Re: Ancient Equestria Arc 2: Starswirl's betrayal.

by **Arualsti** Sat 12 Oct 2013, 11:54

Needle was hurriedly escorted by a gruff looking guard back to her room in silence. She gathered her weapons, saddlebags and travelling cloak, and was quickly taken along winding upward corridors. They came out of the castle onto a large blustery platform. Along the opposite side to Needlepoint was several large airships tethered to the platform. The group was gathered around a medium size one, a sleek vessel of light red and royal purple sails. Pegasi was swarmed about it like insects, filling the ship with all the cargo they would need. She grinned to herself. Vera, Rhuno, Inysa and Steel would all be travelling in pampered luxury. Stuck inside whilst miles of beautiful sky trundled along outside the window. Needlepoint began to strap her saddlebags tightly to her, to ensure they didn’t slip about during flight, when a skinny, nervous looking pegasus came up to her.

“M-miss Needlepoint. I was instructed to take your bags and show you to your room” He stammered. Despite being taller than her, he seemed to shake as though he was being stared down upon by a pony twice his size.

“Room?” She bellowed, quite a bit louder than expected. “I have wings, you plebeian, working ones” she extended them to make a point “it would be an offense to every pegasus to have a healthy pair of wings confined to an airship”

He let out a slight gasp and scurried away. She approached the rest of the group, a little irritable. She approached Wind Catcher and Eagle Blade, and was about to mention the great offense she had just endured, when she noticed they were being led inside, other pegasi carrying their bags for them. She stood, her mouth gaping.

Maybe they are both exhausted? She thought to herself. Maybe they need one good night’s sleep, and then they will have the energy to join her flying to their destination.

Needle nodded to herself, continuing to adjust her saddlebags.

Suddenly, from behind her came a loud shout.

“Needlepoint!” snapped Vera. Needle turned to face her, the cowardly pegasus trembling behind her. “I don’t care about the noble traditions of the pegasi. You will get on that airship and stay there until I say otherwise”

“I am not letting a machine be my wings” Needle scoffed. “Airships are for the sick and infirm, for babies and crippled old ponies, the get in there would insinuate I am one of those, incapable of flying for myself”

“That’s it Needlepoint” Vera shouted, sparks popping out of her horn. She called over a guard. “Take Miss Needlepoint to her room and lock it” Vera turned to face Needle “One more word out of you about this matter and you shall stay there until we reach the Crystal Empire”

Needle scowled and threw her wings open in anger. The guard stepped in and motioned to his spear “Come along Miss Needlepoint, I don’t want to make this hard for you”

He guided her into the ship, taking her down below deck. He motioned to one of the open rooms at the far end, and Needle sulkily traipsed toward it, the silent eyes of her friends who were already in their quarters boring into her. She slunk into her room and clambered onto her bed, feeling like she was a filly being sent to her room for being naughty. The guard slammed the door and she heard a heavy lock clunk into place.

by **Princess Blueblood** Sat 12 Oct 2013, 14:16

Eagle visited the armory once more. He was not content with such a blade like "The Eagle" on a ship. He would need something more heavy duty. Or perhaps... two things.

Eagle came across two medium length swords, neither one equipped with a tip. They both came in massive sheathes, carrying more blades, seeming making the swords disposable. Eagle fitted the sheathe to his body, and found it rather light, even with the multiple blades still inside each sheathe.

"Nice. Light and durable. Just what I need," Eagle said.

He returned to the ship, and told one of the guards to bring his things to his room, sparing armor and blades. He would have to have some fun before he went inside. Airships were for ponies without wings, but unless he wanted Night Vera on his ass, he would have to spend some time on the ship.

Eagle sat on the edge of the ship, his cowl covering his eyes. He watched as Steel walked calmly onto the ship, limping all the way. The missing leg was obviously taking a toll on the old man, and Eagle felt a bit of pity for him.

"You ready for the flight, Steel?" Asked Eagle. Steel simply nodded, before walking to his room. Eagle just raised and eyebrow, and scoffed. He remembered how much Steel hated flying.

"Poor poor earthpony. He'll get used to it."

by **Cloudchaser** Sat 12 Oct 2013, 14:50

Vera sighed to herself, she hated yelling at her friends but it was necessary. She couldn't have them all be scattered and flying about in the skies in case the Princesses analyses arrived with any leads or clues on Starswirl's whereabouts that might make them have to change route. "If everyone's scattered we can't react fast enough.." Vera thought to herself.

Wind approached her sister cautiously, "Didn't you go a little bit too hard on her? She's a pegasus after all, I know myself the feeling she's got right now.. I understand this mission is important to you and all but we're all still friends here, don't forget that." She says.

"Sigh, yes I guess you're right. I'm just used to live on minimal comfort and when offered a room to stay in for free I wouldn't hesitate to take it. I'll be busy for most of the part of the journey to the Crystal empire, I'll be plotting out the course with the Captain so would do me the favour of letting out Needle when everyone's aboard?" Vera asks Wind.

