1: In Which the Ponies in Question Meet
What the Freed Bird Sings
1: In Which the Ponies in Question Meet
By The Accursed One and Blooy
Tap, tap, tap. A pause. Tap, tap, tap. Another pause. Tap, tap, tap. A rhythmic knocking at my window roused me from my peaceful slumber. I rolled over in my bed, checking the clock I kept on the wall nearby. ‘Just past midnight. Great…’ I thought as I turned on the lamp in my room so I could see.
I walked over to the window and opened it. A mechanical songbird flew in and alighted on a bedpost, fluttering its painstakingly crafted, metal wings. It opened its beak, then a voice which I couldn’t put a name to came out. The bird had a message for me!
“Charming Tale,” it said in a mare’s voice. “You are invited to a gathering of sorts of like-minded authors at my mansion. A little Hearth’s Warming party, you might say. And you will receive great gifts, you and every other attendant. Just follow my bird once it tells you to go, and it will lead you to my home. I expect to see you there. Be warned, though, that the bird will leave with or without you in a half-hour's time." The bird closed its beak and sat on the post, acting like a normal, flesh and blood bird does when staying in one place.
‘Might as well,’ I thought. I never really was one to turn down an adventure.
I hurriedly grabbed my saddlebags from on top of my vanity, ran a brush through my mane, then put my trademark flower in my mane. Everything that I needed to go out somewhere quickly found its way into my bags, spare a couple of quills, ink, and paper. Those stayed on my desk until everything else was packed. After I packed everything I thought I’d need, I ate some toast to get at least some energy for the journey ahead.
The bird gave off a shrill call not unlike that of an alarm clock. It fluttered its wings before flying into my living room, hovering like a hummingbird in front of my door. I put on my saddlebags as I walked into the room, opening the door with my magic and following the bird, not sure what I’d encounter on this journey…
Silence. Darkness. A seemingly abandoned house on a hill. I opened the gates, seeing incredibly detailed stone statues lining the path to the mansion’s front door, all with their faces frozen in expressions of horror and surprise and all strewn haphazardly along the path. Immediately fearful of a cockatrice roaming the grounds, I kept my eyes forward as I slowly made my way to the entrance. ‘Why would somepony invite me to a party at this place?’ I thought.
After hearing the hedges rustling a few times and embarrassingly jumping back in fright each and every time, I finally made it to the way into the mansion. Still cautious, I opened the door slowly with my magic, standing back in case something jumped out at me. When nothing did, I made my way into the darkened foyer. Purplish light washed over everything as I lit my horn so I could see.
“This place must have been owned by some rich ponies,” I commented, allowing myself to break the silence I’ve been in for what felt like ages. A few portraits, I assumed of the owner and their family, hung on the walls. The signature on the paintings noted that the artist was named Canvas. 'Appropriate name for the artist,' I thought.
The doors into the great hall suddenly opened as if by magic, and my bird led the way in. The candlesticks lining the walls lit up sequentially when I walked toward the table at the opposite end of the room where the bird landed. At the head of the table stood a pony; a unicorn mare, by the looks of it. She walked forward, her magic pulling a flask out of her severely unkempt mane. She opened the flask and took a drink before putting it back in her mane, still walking toward me the whole time.
When the mysterious pony got within a couple meters of me, the doors I entered through opened again, this time four mechanical birds, not unlike the one I was sent, flying through the doors and landing on the table right next to my bird, all facing the stranger. She stopped walking suddenly, looking at the birds and then at me, going back and forth between. “Hmm… One… Yep, one, I’m not losing my mind. Then again, you’d have to be pretty crazy yourself to follow the invitation of a metal bird that sings. I was really bored when I made those… Oh uh, sorry, forgot you were here. Hi there!” she said.
I extended a hoof in her direction. “Charming Tale. Charmed to meet you,” I said, giggling at the joke I accidentally made.
“Ah, puns. I think we’ll get along well. Call me Silver. Or whatever else you want, really. But my name is Silver,” she said, hitting my hoof with hers.
“Okay, Silver. Now, I see I’m the only one here. Let’s get straight to the point, what’s this gift you promised me?”
“That… is something I cannot tell you. Not at the moment, at least. Now, follow me.” Silver told me, turning around and starting to walk out of the room.
I followed her through the doors behind where she originally stood. The room we entered contained various pieces of scientific-looking equipment and chalkboards filled with complicated-looking notes. Silver led me further into the mansion, the lights of dawn starting to peek through the windows to light our path. We walked down stairs, past more exquisite paintings and past more complicated equipment. Finally, after walking through what felt like the entirety of the labyrinthine mansion, we entered a room containing screens and what looked like an airship.
“Okay, Silver, if that even is your real name… I want answers. Now. Why am I here really? There was nothing even remotely festive in the great hall, so obviously a party isn’t the reason,” I growled.
Silver sighed. “All in due time. Now, get on the airship and you’ll see.”
Reluctantly, I walked up the gangplank into the ship. The interior was more lavish than I’d expected. All white, with any amenity anypony would need on an airship. I walked around the interior, going into a room where it seemed that Silver stored some geological monitoring equipment. I knew she would kill me if I touched anything, so I looked at the confusing displays and went to explore more. Close to the bow, there was an observation cabin near the pilot’s area. The stern had a similar cabin.
