On the observation of evil and the escapism of oneiromancy

As the armor cracked and things were bad,

The sky was gushing like gas

And the inferior depth charges of the age

Tearing each other up...

Tearing each other up...

Bursting closer to us!

S. Kalugin, «Das Boot»

— Girls, if we don't stop right now, I'm going to die, — Rarity said, putting the edge of the hoof to her forehead. She overplayed her hand and pricked herself on her own horn. — I'm tired of pulling this cart, too, — Applejack said. — Ha! Weaklings! — Dash wanted to add something about her coolness, but the yellow earth pony, getting out of the harness, sat down on the sand and brazenly «broke the combo». — Get harnessed, — Applejack fanned herself with her hat and smiled imperceptibly, — What's shaking the air? At first Rainbow Dash got tangled in the harness. Then Rarity blurted out that it's fashionable to wear straps and rivets in Canterlot these days. In the sense, when all the clothes are made up of just straps. Pinkie whinnied like your guard stallion and pulled out a red ball with a hole and straps from somewhere in her mane. Another quarter of an hour passed while Rarity was choking on laughter and Fluttershy was shyly calling for order. Twilight didn't understand anything. — Hey! Pinkie Pie is going to put away the inappropriate toys now, — Applejack commanded, helping Dash sort out the cart, — And Rarity will explain everything to Her Innocent Highness later. Dash, pull! — I'll explain, — Fluttershy whispered, helping out Rarity, who was shaking her head in mute horror. — What? What are you talking about?! — Rainbow stirred in the unfamiliar harness. — Some kind of unicorn trouble? — Yeah. Don't get distracted. Or do you want to refuse? — The yellow earth pony pushed her hat over her eyes with a sharp and short nod. — Or maybe someone is not familiar with the harness of flying carts? The ones that are known to any pegasus? Or... not... to anyone… — What?! I'll!.. For the next half hour, Rainbow Dash was pulling a cart. She tried to rush, as if competing with herself, then she tried to fly, although the cart was not floating at all, and, as a result, she exhausted enough of her forces. Typical situation «athlete decided to work as a loader». — It's all... the wheels... get stuck... and in general! — Rainbow was gasping for air. — If... if... Twi enchanted ... to soar! — I'm afraid it's impossible without the crystal, — Twilight replied. She, in turn, tried to pull the cart with magic, but the dirty thing tried to leave the Highway into the dune. And the balance had to be kept on one axis! — Oh, Sisters! — The white unicorn closed her eyes and went somewhere to the side. She climbed to the edge of a healthy dune and stamped her front foot. — Here. Rarity’s unhealthy ability to find crystals was known throughout Ponyville. Or almost all of it. The joke was that the white «builder of whom» did not always find crystals. It happened so that she manifested them. Turned out of some layers of time not existing, but so far only probable stones. They could perceive magic better, but they could suddenly fall apart into fine dust. Moreover, what and when it would crumble, the prediction did not give way. However, a bucket or two of her gems was hidden away from Rarity, which made it possible to misinterpret trends in sewing clothes, almost in the provinces, without any financial consequences. Twilight levitated a huge pile of sand without much delicacy, which was costly precisely because of the bulk of the material, but the power of alicorn, even if not «fully equipped», summed with innate magical abilities, did not allow resort to sophisticated witchcraft, like the same Chrysalis or Cadence. — Ahem! Did you have to make a whole storm? — Rarity was trying to shake the sand out of her mane. Or pretended to. The spells designed to keep the magician clean and relatively fresh have long been obtained automatically by the unicorn. — Oh, I'm sorry... I didn't calculate it, — Twi looked at the scattering of crystals. — I'm afraid there's not one big enough to enchant... especially not my specialty... Applejack snorted. And Pinkie, jumping up and down, suggested enchanting many small pebbles and gluing them to the bottom of the carriage. Everything was done pretty quickly, despite the interfering Dash, the non-participating Rarity and the long-thinking Twilight, who tipped the cart sideways with magic, and the things into the dust. A similar effect could be achieved by simply lifting the shafts of the cart, which is what the yellow earth pony said: — Twi, you just had to help this thing rear up. Do you understand? — Oh! — Twilight put the cart back, pulled up the shafts and finally fell out. Further — worse. There was no glue. Gluing enchanted crystals with magic meant the risk of spoiling them. And to enchant the glued was not possible because of contact with foreign structures. With wood. — Ta-dam! — Pinkie exclaimed, pulling out a yellow and black tube covered in unfamiliar runes. The tube had sticky, quick-drying and foul-smelling contents, which, when frozen, turned into a rubbery muck resembling dried boogers in color. It was Pinkie Pie's talent. To get out of... hell knows where, various objects, including those that could not be created not only in Equestria, but in the world in general. Objects often broke on their own, but simple things made of wood, metals and ceramics could linger in a new reality for them. Like Pinkie's lighter. A metal box with a lid. Under the lid there is a wick in a perforated casing and a small wheel, which is inconvenient to turn with a hoof. Felt, a wick with a wire inside. Strange unreadable icons on the bottom, like the runic writing of the pre-Equestrian period. The surface of the metal thing is covered with another metal, and the quality and thickness of the coating indicate a fantastic level of proficiency in newfangled electric deposition, which not every unicorn would cope with. Twilight Sparkle herself, with all her magical power, could only take on such a job with a bad result in advance. It's necessary to turn yourself into some kind of machine to do this! Finally, the cart was covered with crystals. To no avail. They had to remove the wheels, after which the structure hung out in a pair of hooves from the ground, skewed and again scattered some things. Shifting the junk helped, but a new problem arose: the horse structure wobbled, gave a roll and did not want to move properly. — I don't understand, — Princess Sparkle said dejectedly, looking at the mockery of physics over magic. — Well... — Applejack did not finish the sentence and took the rope. It turns out that the rope tails dragging behind the hovering wagon are enough to make this thing stop hanging like a piece of manure in a toilet bowl. They walked almost silently to the halt point. Pinkie couldn't keep quiet, she was tossing and bursting, Rarity was mumbling about «how much longer?», Fluttershy was sighing. Applejack pulled the cart and grunted. Dash flew away «to explore». It wasn't that she was ashamed, it was just that pegasus was afraid of ridicule. She didn't like being fed the shit she lavished on others. — That's it. Finish, — The yellow earth pony stopped dead in her tracks. — A halt. We're unpacking. The evening began with the paint of the desert.

