Ponies of the Titanic

Chapter 4

Boilers and Grace

Barret was a happy sailor pony as he walked away from the radio room, having finally got the courage to do what needed to be done.  Sure it was not the way he wanted to go about in life, but desperate times call for desperate measures.   Barret thoughts were going at a million miles per an hour, after talking to the pony in the radio room, as well as the visit with the maiden named Rarity, his day had become quite exhausting.  Not to mention all the work that he had to do just to get the ship moving in the first place, starting up engines to pull a multimillion ton ship was not in any was hard work.

Through out all Barret's thinking he had walked past a hall, a hall that if he were to look down he would of seen Rarity with six friends and the captain.  Before Bridle could do his business in the radio room, he had to inform his manager about Rarity's problem.  His manager, Blaze Burner, at first was having a hard time buying his claim, but as soon as Blueblood was mentioned he had his Blaze's attention.  Blaze then sent the message to the bridge, only to be surprised to have been received and replied by Captain Smith himself.  The reply saying, "Thanks for the report; I'll report to the issue immediately."

That response had put some peace to Barret's mind, yet there was still something troubling him nagging at the back of his mind, he just could not tell what it was.

Bridle's uneasiness was purely a subconscious response that would have been answered if he were to just turn around at the right time.  For right behind the stallion fallowing close by were three little shadows jumping to any hiding spot to help keep them undetected as they fallowed the stoker.

As Barret walked he came up to a door that he would only pass by a few times, as a stoker and engine staff he was rarely allowed past this door.  He was able to make a case this time do to his needs, opening the door he walked through and continued down the now chilly hall, Before the door could close on its own a small yellow hoof blocked its way to keep the door open.

"That's strange," said Barret as he noticed that the click of the door closing had not come yet, but as he turned around he witnessed the door latch to its frame.  Satisfied that the door had sealed itself he continued down the corridor, having three shadows revealing themselves from behind a crate as they continued to fallow him.

Once Barret had reached his quarters, he was about ready to enter to take a nap when a note on the door stopped him from entering his chamber.  Tearing the note from the door Barret read:

Bridle Barret

You are asked to report for additional services due to an accident that had transpired at sixteen hundred hours, this accident had caused some of our staff to decrees and a need for more hooves are needed.  Sorry for the inconvenience, and additional salary will be added to you Pay.  Please report to the Engine Management once you have received this message

Titanic Engine Management.

After reading this, Barret's happy emotions were soon replaced by a look of fatigue.  "Well I better get to work then" he muttered to himself, disappointed that he will not be able to rest up for the next day, "I'll be pulling a double shift tonight."  What Bridle Barret did not know is that there were three young fillies over hearing his conversation.

"Apple Bloom please tell me you know what you are doing here?" asked Sweetiebell, who had a look of obvious discomfort in her voice.

"Ya, I really think we could be doing something a lot more awesome than just fallowing a work pony," replied Scootaloo, who sounded a little annoyed.  Truth was all this was Apple Bloom's Idea, and she had lead them down here for reasons that even they did not know yet.

"Come on guys, it’s not like it's the end of the world now ain't it?" replied the yellow filly with a pink bow in her red mane.  "We just have to see what’s down here, then we all can head back up, do you hear?"  Apple Bloom since getting on this ship had always been exited to see the whole thing.  There was just something about how machines worked that grabbed her attention.  Just like that one time where a couple of unicorns had stopped by the farm with a intriguing device that could turn apples into cider six times faster as their family.  Ever since that day Apple Bloom loved to take in any information she could get on any piece of machinery.

That was when Barret had stopped by a door then turned and headed down an adjacent corridor.  "Girls, we gotta move." said the yellow filly, who then moved in exact unison behind another crate that hid them from the worker they were fallowing.

The three fillies then continued to fallow Barret through the halls, until he had come accross another door that lead to a set of stairs.  The three fillies keep close just to sneak into the stairway shaft, keeping themselves quiet so the worker would not notice them.  They watched as the worker started to trot down the stairs, making his way to the first turn.  The fillies ducked to keep them hidden until they knew he was out of sight then made their way down the stairs.

Barret had made it down to where the entrance of the lowest decks stood, for beyond this point were catwalks and close quarter hallways that would make anyone feel like they were under water.  He opened the door and walked in turning around to close the door, just before he turned around the three crusaders had zipped past and behind him, hiding themselves behind a mess of pipes that stood from ground to sealing.

Once the door was closed Barret started walking down the pathway waving to all the worker ponies that were down there keeping the ship going, how the crusaders got past all the workers is a mystery to this day.

Time passed by as Barret talked to Blaze his head manager, then went about to the coal room where he stoked the fire for engine number 3.  In the Titanic there were 4 engines total, with 3 other engines as back up, and Barret was in charge of the largest of them all.  The pony walked to the coal pile, which had been placed by one of engine three's boilers, then Barret started to stoke coal into the furnace.  He continued this process until he heard a quiet sneeze from behind a crate of coal.

