Ink Rose

I stirred awake as a beam of sunlight touched my face. It was a gentle wake up call and I slowly propped up trying not to wake my cat, Simba. I had brought him along for company in our space voyage and he was sleeping at the foot of my bed all comfy and warm. I could see the sun crest over the mountain in the distance as I went to my chair to write. I was greeted by a brisk breeze of rose scented air as it wafted from my open window. I took my pencil in my mouth and started to weave my stories about our ventures in the stars. From my window I could see everything in town. The others were still asleep and I just looked out at the beautiful interstellar sunrise. It's hard to think that this sun was not the very sun that our Princess Celestia rose during the dawn and set in the dusk. I could sense adventure and excitement in the air as this new day begins. It was really something to be a part of this wonderful journey! Simba woke up and jumped on top of my desk. He lay beside me and pawed at the air, which was his way of asking me to pet him. I felt his soft fur as I ran my hoof through it and he started to mew cutely. Everyday I would record a summary of events so far. I've been so inspired by all my friends going out and sharing their stories with me that I've been so busy trying to write and draw everything on paper and type it on my computer. Speaking of stories, I have my own to share on how I got here, among the stars...

A few years ago I was drafted into the Equestrian Air Force when my number was pulled. I had just finished university with a major in creative writing and a minor in visual arts. Because I was a pegasus they wanted me to fly, either with planes or on my own wing power. I was a strong flier, no doubt, but I was reluctant to fight in a war I never wanted to be a part of. I passed my exams and I was to become a pilot, which didn't really mean that I was going to fly a plane, I just flew on my own power with a battle saddle strapped on my back. This was where I met my flight instructor: Sky Buster. At first I thought he'd be as rough as the drill instructors in basic training, but in a classroom environment he was a patient and understanding teacher who never abandoned any of his students. He was also a writer and at the time he was the boyfriend of my idol: Rainbow Dash, the best flier in all of Equestria. I've heard about her amazing Sonic Rainboom and her neat acrobatic tricks during the last war before the Vulcan Sol Conflict. I wanted to be like her and she reminded me about my best qualities. I was competitive and always pushed myself to do better. Sky Buster and I became fast friends, and I do mean literally fast friends as I beat him in a short sprint race through Ghastly Gorge. He was really impressed with my flying style. He told me about how fast I could accelerate to my top speed, how my wings were extremely powerful for their normal size, and how I like to sweep my wings back and forth for low and high speed performance. Sky personally requested that I be put in the same unit as Kim and Antony. It was a really good decision, Kim and I became the best of friends during the Vulcan Conflict. When I retired from the military after the war I went on to write my first book and bestseller: Shapeless Sun. It was based on the hypothetical event where Queen Chrysalis and the Changeling Invasion succeeded. It became popular as a reminder of what could have happened had our enemies won the war. Then came the Floran Incident, that was some thing I never want to remember. As a bestselling writer and with an Air Force background I was chosen again by Sky Buster to come with the exploration team. I jumped on the chance and now I'm here amongst the stars beyond. However, I'm still a little disappointed that I haven't gone on an adventure yet. And it just so happened that adventure came knocking on my door.

“Good morning Ink Rose!” it was Sky Buster, “How are you today?”

“Fine thank you. I just finished up writing a record of yesterdays events,” I smiled to the guard dressed in iron armor.

“Say, would you like to come with us on a little adventure? The humans told us a planet where we can get some decent guns for the upcoming fight.”

Wait-there was gonna be an upcoming fight?! Oh no...

“Are the Florans planning to invade our town?” I shrieked.

“Rose, calm down. We need a spare space ship engine so we can start steel production. The only way we can do that is to lure down a pirate ship that shoots us first with a distress beacon,” he explained. I was skeptical.

“Isn't that sort of an underhoofed tactic? We're not just gonna kill innocents are we?” I frowned at the idea. Even though I've been through war, I still felt killing was wrong and isn't easily justified.

“Oh no! If they try and help we'll offer them a reward. But from what I've heard there is a good bounty for pirate hunting. Remember what Vulcan Sol did? These guys are the same,” he still hasn't sold me on the idea, “Okay, I know this is a lot to take in, but we need the steel to show for our progress out here. And we had strict orders not to dismantle our craft for any reason. Twilight's orders.”

“Okay. I still don't feel comfortable about this,” a spoke with a soft concern.

“Don't worry, we'll only fire upon them if they shoot first. It's standard rules of engagement remember that I taught you?” he returned with an assuring smile.

“Yes sir,” I gave him a respectful salute, “How are we going to fly to another planet though?”

