On a Whim

Chapters

Chapter I- Quick Decisions
Chapter II- Departure
Chapter III- Cast and crew
Chapter IV- Down to Business
Chapter V- En Route

Chapter I- Quick Decisions

Chapter I

Quick Decisions

“Who the buck are you?”

With a contented sigh, Twilight plopped down in her seat. This was an unusual event, to say at the least. Weeks of planning, late nights studying to work ahead, and asking friends to help around the library to get cleaning done faster had cleared just over three hours in the unicorn’s schedule. That meant that she had free time, and she never had free time. After all was said and done, it was up to the ecstatic mare to decide what to do with this treasured down time. Unsurprisingly, she had chosen to spend it reading.

With a brief burst of magic, Twilight flipped the library’s ‘open’ sign to ‘closed’ from across the room. Turning to the small stack before her, she scrutinized the book titles her friends had recommended. Unsure of what to start with, Twilight lifted the small paperback off of the top of the pile.

It was a fantasy novel by Fluttershy’s recommendation, Pony Potter. After chuckling at the strange name, Twilight began to read. A mere hour later, the book was slapped shut with a satisfying wop, and set back on the desk under the small ‘out’ sign. That was an easy read, not bad, either, she thought to herself.

Picking up the next book, Twilight furrowed her brow as she realized it was Pinkie Pie’s pick, Where’s Waldo. Opening it to the first page, she found a massive red circle had been drawn around the small character, making him stand out quite badly. Flipping through the various puzzles, Twlight found almost every puzzle had been defaced with the same obnoxious circles, and the one that hadn’t was adorned with arrows pointing towards the red stallion. The filly’s book was tossed into the stack ‘out’ alongside Pony Potter.

Flipping the next on the list over, she rolled her eyes. Smiling to herself, Twilight stood up and replaced Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone back on her shelf where a certain pegasus had taken it early in the day, presumably having no other recommendations. Sitting back down, Twilight moved on to the next story. She was enjoying this immensely, for reading for pleasure was something she didn’t get to do very often.

By Rarity’s recommendation, the next on the list was Fifty Shades of Dapple Grey. The fashionista had been insistent that she read the novel in the past, but this was the first chance Twilight actually had to look into it. Lifting it with interest, the purple mare brought it under the candlelight and began to read. Only eight pages in, however, and it was sent sliding across the reading desk in distaste. “Rarity reads this stuff?” Twilight asked nopony in particular. “And to think up until today, I didn’t understand why libraries have banned book lists… This explains a lot, actually.” After glaring at the black covered heap of paper for another moment, the purple mare sighed and made her way back to the stack of books.

The next on the list was one of her own picks, more specifically, an absurdly large hardcover book titled Thermonuclear Dynamics and You. Unable to suppress a grin, Twilight sat back and flipped to a bookmark near the end of the book. This had been a favorite read of hers for some time, for her personal reactor was still in the planning stages, and knowledge (especially on any subject that threatens to destroy a small town if maintained poorly), was power after all.

…The fuel is considered a miracle material to many, but is almost impossible to condense. One force capable of confining the fuel well enough to satisfy the Lawson criterion is gravity. The mass needed, however, is so great that gravitational confinement is only found in stars. The least massive stars capable of sustained fusion are red dwarfs, while brown dwarfs are able to fuse deuterium and lithium if they are of sufficie-

“I’m confused, is this book about dwarves, or stars?”

Twilight leapt up in shock at the sudden voice. Twisting around midair, she landed face to face with a sky blue pegasus, who promptly fell over laughing hysterically at her friends’ reaction.

“RAINBOW! Don’t sneak up on me like that!” Twilight said, sinking back into her chair slowly, heart racing. Making no effort to hide her laughter, Rainbow Dash continued to snicker as she wiped a tear away.

“Sorry Twilight, I couldn’t resist. I just came to get the next Daring Do book. Finished the last one you gave me.”

The shocked unicorn continued to pant, chest heaving with every breath. “How did you even get in? I didn't hear the door open.” With a proud smile, Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof towards the open window on the upper floor of the library, it’s lock hanging limply from uprooted screws in the frame. Twilight looked back at her with confusion. “You know the front door is another viable option, right?” Rainbow simply shrugged and began to examine the books on the desk.

“Yeah, but not nearly as fun. You read mine yet?” she asked, motioning towards the cluttered desk.

Twilight laughed and retrieved her own book from where it fell on the floor. “I read that years ago, Rainbow, remember? I was the one who told you about it.”

Rainbow Dash turned around and struck an aggressive pose on the table, akin to the protagonist on the cover of her book. “Yeah, but they’re just so awesome! You should read them again.”

The unicorn subtly pulled the books on the desk away from Dash’s hooves as she continued to tromp around the table top, occasionally jumping into the air and landing back on the table heavily, scattering papers. “Maybe another time, Dash. Right now I just want to read this text. I only have an hour and…” Twilight closed her eyes, mentally number crunching. “Twenty three minutes left,” she finished, looking somewhat worried. “That’s enough time to finish these if I hurry.”

The cyan pegasus stopped her mental adventure and landed lightly next to her friend on the floor. “Alright, fine. Where’s the next Daring Do book? I want to grab that before I go.”

Twilight’s face was already buried back in her reading as she gestured up the library steps. “They should be under ‘D’, look upstairs."

Rainbow simply nodded, still snickering slightly. With that, she hurried up the indicated stairs. She wouldn't want anypony else seeing her in a library and getting the wrong idea, or worse, the right one.

Shaking her head, Twilight returned to her reading:

Research into controlled fusion, with the aim of producing fusion power for the production of electricity, has been conducted for over 60 years. It has been accompanied by extreme scientific and technological difficulties, but has resulted in progress. At present, n- knock knock knock

There was a soft knocking on the door, ripping Twilight from her reading once more. Glaring daggers at the door, Twilight mentally dared it to make another noise. With so little time left, she didn’t have time for distractions. When no further sound was made, she continued:

controlled fusion reactions have been unable to produce break-even (self-sustaining) controlled fusion reactions.Workable designs for a reactor that theoretically will deliver ten times more fusion energy than the amount needed to heat up plasma to requ- knock knock knock

With a groan, Twilight gently laid the book back on the counter. Walking swiftly to the entrance, the irritated unicorn swung the door open in a lavender halo of magic. A tall stallion stood in the shadows of the doorway, looking down at her casually.

“Twilight? Twilight Sparkle?” The stallion asked.

“What?” Twilight replied in a flat tone. One hour, twenty two minutes, eleven seconds and counting.

“May I come in and have a word with you? I have a Tome I’m told might interest you.” He maintained a stoic expression as he spoke.

“I’m sorry, the library’s closed and we don’t take book donations,” Twilight began to turn away to return inside.

“All the better, to be frank.” The stallion told the retreating unicorn.

This stopped Twilight, and her ears perked in interest. “Why’s that?” She asked curiously.

“If you’ll allow me in, I can explain.” The stallion was leaning forward slightly, trying to get a better look at the interior of the building.

Twilight glanced over her shoulder into the common room. Rainbow Dash was upstairs, out of sight. She tentatively stepped out of the way, allowing the stallion in. “Sure.” There goes my break

Nodding his thanks, the stallion entered the library. Once inside, Twilight got her first good look at the pony as he took in the room around him. The mysterious stallion was well built, muscles visibly flexing under an orange coat as he walked. His short mane was a dusty brown, and an offset part being its only discernible feature. Strangely, he wore a dirty white button up shirt and an aging leather jacket, scratches and ancient stains littering it as a testament to it's long years of service. Across his back were a single saddle bag and a long, slender sheath of some kind. Inside the sheath, a wad of cloth caked in dirt and dust obscured it's contents from view. Barely visible behind his saddlebag, Twilight could see a shield and compass made up his cutie mark. He wore a poker face and held his chin high as he moved, his demeanor similar to that of a Royal Guard. Spying the table Twilight had been sitting at, he swiftly removed a large leather bound book from his bag and set it down. As he began to flip though dusty pages, he addressed her. “I’m told you’re gifted in the field of magic. Is this correct?”

“Who told you that?” Twilight inquired, ignoring the question.

The stallion didn’t respond. Twilight looked on awkwardly while the stallion flipped intently through the book. After a moment, he raised his head and motioned her over indicating that he had found the desired page. Leaning forward, Twilight could see it was crowded with rough sketches of various shapes and sizes, all drawn in faded pencil. The stallion looked at the young unicorn curiously. “Do you know what these are?”

Twilight glanced up at him for a moment before looking back at the book. “Let’s see…they are all runes of some sort, most are related to energy transfer…” She was addressing herself more than the pony standing by her side as she examined the drawings. “This one is related to teleportation, but is partial; those two are bases, not actual runes… why are you showing me these?” She looked up to see him staring at her with one eyebrow risen slightly. For a fraction of a second, she could have sworn he was smirking before his lips snapped down into his frown once again.

“So I know that you know what you are doing” He said this bluntly, sounding slightly proud of his simple ruse. “I’m relieved to see you are proficient in physical manifestations of magic as well as being able to use it yourself.” Lifting the book off the table, he exchanged it for another from his saddle bag. “Now on to business. Can you tell me what this is?” He set an extremely old tome in front of her, its fading leather cover depicting eight spear heads forming a star. The stallion opened to a page cluttered with semi-circles inscribed with various finely drawn tribal swirls and other geometric designs.

Twilight looked at the book with confusion. “I don’t recognize this, no.”

“Look closer, and ignore the inscriptions, note the general shape,” the stallion pressed. He stood close by, looking at Twilight expectantly.

Twilight continued to examine the picture for a few minutes. “I’m sorry sir, but I don’t…” She trailed off as her eyes widened. The stallions grin returned, this time much wider. “Where did you get this?” the unicorn breathed.

“Can’t say,” the stallion replied, shaking his head slightly.

Upstairs, Rainbow dash tossed another book haphazardly over her shoulder, still trying to find the desired Daring Do novel. Why are there so many books in here? She thought in agitation. After reducing a few more dictionaries into crumpled heaps on the floor, Rainbow heard excited voices downstairs. What gives? I thought Twilight was the only one down there. Hovering slowly towards the staircase, Rainbow began to listen in on the conversation.

“-have to tell me where you got this! This is a record of Starswirl the Bearded’s only incomplete study! This belongs in a museum, not someponies backpack!”

It sounded like Twilight was chewing someone out, but Dash couldn’t see who. Hovering closer to the edge, she peeked down into the common room.

Twilight continued her rant against the still-silent stallion. “Starswirl claimed that a proper combination of runes and channels could activate multiple spells by one user by connecting their shapes, and therefore their power. After he proved it, he began research on more powerful and complex combinations, such as weather control and prospecting spells.” Twilight was rapidly and uncontrollably slipping into lecture mode, nearly tutoring the visitor instead of arguing with him. “Ponies he worked with in his later years claimed he had designed a combination of eight complex runes for an unparalleled effect. This was said to be the most promising and powerful spell ever created using this method. Unfortunately, the purpose and design was kept a secret from everypony some reason.” Now completely forgetting her anger, Twilight telekinetically retrieved a book from a shelf across the room. After opening it to a crudely drawn graphic of the same shape as the one in the stallions tome, she continued. “The spell’s purpose was never discovered, because Starswirl…well, died. Drawings from his offices and classrooms depict images and parts of runic circles like this, but never a complete diagram. This… this looks like it, in perfect clarity.” After looking at it for another moment, she rose and glared at the stallion again. “Where in Equestria did you find this?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. Should have known it would be egghead stuff. Who’s the colt, though? Never seen him around here before.

Slowly shaking his head, the stallion silently answered her question. With a disgruntled groan, Twilight let her head hit the table. The stallion turned to the bookshelf behind him, examining its contents. “I take it you’re interested in the studies of Starswirl, judging by your collection here."

Twilight laughed at this, her seldom seen cocky nature presenting itself. “I know nearly everything there is to know about him.” Realizing how vain she had sounded, the mare quickly lowered her head and rubbed a hoof awkwardly. “Well, that’s not true. I mean, I’ve studied him extensively, but… you know... I just-“ Her mumbles were cut short by the stallion’s amused chuckle. Twilight began to blush and lowered her head further.

Deciding she simply didn’t care, Rainbow went back to ransacking the book shelves above Twilight’s bed.

Slowly, almost thoughtfully, the stallion spoke. “These compound runes, how would one activate them should he or she… come across one?”

Grateful for the change of subject, Twilight looked up at him “The runes are designed so that you’d only have to charge them, that’s the beauty of it all. If drawn correctly, the runes do the work for you. Casting a single spell activates them all.” Suddenly suspicious, Twilight gave the stallion a quizzical look. “Why?”

