Of Ponies and Skyships

Moving/reporting info on my fanfic here.

Once again, here's the but hat I've written. Think of it more as a teaser, as it won't be included in the final product. Lucky you, this will be the only public place I post this on the Internet!


The throbbing of the gyro blades ached though the metal framework of the Celestia. The bridge echoed with the pattering of hoof beats, unwittingly matching the unrelenting drum of the monstrous, oscillating steam turbines deep within the belly of the the floating zeppelin sky ship. An occasional hiss from small copper pipes lining the rear wall broke the ever-persistent beat, refusing victory to mechanical monotony. The cantankerous pipes could not claim sole ownership of this refusal, as the creaking of the levers and wheels operated by the dutiful equine crew also held no harmonious song.

Weariness. That best described the mood of the bridge. Tired, worn-down and down-troddened. The equine crew lost the will to maintain a happy outlook days ago. It had been a miracle that they even remained as happy as they had for so long–Twilight Sparkle could feel the bitter darkness choking the stale air in the skyship, slowly draining the joyful demeanor of her crew. Even Pinkie Pie, the near physical manifestation of happiness and laughter, had lost much of her charming aura. Twilight had exhausted herself with a myriad of spells that kept the bitter darkness at bay, and had mostly succeeded...until her body could no longer handle the physical strain of the constant, violent barrage of the darkness fighting to break through.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of the earth pony engineers and unicorn arcanists, a crude contraption had been hastily built from spare parts of the Celestia. Using magic charges from the unicorns to emit a dampening field around the lonely vessel,  it managed to filter much of the darkness that infected the skies surrounding the pony zeppelin, allowing Twilight to recover.

That was a week ago.

Now fully recovered from the physical strains her brave attempt to protect her crew had inflicted upon her, Twilight Sparkle, of the Royal Equestrian Sky Fleet, Commanding Officer of the Royal Home Sky Squadron, Faithful Student of Princess Celestia, and Element of Magic, simply stood at the fore of the bridge and stared into the darkness. She had performed her best, and so had her crew. All that remained to do was to wait.

And stare into the abyss.

In all her studies, Twilight never believed that a nameless, lifeless abyss could stare into a pony's soul–yet here she was, feeling the blackness pierce into the deep corners of her soul. It was a frightful feeling, yet strangely tempting. It beckoned her to join...it. Let go of all expectations. No schedules. No appointments. To be free to do as she pleased. To whom she pleased. To reach out and consume all the pleasures in life. Forget Spike, as he only ever got in the way. To...

No. Twilight snapped back to reality. "No," she softly, and firmly, repeated. She loved how she lived her life. She loved Spike. She loved her friends. No pony, and certainly no abyss, would make her change that. She broke her gaze, and turned to face the bridge. More specifically, to Captain Light Shine. He, of all the ponies, still maintained a bright demeanor. It certainly did not have Pinkie's exuberant joy, and endless, limitless energy, but instead permeated a soft glow of hope. It was his special talent. While he certainly had his moments of doubt and sadness, the cream colored earth stallion vigilantly upheld a spark of hope. Now, more than ever, Twilight relied on him to remain diligent to his special talent.

"Captain Light," Twilight mustered a confident, yet light, tone. "have the arcanists found a way to disperse the darkness? We can't really go anywhere while it still hugs the zeppelin."

Light Shine exhaled a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry to disappoint Admiral, but no word as yet." He briefly paused, allowing a faint smile. "Chin up, ma'am, White Star has assured me that they are close to a solution."

Twilight felt her head drop in mild despair. "That's what he said four days ago." She briefly closed her eyes and released an exasperated sigh. "I know the unicorn arcanists and the earth pony engineers are working hard at it, but we need to escape the darkness now!"

The darkness nagged at her. She knew she was still weak from  her last attempt to shield the entire skyship from the darkness, but Twilight could wait no longer. She couldn't stand by and simply play the part of a stoic leader anymore. It was time for action, despite her exhaustion.

Light Shine caught the shift in Twilight's demeanor. Determination. That's what it was. She regained her determination–her will to fight back. Which could only mean... "Admiral, you know as well as I that..."

"...that nothing you say will change my mind." Twilight finished for him. "I'm going to the Arcane Armory to help White Star, and you can do nothing to stop me." She began a light trot across the bridge, seeking the door to the rest of the ship. "I'll leave you to care for the bridge, Light Shine."

Conceding defeat, Captain Light Shine offered a respectful salute, and slowly walked to the fore of the bridge. He could only hope that Twilight had recovered enough to perform yet another miracle.

A bit of a comparison with STO:

Celestia wrote:
I think it works kind of like this
Unicorn (Science, they have allot of tricks up their sleeves and often make battle more difficult for you by slowing your down, weakening your weaponry, or making themselves hard to hit)
Pegasus (Tactical, Usually very fast and agile what the tactical lacks in endurance it makes up for with a fleet of foot and high attack power)
Earth pony (Engineering, Strong and durable often still standing even after taking immense amounts of punishment always willing to help others sometimes a ship is held together by nothing but the heart and soul of an earth pony, that and a bit of duct tape)


The unicorn are science-oriented, but also provide the long-range fire support. Earth ponies are definitely engineera(mostly because I need to make them special at something, since they can't fly or use magic), and the pegasus are like fighter planes, sorta.

I'm not going to pidgeon-hole anypony to one career, but that's the general gist.

And no worries, the industry of Equestria doesn't follow the same history of humanity. Industry in Equestria is productive, and works to improve life.