//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 
// Story: Ponies of the Cursed Seas 
// by iowaforever 
//------------------------------//

Sadly, El Fantasma in the games does not have mind-raping powers. He seems a lot scarier if he does... Anyway, more story, and a few names and plotpoints will be mentioned.
Still wondering if I should include that extra chapter of information... your thoughts?
And I still own no characters or ships, except possibly the OCs. Like the story, leave your comments; I want to know what you all think of this




Chapter 9

Pinkie had recovered by morning, but Mays was taking no chances. Two marines were stationed outside Twilight and her friends’ rooms, Smith and his Pegasi had been ordered to fly over the ship twice a day to spot any other vessels, and all the cannoneers were required to stay at their posts. Richard and the marines began drilling more and more, and Hacksaw made sure that all the medical supplies he had were available at moment's notice.
“I don’t like this,” Rainbow Dash said. “Pinkie has one bad dream and he’s acting like Nightmare Moon came back.”
“Rainbow, somepony that they have fought before tortured Pinkie through her dreams,” Twilight said “They have every reason to be scared.”
“Yeah I know... I just wish they’d tell us more about what’s going on.”
“You’re just mad because Captain Mays ordered you to stop taking naps out on deck.”
“No I’m not.” Rainbow Dash noticed Twilight glaring at her “Okay, maybe a little, but still, everypony’s acting so... official.”
“Rainbow, if this is bothering you, you should go and ask if you can get a better explanation. It’s a better plan than just sulking around below deck.”
“I’m not sulking.”
“Yeah, you kinda are.”
“Fine, I’ll go ‘sulk’ somewhere else.” Rainbow Dash left and walked out on deck. Smith was passing out boarding axes and cutlasses to a group of about twenty Pegasi. Rainbow Dash decided that this was the best place to start.
“Hey, can you tell me what all the fuss is-”
“Can you wield an axe?” Smith said.
“Uh, not really.”
“You can still be a spotter. You’re coming with us.”
“Uh... okay. What are we looking for?”
“Ships, islands, anything that looks weird or out of place. The sky’s pretty clear, so we should be able to see perfectly.”
“That doesn’t sound so hard.” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and took off. This was her first real flight in almost a week, and it felt amazing; she surged forward, the wind rushing through her mane and coat. She broke through a stray cloud and spiraled through the air, laughing all the way.
“I hate to interrupt your celebration, but we need to get this done.” Smith said, flying up to her.
“Oh, right. Sorry about that.” Rainbow Dash looked around. The only things she saw were a few small clouds, the one cloud she punched through, and the Concordia. “I don’t see anything.”
“That’s what everyone says the first time they’re put on watch.” Smith said. “At least that’s what I said. We ended up getting sunk by a British sixty-four about an hour later.”
“Oh... that sucks.”
“Yes it did. So, word of advice, try to look a little harder.”
“Uh, is that supposed to be some kind of sage advice that I’m supposed to remember next time I’m in danger or something?”
“I... don’t follow you.”
“Never mind.” Rainbow Dash squinted at the horizon. She was able to make out some of the finer details, but all she could see were waves, a few small flocks of birds, and a column of smoke somewhere to the southwest.
Wait...
“Hey, I think something’s burning over there.” Rainbow Dash pulled Smith over and pointed in the directing she had seen the smoke.
“Looks far away... might be gone by the time we can sail over there. You,” Smith pointed to a nearby Pegasus “Go down and tell the captain we spotted something burning, and try to point them in the general direction we’re headed. We’ll go over there and check it out.” the other Pegasus nodded and flew down to the ship below. The rest waited for a minute or two before the sailor pony returned.
“He’s saying to go ahead, but be a little more cautious than usual.”


.................