“Thank Pinkie and Puzzle for the rock farming. They managed to mine out a ton of coal for our steam powered warp drives. The humans are also chipping in some plutonium for the trip back. We'll take my ship and sell all these inferior guns we have. I'm still rather surprised they were left over from the Vulcan Conflict. Seriously, I was thinking we'd get new XM16E1s on our trip. But no, Kar98s and leftover weapons from the 1940s Vulcan Conflict. I need to have a talk with Flash Sentry and his total mishap with our weapons selection that bastard.”

“Huh uh,” I dismissed his rather vulgar choice of vocabulary. I put on a smile and it hit me; I was finally gonna get to go out with the exploration team for a change! Discomfort turned into excitement as I got hyped up for our mission. I was looking forward to going out. I started to pack what I needed; some snacks, my notebook, pens, and pencils. Two of the humans were also tagging along for the ride. They already had a base of operations on this planet and often traded with the merchants there.

A few minutes later we boarded Sky Buster's ship. All of our security team cam along for the ride and our human friends offered to guard the town while we were away. I sat next to my friend Kim and looked outside to see us lift off into the sky. Troy sat in the copilot's seat but his head was touching the ceiling. Humans were awfully tall creatures.

“Okay, so what coordinates do I need to put in?” Sky asked his copilot.

“We're going to Alpha WAZ 10 IV. It's a threat level one arid planet, Coordinates: X: 34095546 Y: -95159178”

I wrote that down for later as Sky Buster punched in the coordinates into his navigation computer. Our ascent into space was marked by a darkening of the blue sky into a deep black with brilliant swirls of cosmic radiation and twinkling stars. As we broke free from orbit our craft started to accelerate faster and faster at a rapid pace. The twinkling stars outside our window began to streak across our sight as beams of white, yellow, and red as we broke past the light barrier. I stared in amazement before Kim poked my shoulder.

“Poke!” she smiled, “So, you excited Ink?”

“Oh very! It's just that I have to question Sky Buster's plan in this. Do we really have to salvage a spare spaceship engine?”

“Well yeah, there's no other way we can really make whatever he needed to make steel since we're completely cut off from Equestria. Normally we'd use magic, but he's not a unicorn,” she paused, “And come to think of it none of our unicorns now any temperature spells. I dunno, I'm just here to guard things. Oh and one more thing, can I ask that you remove the part where I almost died from a banana?”

“Sure thing, I'll just change it to a strange alien fruit,” I opened my laptop and rewrote her entry.

“No no no, it's too obvious. Just remove it all, nopony's gonna buy it. Seriously, that's the last thing I wanna get killed by or remembered for. It's just awkward,” her face scrunched up, “Meh. What's taking so long? It's in the same sector isn't it?”

“Yeah, we're here though,” Sky turned to Kim, “Next stop planet Wazzup ten-five!”

“Are we seriously gonna call this planet Wazzup?” I rolled my eyes.

“WAZZUP!” Sky Buster derped and stuck his tongue out.

“WAAZZZUUP!” Troy did the same.

“WAAAZZZUUUPP!” Kim too.

“Well, let's not dilly dally then. This has all been well and fun but we have a planet to explore. Onwards to the surface everypony. I mean-everybody,” Antony grabbed his transponder, “Sir, you first.”

“Roger Tony Pony,” Sky took his device and pressed the teleport button with one of his feathers. He turned into a vivid blue swirl of energy that beamed upward and came back down arcing past my window. A few seconds later he radioed in, “Looks clear! But you might wanna wipe off your hooves before getting back in the ship. There's tar all over the place.”

“Well you heard him,” Antony activated his teleporter, “Away!”

“Last one down is a rotten-” Kim began but I was quick to the trigger, teleporting down before she had a chance to finish. She followed after me, “Dammit Ink Rose.”

I couldn't help but giggle, “You snooze you lose!”

I felt something stick to my feet. It was the thick and gooey tar that Sky had warned us about. I shuddered as I saw bones of animals starved to death by this icky mess.

“Ewww! How'd we end up here?”

“Um... A little help please?” Antony was stuck face first into the sticky slime. Kim flew over him and grabbed his back hooves, pulling hard. She dislodged Antony and flew upwards, “Ugh, thanks.”

“No problem honey,” she smiled as she hovered over the tar, “Hey Sky! Can you toss me that rag?”

Sky Buster, with his impeccable aim, threw a cleaning rag at Kim's face. It plopped on her face and I was amused.

“Hehehe,” Sky snickered, “Good thing that's clean. I suggest everypony flies.”

I beat my wings hard and I felt myself lift upwards dragging a sticky strand of goo from my hooves. It felt oily and gross. Rainbow came over to me and wiped my hooves off.

