Chapters All Aboard Who's Coming Aboard!
Chapter 1
All Aboard Who's Coming Aboard
The tragedy of life is in what dies inside a man while he lives - the death of genuine feeling, the death of inspired response, the awareness that makes it possible to feel the pain or the glory of other men in yourself. ~Norman Cousins
"Twilight Sparkle” Shouted an announcer over a mic, as shouts of praise and shock of envy filled the room.
Twilight, who had entered a raffle just by joining in the party as part of the admission benefit. Was shocked, the raffle had been going on for the last few hours and many prizes were awarded to fortunate ponies. Then it came time to draw the final prize, or the grand prize.
Twilight had been thinking just to leave at this point but due to some persuading from Pinkie Pie, she stayed and watched as pony after pony were called to the stage to collect their prize. There were a verity of items to be earned, some were but not limited to: Toys of a large verity, VIP passes to assorted locations, like a free treat from the Cakes at Sugar Cube Corner a day for a month, and a all expense suit at Vacation at Canterlot Castle. The grand prize however, the one that Twilight just won, Was a All paid Cruse aboard the E.Q.S. Titanic, a Brand new ship that was going to launch in three weeks for it first voyage.
"Twilight dear, what are you waiting for? Go up and get your cruse commendations!" Said Rarity, who was standing next to twilight, in a hushed tone.
"gulp" gurgled Twilight as she made her way up to the stage, while on her way she could hear other ponies remarks as the whispered among themselves and some who vocalized their thoughts.
"Why does she always win? Doesn’t she have enough already?" said a voice that she could not identify.
"Way to go Twilight! You deserve it! Woo hoo!" shouted a voice that was all too familiar to her.
"Thank you spike" she thought
After a few more steps she finally made it to the stage. She climbed up the stage ramp and approached the Green coated and yellow maned Mare, who had hosted the raffle event. When she arrived at the side of the host she was awarded a certificate of trade for when she arrived at the dock to board her cruse, as well as a few papers that needed to be read and filled before the certificate was valid.
After what seemed to be hours of praise and contempt, she eventually made it back to her home. Looking up at the huge tree that stood before her she trotted up to the door that was located and the base of the tree. She quickly opened it and walked inside.
In a few minutes, all the doors were locked and she was ready to retire for the night. After all it was a long day where she was celebrating the 75 years of Ponyville's established days. The celebration was of course was organized by none other than Pinkie Pie, was in charge of using the funds given to the city by royal decree to have a Celebration. Pinkie being Pinkie even found a way to have a raffle with prizes that had a combined value that would make Mr. Rich seem middle class.
Twilight sat on her bed listening to spike snore. Smiling at her Assistant she went and tucked his blanket over him, the very blanket that the princess made for him. The purple unicorn the turned her attention to the certificate. One of the reasons why it took her so long to get home as because of all the harassment from ponies trying to get on her good side. It was like reliving the day when she got the grand galloping gala tickets. Shuddering at the thought, she read the inscription on the plaque.
"To the Entailed name above is given the right of passage aboard the E.Q.S. Titanic with 10 guests of her choice, and a discounted price of 250 bits per an additional pony"
She already know where the first 5 extra tickets were going to, but she could figure that out as time went by, then an idea struck her. "What if the Cutie Mark Crusaders wanted to go?" So with that she had 8 ponies chosen and 2 more to go.
With that thought she fell into a slumber that lasted the rest of the night.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK
Twilight Sparkle woke up to somepony knocking on the door, sitting up from her bed Twilight looked out the window seeing Celestia's sun rising up from the horizon. Then looking at her clock she and seeing that it is time to get up any way shouted out. "Spike could you get the door please!"
"Sure thing Twilight!" She heard the dragon say, as she heard footsteps head to the front door.
Twilight then got up and started to head down stairs. Starting to overhear the conversation that was at the door she could hear Spikes voice leak through the halls.
"Yep Twilight is hear I'll get her for you Time Turner." Said the dragon.
Twilight then turned the corner coming into sight of the purple dragon and the brown pony with the hour glass cutie mark. "It’s alright Spike, I'm here." she said to the dragon, then turning her head she put her focus on the visiting stallion. "How may I help you Time Turner?" When she said those she saw the look on his face drop slightly, as if he was not sure if he should do what he was about to do.
"Well miss sparkle, I'm here to ask you a favor and to see if it is convenient for us to work something out." Started Time Turner.
Twilight raised her eyebrow and responded. "Well, what is it that you need, and I'll do my best to help in what I can."
The brown stallion smiled. "I'm glad to hear you say that Ms. Sparkle."
"Please just call me twilight." Reprimanded the unicorn.
The earth pony continued his purposeful. "Alright Twilight, so as I was saying. I usually don't go around asking for favors like this, yet this is a special occasion. You see this is mine and Ditzy's first anniversary coming up. We have been saving for a vacation to spend as a family, and what we decided to do was go on a cruise. Now we have enough money for two tickets, which would seem ideal. The only problem is that we want our daughter Dinky to come with us as well. My point is Twilight is to ask if you would be willing to offer one of your tickets to Dinky so she could join us on this special occasion.
Twilight thought for a moment after He was done explaining his proposition, if you could call it that. Mainly wondering what her friend Rarity would do, she thought on what she could do to help him out the most. After a few moments of thinking she finally came to a decision which would put her mind at ease. "Time Turner, I'll do more than just give you one ticket. I have two extra tickets and I'll give you both, and on top of that I'll give you the Discount included and instead of paying 375 bits, for one ticket you will only have to pay 250 bits. Sound good to you?"
