Chapters
The tugboat, for its size, is one of the most powerful craft afloat. And the Seaquestria Tugboat Company is the power behind the docks and waterways of Hippogriffia port. This... is Tugs of Seaquestria!
The Blue EM2 proudly presents
TUGS of Seaquestria
Based on TUGS, created by Robert D. Cordona and David Mitton
Starring the voices of
Uzo Aduba
Kristen Chenoweth
Emily Blunt
Liev Shrieber
Lauren Jackson
Gavin Langelo
Michael Pena
and Brian Dobson
Voice recording by Ocean Productions
Live Action Animation recorded at Battersea Studios, London
A Blue EM2 production, copyright MMXXI.
It was the golden age of commerce, and Hippogriffia Port, the largest harbour in the world, was a place not of only of great business, but also of great change and opportunity. There was nobody who knew this better than the tugboats, whose strength, determination, and big hearts made them popular with everybody from ocean liners to cargo ships. The workloads and schedules would often keep them working well into the night, and this was especially true for my company, the Seaquestria Tugboat Company.
Back in those days we had a fleet of 6 tugboats. The first, and oldest member of the fleet, was Mistmane, a paddle steamer built in the east in ancient times. Painted pale purple with green lining, she was pretty long in the tooth now, but she was a hard worker and brought decades of experience with her, experience we certainly valued.
The next two vessels were dock tugs, hardy, strong machines designed for moving big vessels and cargo barges. I had two of these; Sky Beak and Big Mac. The former was blue with silver lining, and the latter red with orange lining. Sky Beak was a hard worker, but he could also be rather clumsy at times, a trait that was not shared by Big Mac, a tugboat from a country port judging from his thick accent. He was also very much the strong, silent type, characterised by his tendency to answer questions with one word; 'eeyup'.
Blueblood couldn't have been more different. A white tug with yellow lining, he was excessively verbose and very, very posh, not to mention a bit snooty. He worked as a railroad tug. He wasn't as powerful as Sky Beak or Big Mac, so he spent most of his working hours shipping railroad barges from one side of the harbour to the other.
The next vessel was my smallest, and also something of a favourite amongst the dock hands. She was Skystar, our dock switcher, and she was yellow with blue lining. She was erratic and a bit hyperactive, but also very eager to please. She mostly worked with a pair of barges called Shelly and Sheldon. The final vessel was Ocean Flow, the largest and most powerful of them all. Painted yellow with purple lining, she was the only tug I owned who could go to sea. They were a hard working lot, and did what was asked of them... most of the time.
I guess that leaves one person. If you look at many of the older dockside photos of us at work during those days, you can often see a woman standing on the dockside. She has light peach skin with deep purple eyes, yellow lips, and hair coloured deep purple and light pink. She is normally wearing a dark blue skirt with a formal jacket above that, with a turquoise shirt underneath that and a pair of dark red heels.
That's me. I'm Novo, but I was Captain Novo back then. I had originally served for 10 years as a merchant sailor, but an injury out at sea caused by a seapony ramming incident had put paid to that career. Instead, I went into business, figuring that if I could no longer sail, I could manage others to do it for me.
Our story begins one morning many years ago. The tugs' boilers had been lit and they were steaming nicely. They were moored along the harbourfront, awaiting their briefing. Sure enough, I emerged from my office to a chorus of whistles. It was their way of saying 'good morning'.
"Good morning!" I called, indicating they could cease whistling. "I have some excellent news today. I am proud to announce I have purchased a new tugboat to help you out. Skystar, she'll be working with you for today. Make sure to show her how we do things!"
"Yes ma'am!" Skystar replied. "What's she called?"
"Silverstream," I replied.
"Silverstream?!" Blueblood exclaimed, sounding surprised and a little offended. "I take it she only works when the water flows through the harbour."
"That's every day," Skystar retorted, confused.
"I expect all of you to give her a good welcome," I continued, taking back control of the situation. "Now for the really good news! I managed to secure the Ocean Liner contract, and we hit the jackpot."
"Which liner is it, Captain Novo?" asked Sky Beak.
"The Princess Celestia , the largest liner around. I will need all of you to assist bringing her into port. Mistmane, you're in charge. I'll need your expertise as you know these waters like the backs of your paddle wheels."
"Yes ma'am," Mistmane replied.
"Big Mac?"
"Yes Captain?"
"You're out front."
"Eeyup."
"Sky Beak, Blueblood, I want you on the side push."
"What about me, Captain?" asked Skystar.
"Not you ," Blueblood said snottily. "This is work for proper tugboats, not switchers."
"Indeed!" Sky Beak said. "Big tugs only."
"Watch you don't bump into her, Sky Beak!" Skystar joked.
"Alright, that's enough," I said. "Off you go, Skystar. Show Silverstream how it's done." Once she had left, I turned my attention to the others. "I want all of you done with your jobs by lunchtime, so the fitters have a chance to ensure you're all in perfect shape for the maneuvres. You're also getting a new coat of paint out of this too."
Our part of the world is called Seaquestria, of which Hippogriffia is merely the largest city. Most of this realm runs along the coastline with many artificial islands and harbours built off the shore. However, the entire landscape is bound together by Mount Aris, an extinct volcano that towers high into the sky. Many miles along the coast is another settlement, Ocean City, and it is here that another tugboat fleet was based. They were the Ocean City Towing, Salvage and Tugboat corporation, but most people called them the Storm Fleet after their owner, the self styled 'Storm King'. They were our principal rivals back in those days.
The Storm Fleet consisted of five tugboats, and you could smell them long before you saw them as they were diesel tugs. The largest of them was Tempest Shadow, a goliath of a tug painted purple with lighter pink lining running up and down her frames. Next in the pecking order was Grubber, a comically small tugboat painted grey with silver lining. After him were a trio of tugs. They were named Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk. Adagio was painted yellow with orange and yellow lining, a distinct contrast to Aria, who was pink with purple and turquoise lining. Finally, Sonata was painted light blue with two tone lining in darker shades of blue. I can only assume the paint shop was short on paint that day.
As opposed to my approach of trying to be friendly with my ships, the Storm King was instead having a go at his. He was an unsightly, ugly, unhygenic man, with grey skin and white hair that went in every direction.
"Listen to me, maggots!" he shouted. "Captain Novo's lot have secured the ocean liner contract, and I want that contract now. I am not happy. Not. Happy ."
"We're not exactly mirthful ourselves," Tempest snorted.
"What does mirthful mean?" Sonata asked.
Aria rolled her eyes. "Go back to sleep, Sonata."
"I'm glad none of you find it funny, because you are going to get it for me."
The tugs all agreed- except one. "Hang on a minute," Adagio started, "I thought the con-"
"I DON'T EXPECT YOU TO THINK, I EXPECT YOU TO DO AS ORDERED!" the Storm King boomed. "You are the best, newest, most powerful, better looking, and more devious tugs compared to those kettles on water."
"I like that description," Grubber smiled.
"What's with all the long words?" Sonata asked. "It's quite annoying."
"You're really annoying," Aria retorted.
"Shut it!" Adagio snapped. "Excuse them, they're idiots."
"Do whatever it takes to get me that contract," the Storm King continued. "Start your engines, and get out there! GO! GO! GO!"
Grumbling as they did so, the Storm Fleet set off for the open waters. "Leave this one to me," Tempest told the others. "Those claptraps will find they missed the boat, or my name's not Tempest Shadow."
"I thought your name was Tempest Shadow," Sonata asked.
"It's actually Fizzlepop Berr-"
Tempest blasted her horn, long and loud. "Quiet!"
As she headed upriver, Skystar met with Ocean Flow, who was taking on water. She had work to do up the coast with another company, so I was to lose her strength the one day I needed it the most.
"Hey Ocean Flow!" Skystar called. "The Princess Celestia is coming into port today. A shame you won't be there, but I suppose if you have work to do, it's for the best."
"It's a pity alright," Ocean Flow sighed. "I was looking forward to helping her in."
"Hey, have you seen a tug named Silverstream anywhere?" Skystar asked.
The water column retracted, indicating Ocean Flow's water tanks were full. "I'm afraid I haven't. Please take care of the Celestia will you, dear?"
"Of course!" Skystar replied, and continued on her way. On the way, she met Mistmane.
"I ran into the new tugboat earlier," Mistmane called. "Please keep an eye out!"
No sooner had this been said, then a new tugboat steamed into view, with a high pitched whistle. She was the smallest tugboat that Skystar had ever seen! She was very small, and low in the water, with a comically tall smokestack. She was still painted in the factory livery of grey, and nearly steamed into Skystar.
Skystar blasted her whistle. "Look out!"
The small tugboat put her propellors into reverse and tried to stop, but she banged into Skystar. "Oops! Sorry. Still getting used to the new propellors. But it's a great day! Tuesdays are great!"
"And why is that?" Skystar asked.
"I was launched on a Tuesday. I'm looking for a tug called Skystar?"
"Well, you just found her! Wanna play?"
"I'd love to! I'm Silverstream!" the small tug replied.
"Shall we get to work?" Skystar said. "If we're quick, we'll be able to watch the docking operations."
"Yes ma'am!" Silverstream replied.
"First thing, you only call Captain Novo ma'am. I'm just Skystar."
"Yes, Skystar! On my way!" Silverstream replied, and the two tugboats set to work.
"Well, look what the tide dragged in," Tempest sneered, as she and the other Storm Fleet vessels approached a tramper that was painted brown with white lining. "If it isn't Thunderhooves."
"I am stuck here, and need a tow," Thunderhooves replied. "I don't understand why I cannot sail in on my own. These waterways were open before in the time of my predecessor, and his predecessor before him, and his predecessor before him, and his predecessor before him, and his predecessor before him..."
"Look, we get it," Adagio snorted. "What you paying?"
"You're towing the Celestia. How hard can moving a tramper be?"
"What gives you that impression?" Tempest asked, confused.
"The Celestia is arriving, and suddenly there isn't a single tugboat who can help me out. It'll be arriving shortly, won't it?"
"I thought the Celestia was due in this afternoon," Sonata asked.
"Shut it, you!" Tempest snapped, and they moved off.
"Ooh, bluepaint just got dropped!" Grubber laughed as he blasted his whistle.
Elsewhere, Skystar had just dropped off Shelly the fuel barge, who was due to be refilled after delivering her next load. That next load was to be given to a seaplane that was painted blue with prismatic lining. Her name was Rainbow Dash.
"You got the fuel for me?" she asked.
"Yes indeed! 500 gallons of aviation fuel, as ordered!" Skystar smiled.
"Awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Who's the new tug over there?"
"Oh! Her," Skystar continued. "Silversteam, this is Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash, Silverstream."
"Hello!" Silverstream replied.
"I'd love to stay and chat, but we need to be off!" Skystar continued. "The Princess Celestia is coming in today, and we want to watch them get her into port."
"Have fun!" Rainbow Dash replied, and took to the skies.
Skystar looked beyond with suspicion. "Wait a second. That's Tempest Shadow, with Grubber and Sonata Dusk! What are they up to?"
Elsewhere, Sky Beak had run into Thunderhooves. "Morning Thunderhooves!" he called. "Need any help?"
"I'd like a tow."
"Can we please not argue about fees? We've got enough to do today without that debate again."
"Especially since the Duchess has arrived early."
"What?" Sky Beak exclaimed. "Sorry Thunder, I'll tow you later. I need to warn the others!" With a blast of his whistle, he was off.
However, before Sky Beak could get to Big Mac, Grubber and Sonata cornered him. "Fancy some help?" asked Sonata.
Big Mac eyes them with suspicion. "What's the catch?" he asked.
"Nothing. We want to work out of the goodness of our hearts," Grubber told him. It was, of course, a lie. Big Mac had no idea, but they were leading him into disaster.
Mistmane looked over to Skystar as she pulled up at the dock. "Have you seen Big Mac anywhere?" she asked.
"I have no idea!" Skystar replied, in a sing song voice.
"We need his help, and fast," Mistmane continued. "The Celestia is docking early, and we need all boats we can get to moor her safely."
Just then, the liner blasted her horn. "Good grief!" Blueblood cried. "We have to get moving, pronto!"
"I hope Big Mac gets here soon," Sky Beak said. "Or else we're in big trouble."
"Indeed," Mistmane said, as she steamed into position. "Where in Equestria is he?"
Skystar and Silverstream found him soon enough. Big Mac was wedged on a sandbank, stuck between two barges.
"What happened?" Skystar asked.
"Grubber and Sonata were helpin' me out," Big Mac replied, "but then Ah got stuck on this dirty great sandbank."
"Can we pull him free?" asked Silverstream.
There was a loud horn echoing through the harbour.
"You have no time!" Big Mac called. "Go and help get the Celestia docked. Ah won't be goin' nowhere. Mistmane will tell you what ta do."
"I've never moved so big a boat!" Skystar replied.
"Go!" Big Mac replied. "Ah'll be fine, don't ya worry."
Initially, it seemed as if all was going fine. Despite the fact that we lacked our two most powerful tugboats, it seemed as though we were going to get the Celestia into dock safely.
"Well, that plan of yours didn't work," Adagio told Tempest as they watched the docking operation. "We really shouldn't have revealed our hand so soon."
"Revealed our hand?" Tempest snorted. "I've only revealed one card. We can deal with this one, no problem." As she looked closely, she saw Silverstream backing up from the Celestia. Her chance had come, and she approached the small tug at ramming speed.
Silverstream never heard her coming. The first she knew was that she shot forward and crashed straight into the Celestia's rudder, before spinning uncontrollably on the other side.
Blueblood felt the boat lurch on his side. "What's going on over there?" he asked.
"I've got this!" Tempest called, and moved into position to guide the boat. It was unthinkable, the Seaquestria tugs accepting help from the Storm Fleet, but it was that or crash the Celestia. Such an outcome would be unnaceptable.
Silverstream, dazed and confused, simply slipped away into the dark, ashamed of herself and unable to explain what had happened. She didn't know that Thunderhooves had witnessed the whole thing.
That evening, as the passengers from the liner and the Seaquestria Tugs celebrated, Silverstream watched on, ashamed. She felt she had spoilt her only chance. She steamed sadly away. "Nobody wants me," she whispered.
Meanwhile, the Storm King sounded very happy over the news. "Excellent work!" he said. "You did a superb job. With that screwup of a tug out of the way, we'll have that contract. Just one thing. Nobody saw you, right?"
"Not even that little tugboat, sir," Adagio replied.
"Fantastic. I'll phone the line tomorrow."
"That Silverstream sure had a bad day, eh?" Grubber joked, and they all laughed about it.
Thunderhooves was still stuck in his berth. "Now where is Sky Beak?" he wondered. "He said he would tow me in, but he hasn't. My ancestors would never put up with this."
Not far away, at our mooring dock, Skystar looked down at the water. "I think I should go and look for Silverstream," she said.
"Why?" Blueblood asked. "Do you really want a tug that rams into ocean liners on our team?"
"We all make mistakes!" Skystar replied. "Me more than others, admittedly. But I want to try and put this right. What do you say, Mistmane?"
The old paddle steamer looked over to Skystar. "I neither agree nor disagree with either of you. It's your choice."
Skystar's mind was made up, and she puffed out of the dock and towards the industrial sector. This zone was a tough maze to navigate at the best of times, but at night it was almost impossible to chart a safe course through.
"Silverstream!" she called. "Silverstream! Are you there?"
Silverstream, who was moored nearby, suddenly woke up. "Skystar? Oh no! She'll have me covered in barnacles for sure!" Releasing her mooring ropes, she steamed off into the distance as fast as she could.
Skystar continued to follow, but the thick fog made navigation difficult- not made at all easy by the large amount of smoke from the trains. She soon exited the industrial zone and found herself in the bay. "Maybe she went into the bay!" she said, and steamed off in that direction.
She never saw Silverstream hiding behind a wharf building. "Maybe I should just return to Klugetown," she sighed. "At least the people and boats there know me." And she puffed away, broken and disheartened.
Skystar then saw Ocean Flow and Sunset Shimmer. Sunset Shimmer was the harbour's resident lightship. She was painted orange with red and yellow lining, and helped ships to navigate in and out of Hippogriffia Port as the lighthouse was undergoing renovation.
"Hello Skystar!" she greeted.
"Good evening, Skystar," Ocean Flow added.
"Ocean Flow! You're back!" Skystar exclaimed. "Boy am I glad to see you!"
"The work up the coast went a little longer than expected, dear," Ocean Flow replied. "Did everything go OK with the Celestia?"
"Yes," Skystar replied. It was a lie, but Ocean Flow didn't need to know the details. "Hey, have either of you seen Silverstream anywhere? Small tugboat, painted grey?"
"I'm afraid I haven't," Sunset replied. "Good luck in your search."
Skystar set off sadly into the distance. She had to find Silverstream, she just had to.
Later on, she ran into Thunderhooves. "Hello Thunderhooves!" she said. "Still moored here?"
"Yes, as Sky Beak still hasn't turned up to tow me in," the tramper replied. "Is there something you needed?"
"I'm looking for Silverstream," Skystar replied. "She's run off. I guess she's ashamed after causing the accident."
"Silverstream didn't caused the accident. Tempest Shadow rammed her. I saw the entire thing."
Skystar gasped. "I KNEW those ships were up to something! I need to tell the others, fast!"
As she steamed away, Thunderhooves looked forward. "I suppose a few more hours here can't hurt."
Sky Beak was just nodding off when Skystar roared into the dock, blasting her whistle. "Wake up you guys!" she called. "We need to find Silverstream!"
"I only just got off to sleep," Blueblood moaned.
"Silverstream didn't cause the accident. Tempest did. Thunderhooves told me what happened. He witnessed the entire thing!"
"Sweet Faust above!" Mistmane exclaimed. "I had wondered how Tempest had appeared so quickly. We need to search for Silverstream and put this right. Have you searched everywhere?"
"As far out as Sunset and into the city," Skystar replied. "Where was she from again?"
Mistmane had an idea. "She probably started heading back upriver to Klugetown. The rest of you follow Skystar up the river. I'll stay here and fill in Captain Novo!"
With loud toots of their horns and choruses of whistles, the tugboats moved off, determined to save Silverstream no matter the cost. "We've done the poor lass wrong," Big Mac sighed. "Let's go, Sky Beak."
"You two, Blueblood!" Sky Beak called.
Blueblood sighed. "Seeing as I'm awake, I may as well."
It was lucky they set off when they did. Silverstream had gotten lost in the fog and crashed into a rock. She had run aground and was in danger of sinking.
"I've found her!" Skystar called. "What a mess. We'll need a crane to get her out."
"Just leave me here," the smaller tugboat sighed. "If I'm here, I can't mess things up again."
"We discovered it wasn't your fault," Blueblood said. "And for what it's worth... I'm sorry."
Silverstream suddenly perked up. "Do you think Captain Novo will have me back?"
"I sure do," Skystar laughed. "An apology from Blueblood! I never thought I'd see the day."
"Thunderhooves told us what happened," Big Mac explained, "so we can now set the record straight."
Sky Beak's face suddenly looked shocked, and he swung around and headed back the other way. "Thunderhooves? Oh no, I completely forgot!"
When the truth emerged, the Storm King was not happy. He walked onto the dock, took out his megaphone, stood next to Tempest, and bellowed at the top of his voice. "SO, YOU WERE SEEN, YOU BLITHERING IDIOT!" he bellowed.
Tempest looked at him in the same way she always did. "There was no other vessel around that could have seen it," she calmly observed.
"AND YET YOU WERE!" the Storm King continued. "NOW WE'LL NEVER GET THAT CONTRACT, AND CAPTAIN NOVO CAN LAUGH IN MY FACE!"
Sonata looked over at the others. "I think he's not happy," she said.
"For what it's worth... sorry, boss," Adagio answered.
"MESS UP AGAIN, AND I'LL HAVE YOU SCRAPPED AND REPLACED!" the Storm King replied. "NOW GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"
As the tugs steamed away, Aria growled. "This would have been avoided if we just did business the honest way, like normal companies," she said.
I had a few words to say to my tugs as well. "Good morning," I said, in my usual cheerful tone. None of the tugs looked cheerful. Most of them looked ashamed of themselves. "The good news is that Silverstream sustained little damage and has been fully repaired and refitted."
"What's the bad news, ma'am?" Ocean Flow asked.
"There isn't any," I replied. "But I hope all of you have learned a valuable lesson today about the importance of not jumping to conclusions and to trust others."
"Yes ma'am," they all said sheepishly.
"Now, if you look out to sea, I would like to welcome our newest recruit, Silverstream!"
Silverstream sailed into the dock, and what a sight to see she was! Instead of her grey livery, she was now painted pink with two tone blue lining.
"Welcome aboard!" Skystar cheered, and the tugs all blasted their whistles until the cows came home.
Author's Note
Silverstream
Written by The Blue EM2
Based on 'Sunshine', by Gloria Tors
Sunshine was one of four Tugs episodes to exist in both 20 and 15 minute versions. This version is based on the 20 minute episode released on VHS in 1989.
We've all had days when we've had enough for one day, but one job remains to be done. Skystar, one autumn evening, had been the first to return to the docks, and as such drew the short straw. We had to take parts to Diamond Tiara, one of the dock cranes. I could sense Skystar was unhappy, not because of the workload, but because the Storm Fleet were assigned to the same job.
Aria snorted as Skystar puffed in with her barge. "Oh, look what the tide brought in. If it isn't goody two screws."
"Where do you want this barge?" Skystar yawned, sounding exhausted.
"We can't take it right now," Adagio replied. "Operations are shut for now, so please deposit the barge over there. We'll handle it in the morning."
"Such a reputation to uphold," Aria continued, mockingly. "And such a spotless record too. It would be a shame if she were to lose that record, eh?"
"And it would be a shame if the Storm King yelled at you for undelivered parts, eh?" Skystar retorted. "I'll just moor my barge there and be on my way. Celestia knows I need a rest."
Just as she brought the barge to a stop, and a deck hand tied off the barge, she suddenly saw something move in the wharf nearby. "Hello?" she called. "Silverstream? Sky Beak? Are you there?"
Nobody replied. Suddenly, Silverstream blasted her whistle as she came up alongside. "Evening, Skystar!"
"So it was you!" Skystar exclaimed. "Why didn't you answer?"
"I couldn't have heard you from over there!" Silverstream replied. "Look who's there!"
A blue submarine with cream and yellow lining steamed by, sounding its horn as it did so. "Evening, ladies."
"Evening, Gallus!" the two tugs called. Gallus was the harbour's resident midget submarine, and an old friend of Skystar. As they headed off for the dock, neither of them had any idea what was going to happen.
My commute to work in those days was at once pleasant and leisurely. I would wake up in the morning, and then me and my husband Kainos would take turns to cook breakfast whilst talking about our respective days. Then I would kiss him goodbye, and catch the ferry to the offices the company hired by the quay. This meant I could be to work in 45 minutes at the most, and 30 at the least. I had just gotten into the work the next morning, setting aside my personal affects, when suddenly the telephone rang.