“I gotcha,” she patted my shoulder, “Hey! You two okay down there?”

“Fine thank you!” Troy shouted up to us, “We're not stuck! We got our nonstick boots.”

“Say what?” Rainbow cocked her head to the side as we flew in next to them.

“I'm guessing ponies don't wear shoes too often huh?” Troy lifted his foot and the tar slid right off his boot.

“Well that's not true. They have horse... Or is it ponyshoes?” May, Troy's girlfriend, corrected him.

“Oddly enough they're still called horseshoes back from where we're from. Damn it's hot out here,” Sky Buster hovered next to them.

I noticed it now. The slight comfortable chill of the spacecraft was now replaced by a hot and dry badland air that left us in a sweltering heat. I started to sweat.

“Hey Troy, what are these?” Sky Buster noticed some strange plants growing in the tar.

“Those are called Boneboo. We might need some of these for later,” Troy picked the strange ripe and red colored fruit. It looked very strange, like a bulbous berry made out of meat. The stalk of the plant was made of segments that looked like femurs and the berry drooped down at the end, “We were actually looking for these. They taste amazing when you make soup broth out of it. Plus: it's the only plant that tastes like meat! I'm sure you ponies might want some.”

“Hold on, I gotta try this!” Sky Buster picked one of the berries and scanned it for poison. He bit into it and the fruit squelched, “NOW THAT! Is awesome! That does taste like meat! And the insides, they taste like bone marrow! Holy shit! I could make a mean fuckin stew out of this! Aww yeah! You guys are in for a treat!”

If what he said was true, this might be a new popular food crop for Equestria! I had no problem eating meat from a young age. I always enjoyed hamburgers because they were so yummy and juicy. He tossed the fruit over to me and I ate the fleshy bit of it. It was juicy and tasted like ground beef, albeit a little rare. Oh my goodness it was delicious.

“Everypony pick some up for later. We can have AJ farm these things!” Sky ate the rest of his Boneboo, “Ohhh... Soo good!”

The heat was finally getting to us. We flew higher as the humans parted ways with us.

“Air's cooler up high. Everypony stay up and make sure to identify heat stroke,” Sky advised.

“Phew! Much better! We can barely see those humans from up here though,” Rainbow flew in formation next to her husband, “Where is this gunshop anyway?”

“West of our locale. Everypony reference their maps for the location.”

“Wait, why does it look like a boat?” Kim looked at her wrist mounted computer.

“It's an airship. Like the ones in Canterlot. We should see it past these clouds.”

As we crested over the puffy white clouds we saw what appeared to be a large pirate ship held aloft by helicopter like rotors. They hadn't shot at us and I could see many anti-aircraft guns mounted on the deck and on their broadsides. Sky Buster swooped in and was the first to land.

“Hello there! We're here to trade in peace,” he smiled confidently.

The crew of the ship struck me as both odd and comfortingly familiar. They were human like birds that stood on two feet. They reminded me of the griffins, but their wings were flightless arms. If one were to simply imagine a bird in the shape of a human, these creatures would be it. They stood in place, looking at us in awe.

“Hello there flying travelers,” the captain of the ship greeted us with a smile. His voice was kind and comforting with soft tone of voice, his feathers dark grey with full set of pirate attire. At first I thought that these pirates would murder us on sight but my first judgment was thrown out the window with the kind words of their captain, “My name is Captain Cloud Cuckoo of the Avian Traders Guild. I welcome you to my ship and please, feel free to browse our wares.”

“Thank you captain,” Sky saluted with the rest of our soldiers saluting as well, “I am Colonel Sky Buster of Equestria. We are from a far off country on a distant planet as the first colonizers of our race. This is my second in command and wife, Colonel Rainbow Dash.”

“Sir!” she stepped forward and continued to salute.

“At ease Rainbow,” Sky continued, “These two are my squadmates, Major Kim Possible and Major Caius Antonius Percival Degroot Canon The Third. But we just call him Antony C.”

“Pleasure to meet you!” Kim came forward.

“Likewise,” the captain shook Kim's hoof.

“Good day sir!”

“Thank you, thank you,” he shook Antony's as well.

“And this is our scribe, Ink Rose,” Sky introduced me next. The Avian had a smile outlined in his beak.

“Hello there. Your wings are magnificent, all of you.”

“Thank you, I do love my wings. I don't suppose you can fly can you?” I asked politely.

“Sadly not. We sit among the grounded as we were stripped of our gift for coming into mortal realms, so says the lore of our race and the god of Kluex. I for one think that our ancestors just evolved past their need for flight. I still have much envy and wonder to fly under my own power. Tell me, what is it like to fly the blue and open skies?”