When she looked up at the Stallion she saw him crying. Not crying because he was hurt, but because he was over joyed at her generous response. "Thank you Twilight, I'll head home to let Ditzy know. Is there anything I can do to help you out?"
The only thing that Twilight could say is. "Just has fun, which is what it’s meant to be anyways." with that she showed him to the front door and sent him off to his family.
Closing the door Twilight smiled, the stress lifting off her shoulders. She had given all her tickets away, and now she no longer felt like a ticket master.
Chapter 2
Youtube Video
There She Is
Another day in Equestria, and the land looked as beautiful as ever, even extra excitement filled the land, especially in a train heading down to Manehattan, In that train were seated eleven familiar Ponies. In one group were: Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. In another group were three little fillies: Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetiebell.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat chatting excitedly exited for the adventures they were going to face. In another group sat a family of a all three pony factions: An Earth Pony with a brown coat named Time Turner, A Gray Pegasus with a blond mane and misaligned eyes named Ditzy, and a little unicorn filly who was looking over at the Crusaders with eager eyes, her name was Dinky.
Ditzy looked over to her daughter and noticed where the filly's attention was held, she could not help herself but to simile, a smile that was contagious it made Time Tuner smile as well. "Dinky" Said the blond Pegasus, causing the filly to turn to her.
"Yes mother, what is it?" said the little filly.
Ditzy looked at her daughter for a bit before she answered. "If you want to go and sit with the others you can, your dad and I will be fine."
Dinky looked over at her mother for a bit then turned to look at the other fillies, felling a bit nervous she turned herself back to her mother.
Ditzy looked at her daughter and noticed the obvious anxiety that was there, knowing the feeling all too well gave her a big hug. "Go ahead; I'll be here if you need me."
Some how her mother saying those words put comfort and bravery into her little heart and she hugged her mother tighter saying. "I love you Mommy." and with that let go and ran over to the Crusaders.
"I love you too my little Muffin" whispered Ditzy as she watched her little unicorn run over to the trio of friends.
Time Turner then spoke up. "She is something special isn't she" saying this with so much respect and admiration.
Ditzy hugged her husband replying "Yes she is, thanks for allowing her to join us. I know how much this means to her."
What Time Turner said next he said as tears fell down his face. "It's the least I can do; besides without her I would have never met you." With that said the couple just sat there, enjoying their time together.
Over to where the Crusaders were sitting, Dinky slowly made it to where they were sitting over hearing the conversation they were having.
"So what do you guys want to do, once we get there?" said the white unicorn who Dinky knew as Sweetiebell.
The Yellow earth pony then spoke up. "Ah don't know, ah know noth'in about ships."
"Ya but there are still things we can do, once we get there we should talk to the captain and see how he got his cutie mark...Oh hey Dinky, what’s up?" said the pegasus as the new unicorn approached.
"Well, I uh...Wanted to see what you guys are up too and to see if I could join you for a bit?" said Dinky quickly; making it obvious that it was hard for her. For a moment there was only silence as the three fillies looked at her, not in shock just in a state of not knowing what to say exactly. Then Apple Bloom spoke.
"Of course ya can join us! here take a seat by me."
Dinky went over by Apple Bloom and sat down by her still looking a little nervous. So Sweetiebell decided to help Dinky participate and feel welcome. "So what do you think Dinky, what should we do?"
"Talking to the captain sound like a good place to start." said Dinky who started to feel just a little more comfortable.
While Dinky was getting settled in with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, The six mares sat amongst each other talking and sharing the excitement. "This is going to be AWESOME!" shouted a cyan blue pegasus with a rainbow striped mane.
"You know sugar cube, you use that word allot. Don't you think It’s a might over excessive?" said Applejack.
A smug look comes over Rainbow's face. "Nope, because I'm Awesome!"
Applejack just rolled her eyes, and then put her attention on Twilight. "How long do you reckon that this here train ride is going to take Twi?"
"Of all the ponies here Applejack, you of all would know more than me. You have been to Manehattan before. I have not." said Twilight.
"Oh right" said Applejack with a slight blush of embarrassment, only slight though. "Its just been so long, I really can't remember but of the travel, sept for com'in home, that ride felt like days."
Rarity then put in her two bits. "Oh thank you so much Twilight for taking us with you" She said with an etiquette grace, but her excitement soon got the best of her. "This is just going to be fabulous! The Glamor of the new ship, oh my dear Twilight the Style is to die for, not to mention all the important ponies that will be there."
Rarity's excitement immediately took effect on Pinkie Pie, who was previously just sitting having a huge smile on her face. However Pinkie could no longer keep herself still. She jumped off her seat Cutting off Rarity's rant. "Oh boy the Titanic, the most humongous, huge, big largest ship ever built! Oh I'm so nervicited!" Pinkie Pie would have said more but Twilight cut her story short. Though that only happens once in a blue moon.
"I also heard that it is completely unsinkable, now I would love to see the schematics for that." was what the unicorn said.
"Sche-what now?...oh just never mind, I'm no good with egghead stuff." said Rainbow Dash as she tried to grasp what Twi had just said. "Could you speak Equestrian please."
Twilight gave a look to Rainbow as she simplified her last statement. "I mean I would like to see the blue prints on the ship."
"While I'll be, girls take a look here out the window." Said Applejack. "Ah see Manehattan."
They were so close to the grand city now; they did not even know how it managed to sneak up like that. The Aw-inspiring city took the breath from every pony on the train, for no matter how many times you visited you could not avoid the beautiful shock that the city creates in your heart.
The train rolled on to the station, where every pony got off and made their way Into taxi carts and all headed to the docks where there dream awaited. It got to the point where Scootaloo thought she saw a smoke stack from the ship from above one of the buildings. With that, Dash decided to pick her up and fly her up so they could have a sky view. Soon the Carts came into view of the Ship Titanic.
