Twilight

“No Twilight, I’m the reason he left. I’m the reason he moved to Canterlot.”

“Because Spike came back to Ponyville for a vacation from heavy lifting and work. I would be taking away the time he has to himself if I should do that.”

“Twilight, you must believe me, if I had known he would leave for four long years, I…”

Those sentences and more continued on in her head, while she sat on the floor of one of the changing rooms aboard the Sea Princess. In her hooves she held the jacket that the Vice-Captain, Tabatha, had prepared for her, but she had been locked in place over those repeated words for a few minutes now.

It kept going over in her head, how differently Rarity had acted since Spike returned; how she treated him and the sincere look in her eyes when she had wished to say yes to the dragon if it would have meant he would have stayed for those four years. It left her wondering why the elegant mare had agreed to go with Spike on this quest seem superfluous…and it made her feel even more ridiculous for having not thought of the reason earlier.

“Does she…does she have feelings for Spike after all?” she questioned the jacket. There was no response, of course, but voicing questions aloud had always been a better way for her to understand things than contemplating them in silence ever was.

“Who are you talking to?”

“Gah! Pinkie, don’t do that!” she shouted in surprise at the pink mare, who was suddenly sitting before her on her right side. After another pause, the lavender alicorn sighed. “You are still…going to do that, aren’t you?”

Ever the curious and hyper-active pony that Twilight knew, possibly a little too well at this point, Pinkie did what she thought would happen and completely disregarded her question in order to say, “Well you were just sitting there in silence and looking at that jacket while we were talking and trying ours on for when it gets super chilly later, and I was super curious even though I was talking to Fluttershy about how cozy these are, and fuzzy too, and…wait…where was I going with this?” She tapped a hoof to her puffed out chin for a moment. “Hm. Oh well. Why are you talking to a jacket, Twilight?”

Another exasperated sigh escaped the pony’s lips, before she lifted the purple garment in her aura and settled it down over her seated self. “I wasn’t talking to the jacket. I was asking myself something.” She stood and turned her head to see that the others were viewing their conversation mutely, though still being curious as to what her reason could be, no doubt. “Speaking aloud helps me to think difficult things through better, okay? And this has been a doozy for a while.”

Directly across from the lavender alicorn on the opposite side of the room, Rainbow merely scoffed from behind the wool collar of her red jacket, fitted with holes in the cloth for her wings to fit through. “Yeah, whatever, egg head. Here we are about to go head long to an island full of deadly dragons…and Twilight here is stuck on some math question or something.”

“Rainbow!” Applejack admonished from the speedster’s left. She wore her jacket as well, a burgundy shade of sorts, though it was made differently than the rest. It had sleeves that her fore legs fit through, and held the front of the coat tight around her to retain warmth.

Probably because Princess Celestia told them to make earth pony wear more able to handle cold situations, given that they don’t have magic, Twilight pondered quickly, At least pegasi are built more for high altitudes…and I can use my magic to keep me warm. Her speculation ceased and she turned to answer the speedster. “I wasn’t stuck on some math question. I was wondering why Rarity agreed to go with Spike; why she acted so differently since the day he returned.”

The room stood in silence for a brief time, nopony saying anything, before the cerulean pegasus began glancing around for what reason Twilight knew not, with a slightly smug look. “See? See? I knew I noticed something going on with them,” she pointed at Twilight, meanwhile staring to her left at Fluttershy and then across at Pinkie.

“I noticed it too, Twilight,” Fluttershy spoke up with her head held low from Rainbow’s outburst, stepping forward to be beside Pinkie. “She did seem to tease him more than before, and I know she did miss him; like she would miss any of us if we were gone for as long as he was.”

“I know,” the alicorn nodded in confirmation, quirking her head to the side and staring at a piece of floorboard, “but I believe with what I heard from her now it could be due to another reason. One I can’t believe I didn’t see before, or…hoped to, but was too afraid to look for Spike’s sake…and finding that it was the same.”

Applejack wandered forward a little, into her peripheral vision, with a concerned visage. “What are ya gettin’ at, Sugarcube?” she asked, as Twilight locked gazes with her. “Why do ya believe she changed from before? Because you obviously do, or else we wouldn’t be havin’ this conversation.”

“It was the way she said something to me, when she came to the castle and Spike was out with Pinkie.” She hesitated, turning from her friends and finding interest in her fore hooves momentarily. “She just said it with such sincerity; such emotion…and not any of the drama. She genuinely felt hurt that it was her…who made Spike leave for all that time. It drifted into my head then, for just the briefest of moments, that ever since he left she has been hurting…for being the one to chase him away. And now that he is back, she is over the moon in a way…because at least she hadn’t made him leave his friends forever.”

The farm mare sighed and shook her head. “Well, ah can certainly believe that. She thought mighty kindly of the little fella. Ah mean, when he was still a little fella. Ah reckon Rarity had been glad to see him again.”

“I think we all noticed the teasing resume quite quickly too,” added Rainbow, raising an eyebrow for emphasis. “She doesn’t do that quite so much with anypony else around here.”

“I…talked with her a little bit about it,” Fluttershy said. “Without saying anything too private, she was really concerned for him, but still didn’t know what to truly think about Spike.”

“Pinkie?” Twilight asked, noticing now that she hadn’t spoken about anything for most of the chat. “What do you think?”

At hearing her name being called, the mare’s ears twitched upward, followed by her head shortly. She appeared oddly contemplative at the moment, odd even for her. “Hm?”

“Rarity,” the astute pony repeated calmly, warily, “What do you think has changed about her friendship with Spike?” Before being too hasty to end such a private inquiry that way, Twilight added, “If you want to tell us, that is. I know you still have a promise to them.”