He walked over to where the sound came from peered over the crate only to find three little fillies cowering hoping that they would not be discovered, only that there hopes were in have. "Now what are you girls doing here?" said Mr. Barret in question.

Most ponies would call Bridle Barret a nice guy, to the Cutie Mark Crusaders that was an understatement.  When that particular stoker had found the fillies hiding: he did not yell, he did not raise his voice, yet he just smiled and beckoned them over to a few crates that he had set up so they could sit while he worked.  He would let them ask questions and he would answer, only putting in his questions when needed, they were curious fillies that wanted to learn after all.

"So this boiler heats and controls engine three?" asked Apple Bloom who was in fact mesmerized by the machinery that surrounded her.  It was a lot more complicated then the train engine that much was for certain.

Barret stopped his stoking, due to the fact that there was enough coal in the fire to bring the ship to full speed if needed, not that he would recommend that course of action.  "Well this is one of the boilers to engine three, there are about nine more, then there are an additional ten for every engine." Barret explained, "I'm in charge of maintaining engine three though, if there is a change of speed it is me who goes to the clip room and ensures that the goal is reached.

"COOL," said all the crusaders in unison.

Bridle Barret then pulled himself a crate and sat down in front of the three fillies, "Now tell me, what brought you down here to the low deck of the ship, not every filly is capable of sneaking down here so you must have a reason."

Scootaloo and Sweetiebell chuckled nervously, they really did not know why they themselves were down there other than the fact the Apple Bloom insisted that they all made their way down there.  So the two fillies looked at the yellow earth pony with a look that told her that they wanted an explanation too.  Barret saw this so he too turned his attention to the yellow filly.

Apple Bloom not only sensing the pressure but seeing it as well let out a subtle 'sigh' in defeat and started her flashback that went all the way back to the dinner with the captain.  "Well it kind of started when we were having dinner with the captain."

Barret smiled, he knew this was going to be good.

There were fourteen ponies sitting around a classy dinner table waiting for their meal to start: Twilight Sparkle was sitting at the foot of the table the going to the right, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, then Rarity who was sitting by the Captain who was at the head of the table.  On the other side where a stallion who no one yet recognized, Time Turner, Ditzy, Dinky, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetiebell who was not to happy to be sitting away from her sister.

"Ladies, and er...Time Turner.  I would like for all of you to meet Mr. Blue Print" said Captain Smith gesturing towards the stallion on his right.  "He is the one who fabricated this great ship and made it possible to be here today" continued the captain with a sound of pride.

The stallion now known as Mr. Print blushed, "now Captain, you don't need to make me sound that important" replied Blue Print.  Blue Print had a very unique look about him; he had a light blue coat with a shy green mane.  His tail was tied in a short knob, and his shown a deep velvet.  His cutie mark was true to his name as it was a depiction of a pen and a drafting compass crossing each other.

"Don't be so modest Mr. Print" interjected Captain Smith, "It was in fact you that designed the fastest ship, not to mention unsinkable."  The captain had said this with such pride that you would think that Blue Print would of been his son.  Which would not be surprising due to how Captain Smith loved his ship as much as he loved his late diseased wife.

"So you were the one who designed this magnificent ship?" asked Rarity wanting to start a conversation with the new stallion.

"Yep, everything from the mechanics of the engines to the structure of the haul," Blue replied to Rarity's inquisitional statement.

This had caught into Apple Bloom's ears, "did he say...mechanics?" she asked to herself in thought.  If there was one thing the little filly liked was to figure out how things worked, why she found out enough on how a train worked that she could rebuild a locomotive if she tried.  Just that one word 'mechanics', started a chain reaction in Apple Bloom's head, a reaction that would lead to an obsession.

Dinner went on well after that; but to Apple Bloom, she had a new mission that needed to be complete...STAT!  The four friends were heading back to their rooms after dinner; Apple Bloom could hardly wait for she knew exactly what she wanted to do today.

"Dinky, could you come over here please?" called the voice that unmistakably that belonged Ditzy.

Dinky who had been fallowing the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders frowned, Just when I was starting to have fun too," she thought to herself.  "Girls I forgot that my family is planning on spending the night together, so I'll have to meet up with you tomorrow."  With that said, the little unicorn turned and galloped straight to her smiling mother.

After the rest of the crusaders watched their friend leave, they continued down the hall and went to their room where they were staying.  "So," Said the white unicorn filly, "what are we going to do?"  Sweetiebell was wondering due to the fact that there original plan had not been executed for whatever reason.

"Ya, I thought we were going to speak to the captain to see if we could try driving the ship?" complained Scootaloo who was in fact having the same thought as Sweetiebell.