"Whoo-Wee, there she is gals, that is one Haystack of a ship right there!" exclaimed Applejack.
After Twilight was done admiring the grand scene before her, she looked up there where Rainbow and Scootaloo where hovering. "Hey Rainbow Dash, I could use your help with our luggage." She yelled up to her loyal friend. Waiting for a response she soon came to realize that the two airborne pegasi were too mesmerized to have heard her. So she then turned to Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie do you think you could help me get Dash's attent...?"
"Roooawww! " The sound had come out of the party pony's mouth as soon as Twilight had asked for her help.
The roar had done the trick for Rainbow froze where she was, unlike last time though she did not panic, but just looked at the pink pony and said. "Really Pinkie? Really?"
"Twilight needs your help!" was all pinky said in a sing song voice.
"Oh right, sorry Twilight" said Rainbow as she landed and set Scootaloo down. "It's just seeing the ship from the air is just Awesome! It looks like a floating city from up there!"
"It's OK Dash, we all are exited, let’s just make our way over so we can board." said Twilight with a smile.
With that said. The crew of twelve ponies collected the belongings and headed over to the docking station. Along their way the chatter of their excitement was soon interrupted by a sudden presence of a Royal Carriage.
Given the parties position, they all had a clear view of the upcoming charade; unfortunately they were also in view of what was to come.
The door of the carriage was opened by a usher, once the door was open and a set of steps slid out a voice range out that sent a feeling of annoyance down everyone spine.
"No red carpet? I am not about to have my royal hooves trod on common peasant ground." Stated a self absorbed voice that Rarity know all too well.
"Oh no! it can't be, quick girls hide me!" said the white unicorn in a panic, who then moved behind Fluttershy and Twilight. Fluttershy then let out a small squeak from Rarity's sudden episode of dramatics.
"Rarity, what’s wrong?" asked Twilight in concern.
"It’s him!" Whispered the fashion designer in detest.
All other eleven ponies chimed in unison, "him?"
Rarity looked up at all her friends. "Yes, him, that sorry excuse of a prince that does not even know how to treat a lady."
"Oh" they all said as they looked back to Prince Blueblood's carriage a steward role a red carpet up to the carriage. Stepping out he looked over to the group of ponies. After eying them he gave a detestfull look. and continued walking up to the Ship and soon boarded.
"Well we can see why you don't like him" said Rainbow Dash "He is as uncool as....Well I don't know, I don't hang around uncool things." this got a small snicker from all her friends.
The Party then excitedly went to the Admission center where Twilight then redeemed her Tickets, and then were admitted into the Ship and were shown to their Suits. As they were moving about the ship on the tour, they could only admire the Beautiful elegance that the ship held. The High Glass Dome over the Salon Stairway, the purl white walls laced with majestic ribbons that even Rarity complemented on the style.
Eventually the tour ended every pony settled into their separate rooms where they were staying for the duration of the voyage. Twilight, who was pared with Rarity, was in her room organizing everything as she unpacked. Rarity had gone out to walk around the ship some more, she remembered her saying something to the fact that she wanted to go and examine the paintings that were hung in the corridors of the ship.
Twilight was just about ready to finish making her bed when Rarity burst through the doors ecstatically and in tears, catching Twilight by surprise causing her to drop the pillow she was holding.
"Rarity, what’s wrong" the lavender unicorn said, hoping that line did not have to be used again.
Rarity held in her cries so she could quickly explain to twilight what had happened. "I was Admiring a particularly excellent piece of work, when Prince Blueblood showed up. He recognized me immediately and started to pester me about being in the first class section. I proceeded to tell him that I was a First class guest, he then asked for me ticket. You see Twilight I had no choice, but to give it to him. He took it and said I probably stole it from somepony and then said he would be generous and give me a spot down in the third class unit!
Twilight, who only caught a little bit was confused. "um...Rarity, could you explain a little simpler?
Rarity took a deep breath and then shouted. "Blueblood demoted me down to third class!" Once this was said She broke back down into her sobs.
Chapter 3
Lost In Class
Chaos had spread into the group of friends within minutes as Rarity was torn away from them. The worst part is that there was not that much they could do about it, Twilight had even done something she promised herself that she would never do. She tried to pull rank by declaring to be the princess's personal student. That attempt was in vain for the workers had their doubts about her claim, and even if they did believe they were ordered by a prince let alone the owner of the ship. Twilight would have to go to the prince personally. However when she searched for him he was nowhere to be found. By the time she returned to her suit, Rarity was gone.
Twilight, in tears at that moment, overwhelmed by the failure she went through. It was not until the rest of her friends had come that her feelings were tamed. However it still took time because even though failing her friend had been a huge blow to her emotions, watching her friends’ reaction had hurt her worse.
Rainbow dash attempted to fly out and demand Rarity's release to the nearest steward, only to be held back by Applejack (Who was the only one able to hunker down Rainbow whenever she went into a rage.) then explained what twilight had said about the stewards only fallowing orders and would have to convince their boss otherwise who had happened to be the prince. Applejack then had to wrestle Dash down before she could fly out and hunt down the prince so she could kick where his royal rump to where it belonged.
Pinkie Pie whose mane was usually puffy had gone flat and gray, unable to eat her cupcake which she had picked up at the cafeteria. The sad thing with the pink pony was the there was more that one emotion in her eyes. She was sad yes, but she had a look in your eyes that made you keep you distance, a look that told you to not get in the way, the look of hostile determination.
