Ryan watched the sunrise on an alien world.

It wasn't like this was the first time he'd ever seen it, or even the first time he'd been watching to see an enemy vessel appear to darken the sky behind him. Yet as the sky split with orange and yellow light, he saw no dark outlines emerge from the clouds.

He leaned off the back railing, watching the sky behind them just to be sure. Could the pirates have some other way of hiding from view, and appear now to wreak terrifying revenge?

Not that he saw. "Nothing here!" he called to Galena, whose claws were firmly back on the helm. The bird radiated exhaustion back at him, unsurprisingly. She'd been helping them much of the night, and been part of the expeditions before that. Of course she would be tired.

"Are you certain?" she asked, insistent. "There are many visual tricks to hide a vessel, and the clouds grow thicker as we approach the Equestrian center! They could use them to conceal a ship!"

Ryan was reasonably certain he could fly now, if he wanted to. Between his own instincts and watching so many other creatures do it, imitation felt like it would come naturally. But of all the times to test, when the Bright Hawk was under full sail was probably not a good match.

Ropes creaked and wood strained with every little gust of wind, but she held. He walked back to the helm, instead of flying. Best not get swept up into the blue. "I would feel them if they were within a cloud," he said. "This far away, they would be faint. Just minds. But being able to see doesn't matter."

He pointed down into the deck. "Blake sleeps there. Janet is there. And Kaelynn..." She wasn't asleep. How long had she been up? The seapony felt groggy, like lemonade mixed with too much water. "She's there."

Galena nodded once. “Forgive me, changeling. In my years sailing the skies, I have yet to meet one of your kind who did not try to kill me. My instincts betray.”

He shrugged. "The others trust me, and you should too. I’ve never killed anyone.”

She relaxed her claws on the helm, leaning down over the edge. "Bat, you've done enough! We're firmly in Equestrian skies by now anyway."

Vesper looked up from the lower deck, rope in her mouth. Of all of them, she was the most exhausted—she felt no emotion but tiredness now. Even the deep well of confusing sludge towards Blake had faded. She just wanted somewhere to curl up.

She tied off her line, then spread her wings. She caught the air for an instant, letting it carry her up to the top deck—then she landed beside them. It was made less graceful by her continuing to slide for several meters, until her back legs smacked into the railing.

"Done?" She yawned, stretching with both wings. "I don't wanna die when I go to bed."

"You won't," Galena said. "Changeling here says we are not followed.”

Vesper nodded without hesitation. "That’s a relief. I’m not sure how much longer I can keep sailing.”

"See that mountain in the distance... that is Canterlot, capital of Equestria. If we can see it, Equestrian scouts can see us for many miles. They will see any pirate vessel as well. If we are attacked, we will only need to survive long enough for rescue."

She locked the helm into place, then slumped onto her haunches. She yawned too, stretching like a cat. "Probably the Eagle’s Talon won't come for us here. They will watch, and wait for us to sail away from help. Unless we lost their scouts completely." She eyed Ryan again, and he felt a new wave of suspicion. "I am not certain."

"Great. Want me to get Blake up to take his turn on the helm? Does anyone..." She yawned again. "Does anyone remember where we were sailing to?"

The griffon made no sign of recognition. But Ryan did. "Our next is somewhere called Crystal Caverns. It lined up almost exactly with Canterlot... maybe a nearby mountain?"

"Wherever we sail, the greater concern is ensuring our companion does not burn the vessel under our hooves. Do not wake the dragon unless you are confident you can tame the fury that results."

Vesper rolled her eyes. "Blake has always had anger issues. Most of the time, it's not a problem. He's better about it all the time now, I'm not worried. You shouldn't be either."

I wasn't until yesterday, Ryan thought, watching her as she vanished down the stairs belowdecks. He was silent until she'd completely gone, and a little longer for good measure. Those bat ears could hear things even his couldn't.

"I have begun to understand why you creatures are here," Galena said, after a long silence. "You are each broken, just like my crew. You leave safety to chase riches in faraway lands. If you were not broken, you would stay home."

Ryan chuckled. "Some more than others, Galena. But go, you should sleep too. I'm not tired."

Now he felt a fresh wave of skepticism, even stronger than before. "After last night? Traveling to other worlds, and fleeing all night—you're not tired?"

"I don't think I can," he said. “It isn't worth the trade, I promise. I need positive feelings around me, or I will go hungry and starve. When I use 'magic' to change or move things, I use the same strength I need to live, instead of some replenishing well of endurance like the others. I would happily sleep again if I could be normal."

The griffon looked away. "I have seen others like you, in my travels. You are among the most dangerous cargo we ever carried. There is no way to know if we kept some aboard after that trip. Yet there are others, and stories say they have a compact with Equestria. The ponies must have some willing to accept you, after so many failed attacks."

She left. Ryan was alone on the deck, watching the wilderness go by. There was more to see the longer he waited—bone-dry desert had been replaced with orchards and fields, and occasional patches of buildings he guessed were small villages.

A single iron line connected many of these, snaking its way north roughly along their route. A railway. So that was another little confirmation that Equestria was more advanced than many of their contemporaries.