She remained stoic and silent for some time, her expression not changing or faltering, worrying Twilight greatly. She and the others exchanged glances briefly, before Pinkie seemed to return from wherever she had been. “Telling you about what we talked about and what I think are separate things,” Pinkie stated, surprisingly cordially for one so usually bubbly and excitable. “I do think that she thinks differently of him now, not just because he’s older, but because he left. Because even though so much of him has changed in those four years, he still looks at her in pretty much the same way as before. That is part of why she went with Spike. Because now she needs to know how she looked at him then and how she looks at him now. How she thinks she should be looking.”

Again, the cabin fell quiet, if not for the softly sloshing waves flowing around the ship. Twilight had been expecting the same sort of response she received before they left Ponyville; an answer and somehow not an answer as well. The alicorn wasn’t expecting to be bombarded with such a lengthy and sensible thought process as that.

“Wow, ah wasn’t expecting that from you, Pinkie Pie,” breathed Applejack, beating Twilight to the punch. “Though ah guess that makes sense, what with her tellin’ him not ta carry her things like before. Maybe him leavin’ was honestly a way for both of them to grow up some, not to say that neither of them were grown up already mind.”

“I wasn’t expecting it either, but that is what I was thinking for a long time,” the party mare responded, looking noticeably more bouncy after speaking her mind. “I could tell when she came back from gem hunting alone a few days before that she wouldn’t want Spike finding out what happened with her back that time. I know that would have hurt him, not being there to carry her saddlebags.”

Twilight sighed again. It was beginning to become a trend; one that she did not enjoy in the slightest with all that was occurring. “True…but I am still going to give them both a piece of my mind for not telling me the truth and worrying me.”

“Well, you can at least agree that his chances are better that Rarity is with him, right Twilight?” the shy mare quizzed, her turquoise spheres seeming to search for some kind of agreement on her part.

She dipped her head in acknowledgment. “Yes. I suppose so. And if what we just talked about is true, then it does explain why Rarity didn’t simply let Spike leave; not on his own anyway. If he was in trouble and had no one to look out for him, I’m certain that she would blame herself when she found out. Alright, I’ll think about it. In the meantime, let’s go and see how much farther it is until we’re in the Ibexian Tundra, and thank the Vice-Captain for these new outfits.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth, Twilight,” the speedy pegasus agreed, already making her way to the door with her cloak. “Well, not exactly the thank you part, but I can agree to that too. Maybe I can drop by for some extra food on the way there.”

“Yer already thinkin’ about eatin’ again?” Applejack questioned as she followed along behind the pony. Twilight watched Fluttershy also wandering out to join the others above deck. “Y’all must have a stomach nearly the size of Pinkie Pie’s.”

In response, the pink mare began to bounce along with them, giggling up a storm. “I doubt it. My stomach is absolutely humongous! I think maybe it has its own parallel dimension thingy and that’s how I can eat so much. What do you think, Fluttershy?” The hallway outside of the room erupted in laughter as the alicorn shifted her gaze to her own cloak.

Quickly their talking quieted, before fading against the sound of lightly crashing waves entirely. It left Twilight alone to ponder what was said for a moment longer. Whether I am angry at the two of them or not, Fluttershy is right. At least they are together. She allowed herself to smile a little at the thought that maybe Spike will finally have his feelings for the unicorn returned.

Upon arriving above deck, the studious mare saw her friends conversing with Vem and Tabatha on the bow. Other deckhooves scrambled to and fro as Twilight sauntered toward the group, not mistaking the back drop of the icy continent that they are approaching. There will be long nights of wind and cold ahead, though with my magic working I should be able to create a more habitable area for us while we sleep. If those two are as resourceful as I know them to be, then I am certain that they found a similar solution to cope with the freezing conditions. “There you all are. How is our time, Captain Vem?”

“Well, we are just starting out from shore; however, for such a long trip across the open ocean I have us going as quickly as possible without it upsetting our old girl here…or any of the crew.” The sea captain turned his head toward the continent ahead and exhaled through his nose. The others exchanged odd glances as the astute mare finished her approach, stopping between the Vice-Captain and Fluttershy. “It has been quite a long time since I made such a voyage. Since any of us did. It is refreshing to feel such a strong ocean breeze again, though we never ventured too close to the eastern shores of the western continent.”

“Why not, Captain Vem?” questioned Rainbow.

He turned his head again. “The eastern shore is not a very hospitable place at any time of the year. It is rocky and dangerous beneath those waters, and always has a coast full of crashing waves. Every pirate captain knew better than to sail in that direction. Not much to plunder, not much activity and those ibexes were surprisingly good seafarers themselves back in those days; still are, I would wager.”

“I would know what ibex pirates were like more than most,” Tabatha spoke with no hesitation, her black ponytailed mane and Vice-Captain’s coat billowing out behind her.

The captain spun on his heels to face the bright yellow mare, while Twilight and the rest watched on in silence. He nodded briskly, his own uniform’s free sleeves being blown in the wind. “Aye, I would imagine so myself.” It appeared to be a tense moment between the two of them, or so the alicorn thought, the looks one gave the other speaking volumes about what they must have gone through together, before the princess brought them here. However, as soon as it had happened, it all faded with a clear cheer on Tabatha’s cheeks.

“Even so, it has been long since I was in any sort of circumstance such as that. The ibex are a proud, honorable and prosperous nation, and I would not hold what happened against each of them. Besides, those that did participate were only bloody pirates after all.” She said the last bit as a slight smirk dawned her features, a twinkle in her red eyes. Before long, Vem too shared her expression, and the mood seemed to lighten significantly.

“Hey, watch who you’re talking about; you pointing hooves. Let’s not forget you joined me long before we switched sides of the law.”

The unicorn stood up tall and gave him a confident glare, no longer grinning at the captain, but with a stoic visage. “I was coerced. After all, I had little choice under the circumstances. ‘It is either this or drown’, as you so eloquently put it at the end of our little conversation.”