Applejack seemed to be handling it well, yet she was always a terrible lair so if you looked close you could see the look of hate in her eyes, something which Twilight had never seen before, not once not ever, at least until now. It was all that the earth pony could do to tame the rainbow pegasus, yet her emotions wanted to do much the same and much worse as to her flying friend.
Then there was Fluttershy. Twilight knew better that to upset the shy mare due to the fear of what it could do to the poor pegasus. Even though she had watched Fluttershy stare down a dragon and come through with absolute bravery in many other occasions. What Twilight saw nearly broke her heart worse than that failing her fashonista friend. Fluttershy was sitting on the ground hooves on her face; the worst part was that she was shaking. Shaking do to some concern of what would happen to Rarity, but mostly from the inner most frightening desire to make whatever Evil that had done this to suffer and be put out of their misery. That emotion was too much for Fluttershy to handle and caused her to go into the deep recess of her mind, locking everything out.
This vacation was not starting as well as they had hoped.
In about ten minutes Applejack managed to calm Rainbow down and headed towards Twilight to talk to her. At this time the unicorn had shuffled out most of her emotions into her tears, so when Applejack made it to Twilight it was a easier than what the cowpony expected.
Pinkie Pie pretty much calmed down by herself, then decided to store the cupcake and give it to Rarity when they finally got her back to the right section of the ship. It was Fluttershy who needed to more time to get her nerves back in order. It took all her friends that were present to break her back into reality, It was when Rainbow went down and smacked a hoof on Fluttershy's face when the yellow pegasus turned around and put Rainbow into such a deadly head lock that the cyan athlete's face started to turn purple, as purple as the bit of color in Rainbows mane.
Applejack trying to pry the Element of Kindness of her friend, Fluttershy's eyes focused back into reality and instantly realized what was going. Immediately releasing Dash from her grip she cried out "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry; I don't know what came over me." Fluttershy's hostility becoming replaced by guilt and fear simultaneously.
Rainbow Dash gasping for breath, gained control back and interrupted Fluttershy's stream of apologies. "It's OK Fluttershy, I forgive you it’s cool."
"Oh, but it isn't Rainbow, I could of hurt you real-" Fluttershy's next words were cut short by Rainbow herself
"Fluttershy, I said its OK, can you please chill now! Please," said Rainbow nearly yelling but keeping a tone of desperation, thus running the yellow pegasus into silence.
After a few moments Fluttershy finally managed to speak, "oh...ok if that is what you want"
Applejack then turned to Twilight and spoke, "So Twi, how to we plan to get Rarity back up here? Ah mean it’s not like she's of the ship. We can still get her back, It ain't right what the prince's done, and there is more we can to to help then just get'n worked up about it ether."
"When Rarity first came to me she said that Blueblood took her ticket from her. I know i can convince him to let her back with us, and it’s not like we can't go down there in the first place to visit her ether. If I just knew where to find him I could of prevented this mess from happening," stated Twilight.
"Well then we just need to keep hunting for Blueblood" Cheered Rainbow with a loyal timbre.
Twilight smiled at Rainbow as she was filled with an inspired idea, "OK Pinkie, Fluttershy: could you head down to the third class section and find Rarity, let her know that we are working on getting her back up here?"
"Ooh it would be just like Hid 'n Seek!" exclaimed Pinkie and she stretched her hoof farther than natural and grabbed Fluttershy pulling her into a buddy hug. "We are on it!" and with that Pinkie zipped out of the room pulling Fluttershy with her.
All that could be heard for the shy mare was a soft "oh my."
"Twilight what about us?" asked Rainbow in a slight confusion.
Twilight smiled mischievously, "Why, we go find the prince of course"
The floor was cold, only made of solid metal tiles; occasionally a soft mated rug would cover the bland surface to help keep the third class patrons at least a bit comfortable. On one of the Rugs was a regal white unicorn with a carefully styled violate mane, her cutie mark being a pattern of three diamonds. If one would to look closely they would have noticed the residue of tears staining her elegant complexion. The only other residue of her previous episode was the look on her face as she kept herself deep in thought.
All she was doing as admiring the art that the ship had set up for the pleasure and enjoyment of the guests, She was marveling at a painting of a marvelous white unicorn stallion dancing with a beautiful pink pegasus mare. The stallion had a cutie mark of a top hat with a cane crossing in front of it. The mare’s cutie mark was covered by a dress that in Rarity's opinion was completely inspiring, so much so that she began to come up with a new dress design.
In her thinking she was interrupted by a snooty voice that she instantly reconciled.
"A shame that such a respected unicorn would have fallen in love with a pegasus ," said Blueblood putting a distasteful emphasis on the last word.
Rarity could not hold it in but to defend the painting and the history behind it. "You do realize that it is really not that different then the companionship of your cousin." said Rarity turning around to face her bane. When she locked eyes with the prince, the look of shock on his face told her that he was not expecting the mare in front of him to be her of all ponies.
Blueblood stood there for a few seconds in shock as memories flooded into his head of their last encounter. He could not simply believe that the mare he got caught in his sights would happen to be the very pony that humiliated him in front of his court. At first Blueblood looked scared to even be near her, then his look of fright soon dissolved into a malicious look fueled only by the desire of revenge.
Rarity shuddered at the memory of his sinister sneer as he started his ploy to demote her down to third class, taking her ticket and summoning the stewards to do his bidding. The stewards did not want to do what they had to do, but it was their job; Rarity could not really blame them, after all they did look sad doing the task.
Having ran to her room in desperation to inform Twilight of her predicament. Twilight being a good friend immediately comforted Rarity, promising her that she would do whatever it takes to prevent her from going down into third class. Then the stewards showed up to escort her down to the lower section of the ship. Twilight had tried her best to convince the stewards, but eventually concluded that she would have to approach Blueblood directly. Twilight immediately ran off, telling the stewards and Rarity to wait there. after the few minutes the stewards informed Rarity that they were asked to immediately escort her to third class with no delays, they also said that they had other duties which were to be attended to.
