Daring Do and Trixie and the Armband of the Coatl

Three days. For three days the crew of the Prometheus followed the ferry out to sea. There was no doubt Ahuizotl knew they were following close behind. Anypony on the deck would be able to see the hulking airship following them.

On the Prometheus, Trixie was hard at work on studying her fathers journal. Well, more like rereading it. The truth was she'd memorized the leather bound journal years ago and could see the pages in perfect detail in her sleep. It was nighttime and well past the midnight hour going into the third day and Trixie hardly said a word the entire time.

Obsessive? Yes, but it made her happy. Daring watched the blue mare study her fathers journal from her bed inside one of the guest bedrooms on the Prometheus. It was a simple room. Wooden floors with steel walls and ceiling, two beds on either side of the room and the door between them. At the head of the room opposite of the door was a desk with a window to the outside. The desk was a dark wood and had a single candle lighting the area, and Trixie was hunched over the desk with some reading glasses on and her hair tied back in a ponytail.

Daring just watched her read and taking notes for over an hour before she decided to see what the mare was doing. She did a few quick stretches and flexed her wings then with a few flaps she lifted off the bed and hovered over Trixie. The mare was scribbling a note down then stopped hearing her pegasus roommate hovering over her.

She paused placing the pen down and lit her horn again to lift a nearby pillow over the golden mare. Not noticing it, being too interested in what the unicorn wrote, Daring never saw the pillow loom over her with ill intent. There was a loud PHOMP! as the pillow struck down on her head making her look around wildly to see a pillow over her head. She flipped over to he side of the room just as the pillow struck again but missing her completely, Instead it hit Trixie in the face. A cloud of feathers flutter helplessly to the ground and the pillow slipped off revealing a feather cover faves with an angry scowl.

The blue mare glared at her friend who snickered at the sight.

"Oh, Har har, laugh it up while you can, Daring."

The pony in question slid down the wall and onto the bed her favorite hat falling to the floor. She grinned playfully at Trixie who gave her a confused look. "What?" the blue mare asked.

Daring looked at Trixie with a dumb look, specifically her eyes. "You have very pretty eyes Trixie. Has anypony told you that?"

"What? No! Why are you saying such things dummy?!" she asked flustered by the compliment.

Daring got a playful grin jumping on Trixie when she was too flustered to pay attention to what was going on around her.

The two laughed and continued their bout until they were to exhausted to continue. They fell back on their beds and panted the room littered with pillow feathers. For several minutes they just laid in bed staring at the ceiling of the metal hull. Outside the moon shined brightly over the open ocean.

The sight was beautiful. And both mares couldn't help but be captivated by the sight. With no lights to tarnish the view, the moon slight was at full power to mesmerize all who looked upon it with wonder.

They watched as the ship flew in pursuit of the ferry where Ahuizotl was. The one bad thing about this airship was it wasn't much faster than a yacht. It was an impressive ship but had little engine power to move its hulking mass. The the captain, Skyhook was very proud of her ship and commanded it with extreme care. She deeply cared for the ship and her crew.

Trixie loved the view of the ocean. Despite never being able to fly she always got a kick out of flying. She'd never speak of it openly but to her, flying was the ultimate freedom. She wished she was born a pegasus.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Daring sat beside her and wrapped her wings around her, like a coat.

"What's wrong, Trixie?" she asked her friend.

Trixie gave a weak grin. "I'm just reminiscing."

"About what?"

"My father. My life. How things could have been different." the unicorn answered.

"You're worried about Ahuizotl getting away with Fleur?"

"Yes." Trixie said bitterly. "All my life I was ridiculed for my failures and now I lost a close friend to a monster."

Trixie leaned back into the mares chest feeling her pull on her with her wings. She felt herself becoming sleepy from the long day she had studying her fathers journal for the last three days with little sleep.

Daring allowed her friend to rest. She herself was tired not sleeping well since her friend Candid was murdered by Fleur de Lis. She was also worried about Bones. He was an old stallion and had no place out in the wilderness. He often scolded Daring for being to daring. Heh, daring. she thought, giving a light chuckle.

While Trixie slept Daring stared out the viewport at the sea.

"It's so lovely, isn't it Trixie?"

"Mmmm...." Trixie wriggled into the mares chest in deep slumber.

Daring smiled pressing her nose against the sleeping mares cheek. "And so are you."

They laid together in bed for hours until the moon had reached its peak. Then as time went on they heard singing. It was very soft at first but then got a bit louder as time progressed on. Daring's ear twitched slightly to the right like a small radar homing in on a signal of harmonious music and voices.