"I suppose I can do that, I'll go to my room when we leave to hang off my armour and weapons and then let Needle out and if you don't mind I would like to take her on a little flight, to stretch the wings y'know." Wind says.

"Fine, just don't go flying off to far in case we have to make any adjustments in our course, this airship is faster than it looks so don't overestimate your ability to catch up with it." Vera says before the Captain comes up to her and they both go to the map room cabin.

Wind Catcher goes to her room to leave off her armour and weapon and awaiting the ship to get moving so that she can let out Needle and go for a fly.

by Guest Sat 12 Oct 2013, 23:28

Rhuno made his way to his cabin. When he arrived, he dropped his armor and weapons he had grabbed on the way onto the bed. Rhuno huffed at no one in particular, well... someone in particular.

Now why did Vera have to go off on Needle like that? That was just mean.

Rhuno decided he would go see how Needle was doing before the airship took off, so he hurried down the hall and knocked on her door.

"Needle, you in there? Can I come in?"

by **Arualsti** Sun 13 Oct 2013, 16:38

Needle lifted her head off her pillow at the knocking, slightly disappointed it was Rhuno, and that she wasn't getting out.

“No” she replied languidly “I’m been sent her by Vera and the door’s been locked. I got to stay here until she allows me out. It is like I am a filly again!”

by Guest Sun 13 Oct 2013, 18:48

Rhuno sighs into the door.

"Well, you did treat that poor pony unlike what I would think a fine lady like you would. Calling him a plebeian? That is kind of low Needle. I am a plebian. Does that make me less in any sense?"

Rhuno hears a huff of anger from the other side of the door.

"Needle... Vera can be a dick. Trust me... I had to live with her while Inysa was away. But she is just trying to keep us together and safe. All this elements of harmony and starswirl and dark magic crap. A lot to deal with."

Rhuno gulps air, thinking of what he is about to say.

"You have seemed kind of glum as of late. I do not want to pry, just know that we are here for you. Now just stay... stay put for a bit. Hopefully they will let you spread your wings once we are airborn. I am right down the hall if you need anything."

Rhuno makes his way back to his room, readying himself for take off.

by **King of batponies** Mon 14 Oct 2013, 19:40

Inysa didn't need to visit the armoury, she was quite content with her current gear so she boarded the airship and made her way to her room on the bottom deck.

After a short while she got bored and decided to investigate the airship as she had not been on one before. Making her way up the decks, she stumbled upon the captains room. Here was where the ship was controlled. Upon walking in, a female pony spoke.

"Who goes there?"

"Uhh, Hi... I am Inysa, are you the captain?" Inysa timidly asked

"Oh, hey. Yeah, I am the captain... The name's Red Wind, how goes it?"

"Ahh, Red Wind... Oh, it goes good, was just wondering if you could talk me through the operations of the ship... it looks rather interesting."

"Sure, take a seat"

Red Wind motioned to Inysa to sit next to her and began talking about the ship and the ships controls.

by **Cloudchaser** Mon 14 Oct 2013, 21:03

The airship starts moving toward the Crystal empire a few moments after everyone had boarded the ship, it took off slowly but gained some speed when they were out in the open air. Crew ponies were running around attending to the ship and making sure everything is fine.

Night Vera makes her way to the where the captain is steering the ship from to plot out their course and seeing if the Princesses have sent any word on their investigations. Night Vera knocks on the door to the bridge and awaits the Captain to let her in.

"Come in!" The captain yells and Vera enters and sees Inysa there.

"Oh, Inysa. I wasn't expecting you to be here with the captain." Vera says.

"Don't worry about her, she was just curious on how the ship operates and it can get awfully boring on long trips so I don't mind someone who's interested in the workings of my ship, the name's Red Wind by the way, who might you be?"

"I am Night Vera, leader of the elements of harmony and supreme commander of the armies of Canterlot, I am here to plot out the course and see if the Princesses have reported in on their findings yet."

"I see, well the table with the maps are in the back and my navigator's already on it so go and help him out if you wish, as for a message from the Princesses, no, nothing yet." Red Wind says and Night Vera nods to her before walking over to help the navigator.

Meanwhile Wind Catcher's grown bored of sitting around in her cabin, not quite enough room to properly stretch her wings in and being on board a flying machine when she could be out in the skies and flying doesn't quite appeal to her. She decides now is as good as any time to go and let Needle out of her cabin, Vera did say she could do that once they'd gotten going after all.. "Maybe Needle will be up for a flight?" Wind Catcher hoped, blushing a little over how silly she feels over hoping that Needle will be up for a flight with her.