Rarity, being convinced that when her friends convinced Blueblood to change his mind, she will be welcome to return. In defeat Rarity fallowed the Stewards down to the lower section. The Steward who was in charge had been very kind: not that the other was not; he was just too quiet to really get to know very well. Rarity soon found out that the lead Stewards name was Golden Grand, and the other steward's name being Soft Base.
Her first reaction to the lower section was shocking even to the point that she passed out. When she awoke the two stewards were over her helping her up making sure that she would be alright. After thanking Mr. Grand and Mr. Base, they gave there farewells and best wishes and departed to the rest of their duties.
Once the Mr. Grand and Mr. Base where out of sight, only then did Rarity bring in the courage to look around the room she was brought into. The floor was cold and gray, and patches of rugs were laid about to bring comfort to its inhabitants. There were stacks of hay in the corners of the huge room. The stewards had shown her where her room was but she did not quit want to go in yet. She walked over to the nearest rug and sat, then allowed her emotions drain from her began to cry until she could cry no more but only think on what had transpired.
"Miss, alright if I sit next to you?" asked a voice that Rarity could not recognize, though it definitely was a stallion. The unicorn looked up to see an earth pony; he was a dark brown stallion with a black mane, his face was completely covered in soot that seemed to originate from coal.
Not wanting to be rude she hesitantly nodded her head. The stallion walked over and sat down by her, but not too closes for he was smart enough to know that Rarity was a lady and would not like to get her hooves dirty unless it was absolutely necessary. "My name is Bridle Barret, what's yours?"
Rarity looked up at the Mr. Barret and took his image in before she answered, despite the rough appearance he had, he sounded like a charming pony. His voice was smooth and soft, yet he looked about as big as Applejack's brother Big Mac. His cutie mark that she noticed was a Shovel and Pick. "My name is Rarity, nice to meet you Mr. Barret."
Barret smiled at the unicorn, "Oh you can just call me Bridle that is what my friends call me anyway, so what brings such a remarkable unicorn like you down to this section of the ship? Surly you belong up in the more remarkable part."
"I do belong up there, just a unfortunate misunderstanding lead me down here, it’s a long story though," said Rarity who was still looking over the stallion, she also noticed that he was wearing a heavy black apron.
"I'm off until the next shift, my job today was only to light and fuel the engine to get the ship moving now that the ship is on its way, I don't have to work until tonight. So we do have some time for a story if you want to share." he stated with a warm smile.
"Well if you insist." said Rarity, who for some reason trusted this kind soul. She then went on to explain her encounter with the prince and rambled on to the point where she was escorted down. She ended the story at the point where he had walked up to her. "And the rest you know." she finished giving him a look.
What the Stallion said next surprised her. "The prince was way over his bounds: you had the ticket, prince or no prince, owner or no owner, he has no power to do what he did to you."
Rarity looked down to the grey carpet trying to digest what the stallion just said to her. "What makes you say that?" she finally managed to say.
"The Prince may own the ship as well being a royal, but only the captain can demote passengers as needed. Last I checked the Prince was not the captain." said the Bridle with confidence.
Rarity thought this over, it made sense though there was only one flaw. "So why did the stewards do what he asked, instead of putting him in his place?" said Rarity. "That is if he had no power to command them."
"They were probably trying to respect his position as a prince of Equestria, and did not want to upset the balance of nobility and citizen." replied Bridle. "Though I don't know for sure as to why, tell you what I'll go to my supervisors and help them get the captains attention about this."
Holding in her excitement for the help she was receiving she only managed to say, "thank you Bridle, I would much appreciate the assistance."
"No problem happy to help, I have to go take care of something, so take care alright." With that he got up and made his way out the corridor and out of sight.
Before she could do some more reflection on what had happened to her she was suddenly tackled by a pink mass. "OH Rarity we found you! Are you OK? What about your mane did it get messed up? did somepony hurt you?, Oh just wait until we get you back up there, I have a cupcake for you, well it was for me but when i heard what happened I put it aside and saved it for you?" rambled on Pinkie Pie who would of kept talking if she did not see Rarity's face turning red due to her tight hug, lets just say that Pinkie let go of Rarity so her friend could breath.
"Rarity, I'm happy that you’re not hurt, unless if you are hurt then that is not good" said a soft voice behind Pinkie.
Rarity finally noticed that Fluttershy was with Pinkie, "Don't get me wrong girls, but why are you down here?" said Rarity slightly phrasing her question wrong.
"To find you silly, why ells would we come down here,” replied Pinkie. "As to how we are down here is because our First Class passes allow full access to most of the ship."
"Some how Pinkie just knows things" thought Rarity to herself. "So I'm able to go back up now?" Hoping that they were down there to get her up to first class, and not to just keep her company, though she would not mind the company if otherwise.
"Nope, we are here to have fun with you until Twilight can hunt down the prince so Rainbow Dash can send his royal rump to where it belongs." Said Pinkie in her usual cheerful voice. "So what are you going to do now Rarity."
"I was just about to go check out my new room; hopefully it won’t be as bad as it is out here."
Pinkie Pie started bouncing up and down. "OK let’s go!" she said as she started bouncing towards Rarity's room.
Rarity shook her head, how does she know these things?" she thought to herself, then followed the party pony to her new, but hopefully temporary room.
"Come on Twilight I'm sure if we find the captain we could locate the 'prince of uncool' faster!" argued Rainbow Dash.
