The Light Express crossed the land, going to the east of Equestria, where the express arrived at the station of Las Pegasus after making a quick stop at Ponyville. The station was located at the top of a mountain with a bridge connecting it with the city. When the train stopped, Twilight and Blue got out, with the former asking to the latter:
“Are you really fine, Blue? You don’t look so well.”
“Honestly, I don’t quite know that” Blue replied, a little tired. “Somehow, part of last night was washed from my head.”
“Probably it was another of your nightmares” Twilight suggested.
“Maybe, although normally I remember every single of them…” he replied.
After them, the one to get out was Star, who was with nopony than Moonlight.
“Okay, I tried to believe that you managed to convince to convince your mother to come, but now I want the truth, Moonlight” Star said. “How did you do it?”
“What, I can be very convincing” Moonlight replied. “And I know my mom and how to make her change her mind.”
It didn’t took that much time to Star to get how she that.
“Please, tell me you didn’t use your voice.”
Moonlight would say something, but then stopped herself, what pretty much confirmed Star’s theory.
“I can’t believe this… You charmed your own mother, Moonlight?”
“I didn’t charm her” Moonlight replied. “I just… hummed a little. Sorry, Star, but I had to come. I had to set aside while you passed through the war and everything else, including when I was a villain. You did everything you could to save me and even when I did the same, I only made things worse. I can’t let you go face another threat… not without doing anything to help you. I love you and I can’t stand lose you.”
Those words really moved Star, who smiled and then said:
“Okay, but you’ll have to promise me you’ll be careful.”
“Don’t worry, I will” Moonlight promised.
The two shared a hug and then continued to advance. A second later, Twilight’s friends got out the train, with Applejack saying to Fluttershy:
“Ah can’t believe that ya let yer daughter tah come after what ya said earlier.”
“I know, but…” Fluttershy said. “Moonlight is getting older and more assertive… clearly she’s taking after her father. She would stay home, but when she got to know that Star was coming too… Well, I was not able to convince her to stay. I doubt that, if I even forbade her, she wouldn’t try to come by anyway possible.”
“Yeah, it was tha same with Jona…” Applejack replied. “But mah brother an’ Cherry were very firm with him.”
“Oh, yeah, I noticed that Jona was not very happy when I went to let Cloudy with Cherry” Fluttershy commented.
“By the way, do you think our beloved husbands will be able to take care of the children?” Rarity asked. “It’s not like they are little foals, but…”
“Yeah, Ah know what ya mean” Applejack replied. “We can be out fer some moons and that’s sayin’ tha least. We don’t even know what threat we will be facin’.”
“Relax, we will be fine” Rainbow Dash said. “Have you forgotten all the bad guys whose butt we kicked?”
“Well, duh, of course not” Pinkie Pie said. “There was that time with Nightmare Moon, and then with Discord, followed by…”
And her mouth was covered by Applejack who told her:
“Ah don’t think that’s what Rainbow want’d to say, Pinkie.”
Together, the group advanced through the city, with some of ponies paying their respects to Twilight, Blue and Star, mainly to the latter, as he was the great savior of both Pony World and the Enchanted Forest. At some point, Rainbow asked, while flapping her wings:
“Do we even know where to go?”
“Heartbeat said to meet her by the airship port” Twilight said. “Don’t worry, we’re not far.”
Arriving to the airship port, where many airship were moored, floating in the air, they noticed that Heartbeat was in no way to be found.
“Oh great, fastest being in all Pony World and she can’t even be here at time.”
“Uh, she does remember us of a certain somepony” Applejack replied, with an ironic smile to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash crossed her front hooves, while pouting.
“For your information…” a voice said, while Heartbeat appeared suddenly. “…I was already here when you arrived. But you were taking too long, so I went to buy some sweets.”
“Uh, what did you take?” Pinkie Pie asked, interested.
“Oh, you won’t gonna believe the new kind of treats the new store at Manehatten is selling” Heartbeat replied. “There’s a new chocolate with a new flavor that you won’t believe it…”
“Heartbeat, as much as I appreciate your and Pinkie’s enthusiasm for candy, I think that I speak for the rest of us that we want you to take us to our ride to Tambelon” Twilight said.
“Okay, princess, follow me” Heartbeat replied, starting to advance.
“Oh, but I wanted to know more about that chocolate” Pinkie Pie sighed, disappointed.
They all advanced through the airship port, passing by many vessels, until they arrived to one specifically, where the prow had the shape of a bird.
“And here we are” Heartbeat said. “This is the Destiny’s Bounty.”
Everypony seemed impressed by the ship and Blue said:
“Wow, Heartbeat, you really impressed us.”
“Yeah, I thought you would get us something small and breakable” Rainbow Dash commented.
“I’m touched by the faith you have in me, Rainbow Dash” Heartbeat replied sarcastically.
“Don’t take what Rainbow said to the wrong side, darling” Rarity said to the little General of Affection. “It’s just you tend to surprise us… and not always in the right way.”
“Jest tell us that ya got a crew tah drive this thing” Applejack said. “A ship like this will take more than us to be operated, mainly when there’s jest a few of us who can sail.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I got you a crew” Heartbeat replied.
“And that’s my crew” a voice replied.