Wind Catcher unlocked the door to Needle's cabin and then knocked on the door. "Hey, Needle.. It's me Wind Catcher, Vera said I could let you out now that we've gotten going.. I was.. uh.. wondering if you'd like to come out for a flight with me? Just a quick one and I promise I won't tell Vera. I'm sure you want to stretch your wings as much as I do.." Wind Catcher says and awaits Needle's response with anticipation.

by **Arualsti** Mon 14 Oct 2013, 21:51

Needle lay face down on her bed, her wings hanging limply by her side as she felt very sorry for herself. Vera was angry at her, Rhuno was annoyed at her, goodness knows what Eagle thought. Too preoccupied with his new boyfriend to notice what a fool she had made of herself, she thought. A knock at the door barely stirred her attention. It would probably be another one of the group coming to tell her off. She thought that Wind and Eagle would understand her frustration and anger at being stuck inside, letting magic and machinery fly for her. If her brothers could see her now, she would just die of embarrassment. She thought though, Wind and Eagle were wordly, army ponies, used to working in teams with those who were aerially challenged. Needlepoint was not. She had grown up in a somewhat old fashioned pegasus city. The few earth and unicorn ponies she had seen before she ran away, floating up amongst the clouds in big balloons always used to be an amusing sight. When she left the cloud, she could keep her deep seated sense of superiority at bay. She liked earth ponies ways. It was quaint, rough and rugged. Unicorns always perturbed her slightly, as did magic. Everywhere she travelled though, her desire to fly was never a problem, it was either the norm, like in Wisp, or what set her apart from those around her, like in her travels before joining Vera and the group. This felt worse than being unable to fly because of a broken wing. This was ponies telling her what she could and could not do. Something she had been flying from her whole life.

Wind’s voice broke Needle’s cycle of depressing thought. Instead of the bold and fun voice she normally owned, it was quick and nervous, like she wanted to get all the words out as fast as possible. What Needle did catch, made her fill with joy. A flight! Yes! And with Wind Catcher too. She felt a familiar, nervous tightening in her stomach. ‘Y-yes!’ she stammered, blushing ‘I would really like that, Wind’. The door clicked and swung open, Wind peering her head around, gesturing for her to come out. Needle followed, walking up and up the rickety stairs leading to the deck. Needle was shamed to catch herself staring at Wind’s rear much longer than was polite several times, and decided it was best to avoid looking at her body as much as possible. Finally, they reached a trap door, which Wind pushed open firmly. They both exited, and Needle found herself on a blustery, small wooden deck. They were completely alone, non-pegasus ponies would be extremely uncomfortable stuck outside of the ship in the high winds and cold air. At the moment they were flying through a large, but not too dense cloud, climbing very slightly. Without saying a word, Wind winked at her, then jumped, spiralling quickly out of sight in the white cloud. Needle widened her eyes in worry for a split second, then, realising how silly that was, jumped after her.

She dropped out below the cloud cover shortly after Wind, who was hovering in mid air. She was about to open her mouth to speak, when Needlepoint stoppe sharply in front of her, intentionally flicking her moisture covered wings at her, spraying her lightly. Winking, she looked up. ‘race?’ she asked, and before Wind could answer, darted upward through the clouds. Needle had a good headstart, but straight upward flight was all about power, not agility. Wind had slightly larger, stronger wings, and gained on her surprisingly quickly as they flew back into the cloud. Needle squinted her eyes as flecks of water splattered her eyes. Within seconds they had both emerged above the cloud at the same time trailing water that sparkled in the warm midday sun. They both laughed merrily as they flew level, side by side, skimming the clouds surface.
“I think we drew that one” Needle remarked.

“Dream on, I won that by a mile” retorted Wind Catcher.

They flew for a minute or two in silence, Needle occasionally glancing over at her.

“It’s weird” Needlepoint said eventually “Sometimes, when I just see you out of the corner of my eye, I think I see blue, flying Vera. You two do look kinda alike”

by **Cloudchaser** Mon 14 Oct 2013, 22:23

When Needlepoint remarked that she looked very similar to Night Vera, Wind couldn't help but loose herself in her thoughts for a minute, she'd never thought of the fact that the others didn't know Vera was her sister.. They probably do look alike quite a bit, also something Wind had never thought of, when she'd first met Vera she did seem familiar.. After a moment of silence Needle's voice cut through to Wind: "Wind? You okay? Your flying is a bit sloppier than it was a moment ago and you seem distracted.."

"Oh? Yes.. Well.. I might as well tell you now, first off though let's fly down to that cloud over there" Wind Catcher says and points to a cloud a short flight away from them. "and then I will tell you everything." She says and smiles at Needle who is looking a little confused.

They both quickly fly down to the cloud and sit down, since they're both pegasi they have the ability to walk on clouds so sitting down on a cloud for a moment is nothing to worry about, some pegasi even sleep on clouds.

"Well are you going to tell me what's on your mind now?" Needle says.