"Hey now, don't be sad I know we cann-"
I picked my mobile up and answered it. "Hello?" I asked.
I was then barraged with one of angriest phone calls I have ever received. I had to hold my phone at arm's length to avoid going deaf. I would repeat his words, but they are altogether too profane to repeat here, so I shall give you a summary. The owner of the construction company claimed that Skystar had failed to deliver the barge of parts and that if we missed another delivery he would award the Storm Fleet the full contract.
Once he was done ranting, I shakily put the phone down after telling him I would investigate the matter. As I walked for the balcony and opened the door, only to hear a blazing row going on outside.
"That barge is not where it should be," Aria said angrily. "I told you to moor it on that side of the bay, and now it's gone!"
"We'll be the ones to get into trouble," Adagio added. "I told you that these stupid steam powered tugboats were no use. They can't even follow simple instructions!"
"I left it exactly where you told me to put it!" Skystar snapped, getting increasingly hot under the valve caps. "You two moved it to arbitrarily get me in trouble!"
"Now why would we do that?" Aria asked, with a smirk.
"You've done it before. You won't get away with this!"
Adagio smiled cruelly. "What. Because you didn't?"
I picked up my megaphone. "What's going on?" I asked.
"Skystar here didn't deliver her barge," Aria said first.
"I did!" Skystar replied.
"But it's not there, so you didn't!" Adagio retorted.
"I did!"
"You didn't!"
"I did!"
"You didn't!"
I reached for the dockside whistle and pulled the handle. The booming noise of the whistle shut them up- for a short while. "That's quite enough, the three of you. Aria, Adagio, I understand you're upset but insulting others will achieve nothing. As for you Skystar, I want a word with you."
The two Storm Tugs snickered as they steamed off, blasting their horns merrily as diesel fumes poured into the air.
As Skystar rattled to a stop, I descended the stairs to the ground floor and cleared my throat. "What happened? I want to hear your side of the story, and with no nonsense."
The yellow tugboat gulped. "When I arrived, they said they weren't taking any more barges, so told me to moor it up on the dockside. The dockhand moored the barge, and then I saw something moving in an old shed. Then Silverstream arrived and we both headed for home. There was a CCTV camera covering the dock, and Silverstream and Gallus can vouch for me!"
I put my head in my hands. "This sounds like quite the headache to clean up," I sighed. "I shall have to conduct my own investigation, but in the meantime I think a change of scenery is needed."
"What do you mean?"
"Diamond Tiara has been assigned for dredging duty as Pipsqueak is in for repairs. A tugboat is needed to tow it."
"Dredging?!" For a tugboat, dredging was the worst job of all. It was the only job assigned to tugs who had performed poorly, and hence it was highly unpopular. "But how is tha-"
"Look on the bright side," I said. "At least you aren't going anywhere near the owner of the company."
Defeated, Skystar steamed away. I, On the other hand, had some sleuthing to do.
Skystar met Diamond Tiara the dock crane later that day. Diamond Tiara was a massive slab of metal and wood, painted pink with purple and white lining. Right now she was pulling muck out of the harbour to dredge it for larger ships.
"You look down!" she said, as Skystar arrived.
"You would be, if you were accussed of someting you didn't do," Skystar sighed.
"I heard your barge went missing," Diamond continued. "Unfortunate, that. There's talk of something else on the loose though."
"Captain Novo's conducting her own investigation, but it's going to take her time," Skystar replied.
Just then, Grubber and Aria steamed past. "Ooh, look who's in trouble!" Grubber laughed.
"Hope they find that barge you stole!" Aria laughed.
"Oi, shut up you two," Diamond snapped. "There's no evidence she stole a barge. All we know is that it is missing. Ever heard of the phrase 'innocent until proven guilty'?"
"But she is guilty, as she's one of those steam tugs."
Gallus suddenly surfaced in front of the two Storm Tugs. "That's like saying your smokestack will fall off because you're a diesel. Both are equally untrue."
Suddenly, Adagio arrived with another barge. "Hey Skystar," she said. "According to the Storm King, you're to take this barge to the fuelling dock. Make sure you don't sell it on the way!"
Something inside Skystar snapped. "I DON'T STEAL BARGES!" she yelled at Adagio. "WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP ABOUT IT?!"
"Noted," Adagio said slowly. And nothing more was said about it.
I finished pencilling my notes together at the Bridge Street Cafe, my favourite establishment in town. I would often have my dinner there and do some paperwork before heading home. So far, my investigation had turned up a whole series of blanks. The barge had, indeed, been delivered, but the CCTV had mysteriously blacked out during the night. It was all very odd.
Meanwhile, Gallus down below had a bit of a prowache. He wasn't much of a fan of the Bridge Street Cafe Jazz Band, a local outfit that played tunes old and new for delighted patrons. Gallus set off into the harbour, looking for clues. He had seen how badly Skystar had reacted to the accusations of theft, and wanted to help clear her name. He would get his clue sooner than he thought. Submarines are fitted with video cameras to record their moves through the harbour so as to avoid unwanted collisions with other ships, and Gallus was to hit the jackpot that night.
Suddenly, he saw a tugboat steaming away into the night, with the barge Skystar had delivered earlier. Gallus made sure to film the entire thing, and then steamed back to the harbour a fast as he could.
The next morning, I was rather surprised to find the Storm King waiting on the dockside. "What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Our barges are vanishing too," he replied. There was one expression on his face that I never thought I'd see. Fear. "If this keeps happening, we'll both lose all our customers. Novo, we have to work together to catch him!"
I never liked it when he greeted me on first name terms. "I know you still have feelings for me, but those days are long gone. I'm perfectly content with my marriage, and I'm not leaving Kainos for anybody. Now let's wake the tugs up."
A few minutes later, both fleets of tugboats were aligned along the harbour. "What's going on here?" asked Blueblood. "I'm frightfully confused."
"You're not the only one, mate," Tempest replied.
"Tugs of the Sequestria and Storm Fleets!" I called, over the megaphone. "We are facing a serious threat, not only for business, but for our very survival. Barges are going missing."
"You mean, 'Skystar is selling them on the Black Market'," Adagio snorted.
"There's no proof she did," Tempest snapped. "Even I don't spread lies and false rumours."
"Then why is it hers that have gone missing and not ours?" Sonata asked.
"How about the two of you shut up and let Captain Novo speak?" Big Mac asked.
"We have to stop this pirate, and fast. The Storm King will fill you in on the details."
The Storm King, always with his megaphone, started speaking. "Certain barges have been rigged with sirens and bright lights. They'll go off if the barge is touched. You will be assigned in pairs to different barges, and maintain engine silence."
Unbeknownst to anybody else, Gallus was following the trail of the pirate. Following news reports and the bouys, he arrived at an old warehouse and parked by the door, unseen by anybody.
Inside was a large tugboat, at least as large as Sky Beak. They were painted cream, with green and golden lining, and seemed to be female from their voice. "Please!" she begged. "When will this end?"
"You've done good work for us so far," said a mysterious voice behind a pair of green lights. "But the deal is up for renegotiation. One last barge tonight."
"No," the female tug whispered. "I- I can't do it again. All this theft is a blot on my conscience."
"Oh, really?" sneered the voice, which seemed to be female. "It will be an even bigger blot on your conscience if Boyle goes to the scrapheap. Refuse to help us out, and we WILL break him up for scrap. Do. You. Understand. Me. You. Stupid. Tug?"
"C- crystal," the female tug stammered. "One more barge, tonight."
"Don't do it," said another voice, presumably the other tug. "It's wrong, Celaeno. You know that."
"I can't let them kill you, can I?" 'Celaeno' replied. "You're the only crewmate I have left!"
That night, the plan went into action. Blueblood sat out in the harbour, next to his barge. "Sirens are prepared, and lights are ready to trigger. But I thought we were supposed to be in pairs?" He looked to one side, and suddenly saw his fellow approaching. "Oh no, not Sky Beak!"
Sky Beak skidded to a stop just next to him. "Sorry I'm late," he panted. "But I hope we catch the crook!"
"As do I," Blueblood replied. "Now, look here Sky Beak. This is a wartime situation, for if we fail we lose our very livelihoods. As such, I shall use my tactical acumen to advantageous affect."
"In English, please?" Sky Beak asked.
"I must think ahead and take full advantage of anything that could allow us to secure victory," Blueblood explained. "Celestia, give me strength. Positions!"
Elsewhere, not too far away, Skystar and Silverstream had taken up position near an old wharf. "Well, at least we now have proof that you weren't the one stealing barges like Adagio was claiming," Silverstream said.
"It's not that much of a consolation," Skystar sighed. "It's the fact that anybody thought I would even consider doing it. My reputation in the harbour took a nosedive."
"I suspect that rumour about you ramming another tug didn't help."
"No." Both tugs were very surprised when Gallus suddenly surfaced in front of them.
"Hello," Gallus said. "I've got news on your buccaneer."
"Our what?" Silverstream asked.
"Buccaneer," Skystar explained. "It's another word for pirate. Go ahead, Gallus!"
"The pirate is a tug called Celaeno, and she's being made to do it against her will. There's a pair of other tugs that are threatening to scrap another boat called Boyle if she doesn't cooperate."
On the other side of Hippogriffia Port, Aria and Sonata had positioned behind another barge.
"Right Sonata, keep an eye out," Aria growled. "I'll hide in this shed and wait for you to alert me."
"It's not fair!" Sonata pouted. "I always end up on the front, and you on the back!"
"Trust me, you're far safer there," Aria said. "It's quite smelly in here. At least you can ventilate your exhaust, and look over there! If this goes according to plan, you'll be assigned taco delivery duty for the restaurant on Snugboat Bay!"
"HOORAY! I LOVE DELIVERING TACOS!"
"But you won't if the pirate hears us, you klutz."
"I think you're a klutz."
"That's awful!" Silverstream exclaimed. "We have to find Celaeno and help her!"
"Follow me!" Gallus called. The two tugboats and the submarine set off into the bay, but little did they realise Aria and Sonata had started to follow them, abandoning their barge in the process.
But as the fog rolled in, the villainous rogues put their escape plan into action. At midnight, the entire harbour was hit by an EMP blast that disabled Sunset Shimmer's light and crippled the lighthouses as well. To ensure they didn't get any words out either, the Bellbouys were covered up too.
Meanwhile, Silverstream, Gallus, and Skystar had formed up outside the old warehouse, and saw two strange ships with glowing green eyes enter the building. Suddenly, another boat steamed out of the darkness. Her name was clearly visible on her forecastle.
Celaeno .
"Target spotted," Gallus whispered.
As Celaeno passed them, Skystar blasted her whistle. "Got you at last, Pirate!" she shouted, and charged into Celaeno, pinning her against a jetty.
"No! I'm not a pirate!" Celaeno cried. "Don't hurt me, please!"
"We know," Silverstream said. "Gallus here told us everything. We saw those green eyed things go back into the dock, and your crewmate."
"They're holding Boyle to ransom," Celaeno explained. "The pirate's names are Mullet and Lix Spittle, and they used to be crewmates of mine before they turned on us. They sank the others, but kept me as the most powerful tugboat and held Boyle to make me steal barges!"
"If you help us catch those two, we'll get Boyle out," Skystar replied.
"I'm in," Celaeno said. "Wait a second, there are two boats approaching."
"Great!" Skystar exclaimed, as Aria and Sonata emerged out of the fog. "Those two idiots are heading for the warehouse. Gallus, get in there and hide. If the Pirates leave, save Boyle."
"Aye, Skystar!" Gallus called, and dived immediately.
Moments later, the idiot duo entered the building. "Hooray!" cried Sonata. "We found the barges!"
Suddenly, a pair of green lights came on in the building. "Blast it! We've been rumbled!" The two boats blasted their horns and exited the building, but not before a very terrified Aria and Sonata.
Gallus surfaced and got to work cutting the chains holding Boyle in place, whilst Celaeno formed up alongside Skystar and Silverstream. "On my word," she whispered.
Suddenly, the two pirates passed them.
"CHAAAAAAAAAARGE!" the three tugs cried, and with incredible force smashed into the pirates! With their engines disabled and their lights off, they crashed into sandbanks and stopped.
"Gotcha!" Skystar laughed.
Celaeno looked at them. "Mutiny never pays, you know," she said firmly. "I think the museum is the place for you two."
Unfortunately, Sky Beak heard the commotion. "Wait a minute, there's something happening over there!" He steamed forward- and straight into the barge. The alarms went off, and strobe lights flashed all over the harbour.
"You blithering idiot!" Blueblood shouted.
"The strobe lights work," Sky Beak replied.
The next morning, a somewhat dazzled Blueblood and Sky Beak towed the villains away to face justice for their actions.
"So, where next for you?" asked Ten Cents.
Celaeno sighed. "Well, there's nothing left for me here, and a Scallywag's heart is always roaming. So Boyle and I will head up river towards Klugetown and try to find work there."
"Then let's go!" Boyle smiled, and the pair set off. No sooner had they gone then Ocean Flow arrived.
"Hello Skystar," she said, as she came to a stop. "Are those the two you helped out?"
"Yes," Skystar replied. "They helped us find the stolen barges, and Silverstream and Gallus helped arrest the pirates."
"And I heard that those two over there helped too," Ocean Flow continued.
"In a sense, as they ran away."
"What?" Sonata asked.
"No we didn't!" Aria replied.
"We smoked them out!" Sonata said, and reversed- straight into the barge, which was immediately set off. Both tugboats shot off into open seas with the speed of gazelles.
The others couldn't help but laugh.
Author's Note
Buccaneer
Written by The Blue EM2
Based on 'Pirate', by Tarquin Cordona and David Mitton
Pirate, much like Sunshine, exists in both 20 and 15 minute versions. Once again, the 20 minute version was used here.
There were times, if you'll believe it or not, that a job was so big that two tugboat companies had to handle the work together. One such case was when the Klugetown sawmills were producing a bumper crop of wood pulp and wood panels. There was so much being produced that the sawmills hired both us and the Storm Fleet to handle the workload. As a result, it was especially important we worked together.
One day, Sonata was towing an old hulk upriver. The boat was old, and heavy, and was a rather large object to be towed by only a single tug. Adagio steamed past, glancing in annoyance.
"So that's where you've been," she grumbled. "Tempest's going bezerk up at the sawmill. Says you need to be back there yesterday."
"I can't be back there yesterday, as there aren't time machines!" Sonata complained. "Besides, the Storm King told me to deliver this to the breaker's yard. Direct orders, you see."
"Based on her current speed," Aria commented, who was close behind, "she'll run into Tempest at Shadowville. Boy will she be mad."
Elsewhere, in the choppy waters north of the sawmills, a very strange paddle steamer was towing a barge filled with explosives, fuel, and rope (don't ask me why). He was painted two different shades of brown with blue lining. His name, prominently displayed over his paddle wheels, was Capper, and he was an alligator tug.
Alligator tugs differ from most tugboats in that they sit very low in the water, which makes them a lot more stable. As a result, Capper was the one allocated to supply trips from Klugetown proper, where most tugs couldn't operate, and the sawmills a few miles downriver. He was certainly suave, but also quite dangerous in his own way.
Mistmane and Big Mac were taking a rest at the sawmill when Capper arrived with his cargo.
"Good morning Capper!" Mistmane called. "How are you?"
"Fine, thanks," Capper replied, in the smooth, quick talking style that characterised most citizens of Klugetown. "I've got a fresh supply of dynamite and cuttin' saws here, sawmills are out of both."
"Why would ya need dynamite in a sawmill?" Big Mac asked.
"If an especially stubborn tree is refusin' to come down, you light the fuse and off you go," Capper smiled. "You still goin' Mistmane? It's incredible, really, a tug of your age still workin' now, but I suppose that's the mark of quality."
"There's nothing wrong with the paddle steamer design," Mistmane replied. "As an old saying puts it, 'it if isn't broken, don't fix it'."
"That's sensible advice, and one I wish most of the boating companies in Klugetown took instead of replacing their boats every few years," Capper sighed. "Though that's probably because of all the fights that break out. Now, I'll be unloading here, so keep calm and don't move suddenly."
"You're not transporting live explosive, are you?" Mistmane asked.
"No. Dynamite's useless without an ignition source, and this dynamite doesn't have a fuse, so it can't go off even if you wanted it to."
Sonata ground to a halt in Shadowville, puffing and panting (which was rather odd given she was a diesel). "This... boat... is... heavy!" she wheezed.
"Where have you been?" Tempest demanded. "We're all on sawmill duty, remember?"
"Sorry for the delay, Tempest!" Sonata wheezed. "But the Storm King ordered me to two this wreck to the breaker's yard in Klugetown, and then loop back to the sawmill."
"That's more than a mile upriver, and that water's not safe for us."
"They said they won't take it if we don't get it there today, as they've lots of breaking up to do."
"Including you, if you don't get a move on," Tempest growled.
"This thing is heavy!" Sonata protested. "Besides, the current is flowing against me here, as rivers flow towards the sea."
"I know how rivers work," Tempest replied. "Right, I'll attach to the back and help you get this hunk of junk upriver."
With Tempest attached to the rear, the pair made speed upriver. There was just one small snag. Tempest was much larger and more powerful than Sonata, and as a result Sonata was pushed along. Her engine tried its hardest to maintain pace, but it was no use as she simply couldn't compete.
"My engine's overheating! Slow down!" Sonata called, as smoke began to pour from her engine housing.
"Keep moving! No slack!" Tempest called.
It was an error that would spell disaster. Following a warning siren, Sonata shut off her engine and drifted off to one side. The current struck, and the mooring line snapped, causing the tanker to veer off to starboard. Before long, it was nothing but a massive obstruction in the river.
"The river's blocked!" Sonata panicked. "I'm stuck up here!"
"You don't say," Tempest replied. "Nice one, Sonata."
"You were the one pushing too hard!" Sonata replied. "It's your fault, it is."
"It's your boat," Tempest pointed out. "I'm off to get a lifting crane to clean this mess up." Of course, she wasn't. She thought she had trapped my tugs upriver, and wanted to keep them there.
Sure enough, Blueblood and Silverstream arrived. "Oh bother!" Blueblood exclaimed. "We're stuck on the wrong side and can't get downriver!"
"This sucks," Silverstream sighed. "What happened, Sonata?"
"Tempest was pushing far too hard and got the boat jammed!" Sonata replied. "Now nothing can get through! We'll be trapped here forever!"
"Well, there goes our chances of getting home tonight," Silverstream finished. "Not to mention it slows down the speed of delivery. I'll head back to the sawmill and get a crane."
"Be quick now!" Blueblood called. "We need to get the mess clear as fast as possible."
Tempest had returned to Shadowville, and was rather surprised to see Skystar steaming towards her. "Oh, hello!" Tempest called. "I thought you were at the logging camp with the others!"
"Oh no," Skystar replied. "I'm working elsewhere. Machine tools and suchlike." She suddenly smelt a rat. "Is something going on, Tempest?"
"There's been an accident upriver, and an old boat's stuck across the river," Tempest explained. "Nobody can get in or out. Most of your friends are stuck on the other side, as is Sonata, the fool."
"Oh no!" Skystar cried. "This is terrible! I'll get up there as fast as I can. Tempest, can you tell the Storm King, Captain Novo, and the salvage company?"
"Storm King, Captain Novo, Salvage, got it." Tempest puffed off in the direction of Hippogriffia.
Meanwhile, Capper and Silverstream met up the river. "Ah, Silverstream!" Capper smiled. "It's been too long since I last saw you. How 'bout you and me catch up for a while, find out what's going on?"
"Can't afford to stop," Silverstream said. "The river's blocked and we need a crane to clear the mess."
"There aren't any cranes anymore," Capper told her. "The last one was scrapped a while ago. Hence the saying, 'some cranes are less real than they appear'."
"Do you have a suggestion?" Silverstream asked.
"Dynamite. I've got enough here to blow a hole in anything. Even works on boats with pastelis colouritis."
"Oh dear," Silverstream sighed as they set off for the blockage. "I hope I don't end up regretting this."
Skystar was parked up on the other side of the blockage. "This is pretty bad," she said, before she saw Blueblood's head poking over the top of the wreck. "Blueblood?"
"Hello there!" Blueblood called. "I daresay you're here to rescue us? I would want to chat but the water level's rising here and I'd much rather get out of here."
"And it's falling over here," Skystar replied. "I'll get a crane and get back here, OK?" And she steamed off into the distance, trying to find a crane.
Moments later, Mistmane and Big Mac arrived. "Good grief!" Mistmane exclaimed. "This isn't good at all. We're stuck!"
"I told Captain Novo that working with Storm Ships simply doesn't work," Blueblood sighed.
"Let's not blame other boats and just figure out a solution, OK?" Big Mac asked.
"I know how to clear the blockage," Mistmane said. "We lash together several barges with steel cables, to ensure they don't snap. Then, we each latch onto a barge (or two to a barge), and charge the wreck."
"How will that help?" Blueblood asked.
"The barges are heavy and filled with logs," Mistmane explained. "That'll break open the ship's hull, as it's old and rusty."
"Let's give it a go!" Sonata said. "It's better than nothing!"
"Agreed," Big Mac said. "Ah'm in."
"If it works in the past, I'll try it," Blueblood said, and the tugs all lined up for battering ram duty.
Back in the harbour, Skystar soon found the crane she was looking for, a small A frame painted with with brown lining. However, he was also covered in brown spots due to a painting error.
"'ello, Skystar!" he greeted, in a cheery cockney accent. "'ow can I 'elp you today?"
"A boat's got stuck upriver, and I need your help, Pipsqueak!" Skystar replied.
"Not a moment to waste! Up the chips!"
"Sorry?"
"Rhyming slang," Pipsqueak explained. "Chips and Liver is a common expression around 'ere. Liver rhymes with river, but we only use the first word of the rhyming phrase, hence 'up the chips'."
Elsewhere, the tugs had assembled their battering ram, all four tied to the rear raft.
"Ready yourselves!" Mistmane called. "We all need to be going at full throttle for this to even work. Sonata, how's your engine doing?"
"It's cooled down, but I can't run it at full power for safety reasons until an engineer looks at it."
"How much power can you supply without risking damage?" asked Blueblood.
"80%, max."
"That should be enough with me pushing as well," Mistmane replied. "CHARGE!"
The four tugs charged at the wreck, but the ram failed to break the boat. The hull buckled, but didn't snap, and the barges floated about and got stuck.
Sonata was wedged in amongst them. "Help! I'm stuck!"
"Aren't we all?" Blueblood asked. "Brilliant idea this was, Mistmane."
Suddenly, a whistle sounded behind them, followed by another high pitched wailing tone. Silverstream and Capper came to a stop behind them.
"Is this the help you went for?" Big Mac asked. "Ah thought ya went ta get a crane, not a pyromaniac!"
"I know how to handle explosives," Capper replied. "I may be charming, but I'm not stupid. Explosives are no toy, after all. I can blow that thing apart with no difficulty."
Back at Shadowville, Skystar was ready to set off with Pipsqueak when Tempest steamed back in.