Vem laughed and approached the mare. “That I did, that I did. Though to be fair, I don’t think it took much to convince you in the first place to come along with us. That was only the last little push, and if we weren’t on a sinking vessel and had loads more time, you would have come around. I saw that desire in your eyes and heart longing for the sea.”

In reply, Tabatha scoffed and turned slightly, still facing her superior officer. “I believe that your ship will need your attention soon enough, sir.”

At that, the captain rose to his fullest height, still a bit shorter than his Vice-Captain, and repositioned the tricorn hat atop his head. “Ah, yes, it does. I am recalling now, despite all of those years passing.” Twilight again looked bewildered at their exchange, watching with rapt curiosity as the stallion marched past her, nearer to the center of the ship. “Attention everypony! We will have to redirect our course a little bit.” The other seaponies dipped their heads in acknowledgement and began yelling out commands and trotting along the deck. Meanwhile, Vem glanced back at the assemblage of ponies. “When I said it was roughly a straight trip across the open ocean, I was leaving out a few coral reefs and prisons of sharp rocks along the way; for a bit of fun.”

“Can’t you say it just a little bit more pirate-y like?” Pinkie asked from behind the knowledgeable mare, head slightly slanted to the left. After a small pause, where Twilight saw Applejack slap her hoof to her forehead and the speedster roll her eyes and shake her head, Vem smirked noticeably.

Tabatha merely sighed and stepped closer to the Captain, spinning about to address them. “You really shouldn’t encourage him, miss. If I may ask this time, sir, please go easy on the pirate side.”

“No promises,” he interjected, yet retaining that clever and slightly unnerving grin. “On deck you scapperous seadogs! We have treasures to find and a lot of obstacles to overcome, so quit your lollygagging and dragging your hooves, take us to the left of this reef. I don’t want my ship to have a date with destiny just yet!”

“Aye, captain!” those in attendance shouted back, saluting briefly before galloping off to their supposed stations. Twilight watched the action unfold, the different things his subordinates were doing and how neither the Captain nor the Vice-Captain were giving out any orders.

They must be a deeply knitted crew to know what they must do then, Twilight rationalized, smiling despite their current dilemma, just like our group.

“Miss Sparkle,” she heard from her right, finding Tabatha standing tall there. The pony was a touch taller than she was, and her face was fair but lightly freckled. Her jacket sleeves flew in the breeze along with her coat, being picked up from the motion. “Where do you suspect that your friends will be on this continent?”

“Oh, uh, well I,” she began, not really knowing where to start looking. After a few short seconds, she noticed that the mare was waiting patiently for her answer, despite her own nerves. Allotting the resolve to find her two friends, Twilight breathed in deeply and calmed her mind. Think rationally, Twilight. You know where they are going. She stepped forward, toward the port side of the ship, the yellow mare matching her pace. “Our friends are headed for dragon lands, at the western most section of the continent. As it stands, we are already three days behind them. Spike is also a dragon, so if all is well for them, then they are likely already beyond the tundra.”

Tabatha nodded in understanding, turning briefly to gaze at two ponies pulling hard on some rope tied around the boat’s railing. “That is good to know, princess. Do you have a strategy for when we arrive at the coast? I assume that you glanced at some maps of the shore?”

“Constantly,” Twilight responded, chuckling a little. The two ceased in their strides at the edge of the deck, looking out at the far reaching waters. “For most of the train ride to Vanhoover I was spilling over old maps of the area, protection spells and what little information there was of the surrounding area of the Scorched Lands.”

“These friends are dear to you I see,” she merely said, locking eyes.

A light blush covered the alicorn’s cheeks, shifting in her stance to be sturdier should another gale of wind rock the Sea Princess. “Yes. While we are not related, Spike was hatched by my magic. I only recently discovered from Princess Celestia how important that was, since nopony else before me had managed such a feat. I suppose that he has been a bit of an adopted son of mine for some time now.” She smiled shyly then, pausing briefly. “Rarity is another of my best friends, one who I believe wished to keep him company so that he would not be going alone, so I have to go and find them and make sure that they are alright.”

“I understand. Fear not during this journey at the very least. This crew is well experienced in seafaring. And although we will likely be departing company at the shores, we will be hoping for the best for you and your friends.”

“Thank you, Vice-Captain Tabatha. I just hope that nothing happens to you or your captain or crew for what he is doing.”

The stoic unicorn closed her red eyes briefly and shook her head. “Vem has been through many hardships such as this and never shirked his responsibility to us or eluded his punishment. Each time he returned to the ship, he would say that how he was reprimanded was nothing compared to his life as a pirate. So, do not feel responsible for his decisions, princess.”

“I see. Alright, I will try. Uh, by the way, Tabatha…a-about earlier…” Her request petered out, hesitating quickly. No, Twilight. You shouldn’t be prying into her past. It is not any of your business. “Nevermind,” she said, waving a hoof in front of her. “I shouldn’t have asked anyway.”

“You may ask, if you wish, princess. I have no desire to hide how I came to be on this ship with this crew. I assume that you were about to ask about that earlier argument the Captain and I had.”

Twilight merely inclined her head in agreement, remaining silent.

“It was Captain Vem himself, as we spoke of before, prior to being under Princess Celestia’s command. He rescued me from a pirate vessel owned by the ibex pirate group known back then as the Horns of the Glacier. It was attacking a small transport vessel travelling from Vanhoover to the Zebra lands of the south continent. My father and uncle were there with me, going on a trip to the coast of Zebfera.

Above the waters, just beyond the edge of the ship, Tabatha fashioned a small image through magic of what appeared to be a coral reef, covered only barely by the tides. “The coral reefs there are meant to be some of the most magnificent in the world,” she continued, releasing the spell and turning once more toward the princess. “However, due to those pirates, we never arrived. We were boarded, the deckhooves killed and my father and uncle taken captive. Being on a private vessel, their captain thought that they would fetch a good ransom if we were kept alive. So they took what little trinkets were aboard the ship, shot it full of holes and ultimately left me to drown. If not for what Vem did, I probably would have.”