"Yes. You remarked that I look very much alike to Night Vera.." Wind Catcher stops for a moment to take a deep breath before continuing: "Well Night Vera is my little sister, I only found out about it earlier today. I thought she had been killed alongside our parents by the bandits that burned down our home town. Before you ask where I was when the attack happened, I was at flight camp at the time, pretty obvious huh? I am a pegasus after all, I'm glad I have been re-united with her though. We still have a lot of catching up to do though and I hope we get the time to do so later. Say you've been together with Night Vera for quite some time, tell me a little about what my little sister's been up too with you guys!"

"I'm all ears beautiful." Wind Catcher jokingly says and lays down in the cloud and eagerly awaits what Needle has to say about her little sister's journeys together with her.

by **Arualsti** Mon 14 Oct 2013, 22:37

Looking down at her own hooves, Needle slowly took in Wind’s story, her cheeks burning slightly at her compliment ‘beautiful’ she murmured quietly. ‘What was that?’ Wind inquired, ‘Oh, nothing’ replied Needle, sheepishly.

She began to recount the stories she had shared with Vera a year ago, from meeting her, to them leaving Dragost. She left out a few details, like Needle’s imprisonment in Pheonix’s mansion, and her brief relationship with Eagle Blade. She also skimped out on details surrounding Vera and Inysa’s relationship. No need to let a big sister know all about that. Wind was an attentive listener, she laughed when Needle made jokes, and looked sombre when she recounted darker events. Eventually the story caught up with present time, and Needle flopped backward onto the cloud, sending up little puffs.

“She has been a strong and brave leader, I can see that runs in the family” she said, grinning up at her, staring into her cutie, bright eyes.

by **Cloudchaser** Mon 14 Oct 2013, 23:30

Wind listened carefully to what Needle had to say about her sister and she thought to herself: "Damn, sis. you've been on quite the adventures in your life, can't wait to see what will come our way."

“She has been a strong and brave leader, I can see that runs in the family” Needle said, grinning up at Wind, staring into her cutie, bright eyes.

Wind Catcher found herself staring into Needle's lime green eyes, she was about to drag Needle closer when suddenly a strong wind caught hold of their cloud and Wind Catcher rose up and looked around for the source. It was wind still so where did the strong gush of wind come from? Suddenly a large creature swooped past them followed by another and another and soon they were in the middle of a dragon migration and it was heading right toward the airship..

"Shhhit" Wind swears before dragging Needle up from the cloud. "We gotta get going, these dragons are right in the way of where our airship is currently heading, we have to get back and warn them before it's too late!" Wind hastily explains to Needle before taking off and flying back as fast as she can with Needle right behind her.

The dragons don't pay them much attention, they're used to random pegasi getting stuck in the middle of their migrations and they have no desire to start a war with pony kind so they let Wind and Needle through when they come flying past. The dragons are flying slowly on purpose to make sure the young won't get lost and so the old can keep up with the young ones which gives Wind and Needle ample time to fly back and warn Vera and the ship Captain of the dragons.

They eventually arrive back at the ship and Wind Catcher rushes to the bridge to warn Vera and the Captain of the oncoming danger. Wind Catcher hastily knocks on the door but doesn't wait for anyone to give her permission to enter and she opens the door to see everyone in the room staring at her.

"Wind? What's up? You look like you've got something important on your mind." Vera asks.

"Yes! Me and uh.. Needle went for a quick flight to stretch our wings a bit and well we ran into a dragon migration or well rather they ran into us. They're headed right this way!"

"DAMNIT!" Red Wind exclaims. "I was hoping we would be avoiding them by take this longer course to the Crystal Empire but it seems they changed their destination in the last minute.. Navigator Roadmap!"

"Yes ma'am?" Roadmap answers.

"Change our course to fly around the dragons at a safe distance, don't want to fly into them or near them if we can avoid it." Red Wind orders Roadmap who nods and begins to punch in the new coordinates in the machine that controls the rudder of the ship.

"What's our estimated arrival time at the Crystal empire now?" Vera asks.

"Sometime by tomorrow morning, we'll have to slow down a bit when we get close to the mountains and this de-tour around the dragons will cost us a few hours as well." Red Wind answers.

"Hmm.. I see.. Well thank you, Wind for bringing this too us, you're dismissed and you're free to do what you want now." Vera says.

"I think I'll go see if there's anything to eat in the kitchen, see ya!" Wind says and hurries off to the kitchen.

by **Arualsti** Tue 15 Oct 2013, 16:27

Needlepoint did not enter the captains room with Wind, not wanting to run into Vera again. Instead she made her way back to her room. The halls were empty, and she slid into her bed and shut the door silently.

It was nice getting wrapped up warm after flying through cold, wet clouds. She rolled herself up in her surprisingly soft blanket, giggling as she felt like a caterpillar, her legs and wings constricted to her sides. She eventually lay down properly, and drifted off to sleep.

Warm body pressed against her...a passionate kiss...a soft tongue between her legs...