"Aren't you supposed to have gotten help?" asked Skystar.
"I tried, but nobody was there," Tempest replied. "I wouldn't use that crane on the tramper, it may fall on it and crush him."
"I can pull my weight!" Pipsqueak protested.
"I'm being serious," Tempest replied. "Follow me, I'll take you to the danger zone."
Skystar had her suspicions that Tempest hadn't summoned help at all, but they had to get that wreck clear, so she set off with Pipsqueak in tow.
Silverstream pulled Sonata clear whilst Capper set about rigging the dynamite. The other tugs watched the small alligator tug at work with fascinated looks on their faces.
"Ah'm not sure about this," Big Mac told Mistmane. "If this goes wron', we'll all be blown to the great drydock in the sky."
"We already have a giant mess on our hands, and I don't see you suggesting anything better," Mistmane replied. "Besides, Capper knows his trade."
Capper whistled again to signal he was finished. "Drop back please!" he called, and went into reverse as the fuse was lit.
"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, ze-"
Suddenly, the sound of the fuse stopped. There was an awkward silence.
"What happened?" asked Blueblood.
Capper peered at the fuse from his current position. "Ah, I see the problem. Fuse is wet. I'll need to rig a new one. Stand by!"
Tempest and Skystar made their way up the river, which was by now very low, towards the wreck. Skystar's hull was scraping on rocks and other objects that normally wouldn't bother a boat on this river. "I can't proceed much closer!" she called.
"If we can't get a crane into position, we can't shift the mess," Tempest said. Which is a good thing , she thought to herself, with a devious smile.
Capper lit the fuse again, and backed up. "Here we go! 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, zero!"
BOOOOOOOOOM!
In that moment, over five tons of dynamite detonated at once, and the wreck was blown in half. It floated apart as a raging torrent of water shot down the river, filling it up in seconds. The current swept up Tempest, dragging her along and flinging her through the air until she landed on some rocks, stuck in place.
The other tugs steamed through, whooping and cheering as they did so. They were free, and back to work. "You look ta be stuck," Big Mac said to Tempest.
"The sky is also blue," Tempest replied. "Care to state the obvious any further?"
"You do look funny though!" Silverstream laughed.
Capper noticed two boxes on the nearby rocks, and peered at them. "Seems that the tramper still had some cargo on board," he said. "A box of eggs and a box of whisky, as a matter of fact. Scotch on the rocks, anybody?"
"Alright, back to work," Mistmane said. "Skystar, you have a crane, right?"
"Yes. Why?"
"You can use it to get Tempest free before we move off."
Tempest scowled, the irony of the situation not lost on her. In trying to trap the Hippogriffia Tugs, she had only suceeded in trapping herself.
Author's Note
Trapped
Written by The Blue EM2
Based on 'Trapped', by Chris Tulloch (incidentally, Tulloch voiced Zorran in the series)
To ask for 'scotch on the rocks' is to ask for whisky served into a glass that already has ice in it. Given that the crate of whisky is sitting on a pile of rocks, here it is rather more literal.
Navigating into and out of Hippogriffia port was a tricky business. The harbour entrance was surrounded by rocks and sandbanks, and many a careless sailor met their end by not looking carefully at their maps and charts. These rocks were once marked by a network of lighthouses, the most famous of which was manned by a chap called Salty, but these had been decommissioned and replaced by a network of lightships, which were not only cheaper to run but could also move from one danger zone to another if required.
Sunset Shimmer was one such vessel. Her loud horn and light enabled her to warn ships of oncoming danger. I had the supply and repair contract for Sunset, and we made sure to give her regular supplies of fuel and new parts, mostly spare bulbs in case she blew one.
One night, Skystar and Silverstream had just finished a delivery of parts. Shelly the fuel barge had just finished pumping kerosene into Sunset's fuel tank, whilst Sheldon had been cleared of any spare parts. "There you go!" Skystar said cheerfully. "That's another 24 hours of fuel. Now you can show us the way home!"
"I don't know what we'd do without you!" Silverstream added.
"And I don't know what I'd do without you," Sunset replied. "I imagine you two are taking part in the great Regatta, right? I never get to see that from out here."
Skystar laughed. "We could always stick a light and foghorn on Silverstream and put her here!"
"That sounds silly," Silverstream replied. "I'm in the parade too, you know!"
"Well, we'd best be getting on our way," Skystar said. "See you tomorrow!"
That evening, the fog rolled in. It was so thick you could barely see an inch in front of your face. Sunset was musing to herself about the Regatta when she suddenly heard a ship approaching.
Sunset blasted her horn several times to warn the vessel to slow down, but it either didn't hear her warnings or ignored it. Suddenly, the vessel loomed out of the fog and crashed into her, causing her to pitch to one side whilst the ship, an out of control tramp steamer, was thrown off course and crashed into the rocks, pitching to one side before slipping back into the water and sinking.
Sunset was badly damaged. Water was seeping into her hull through a hole about a foot wide, and although her compartmentalised hull was able to keep the water there for now, water had seeped into her generator room and knocked out her light. Not only that, but the water in the front bulkhead was slowly pulling her forward into the water. If she wasn't rescued soon, water would spill over into the next bulkhead, and the next, until she was dragged to a watery grave.
Suddenly, as the sun rose, a burst of bubbles signalled the arrival of Gallus the submarine.
"Gallus!" Sunset called. "Thank Faust you're here! I'm sinking and in need of urgent repairs!"
Gallus took one look at the hole and gasped. "That hole needs to be plugged," he said. "There's no chance of you being towed in that shape. That's bigger than the hole that sank the Griffonic !"
It was then Gallus had an idea. Sounding his whistle, he moved forward and plugged the hole with his front end, then discharged his ballast tanks to keep afloat as long as he could. "This... should... hold... for... now!" he said. "Keep sounding your horn! It'll alert others to our position!"
Meanwhile, at the docks, the Hippogriffia Tugs and myself were preparing for the festivities. Blueblood was keeping everybody entertained with his stories when suddenly a loud, piercing whistle echoed through the harbour.
It was easily the loudest whistle in the harbour- attached to the smallest boat! This boat had very pale cyan paint, combined with lining of alternating shades of green. This was Vapour Trail, one of the coastguard vessels, and I ran over to speak to her.
"Captain Novo!" she said. "Sunset Shimmer was badly damaged in an accident last night and is in danger of sinking! She needs help, fast! The Storm Fleet are busy elsewhere and can't help!"
"You heard her!" I called. "Sunset Shimmer needs our help, and fast! We'll have to put the festivities off for now. Mistmane, collect Cherry Jubilee!"
"Yes ma'am!"
"Skystar! Collect a timber barge! If you're asked why, say it's an emergency and that Captain Novo needs it!"
"Understood, ma'am!" Skystar replied, and set off for the harbour.
She soon spotted a barge, and moved for it. But suddenly, Adagio and Aria blocked her path to it. "Nice try, Skystar," Aria sneered.
"Out of the way!" Skystar called. "This is an emergency!"
"Always seems to be an emergency whenever you get involved," Tempest snorted, as she stopped nearby.
"Sunset's sinking, and we need a barge to help with the rescue effort!" Skystar replied. "I'm taking that barge! It's an emergency and Captain Novo needs it!"
"That barge is being unloaded," Tempest said. "You so much as put one line on that thing and I'll report you to the Storm King."
Luckily, Skystar took no heed of this threat, and took the barge out to Sunset. Mistmane had arrived there several minutes earlier, and had positioned Cherry Jubilee, a massive portable crane painted cream and two tone red, ready to lift Sunset. Skystar looked at the scene in surprise. "Well, did a fish ram you?" she asked.
"Hilarious," Gallus replied.
"Hold on just a little bit longer!" Mistmane said. "We'll soon have you out."
"Listen up!" Cherry Jubilee called. "Ah'm about ta start liftin' this here ol' lightship. Skystar, get yer line attached and pull Gallus out when Ah say the word."
"Roger that!" Skystar replied, and attached her line.
Mistmane sounded her whistle to alert the others they were ready to lift. "Right then, one, two, three, lift!"
With a roar and a snort of steam, Cherry's boiler and gears thundered into life, lifting Sunset up and out of the water. "Pull!"
Skystar and Gallus set their engines to full reverse, the former blowing steam everywhere. "Gallus, you're very, very stuck!"
"Gee, I wonder why that could be," Gallus said, sarcastically.
"Put more power into it!" Mistmane called. "You can get him out!"'
At long last, they had Gallus free. But the situation was far from over.
"My my!" Cherry exclaimed. "This does look bad. Sunset's hull is pretty badly holed, and there's little Ah can do out here. She needs ta go to a drydock."
"Skystar, you take Cherry back to her dock," Mistmane instructed. "I'll tow Sunset to the drydock."
"You may get to see the regatta after all!" Skystar said, as the tugboats set off, Gallus following close behind.
Whilst all that was going on, Sky Beak had towed a barge to the garbage company to be loaded. But to his astonishment, the resident crane, Silver Spoon, a relatively small grey and silver thing, was sitting idle and doing nothing rather than sorting through heaps of rubbish.
"Hello!" Sky Beak greeted. "Where's the rubbish?"
"There's no garbage today," Silver Spoon replied.
"But there's a mountain of the stuff over there!" Sky Beak exclaimed.
"There's no garbage today," Silver Spoon replied, again.
"How can there be no garbage?" Sky Beak asked. "We must have garbage! I need garbage, Chrysalis here need garbage!" He indicated to a black barge painted with blue lining next to the quay. "We all need garbage! Next you'll tell me Celestia and Luna are retiring."
"There's no garbage today," Silver Spoon replied, yet again. "Some sort of festival going on."
"Is that you?" asked a voice, and a strange looking man stepped out of a shed and looked at him. His nose looked something like a shark.
"Yes, sir," Sky Beak said. "There's absolute heaps, hills, mountains of garbage over there, but none of it is in the barges."
"That's because this garbage is being used for decoration!" replied the shark faced man. "Silver Spoon will fill several barges with garbage and these will become floats in the regatta."
Silver Spoon's winch started up, and she moved her arm and bucket in over the garbage piles. "This will take a while, so I'd suggest putting your cutoff in neutral," she said.
"This day keeps getting stranger," Sky Beak sighed. "Then again, it is festival day."
Meanwhile, Skystar and Mistmane had succesfully towed Sunset to the repair yard to be fixed. "Cheerio!" Skystar called. "I need to help Big Mac now, but I'll make sure to come back later!"
Sunset laughed. "See you later! Perhaps I will see the regatta after all."
"You probably will," Mistmane replied. "The engineers said the damage is a lot less serious than they thought, and they'll have you back in the water by teatime."
"That sounds good," Sunset said. "But I'm in no rush to get back out to sea."
"Sadly, it's not for you to decide," Mistmane said sternly. "You're far too important to navigation, what with the lighthouses being out of use."
Meanwhile, Skystar was telling Big Mac all about what had happened when they were interrupted by a series of shrill whistle blasts. The tug that approached was painted purple with two tone turquoise lining.
"Look sharp!" he called, in a clipped Griffish accent. "I am General Seaspray of the Royal Equestrian Navy."
"We can't be spared right now, we're doin' essential work," Big Mac replied, rolling his eyes.
"I am looking for one of our submarines. His name is Gallus," Seaspray explained.
"Last I saw, he was at the salvage yard," Skystar told him.
"Thank you. Now I must be on my way," Seaspray started, before suddenly Gallus surfaced nearby. "Gallus! There you are!"
Seeing the look of confusion on his friend's faces, Gallus spoke up. "The navy's blowing me up today."
"WHAT?" Skystar exclaimed. "Why? You're a hero with years of life left in you!"
"I don't expect you to understand matters of the Navy, being a civilian and all," Seaspray said pompously, "but instead of rotting in a scrapyard for decades, we Naval vessels go out in a blaze of glory as targets for the battleships. Gallus here is old, and out of date, and no longer of use to us."
"But he's still of use to civilian life!" Big Mac protested. "He saved Sunset's life only just today!"
"Are you questioning me? Because if you are, I'll have you court martialled," Seaspray said coldly. "This way Gallus. Target practice at 14:00 hours."
Seaspray led Gallus away. "Don't go!" Skystar called. "Run and hide! There's no point in needlessly throwing your life away like this!"
"Orders are orders," Gallus said sadly. "There's newer subs patrolling the area, and they'd sink me if I'd try to escape."
The second the naval vessels were out of earshot, Big Mac spoke up. "Skystar, we need ta save Gallus. You go and get Mistmane, she'll know what to do. Ah'll find a barge. Ah know the navy has some big guns, but Ah'm prepared ta risk that ta save a friend."
Skystar blasted across the harbour and into the docks as Mistmane was finishing refuelling. "Mistmane! We need to move fast! The navy's going to blow Gallus up!"
"What?" Mistmane asked. "We can't let them do that. We need to act, and fast."
"And risk getting blown up?" Blueblood asked. "Everything seems to be going wrong today."
Mistmane quickly ran through the plan. Skystar sailed off to collect a timber barge, and after running into Tempest again, took the barge with her despite Tempest's threats. Elsewhere, the rest of the tugs were to form a line to sail out into the harbour. Once Skystar returned, she ordered the switcher to put white flags at either end.
Out in the harbour, Gallus had been fitted with a pair of white flags so that the battleship, the Valiant , could clearly see him. Seaspray, having towed him into position, began to back out of the danger zone. "It's been nice knowing you," he said. "The Navy thanks you for your service, Gallus."
"Glad to have served, sir," Gallus replied, as Seaspray left the area. "If the modern Navy's like him, I'll be glad to be in Davy Jones' locker."
A siren blared, announcing the start of the exercises. Mistmane looked over to see the turrets on the Valiant already starting to rotate over to Gallus' position. "NOW!" she called, as all of the tugs put their engines to full regulator, charging into the danger zone.
"Get clear, you idiots!" Gallus called. "You'll all get blown to bits!"
"I don't like this!" Blueblood exclaimed. "We're in quite a lot of danger here!"
"Keep going!" Big Mac called. "The faster we go, the sooner we're outta danger!"
"Skystar, attach a line to Gallus!" Mistmane ordered. Skystar obeyed without hesitation. "Big Mac, park the barge there, out at sea. With luck, all the Navy will see is the giant flags."
The tugs, with their work done, pulled Gallus clear despite his protests. The plan worked perfectly; the Valiant saw only the white flags and opened fire on the log barge instead, obliterating it in a single hit.
When the Tugs got home, Gallus in tow, trouble was waiting for them. Tempest Shadow saw them and sailed over. "What's going on?" she demanded.
"None of your business," Blueblood replied. "Now kindly go away."
"You lot owe us two wood barges," Tempest said. "And with so many of you in the same place at once, something fishy's going on." She moved forward and saw Gallus tied off behind Skystar. "Oh? Stealing government property, are we? The harbourmaster's going to give Novo an earful."
"That's Captain Novo to you, Tempest," Ocean Flow said quite sternly as she sailed into the harbour. "Causing trouble, are we?"
"You lot have stolen from us and from the authorities!" Tempest responded.
"Oh, really?" Ocean Flow said. "All I see there is a mockup of a submarine. I should know a real submarine from a fake one, after all."
Tempest sailed off. "You'll hear from the Navy about this!"
Ocean Flow turned around and rolled her eyes. "Sorry I'm late, darlings. I had a job up the cost that went long. May I still take part in the parade?"
"Of course you can!" said Mistmane.
"Wait," said Skystar. "You used to be in the Navy, Ocean Flow?"
"Indeed," Ocean Flow replied. "I was due to be processed for target practice too, until Captain Novo bought me and brought me here. But enough of that; let's get ready to parade!"
"There's one slight problem," Silverstream pointed out. "Where's Sky Beak?"
Sky Beak was still stuck at the garbage plant, Chrysalis the garbage barge still being loaded. At last, the final check was completed, and all was ready to go. "This looks pretty impressive!" Sky Beak said. "Though it is a bit smelly."
"I think it works splendidly," Chrysalis said. "The banners are especially nice. Now, we need to go as the parade is due to start!"
As Sky Beak sailed off, Silver Spoon brought her grabber back into the stowed position. "Now I can have a nice rest," she said. "It's not easy being a crane. Good luck, Sky Beak!"
Sky Beak got to the regatta position just in time, as the starting cannon sounded. Leading off was Blueblood, followed by Mistmane, Big Mac, and Sky Beak in rapid succession. Next came Adagio Dazzle, towing the portable light beacon, with Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk behind her, towing a float loaded with wood and fruit. Skybeak and Silverstream followed them, towing Pipsqueak and Rainbow Dash. Ocean Flow was out next, by herself.
Then Tempest Shadow entered, towing a barge containing the world famous Bridge Street Cafe Jazz Band, a wonderful sound that got the crowd up and dancing- including myself!
But the piece de resistance was yet to come. That evening, a freshly repaired and running Sunset Shimmer shone her light across the bay, and I had a new vessel in my fleet. Quite how I had been offered a submarine by the US Navy initially confused me, but I was quick to clean it up with the Tugs, and applauded them for their bravery.
Author's Note
The Great Regatta
Written by The Blue EM2
Based on 'Regatta', by David Mitton
The Griffonic is a reference to HMHS Britannic, a British medical ship sunk by a mine in 1916.
When running a tugboat company, you have to be prepared to take on any job, no matter how dangerous. By far the most dangerous contract was the munitions contract for the navy, which involved the loading and unloading of large quantities of explosives. One dark, foggy day, Ocean Flow had just towed in the naval tramper Lord Torch . Normally this was a safe routine, but the seas had been rough and the weather bad. As if that wasn't bad enough, she had to deal with the insufferable 'General' Seaspray. I always laughed at that, as the fool didn't seem to realise that a General commands land troops, not ships.
"Ho there!" Seaspray called, as he came to a stop. "Attention! What are you doing here?"
"Finishing up my work," Ocean Flow replied, her voice full of calm annoyance. She found him especially irritating; being a former naval tug herself, she felt he was giving the navy a bad name. "I need to be on my way."
"Oh no you don't!" Seaspray snapped. "You're under navy jurisdiction, and that means that you stay during the inspection!"
"I ceased to be under navy jurisdiction when I got my discharge papers, darling," Ocean Flow replied, as she fired up her boiler. "I am under jurisdiction, the jurisdiction of Captain Novo, and a little wakewasher like you doesn't exactly scare me. If you'd acted like this when I was in the navy, they'd have sent you to the bottom." And she sailed away, with Seaspray shouting after her.
"No wonder the navy used to be in such bad shape, with insubordinate and disobediant tugs like you! You deserve to be-"
Ocean Flow tuned him out as she made her way towards the coaling plant. On the way, she met Mistmane, who was struggling with some bouys. "I find that Seaspray insufferable," she said. "He seems to put orders before basic common sense. It is important to obey orders, but it's equally important to not be stupid."
"He's constantly bossing me about," Mistmane replied. "Keep those bouys in line, he shouts. It's not as if I haven't done this a million times before. Report to me when your finished, he says. No, because I don't work for you. You're too old for this work, he demands." She glanced over to the loading operations. "They're loading fuel and munitions onto the same ship at the same time. If something goes wrong, the resulting explosion would make the Indefatigable look like a firecracker."
"I'd love to stay and chat, but my bunker's rather low and I need to refuel," Ocean Flow said. As she sailed off, Seaspray moved into her position and began shouting at Mistmane.
"KEEP IT MOVING! KEEP THOSE BOUYS IN LINE!"
"What do you think I'm doing?" Mistmane replied, when he was well out of earshot. "We should work together, not fight each other. Never fought like this back in the East."
The last vessel that Seaspray bothered was the fire department vessel, Spitfire. Painted yellow with two tone orange lining, she was ex Navy herself, and certainly was not one to be bossed about.
"You there, yellow thing!" shouted Seaspray. "Collect some barges and move to the exercise area!"
Spitfire looked at him coldly. "I'm waiting for orders to move off to the old dock. And don't shout when you're right next to another vessel."
"You insubordinate little thing," Seaspray said. "Those orders are cancelled! Move off now! Fire practice on the double!"
Spitfire rolled her eyes. "Yes, sir ," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She couldn't stand tugs like that, and in her time in the navy she'd often have to bring tugs like that into line.
At the Hippogriffia Tugboat Company wharf, we had just received a new job, and I didn't like the look of it at all. I stepped outside to fill the tugs in. "Listen up, everybody!" I called. "We've got servicing contracts for naval vessels to fulfill. Mistmane is currently laying marker bouys to denote the routes you need to take. No shortcuts, use the official entryways! The navy tends to get cross when its official routes aren't used."
"Don't we all know it," Sky Beak sighed.
"We're handling munitions," I continued. "Before you start grumbling, consider yourselves lucky. The Storm Fleet are handling the explosives, so keep well clear. Remember Sky Beak, no high wakes today."
"I don't make high wakes!" Sky Beak protested.
"Garbage for you, then," I said.
"I daresay I am not looking forward to having to work with Seaspray," Blueblood complained. "He's an absolute bossyboots, always pushing others around."
"You can do the garbage, then," I suggested.
Blueblood scowled as the dockside erupted into laughter. "That is not funny, and would ruin my image."
"Car floats, then," I sighed, feeling a headache coming on from dealing with him. "Don't argue, just go."
Blueblood steamed off as Skystar spoke up. "Captain Novo?" she asked. "Blueblood's been causing us trouble for a while now. Can we move him on?"
"Stow it," I said. "This is serious, so start taking it seriously. Skystar, go and collect Shelly. She's just been refitted at the drydock and repainted, so she should be ready to use in the exercise!"
"Yes ma'am!" Skystar replied, and steamed off into the bay.
"Silverstream, I need you to collect Cherry Jubilee. They've just finished work on the bridge and she needs taking home!"
"Aye aye, Captain!" Silverstream replied, and steamed off into the harbour.
"Big Mac! You handle the girder barges from the steelworks, and then get back here on the double."
Meanwhile, the Storm Fleet had taken up position at the explosives plant, and the last of their barges were being loaded. The work was extremely dangerous, but also extremely profitable. Tempest Shadow had been put in charge, and was overseeing Aria and Sonata.
"Listen up!" she said. "Sonata, you lead off first. Move slow, and make sure to give others a wide berth. If anybody gets too close, you-"
"Blow them up!" Sonata replied.
"With your horn, not your load, dummy," Tempest snapped. "Move off now, and ignore any nonsense from Seaspray. If he gives you different orders, tell him your orders are to deliver explosives to Lord Torch and refer him to me."
Aria looked over as Sonata moved off. "Seaspray instructed us to obey orders. What happens when two sets of orders conflict?"
"You obey mine," Tempest told her, bluntly. "Now you follow on. Fly the danger flags and keep it slow." Tempest followed a few seconds later.
Seasprary was looking for something to order about. He sailed towards Skystar as she was entering the waterway with Shelly. "Get out of the way! You're obstructing my path!"
"You chose to sail over to me!" Skystar protested. "There was no need to move this way."
"Are you talking back to me!" Seaspray snapped.