“What happened? How old were you?” Twilight quizzed. How can she be so calm when talking about something so awful?

“This was ten years ago, when I was fourteen years old,” the pony answered. “And Captain Vem saved my life that day. As you could imagine I had tears in my eyes from losing my family and being left with a few pirate stragglers, but this very ship was in the area,” she tapped twice against a wooden board of the deck with a forehoof, “and they two boarded the sinking transport. They fought off the ibex pirates and caused them to flee with cannon fire. They found me above deck near the stern, and Vem asked if I wished to come along with them instead of drowning out at sea right then. Well, you can guess how that turned out, and I ended up working as a deckhoof for the Sea Princess.”

The lavender mare swallowed hard as a thought occurred to her. “But what happened with your father and uncle?” she asked nervously, inclining her head slightly.

“Safe and sound back home right now, at least I hope.” She smiled, and allowed for a pause for Twilight to do the same. “Both Vem and the princess don’t take too kindly to foalnapping or ransoms. That was one of the few times before Vem turned from being a pirate that he ever talked with the princess about a plan to free my family. In fact, he wrote and sent the letter to her himself, after hearing my account of what happened. She was quick to relay her support in the matter, knowing my family since my great great grandfather lived in Canterlot as a cook, and despite my grandfather moving south to Vanhoover a few years before he passed, my father and uncle still kept in touch with her Highness in the days after our rescue. She was there at the Ibex Cove to see the issue resolved. Those pirates never foalnapped any ponies again after that, and I decided to remain with Vem and his crew.”

“Wow,” she exclaimed, glancing down at the deck of the vessel. “She never told me about solving a dispute like that. Though that explains why the princess accepted all of you, even after ten years of being a pirate.”

Tabatha chuckled briefly, looking as though she was recalling something from that time. “That, and because she knew that Vem was a truly terrible pirate.”

“Huh?” That was not something Twilight expected to hear; not from one of his friends and certainly not from his Vice-Captain. Besides, how would Princess Celestia even know that?

“You appear confused, princess. My apologies, allow me to explain.” Twilight merely nodded her head, and the yellow unicorn cleared her throat. “I was still fourteen at this time, so I did not quite learn this immediately after agreeing to go with Vem the pirate. I started out just doing little things around the ship, mostly below decks. I began by cleaning the different rooms to be of use; otherwise I felt like I was nothing but dead weight. Vem of course was not of the same opinion at first, yet I convinced him after a short time. When I was sixteen the crew discovered that I had a bit of a knack for sewing, seeing me stitch up some clothes I brought with me from the vacation that never happened. You can see how that turned out, obviously.”

Twilight gazed down at her cloak and grinned at the unicorn. “I suppose so. I will have to introduce you to my friend Rarity sometime after we find her. She is quite the fashionista herself.”

She returned the expression and nodded. “Well, when I was old enough, eighteen at the start, I learned of his experiences as a pirate. He was apparently full of legend, so said many of the crew and actually the locals of the ports that we docked at over the years; though when I spoke with him directly, I heard a different story.” The alicorn’s glad visage fell at that, into puzzlement as her head tilted. “He told me that he was a poor pirate.”

“What?”

“It is true. He told me that he was constantly losing bits and treasure and never had a fleet or a complete crew. Some were loyal, however most were in it merely for riches and to hurt others. Vem had his share of criminality in that aspect as well, but whatever he did in that time he did to help others.” Tabatha stopped again to emphasize her point, which Twilight understood and nodded to.

“When I was old enough to join him on one of his journeys I learned more; that he was avoiding dangerous areas to keep me safe. He lost out on even more rewards doing so, yet he never let me talk him out of it, nor any of his crew. Again, some were alright with this, but some ended up betraying him to another pirate group. So, with even fewer pirates than he had under him before, he tried one last time to garner some wealth. He left me behind at the port in the zebra lands with a pirate he knew to be a friend; True Blue. So this next part I heard from him afterward.”

“What, Tabatha? Did he…did he succeed?” She cringed a little at that. I’m not certain whether I want him to have done the job or not? I just hope that he and his crew were not hurt.

“Well, no,” she replied, causing the princess to lock gazes with the calm and collected mare in shock, “he did not. He did, in a way, obtain the treasure that he was searching for, but then he was betrayed by one of his previous companions. This ship was fired upon with all of his remaining crew aboard and it began to sink with all of the plundered trinkets. And while he remained to fight all of that traitorous pirate’s new crew, he ordered all of his ponies onto the other ship. He saved them, saved them all, although they said that they were not happy about that.

“And when all appeared to be lost, it was Princess Celestia that rescued him from his fate. Along with all of the pirates aboard the sinking vessel with him were spared, and once they were all back on dry land and the pirates who betrayed Vem were in the Day Guard’s custody, she offered him a choice. To continue the quest of a pirate and one day be taken captive and killed, or to join her in defending her ponies. After a short time of conversation, she convinced him and most of the crew that you see here today that what they wanted wasn't harming ponies on the seas, but aiding them from others like what he was trying to do on that ship.”

“Whoa,” Twilight whispered in awe of the story. That was one thing that she had not heard from her mentor. Who knew Princess Celestia would actually escape the guards of Canterlot and save ponies so far away, though I suppose that they are all her ponies…even the pirate ones. “I had no idea. But…you said most, I…you mean not all of them followed him after that?”

The yellow unicorn shook her head solemnly. “Most of his remaining crew had either been a part of the betrayal or fled after learning of his change of heart, but those loyal, such as True Blue, stayed and agreed to help the princess in defence of her realm. His ship was the same, though younger at that time. And so what he spoke of when you met was quite accurate. His old crew do not like him being in support of the princess.”

“Have you finished telling the princess about my past yet, Tabatha?” the deep blue stallion asked, sauntering into Twilight’s peripheral vision from behind her.