‘Eagle?’ she thought, but no. Wind lifted her head, licking her lips, grinning. Behind her, Vera and Inysa were deep in the process of love making, Needle could see them, all of them, and it made her excited. Wind was on top of her now, pinning her down slightly, leaning in for another kiss...

Needle awoke, panting slightly, her body hot and blushing. She jumped out of bed and looked out the window, finding the sun. She had only been asleep an hour, maybe two. She sighed, she would need a shower, she thought, it would help her after such a dream. She tried to slink out of her room quietly, but walked straight into Rhuno.

by **Princess Blueblood** Tue 15 Oct 2013, 17:54

Steel took off his plates, as his prosthetic morphed back into a regular wooden leg. Steel mourned the loss of his tattoos, which he had gained over a career of killing poor bastards. Most of which he didn't even know.

Steel had a weird idea of life and death. He didn't enjoy killing, but found it to be extremely gratifying when he killed somepony. It was as if, while he didn't enjoy a game, he still enjoyed winning. He rewarded himself with diffirent trophies: Teeth, tattoos, blades, armor. Anything that he could take. He wasn't proud of what he had done, but he was proud of what he had obtained. A lifetime of killing had turned him numb, even to the simplest pleasures of life.

Steel shoved his plate helmet down, as he looked upon the hundreds of barbarians, charging towards the line of Equestrian soldiers, who had quickly made a phalanx.

"Sir, you'll be killed out there! Join us!" Shouted a young voice from behind. Steel just smiled looking back.

"I know. I'm looking forward to it."

Steel went to his hind legs, drawing his massive Zweihander, the blade gleaming in the sunlight of the frozen north. The barbarians surged towards the massive pony, screaming at the top of their lungs.

Then there was silence. A legion of Canterlot special infantrymen pushed through the phalanx, their faces obscured by the menacing masks. Their spears shone bright in the sunlight, as they charged past Steel. Suddenly, catapults flung massive balls of flame into the air, as Steel just stood there, watching as the Canterlot Special Infantrymen stabbed their way through the barbarians.

"Well done, Steel," Said a voice, the sound of wings flapping behind Steel. The massive earthpony turned, to see Eagle Blade float down, blood covering his chest area. "Your men have done well."

"It's an enemy we know well. Are you hurt?" asked Steel, looking at his friend.

"I took an arrow to the shoulder. Besides that, I'm fine," Eagle said, when body flying past the duo brought them back to reality.

They both turned to see a massive minotaur, 5 meters, almost 6 tall, swinging a warhammer, launching soldiers left and right. Eagle was about to say something, when Steel started to charge out of anger. He drew his blade once more, slashing through the barbarians left and right, before he stood at the foot of the minotaur, its massive black fur rippling with strength.

Steel jumped up, his massive hind legs pushing him upwards. He swung his blade hard, cutting into the monsters shoulder, slicing its arm clean off. Steel landed, blood raining down upon the warrior. The minotaur fell, as Steel walked over to the severed arm, pulling the massive ring off its finger.

His trophy

"Hey, Steel. Why don't you get some fresh air? You've been kooped up here for too long man," Said Eagle, closing the door abruptly

by Guest Tue 15 Oct 2013, 19:51

Rhuno listened as Wind Catcher let Red Wind and Vera know of the oncoming Dragons. Red Wind had a new course set, which would have the group arriving sometime the next morning. Everyone dispersed after that.

Rhuno made his way to the deck. He had never seen a dragon migration before, and was hoping he could catch a glimpse from a distance. He made his way to the side rail, and saw the dragons way off in the distance, flying through the sky.

Whoe. Now that is a lot of dragons!

Rhuno stood silently for a while up on the deck, enjoying the cool atmosphere and the wind blowing through his fur. The site of Equestria below him was quite aww inspiring.

After a while, Rhuno decided to head back to his room below decks. On his way, he got lost in his thoughts, thinking of a certain blue mare. He did that a lot. Rhuno bumped into somepony who was coming out of their room. It was Needlepoint.

Rhuno looked down at Needle. She seemed a bit shaken.

"Oh sorry for bumping into you Needle. You alright?"

by **Arualsti** Tue 15 Oct 2013, 20:31

Needle nodded unconvincingly to Rhuno as he towered over her ‘Just, strange dream is all’ she said weakly. She paused, then followed up with ‘hey, Rhuno, have you ever had...feelings for someone that you didn’t think you could have feelings for?’

by Guest Tue 15 Oct 2013, 21:05

Rhuno looks down at Needle, a look of understanding emanating from his features. Rhuno kneels down so he can be face to face with Needle.

"Funny you should say that, because I do. No details though. She is my special somepony and I would like to keep her that way." Rhuno finishes with a wink.

Needle returns a look of confusion. "Somepony? You mean some Minotaur."