The stallion nodded at the book he had brought in, still lying open on the table. Twilight, taking the hint, laughed and shook her head. “It’s not that simple in this case. Even with these designs you brought, the spell can’t be done." Walking up to the book once again, she motioned towards a grouping of overlapping hexagons scrawled in one corner of the drawing. “Take this as an example. This complex rune looks like a teleportation spell, but not one that I’ve ever seen. It looks as if it’s been simplified, and could be any number of designs.” Twilight motioned to another part of the drawing, a scowl spreading across her face as she spoke. “That long spiral is another type of teleportation rune, a portal, really. These require two surfaces to be marked, one receiving and one sending. This drawing doesn't show where the other is, or what it should look like. Even this one has conditions that need to be met. And this one? The one that looks like a lightning bolt? That's a weather spell. weather spells need very specific conditions to be met when they are being used, in most cases altitude." Twilight flipped through a few other pages, quickly scanning them as they passed. "There are no notes as to any such conditions in this book though, so you'd have to guess repeatedly when drawing it. If you guessed wrong, it could be catastrophically dangerous to cast. No, this drawing is not so much a blueprint as it is a notes page, and we don’t have the necessary information to draw it ourselves. As I said, nopony does. It’s valuable information, granted, but it can’t be used to recreate it.” Twilight seemed genuinely depressed as she explained this. The stallion, however, seemed unfazed by the unicorn's ramblings.

"Who said I was going to try and draw it myself?"

Twilight laughed sarcastically without looking away from the tome. "Lucky guess."

“I don't have to.” She looked up at him, regarding him first with amusement, then with bewilderment as she realized he was serious. The stallion motioned towards the tome. “Look along the bottom edge of the crescent. See the small swirls? What do they look like to you?”

Still baffled at his implication, Twilight looked back at the sketch, this time being careful to inspect the lower edge. After a moment, she looked back up with her conclusion. “They appear to be small swirls,” she deadpanned.

Suppressing a chuckle, the stallion made a circular motion with his hoof. “What if each ended in a square?”

Glancing back to the diagram, Twilight realized what he meant. “It’s… a tracking rune?”

The stallion smiled knowingly. “A homing rune.”

Twilight looked at the floor, trying to make sense of this development. “That would mean… this isn’t a blueprint, but a drawing of a place?”

“The place. The place where this sequence is not only drawn out in its entirety, but the only place in Equestria it will work.”

The final piece of the puzzle was on the board in the stallion’s mind, but the librarian still looked bemused. “Why would it only work in one specific location? And why tell me? You seem to have this all figured out, anyways.”

With a shrug, the stallion turned away, looking casually out the window. “As you said, the runes require certain circumstances to be met in order to work. You’re the magic expert, I’d expect you to know where it is and isn’t possible. As for why we came here, you came highly recommended. My team would like you to come with us to find it.” He said this simply, Twilight noted, as if he was asking somepony to take a walk with him. “And no, I can’t say who recommended you.”

Twilight rubbed her snout in agitation. “So let me get this straight. Somepony thinks that he or she has discovered the key to Starswirl the Bearded’s greatest secret, so he or she dispatched a crack team to go… somewhere, to do something with an ancient something, and they need a small town’s librarian to do it.”

The stallion's smile faltered. “That’s the gist of it. All you need to know, at least.”

Twilight’s angered flared. “No, it isn’t all I need to know! You come to me asking me to come with you to do something somewhere for someone regarding, given that you’re telling the truth, the greatest discovery in science and historical magic in thousands of years, I have to know what I’m doing!”

The stallion turned around and regarded the fuming unicorn evenly. “Sounds like you’re interested, if your impatience is any indication. How about this, would you consider joining us provided I tell you everything I know?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. Being involved in such an expedition would be a tremendous honor and an unparalleled learning opportunity, but she didn’t know what this trip would entail, or who she would be dealing with. “Before hand?”

The stallion nodded slightly, his gaze still fixed on her.

“Would this be dangerous at all?”

Any trace of the stallion’s smile vanished as she asked. “I can’t promise it would be a walk in the park, because I don’t know where we’re going yet.”

Twilight stared at him disbelievingly “What do you mean you don’t know where we’re going?”

“If we did, we wouldn’t need you, Twilight,” he said. “You would be the one to find the site in the first place, using the homing rune we discussed.”

Twilight pondered this for a moment. It made sense, but she still didn’t want to jump into anything she couldn’t handle. “I might consider it… But I want more information up front. Who’s in charge of this expedition?”

The stallion thought about this before answering. “I suppose I would be the closest our little group has to a leader”. Extending a hoof, he finally introduced himself. “You can call me West.” Twilight took his hoof slowly, as if afraid he would bite.

“Who’s financing the trip? An educator? Museum?”

“Afraid I can’t say. Canterlot elite with vested interest in the discovery is as much as I can give away,” the stallion said, this time seeming dejected at having to say so. Twilight simply nodded, having already gotten used to not knowing details.

As much as she wanted to, it was hard for Twilight to just stand up and leave. She had responsibilities in Ponyville. She had friends to talk to, reports to write, and studying to do. There's no way, after all, that she could write her weekly friendship reports traveling. And what would her friends think if she just got up and went on an adventure by herself?

...Then again, Spike could easily watch the library for a few days, and she was sure her friends would understand. As for studying, the entire trip would be in the interest of science! She had been a shut-in recently, studying for long hours alone in her room. She had been seeing her friends, true, but only briefly for lunch breaks, and even those were only when she had time between reports and experiments. Truth was, Twilight’s life had been utterly boring in recent weeks. Ponyville hadn't been plunged into mortal peril in... what, two months now? She looked up after a minute, her inner turmoil resolved. “I’ll go.”

Taken aback by the sudden decision, the stallion smiled to himself, his job for the day complete. “Oh! Excellent! When can you leave?”

“Give me just a moment, and I’ll begin making arrangements. How’s tomorrow?” Twilight asked, already trotting towards the stairs.

The stallion nodded, still surprised at the swiftness of her decision. “Tomorrow should work. I’ll arrive early to see you out.”

Twilight smiled. She was beginning to like this idea of traveling to an unknown place to research her idol. Shaking herself out of her brief trance, she called upstairs. “Spike? Spike can you come down here please?” The requested dragon promptly leaned over the railing of the staircase, wiping sleep from his eyes.

“What’s up Twilight?” he asked, curiously eyeing the new visitor.

“Do you think you could run the library by yourself for a few days, maybe a week? I’m going to be leaving on a trip for a little while.” Twilight’s grin grew as she spoke.

Before the little dragon could answer, there was a frantic knocking on the library door. Everypony looked to the source of the sound in silence. After another burst of pounding, Twilight began to trot over to open the door. An instant before she reached it, however, the door burst open in a shower of wooden splinters.

Hearing the tremendous crack of the front door being broken down, Rainbow Dash withdrew her head from the box she had been searching. -The hay was that?? Galloping across the room, Dash peered over the railing down once again, this time making no attempt to stay hidden.

Covering her head to avoid the flying shrapnel, Twilight peeked between her hooves to see a pony frantically looking around the room. It was a pegasus mare, slightly older than Twilight, with a forest green coat and a reed map as her cutie mark. Her hair was a stark shade of white that matched her strikingly ghost-like eyes. The intruder appeared be wearing tan hiking fatigues and a camel-back saddle bag. Every inch of her coat that was visible was frayed, scratched, and drenched in sweat.

“Who the buck are you?” Dash called out from the top of the stairs in surprise. The intruding mare’s gaze flew over Twilight and Rainbow before settling on West.

“There you are!” the mare said between pants. “We need to go.” Her demeanor seemed to panic West, as he immediately began to cross the room to retrieve his belongings.

“What happened?” he asked, already packing his saddle bag with the books he brought.

“Sparky says...“ She trailed off, as if suddenly aware of the others’ presence in the room. She looked at Dash and Spike briefly, before giving Twilight a long, scrutinizing stare. “You talk to her yet?” Her voice was gravelly, but suddenly calmer than it had been a moment ago.

Having finished packing, West swung his bag over his shoulder and nodded. “She’s willing to come with us. She said that she’d be-“

“What? Agreed to come with who? You?” Rainbow Dash interjected as she flew down to the ground level of the library, landing between the two newcomers. She pointed an accusing hoof at West before spinning around to face the mare. “Why did you break in? I have no idea who the you are either, who are you? Are you with him?“

Completely ignoring Rainbow Dash’s questions, the mare took a step towards Twilight. “You, purple. Twilight was it? If we leave right now, as in this instant, would you still be willing to come?” She spoke in an urgent, almost panicked tone, occasionally glancing over her shoulder as if somepony was going to attack.

Twilight looked shocked, glancing between everypony present. “N... now? I haven’t told anypony where I’m going yet! I haven’t packed! I can’t just get up and leave!”

West swiftly walked up to Twilight, pushing past an increasingly agitated Rainbow Dash to do so. When he was only feet away, the stallion set a hoof on Twilight's shoulder and looked her in the eyes. “Listen Twilight, if you want to know what those runes are used for, if you want to know more about your idol Starswirl the Bearded than anypony else in Equestria, and if you want to travel with us into what very well might be unexplored territory, you need to leave with us right now. We won’t come back until we’ve found it.” This made Twilight lower her head in thought.

“Come on, West, we need to go, like, now!” the mare urged, shuffling nervously closer to the doorway.

Every eye in the room was locked on the unicorn, who was seemingly staring through the floor, deep in thought. After what felt like an eternity, Twilight looked up to the green mare, then to West. “Let’s go.”

Without another word, the three of them began storming towards the door, closely followed by a pissed off blue pegasus. “Wait, you’re just going to run off with them? You don’t even know who they are! Don’t ignore me, get back here!”

Spike, completely bewildered by the situation, called after Twilight. “Wait! Twilight! Where exactly are you going?” This simple question caused the entire group to stop in their tracks and share unsure glances. Stepping forward, West answered it in the most appropriate manner possible.

“She’s going on an adventure"

Chapter II- Departure

Chapter II

Departure

“Do you trust them?”

From his position, the brown stallion could see the entirety of Ponyville, along with much of the lands beyond. The sky was crystal clear, with the sun shining in all its glory down onto the earth below. From the rolling green hills of Sweet Apple Acres, to the opulent town hall, all the way to the dark edge of the Everfree forest, nothing was hidden from him. The pony wasn’t interested in any of this, however. His gaze was locked on a valley just behind the town, just above Sweet Apple Acres. The stallion had been looking at this gap between mountains for fifteen minutes now, pacing all the while. He stopped his frantic walking for a moment to look down into the hills below his elevated position. Empty.

Where the bloody hell are they? he thought impatiently. Tearing his gaze away from the rocks below, he resumed his pacing. I swear if they don’t get here in time I’m- He froze in place, listening. Rotating like radar dishes, his ears pinpointed the source of the sound below him. Hoof steps. They’re here. Sparing a final concerned glance towards the valley, the stallion turned and ran to meet the new arrivals.

Not far away, four ponies were locked in a dead sprint away from the small town of Ponyville. Leading them on was the green mare, closely flanked by West, both effortlessly evading rocks and fallen branches as they ran. A few body lengths behind them was Twilight, desperately trying to keep pace with the other two.

“Twilight! You need to stop!” Rainbow Dash yelled from above the unicorn. Rainbow Dash had been flying above her from the moment they left the library, all the while trying to get her friend to listen to her. Twilight, however, wasn’t having any of it.

“Drop it Rainbow, I’m going with them. You can’t change my mind,” Twilight said in exasperation.

Rainbow looked at her with disbelief. “You met them twenty minutes ago! You don’t know who they are, or what the rush is! What if they’re luring you into the woods to rob you, or worse! This could be a scam, or they could even be-“ Rainbow Dash was cut off abruptly as she slammed headfirst into a tree. Hard. Twilight rolled her eyes and continued running. Unknown to her, Rainbow Dash simply lay in the center of the trail behind her, unconscious.

Up ahead, West and the mare came to a stop in at the base of a steep hill. West turned around to address Twilight, who arrived a heartbeat later in a fit of panting. “You alright back there Twilight?” The unicorn simply nodded. She was not, and had never been, a particularly physical pony. The run from town had probably been the most exercise she had had in months. “Great, now where’s Sparky?”

Having regained enough breath to speak, Twilight held up a hoof. "If you don't mind my asking, why are we running? What's the hurry?"

West opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off as the pegasus beside him pointed towards the hill behind him. “I see him, up there. Come on, let’s meet him half way.” The mare began making her way up the hill without waiting for any replies. West, seemingly forgetting the unicorn's presence, began after the strange mare, bounding between boulders to catch up with her.

Only Twilight was left at the base, gasping for breath. “Wait!” she called weakly. “I don’t even know your name yet!” With a groan, she slowly began plodding up the hill to catch up with the others. “If we’re walking the whole way at this pace, I’ve made an enormous mistake.”