From the ship, five figures got down, revealing to be five anthropomorphic parrots, all using corsair clothing. The one that had spoken was a tall female parrot with light gambogeish gray body feathers with pale, light grayish harlequin head feathers with lighter tips and grayish emerald green, long sap green tail feathers, moderate raspberry eyes and a right peg leg. There was also a slender male parrot with an eyepatch that had moderate sea green body feathers with moderate raspberry head feathers and black eyes with very light pistachio sclera. The third one was also a male parrot, but much burlier and with a false right hand with a hook attachment, with grayish emerald green body feathers with the feathers on the chest and shoulders being dark sea green, dark cyan head feathers and dark grayish cyan with pale, light grayish olive sclera. The fourth one was a short and plump female parrot with a false tail tip with a pale, light grayish rose body feathers, light sap green head feathers and black eyes with pale, light grayish apple green sclera. The last one was a wall-eyed male parrot with a false beak with grayish malachite green body feathers, dark crimsons head feathers and moderate crimson eyes with pale, light grayish spring bud sclera.
“Ahoy, little ponies, I’m Captain Celaeno and I will be the one to take you to where you want to go” the first parrot said.
“Wow, you hired pirates to help us?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Now that’s the twist I knew that would come” Star whispered to Moonlight, who chuckled.
“We prefer the term swashbuckling treasure hunters” the slender male parrot said.
“Allow me to introduce you to my crew” Captain Celaeno, motioning then to the slender male parrot and then going through the burly parrot, the other female and the wall-eyed parrot. “This is my first mate, Mullet, and those are Boyle, Lix Spittle and Squabble.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, captain” Twilight said to Celaeno. “I’m…”
“Yes, we know who you are, princess” she replied. “You are quite famous, even between the non-pony.”
“Yeah, I wish we could have done half the things you and your friends have done” Lix Spittle said.
Turning to Heartbeat, Blue asked:
“Heartbeat, I don’t want to get suspicious, but are you sure we can trust them?”
“I know that they are pirates, but they are good pirates” Heartbeat replied. “Trust me when I say that they love a good adventure. Beyond that, I paid to them very well. You won’t believe what parrots will do for shining diamons.”
“I really hope so…” Blue said. “Wait, you said shining diamonds? Please tell me you are not taking diamonds from the Diamond Domain again.”
“What?! Of course not!” Heartbeat replied in a way that didn’t convince Blue. “Okay, I took a few. But I don’t know where’s the problem. Those things are like crystal, growing from the ground.”
“The problem is that the Diamond Domain needs the diamonds to help the Diamond Heart to sustain the Light Kingdom” Blue said. “Even if they can grew back, at this point after what happened…”
“Yes, yes… Don’t worry” Heartbeat replied. “The most important thing is that you now have a way to go to Tambelon.”
“I still have my reservations” Mullet said, with his arms crossed. “The journey ahead of us is as cursed as the place you want to go.”
But Heartbeat just made appear a piece of diamond in front of Mullet who got it and then said:
“But, since we’re experienced with life-threatening danger, I guess helping these ponies going to where they want go is the least we can do.”
“That’s right” Celaeno said. “And, if we want to take advantage of the currents, we must go at once. Boyle, go get the rest of the supplies. We don’t have time to waste.”
“Aye, aye, captain” he replied, going to take his captains orders.
“And you better get on board, little ponies” Captain Celaeno.
Everypony went to the boat, with Applejack saying:
“Well, Ah have tah say that Ah’m a little worri’d ‘bout flyin’ on this thin’. Ah never flew over the sea.”
“Oh, don’t worry, Applejack” Rarity said. “I’m certain that Captain Celaeno and her crew are very competent.”
“Yeah, beyond looking awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, while hoovering. “Did you see how cool is their cloths?”
“Oh this will be so amazing!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “I’ll finally be able to use my pirate eyepatch in the pirate way and not using to occlude an eye that had been dazzled by the sunlight through a telescope lent, like that time when Twilight went crazy trying to avoid a great calamity after being warned by her future self.”
“Pinkie, we agreed to not talk about that again” Twilight replied. “Beyond that, I must remind you that we are on a mission.”
After everything was dealt with, it didn’t take long for the Destiny’s Bounty to set sail, starting to advance through the air. At the beginning, it advanced slowly, but went the crew, following the captain’s orders, opened the sails, the airship looked like it had opened wings made of colorful feathers, much to the amazement of everypony.
As the airship moved, Star put himself at the front, looking ahead, as he was heading to the place that was once ruled by his great-grandfather. Moonlight approached him and asked:
“Are you okay, Star?”
“It’s just… I’m now heading to do what my great-grandpa asked me to do” Star said. “I wonder what is happening there and if I will be able to help.”
Moonlight placed a hoof on his shoulder, giving then a kiss on his cheek and told him:
“You’re the savior that ended the great war between Order and Chaos and the one who defeat the Lord of Chaos. Don’t worry about that. You will succeed. Believe in that.”
That caused Star to smile and he said:
“Thank you, Moonlight. Just for that, I’m happy that you’re here with me.”
And she leaned her head over his shoulder, while the two watched the sky ahead, as the airship moved forward. Blue was nearby and smile, seeing how his son had Moonlight to help him dealing with his insecurities, just like he had Twilight.
At that moment, the General of Balance found himself being invaded by a brief vision of destruction, the same one that tormented his dreams. Those visions were becoming more intense and Blue wondered about their meaning.