"Oh no Needle. She is a pony. A very special pony. Just cause she is a pony and I am a big minotaur, doesn't mean anything. It is all about the feeling. That mutual bond. At least, that is the way I look at it. Just cause I am but a sword wielding buffoon and she can raise the moon don't mean nothing. What do you think Needle?"

Rhuno gazes back at Needle, waiting for an answer, a grin on his face.

by **Arualsti** Tue 15 Oct 2013, 21:19

Needlepoint raised an eyebrow ‘Raise the moon? You don’t mean Luna do you?’ she asked, puzzled. ‘You? And the Princess of the Night?’ Needle laughed ‘Suddenly my problems don’t seem as complicated’

‘Oh? What stallion has caught your eye then? Want me to threaten him until he agrees to go out with you?’

Needle looked taken aback, then laughed, realising he was joking. ‘No, no Rhuno. Besides, that isthe thing, it’s not a stallion, it’s a, um, mare’ Needle replied, her stomach tying in knots as she thought of Wind. ‘The thing is, I don’t know if I do like mares, or is it just this one mare, do I still even like stallions anymore? I don’t know. I was always told since I was young that I could only ever end up with a stallion, I never even thought I could have feelings for a mare. But she is so pretty, and soft, and mares smell so much nicer than stallions, and her eyes are really nice. How can I tell if she likes me back? Stallions are usually pretty straight forward, but I don’t know if she is flirting with me or just being friendly. Mare’s are so confusing too, I am sure I am not this confusing, am I?’ Needle paused to take a deep breath, realising she had been rambling on and on. She looked up pleadingly at Rhuno. ‘What should I do?’

by Guest Tue 15 Oct 2013, 21:41

Rhuno took in all that Needle threw at him. He thought of who she could be fancying. Who had she been spending time with lately that could cause her such unease. Then it hit him. He grinned.

"What would I do? Well, if I were you, I would go for it. Never know unless you ask. There is nothing wrong with some good ol mare on mare action if you ask me."

Needle gasped at Rhuno's remark and slapped him.

"GAH! I was joking! Well... maybe not... BUT STILL! OUCH! I am just saying... nothing wrong with your feelings. They are your feelings, and no one has the right to deny them. Not your traditions, culture, or crazy thoughts. Things change. Period."

Needle shook her head, well, it looked like she shook her head in agreement. Rhuno could not really tell. She seemed deep in thought.

"Anyway, since we are both up and about, and I am somewhat hungry for some chow, wanna go grab some grub? I think Wind should still be there grabbing bite to eat."

"Oh yes. Lets." Needle quickly replied and the two started making there way towared the kitchen, Needle with a slight pip in her step.

Rhuno giggled to himself as he saw her trotting.

I knew it.

by **Arualsti** Tue 15 Oct 2013, 22:06

Happiness swelled up inside Needle, thankful for Rhuno’s reassuring words. They made their way quickly to the small kitchen. It was a tiny room with a couple of long tables pushed together. On one side was several large bowls full of typical pony foods, fruit and oats and such. Another wall was open to an equally tiny kitchen, where a squat cook was preparing dinner. Then Needle’s eyes feel upon Wind, who had a huge plate piled high with food, which she ate with gusto. She waved over at Rhuno and Needle.

Needle quickly grabbed herself an apple and a small bowl of daisies and joined Wind. Rhuno sat down shortly after, his plate piled even higher than Wind’s. Needle ate slowly and in silence and she watched Rhuno and Wind chat and laugh, Rhuno’s a deep, hearty chuckle, Wind’s a cute and enthusiastic giggle. She noticed the way her nose would wrinkle a little when she smiled, and how her mane shone even in the dim light of the kitchen.

“Not hungry?” Wind said, grinning.

“What?” Needle replied, snapping back to reality.

Wind motioned to her apple, which had a single bite taken out of it, her daisies untouched. Needle felt herself flush.

“Urrrmmm, I guess not” she said “I might just wait until dinner”

by **Cloudchaser** Tue 15 Oct 2013, 22:27

Wind sees Needle return to her own thoughts whatever they may be and motions for Rhuno to lean in closer and she whispers to him: "Hey, I wanna prank Needle a bit but I'll need your help. Put your hands over her eyes and I'll shove this apple bit into her mouth like we're feeding a baby."

Rhuno nods that he understood what he's role in this prank is and proceeds to stand up and walk behind Needle and quickly putting his hands over her eyes and Wind quickly skits over and is about to place the apple bit into Needle's mouth when she bats Rhuno's hands away and accidentally bumps her lips into Wind's.

Wind drops the apple bit and sits back down with a heavy blush on her face and she looks over and sees Needle looking down at her food with a heavy blush on her face as well, meanwhile Rhuno's laughing his arse off.

"Haha oh man, you two should see your faces right now after you shared a little "kiss" haha you're both blushing like peaches." Rhuno manages to say in between fits of laughter.