It took Twilight a good two minutes to reach them, at which point she was able to get a good look at the stallion West had called ‘Sparky’. He was a brown earth pony, about Twilight's height, and not as well built as the others. His unkempt mane was a chocolate brown, and a cutie mark depicting two copper gears adorned his flank. Like the others, he was dressed very strangely, wearing a tight fitting grey suit under a heavy brown duster that ran down past his knees. Unlike the others, he wore nothing over his back, wearing instead a pair of aviation goggles strapped tightly to his forehead. Despite the odd circumstances, Twilight thought he was a rather handsome stallion.

The moment she came into view, all three ponies turned to face the unicorn. “Ah, speak of the devil!” Sparky said cheerily. He spoke in a strange accent that Twilight couldn’t place. “And is this lovely unicorn the one you’ve hired?” He briskly walked over to Twilight and offered his hoof, smiling broadly. Twilight held her head low from exhaustion, barely managing to lift her hoof to shake his. “Name’s Sparky, pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he greeted, shaking her hoof violently.

“Sorry to interrupt,” the green pegasus said almost sarcastically, “but we still have a situation. Remember where you parked?”

“Hmm? Oh, that’s right,” Sparky said, as if suddenly remembering where he was. “Right then! Let’s get on board, shall we? This way Mr. West, Miss. Misty, Miss. Sparkle.” So her name is Misty thought Twilight. Sparky spun in place and happily trotted away from the group with a smile spread across his face, West and the mare named Misty in tow. Twilight was left behind again.

“On board? On board what?” she yelled after them before giving chase.

The group followed a small path tracing its way between two hills for a distance before turning off it and climbing a third hill. West, Misty, and Sparky stopped when they got to it's peak. Twilight slowly made her way up behind them, looking directly at the ground. “Don’t you guys ever get tired?” she panted. When no response came, Twilight lifted her head and couldn’t help but gasp at the view.

In front of the small hill they stood atop, a massive shape loomed above the ground. The majority of it was made up by an enormous grey and red balloon, easily 250 feet from end to end. It was long and sleek, and was pinched in some places by tie downs and ropes keeping it in place. Ornate fins jutted off of it, giving it a surprisingly elegant appearance. Beneath it hung what appeared to be a large wooden boat, dangling by thick cords wrapped around the balloon. At one point in time it might have been a two mast cutter, but now bore little resemblance to its seaworthy counterparts. Though it was almost 100 feet shorter than the balloon above, it looked like there was enough room for a pegasus race on the deck of the ship. It was incredibly sleek, with it's wheel house barely standing any higher than the rest of the deck,and the foremost beam extending a good fifty feet into thin air. Fabric pipes ran up the rigging at the rear of the ship, seamlessly entering the ballast above. Various brass and copper valves jutted out awkwardly from nooks and crannies on the rear deck, some leading towards the control board while others snaked below the floorboards. Along the sides of the hull, wood and metal assemblies hung out, ending in lightweight wooden propellers. Behind those, delicate looking fins of the same color as the balloon acted as rudders. Large glass panes were placed underneath the bow and behind what Twilight assumed to be the captain’s quarters, giving her a glimpse of the inside even from this distance. It was by no means a pretty ship, as it looked more like a boat with aspirations of flight as oppose to an actual aircraft, but it was an awesome sight none the less.

Turning around to face the others, Sparky rose to his hind legs and spread his fore-hooves wide. “Miss Sparkle, I give you the airship Volans.”

<<<<<>>>>>

Half a mile behind them, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes groggily. The world seamed hazy to her, and she felt like she was on the brink of vomiting. Rubbing her head tenderly, Rainbow looked down the trail. What the hay were you thinking Twilight? Mustering all of her strength, she unsteadily lifted up into the air and flew after them.

<<<<<>>>>>

West, Misty, and Sparky took off down the hill without hesitation. Misty took flight and rose towards the ship under her own power, while West and Sparky jumped onto a mooring rope to make their way up. Grabbing it with all four limbs, they swiftly began to climb. Twilight stood in wonder for another moment before making her way towards the base of the rope herself.

Once on the deck, Sparky made his way across the boat towards Misty as she landed. “Ello,” he said as he approached her, the smile he sported a earlier nowhere to be seen.

“Hey,” she responded frankly. There was a brief pause while the mare dropped her bags. “Did you see anything?”

Sparky looked over his shoulder to check the deck behind him. When he saw that Twilight was still on the ground, he turned back to the pegasus. “Not in the Ponyville basin, but they can’t be far behind us. I’d be surprised if they didn’t arrive in town by the end of the day, to be perfectly honest. Best tell West while I get us ready to go.” Misty simply nodded in response, her eyes locked on the valley across town.

There was a tremendous crack accompanied by a blinding violet flash as Twilight teleported onto the deck and began looking around excitedly. “I’ve never been on an airship before,” she said, smiling like a school filly. The faint worries of betrayal she had mere minutes ago where replaced by fillyhood amazement toward the vehicle she now stood atop. Spying Sparky, Twilight made her way over to him. “Is this your ship?”

Sparky nodded proudly. “That it is, owned and operated”

Twilight shook her head in wonder “I’ve never been this close to one, let alone ridden one… what type of gasses keep the balloon buoyant?”

The brown stallion looked at Twilight in surprise for a second before answering. “Various noble gasses, mostly helium, piped up from tanks below deck into gas bladders above… why?”

“I’ve read about air travel, but I’ve never had a chance to examine a craft in person, so I’d like to know how this one works,” Twilight said simply. She was looking straight up, examining the grey form above her.

Sparky chuckled at the strange young unicorn before him. “Curious one, aren’t we? I like that. Tell ya what, once we’re under way and have our course locked in, I’ll tell ya everything there is to know about her. Sound good?” he asked, patting the railing for emphasis.

Twilight nodded enthusiastically. “That would be amazing, thank you!”

Sparky gave an exaggerated bow. “My pleasure. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to see us off.”

With that, Sparky turned to the wheel deck and climbed the staircase to the controls as Misty trotted towards West. “Welcome aboard,” she halfheartedly greeted as she passed Twilight, who was now admiring the view from the raised platform. West was reeling in the wheel of rope they had climbed when Misty reached him. “West, we ready to go?”

West nodded as he pulled in the last of the line. “I’m all set. Talk to Sparky about…” He glanced towards the purple unicorn for a moment before continuing in a softer voice “…what he saw yet?”

Misty nodded, looking out over the landscape. “He said that they’re a ways out still, but they’ll be in town soon. We should make it out on time, no problem. As long as there are no more setbacks, that is.” She turned back to West to see him squinting at something in the distance. “What is it?”

West shook his head, still scanning the horizon. “Don’t know, for a second I thought I saw a-“ He was cut short by a tremendous WHOMP that sounded across the ship as a cyan blur rolled violently across the deck. “…setback” West finished, massaging his temples as the pegasus’ crash landing came to an undignified end.

Twilight and Sparky immediately rushed towards the pony now lying on the deck, who was attempting-and failing-to stand up. “Rainbow Dash? What the were you thinking? You could have hurt yourself!” Twilight called to her friend, who had managed to prop herself into a sitting position across the deck from her. As they got nearer, it was clear that Rainbow Dash was not in prime condition. She was swaying from side to side as if intoxicated, and was now sporting a massive purple and red bruise above her eye, presumably from the impact with the tree.

“What am I thinking? What are you thinking? You’re the one who ran off with a pair of complete strangers!” Rainbow Dash accused in a slurred voice. She was obviously having more and more trouble staying upright.

Sparky stopped a ways away, seeing the tension between the two. Twilight stopped nearer to Rainbow Dash, more annoyed and angry than worried. “I know these ponies well enough. They’re an explorer and an archaeologist, looking for a lost runic matrix.” Twilight said confidently, motioning towards the three assembled ponies. “…And a pilot, apparently.”

West leaned over to Misty and whispered in her ear. “Did you tell her I was an archaeologist?"

Misty shook her head slightly, not taking her eyes off of the two mares. “She got pilot and explorer right. Loosely, but close enough.”

Rainbow Dash attempted to stand up, only to stumble to her side and fall over yet again. It might have been comical, had it not been such a pitiful sight. “No, that’s who they say they are. What in Equestria makes you think you can trust them?!” Rainbow Dash seemed to be getting more hysterical by the second. “You can’t just decide to leave home like that without telling anypony!”

Twilight walked up beside Rainbow Dash and leaned in close to her, her anger growing. “Listen, Rainbow. I know you’re just trying to protect me, but you don’t have to. I’m a grown mare. I’m going with them and that’s final. I want to go with them. I want to find these runes.”

Rainbow Dash looked her in the eye, suddenly calmed. “And even if they are who they say they are, what are they going to do when they find this super powerful rune, huh? Take pictures? Write a diary about it? How do you know they don’t want to… I don’t know, start a tsunami or something? Turn the sky green? Raise the dead? Who knows what?!”

This caused Twilight to falter for a moment. She looked away from Dash and scratched a hoof against the deck.

Out of earshot of the two mares, West leaned over to Sparky and muttered in his ear. “Think she’s second guessing us?”

The brown stallion looked intently at the pair for a moment, his smile long gone. “I’d guess so. Nothing much we can do about it though. Shall I start up the engines?”

Misty joined their huddle and nodded. “Oh, there’s plenty we can do about it."

West shot Misty a look before answering. "Don’t start us off yet, just get ready to depart. We’ll let them settle this first.” Sparky nodded and walked off, leaving West and Misty to watch the two ‘talk’.

Twilight stepped back from Rainbow Dash with a stern look on her face. “Starswirl the Bearded wouldn’t have built a doomsday device, he was a scientist. And even if they’re not in this with flawless intentions, I’m still going, because if not me, somepony else will end up doing it.”

Rainbow shook her head in disbelief. “You actually trust them then?”

Twilight glanced back at West for a moment before sighing. “Well, I... No. Not yet, at least. I haven’t known them long enough.” When she looked back at her, Rainbow Dash was unsteadily standing.

She regarded Twilight with a determined expression. “Then I’m coming too.”

Twilight shook her head, eyes widening. “Rainbow Dash, I don’t think that’s a good idea. This is a scientific exploration into the unknown, not the Running of the Leaves here. It could be dangerous, life threatening even.”

Rainbow simply stared at her flatly. “So you think you, being the librarian, should go instead?”

Twilight scratched the back of her head sheepishly. “…Right. Poor choice of argument.”

“I’m coming, that’s final. You’re not the only one that can be stubborn.” Rainbow tried to push past Twilight in defiance, only to stumble in the effort and fall heavily to the deck with an undignified grunt.

Twilight gave her a worried look and knelt over her friend, having finally noticed her inability to stand. “Rainbow, are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just a little dizzy is all. I think I hit that tree harder than I thought.” Rainbow replied. When she tried to stand back up, Dash found herself being hoisted up by Twilights magic. Twilight gave her a small smile.

“Thank you Rainbow.” Rainbow Dash only nodded back, avoiding eye contact. Twilight propped the pony up against her, swinging one hoof over her shoulder to support her. Once Rainbow was on her hooves, the crew approached the two.

“So what’s the verdict, ladies?” West asked sternly, eying the injured pegasus.

“She would like to tag along, if you will allow it,” Twilight answered for her friend, who seemed to be on the cusp of consciousness.

West turned to Misty, who gave both a hard stare. She shrugged and turned away. “Might as well take on two incompetent civilians in one step. As long as you watch them, what do I care?” There was a trace of spite in her voice.

West turned back towards the two and winked at them. “Believe it or not, that means you’re all set. Glad to have you aboard Miss.” Rainbow opened her mouth to answer, but opted to nod when no words left her mouth. “We have a small medical facility downstairs where we can get this poor filly looked after.” West chuckled.

“Right then, Ready-o?” Sparky yelled from the wheel deck, smile once again plastered on his face.

Walking to the front of the ship by Misty, West grabbed onto one of the rigging lines attaching the ship to the balloon and swung himself out over open space, hanging comfortably off of the bow. “Take us out Sparky.”

“Yes sir!” Sparky answered happily, his goofy smile once again spread across his muzzle. He eagerly obliged, kicking two metal levers into position with his back legs before grabbing a third in his mouth and yanking it down onto the deck. There was a deep shudder as the engine rumbled to life. The Ponyville natives looked to the floor as a muffled, irregular popping sound began to emanate from below deck. The sound grew in speed and regularity, eventually becoming a soft idle.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash limped to the side of the airship to look over the landscape for the last time before they left. A cold gust of wind met them as they reached the edge, causing the unicorn to flinch and cover her face for a moment. Looking back onto their small town, Twilight held her breath. This was it. No turning back. She looked over at Rainbow Dash propped against her. Dash was biting her lower lip in what might have been fear, anxiety, both, or something else entirely. “Here we go,” she whispered to herself.