"We were," said Apple Bloom, "but y'all saw how our sisters were talking to the captain, we would not of been able to put in our two bits even if we tried."  Then a sly smile came over her face, "I have a better idea though, why not explore the ship some more?"

"We already explored the ship, remember?" stated the small pegasus, "that is why we missed out on all the action with the captain saving Rarity and all."

"We explored all of first class, but not the whole ship," finished the earth pony.

"ohh," said the two in unison, "but what do you suggest we do then?" the stereo sound of both ponies nearly giving Apple Bloom a headache.

"We go and find someone to show us around." said Apple Bloom sounding mischievous, giving an ominous feel down the other fillies’ spines.

"From there we left our room and started to explore some more, we found the captain and our sisters walking down the way so we fallowed them.  That is when we saw you walking, so we started fallowing you, leading us to where we are now," finished Apple Bloom

Barret just sat for a minute, then stood up and trotted over to the coal, picked up his shovel and started stoking again.  "So you are all with Rarity then, huh?" he finally managed to say.  It really did not surprise him that these fillies would know Rarity, but still what are the chances of the first passengers he met being related?

"Wait, you know my sister?" chimed in Sweetiebell, "how do you know my sister?"

Barret just smiled, "I was the one who found her down here, let just say we had a pleasant conversation." he said, "I must really thank the prince for sending her down here, otherwise I would have never had the honor of talking to somepony so grand." finishing his statement with a slight blush.

"What do you mean by the prince sending her down here?" said Scootaloo, the looks on all three fillies faces making it obvious that they were not told the whole story of Rarity's adventure.

I was like that when Barret realized that he had just locked himself in a rough spot, because if there sisters had not told them the whole story then there probably was a good reason at that too.  He had the feeling that that reason was connected to how they managed to get down in the engine suits unnoticed as well.  "Well...um" was all he could say before all three fillies started walking towards him with a look that only an inquisitor should have.  The three fillies kept walking forward until the stoker was against the wall unable to move any more.  Realizing that he could not hold back any more he gave in, "Prince Blueblood sent Rarity down here to become a worker, he did it to get a taste of revenge," was all he said.  It was apparently enough do to the satisfied reaction the fillies gave.

"Well I'll say, that no good rotten tree root," said Apple Bloom "Why does that varmint think he can get away with something like that?"

"It was him that sent he down here!" shouted Sweetiebell in shock, this got Barret curious.  How could they have been satisfied with a story without a major factor?  Well somehow they were, up until now any way.

"Scootaloo just stayed silent, showing multiple emotions going through her head.  Finally she came around to saying, "Just because he’s the princess’s nephew does not give him the right to bully our friend!  Girls I think i know what to do to get him back." the mischievous smile growing on her face had given Bridle a ominous felling.

"No don't go looking for trouble girls, especially with a prince." said the stoker.

The fillies turned to the stallion, "Who us, cause trouble?" they said in unison as halo's appeared over their heads.  Barret blinked, but when his eyes opened there was nothing but a puff of dust in front of him.  The fillies were on their way back to first class, or at least that was Barret's hope.

"So what is you plan Scootaloo?" asked Sweetiebell, who above all wanted to get back at the royal meanie.

"Oh you'll see" said Scoots with a maniacal tone.

"Guys, don't you remember what happened with Babs when we tried to get her back?" interjected Applebloom, who wanted to get back at Blueblood too, but she was also still thinking of the consequences as well.

"Ya we do, but think of this as assistance to help build royal character" said Sweetiebell, who had perfect knowledge on how a royal pony was meant to act.

The three fillies had at this point made it back up to the third class halls and were making there way to the upper class sections.  They were about ready to turn the corner when they came to a sudden stop when they crashed into another pony.  "Ough" all four of them moaned.

"You know you three should really look where you are running, you could hurt somepony with all that enthusiasm." said the pony they ran into, obviously a mare.  The three fillies looked up to see exactly who they had run into.

"Huh, who are you?" asked the orange pegasus, the mare she was looking at the white mare in front of them.  She was a earth pony with ice blue eyes,  her mane was gray with a cool blue streaks coating the gray,  her flank was a speckled light blue that matched the blue in her mane, and her cutie mark as a trio of snowflakes.

"I am Mrs. Burg" said the mare with a smile, now I would love to chat with you three, but i have some business to attend to.  With that the mare picked herself up and went along her way.

"Wow, the stallions must be going crazy just to be around her," said Scootaloo, then she turned her way to look down the hall.  Well we should get going, it is almost dark out and we need to be in bed.

"Ya I guess you are right" said the other two in unison.

Captain Smith was walking around nerviness in his meeting room, he did not like what he was about to do.  To make an enemy with someone who had power was not his idea of a good time; in fact this could cost him his ship when they made it back to port.  However this had to be done, undermining his authority on his ship was unacceptable and the even though the prince had power on the land, this was Captain Smith's ship, his sea, and nopony was going to say otherwise.

