//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: A Herd of Ponies and Ungulates // by StatiZkyZ //------------------------------// As it’s Luna’s turn to look after Equestria, the sun had just set over the horizon. However, there are at least a dozen notable individuals still awake in the busy city of Las Pegasus. It’s the city of bright lights and known as one big nonstop party, to the delight of Princess Luna for bringing life into the night. It also has places that offer high class food and one certain restaurant where it’s more crowded than usual, having to accommodate a large table filled with VIPs. After the Champions of Foenum met the heroes of Equestria, or the Elements of Harmony, they are accommodated one night in the Canterlot castle under the hospitality of the princesses themselves. Only during the next day that they’ll start their journey home via the ocean. Since Las Pegasus is located on the western coast of Equestria, it’ll be a straightforward sail from there back to Foenum. It also gives the champions one more respite in Equestria before their journey home. This time, they’re not alone, each is sitting with the pony they had bonded with. Pom and Fluttershy are having some fresh carrots and even a small chocolate cake. The young champion even tried out a bottle of soft drink, never having tasted one back home. Behind their chairs, Angel bunny is having a couple of carrots next to Pom’s puppy, who had some cans of dog food. They are really surprised when the restaurant said they even serve their customer’s pets. Opposed to Rainbow Dash’s simple order of sandwiches, Tianhuo’s food is a bit trickier to get. She did order similar sandwiches, but instead of only tomato and salad, hers got fried eggs in it, a bit of an unusual food in a place where eggs are mostly used for baking. To further satisfy her appetite, there's even a bowl of salad and a glass of milk. Knowing her high standards, Rarity suggested Velvet to get the Neighsar Salad, a rather exquisite dish with the price to boot. The unicorn herself orders something… in a foreign language that Velvet can’t really bother to remember, but it consists of vegetables, bread, and some small fruits. Their dishes look the smallest in terms of quantity, but they're here to enjoy some refined food. Applejack and Arizona are sharing a big apple pie, though their drinks are different. Despite Applejack’s suggestion, the cow rather chooses orange juice over apple juice. However, later on, both girls order some apple cider after getting into a little bet among themselves. Just like last time, Pinkie had to make sure Paprika didn’t just order everything to eat, or eat everything without paying. Anything sweet, be it cakes or fruits, seem to get along with the duo. Though interestingly, Paprika doesn’t shy away from vegetables. Not that it changes her table manners, just diving her face on her food seems to work, so why not keep doing that? Finally, Twilight, not shying away from her strangely un-princess like appetite, got some hayburgers, prench fries, and even some onion rings. It's not just the kind of she ordered, but the amount of it, probably almost three times the amount other ponies would eat. Maybe all the talk about alicorn metabolism isn't that far fetched. Oleander also got plenty of donuts, but sometimes Twilight would share her food, something the unicorn appreciates. It's also a good thing for Fred since it means more donuts for him. Yet, through all this, friendly chats can be heard around the table, each pair telling the experience they had together. The usually shy Pom isn't too nervous to talk about her dogs playing with Fluttershy's animals, especially Angel bunny. Tianhuo is interested to learn more about the wonderbolts, mostly thanks to Rainbow bugging her about it. Though the longma has little interest in their aerial shows themselves, she's more interested in their training method and techniques they use in the air. For a topic that's a bit more down to earth, Arizona and Applejack are retelling their dinner with the Apple family, something that even the young cow didn't find boring. Though their relation started off rocky, Velvet and Rarity managed to find a topic they both like: Fashion. However, Rarity tends to avoid talking about the reindeer's own floof just in case, and instead more about clothing and hat designs from their homes. With all this talking, Paprika, for once is falling behind since no one can understand what she's saying. Thankfully, Pinkie