Sparky approached the wheel and bit down on the throttle, jamming it forward. The journey began.

Chapter III- Cast and crew

Chapter III

Cast and crew

“Top bunk!”

This was the last one. Do this and you’ve got it in the bag, Applejack. Last. Bucking. Tree. With a grunt of exertion, Applejack kicked the trunk of the apple tree with all her remaining strength. She grinned triumphantly as the tree’s delicious fruit rained into the baskets below. “Last one down and it’s not even noon.” She said proudly, turning to her brother.

Big Mac kicked a hoof in defeat. “Alright AJ, you won fair and square,” Applejack stared at him evenly, devilish smirk on her face. “…and you should be proud.” Applejack leaned forward a bit. Big Mac sighed and reached into his saddle bag. He withdrew a grease stained paper bag and handed it to her. “…and you win the last piece of Granny’s pie.”

Applejack smiled broadly and took the bag. “Why thank you Mac, you shouldn’t ‘a.” Big Macintosh grumbled something about it being an unfair competition before making his way back to the farmhouse. Applejack made to follow him, but stopped in her tracks when a large shadow passed over her. Looking in all directions, she could see trees being covered by it. It was as if the entire property was being devoured by the night in the middle of the afternoon. Didn't think the weather patrol scheduled rain today. Applejack looked up, expecting to see a group of pegasi pushing a storm front in. What she saw instead made her drop the bag she held.

“Something wrong Appleja…” Big Mac trailed off as he turned around. “What in Equestria is that thing?” he said under his breath. The sun was blocked by a massive shape looming above the Apple residence. So large, in fact, that the two farmers had to crane their necks just to look at it clearly.

There was a sharp thwang as a harpoon trailing a line of rope left the behemoth and landed in a cloud of dirt mere feet from Applejack. With an undignified squeal of surprise, the farm mare fell over backwards. From her position on the ground, Applejack could clearly see a young earth pony slide down the rope, landing softly next to them. He was a mottled grey and black pony, younger than Applejack, but with a shockingly strong build that made him look nearly as large as Big Mac. The stranger wore a tattered tank-top and a leather sash of some kind across his chest. Releasing the line, he looked at them with a toothy smile that sent chills down Applejack's spine. Once back on her hooves, Applejack backed away until she was next to her brother.

“Allo Mr., Miss.” The newcomer said in a thick Manehatten accent. “I’d like ‘ta ask you a few questions, if you’d be alright with that.”

Applejack and Big Mac shared a confused glance before looking back at the young stallion. “W-what kind of questions, stranger?”

The stallion’s smile widened. “Nothing difficult, just wanted to know if either of ya had seen a new stallion in town, friend of ours, actually. Orange? Brown mane?"

Both farmers shook their heads silently. “Sorry mister, we’ve been out here all day, haven’t seen a soul ‘til you came along.” Applejacks gaze steadily rose up the rope as she spoke, still bewildered by the vehicle above her.

“Should be traveling with a green mare, goes by Misty. Ring any bells?” The stallion pressed further.

“Sorry, haven’t seen nothin’.” When Applejack looked back down, the stallion had lost his smile, and instead was glaring at them impatiently.

“They came in town to search for a unicorn, a powerful one. Any idea who they might be looking to meet?” The stallion began walking closer to them, prompting the farmers to back away.

Something doesn’t seem right here. Applejack thought as the stallion approached her. “Haven’t a clue, sorry.” Element of honesty my flank.

The stallion seized his advance, looking the two over again with suspicion.

“Alright then. Thanks for your time.” He began walking back to the rope before turning around again. “Oh, and I’d rather you not tell anypony we visited. We wouldn't want to have to come back again, would we? It’s such a nice plot of land, after all,” he said threateningly. He grabbed onto the rope with his fore hooves as it slowly rose back into the shape above, leaving the harpoon embedded in the ground menacingly. The shape began to pull away, leaving as quickly as it had come.

Applejack shared a worried glance with Big Mac, who was already galloping back to the farm house. “I’ll get Applebloom,” he said, concern in his voice.

“Right,” Applejack responded as she watched the massive machine leave. “Ah think I’m gonna run to town an’ check on Twi real quick.” Big Mac nodded and she trotted off towards Ponyville.

<<<<<>>>>>

The cold winter air rolled over the deck of the Volans as it slid around the Everfree forest. It was crisp and still, even as the sun reached the highest point in the sky. On the wheel deck, Sparky was steering the ship away from the town, humming a cheery tune to himself. Misty was on the foredeck idly looking at the hills as they rolled by with passive interest. Behind her, West was leading the two new travelers back to the wheel deck, where a small staircase led below deck.

“Givin’ ‘em the grand tour then?” Sparky called from above.

“I will, after we get this pegasus looked after.” He nodded toward Rainbow, who was still propping herself against Twilight in an attempt to stay standing. “She hit her head pretty hard, apparently,” West replied.

Sparky nodded at this, eyeing the blue mare curiously. “When did that happen, anyways? When she clonked onto my deck? Didn’t look like she hit all that hard.”

West shook his head “She said something about a tree, don’t know what she meant by that.” Rainbow Dash’s cheeks turned a shade of pink, and she hid her face behind Twilights’ head in a vain attempt to hide.

Sparky smirked and looked back to his controls. “Ah well, let me know when you’re finished with her. I’ll ‘elp you show 'em around.”

West nodded his thanks and turned to Twilight. “I’ll take her below and have her looked after. Why don’t you… uhhh…” West looked around the deck for inspiration before settling on the bow. “Talk to Misty for a little while?” Twilight looked tentatively at the green mare on the front of the boat, then back to West.

“Uhh… sure, I suppose we could get to know each other a little better…” Before Twilight could say anything more, West effortlessly hoisted Rainbow Dash, who seemed too tired or delirious to do anything about it, off Twilight’s shoulder and onto his own.

“Great! I’ll have her well looked after, don’t worry. We’ll be down the stairs behind the first door on the right if you want to check in.” With that, they were gone. Twilight turned around and looked at the mare on the opposite end of the deck.

I should at least formally introduce myself, Twilight thought; she didn’t even seem to know my name earlier. approaching her from behind, she greeted her, making an attempt to sound friendly despite the strange circumstances. “Hello Misty, sorry we didn’t get properly introduced earlier. I’m Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight smiled warmly and extended a hoof to shake, but the mare didn’t turn around.

“I know,” Misty said dryly. Twilight bit her lip and awkwardly put her hoof down. They stood in silence for a moment.

“So how long have you been on this ship?” Twilight asked, attempting to make conversation with the stoic mare.

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow when you start making yourself useful,” Misty replied before turning and walking away as if Twilight wasn’t there. The unicorn stood on the deck for a minute, watching her retreat below deck. What was that about? Had Pinkie been onboard, she would not have stood for this. But, being Twilight, the subject was dropped immediately until further notice. Now having nothing better to do besides stand alone on the deck, Twilight decided she might as well check on Rainbow Dash.

Trotting to the rear of the ship, Twilight made her way down the flight of stairs West had used a minute earlier. Darkness quickly engulfed the unicorn as she walked down the steep staircase, as sparsely placed candles acted as the only source of illumination. The walls and floorboards seemed old and broken, but every visible surface was surprisingly clean. At the base of the stairs, a long hallway lined with eight unkempt bunk beds spread towards the bow. Behind her, two doors stood on either side of the staircase, pressed up against the hull. Taking the door on the right, Twilight found herself in a small infirmary. Unlike the hallway, it was brightly lit by a row of candles along each wall near the ceiling. It seemed far more sterile than the hallway outside, for the floor was tiled in a shining white and the walls were plastered with clean wallpaper. Off to one side, West was standing by one of three small beds, spreading some sort of green salve on a sleeping Rainbow Dash. Glancing up, he gave Twilight a confused look.

“What happened to talking to Misty?” he inquired.

Twilight shrugged. “She didn’t seem very eager to chat. She said something about talking after I started working.” This made the orange Stallion frown.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about her. She can be a bit…” West struggled to find the right word for a moment. “…gritty the first time you meet her. She’s not a bad pony, believe me.” He chuckled slightly at his own comment. “Believe me…” West looked back to the pegasus on the bed in front of him. “Anyways, our patient here should be just fine. No concussion as far as I can see and no need for stitches. I’d venture a guess that she will wake up with a headache and nothing more.” Twilight was relieved to hear this, and it showed. West smiled and walked across the room to wash his hooves in a small metal basin against one wall. “She’s a friend of yours I take it?”

Twilight nodded, not taking her eyes off the pony sleeping soundly on the table. “She was just trying to protect me. I didn’t know she hit the tree so hard.”

Looking back, West could clearly see the guilt in her eyes. He shook his head, drying his hooves off. “This is by no means your fault. She just wasn’t watching where she was going.” He stopped drying and looked up. “…right?”

Twilight glared at him. “I didn’t hit her with a tree, if that’s what you’re implying.”

The stallion raised a foreleg defensively “Sorry, just asking.” Twilight turned back to her friend. West began to make his way out, thinking it best to leave the two alone.

“Thank you, by the way.” Twilight said quietly without looking back at him. West stopped in the doorway for a moment and nodded before continuing out.

<<<<<>>>>>

“There are certain advantages to being left home alone,” Spike said to himself as he walked out of the kitchen, balancing a monstrous ice-cream-sapphire-donut-rice ball sandwich on his back. He dropped the teetering tower carefully on a table, eyeing his creation hungrily. “This is my greatest culinary achievement, hands down. And Twilight says I can’t cook. HA!” Plopping himself in a chair, Spike rose his fork in preparation for the feast ahead of him.

knock knock knock

Spike froze in place, listening.

Knock knock knock

The sound came again, louder this time. Sighing in frustration, Spike dropped his fork and went to answer the door. “It’s open! Lock was busted open this morning, anyways.” Before he reached it, the door flew open to revealing a frantic orange mare.

“Where’s Twilight?” Applejack asked impatiently. “Ah need to talk to ‘er as soon as possible, it’s important.”

“She left earlier today with a couple of ponies, something about an adventure. I didn’t pay attention to the details.” Spike waved a hand dismissively, returning to his seat at the table.

Applejack looked at Spike in disbelief. “Whaddya mean she left? Just like that? Without telling anypony? When’s she commin home?” Spike shrugged, cutting a piece out of his sandwich. “Ya don’t know?” Applejack ran up to Spike, who was desperately trying to get one of each ingredient into one bite of his sandwich. “Spike, don’t you care about this? Twilight could be in trouble, and you’re just sitting here gorging on… what the hay is that thing?”

Spike looked away from his plate. “Oh, just something I whipped up. I call it a-“

“Ah don’t care!” Applejack yelled impatiently. “I need you to tell me where Twilight went and who she went with. Somepony visited the farm today asking if there were any powerful unicorns in town and he looked shifty ta me. I’m worried he might have been talking about Twilight.”

Spike looked between his meal and Applejack for a moment, trying to decide which should have priority. After a moment of deep contemplation, he dropped his fork and hopped off the chair. “She left with a stallion and a mare I haven’t seen before and went through town to the south, but I don’t know where. What makes you think she's in trouble?”

“Was it a green mare and an orange stallion?” Applejack pressed, ignoring his question. A worried look began spreading across her face.

Spike gave her a funny look. “Yeah, how’d you know that?”

Applejack kicked the floor in frustration. “Horseapples! Alright, Ah’ll go tell Rainbow what’s happening. They couldn’t have gotten far, maybe she can find them before sunset. Then ah’ll wrangle up the other girls and decide what to do from there.” She began to walk back out when Spike stopped her.

“Actually Applejack, Rainbow Dash sorta… went with Twilight…” The dragon suddenly became very interested in the tops of his feet under Applejack's gaze.

Applejack face-hooved. “Ya know what, ah shouldn’t be surprised. Mind sendin’ a letter to Canterlot for me, or did Celestia go with ‘em too?”

<<<<<>>>>>

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes slowly. Her head felt light, and a throbbing headache was pulsing though her forehead. What did I drink last night? Closing her eyes once again to ward of the stinging light, she pulled the sheets higher. Her eyes snapped open. Sheets. Sheets, not clouds. She wasn't at home. Looking around the room in confusion, she saw that it was small, the only furniture being three small beds. The walls were covered in cheap looking white wallpaper that was peeling in some places, revealing the wooden paneling behind. She began dragging herself upright in bed to get a better look, but froze when she heard a soft snort close by. Whipping her head around franticly, she saw the source of the sound. At the foot of her bed, a familiar purple unicorn was curled up in a small chair sleeping soundly. Rainbow raised an eyebrow, trying to remember where she was and how she got here. Ok, so I was home. Then I went to the library. I got Daring Do, then… what? I ended up in this trashy hospital with Twilight somehow… must have been an awesome party. Wish I could remember it. She let out a dejected sigh and fell back down into the bed with a soft clunk.