They had been flying for about a minute when Rainbow Dash started asking questions.
“So, I never really got a chance to talk to you that much. How’d you get on the ship?”
“Mays needed a lieutenant, and I just happened to be available. Wasn’t that bad, actually; Nolan was a pain, but it was a good crew and I adjusted pretty easily.”
“That actually sounds kind of boring. Don’t you have any cool stories like Richard?”
“I have a few, but nothing that I could tell you in a few... ah, there’s the problem.” Below them, stranded on a large sandbar, was a ship. It had been split in half and the forward half was on fire, the smoke rising up and obscuring any view of the stern.
“Start searching for survivors.”
“Want me to clear away some of the smoke?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Please do. Get one of the others to help you out.” Smith began to split the Pegasi into groups. Rainbow Dash went over to the first Pegasi she saw.
“So, do you know anything about weather control?” she asked.
“No... Well, other than what you described to the captain.” the sailor said.
“... I can work with that. Just flap your wings around in a circle and try to brush away some of the smoke. Here, I’ll show you.” Rainbow Dash found a suitably sized cloud and began to brush it away with her wings. “I prefer just to beat them apart with my hooves, but since you’re new to this whole things I should start you off with the basics.”
“Oh.” the Pegasus approached one of the other clouds and tried to disperse it. Since he did not fully grasp the technique, the sudden lack of lift sent him plummeting down towards the deck of the ship. Rainbow Dash managed to catch him before he impaled himself on a broken mast. “I thought you said this was basic.”
“It is; still takes most ponies a few tries to get the hang of it.” Rainbow Dash began to lift the other Pegasus away from the smoke when she spotted something. From where she was flying it looked like a small ball of magic. Curious, she began to fly closer, releasing the other Pegasus and letting him fly under his own power.
What she found was a knot of about twenty ponies, mostly unicorns with the occasional Earth Pony. The unicorns were using their magic to hold the flames back, but the fire was slowly creeping towards them. Some were wounded, but even lacking medial experience Rainbow Dash was able to determine that most of the injuries were superficial.
“Who are you?” the lead unicorn asked.
“I’m Rainbow Dash and I’m here to rescue you.”
“You’re a little late; half the crew is already dead, and you only bring one other Pegasus. What kind of rescuer are you?”
“Okay, I’m making this up as I go along, and no I didn’t bring just one other Pegasus.” she turned around. “Hey, we’ve got some survivors over here!”
“Wonderful.” Smith landed next to Rainbow Dash “What happened?”
“We were attacked around dawn by this weird ship. They left us here after killing most of the unicorns and all of the Pegasi.”
“The captain, did he have no face?”
“Wait, you know the pirate that attacked us?”
“Long story, and you’ll all be dead before I can finish.” Smith turned back to the other ponies. “We’ll have to carry them back to the Concordia. Leave the axes; we’ll need to save weight. Get the wounded and younger ponies first.” Rainbow Dash spotted a peach-colored unicorn mare near the rear of the group. She flew towards her, but two other unicorns and an Earth Pony stallion cut her off.
“Whoa. Hey, I’m just trying to help here. What’s with all the hostility?”
“I do not trust you.” The Earth Pony said.
“I’ve had to deal with a lot of trust issues, but this has to be the most ridiculous one ever.”