“Captain Vem, uh…w-well, you see we were talking about her time aboard this ship and…”

Tabatha sauntered forward slowly. “Twilight, it is alright. After all, it was I who began speaking of the events leading up to now.”

He waited quietly as his friend spoke for herself, before gazing at the studious pony. “So, now you know why the princess trusted me to be the one to take you across the narrow sea?”

“You call this narrow?” Rainbow said, flying over and landing to the right of Vem. “Spike wasn’t kidding when he said he could fly for longer than any other animal; the wings on that guy.”

“Could somepony please tell me what the hay is goin’ on?” the farm pony requested, wandering up herself on the Captain’s left side, with Pinkie and Fluttershy not far behind. “Twilight, why’d you disappear on us like that?”

Twilight dipped her head. “Sorry, girls. The Vice-Captain wanted to discuss some things with me; some things about the past of Vem and his crew.”

“Ooh ooh, was she talking about the past where Vem was once a pirate, but he wasn’t a very good pirate, and he kept on doing good things instead of bad things like stealing treasure and eventually saved Tabatha here when she was with her family, and also about later when Princess Celestia had to save him from a sinking ship of evil pirates then asked him to become a whatcha call it instead of a whoseewhatsit? Was she?”

The Captain and Vice-Captain looked surprised to hear such a swift and accurate statement coming from the party pony, though Twilight merely placed her head in a hoof and noticed her friends performing similar rituals of silent bewilderment at Pinkie’s abilities. She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. “Yes, Pinkie. That is exactly what we were talking about.”

“Really? Cool, I was just guessing.”

“Except for…that last part, right; about the whatcha call it and whosee thing?” the cerulean mare fished hopefully. Twilight silently nodded.

“Well, now that everypony is caught up to date on the past of myself and crew, how about we come up with a plan that will have you safely through the Ibexian Tundra; or at least, as safe as one can be through such climates?”

Later on in the day, Twilight sat on a stool of the kitchen below deck. True Blue was cleaning the far section of the counter, having already given the five friends a meal each. A quick glance to the left showed Pinkie and Applejack partaking in a game of tick tack toe as they ate their meals, the pink mare lightly bouncing in her seat.

She drew an ‘x’ on the piece of parchment with a piece of chalk held delicately in her mouth, and threw her head up in triumph. “Woohoo! I win again!”

“Shoot, Pinkie. Ah knew y’all were good, but ah thought that Rarity was bein’ a tad dramatic about how ya play this game.” She scratched her head after raising her Stetson a few inches, looking perplexed. “Maybe ah should learn to take her more seriously when she talks about the different sorts o’ games you two play.”

The party pony giggled in response and took a bite of her meal. “I may be good at this game, but you should see Rarity play at Sevens. She always has a doozy of a strategy when playing that card game.”

“Ah’ll keep that in mind.”

Twilight’s lips lifted slightly at the interaction between the two of them, and the conversation of Rarity. She had seen her abilities at that game first hoof, during the party planned to welcome Spike back to Ponyville. Even though those two are in danger right now, I guess it is alright to take a little break to try and relax and think of good times. Soon though, we will be in a similar danger, so we will all need to be prepared.

Vem had given them some valuable pieces of advice for surviving the tundra. He was also quite impressed with the studious alicorn’s strategies and focus on learning those protection and warding spells during the train ride down to Vanhoover. Learning the lay of the land was a good idea as well, so he said. The cloaks they were all now wearing was his greatest thought. Even so, they were still not much use out in the rain and wet, which was another reason why the five ponies were below.

It had come from out of nowhere it seemed, clouds rolling in from all sides. The Sea Princess was experiencing a far larger beating from the waves now, crashing waves rocking the cabin below side to side. They were nearer to the eastern shore by this point, so the Captain had acknowledged, and he assured them that this was a common occurrence along it as of late. However, it still managed to unnerve the lavender mare. She could also hear Rainbow raise concerns to the weather condition toward Fluttershy.

“Don’t worry, girls,” she announced, gaining the attention of all in attendance, including True Blue. “Captain Vem is a seasoned sailor. He won’t let a storm stop us from reaching the ibexian shore.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself, princess.”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” the speedster responded with a light shrug of her shoulders. “They seem to know the weird weather conditions of the ocean after all. I guess I’m not used to seeing clouds roll in without pegasi pushing behind them.”

The bright blue stallion chuckled as he began cleaning some dirty dishes from an earlier meal. “Don’t worry, Miss Dash. Vem won’t let a little storm be the end of him.”

“Yes indeedie,” agreed Pinkie readily, bouncing out from her seat opposite Applejack. She bounced over to a stool at the kitchen counter and had a seat. “After all, you heard about the many adventures of Vem Seafarer, pirate of the Sea Princess. He fought off those pirate thieves all on his own, and that storm can’t even hold a sword.”

Rainbow rested her chin on a forehoof with a silly grin across her face. “I heard it from you, Pinkie.”

“Oh yeah,” she giggled again and shouted cheerily for a hot chocolate, which the pony quickly prepared for her. “Yummy! Thanks! This’ll keep me warm during our adventure.”

The orange mare laughed as she brought both her plate and Pinkie’s over to the counter. “Ah wouldn’t be surprised if you could stay warm with just that, Pinkie Pie.”

“I just hope that there are no more storms while we are on land,” Fluttershy intoned timidly from her seat. “I wonder how the creatures of this continent deal with so many storms, if it is as common as Captain Vem told us. I don’t think I could live here without jumping every time a thunder storm appeared.” She shook her head and grabbed her dishes, flying across from the left side of the room to give them to True Blue with a quiet ‘thank you’.

A sudden thunder clap resounded through the cabin, causing each pony to fall silent and shift in their pose to look at the stairs leading to the deck.

“I’m going to go and check on them,” Twilight stated, stepping down from her seat and trotting over to the staircase.