is there to act as the interpreter while keeping the rather energetic alpaca in check. And then there's Oleander. Inside, she still doesn't really see the point of gathering together like this in a public place. Why can't they stay in a quieter room or somewhere else? Why a restaurant? All they're doing are making friendly talk. It took a while before Twilight can sway her with her words to appreciate this more than she currently is, that this is a part of creating friendship between all of them. The unicorn doesn't know if she'll ever warm up towards friendship soon, but admittedly she enjoys her time in Equestria. A couple of hours later, with their appetites fulfilled, the champions, accompanied by their pony friends make their way to the dock. It's only been a short time, but having to say goodbye now feels like it came too soon. Some of the champions share one more hoofshake, hoofbump, and even hugs as they made their way to where a ship should be waiting. However, there is no Foenum ship. "Huh, are you sure it's supposed to be here?" Twilight asked, looking back at the group. "There's no ship here." "Hmph, they must be late or something." Oleander remarked. "Seriously? Can't zey do something so simple as to pick us up in time?" Velvet groaned. "Umm, girls...?" Being airborne, Rainbow seems to spot something in the distance. The pegasus spy a ship that doesn't look like to be from Equestria, as its design and colors are quite different. However, what stands out from the ship is as it speeds towards the port is the flag that's on the mast of the vessel. "Yes, Rainbow?" Twilight asked in time to see Rainbow point to the horizon rather dramatically. "Loooooookkkkk!!" The pirate ship gets as close as it can to the port, where the group can see a band of goats standing on the ship, some are wearing bandanas on their head. The ponies don't seem to know how to act as they have no idea who these are, but the champions on the other hand... "...The thief followed us here?" Tianhuo looks displeased. "Oh, for crying out loud...! I'm not in the mood to deal with her right now." Oleander is even less pleased. "Ah thought we made it clear that we don't have the key! That kid is as stubborn as a mule!" Arizona stomps on the pier. The pirate gang then makes way for someone to speak. It's a small goat with a bandana, dreadlocks, and a small goatee. She does a dramatic spin before landing on the side, her position is flanked by cannons. "Yarr, good to see ye lasses again!" She said. "You all look salty too! I'll take it, as payment for me to sail you all back to Foenum!" As the goat declares her intention, the ponies all look at the less than pleased champions. Well, almost all. Pom is still standing next to Fluttershy, the only champion that reacted the same way the ponies do, and Papika's smile is unreadable. Hers is a thin line of happiness from seeing one of her friends... or the sick desire to crush the goat's bones through a fluffy hug. "Who might that be?" Fluttershy turns to Pom. "You know her?" "T-That's Shanty..." The lamb meekly said. The goat pirate isn't a champion, but she had several encounters with the other champions in the past. All she desires is the key the champions were seeking, but not because she wanted to save the world from the predators. Even so, she slowly gains mutual respect from the others solely because of her skills. "Honestly, she would make a capable champion, if only she wasn't such a..." "Ruffian?" "Yes! Zat is the right word to describe her!" Velvet and Rarity share a brief conversation as they seem to see eye to eye. A pirate, unless it's lead by a certain avian, is not exactly a pretty sight for the mare. "I don't know what kind of payment tool yer ponies have, but I'll take charges too! Give me something of value, or--" Bonk! Shanty's words are cut off as something hits her in the head. It's an apple, and the culprit is quite clear. Paprika has her picnic basket out and she's waving seemingly innocently at the goat. Pinkie looks back and forth between them before she smiles and waves as well. Paprika's friend should be her friend too, right? "Ay! I say parley! Unless ya want some, I'm not looking for a rumble!" With another spinning flip that can rival Tianhuo's, Shanty jumps off the boat and lands on the pier, walking towards the group and Oleander, who's in front of the herd. "Dare I ask what did you do to our original transport?" Oleander asked. "Olly, I thought it's pretty obvious." Fred chuckles from inside the