FSE

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To their amazement, Sour-Bee's airship, though not as fast as a pegasus, could fly at a sustained speed that would exhaust most ponies. Even Rainbow Dash was impressed. Within seven hours they were crossing the Equestrian coast. Mare Island was a little more than two hours ahead. Every pony seemed to be enjoying the voyage, except for Fluttershy who diligently avoided looking over the side of the gondola.

From time to time Sour-Bee would lock the wheel and make adjustments to the dirigible's angle into the wind, steam flow or weight and balance. Twilight, Cassia, Rainbow and Cyanide watched and listened to his brief explanations for each adjustment. For an Earth pony, he was incredibly well versed on how to aviate and navigate his airship.

"I still don't understand how you can run a steam engine without a boiler," Cyanide said as the earth pony adjusted the pitch on the two large propellers.

Sour-Bee smiled. "I don't need one," he explained. "A unicorn friend of mine came up with a technique to magically compress several days' worth of steam into a canister no larger than your average suitcase. By using his design I avoid the extra weight of boilers, water tanks and coal. Lighter is always better when it comes to airships."

Twilight looked closely at one of a dozen canisters that lined the inside of the gondola. "I'm surprised they don't use that technique to run trains or steam-ships."

"It's not practical for them, missy. You still have to generate the steam before compressing it. Trains and boats are big so they can afford the extra weight. Why bother with the additional step of compressing it when you don't need to?"

"So these canisters are magical?" asked Twilight.

"Yes, ma'am. As are my helium storage tanks," Sour-Bee said pointing to a pair of tanks suspended in the rigging below the large gasbag. "I use them to help trim the ship and keep her buoyancy neutral so the propellers do all the work."

"It looks like you've nicely worked out all the variables of flight," Rainbow commented. "Not bad for a ground pounder."

The stallion chuckled. "Well, seeing as I don't have wings and can't do what you do by instinct, it pays to study and plan things out ahead of time. It's what some might call 'egg-head' stuff."

Twilight couldn't help but grin at Rainbow before turning back to Sour-Bee. "How do you deal with weather?"

"The ARROWKNOT can handle the small stuff well enough, but if I see a big blow ahead I usually set down, deflate the rig and button everything up until it's over."

"Sensible," said Cassia. "I'm guessing you then use those helium tanks to refill the balloon?"

"Yep. Each tank has enough compressed gas to completely refill it three times. Again, courtesy of my unicorn friend. Between his magic and my crazy ideas we're hoping to get ponies to see the advantages of flying over normal transportation. As a matter of fact we designed and built this airship as a way of demonstrating the concept."

"Well, I don't see it replacing pegasi anytime soon," observed Rainbow Dash.

Sour-bee grinned. "I'll agree with you missy just as soon as you can find me a single pegasi who can transport fifty tons of passengers and cargo in one flight."

They continued their flight silently through the night skies. At one point, the stallion throttled back, then extended a pair of mirrors from each side of the gondola. He focused each on one of several bright stars above them. He checked a set on symbols etched into the telescoping poles each reflector was mounted on. These he recorded in a small book before consulting his chart. After a few minutes of silent calculation he nodded in satisfaction and retracted the mirrors.

"Alright every pony," Sour-Bee said, "we're getting close. Time to darken ship and become as silent as a hawk." With that he proceeded to move around the gondola and extinguish any visible light source, including the running lights. The last thing he secured was the steam engine.

"How are we going to make it to the island without an engine?" asked Cyanide.

"Who's the strongest three among you?" Sour-Bee asked.

Twilight looked around. "Well, I guess that would be Applejack, Pinky Pie and any one of the Power Puff Ponies."

Sour-Bee pointed a hoof at Cinnamon. "You look like a reasonable strong pony." She grinned in response.

"You don't know the half of it."

"Good. Then let's get to it." He pulled a lever, causing a wooden framed gadget to unfold from the deck just in front of the ship's wheel. "Put your forehooves on that bar in front of you and use your back hooves to paddle."