“Twilight, you want us to come along as well?” questioned Applejack. The alicorn halted in her stride and spun around, finding her friends giving her worried glances. In reply, she managed a small smile and a steady shake of her head.

“No. You girls stay here. I won’t be gone long; I simply want to see if I can be of any help. Maybe I can make this trip easier on all of us.” With nothing more to be said, she turned on her heels and climbed the stairs to the deck of the ship.

It was soaking wet above the water, clearly many waves were large enough to flood the above decks. Ponies were galloping around, pulling at the sails with ropes, chucking water back into the sea from buckets enveloped in magical auras or by a pegasus’ hooves as they flew, and others tying everything down to prevent it from being taken by the sea.

She glanced around as she walked along the deck, but couldn’t see the Captain or Vice-Captain anywhere. A shout broke through the storming winds and thundering waves, and Twilight craned her neck behind her. Vem stood at the rear of the Sea Princess this time, steering the ship himself it appeared, with Tabatha standing to his left.

Galloping past deckhooves along the right side of the vessel, Twilight ascended the small staircase to the stern. It was the Vice-Captain who noticed her approach first, turning from a couple of ponies to speak with her.

“Is there anything that I can do, Tabatha?” she quizzed loudly, her magic surrounding her extending outward, keeping the rain off of them all.

“Princess?” the yellow unicorn answered after another crash of thunder. Her coat was being tossed about in the blustery wind currents, as Vem’s was, revealing their sailor uniforms beneath. “Why did you choose to come up here?”

“I wanted to help with something! We wouldn’t be here experiencing this if it wasn’t for my friends and I, and maybe I can use my magic to lessen the strain on you.” Without a word, the red-eyed mare turned to her Captain. He spun the wheel about to the right, changing the course of the vessel as a slight scraping sound began. There must be quite a few rocks and coral along the shoreline here.

“Aye, let her stay!” the Captain shouted as he turned once more to the left. “If there are any large waves that appear to be coming over the sides, can you stop them?!”

Twilight nodded her head. “Yes! And if you need help steering the ship away from the rocks, I should be able to move it safely around!”

“Excellent! Stay right by my side, Princess Twilight!”

The boat rocked this way and that as they fought the rough seas and stormy skies. Barrels and crates slid this way and that, the seaponies having accomplished their tasks in securing all of the supplies. Twilight and Tabatha worked together to soothe the roaring waves that would have otherwise flooded the ship, with the alicorn handling the right side and the unicorn dealing with the left.

Vem steered the Sea Princess from one side to the other, more grinding sounds reverberating out in the storm. Twilight could see lightning striking the water all around the ship, some striking off in the distance. She had just carried a huge wave over the bow of the vessel, harmlessly dropping the liquid over the port side, when she heard another crack of thunder.

Lifting her head to the darkened skies, the princess saw a huge bolt of lightning careening toward them, which would certainly take down one of their sails. No, that will leave us stranded in this storm. Galloping forward, she gathered her magic into her horn and shot a lavender and yellow beam of light at the strike, managing to prevent it from hitting anything.

When it faded, Twilight let her magic drop and allowed herself to relax. She was panting a little bit at the sudden exertion, yet she was still well below her limits.

“Good heavens!” yelled Captain Vem, gazing at her momentarily as she spun back around. “Well, princess, that was certainly an astounding show you just gave us! You are just as impressive as Princess Celestia that day she rescued us! Thank you for saving my crew and ship!”

A mere nod was her answer, before she turned about to continue dealing with waves and whatever lightning strikes she felt came too close to the Captain’s vessel. At the end of the experience, the ship and its crew came out on the other end of the storm, as dry as it could be given the circumstances. Twilight was panting a lot at this point, blocking several more bolts before they were free of the weather system. The hour was growing late already, and it seemed as though they would only just make it to shore before night fell.

Glancing to her left, she noticed that the other two were also quite exhausted from the ordeal. Even so, they were smiling at having survived it, and the alicorn readily returned the relieved expression.

Moments after the storm ceased from around them, Twilight noticed that True Blue was wandering above deck. He was swiftly followed by her friends, glancing about at the aftermath. She shouted out to them, and waved as they harkened to her call. As they made their way over to them, she turned to Vem and Tabatha and grinned.

“Well,” she began, still regaining her breath, “that was an interesting experience. Certainly not like dealing with friendship lessons given by Celestia, but I suppose a change of pace is okay…once in a while.”

The two chuckled at her words. “Princess, you are a life saver. I don’t know what we would have done if you had not come to assist when you did. We owe you a great debt.” Vem removed his tricorn hat and bowed lightly, followed by the Vice-Captain.

She blushed and smiled widely and awkwardly. The sounds of hooves on wood entered her perked ears as her friends trotted up behind her. “Ooh! Looks like Twilight did something good up here during that storm. Darn, I missed another really cool thingy happening.”

“What makes you say that, Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked as Twilight spun to face them.

Pinkie pointed a hoof toward the silent scene, grinning from ear to ear. “Vem and Tabatha are bowing again. That can only mean that she did something princess-like, and that goofy smile on her face says the same thing.”

“Still not accustomed to bein’ bowed to, eh Twilight?” said Applejack, smirking slightly as she adjusted her hat along her head. An uneasy laugh was her answer, while Twilight scratched the back of her head.

“Mmhm.”

“Ah yes, forgive us, princess.” The lavender mare glanced at the two sailors again. “We are not accustomed to not bowing before royalty.”

In response, Twilight shook a forehoof back and forth in front of her. “Oh, no, no. It’s…it’s fine. Just…know that you don’t need to go through all of these formalities with me. I’m still the same librarian from Ponyville that I was before I earned these wings. I simply…have all of these powers now.”

“Aww, yeah! What did you do this time, Twilight?” Rainbow questioned as she flew above the gathered group. “I bet you steered the ship through all of those rocks and coral reefs and even picked the ship up over a few.”