***

It is not surprising that, having settled down for the night in a lopsided tent, the ponies tossed and turned for a long time, cursed at Rarity, who had someone rustling outside, and got to the point that Applejack got tired of shoving and went to take a leak. At the exit, some kind of dirty trick was waiting for her, whiskers, claws, bristles and insects burbled out of the darkness without pupils, in which the bright crescent moon was reflected. The earth pony screamed in a voice that was not her own and hit the muck with a hoof. Everyone jumped up, Rainbow Dash swung out of her hammock and cracked her head into one of the skeleton's poles, causing the tent to sag with her sail. With a rustle, various «friends» of the slain evil spirits flowed in different directions. Some of them drowned in the sand in a second. — Why are you yelling? — Dash untangled her leg from the hammock, landed, and rubbed her eyebrow. — This is getting crazy, honey. — A disheveled Rarity added, lighting a light on her horn and looking at the torn mane net (Dash once teased the mannered unicorn with a question about whether stallion unicorns sleep with a special box for their "balls"). — Y-y-y! — Applejack pointed disgustedly with her hoof at a mess of spiked legs, whiskers and something else driven into the sand. It seems that you can see all kinds of vermin on the farm, and some chickens appeared before the earth pony not only without feathers, but also without a head and most of the insides, but all the same! Such a thing! This, your princess!!! He looks and moves his appendages!!! Pinkie suddenly itched and howled with foreboding. Desh started up with a released balloon. — This thing is not poisonous, — Sighed Fluttershy, who got out of the tent, as if she felt sorry for the crushed muck. — Right? — Applejack even wanted to sniff, as if she could smell some recognizable smell of protein poison. — Exactly. With such jaws... Fluttershy also wanted to say that it was not necessary to kill this creature, it was enough just to drive it away, but Rarity, Pinkie and Apple Jack yelled at the whole desert and climbed into the tent. Twilight sighed. She squinted at the fluttering Rainbow, but also lit the horn. Burning the remains of the monster was a bad idea. They stank of burning and hissed and crackled hideously. — Girls, — Twilight, wincing, turned to the tent, from where three pairs of eyes stared at her in fright, — I think the incident is over. — And if… — No, Pinkie. I don't think so. They were afraid of your screams and ran away. But if you want, I'll use a search spell. I just modified it so that all the ponies could see the direction to the desired object. The purple horn flared up again. — Uh-hmm.… Apparently, something is distorting the magical background here, — Twilight muttered. Rarity immediately cast some meaningless and beautiful stuff as a test and stared at «Twilight Horn» in disbelief. A blue pegasus grinned maliciously from above. — I'm sure it's all right, — Twilight stared blankly at nothing. — The spell was supposed to find all these creatures in a hundred races, even if there are ten of them, and not draw a bunch of rays everywhere, like these animals here... hundreds? Even Fluttershy flinched here. And took off. A second later, another choral scream came from the tent. It was going to be a fun night.