"I "kissed" Needle? I.. I don't know what to think right now, I feel a bit odd but at the same time it felt nice.. Those soft lips pressed up on my lips and then there was that moment on the clouds earlier today.." Wind thinks to herself but is interrupted by Rhuno throwing an apple at her.

"Hey, wake up, day dreamer. Can't have you both day dreaming or this lunch is going to be extremely boring."

"Yeah.. thanks, Rhuno. Really appreciate you throwing food at me.." Wind says before she picks up an orange and throws it in Rhuno's face when he's not looking. "Revenge" She giggles.

by Guest Wed 16 Oct 2013, 02:50

Rhuno peels the splattered orange off his face and glares at Wind Catcher with eyes on fire.

"You may have won the battle but the war rages on!"

Rhuno scarfs his plate in one big gulp and gets up from the table.

"I will leave you two lovebirds to your whims. Wait... can I watch?"

Rhuno was chased out of the kitchen, arms flailing, whilst being pelted with all manner of food and drink.

Rhuno made his way to his cabin and hopped in the bathroom, and cleaned himself off with the built in shower head on the ceiling. He cleaned himself and decided now was a good time for a nap. He looked at the bed.

"Now that just won't do."

The bed was pony size. Too small for Rhuno's girth.

Rhuno decided he would take a nap on the deck. He headed up to the deck, sprawled out on the floor and gazed up into the sky.

"Now isn't this serene? Very nice."

Rhuno soon dozed off to the passing clouds.

by **Cloudchaser** Wed 16 Oct 2013, 15:40

Wind Catcher clears her throat after chasing Rhuno away for his comment on her and Needle being love birds.

"ehum.. I.. uh.. I hope this little.. I.. I wasn't trying to.." Wind Catcher struggles to get through what she wants to say to Needle, the little peck on the lips that technically could count as a kiss was just an accident right? There wasn't anything more than that behind it, surely it was just an accident? Yet Wind couldn't help but blush at the thought of having kissed Needle, she decided some fresh air might do some good, clear her thoughts a bit and maybe go see what her sister was up too.

"I.. I'm uh.. Gonna go and get some fresh air and see what Vera is up too.. Uhm.. yeah.. I'll see you later.." I hope.. she thinks to herself before vanishing up to the deck and leaving Needle alone in the kitchen.

Once Wind was up on the deck she gasped in some fresh air to try and get her head back in place and calm down a bit before going and seeing Vera, no need for her sister to see her in such an condition and she definitely didn't need to know about her "kissing" Needle.

Meanwhile Night Vera decided it'd be a good time to go and get something to eat. "I'll be down in the kitchen and grabbing a bite if you want to join me, Inysa. Otherwise I'll see you later." She said before exiting the door to the deck and seeing Wind standing there enjoying the fresh air under her wings. "Oh hello, Wind. What a pleasant surprise to see up on deck, what's up?"

Wind Catcher jumped a bit when Vera addressed her, she hadn't noticed that she had gotten lost in her own thoughts and the pleasant feeling of the wind under her wings, how long had she been standing here? She gave a quick look at the sky and saw the sun was around the 4 o' clock position on the sky, had she really been standing here for 2 hours? She shook her quickly and turned around to Vera with a smile and when she got close enough she pulled Vera in for a hug.

"Wind, do you have to hug me at every possible moment you get? I know we haven't seen each other for years but still.."

Wind Catcher lets go of Vera before responding: "Hey you may be my superior commander but you're still my little sister and as such I get to hug you as much as I want and you can't do anything about it!" She says with her usual friendly and light voice, Wind Catcher boops Vera's nose as well and giggles to herself. "Sorry, couldn't help it, you look so adorable in that mane style, never would've taken you for one who knows how to style their mane." Wind says after booping Vera's nose.

Vera blushes a bit before she answers: "Thanks, it wasn't me who did my mane though, it was Inysa. She thought I could use a make over to reflect my more happier personality and I think it worked out fine in the end."

Wind ruffles Vera's mane a bit before she spots Rhuno laying on the deck and napping after his mid day meal and gets an idea for a prank.

"Hey, Vera? See Rhuno over there?" Wind asks Vera who looks over at Rhuno and then back at Wind.

"Yeah? What of it?" Vera asks.

"Weeeeell, I know we're both grown ups now but hey that's no reason to not have a little fun, what do you say about pranking Rhuno?" Wind suggests.

"I don't know if that's such a great idea.. He's a minotaur albeit not being like the others I don't know if it's a wise idea to wake him up during his afternoon nap." Vera says.

"Oh don't be such a wuss, I'm sure he'll enjoy it, fetch me that bottle of oil over there would you?" Wind says and gets a sigh back from Vera who levitates the bottle of oil over to Wind who walks over and pours it into Rhuno's right hand and then proceeds to tickle him with her feathers making him hit his face with a handful of oil. Vera begins to giggle a bit and Wind's almost ready to burst out laughing any second.

by **King of batponies** Wed 16 Oct 2013, 18:37

"I'll be down in the kitchen and grabbing a bite if you want to join me, Inysa. Otherwise I'll see you later." Said Vera.