Trixie awoke from her slumber hearing the same singing that daring did. It sang in the native tongue of Stalliongrand. Accompanied by a musical chorus and instrumental. They looked at each other wondering who it could have been that was singing. Al during the journey nopony sang, this was the first time they ever heard singing.

Getting up they followed the voices of the song deeper into the ship. Halfway through they realized they were't heading in the right direction and doubled back heading outwards of the ship center. Eventually the reached one of the main hallways that lead to a large observation deck closed off to non-personnel.

They slipped in when no one was around and closed the door behind them. Inside was a room on the starboard side of the ship with a large domed window that was actually a large water tank filled about 2/3rds. Inside was a blue/purple pony-fish like hybrid swimming around inside singing as he gazed up at the star with a sextant, and wrote something down on a waterproof parchment. He was three times the length of a pony and as tall as Celestia herself. He had two arms and hooves with smaller fins about halfway down his body. A large dorsal fin stood tall upon his head and went down his scaled back.

After a few notes he'd submerge and swim to the other side of his room sized tank and resurface to scribble another note down. He continued this until he finished his song along with his small music box at the side of his tank. Several bookcases lined the room along with a large oval bed with plush red pillows on it. It was rather lavish compared to the spartan confines of the ship.

Trixie and Daring entered the room knocking as they did getting his attention. He turned quickly and stared at them for a minute before he donned a silly grin.

"Welcome! Please come in!" he greeted his visitors. "Please make yourselves at home. I've been expecting you two!"

He swam around in his water tank while Trixie and Daring sat on the nearby floor looking at each other with curious looks. They knew they were thinking the same thing.

Moments later the aqua pony leapt out from his tank and began flying about the cabin to his books. With his long flipper ended arms he flipped through pages of several books before discarding them behind him like they were garbage.

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to come find me. I was expecting to go find you." he said throwing another book into a large pile behind him. "Ah, here we are!"

He flew down in front of Daring and Trixie shoving a large leather bound tome into Trixie's face. The unicorn took the book in her hooves looking it over. It was a anatomy book about Coatls and other pony dragon hybrids, with detailed diagrams on their hybrid offspring. Daring was interested by the book and its contents. She'd never believed in the Coatls before and she was still wrapping her head around this but the loss of her friends still weighed heavily on her heart.

She still swore she would not rest until both Fleur and Ahuizotl both paid for the deaths of her friends. But Trixie seemed to be excited about the book.

"Is this all real?!" the unicorn asked excited before staring awkwardly at the pony floating over her. "What are you if you don't mind Trixie asking?"

He floated there staring at the mares, never losing his silly grin until a voice cut through the silence.

"His name is Echo, and he's a siren." the voice of Skyhook said as she entered the room.

The pegasus sauntered over to the floating siren wrapping her arm around his neck pulling him until they were cheek to cheek. The siren smiled, his large fin folded down against his neck as he blushed trying to look away. Skyhook grinned mischievously at him.

"He's the best navigator this side of the Great Ocean. He's also an expert on pony hybrids." she leaned closer to the two mares and whispered, "He's obsessed with them. Like you two."

But Daring was having none of that. "I am not obsessed." she said in mock annoyance nudging Trixie.

"But she is."

That made Trixie scoff in an annoyed tone.

"Well, excccuusse Trixie for following in her fathers hoofsteps!" she said with a huff.

Everyone laughed at the mares haughty attitude. She too joined in the laughter. Once composed Daring turned to the male siren inquisitively. "So, what were you singing a moment ago?"

He broke free from Skyhook, making her frown, and flew up beside Daring. "It's an old war hymn from Stalliongrand. As old as the seas themselves." he claimed waving his finned hoof dramatically. "I sing all the time too. Wanna hear another song?"

"Echo stop pestering our guests." Skyhook warned the siren. "Anyways, Ahuizotls' ship is heading south now we should be able to catch them soon."

While the mares conversed, Echo's ear twitched to the side after he heard a soft hissing noise. He quickly shot up into his tank and pressed his face against the domed glass and watch the motionless ocean. A long rippled came across the surface as a long body emerged only to quickly submerge into the water.

The mares realized he was watching outside intently and walked up to his tank. Skyhook tapped his tank, but his gaze never left the ocean. irritated from being ignored Skyhook tapped the glass again.

"Echo! What are you doing?" she asked. "Do you see something?"

Just then a loud hissing roar echoed throughout the ship. From the ocean a large serpent emerged from the water with a large saber tooth maw. Its scales were layered like plate armor down its back and had a large beak like snout with a tan underbelly. Long scale hair like follicles stuck out from the under armor plates of its scales. It let out one massive roar making everyone cover their ears.

Skyhook quickly dashed to the door and flew down the halls like a madmare screaming, "A hooves to battle stations! Sea serpent off port!"