Twilight at this point was slightly annoyed at Rainbows nagging replied, "Rainbow I told you already, the caption is much too busy managing the boat to deal with our problems."
"But Twilight, he is also in charge of making sure that the needs of his passengers are met, and our needs are not even close to that!" said Rainbow "besides I think that the Captain is our best resource of help."
Twilight had to think about this, her friend was right. The captain was there best resource, it was also his job to make sure that things went smoothly, but he is also In charge of maintaining the course of the trip, he probably is really busy and can't help. "I'm sorry, but right now the captain-” Her statement was suddenly cut short as she ran right into another pony when they turned the corner. "Oh I'm sorry are you alright...captain?"
Twilight took a look at the Stallion that she ran into, he was dressed in a deep blue Jacket and was wearing a cap that only a Captain would be wearing. He was a white unicorn with a white mane, his cutie mark being a ships steering wheel. His eyes were a piercing blue that matched his uniform. The Stallion she had just run into was the legendary Captain Helm Smith.
"It's quite alright my dear, no harm was done." said the captain, who's voice was similar to the voice of Rarity's friend Fancy Pants. "My name is Helm Smith, and who do I have the pleasure of meeting this afternoon?"
Twilight who began to blush at the sudden convenience of the Captain being in front of her. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, nice to meet you Captain Smith."
The Captain smiled, "Likewise," he said then diverted his attention to the two other mares that were with her. "And who might you young mares be?"
The Captains smile soon came to be a look of shock as he soon found his hoof being shaken vigorously "How do ya do captain? names Applejack and it’s a pleasure of meeting you acquaintance"
Once Applejack let go his hoof the captain regained his smile and was about ready to speak to the rainbow maned pegasus, when he was interrupted by that very mare. "And my name is Rainbow Dash, the fastest flier in all of Equestria."
"My, my… what confidences" was all the captain could say to Rainbow Dash's ego. "So I heard my name before I ran into you guys, quite literally too I'm afraid."
"Well you see captain, we have a friend who was wrongly sent to third class and we would like her to be back with us." said Twilight quickly cutting to the chase.
The captain frowned, "Your friend doesn't happen to be a mare named Rarity," he asked expecting the answer to be an affirmative.
"Why yes, that is her name." said Twilight who for some reason started getting a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Ah, well I see" Said Captain Smith. Then he started to explain how he got a message from one of his crew members on how there was a lady who was wrongly sent down to the engine Suits, that it was not even third class, but the suits where the Engine workers lived. He also informed the three mares that he was on his way down to pick up the mare and bring her back up to her original suit himself.
The pit that was forming in Twilight's Stomach was soon tamed as she realized that the captain was not frowning for a reason of lack of power, but of embarrassment that something like this could happen. "So could we help you go down to get her? We already have a few friends down there to keep her company."
The captain smiled, "of course you can accompany me, and you are her friends of course. Good friends at that, to be defending her so." and with that the captain turned and started walking down the hall. "Come with me please."
As the captain and the three mares were walking down the Halls of the great ship when they came across a couple of stewards who were traveling in the same direction, as the Stewards came closer they noticed the captain and they ran toward him with concern in their eyes. As the captain stopped and talked to them It came apparent that their names were Mr. Grand and Mr. Base. They went on to explain to the captain about Rarity's problem and how they were directed by the prince to bring Rarity to the engine suits so she could work to pay for her crimes.
The captain then explained to the stewards that the prince lied to them and that Rarity was Innocent of any crime on the ship. He also informed them that they are safe from any punishment, and also directed them to inform the rest of the staff to not take any strange orders from the prince until they consoled with the captain. Once the Captain was done giving instruction to the stewards he sent them off.
"Just wait until I get my hooves on Blueblood, I'll teach him to order my crew on my ship!" said the captain with an obvious dislike towards the prince. "He thinks that just because he is closely related to the Princesses that he can boss everypony around him."
The three mares decided to let the captain vent and not reply to his words, besides they all liked the idea of the captain giving a firsthand lesson in public etiquette.
Soon they were walking through the halls of the Second class which looked nice. The walls were still white and clean and the doors were still plated with gold for the room numbers, as they walked past they saw pony's walking about and enjoying their stay on the ship.
Then they made it to third class, least to say it was not as bad as Twilight was suspecting parts of the walls were chipping paint and the doors had wooden numbers to designate their position. All in all the third class section was not terribly bad.
The shock came when they made it to the engine suits, where the white walls were replaced with metal beams and a cold floor. The only place that was welcoming there, were the white doors where the bedrooms were located. Twilight began to wonder were Rarity would be staying, but soon Pinkies giggles and laughter rolled through one of the Room's.
"She's in there!" shouted Twilight as she ran to the door and opened it to find Fluttershy sitting down on a bench in a tightly packed room. Pinkie was jumping on one of the beds, while rarity was reading a book she had brought with her. Before Rarity could look up to see who had walked in she was Held in a Gentle embrace and Twilight hugged her.
"I'm so sorry Rarity I should have never let them take you down here!" Said Twilight
Rarity getting over her shock once again replied, "It's OK Twilight, the Captain should be aware of my situation and I should be able to go back up in a bit."
Twilight broke out of her hug and looked at her friend in the eye; "The Captain is aware and we walked down with him to get you!" said Twilight who sounded a bit too excited.
That was when Rarity saw the Captain, and her shock returned to her as she stuttered out the following words. "Th-the Ca-ca-captain is in... my room! " she shouted the last bit that all the ponies in the room had to cover their ears as all the workers started to worry that the ship might be haunted.