"Yes, I am talking back to you because you are an idiot," Skystar said flatly. "You moved over here specifically to cause trouble."
"If you were in the navy I would have you scrapped for this insubordination," Seaspray snarled. "I am in charge here. If I order you to jump, you jump! If I order you to go somewhere, you do it! That barge has been requisitioned for navy purposes, and if I want to scrape it I will. Now move out, and get to the docks as soon as possible!"
As Seaspray steamed off, he intentionall scraped Shelly.
"Hey! You scraped Shelly on purpose!" Skystar called.
"No giving barges names!" Seaspray snapped. "Now get moving!"
Night fell, and the difficult task of moving explosives from the barges to the tramper was underway. Dock lights helped the main dock crane, Braeburn, move the cargo into the ship's hold. The Storm Fleet had moored off, apart from Tempest, who was understandably nervous. "I'll be glad to be rid of this lot," she said. "One last slipup means disaster."
Suddenly, Seaspray's whistle echoed through the harbour. "Oh no, here we go."
"Oi, you lot!" Seaspray bellowed. "Purple one! Move that barge, now! Mine's priority!"
"You shouldn't move a barge that's being unloaded," Mistmane told him.
"I don't recall asking for your opinion, old timer," Seaspray said. "Somebody should hurry up and preserve you before it's too late!"
Aria and Sonata began laughing, but a single glare from Tempest silenced them. "Mistmane's right; never move a barge that's being unloaded."
"Well then," Seaspray snorted, "we'll see about that. Dock crane! Unload my barge, that's an order."
Braeburn, a yellow crane with dark orange lining, looked over at him. "Ah don't take orders from you," he said. "And besides, you should always end a request with 'please'?"
"Obey orders!" Seaspray snapped.
"Tell me, did anybody ever say no to you when you were in the Academy?" Tempest sneered, causing laughter. Minutes later, Skystar arrived with her fuel barge.
"What's going on here?" she asked. "I'm due in next!"
"I'm priority! The navy's orders take priority over Captain Nobles-"
"NOVO!" everybody else shouted.
"-So get out of my way!" Seaspray demanded, and steamed forward.
"Stop! That barge is still-!"
Seaspray crashed into Tempest's barge, causing a fuel barrel to tip over and ignite.
"-Unsafe."
Tempest looked at Seaspray with angry eyes. "You idiot," she snapped. "Look what you've done!"
That evening, I had retired home early so I could spend some time with Kainos, as it was our wedding anniversary. We stood on the balcony of our waterside home together, looking out towards the open ocean.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kainos said.
"It's part of why I chose to live here," I replied, still looking out to sea.
"It may be," he smiled, "but it's not as beautiful as you."
Just as we leaned in for a kiss, there was a sudden flash of red in the distance, and a loud bang followed it.
"What the?" I said, and looked over. Suddenly, several more explosions rocked the area.
"What's going on?" Kainos asked.
I wasted no time in running for the stairs. "The dock's on fire!" I shouted. "That's right where they're loading the tramper!"
"Get clear!" Tempest shouted. "That barge is loaded to the brim with explosives, so get out of there!"
"Stay put!" Seaspray ordered. "I give the orders around here, not you!"
Just then, another barge erupted into flames.
"Get back!" Braeburn shouted. "All ships, clear the area NOW!"
"Skystar, drop your barge and back up!" Mistmane called.
"I would, but Seaspray here is blocking the way!" Skystar replied.
Seasprary had gone suspiciously quiet in every sense of the word.
"His propellor's jammed!" Aria shouted, as she backed up. "Serves him right!"
Skystar attached a line to Seaspray and began to pull as the flames got ever closer and the explosions continued to rock the port. Eventually, the line to Seaspray's barge broke free and the two tugs were clear.
"Where are you taking me?" Seaspray demanded. "I give the or-"
"Can you please shut up?" Mistmane asked. "Leave the tugs that actually know what they're doing to fix this mess that you made."
Warning sirens sounded all across the dockside as the tramper caught fire, and flames hit Braeburn's dock.
"Braeburn, your dock is going up!" Tempest shouted.
Braeburn began to adjust his arm. "Stay still!" he shouted. "Ah'll take the brunt of the blast and let you get clear!"
Seconds later, his platform tipped over, and the massive crane fell sideways and onto a barge.
"That was too close," Skystar whispered, as the flames continued to spread.
"He's fallen sideways and blocked the worst of the fire," Tempest noted. "We need to wait for help."
"I'm certain that the fire crew heard that," Mistmane said. "We need to wait for Spitfire to arrive."
"That won't help much," Aria said. "Look at the state of the tramper!"
Seconds later, a piercing scream echoed across the harbour as Lord Torch was ripped apart in a series of deafening explosions.
At the same time, Blueblood was towing Thorax and Pharynx the railway barges past my home. I flagged him down.
"Is somebody having a party?" asked Thorax.
"If there was a party going on, I would have been invited," said Blueblood.
"Maybe a tug like you wasn't their clientele," Pharynx joked.
"Blueblood, moor those barges there immediately!" I ordered. "We need to get to the scene of the fire immediately!"
"Novo, please, don't do anything stupid!" Kainos begged.
"I will come back," I said. "But my tugs are in danger, and I must help them."
"Then I'm coming with you," Kainos said, and hopped onboard Blueblood. As the railroad tug set off towards the fire, Spitfire passed with several firefighting barges, followed by Silverstream with another set of barges.
As we got closer, it was like we were sailing into Tartarus itself. The sky was black with smoke, and the water was full of burning fuel and wood. Shards of metal and bits of tramper had rained down on the dockside and triggered more fires, and further explosions were continuing to tear through the harbour.
Skystar suddenly noticed where the flames were going. "Look!" she shouted. "Apple Bloom's right in the line of the flames!" She indicated to a yellow and red tank engine currently sat on the dockside.
"We need to warn her!" Mistmane shouted, and started blasting her whistle. All the tugs were soon blasting whistles and sounding horns, and sure enough Apple Bloom started moving- only just in time. Several fuel drums around her exploded, and her heavy load not only meant she was struggling to accelerate but that her wheels kept slipping.
Apple Bloom got clear seconds before the fuelling station exploded in flames, igniting the water that was now drenched in diesel. The flames ran to Shelly the fuel barge, which had been forgotten in the confusion.
"That isn't good," Mistmane said. "The barge is on fire."
"And fully loaded!" Skystar cried. "I need to move it out of the way, or the fire will become a hundred times worse!"
"Don't do it!" Mistmane shouted. "If it explodes, you'll go with it!"
Sky Beak had just dropped off Chrysalis at the garbage dump when both of them noticed the fire. "Whatever is that?" Sky Beak asked.
"Don't you know?" Chrysalis asked. "Red sky at night, sailor's delight."
"The sun went down hours ago," Sky Beak said. "And that's north, not west! THERE'S A FIRE!"
Skystar was fully aware of the fire as she moved into position next to the barge. The flames and heat scorched her paint and began to melt her frames, but she attached a line regardless and started to tow it out to sea.
Spitfire and the rest of the crew arrived moments later, myself included. I was always aware the situation was bad, but I hadn't reckoned with it being the apocalyptic type of bad.
"It's about time you got here!" Mistmane called.
"Nice to see you too," Spitfire replied. "Tempest, Aria, Sonata, keep back! Who's responsible for this mess?"
"Seaspray over there," Mistmane said. "You won't get anything out of him, I'm afraid. He's in shock."
"Right," Spitfire replied. "Silverstream, move these barges into position and start the pumps! Novo, Kainos, coordinate the barge positions! What's on fire?"
Even more explosions rocked the quayside.
"It may be quicker to list the things that aren't on fire!" Kainos exclaimed, as Silverstream moved her barges into position.
Sky Beak emerged from the fog. "Good to see you," Spitfire ordered. "Get into position and start dousing the flames!"
"Yes ma'am!" Sky Beak shouted, as he fired up his firefighting gear to put the fires out.
"The fuel storage building's on fire!" Silverstream shouted. "I can't-"
The building was torn to pieces in a massive explosion.
"IS THERE ANYTHING HERE THAT WON'T EXPLODE?!"
"Sky Beak, Silverstream, fall back!" Spitfire ordered. "We can't put the fires out; we have to stop them from spreading any further!"
The fires had completely consumed the dockside, and the heat was so intense I had to cover my face to protect myself. Smoke and ash was in the air, and I saw Kainos coughing badly from the soot.
"What about the oil barge?" asked Spitfire.
As if to answer her question, there was another massive explosion out at sea. It took us a few seconds to figure out who had been working it.
Silverstream started to scream. "SKYSTAR!"
But it was too late to think about that. The last of the fuel depots on the quayside ignited, and in that very second exploded. Over 1,000 gallons of fuel erupted into flames and created a mushroom cloud the size of a megaspell.
Both myself and Kainos dived onto Blueblood's deck as the heat washed over us, and the flames consumed the entire area, buildings burning and collapsing as their foundations gave way.
"Look at this mess," I said. "That's a lot of damage." If you hadn't known there was a dockside there beforehand, you'd have had no idea what buildings had been standing there.
"True," said Spitfire, "but the fire didn't spread to the city. Well done, everybody."
The next morning, the dockside was still smouldering. Most of the tugs sat in shocked silence at what they had just witnessed. All except little Silverstream, who sobbed uncontrollably.
"Skystar," she whimpered. "She's gone."
Mistmane did her best to comfort the distraught tugboat. "We shall mourn her. But we shall also celebrate her life and her bravery, as without her actions, the accident would have been a lot worse."
Suddenly, a familiar whistle sounded nearby, and a scorched and thoroughly battered Skystar emerged. She was battered, but very much alive.
Silverstream's eyes widened. "Skystar!" she cried. "You're alive!" Her tears of sorrow turned to tears of joy. "But how?"
"I started backing up just in time," Skystar replied. "Had I been just a few seconds later, I'd have had it."
"I shall see to it that the City honours you for your bravery," I said, stepping over as close I could. "And that's not the only good news. Braeburn is alive."
The entire dockyard erupted in cheers and whistles and horns.
"He landed on the barge with his face out of the water," I explained. "And after a refit at the salvage yards, he'll be back to work."
Gallus arrived to take the still stunned Seaspray away. "Well, what a mess," he said. "I brought in a switcher, and took out a twitcher." And he dragged the tugboat away.
"That was the strangest wedding anniversary we've had," Kainos noted.
Once they were gone, I turned to the assembled tugs. "I hope we have all learned a valuable lesson today," I said. "Orders may be orders, but they must never come before common sense or using your brain- two things that Seaspray clearly lacked. The accident was caused by short temper and a few poorly chosen words, and if everybody had kept their head, the accident would never have happened. Never play with fire; if you don't respect it, it will destroy you, your surroundings, and your friends."
Author's Note
Munitions
Written by The Blue EM2
Based on 'Munitions', by David Mitton
HMS Indefatigable was a Royal Navy battlecruiser destroyed at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Notably, its destruction was the first loss of a Royal Navy vessel captured on film.
The Hippogriffia Port authority had recently started the difficult task of redeveloping the dockside that had been destroyed when Lord Torch went up in flames. Naturally, the new project (already being nicknamed 'Inferno Bay' by councilmen) required the help of both the Hippogriffia Tugs and the Storm Fleet, which mostly consisted of pulling the ruined buildings down and towing loads of stone to form new foundations for whatever was going to be built there, probably office blocks. For these jobs, I had to use the strongest tugs, and as such I took Sky Beak off of garbage duty and put him to work alongside Big Mac. One morning, Sky Beak was loading his barge. The manager of the stone company, a woman with white skin, wild red hair, and auburn eyes and currently dressed from head to toe in green, was overseeing the loading.
"It's not often I see you up here, Sky Beak!" she said. "This must be a nice change of scenery from the garbage dump, eh?"
"It is, Miss Autumn," Sky Beak replied, "and Big Mac and I will shift this load faster than you can say 'Peaks of Peril'!"
"Just don't have any accidents, OK?" Autumn told him, as he began to set off.
"I'll be careful!" Sky Beak replied, as he moved off. Unfortunately, he misjugded the speed of his barge, and it smacked into him. "Oops!"
"I hope you're not starting as you mean to go on," Autumn told him, as he steamed off into the distance.
No sooner had he left the dockside then he ran into trouble, for a group of shrimpers suddenly blasted their horns. "Oi! Watch where you're going?"
"You watch where you're going!" Sky Beak said indignantly. "I've got cargo to deliver!"
"We watch where we are going?" asked the shrimpers incredulously. "We're always here! We're shrimping!"
Sky Beak ignored them as he saw a familiar cargo ship sitting in the bay. "Wait a moment, that's Thunderhooves," he said. He drew up alongside him and sounded his whistle. "Need a tow?"
Thunderhooves was suddenly shocked out of his sleep. "Yes, yes, I could do with one!" he exclaimed. "How much are you charging?"
"One hundred."
"Honestly, the nerve of these tugboats!" Thunderhooves exclaimed. "Back in the day we didn't need tugboats to get into the harbour. These waterways were open before in the time of my predecessor, and his predecessor before him, and his predecessor before him, and his predecessor before him, and his predecessor before him..."
"I get it," Sky Beak replied. "But there's no way a ship as big as yourself would be able to navigate accurately! That's why tugs exist!"
"I'll stay here then. I shouldn't have to pay for what used to be my right," Thunderhooves said finally.
"Have it your way then," Sky Beak replied, and set off once again- banging his barge into Thunderhooves.
"OW!"
"Sorry!" Sky Beak called.
Elsewhere, Silverstream and Pipsqueak were busy dredging in the estuary. This was work that Silverstream normally enjoyed, but today she was on high alert. And sure enough, who should come bumbling out of the fog by Sky Beak, paying absolutely no heed as to where he was going.
"Halt dredging!" Silverstream shouted. "Sky Beak, look out! You're passing too close to us!"
Sky Beak came to an abrupt stop- and once again was knocked forward as his barge crashed into him. "Now why does that keep happening?" he asked.
"Be careful," Silverstream reminded him. "Why are you out here anyway? Garbage doesn't normally come this way."
"Oh, you noticed!" Sky Beak smiled. "This barge is loaded with rock for the foundations at Inferno Bay, with myself and Big Mac working this thanks to our power. But I can't sit about and chat. Goodbye!" He steamed off, again not watching where he was going, and bashed into Pipsqueak, who started spinning.
"You spin me right round-"
"That is not funny," Blueblood suddenly said, breaking the fourth wall and interrupting the shot.
"Hey, Pip!" Silverstream called. "They should charge kids to ride on you! You're a merry go round at the moment!"
"Very funny!" Pipsqueak replied, looking rather annoyed. "Now can somebody please correct my spin?"
Naturally, Sky Beak paid no attention whatsoever, and just went on his way.
At Inferno Bay, a dark blue boat with green lining was backing up into the bay, overlooking the situation. This was Sky Stinger, the other coastguard ship, and he had been assigned to ensuring the operation was being run safely.
"Stand by to receive orders!" he called.
"Here comes Mr Demolitions!" shouted Aria, who started laughing alongside Sonata.
"Hello everyone," said Sky Beak, who stopped- only for his barge to bump into him again. "That keeps happening! Where do I put this, and where is the return barge?"
"There isn't one," Sky Stinger replied. "You'll have to get this lot unloaded and return empty, as you're the first load of the day."
"You're working faster than we can keep up!" Skystar joked, smiling. "We'll unload this as fast as we can, and then you can be on your way."
"Or, I could do some other jobs while I'm waiting and make some more money for the captain!" Sky Beak grinned.
Meanwhile, Big Mac had encountered Thunderhooves. "Mornin'!" he called, awakening the tramper from his slumber. "Ah imagine you'll want towin' somewhere?"
"Not with the ripoff rates you lot charge for what used to be free access!" Thunderhooves replied.
"Sheesh, Ah only asked," Big Mac replied. "Besides, ya know full well why you can't go inta the bay on yer own. There are lots of rocks and currents, and a ship of yer size cannot navigate through them safely."
"Stupid rules," Thunderhooves grumbled.
"OK," Big Mac replied. "If you wanna sit here all day, fine." He puffed away without another word.
Thunderhooves then saw Tempest Shadow and several other Storm Fleet vessels approaching. "Can you guys tow me?" he asked.
"We can't right now; we're busy," Tempest replied. "See you later."
Later, Tempest ran into Big Mac loading up at the dockside. "That's rather a big load, isn't it?" she asked.
"None o' yer business how much Ah move," Big Mac replied. "Besides, they need three of you to move one barge, whereas Ah and Sky Beak can move one each. Easy, really."
"Quality and quantity, eh?" Tempest said. "We'll see. Sky Beak's been causing havoc in the harbour again. Danger to shipping."
This was one of Tempest's trademark terrible tricks. By making rude comments about Sky Beak, she was angering Big Mac so much that he forgot his barge was still loading, and settling very, very low in the water.
"Seriously, why doesn't Captain Novo sell that old rustbucket off?" she said.
Big Mac had gone purple in the face. "Shut up!" he snapped. "Sky Beak's one of our best! He may be clumsy, but he has more drive and character in one propellor blade than you do in yer entire hull!"
Seconds later, Gallus surfaced. "Just thought you'd like to know that your barge is low in the water."
Big Mac looked behind him and gasped. "Ya have ta take some rocks back, Autumn!" he shouted. "This barge is dangerously full!"
"Dangerously full, eh?" Tempest sneered. "I thought you could handle anything ."
Big Mac growled at him and set off. Grubber looked at Tempest in confusion. "We can't shift that sort of load," he said. "They're too heavy."
"Big Mac can't shift it safely either," Tempest replied. "He'll have to sail very slowly. And any wake will tip it over!"
Elsewhere, Skystar was using Diamond Tiara to pull down some buildings.
"Good work, Skystar!" Sonata called. "Now pull down another one!"
"We'll help, if you'd like," Aria added.
Skystar was about to reply when suddenly a chime whistle echoed through the bay. She looked to one side. "What the? Is that Thunderhooves, coming in without a tow?"
"That's dangerous!" Sonata cried.
"And illegal," Aria added.
"These channels were sailed by my ancestors for centuries without the need for tugboats!" Thunderhooves shouted, as he blasted along the channel. "Now I see that the charge for tows was merely a way to make money!"
"Slow down!" Skystar called. "You don't know the channel!"
She was right. Thunderhooves collided with a rocky bank and was thrown upwards into the air, coming to rest on a stone pile and several rocks.
"Help! Help!" he cried.
Skystar went into action. "Thunderhooves is listing," she said. "Diamond Tiara, Cherry Jubilee, secure a line and hold him up!"
"I'll help you get those cranes into position," Aria added, and began to move.
"Didn't Tempest say to not help the Hippogriffia Tugs?" Sonata asked.
"If Thunderhooves goes over the entire channel gets blocked, which helps nobody," Aria replied. "Now go back to sleep." Without another word, she attached a line to Cherry Jubilee and moved her into position.
Elsewhere, Big Mac struggled on with his heavy barge. "Ah shoulda known Tempest would trick me like that!" he said. "Let's hope nothing else goes wrong."
Gallus sighed. "You and me both. Wait a minute, who's that?"
Suddenly, Sky Beak barreled out of nowhere and flew past at speed. "We need to get another load, or else the Storm Fleet will beat us there!"
"Sky Beak! Slow down!" Big Mac called. "Yer wake is gonna sink mah barge!"
And it did. The wake caused the barge to tip over, causing all the rock to fall into the water.
"Great. There's another load down the drain. Ah'll have to go back fer more."
Sky Beak looked back. "Did something happen?" he asked.
Big Mac said nothing, but indicated to the sunken barge.
"Oops."
"Get a crane to lift the barge. Ah'll stay here ta mark where the barge sank."
On the other side of the harbour, Thunderhooves continued to list dangerously. Skystar had acted quickly and decisively, and with Aria's help had run several support cables around the buildings that were connected to the pair of cranes. These lines helped to keep Thunderhooves upright, combined with Skystar and Aria pushing from the side.
Suddenly, Thunderhooves slipped. "Push hard!" Skystar called. "Cranes, keep those ropes taught or we'll all go under!"
"What do you think we're doing?" Diamond Tiara asked, her boiler working double time to draw the winding gear back to hold the cable taught.
"A rope's already giving way!" shouted Cherry Jubilee, herself concerned about a crumbling building.
"Hey! Sonata! Help us!" Skystar called.
"But you can sal-"
"Nobody gives a flying banana about salvage," Aria said coldly. "Now get your prow into position. That's an order."
"I'll go get help!" Sky Stinger called, and steamed away.
Blueblood steamed by with another barge. "Honestly, Sonata, you don't seem to have much in the way of intelligence," he said. "Help them at once." With one move, he shunted Chrysalis into position under Thunderhooves to add additional counterweight. "This should help to hold him in place."
Just then, Sky Beak arrived and stormed into the fray. "Stay in place, Skystar!" he shouted. "I'm going in!" He steamed forward, and with a mighty push made contact with Thunderhooves' hull.
"Are you crazy?" Skystar asked, stunned. "That boat will fall over any second! It's too risky!"
"So... is... the channel... getting... blocked!" Sky Beak groaned. "I know what I'm doing. FULL POWER!"
In that moment, the harbour sounded to an incredible din as Skystar and Sky Beak went to Ahead Full, and Aria throttled up to full power. The two cranes pulled as hard as they could, when suddenly the cable connected to Cherry Jubilee snapped. Thunderhooves began to slip again.
"I'm not messing this up," Sky Beak growled, and put his engine into emergency power. Even though his engine roared loudly and his safety valve kept going off, he never stopped applying full engine power.
Big Mac came in alongside to add extra power, and soon, with everybody pushing or pulling as hard as they could, they had the giant vessel stabilised and safe. "Good job, Sky Beak," Big Mac said. "You've made us all proud today."
"Thank you," Sky Beak replied. "I only did what needed to be done."
Moments later, Tempest Shadow and Grubber arrived, to see the situation. "What happened here?" asked Tempest. "Aria, what are you doing alongside a Hippogriffia tug?"
Sky Stinger came to a stop in front of her. "Aria assisted in prevented a nasty accident," he explained. "Without her help, or any of the tugs or cranes, Thunderhooves would be blocking the very channel you sailed down. As for Sonata, however, she behaved disgracefully and did nothing to help."
Tempest glared at Sonata. "The Storm King won't be happy with you," she said.
"As for you, Thunderhooves, coming in without a tow is against the law," Sky Stinger continued. "For that, I hereby impose a fine of 100,000 bits, to be payed by Wednesday, either in cash or in goods of equivalent value."
The look on Thunderhooves' face was priceless.
Later that day, Sky Beak was on his 15th trip of the day, and he was very tired. "Phew, it's been a long day," he said to himself. "Oh well. I can get a nice rest later, zzzzzzzzz..."
Now that he was asleep, he collided with an old boat that had been anchored off the port for years. "Hey!" she said. "Watch where yer goin'!"
"Sorry, Granny Smith!" Sky Beak said. "It's been a long day."
"Do try ta keep yer eyes open," she said. "If Ah had dozed off when deliverin' apples, Ah'd have been..."