Twilight’s eyes shot open at the small sound, and she immediately sat up. “Rainbow Dash! You’re awake! Are you ok? Oh Dash, I’m so sorry about all that! I didn’t see you after you hit the tree, I didn’t know how hard you hit and I-“

“Whoa whoa whoa, slow down, Twi! What happened? How did I get here?”

Twilight stared at her for a moment, eyes wide. “…You don’t remember?”

Rainbow Dash slowly shook her head. “Last thing I remember I was at the library getting another Daring Do book. How did I end up in the hospital?”

Twilight looked at Rainbow in disbelief. “Rainbow, you’re not in the hospital, you’re on an airship. Remember? I left with West and Misty? The two who came into the library when you were upstairs? When I left you followed us out and-“

“-head butted a tree. Gotcha” Rainbow Dash finished, nodding slightly. She looked at her bed sheets for a moment before allowing her head to fall backwards in the pillow. She remained silent for a moment before rolling onto her side. “You’re a bucking idiot for doing all this, by the way”

Twilight slid back into the chair she had been sleeping on and looked at the floor. The two sat in silence for a few minutes. When Twilight broke the silence, it was barely above a whisper. “I’m really sorry, Rainbow, I just… I wanted to do something new. I know I rushed into this, but I just haven’t been doing anything interesting." The unicorns voice began to crack as she spoke. "I wanted to do something exciting… First day out and I almost gave my best friend a concussion…” She blinked a tear out of her eye, only to have it be replaced with more. Rainbow lifted her head to look at Twilight, but swiftly returned to the wall when she saw her tears. They couldn't meet each other’s eyes for the longest time. The only sounds where the creaking of the hull, the soft thumping of the engine, and the small unicorn’s sniffles.

Ah, hell. Now you’ve done it Dash. Rainbow thought. She continued staring at the wall for a few minutes, trying to ignore the sounds of her best friend crying. It didn’t work. She turned over in her bed and stared at the ceiling. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I’ m just… A lot happened today, yanno?” Rainbow Dash said quietly. The sniffling stopped. Rainbow looked up just in time to see Twilight diving on her to give her a tight hug. She recoiled for a moment before smiling slightly and hugging her back.

“I’m so sorry” Twilight said quietly.

Rainbow Dash smiled beside herself. This pony really takes things hard. When they broke the embrace, Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “I agreed to come with you, didn’t I?” At Twilights nod, she began to laugh. It started as a giggle, but quickly escalated to a body shaking guffaw that could be heard across the ship. Twilight could only stare at her friend in concern as the pegasus rolled in the bed, laughing like a mad pony.

"...Are you alright Dash?"

Rainbow Dash nodded enthusiastically, barely able to speak between gasps of air. "Never better."

Twilight sat there a moment, waiting for Rainbow to say more, but no explanation came. "So... What's so funny?"

Rainbow Dash stat up a bit straighter and looked at Twilight with bright eyes. "We're going on an adventure!"

Twilight only nodded slightly, putting on an unconvincing smile. She had no idea why Rainbow Dash had seemingly forgotten all suspicion against the crew, but she certainly didn't want to remind her of it. If Rainbow wanted to come along, it was all the better in Twilight's mind.

“Sparky came in earlier and said dinner was going to be served at 6:20 or so, so I think we should get washed up.”

Rainbow Dash nodded and motioned toward the salve on her forehead. “You go ahead Twi, I’ll be out in a minute. Just need to get this green goop off of me.”

Twilight smiled, this time genuinely, and happily trotted back out into the hallway. This just got a lot more interesting, Twilight mused to herself. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she nearly ran into Sparky, who was coming out of the door to the left of the staircase.

“Oh, sorry about that Miss. Sparkle,” the stallion apologized as he backed up, straightening the covered platter he held on his back and pushing his flight goggles higher onto his forehead. “Sounds like our patient is awake. And lively, if the laughter is any indication.”

Twilight smiled and nodded knowingly. “I’d say she’s feeling better, yes. She’d like to come to dinner tonight too, if there’s enough to go around.”

Sparky gave her a warm smile. “I’m not about to let a sick mare go hungry, Miss. Sparkle. There’s plenty to go around. Always is. Go ahead and take a seat at the table. Dining room is the last door at the end of the hallway.” Twilight nodded her thanks before continuing her prance to the dining room.

Opening the door Sparky had pointed to, Twilight was awed by the room before her. The dining room was positioned in the bow of the ship, with the enormous glass panel she had seen earlier giving an incredible panoramic view of the land below. The room was surprisingly large, too, for the walls curved with the sides of the ship, indicating it traced the entire width of the vessel. These walls were lined with ornate paintings from exotic locations, and glass cases displayed foreign artifacts and antiquities that Twilight didn’t have names for. A gold chandelier hung from the ceiling, illuminating the room in a warm glow. A long wooden table ran down the center of the room, with a dozen aging red velvet chairs lined along its edges. A white tablecloth was set across the table, along with tarnished silver utensils that gleamed shades of gold in the ambient candle light.

“Ah, just in time!” Twilight turned to see West adjusting a table setting. “I was starting to think that you wouldn’t be eating with us.”

“I’m glad I didn't sleep through it, this room is amazing!” she responded, still admiring her surroundings.

“Yup. For such a small ship, Sparky keeps us well accommodated. I think you’ll find it comfortable enough on board. Is your pegasus friend going to be joining us?”

Twilight nodded. “She should be here in a moment. She’s making a fast recovery, to say at the least.” Behind West, Misty trotted in and sat down at one corner of the table without greeting either of them.

A few minutes later, Sparky walked in balancing a large covered silver platter on his back and a bowl on his forehead.

“Dinners on!” he said to the assembled ponies.

Twilight chose a seat on one end of the table across from West, and Sparky promptly sat down next to her. Misty abandoned her isolated seat in favor of one next to West, who shot her a smile as she did so. “Dig in, everypony!” Sparky announced as he removed the cover from the silver platter, revealing the delicacy below. “Eggplant Parmesan, enjoy!”

Twilight gasped at the plate as the others began to load their own plates with a slice of the delicacy.

“Something wrong, Twilight?” Sparky asked, noticing her surprise.

“No, no, not at all. I haven’t eaten like this since I lived in Canterlot! Who cooked this?” Twilight said as she hungrily began to shovel some of the food onto her plate.

Before anypony could answer her, the dining room door swung open as Rainbow Dash walked in. West immediately lowered his fork and looked at her. “There she is. How are you feeling Miss…” he trailed off, realizing he didn’t know her name.

“Dash” Rainbow finished for him. “And I’m fine, thanks.” She smiled at Twilight as she spoke.

Misty froze mid bite. Putting down her fork, she looked at the cyan pegasus as if she had turned into solid gold.

“Miss. Dash,” he nodded. “I’m afraid we never got properly introduced when you first… arrived.” Sparky rolled his eyes at West’s choice of words.

Rainbow Dash broke eye contact, rubbing a hoof on the floor awkwardly. “Yeah, sorry about that. I guess I wasn’t thinking very clearly back there.”

“I’m sorry, what did you say your name was again?” Everypony in the room fell silent and looked at Misty as she spoke.

“Uhh… Rainbow Dash?” the pegasus answered slowly, looking suspiciously at Misty.

“Rainbow Dash?” Misty repeated, eyes widening. Rainbow Dash nodded, still not understanding the green mare’s angle. Misty’s muzzle was split by an enormous smile. “Oh, Celestia I don’t believe it!” She seemed to be giddy with excitement, much to the confusion of all the others in the room. “I mean, you looked familiar, but I didn’t even think… Do you remember me? We went to flight school together! I was cheering you on when you did your first Sonic Rainboom! I’ve been trying to track you down for years now to catch up; I can’t believe you were in Ponyville that whole time! That’s amazing! I was so jealous of you in school; you were, like, my idol! I mean, I had two years on you, but still! I still remember this one time where, um… uhh…” Misty looked around the room to the others, who were snickering at her rant. She sank slowly back into her seat, blushing profusely.

“I didn’t realize you knew Miss. Dash,” Sparky said, failing to hide an amused chuckle.

“Yeah, you’ve never so much as mentioned her before now,” West added in.

Misty, having already regained her composure, sat up straight in her seat. “Yeah, I just… didn’t have any reason to tell you before.” She resumed eating, desperately trying to move past her gushing. The stallions continued to snicker until a death glare from Misty silenced them.

Rainbow Dash beamed as she looked over the room, and stood up a bit straighter than she had a moment ago. I do make a pretty awesome idol, don’t I? She thought. With a new sense of belonging, Rainbow walked over and sat down across the table from Misty and began to talk with her.

Twilight leaned over to Sparky, who was grinning at the mares' change in behavior. “You’d be surprised how easy it is to win Rainbow Dash’s trust,” Twilight whispered.

“Appears that way. She’s in good company though; I’ve never seen Misty talk so much in all the years I’ve known her.”

Twilight nodded as she began to eat. “What’s her job on board anyway? I haven’t actually seen her do anything yet.”

“She’s with us as a guide. Considering we’re likely headed into unexplored territory, she could prove invaluable.” The brown stallion cut a small edge off his dish and took a bite, politely wiping his mouth before continuing. “She’s an explorer for hire, a real life Daring Do, really.”

Twilight smiled between bites. “You know Daring Do is a grave robber in those books, right?”

Sparky turned to the unicorn and gave her a mischievous wink. “Yes I do.”

“Oh, I see” Twilight glanced at the mare across the table with rejuvenated curiously. She was still talking with Rainbow Dash, occasionally taking a large forkful of food before resuming her excited chattering. Beside her was West, who was picking at his plate halfheartedly while listening intently to the mares beside him. “And what’s West’s job?”

The brown stallion shrugged passively. “He’s technically a passenger, but he makes himself useful enough.”

Twilight looked back in surprise. “He’s not a crew member? What’s he doing on board?”

Sparky paused in thought before answering. “Best you ask him yourself, I think.” Twilight eyed Sparky but did not press the matter. While unsettled by not knowing who he was, it was simply too late to investigate. Good food and a warm bed where priority now.

<<<<<>>>>>

After diner, the crew filed out of the dining room and went their separate ways. Sparky said his goodnights and retreated into a doorway marked ‘captain’, while Misty walked into the kitchen with the dirty dishes.

West stayed behind with Rainbow Dash and Twilight and led them into the main hallway at the base of the stairs. “You can take any cot you want here, unless it’s labeled otherwise,” he said, motioning towards the walls of bunk beds. “Take your pick, I’ll be back in a second to blow out the candles.” With that, the stallion disappeared behind the infirmary door.

Twilight and Rainbow looked at each other.

“…Top bunk!”

“Top bu- damn it!” Rainbow said angrily. The blue pegasus mumbled something about reflexes while Twilight smiled and hopped onto the top of the nearest bunk bed.

“You know there are seven other beds in here, right Rainbow?” Twilight asked, peeking out from her raised cot.

Rainbow Dash looked up at her with a grin. “Oh yeah, huh?” Dash looked up and down the row before hopping onto the one in front of Twilight’s chosen bed. Looking to her left, Rainbow saw that the bed across from hers had been replaced with a small hammock. A wooden sign with a compass rose hung behind it, with all letters except the ‘W’ removed. Must be West’s bunk Rainbow thought as she got comfortable in her new bed.

A minute later, the orange stallion returned to the hallway with his jacket slung over his shoulder and his strange sheath lying across his back. He made his way towards his hammock, blowing out candles as he walked. When he got to the end, he tossed the jacket to the deck below his bunk and the sheath onto the wall. West fell into his hammock with a grunt, swinging it slightly with his weight. Wriggling for a moment to get comfortable, he let out a sigh and closed his eyes sleepily.

Rainbow looked up and down the hallway. She had seen Sparky walking to his quarters, Twilight and West were in their beds, but where was her new fan? Did Misty not sleep in here? As if on cue, the green pegasus walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway, her hiking khakis replaced by loose fitting pajamas. Oh, I should try and get a bunk with her! That’d be awesome! We could talk all night! Rainbow leaned over to ask Misty, but paused as she saw her approach West’s hammock.

“Why do you never leave any room for me?” Misty asked playfully.

West smiled, eyes still shut. “It’s hard to leave room in a hammock, Misty.”

The mare smiled back and jumped into the hammock with the stallion, pressing herself against his side and spreading her wings over him gently. “Night everypony!” she said in an uncharacteristically chipper voice as she blew the last candle out.

Rainbow only stared at the couple slack jawed. …Wut?

Chapter IV- Down to Business

Chapter IV

Down to business

“Is she off her plot?”