“Being as you are the scrawniest of the Pegasi present, and one of the most brash I’ve ever met, my fear is that you’ll just become self absorbed and drop her.”
“Who you callin’ ‘Scrawny’?”
“Stand down, Rainbow Dash.” Smith came over to the group of ponies. “Look, if it’s so important that she needs to be protected, I’ll take her myself. If anything happens to her, I will personally give you a sword to kill me with.”
“Uh, shouldn’t you think this through a little before you go around saying things like that?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Any other day I would have agreed with that, but we’re stuck on a ship that’s burning to ash as we speak. This is no time for rationality.”
“Okay.” Rainbow Dash looked at the Earth Pony in front of her. “So, are you going to protest if I grab you?”
“Uh...”
“Didn’t think so.” with that, Rainbow Dash grabbed the Earth Pony and hoisted him up in the air. The other Pegasi followed, although Smith struggled for a moment when trying to take off with the mare.
“Are you weighed down by chains or something?” Smith muttered as he joined the other Pegasi.
“Not my fault.” the mare said. Smith was not paying attention.
“So, who’s in charge here?”
“I am.” the Earth Pony Rainbow Dash was carrying said. “Commander Tradewind, Ponaean Royal Navy. Who exactly are you ponies?”
“Well, you’ve already met Rainbow Dash. I’m Carl Smith, member of the... Equestrian Navy, Concordia.”
“Wait, ‘Equestrian’? You’re from Equestria?”
“Nice place. You should visit sometime.”
“But nopony from Equestria has been this far east in ten thousand years... Why are you here?”
“Heard there was a powerful artifact called the Obsidian Crescent in the area... Also, we’re lending our services for killing skeletons, fishmen and ghosts, if you’re interested.”
“How do I know you’re not here to attack us?”
“Would we have saved you if we were?”
“You could just be taking us back to our ship so you could torture us for information.”
“I suppose that is one way of looking at things... You must have a very morbid thought process if that’s the first potential outcome that comes to mind.”
“When you live in a city that has constantly been attacked by all manner of ungrateful beings who wouldn’t know the meaning of neutrality or friendship if it came up to them and hit them on the flank then you-”
“Dear,” the mare Smith was carrying said “You’re being dramatic again.”
“‘Dear’?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“She’s my wife.”
“Oh, that explains why you were so protective.”
“Anyway,” Smith said “We’re not here to torture anypony; we’ll just get you back to the Concordia, patch up your wounds, and get you home... if we knew where you called home.”
“So, you’re sailing east with no idea where you’re going?” Tradewind laughed “That’s like something out of an adventure story. Let me guess, next you’ll say Solaris himself approached you and told you to go find the Crescent for him.”
“Who’s this ‘Solaris’ dude that everypony keeps talking about?” Rainbow Dash asked. Tradewind looked up at her.
“How could you not know who Solaris is?”
“I flunked Basic Equestrian History when I was a filly?”
“Solaris? God of all ponies? Raises the sun every day?”
“But Princess Celestia does that.”
“Celestia...” Tradewind paused for a moment.
“His daughter, honey.” the mare said.
“Oh yeah, that’s right. I keep forgetting that.”
“You know, for somepony who was freaking out over being rescued, you seem fairly light hearted about your current predicament.” Smith said.
“I’m a sailor; it’s my duty to be unfazed in the face of capture.”
“Spoken like a true British officer.”
“A what?”
“Long story.”


