Faithful and Strong, Chapter Thirteen
The slightly longer second part of my double post...
TITLE: Faithful and Strong, Chapter Thirteen.
RATING: G.
WORD COUNT: 1,276.
PAIRING, IF ANY: None.
SPOILER WARNING: None.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing here.
SUMMARY: Sometimes, help comes in the smallest of ways…
Hornblower ran a hand through his hair and tugged at his clothes, trying to appear presentable. It was bad enough that he’d left the ship in Bush’s hands with barely a word; the least he could do was resume his duties as if nothing odd had occurred.
Perhaps it would help if he formulated a plan of action, to keep himself busy and to ensure that the repairs were completed quickly. First, clean up the mess down below. Next, get the cannon repaired and the party cannon swapped out. Finally, write a letter to Princess Celestia, politely thanking her for her hospitality but offering an excuse as to why they couldn’t linger. If he did it right, they could be out of sight of Equestria in two days, and if he left the cannon repairs to Bush, he could keep his contact with the ponies at a minimum. Thus reassured, he stepped onto the deck, looking for Bush. The sooner he relayed his orders, the better.
Bush was nowhere to be seen, but thankfully, there were no ponies to be seen, either. Was he supervising the cleanup, perhaps…?
“Um…Captain Hornblower, sir?”
“What?” Hornblower snapped, whirling on his heel. The timid yellow pegasus-Fluttershy, was it?-squeaked and crouched down, her belly touching the deck as she looked up at him with frightened eyes. As much as the ponies had made his life hell, seeing her terrified expression caused something inside Hornblower to soften a little. She was one of the few ponies who hadn’t given him any trouble, perhaps because of her quiet nature, and she didn’t deserve to be the target of his wrath. Exhaling slowly, he crouched down so he could be at her eye level. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so harsh. You wanted to speak to me?”
“Y-yes.” She stood up again. “We’ve cleaned up the lower decks for you. I just wanted to see if you thought it was satisfactory.”
Hornblower blinked and consulted his watch. He’d been sequestered in his cabin for two hours, but even so, he wouldn’t have thought the mess could have been dealt with in that amount of time. Curious, he got to his feet and let Fluttershy lead the way downstairs. His eyes hadn’t even adjusted to the gloom before his mouth dropped open.
The room was almost pristine. The cannons gleamed, the wood was polished, and there wasn’t a trace of gunpowder anywhere. “How…how did you…” he sputtered.
Fluttershy blushed a little. “I asked some of the local animals if they could help out. They’re very good at getting into the cracks ponies can’t reach. With them, your men, and my friends’ help, we got the job done pretty quickly. Is it ok?”
“I…yes.” Hornblower was still gazing around the room in shock. “Thank them for me.”
“I will!” Fluttershy said, sounding more cheerful, “They’ll be so happy to have helped!”
A flicker of light caught Hornblower’s eye, and he turned his head. He tensed automatically, before his mind processed what he was seeing. Twilight’s dragon assistant was perched on a stool, blowing fire onto the damaged cannon, clearly in the act of soldering it shut. Mr. Gear was beside him, peering at the results and talking the small dragon through the process. And sitting at the base of the cannon was Twilight, casting some sort of bubble that was no doubt meant to prevent the fire from causing damage. She spotted Hornblower looking and raised a hoof, smiling a little. Hornblower waved back weakly, wondering if he was dreaming.
With nothing to be done down below, he returned to the deck, wanting to locate Bush in order to figure out what had happened in the two hours he’d been indisposed. He spotted his first officer near the mizzenmast, talking with Applejack, but before he could make his way over there, Rarity approached him, a bundle of fabric on her back. “Mr. Hornblower?”
“What is it?” he said, bracing himself.
She levitated a piece of fabric up to him. “I really do feel awful for the mix-up regarding the sails. So I thought about it, and I realized I had a bolt of fabric that might suit your needs much better. But I wanted you to approve it before I went ahead and started sewing. Will this meet your needs?”
Hornblower took the scrap and examined it. It was white, but not blindingly so, and even when he took the cloth in both hands and tugged as hard as he could, it stretched but didn’t rip. “It probably won’t hold up to repeated cannon fire, but it should stand up to storms.” Rarity said, “Will it work?”
“I believe it will,” Hornblower said, handing the fabric back to her, “Thank you for finding a replacement. It wasn’t necessary.”