“The Princess let me borrow this for a while, as long as I don’t destroy it,” Silver said from behind me. “It’s called the Caelestis. Celestia sure is humble, huh?”
“It’s interesting, to say the least. We’re close enough to Canterlot to take a train, and there’s always space for cargo, so why the airship?”
“You’ll see.”
She continued walking, pushing past me into the bridge. I followed her, going to the observation deck. “Hey, Silver?” I called.
“What do you want now?”
“Do you know if there’s a kitchen here? If this thing is Celestia’s, she surely has some sort of teakettle here.”
Silver took a pull from her flask again, shaking her head after as if the drink burned her throat. "I've no idea. Do airships usually have kitchens? Hmm... Does food taste better the higher up you are? Huh... I've heard some things are better a mile high..."
“Gee, thanks, you’re no help. I’ll go look for it on my own then.”
“Glad I could be of service to you, Ms. Needy Nelly.”
I stormed off, searching for a kitchen so I could make something to drink. The journey took me to the lowest deck, near the engine bay. Thankfully, I stumbled upon a kitchenette that came equipped with a very small stove. A kettle already sat upon the stove. Uttering a quick prayer of thanks, I filled the kettle up and set it to heat the water before grabbing two mugs.
Waiting for the shrill whistling that meant the water was ready, I sat down in a nearby chair and pulled out my writing supplies. “Why not pass the time by working on something?” I figured. And so I began to write:
‘It was a bright and cheery morning. Birds were singing, and so were the ponies. Singing about the morning, about anything they could. Joy rang through the air like bells at a Hearth’s Warming party. The news? Princess Luna returned! She returned from her self-induced exile; she redeemed herself! The whole country of Equestria stopped work for this momentous occasion. Two ponies, two special ponies, stood at the castle’s entrance, seeking audience with the newly-returned Princess of the Ni-’
The piercing whistle of the kettle pulled me out of my writing mindset rather harshly. Ink dotted the paper in random blots thanks to my jumping at the sudden noise. I packed up my writing supplies before I walked over to the kettle and picked it up in my aura, pouring out the water into both mugs after adding a tea bag to each. The aroma of steeping tea filled the room just as the ship began to lurch. Thankfully, none of the tea spilled, though it came rather close.
I picked up both mugs of tea with my magic before tracing my journey back to the bridge, sipping from my mug along the way. The journey didn’t take long, and I found myself on near the bridge quickly. Still shaken and with the mugs in my aura, I knocked on the door to the bridge. “Hello?” I called. “You there, Silver? I brought you some tea, so you don’t have to drink whatever alcohol you have in that flask.”
“Yar, matey! Come on in!” The mare’s voice came from behind the door in a poor attempt at a pirate accent.
“Seriously? Ugh, fine, do whatever, I suppose. I am your guest, after all; I can’t really complain about anything…” I sighed as I opened the door, moving the tea intended for Silver onto the nearby table and setting it down.
“Aw, lighten up! What use is having an air ship if I can’t speak like a pirate? Pirates are cool,” Silver spoke, turning around to face me, a half smile upon her face.
“I guess you have a point. Well, here’s your tea,” I replied, nodding my head towards the table with Silver’s mug.
“Ah, tea,” She said with a soft hum, her magic enveloping the handle of the tea cup and carefully levitating it over to her. It reached her lips and tipped slightly as she took a small sip. She then lowered it and looked at me, her smile rather strange.
“What’s got you so happy?” I wondered aloud, tilting my head to show confusion.
“Oh, uh, nothing!” Silver quickly blurted out, raising her cup again and taking a sip, “It’s just really great tea, is all.” She then gave a slightly nervous chuckle.
I flashed a suspicious look at Silver before turning around. “I’ll let you get back to flying us to wherever you’re taking me,” I stated, starting to walk back to the common room nearby so I could continue writing.
“Eh, the thing’s on autopilot. It’s fine,” Silver replied, freezing for a moment as the ship started to rotate slightly to the left, “Wait… It doesn’t have autopilot.” She quickly set her cup down, rushing over to the wheel and fixing the ship’s angle.
I turned around, looking at the controls for a second before flicking a switch. “It should have autopilot; Celestia’s air fleet typically does. I got to see the interior of a scouting ship so I could write it more accurately, and I remember where the autopilot toggle is,” I stated, cracking a smile at Silver at the end.
“Oh… So it does have autopilot. I uh, I knew that,” Silver said with a short laugh, shaking her head slightly as she relaxed.
I couldn’t stop myself from giggling at that. “I’m going to go write in the common room. Please try not to do any sudden noises, it kinda pulls me out of the ‘zone,’ as it were,” I said, turning away and walking out to the common room before sitting on a cushion and putting my supplies down. I caught a glimpse of a frazzled, silver mane in my peripheral vision as I started to write, barely smiling when I saw it.
Author's Note
Major thanks to Blooy (My co-author in this) for letting me use his OC Silver Flare, plus for the whole part where he wrote Silver's snappy dialogue! Check out this adorable person's page! 
And also, thanks to all of you friends and fans of mine who decided to stick with me for the long time it took me to actually write stuff. Seriously, you guys are all awesome.