.................


“I want this deck cleared.” Mays said “Whatever it is that Smith spotted burning, there may be some injured ponies that need to be taken care of, and we can’t do that with all these crates and barrels taking up space.”
“Why do we have to take in refugees?” Nolan asked “They’re rude, they smell and they steal things; last time we took in refugees, they stole half my uniforms.”
“You actually ended up looking like a normal person, for once.” Hacksaw said. “Captain, I need some of the sailors to start tearing up extra canvas.”
“Bandages, I presume?” Hacksaw nodded “Sure, go right ahead. But don’t use too much; we still need that in case the sails are damaged.”
“Anything we can do to help?” Twilight asked.
“Do any of you have any medical experience?” hacksaw asked.
“Uh, I have to take care of some of the injuries the little animals around Ponyville get.” Fluttershy said. “I can help... if you want me to, that is.”
“You’ll do.”
“Look, they’re back.” The officers looked to where Twilight was pointing. The Pegasi were still a ways off, but Hacksaw could see that each Pegasi was carrying another pony.
“Guess he finally managed to find something.” Hacksaw muttered. “Clear the deck; we need to make room for our... ‘guests’.”
“I still think we shouldn’t let them come here.” Nolan said. Mays hit Nolan in the back of the head to shut him up.
Rainbow Dash was the first to land, dropping the Earth Pony she was carrying unceremoniously on deck. Hacksaw took a moment to size up the stallion; he was a little taller and more heavily built than Nolan, but still small compared to Captain Mays or himself. His coat was a light blue and his cutie mark was a stylized trade ship. The stallion approached Mays.
“Are you the commander of this vessel?” the stallion asked.
“Yes. Captain Montana Mays, Concordia. And you are?”
“Commander Tradewind, Ponaean Royal Navy. I would like to know why you are here, and why everypony seems to know more about what is going on than I do.”
“Long story short, asides from the six fillies here, we’re not actually from Equestria and spent a good amount of time fighting cursed pirates... that’s who attacked you, right?”
“Big ship, shark face, had a scythe on front?”
“Yep, that’s the Chum Maker. When was the attack?”
“Around dawn; the sun had just risen and there was still some fog on the ocean when they came and sliced our ship in half.”
“Dawn... they got away again. Anyway, we’ll let you rest and then try to get you back home. By any chance could you provide a heading?”
“Of course. I studied as a navigator under Admiral Iron Spar himself for five years.”
“Go to the helm, try to figure out where we’re going. We’ll take care of everypony else.” Tradewind gave a short bow and headed towards the helm. Twilight walked over and took his place in front of Mays.
“He’s from Ponaeus.” she said.
“I noticed.”
“That means that the sea serpent was telling the truth... but why would Princess Celestia not tell me about this?”
“Twilight, the whole place sound kinda freaky,” Rainbow Dash said “I mean, he thought some pony name Solaris was raising the sun, not Celestia.”
“Solaris is Celestia and Luna’s father; I thought everypony knew that.”
“Most of us weren’t taught in a big fancy castle with constant exposure to those sorts of things.”
“Sir,” the pony at the helm called “We’ve got the heading, and Commander Tradewind says we should reach Ponaeus by nightfall, sooner if the wind holds up.”
“Good. Smith, will you just land now instead of flying right behind me, and please put that mare down.”
“Sorry if flying is bugging you.” Smith said “It’s not like I’m constantly whining about it.” he began to descend, placing the mare down as gently as he could.
“Of all the ponies you had to carry back, you naturally chose the pretty one.” Mays said.
"I'm suprised they actually let him get near her." Hacksaw said.
“Not my idea, and you spent a lot of time chasing after women before we got here.”
“‘Being chased’ is the more appropriate term. Hacksaw, go check her for injuries.”
“Hey, she seemed fine to me. A little overweight, but still fine.”
“Will you please stop making comments about my weight?” the mare said. “I swear, some ponies just have no respect for-” she never finished, for in the next moment she gasped and doubled over in pain.
“I didn’t even touch her!” Smith said.
“I know, I was watching.” Mays said. He trotted over to the fallen mare “Is everything alright?”
“No... nononononononono! This isn’t supposed to be happening.” she gasped again.
“Smith, do something useful and get Tradewind over there; he should know one of his charges is in serious pain.”
“That’s his wife.”
“Even worse. Get him over here.” Hacksaw joined Mays.
“This pain, is it consistent or sporadic?” the medic asked.
“Sporadic.”
“I see.”
“Care to explain what that means?” Mays asked.
“Simple. She’s going into labor.” Mays looked at Hacksaw with a blank stare.
“You’re a ship’s doctor and you can immediately tell when a pony goes into labor?”
“Farmer, remember? We used to breed horses before switching to wheat.”
“... Right. Get her below deck so you don’t splatter blood over everything or something.” Smith returned with Commander Tradewind. The commander was not panicking, yet, but he still seemed very shaken “It’s not in my power to order you to do something, but I think you should go with them. Don’t worry, everypony else will be in good hands.”
“Th-Thank you for saving us; I know I have my suspicions, but I’m much more grateful that you managed to save as many ponies as you did.”
“You’re welcome. Now go help your wife.” Tradewind joined the small entourage that was heading below deck. Mays turned back to the helm. “Get us to Ponaeus as fast as you can; I don’t want to get targeted by any Cursed that might be tracing us.”


.................


