbed into his bed and pulled up the covers until he was no longer visible. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
~~~~~
“Are you sure about this?” Sabre asked as they looked up at the airship before them. Cloud Dancer had convinced Sabre to sneak off to the city landing field. There before them was a large silver, cigar shaped airship that sat anchored to large concrete blocks at her tail and a tower at her nose.
“Of course I’m sure. Besides, it’s not like we’ll miss anything important at school today.” Cloud Dancer replied while starting to walk towards the airship. Sabre followed after her and kept his head on a swivel as though anypony would see them on the near abandoned field. Cloud Dancer smiled at Sabre as they stopped near the control gondola, their awkward kiss almost a year gone and thought by both to be forgotten. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” She asked as she waved a hoof at the airship with a wide smile and joy in her voice. But before Sabre could answer, a voice nearly made him jump out of his skin.
“She most certainly is.” A female voice said and they both looked up to see a red mare leaning out of a gondola window and smiling to them. A leather flying helmet and goggles sat on her head and she wore a leather jacket with an Equestrian flag patch on the sleeve. “And she’s all mine.” Cloud Dancer’s smile grew as she looked up at the red mare.
“You’re the captain?” She asked and the red mare nodded, the flaps on her helmet bouncing as she did so.
“You two want to come up?” She asked and Cloud Dancer nodded excitedly as Sabre just looked on in nervousness. A rope ladder dropped down from a hatch in the bottom of the gondola and Cloud Dancer was up the ladder before it was done swinging from the drop. Sabre walked up to the ladder and took another look around before carefully climbing up. The small room inside of the gondola was all metal except for the wooden navigation table on the right. “I’m Electra.” The red mare said with a smile as she extended a hoof towards them. A propeller cutie mark adorned her flank and she removed her helmet to reveal a short auburn mane. “Welcome aboard the Vega airship.” Electra said with a wave of her hoof, the helmet and goggles flopping as they moved with her hoof. She set them down on the navigation table as she turned back to them. “Aren’t you two supposed to be in school?” The mare asked them as she went back over to the control wheel. They both looked at her in worry, Saber particularly, but their worry was eased as she chuckled and waved a hoof at them. “I’m joking. At least you’re not off doing something illegal.”
“True.” Cloud Dancer said as she went over to the navigation table and saw metal tubes alongside it containing rolled up maps. “Are these all the places you fly?” She asked as she pulled one out that was labeled ‘Griffin Kingdom’.
“They are. We actually set the speed record between Gryphus and Canterlot. We also set an altitude record when we stripped down an airship and flew it up to twenty thousand feet.” She replied as she trotted over and unrolled the map that Cloud Dancer had set on the table. "I was actually about to take this one up on a check flight. Would you two like to stay aboard for it? I can always say you two are job shadowing or something if my superiors question it." Electra said as she grabbed her helmet and set it on the instrument panel next to the control wheel. Cloud Dancer's smile returned; and even Sabre had a small smile at the thought of riding on the giant airship. Electra raised a hoof and pressed a button that, though neither of them knew it, sounded a bell in the engine compartments for the mechanics to start the airship's five engines. With another motion of her hoof, she pulled a lever that made the mooring lines fall down and away from the airship. And with one final lever, there was the sound of water hitting the ground as the airship's ballast was released.
"Sabre, look!" Cloud Dancer said excitedly as she looked out a window of the gondola. Sabre trotted over, his hooves making a small clang with every hit on the metal floor, and looked out the window with her. The ground was slowly starting to move away from them. Not the quick ascent like he expected, but they were now flying none-the-less. As Sabre looked back up away from the ground, he realized that they were actually higher than he thought just by looking at the ground. He could see the tops of the gargantuan hangars that housed the airships and the tops of some of the nearby apartment buildings were level with the gondola. "How high are we, Miss Electra?" Cloud Dancer asked as she looked over to the red mare.
"We're approaching seventy five meters." She replied and they both looked back down at the ground in surprise. He would've thought that they were lower than that. The ponies and buildings nearby didn't look small enough to be that high. But without the airship being connected to the ground like a building, it was much harder for him to get a good idea on their height. They soon passed one hundred meters, two hundred, three hundred, and then four hundred meters. At four hundred, they were level with the top of the tallest building in Manehattan and Sabre could easily see for more than fifty miles. With amazed eyes, Sabre and Cloud Dancer watched the city pass beneath them. A sudden clanging got their attention as a stallion descended from a ladder that led up into the body of the airship.
"The boys report that all engines are running properly. Although, number five wanted to be slow to start." The white stallion said as he pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of his overalls and wiped his brow. His fur was stained in spots with black oil and yellow engine grease but he didn't seem to mind. He placed the handkerchief back into his pocket before he seemed to take notice of the two teenagers in the room. "Who're they?" He asked as he raised an eyebrow at Electra.
"A couple friends. I invited them to tag along." She replied as she slowly turned the wheel to put the airship into a turn over Manhattan Harbor. Sabre looked back down to the city below and could see large ships in the harbor. From ocean liners to new dreadnoughts, the harbor was alive with activity as ships went to and fro from their piers. The stallion's voice drew his attention back to the ponies in front of him though and he could tell that the stallion wasn't very pleased about their presence.
"You know the commodore doesn't take kindly to stowaways, correct?" He asked her as he slowly walked up to her. She turned to look at him and the look she gave him made Sabre and Cloud Dancer take a step back. Electra slowly walked over to him and got inches away from it without him backing down.
"You listen to me, Fred." She whispered but not low enough for it to be a private conversation. Sabre and Cloud Dancer cast each other a glance out of the corner of their eyes but didn't say anything as they looked on. "If you knew how to navigate, then we wouldn't be in this mess now would we?" She asked and the look in his eyes turned from that of annoyance to rage.
"Maybe it wasn't my navigating but your flying that was our problem!" He snapped back at her and Electra's hoof raised and she slapped him across the face. Without another word, he turned and climbed back up the ladder to return to his station. After standing there and fuming for a few moments, Electra turned to the two teens with an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry about that. It's just that Globe Trotter and I don't always see eye to eye." She said as she returned to the wheel. Electra pressed a button on the control panel that sounded a whistle and a moment later, a young orange stallion slid down to the ladder and flashed a quick salute to Electra. "Lieutenant, take the helm for a bit." He gave a quick nod and trotted over to the wheel to take her place. She trotted over to them and wrapped her forelegs around their shoulders. "How about a quick tour and then we'll grab something from the galley before we return to the field?"
They both nodded and followed Electra up the ladder to the interior of the airship. Sabre and Cloud Dancer looked around in amazement at the web of cables, struts, and beams as they trotted along the narrow catwalk. Giant gas bags full of hydrogen surrounded them and provided the lift power for the airship. Electra opened another hatch and they descended into a small white room with only one door. She opened the door to reveal the dining lounge that was completely baring except for a black unicorn mare in a white chef's coat by the window. The mare flicked a cigarette butt out of the open window and pulled the window shut with her magic. When she turned and saw Electra, she saluted quickly and then made her way back into a room just off the dining area. Electra led them over to the door that the mare had entered and waved a hoof at the kitchen where several cooks were preparing things for the airship's next public voyage. "So, what do you two want to eat?"
~~~~~
"That was so cool!" Cloud Dancer said as she hopped away from the airship. Sabre smiled at her and her excited behavior but felt his smile and heart drop as he saw a stallion in a security uniform emerge from a building. At the same time, Cloud Dancer saw him and her smile stayed in place as she stopped hopping. "This is gonna be fun." She said and they both began to gallop away as the sound of a whistle followed them off the field.