The Elements of Harmony sat in silence around Twilight’s Library. Applejack twisted and turned on a couch, unable to find a comfortable position. Pinkie Pie amused herself by spinning books on one hoof, at one point spinning one fast enough to get it airborne. She was dissuaded from doing so again when it flew out of a window, however. Rarity and Fluttershy silently sipped cups of tea while staring intently at Spike, who was sitting on a table in the center of the room with hands clasped across his lap. Waiting.

Applejack groaned and sat up on the couch. “This is ridiculous, why is it taking her so long to answer? Doesn’t Twi’ usually get an answer in a matter a’ minutes?”

“Relax dear, I’m sure she is just busy. She is royalty, after all,” Rarity answered coolly, taking another sip of tea.

“Ya sure it isn’t just stuck in Spike or somethin’?” Applejack pressed, eyeing the baby dragon accusingly.

Spike stood up on the table, waving his arms “Hey, don’t look at me. I get it when she sends it, it’s not like it sits in my stomach or any- URP” a tongue of green flame shot out of Spike’s mouth as he spoke, manifesting into a scroll in front of the group. Applejack dove for it as it fell, nearly ripping it open before it hit the ground. She landed heavily next to the table on her stomach, already reading the letter.

Pinkie Pie began to bounce excitedly “Oh! Oh! What’s it say? What’s it say? What’s it say? What’s it say?”

Applejack pushed her Stetson back on her head before reading the scroll aloud.

Dear friends of Twilight Sparkle-

Although I understand your worry, I feel that I must inform you that there is no reason to fear for your friend’s safety. I have it on good authority that she is being well taken care of and is in no danger whatsoever. If you wish to communicate with my student before she returns to her home in Ponyville, send me a letter. I will dispatch couriers to deliver it.

Thank you for your concern,

-Princess Celestia

Nopony said anything for a moment while they digested what they had just heard. Rarity picked up the letter and began to re-read it for herself. Pinkie pie scratched her chin thoughtfully, remaining strangely quiet. Applejack was the first to speak.

“Did the Princess of Equestria just snuff us?” The farmer asked bluntly.

“Applejack! You cannot assume that we are deliberately being left in the dark! I agree that this response is vague at best, but we cannot assume anything from it.” Rarity chastised, though she sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than anypony else. “Besides, it sounds as if the princess knows what Twilight is doing, perhaps it’s royal business.”

Applejack stood up on the couch “But we’re her friends, we deserve to know what’s going on. She also said that she isn’t in danger, and Ah’m willin’ to bet the farm she is. And the princess didn’t even mention Rainbow Dash! Maybe we should send another letter.”

“I doubt that would do much, darling…” Rarity said, taking another sip. She frowned after a moment, and set her cup down with a sigh. “…But I suppose there isn’t much else we can do.”

Fluttershy whispered something inaudible, drawing everypony’s attention to her.

“What was that dear?” Rarity asked kindly.

Fluttershy repeated her mumble, sinking farther into her seat.

Applejack groaned “Fluttershy, you need to speak up, we can’t hear ya.”

“IsaidmaybeweshouldvisitCanterlontandtalktoCelestiaourselfs” Fluttershy blurted, a little too loudly. She glanced around the room, shaking slightly. “Or maybe we can just wait for her here…”

Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie pie looked at each other. “Waddya think?” Applejack asked.

“License plate game!” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. Everyone turned and gave her confused looks. “What? We need a game to play for the road trip. It’s a long ride!”

<<<<<<<>>>>>>>

“…and then she just hopped in! Right in front of me, snuggling and everything! They aren’t even that good together. He’s too… I don’t know, they just don’t look good together. Ewww, what if they forget I’m there some night and start making out?!? Ack.” Rainbow Dash gagged.

Twilight rolled her eyes. She sat on the wheel deck of the Volans examining a map Sparky had given her with Rainbow hovering over her, rambling about what she had seen the previous night. Having slept through both breakfast and lunch, Dash was scarfing down a loaf of bread she found in the kitchen as a meal. “And she totally ignored me too, that’s the worse part. Jumped in like I wasn’t there.”

“You already said that Rainbow. And chew with your mouth closed, that’s disgusting.” Twilight said without looking up from her map.

Rainbow Dash swallowed the remaining loaf in one massive bite. “Sorry, I was hungry. URP Aww, that was a good one!” She said with a laugh. Twilight couldn’t help but giggle along with her friend.

“So what’s the big deal, do you like West or something?” Twilight asked curiously.

Rainbow Dash coughed in surprise, nearly choking on a piece of the loaf. “What? No! Why would you say that?”

“Because you flipped out when you saw him with another mare.” Twilight said simply. “I don’t know why else you’d get so worked up over it”

Rainbow shook her head vigorously. “Nah, West is to… I don’t know, stiff. I like cooler guys. I’m just peeved Misty did all that in front of me. I like her, she’s pretty cool.”

Twilight laughed at this, shaking her head in amusement. “That’s because she’s an adoring fan.” Pausing, Twilight looked up from her map in confusion. “Wait, stiff? What does that even mean?”

“Hey Sparkle, you ready to pull your weight?” The two stopped talking and peered over the edge of the wheel deck to see Misty standing below. “We can’t sail in a straight line forever; we need to know where we’re going.”

Rainbow Dash and Twilight looked at each other and shrugged. “Sure, now’s a good a time as any,” Twilight called over.

“Chart house on the second deck, first door on the left,” Misty grunted before making her way down the stairs. Rainbow took flight and glided down the stairs while Twilight rolled up the map she had and followed suit.

The chart house was a small, musky room with nautical and topographical maps lining the walls. Every available piece of floor space was occupied by wooden crates crammed with rolled up scrolls and brass navigation equipment. The only furniture in the room was a large wooden map table covered in nicks and scratches from years of use and abuse. In a dimly lit corner, Misty was leaning up against a dusty bookcase, watching Sparky and West as they hunched over the table mumbling amongst themselves. Sparky looked up and smiled at Twilight as she walked in, and Twilight couldn’t help but smile back as she approached the table to see the map.

West took a step back and addressed the new arrivals. “As I’m sure you’ve noticed, we don’t actually know where we’re going yet. Since we picked you up, we’ve just been gaining distance from any towns that might see us. We’d like to get a bearing, Twilight. That’s why you’re here.”

Rainbow stepped in front of Twilight before she could answer. “Why bother avoiding towns at all, are you hiding?”

“We’d just rather not draw any attention.” Misty answered quickly. She looked around the room before sinking back into the corner silently. West and Sparky exchanged a glance before turning back to Twilight.

“I’m afraid we aren’t exactly well versed in the field of magic Miss. Sparkle. You’ll have to tell us what you need to get us where we’re going” Sparky explained. “If we need to stop and retrieve something, best to know sooner than later.”

Twilight bit her lip for a moment in thought, remaining quiet. Looking around the room, her eyes settled on a small crate in the corner by Misty. Walking briskly over, the unicorn levitated the box in a faint lavender glow. The group watched her shuffle through it in anticipation. A smile crossed her face as she found what she was looking for. Stepping back, Twilight proudly displayed her find to the group.

“…It’s a compass” Misty deadpanned, looking at the small brass mechanism Twilight was levitating.

“It’s about to get us where we’re going” Twilight said cryptically. Turning around, she faced Sparky. “Would you mind if I scratched some runes somewhere on your ship? It’s a necessary step, I’m afraid”

Sparky shrugged. “Here’s as good a place as you’ll find. Wood floorboards are boring anyway, wouldn’t mind livening it up a bit.”

Twilight nodded before searching the room once again. This time, she found what she was looking for on Misty’s back. “Misty, can I use that knife on your sash for a second?”

Misty eyed the unicorn before reluctantly removing the long black blade from her belt.

Grabbing it with her magic, Twilight trotted back to the center of the room and began moving the books and maps that littered the floor into piles in the corners of the room. All eyes were locked on her as she worked, most out of curiosity, some with impatience, and one pair with suspicion. When Twilight deemed enough space had been cleared, she turned to West.

“May I see the tome you showed me yesterday? I need to see the homing rune pattern again.” West obliged, slipping the ancient book from his saddlebag for her to read. Flipping it open, Twilight found the page she had seen previously. “Let’s hope this part of the drawing is accurate. We’re in trouble otherwise.” Taking a few steps back, she began to copy the swirls at the base of the shape onto the wooden planks of the deck.

Misty and Rainbow promptly sat down, preparing for the long haul. Sparky and West, meanwhile, watched her work with interest, occasionally asking her questions as she carved.

“So how does this work, is the receiving end going to shoot a column of light into the sky, is this thing going to start flashing faster as we get closer, or what?” West asked.

“No, this rune is an enchantment channel. All it’s going to do is act as a code for the device I choose to home in on. Sort of like a street address, in that way. To keep things simple, for you guys at least, I’m going to enchant a compass for us to follow.”

Sparky’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You can do that? That’s quite a lot simpler than I thought it would be. Follow the needle all the way in, is that it?”

Twilight nodded, not taking her eyes off the blade as she continued her meticulous drawing. “Simple as that. It’s a difficult thing to enchant, but I bet I can do it without much trouble.”

Sparky and West shared uneasy expressions. “You sure? Something simpler would work as well, as long as we get there in good time.” West volunteered.

“As long as I’m on board to refresh the spell occasionally, it won’t be a problem.” Twilight answered firmly, finally stepping away from her work. The floor was now an elaborate maze of small swirls that reached from wall to wall. Together, they formed a vague starburst shape, but it was hard to see from the cramped corridors of the room. “Finished,” she said with a sigh.

Everypony, save Misty, stepped forward to admire her work. After a minute of examination, West spoke up. “So what now?”

Twilight shrugged, scrutinizing the pattern below her hooves with a sculptures eye. “I enchant the compass with its new bearings, and we have a destination.”

“No, we have a direction” Misty corrected from her position away from the group.

Twilight smiled knowingly. “Not necessarily.” She retrieved the map she had been examining on the deck and laid it on the table, spreading it flat with her magic. “I was looking at this broad map of Equestria, and I circled all the locations that match the criteria that the runes need to be activated.” Pointing a hoof to the map, the other ponies in the room craned their necks to get a better look. This time, Misty was among them. “The terrain, elevation, and natural weather patterns limit the possible sites, and I could rule a few out on grounds of improbability.”

West looked up from the map and frowned at the unicron. “What do you mean by that?”

Twilight pointed to a few large red ‘X’s’ that were scattered across the parchment, mostly towards the center of the charted lands it displayed. “Some areas wouldn’t have held the ruins for so long without them being discovered. Canterlot, for example, meets the criteria perfectly. Surely by now somepony would have noticed 2,000 year old runes in the mountainside by now, though.”

“Who’s to say they aren’t underground?” West asked.

Twilight shook her head and returned to West’s tome. “The runes require sunlight to be activated, and the entirety of Canterlot’s mountain has been explored on the outside. That’s why I decided a compass was the best way to go, because we’d be able to see it when we reached it.”

West nodded approvingly, eyes scrutinizing the map before him. “Alright then, sounds good enough to me. When can you enchant the compass?”

Twilight smiled proudly. “Here and now, if you’d like.” West nodded his approval and motioned for her to start. Twilight pushed the table towards the far wall of the chart house to make more room before turning back to her audience. “Would you mind stepping back? It’s an incredibly delicate spell. More so than activating the runes we hope to find, actually.”

The ponies stepped back obediently as Twilight approached the center of the carving. Placing the rusty compass in a small circle in front of her, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The first indication of any activity was a pinprick of light on the unicorn’s horn that slowly grew to the size of a candle. The runes beneath her feat began to smoke slightly as the wood deck started to heat up. Twilight kept her eyes closed, occasionally wincing from the delicate procedure. Her face scrunched in the effort as light began snaking its way down the grooves in the deck. Like tiny glowing streams, the magic flowed across the intricate design as Twilights horn glowed brighter. The observers were forced to shield their eyes eventually as the light became blinding. With a sound akin to a bucket of water being dropped, a single column of light shot out of the ground around the compass. A final ear splitting crack shook the room before all light vanished, returning the chart house to its gloomy atmosphere. West, Misty, and Rainbow all lowered their hooves to see the result.

The carvings in the floor had turned a deep shade of black, ash filling the grooves. Twilight still stood in the center of the rune looking a little dizzy, but otherwise un-exerted. She shook her head violently to clear it before joining the others in the doorway. Much to the confusion of everypony, the compass sat where it had been left, exactly how it had been left.

Sparky approached the small instrument and picked it up, eyeing it with confusion. “I suppose I don’t know what I was expecting, but it doesn’t look particularly… magical to me. Is that normal?”

Twilight walked up beside him and took it within the grasp of her magic. “It needs to be charged. I just told it the address, it doesn’t have any energy to change direction at the moment.” She placed the small brass piece on the table before stepping away. “Now’s when you’ll want to close your eyes.”