***

The Six found the flying steamer by accident. An unpleasant wind was rising, Dash flew out to explore (if only not to drag the cart, even if it was floating) to look for shelter from a possible storm, and then Pinkie's leg itched. And the nose. And as... sorry, the croup is closer to the Marks. Dash was angry with herself that it had become more difficult to fly, swearing to herself that no wastelands would make her... In general, the first signs can be considered the resorption of magic clouds. The usual ones, which pegasi can't walk on, remain in place. Well, as far as it applies to the cloud. Rainbow Dash has just never encountered such a thing. To be honest, the question was studied both in history lessons and in the introductory course of magic. But... well, you get it. Someone screw... overslept up a lecture about how the unicorns of antiquity «dumped» pegasi hiding there from a hostile clan out of the clouds. And there were almost no such clouds over the Badlands. — Oh! Your magic is exhausted! — Said Applejack as the hovering cart began to touch the sand. — It can't be. Even if there is something absorbing in the soil... — Twilight's eyes widened in surprise, and then the young princess fainted, sparkling with a horn. Dash went down spirally. With a cursing, of course. Rarity grabbed her head with her hooves, lifted her hind legs, and sat down on the croup. She gave out something not quite aristocratic and moaned in pain. Pinkie Pie screamed in fright. And the sky was losing its usual bright colors, coming in shades of pale blue. With the blue at the zenith. The sun seemed to shrink in size, and it became impossible to look at it. A silver coin from Death's purse. Then it was all over, except for the short-lived feeling of the wind, consisting of flakes of time. Crammed under the cart Rarity squeaked and seemed to have no idea how to get out. The crystals «died» and the wooden structure tangibly crushed the unicorn. — Why… Oh, hay! — Applejack lifted the cart with her hooves and braced her shoulder. — Why did you get in there? — It doesn't hurt that much, — Rarity said in such a hoarse voice that she recalled their fiercely celebrated arrival in Dodge City. — What's wrong with Twi? — Flatty says it's just a faint, — The yellow earth pony squinted at Pinkie and Fluttershy, who were reviving alicorn. — Sudden magical conversion or something like that. Unicorn mind, in short. — My head is splitting... — Dash, sugar, rush around, we need to look for shelter, — Applejack asked. — My heart feels that this magical manure is dangerous in the open. But there is no hope for a tent. Rainbow Dash nodded and tried to take off. Silently. Apparently, she got something too. She beat her wings steadily and strongly, as if she had to fly with a load and against the wind. Twilight moaned. Fluttershy gave the princess water from a flask. A prickly vegetable ball of tumbleweeds or something similar was barely rolling along the Highway with a rustle. — My horn hurts, — Twilight complained. — And I can hardly feel my body. — Do you remember anything? — Rarity asked. — Rar! She needs peace now! — Fluttershy's eyes darkened, and Rarity looked away, but not in fright, but as if she was specially training to look past. — Darling, I understand everything, — The white unicorn made a soothing gesture, at the same time taking her Gaze away from her eyes to the hoof, — But we need to know what we are dealing with. What if it happens again right now? It takes a place to hide. It's easier in hiding, honestly. — What if Twilight gets worse? — Applejack and Pinkie will inform on themselves. They were barely touched. — Actually, it hurt, — Applejack said, and Pinkie nodded, but gasped from a headache attack. — But many earth ponies aren't strong because of their inner magic. I'll carry it. I just wish I knew where to carry it. — I can look for... — Twilight struggled to sit up. — Magic? — The earth pony grinned skeptically. — Sit down. Out, let Flatty fly, Dash will help. And Pinkie will look after you. Applejack sighed and went to adjust the wheels to the cart. Well, they didn't throw them away. Fluttershy couldn't fly properly yet, fluttering from dune to dune and from stone to stone along a broken line. Dash stopped cutting spirals and zigzagged only on one side of the Highway. So, indeed, it turned out to be faster to view the territory. — There is! — Rainbow yelled from above. — I found it! — And what is it? Not diamond dogs, I hope? — Rarity asked, stepping aside as Fluttershy returned from behind. Dash plopped down hard on the sand and looked triumphantly at her friends: — You'll never guess! The feed from the steamer!