"Hey... I've seen these before. The Professor has one at home. It's called an elliptical and he uses it to exercise with."

"Well then missy, you know what to do," grinned Sour-Bee. "Start paddling."

Cinnamon did as instructed, and within moments the propellers were turning and the airship was moving silently through the night sky. The only sound that could be heard was a soft creaking of wood.

"How long will it take us to get there at this speed?" asked Twilight.

"SHHH! No talking except in whispers," the pilot admonished her.

"Sorry," she replied quietly.

"To answer your question... it will take about three to five more hours, depending on the winds," Sour-Bee explained, his voice low and melodious.

"I could paddle faster," Cinnamon offered.

"You could, but then we'd make more noise than the steam engine. No... slow and quiet is what we need now," he whispered.

Standing in the stern of the gondola, Tic-Tock gazed across the gently rolling seas far below them. The Professor joined him. "So... how much time travel have you done?"

"It's not just time... it's trans-diporal."

"Trans-diporal? Never heard that word before."

"That's because I just made it up. Basically, it's a combination of temporal and dimensional travel. With my TARDIS I can travel along multiple time-lines selecting which world and which era I want."

The professor whistled. "The math necessary to pull that off must be incredible."

"Oh, not really. Not when you consider that time isn't truly liner. It's more like cotton candy. Like a big ball of timey-whimy string theory."

"That sounds familiar," said Cyanide as he joined the other two ponies. "How much of your life and adventures did you tell those guys at the BBC?"

"Oh, maybe about .005 percent. I only gave them a few personal stories and some background detail. The rest they kind of made up on their own."

"Well, they've got a pretty good imagination. They're on the verge of celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the series."

"Only sixty years... I wouldn't call that imaginative," Tic-Tock scoffed. "Tell me, did they ever get around to showing the alien forms I took on?"

"Alien? You mean as in extra-terrestrial?"

"Don't tell me they stuck to the traditional human form for my regenerations."

"They did," Cyanide reported. "I think it was because of budget constraints. It wasn't until recently that they took a chance and had you regenerate as a woman."

"A Female?" Tic-Toc whispered forcefully. "How... What would have ever possessed them to think I was, or would ever become, female?"

"Pop culture and political correctness. Though as it turned out a lot of fans were disappointed with that particular iteration."

The pony just shook his head. "I don't know how it is with others, but I've always kind of been hardwired to be male. Predisposition is a major influencer when it comes to regeneration... Even when I was in an alien form." He looked down at his current body. "Like this," he said, waving a hoof in front of Cyanide.

"If you all want to carry on a conversation, you might want to do it a bit more quietly. Otherwise, I'll be obliged to invite you to leave, the hard way," Sour-Bee softly warned the two ponies.

"Sorry," they both whispered.

The airship continued silently through the night sky, paddling softly through a thin vail of clouds.

Sour-Bee went over to Cinnamon. "How're you holding up missy?" he asked softly.

"Haven't even broken a sweat," replied the green-furred unicorn.

The aeronaut smiled. "Just be sure you let me know if you need a break," he replied walking toward the bow of his airship. Pulling out a small telescope he scanned the water ahead and below them. He was approached by Twilight. He looked over at her. "Evening princess. Enjoying the flight?

"So far," she replied. "As Rainbow Dash would say, nice night for skylarking. Oh, and by the way, it's Twilight, not princess."

"Noted."

"So, how often have you made this trip?"

"Well, to be honest, this is my first time out this way. The only chart I have is close to fifty years old, so I'm sort of navigating on a little luck and some serious guesstimation."

"Well, this high up, at least you don't have to worry about any reefs of shoals."

Sour-Bee chuckled. "Maybe not, but the chart only gives me a rough idea of what the wind and air currents are like near the surface of the water. Not so useful at altitude." He looked over at the unicorn. "It might be a good idea if you and your friends got in a short nap. No telling what we'll be up against when we get to the island."

