>By the time the sun's rays began shining over the horizon, you and mom were already done packing.
>She said only bring the essentials, you didn't own much anyways.
>An old, reliable compass with a built in altimeter,
>A tiny gemstone she brought back from somewhere when you were a foal,
>That's about it.
>You were now in town, it was more or less abandoned at this hour.
>Mom has barely said a word since you left your home.
>just standing in the town center felt awkward, but you know she knows what she's doing.
Hey, mom...
>she turns her head towards you in acknowledgement.
what exactly are we going after?
>she sighs and smiles at you,
>''I'll explain once we're airborne.''
>Airborne?
>come to think of it, you've never seen your mother off past the front door.
>Before long, a red pegasus showed up.
>Your mom and him shared a few words in silence, then he led her away,
>She motioned to follow.
>Before long you all enter the thick forest on the edge of town,
>No words were spoken, you just walked.
>Compared to our mother, you felt like a drunken diamond dog
>Every movement of hers was precise and calculated,
>So graceful...
>Every step you took seemed to resound throughout the forest.
>You eventually found your way to a massive clearing,
>''Here it is!''
>That red pegasus blurted out before you could eve see what he was talking about,
>Some kind of modified Hot air baloon sitting in the clearing...
>It was alot bigger than it looked.
>''Fortune's Chariot Mark.... mark...''
>He stumbled over the last word, turning to your mom with an inquisitive face.
>''Which one are we at?'' He asks with a raised eyebrow,
>''I think the last one was the Mark 7.'' She responded blankly
>He gave her a worried look, then spoke one last time,
>''Well, you know the drill. Don't kill anyone, and when you crash it, write down the coordinates or something.''
>Then it was just you and your mom again.
>As the two of you flew onto the deck of the air baloon-thing, you couldn't help but ask;
Mom, are you alright to fly this thing?
>She turned and eyed you with glazed over eyes and a smile,
>''Don't worry about me. I'll get this tub in the air and then I'll get some sleep.''
Alright, you know best...
Don't forget you have me now.
 
--------------------------------------
 
>You sat off to the side as mom flew the ship higher,
>The sun was hovering well above the horizon now, sending brilliant golden rays over the whole deck, dousing you both.
>She told you to go belowdeck and sleep, but no way you were leaving her alone in her sleep deprived state.
>The wind up here was sporatic, amplified now by the fact that you weren't flying.
>Your mother looks beautiful in this light, bathed in the morning rays, her mane and tail whipping back and forth in the wind.
>You have to look away, or you're going to start spacing out.
>Might as well turn to look at the horizon,
>You've never been this far away from home before,
>This is all so new.
>So amazing.
>You're ready to be just like Daring Do,
>Just like your mom.
>A little bit of bile wells up in your throat,
>First you're going to have to deal with airship-sickness...
>Never really noticed before, but being in the air but not actually flying makes you a bit queasy.
>The world has started to spin a bit...
Wait a minute, my head feels fine!
>Your head whips around to see mom, passed out at the helm.
>Her head is leaning against the avionics dash, and some brown crank was spinning frantically next to her.
>Oh, and the ship was tilting upwards faster than pony-titanic.
>With a squeak of saliva, her face slides off the dash and her limp body plunges towards the back of the ship
>You lunge for her, flying more than running,
>your bodies slam together and tumble into the border at the aft end of the helm deck, pushing the breath out of your lungs.
MOM!
>you yell at her, but you're already at the helm trying to figure out what to do,
>The ship is now at more than 45° pitch, and you're forced to fly to stay at the helm
>You can hear cargo clank around belowdeck, and the whole ship groans under the stress
>''Turn the brown crank anti-clockwise!''
>You do just that, but you feel no immediate change.
>''Keep at it!''
>She's now flying next to you, rummaging through some overhead cabinet
The crank wont go any further!
>''Engage the red cam!''
>Your hooves are shaky as hell, but somehow you manage to engage the locking mechanism.
>eventually she finds some kind of pull chord, which she promptly yanks, to no avail.
>One last try, this time she folds her wings and lets gravity do the work.
>some inner mechanism clanks, and you hear some fabric tearing.
>The ship stops tilting upwards, and you relax a bit.
>You flash a smile at your mother,
>She looks... terrified?
What's th-
>A chord audibly snaps somewhere, and before you had time to wonder what it was, the whole ship flung itself horizontally,
>Both you and mom were thrown like ragdolls to the ceiling,
>Honestly, it felt more like the ceiling came down to meet you.
>Once the ship righted itself, everything was calm.
>You were both in a pile on the floor,
>You gripped the back of your head, and stars were swirling in your immediate vision.
>As the stars cleared, you realized you were lying on your back,
>mom was laying across your belly,
>She was rubbing her flank tenderly with a hoof, the other one was trying to lift her up.
>The whispering of the wind was calm, and neither of you wanted to break the silence,
>eventually you spoke up,
That was cool,
>One eye still closed in pain, she smiles and turns to look at you
>You're half smiling, half wincing in pain,
>''That's definitely my son.''