“Wasn’t necessary? Captain, I never wish a customer to be dissatisfied with my work! Professional obligation demanded I make amends!” She shifted the fabric on her back and turned to go. “I’d better get started on this, then. Maybe I’ll ask the girls to help. They shouldn’t get into too much trouble if I supervise them, and it’s the least they can do after the mess they caused.”
As Hornblower stared after her, still trying to process everything, Bush approached him. “My apologies, Captain. Applejack was just showing me some knots she uses on the farm. She thinks they might help us secure the rigging a little better. Did you wish to speak to me?”
Dumbfounded, all Hornblower could think to say was “Is there any word on the changing of the cannons?”
“Unfortunately, Mr. Gear had what he thought was Pinkie’s party cannon shipped directly to her home in Ponyville. But she sent off a letter asking it to be brought back here as soon as possible. It may take a day to arrive, but Mr. Gear is convinced we can get them swapped out with little fuss.”
Hornblower put a hand to his head. What had seemed like a monumental delay ten minutes ago had now been reduced to merely waiting out one day. If he wrote that letter to Celestia tonight, they could be on their way by tomorrow afternoon. And all because of the ponies. “Mr. Bush, did you…”
“Captain!”
Hornblower and Bush looked up as one as Rainbow Dash swooped down to them, eyes wide. She’d clearly hurried over as fast as her wings could carry her, though she didn’t even seem to be panting as she said “I was just circling the bay, stretching my wings, when I spotted something out on the ocean. I flew out to take a closer look, and…it’s a ship like yours, except it’s way, way bigger.”
Hornblower tensed. “Did you see the flag it was flying? Did it look like ours?”
Rainbow peered up at the Union Jack critically for a moment, then shook her head. “Same colors, but not the same pattern. It was three solid rectangles of red, white, and blue.”
“Did you see anything else? Any distinguishing marks?” Hornblower was aware his voice had grown harsh, but he didn’t have time for politeness.”
Rainbow thought for a second. “The front of the ship had this weird carving on it. It looked like a human carrying a sword, except it had really long hair and these round things jutting out right below the neck.”
Hornblower curled his hand into a fist. “Is this a bad thing, Captain?” Rainbow asked, poised on the tips of her hooves.
He nodded. “That ship is the reason we’re here. It’s the Féroce.”
TITLE: Faithful and Strong, Chapter Thirteen.
RATING: G.
WORD COUNT: 1,276.
PAIRING, IF ANY: None.
SPOILER WARNING: None.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing here.
SUMMARY: Sometimes, help comes in the smallest of ways…
Hornblower ran a hand through his hair and tugged at his clothes, trying to appear presentable. It was bad enough that he’d left the ship in Bush’s hands with barely a word; the least he could do was resume his duties as if nothing odd had occurred.
Perhaps it would help if he formulated a plan of action, to keep himself busy and to ensure that the repairs were completed quickly. First, clean up the mess down below. Next, get the cannon repaired and the party cannon swapped out. Finally, write a letter to Princess Celestia, politely thanking her for her hospitality but offering an excuse as to why they couldn’t linger. If he did it right, they could be out of sight of Equestria in two days, and if he left the cannon repairs to Bush, he could keep his contact with the ponies at a minimum. Thus reassured, he stepped onto the deck, looking for Bush. The sooner he relayed his orders, the better.
Bush was nowhere to be seen, but thankfully, there were no ponies to be seen, either. Was he supervising the cleanup, perhaps…?
“Um…Captain Hornblower, sir?”
“What?” Hornblower snapped, whirling on his heel. The timid yellow pegasus-Fluttershy, was it?-squeaked and crouched down, her belly touching the deck as she looked up at him with frightened eyes. As much as the ponies had made his life hell, seeing her terrified expression caused something inside Hornblower to soften a little. She was one of the few ponies who hadn’t given him any trouble, perhaps because of her quiet nature, and she didn’t deserve to be the target of his wrath. Exhaling slowly, he crouched down so he could be at her eye level. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so harsh. You wanted to speak to me?”
“Y-yes.” She stood up again. “We’ve cleaned up the lower decks for you. I just wanted to see if you thought it was satisfactory.”
Hornblower blinked and consulted his watch. He’d been sequestered in his cabin for two hours, but even so, he wouldn’t have thought the mess could have been dealt with in that amount of time. Curious, he got to his feet and let Fluttershy lead the way downstairs. His eyes hadn’t even adjusted to the gloom before his mouth dropped open.