Sky Beak snuck away as she went on. He may have been clumsy, but we couldn't have done without him. He was a star player in the team, a 'striker', you could say.
Author's Note
Sky Beak the Brave
Written by The Blue EM2
Based on 'Warrior', by Robert D. Cordona
Hippogriffia Port never ceased working, no matter what time of day it was. Operations begun late at night continued into the small hours of the morning. Goods stacked high on the quayside was transferred from road and rail to shipping vessels, and the trains and trucks were then reloaded with cargo from the ships to be taken to places far away. Practically everything that could move helped to keep the harbour moving, and the tugboat was the beating heart of the operation.
The most valuable commodity in the harbour was coal, and this dirty stuff not only kept my tugs going, it was the power behind the docks and industries that made up Hippogriffia Port. This, is-
Sorry, I've already done that bit. I'm getting confused, aren't I? Anyway, Big Mac steamed into port one day looking a right mess. His paint was dirty and smeared in coal dust.
"I say!" Blueblood exclaimed. "This port is a marvellous place. It never ceases to amaze me. Today I saw a floating sack of coal, no less!"
Big Mac fumed as the other tugs started to laugh. "If you'd been shiftin' coal all the night then you'd be dirty!" he snapped.
"At least you don't smell," Blueblood replied.
"Of course he doesn't smell!" Sky Beak pointed out. "Coal produces no scent or smell, which is why it's so popular as a fuel. It also burns exceptionally well, which is very handy as it makes raking out our boilers a lot easier."
"I know that!" Blueblood exclaimed. "Garbage is smelly, and at least you clean up before coming on parade. Big Mac could have done the same, as we have a rrreputation to uphold."
"You keep that mouth o' yers shut!" Big Mac replied. "Or else that piece o' glass in yer eye will end up in the water!"
"That's quite enough, you lot," I said, walking out of the administration building with a new set of orders. "Big Mac, thank you for your work. You've been working hard, I see."
"As can we all," Blueblood guffawed, and the entire fleet erupted into laughter- except Big Mac.
"I said, that's enough," I repeated, my voice deadly calm and yet authoritative. "Hard work is what gets us our reputation, not shiny paint. Now then, duties. As you probably know, construction work on the new skyscraper in Inferno Bay has just begun. Blueblood, I need you to get to work with Thorax and Pharynx, then switch to garbage detail with Chrysalis."
Blueblood looked positively offended. "Garbage? I thought that was Sky Beak's work!"
"Why do I always end up arguing with you, Blueblood?" I asked, partially metaphorically as well as it being an actual question. "If you want to uphold our reputation, you'll do it through hard work and doing as instructed. If you get this work done, I'll put you on the car factory ferry duty for the next month. Sound good?"
"Deal." Blueblood had made his mind up very quickly, and set off into the water. "Ah well, there's light at the end of the tunnel."
"Just get a move on!" Big Mac shouted, exasperated.
"To be fair to him," Silverstream said, "Blueblood puts in the same work as the rest of us, which is to say a lot, and he was certainly a great help in ensuring Thunderhooves didn't block the channel a few weeks ago."
"We know," Mistmane replied. "Blueblood is a well meaning tug, but his aristocratic ways and his attitude can get rather grating after a while. He can be difficult to work with, if you know what I mean."
"Mistmane, go and collect the propellor from the engineering shops and take it to the Princess Celestia! She's currently moored off the coast and needs a new one!"
"Aye, ma'am," Mistmane replied, as she began to set off. I don't know why, but I thought I saw her paddle wheel jam for a moment, before correcting.
"Silverstream, you need to go and assist Skystar at the factory. Once you're done, go and help Mistmane!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Silverstream said excitedly, and set off for the factory.
"Be as quick as you can!" Mistmane called. "I'm not as young as I used to be, and I'll need all the help I can get!"
Once those two were out of sight (and therefore out of mind), I turned my attention to Sky Beak and Big Mac. "You two, we're competing for the steel contract for that new skyscraper they're building in Inferno Bay. Show them what we can do. Sky Beak, get your load across the harbour with no mishaps."
"Yes ma'am," Sky Beak replied.
"Remember you two, the tide is unusually high today," I warned them. "Don't do anything stupid. If it's a choice between safe or fast, choose safe."
"Understood, ma'am," Big Mac said. "Hey, Sky Beak, could ya hose me down a little?"
"No problem, Big Mac!" Sky Beak replied. "I'll be done in a jiffy!"
It was a high tide indeed, the highest I had ever seen in a decade of working in the harbour. All over the place, things had fallen of the quayside and were floating in the water. Skystar and Silverstream found the factory was flooded, and everything was floating. It took them hours to recover the lost barge.
Elsewhere, the steel company was preparing to move to its new premises across the bay. Braeburn, fully repaired, refitted, and reassembled since his accident, had just finished loading a tall foundation pylon for the skyscraper onto the barge. Hippogriffia port is prone to earthquakes, and as such every building has earthquake proofing of some description. In the case of this building, four giant pistons would help the structure stay level during the vibrations. This pylon would contain one of the pistons.
Unfortunately, the load was being moved by the Storm Fleet. Grubber and Adagio were attached to the first load, and sneered as Sky Beak and Big Mac arrived.
"Well, if it isn't the barnacle boys!" Grubber laughed. "Had fun playing mucky ducks! You'd never see one of us get that dirty, we have a reputation to uphold after all."
"We have just as much right to go fer this contract as you," Big Mac reminded them. "May Ah remind ya not ta be silly and not ta go through places you cannot fit?"
"I would go some routes, but I have a very big hull, so that's a bad idea," Grubber said.
"Besides, you can't compete against three tugs, so there," Adagio smiled.
"Three? There's two of you!" Sky Beak said, confused.
"You're a liability, so we could you on our side," Adagio laughed. And the duo set off, smoke pouring from their engines as they sailed away.
"That engine don't sound too happy," Big Mac noted. "Hey, Braeburn! Can ya load the barge up real fast?"
"Sure thing!" Braeburn replied. "Good luck beating those two idiots across the bay!"
"We will!" Sky Beak said. "But remember, safety must come before speed- especially in these conditions."
A few minutes later, the tugs were hooked up to their barges, and set off on their way. As they set off slowly into the water, towing their loads deliberately and gently, they saw the two Storm tugs over to one side. Smoke was pouring from Adagio's exhaust ports.
"There's no way I can move this on my own," Grubber said. "Look, how about we go get some cake and take it to the Storm King?"
"How will that help with delivering steel?" Adagio asked. "Besides, look. There's a shortcut. If we take the canal, we can beat them to it. The route's shorter."
"Brilliant! The Storm King will like this!" Grubber grinned, and they steamed into the canal.
"Wait a second, what are they doing?" Sky Beak asked.
"If they really think they can get that down the canal, then they're about ta have a rude awakenin'," Big Mac replied. "That canal's only wide enough for two ships. No way anythin' can pass with them clankin' that load about."
"So, it'll get clogged," Sky Beak said.
"Yes. And remember, it's high tide."
The harbour was criscrossed by many bridges, the lowest of which carried the railroad. Grubber and Adagio hadn't made the connection between the high tide and their high load, and not only that Blueblood was approaching from the other direction, moving Thorax, Pharynx, and Chrysalis. There was no chance of both groups fitting through that canal. They met at the railroad bridge. Blueblood sat there with his three barges, and the Storm Tugs moved forward.
"Go into reverse, if you please!" Blueblood exclaimed. "The rules state that whichever tug was here first has priority. I was here first, so I have priority. Reverse back to the entrance."
As a reminder of the bridge's prescence, Scootaloo the goods engine, a small machine painted orange with purple lining, puffed over with a coach. "Hey!" she called. "There's no way that pylon will fit. Go back!"
"Our load is heavier, and therefore has priority," Grubber said.
"I said, go back!" Blueblood called. "We cannot fit! You won't get away with this!"
"What? Because you didn't?" Adagio sneered. "Right, full power!"
Both Grubber and Adagio went to full throttle, their engines roaring with the strain, and charged for the bridge. Blueblood, in a panic, went into full reverse. "You're going to hit the bridge, you blithering idiots!" he shouted. YOU. ARE. GOING. TO. HIT. THE. BRIDGE!"
Grubber laughed. "Ha ha, coward!" he shouted.
He soon realised his mistake when there was a loud bang overhead. The pylon had hit the bridge. Part of the decking gave way in the process.
"That's some really clever thinking, you dummies," Blueblood said.
"I'll go get help!" Grubber shouted, and steamed off, leaving her load in place. But suddenly, both of them heard a whistle.
Apple Bloom was approaching on the mail.
"If the train attempts to cross that, then..." Blueblood suddenly noticed something. The pylon was now wedged underneath the bridge decking. "Wait. I can attach to it and pull it under the bridge. It might just take the weight long enough for the train to get across!"
"Take me with you as a backup," Chrysalis said. "It's only rubbish I'm carrying, after all."
Blueblood stormed forward and attached a line to the barge holding the pylon. He pulled back with all his might as the bridge shuddered and groaned. It had been badly damaged in the accident, and the railroad line was signal free. Nobody could get a warning to the train.
Blueblood continued to pull, not caring that his engine was about to overheat. The pylon finally came to a stop underneath the bridge proper, and the train rolled over the bridge safely.
The pylon was not so lucky. The barge it was attached to suddenly began to sink, and the pylon itself tipped over into the water.
"This is not good!" Blueblood exclaimed. The bridge continued to fall apart and part of the deck fell clean into the water.
And then another whistle was heard.
"Oh no!" Blueblood cried. "I know that whistle!"
"It's Scootaloo, coming back the other way!" Thorax realised. "What are we going to do?"
For some reason I can't fathom, part of the bridge then exploded. "How are we going to save this one?" Blueblood asked.
"Quickly! Push me under the damaged section of bridge!" Chrysalis said. "I'll take the weight of the train!"
"What if you sink?" Blueblood asked.
"The alternative is letting the train sink!" Chrysalis replied. "This way, we have a chance of saving it!"
Blueblood sounded his whistle, and with his engine roaring once more began to propel the barge under the collapsed bridge. He got it into place just in time. Scootaloo thundered out of the darkness of the preceding tunnel, saw the collapsed bridge, and slammed on her brakes in a desperate effort to stop.
She skidded onto the damaged section, down a very steep gradient, and then safely into the barge. "Yuck!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "Smelly! But better smelly than sunk."
"Tell me about it," Chrysalis replied.
"Chrysalis, you're a genius!" Blueblood cried. "You saved the train! I'll see to it you get a medal for this! I'll never complain about your smell again!"
"Rubbish can be valuable stuff."
Meanwhile, Skystar and Silverstream had only just finished cleaning the dock. They were now ready to start their proper work. "That took a while," Skystar commented.
"What's the bet Blueblood had an easy day, eh?" Silverstream laughed. "I bet he dropped off Chrysalis, Thorax, and Pharynx at their destinations, and then moored up somewhere quiet until the tide went down."
The next day, work began on repairing the bridge. Scootaloo and her wagons were undamaged, but the steel company was not happy with the Storm fleet for damaging their pylon (which was also recovered). However, it all worked out well in the end. The steel company got the contract to repair the bridge as well as build the skyscaper (which was eventually finished), and I had no trouble at all convincing them that my tugs were the best crew to deliver the steel.
Author's Note
High Tide
Written by The Blue EM2
Based on 'High Tide', by David Mitton
Drinking game; every time a character says 'reputation', take a drink.
I remember the Great Heatwave with all too much clarity. Everything was uncomfortably hot, and even the fan in my office was struggling to keep me cool. But that wasn't the only thing to remember about that year, and I honestly wish it was. The dreaded Crystal Virus was ravaging most of Equestria, a nasty disease that turned the victims' internal organs to crystal before they froze from the inside out. As Hippogriffia sits on a peninsula attached to the mainland by a causeway, the second the virus was reported that was sealed off, and furthermore the city was declared in lockdown from the rest of the world. Incoming ships had to anchor off the coast and display the yellow danger flags to denote that the ships needed to be medically examined. If the vessels passed the check, they were permitted to enter the harbour by the Port Authority. If any traces if illness were detected, the vessels were quarantined for 40 days. After 40 days, the vessel was boarded again and checked. If it was now clear, it could enter the port. Otherwise, another 40 days, and so on and so forth until the virus was gone. Any ships that attached to them or attempted to tow them in also had to quarantine for 40 days for safety reasons. The measures may seem draconian, but people from this part of the world are especially susceptible to the virus (doctors have no idea why) and as a result we were very keen to keep it out.
One morning, I had been working through the night. It was only 6 or so in the morning, but the sun was already up and it was getting very hot. Hippogriffia had dry heat unlike Hayseed Swamp, which was extremely muggy, but the intensity of the heat was making tempers run short- including my own.
"I say!" Blueblood exclaimed. "If this heatwave goes on any longer my paint will start to peel off."
"This is the longest heatwave I've ever seen, in my many years of working the harbour," Mistmane sighed. She had been making odd noises for the whole week, her engine spluttering and catching as she moved along.
"You sound pretty elderly the way your engine is performing," Blueblood said. Although it sounded sarcastic, I knew he was only speaking out of genuine concern for his friend.
And he had every reason to be concerned. Two vessels had begun prowling the harbour. Both were painted yellow with red and white lining, and the only way you could tell them apart was by the fact one had a moustache. They were Flim and Flam, notorious scrap dealers who had many dodgy claims against them, but there was never enough evidence of wrongdoing to convict them of anything. They had already made me an offer for Mistmane (I told them 'no'), and there were rumours of them making off with vessels anyways to tow them to the breakers yard. Combine the heat, my lack of sleep the previous night and my fear that one of my tugs was going to stolen by a pair of psycopathic tugboats and you can probably understand I was on an extremely short fuse that morning.
I looked out of my window to see Skystar and Silverstream rolling in, about half an hour late. I went onto the balcony. "Briefing was at six thirty," I reminded them, looking stern.
"Apologies, Captain Novo!" said Skystar. "We were at the docks and loading had gone slow. You can check with Brae-"
"Enough of your excuses!" I snapped. "Are you aware that Flim and Flam are prowling about again?"
"The scrap dealers?" Silverstream asked, a note of shock in her voice. "The ones who tow away vessels at random for scrapping?"
"Allegedly," Skystar reminded them.
"Well, get here on time in future, or else you may end up in their scrapyard!" I snapped. "Be here on time in future!"
Both tugs looked visibly shaken. "Y- yes ma'am," they stammered.
"Skystar, get over to the firefighting yard. Mistmane's out there collecting your barge. If she's OK, join the rest of the fleet as we've got a bumper haul of boats to tow in."
"Y- yes ma'am," Skystar stammered. In hindsight, I had scared them quite badly with my words, but at the time I was too angry to care.
"Silverstream, you are to tow in Cranky Doodle. He's an old tramper and quite prone to sudden movement, so be careful out there. And read the danger flags!"
"Aye ma'am," Silverstream replied, her voice downtrodden. She didn't even crack a joke like she usually did, and both tugs steamed off. "She wouldn't have us scrapped, would she?"
"I've seen her like this before," Skystar replied. "Everybody has a bad day, so forget about it! She'll be fine by this evening, I'm sure of it."
I went back indoors as they steamed off, and consulted my charts and data, adding four more vessels to the towing list. "I had no idea this job could get so stressful," I sighed, sitting down at my desk and taking my jacket off. "I wish this heat would go away, though. The fields could do with some rain."
Mistmane was the oldest operational tugboat in Hippogriffia port, and the only paddlesteamer I was aware of in working order. She had served faithfully for many years, but her age was catching up to her and her parts were starting to wear out. Her engine coughed and spluttered as she steamed along, black smoke pouring from her chimney. Flim and Flam were watching her with interest, as they sensed an easy scrap deal.
Nearby, a cream coloured ferryboat with turquoise lining set off into the harbour. This was Terramar the ferry, and his job was to ferry goods and passengers across the harbour on a regular timetable. This was very important work, and went on even if there was a heatwave. But this run was the run where it all went wrong.
Mistmane and Terramar had met courses at the ferry dock, and both were moving off. "What's that in the distance?" asked Terramar.
Mistmane looked over. "That's some sort of motor boat," she replied, seeing a small white thing blaze towards her. "It shouldn't be a problem."
Suddenly, the boat veered towards her. Reversing the direction of her paddle wheels, she turned just in time and avoided the speeding boat. "Idiot! You're breaking the speed limit!"
She intended to stop her paddle wheels and resume her normal course, but for some reason her engine didn't respond. She continued to spin. "Hold off, Terramar! I've lost cont-"
It was too late. Her barge slammed into the side of Terramar, cutting a hole at least a foot long in his hull, which soon began to fill with water.
"Help! I'm sinking!"
Mistmane continued to spin helplessly, just as Skystar arrived. "Are you OK, Mistmane?" asked the younger tug.
"Never mind me! Help Terramar! He'll sink if you don't do something!"
But it was too late. With a cry of fear, the ferry slipped below the waves. Luckily, the passengers had bailed and were bobbing about in life jackets, but the cargo onboard had gone straight to the bottom of the harbour.
Silverstream steamed in. "What in the world happened?" she asked.
"Don't sit there! Get help!" Skystar said. The other tug steamed away as fast as she could to get the emergency services.
Meanwhile, at our base, Flim and Flam had turned up and were making me yet another offer for Mistmane. "Good morning, Mrs Novo," said Flim.
"What?" I asked, not wanting this on top of everything else.
"You see that Mistmane? Her engine is failing and it won't be long until she completely gives up the ghost."
"Agreed, Flam," said the one I presumed to be Flim. "We can't afford to sit around in our business and watch people break old boats up, especially when the scrap metal price is so high."
"Indeed, we have a list, and Mistmane is at the top of it."
I blinked at them. "Mistmane. Is. Not. For. Sale," I growled. "Now go away. I'm very busy."
Meanwhile, Spitfire the firefighting tug had arrived at the scene of the accident, which was right in the mouth of the harbour. Although there is no good place for a ship to sink, Terramar had sunk in the worst possible location, obstructing the entrance into and out of the port. "What happened?" Spitfire asked.
"Terramar hit a barge and sank!" Skystar replied.
"Right," Spitfire noted. "Leave this to us. Full report later, but for now let's focus on getting Terramar up. Diamond Tiara, Cherry Jubilee, Diamond Tiara, are you all ready to lift?"
"Yes ma'am!" the crane chorused. "All connected and ready to lift."
"Good," Spitfire said.
Gallus surfaced. "Terramar is sitting on a level part of the seabed. You'd probably best lift him quickly; he's not designed to go underwater."
"Start lifting!" Spitfire called.
Cherry Jubilee was the first to fire up her engine. "Pull harder!" she called to the others. "Ah cain't lift him by mahself!"
All three cranes roared into life, as Tempest and Sonata turned up. Nothing ever seemed to happen without them turning up and being a nuisance. "What do we have here," Tempest snorted. "A sunken ferry, a broken paddle steamer? I see this is another example of the Seaquestria company's dedication to quality."
"I wonder how it all happened? If you ask me-"
"Nobody is asking you," Skystar said curtly.
"But," Sonata went on, "all those lovely cars at the bottom! The owners will be annoyed."
"At least nobody died," Mistmane said.
"But you're all busy," Tempest smiled. "Oh well, no use gloating. We've got other things to do." Secretly, she was happy. With those two out of the way, there would be no competition for the towing jobs out at sea. Such a desire would ultimately prove pointless, as no boats were being cleared to move into the harbour. Blueblood glanced over from the rally point as Skystar and Mistmane arrived.
"There was no need to hurry," he said. "There's no work for us at the moment."
"The ferry's back up, by the way," Skystar explained. "Terramar had a bit of a shock."
"The ferry is up? I never knew it was down," Blueblood replied.
"I had an accident," Mistmane said.
"Is your boiler leaking?" Sonata joked.
"No, and stop with the immature jokes," Mistmane replied. "Besides, that stupid speedboat caused the accident, not me."
Seconds later, another whistle signalled Sky Stinger's arrival. "Aha!" exclaimed Blueblood. "Is there any work for us?"
"Not here, I'm afraid," Sky Stinger sighed. "All of the boats anchored here are quarantined for 40 days. Confirmed cases of the Crystal Virus." He steamed off.
"Really? There's such little work around here," Tempest complained.
"Be glad the virus is on those boats and not on the shore," Skystar said. "I'd dread what'd happen if Captain Novo got it!"
"To think I pushed my engine that hard for no work," Mistmane sighed. "Oh well. You get what you're given."
"I'll remain here in case any work comes in," Tempest said. "Sonata, Aria needs help back in the port. Go and help her."
"On it!" Sonata replied, and blasted her horn before moving off.
"Something's off," Skystar noted. "Tempest is behaving very suspiciously, despite there being no boats to bring in."
"Well," Blueblood said, "Sky Beak told me that Silverstream is supposed to be bringing in Cranky Doodle today."
"Tempest would have no chance of knowing that!" Mistmane exclaimed. "Besides, it's assigned to us!"
"That's not stopped the Storm Fleet before," Skystar sighed. "I think we should take a look."
"I'll go with you," Mistmane added. "Blueblood, stay here and keep an eye on things. If any of those boats drop their flags, report it immediately."
"Understood!" Blueblood said, as he watched the two other tugs set off towards the open waters.
Silverstream pulled up alongside Cranky Doodle, a tramp steamer painted brown with black lining. She kept her distance, and the vessel was flying a pair of red flags, which indicated it hadn't been examined for sickness. As she floated at a distance, she suddenly saw the flags be lowered. "How can he be lowering his flags?" she asked, confused. "He hasn't been examine yet!"
"Can I have a tow?" Cranky Doodle asked.
"Sorry, I'm busy, bye!" the small tugboat said, and sped off before anybody could say another word.
As she headed away, she suddenly saw Tempest steaming her way. "There's nothing that way, Tempest!" she said, as she steamed past.
Tempest laughed. "If there was nothing, you wouldn't be coming back, would you?"
Silverstream sighed. "Fine. There's a tramper over there that still awaiting clearance." By this time, Mistmane and Skystar arrived, and listened in themselves. "What was odd was that the vessel dropped the red danger flags as I approached."
"It's been cleared!" Tempest cried. Her engine roared as she moved off.
"Get back here! That's ours!" Skystar shouted, and went to ahead full and chased after Tempest.
Mistmane looked on in shock. "No, no, no, NO! Skystar, slow down!" With a shudder and a roar, her own engine started up, and her paddle wheels spun round and round as she pursued the two tugs. "Slow down!"
Skystar slowed down as she heard Mistmane producing a mighty racket. "What's going o-"
There was a loud bang and a great release of steam as the coverplate of Mistmane's boiler went, clouds of black smoke venting from her engine.
The older tug, however, had plenty to say. "Silverstream said the flags were dropped, but she never said that Sky Stinger inspected the vessel. There's no proof the vessel is safe to move!"
Silverstream pulled up, and gasped in shock. "Mistmane! Your engine!" she exclaimed. "It's smoking!"
