Darkened Skies

The airship christened the Marietta descended over the City-State of Ponyville into the designated dock reserved for such craft. A recent feat of technology, airships looked every bit like their naval-faring cousins, however, in place of sails were massive blimps. The hull was covered in thick sheets of armor, and  The ship itself was suspended by ropes which were attached to the blimp. In that sense, the Marietta was indistinguishable from any other airship. However, the large ballista on the aft of the ship was not something you saw every day. It meant that this ship saw combat. This was a warship.

A grayish-emerald green Pegasus with tousled gray and crimson main, a short, spiky tail, and the cutie mark of a gear sat at the helm of the Marietta, taking pride in the attention his ship had garnered. The Marietta was not easy to miss. It was a twenty meter long, seven meter wide hulking giant compared to most conventional airships, but was dwarfed by larger cargo-carrying airships. Above the ship’s captain was his sole companion: a brass hummingbird. Its cyan eyes glowed while it metal wing flapped frantically to keep him aloft.

The warship touched down at the docks. A large brute of a pony with a voice to match greeted the Marrietta’s captain with a broad and friendly smile.

“Sprocket? Is that you? I never s’pected to see you in Ponyville again, after what happened last time. Nasty business, that,” said the dockworker.

“Really? I had it under the impression people thought I was looking for trouble,” replied the pegasus.

“You do, I just thought you actually had limits to your stupidity!” laughed the dockworker.

“Right. Anyway, is the Librarian still here? I need her help,” asked Sprocket.

The dockworker’s smile faded quickly. This was not unexpected.

“Not this again, Sprocket. I care about you, man, I really do, but it isn’t worth it.”

“You know what? To me, it is.”

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

“I won’t be the one being hurt, this time.”

“I’m just saying-“

“Would you kindly just shut up!” burst Sprocket.

The dockworker was taken back. “I’m just trying to help you. But fine, you win. The library closed down months ago, but the Librarian rents a room at the local inn.”

Sprocket sighed deeply. “Thank you. Now if you excuse me, I have some business to at-“

“Just be careful. For me. If you get hurt again, I couldn’t help but blame myself.”

Sprocket mentally rolled his eyes. Sometimes earth ponies were way too quick to feel at fault for things that are beyond their control. “Yes, I’ll be fine. Now, I really need to go. I have a Librarian to talk to.”

Sprocket made his way down the ramp that led off of the suspended docks. The inn was on the other side of the town, so he had some walking to do. As he trudged down the muddy streets of the great city's back alleys, he noticed that heavy, dark storm clouds had blown in during his chat. He counted his blessings that he wasn’t in the air when a storm hit.

An irritated buzz interrupted Sprocket’s thoughts.

Sprocket turned to his mechanical companion. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have lost my temper. He just doesn’t understand.”

Sprocket and Twitch, the mechanical hummingbird, seemed to have a special connection. Sprocket didn’t quite understand it himself, but then again, when did the world last make sense?

He knew the answer to that. Ten years ago. Before the Lunar-Celestial war. Before the proud race of ponies had been reduced to independent city-states warring over resources and bandits clans raiding caravans.

Sprocket’s head smashed into the side of a wall with thump. He backed up, dazed, and looked at the sign in front of the building. The Ponyville Inn.

“Well, Twitch, let’s go see our old friend Twilight, shall we?”

Sprocket opened the door. Inside, the place was pretty crowded. The bartender took no notice of him. Fine by him. He needed to stay incognito for as long as possible.

Scanning the sea of ponies, he searched for the purple unicorn. After a few moments of searching, Twitch let off a high-pitched chirp, motioning towards the corner. There, at a small rounded table, sat a bored-looking unicorn. Sprocket strode over to the table casually, trying not to attract attention to himself. Despite his efforts, several ponies had a surprised look on their face as they whispered to the ponies next to them. Obviously, he wasn’t staying incognito very long.

The mare hadn’t even noticed him sit down. She was too engrossed in a large, dusty, brown tome. In her mouth was a long tobacco pipe. Periodically, she would let a huff of smoke escape from her mouth. Sprocket cleared his throat in an attempt to get her attention.

Nothing.

Sprocket rolled his eyes. Once again, he cleared his throat, even louder.

Nothing.

Sprocket got up from his seat and slammed both of his front hooves on the table. He then swung one arm back and knocked the pipe from her mouth.

This got her attention.

“And just what do you think you’re doing, you rude son-of-a-“ Twilight stopped when she was who was at fault, “Oh.”

Sprocket sat back down. He hadn’t meant to make a scene. He just hated being ignored so blatantly like that, accident or not. “You know smoking is bad for you, right?”

“I know very well what is and isn’t good for me, but you try losing a job you’ve done all your life and see how you feel,” replied Twilight, gruffly.

Sprocket forced himself to keep a level head. Now was not the time to blow his fuse. “Twilight, I need your help.”

Twilight looked puzzled at first, but then realization dawned on her. “This isn’t about your revenge is it? I thought I told you last time that that was purely between you and Rainbow Da-“

“I understand that you are not a part of this at all, but I can’t do it by myself! I need your help. Listen, Rainbow hates you, and you know this. Why do you keep defending her? You think there is some chance you can become friends again? Fat chance! Whatever happened between you and her after the War separated you two forever. Get over it! Stop living in the past and wake up already! Welcome to the Equestria you helped create!”

Twilight was at a loss for words. When she finally composed herself, she had an irritated expression on her face. “Why do you persist in making the Equestria I helped create an even worst place that it already is?”

It was Sprocket’s turn to be at a loss for words. He had never really thought about it. After a few moments of pondering, he looked up and said, “Survival of the fittest. If I can’t adapt to this new world, I will be killed off. I cannot allow that monster you once called a friend to maim anyone like she has to me.”

“Is it really that big of a deal, what she did to you?”

“Yes, Twilight, it is. You wouldn’t know what it’s like to fly, would you? There is a feeling of freedom that is unmatched to anything else I’ve ever felt. At one point, it was the only thing that kept me from ending my life. And now I can’t ever feel like that again. Because of her. Because she became a bandit and I was an unfortunate merchant that happened to be captured. I may have escaped the bandit camp alive, but part of me died there. The part that loved flying high. All because I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. But she doesn’t know that. She doesn’t know the pain that comes with losing the only thing keeping you sane! She needs to feel that pain and misery, the pain and misery I’ve carried with me for the last two dreadful years of my life!”

Twilight took a minute to think. After several minutes of pondering, she said, “Alright, I’ll help you. But you better make it worth my while. Risking my neck for you isn’t going to be cheap.”

Sprocket leaned back and sighed. “Thank you. I have spent my years since I last talked to you doing jobs, and I’ve racked up quite a lot of bits. Half of them are yours.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Half? Are you just going to keep the rest?”

“No,” Sprocket replied, “You are my captain on this adventure. I need to recruit a navigator for the travelling we’ll be doing. Happen to know anybody that could help us with that?”

“Hmm,” said Twilight, “I just may happen to know a guy fit for the job, but first . . .,” she pointed towards the doors, “I’m assuming those two burly ponies staring angrily at you aren’t your friends. Am I right?”