Twilight smiled back at him. "Noted." She got the others together and soon every pony was asleep. Cymbalaria, being cybernetic and not in need of sleep, took over for Cinnamon while both Sour-Bee and Tic-Tock, who also insisted that he didn't need any sleep, remained on watch.

The Arrowknot continued skimming gracefully through the clouds. The moon shown brightly, bathing everything in a silvery light. Tic-Tock pulled a small watch from his pocket. "Any minute now."

"Any minute for what, exactly?" asked the pilot. Even as he spoke the moon abruptly slipped across the sky and disappeared beyond the horizon. Tic-Tock snapped his watch closed.

"Twilight asked Luna to set the moon a little early tonight. It should help us when we get to the island."

"Would've been nice to know that ahead of time." Sour-Bee grumbled softly. "One less thing for me to worry about."

Tic-Tock looked over at his compatriot. "Don't tell me you were worried about our mission. I mean, after all, we have the Mane Six onboard. That all but guarantees success."

The pilot took off his Stetson, waving it slightly in the wind to dry out the sweat band. "Maybe," he chuckled. "But the stories I heard had them winning more often through luck than anything else."

"One should never underestimate luck, Mister Sour-Bee," Cymbalaria quietly whirred. "I've seen it enough times with my own family; though frequently it's more a logical process, disguised as recognizing opportunity and taking advantage of it."

The blue-furred pony looked at Tic-Tock. "What did she just say?"

"I believe she said we make our own luck," the watchmaker replied

"Now that, I can understand."

The dirigible continued on for another hour as the cloud cover slowly became thicker. Sour-Bee brewed a small pot of coffee, pouring a mug for himself and the Doctor. He then turned the helm over to Tic-Tock and made several rounds of the gondola, ensuring all his lines were secure as well as checking various levers, gages and instruments to verify wind direction, air speed, heading, drift and the like. At one point he approached Cymbalaria. "How are you holding up, missy?"

She turned to look at him without missing a beat on the elliptical. "All my applicable operating systems are functioning at a nominal level." Sour-Bee scratched the back of his head, an unsure look upon his face. Noting this, the cybernetic pony changed her answer. "I am fine," she replied, giving the earth pony a bemused smile.

"That's what I thought you'd said," he grinned. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Well, I would appreciate a cup of that coffee you made," she said.

"Coffee? I thought you were a machine?"

"I can process both food and liquids as I have several proto-organic elements within my system that respond well to caffeine."

"Uh... Well... alright. How do you take it?"

"Black, with three sugars."

Sour-Bee shrugged and returned a few moments later with a mug. He handed it to her carefully. "Watch it, it's hot!"

Cymbalaria accepted the beverage and downed it in only a few gulps, much to the aeronaut's amazed bemusement. "Thank-you," she replied handing the mug back to him. "That was quite good."

He took the empty cup and smiled. "Let me know if you need anything else, missy."

"Nothing I particularly need, however, you might be interested that my scanners can just make out the shoreline of a large island, no more than ten kilometers ahead of us, at about 11 o'clock low."

Sour-Bee trotted to the bow of the gondola and snapped out his spy glass. Sure enough, there was Mare Island just coming into sight through a large break in the cloud cover. He turned toward Cymbalaria. "Ahead, half-speed." She immediately dropped the number of reps she was pumping. The airship slowed gradually.

The aeronaut trotted back to the helm station and told Tic-Tock to go below and quietly wake up the others. He turned the wheel and steered them into a thicker part of a nearby cloud. Even as the dirigible maneuvered Cymbalaria was softly calling out to him.

"My scanners have picked up what look like three small objects, circling about four kilometers ahead and three thousand meters below our current course. They appear to be climbing."

"Can you all tell what they are?"

"Based upon current data on your world I have acquired, they appear to be what you call pegasi... with horns."

"That doesn't sound good, missy."