book. "She and her crew boarded it, take every grain of salt on board, make them walk the plank, and FEED THEM TO THE SHARKS. Must be quite the spectacle." "Heh, funny, I thought of that, but I thought of something even better! I made 'em swab the decks! She got that extra sparkle today, doesn't she?" Some sighs of relief can be heard, mostly from the ponies, though Rarity seems to gasp just as loud as the first time. "What is your intention here, little rascal?" Tianhuo steps forward. "And how did you even know we are supposed to be here?" "Ooh, I love the salt coming from you!" Shanty mockingly waves her hoof near the longma and licks it. "And that's what I want, salt! There be eyes and ears for the Capricorn everywhere, hot head, so we jump at the opportunity!" "...Dear Celestia, she would be good in negotiating, if only she uses more..." "Refined words?" "Yes! What a sailor's mouth!" As Rarity and Velvet keep whispering to each other, it's Arizona's turn to step up to the goat. However, she brings Applejack with her too. The cow had learned something about the mare when they spend time together last time, and it'll be valuable in this situation. "Now hold on one darn minute! Yer sayin you are our ride home? What makes ya think we'll trust you after what ya tried to do to us!?" "Because, you don't have a choice. Do you see another ship that can take you home? Unless you all can swim, or fancy some boarding action on them Equestrian ships, we're not leaving till we get some booty!" As Shanty said that, Applejack stares at her, close enough that they can smell each other. Is this pirate planning to raid ships in Equestria too? The ponies don't know about this goat well, but that's something that they don't want to happen if they can help it. "Are ya threatening us? Ya didn't even answer the question!" Applejack pressed. The goat seems to be taken aback just the slightest when a pony dares to get this close to her. From what she had seen, aren't ponies supposed to be all rainbow loving softies? That one pony that visited Foenum looked like he almost soiled himself when she smacks her mug on the table in an inn. "Hmph, what? Or you're gonna break the parley?" Shanty doesn't seem to be intimidated. In fact, she smiles as she can hear more of the pirates appearing to the side of the ship. A rather tense silence pass, with Applejack and Arizona staring at the goat. At the back of the group, Fluttershy and Pom shuffle closer together, as if they're ready to hug each other and scream when something horrible happens, though their pets seem to be ready to defend themselves. Meanwhile, Paprika and Pinkie are swapping the contents of their picnic baskets, seemingly oblivious to the standoff. The others are just nervously waiting for any response. Eventually, however, Shanty backs off when she realized that these ponies seem to be close with the key wielders. "Alright, alright. I promise I won't do anything bad. Just pay up the salt, and they'll be home once the sun dives under the horizon." Hearing that, Applejack backs off next to Arizona again. "...She ain't lying." "Good." Arizona walks back to Oleander, who's also next to Tianhuo. "Alright, Ah don't like this either, but at least she's our ticket home." "Really? How can she tell?" Oleander is quick to voice her concern. "Even I would think twice before I trust this plunderer." "I think there is merit. She sees the pirate in the eyes, and I know one can tell so much by doing that." Tianhuo reassures. "Even so, if she gets second thoughts..." "Then we kick her off her ship!" Arizona boldly said, something that seems to stun Shanty a bit. "Ay! Only I can make someone walk the plank, cow!" The goat replied, but seemingly in a more playful tone than a proper retaliation. "Let's hope you all are not rowdy enough to make me throw you overboard!" "...Fine, we'll decide to trust you to bring us back home." Oleander walks forward towards the smaller goat, pointing her hoof at her. "But if you try to do anything funny, I'll make sure you'll never see the light of day again!" "I swear I thought you tried to make me befriend her before..." Fred cheekily said. Shanty, not intimidated by the threat, signals to put the ramp to the ship down. Like it or not, this goat is the champion's ticket home, for a price of course. As the champions prepare to get on the ship, the pirate seems to inspect them all, even though Pom is still quite close to Fluttershy, both still a bit more nervous than the other. Eventually, she