Ponies of the Titanic

Chapter 6

Perspective Part 2

     It was some time since the four had entered the kitchen and talked to Quick Whisk. Even so, their visit had only been brief, and the next stage of their crusade was put into focus.  As a team, the four fillies decided it best not to tell Quick Whisk why they were really there, and to cover up their presence, Dinky asked for a few cupcakes. Ms. Whisk, who had been reluctant at first to accept their request, could only fight for so long against the bright hopeful eyes of the fillies. Least to say, the Cutie Mark Crusaders knew exactly how much power was in there adorable figure.

Quick Whisk had gone away to retrieve the tasty treats, and in her absence Apple Bloom moved over to what looked like the most distinguished service tray. Upon looking at it, she found the name, To Our Most Esteemed Prince Blueblood.  “Girls,” she said with a mischievous smile, “let our work begin.”

Relative to the kitchen staff preparing their cupcakes, Dinky, Scootaloo, Sweetiebell, and Apple Bloom, moved rather quickly to switch the dukes meals over to the common service tray. They then took not only the food from the commons tray, but also pulled out their own private stash of canned lettuce and placed as the center piece. According to their knowledge of Blueblood's eating habits, they all agreed that the can would be the crown jewel in there prank.

By the time Quick Whisk had returned, the four fillies had covered their work with the glistening lids. With gratitude, they took their treats, and, with a fond farewell, they made their leave from the ships cabin.

What Quick Whisk did not see was that when the four crusaders left into the grand hallway, they hid. Not just in one place, but behind any table and crevice to avoid detection. “So what now?” asked Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at each other, then at Sweetie Belle. “We wait here until the food is in service, then we follow the trays into Blueblood’s suite,”  replied the orange pegasus.

Minutes turned into hours; at least, that is how it felt to the young ponies. In reality, it had only been five minutes. A rush of excitement went into the Crusaders’ veins when the door opened, and out came the staff, not alone, but with the trays of food as well. It was easy to see the royally decorated tray, and from there, they were able to follow it. It was not hard, since the four fillies had expertise experience in stealth; it was a wonder that they did not get their cutie marks for being ninja ponies.

Dinky could not hold it in anymore. “You know, no matter how much time you spend on this ship, its greatness is still breathtaking.” Her statement was greeted by hums of approval from her friends.

“You’re right. This ship is swell and all, but there’s not much we can do for our crusadin’,” replied Apple Bloom. Not in the manner of argument, but truth. The fact stayed that no matter how cool the ship looked, there was not much fun a young filly could have. The good news, however, is that if you had a group of four little fillies, then fun could be made.

It was not long until the end of the hall was reached and the royal suite rested before not only the Crusaders, but the staff serving the food as well. With a light knock, Blueblood was summoned to his door. No words were exchanged between him and the staff as they brought his meal in. With a slight bow to their own hooves, the staff made their leave. What nopony saw, however, were the four blurry shadows zipping between the door and into the large closet in the back of the room.

Soon after, Blueblood moved over to his tray and lifted up the lid. Snickering, the four fillies waited to see his reaction. True as it was, what they were expecting were screams of fear and panic, much like what Rarity had experienced. What happened next, however was not at all expected in any way.

The white stallion stood there looking at his tray, frozen and unable to move. Despite the condensed space that allowed them to see, they all witnessed the tears that started to fall from his eyes. After a few moments of silence, he went over to his bed, sat on it, and began to sob.

The Crusaders looked over at each other, confused; this is not what they wanted to do. Nopony wanted to make another pony cry, no matter how bad that pony had been. “What do we do now?” asked Sweetie Belle, who began to form tears in her eyes.  The small unicorn had always the sweetest heart out of all of them, and guilt was radiating from her.

“I don’t know… I didn’t know that this would hurt him that much,” replied Scootaloo. The orange pegasus then looked over to Dinky, and saw that the violet filly was also crying. She then looked over to Apple Bloom and saw that the earth filly was frowning.

“I don’t know either… I don’t feel right about this,” said the redhead filly. “It’s just like when we tried to prank Babs, and now this.” The yellow filly just let her head droop, then she spoke again. “I think it’s time that we stop trying to get back to ponies… it just doesn't feel right.” With all that had been said, all the fillies knew that the last statement had been not only the truth, but the correct action to take.