Without further elaboration, the unicorn closed her eyes in immense concentration, her eyes shut tight. Beads of sweat began to roll down her forehead almost instantly, and her hooves began digging into the deck. Twilights eyes twitched, whether it was in thought or pain, nopony knew. She grunted and groaned in exertion, occasionally recoiling as if she had been physically hit. The other ponies simply stared at her in confusion.

There was no brilliant light, no magic shimmer, no unnatural wind, and the only sound was that of Twilight’s almost erotic reactions. West and Misty exchanged glances, while Rainbow simply opted to facehoof for an extended period of time, slowly shaking her head. “Is she off her plot?” Sparky whispered to nopony in particular. With a tremendous gasp, the purple unicorn fell backwards, panting heavily. If the spectators weren't confused enough, Twilight proceeded to roll onto her stomach and cover her head, as if expecting the roof to collapse.

West raised an eyebrow and gave the unicorn with a worried look. “You ok there Twilight?”

Sparing a glance up, Twilight hissed at them. “What are you doing? Cover your eyes!” Before any of them could react to her warning, a terrific purple flash exploded outwards from the desk, dazing every pony left standing. Misty and Sparky fell over in surprise from the blast, while West and Rainbow staggered back, blinded by the intense display. The light was gone as soon as it came, leaving a pile of disoriented equines in its wake.

“I told you to cover your eyes.” Twilight said flatly from her position on the floor. Rainbow tried to shoot her a dirty look, but ended up staring angrily at a wall, unable to see her friend. West shook his head out and stood up, looking somewhat embarrassed. Sparky was already on his hoofs, standing by the chart table.

“That’s more like it!” He said excitedly. An unearthly lavender glow was reflecting off his face, casting a shimmering shadow on the ceiling. Curious, everypony else approached him, Rainbow bumping and stumbling into objects in the process. There were gasps at what they saw, much to Twilight's pleasure.

Where the rusty old compass had been previously, a shining navigational instrument now shone in all its glory. It’s perfectly polished brass surface glittered in ornately carved runes identical to the ones on the floor, small purple bolts tracing their way around the shapes in seemingly random directions with minds of their own. What had been a cracked glass surface had become shinning crystal, clearly showing a brightly glowing needle inside. The silver sliver of metal slowly changed direction, and began to glow an intense shade of purple as it found its new bearing.

Twilight approached the awed group of ponies with the map she had shown earlier and laid it flat on the floor. Checking the compass, she began to trace paths on the parchment with her hoof. She smiled as it came to a stop directly over a red circle. Turning to the group, Twilight lifted the map and held it behind her for all to see.

“Looks like we’re going to the Crystal Mountains.”

Ello Everypony, DaringDid here to thank you for making it through yet another chapter! This one was a blast for me to write as is next week's, so I hope you're enjoying. If you're not, tell me why in the comments below! At any rate, another chapter should be out next week, so I'll see you all then.

Chapter V- En Route

Chapter V

En Route

“Colts can’t cook”

Twilight wiped the sweat off of her brow for the third time in a matter of minutes. Her breaths came in short bursts and her arms where shaking, not that there was anything she could do about it of course. It was understandable for what she was doing. Glancing up, she saw the stallion was still looking at her. He hadn’t taken his gaze off of her the entire time. He was just staring at her, expectantly. How can he be so calm about this? Twilight thought in panic. He knows what I’m going to say, that’s why. She unconsciously wiped her forehead again. If I do this, my entire standing on this ship will change. I don’t want to look like this, I’ve never had a reputation like this before, nowhere, I don’t want to be this kind of mare, I don’t, I won’t! She swallowed hard, glancing back down at her hooves. But I don’t have a choice, now do I? Taking another shaky breath, Twilight closed her eyes. Guess I’m doing this. She slowly lifted a hoof and picked up the item before her. “King to A5.” She already regretted it.

Without hesitation, Sparky lifted his own piece and moved it beside Twilights. “Checkmate.” He crossed his fore hoofs and leaned back, failing at any attempt to hide his smug expression. With a groan, Twilight slid off the crate she had been sitting on and fell onto her back, much to Sparky’s amusement.

It was daybreak on the fifth day on the Volans voyage. The air around the ship was steadily getting colder as they flew closer to their destination high in the Crystal Mountains. The land beneath the airship slowly rolled by, getting more and more desolate as the snow built up. Their route took them over nothing but barren, icy wasteland and sheer cliffs. Since the new bearing had been set, the ship had not slowed, let alone stopped. West and Misty had been persistent in this, saying that it was important that they get to the ruins in good time. This led the Ponyville mares to get accustom to the crew, even befriend them, having shared so much time on the small boat together.

Sparky stood up and offered Twilight his hoof. “Not often somepony gives me a run for my bits like that in chess, good show Miss Sparkle.”

Twilight simply lay on her back, looking at the balloon above in shock. “I haven’t lost a game of chess in years… I won the Canterlot chess competition’s junior category five years running…” Turning her head, Twilight looked at Sparky as if he had grown wings and a horn. “Where did you learn to play?”

Sparky abandoned his offer up and began to clean the board off of the crate they had been playing on. “My pop taught me on his ship when I was a colt. He was a champion where he came from, real prodigy. Or so I’m told, at least.”

Twilight got to her hooves to help clean up. “Your father flew airships as well?”

Sparky smiled and shook his head. “No, no he sailed the trading routs between Trottingham and the griffin kingdom. This used to be his ship, in fact. When I got it, it was called NAVIGANDI CAPAX. Awful name, if I say so myself. Has no ring to it. Anyway, flying was a dream of mine my whole life; my pop told me I was a pegasus stuck in a wingless body for that.” Sparky smiled at the fond memory before continuing. “I inherited the ship when he passed and turned it into the Volans as you see it. Monumental effort, that. But it was worth it. Every drop of sweat, every bit spent, every cut, and every late night. Perfectly worth it.” Having finished packing the board, Sparky placed the box on his back and began to trot back towards the stairs with Twilight close behind. The unicorn looked around the deck of the airship with a new respect for the vessel, knowing it had in fact stared in the ocean.

They walked across the deck in silence until they reached the stairs, where Twilight spoke up. “Your accent has been bothering me by the way, is-“

“Surely it’s not that bad…” Sparky interrupted, chuckling to himself.

Twilight giggled. “No, not like that. It’s been bothering me because I can’t place it. Is your family from Manechester?”

Sparky turned around to face her, looking genuinely offended. “No, do I look like I’m from Manechester?”

“Uhh… No? I mean, maybe? I thought that…” Twilight stumbled over her words, unsure of what to say. She was saved, however, when Misty approached them from staircase.

“Breakfast is on in two minutes. Wash up.” The pegasus turned away without another word. Though she had been far less hostile to Twilight since she came on board, Misty was by no means friendly towards her. Once Twilight had given the crew their bearings, Misty simply ignored her presence. Twilight didn’t particularly mind, however. Having made fast friends with Sparky, she wasn’t without company while Rainbow slept most of the day away. Not having to wake up to clear the skies above Ponyville had made the cyan pegasus even lazier, and she now slept until 2:00 a.m. routinely.

Thankful for the distraction, Twilight trotted hurriedly towards the stairs. “I’m going to get washed up, meet you there!” Before Sparky could say anything more, she was gone. Making her way down to the second deck, Twilight found the bathrooms and retrieved a towel to wash her hooves. Being suspended hundreds of feet in the air, water was a valuable commodity on board, so all bathing was done with soap and a damp cloth. Once clean, Twilight trotted towards the dining room. She stopped dead her tracks, however, when she reached the doorway. “…Rainbow Dash?”

The pegasus looked up and waved at her friend from her seat at the table. “Morning Twi!”

Twilight simply stared at her in disbelief. “…You’re awake? Before sunrise?”

Dash let out an audible sigh. “Yeah, fell out of my bunk a little while ago. Couldn’t get back to sleep, figured I’d sit down with you guys.”

Twilight made her way towards the table and sat down across form Rainbow, still shaking her head. “I’ve never seen you up this early before. Ever.”

Rainbow yawned loudly before dropping her chin to the table. “Tell me about it.”

Sparky was the next one in, taking a seat next to Twilight. Soon after, Misty and West entered carrying plates and silverware. West paused a moment in the doorway upon seeing the cyan pegasus awake, but recovered quickly as he began set the table. “Morning everypony,” he addressed the group in his usual gruff tone. “What are we having this morning?”

“Usual,” Misty answered curtly as she took her seat in the corner.

Sparky answered next after some thought. “Two eggs scrambled, pepper mixed in. Cheers.” The stallion nodded his thanks before leaning back in his chair.

“I’ll have a bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon, please,” Twilight said with a nod.

“Hold up a second” Rainbow said, raising her hooves to draw attention. She turned to West and gave him a strange look. “You’re the cook?”

West rose an eyebrow. “Well, I cook, if that’s the question. It’s not my-“ He was interrupted as Rainbow fell backwards in her chair, laughing hysterically. “Something funny?” the burly stallion asked.

Rainbow opened her mouth to speak, but quickly slipped back into laughter before any words found their way out. After another fit, the pegasus composed herself enough to speak. “But You’re a colt!” she said with enormous effort.

The ponies at the table exchanged glances before returning to the mare on the ground. West looked down at her evenly. “And?”

Rainbow seized her laughing and stood up, wiping tears from her eyes. “Colts can’t cook, especially one like you! It’s girly!” All eyes turned to the orange stallion, waiting for a reaction.

West stared at Rainbow Dash for a second longer before speaking. “What would you like for breakfast Miss. Dash?” This resulted in a poorly suppressed snicker from the pegasus.

“Make me five eggs over easy, a plate of hash browns, sliced bagel with butter and a glass of chocolate milk.” Rainbow commanded. Without a word, West turned and walked to the kitchen. "And don't forget the parsley!" Rainbow returned to her seat, still giggling. Everypony continued to stare at her in silence. The mare stopped snickering and looked around in confusion. “What?” Nopony answered.

Mere minutes later, West retuned with a large silver platter on his back. Walking around the table, he deposited two delicious plates of eggs, three plates of potatoes, two massive bowls of oatmeal, and dishes of fresh fruit. As he neared Rainbow Dash, she sat up straighter, licking her lips hungrily. With an undignified clatter, West dropped a single bowl on her placemat. Rainbow stared at it in confusion before looking back up at the stallion.

West shrugged and returned to his seat. “Colts can’t cook.”

The room was silent as Rainbow stared at the bowl of dry cereal in front of her.

“You need some ointment for that burn?” Misty said from across the room, breaking into a fit of giggles. Sparky and Twilight soon joined in, leaving West smirking to himself as he began eating his own breakfast. Rainbow Dash mumbled something about stallions before taking a spoonful of cereal.

<<<<<>>>>>

The only sound in the waiting room was the steady thumping of Applejack’s head hitting the wall behind her. The four remaining Elements of Harmony sat by the “royal appointment desk” waiting to be seen. Applejack had thought the room sounded made up, but here they were, awaiting an audience with royalty. As per the usual, each one of them had found different ways to entertain themselves in this time. Pinkie had spent the hours trying to teach Rarity an absurdly convoluted card game involving three seashells and a marching baton to no effect. Fluttershy slept soundly on the couch, having stayed up all night on the train ride in. Applejack opted to kill every brain cell she had one by one, her eyes not wavering from the office door. A soft click drew the everypony’s attention as said door opened. A young colt stepped into the room starting intently at a clipboard. The Ponyville mares leaned forward in their seats expectantly.

The colt pushed his glasses up to the brim of his nose before speaking. “Mrs. Showers, the princess will see you now.” The mares deflated and returned to their activities, Applejack hitting her head slightly harder, enough to create a small crack in the drywall. A blue mare stood up from her seat and made her way towards the open door, where the colt turned to follow her. Before closing the door, he glanced over his shoulder. “Oh, and is there a Miss. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkemina, and Fluttershy here?” The mares shot out of their seats and nodded enthusiastically. The colt looked back to his clipboard. “Excellent. Your meeting with Princess Celestia has been put through, and you have an appointment set at this time in two days.”

The mares stared at him, varying amounts of anger and disbelief spread across their faces. Applejack eyed the colt angrily. “We spent nearly a week just gettin’ here and now we have to wait two days just to see ‘er? Does she know who we are? Did you tell her our names?”

The young colt nodded halfheartedly and tuned away. “Afraid so, your appointment is in two days at sunset. Have a nice day.” With that, he left the Elements alone in the waiting room.

<<<<<>>>>>

“So what, does she fancy him or something?” Sparky asked over his shoulder.

Twilight giggled and rolled onto her back beside him, smearing grease into her mane as she did so. “I asked, she said he’s ‘too stiff’ for her liking.”