Fluttershy followed Hacksaw, Tradewind and his wife down below deck. She tried to remain as calm as possible, but every time the mare in front of her winced or contracted Fluttershy felt she would panic like when the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran out into the Everfree Forest in the middle of the night.
“We’ll have to use the gun deck; it’s the only place with enough room.”
“Couldn’t we use the medical ward?” Tradewind asked “I thought all ships were required to have one.”
“The captain converted it into a temporary powder room when the main powder room started leaking. We were supposed to move it back last night.”
“I don’t think I can go any farther.” Tradewind’s wife said, wincing again.
“Don’t worry, the gun deck’s only one level-”
“No, I really can’t go on.” she wobbled a little, on the verge of fainting, but Fluttershy was able to catch the pregnant mare before she fell.
“Then you just lie on down and relax,” the butter yellow Pegasus said, gently prodding the mare to lie down “We don’t want you to get all worked up, now do we?”
“Are... Are you some kind of nurse?” the mare asked.
“I take care of the animals that live around my home. Whenever they have babies, I always find that if they’re calm, they don’t really need a lot of help. So just relax and breath slowly... but not too slowly; we don’t want you to pass out or anything.” The mare gave Fluttershy a weird look. The Pegasus smiled back and turned to Hacksaw. “I don’t think we’ll be needing you anymore. You have patients that are hurt and I think you should go look at them.”
“Since when did you take charge?” the medic asked.
“Oh, I’m sorry, a-am I being too pushy? Because I can let you take over if you want. I-I don’t want to be too much of a bother.”
“No it’s okay. If you need any assistance, just find me or pull over one of the other sailors.” Hacksaw left the three.
“Now, I just want you to push, okay?” Fluttershy said. “Not too hard though; you might hurt yourself. Oh, keep breathing too; some ponies tend to forget that step and start screaming instead.”
“How would you know this?” the mare asked between breaths “I thought you only took care of animals.”
“I read a lot of stories about ponies having babies; they always start screaming at each other, and they do it so often that I wonder how they keep breathing.”
“But you’ve never actually delivered a baby, Miss...”
“Oh, my name is Fluttershy. Sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier. What’s your name?”
“What does my name have to do with anything?” the mare asked before crying out in pain.
“I always found it easier to help somepony if you know their name.”
“My name... Rising Dawn.”
“Rising Dawn. That’s a nice name. Does that have to do with your special talent?”
“No; the eldest child in my family has always been named in relation to the sun. My father said that’s how my ancestors honored Solaris for raising the sun. My special talent is leading and coordinating ponies.”
“So, you’re like a mayor?”
“A little more higher ranking, but yes.”


.................


