Voyages

The city of Canterlot was a hub of activity usually, but today ponies and creatures from all across the continent were joined together in the streets of the Capital. Even deep below the city in the hangar carved from the rock of the mountain itself, the sounds of crowds above could still be heard.

Currently, the entire crew of the March With Pride was gathered by the ship’s side. Cloud Breaker and Ganymede stood at the base of the gangplank and looked over the roughly three hundred ponies standing before them.

Cloud Breaker was in his uniform, something he was going to have to get used to quickly. Every uniform for the crew was a jumpsuit, they were all dark grey and the only thing that differentiated them were the color of the stripes going up the legs and the insignia at the base of the neck.

The stripes on his uniform were purple, denoting a command role, and his insignia was that of Princess Twilight’s cutie mark framed by the halo of a sun. That showed his rank as Captain. Ganymede’s striped were only on her hind legs, purple as well. Her insignia was the same cutie mark, but framed by the crescent moon behind it.

“Welcome!” He called out to the crowd. “You have all been on this ship before, you know where your quarters are, you’ve run through the test flights. You are prepared for the moments to come today.” He hadn’t really prepared a speech, he had been told one needed to be given of course, and he had stayed up well past the time he should’ve been asleep trying to write one. But nothing would come, so now he was just speaking off the cuff. “But this mission is more than just today, it’s more than just the weeks we will spend getting to the edge of Equestria. It is the years beyond, the journey to distant shores and the challenges we’ll face there. Be prepared for the lands beyond, they are not home. They will not be filled with friendly faces and warm hearths, but if we do our job correctly they can be.” He held his head high and spoke a little louder, with a bit more purpose and pride. “Abroad we must follow the tenets of harmony even more than we do at home. Be kind to all you meet, be loyal to yourself and the ideals you hold dear, be generous with the sharing of wealth and knowledge, bring laughter whenever possible, be honest and forward with your intentions, and believe that through the magic of friendship all things are possible.”

Cloud Breaker saluted his crew, which was returned by the mass of creatures in front of him. He took a deep breath and studied the ranks,eager recruits and families of those who had requested to bring them along looked back at him.

“Welcome aboard the March With Pride, please report to your stations.”

The crowds came up and moved past the Captain and the Commander. Some shook his hoof as they passed, others just gave him a salute and a hello. He accepted them all gracefully and politely as he could considering the number.

“That was a good speech, Captain.” Commander Ganymede said as quietly as she could to still be only audible to the Captain through the dull roar of the moving mass of crew before them. “Though, next time may I recommend writing it down before you have to give it?”

“Noted, Commander.” Cloud Breaker leaned in closer to his First Officer. “It turns out I’m not good at writing speeches, though. We learn something new every day, hmm?” Once the mass of crew were done moving into the belly of the ship, the families came next. Wives, Husbands, and children of all species.

“You could’ve asked.” Ganymede responded smugly. “I love writing speeches. It’s common for Officers in the Griffon military to give speeches after every battle and before every deployment.”

“That doesn’t sound all that enjoyable, if I’m honest, Commander.” Cloud Breaker kept his eyes forward and on the passing mass, as did Ganymede, while still carrying on their conversation. The crowd was thinning now as the last of the civilians were boarding.

“It harkens back to the days of epic poems and stories our ancestors would write telling of their glory.” Glorifying violence was not exactly a thing that the Captain was comfortable with, but all he could do was shrug at the idea.

“Then next time I have to write a speech, I will come to you.” The pony at the very back of the line, the last ‘civilian’ to board, was Prince Shining Armor. He stood there, with his wife Princess Cadance and his daughter Princess Flurry Heart. “Commander, please make your way to the bridge, make sure everything is in order. I will join you in a few moments.”

“Yes, sir.” Was the curt response he received from his subordinate as she turned and made her way up the ramp.

“Captain.” Shining Armor gave the best salute his old bones could give as he approached Cloud Breaker, his family in tow. “This is my wife Cadance, and my daughter Flurry Heart. They’re seeing me off.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highnesses.” Cloud Breaker bowed to the two alicorns in front of him and gave a small smile. “The Prince will be in good hooves, I assure you. We’ll get him back to you in one piece, I promise.” His assurances seemed to have no effect, as the sad smiles across the mother and daughter’s face only persisted.

It was much easier to see, with his family by his side, why the Prince wanted one last go at adventure. His wife, who was the around the same age as himself if history was to be believed, was still as strong and beautiful as she had been in her youth. If you compared her to pictures from thirty years ago, or even from her wedding, nothing had changed. She looked almost identical.

On the other side, Princess Flurry Heart was just over Fifty years old now. She stood a full head and a half taller than her father, and she looked like she could be Princess Cadance’s sister if you didn’t know their family tree.

Both of the mares were strong and vibrant next to this wilting, once-great stallion.

“Stop with this ‘Prince’ nonsense.” Shining Armor barked, turning to his side so he could look at the Captain with his non-clouded eye. “For the duration of this voyage, royalty doesn’t matter. If you need to think of me as something, call me Captain. I’m not dead yet and I still hold the rank in the Royal Guard, still paid for it too.”