After a chuckle the captain managed to say, "Yes, I'm here. I thought it best that I personally see to your comfort after being so poorly treated." He then turned his attention to all the mares, "To make up for it, how would you like to dine in with me for Dinner tonight? With all who are in your Company that is."
Rarity's Squeal of Glee made it apparent that she was not about to refuse a chance to dine with the Captain.
Chapter Five
Perspective
The first two days had gone well with Dinky and her family, from the first night where they stayed in their family dorm playing and laughing, to being out on the deck looking out over the ocean. It was on the beginning of the third day where Dinky realized something, though she was young she understood perfectly what an anniversary was and how important it is to her parents. Upon this realization she could not help but feel bad for being in the way of her parents celebration, then she started to feel like she was not meant to be there.
"Dinky is something the matter?" said a voice, a voice that belonged to time turner. It was breakfast time and the whole turner family were around their private table waiting for their meal to arrive. The dining section of their suit was fabulous as usual, the walls were of a cream color that you could find in a pearl, yet were laced with a beautiful velvet cloth that gave the scene a spectacular glow. The table they were sitting at was a dark mahogany table with designs of flowers and swirls on the edge, it was also covered by a beautiful white mesh table cloth that matched the white ceiling of the room.
Dinky shook herself from her thoughts, "I'm fine, why do you ask?" lied the small unicorn. She knew she should of told her parents right then and there, but yet, she could not for it would destroy her parents hope on enjoying their time together.
"Oh Dinky, you just looked a little gloomy this morning," said Ditzy in concern, "you are usually not this quiet so we felt it best to see if you are alright."
Dinky forced out a simile that she, herself knew was facade, "I'm alright, just a little hungry I guess. Once I get some food in me, I'm sure I'll feel better," she lied again. However her parents just looked at each other, then back at her like they knew that something was wrong. Before they could open their mouths there came a knock on their door.
Time Turner got up and walked over to the door to let their guests in, "Hello Mr. Turner, how are ya today?" said a cute young voice, a voice in which Dinky recognized instantly.
"I am doing good, and how are you three doing today?" asked the brown earth pony in reply.
The conversation at the door continued as Dinky's dad let their guests in. The only thing that Dinky could do was give herself a face hoof, how could she forget that Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell, and Scootaloo were coming over for breakfast that morning. The day before, Ditzy and Mr. Turner saw Dinky with her friends and having fun, so when it came time to send the little unicorn to bed they came up with the idea to invite the others for breakfast in the morning.
"Hey Dinky, what's up?" said an orange pegasus as the dare devil entered the room. She made her way over to Dinky and sat down right beside her, soon followed by the other two fillies.
"Nothing much, just waiting for breakfast, and you guys," said Dinky trying to hide her lack of memory.
"Sweetie Bell, did you remember our gift?" asked the orange filly turning her attention to her white unicorn friend.
Sweetie Bell smiled and nodded her head. Dinky looked from Scootaloo to Sweetie Bell for a time period of three seconds. "What gift?" was all she could say in her curiosity.
"Oh you will find out soon enough" said the Crusaders in unison, having their spontaneous halos appear over their heads.
A moment of silence came over the four fillies. Dinky really did not know what to think, the halo’s over her new friends heads were either a good sign, or a bad sign.
At that moment another knock rang out from the suit’s door, and within moments Time Turner had let in the kitchen staff and let them do their work on serving the meal onto the table. It was a rather plain meal, due to Ditzys request, but all the same it smelled delicious. There was daisies for the appetizer, an appetizer for breakfast who knew. Then the main course of a side of cheesy eggs and Hot lemon blueberry muffins, which again, was an insisted request from Ditzy. The smell of the food was so rich that all six ponies found themselves enjoying the fine meal, the meal that started the day ahead.
The group soon finished their meal and Ditzys parents soon let the fillies to their own endeavors. I sure hope they don’t get into any trouble , thought Ditzy as she left the suit with Time Turner at her side, who was occupied with the same thoughts as his wife. They were well aware of the Crusaders’ knack for getting into all sorts of mischief, but they had agreed that for Dinky’s best interests to not let their reputation get in the way of potential friendship.
The Crusaders watched as Dinky’s parents left, and once the door was closed Dinky soon found that Sweetie Bell had zoomed over to the light switch and turned out the lights. In an instant she also found that the Table was cleared of any sign of the meal they just ate, and in the center where four candles, three of which were lit while the fourth lacked flame.
“Ech hea hem,” came the sound from Apple Bloom’s mouth, who was sitting at the other end of the table as Dinky. “By rule seventy three of the new guide of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, we assemble to this here meeting to recognize and correlate the referrals of potential fellow crusaders. Today we have only one submission that we would like to recognize” Said the farm filly with an authoritative tone that put excitement in Dinky’s heart.
Dinky then witnessed Sweetie Bell appear by Apple Bloom, holding a small index card. The white unicorn then began to speak, “We recognize the note of admittance to one Dinky Doo, and now open this hearing for the coronation as such.” with that said Sweetie Bell disappeared into the darkness. In a moment the lights turned on, while the candles that were lit, and she found all three of the crusaders at the head of the table, looking at her. Then Scootaloo spoke up, “Dinky, though you name was submitted for recommendation, we still need to hear to what you say,” the pegasus then flinched upon hearing the words she just spoke. Turning to the other Crusaders she said in a whisper that Dinky could still hear, “We really should rewrite that last phrase,” she then turned her attention back to Dinky. “You may now speak,” she said, still flinching to her words.
Dinky could hardly believe what she was hearing, the crusaders actually wanted her in their club. She sat there in her thoughts of excitement and surprise, failing to notice the look of concern on the other fillies faces when she failed to respond quickly. “So much for getting this done quickly” whispered Scootaloo to her other two comrades.