***

It wasn't far to go. Anyway, for Dash, who didn't go. Applejack had to wriggle between dunes and other irregularities, choosing a more even path so as not to overturn the cart on which Twilight was lying. — Applejack, I could have done it myself, — Tway was embarrassed. — You're driving me like some ancient khan among camels or those from Saddleback Arabia. — Sit down, gain strength. Otherwise, it's still unknown what kind of thing Dash found there. What if you have to do magic? — Oh… — That's exactly it! — The earth pony stopped, adjusted her hat, and leaned on the yoke loop again. Pulled up. Yes, it was something like a steamer, judging by the surviving rear third of the hull. — Hey! Is there anyone? — Pinkie shouted through the gap, so much so that the rusty twisted frames hummed. For some reason, many large holes were drilled in these pieces of iron, in addition to small rivet holes overgrown with rust and dust. — The main thing is that those creatures aren't there, and they don't seem to be able to talk, — Applejack shivered. — What are you stuck for? Dash shouted from above and thundered her hooves on the deck. — This thing seems to be quite spa… Your hay! — Are you okay there? Fluttershy was worried and took off too. — I'm fine! It's just... what kind of «shipbuilder» makes such decks? It's slippery! And even with a tilt! — Dash, come down! — Wait, there's a hatch here… Not... amenable… Hey! How did you do that? — I turned this thing, — Fluttershy pointed with the horn edge of the hoof at the rotary lever recessed in the door.