All four fillies let out a deep breath, and, with no hint of hesitance, they left the safety of the closet. With quiet but still sounding hoof steps, they made their way over to the stallion. It was Dinky who made the first move, jumping up onto the bed. The young unicorn saw the sad and neglected face of the duke, with his eyes closed, swollen in tears. With a gentle hoof, she placed it on his head.  “It’s okay, you will be alright.”  Dinky knew that those words were slightly out of context, but it was all she could think to say.

Apple Bloom then hopped on up to the bed and placed her hove over his body. “We’re sorry.” That was all the filly could say before his eyes opened. First, the look of fear was relayed. Then, it soon turned into anger. Before anypony could argue or say anything at all, a cloth wrapped over their mouths, gagging them so they could no longer speak. True, none of the fillies struggled; yes, they were afraid, but they did not struggle, for shame still filled their hearts.

Quickly, all four fillies were bound together by a rope, and then shoved into a bag. What is he doing to us? That question rang into their heads, again with fear, but without hate. It was dark, and there happened to be no turbulence due to the smooth relay of the duke’s magic. They had, after all, crossed the line, and now they were getting what they all deserved.

Blueblood walked down the hall. He had enough with ponies treating him like he was worth nothing. All he wanted was to be recognized and trusted, yet no matter what he did, there was always something around the corner to humiliate him. The can of lettuce was enough, though; it was a line that he tried to forget, and now he remembered.

Trotting down the hall, he made his way to the deck. There was only one proper course of action to do. He opened the final door leading to the deck and made his way to the emergency boats. He took the knapsack and placed it into the nearest life boat. Before he sent them off, though, he had a few words to say to the impish troublemakers.

Opening the sack, he cried out, “Do you know how long I have tried to be good? The proper representative that all dukes……” Blueblood soon found himself lost for words as he looked down at the small fillies in the sack. Why were there fillies in the sack? He looked at the four little ponies still in wonder; he had thought that it was the pesky mares that were made to purely make his life miserable. But no, the culprits were only but a few fillies.

As he looked into their eyes, what he saw was not fear, but sadness. Not for their own part, but for his. “What… what are you four doing?” whispered the stallion as he looked at the fillies. “Don’t you realize what I could have done?” he cried with tears in his eyes.  Even in his anger, he was not that cruel to abandon fillies in the ocean with no way to get home. What have I done? he thought to himself.  He could not do it, no matter how angry he was; he could not have his revenge. It’s not right.

Blueblood made up his mind, and was about ready to set the fillies free, when without warning, he was tackled by a brown lump. “That is my daughter, you monster!” shouted the brown stallion. “What the Tartarus were you thinking, you sick pony?” The stallion’s shouts attracted the whole of the deck, including Captain Smith, who was enjoying a break from his leadership duties.

With tears in his eyes, Blueblood tried to explain himself. “I...I...was going…” The harsh reality was that there was no excuse to his behavior; he had embarrassed himself once again, and not only that, but his aunts, as well.  He looked over to the four fillies and saw that they were being helped by a gray pegasus with a blonde mane and mismatched eyes.

The crowd that gathered around the commotion soon parted to make way for the captain. When the decorated stallion saw who the culprit was, he knew that this was going to be trouble. “Mr. Turner, what is happening here?”  asked the captain to the brown stallion.

Mr. Turner, as what Blueblood now knew, looked up at the captain and said, “This monster was going to through my daughter and her friends overboard!” In observation, Blueblood saw the captain look ever to the gray mare with the four fillies, who of which were still staring at him with sad eyes. Captain Smith then looked back at Blueblood with a demeanor of rage.

“Blueblood, I have warned you beforehand and now you have gone too far,” said the captain in an authoritative voice. Turning around the captain shouted, “Send him to the brig!” and, with that, he was gone.

A group of stallions and mares surrounded him; all were staff to his great ship. Being picked up by under his arms, he was dragged down to the lower decks of the ship to be confined. Before he went below deck, though, he took one last look at the fillies he had harmed. What they did to him was no justification to what he had done to them. He wanted to say sorry to them as he looked into their sad eyes. Even the upset glare from the gray mare had helped that desire, but before he could, the door closed, cutting him off from the rest of the world.