Galena thinks they dominate because of magic, but maybe that's wrong. Maybe it's technology that sets them apart.

He knew the instant his friends were making their way back to the deck. Blake came first, though other footsteps were only a short distance behind him. Janet was up too, and Kaelynn had apparently abandoned getting more sleep.

Blake made it up the railing, still looking as groggy as his emotions felt. "Vesper says we made it. Pirates of the Caribbean couldn't keep up with us through the night."

He nodded. "We had sails and a ship, they were on their own wings. They can only glide for so long before they had to stop to rest. I guess they didn't think we'd be leaving so fast."

Blake stopped beside the helm, though he didn't unlock it at first. Instead he checked the instruments, reading levels of silvery mercury in one sealed bottle, then taping the compass with a hoof. "Looks like you managed to stay on course, too. We're still headed north to Crystal Caverns."

"We should stop sooner than that," Janet said, from the top of the stairs. She kept her wings folded as she walked, almost deliberately. Like she was trying not to use them for balance, despite the blasting wind. "We're almost there. You know what that means?" She gestured off the nose of the ship, using one of her forelegs instead of a wing.

"You're the local," Blake said. He kept his voice flat, cautious even. "What is it?"

"That's the capital, Canterlot," she said. "And just south, a town called Ponyville. We should stop there."

Blake finally began unhooking the helm, settling his hooves on either side. He made a few slight adjustments, but not quite as far as the griffon had indicated. "I assume there's some reason why?"

She nodded sharply. "The person who brought me here lives in Ponyville. Saving his ass is the reason I still have these." She spread both wings, catching the light of the sun behind them for a second. But she closed them just as quickly, looking away.

"Good kid, bit of an idiot. But it wouldn't be a social call. Tracy's living in one place, living with ponies all the time. He told me he'd kept his ear to the ground about any way back to Earth from this side. He might know things we can use."

"And if we can't, I assume this Ponyville place is gonna be kind to visitors?" Ryan asked. "We should be able to tie up there without getting chased out of town by... whatever the creature of the week is."

"Oh yes. Ponyville has a few emigrants living there now. One of Tracy's friends is there, runs some kinda construction company. There is an exchange student at school too as well. Unfortunately their magic will not serve us.”

Blake cleared his throat, grip tightening on the wheel. "I'm sorry about last night. You all deserve better than having me lose my shit. It's... won't happen again."

He felt sincere as he said it, his mind overflowing with guilt. He expected resistance from them, maybe asking him not to be the captain. But who else would take that job?

"I hope not," Janet said. "For your sake as much as ours. Captain Blake, think about all the fire you conjured—that's magic. Every little bit you use changes you. There comes a point where you've been altered too far, and you lose your humanity forever. Once it happens, there will be no way to return. No amount of tears or begging can reverse the process."

Blake's face remained neutral, staring ahead into the growing sunrise. "I'll be more careful. I know it's no excuse, but... I swear anger feels different in this body. Like I'm burning up from the inside out. It's hard to stop."

"I know how hard instincts can be," Ryan said. "You don't want to know what it feels like to be me. It's the trap of this planet—part of me wonders if that's what happened to the original explorers. Go back and forth from Earth to here enough times, and you get changed, then stuck. Like the planet is trying to wrap its coils around us, and stop us from..."

He trailed off abruptly, staring down at the deck. Kaelynn had been heading up here. She'd stopped, but not in the mess hall. "I'm fine visiting your friend, Janet. If you vote that way too, Blake, that's a majority."

He left, speeding up as he rounded the steps. His wings buzzed to help accelerate him, but he wasn't sure it actually made a difference. Maybe it just felt faster to fly.

He found Kaelynn exactly where he could sense her—collapsed in the middle of the hallway. Her body was sprawled on the ground, like she'd just... fallen asleep?

He nudged her with a hoof. "Kaelynn? Sweetie, are you feeling alright?"

She twitched, then rolled onto her side. If she wasn't in so much trouble, he probably would've stared. They still hadn't had the chance to test out those legs together. "I... I said..." she yawned, stretching both legs. "We need a better nickname, remember? I have way too much WD-40 in my hair to be called 'sweetie'."

She rose. There was nothing obviously unwell about the way she did it. But no matter how convincing her act, she couldn't hide her tiredness from his magical senses. You still feel like you haven't slept. Why?

"We'll think of something," he said. "I could be you, then you could call me sweetie all you wanted. I'm not Vesper, I don't mind. It's all the same to me."

She chuckled. Even her laugh sounded exhausted. "Haven't dated another woman since college, but I'll keep that in mind. Gonna be a shame to give that up when we..." She yawned again. "Sorry. Still waking up. I need coffee bad. It's safe to make a pot, right? We're not going to burn down before we get to our next place?"

"It's safe," he said. "Come on, I'll heat some of it up for you. I... couldn't stomach it myself, but I'll feel better when you do."

She shoved him off, though the gesture was so weak that she slid away from him along the deck, instead of the other way around.

Next Chapter: Chapter 44: Blake Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 22 Minutes