They spotted land about six hours after picking up the survivors. It was a fairly large island with a few rocks guarding a cove. Smith had offered to fly out and get a better view of the island, but Mays did not want the possibility that he could be mistaken for a invader.
“How long until we reach the island?” Mays asked one of the nearby Ponaeans.
“A few minutes, at least. There’s a current leading into the harbor that should add some speed.”
“I like speed.” Mays looked at the island. Something was glowing on one of the hills of the island, piquing his curiosity. “What’s that?”
“Early warning beacon; it allows the ships in the harbor to know when unidentified vessels are approaching.”
“In case of invasion, I presume?”
“Asides from the odd Diamond Dog ship, you can never be too careful.” Mays nodded. He spotted Twilight coming up to him.
“Is Fluttershy still helping that mare have her baby?” she asked.
“Well, I still hear screaming down below, so I say yes.”
“It’s taking a long time... What if something’s gone wrong?”
“I’m sure Fluttershy would have come up and got help if something was wrong.”
“I don’t know; you know how she is, always so nervous and shy."
“You’re saying this a few days after she talked a sea serpent down from killing us?”
“Sea Serpent?” the Ponaean next to them asked. “You wouldn’t happen to be talking about Tsuro, would you?”
“Yeah, you know him?”
“I have never met him myself, but he frequents the waters around Ponaeus. You met him?”
“Yeah, he said something about ponies being a warmongering race and didn’t really respect us.” Twilight said.
“From what the older sailors have told me, Tsuro may be rude, but he holds no ill will towards anypony. After his kind was savaged during some war a long time ago he’s taken a stance of non-interference.”
“That’d explain why he didn’t want us crossing his territory.” Mays said.
“Sail Ho!” a Pegasus on watch called.
“Wow, you ponies respond fast.”
“Admiral Iron Spar and the king like the fleet to be ready at a moments notice; we were nearly routed in the last war with the Diamond Dogs because somepony wasn’t ready.”
“I find it hard for those guys to really amount to anything.” Mays turned his focus to the Pegasus on watch. “How many ships?”
“Three: two galleys and... a fourth rate, I think.”
“Serious firepower, huh?”
“You’re not attacking them.” Twilight growled.
“Wasn’t planning on it. Try signaling them that we come in peace.”
“Your wife seems dedicated to keeping peace. Very admirable given her position.”
“I’m sorry, my what?”
“Your wife. You two are married, aren’t you?”
“Us?” Twilight asked. “No, we’re not married; I only just met him a week ago. Princess Celestia wanted my friends and I to come with them to find the Crescent. Why would you think that?”
“When I first came on board, I noted that you spent an abnormal amount of time looking at his flanks.” Twilight’s face flushed with embarrassment. Mays did not respond in any way; he was used to girls chasing after him, and in Twilight’s case he found it cute. Four red flashes and a green flash shot up over the fourth rate. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“They don’t trust you,” the Ponaean sailor said. “They want to come in closer for a better view.” there was a long, drawn out scream from below.
“Better hurry; I think their population is about to increase by one.”


.................