***

It was decided to leave unnecessary things in the cart, Twilight said she would try to take off. Rarity snorted and performed a magic «throw», reaching the top in one leap. — Ugh to you, — Applejack said, rolling the half-empty cart into the gap. — Come on, Pinkie. You can walk around the sand there. — Come on! Wow! Is this thing that long? Out, she's all in the sand! — You'll say that to your stallion, — The yellow earth pony grinned. — But don't let it stick in the sand. There, in the middle part of the ship, there was another hatch, already without a lid. Apparently, he vomited on impact or internal explosion. After wandering through narrow passages and steep metal stairs, Applejack and Pinkie heard the voices of their friends. They met in a deformed room, where a long tank or pipe with plugs that had fallen off the axis was stuck across. It smelled of rust, the mustiness of an old abandoned bathhouse and some kind of chemicals. «T Y P |5 O I< O T Ö Λ - II», — Something incomprehensible was written on the openwork pedestal. — What's the inscription here? Is it griffin? Or zebrian? — Jumped up and down in Pinkie's place. — What if it says something like «Hi!» or something else? — This is Stalliongrad, — Sighed Applejack. — Oh, honey, I'm begging you! — Rarity giggled. — You should also think about monkeys from the Forbidden Jungle! They also have some kind of primitive writing. «Mine your club head break!» — She's right, Jackie, — Twilight said with a sad smile. — If you had seen at least one stalliongrad, you would know for sure that they are not able to build such a thing. It's even more complicated than a steam locomotive, you know! — Where do they build steam locomotives in Equestria? — Applejack frowned thoughtfully. — Somewhere in Phillidelphia and Mainhatten, — Twilight replied. — I read that the most skillful unicorns install magic devices on a locomotive billet instead of all sorts of stupid pipes… — I see, — The earth pony nodded. — For the preparation. Something was bothering her. Probably that visit to relatives from Applusa. And those Apples had steam tractors in the barn. One, the newest one, was not steam powered, but... yes, Discord knows how this thing worked! But she worked on kerosene. Relatives also boasted that they refuel the car with homemade (moonshine) tartar potion, and that's nothing, only the furnace has to be cleaned more often. So, there were similar letters on the ribbed cylinders sticking out of the engine casing. Everything was Equestrian on the dashboard, but not on the engine part. Applejack didn't say anything. She will, but then, when she does know the truth. And so far, no guesses out loud. — I think we need to look around and decide if we're going to stay here overnight or set up a tent, — Rarity said. It was obvious that she was for a tent, but with the preliminary magical expulsion of all the vile chitinous living creatures in the area. — And I would stay here. This thing is clearly made by pony hooves, — Applejack replied. — Just let Twi make sure there's no nasty stuff here. — I think there's no one here, — Fluttershy said cautiously. — It's easier for desert creatures to gather down there, where we left the cart. — I'll check it out, — Twilight decided. — I'll help, — Rarity supported. To expel insects and arachnid rubbish from a boutique where there are so many cozy fabrics and skeins of thread, Rer has learned masterfully. As a result, several lizards, a colony of desert wasps, some strange creature resembling a mouse with a long tail jumping on its hind legs, and a couple of incomprehensible dragonflies were expelled from the ship's skeleton. — That's it, — Twilight said, sweating. — Now I would like to look for water. — Is that all for sure? — Applejack didn't trust magic. Even performed by friends. Especially in the performance of friends. — There's nothing alive here, — Rarity squinted. — But there's a dead one!!! — Pinkie whirred as she illuminated herself from below with a flashlight. — The captain's ghost is roaming the compartments! And somewhere in the sand-filled part of the ship lies his skeleton! Wa-ha-ha!!! — Oh, hay! — Applejack shuddered. — Where’d you get the flashlight? Did you fall out of your mane again? — Nope! There was one on that folding table, — Pinkie smiled and squeezed the buzzing flashlight again, adding a trembling light to the scant illumination from the cracked portholes. — There's no one dead here, — Twilight said disapprovingly. — But there are crystals, — Rarity replied lightly. — To the place where this ship is buried in the sand. The young princess did not answer the question, but lit a horn and went further up the aisle, looking around. Changed the way the spell was formed several times, developing after that incident. Also, after she got away from Rarity, she was looking for the remains. As expected, there was nothing but chitinous shells inside the ship. It was all around. Hundreds of skeletons, both relatively whole and fragments of bones. The deformed door made it somewhat difficult to go further to the bow of the ship. There was a corridor outside the door, formed by huge containers for something. Water? Fuel? Most likely, water. Liquid fuel in such a volume would be incredibly expensive. Although, Twilight didn't see any coal pits. She climbed the ladder, passing the path that Pinkie and Jackie had overcome. And there's another round door on the side, and there's light behind it. A breach? No, it wasn't a breach. It was a glass case, half stuck in the sand. The sand was also inside, «pouring» through the crushed glass. Some kind of seat, levers, a bed of unknown purpose. Twilight thought about it and cast a complex spell that lifted the sand and jetted it out through the missing piece of glazing. Paper cups and strange black metal staples bounced on the grating of the floor with an unpleasant noise. A lot. Incredibly much. By telekinesis, pulling several interlocking staples to herself, the young princess tried to untangle it. «Like a buckshot tape, only not fabric, but metal,» — Twi came to mind. And then she realized what kind of cups they were. The enormity of the atrocity simply did not fit into my head. Princess Celestia said that what she saw might be somewhat shocking. But not the same way! Everything fell into place: the heavily lightweight hull, the too-huge screw with narrow blades, and the crystals along the keel… And the casings. And an abundance of bones. Some villains caught up with some unfortunate ponies on a flying ship and killed them all with weapons that only special units of the Guard are allowed to use. Well, for the Legion, but everything is difficult there. Their opponents are not ponies, which means that they themselves are not shy about funds. Who was the killer who was sitting here, aiming and shooting, pressing with his hoof... no, with his paw on… Look at these levers and this seat, Twilight! Will the minotaur be comfortable here? A camel? A griffin? And a zebra or a pony? «And zebras don't build and never have built ships like this», — Twilight whispered.