“Of course, Captain.” Cloud Breaker saluted Shining Armor. Now, Captain of the Guard didn’t hold the same meaning as Captain of a ship in the military, but Cloud would overlook that for the time being. This stallion had earned the respect.

“You can go on board, Shiny.” Princess Cadance put a hoof on her husband’s back, rubbing it softly. “Flurry and I want to speak to the Captain.” Shining nodded at his wife and smiled at his daughter, winking at her as he turned towards the ramp and started up it. “I love you, Shiny!”

“I love you, Daddy!” Flurry Heart called after him as well.

“I love you both so much!” Shining Armor called back. “I will see you both again, be sure of that!” The elderly stallion disappeared into the belly of the ship. As Cloud turned back to the two alicorns, his smile was met with a dual set of frowns from the Princesses.

“Captain.” Princess Cadance started out with a sigh. “Cloud Breaker…” She trailed off, doing her best to work up the nerve to say whatever was on her mind. “...my husband isn’t going to make it back to Equestria.”

The Captain hung his head and did his best to process that information the best he could. There was a lot he could say...he could deny Shining Armor passage. He could drop him off at the last stop in Equestria...he would do whatever was asked of him by the stallion’s family.

“He’s dying, Captain.” Flurry Heart stepped up, looking down at Cloud with her bright crystal blue eyes. “We’re not saying he won’t make it back because we don’t trust you, but because we know it to be true.”

“Is he sick? Do I need to alert Doctor Zebansi of any special care?” If Prince Shining Armor was at risk to die on his ship, then he would do his best to extend the Prince’s life for as long as he could. If he had any chance of bringing Shining Armor back, he would do all he could to get that done.

“He’s just old, Captain.” Princess Cadance spoke again, a calm resignation resounding in her tone. “He has lived a very...strenuous life. Some of the things he has faced have left him more brittle than other stallions his age. We’ve made peace with his decision and we’re okay with it.”

“It was going to come sooner or later…” Flurry Heart mumbled, her eyes drifting to her hooves. “Maybe it is better that we don’t see him go, you know? Aunt Celestia always said watching your loved ones go was always the hardest part…”

“I…” Cloud wasn’t sure how to proceed, but he would do his best. “...am sorry. If this is your last time seeing him, then you have my condolences.” He stepped forward and put a hoof on the younger alicorn’s shoulder. “I will do everything in my power to make however long he has left comfortable.”

“Don’t make his last days comfortable, Captain.” Flurry Heart met his eyes. “Make them memorable.”

“Captain on deck!” The cry came from Ganymede as the lift opened to reveal Cloud Breaker. The Officers, excluding Vent, Zebansi, and Mandible who were at their posts on other parts of the ship, all stood. There were other members of the crew on the bridge, just various technicians and underlings to the Officers, they all stood and saluted as well.

“At ease.” The pegasus strode to his seat on that raised platform in the middle of the bridge and sat down. Ganymede was sat at a seat directly in front of him, looking over the various diagrams and charts that flitted by her on the screen in front of her. “Status report, Commander?”

“Lieutenant Vent is doing a diagnostic of the Leyline Drive before launch. ETA: five minutes to completion.” She held a window on her screen with her claw and tapped an icon on the bottom right. Instantly it was on a screen in front of the Captain. It was a complicated cross-section of the Leyline Drive implanted in the ship’s hull. From what Cloud Breaker knew of the device, Lieutenant Vent was pushing mana between the different sections of the Drive, expelling it into overflow tanks, and then injecting it back.

“Status on the civilians?” He didn’t want this ship launching unless the more vulnerable of their passengers were secure. From what he was told by reports, the launch was a bit rocky, to say the least.

“Security is doing an final sweep of the living quarters on decks six through eleven.” Now it was Bulwark, who was at his station behind the Captain, who spoke. “Initial reports are confirming the civilians are secure in their quarters. Final reports will be available in a few minutes, Captain.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant Commander.” Cloud Breaker was about to ask Jestam about the conditions outside, when he was interrupted by an alert pinging on his console. It was an incoming communication on an encrypted frequency from Canterlot.

“It’s from Canterlot Control, Captain.” Jetsam piped up. “Most likely from the Princess at the launch festivities.” The Captain held back a sigh, this meant more speeches.

“Put them through, Lieutenant.” After a few taps of his console, the Seapony turned around and nodded at the Captain. “Canterlot Control, this is Captain Cloud Breaker of the Friendship Accord Ship ‘March With Pride’.”

“Captain Cloud Breaker!” Princess Twilight Sparkle was on the other end, and she had to almost yell over the dull roar of the crowd behind her. “This is Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria. Are you prepared to launch?”

“We are running through final checks, Your Majesty.” He quickly pushed a button on his console with a hoof, muting his end of the conversation. “Lieutenant, please put this through every communication station on the ship.” He received a nod from his science officer as the order was carried out. He unmuted his end off the link. “Do you have any words for the crew, Your Majesty?”