Or down by one, depending on what happened first: either the baby would come, or Rising Dawn would succeed at breaking past Fluttershy and kill Tradewind.
“There’s supposed to be a baby right now!” the mare screamed, swiping at Tradewind with her hooves “Why isn’t there a baby?!”
“This is why I like tending to animals better than ponies.” Fluttershy squeaked “Now, you must really calm down-”
“Calm down? I’ll calm down once I either have a baby or this jackass’ head on a platter!”
“If you’re accusing me of making you like this-” Tradewind began, but Rising Dawn cut him off.
“Oh no, I’d gotten used to being a beached whale! It was you who suggested I’d go with you on that ship!”
“Isn’t it part of your duties to visit the other settlements?”
“Don’t you dare bring my duties into this! You told me that nothing would happen, and we nearly get killed by pirates! What kind of husband allows his wife to nearly get killed by pirates?!”
“I wasn’t expecting to be attacked by pirates-”
“Of course. ‘You weren’t expecting’. That’s the same thing you said when I told you I was pregnant; ‘I wasn’t expecting that to happen so soon’. Really? Have you ever taken any biology lessons at all?!”
“Um, if I may...” Fluttershy tried cutting in, but Rising Dawn was having none of it.
“I spent an entire damn year watching every single meal placed in front of me get splattered all over the floor and watching as I lost the ability to run! And you, you were out gallivanting around pretending to be a hero instead of helping me!”
“Please, I need you to-” Rising Dawn tried to force herself past Fluttershy.
“I was the only reason you needed to be a hero! Why couldn’t you have been happy with me?! You didn’t need any stupid fame or promotion; I still loved you! But no, you just had to go out and try to make yourself look good so Admiral Iron Spar would-”
“QUIET!” Fluttershy screamed. Rising Dawn and Tradewind recoiled in shock from the Pegasus’ outburst, the earth pony catching himself before tripping over a loose crate. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to shout.”
“No... that’s okay...” Rising Dawn said, lying down again. “I’m the one who should be sorry... I don’t know what came over me.”
“Are you still mad at me?” Tradewind asked, mock concern woven into his voice.
“Not really... Who could stay mad at you?”
“Your younger brother tried to stab me in the head with a spear when you announced we were getting married.”
“He got better...”
“Ooh, that’s good.” Fluttershy said.
“What, that my brother almost killed my husband?”
“No, I think I can see the baby’s head.” Rising Dawn started panicking again, but Fluttershy started stroking her again to calm her down. “Now I need you to push... more... more... not too much though.” The mare cried again before dropping her head against the deck, her breath coming out in ragged gasps.
“Why can’t this just end?” Rising Dawn asked between breaths. Fluttershy was not really paying attention.
“Hello there,” Fluttershy said, scooping up the slightly damp and confused unicorn foal in her hooves “I know you might be startled, but everypony begins life startled. I know somepony who should help.” the Pegasus flapped over to Rising Dawn. “Here’s your daughter.”
“My... my daughter?” Fluttershy placed the blue and peach filly gently next to Rising Dawn. The filly yawned and snuggled up against her mother, who smiled and nuzzled the baby gently. After all the three had been through, it seemed like there would be peace again.
That was, until Pinkie Pie showed up.
“Hey Fluttershy, the others were wondering what was taking you so long- OHMYGOSH! BABY!” Pinkie Pie zipped over to the trio, accidentally knocking Fluttershy off her hooves. Pinkie Pie got real close to the foal and began babbling on about the spooked filly, to the confusion and annoyance of everypony else “Ooh you’re so cute did anyone tell you that you were cute? Because you are! The Cakes are going to have a baby real soon too and I’m so excited and you’d be excited too if you knew them because they’re real nice and own a super-amazing bakery but that’s not important right now right now what’s important is that you were just born and that’s awesome! What’s your name? Ooh, maybe I can guess it? How about Peachy Keen, is your name Peachy Keen?”
“Uh, Pinkie?” Fluttershy said, getting up from the floor “I don’t think you should be disturbing them like this.” but Pinkie was already off on her own tangent.
“Fluttershy, we have to throw a party for them! I might have my party cannon stashed somewhere, so it shouldn’t be that hard. There’ll be streamers and balloons and piñatas and everything! It will be the most amazing party anypony has ever seen!”
“If you don’t mind,” Tradewind said. “I think we’ll have to skip the party, Miss...”
“Oh, I’m Pinkie Pie. Funny, I thought I already met you two... Maybe I did and I just can’t remember; that’s always fun. Maybe some other time I can throw you a party. Well, see you ponies later.” Pinkie bounced off, leaving Fluttershy alone with Tradewind, Rising Dawn and their new daughter.
“Energetic mare,” Tradewind said “Is she like that all the time?”
“Yes.”
“You Equestrians are a hardy bunch; I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be stuck with her for a prolonged period of time.”
“Oh, she’s really not all that bad.”


..................