"Never mind me," Mistmane replied. "What matters is that you two are safe."
Nontheless, the two tugs pulled Mistmane back to the depot, where I emerged to see them looking very worried. "What happened?" I asked. "Mistmane, did your engine cut out?"
"Complete failure," Skystar said, her eyes filling with tears. "She put it on full power and nearly wrecked herself to save me from quarantine. Please Captain, don't scrap her!"
"Calm," Mistmane said. "I've had a good run, but my engine is only good for scrap now."
"Indeed," I said. "We all know what this means." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Flim and Flam approaching like sharks approaching their next meal. "She's not for sale, if you two are wondering."
Silverstream looked up, hope in her eyes. "Does this mean that-?"
"Yes," I said. "Mistmane will be getting a new engine and a complete overhaul. I'd always wondered why her paddle wheels were older than the rest of her."
"I can explain," Mistmane said. "When I was newly built, I wasn't a paddle steamer. But one of my fellow tugs, Sable Spirit, got into an accident and needed heavy repairs. I was almost identical, so I volunteered to give up my old engine and screw propellor to help her. In order to get me running, they fitted me with parts from an old paddle steamer. That is why I look so old."
"Skystar, tow Mistmane to the yard for repairs!" I said. "Silverstream, I need you on steel work. We'll need to make a fair bit of capital to get this paid for."
Meanwhile, out at sea, Tempest pulled up alongside Cranky and prepared to attach a tow line.
"Stop!" called Sky Stinger, as he raced across the bay. "This one should be under quarantine! Get those flags up now!"
Tempest then realised what this meant. "Brilliant," she said. "40 days in the middle of nowhere. Thanks a lot, Cranky."
Skystar would have been quarantined if not for Mistmane, and Mistmane would almost certainly have gone for scrap if it hadn't been for Skystar. I, of course, apologised to both them and Silverstream for my earlier words; although I was under a lot of pressure, that hardly justifies the way I spoke to them. As for Tempest, she saw out her fourty days.
Author's Note
Quarantine
Written by The Blue EM2
Based on 'Quarantine', by Tarquin Cardona
With recent events sweeping the globe, this episode has suddenly become extremely topical. Be careful out there, everybody; stay six feet apart, wear a mask outdoors, always have hand sanitiser on you, and look for the danger signs of somebody being ill. Don't end up like Tempest.
It was one of the harshest winters on memory, and it had come earlier than expected. With the extreme cold and the snow came the fog, thick, rolling blankets of it that drowned the harbour in mist and made it very hard to see. This may not seem like much, but at the time most ships lacked radio or RADAR so they were entirely reliant on lighthouses and lightships for navigation. The poor visibility combined with the intense cold caused the eyes to play tricks on oneself, and many old sea stories were being dredged up by the boats of the harbour, with some claiming the ghosts of lost ships were seen and the voices of mariners lost to the ocean's cold embrace audible on the winds.
One night, Big Mac was returning home. His work had run long, as dredging had taken longer than expected. He had been working with Diamond Tiara, who had been telling him all sorts of strange stories about what you could see when the mist rolled in. Big Mac was going past some derelict buildings. In the fog, they took on ghostly shapes and appeared to groan and wail as if alive. Big Mac looked about him. He heard what he thought was a voice, and jumped. "Ah gotta get outta here!" he shouted, and blasted off as fast as he could for base. When he reached a junction where another canal came in, he stopped, and froze in fright. "What is that?"
Passing in front of him were five white tugboats, glowing with a ghostly energy. Each of them was a paddle steamer, and all of them went ominously by.
"Help!" Big Mac cried. "It's the Ghost Fleet Diamond Tiara were talkin' about! Ah gotta get outta here!"
Throwing caution completely to the wind, Big Mac put his engine to full and charged through the fog at maximum speed, blasting his whistle repeatedly as he went on his way. Before he knew it, he was back at the docks, and he skidded to a halt in front of the other tugs.
"Slow down!" Blueblood said. "You're going far too fast for this weather."
"Are you feeling alright?" Mistmane asked, showing concern for her friend. "You looks as though you saw a ghost!"'
"Well, Ah, er, um, I saw... ya know what, forget about it, ya won't take me seriously anyways."
"We will if it's serious," Blueblood replied. "We will listen to whatever you have to say."
Big Mac sighed, and cleared his throat. "Ah've seen ghosts. And these ghosts match Diamond Tiara's story!"
"Which one?" Blueblood asks. "She tells several, including one she swapped with another crane as his story works better with her accent."
"The one about the ghost tugs!" Big Mac went on, in full flow. "These tugs were lost in the Great Storm o' many years ago when they tried ta navigate the Foal Mountain Canal in the middle of a thunderstorm! Their remains were never found, and it is said that they room the waves as a warnin' for others to not be so foolish!"
"I'm confused," Sky Beak said. "That canal is so shallow only paddle steamers can get up there. How would they not find them?"
"You're not taking that story seriously, are you?" Skystar asked, a mirthful grin on her face.
"The details match too well!" Big Mac retorted. "The prescence of five tugs, them all being paddle steamers, it's too close of a match! Ah'm not leavin' dock until the fog lifts!"
"I never thought I'd ever hear you say that, Big Mac," Blueblood scoffed.
Silverstream, on the other hand, took a more cautious tone. "You know," she said, "Big Mac might have seen something out there. Legends often ring with truth, you know, as stories to teach us lessons."
"You've been talking with Elinor again, haven't you?" Sky Beak said. Upon seeing the confused looks on the other tugs faces, he quickly explained. "She runs the Dunbroch clothing factory."
The next morning, the tugs all set off on their days, as they all had their own orders to carry out. All of them were giving Big Mac a hard time over his alleged 'ghosts'. "Ah should never have brought it up," he grumbled.
"Our eyes play tricks on us all the time," Mistmane replied. "Just keep an eye on your work and your speed and you should be fine." As she steamed away, she noted something to herself. "Five paddle steamers. That sounds oddly familiar."
"Looks like Mistmane believes me," Big Mac sighed.
That evening, Sky Beak was guiding a formation of shrimpers back into port. The fog was far thicker than normal, and Salty's Lighthouse was only able to provide so much help as the light could barely penetrate the gloom. As a result, the shrimpers were using Sky Beak as a navigation guide to get back into the port safely.
"Sky Beak?" one of the shrimpers called. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"
"I certainly know where I'm going," Sky Beak replied. "I know this harbour like the back of my propellor, and if we were about to hit anything, I'd kn- LOOK OUT!"
Sky Beak had forgotten about a thick, heavy sandbar that stuck out of the water, and saw it when it was only a few yards ahead of him. He swerved violently, and missed it. The shrimpers were not so lucky, and there was a scene of utter chaos as they crashed into the sandbar and each other.
Sky Beak, however, was completely oblivious to what had happened, as his eyes had been drawn forward into the mist. Steaming into the fog and mist were the shapes of five ghostly tugboats. Each of them was a paddle steamer, and their headlamps glowed a sickly white as they steamed past.
The big tug panicked. "It's the ghosts that Big Mac saw!" he cried. "I hope they didn't see me!" He threw his engines into full reverse and backed away as fast as he could, narrowly avoiding colliding with a rocky bank and holing his hull.
Elsewhere, Thunderhooves was trying (and failing) to get into port... again . He figured that if he tried it when the fog was up, he would have no issues whatsoever.
Tempest pulled up as he was raising his anchor. "What are you doing?" she said. "Trying to sneak in without a tow again? That didn't work for you the last time."
"These exhorbitant rates are what prevent me from entering this port," Thunderhooves replied. "Back in the day we didn't need tugboats to get into the harbour. These waterways were open before in the time of my predecessor, and his predecessor before him, and his predecessor before him, and his predecessor before him, and his predecessor before him..."
"And his predecessor before him, I get it," Tempest finished. "You'd be wisest staying here until the fog lifts." And she steamed off. "Honestly," she said to herself, "that Thunderhooves never learns. Besides, I imagine there are a few distress calls out there today. Fog always brings a couple of those."
She steamed onwards into the fog, the ghostly shapes all around. Owing to their diesel engines and onboard electric generators, the Storm Fleet were fitted with electric lighting rather than the older kerosene lamps. Even so, her light could barely pierce the gloom. Even so, she soon saw some ships ahead of her. "Hello?" she called. "Do you need help?"
Her jaw dropped as the vessels approached. Five paddle steamers puffed past her, all a ghostly white with no response or even engine sound coming from them. "Ghosts?" she asked quietly. As they passed her, she shut her engine off and floated until they were gone. Once they had left, she cranked her engine open to full power and swung back around, encountering Thunderhooves again.
"Are you here to reconsider?" Thunderhooves asked.
"I'll bring you in for free!" Tempest said suddenly, clearly shaken.
Mistmane was returning from sea. She had just escorted a pair of tramp steamers out of the harbour and was looking forward to getting back home again. On her way back, she decided to take a shortcut through a section of the docks where old machinery was kept, not yet worth scrapping but at the same time no longer in working order. The fog lent everything a disturbing atmosphere, with every light and the lack of clarity playing tricks on the old paddle steamer's mind. A light kept flashing on and off in the distance, and she could clearly hear the sound of an engine working.
"MISTMANE!" a voice called.
"Can this be Diamond Tiara's ghosts?" Mistmane asked. She was getting nervous. "It can't be! But if it isn't, then who is speaking?" She abruptly swung to one side as a crane seemed to move towards her. "How can there be a working crane out here?"
Suddenly, a familiar dredger lifted its arm. Mistmane stopped to see Diamond Tiara calmly sitting there. "Oh, hello Diamond Tiara!"
"What are you doing down here so late at night?" Diamond asked. "We're dredging this canal, and weren't expecting a tugboat down here! You scared us!"
"Sorry," Mistmane replied. "I'm just trying to get home. Is the way ahead clear?"
"Wait here," Diamond advised. "There's been another sighting of the ghost tugs."
Mistmane was about to speak, when suddenly she saw five ghostly paddle steamers steam past her, sickly white light pouring from their lamps as they headed into the mist.
Her eyes opened in recognition. "Wait a moment," she said. "I know those tugs!"
Blueblood was making his way through another section of the port. The canal had reopened following repairs to the bridge, a disaster that Blueblood had helped avert a few months earlier. As he passed under the bridge, Scootaloo passed on a goods train, blowing her whistle loudly.
"Ah!" Blueblood cried out. "What is that noise? Oh, it's the train." Once the smoke had cleared, he continued on his way through the canal. "I never thought I would get so jittery, but yet I am. And worse still, my path is blocked up ahead by these boats! Whatever is going on?"
He stopped between the two boats as he saw the five ghostly tugs steam past in the mist. "Good heavens!" he cried. "The ghosts are real! Hopefully they haven't seen me!"
Suddenly, the tugs looped back, much closer to him. Blueblood backed up into the dock and moored up. "I'll rest here for the night," he said. "They won't know I'm here, so I'll hide here until daylight."
One job that still needed doing was getting extra fuel to Sunset Shimmer, even in thick fog. Skystar and Silverstream had been given this important task, but had gotten lost in the fog.
"Where are we?" asked Silverstream. "I have no idea where we are, and furthermore how on earth are we going to find Sunset in all this?"
"I don't know," Skystar said, her face the image of worry. "Mistmane said something about keeping the wind on the same cheek, but I can't feel a breeze out here. There's also no waves."
"Something's wrong," Silverstream admitted. Suddenly, there was a loud cracking noise up ahead. "That sounds like ice!" she said. "But it can't be, can it? Sea ice wouldn't drift this far into the bay, would it?"
"Slow down and move as little as you can," Skystar instructed, her eyes darting about for the slightest sign of danger. They came to a complete stop as they saw five white tugs sail past.
"It's the ghosts!" Silverstream cried. "They've come to get us!"
But that wasn't the only thing that was making noise. As the fog cleared, the water started to bubble. From the briny depths, a galleon suddenly surfaced from underneath the waves, and began to bob about erratically as a massive lightning storm erupted overhead. On the ship, behind the wheel, the shadowy figure of a man appeared. His face was duplicated in a cloud above the ship. And he bellowed with laughter.
"You summon me at your peril, Starswirl!" he shouted. "Once I, Stygian, defeat all of you, this realm will embrace the darkness as I did so long ago!"
A series of loud explosions echoed in the distance. "All ships, circle round and ensure he can't escape!" shouted a voice. "We did not come here to defeat you. We came... to contain you."
Skystar and Silverstream, now riven with fright, took the opportunity to flee, dragging the heavy fuel barge with them as loud bangs, lightning, and explosions continued to echo as the galleon opened fire.
Safe to say, not a single tug slept very well that night. The early morning sun burnt off the worst of the fog, and operations could resume as normal. Gallus woke Blueblood up by spitting in his face.
"STOP IT!" Blueblood cried. "Don't hurt me, ghost! I'm-" He opened his eyes. "Gallus?"
"What are you doing all the way out here?" Gallus asked, confused. "And what's all this about ghosts?"
"I got lost in the fog and moored here."
"You're only 500 yards from home," Gallus joked.
Blueblood's face fell. "Oh."
As he steamed in, Mistmane greeted him. "Let me guess, you've seen ghosts too," she said.
"I most certainly have!" Blueblood exclaimed. "Big Mac, let me apologise for mocking you about this whole ghost business."
"Apology accepted," Big Mac replied. "Mornin', Ocean Flow!"
Ocean Flow came to a stop outside the dock. "Hello, boys. What's all this about ghosts?"
"We saw ghosts all night," Skystar explained. "Five white tugs and a galleon."
"I saw them too!" Sky Beak added.
Ocean Flow laughed. "You're all going crazy. Here they are to explain it to you."
Moments later, five paddle steamers made their way up the estuary with the galleon in tow. The first of them was painted grey with white lining, the second blue with orange and brown lining. The third was painted orange with red lining, and the fourth pink with two tone blue lining. The final one was painted blue with two tone red lining.
"Pull harder, will you Rockhoof?" shouted the orange one. "I'm doing all the work here!"
"No you're not," 'Rockhoof' replied. "If anything, you're the slacker, Flash!"
The lead tug came to a stop alongside the others. He looked over. "Mistmane?" he asked.
"If it isn't Starswirl!" Mistmane exclaimed. "A long time ago," she began to explain, "I worked alongside five other tugboats, and we were called the Pillar Fleet. We searched for and recovered things that were floating dangerously through the waters and took them out. But I thought you sank in the Great Storm!"
"That was just a cover story," said the pink one. "I am Somnambula."
"Meadowbrook," said the other blue one.
"We have been hunting this galleon for a while," Starswirl explained. "It is the Ship of Shadows, and it was captained centuries ago by an evil pirate called Stygian. The vessel sank off the Hollow Shades and was encased in sea ice, so we tracked it here where it melted in warmer waters."
"Why white though?" Silverstream asked.
"That's a smokescreen system we use to avoid recognition," Flash told them. "That's why we look like ghosts when we're on the move."
"And the explosions?" Skystar enquired.
"The blackguard Stygian fired off his cannons and tried to sink us!" Meadowbrook told them. "It were fortunate fer us the cannons weren't loaded. Of course, we also use our own equipment to contain the threat, and we'll be puttin' this in a vault where Stygian can hurt nobody!"
Starswirl spoke up. "Mistmane, if you ever wish to join us once again, there is a place for you."
Mistmane sighed. "As much as I would want to work alongside you again, my home is in Hippogriffia Port," she replied. "But I wouldn't mind the odd voyage every now and then."
"Come on you lot!" Rockhoof shouted. "Let's stop chattering and get this boat moving!"
"All engines full ahead!" Flash called, and the five tugs and their cargo sailed out to sea. They would laugh and joke about it later, but the tugs of the Seaquestria Tugboat Company never forgot the fog that nearly drove them completely mad.
Author's Note
Ghosts of the Sea
Written by The Blue EM2
Based on 'Ghosts', by David Mitton
The Haunted Henry of Tugs episodes, Ghosts is a masterclass in how to build tension and fear without resorting to cheap jumpscares or mindless gore. A pity David Mitton never really tried his hand at horror...
There is a reference to the Pixar film Brave in there. Can you spot it?
One night, whilst out at sea, Skystar and Silverstream spotted a tugboat bobbing next to some rocks. The tug didn't look like any they had seen before. They had badly faded greyish pink paintwork which was complemented with very dark purple lining on the frames. They looked an absolute mess; their engine was off, possibly broken down, there was no flag or mast of any description, and as previously mentioned their paintwork was in a right state. It appeared nobody owned them.
"Stay back!" the tug called. "Leave me be! It's better for you if I just wreck on these rocks."
"We can't do that!" Skystar exclaimed. "If you're drifting about out here, you're blocking busy sea lanes, and that's not a good thing."
"We'll just take you into port and-"
"No!" the tug said again, confirming them to be female. "Just leave me out here. I bring bad luck wherever I go, so it's probably just best you leave me to drift away."
"The lanes must be kept clear," Skystar reminded her, attaching a line to the tug. "We'll have you home and away in a jiffy."
"Besides, I'm certain Captain Novo will have a place for you," Silverstream reassured her.
"As comforting as that is," the tug said, "I only seem to cause problems wherever I go."
"Has this always been the case?" asked Silverstream.
Moments later, the towline from the tug to Skystar snapped.
"Told you I bring bad luck!"
Skystar sighed. "Second time lucky?"
Silverstream, who was a fair bit more supersticious, looked concerned. "We have a term for this up river," she said. "We call them 'jinxes'. Vessels that bring bad luck for whatever reason."
"All the more reason to leave me here."
The next morning, they had dragged the tug into the dock, and I walked down to take a look. "Where did you find her?" I asked.
"She was out floating in the estuary with her engine stopped," Skystar explained. "She was a danger to shipping."
I leaned in and looked at her nameplate. "Go-"
"No! Don't say my name!" the tug cried.
"Why?" I asked.
"It brings bad luck!"
"I see," I said. "Silverstream, go and collect some coal from the coal yard. If her engine just stopped, hopefully a decent fire will do the trick."
"Yes ma'am!" Silverstream replied, and set off for the barge with a smile. About an hour or so later, she returned with the fuel, and after we stoked the tug's fire and got up a good head of steam, the moment had come.
"Alright then! Start your engine!"
The tug nodded, and at first it seemed all was well. Her engine caught in, and a healthy wake was being produced by her propellors, the engine making a fine sound.
"Hooray!" cried Skystar. "She runs!"
Then, just as suddenly, the tug's engine cut out.
"Oh. That was anticlimactic."
"See? I told you I only bring back luck," the tug replied.
Smoke began to pour from the tug's engine.
"PULL HER OUT OF THE DOCK!" I ordered.
"Aye, Captain Novo!" Skystar shouted, and began to pull. Fortuitously, she had insisted on keeping a line attached to the tug just in case. This was a good thing, as the dense smoke would have made attaching a line extremely difficult. But the moment the tug was clear of the dock, the smoke stopped.
"What in the world?" Silverstream asked. "That's never happened before!"
"I keep telling you, but none of you listen," the tug said.
In order to get a better view of the new arrival, I headed for the edge of the dock, but I slipped in a puddle and landed on my rear. "Ouch!"
"I take it that Captain Novo has never slipped before, either?" the tug said.
I growled as I got back up. "Leg's playing up again," I said. "Haven't had an issue with it for years before now. Skystar, get that tug to the salvage yard, now!"
"On it, Captain!" Skystar replied, and began to pull the tug away. But on the way, things kept going wrong. They had scarely made it five hundred yards when the tug began to inexplicably take on water.
"What's going on?" Silverstream asked, confused.
"Looks like I won't be a bother to you anymore," the tug replied. "I'll be sleeping with the fishies before too long."
"We're making it to the yard, even if I sink with you!" Skystar said.
Luckily, the tug landed on top of a barge- the very same stone barge that Sky Beak had sunk a little while ago. "Oh. That was unexpected."
"Good thing they didn't salvage that barge last week, eh?" Silverstream said.
"Right, I'm off to get a crane," Skystar said, and off she went.
The tug continued to look sad. "I really don't understand why you two want to try and help me," she said. "I only bring bad luck, after all."
"Because you deserve another chance!" Silverstream said. "Perhaps your curse is gone!"
"It isn't," the tug replied. "Instead of sinking, I land on top of an obstacle that prevents me from sinking."
About half an hour later, Skystar returned with Cherry Jubilee. The large crane was soon hooked up to the tug, and began to give instructions. "Listen up, y'all!" she said. "This here tug is heavy, and Ah don't wanna hold her for too long. The moment she's up, get that barge o' yers underneath her, got it?"
"Got it!" Skystar called. And so, Cherry started the lifting operation. Initially, it seemed all was well- until her winding gear jammed.
"Darn it! Windin' gear is stuck again! We'll have ta move her like this!"
"I thought this would happen," the tug said.
"Is she always this negative?"
Silverstream looked over to Skystar. "This doesn't bode well," she said.
"Look, you put that barge somewhere else, and then come back here to help move this lot," Skystar said. "If we're lucky, we won't be too long getting her there."
"Assuming we don't get jinxed along the way," Silverstream sighed.
The salvage yard was brightly lit, so nightime operations weren't a problem, and they were well prepared to handle problematic tugs. Big Mac and Mistmane were already there to remove the cranes (Diamond Tiara had been added to distribute the weight), and a special cradle had been built to take the tug.
"Listen closely!" Mistmane called. "Guide the cranes slowly so you can lower the tug onto that raft. Good luck!"
"Understood, and thanks!" Skystar called. It was an extremely delicate operation, and precise maneuvring was required at all times. "Silverstream, adjust engines! Half speed, turn to port!"
"Aye, Skystar!" Silverstream called, and the barge and two cranes began to turn. Suddenly, the lights went out.
"Get yer own lights switched on!" Big Mac called. "Ya need ta be able ta see in the dark!"
Skystar fired up her own lamp, but that just as suddenly fizzled out. "Look out!" Skystar called. "Engines, full reverse!"
It was too late. Skystar collided with much of the machinery floating in the harbour, and nearly tipped over as a consequence.
"Careful!" shouted Pipsqueak. "You nearly had me spinning again!"
"At least we got them there," Big Mac said, shining his own flashlight onto the mess. His eyes widened when he saw the tug. "Wait a moment. She looks familiar..."
Thankfully, no serious damage had been done, and the tug was repaired in next to no time. Before long, she had been sent to work alongside the Storm King's Storm Fleet, and that particular day was working the munitions contract. Bad idea, if you asked me.
"Good luck!" called Skystar.
No sooner had those words left her mouth than the munitions barge exploded and sank.
"Can't get rid of an unlucky tug with a refit," the tug said sadly. "Right, Skystar?"
Safe to say, the Storm King had a few words to say to the tug, and passed her back over to me. I intended to use her for work that couldn't possibly go wrong.
Elsewhere, Silverstream had just dropped of a barge for a customer, and met with Skystar at the dock. "I have a theory, which is mine and belongs to me," she said.
"Yes?" Skystar asked.
"You may have jinxed the new tug!" she said.
"How, exactly?" Skystar enquired.