“She stopped several lightning strikes from hitting the sails of the ship,” Tabatha announced from behind the rainbow-maned pony, all with a serene calmness. “Such a strike would have crippled this vessel and left us at the mercy of the sea.”

Rainbow’s jaw dropped in awe, only giving the alicorn another reason to blush timidly. “What?! That sounds so awesome! You have to show me that the next time there is a storm in Ponyville. I could make one, even a little one would do.”

“Rainbow, ah think we have more important things to worry about right now,” the southern pony interrupted. “Like rescuin’ our friends and makin’ sure that these fine ponies aren’t injured?”

The speedster stayed silent for a moment, then crossed her forehooves and pouted, still held aloft by her wings. “I can multi-task,” she mumbled quietly.

After a bit of time had passed by, things rapidly settled down again. The flooding situation had been dealt with, Twilight and her friends having helped with much of the cleanup. The sun was still above the horizon when they were seated on the deck altogether, and if the evening was good, Twilight figured that they would have a few hours of daylight to walk a bit of the tundra, before needing to make camp for the night.

“Wow, Twilight, I had no idea that you were that powerful,” said Fluttershy. “I mean…I knew that you had a lot of magic, but I didn’t think bolts of lightning could be stopped like that.”

She giggled in reply. “Neither did I…but I couldn’t let this ship be hit. Now hopefully, we won’t have any more difficulties.”

“Don’t worry,” Rainbow Dash stated, taking to the air and lightly boxing in front of her. “If any pirates should be dumb enough to come along, I’ll take care of them.”

“I hope so. I’d really like to see some swashbuckling action before we have to leave,” added Pinkie Pie cheerfully. “Do you know if any pirates are in the area right now, Captain Vem?”

He shook his head in answer, standing to the right of the pink mare, just outside of the circle that they had created. “Not that I know of, Pinkie. I think that is the last bit of exci-” Before the burgundy-eyed unicorn could finish his sentence, the ship jerked forward. Twilight and the rest slid with it, letting out cries of surprise as the Sea Princess came to a sudden halt. “Hey, watch those rocks, up there True Blue!”

“There aren’t any rocks in front of us, Captain,” the stallion answered. “None that I saw.”

“What in the hay?” Applejack asked, pushing her Stetson back on her head and trotting over to the bow. “Captain Vem, there’s a patch o’ ice over here.”

Twilight glanced at the pony and stood on her hooves to follow him along. “What in the name of? There shouldn’t be any ice here. That doesn’t make any sense.” He glanced off the side, as did the princess and the rest.

Ice out in the open ocean? Twilight pondered. I have never heard of such a thing occurring other than up north.

“Weren’t we just in a rain and thunderstorm a few seconds ago? What the hay is going on?” asked Rainbow Dash. Pinkie shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, whatever is going on, that block of ice was able to stop us really quickly.” Twilight made a face and tried to think back to her research, attempting to recall any information on such things happening near the ibexian coast, though nothing was forthcoming.

“Twilight, do you know what is going on?”

She shook her head. “This is new to me too, Fluttershy. I can probably melt it though. It shouldn’t take very long.”

“I can aid you,” Tabatha offered, already powering up her horn.

The ice moved as the alicorn watched over the side. It shifted upward, encasing a portion of the front of the ship in the frozen water. She stepped back hurriedly. “This is magic. Everypony step back from the edges of the boat! Now!”

They did so without question, gathering all of the crew and her friends in the center of the ship. Ponies wielded blades and axes, held aloft in auras or by hooves, some scraping the floor with their hooves, readying for a possible battle. All was silent, but for the steady creeping ice sheet at the front of the vessel. Without warning, another sound appeared at the stern, similar to the first.

Soon the ice seemed to be creeping up on all sides of the ship. Vem drew his sword and Tabatha formed one using magic. Twilight’s friends crouched down, preparing for whatever was attacking them this time. Shards of ice swiftly crept over the edges, sharp blades growing inward toward the ponies. Even from her position in the middle of the boat, Twilight could see the ice stretching further outward along the waters, before her attention returned to the ice on the ship.

It grew again, out of the spikes grew a grizzly being. First two forearms pulled from the ice, then a single leg broke free. It almost appeared like a liquid in how it moved when it fell to the floor of the boat. It was rapidly joined by others, tearing themselves from ice shards all along the trapped vessel and either standing on their back legs or staying on all fours.

Ice? Are these enchanted or something? The alicorn pondered worriedly. But if they are, where is the pony that is casting the spell? I haven’t even seen a spell this good about enchanting inanimate objects. They had an elongated head of spikes pointed crookedly forward; their bodies smooth and their hooves were frozen to the deck. No, not hooves, she shook her head, more like Spike’s claws, but more slim and jagged. Whatever these were, they stood at six feet tall for those on all fours and almost eight feet for those standing on two legs.

Before she could think any more on the matter, the twenty some crystalline creatures let out a high pitched screech that pained her ears to listen to. The rest of the group covered their ears and shrunk away slightly. The things stepped forward and shot a shard of ice, either from their backs, their arms, or their chests, all of them narrowly stopped by Twilight’s lavender aura. She let out a relieved sigh as they fell harmlessly to the floor.

“Attack these fowl creatures!” shouted Captain Vem, his sword held high in his magic. “Whatever these things may be, show them that the crew of the Sea Princess are seasoned seafarers!” Yells of agreement rang out into the sea air as his crew galloped ahead of Twilight and her friends, clangs of swords quickly ringing against the solid ice of this new threat.

Rainbow Dash was swift to join them, crying out loud and speeding off to aid some deckhooves. “Rainbow, stop!” the astute mare called out, prior to looking back at the others.

The farm pony stood ahead of Fluttershy, with Pinkie Pie bouncing behind her, keeping an eye at the opposite side of the ship. “Go on, sugarcube. You’re more helpful taking care of those blocks of ice. Pinkie and ah will keep Fluttershy safe and try to help out anypony strugglin’.”