The little lavender Unicorn still heard the pegasus though, and broke out of her thoughts. “Oh sorry,” said Dinky feeling her cheeks turn red from embarrassment, “Of course, I would love to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders ” Clasping her hooves over her mouth, realizing that she let her excitement get the best of her, she looked at the crusaders and found them smiling at her.
Sweetie Bell then made her way towards the other unicorn and pulled out of nowhere a Cape of bright red color with a blue shield in center. Within the shield was a filly in a pose that stated, ‘ready for adventure! , she then saw a glimpse of the under side of the cape and saw what looked like pure gold. “We then present to unto you this official cape of the Cutie Mark Crusaders,” upon saying those words, Dinky saw Scootaloo flinch again, and agreed with her that the coronation ceremony needed to be reworded.
Dinky felt the cool warmth of the cape shroud her back side as Sweetie Bell placed it on her. Then Apple Bloom began to speak again as the lights were suddenly turned off again, leaving Apple Bloom and Dinky in the dim light of the candles. “Then we the Cutie Mark Crusaders extend the oath of the Cutie Mark, Please repeat after me.” Apple Bloom looked over to the Unicorn, and waited for the nod of recognition. Upon receiving an understanding she started the oath, “I Dinky” she said, and then continued once she heard the echo from Dinky’s voice. “Do promise, to search diligently for my cutie mark, and assist others in the quest of life. Show kindness, generosity, loyalty to our fellow ponies. To stay honest so that we may find our path sooner than later, and fill our adventures with laughter. I seal this oath with the great pinkie promise, I cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye” The oath was said, with the proper actions at the end.
“Dinky, we hereby declare you an official Cutie Mark Crusader.” with that said, Apple Bloom took a deep breath and blew out the three candles. Once the lights turned on Apple Bloom saw a look of confusion on Dinky’s face. “Is there something wrong Dinky” she asked in concern.
Dinky blinked herself out of confusion, “Ya. I just thought you were going to light the other candle,”said Dinky, who was after all a logical unicorn.
Apple Bloom smiled, “About that, ya see we were taking lessons from Pinkie Pie since we were utilizing her signature promise in the oath. One of the rules she gave us was to always do something unexpected. So we blew out the three candles instead of lighting the fourth. I suggest to not over analyze it, it will only draw ya to false conclusions.” she explained.
“Also one of the rules was that if we ever held a coronation on a ship, the new member had to kiss a fish, but we decided to skip that part.” chimed in Sweetie Bell.
“So what do we do now?” asked Dinky, who glad that she did not have to kiss a fish.
The other Three Crusaders smiled, “We will explain on the way, come on lets go.” said Scootaloo. With that said, the four fillies left the suit, and continued onward into their next adventure.
It was obvious to the four fillies that the staff on the ship were working hard to please their guests. For the halls were just as clean and shined with as much glamor as the first day. Despite all the beauty that surrounded the four fillies, they still found themselves lost in their own words. They had been walking the halls of the great ship for the past ten minutes trying to figure out how they could get back at the so called prince. Dinky found herself deep in thought, is it right to get a mild revenge on the prince? . That question kept running through her head like a burnt muffin with too much soy sauce on it.
“What if we use a bucket full of fish, and hang it above his door, and-” Scootaloo was interrupted by a cold stare from Sweet Bell.
“You said that before, and how are we supposed to get the fish?” Said the unicorn drily, she was getting tired of running into the same Ideas, it drove her insane. “Before we start trying to plan on what we are going to do, we probably should figure out what drives him crazy the most.”
“I know what we could do!” exclaimed Apple Bloom excitedly, “When my sister came home from the gala, she told us that Rarity’s date had tried to eat Apple Jacks famous fritters. He spat it out and said something to the fact of..um..oh ya that's right.” Clearing her throat she began to speak in a voice that greatly resembled the pompous prince. “My royal lips have touched commoner carnival fair,” her face turned into a scowl and then she spoke normally again. “What in tarnations is that supposed to mean?” muttered the filly.
“So what are you trying to tell us Apple Bloom?” said Scootaloo flatly, still a bit offended that all her suggestions were rejected.
The farmer filly smiled, “ah'm saying that if he does not like plain food, then why don’t we just switch out his meal,” Apple Bloom said with a slight chuckle, “if we can switch out his food with common food, then surely that will get him enough.”
Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo put their hooves to their chins as if they were thinking over Apple Blooms proposal. Sweetie Bell then looked over to Dinky and asked, “What do you think Dinky, what do you want to do.”
Dinky smiled, “I think we should go with it, its simple and usually the simple things get the most out of ponies.”
“Then its settled, we shall go and switch out his food.” said Scootaloo, who then face hoofed. Great, now I sound like Luna , she thought in distaste. The orange filly then let out a look of disarray. “Just one question, how are we supposed to switch out his dinner? We don’t even know where the kitchen is.”
“Oh that's easy, its just down the way from the dining hall.” said Dinky cheerfully, “follow me,” and with that she started walking down the hall toward the dining hall. The three fillies looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders, and moved to follow their newest companion.
“So how do ya know where the kitchen is?” asked Apple Bloom to Dinky Doo. She had just caught up with Dinky and still was in question on how she knew where the kitchen was.
“I was there when my mom requested the special order of muffins, she was lead to the kitchen so she could move her request to the head chief. You know he really is a nice guy, I can’t wait for you to meet him.” With that said the four fillies turned the corner and walked over to the location of the dining hall. Dinky stopped by a door just across from the way and knocked, after a while the door opened revealing a pony in a white apron.
“Why hello Dinky, how are you doing today” she said with a smile once she saw her little filly friend.
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.
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.