Sparky shook his head and looked back to the objects above his head. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Twilight shrugged. “I have no idea.” She pointed into the maze of tubing mere inches above their snouts to a large mechanism with a single gauge on it. “Is that a steam valve?”

Sparky followed her gaze and grinned. “Important piece that little thing, good eye. Bought it as such, but now I use it to pipe the gasses from the tanks below into the hoses. Those lead to the ballast above, inflating air bladders to raise and lower the ship. That valve is strong, has an airtight valve, and can withstand high pressure, so I figured it would work well for this. Most of the pieces you see here are bits an’ bobs off of scrap ships I scavenged. They work well enough, and it makes ‘em easy to replace should I need to.” Sparky grabbed hold of a rusty iron bar and pulled himself out of the duct they had been laying in. “Only downside to building a ship out of scrap metal in my mind is that it ends in a mess of mismatched pieces, so it won’t be winning any beauty contests.” He bent down and offered Twilight his hoof, helping her back out onto the metal grating of the walkway.

They were on the lowest deck of the ship, continuing Sparky’s promised ‘grand tour’. The engineering deck was far larger than the others, taking up nearly half the ship’s length. The ceiling was low, and the ponies had to duck under many of the pipes and braces crossing the walkway. It was dimly lit and grimy, with copper tubes, gold valves, and clanging machines in every direction. This made for an awe inspiring atmosphere for the small town librarian. Twilight couldn’t help but marvel at the machinery around her, and found herself constantly diving into maintenance hatches and crawling amongst the pipes to get a better look at the machinery. Sparky felt like he was following the unicorn around rather than guiding her through his ship. She had poured herself into the Volans since the moment she set foot on it, testing his knowledge on every detail of it's construction. Had he not built it himself, it might have been intimidating.

Once free of the cramped maintenance duct, Twilight popped back to her hooves and immediately started off in a new direction. “Where are the gasses kept? You said this was the lowest deck, but I don’t see any tanks.”

Sparky couldn’t suppress a smile at her enthusiasm. “No, I said this was the first floor. Floor zero is below us. Follow me, I’ll show you.” Sparky trotted aft of the engine block, which Twilight was hard pressed to walk past without stopping to examine. When they reached the wall marking the end of the hall, Sparky leaned forward and bit down on a rope jutting awkwardly out of the floor panels. Heaving backwards, he lifted the metal grate up to uncover a steep staircase into yet another duct. Sparky hopped in first before helping Twilight in.

Like the area above, this room was small and incredibly cramped. Metal tanks flanked a small wooden walkway, and seemed to be pressed right up against the ship’s hull skeleton. The walkway was just barely wide enough to allow somepony to turn around. Wooden struts as wide as small trees curved upwards through the ceiling into floor above, giving a strange sense of scale despite the low ceiling. Twilight approached the nearest tank and tapped in gingerly. There was a soft clunking sound that reverberated up a series of copper pipes and hoses that lead into the ceiling, presumably towards the maze they had just been through. Quickly counting them, Twilight guessed there were over half a dozen miss-matched metal barrels down here, most being barely larger than she was. Two, however, jutted well out of sight down the hull. These shone a dull shade of silver in the ambient light, and had only two pipes running out of them. Twilight trotted over to them and read one of the gauges on their sides.

“Are these the Helium tanks?” Twilight asked as she propped herself up against the side to get a better look at the valve links.

“That they are, the only thing we need an abundance of for long journeys.” Sparky walked up beside the mare and leaned casually against the great aluminum surface.

Twilight lifted up onto her hind legs and began to vet the tank. "Why do you need extra helium? The books I read said that you change an airship's altitude by condensing the same helium you already have."

Sparky once again found himself grinning at her knowledge. "This is true, most altitude changes are done by pumping air in or out of the bladder above, not helium. The canvas isn't entirely airtight, however, so for long trips these are required to keep them full. I also made a few... tweeks to the standard airship design." A curious look from Twilight prompted him on. "Should I ever need to ascend or descend quicker than normal, I can evacuate gas from the air bladders by forcing some of the reserve helium in instead." The earth pony turned back toward the tank and patted the side like a loving father. "It's a waste in the long run, of course, but it sure helps when you need to get off the ground quickly. It's saved my flank on more then a few occasions." Turning around, Sparky saw Twilight had already wandered off again, this time examining the various other tanks in the room. Walking up beside her, he continued his explanations. "The other large copper vat on the end there is the water tank for the faucets and such. These little tanks just hold the other gasses and liquids needed to run the stuff on the engine deck above. Oil, lubricant, diesel, things like that.”

Twilight spun around, grinning excitedly. “Diesel? Does that mean that was an internal combustion engine?” Sparky nodded. “Can I see it?!” Twilight bounced up and down like a filly asking her mother for ice cream.

Sparky stood up straight and motioned toward the ladder. “Ladies first.” With an audible squee, Twilight took off towards the staircase, a chuckling Sparky followed her up.

<<<<<>>>>>

Three levels higher on the deck of the Volans, Rainbow Dash and Misty stood with the edges of their hooves hanging off the bow. Freezing wind billowed up from below, whipping the mares’ hair around violently. The sun sat high in the sky, illuminating the flat, barren landscape so far below. Irregular clouds dotted the horizon, obscuring chunks of the sky.

“Ready?” Rainbow asked without looking to the mare beside her. Her usual cocky attitude was amplified today, as it wasn’t everyday she was challenged to a race.

“Are you?” Misty replied. The cyan pegasus simply smiled.

West, who stood behind them, cleared his throat to draw their attention. When both had turned around, he pointed up towards a series of unnaturally shaped clouds in the distance. Ponyville’s weather team captain had constructed the course in preparation for the event an hour earlier before the wind had blown it to a higher elevation than intended. The mares weren’t dissuaded, however.

“First turn is on the outside of the column you see at your 2 o’clock position.” West instructed, pointing towards the shape in the distance. “Second turn is the horizontal column at the ship’s 4 o’clock, and the last is the column at the ship’s 6 o’clock behind that cloud bank, which means you’ll have to catch up to the ship to finish.You must go through the loops after each turn or you will be disqualified, no exceptions. Any questions?”

Rainbow Dash rose a hoof. “Is contact allowed?” Misty shot her an angry look but said nothing.

“No contact, otherwise you’ll just shove each other out of the rings. Slipstreaming and slingshoting are obviously allowed, not that it would do you any good with this wind.” West rose a large red flag he had found in the cargo bay above his head. “Ready!”

The two pegasi spun in place and lowered their heads, eyes focused dead ahead.

“Get set!”

Rainbow narrowed her eyes in preparation, while Misty scrapped a hoof on the deck like a bull ready to charge.

“Go!”

In a blur of motion, the two pushed off the deck into open space. Both where instantly hammered backwards by the strong winds, but they kept their forward momentum up. Rainbow pulled ahead early on, beating her powerful wings to keep herself moving straight. With the winds at this altitude, just going through the rings ahead of her was a challenge, let alone at any respectable speed. Barely moving faster than the Volans, Rainbow passed through the second ring and dove through the third. Everything was downhill until the last turn, so speed leading up to it was important.

Every wing beat was throwing the mares’ around like kites in a storm, but Rainbow had a solution. Grinning devilishly, she napped her wings tight against her side, allowing her to cut through the air like a bullet. Soon enough, the massive shape of the Volans disappeared above her. The soft rings of cloud she had constructed shot by her, leaving moisture on her mane. The edges of her mouth were pulled back by the sheer g-forces against her as the second turn rocketed up to meet her. At the last possible moment, she snapped her wings open and stopped on a dime before rolling over into another dive towards the next turn. Sparing a glance up, Rainbow Dash was shocked to see the green mare not two feet behind her. Ok, so she’s fast. Not as fast as me, but she’s fast. Rainbow took a nervous gulp before looking forward again. The third turn was quickly approaching, and she knew the last clime would be agonizingly slow if she didn’t have enough speed built up. Her eyes widened in shock, however, when the final pillar came into view.

The wind had apparently picked up, for the entirety of the thirty foot cloud was lazily rotating on an axis, slowly spinning like an enormous propeller. Unwilling to risk touching it, Dash was forced to dive further to avoid the leading edge. She knew she would have to make up this distance somehow, and what better way then through brute force? Careful not to create excess drag, Rainbow began to pump her wings, adding to gravity’s pull toward the earth. With a graceful swooping motion, she ducked underneath the final turn and began furiously beating her wings for the final stretch. Looking back over her shoulder, Rainbow smiled as she saw open air. No green pegasus. This pride was short lived, however, as she looked down to see Misty not eight feet below her, smiling right at her. Not cool.

Rainbow pumped her wings harder still and began to pull ahead. From behind a cloud, the grey hulk of the Volans emerged once again. Cold sweat streaked across her face as she continued forward. Despite her best efforts, Dash was slowing down. The higher she got, the harder it was to keep climbing. Without daring to look backwards, Rainbow simply tried harder, and harder, and harder. Her wing beats became irregular as she came to the level with the Volans. The muscles along her muscular wings began to burn furiously from over-exertion, but she ignored it. A particularly strong gust sent both the competitors reeling into a backwards spiral, taking valuable ground. With a grunt, she pushed forward again, but not as quickly as before. With fifty feet left to go, Rainbow was running out of gas. Directly below her, Misty’s wing beats where as strained as Rainbow Dash’s, but being unaffected by the previous gust, the green mare was pulling steadily forward. For the briefest of seconds, Rainbow and Misty locked gazes. The cyan mare’s eyes widened as Misty stuck her tongue out at her. Buck this, I’m winning this thing.

With a single powerful beat, Rainbow rolled onto her back and launched into a dive, instantly rocketing past Misty at breakneck speed. A technicolor contrail followed the mare, perfectly tracing her arc as she plummeted. She slowly pulled backwards into a reverse loop, thrashing her wings harder than anytime she could remember. This time, she maintained her speed through the clime, lazily sliding back up to level with the Volans. Misty’s eyes widened as she realized what the other pegasus was doing, and she began franticly flapping towards the ship. With an almost comically slow speed, Rainbow Dash glided past Misty, blowing a raspberry as she did so. With a soft thud, she touched down on the wheel deck of the Volans.

West approached the victor and took her hoof, raising it into the air like a boxing announcer. “Rainbow wins!” It took Misty another minute to reach the railing of the ship, and even then she was nearly blown off the deck by a sudden gust of wind, only to be pulled back on by West.

Rolling onto her back in a fit of panting, she smiled at her childhood idol. “Good job Dash.”

“I know.” Rainbow chided before falling to the deck alongside her, exhausted.

<<<<<>>>>>

“I think I’m starting to see a theme here,” Rarity said from the corner of the room. She was lying casually on a small but plush mattress adorned with opulent purple sheets, sheets identical to the ones on the other five cots in the guest house. The Elements of Harmony, minus magic and loyalty of course, were scattered thought the room, once again having nothing better to do other than wait.

“Ah know, ah feel like we should be doin’ something, but as far as ah can tell, all there is to do is wait for the princess to see us. Ah don’t like that much. ” Applejack’s voice brimmed with impatience as she paced around the room in no particular pattern. “Ah don’t like that much at all.” She had never liked the pace of their ‘rescue’ operation; Applejack was a mare of action, not patience, after all.

“Perhaps we should just accept our fate and enjoy the town for a while,” volunteered the white unicorn, rolling over on her bed to face the others. “I’m sure we’ll be summoned as soon as a development occurs, but that stallion said it would be two days. No sense in waiting here for that to happen, is there? We’ll drive ourselves mad.” Applejack opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it and continued her pacing.

“What would we do? We don’t know anypony here, and we don’t have any money to go shopping or see any shows,” Fluttershy volunteered from her position on her respective bed.

Rarity shot her a smile. “You forget who you’re talking to, dear. I can get us into any party we happen across in Canterlot.”

Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably, squeezing her wings tigher against her body. “I don’t know, it doesn’t feel right to go out to a party while Rainbow Dash and Twilight might be in trouble…”

The fashionista’s smile faltered as she gave Fluttershy a sympathetic look. “I know what you mean, but I simply can’t think of anything else to do. We came all the way out here to see the princess, so I say we wait it out by doing something in the town. Maybe not necessarily a party, but at least something to occupy ourselves. Perhaps a show would be appropriate, I’m sure I could look up FancyPants and ask if we could accompany him…”

Nopony responded for a while, dropping the room into a comfortable silence. Applejack stopped her pacing at some point and looked around the room in boredom. At first she saw the room as it had been when they entered, but her eyes widened as she realized something was different. Walking over to the other two who were still pondering the thought of going out, Applejack addressed them with confusion.

“Anypony know where Pinkie went?”

Ello everypony, DaringDid here to thank you for sitting through another chapter. This one was a ton of fun to write, so I hope you enjoyed it. Be prepared, however, things are about to become a bit more serious in next week's chapter...