Twilight sighed at her words and glanced at the pink pony, who gave a wink and smile, before crouching down and wiggling her rump and, by extension, her bouncy tail. She merely nodded and began to step back. “Alright. Keep each other safe.”

Shouts of agony split the skies as she raced toward the bow. One of the ponies staggered back with a piece of ice protruding from his left shoulder. He fell to the floorboards as she halted, seeing his friends attempting to distract the creature. She tempered her stance and readied her magic, shooting a concentrated burst at its chest. It continued on straight through, causing the quadrupedal behemoth to flinch for a moment, before resuming its path of destruction. The thing grabbed a sailor by the neck with an icy claw and flung her clear across the ship.

She stopped mid-flight from a yellow aura, the Vice-Captain Tabatha standing a few feet away. She dipped her head at Twilight, and she returned it before trotting over to the stallion who was hit earlier.

“Princess,” he managed through shaky and shuddering breaths. He looked abnormally pale. “Thank you.”

She grabbed onto his raised forehoof with both of hers and shushed him softly. “I’m here. Don’t worry, we’ll get through this alright?” The lavender pony smiled as reassuringly as she could, and it seemed to be coaxing him to do the same. The ice had already begun to freeze the pony’s foreleg, growing up on his neck and chest. No, no, no, she thought frantically, pulling tighter on his hoof.

He was frozen within seconds. Twilight could barely pry her hooves from his, as her tender smile slipped from her features. She was wide-eyed and her mouth hung open at the scene. She looked around at more of the fighting, seeing how far the creatures had already pushed Vem and his crew. They were surrounding her friends in a sort of semi-circle, casting beams this way and that and slashing their blades along the ice. The beams either went through them as well or bounced off harmlessly, the swords doing just about as much damage.

Still, the ice advanced, some of them continuing to screech painfully and hurl ice shards. She racked her brain for a solution, seeing already how others shared that stallion’s fate of being encased in cold near the edges of the ship. Her heart hurt for them, not knowing what to do. She saw Vem with his blade, casting a flame spell onto it and slashing straight through the stomach of one of them. That gave Twilight an idea. She pulled a great amount of energy into her horn and unleashed it in a burst of heat.

Several of the things began to melt around her, and the rest that had surrounded the ship’s crew shifted their icy gazes over to her. “Everypony! Swords won’t be able to deal with them alone! Do what your Captain did and surround your blade in flame, or burn these things with a good flame spell!”

“The princess is right! And make certain that you avoid those ice spikes at all costs. I don’t want to see any more ponies frozen today.” All of them shouted in reply, quickly obeying their orders and casting magic, or allowing others to cast spells on their blades held in their hooves. Fighting resumed and it appeared to be a more balanced affair. Ice limbs came off, and the ponies began to push them back to the edges.

Before victory could be claimed, however, the ice at the sides of the boat grew, with more beasts pulling themselves from them. Twilight watched with horror as the water lying about the deck, behind the charging ponies, shot up as renewed ice and pierced even more stallions and mares. It still appeared to be a fruitless endeavor, Vem’s forces rapidly shrinking.

No, that should have worked! They’re made of ice. She cast another spell, but they almost seemed to be more resistant to it; made of a thicker ice. The studious mare glanced to her side at her friends, seeing them nod their understanding before galloping forward. “Pinkie, Fluttershy! You help out those ponies struggling near the front of the ship. Applejack, stay with me and buck any creature that I melt with a spell.”

“Gotcha, Twilight!” the orange pony responded.

“The bow!” Pinkie shouted at what she had told them, bounding forward with them.

Twilight rolled her lavender eyes and ignored the statement, swiping her horn to the left to cut at one of the creatures on all fours. It reared back on its hind legs and Applejack jumped forward, turning around and bucking its upper body off of it and into the ocean. Three more screeched at them and shot icicles at the two ponies. A lavender field surrounded Applejack and Twilight, the shards breaking upon impact with the magic.

It faded, and the three things ran forward. One nearly pierced Applejack through the chest, had she not jumped away. The being instead punched straight through the boards, and even the deck began to freeze over from that spot. Twilight cast a small spell in the shape of a shield and deflected many blows from the other two.

Whatever is driving these things, she pondered, barely blocking another strike of their giant claws, they sure can hit hard. And they don’t seem to be dwindling in power in the slightest. As she leapt away from a great blow, it occurred to her how cold the air had become. When Twilight landed, panting heavily from the exertion from using her magic, she could see her breath. Her eyes flashed with realization and they turned skyward. The storm. Is that what is keeping them here?

More sounds of struggles and ponies groaning in pain rang out in her ears, and she rolled in between the two ice creatures in time to magically pull a sailor from being slashed by a claw. “I have to warn them; tell everypony to create as much flame and heat as they can all at once.” A shout erupted from behind her; a shout that she recognized all too well. She spun about in time to see the farm mare falling away from a slice from one of these things and out of sight beyond the boat. “Applejack!”

“NO!”

Twilight’s eyes widened, beginning to gallop for the side of the boat. As she did, she glanced to the left, toward the stern where she heard another familiar cry. Her voice caught in her throat at seeing Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo standing out from behind some barrels. A splash of water returned her to her senses, and the alicorn galloped faster, throwing herself from the boat to rescue her friend.

Captain Vem, my friends, sorry for leaving, but Applejack will surely drown or freeze to death in there. She plunged into the water, which she noticed had melted from ice since the fight began, and opened her eyes in search of the mare. How long have those three been on here too? This was really not a good time for them to tag along, but I have to stay focused. Don’t worry, Applebloom. I’ll save your sister at whatever cost.

Then we’ll find a way to beat these things. I promise.

Author's Notes:

Hello,

I have returned once more after such a long time. Apologies once again for such a long wait. I hope that you all enjoy this new chapter, I have at least one more almost complete for posting in the near future.