***

They spent the night in some relatively clean compartment, where there were no twisted iron cabinets, chair frames and various junk piled up, like a notebook with incomprehensible icons, a tin can of stewed vegetables, broken glass and a terrible wrench with jams on the «horns». — Well? — The straw-yellow pony looked out from under her hat. — Sugar, can you tell me why we came here? There is no one to eavesdrop here, all of their own. — Yeah, — Pinkie said, — And those things that scared us so much can't talk or write secret letters. Applejack grimaced. She had to overcome herself, retreating behind a dune. There was a toilet on this steamer, but it didn't work, as Rainbow Dash confusedly told. «Do you really have it up to the top?» — The Element of Truth wanted to ask, but, knowing the quarrelsome nature of pegasus, she did not provoke a conflict in order to find out the truth that no one needed. Applejack sometimes had to step over her own dictates of her heart and unrestrained tongue like that, and it upset her. But now is not the time. They're a team. That's what she told Twilight. —Uh... well, Celestia asked me to find the source of the magical distortions... and it seems to me that it was these distortions that brought the steamer here from some harbor. Well, do you remember those storms in Horseshoe Bay? Did the newspapers also say that fishing boats were thrown onto the streets of Baltimare? And the sea cabbage was even hung on the roofs! — We remember, — Apple Jack confirmed. — And now more specifically about this steamer. What scared you? — Sca... What? — You weren't at ease yesterday, and you couldn't even eat,— Pinkie said. — Do you know how long it took me to find at least something like a pastry shop in this Dodge City to bake dry biscuits and spicy grain loaves for the road? And how did we have to negotiate to be allowed in? Do you know how hurt I was when you bit me a couple of times yesterday, and that's it? — I... didn't want to. Apparently, it's because of that magical release, — Twilight looked away. — I'm sorry, please. — And you screamed in your sleep, — Fluttershy added softly. — Did you scream? Ha! It's strange that I didn't hear, — Dash smiled. — Did you have a nightmare? — I don't remember, — Sparkle replied, confused. — What, loud? — Others scream louder during orgasm, — Rarity joked coldly. — You were more like moaning and twitching, — Fluttershy sighed. — I had to lie next to you and cover you with a wing. Moreover, it is very cool here at night. Twilight wanted to thank the yellow pegasus, but Applejack got in again: — And also, sugar, you lied twice. You remember what you dreamed, and the distortion of magic is not to blame for the appearance of this trough here. — I was... dreaming... A rusty monster that eclipses the sun. Crunching and grinding. Rags of rust fall from the blades and short forked wings. The monster crawls through the air, turns sideways. From the bulging glass «eye» in the side of the vessel, a bunch of different-sized tubes of trunks stick out. With the sound of an unoiled gate on the well, this whole Discord hurdy-gurdy turns, and you can see that someone like Twilight Sparkle is sitting inside the «eye», grinning maliciously. — I can't! — The Princess of Friendship shouted. — Princess Celestia told me to find a place where everything happens! And along the way, we may encounter something wrong! And I need to make sure that dangerous things don't get into the wrong hooves! — There's nothing dangerous here anymore, — Rarity said. — A couple of charges for a gun? Well, there's also some kind of crystalline combustible stuff lying on the course. But I think no one will regret the burnt centipede. Except for Flutty, of course. — You don't understand... — Twilight said softly. — Of course we don't understand. You still haven't told us anything, — Applejack jerked her head and whole body as if a tin star with pellets on six beams glued to her chest was in the way, and the Marks under the holster straps itched. By the way, the yellow earth pony had a revolver. Disassembled and hid among the tools that I had to take for possible repair of the cart. And pony really hoped that the weapon would not be useful. And even more, she hoped that the Element of Loyalty would not then pour it into the representatives of the Guard «at the call of her heart» about the illegal possession of a typically legionary thing. The situation was saved by Fluttershy, who just had to find and bury the dangerous thing that Rarity mentioned. — Darling, this thing has been lying here for who knows how many years. Wouldn't she have to lie down for as long as that? — But suddenly some unfortunate animal... — The yellow pegasus tried to use her Special Talent again, but in a mild form. — Please! It was easier to give in. Fluttershy could not adequately perceive reality when animals (like the one that died under the hoof of Applejack?) were in danger. The fact that the «cute creatures» here devour one another, only poison and chitin in different directions, was not taken into account. — How far to go? — Applejack asked. — The two hundred races, no more — The white unicorn took out a round piece of incomprehensible material from somewhere, resembling a cloth soaked in blue and white paint and magically built herself some kind of parody of a conical braided hat, jamming a narrow sector of the fabric circle inside and fusing the paint along the seam. With the ties did not bother, but just stabbed the edge with a horn. Warn the others that they will hum their head, did not think it necessary. Everyone can see for themselves. Yes, she could have pulled off the rest of the ceiling lights in that corridor to make hats, but here generosity was failing. Because of laziness and unwillingness to go somewhere and, moreover, listen to another lecture about the fact that alicorns are not in danger of sunstroke. On the way, Rarity grimaced, conjured something, was mocked by Dash about «such jaws», snapped back that, like, what are you fluttering for, and not walking... The Badlands wasteland was exhausting. And they don't suffer from thirst yet, and they've discovered a strange thing, but come on. And also the result of using magic, which Rarity has not yet announced. — Here, — The fashion designer said (to some pony who called her a seamstress, she somehow put an urn on her head in Ponyville, even paid a symbolic fine), — Five jumps straight and one down. I'm just going to step back a little. — I'm sure there's nothing there, maybe an old kerosene lamp, — Twilight reassured herself. — Oh, oh! My nose itches. And the left hind leg! And the base of the tail! — Pinkie Pie once again sensed trouble. Including assholes and for assholes. — Come back to me, girls, behind