Inysa made a noise to confirm that she had heard what Vera had mentioned. She had no intention to leave the captains room as she was fascinated by the controls and the technology. The dials, buttons and levers made her want to pull and press them all. But she could not, as the ship would possibly crash.

She stood up from the chair she was sat in and looked out the window smiling. Inysa wanted this, to be in the sky. She felt slightly jealous of Red Wind's job.

"What made you want to become a ship pilot, Red Wind?" Inysa asked.

"I didn't want to do this actually. I initially wanted to join the military as an archer but my parents disallowed it so I picked my second choice, flying." Red Wind smiles back at Inysa

"I see, well... I am quite jealous of your job. I would love to fly one of these everyday"

"It's fun, but gets boring after a few years... I want to pick up a bow again, seeing as my parents are no longer around to control me but I am a little old to join the military now"

"Hmm, I will talk to Vera later... gonna see what I can do as thanks for showing me around the pilot room and how to fly this machine" Inysa laughs a little and then looks back out of the window.

Red Wind is a nice pony, I am sure Vera will allow this stuff... Inysa thinks to herself as she sits back down next to Red Wind.

by **Arualsti** Thu 17 Oct 2013, 01:26

Needle sat in silent shock in embarrassment as Wind pulled away from the accidental kiss. It wasn’t even a proper kiss, barely a peck. But Needlepoint couldn’t help but get that fluttery feeling in her stomach that she usually got when she saw Wind.

Watching in silence, Needle’s eyes followed Wind out of the room. She didn’t seem quite as happy about the little kiss as Needle did. In fact, the speed at which she departed began to upset Needlepoint. Perhaps she did not like Needle the way Needle liked her. Perhaps she didn’t like mares, or maybe she did, just not Needle. Maybe Needle was too young for her, too immature. Maybe she was too prissy for her, not quite as fun or rough and tumble as Wind and her military friends. Needle sighed glumly and placed her face on the table, rolling the apple between her hooves absent mindedly. She felt stupid, a silly little filly getting sent to her room with a silly little crush. She half felt like smashing the apple to pieces, half like lying where she was until she sunk into the floor.

A crash from the kitchen snapped her eyes toward the large, open hatch. The portly stallion was shouting indistinctly and angrily. Picking up pans and plates roughly and smacking them down upon the work tops . Needle picked up her head and looked at him more closely. He was still shouting at the pans, gesturing wildly.

“Want some help?” she asked quietly.

The stallion did not hear him, still shouting indistinctly.

“Want some help?” she asked again, a little more loudly.

The stallion stopped making noise and stared at her incredulously. He had a fat, sweaty face, stubble covering his jaw.

“You? Help?” he said in a thick accent “Want help could a prissy little foal give? I bet you couldn’t even boil some water or chop vegetables. Bah!” He waved her away.

“Hey!” Needle snapped “I can boil water...I think”

She got up and walked up to the hatch and peered in.

“If you are going to stand there staring, then come in and stir this soup” he snapped “and just stir, don’t touch anything else”

Needle hopped over the low wall, into the kitchen. She walked up to a large grey pot simmering on top of a small fire. Grabbing the spoon in her forehooves, she began to stir, slowly and evenly. She stared into the swirling liquid, finding it very soothing. The cook scurried around her, working on other things. After a few minutes her returned to her, snatched the spoon from her, tried some, then pushed in some ingredients and seasoning, then moved on again. Needle took the spoon back, and kept stirring. This repeated a few more times, as dinner began to creep up on them. He grabbed the spoon again and tasted it. He smacked his lips, then offered her a taste. She slurped up what was offered on the spoon, savouring the robust and filling taste.

“It is delicious!” she said, smiling.

“No!” he spat, throwing the spoon back into the pot, drops splashing back upon Needle. “It needs something extra, what should it be?

“I don’t!” Needle assured him. He stared at her, waiting for an answer. “Urrmm, well, errrr, maybe...some onion?” She asked.

He threw in a little chopped onion “more?” he asked. Needle nodded until she guessed there was enough. “Some potato too? And carrot?” She asked. He chucked some in the soup until she motioned for him to stop. She took a sip from the spoon. “Some pepper now, I think”. He seasoned it until Needle felt it was ready. She took a sip and smiled. She offered some to him, and he tasted it, nodding appreciatively.

“Well done, Miss Prissy Pony” he grinned, smacking her on the back firmly “you have a bit of talent there! I can handle the serving, you go eat.” He poured her a large bowl of soup and placed a chunk of white bread on a plate, ushering her towards the tables. He pulled a thick rope at the back of the kitchen, a loud bell sounding throughout the ship.

by Sponsored content