“Sir, can I ask you something?” Mays looked over at Smith.
“What is it?”
“Before they board the ship, can we establish if the ‘Equestrian Navy’ is an actual institution?”
“Well it is, isn’t it?”
“What do we have to show for it?”
“Lots of things,” Twilight said. “You saved all these ponies, charted a few islands, and then there was that thing with the Diamond Dogs; what more do you need?”
“Anyone with a ship, a piece of paper and a sword can do those things,” Smith said “Nolan can do that... not very well, but still. What we need to do is something really noteworthy, something that no one has ever done before.”
“Better think of something fast,” Mays said “Looks like they’re about to board.” the fourth rate that had pulled alongside Concordia was quite a bit smaller than the American-built vessel, but it was run with a level of efficiency and discipline that would make the British envious. While it was not strictly rank-and-file for everything, there was a sense of repetition in ever single action the sailor ponies made. About ten of them boarded the Concordia and formed two parallel lines, facing out towards the other sailors. The next pony over was a bearded, steel-gray unicorn in an admiral’s uniform who made straight for Captain Mays. Mays had met a lot of admirals over the course of his career, but there was something about seeing a pony in that position that made Mays uneasy.
“Are you the captain of this vessel?” the admiral asked.
“Um, yes.” Mays said.”Admiral Iron Spar, I presume?”
“You are very observant, Equestrian,” Iron Spar said “No doubt some of my fellow sailors have spoken of me.”
“Well, there was a name dropped somewhere...”
“And you would be?”
“Captain Montana Mays, Concordia.”
“Pleasure to meet you, captain. I would have expected Solaris to send a larger force if he wished to re-establish contact with us.”
“Actually, his daughter Princess Celestia sent us, and we’re the only ship in the... Equestrian Navy.” Iron Spar looked at Mays, confused.
“Only this ship? But why build a line ship without smaller vessels to accompany it?”
“We’re not actually from Equestria.”
“So you’re mercenaries, then?”
“No... Okay, It’s a long story involving a whirlpool, some magic and a giant squid.”
“Do you expect me to believe something as ridiculous as that?”
“Stranger things have happened...”
“Like why you have some of my sailors on board your ship.”
“Their ship got attacked by some old enemies of mine; we found them and rescued them before the ship sank.”
“Is this true?” Iron Spar asked one of the Ponaean sailors Smith’s Pegasi had picked up.
“It is.” the pony replied. Iron Spar turned back to Mays.
“I commend you for rescuing the sailors. Now, if you may transfer them over to my ship and we will send you on your way.”
“Wait,” Mays said “Could we stop in Ponaeus to pick up some supplies for the remainder of our journey?”
“I cannot allow that; you have not told me exactly what you are doing this far east with a ship of this size, and I cannot risk that you may be plotting something against the citizens of Ponaeus.”
“We’re here to find the Obsidian Crescent-”
“And why would you need to know where it is? Has it been stolen or are you just trying to secure its resting place? Even if it is out there, would that mean that more Equestrians would be moving into this area to safeguard the Crescent?”
“Hey, I’m not into that whole Imperialism thing. I respect your right to privacy and independence and have no intention of colonizing anyone.”
“And what can you say that would convince me of that?”
“Uh... the six mares that you probably don’t recognize have these things called the Elements of Harmony?” Iron Spar gave Mays a blank look. “You know what those are, right?”
“I’m familiar with the Elements, captain. Even if you do have the Elements, I cannot be certain if you don’t have some ill use for them.”
“‘Ill use’? What kind of ill use could you possibly-”
“Admiral,” Mays, Twilight and Smith turned. Coming up from below was the mare, carrying a sleeping foal on her back. She crossed the deck and stopped in front of Iron Spar “These ponies saved the lives of myself, my daughter, and many more ponies. They deserve better than to be sent off without understanding how much their heroism is appreciated.”
“Do we really count as heroes?” Mays asked Smith under his breath.
“Better than enemies, don’t you think?” the Pegasus answered. There was a pause, and Mays got nervous again; Iron Spar seemed to be a fairly commanding figure, and he probably would not take too kindly to some random mare coming up to him and challenging his authority. Mays thought he could hear Nolan snicker in the back.
“I understand,” Iron Spar said “And I may have been a little hasty in deeming these ponies dangerous. They shall be brought before the king and he should decide what their fate should be.”
“We don’t submit to kings.” Nolan said, but Hacksaw and Richard silenced him.
“Ignore that pony,” Mays said “His nationalism causes him to do stupid things.”
“A dangerous trait to have in an officer,” Iron Spar said “You should do something about it.”
“Believe me, I’ve been looking for a solution.” Iron Sparr nodded and looked back to Rising Dawn.
“Would you like to return to my ship, Princess?”
“Wait, what?” Mays asked.
“If you don’t mind, I would like to stay aboard this ship until we return to Ponaeus so that I can learn more from the Equestrians.”
“She’s a what?” Iron Spar and Rising Dawn paid Mays no attention.
“I will leave a detachment of guards to protect you and your foal.”
“If you see it necessary.”
“Would somepony please explain what’s going on?” Rising Dawn looked at Mays.
“I am Princess Rising Dawn, heir to the throne of the city of Ponaeus.”