"Well," Silverstream explained, "Whenever we have passed her working, you call to her or say hello. Then, moments later, something goes wrong!"
"That has to be a coincidence," Skystar scoffed. "Besides, it only happened once!"
"Once is once too many," Silverstream replied. "Besides, there was also the cranes, the dock, the time we started her up..."
"Alright, don't pile it on," Skystar interrupted. "Shall we put your hypothesis to the test?"
"Your what? Is that part of the engine?"
"Oh, never mind. Let's go!"
Sure enough, they met with the tug later on. "Hello again!" she said. "How are you?"
"We want to test something," Silverstream said. "Skystar, say hello!"
"Hi! How are you?" Skystar asked. As if on queue, a bouy in front of the tug sank. "OK then..."
"You'd better get another," the tug said. "I've already dropped off my complement."
The next morning, after briefing, I made those three stay behind as the others went on their way. "You three, I want you to go to the schooner yard. We have a contract to tow one out to sea, and I think that our new addition will work well, given there's no engines to break down, crane cables to jam, lights to fuse, barges to explode, and bouys to sink. If she breaks down, the schooner can tow her instead!"
"Very funny," the tug said, looking at the water.
"Let's go," Silverstream smiled. "Skystar, keep quiet on our way out."
They managed to get to the yard without anything going wrong, and the tug was soon hooked up to the schooner. "Good luck!" Silverstream called.
"It's not luck," the tug said sadly. "I must be on my way. See you soon... hopefully."
As she steamed away, Silverstream and Skystar began to converse with each other. "Let's hope her problems are over," Silverstream said quickly. "This has all been very odd, you know, with all this jinx stuff. Though I honestly don't think anything can go wrong."
"It won't be me doing it, that's for sure!" Skystar said. "I'm remaining in the harbour, and I won't speak to her. That way, we can eliminate all the issues from me."
"So, you do believe in jinxes, eh?"
"Well, the evidence seems to point towards one."
Later that day, the pair were working on the dockside when they saw Spitfire towing the tug in. "What happened?" asked Skystar.
"Schooner caught fire," the tug said, dejectedly. "But the fire boat here won't believe me. It was lightning, not a spark from my chimney! Anyway, I'm tired of all this. They'll probably scrap me tonight."
"Lightning?" asked Mistmane. "It's possible, but unlikely on such a nice day as today, with no clouds."
"I imagine she caused it, with her bad luck," said Big Mac. "But she still seems familiar..."
When they towed her to the dock, I had a few questions to ask her. "When did you start having problems?" I asked.
The tug gulped. "When... when I was sold to a new owner by my old company. The new company changed my name without burning my life rings or logbooks first, which you're supposed to do."
I had an idea. If the issues were caused by her renaming, then changing her name back and getting her old books and life rings back may fix the problem. "What was your old name?" I asked. "Don't worry, I won't repeat it."
The tug was silent for a second. "S- Sugar Belle, ma'am."
"As in the Harmonising Heights Sugar Company tugboat?" I asked.
"The very same," Sugar Belle told me. "I was bought by the Our Town Company, who changed my name. They probably still have all the paperwork too."
"Thank you," I said, and went immediately to my office. From there, I phoned the owner of the Our Town company, and after several hours of negotiating with a woman called Snowfall Frost bought back Sugar Belle's logbooks and life rings. Whilst we were at it, I had the yard restore Sugar Belle to her original livery of pink with purple lining. The Sugar Company were more than happy to buy Sugar Belle back, as the owner, the son of the original manager, was fond of her and missed her greatly.
I am happy to report that Sugar Belle is now hard at work once more at her old home up the river, and that her problems have finally come to an end. Big Mac often picks up deliveries from there, and the two appear to have struck up a close friendship.
Author's Note
Jinxed
Written by The Blue EM2
Based on 'Jinxed', by David Mitton
There were some days that incredibly bad characters sailed into port, but that very day I recall that none of us were suspecting trouble of any kind. We were all rather concerned with the incoming high winds about to rock the port, as it would make tug work difficult.
Silverstream looked out to sea in concern. "As much as that sunrise us beautiful," she said, as the giant flaming orange rose higher and higher in the sky, wreathed in a blanket of fog, "I'm rather worried that it presages doom."
"You know what Captain Novo says," Skystar told her. "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning, sailor's warning. Doesn't bode well."
"Aren't there supposed to be some high winds on the way?" Silverstream asked. "That would make sense, given the weather."
"Stop chit chatting, you two!" Mistmane called, from a neighbouring dock. "The storm flags are up, and the winds are going to hit us any minute!"
"We were just discussing the bad wea-" Skystar started.
"Then get a move on!" Mistmane interrupted. "Out at sea, the situation is dire. Ocean Flow is already answering a distress call from a tanker! Now move that oil barge to where it needs to go, and then bring in Diamond Tiara- she's busy dredging in the harbour!"
"Aye, Mistmane!" Skystar replied.
"You'll have extra work to do in order to batten down the hatches before the storm hits!" Mistmane added, as she puffed away. "Good luck!"
"Come on, Silverstream!" Skystar called. "We have work to do- wait a second, is that Grubber there? Hello Grubber!"
"What a rubbish day," Grubber grumbled to himself. "High winds approaching, and Sonata chooses today of all days to break down! Means I have to do her work in addition to her own!"
Skystar looked at the barges with concern. "Those four aren't secured together very well, and not only that he's cut right across us!"
"Very bad," said Silverstream. "Very bad indeed."
"Look!" Skystar shouted. "One's coming loose!" And indeed it was. One barge lazily floated off from the others, the mooring ropes having snapped in the meantime, and drifted off towards the dockside.
"Do you think he's noticed?" Silverstream asked.
"Well, there's only one way to find out," Skystar said. "Hey! Grubber! You've got a barge coming loose! You may want to stop and secure it!"
Grubber looked behind him to see the cause of the problem, and sure enough, the barge was drifting. "Oops. Well, that sorts that problem. I'm not sure why they used me for this work; I'm a big tug, with exceptionally big frames. And thanks."
Skystar moved into position to hold the barge in place, and they were able to get it to a dock in time to allow it to be resecured and then towed on its way.
"Did Grubber say thanks to you?" Silverstream asked. "If he did, I must have been hearing things."
"I heard it too, so unless we both were hearing things and the exact same thing at the exact same time, it's highly likely. Seems that Storm ships have some kindness in them after all.
Sadly, there were some who wanted to take advantage of the bad weather to continue their criminal careers. Moored out of port was Verko, the notorious gangster and parts trafficker. He was painted a very light pink, complemented by a messy patchwork of grey, two tone brown, black, and a very deep purple shade. He was waiting for an opportunity to sneak into the port unnoticed so he could drop off his illegal cargo. He laughed as he watched other ships flailing about in the winds.
"Right, that idiot Ocean Flow is distracted," Verko smiled, as he raised his anchor. "Time to slip into port and meet my contacts!"
His contacts, of course, were people who were purchasing the illegal parts he was transporting, so they could sell them on and cause a giant scam by selling them for high prices. New parts were hard to come by here, and we mostly made replacement parts from scratch, so the offer of new parts from the manufacturer frequently caused a stir.
As Verko steamed into port, Sky Stinger made his approach. "Halt!" he called. "You are within Hippogriffia Port city limits! Stop immediately and drop anchor so I can make an inspection."
Verko didn't slow down. In fact, he sped up, increasing to ramming speed.
"What are you do-"
Sky Stinger had no chance to finish his sentence as Verko slammed into him and sent him flying into a rock.
"Sorry! Looks like the wind blew me off course!" Verko laughed.
Grubber was patrolling the area at the time, looking out for any ship that might need towing, from liners to the smallest fishing boats. He glanced about, when suddenly Verko appeared right in front of him.
"Here's Verko!"
"Ahh!" Grubber cried, and went into full reverse! He only just stopped in time, and something in me wishes he hadn't, as it would have saved us a lot of bother. But anyways, there they were. "Oh, Hello Mr Verko."
"Indeed," said Verko, seemingly squinting from behind that ridiculous pair of goggles he wore over his eyes. "I must see the Storm King at some point. Do me a job, will you?"
"Namely?" Grubber asked.
"Tow me into port," Verko replied. "That way I'm not breaking the law. If anybody asks, my name is Steamer, and I've come in from Snugboat Harbour with a cargo of coal. Got it?"
"I'm not sure I can do that, sir. You see, you nee-"
"Spare me your excuses! I'll report you to the Storm King if you don't, and he and I... have a past. Besides, my orders override his."
Grubber, too frightened to think properly, agreed, and attached a towline to Verko. He towed him to the old dockyard which hadn't been used for many years, which was where he had arranged to meet his criminal friends to offload his cargo of illegal parts.
"Hey!" called one. "These parts better have tugboats shooting rainbow lasers out their stacks if they're gonna settle your debt!"
"All accounted for," Verko replied. "They can be tweaked according to your preference. Just make sure not to cause a big explosion."
He turned to Grubber. "Get me some coal."
"You mean steal it?" Grubber asked. "Wait, no way."
"I never said to steal it, just get it," Verko replied. "Do as ordered, or I'll break your stack and slap cement in your hold. MOVE!"
Grubber was now in a terrible muddle. If he helped out Verko, the Storm King would almost certainly sink him. But if he didn't, Verko would sink him too! Reasoning that he could sneak Verko out without anybody noticing, he set off for some coal.
Meanwhile, Silverstream and Skystar were trying to keep control of Diamond Tiara, but the vanguard of the high wind had arrived, which was causing them trouble. "Work harder!" Diamond called. "At this rate, I'll be up and over!"
"We're trying, but the wind's too strong!" shouted Silverstream. "We need another tug!"
Just then, Grubber steamed by. "Hey!" Skystar called. "Gubber! Can you help us? Fix a single line to hold Diamond Tiara steady!"
"Sorry, I can't stop. And why should I?"
"Because it's the decent thing to do!" Silverstream replied, struggling at her end. "Besides, you owe us for the barge!"
Grubber steamed into position, and revved his engine to full power. "There you go! Now get that line secured!"
Skystar attached her second line, and Grubber backed off, mission seemingly complete.
"Thanks," Skystar said. "Without your help, we'd never have got that line attached."
"Not a word of this to the Storm King, Understand?" asked Grubber. "That includes you, Diamond Tiara."
"Gossip? Me? Don't be absurd."
As Grubber puffed away, Silverstream looked over. "I thought Aria got off with no trouble when she helped you stabilise Thunderhooves."
"That was because the alternative would have been the harbour being blocked," Skystar replied. "And that would cost him money."
Grubber, meanwhile, kept up his search, eventually locating a barge of coal. "Perfect! I can slip it away and take it to Verko. Nobody will ever know, after all. What's one barge in amongst hundreds, eh?"
As he attached to it and steamed away, he didn't see that Blueblood had witnessed the entire thing. "That's funny," Blueblood said. "I thought I was the only one delivering coal today. I had better check with Captain Novo, as this is all very strange."
Grubber got the coal to Verko with no further mishaps, and the big gangster was pleased. "Thank you," he said. "When I next see the Storm King I'll put a good word in for you. Or does he not like you helping me?"
"I don't think I'd be in his good books," Grubber admitted.
"Oh, yes," Verko smirked. "He's got you officially on rescue duty, hasn't he? You're clear until this evening, so go do what you've got to do and report back here. Got it?"
"Yes sir," Grubber said quietly, and slipped gently out into port.
Sky Beak sounded his whistle and pulled up next to Big Mac. "Hey!" he said. "Rainbow Dash told me that Ocean Flow's towing a liner in."
"Which one?" asked Big Mac.
"It's one of the big ones. It's the Princess Luna !"
"That is quite a haul," Big Mac replied. "What happened?"
"She was damaged out at sea and needed a tow."
"Not one of yer disasters, eh?" Big Mac joked.
Sky Beak looked shocked. "Hey! It's not my fault! I can't operate in the open ocean!"
"Ah was joking," Big Mac said. "Come on. Let's go and tell Mistmane, and then we can bring her in when she's closer."
"That'll certainly make Captain Novo happy!" Sky Beak smiled, and off they went to tell Mistmane the news.
Meanwhile, Grubber continued to float around, trying to carry out the Storm King's orders. He was about to give up and return to port when suddenly-
"Help!"
It was a voice, unmistakable. Grubber sped up and rushed over to where the voice was coming from. "Oh my!" he said. "That looks serious. What happened, Sky Stinger?"
Sky Stinger was wedged against a rock. "I never thought I'd be glad to see you, Grubber," he said. "I was trying to flag down Verko, but he crashed into me, leaving me here."
Grubber was now in a serious dilemma. If he admitted to knowing Verko, he was confessing to assisting a known criminal, making him an accessory to crime. But at the same time he couldn't hide the truth. So he came up with a compromise. "Verko? The Storm King's mentioned him once or twice." Whilst not true, it also wasn't false.
"If you're out here to recover lost boats, you could start by pulling me in," Sky Stinger replied. Grubber connected a towline, and they set off for the harbour. "So, what has the Storm King said about Verko?"
"He's mentioned he did business with him in the past, but that was it," Grubber replied.
Sky Stinger suspected that Grubber was hiding something, but he chose not to question further, seeing he would get no more information out of him. Instead, when he was fully repaired, he would speak to the Storm King instead.
Once Grubber had dropped Sky Stinger off, he ran into Tempest Shadow, who looked cross. "Where have you been?" she demanded. "You're supposed to be answering distress calls!"
"I just brought Sky Stinger in, so I have been doing my job," Grubber retorted.
Tempest looked even more angry. "Don't get snippy with me," she snapped. "You've also been helping Novo's lot, based on what a dockhand said. I bet you want to be one of them, don't you?"
Grubber's attention was suddenly drawn by a commotion over in the harbour. In the distance a large liner was being dragged into port.
"Are you even listening?" Tempest said coldly.
Docking a liner is hard enough at the best of times, but today the crosscurrents and fierce winds were making it almost impossible. Every single one of my tugs was assisting, but the Princess Luna couldn't help. Her engines were offline and her rudder had been damaged in the storm, so the huge liner was basically deadweight. Deadweight with hundreds of passengers onboard.
"What's going on back there?" called Ocean Flow, at the head of the formation. "Hold the liner steady!"
"She won't respond!" Big Mac called. "We're all pushin' or pullin' as hard as we can, but it's no use!"
"I can't keep this up much longer!" Skystar called. "My engine's already in the red as it is, and Silverstream's safety valve's blowing fiercely!"
"Keep it up!" Ocean Flow called. "Not much further now!"
"The wind's too strong!" Sky Beak shouted. "I'm running at full power here, but it doesn't seem to be having any effect!"
"We need another tug!" shouted Mistmane. "Come on Spitfire, lend a rudder!"
"I need to stand off in case of fire!" Spitfire replied.
Suddenly, the Princess Luna swung violently to port. "Help! I'm in trouble!" Silverstream cried.
"We need help!" Skystar called. "We'll be squished on the dockside otherwise!"
What happened next caught everybody off guard. Grubber thundered in and collided with the liner, his diesel engine roaring and producing huge clouds of black smoke. "I hope this helps!" he shouted.
"It did!" Mistmane called. "She's back under control, and we can take it from here. Thanks for the help, Grubber!"
"No problem," Grubber replied, as he backed off. Tempest, of course, was quick to capitalise.
"What were you doing?" she asked. "Helping the Seaquestria tugs? You've gone soft in the wheelhouse!"
"I don't recall you chastising Aria when she helped Skystar," Grubber replied, and set off into the harbour, leaving Tempest lost for words.
That evening, Grubber returned to the dock where Verko was moored. "I'm back, as you asked," he said.
"Good," Verko replied. "There's a few other things I need doing before I depart, and the sooner you can do them, the bet-"
They were suddenly interrupted by a familiar chime whistle as Ocean Flow came up the channel. "Good evening," she said curtly, none of her usual warmth or cheer in her voice. "Grubber, fancy seeing you here, with a wanted criminal no less. How has it been since you scammed the Klugetown steel mill of several thousand bits, Verko?"
"I'm not Verko, I'm called Steamer!" Verko replied. "I've come in from Snugboat Harbour with a cargo of coal."
"Well, that's a lie," Ocean Flow said. "Snugboat harbour has a quarry, not a coal mine. They im port coal rather than ex port it. You're under arrest."
Verko tried to back out of the dock, but Grubber, thinking quickly, wedged the gangster against the quayside. "You're not going anywhere," Grubber said.
"I'll break your stacks! They can't hold Verko down!" the tramper thundered.
But they did, for a very, very long time. The authorities gave thanks to both Grubber and Ocean Flow for catching the crook, and as the sun set in the sky, Grubber met with Skystar and Silverstream again.
"Lovely evening, eh?" Silverstream said. "No trace of that storm!"
"Yep!" Skystar smiled. "Just as Captain Novo said; Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning, sailor's warning. Look who's here! How are you doing, Grubber?"
"Fine thanks, but my coal levels are a bit low," he replied.
"Thanks for the help, and congrats on catching the crook!" Silverstream said.
Grubber looked back. "I only did what any decent tug would have done, given the circumstances."
"If you ever want to join us, we have a space open for you," Skystar offered.
Grubber scoffed. "What? Today's today, and tomorrow is an entirely new day." After that day, everything went on as normal, but that day demonstrated that, ultimately, you can rely on the Storm Fleet to do the right thing... provided they tried everything else first.
Author's Note
High Winds
Written by The Blue EM2
Based on 'High Winds', by Chris Tulloch
It had been an exceptionally harsh winter, but thankfully the worst of said winter was over. The frozen waterways and ice packed quays were finally starting to thaw, making them navigable to shipping once again. As the situation was now improved, the transport network finally got moving again. Goods that had been held up for days was loaded onto either trains or boats and moved off towards their destination, the customers showing a level of understanding for the delays I only wish they showed during other times of the year. Another popular industry had also restarted operations, and that was logging. My tugs had been contracted to haul thousands of logs downriver from the Klugetown sawmills to the harbour. This was cold, dangerous work, and as such I put Big Mac in charge of operations. A massive logjam had formed one wintery morning, blocking the tugs and fresh logs in.
Silverstream was crossing the harbour when she accidentally steamed into it.
"Careful!" Big Mac called. "Logs ain't no joke. They can be very dangerous."
"Yup, this is one nasty jam," Silverstream sighed. "It's going to take us a while to clear this mess."
"Indeed," Big Mac added. "Logs respect nobody. They're so dangerous they can sink anythin', even tugs!"
"I had no idea that there would be so much to learn!" Silverstream grunted, as she had another go at the logs.
"There's more yet," Big Mac told her. "Logs need ta be roped just right. If they're too slack, they float off uncontrollably. If too tight, they rub against each other as they float and then they catch fire due ta the friction."
"I am surprised," Silverstream noted. "Wet logs catching fire. How confusing."
"It's surprisin' even when it does happen," Big Mac admitted. "And it'll happen ta this mess if we can't shift it. Let's go!"
Silverstream then had an idea. "Big Mac?" she asked. "Would going around the back of the jam and knocking a few out clear the problem? At this end, we're just ramming the logs back in, which isn't going to clear the jam."
"Ya can give it a try," Big Mac conceded, "but don't say Ah didn't warn ya. It might not work."
Silverstream began a perilous journey round the log pile, bashing into a few on the way. Unfortunately, she had forgotten that logs could easily gang up on her, and as she made a bid for freedom, several of the logs came free and fell down, blocking her route ahead and behind her.
"Get outta there!" Big Mac shouted. "There's a chain reaction amongst the logs!"
It was too late. The logs had completely wedged Silverstream in. "I'm stuck!" she called.
"Full power on yer engine!" Big Mac told her.
"I'm already doing that," Silverstream replied. "Fat load of use that is. I'm well and truly stuck in here, and you did warn me. So there's that."
"Ah'll need help ta shift this lot," Big Mac admitted. "Ah'll head upriver and see if Ah can find anybody. There's got ta be at least one tug about."
"And find help quickly, if you wouldn't mind," Silverstream added. "This is not exactly the nicest of places to be wedged in."
Just then, Apple Bloom the goods engine arrived, whistling to them cheerfully. "Mornin', y'all!" she called. "What got ya inta such a sticky mess, Silverstream?"
"Falling logs and bad luck," Silverstream replied.
Big Mac took over proceedings almost immediately. "Apple Bloom, we gotta tug stuck in the jam. Head back down the river and get some help!"
"On it, sir!" Apple Bloom replied, and began heading back down the line. She was running light engine, so could safely operate bunker first.
Big Mac steamed back over to the jam. "Apple Bloom's a speedy little engine," he said. "She'll get down to the town faster than Ah ever could, and then she can get help. Hopefully, she'll see Skystar or somebody out on the water."
"In the meantime, I guess I need to sit it out," Silverstream said, before sniffing. "Wait a moment, can I smell smoke?"
"Oh no." Big Mac looked very worried. "Ah was concerned that might happen. The heat's buildin' up in the logs, as Ah said. Too much friction."
"Oh dear," Silverstream replied. "I hope somebody gets here soon."
Skystar was taking on supplies when she saw Apple Bloom blast into town, blowing her whistle loudly. "Is everything OK, Bloom?" she asked. "You're whistling a lot!"
Apple Bloom took a deep breath.
"Sorry?" Skystar asked. "Slow down, if you please."
"There's been an accident up river, and Silverstream is jammed in the logs, and Big Mac asked for help so can you go up and help him?" Apple Bloom sucked in lots of air after that. "Sorry fer that. Ah were goin' full throttle the entire way!"
"Oh no!" Skystar cried. "I'll get up there right away!" She steamed off as Apple Bloom continued her journey towards the city.
Back at the logjam, Big Mac was still trying to shift the logs, to no avail. "It's no use," he said. "Ah can't get these logs to move!"
"That's alright," Silverstream replied. "But the smoke seems a bit thicker now. That must be a lot of friction going on back there based on the density of the smoke!"
Big Mac suddenly saw a flash of orange. "The jam's on fire!" he shouted, and he set about ramming the logs again. "Ah have ta get you outta there and now!"
Skystar steamed in just in time. "Big Mac, what happened here?"
"No time to explain, Skystar!" Big Mac snapped. "Get ta work movin' these logs before Silverstream becomes the meat on the biggest barbeque around!"
"I'm made of metal," Silverstream, confused, replied. "How would I be meat?"
"Never mind!" Big Mac interrupted. "Skystar, swing around the back and push. Hopefully that'll clear the logs out!"
Skystar swung round and pushed with all her might. However, her less powerful engines weren't exactly doing her any favours in that regard, and the jam barely moved.
The flame was now very noticable. Suddenly, a familiar whistle echoed through the harbour.
"Oh no!" cried Skystar. "It's Capper with his dynamite!"
"Tell him to stand well clear!" called Silversteam. "I don't want an explosion on top of a fire?"
"Silverstream stuck in the logs?" Capper asked. "Most unfortunate, how would that happen?"
"None of your business!" Big Mac snapped. "Now scra-"
"Wait, wait!" Skystar called. "I have an idea. Capper, can you spare some dynamite?"