stops at Velvet, much to the doe's annoyance. "Got some good loot on ya?" Ugh, Velvet knows what she's talking about, but why her? Why must be the one that must deal with this goat? The champions do have some salt that they don't end up using because Equestria uses bits, so they will have something to give. Normally, the reindeer would loathe to even touch Shanty, but with the rest of the champions looking at her to just get it over with, she gives the cue to her winter sprites. "Fine, you plunderer...!" Velvet said in disdain as one of her sprites hands over three small bags of salt, which the goat giddily accepted. "Just get your nose avay from me!" "I can't guarantee that, but get on board!" Shanty said as she jumps to the ship's hull. In an impressive display, she ran up on the surface and returns to the deck, still keeping an eye on the champions, who turn to their pony companions. "I hope we meet again, Pom." Fluttershy hugs the lamb, and she's happy to return it. "I think your puppy would love it too." "We had a great tyme, so I would love tae!" Pom replies, giving her puppy a pat on the head as she watches it lick Angel bunny. The rabbit can use a better interaction that's also less... wet, but he appreciates it. "May the winds be on your side at all times, Rainbow Dash." Tianhuo bows with her hooves touching each other. "Yeah, you too!" The pegasus gives the longma a salute, almost like she acknowledges Tianhuo as her superior in the Wonderbolts. "Betcha Spike still wants to see you again!" "I will do what I can. The little dragon can use some guidance." Tianhuo nods. "Guess this is goodbye fer now." Applejack takes her hat off as she faces Arizona. "Golly, it's almost too fast, isn't it?" Arizona shows a mix of sadness, but still trying to keep her spirits up. "But this ain't the last rodeo fer sure!" "Right as rain. Say howdy ta yer Pa and Ma!" The calf and the mare give each other a firm hoofbump. "Likewise ta yer family, Applejack!" "I really enjoy our time together, Velvet." Rarity said. "Of course you do." Velvet replies, pointing her nose high. "Maybe next time, I can help you model for your creations." "Oh, that would be wonderful, darling! Give me the word, and I'll make sure I'll make something that suits your taste and beautiful at the same time!" "Zat vould be only befitting for ze Champion of ze Tundra. If I were to return, I vill dazzle ponies and ungulates alike!" 👀🐴🍓💘❕👁️‍🗨️💋🍹🎂💖👀⭐🌈❕ Even though she has to say goodbye, Paprika is jumping in place with Pinkie mirroring her movements in front of her. In one motion, they both jump towards each other and throws a hug. The alpaca thankfully hasn't forgotten about her new hugging standard, being much more gentle than before. "I'll miss you too! Keep having fun and show your love, Paprika!" 🗻🌈🍎👀⭐✨🌈🌕🎉💖💖❕❕ "I will! Pinkie promise!" With that settled, the excited alpaca gives Pinkie a kiss on the forehead, making the mare giggle and snort. Twilight and Oleander are looking at each other a tad longer than the others before the former offers a hoof to the latter. "I'm happy to get to meet you, Oleander. It's true that we are like two sides of the same coin..." "Reassembling each other, but not facing the same side." The unicorn continues. "Indeed we are, but this experience is something I will remember for a long time." "I'm glad you feel that way, Oleander. We'll meet again one day." With that said, the dark unicorn shakes Twilight's hoof with her own, but suddenly a dark claw joins them. "As a dark entity living in a non rainbow looking magical book, I now pronounce you..." "Fred!" As Oleander yanks the Unicornomicon book away, Twilight can't help but giggle. "Arr, set sail! Foenum awaits!" With the pirates and Shanty lifting the anchor and hoisting the sails, the Capricorn starts to move away from the port in Las Pegasus. All the champions watch as the six ponies they met stays on the pier as long as they can, waving goodbye. This is not just a journey about themselves, as this visit will surely improve the relation of Equestria with the tribes in Foenum. Who knows what the future will bring for both civilizations, and how does meeting the ponies will effect the champions in their daily lives at home? The magic of friendship that they had learned will surely change something for the better. Looking at her passengers, Shanty wonders if this will mean anything to her relation with the champions too. As fun and exciting as it is, maybe there's a bit more in life then just plundering...