The room was almost pristine. The cannons gleamed, the wood was polished, and there wasn’t a trace of gunpowder anywhere. “How…how did you…” he sputtered.
Fluttershy blushed a little. “I asked some of the local animals if they could help out. They’re very good at getting into the cracks ponies can’t reach. With them, your men, and my friends’ help, we got the job done pretty quickly. Is it ok?”
“I…yes.” Hornblower was still gazing around the room in shock. “Thank them for me.”
“I will!” Fluttershy said, sounding more cheerful, “They’ll be so happy to have helped!”
A flicker of light caught Hornblower’s eye, and he turned his head. He tensed automatically, before his mind processed what he was seeing. Twilight’s dragon assistant was perched on a stool, blowing fire onto the damaged cannon, clearly in the act of soldering it shut. Mr. Gear was beside him, peering at the results and talking the small dragon through the process. And sitting at the base of the cannon was Twilight, casting some sort of bubble that was no doubt meant to prevent the fire from causing damage. She spotted Hornblower looking and raised a hoof, smiling a little. Hornblower waved back weakly, wondering if he was dreaming.
With nothing to be done down below, he returned to the deck, wanting to locate Bush in order to figure out what had happened in the two hours he’d been indisposed. He spotted his first officer near the mizzenmast, talking with Applejack, but before he could make his way over there, Rarity approached him, a bundle of fabric on her back. “Mr. Hornblower?”
“What is it?” he said, bracing himself.
She levitated a piece of fabric up to him. “I really do feel awful for the mix-up regarding the sails. So I thought about it, and I realized I had a bolt of fabric that might suit your needs much better. But I wanted you to approve it before I went ahead and started sewing. Will this meet your needs?”
Hornblower took the scrap and examined it. It was white, but not blindingly so, and even when he took the cloth in both hands and tugged as hard as he could, it stretched but didn’t rip. “It probably won’t hold up to repeated cannon fire, but it should stand up to storms.” Rarity said, “Will it work?”
“I believe it will,” Hornblower said, handing the fabric back to her, “Thank you for finding a replacement. It wasn’t necessary.”
“Wasn’t necessary? Captain, I never wish a customer to be dissatisfied with my work! Professional obligation demanded I make amends!” She shifted the fabric on her back and turned to go. “I’d better get started on this, then. Maybe I’ll ask the girls to help. They shouldn’t get into too much trouble if I supervise them, and it’s the least they can do after the mess they caused.”
As Hornblower stared after her, still trying to process everything, Bush approached him. “My apologies, Captain. Applejack was just showing me some knots she uses on the farm. She thinks they might help us secure the rigging a little better. Did you wish to speak to me?”
Dumbfounded, all Hornblower could think to say was “Is there any word on the changing of the cannons?”
“Unfortunately, Mr. Gear had what he thought was Pinkie’s party cannon shipped directly to her home in Ponyville. But she sent off a letter asking it to be brought back here as soon as possible. It may take a day to arrive, but Mr. Gear is convinced we can get them swapped out with little fuss.”
Hornblower put a hand to his head. What had seemed like a monumental delay ten minutes ago had now been reduced to merely waiting out one day. If he wrote that letter to Celestia tonight, they could be on their way by tomorrow afternoon. And all because of the ponies. “Mr. Bush, did you…”
“Captain!”
Hornblower and Bush looked up as one as Rainbow Dash swooped down to them, eyes wide. She’d clearly hurried over as fast as her wings could carry her, though she didn’t even seem to be panting as she said “I was just circling the bay, stretching my wings, when I spotted something out on the ocean. I flew out to take a closer look, and…it’s a ship like yours, except it’s way, way bigger.”
Hornblower tensed. “Did you see the flag it was flying? Did it look like ours?”
Rainbow peered up at the Union Jack critically for a moment, then shook her head. “Same colors, but not the same pattern. It was three solid rectangles of red, white, and blue.”
“Did you see anything else? Any distinguishing marks?” Hornblower was aware his voice had grown harsh, but he didn’t have time for politeness.”
Rainbow thought for a second. “The front of the ship had this weird carving on it. It looked like a human carrying a sword, except it had really long hair and these round things jutting out right below the neck.”
Hornblower curled his hand into a fist. “Is this a bad thing, Captain?” Rainbow asked, poised on the tips of her hooves.
He nodded. “That ship is the reason we’re here. It’s the Féroce.”