The Swamp

"Captain," A crew member said, addressing his commander, "we're ready to depart."

"Very good, Mr. Gust." The earth-pony captain replied, looking over the airship as the last of the cargo was loaded, "Cast off and bring us to two hundred and fifty feet."

"Aye, sir. All hands, prepare for departure!"

Within minutes, the large aircraft was untethered from the platform and began to ascend into the sky.

"Take us north, by northwest, Mr. Star." The captain ordered, turning his attention to the helmspony, "And bring her up to fifteen knots. I'd like to be in Canterlot by morning."

"Aye, captain." The stallion replied, turning the helm as the props spun faster.

Steadily, the ship began to cruise towards home.

Many hours passed by as the night began to fall over the land. The ship continued it's steady pace as the world around it darkened.

"Alright, Mr. Star," The captain said as a bat pony came to the helm, "you're relieved for the night."

"Thank you, sir." The tired looking stallion said, stepping aside and allowing the other pony to take control.

The stallion descended down the steps, before going to his bunk below deck.

"Captain," the bat stallion said, scanning the area around the ship, "may I ask why we're going to be flying over the Everfree Forest?"

"Because, Mr. Shadow, the fastest way to Canterlot is over the forest." The captain replied, taking a pipe out of his pocket and lighting it, "And before you ask, yes, we did go around it before. However, with the amount of time we lost while we were in the Zebralands, we have to make it up with as many advantages as we can get. And right now, that advantage is going over."

"What about dangerous animals? Like, dragons and manticores?"

"Dragons aren't an issue. Not since Princess Twilight made good connections with them. And manticores can't really fly all that well. Don't let the wings on their backs fool you, those are mostly used to move a little faster while ambushing."

The stallion at the helm seemed to relax a little after hearing that. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to relax for long.

FWWOOOOMMMM!!! BA-BOOM!!!

Without warning, something bright and moving fast shot past the airship and exploded a short distance away. The explosion caused a small shockwave that shook the ship.

"What in Tartarus was that?!" The captain exclaimed, rushing over to the side and looking over.

He saw nothing but the dark shadows of trees going by. But, as he continued to look, another bright object sailed towards them.

"Hard to starboard!" He called, watching the object graze the side of the ship and explode just above them.

BA-BOOM!!!

By now, the entire crew was awake and on alert.

"Get on the guns!" The captain ordered, keeping a watchful eye on the ground below and seeing another object sail past.

"What are we shooting at, sir?!" A crew member called, loading a cannon.

"Aim at the ground!"

Without questioning their targets, the ponies aimed the cannons down and fired into the darkness.

Kra-BLAM!!!

BA-BOOM!!!

The flashes of explosions and the smell of gunpowder filled the air. But, since the ponies on the ship couldn't see what they were firing at, they didn't know if they were actually defending themselves or just hitting the ground below. The captain watched for where the objects were coming from, as well as several over ponies, but it was still difficult to spot the danger.

"BRACE FOR IMPACT!!!" The captain shouted as an object barreled towards them and struck the balloon that kept the ship airborne.

BA-BOOM!!!

"We're going down!" Shadow called, bracing the helm with as much strength as he could muster.

"Abandon ship!" The captain called, "Everyone, get off the ship, now!"

"Too late!" Another called out as the ship plummeted towards some trees.

The airship dropped out of the sky and into the trees, damaging the hull and tearing away the rigging as it crashed into some water. The burning balloon got hung up in the canopy of the trees, burning the tops until the branches couldn't support the weight and dropped it into the same water, extinguishing the flaming canvas. As for the crew, their fate was unknown as the ship rested against some fallen trees and other debris.