"Sure. A little bit would throw enough logs clear to get him out without making the fire worse. Sure thing cat, I'm the friend you need."
Big Mac was concerned, as he knew that out of control logs could be very dangerous, but he agreed to the plan. After all, nobody else was coming up with any better ideas, after all. "Get it in there quickly," he said. "Silverstream's probably quite toasty in there!"
"That's one way of putting it!" Silverstream replied.
Capper nodded. "On my way. I think two charges ought to do the trick." He puffed over, and placed it very carefully, putting some within the logs, and some on top of the logs. "Charges placed, lighting the fuse!" As many tugs as possible cleared away from the area as the fuse continued to burn.
"I only hope to Faust that this works," Big Mac said. "If it don't, we'll all be in big trouble."
With a pair of explosions, the jam was blown apart, and the logs were thrown well clear of the danger zone. It seemed as though disaster had been averted, as the trapped tug could not now be towed out. "That was a big bang!" called Silverstream. "But I'm out!"
"Look there, the fire's out too," Capper pointed out. "The explosion drew in so much oxygen that the flames went out."
"Great work, Capper!" Skystar called.
"Ah think ya mean, 'Capper, yer an idiot'!" Big Mac called. "Move clear, get back! The jam's breakin' up and floatin' downriver!"
And it was. A mass of logs went towards the damming barges and tossed them aside like toys. The force of the explosions had turned the logs into a giant battering ram, which thundered downriver at dangerous speeds.
"If those logs reach the upper edges of the harbour, they'll flatten anything on the shoreline! It'll be a disaster!" Skystar cried.
"I'll head upriver and get some help," Capper started, and began to set off... only for Big Mac to block his path.
"Give me one reason why Ah shouldn't sink ya, right here, right now," Big Mac said. "This mess is yer fault."
"I didn't see you object to the dynamite plan!" Capper retaliated. "Can't we all blame each other later and clean this mess up first?"
"You have a fine tongue, little tug," Big Mac snarled. "Ah should-"
"Guys?" Silverstream called. "We've got bigger problems right now, such as the logs currently going towards the town!"
Big Mac backed off. "Go get help," he said to Capper. "Then never come back down here. Idiot."
Capper steamed off before Big Mac could say anything else, clearly rattled by the big tug's words. Suddenly, Apple Bloom skidded to a stop at the dockside.
"Why not send Apple Bloom to warn the others?" asked Silverstream.
"Great idea!" said Skystar. "She can run faster than the current can carry the logs! Apple Bloom?"
"Yeah?" the yellow tank engine asked.
"Run back to the port and warn the others of what's coming! Hopefully they'll be able to evacuate in time!"
"On mah way!" Apple Bloom called, blasting her whistle and setting off.
"Don't stop for anything! Blow through red signals if you have to!" Skystar added.
Apple Bloom puffed as hard as she could, trying her hardest to overtake the logs. She blasted the warning sequence at every signal; four short toots, to indicate a runaway train that needed priority clearance. She was aware she would get in trouble for this, but the port was counting on her. She ran as quickly as she could, her wheels slipping on icy rails. But at long last she reached a downhill section and drew level with them. Before long, she was running ahead of them, running faster than she had ever been designed to run and puffing and panting as she raced along. The logs were destroying everything in their path. They had collected a pier on their travels, and the tide swept them along at terrifying speeds.
Apple Bloom blasted into the upper harbour going at top speed, and skidded to a stop just before the buffers, where Mistmane, Blueblood, and Sky Beak were moored. "Where did she say to take Pipsqueak?" asked Mistmane.
"She said to take Pipsqueak to the demolition factory," Sky Beak replied.
"Are you sure he didn't mean the factory due for demolition?" Mistmane enquired.
Apple Bloom shouted over to them to get their attention. "There's a log tide comin' this way! Ya need ta get outta here, now! Big Mac, Skystar, and Silverstream are on their way, but they won't get here before the logs!"
Blueblood gasped. "Good Heavens!" he cried. "If those logs hit, they'll tear the harbour apart!"
"Why not try and stop them here?" Sky Beak suggested, as Sugar Belle arrived from the Harmonising Heights sugar plant. She was towing two big, heavy barges loaded with sugar.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Mistmane said. "Those logs would puncture our hulls and sink us!"
"If we were to position at right angles, yes," Sky Beak replied. "But if we were to position ourselves, Sugar Belle, and those heavy sugar barges on the horizontal, we could divert the logs onto another stream where they'd just pile up and stop!"
Mistmane's eyes lit up. "Brilliant idea!" she cried. "I'll move Pipsqueak into position as well to add extra weight, and Blueblood can tow his barge into position. Are you going to join us, Sugar Belle?"
"Absolutely!" she said. "This place is my home, and I intend to save it, no matter what." Blasting her whistle, she moved her barges into position. The tugs were out in front, with the sugar barges behind them. The empty barge and Pipsqueak sat behind that.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Pipsqueak asked.
"Either it works, or we never work again," Mistmane replied.
Big Mac, Skystar, and Silverstream proceeded at full steam towards the upper harbour, but they couldn't keep up with the logs. They watched in horror as the battering ram tore a pier apart. Which then, promptly, exploded.
"Is there anything around here that doesn't explode?" Silverstream asked.
"Not that Ah know of," Big Mac sighed. "Come on, let's keep going! That lot's gonna make a pretty big mess when it hits the quayside."
As the mass of logs hit the sector, something suddenly occurred to Sky Beak. "Oh no! I'm on the wrong side, and the logs are here!"
"Get ready!" Mistmane called. "Are you all set?"
"Ready!" Blueblood called.
"Ready!" Sugar Belle added, and sounded her whistle to indicate such readiness.
"I have no choice but to be ready!" Sky Beak replied.
The logs closed in.
"Steady!"
The logs, rattling and bouncing, got closer and closer.
"Steady!"
The logs were almost on top of them.
"NOW! ALL ENGINES AHEAD FULL!"
With a rattle and a roar, the engines of all four tugs went to full power, their chimneys belching smoke and their propellors (and in one case, paddle wheels) spinning furiously. The logs crashed into them, bouncing slightly as they hit the tugs and the barrier. The unstoppable force had truly met the immovable object, and the logs began to glance down the side of them and into a side stream.
"It worked!" Blueblood cried. "The logs are glancing off of us and into the stream! Huzzah!"
"I'm being dragged off!" Sky Beak called, and put his engines into reverse. The logs detached from him and collided with a building- which promptly exploded.
Big Mac's whistle echoed through the harbour as he came to a stop. "Is everyone alright?" he called. "Sugar Belle? What are you doin' here?"
"I helped with the dam that stopped the logs," she replied. "I'm fine, and so are the others."
When Skystar and Silverstream arrived, they explained all that had happened, and everybody was relieved that a bigger disaster had been averted. Big Mac looked over to the channel. "That factory owner's in fer a nasty shock," he said.
"On the other wheel, it'll be easier to pull down," Mistmane noted.
"I feel rather demolished myself," Sky Beak said. "Ouch. Never knew logs could hit that hard."
"You took the worst of it, but you saved the day once again," Blueblood smiled. "You're lucky to have survived, but you're a credit to us all. Three cheers for Sky Beak!"
That day, Silverstream and Skystar learned why Big Mac had such respect for logs, and we all gained new respect for Sky Beak. Without his bravery, the entirety of the upper port would have been destroyed.
Author's Note
Up River
Written by The Blue EM2
Based on 'Up River', by David Mitton
The Great Hippogriffia Freeze-up
It was the coldest winter I could ever remember, and I've lived through a lot of cold winters. The tugs could still move about, as most of the ice had been cleared, but supplies such as coal and oil were severely interrupted. I chose to move my tugs to the outer edges of the port, to ensure we could still get into and out of the harbour to carry out our duties. The reason for this was due to the bad weather. The fog and thick ice meant that big ships couldn't enter the harbour, and as a result had to moor outside it. Not only that, very few ships had radio or radar. One morning, I received news on the wireless that the Princess Cadence , an ocean liner, had radioed in and requested an ocean going tug to tow her as close to the port as possible. I, of course, dispatched Ocean Flow to carry out the task.
Ocean Flow set off on her way, and stopped at where Sunset Shimmer was positioned. Owing to the fog, her light and the nearby lighthouses were working double time to keep everything visible- as much as possible. "Good morning, Sunset!" Ocean Flow greeted cheerfully.
"Thanks for the sentiment, but the day could be better." Sunset sighed. "Have you seen Skystar anywhere?"
"She's somewhere in the bay. Why?"
"She supposed to be bringing oil for my light. My fuel guage is about three quarters empty, and I need to be able to guide the liner in, after all."
"And I can't tow the liner in if I can't see her," Ocean Flow noted. "I'll be bringing the Princess Cadence in on the night tide. If I can't see the liner, or I can't see the light, she doesn't come in."
"Then what is taking her so long?" Sunset asked. "It's most unlike her."
"The company that maintains the fuel barges was storing most of theirs in a storage pen, and the gates to the pen are now frozen shut. They're trying to melt the ice on the gates with blowtorches, but until then there's fewer barges to go around, and more demand for them than ever. But I'm certain they'll be hear soon. Keep smiling, Sunset!"
"I always do, Ocean Flow," Sunset smiled in return. "Despite my concerns."
Elsewhere, Skystar and Silverstream were searching for a fuel barge. They were desparate. I had explained to all the tugs that if the Princess Cadence was unable to navigate in close, she would abandon the run and move onto the next port up the coast. This would not only mean that we would be unable to service the liner, but people whose jobs depended on liner traffic would go hungry too. They were determined to ensure that the liner got her supplies, even if that meant bringing the liner's supplies out to the edge of the bay.
"Where are the fuel barges?" Skystar cried out in frustration. "There must be some somewhere! Why aren't they at the fuel depot?"
"Most are iced up in the holding pen," Silverstream explained. "Most of the barges holed up where nobody can get to them plus a great demand for fuel equals fighting over the barges with renewed vigour."
"Some must be out there in the port!" Skystar exclaimed. "Come on, let's go find one!"
Sky Beak was in a terrible muddle. The liner would have rubbish to offload; several hundred tons of it, as a matter of fact. Unfortunately, there wasn't a single empty barge. The bad weather had created a backlog of garbage, and the garbage company could barely cope with the sheer weight of rubbish coming in off the city and rivers. Even Chrysalis was full, and the matter was not helped by Silver Spoon breaking down. "There has to be usable barge somewhere!" Chrysalis said.
"There's a half empty one over there," Sky Beak pondered.
"Then use that instead of me," Chrysalis replied. "Quickly now, before the liner arrives!"
Meanwhile, Skystar and Silverstream were still searching for a fuel barge, and not finding one either. "Come on!" Silverstream exclaimed. "How hard can finding a barge be?"
"We must get that fuel, no matter what!" Skystar added. "No fuel means no light. No light means no liner. And no liner means a lot of people go hungry tonight." Just then, she spotted Tempest Shadow sailing past with a fuel barge. "Bingo."
"Are you sure she'll give it to us?" Silverstream asked.
"The Storm Fleet's profits are directly connected to the liner business too, remember?" Skystar pointed out. "It's in her interest as well as mine to let us borrow the barge. Let's go, after her!"
Both my tugs and the Storm King's tugs had the contract to supply the liners that came into and out of the port. This meant that so many tugs fighting over so few supplies would always cause problems. Tempest parked the barge at the fuel dock. "Full load, kerosene," she ordered.
The operator of the fuel dock, a woman with green skin and purple hair, nodded. "Sure thing! It'll take a while in this cold, though..."
"I'll be happy if the fuel's in there, Starlight," Tempest replied. Just then, she heard Skystar whistling.
"Hey! Tempest! Can we have a fuel barge?"
"This one's occupied! We've just started pumping, and we'd need to pump her out in order to let you guys use it. It's not possible. Besides, there are other fuel barges around."
"We need fuel for Sunset's light!" Silverstream protested. "If there's no light, the liner won't get in!"
"Well, the liner also needs fresh kerosene for its heating systems and lighting," Tempest replied. "So you are not getting this barge as we're filling it. Hurry it up already!"
"I did tell you it would take a while in the cold..." Starlight replied.
"Indeed! You'll have to wait!" Silverstream said, in a sing song voice.
Skystar then saw Mistmane moored nearby. She was very wise, and usually knew what to do in a given situation such as this. "Mistmane?" she called.
The paddle steamer glanced over. "What's happening, you two?" she asked.
"We're in trouble!" Skystar replied. "We're in dire need of a fuel barge, and we can't find one. We need fuel for Lily's light, and Tempest won't hand over her barge!"
"It's the only one we've seen," Silverstream said. "It's bizarre, really."
"Doesn't she know that there will be no liner if there's no light?" Mistmane asked. "Honestly, the things that youngsters overlook!"
"Wait!" Silverstream said. "I just remembered. There's an emergency fuel barge kept nearby in the old dock. It's always filled up ready for emergencies, and this is an emergency!"
"Quick thinking indeed, Silverstream," Mistmane smiled. "Go and get it!"
Skystar and Silverstream set off, but unfortunately Sonata and Aira overheard. "What was that?" Sonata asked.
"They're getting a fuel barge so they can get to the Princess Cadence first, and we lose the money if that happens," Aria replied. "Let's go!"
"There it is!" Silverstream called. "See? Light barge!"
"Nice work!" Skystar called. "How'd you find this creek? I'd never have located this place!"
"I used to work up river, remember?" Silverstream replied. "Now then, let's take that barge and bring it back."
"I'll push behind. If we work hard, we'll get to Sunset and refuel her in time, before dark!"
What they didn't know was that Aria and Sonata had stolen a fire barge, and had wedged it across the creek. The loud sound of a barge bumping against the sides of the creek caught Skystar's attention. "Hey, what gives?"
"Get out of that one, you two!" Sonata laughed.
"Get out of what?" Silverstream asked, confused.
"You can't beat us to the liner now," Aria snorted, and moved off.
"That's really stupid of you!" Skystar replied. "Now the liner can't even find the port!"
"Too bad, so sad!" Sonata laughed, and the two Storm tugs steamed away laughing.
Elsewhere, Ocean Flow met the Princess Cadence and attached her tow line. She was going to tow her into the port if all was well. Both vessels exchanged a series of horn and whistle blasts to communicate.
Unfortunately, things weren't well. Tempest's usual short temper was now even shorter as the fuel barge was taking forever to fill up. She glanced over to see Aria and Sonata approaching. "Why are you still here?" she demanded.
"Well," Sonata began, "we thought that you'd like to know that-"
"I don't care," Tempest snapped. "Get to Sunset's position now, and prepare for the liner's arrival."
Skystar and Silverstream were still stuck in the gulley. "Well, that's it," Skystar said. "We're stuck."
"Not for much longer," Silverstream replied, smiling.
"What do you mean?"
"We can't get out at low tide, as you can see. However, when the moon floats over, the water levels will rise to the night tide. That'll allows us to sail over the top of the barge in front of us!"
"But by that time the liner will have gone!" Skystar protested.
"No she won't," Silverstream replied.
As the light fell, most of the tugs gathered at Sunset's location, their spirits falling too. Sunset, ever the optimist, tried to cheer them up. "I haven't had this much company in a long time," she said. "A pity I'm running on fumes here. I can't run my light without the fuel, after all."
"Where are Skystar and Silverstream?" Mistmane huffed. "They should have been here hours ago!" She looked over as Sky Beak puffed in with a barge. "Sky Beak, have you seen Skystar anywhere?"
"Can't say I have!" Sky Beak replied. "The waterways are very quiet at this time of night. I think most people are either at home or taking refuge at the pub."
"Even the dockhands?" Blueblood asked. "It sounds rather unlike them to be drinking when a liner is due in."
"It's non alcoholic today," Sky Beak explained. "They do that to ensure they aren't drunk on shift."
"They'll have no liner to work with if I can't shine a light!" Sunset despaired.
"Does anybody have a bright idea?" Mistmane asked.
As Ocean Flow and the Princess Cadence approached, Skystar and Silverstream were still stuck in the gulley. "I think the level's risen enough for us to get over," Silverstream said.
"And the level will only continue to rise as we go," Skystar added, a smile forming on her face. "Let's give it a shot! The worst that can happen is that we get stuck."
"Right, away we go," Silverstream said. "Remember, if you catch the bottom of the bed, keep going with engines full."
The two tugs valiently puffed away, steam pouring from their chimneys. They knew they didn't have long to get out to sea. If the liner couldn't follow the light, she'd break off and go to a different port which, amongst other things, would mean no work and no pay for thousands of people. Back at Sunset's location, the tugs were all thinking of ideas, but couldn't think of one.
"There appears to be a distinct lack of bright ideas, Mistmane," said Blueblood.
"Does anybody have a stupid idea?" Mistmane asked. "At the moment we'll take any ideas we can get."
"I've got one!" Sky Beak said. "I'll set fire to my garbage."
"What? Why?" asked Blueblood.
"A fire produces light as well as heat," Sky Beak pointed out. "The Princess Cadence will see that and come into port."
"Brilliant!" Sunset cried. "That's a fantastic idea! Go for it!"
Sky Beak steamed to a safe distance, and then ran his engines to full. Sparks flew from his chimney and eventually ignited the garbage in the barge.
"Bravo!" called Blueblood. "Sorry for doubting you, old chap!"
"Excellent idea!" Mistmane called.
"A beacon fer the liner, genius move!" Big Mac called. "Ya really are a fountain of good ideas, Sky Beak!"
"I just hope it burns for long enough!" Sky Beak replied.
Out at sea, Ocean Flow saw the giant fire burning. She had figured out that Sunset's light was not on for whatever reason, and this light was supposed to guide them in. "Princess Cadence , adjust bearing. Marker light is confirmed for docking operation."
Suddenly, the light went out. "Keep it burning, darling! We still need it for docking or we'll run aground!"'
Back at Sunset's location, Sky Beak desperately tried to restart the fire, but just then Skystar and Silverstream blasted in with the emergency fuel barge, puffing and panting. "Sorry we're late!" Skystar panted.
"No time to talk!" Mistmane replied. "Get the pipes connected and start pumping fuel to Sunset. Sunset, the second so much as one drop of oil enters the fuel tank, you get that light running. Got it?"
"Yes, Mistmane!" both replied, and the highly hazardous process of pumping fuel began. Sunset's light whirred into life, shining across the sea like a beacon of hope to all who saw it.
"We have our bearings!" Ocean Flow called. "Superb work, Sunset!"
Sunset glanced over as Tempest steamed in with a barge. "Hello Tempest! Got some fuel for me?"
"I'm afraid not," Tempest replied. "Kerosene for the liner's heating and lighting systems."
Aria and Sonata arrived moments later. "How did you get past the fire barge, Skystar?" Sonata asked.
"Go back to sleep, Sonata," Aria snarled.
"Sorry, what's going on?" Tempest asked.
"We blocked them in to prevent them getting the fuel barge, saving the contract for you," Aria replied.
Tempest looked furious. "Idiots, both of you! We need that light to guide the liner in! And what was that about a fire barge?"
"We jammed one across the river."
"Then unjam it!" Tempest snapped. "Taking a fire barge without a good reason is a criminal offence. Get it back to its station before Spitfire gets there!"
The two tugs steamed away, thoroughly chastised, as Sky Beak laughed. "It'll take them a while to unjam that barge," she said.
"That's that over with," Mistmane said, focusing them on the task at hand. "The Princess Cadence is here!"
And indeed she was. Ocean Flow brought the liner to a halt just off Sunset's location. Once the liner had dropped anchor, they set about changing the fuel over, loading and unloading passengers, and clearing up rubbish. It was a familiar routine, but not one they usually did whilst out at sea.
"Where are the fuel hoses?" Tempest shouted. "Come on, hurry up!"
A fast turnaround was crucial, but hard to achieve given the conditions. It turned out that the Princess Cadence has more than enough fuel for heating and lighting, resulting in Tempest being turned away. "The liner has enough fuel," she said to Sunset. "Want some of this kerosene?"
"Thanks!" Sunset said. "Half price, of course."
"In return, we'll say nothing about Aria and Sonata, eh?" Silverstream laughed.
"Deal," Tempest said quickly. "Even though I suspect those two are already up to mischief..."
Aria and Sonata were trying to free the barge, when Spitfire steamed in. "What are you doing with barge?" she asked.
"Getting it free," Aria replied.
"That's not what I was told by Celaeno," Spitfire said. "She saw you two nick the barge. That's a serious crime. You're coming with me."
Back at Sunset's place, all was done. "Cargo transfer complete!" called Ocean Flow. "We're ready to sail on by!"
"Keep on shining, Sunset," Sky Beak smiled. "Shining like a film star."
"You're quite the star yourself!" Sunset smiled. "Without you, the liner would have carried on without us!"
The tugs watched as the Princess Cadence steamed onwards and into the night, the mysterious sound of a singer starting in the background.
"I daresay that this most beautiful of sights makes the most perfect of cadences to this most frightful day," said Blueblood. And I think he was right, for no matter what happened in the world, we always pulled through in the end.
Author's Note
The Great Hippogriffia Freeze-up
Written by The Blue EM2
Based on 'Bigg Freeze', by Roy Russell
Although not intended to be the final episode of Tugs , Bigg Freeze rounds off the story beautifully and in a way that feels satisfying, narrative-wise, with all existing plot threads rounded off. And so, it seems fitting to end our stories there... for today, at least. When all seems hopeless, remember that Bigg City Port will always be there to welcome you home.
Uzo Aduba-Narrator, Captain Novo
Dedicated in memory of Patrick Allen, 1927-2006.
Whistles and horns
The Seaquestria Tugboat Company
Sky Beak
Big Mac
Mistmane
Blueblood
Ocean Flow
Silverstream
The Storm Fleet
(03:00)
Grubber
Adagio Dazzle
(2:55)
Aria Blaze
(3:05)
Sonata Dusk
Thunderhooves
(0:16-0:19)
Sunset Shimmer
Celaeno
(0:43-0:48)
Seaspray
(2:48-2:52)
Spitfire (whistle)
(0:56-1:04)
Spitfire (siren)
Sugar Belle
(1:05-1:12)
Capper
(0:32-0:38)
Boyle
(3:27-3:32)
Flim and Flam
(1:38-2:01)
The Pirates
Sky Stinger
(0:17-0:31)
Vapour Trail
(2:36-2:42)
The Ocean Liners
(3:33-3:53)
Verko
(0:21-0:35)
Cranky Doodle
(1:12-1:17)
Torch
(0:20-0:31)
Granny Smith
(0:00-0:11)
The dock cranes, as static objects, do not have horns or whistles.
Terramar
(0:00-0:32)
Apple Bloom
(0:18-0:22)
Scootaloo
(5:09-5:26)
Author's Note
Curiously, quite a few of the actors here also appeared in Salty's Lighthouse , an American series best known for redubbing large quantities of Tugs footage. In no particular order;
Kathleen Barr voiced Ocho and Aunt Chovie.Salty's Lighthouse cast, his brother Paul was, who voiced Hercules.