the dune, — Rarity said in a mannered tone. — And let her magic put up a shield first. Twilight, pretending that it was only because of a request, conjured a veil from the flame. Alicorn's talent allowed him to cast several spells while retaining the previous ones. — Rar, try to mark this thing somehow, and I'll pull it. — Are you crazy? I'm going to pull it to you now! Tail to horn... — Rarity ran up and picked up another convex shield the size of a large dish, the air in which was mixing and trembling. — Make a faint vortex on the flash, would you be so kind. A magical light sparkled among the sand. — Wait a second, — Twilight made a sand tornado. — By the way, why do you need another shield? Mine is enough... — It's a lens, — Rarity explained with a sigh. — Yeah, now dig in. Still… A little more and stop. Don't grab it, I'll do it myself. Yeah. Do you see the weave? Now just share the power. — Now… And this thing weighs like a safe! — Antimagic alloy, but the thing is not really... Oh, the thread-needles! An object resembling the half of a huge cucumber was swaying in the telekinetic field. Rusty, but with some spots, with dirty earth salt and longitudinally inclined scratches along the thickening in the middle. — What is it? — Twilight completely picked up the thing with magic and turned it in the air. — Twi... honey, — Rarity's voice dropped to a squeak, — How about you gently, gently throw this thing to the Discord Grandmother? Just don't teleport, for the sake of the Sisters! — Please, — Twilight probably should have thought about Fluttershy's feelings and whether this object would hit someone on the pumpkin, setting up a one-time Nightmare Night, but... — Lie down, dear, — Rarity traced the beginning of the trajectory and immodestly pulled the princess down, winking vulgarly, — And open your mouth. Twi opened her mouth to say everything about inappropriate and obscene jokes, but... The measures turned out to be unnecessary. The taut sonic boom weakened from the distance. Almost immediately, something rustled in the air a couple of times. — What was that? — the others jumped up to the horned ones. — A cannon shell, — Rarity explained. — Unexploded. The caliber is small, like a field gun. — How do you know?! — Dash instantly turned fear into suspicion. — Art galleries. Battle paintings, including little-known ones, based on the battles of the Legion. Is that enough? — Rarity rolled her eyes, overdoing it a bit. — I think at least some of the words are familiar to you? — Hey! — «Hey» what? Did I give you a reason to suspect me of something? — Rarity wanted to add about «or do you suspect everyone who is smarter than you?» but stopped. An aristocrat. — So, girls, don't quarrel! — Pinkie came to her senses somewhat, and the «ass indicator» did not show anything. — Let's better decide what to do. — Run back to our wreck, what else? Since our attentive little girl is no longer eager to sew severed legs to herself, — The unicorn, to be honest, barely held on herself. But it wasn't the face to hold, so at least the ties from it were more important. An aristocra-a-a-t... Actually, Rarity ran away from everyone to the side, stopping at the foot of the dune. — Uh-hmm... I didn't want to tell you, — The unicorn magically picked up some strange bone, — But there's a lot of this here. — Wow! Was it a pony? — Dash flew up. — No, — Rarity wanted to say something nasty about the level of teaching anatomy to pegasus, but again she didn't. — It wasn't a pony. The bones didn't look like anything. Flexible as a whalebone, with a hook at the end, and also various elaborately flattened, as if the entire skeleton of the creature consisted of branched ribs and fish spines. About a dozen joints in the limb... There were other grave oddities, from stilt-like split leg structures to several huge skulls with one eye socket. Many of the bones were strangely broken, and among the dozens of bones that had already been opened by Rarity and Twilight, there were torn jagged pieces of metal and some crooked and cracked lead buttons without holes or eyelets. — And what happened here? — Applejack carefully picked up the «button» with a hoof. — Don't drive the gun! And don't overexert your leg! — I'm not... — Tighter! «Don't overexert yourself» doesn't mean «talk like a snot». Imagine that you are raking through a garden with a bunch of strong roots! Just don't expect a jerk, but a blow. — How can I imagine it?! — Just wait for the push. Smoother… Bring the fly to the jar. Smo-o-o-thly. A sharp crash. The jar overturns, but from hitting the very edge. — Jackie, don't pull the lever! Squeeze tightly, but gently, like your coltfriend's dick. — I don't have any coltfriends! — It's obvious. Knock down the next jar, and let's go watch the hits. You have to imagine what an ordinary bullet can do and what it can't do. Twilight has made up her mind. Well, in fact, this yellow earth pony only works as a detective! — Listen and don't try to tell anyone. — Well? — Applejack was uneasy, but she was brave, even though she had a good idea what kind of «buttons» they were. — Shortly before the failure of this stupid experiment in Stalliongrad, something bad happened here. Some kind of pony or zebra... Or someone else... In short, they came here from nowhere in an airship. And then, for some reason, a huge number of unknown creatures were killed. Well, I think so. And then something happened, and... — Like with our cart, — Apple Jack said. — And what does all this secrecy have to do with it? — And if they were ponies?! — I don't think so, — Rarity tossed the bone aside. — The skull is just like arimaspi's, — Pinkie added. — You don't understand, — Twilight sighed. — And if the ponies were on the ship? — They were, — The pink-haired earth pony confirmed. — I found a photocard there. — Anyway, Princess Celestia won't be thrilled if all the ponies find out what kind of villainy happened here. And I have to destroy this ship. Moreover, if someone guesses how it was arranged, and then passes this information on to the same yaks or griffins… — Twi, sugar, — The Apples have a lot of relatives, including the one who pulls the strap in the Legion, — Did you know that the griffins are ahead of us in the weapons business anyway? Maybe it would be better to somehow hide this trough with your magic? Let the princesses sort it out later. — Come on! This is very dangerous knowledge! I have clear instru-tru-tru... The crystal air did not go down his throat. It was crunching and creaking on his teeth. The dazzling grey sun was shining with a dead light, showing patterns on the bones. Rarity screamed. Applejack's insides were freezing. She wanted to say something to the pegasus, but Twilight fell nearby, sparking like a broken wire.