I closed my eyes and meditated, “The feeling of flight is unlike any other. Imagine yourself with the wind weaving into your feathers, flowing through your hair, and the defiance of gravity taking hold of you. You are free; flying past all fear, doubts, worries, and malice. As you fly free your only thoughts are of the clouds and the bright blue sky. You fear no evil, for you are thirty thousand feet and climbing...”

I heard a wide applause from the crew. They were all so moved by my poetic explanation.

“Bravo! Bravo! I am truly touched by such powerful words from a masterful poet,” Cloud bowed before us, “It is an honor to welcome you to my ship.”

“Thank you Captain. We will need weapons for our settlement's defense,” Sky Buster went straight to the point.

“Speak with my quartermaster, Silver Quill. He will provide you with our stock of armaments. I will send word to give you a half priced discount.”

Sky's eyes widened and a smile shot across his face as we saluted, “Thank you Captain!”

Then he turned to me.

“And thank you Ink Rose!”

“You're welcome,” I smiled at him and followed the group.

We were directed to bow of the ship and the walls were lined with weapons of all sorts. Rifles, pistols, snipers, shotguns, and SMGs all mounted perfectly in display for sale. There was a white headed eagle Avian at the counter welcoming us to his store.

“Welcome to Silver Quill's Weapon Emporium! How may I help you today?” this Avian sounded confident and optimistic. His voice was equally as soothing as Cloud's, but had more volume.

“So! Ponies my friends, I cannot express my delight!” Sky broke out into song, “For somewhere in here are some guns that will suit us just right!”

“Respectfully sir, I don't think we need another impromptu musical number,” Antony gently stuffed his hoof on Sky's mouth, “As much of a gun nut that you are, let's stay focused.”

“Right! Buut they're all soo cool!” Sky started to paw at all of the guns, “I want that one! And that one! And that one! And that one!”

“I don't suppose you want a brief explanation of what they do?” Silver Quill got Sky's attention.

“Yeeeeees! PLEASE?” I've never seen Sky melt like this, “What's this?”

“That is a BKB-26. It's a police rifle commonly available on Earth before it was destroyed. Fires a unique 9x39mm round, normally armor piercing but all we have is standard ball ammunition.”

“Huh. So if I scan this ammo in my 3D printer I'll be all set right?”

“Oh yes, don't forget to do that if you have one.”

“Good, I'll take a few of those!” Sky bought a crate of them and strapped it to his back, “What else you got?”

“We've got MSS-22 shotguns, MBS-32 and HBM-9 pistols, and a whole bunch of WDM 5mm assault rifles,” Silver Quill and Sky Buster continued to talk for a good hour or so as the rest of the team browsed the shop. Kim found herself a neat little machine pistol while Antony grabbed one of the sniper rifles for later. Sky Buster went back to the ship to sell some of our own inferior weapons for the upgraded guns that the Avians sold to us. We had even bought two anti-aircraft guns for good measure and we were set for our ambush.

The trip was fun and I was surprised to find myself as much of an asset as the rest of the group. Now we just had to find those humans. We found their base to the East. It was hidden in a cave and we could see May as she set off a flare pistol as we flew into view. We touched down on the sand, Kim and I greeted May.

“Hey, what's goin' on?” Kim asked.

“We're offloading all of our supplies and making Alpha Velocia our home planet now. With what you guys and gals did for us, we'll be great allies,” she turned to the cave and yelled, “You done in there?”

“Done! I've got the crates and everything,” he was using a matter manipulator to lift the heavy crates filled with supplies, “Help me load these into the ship please.”

Kim and I stood guard with May and Rainbow as the gentlecolts of our group helped to load the ship up with the human supplies. We spent a few hours talking amongst ourselves as the boys worked. Finally we were ready to head back home.

“Done and done!” Sky gave a high five to Troy, “Home sweet home here we come!”

“Uh oh...”

“What?” Sky turned to Troy.

“The coordinates didn't save!”

“Are you shittin' me bro?!” Sky facehoofed, “Did anypony write down the coordinates of Alpha Velocia?”

“I did sir!” I got up and saluted. I gave Sky my notebook and he sighed in relief.

“One again, Ink Rose to the rescue. Good job! FTL drives spooled up! Hang tight!” the stars warped and streaked across our view as the ship jumped past light speed. This time I was uninterrupted as I gazed outside at the beautiful light show of the cosmic bodies rushing past our ship. Everyone was tired and some of us fell asleep. I couldn't take my eyes off space as it swirled past me at light speed. I joined the rest in slumber and rested my head on Kim's back, dreaming of our next adventure in the stars.