“Just that we are all so proud of you! Each and every one of you, from the highest ranking officers to the families who are going with their loved ones, you have given up so much for the knowledge of future generations.” The Princess had to stop as she was drowned out by another roar from the crowd. “You have the love and support of every creature here in Equestria and the lands beyond, never forget that. Any of you.” There was a silence, one that the Princess and the Captain let linger so the crew could let that soak in. “Would you care to say a few words?”

“As we are going forth into the unknown, we will keep our homes in our hearts and minds.” He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, focusing on the words. He needed this to be good for the ones they were leaving behind. “We will to our best to put forth our best with every new land and creature we encounter. We will extol the virtues of friendship and harmony in our wake and we will do you all proud.”

“Good travels, Captain.You are cleared to launch when ready.” The alicorn called back as the link went dead. He looked around the room one last time, and only received a look from Ganymede that told him his little speech was subpar.

“Captain Cloud Breaker to Engineering.” He called out, knowing that the Interface would pick up his command and link him to the lower decks. A simple tone sounded, letting him know he was connected. “Lieutenant Vent, come in.”

“Yeah, this is Vent, Captain. Something wrong?” The dragon, informal as ever, was surrounded by various sounds of clanging and banging, work down there. “WILL YOU STOP THAT?! I’M TALKIN TO THE CAPTAIN!” Cloud Breaker flicked his ears at the unnecessarily loud dragon.

“Nothing is wrong, Lieutenant.” Just in case, the Captain manipulated the controls on his console to turn down Vent. “Canterlot Control has given us the go ahead to launch, I was wondering if we can get that done as soon as possible.”

“Ensign Crescent is finalizin’ the report now.” There was a sound of Vent putting laying metal on metal, then breathing fire to melt the two together. “We’ll put the whole kit and caboodle into startup right now. Get us free of the moorings and then we’ll launch, Captain.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Cloud cut the link and then hit a button on his chair that let him address the ship as whole. “All crew, report to stations and prepare for immediate launch.” He cut that link next and looked to Jetsam to his left. “Lieutenant Jetsam, start the decoupling sequence.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Suddenly, there was a soft but noticeable hum that ran throughout the entire ship. It cause the floors and walls to vibrate ever so softly, and the Captain could feel it in his bones. The engine had started up, a message on his console confirmed that. That was followed by a loud hiss and a pop that echoed through the hull. The clamps had released the ship, and they were no floating under their own power. It took a few seconds, but once he was sure, he gave the order.

“Commander, take us out.”

Now, normally, at least on Equestrian ships, the First Officer wouldn’t be the one to hold the Conn and pilot the ship. On Griffon ships, that was a different story. Since Ganymede expected that to be part of her job while he was on the bridge, he would not tell her otherwise.

The March With Pride rose slowly, just enough that it was lined up with the exit of its rocky hangar. The very top just nearly scraped the smooth rock above, but the clearance was perfect. The exit from their dock was slow, deliberate, but it was worth it.

The afternoon sun poured in through the large reinforced windows that made up the top and front of the bridge. As the majestic Equestrian landscape began to unfold in front of them, the Captain felt a small twinge of sadness. It would be years before he saw these sights again, before he could see Cloudsdale floating in the distance...before he could see Princess Twilight’s castle on the horizon, before he would see his home again.

“Lieutenant…” He spoke to Jetsam, keeping his eyes focused on the sprawling landscape before him. “How long until we reach Equestria’s western shore?”

“Well, sir.” Jetsam turned his seat to face the Captain’s raised position. “Princess Twilight make it expressly clear that we are not to reach top speeds while in Equestrian air space so we can allow the weather ponies and travel to be uninterrupted during our departure. At our maximum allowed speed, two days.”

“Good.” He stood, straightening his uniform and standing up. His wings ruffled slightly at his side. “I will be in my ready room, call me if I am needed. Commander Ganymede, you have the bridge.” As he moved away from his seat, a practiced dance took place. Ganymede stood and made her way up to the raised platform and took the seat Cloud Breaker once sat, while Jetsam transferred control of the ship to his console.

The ready room was a small room attached to the bridge, the only other door besides the magical lift. It was where Cloud was meant to do more menial administrative tasks that his job asked of him, it was also where he could unwind when he wasn’t immediately needed on the bridge.

He opened the door and was greeted with a little slice of home. His desk from his actual home in Fillydelphia was sat in the corner, it was a solid oak feature that sat against the far back wall. It was a corner desk, the side pressed against the wall and the front still in a place that he could watch the door. His typewriter from home and a number of trinkets and baubles sat atop the desk, while beside it was a fern.

“That’s not mine…” He remarked as he stepped towards the plant. Perhaps it was just for decoration, but it wasn’t something he requested. That seemed to be the only thing out of order, though. Pictures lined the walls and sat on his desk, they were of him and family, and of course on the ships he had served on in the past. It wasn’t home, but it was the closest he had for the next five years.

For now, a book was calling his name and begging to be read. The March With Pride would fly idly through Equestrian skies without him worrying too much.