"Knock, Knock"

The knocking on his door resonated through the room; the captain took a deep breath.  Giving a speech of character to a royal was a dangerous thing to do, it was pretty much a form of social suicide.  "Come in," said the captain as he made his way over to his seat watched the door as it opened.  A light orange pony opened the door, and held it open as a white unicorn with a blond mane walked in.  At this Captain Smith realized that the prince even had his servants knock on doors for him, the very thought of laziness disgusted the captain.

"What is this?" asked Blueblood in his snobbish, better than thou voice.  "You think you can just summon me like a mere commoner?"

"This was it, no going back now." thought the captain to himself, he know just by the princes introduction of his presence that his conversation was not at all in any way going to be pleasant.  "As Captain, I am entitled to call privet to any pony who is in need of corrective action." he said, though he tried to make it sound official and important, nothing could get past the thick ego of the prince without making some type of insult being created.

"Corrective action?" said the prince in a disgusted bemused tone, "are you saying that my royal values need to be corrected?"   The Prince Blueblood let out a scoff, "I am Prince Blueblood, the only relative of Princess Celestia, master of all ponies in Equestria.  What makes you think that you have the right to correct perfection?"

The captain scowled at this remark, "ya not at all going to be pleasant." he thought before speaking.  "As a matter of fact, I am Captain Smith of the Titanic, Master of all aboard this ship!" said Captain Smith nearly shouting, "That make it not only my right, but my duty to protect everyone on this ship.  The fact that you sent a highly regarded passenger down to the engine suites makes you a threat to every pony aboard this ship." after saying this the captain realized how quickly he had lost control of his temper, and what he said might have been a bit extreme...the captain scratched out the last thought. He did however needed to keep his temper in check, he as after all on thin ice.

"Me a threat?" said Blueblood, trying to make himself sound more hurt that mad.  "I should have you know that, that lowlife had it coming and is right now in a better place where she can do more harm than good." said the prince in a tone of victory, just thinking how his revenge had been perfect, only to be shattered by what the captain said next.

"You mean the mistress that I myself had to go rescue from unnecessary torment?  I Will let you know, that 'lowlife' had every right to be in first class with her friends.  I won't tolerate selfish acts of revenge will not be tolerated."  The captain held back from giving a gulp before voicing what came next.  "One more dangerous act from you and I will personally throw you in the brig" he warned, bracing himself for the wrath that was to come, his subconscious barricade was not in vain.

"Dangerous act, throw me into the brig?" the prince shouted, "You have no idea how dangerous that wench really is, do you.  She had the power to embarrass me in front of my court at the Grand Galloping Gala and get away with it.  When I complained to the princess about her, she just laughed at me saying that I just need to learn to respect my subjects.  Let me tell you something any pony with that much power is a threat to anypony in power, why she could even take your position as captain from right under your hooves."

The captain just laughed, Dangerous because she had managed to embarrass him?  "Embarrassing you and getting away with it is not a dangerous crime, its an act that should be commemorated by the princesses themselves.  If she had the power to take my position of captain, well let me just say that she would then deserve the position."  It was true statements after all, if Rarity could in fact take his authority from him, and then she deserved it.

"Embarrassing Equestria's royal prince should be an act of treason punishable by banishment!" the prince roared.  Then his angry demeanor dropped little as a sly and smug grin spread on his face.  "Captain, do you know who paid for eighty seven percent of the ship?"

"Yes" said the captain with an irritated under growl, he knew where this was going and it was not pretty.

"Then as owner of the Titanic, I release you as Captain." said Blueblood in triumph, then was shocked when the captain started laughing.  "Did you hear what I said? You are no longer Captain!" bellowed the selfish bozo.

"Oh I did" said the captain in glee, "I just think its funny that you actually tried to pull that line on me."  With that said the captain pulled out his wallet from his jacket and showed the prince the card with in.  The princes face went pail, "That's right Blueblood, this is a license of ownership from the princess herself, and since that your money more so happens to be her money, so the ship is fully mine.  The most power you have on this ship is to try to influence the course and speed of this cruise." said the captain, taking relish in the prince's loss of words.

After a few moments in silence, the prince finally spoke up, not in defeat but in desperation, "In that case then, bring the ship to full speed.  The sooner this cruise is done, the sooner I can get off this junk heap.  Don't think you don't have to do what I say there, you know what will happen to you when we get back, if you do." said the prince as he walked out the door, slamming it so hard that everypony could hear it first and second class.  That was saying something due to how big the ship was.

The captain sat at his table to think, then after a while he went out to the bridge and gave to order to go to max speed.

"Bring her about to 24 Knots" ordered the captain, who then went to his quarters to retire for the night.  "Hoof Dock, you have the bridge" he said to his first officer before leaving.