***

— The wire broke in our shed then. Mac, the idiot, was fixing the roof and something went wrong with him — Applejack spent some water to make a hot drink. The fuel was found in the ship's tank. More precisely, it is no longer fuel, but a vile sticky slurry with a faint smell. We managed to build a kind of sand candle out of some pieces of iron, when the sand is soaked in kerosene or something else and set on fire in a suitable pot, which is not a pity. — What are you talking about? — Dash shivered and warmed herself against the mug. — Our princess showed a similar trick. The said princess recently came to her senses, swallowed some kind of medicine given to her by Fluttershy and fell down again, but this time into a normal sleep, albeit not completely healthy. — We're not getting there, — Rarity said. — We have to go back. And more. Just don't say anything. I don't think we understand half of what happened and is happening here. And my gut tells me that Equestria may need such «steamboats». — You're going to talk yourself into it, — Applejack muttered. — If our Twi gets into something... — She's still afraid to let Princess Celestia down, — Pinkie said. — «Dear Princess Celestia, Today I learned that the idle interest of a crowned person is not more expensive than the lives of her friends». Or whatever she is... — Are you reading other people's letters? — Applejack thought that the desert, after all, has a bad effect on them. — First of all, Twilight is not a stranger to me, — Pinkie was unyielding. — Secondly, there is nothing to scatter drafts anywhere. — And thirdly, our Pinkie is one of those people about whom it is said «she's at the door, she's at the window», — Rainbow added. Dash herself was scared by these natural hiccups, which made her lose her ability to fly. She was descending like a shot bird, not with Fluttershy, to be sure. But you have to show that she's not afraid! — Well, about the window frame... — Pinky poked. — I'll try to persuade you, — Said the yellow pegasus. — I feel bad here too.